kitchen wastes, etc. All annual weeds should be added, 
although it is well to avoid some perennials, such as couch, 
bindweed and docks. When you have gained confidence by 
making good Q.R. compost you will probably add _ these 
as well. 
Place all these wastes into your bin and aim to have a few 
small bins which will fill fairly rapidly rather than one large 
bin taking several months to complete. It is at this stage 
that your Q.R. solution is added to the heap. One pint of 
solution, made by mixing one teaspoonful of the herbal 
powder to one pint of water, is enough to treat a heap up to 
4 feet by 4 feet and is mixed when you start adding the wastes 
to your heap. Sprinkle the solution very finely on to the 
heap every six or nine inches. If the solution ‘is kept in a 
cool place it will last several weeks. 
In’ this, way you get an ideally made heap activated 
throughout its construction and the results will surprise you. 
Keep adding the wastes to the heap together with light 
sprinklings of soil. Once you have mature compost always 
save a little to add to new heaps in place of the soil. If you 
have any animal manures these are added to the heap when- 
ever available and in any case, of course, the Q.R. solution 
is applied. 
If you can obtain woodash this should be added to the 
ereen wastes to neutralize excess acidity. Failing woodash, 
ground chalk or ground limestone, sometimes called Car- 
bonate of Lime, can be used, but in this case only the very 
lightest “‘dusting’’ should be applied every twelve inches. 
Too much lime will result in a poor quality compost. 
The heap should be built up in the above manner until it 
reaches a height of about four feet. It should then be covered 
with a thin layer of-soil and, where possible, sacking should 
be laid across the heap to protect the heap from the extremes 
of weather. 
There are two important points which must be observed 
whatever materials are being used. First, air must be 
able to penetrate the heap at the bottom and flow upwards. 
Secondly, the heap must, at all times, have the nght moisture 
content. To help aeration, coarse materials should be placed 
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