NATURAL FERTILIZERS— GUANO 67 



lets of liquid manure trickling away in this direction 

 and that, and collecting here and there in puddles 

 of infection. See how all the inmates of the poultry- 

 yard scratch at the heap, turning over and scatter- 

 ing its contents, and thus causing the ammonia to 

 escape into the atmosphere. Can such a dung-hill 

 he as valuable as one that is attended to properly? 



"Liquid manure being the richest part of the 

 whole pile, care should be taken not to let escape 

 what the bedding does not absorb. It 'should be first 

 diluted with water and then applied to the growing 

 crops. When it is desired for use in non-liquid 

 form, it should be mixed with enough earth to absorb 

 it, and the result is an excellent fertilizer. 



"In summer it is not unusual to enclose with hur- 

 dles a piece of land soon to be cultivated, and into 

 this enclosure a flock of sheep is driven to pass the 

 night under the care of the shepherd in his movable 

 hut, and with the protection of trusty dogs well able 

 to cope with any marauding wolves. The next night 

 the flock is quartered in another spot, and so on until 

 the entire field has thus served, a little at a time, 

 as stable for the flock. The purpose of this pro- 

 cedure is to utilize the excrement, both solid and 

 liquid, left behind by the flock. In one night a sheep 

 can fertilize a square meter of surface. This method 

 of fertilizing is very effective because of the complete 

 absorption of the fluid matter by the soil. 



"Off the coast of Peru in South America are sev- 

 eral small islands which form a common rendezvous 

 for great numbers of sea-birds. Birds that frequent 



