12 JOHNSON & STOKES 
land as quickly as possible. All leaching is then received by 
the soil, and little is lost, except through the air. 
In practice, this plan is not always a good one. It costs 
more to make ten trips to the field than one trip, and valua- 
ble time is wasted. It is quite out of the question to haul out 
manure every day or even every week. Besides, it is neces- 
sary in actual practice, especially in gardening or truck farm- 
ing, to cover a whole piece of ground at one time, so that it 
may be plowed and seeded for the coming crop. The ground 
is usually available only a short time before this preparation, 
having, perhaps, been occupied by something else. It is 
desirable, moreover, that the manure when applied shall be 
ready for immediate service as plant food, which is not the 
case with the raw product. Fresh manure is but sparingly 
digestible by plant roots. Quicker cash results will be 
secured by applying prepared manure to the soil than by 
applying the product fresh from the stable. 
The manure shed has already been mentioned. A few 
dollars will build it. Sometimes a half barrel is sunken in 
the centre of the manure shed, and the drainage from the 
manure heaps collected there, and returned to the tops of the 
heaps. It is occasionally necessary to add water, when turn- 
ing manure, to secure the desired degree of dampness and a 
gentle fermentation. This fermentation will cause the litter to 
fall to pieces, and will convert it into quickly-available plant 
food. 
No one who has never tried it will expect the generous 
heaps which will follow systematic and persevering efforts to 
accumulate and stack up the available manure materials on 
any farm. 
Preservatives — The best-known common preservatives 
of manure in storage are gypsum, kainit and acid phosphate. 
Gypsum or land plaster holds ammonia, and is thus of the 
highest value as a preservative. Gypsum must be moist to 
