Management  of  Manure. 
419 
the  fluid  drainings  upon  the  straw.  If  perfection  be  sought  in 
fixing  ammonia,  a little  sulphuric  acid  might  be  poured  into  the 
tank.  If  there  be  occasion  to  lead  manure  straight  from  the 
yard  to  a heap  in  the  field,  I strongly  recommend  a foundation 
of  road-dirt  or  earth,  which  will  absorb  the  escaping  fluids,  and 
serve  excellently  afterwards  to  be  drilled  with  artificial  manures. 
Some  farmers  are  trying  the  cutting  up  of  their  litter,  so  as  to 
apply  the  manure  at  once  to  the  land.  The  difficulty  which  I see 
is  in  always  finding  land  ready  to  receive  manure.  The  manure 
is  applied  of  course  unfermented.  Now,  so  far  as  we  know, 
manure  must  be  fermented,  that  is,  the  urea  must  become  ammo- 
nia, before  it  can  become  the  food  of  plants.  Still  this  forms 
no  objection,  because  the  transformation  doubtless  will  take  place 
under  ground.  The  box-feeding  system  seems  to  have  been 
firmly  established  by  Mr.  Warnes  for  fatting  beasts.  The  box, 
about  nine  feet  square,  is  sunk  two  feet  in  the  ground,  and  is  itself 
the  tank  in  which  the  animal  rises  upon  his  own  litter,  until  his 
head  touches  the  ceiling.  Here  the  principle  of  pressure  is  relied 
upon  singly  for  retaining  ammonia.  Care  is  requisite  in  sup- 
plying the  litter,  for  if  given  too  freely,  it  heats  ; if  not  frequently 
enough,  the  air  is  tainted.  So,  on  a large  scale  in  Lincolnshire, 
the  folding  gates  between  yards  are  hung  a yard  high  from  the 
ground,  and  the  straw  accumulating  is  trodden  down  in  the  open 
yard  by  young  cattle. 
Whether  sheep  dung  should  be  made  artificially,  under  sheds 
upon  boards,  seems  to  me  a doubtful  matter.  I have  left  off 
shedding  my  own  sheep,  having  found  that  of  two  weighed  lots  the 
shedded  lot  did  rather  the  best  in  January,  and  the  folded  lot 
in  March.  The  sheep  certainly  has  a good  great  coat  provided 
by  nature,  which,  moreover,  cannot  be  curried  in  confine- 
ment like  the  hide  of  a cow.  My  shepherd  says  that  the 
sheep  fat  fastest  in  clear  frosty  weather,  because  they  eat 
more  ; and  this  is  quite  reconcilable  with  theory,  if  animals  find 
fat  ready  made  in  their  food  as  they  do  muscle,  because,  while 
taking  in  more  fuel,  they  would  take  in  more  fat.  It  would  be 
like  an  express-train,  which  uses  more  coals,  but  goes  faster.  On 
the  other  hand,  I know'  as  a certain  fact  that  sheep  which  have 
been  kept  very  warm  in  sheds  upon  boards,  have  eaten  certainly 
very  little,  but  have  also  been  exceedingly  slow  in  laying  on  fat. 
But,  as  yet,  theory  is  at  fault  on  this  matter.  Wet  weather  is  what 
throws  sheep  back,  and  then  they  must  thrive  best  under  cover, 
though  the  alternation  cannot  be  well  reconciled  with  the  animal’s 
health,  so  that  we  must  decide  one  way  or  other,  but  which  way 
seems  to  me  as  yet  problematical.  The  balance  seems  to  turn 
in  favour  of  field-feeding  on  light  land  farms,  yet  there  is  some 
waste  of  manure  in  feeding  off  turnips  upon  the  ground,  if  the  crop 
