Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1864-02-11
;fmllnfs department.

FERMENTATtON Or AANohEo-
Maaures act upon the soil m three
vays. They either. supply plant
food directly to the soil; or indirect
lyfurnish it by making available that
which may exist in the soil; or they
;hanee the character of the soil so
that barren ground becomes fertile
mot by the, addition of plant food,
but of something which makes soil fit
for the roots of plants. Most ma
nures act in all these ways, but by
far fle most common action is the
first mentioned, namely, supplying
food directly to the growing plant
The manure from. stables COW yards,
and hog-pens, when applied to the
soil in its fresh state, must undergo
fermentation, and even decompose
quite thoroughly before it is available
as plant food. During the progress
of this fermentation the plants de-
rive some benefit in several ways,
but the effects are much better, in
most cases, when the manure is ap-
piled after it is well rotted, that is,
when fermentation, and in fact decay,
has progressed so far that the whole
mass admits of being worked over to
a uniform consistence.
Manure, consisting of solid and
liquid excrements of domestic ami
mails with litter, if thrown into heap,
soon heats, and this heat is some
times intense. Spontaneous combus-
ton even has taken place, which
could be accounted for in no other
way, The great heat of a common
hot-bed is well known. In this con-
dition the valuable qualities of the ma
nure waste rapidly. s.tf..--
If the same manure be compacty
piled up, or in any way subjected to
great pressure, all fermentation ceas-
es, provided only the usual amount
of moisture be present. This may
be seen wherever a cattle path eros
ses the manure heap, or where cattle
are allowed to stand on their manure,
as is sometimes practised. The con-
ditions necessary to decay or fer
mentation are; (1)air, (2) moisture,
(31 some warmth. Practically, there
is always warmth enough when the
manure is not actually frozen
There is also an abundance of air if
the mass is not subjected to great
pressure. The great desideratum is,
so to regulate the supply of moisture
and pressure, that uniform fermen-
tation will proceed, and not go too
far. The fermentiye action produ-
ces moisture from substances which
before were dry. Breaking up the
fermenting mass, and again packing
it, check the fermentation, and con-
siderable time is. required before it
starts well again, and this is one of
the bestways of making the manure
rot uniformly. When the heap is
built up with perpendicular sides, and
so that water may be leached through
it, an excellent quality of ma
nure may be produced by having
a pump rugged to throw the liquids
of the stable over the entire mass,
saturating all parts. The stable liq-
mid, with the teachings of the heap,
is best collected in a, hogshead or
tank sunk in the ground near by
The liquid thus flowing over the heap,
vets al parts, is absorbed to a con
siderable extent, imparts renewed ac-
tivity to the fermentation OF the
strawy pats, checks the too violent
fermentation of the richer por-
tion by washing out the more SOL
liable matter, aud at the same
time it renders the whole mass more
uniform in Hcharacter. Almost all
fermentation ceases when manure is
submerged in water, or is very wet
The addition to stable manure, of
inert vegetable substances in large
quantities, like muck, checks fermen-
tation somewhat, but after a while it
starts again and the. increase in the
bulk of the manure will also be found
to be q very great addition to its val
ue.