90 



Full grown animals, whether fattening or working, assimi- 

 late only a very small proportion of the three chief fer- 

 tilizing elements, more than nine-tenths of the total amounts 

 of these substances taken in the food, being found jin the 

 excreta. 



The manure of the horse (or mule) is weight for weight 

 much richer than that of cattle, though a portion of this 

 difference is due to the extremely large percentage of water 



contained in the manure of cattle. 



Samples of barn yard manure both from the stable and 

 cow stalls at the experiment station were subjected to analy- 

 sis with the following results : 



Manure from cow stalls (fresh)*. 



" (dry)... 



" mule " (fresh).. 



" " " " (dry). .. 



88.85 



76.33 



28 

 1.75 

 0.46 

 1 . 94 



0.29 

 1.81 

 63 

 2.66 



.21 

 0.31 

 1.31 



* Solid excrement. 



The proportion of water contained in the fresh manures 

 of all animals is extremely high, as the analyses just given 

 indicate, although the water percentages in these samples are 

 below the average. The fertilizing value of such manures are 

 made much more apparent when the percentages of the fer- 

 tilizing ingredients in the dried material are given, as has 

 been done in the case of each of the above samples, though 

 in actual practice, it is best not to permit the manure to be- 

 come even approximately dry, since "burning" or "fire- 

 fanging" will almost always take place. 



Since farm animals excrete such large proportions of the 

 total fertilizing ingredients contained in their food, it is at 

 once manifest that the character of the feed exerts a most 

 important influence upon the composition and fertilizing 

 value of the manure produced. 



