716 Journal op the Department of Agriculture. 



It hos been estimated by Professor Hosier, of the Illinois Experi- 

 ment Station, tbat the nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the stacks 

 of straw scattered over the State of Illinois are sufficient for the 

 production of abovit 11^ million additional bushels of wheat. The 

 quantity of phosphorus contained in these stacks of straw is equivalent 

 to that in three-quarter million dollars' worth of superphosphates. 



The chemical composition, and consequently the value as manure, 

 of straw varies considerably with the degree of maturity of the crop 

 when cut. When perfectly mature the straw contains less nitrogen 

 than the green stalks, and, furthermore, when the season has been 

 moist the nitrogen may be considerably increased. The analytical 

 results consequently depend largely on the condition and maturity of 

 the straw. 



Ingle, formerly Chief Chemist of the Transvaal, gives the follow- 

 ing as tlie average of manurial constituents of wheat straw: — 



Nitrogen 48 per cent. 



Potash ... ... 90 



Phosphoric oxide 25 ,, 



Lime 31 ,, 



In another place the same writer records the following composi- 

 tion for wheat-straw as given in Bulletins of the United States Office 

 of Experiment Stations : — 



Nitrogen 59 per cent. 



Potash 51 ,, 



Phosphoric oxide 12 ,, 



Moisture 9.60 



These last figures are evidently the results of analyses of air-dried 

 straw, while those in the first table, where a comparison is made with 

 stable manure, are based upon an article still containing a consider- 

 able proportion of moisture. Stockhardt gives the following results 

 for absolutely dry wheat-straw: — 



Nitrogen 4 per cent. 



Potash and soda 6 ,, 



Phosphoric oxide 2 ,, 



Lime and magnesia ... .3 ,, 



Ordinary straw, he adds, contains from 8 to 12 per cent, of 

 moisture. 



There is another side to the question which must not be lost 

 sight of; I give it in Professor Storer's words: — 



" Eormerly, when there were no means of compressing straw for 

 sale, or transporting it when compressed, it was almost everywhere 

 regarded as an important resource for keeping up the fertility of 

 farms. But in modern times there are numberless situations where 

 straw is as readily saleable at a profit as any other crop, and in such 

 cases, i.e. wherever there is a market within reach, it is evident that 

 the straw should be sold as such, and the price of it expended, if need 

 be, in buying some other form of manure. For packing fragile 

 articles, and for bedding men and animals in cities, straw usually 

 commands a price which takes it out of the category of manures. It 

 should be seldom;, if ever, thought of as a manure nowadays in 

 regions where it is saleable." 



