l6 JOHNSON & STOKES 
follows: Waste nothing, permit no fermentation or leach- 
ing, use preservatives, and learn the true art of making com- 
posts, including the functions of the minute organisms just 
described. 
No better use can be made of rainy days in summer or 
winter than in caring for manure; turning the piles, making 
compact stacks, adding needed moisture and preservatives, 
shaking out all lumps and putting undecayed portions into 
the centre of the heap. 
Ton after ton of the best kind of fertilizer can be accu- 
mulated on every farm in this manner, including not only 
what is now lost through careless handling, but also a large 
amount of good material that is now entirely overlooked on 
many farms. All rubbish, all litter, all dirt, has a fertilizing 
value. If certain waste products must go to the bonfire, the 
ashes can at least be saved and used during the next growing 
season. It is sometimes better to burn weeds and certain 
tough vines than to attempt to compost them; but the ashes 
should not be wasted. It is the saving of many little things 
that counts in the yearly total. Labor is money, but it is 
better to invest labor at home than to go to the fertilizer- 
maker for supplies and pay out cash. 
The Fertilizer Han — The fertilizer man will always be 
with us, because he has a true place in the economy of the 
farm and garden. We must go to him for the preservatives 
already mentioned — for gypsum, for kainit and for acid 
phosphate; and also for complete fertilizers. These articles 
are all comparatively cheap. The fertilizer man can make 
but modest profits upon them. The purchase of high-grade 
goods from well-known and honest makers is to be be com- 
mended, for it is strictly economical. 
The thing to be avoided is the blind buying of fertilizers 
from unknown or irresponsible makers or agents. This is 
worse than buying a cat in a bag, and results in great waste 
of good money. 
