ARTIFICIAL STABLE MANURE. 121 



unusually fine quality of stable manure, worth little 

 less than three dollars at the cost of 200 pounds of 

 ashes, and 15 pounds of bone, plus the labor re- 

 quired in getting out the muck and composting the 

 mixture. 



My object in the foregoing has been to show that 

 we often have a way of getting the equivalent of 

 good stable manure when the real article is not on 

 hand, and cannot be purchased. Now, suppose 

 that wood ashes were not to be had, either; then we 

 would have to use some form of potash salts — for 

 instance, kainit, of which eighty pounds would 

 give us just about the quantity required, at a cost 

 of about sixty cents. Since kainit has no phos- 

 phoric acid, however, we would also have to increase 

 the allowance of dissolved bone, making it twenty- 

 five pounds instead of fifteen pounds. The materials 

 would then cost us : 



80 pounds of kainit, - - - - $0.60 



25 *' bone, 40 



Total, $1.00 



It is, of course, not necessary to adhere strictly to 

 these proportions. They may be more or less varied 

 or other plant foods substituted. Instead of bone, 

 for instance, we might use any of the plain phos- 

 phates, or dead animals, etc. Or we may simply 

 mix a quantity of the common fertilizers, contain- 

 ing phosphoric acid, potash and perhaps a little 

 nitrogen, with the muck, and thus compost it. More 

 bone than given in these formulae will be found of 

 service in most cases. 



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