6o6 



USfaniinoraOV IVOWOaX ^HI [March X, i8S6 



DO iaducement, there is no economy iu storing and 

 using farmyard manure — it is a superfluous labour; 

 but in all populous countries, and uotably in our own. 

 where the soil has been reduced by centuries of 

 cropping, the basis of farmiug is the manure heap. 

 Although in these days, importation of artificial manures 

 has made farmers loss <U*peudent on farmyard manure 

 than formerly, yet it is still, as of old, the central 

 system of the farm, and its careful manufacture, pre- 

 servation, and use are more than ever deserving of 

 careful attention. 



Farmyard manure consists of the solid and lujuid 

 excrement of animal.s, combined with the straw or 

 other substance used as litter, and wheu fre^h consists 

 of about one part solid matter and three parts water. 

 About one-half of the total dry matter contained iu 

 an animal's foddur is fouud again in the manure, so 

 that it is e.isy to estimate approximately thf amount 

 of maniure produced upon a holding in ordiu.iry cir- 

 cumstances when the amount of dry matter contained 

 in the fodder is known. For every 1,000 lb. live- weight 

 of the animals fed upon a farm, the amount of dry 

 fodder daily consumed is about 24 lb. and if we add 

 to the half of that one-fourth for litter, rt-., 6 lb., 

 we obtain the sum of 18 lb., which represents the total 

 dry matter in the manure. To this has to be added 

 three times as much water, riz., 54 lb., and we obtain 

 a total of 72 lb. wet manure per 1,000 lb. live-weight 

 per day. This is only an average, for when animals 

 are fed mostly on turnips, containing 92 per cent of 

 water, the manure will be much wetter ; if on hay, 

 much drier. 



The loss of dry matter which occurs in converting 

 fodder into dung is mostly loss of carbon, which is 

 partly burned in the animal's body in keeping up its 

 temperature, and is partly stored up as fat and flesh. 

 There is also a loss of nitrogen, which amounts on an 

 average to about a fifth of the total nitrogen contained 

 in the dry fodder, but which may be more or less, 

 according to the kind and amount of fodder and the 

 state of nutrition of the stock. There is very little 

 loss of mineral matter. The potash contained in the 

 fodder is mostly voided in the urine, while the phos- 

 phoric acid is almost entirely contained in the solid 

 excrement. 



The manu value of the'rial dung is influenced by 

 various circumstances. In the case of oxen in forward 

 condition, the loss is very slight, while in the case of 

 cows giving milk and in th« case of calves or other 

 young stock, more than half the nitrogen and about 

 two-thirds of tha phosphoric acil are lost to the 

 manure. 



The general character of the ilung made by various 

 kinds of stock is also very different owing to the differ- 

 ent kiuds of fodder, aud the more or less perfect 

 mastication and digestion to which it has been subjected. 

 Milch cows fed on watery diet produce a dung contain- 

 ing only about one-sixtn or a seventh of solid matter, 

 while the dung of most oxen fed on a dry diet contains 

 about one-fourth of solids. Owing to the perfect ; 

 mastication which takes place iu the ruminating process, 

 the constituents of the dung are in a fine state of 

 division, and the whole forms a mass tlirougb which , 

 air does not penetrate, so that the rotting process goes ! 

 on very slowly, rendering it a very slow-acting manure, i 

 It is called a cold manure, since there is no apparent | 

 heat generated during its very slow fermentation. Oi\ 

 that account it is necessary to mi.\ it with :i large i 

 amount of litter, in order to keep it free and perme- ; 

 able to air, so that the rotting process may be hastened. ' 

 The dung of horses is a dry dung, and more open and i 

 porous, so that it ferments very easily and heats 

 rapidly. When too concentrated, the healing is carried i 

 80 far as to kill out the ferments in the heap, and 

 cause a loss of manurial matter. I 



The urine of lior.ses is also a more concentrated I 

 material than that of cows or oxen, and therefore it 

 is very advantageous that the manure derived from | 

 oxen and horses, should not be collected sepatately, but 

 mixed together in a careful, uniform nvmnor. The 

 dung of sheep resembles somewhat that of horses, but ; 

 it is somewhat drier, aud therefore well adapted 



I from counteracting the too fluid character of cow 

 dung. 



There are many questions that arise as to the making 

 I and using of farmyard manure. It may be asked 

 whether fresh dung is not a better manure than that 

 I which has been preserved in heaps. It will usually 

 , happen that less loss of manurial mattt-r occurs when 

 manure is made directly on the field, inasmuch as the 

 metiiods of preserving farmyard manure are usually 

 ' impei'feet. It cannot be said that the droppings left 

 ] by cattle on a field are properly distributed ; on the 

 contrary, the manure is applied in about the worst 

 conceivable manner. It remains for mouths protected 

 by a hard resinous covering, and ferments with great 

 slowness ; it kills out the grass immediately beneath it, 

 and renders that part of the pasture unfit for food for 

 many months ; the rank vegetation which grows on 

 the spot next season is not acceptable to cattle, and the 

 pasture becomes coarse and uneven. This might easily 

 be avoided by a little attention, such as the employ- 

 ment of bojs, or other unskilled labour, to scatter the 

 dung and secure its more even distribution, or the 

 removing of it altogether to the dung heap. The 

 applying of fresh cow dung to the soil is not attended 

 with any loss of substance, and in some cases is much to 

 be preferred to any other method. This is especially the 

 case when it is wanted to improve the mechanical cdd- 

 dition of stiff clay soils ; but, as a rule, some preparatorjr 

 fermentation in the heap is very beneficial. The chief 

 improvement that occurs to dung when heaped is the 

 rapid rotting of the substance, whereby the hard straw 

 or other litter is softened, aud made more capable of 

 yielding up its manurial substance to the roots of 

 plants. The albuminoid matrer in the heap is decom- 

 posed and converted into ammonia, and the ammonia 

 is in turn converted into nitric acid, so that, from being 

 a slow-actiug manure, the dung becomes one of the 

 strongest and most rapid manures on the farm. In 

 cases where it is desired to prolong the action of the 

 dung over a long period, it should be ploughed in fresh ; 

 but when it is wanted to expend itself chiefly on the 

 crop to which it is applied, it should be as well rotted 

 as possible. That the rotting process may be satisfactory, 

 it is necessary that the manure heap be carefully made. 

 It must be uniform throughout the whole mass, and 

 this uniformity should be attained during the making of 

 the heap rather than by turning it over at a later stage. 

 AVhen a heap is not uniform or equally ferment^ed, the 

 turning it over, although attended with some loss of 

 ammouia, is to be recommended, as it is highly desirable 

 to have the whole heap uniform ; aud the loss of the 

 ammonia is not so great as is apt to be imagiued from 

 the pungent smell during the operation. When a man- 

 ure he.ap is carefully mixed and layered in the making, 

 and where there is a due proportion of litter and dung, 

 tlie fermentation goes on equally through the heap, and 

 there is no need of turning. 



The preservation of farmyard manure is a subject 

 which has been much neglected. There are now many 

 covered courts and covered heaps, but as a rule the dung 

 heap is exposed to the weather. In wet elimates thii 

 is a great misfortune, as even with the greatest CAre,it is 

 scarcely possible to prevent waste, aud if there is no spec- 

 ial care taken, as is usually the case, the loss of fertilise 

 ing material is enormous. An uncovered manure heap in 

 a wet district is the biggest hole in a farmer's pocket. 

 In dry districts the loss need not be very great ; and 

 if cafe is taken in the m.iking of the heap, it may be 

 ((uite unimportant. AVhile a dung heap is maturing 

 there is u constant evaporation of moisture from the 

 hot mass, so that it is ajit to become too dry ; and where 

 the heap is imder cover, it becomes necessary to run 

 over the heap with water, or, better still, with urine. 

 In a dry climate the amount of rain which fallsupon 

 the heap just about compeu.sates for the loss of moLst- 

 nre during fermentation. In order that there may 

 be no loss in such circumstances, the bottom of the 

 heap retjuires attention. The water in the heap gradually 

 drops down, and flows away as a constant brown steam 

 hifflily charged with potash salts, and this may occur 

 when the upper parts of the heap is too dry. It is 

 therefore neeessary to have the heap placed upon • 



