IMPKOVEMENT OF SOIL BY MANURING. 55 



The compositioa will depend on the kind and quan- 

 tity of food used, the kind and qaantity of litter used, 

 and, to some extent, on the kind of animals fed. In 

 general, the more nutritious the food, the more valua- 

 ble will be the manure. That from grain- fed animals 

 will be worth more than that from animals only straw- 

 fed. A large quantity of litter reduces the value of 

 the manur •; an iosufficient supply usually makes it 

 less valuable because of probable loss of the liquid 

 manure. Manure from mature animals, especially 

 those being fattened, is somewhat more vahiable than 

 that fi'om growing animals or those giving milk, be- 

 cause the latter use more of the mineral substances 

 needed by plants and found in the food. 



Manure from horses, unless there is a too large 

 supply of straw or other litter, is usually more valua- 

 ble than that from cdws, because the horses have a 

 largerproportion of grain food, and there is less water 

 in their excrement. Horse manure is "heating;" cow 

 manure is cold. The manure from hogs is concen- 

 trated and very valuable. That of sheep is also valua- 

 ble. The droppings of poultry are especially valuable, 

 largely because the solid and liquid excrement is 

 voided together. Often it is better to mix the manure 

 from all classes of farm animals than to use that of 

 each separately. The urine is often fully as valuable 

 as the dung of animals. It contains more nitrogen 

 than does the solid excrement. 



Treatment of Manure. — Before stable manure 

 can act as plant food it must not only be brought into 

 close contact with the roots of the plants but must 

 also have been decomposed — well rotted. The appli- 

 cation of straw <*r of grain to land may mak^ the 



