ON MAKING COMPOST. 
Garden compost is a fertiliser made mainly from leafy garden 
refuse to which a small quantity of cattle manure and wood ash is 
added. The compost takes two months to mature. 
Garden refuse used for composting should consist chiefly of 
cut grass and fallen leaves* The site chosen for preparing the 
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compost heap should he either a drained pit or a level plot of well 
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beaten ground. A cool and shady position is preferable to a site 
exposed to the full blaze of the sun, but if this is not available 
the compost heap should be covered over with attap and kept moist. 
The heaps are made rectangular in shape and four feet in 
height, the bases being five feet square. 
Leafy material which forms the main bulk of the compost may 
be used as soon as collected. A small supply of cowdung must be 
procured (one kerosene tin for a heap)* To each kerosene tin of 
cowdung four cigarette tins of wood ash (from a fire-place) are added 
and the mass thinned down with an equal quantity of water. 
BUILDING THE COMPOST HEAP . A six layer of leafy refuse is 
spread out to form the base of the heap (5 feet square). Over this 
the thinned cowdung is evenly sprinkled (use one gallon to each layer). 
A further six inches of refuse is piled on and another gallon of 
cow-dung mixture spread over. This process is repeated until the 
heap has reached the required height. 
Weekly the heap should be examined and if it appears dry water 
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may be sprinkled over it. After three weeks the heap will be found 
to have shrunk to about 2/3 of its original bulk. It is then 
thoroughly mixed up with a rake and re-built. During this operation 
water may have to be added unless the compost is moist and clammy. 
The heap is again covered over with attap and left for a further five 
weeks by the end of which it will be ready for use. It will then be 
of a dark brown colour and soft to the touch. The leaves will have 
broken down to a homogeneous mass and the generation of heat will have 
ceased. In newly opened ground compost should be added to eight 
times its bulk of earth. 
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