9 



Treatment of Manure, The treatment of manure is very important. As 

 stated above, the greater part of the nitrogen and potash are found in the urine, 

 consequentl}^ if the liquid is lost or the manure is washed with water and the 

 washings are allowed to drain away, serious loss of nitrogen and potash will 

 occur. Again, it may also be pointed out that the nitrogen in the urine is largely 

 in the form of urea, a compound that is speedily changed by fermentation into 

 ammonium carbonate. This compound is volatile, consequently loss of nitrogen 

 easily occurs, and chiefly, while the manure is still in the stable. German experi- 

 menters have pointed out that in the case of horses and cows the loss may amount 

 to 30 per cent, of the nitrogen voided by the animal. The best way to diminish 

 this loss is by liberal use of bedding so as to absorb all of the liquid. For this 

 purpose dried peat would be especially valuable. This material is found in large 

 quantities in many parts of the Province and in many cases might be very profit- 

 ably used as an absorbent in the stable. 



Farmyard manure readily undergoes decomposition; the nature of the pro- 

 ducts formed depend on the amount of air admitted or excluded. If the manure 

 is thrown loosely into a heap it becomes very hot and rapidly wastes. The organic 

 matter in this case is virtually burned, or is '''firefanged" as it is commonly termed, 

 and ammonia is one of the products lost. If, on the other- hand, the manure is 

 consolidated and kept thoroughly moist so that air is excluded; the mass ferments 

 with but little rise in temperature, and nitrogen gas is volatilized. The loss of 

 organic materials will be far less with this kind of fermentation than in the 

 previous one, but in both cases nitrogen is given off from the manure. Experience 

 proves that there is the least waste of manurial constituents when the manure is 

 preserved in a box stall. It has been shown that a quantity of food and litter which 

 in a box stall yielded 10 tons of manure containing 108 pounds of nitrogen yielded 

 when carried daily to a heap only 7.5 tons, containing 64 pounds of nitrogen. 



Undoubtedly, especially on heavy lands, the best returns from the manure 

 can be got when it is put on the land and at once plowed in. The losses that 

 are inevitable when manure is stored would be prevented and a greater amount of 

 organic matter added to the soil. Naturally, this is not always possible, but 

 when the manure must be kept it should be made without delay into a solid heap or 

 mass and must not be allowed to get dry. The practice is sometimes followed 

 of drawing manure to the field during the winter months as fast as it is made. 

 Provided the land is not too hilly, or too clayey, this will give good results. It 

 is evident, however, that this method does not prevent losses, but is recommended 

 to economize labor. When the manure is drawn to a field and put in a big heap 

 care should be taken to make the heap as firm as possible, and, theoretically, it 

 should be covered with earth, but this under our conditions of labor is impossible. 



The returns from the application of farmyard manure are not so quick as may 

 be got from certain forms of fertilizers. This is because the materials must 

 undergo decay before the plant can use them, which will take some time in the 

 soil. The total amount of the three most important constituents in the manure 

 will naturally vary with the conditions which have been mentioned. The nitrogen 

 will vary between .45 and .65 per cent, or even higher if produced by highly fed 

 animals. The amount of potash may vary between .4 to .8, and the phosphoric 

 acid from .2 to .4. Thus, one ton of farmyard manure will contain from 9 to 

 13 or 14 pounds of nitrogen, 8 to 16 pounds of potash, and 4 to 8 of phosphoric 

 acid. Possibly a good figure to carry in mind would be that one ton of manure 



