HOW TO FERTILIZE. 



81 



barn-yard heap ; but here the process of decay progresses under 

 different conditions. 



First, the heap is kept wet with the liquor, as the wetting 

 occurs every few days ; second, the muck, sawdust, and other ab- 

 sorbents are a protection. Water absorbs and retains ammonia, 

 and the rotting of the heap is so rapid, and the chemical changes 

 are so numerous, that it is finished before an escape can be 

 made. 



At the end of fifteen days, as we have said, fermentation 

 ceases, and then the mass should be overhauled, well mixed with 

 dry earth, muck, or sand, and put away under shelter, which 

 will prevent its heating again, and preserve the volatile matters 

 until ready for use. So thorough is the fermentation that it 

 would be a difficult matter to create heat again, even if desired. 



The utility and economy of this process consists in the con- 

 verting of leaves, corn-stalks, cotton-seed, rotten sap, etc., into 

 ready-made manure. All seeds are destroyed by the process, so 

 that any noxious weed may be fearlessly cast into the heap ; 

 bones broken into small pieces will be dissolved at once, and be- 

 come valuable plant food. 



A compost made by this formula is not only ready for use 

 in so short a time, but its value is double that of ordinary stable 

 manure, and contains all the elements of plant food. 



And all this valuable fertilizer can thus be made at home by 

 Bonner's j^rocess, at a mere nominal cost of five dollars per ton. 

 This is the ne plus ultra of compost heaps. 



If the soot called for in the formula cannot be obtained, use 

 more saltpetre ; if ashes, turn up missing, substitute ten pounds 

 of caustic potash ; and remember, never to leave the pile uncov- 

 ered. Nor, we may add once more (for this cannot be too strongly 

 impressed on the fruit grower), any other manure heap if its full 

 value is desired to be j^reserved. 



A word or two about the best manner of preserving stable 

 manure while collecting : nine out of ten of the Southern farm- 

 ers stable their horses in stalls with the ground as the only floor- 

 ing. This is a great mistake, and occasions a waste of the most 

 valuable portions of the manure, the liquid, or urine. 



