AN ENGLISH PLAN OF KEEPING MANURE. 71 



It has been asked where a farmer is to get the earth to cover his 

 heaps — it may be answered, keep your roads scraped when they 

 get muddy on the surface during raiuy weather — in itself good 

 economy — and leave this in small heaps beyond the margin of 

 your roads. This, in the course of the year, will be found an 

 ample provision for the purpose, for it is unnecessary to laj' on a 

 coat more than one or two inches in thickness, which should be 

 done when in a moist state. At any rate, there will always be 

 found an accumulation on headlands that may be drawn upon if 

 need be. 



" Farmers who have not been in the habit of bestowing care ou 

 the manufacture and subsequent preservation of their manure, and 

 watching results, have no conception of the importance of this. 

 A barrowful of such manure as has been described, would pro- 

 duce a greater weight of roots and corn, than that so graphically 

 described by the most talented and accomplished of our agricul- 

 tural authors — as the contents of ' neighbour Drj'chaffs dung- 

 cart, that creaking hearse, that is carrying to the field the dead 

 body whose spirit has departed.' 



" There is a source of valuable and extremely useful manure on 

 every farm, of which very few farmers avail themselves — the gath- 

 ering together in one spot of all combustible waste and rubbish, the 

 clippings of hedges, scouring of ditches, grassy accumulation on 

 the sides of roads and fences, etc., combined with a good deal of 

 earth. If these are carted at leisure times into a large circle, or in 

 two rows, to supply the fire kindled in the center, in a spot which 

 is frequented by the laborers on the farm, with a three-pronged 

 fork and a shovel attendant, and each passer-by is encouraged to 

 add to the pile whenever he sees the smoke passing away so freely 

 as to indicate rapid combustion, a A:er\' large quantitj' of valuable 

 ashes are collected between March and October. In the latter 

 month the fire should be allowed to go out ; the ashes are then 

 thrown into along ridge, as high as tliey will stand, and thatched 

 while dry. This will be found an invaluable st!>re in April, May, 

 and June, capable of supplying from twenty to forty bushels of 

 ashes per acre, according to the care and industry of the collector, 

 to drill with the .seeds of the root crop." 



The Deacon got sleepy before Charley finished reading. " "We 

 can nut afford to be at so much trouble in this country," he said, 

 and took up his hat and left. 



The Deacon is not altogether wrong. Our climate is very dif- 

 ferent from that of England, and it is seldom that farmers need 

 to draw out manure, and pile it in the field, except in winter, ami 



