The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-11-02
THE COMPOST HEAP.
Its Usefulness Demonstrated by Facts az
Well as Figures.

Well Figures.
The art Of making composts is one to
be well studied. Perhaps its useful
ness is now lost sight of in the pressure
of other matters, which never occurred
to the old farmers, who practiced it
assiduously. But the value of it should
not be ignored. As food is digested
by certain processes, so plant food may
be by skillful fermentation in a COM
post heap. There are digestive agents.
such as lime particularly, which may
be used to make plant food soluble and
available for complete assimilation by
a crop. Lime is the best material for
this purpose, and as yeast starts fer
mentation in mass of carbonaceous
and heterogeneous matter, so lime starts
this action in mass of organic ma
terial, which, without it, would re-
main crude and undigested and unfit
for the use of plants. Many years age
''nitre beds" as they were called, were
made for the purpose Of procuring salt
petre (nitrate of potash) for the manu-
facture OF gunpowder, the great natural
nitre beds of South America not having
then become known. These nitre beds
were nothing less or more than we'll
made compost heaps.
A quantity Of earth rich in organic
matter was mixed with manure, and
fresh quicilimc was mingled through
the mass as evenly as possible, so as to
exercise its corrosive action most COM
pletely. An active fermentation en-
sued. The organic matter was decom-
posed, and as the heat expelled the
moisture from it urine was added to
prevent dry rot and furnish additional
moisture and heterogeneous matter for
the ferment to act upon. Whether or
not the nitrogen of the atmosphere,
separated from its accompany lg oxy-
gen. was acted upon chemically dur
ing the fermentation, has not been sat-
isfactorily determined, but it was sup
posed at the time that this action did
occur in the mass through what is now
known as the nitric ferment." The
result was to produce a large amount
of nitratcs, which were leached from
the decomposed mass and made into
saltpeter-the most valuable nitro
genOus salt known.
Available nitrogen is now worth in
the market, III the form of fertilizers.
no less than seventeen cents per pound.
If it can be made by composing the
necessary substances on the farm with
the fresh lime a large saving of money
will result The most available sub
stances are peat or swamp muck; earth
rich in organic matter, such as the soil
of an old barnyard or that taken from
under old farm buildings; the wash
from drains; the household wastes;
scourings OF bitches; black soil from
woods, and a small proportion of coarse
manure and liquid from the stables.
These are built up into fiat square
heaps and fresh air-slacked lime is
evenly scattered over them as the heap
is built up. The heap is made in an
open place where it can be kept moist
by the rains, and is left to ferment for
three months. Such compost heaps.
large enough to contain hundreds of
tons, are often to be seen on the best
English farms. and they may be well
considered as the reason why the
average yield of the crops is two and
half times rs much as that OF American
farms. N. Y. Ledger.