COMPOSTS
Composts are collections of farm trash or rubbish, as leaves, potato tops, weeds, road and ditch scrapings, fish, slaughter-house refuse, etc., mixed in piles with lime, barn manure, woods-earth, swamp muck, peat and soil.
The object of composting these materials is to hasten their decay and render available the plant food in them.
There are certain disadvantages in composting, namely:
Expense of handling and carting on account of bulk.
Low composition.
Loss of organic matter by fermentation.
Compost heaps serve as homes for weed seeds, insects and plant diseases.
Nevertheless, all waste organic matter on the farm should be saved and made use of as manure. These materials when not too coarse may be spread on the surface of the soil and plowed under; they should never be burned unless too coarse and woody or foul with weed seeds, insects and disease.