92 PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



value of the excretion from a well-fed animal, based 

 on the current prices for manurial elements, to wit, 

 potash at $4 per hundredweight, phosphoric acid at 

 $4, and nitrogen at $15 amounts to $25 annually to 

 each one thousand pounds of stock. These values are 

 taken from the analyses furnished by the Penn- 

 sylvania Experiment Station. (See computation of 

 rations for farm animals, page 78.) 



As the cow consumes one-fifth of the potash, 

 nitrogen, and phosphoric acid, and excretes four- 

 fifths, it follows that she should be credited with 

 four-fifths of the valuation for every ton she con- 

 sumes. These figures are an important item in the 

 economy of the dairy. They should never be lost 

 sight of in the dairy balance-sheet. In the aggre- 

 gate it means the difference between profit and 

 loss. Of the annual excrement of a cow, about 

 two-thirds is voided in the stable or yard. If the 

 liquid is allowed to waste, and the solids are ex- 

 posed to the elements and deterioration from leach- 

 ing, three-fourths of the fertilizing elements in the 

 excrement are lost. 



Suppose an annual per capita manure production 

 of $24. Two-thirds of this, or $16 worth, is left in 

 the stable or yard. But it does not follow, of course, 

 that the farmer will secure a direct return of the $24 

 worth of fertilizer which each cow makes, even if 

 he saves it all. It would, however, cost him that 

 amount to put back in the soil the elements con- 

 tained in the excrement if he were to buy them at 

 commercial rates. Still, in purchasing feeds their 

 fertilizing values should be considered. They form 

 just as important a part in dollars and cents as the 

 feed value of the product. 



