FARM MANURE 523 



loss of excess water. If possible, the soil of the depression 

 should be puddled, or, better, lined with cement. 



The manure should be kept moist in dry weather in order 

 to decrease aerobic action. Each addition of manure should 

 be packed in place, the fresh on and above the older. This 

 allows the gases from the well-rotted dung to pervade the 

 fresher and looser portions, thus quickly establishing the 

 anaerobic conditions so essential to economic and favorable 

 fermentation. 



Placing fresh manure in small heaps in the field to be 

 spread later, is, in the first place, poor economy of labor. 

 Moreover, it encourages loss by decay, while at the same time 

 the soluble portions of the pile escape into the soil imme- 

 diately underneath. There is thus a poor distribution of the 

 essential elements of the dung, and when the manure is finally 

 spread, an over-feeding of plants at one point and an under- 

 feeding at another results. A low efficiency of the manure 

 is thus realized. This method of handling manure is not to 

 be recommended. 



299. Manure pits. — Some farmers, especially if the 

 amount of manure produced is large, find it profitable to con- 

 struct manure pits of concrete. These pits are usually rec- 

 tangular in shape with a shed covering. Often one or even 

 both ends are open to facilitate the removal of the manure. 

 In such a structure, leaching is prevented by the solid bottom 

 while the roof allows a better control of moisture conditions. 

 By keeping the manure carefully spread and well moistened, 

 putrefaction may proceed with a minimum loss of nitrogen. 

 Some European dairymen even go so far as to utilize a cis- 

 tern, into which is shoveled both the liquid and the solid 

 manure. Later when decomposition has proceeded suffi- 

 ciently, the material is pumped out and applied to the land. 

 This method is not to be advocated in this country except 

 under special conditions, owing to the cost of handling. 



300. Covered yards. — Another method of storage is by 



