for a fortnight, but shake or 
stir again before use. 
Use about three ounces 
(about six tablespoonfuls) for 
each square yard. Treat each 
layer with a very fine sprinkle, 
trying to wet the whole sur- 
face. One method is to use a 
bottle with a cork with two 
small wedges cut in the base, 
one each side, Or the job can 
be done with a fine rose can. 
Straw Composting 
Build layers of straw to a 
thickness of about six inches 
and wet with liquid manure 
from a urine tank or activated 
manure tub (described below), 
wetting each layer thoroughly, 
using at least four gallons per 
square yard of surface area. 
A dividing layer of manure 
with a sprinkling of soil or of 
soil and lime b..ween each 
layer of soil is essential. The 
straw should be trodden down 
so that no air-holes exists be- 
tween the layers. Bruised 
straw decomposes more readily 
than fresh straw. Treat with 
Q.R. and then complete the 
heap as described above, 
Turning 
The process of decomposi- 
tion of large commercial heaps 
will be greatly accelerated by 
turning the heap once about 
three to four weeks after build- 
ing. If desired the heap can be 
treated again with Q.R. during 
the turning process but this is 
not essential. Heaps made 
chiefly of fresh green materials 
will often break down quite 
successfully without any turn- 
ing at all but where the 
material is very dry and strawy 
one turn is practically essential. 
Activating a Urine or 
Septic Tank 
If a farm has a urine tank, 
it can be activated by soaking 
sand with Q.R. solution and 
scattering it over the surface of 
the tank. The sand sinks and 
frees the activator to do its 
work. Allow one pint to 20 
square feet of surface area of 
the tank. This treatment re- 
moves all offensive smell from 
the liquid manure. A domestic 
septic tank can be treated in 
exactly the same way with ex- 
cellent results provided that 
bacteriocidal disinfectants have 
not been introduced into the 
tank, 
Activated Manure Tub 
Sink a wooden barrel into 
the soil and fill it to within 
three inches of its brim with 
fresh animal manure. Treat 
the contents with Q.R. solu- 
tion. Three ounces will be 
sufficient for any size up to 
40 gallons, i.e. about six 
tablespoonfuls of the liquid. 
Cover the barrel with a lid to 
keep the rain out. In 14 days 
it will be ripe enough to use. 
Do not use a metal container. 
To use, mix one trowelful of 
the contents in a gallon of 
water to make a stock solution: 
then redilute to tea colour (one 
pint to one gallon). This is 
called activated manure water. 
