MANURES 



3639 



MANUSCRIPTS 



elements which the plant requires for its 

 growth, namely nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 

 potash. But farm manure not only enriches 

 the soil with these elements, but it also im- 

 proves the mechanical condition of the soil; it 

 makes it warmer, and enables it to absorb and 

 retain more moisture. As farm manure con- 

 tains a great percentage of organic matter it 

 also helps to make the materials already exist- 

 ing in the soil more available as food for the 

 plant. In fact, this service of improving the 

 quality of the soil is sometimes far greater than 

 that derived from the plant food it supplies. 

 The neglect in preserving and properly using 

 farm manures has been a great drain on the 

 natural resources of the soil. 



The quality of the barnyard manure depends 

 upon the kind and age of the animals producing 

 it, the quantity and the quality of the food 

 they have and the nature and amount of the 

 litter added. Its value also depends greatly 

 upon the care taken for its preservation, espe- 

 cially of the liquid part of it. It is well to 

 remember that five-eighths of the plant food 

 which the manure supplies is found in the 

 liquid portion. Farm manure ought to be kept 

 under cover so that it will be protected from 

 air and rain, otherwise it will lose much of its 

 valuable elements by fermentation or by being 

 washed away by the Tain. 



Properly-handled farm manure is by all 

 means the best remedy for poverty of soil. 

 Very few farmers handle manure so as to get 

 even as much as half the possible value from 

 it. There is probably no greater waste in the 

 worlfl than in connection with the handling of 

 farm manure by the average farmer. 



The average mixed farm manure contains 

 approximately about 0.50 per cent nitrogen, 

 0.40 per cent potash and 0.30 p'er cent phos- 

 phoric acid. This means that a ton of farm 

 manure contains ten pounds of nitrogen, eight 

 pounds of potash and nearly seven pounds of 

 phosphoric acid. It has been found in practice 

 that the best way to utilize farm manure is to 

 mix it with commercial fertilizers, after a care- 

 ful study has been made of the requirement of 

 the crops to be grown and of the character of 

 the soil. 



Farm manure usually gives the best results 

 when spread evenly over the surface and 

 plowed under or harrowed in. Fresh farm 

 manure, being rich in nitrogen, has a forcing 

 effect and tends to produce stems and leaves at 

 the expense of fruit and grain. It is therefore 

 better suited to use for market garden products, 



grasses and forage plants than for grain crops; 

 for the latter only well-rotted manure ought to 

 be used. 



Green Manures. Another important class of 

 natural fertilizers includes the green manures, 

 that is, crops that are grown for the purpose 

 of being plowed under while they are green in 

 order to increase the stock of nitrogen in the 

 soil. The most valuable crops in this respect 

 are the leguminous (pod-bearing) plants, such 

 as clovers, peas, beans, and so on, while rye is 

 also used to some extent for that purpose. See 

 GUANO. O.B. 



Consult Thome's Farm Manures; Van Slyke's 

 Fertilisers and Crops; Wheeler's Manures and 

 Fertilisers. 



MANUSCRIPTS, man' u skripts, the name 

 given to compositions written with the hand, as 

 distinguished from printed works. In its com- 

 monest sense, the word refers not to inscrip- 

 tions on stone or on clay, but to writings on 



some flexible material, such as the ancient 

 papyrus or parchment and the modern paper. 

 Other materials have been used at certain times 

 and for special purposes, among them the 

 leaves and bark of trees, linen and the skins of 

 animals, but the "ancient manuscripts" of the 

 classic and medieval ages, to which the term 



