ON THE DETERIORATION OP FARM YARD 

 MANURE BY LEACHING AND FERMENTA- 

 TION. 



During the past summer investigations have been made in this 

 general subject in three main directions, viz : 



I. What loss does horse manure suffer when thrown out in a 

 pile unsheltered from the weather? 



II. What loss does mixed farm yard manure suffer when piled 

 in a close pile so that fermentation is very slow ; but without pro- 

 tection from rainfall ? 



III. Is there an appreciable loss of valuable matter when ma- 

 nure simply dries without fermentation ? 



Losses of Horse Manure in a Loose Pile. 



For this experiment all the manure made in our horse stable for 

 one day was used. The stables were cleaned out on Saturday 

 night, March 30th, at 6 p. m. They were then littered with 38^ 

 pounds of straw, and on Sunday night, March 31st, the accumu- 

 lated manure and straw were gathered together and weighed. 

 There were in the stable during this time nine horses and the floors 

 were tight .so that nothing was lost. The total excretion was as 

 follows : 



Total weight, manure and bedding 529.5 



Weight of bedding . . . . 38.5 



Total weight of excrement, solid and liquid 491. 



Av. excreted per horse per day 54.4 



The manure so obtained was placed, without especial care to 

 pack it down in a wooden box that was not water tight but from 

 which water did not easily escape. This box was placed out of 

 doors and surrounded with similar manure so that the whole pile 

 might heat up. The object being to place the box and its con- 

 tents in the same conditions, as nearly as possible, that prevail when, 



