On animal remains

A few months ago, the Poetic Research Bureau invited me to write something for a publication they were putting out called “Garden Rumors,” which was based on a reading series that had taken place that summer in the garden of artist David Horvitz. They provided me a prompt (“what to do with animal remains”) and otherwise left me to my own devices. My pup and I are still largely offline while we both recover from already-referenced injury-by-dog-bite, so in lieu of my preferred fresh compost content—I’m sharing the piece in full here for your leisurely perusal. I hope you enjoy! Please do not read while eating.

<3 Cass

“Remains”

Hair and hoof; bone and blood. Fat and excess tissue. A roasted chicken leaves a rib cage. A lamb shank sheds from bone. The fatty edge of a steak can be chewed, but is typically left on plate. After the meal is over, stock is a common, although time-intensive, fate for the remains. Hair and hoof are less coveted and typically disposed of before eating occurs.

One of the major sources of phosphorus for the home gardener comes from bone. The average bone is composed of around 21% phosphorus, with variations available based on age and preparation. For example, young bones contain less phosphorus than older ones. Bones boiled and ground into powder (“bone meal”) will have higher levels of available phosphorus, around 30%. Bones burned at a high temperature in low oxygen (“bone black”) will have even higher, often exceeding 30%. A bone that retains fatty material will be “delayed in decomposition” if applied directly to the soil. That means an animal buried whole, with no preparatory measures, will require many seasons to become productive earth.

On farms, livestock that die tend to be composted on-site. This requires careful management in order to yield maximum value. The carcass is stretched across hay or mulch, legs bound, rumen lanced, and the gut opened cleanly with a knife. Additional hay covers and completes the pile. Microbes go to work immediately and are quickly effective, perforating the carcass and causing the animal’s internal liquids to rupture. This will result in the pile seeming to collapse inward, a process referred to as “yielding.”1 In less than a year, decomposition will complete and the product can be used on crops.

Some cultures reserve bones for ceremony. In Guatemala, the modern day Maya carefully clean and store the bones of an animal after a successful hunt. Later, these pieces will be taken to a shrine along with a small sacrifice—a flower, for example—and burned. The person performing the ritual will speak throughout, their words “carried on the smoke,” which the gods will accept by “eating the smoke,” thus ensuring the future abundance of the animal.

Oyster shells provide a rich source of calcium carbonate, iodine, and other sea-dwelling elements. They can be ground into a fine powder in order to expedite the availability of nutrients, but shells left in heaps will still decompose slowly. Indigenous Americans along the coast of Maine and California accumulated titanic-sized mounds of oyster shells and other bone fragments, the calcium-heavy decay of which served as their own preservation. 2

Relatedly, much has been made in contemporary agriculture of the indigenous companion planting technique called “three sisters.” Corn, beans, and squash are grown together, having complementary nutritional needs. Less discussed is the strategic use of a single, whole fish as fertilizer: “With gratefulness for the gifts from Mother Earth, the Wampanoag caught fish called herring as they ran up the rivers and used them to help fertilize the planting lands. Corn seeds were put into soft earth mounds covering the herring.”3

Hair has a very high nitrogen content. Just six to seven pounds contain as much nitrogen as a few hundred pounds of manure. If left in a compost pile and moistened throughout, hair will disintegrate “as easily as feathers.”

“Experiments with 32 varieties of roses by William Stafford, of Austin, Texas, indicate that hair used around the roots of bushes produce longer stems, larger buds and deeper color tones.”

Blood can be applied directly to soil with visible benefit. Although blood for the garden is available in stores as a powder and palatably referred to as “blood meal,” instructions require the gardener to “moisten thoroughly” before use, leading one to believe that an open wound might provide a cheaper and more efficient application.

“When we die, our bodies become the grass—” intones the king Mufasa, in the animated feature “The Lion King,” as he strides across the prairie.