68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



stable manure, it is well to know what the animals that procluce it 

 have eaten. Partially rotted stable manure is worth more than 

 fresh, because, as it decomposes, it tends to become more concen- 

 trated. 



The Preserv axiom of Farm Manures. 



It is not enougli to convert food into manure. The latter must be 

 economically preserved, in order that the best results ma}' be ob- 

 tained. The estimates made in the previous tables onl}- hold where 

 all of the solid and liquid excrements are saved. Successful farm- 

 ing demands that this be done. But is it generally done in Maine? 

 I fear not. Let me mention some of the ruinous practices that 

 many Maine farmers are still following. 



How man}' manure heaps there are that lie under the eaves of a 

 barn, in a barn-3ard, from which a stream of black water flows after 

 ever}' rain. Do 3'ou know, farmer, that the compounds of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash that give 3'our manure heap the larger 

 part of its value are, to quite an extent, soluble in water, and that 

 the}' can easily be leached out, thei-eby causing you, indirectly, a loss 

 of dollars and cents? 



What more conclusive proof of the above statements do you want 

 than the sight of the luxuiient grass growing in the track of the 

 leachings from the barn-yard. If such leaehings could all be taken 

 up by your mowing fields it would be another matter, but very often 

 this is not the case. Dr. Yolcker, of England, carried on an inves- 

 tigation that led to a satisfactory demonstration of the etfect of 

 exposure and leaching upon a heap of yard manure. He exposed 

 manure under four different conditions, and by weighings and analy- 

 ses at stated periods, was able to take account of the changes and 

 loss that were taking place. The manure was submitted to the 

 various conditions for nearly a year, which were as follows : 



No. 1 . Fresh manure exposed in a heap against a wall. 



No. 2. Fresh manure kept under a shed. 



No. 3. Fresh manure spread in open yard. 



No. 4. Well rotted manure exposed in a heap against a wall. 



When the manure was fii-st placed under the above named condi- 

 tions, it was weighed and analyzed, and during the year's time that 

 it remained where it was placed, was weighed and analyzed four 

 more times, in order to discover the changes that were going on. In 

 the following tables are given the dates at which the weighings and 



