The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-07-26
Tie Compost Heap.

understanding OF what compostiS. The
word literally signifies "a putting togeth-
er," and no word could better express ahe
!dea. a compost is . compourd;ns, ef
such elements Of plant food us will best
serve 10 render land fertile. A good cook
brings his food on to the table 80 COM
pounded :sith fat and lean, so seasoned
with salt and pepper, and 30 prepared for
easy assimilation that the very smell
stimulates the appetite and the stomach
finds no trouble in its digestion. What
the cook does for the food of man tie
farmer should dc for the food Of his
plants. Compost such elements of nutri-
ton rs will best nourisl vegetation, and
let them lie together and cook during the
warm weather, as they will by ,hc heat gen
Grated internally by oxidation, favored by
the egenial condition Of the air The COM
post heap may be likened to a loaf afofbread,
IN which little leaven has leavened the
wnoic lump, converting by chemical
process unpalatable dough into sweet
food.
The simplest form of vegetation re-
Guires ut least dozen elements for it's
perfect Development. Hence compost
properly prepared is the true idea OF
plant food. 1t is nonsense TO suppose
that because the potato is potash plant
't can 1.-Two on potash alone. All plants
and animals mus. die unless furnished
with food compounded Of aioEs:; 01 more
elements. Not thet every fertilizer must
be such compound, for many, generally
most, of the elements of plant food
abound in the soil and air, and it NAV
only be necessary to supply those that are
lacking in order to render soil fertile.
This leads us to inquire of what the
compost heaps should he mndc. The
answer 10 this question must depend
somewhat on tho condition Of the soil
and the nature Of the crop To which it is
applied. If the soil is naturally full of
vegetable matter and inclined to be cold.
1t woaid DC folly to make muck the basis
of the compost heap. Sand or sandy
loan would be much preferable. On
the other hand, if the compost is to be
applied to sandy soil, muck is Just tho
thing for it's basis. In like manner if the
compost is To be used for nitrogcnous
crop, cabbages for instance, ammonia in
some form should be prominent com
poncnt part. In general it may be said
that phosphate Of lime, ammonia aud
potash are the constituents most likely
to be found wanting in our long cult
| waited fields, and most essential to plant
growth. These therefore should enter
largely into the compost heap. Other
constituents should be added rs the soil
demand, or opportunity is furnished TO
supply them. Among these Wa may
mention chloride of sodium, tcommon
salt) and sulphuric ncid, which can most
economically be applied in the form Of
sulphate of lime, (pIastcr.) All the in
organic clements Of vegetation may be
found in ashes. We therefore put upon
on! compost all tho ashes, leaclicd or
unleachcd, upon which we can lay our
hands.
These constituents Of the compost
placed in juxtaposition and being mixed
and covered with some absorbent, such
as muck, earth, or leaf mould heat up by
chemical action, are decomposcd and re.
composed-in other words are cooked,
forming new compounds which are read-
lily assimilatod by plants. The muck
and leaf mould nrc also hastcncd in their
decomposition by the influences of the
decomposlng mass, tho whole forms a
food which plants devour greedily.
hut where shall we get the phosphate
OF lime, the ammonia, and other constit-
uents of the compost heapT is the next
very proper question Of the farmer
Bones are the great resource for the phos.
phato of lime. These are lying around
every slaughter house, every lanyard and
almost every farm in tho country, dried
by tho sun and mir, and consequently
slowly decaying. Let them be gathered
and broken up by slcdgo hammer if
there IS Ho mill convenient for grinding
them, or they be put into large hogshcads
with alternate layers of wood ushes and
Kept constantly moist for fow months
during warL. weather, when they will be
found sufficiently softcncd to he cut with
sharp spade. In this condition put
into n tcrmenting compost they will fur
.hor dis.n:esrste and add greatly To the
value of the pile.
The. next constituent of the compost
heap is ammonia, and this may bc found
IN bnrnyard manure, night soil, dead
leaves, and dead animals of all kinds,
inc refuse OF the tanncry, the wooden or
paper mill the slaughter house, the cess
pool, and divers other places too numer-
GUS to be mentioned. Precious as ammo
mia is, there is probably no substance
which is moro wastcd. It is going off to
the sea in our sewers by thousands Of
tons each day. The rivers which pass
our manufacturing establishments and
dense villages are full Of it, SO much so
as to be sources of miasma during the
warm and dry months. There is no lack
of ammonia, if farmers will only keen n
yigilapt eye for it. In fact, they NAV
shut their eyes a:,d their noses will teil
where ammonia abounds. Ten chances
to one they can smell it ascending from
their horse-stables, barn.yards. nriyics.
and CessDOols tn ho yyo nod oyorotbo,,S
lands, upon, which it will descend with
the dews and rains. Our advice to farm.
crs Is 10 look sharp for ammonia ON their
own places first, and when they have ex-
hausted this resource go to the village,
where night soil will bo given them for
the hauling, or to the woollen factory,
where waste shoddy, or to The paper milf,
Wherc the waste sizing, can be had both
these articles ahonnding with ammonia.
and both we'll calculated TO heat mn the
compost heap and set the whole in fer
mentation. Living near village. IA we
DO, our great resource for ammonia &c
night soil, and there can be nothing bet
ter. Dead animals is another great re.
source, anC it is wonderful what an
amount of these village will furnish if
the farmer will only lot it bo known that
he has O. golgothn where they may be
buried. Thore Is no trouble In finding
ammonia il we only search for it,
Potash is nos so easily found. When
we could buy wood ashes for ten cents q
bushel these furnished ap abundant sup
ply, hus now they are scarce at twice and
thrice tho price. Wherever unleached
ashes can be obtained for twenty-five
cents per bushei, and The leached at half