CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 



which Is usually sold by the carload, or commer- 

 cial fertilizers. The former, if properly fer- 

 mented, in addition to small quantities of 

 fertilizers, is a very satisfactory substitute for 

 barnyard manure. 



The first essential, then, is the proper 

 handling and storing of the manure. The 

 dung of domestic animals contains one-third of 

 the total nitrogen (the most expensive plant 

 food we have to purchase) , one-fifth of the total 

 potash, and nearly all the phosphoric acid 

 voided by the animal. Its constituents are not 

 soluble, and consequently not immediately avail- 

 able as the food of plants. The urine contains 

 about two-thirds of the total nitrogen, one-fifth 

 of the total potash, and but a small quantity of 

 the phosphoric acid voided. The necessity, 

 then, of preserving all the urine is at once ap- 

 parent; and the best way to do this in the horse 

 stable is to provide plenty of short straw cut In 

 two-Inch lengths by means of a cutter, and to 

 keep the gutters filled with dry earth sprinkled 

 with land plaster. Of course this would ap- 

 ply only to the farm stable. The manure in 



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