94 



THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



104. Losses in manure. If manure is piled where it is 

 unprotected from the weather, a large share of the fertilizing 

 constituents will be leached out by the rain (Figs. 40, 41). The 

 brown liquid often seen running from manure piles is carrying 

 away its most valuable constituents. Exposure to the weather, 

 in piles, causes decomposition of the organic matter and loss 

 in weight. With the exception of manure to be used on garden 



FIG. 40. A common method of wasting manure 

 Photograph from Cornell Experiment Station 



or truck crops it is better to have decomposition take place after 

 the manure has been applied to the soil. 



A pile of horse manure weighing four thousand pounds was 

 exposed to the weather from April 25 to September 22. The fol- 

 lowing table shows the losses which occurred in this experiment : 



