MANURES. 171^ 



SINK DRAININGS 



336. The washings of the sink are of great value, 

 il ihey can be so combined with peaty matter as to re- 

 ta n all the bad odors which they will otherwise emit. 

 "W here the nature of the ground will admit, it is best 

 to **un an under-ground drain from the sink, some dis- 

 tance, to where composting can be done, without ap- 

 pearing as a nuisance to the premises, though a well- 

 managed compost heap, under the very kitchen win- 

 dow, would be preferable to a fetid sink. At the 

 place selected for the purpose, let an excavation be 

 made, large enough to contain six or eight loads of 

 peat, swamp mud, or rich loam, with a view to en- 

 large it, by carrying off a load or two each year more 

 than you put in. In the spring, after the old matter 

 has been carried off, fill this piling full of peat, or 

 some other absorbent, and direct the washings of the 

 sink into it. By the end of a year the whole will 

 have become thoroughly saturated with soap, rinsings 

 of soiled clothes, oil, &c., &c. — matters most nutritious 

 to plants. This, spread upon mow-land, will be quite 

 equal to barn-yard manure, and, so far as the first 

 crop is concerned, better. After the whole, which 

 you put in the year before, is taken out, you may 

 take a load or two more, by way of enlarging the ex- 

 cavation; and although this last may appear much 

 like common soil, you may rely upon it to produce 

 good grass. It is saturated with enriching materials. 



COMPOSTING. 



837. If a farmer proceed as I have recommended, 



