around 10:1 while a compost heap of yard waste and kitchen garbage
runs 25:1 to 30:1. Any time highly nitrogenous material, such as
fresh manures or spring grass clippings, are permitted to decompose
without adjustment of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio with less potent
stuff, ammonia tends to be released, lime or not.

Only agricultural lime or slightly better, dolomitic lime, are
useful in compost piles. Quicklime or slaked lime are made from
heated limestone and undergo a violent chemical reaction when mixed
with water. They may be fine for making cement, but not for most
agricultural purposes.

_Linseed meal._ See _Cottonseed meal_.

_Manure._ Fresh manure can be the single most useful addition to the
compost pile. What makes it special is the presence of large
quantities of active digestive enzymes. These enzymes seem to
contribute to more rapid heating and result in a finer-textured,
more completely decomposed compost that provokes a greater growth
response in plants. Manure from cattle and other multi-stomached
ruminants also contains cellulose-decomposing bacteria. Soil animals
supply similar digestive enzymes as they work over the litter on the
forest floor but before insects and other tiny animals can eat much
of a compost heap, well-made piles will heat up, driving out or
killing everything except microorganisms and fungi.

All of the above might be of interest to the country dweller or
serious backyard food grower but probably sounds highly impractical
to most of this book's readers. Don't despair if fresh manure is not
available or if using it is unappealing. Compost made with fresh,