8 



plant food, but contain varying quantities of organic matter. The simple manures 

 supply only one plant food substance and constitute what are generally known 

 as the mineral fertilizers. 



Farmyard Manure, 



Farmyard manure is the most popular manure on the farm. Its action is 

 three-fold: First, it supplies plant food; second, it supplies organic matter, the 

 importance of which has been referred to in a previous paragraph; and, third, it 

 possibly serves as the main source of supply for the re-seeding of the soil with 

 those desirable organisms which bring about decay in the soil. The composition of 

 farmyard manure will vary according to the kind of animals contributing to it, 

 the quality of the food, and the nature and proportion of the material used as 

 bedding. 



In the case of a full grown animal neither gaining nor losing in weight, a 

 working horse for instance, the quantity of nitrogen and ash constituents voided 

 in the manure will be nearly the same as that in the food consumed. In cases 

 where the animal is increasing in size, is producing young, or furnishing wool 

 or milk, the amount of nitrogen and ash constituents in the manure will be less 

 than that in the food; that is, it will be in direct proportion to the quantity of 

 these substances which has been converted into animal increase. Thus, with 

 fattening cattle, sheep and with work horses more than 95 per cent, of the nitrogen 

 and ash constituents in the food are voided in the manure. The pig retains a 

 larger proportion of the nitrogen, but no more of the ash constituents. A milking 

 cow retains a still larger proportion of the nitrogen and ash, but the best (yield) 

 in animal increase is obtained in the case of a young calf, when 70 per cent, of 

 the nitrogen consumed is built into new tissues of the body and only 30 per cent, 

 excreted as manure. 



The amount of nitrogen voided in the urine is always greater than the 

 quantity contained in the solid excrement, and in the case of the fattening animals 

 it may be three or four fimes as much. This will vary according to the diet. 

 If the food is nitrogenous and easily digested a large proportion of the nitrogen 

 will occur in the urine. If, on the other hand, the food is one imperfectly digested 

 the nitrogen in the solid excrement may form a larger quantity. When horses 

 are fed on poor hay the nitrogen in the solid excrement will somewhat exceed 

 that contained in the urine, but when grains or other concentrates are fed there 

 will be a large excess of nitrogen in the urine. 



The ash constituents are quite differently distributed in the solid excrement 

 and urine. In the former is frequently found nearly all the phosphoric acid and 

 a greater part of the lime and magnes'ia, while the urine contains a greater part 

 of the potash. Horse urine is the exception to the above rule as it contains a rather 

 notable amount of lime. 



It is evident, then, that if the urine carries such a large proportion of the 

 nitrogen and potash it should be carefully preserved. The simplest and easiest 

 way to accomplish this is to use plenty of bedding in the stall. In city stables 

 sawdust and other woody materials are frequently used, and if dried are good 

 absorbents. In the country, straw is still the most common absorbent, but on 

 many farms where peaty materials are plentiful it might be well to use some 

 t)f these dried substances to aid in the absorption, and increase the amount of 

 nitrogen in the manure. 



