VALUE OF URINE. 199 



Carbon. Hydrogen. Nitrogen. Oxypen. 

 Urea consists of in 100 parts 20.0 6.6 46.7 26.7 



Nearly one-half of the solid matter of urine consists of nitro- 

 gen, and it is therefore far richer in this invaluable element 

 than flesh, blood, or any other fertilizing substance of which 

 the value is supposed to exist in the nitrogen it contains. 



Urea possesses a further valuable property, in that when 

 it ferments, which it does very rapidly, it changes entirely 

 to carbonate of ammonia. The ammonia thus formed how- 

 ever at once begins to escape into the atmosphere, and it is 

 this volatile gas, thus escaping, which causes the pungent 

 odor of unclean stables. The absolute necessity then of 

 preserving this valuable substance the urine from loss, 

 either by waste when fresh, or by decomposition afterwards, 

 is paramount, and cannot be neglected by the farmer who- 

 expects to succeed fully in the culture of his crops. The 

 enormous waste resulting from the common neglect of far- 

 mers in this respect, is illustrated by the following figures 

 which represent the quantity of urine yielded by a man, a 

 horse, and a cow, during a whole year, and the solid matter 

 contained in it. 



there are of solid matter. Urea. Ammonia. 



In the urine of a man 1000 Ibs. 67 Ibs. 30 Ibs. 17 Ibs. 



In the urine of a horse 1500 Ibs. 90 Ibs. 45 Ibs. 25 Ibs. 



. In the urine of a cow 1:3000 Ibs. 900 Ibs. 400 Ibs. 230 Ibs. 



These figures are given by Sprengel, and differ from those 

 by Boussingault who increases the amount of the ammonia 

 in the case of the horse by 50 per cent, and reduces that in 

 the case of the cow. But as has been observed these results 

 depend very considerably upon the kind and quantity of 

 food consumed by the animals. 



Many farmers give considerable attention to the amount 

 of ammonia which the soil gathers from the air, or which 

 is brought down in the snow; but if the total amount of this 

 which is believed to be thus derived is certainly gained, the 

 quantity secured by 30 acres is not more than is produced 

 by one man, and a horse, and a cow, in the urine alone. 

 How important then is it that this latter source of fertility 

 of the soil should be most jealously guarded. 



