When the Poo is Hot!

## The Farmer’s Magazine

As we spoke of the uses of salt yesterday, I dare say most of you knew most of those uses for salt, if not all of them. But I can’t simply move on yet. I dug long and hard into the manure pile, and it’s too good to not share! Lists of uses of salt seemed always to omit the manure pile out back, but finally I discovered a man who writes with firsthand experience in the matter. From the 9th edition of an 1844 publication out of London called the “Farmer’s Magazine” comes an article about salting the manure pile. He speaks of the fermentation process of piled manure losing large amounts of nitrogen in the form of carbonate of ammonia. He says this is why it becomes so much lighter over time. This can be remedied by adding the chloride of sodium (salt) to fresh manure while it’s still hot and steamy. During this time, it will most readily combine with the salt, and form two new substances; muriate of ammonia and carbonate of soda... Now these are old words for ammonium chloride and baking soda. What good are these in manure?!

## Whodathunkit?

Ammonium chloride is made up of nitrogen and chlorine which are of major value to plant growth. It’s a main ingredient in modern fertilizers! It helps crop yield and prevents disease by killing harmful bacterias. The baking soda element also helps pH levels in the soil by lowering acidity, and it kills fungal spores. Endless gardening tips and advice involve sprinkling baking soda around your plants. The salt also kills weeds and their seeds along with insects and their larvae, which eat huge portions of the valuable dung.

## Self-Check

So what can we get from this for our Christian lives? Number one: the exchange happens best when the dung is fresh. Didn’t most of us come to Christ when things were in the deepest dung of life? But moving beyond ourselves, how can we be “salt to the manure pile of life”? Is it not when other’s lives are lowest that they will turn to you, their Christian friend at work, and confide in you. You’re always too serious, until things get serious. Life gets hard, and all the weather small talk and their sports talk buddies are useless. Go in to their manure pile at that time! You can apply it spiritually, but this is the time to kill that fungus and bacteria. You can show them the way to end the weeds and insects that plague the ground of their life. Christian, you can lower the acidity levels of life, and help produce more crop yield! You just have to dive in when things are the worst to make things better!

## What Did He Say?