MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I9I3. IL) 



At the present price of fertilizing ingredients this mixture is 

 worth about $10.00 per ton. It is a well balanced, stable fer- 

 tilizer which, while still not fine enough to work well in drills, 

 can be successfully applied with a manure spreader. 



The kind of absorbent used should be the one which can be 

 obtained at least cost, since the amount of plant food added by 

 any one of those suggested is negligible, and since they are 

 about equally effective as dryers ( the slight acidity of peat 

 gives it some advantage as it helps a little to preserve the 

 nitrogen). It is probable that one of the three can be obtained 

 by any poultryman or farmer at little or no expense. 



The absorbent and the acid phosphate and kainit should be 

 kept conveniently at hand and each day when the droppings 

 are collected they should be treated. It may be best to weigh 

 the ingredients a few times, after which it will be possible to 

 make sufficiently close estimates by measure. 



The treated droppings should be well sheltered until time 

 to apply them to the land, i. e., shortly before plowing. Any 

 form of shelter may be used. For a temporary plant, or for a 

 small farm, a small wooden building or a bin in a larger build- 

 ing will probably be the best place practicable ; but for a large, 

 permanent poultry plant a cement manure shed or tank is advis- 

 able. A general farmer also will find such an equipment for the 

 storage of all farm manure a paying investment. A portion of 

 this shed can be partitioned off for hen manure. 



A properly constructed cement building will not have to be 

 constantly repaired and frequently replaced like a wooden 

 structure, which rots out quickly when used for the storage of 

 m.anure. The cement building is water tight, preventing the 

 entrance of water from without and the escape of any unab- 

 sorbed liquid manure. It is. in fact, a perfect permanent shel- 

 ter. 



W^ORK WITH DAIRY CATTLE. 



At the last session of the legislature an act was passed pro- 

 viding for the conducting by the Station of investigations in 

 animal husbandry. An annual appropriation was made for 

 this purpose. Work on this line has been well started during 

 the past year. The main lines of study involved are : 



(i) The study of existing records of milk production for 

 the different pure breeds of dairy cattle. 



