«77 
soon as the grass begins to rise vigorously by 
raking, and carried back to the dunghill : in this 
case no manure will be lost, and the husbandry 
will be at once clean and economical. 
In cases when farm-yard dung cannot be imme- 
diately applied to crops, the destructive ferment- 
ation of it should be prevented as much as pos- 
sible : the principles on which this may be effected 
have been already alluded to. 
The surface should be defended as much as 
possible from the oxygene of the atmosphere; a 
compact marie, or a tenacious clay, offers the best 
protection against the air ; and before the dung 
is covered over, or, as it were, sealed up, it should 
be dried as much as possible. If the dung is found 
at any time to heat strongly, it should be turned 
over, and cooled by exposure to air. 
Watering dunghills is sometimes recommended 
for checking the progress of fermentation ; but this 
practice is inconsistent with just chemical views. 
It may cool the dung for a short time ; but mois- 
ture, as I have before stated, is a principal agent 
in all processes of decomposition. Dry fibrous 
matter will never ferment. Water is as necessary 
as air to the process ; and to supply it to ferment- 
ing dung, is to supply an agent which will hasten 
its decay. 
In all cases when dung is fermenting, there are 
simple tests by which the rapidity of the process, 
and consequently the injury done, may be dis- 
covered. 
If a thermometer plunged into the dung does 
not rise to above 100 degrees of Fahrenheit, there 
t 3 
