hought it a good
plan, as you do the work when there is little else to do, and when the
ground is frozen."

Yes, this is an improvement on my old plan. I formerly used to turn over
the heap of manure in the barn-yard in March, or as soon as fermentation
had ceased.

The object of turning the heap is (1st,) to mix the manure and make it
of uniform quality; (2d,) to break the lumps and make the manure fine;
and (3d,) to lighten up the manure and make it loose, thus letting in
the air and inducing a second fermentation. It is a good plan, and well
repays for the labor. In doing the work, build up the end and sides of
the new heap straight, and keep the top flat. Have an eye on the man
doing the work, and see that he breaks up the manure and mixes it
thoroughly, and that he _goes to the bottom of the heap_.

My new plan that the Deacon alludes to, is, instead of turning the heap
in the yard, to draw the manure from the heap in the yard, and pile it
up in another heap in the field where it is to be used. This has all the
effects of turning, and at the same time saves a good deal of team-work
in the spring.

[Illustration: _A, B, Manure Heaps; C, D, E, Ridges, 2-1/2 ft.
apart._]

The location of the manure-heap in the field deserves some
consideration. If the manure is to be used for root-crops or potatoes,
and if the land is to be ridged, and the manure put in the ridges, then
it will be desirable to put the heap on the headland, or, better still,
to make two heaps, one on the headland top of the field, and the other
on the headland at the bottom of the field, as shown in the annexed
engraving.

We draw the manure with a cart, the horse walking between two of the
ridges (D), and the wheels of the cart going in C and E. The manure is
pulled out at the back end of the cart into small heaps, about five
paces apart.

"That is what I object to with you agricultural writers," said the
Doctor; "you say 'about five paces,' and sometimes 'about five paces'
would mean 4 yards, and sometimes 6 yards; and if you put 10 tons of
manure per acre in the one case, you would put 15 tons in the
other--which makes quite a difference in the dose."

The Doctor is right. Let us figure a little. If your cart holds 20
bushels, and if the manure weighs 75 lbs. to the bushel, and you wish
to put on 10 tons of manure per acre, or 1,500 bushels, or 13-1/3
cart-loads, then, as there are 43,560 square feet in an acre, you want
a bushel o