No. 14^.] 193 



A large stock of this prepared muck should always be on 

 hand, near the stables, barn-yard, pig-pens, &c., ready to be used 

 in composts, &c. 



Properties of prepared Muck. Muck so prepared contains 

 nearly the same ingredients as cow manure, and for some crops 

 is fully equal to it, without any further admixture. This is 

 peculiarly true when used for raising potatoes j I have raised 

 very large crops with this manure alone. 



Prepared muck has peculiar powers for retaining those por- 

 tions of manures mixed with it, which under ordinary circum- 

 stances are volatile. Thus equal bulk of night soil and prepared 

 muck when mixed together, are inodorous; all the volatile 

 manures, such as guano, &c., if previously composted with 

 prepared muck for a month, may then be applied to the soil and 

 will remain until used up by growing plants, instead of escaping 

 from the soil in a single season, by evaporation, all the more 

 powerful manures may be used safely when previously mixed 

 with prepared muck. 



Manure heaps which are fermenting and throwing off large 

 portions of ammoniacal and other gases will cease to do so when 

 covered with prepared muck, all gases will be absorbed by the 

 muck, thus rendering it equally eflfective, as manure, to the rest 

 of the covered mass. 



When placed under the bedding of [cattle, it absorbs the 

 liquids, and retains the volatile matters which may be removed 

 to the manure sheds every ten days .and replaced by seven half 

 cords ; and thus the whole be converted into effective manure. 

 In other words, the amount of urine voided by six oxen in 10 days 

 is entirely sufficient to put seven half cords of prepared muck 

 into a state of fermentation, after ipassing through which the 

 muck is an efficient manure. 



The solid excretise of animals when composted with 18 times 

 their bulk of prepared muck, will be found to cause the whole 

 mass to ferment, and thus render the whole suitable for manure. 



Cattle yards and pig pens should be freely supplied with 

 prepared muck, and thus all the fluid and volatile portions 

 [Assembly, No. 149.] N 



