V MANURES 87 



or plain water are : — Firstly, mind it is done tho- 

 roughly ; be sure you give a good soaking while you 

 are about it; remember "an inch of rain" means 

 nearly five gallons to the square yard, and always 

 do a little space at a time satisfactorily and fully 

 rather than a mere wetting over a large extent. 



And secondly, be sure that the surface is always 

 stirred by the hoe as soon as possible after every 

 soaking, whether it be the natural one of rain or the 

 artificial one of water or liquid manure. This is 

 most important; when the sun shines on the tho- 

 roughly soaked ground in summer it is sure to cause 

 it to crack, often before the top is quite dry ; as soon 

 as you can work it, get just the surface dry again 

 and as fine and powdery as possible with the hoe, 

 for this keeps the moisture in, whereas the cracks 

 allow it to escape. 



Soap water from a laundry has some value as a 

 liquid manure, though too much may render the 

 land sour. And though not sufficient for Eoses by 

 itself, it is a capital thing to use mixed with other 

 liquid which may be considered too strong. It is 

 well in this case to be specially guarded against the 

 dregs, a greasy scum which chokes the soil pores, 

 and also to remember that nothing smells nastier 

 than soapsuds which have stood for three or four 

 days, especially in a hot sun. Amateur Inspectors 

 of Nuisances are not always aware of this. 



The overflow water from a cesspool is very good 

 as liquid manure, and hardly ever too strong for 

 anything ; my overflow tank is regularly emptied on 

 my garden at night every full moon by pump and 

 hand cart, for nothing from my house goes into the 

 river, but all into the garden. There is some 



