MANURES FOR THE ORCHARD. 29 



tree should never be made. It is not advisable to feed 

 horses by tying oats about their legs. There are very 

 many refuse matters about the farm or in the neighbor- 

 hood which cau be composted. An intimate friend, 

 who has the reputation of making everything into ma- 

 nure, has also the best fruit of any one in the neigh- 

 borhood. From a shingle mill nearly two miles from 

 his lioine he drew the shavings and used them as bed- 

 ding. From the stable they went into the manure 

 lieai) and froui the manure heap into the orchard. A 

 pile of sawdust three miles away was utilized in the 

 same manner. Even cinders from the blacksmith 

 shop went into his manure piles. He asked the privilege 

 of mowing swales on his neighbors' farms. The weeds, 

 brush and swale hay were obtained in quantities and 

 stacked in the sheep yard. All winter this was fed to 

 the sheep in abundance. They obtained half their liv- 

 ing from it, and the remainder was broken and trampled 

 down. In the spring it was carted to the orchard. 

 Even the fine brush, which was cut from the apple trees, 

 often went into the manure. Such litter, after standing 

 a year or more in a compost heap, with a number of 

 turnings and the use of a little quicklime, will be en- 

 tirely decomposed. In this manner utilize the refuse 

 from the vegetable garden, the autumn leaves, the brakes 

 in pastures, and all other materials which can be made 

 to decay. Of course the weeds should be cut before 

 the seeds are ripe. If one keeps stock, this litter 

 may be thrown directly into the stable or yard, to be 

 broken and picked over by hogs, sheep and cows. This 

 manner of disposing of litter produces a fertilizer little 



