FERTILIZERS. 



759 



to correspond with the proportion of amid nitrogen wliicli the plants 

 contain, as sliown in the foHowing* table: 



I'roportion of total nilrot/nt in diffirenl rropn inform of amid compounds. 



Per cent. 



Lathi/rus Ki/Ircstrin wafiiieri 27. 2 



AH:illa 23.1 



Red clover 16. 4 



P^sparcet 11.3 



Experiments vrith various manure preservatives, M. Maercker 

 and SCHULTZE {Jahrh. ayr. chem.Yers. Stat. Halle, 1895, pi). 32-40). — 

 In these experiments, which were begun in 1894, 0.5 kg. of cow dung 

 was niixed with 1.75 kg. of urine, the object being to make the ratio of 

 urine nitrogen to dung nitrogen 3: 1. As an al)Sorbent 0.5 kg. of peat 

 was used and the following preservatives were added in difi'erent cases: 

 Superphosphate, potassium fluorid, sulphuric acid, and lime. The main 

 results are given in the following table: 



Loss of nitrogen from manure in percentages of the original nitrogen. 



Manure and preservative used. 



Cow manure alone ■■•iiimii >.i 



Cow manure and urine 



JNlanure mixture (cow dunj^ 0.5 kg , urine 1.75 kg., and peat 0.5 kg.). . . 

 Manure mixture witli 12.41 gm. Mujit'iiihospliates (Jib. per head daily). 

 Manure mixture witli 49.04 gm. .sujicriplKisiiliatos (3 lbs. per head daily) 



Manure mixture with 1.037 gm. })otassium lluorid 



Manure mixture with 5.185 gm. potassium tiuorid 



Manure mixture with h per cent sulpliuric acid 



Manure mixture with 1 per cent sulphuric acid 



Manure mixture with 56.2 gm. caustic lime 



After 



2 



months. 



Per cent. 



8.80 



16.51 



13.15 



9.17 



2.43 



3.88 



8. .39 



1.80 



3.70 



14.85 



After I After 



5 1 10 



months, months. 



Per cent. 



26.30 



47.10 



20.11 



18.59 



7.89 



6.95 



12. 22 



5.82 



4.05 



15. 13 ' 



Per 



cent. 

 30.63 

 55.69 

 17.92 



12.70 



.97 



.21 



4.82 



1.48 



3.79 



11.55 



It will be observed that the loss is large from both the dung and the 

 mixture of dung and urine, amounting in the latter case to 55. G9 per 

 cent in 10 months. The addition of peat had a very decided intiuence 

 in reducing the loss. It is explained that the increase of nitrogen after 

 10 months in this case is due to the fact that the peat caused the manure 

 to become acid and it absorbed nitrogen compounds from the air. 

 Soluble phosphoric acid in the amounts usually applied in practice -^ lb. 

 per head of cattle, adds nothing to the preservative elfect of the peat. 

 The larger application, however, was very effective. The same was 

 true of the Huorid and sulphuric acid. 



The behavior of the lime was somewhat remarkable. Immediately 

 after it was added there was a very strong odor of ammonia, but the 

 loss of nitrogen was not very great. After G days it amounted to 0.15 

 per cent of the original nitrogen, after 3(5 days to S.L'l) per cent, after 57 

 days 14.85 per cent, and after 101 days 15.13 per cent. During the 161 

 days the loss was thus less than from the mixture of dung, urine, and 

 peat without preservatives. 



