[macfarlane] loss OF SUBSTANCES IN MOSS MANURE 



63 



Calculated upon the 26 -2 lbs. of dry product, the fertilizing constituents 

 are as follows: — 



Lbs. fertil- 

 izing con- 

 stituents 

 per year 

 and person 



Nitrogen 



Phosphoric acid 

 Potash 



0-85 

 0-83 

 0-55 



The total annual value of the product was therefore only 54 cents, 

 which, divided by three, the number of inmates, amounts to only 

 18 cents per annum and person instead of the above calculated result 

 of $1.43. The cause of this enormous deficiency may partially be 

 explained by the facts that much of the excreta of the members of the 

 family had been voided elsewhere, and that the whole of the chamber 

 urine had found its way into the sewer. In fact, it would appear that 

 the quantity of nitrogen saved corresponds only to that of the feeces, 

 or about one-twelfth of the true quantity. 



The approach of winter rendered the use of the outside closet above 

 described impracticable. The large amount of moisture contained in 

 the mixture of moss litter and excreta would have rendered it liable 

 to be frozen solid, and its transfer from the lower receptacle to the 

 upper tray would have become impossible. It was therefore arranged 

 to carry out the subsequent experiments in a special '• Moss " conimode 

 placed in a small apartment upstairs in the dwelling house, and having 

 the construction shawn in the accompanying plan. It will be seen that 

 in the case of this commode the movement was communicated to the 

 inclined shelf from the movable seat A. 



The use of this commode began on the 1st Is'ovember, 1903, and on 

 the 31st January, 1904, the contents were removed and sampled, both 

 use and removal taking place without the slightest annoyance to the 

 house inmates. It was charged with 15 lbs, moss litter at the begin- 

 ning of the experiment, and the product weighed 60 lbs. It smelt 

 slightly of ammonia, and was alkaline to litmus paper, and tberefore 

 previous to drying the sample of 435 grammes, 5 cubic centimetres of 

 oil of vitriol mixed with 45 c.c. of water were added to prevent loss of 

 ammonia. The loss in drying, amounted to 67-5 p.c, so that had the 

 GO lbs. of product been dried like the ?ample it would only have weighed 

 19-5 lbs. The analysis of the dried sample gave 



Total Xitro-ien 333 p c. 



Phosphoric acid 3'52p.c. 



Potash 105 p.c. 



