Many yeaars ago I lived with ...

Many yeaars ago I lived with the Gratt familyin a small village in the Black Forest of Germany. Herr Gratt was the mayor of the village. My room was above the stables and next to the Rauchzimmer (the room where all of the meats were smoked). I looked out of my window early one morning and the Herr Burgermeister was leading a round 100 gallon tank drawn by his horse up to his fields. On inquiry at dinner, I asked what hehad been doing. He had been taking the liquid waste from the house to irrigate his fields. It was released through a ball valve where it fell onto a semi-circular spreader. That was it. He had done this his entire life and his ancestors for hundreds of years is my guess.