34 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1920. 



75 per cent, of the fertility elements in these foods can be recovered in the 

 manure, which can under careful management be made to considerably 

 reduce the ultimate cost of these high-priced feeds. 



As already indicated, the large amount of organic matt^^r in animal manure 

 contributes much to its value, particularly for the maize crop. It is now 

 known, too, that maize is one of the few crops which can make use of 

 organic nitrogen and ammonia compounds directly as plant food, without 

 waiting for their entire conversion into nitrates. No definite data can be 

 obtained for the actual increase in yield of maize for the application of 

 animal manure in this State, but almost every farmer has seen the eifect in 

 increased growth and yield on land where some manure has been spread — 

 and has noticed also the lasting effect of this manure in the soil. 



An application of 13| tons manure per acre in the winter of 1900, 

 without any further application, is recorded to have given the following 

 results with maize in Oklahoma*: — 



iJanured Crop. Unmanurel Crop. 



Year. Bus. per acre. Bus. per acre. 



1900 17-27 18-92 



1903 37-22 1748 



1906 54-06 42-59 



These figures show the lasting effect of farmyard manure. In America 

 farmyard manure is usually applied on clover sod or pastures, just 

 before ploughing under for maize in rotations of three or more years. 

 It is fully recognised there that maize is better than other cereal 

 crops to follow closely the ploughing under of organic matter of any 

 kind, especially if grain is to be harvested. When large amounts of 

 fresh organic matter are present in the soil it has been found that 

 maize, j)otatoes and peas are considerably better than other crops for 

 making use of the slowly decomposing organic matter. On the dairy or 

 mixed farm it would, therefore, be well to consider the advisability of 

 concreting the cowyard, where the cattle stand for hours waiting their 

 milking turn, instead of allowing them to stand knee-deep in fertility — 

 literally trampling sovereigns into the ground and taxing the patience and 

 endurance of the bail-hands as they slush through the mire to bail the 

 cows. This concreted yard should slope downwaids from the bails and 

 end in a shallow gutter for catching the liquid manure, which contains 

 nitrogen and potash in large amounts. 



When the weather permits of the operation, increased use can be made of 

 cow manure on the dairy farm by feeding stock with purchased foods or 

 .soiling crops on cultivation land. There is less loss of manure's fertility 

 elements by this method than by any other method of applying manure. It 

 has been calculated that there is a loss of 35 per cent, nitrogen, 22 per cent, 

 phosphoric acid and 51 per cent, potash from fresh nianure after three months' 

 exposure.f On cultivation or pasture this loss does not take place, as these 



* Oklahoma E.xpt. Sta. Bull. 87 (1910). 



t Ohio Agr. Expt. Sta. Mon. Bull., Vol. 1, No. 5 (May, 1916). 



