THIRTEENTH CHAPTER. 



THE WORTH OF DOMESTIC MANURE. 



/^UR MOST important source of plant foods, next 

 ^^ to the soil itself, is barnyard or stable manure. 

 This is a complete fertilizer, i. e., one supplying all 

 the needed elements of plant nutrition, in distinc- 

 tion from manures having only one or two of the 

 three essential substances. 



The value of stable manure is a somewhat uncer- 

 tain quantity — very much like that of a pound of 

 beefsteak, which may be from the round, and sell 

 for eight or ten cents, or porter-house, and com- 

 mand twenty-five cents. The purchaser' s own good 

 judgment must in each case give the final decision 

 concerning the price he can aif ord to pay. 



The large range in the value of stable manure 

 owing to different ways of feeding, to the state of 

 preservation of the manures, and perhaps other 

 causes, accounts for the wide variations found in 

 the analysis and valuations of such manures given 

 by the different Experiment Stations and agricul- 

 tural chemists. The amount of the three chief sub 

 stances of plant food contained in a ton of yard 



