Bacteria in Manures. 213 



and, if under cover, should be kept moist. The average 

 difference in temperature between a loose pile of cow 

 manure from which the water was allowed to drain, and 

 one placed in a tight concrete pit and well packed, was 

 98 F. for one month after the manures were placed in 

 the pits. Heat in the manure pile indicates a combus- 

 tion of organic matter as much as in a furnace. The loss 

 from the loose pile amounted to 53 per cent of the or- 

 ganic matter and 34 per cent of the nitrogen ; in the com- 

 pacted pile the losses were 28 and 15 per cent respec- 

 tively. 



