244 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



required to produce one ton of half-rotted manure. The differ- 

 ence in weight is due mainly to water and carbon. 



Manure that is very completely rotted so as to form a black, uni- 

 form, slimy mass has usually lost most of its nitrate nitrogen. 

 Half -rotted manure is the form in which stable manure is quite 

 commonly used. It contains nitrate nitrogen and is in its most 

 available form. 



Loss of Fertilizing Materials in Stable- Manure. — There 

 arc two principal ways in which stable manure commonly loses 

 some of its fertilizing constituents: First, by improper methods of 

 fermentation, and second, by leaching. In regard to the first 

 point, more or less nitrogen is lost by allowing manure to ferment 

 without sufficient moisture; especially is this apt to be true in the 

 case of the manure of horses, hens and sheep, which decomposes 

 very rapidly. A strong odor coming from a manure heap indi- 

 cates that a wasteful fermentation is taking place. Of plant food 

 materials only nitrogen compounds can be lost by vaporization. 

 By leaching there will be a loss, not only of nitrogen compounds, 

 but of potash and phosphoric acid also. The common method of 

 storing farmyard manure for several months under the eaves of 

 the barn generally results in a loss of one-third or more of the fer- 

 tilizing constitutents by leaching; and, moreover, the materials 

 thus leached out by rain are the more easily soluble portions of 

 the manure, and hence the more valuable portions. 



Care and Preservation of Farm Manures. — In caring for 

 farm manures, the main object is to prevent the loss of compounds 

 containing nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. From what has 

 been said above in connection with the sources of loss of fertilizing 

 materials in farm manures, it can- be seen that the causes of loss 

 can be avoided by absorbing the liquid manure, by regulating the 

 process of fermentation and by protecting the manure from leach- 

 ing. We will consider briefly some of the ways in which these 

 objects can be accomplished. 



The use of litter absorbs the liquid manure, preserves it to some 

 extent from immediate decomposition, and also holds more or less 

 of the ammonia produced by fermentation, thus preventing its 

 escape into the air. Of the materials in common use, peat has the 

 largest power of absorbing and holding liquids; peat moss comes 

 next; spent tan and sawdust follow; then come straw and similar 

 materials. It has boon given as a safe rule to follow that the litter 

 should at least be equal to one-third of the dry matter of the food 

 consumed. The following daily amounts for different animals 

 have been suggested: Sheen, three-fifths of a pound of litter; cat- 



