228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The following table shows the plant food taken from the soil by 

 various farm crops. 



^'•Deficient Plant Food" removed by various Crops. 



Weight as Weight after Phosphoric 



harvested, 

 lbs 



( Sound, 97 bushels, > ^•jqn 



Corn, 7 Soft, 15 bushels, \ ^'^^^ 



(Fodder 5352 



Total 



f. ^ 5 Grain, 47^ bushels. 1520 



'^^^' ^ Straw. 5267 



Total 



Hay 6202 



Potatoes, 200 bushels 12000 



Clover, 1 4 tons . . . 



Wheat, U'/'''"' i^,^"^*^^'^- 

 ' { straw, 1 ton . ... 



Total 



20 bushels. 



Beans, J fr'"'' 

 ' I Vines . 



Total. 

 Ensilage, 20 tons . 



USE OF FARM YARD MANURE. 



The general character of farm yard manure has been alluded to ; 

 it is not a concentrated fertilizer, but rather the reverse, 1562 pounds 

 of water, 9.fi pounds of potash, 4| pounds of phosphoric acid, 9.6 

 pounds of nitrogen and 414 pounds of undigested matter, sand, 

 iron, lime, magnesia, etc., making up a ton. The total amount of 

 deficient plant food amounting to 23.9 pounds. The amount per cord 

 is 95.6 pounds, or if 7 cords are applied per acre the figures amount 

 to 669.2 pounds. It must not be supposed, however, that all of this 

 is available, for a part of the nitrogen is in the undigested food and 

 must decompose in the soil, while a part of the phosphoric acid 

 (about one- half of it) is insoluable. From the analysis of chemical 

 fertilizers it will be seen that there is actually more available plant 

 food in a hundred pounds of corn fertilizer than there is in a ton of 

 manure, as has been already pointed out a large part of the value of 

 the manure of an animal is in the liquid manure in the form of urea, a 

 substance containing nitrogen, and which by fermentation changes 

 into ammonia, and is lost, or may be if no precautions are taken. 

 This being true the safest way would seem to be to get the manure 



