8 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 395 



showed the end of rapid decomposition. The finished product, which looked like 

 well-rotted manure, was weighed and samples were taken for moisture and chemi- 

 cal analyses. The manure from leaves was weighed and sampled at the end of 

 170 days. Tables 1 and 2 show the chemical composition of the different manures, 

 both on the "oven-dried" basis and on the wet-manure basis, also the chemical 

 composition of the organic materials before any chemicals were added or de- 

 composition started. It will be noted that the manure made from straw con- 

 tained much more nitrogen than the manure made from corn stover or leaves. 

 The original straw was somewhat higher in nitrogen than the other organic mate- 

 rials. 



To study further the reason for the slow rate of decomposition of the leaves, 

 lignin and cellulose determinations were made, with results listed in table 3. 

 The percentage of lignin was greater in the leaves than in the corn stover or straw. 

 The percentage of cellulose, on the other hand, was greatest in straw and least 

 in the leaves. The analyses of the finished manures show that the cellulose de- 

 composed much more rapidly than the lignin. 



Table 3. — Lignin and Cellulose Determinations* 



Percent Percent 



Lignin Cellulose 



Original leaves alone 19.16 26.37 



Manure from leaves, garbage, and Cyanamid 16.16 8.88 



Manure from leaves and ammonium sulfate 31.00 12.57 



Manure from leaves and Cyanamid 29.60 10 20 



Original corn stover 13.10 37.58 



Manure from corn stover and ammonium sulfate 17.58 22.24 



Manure from corn stover and Cyanamid 16.91 18.34 



Original straw alone 15.76 44.41 



Manure from straw and ammonium sulfate 24.03 21.83 



Manure from straw and Cyanamid 23.08 19.70 



*CelIulose was determined by the Cross and Revan method. Tests were made in duplicate 

 and the ash correction was made. 



Lignin was determined by the sulfuric acid method and is corrected for lignin nitrogen. These 

 figures then are the results of four crude lignin determinations corrected by duplicate ash and 

 lignin nitrogen corrections 



The analyses were made by John N. Everson, Department of Agronomy. 



Manure Made from Leaves and Garbage 



After it was found that the piles made of leaves were slow in decomposing, 

 another pile was built using half leaves and half kitchen garbage, with Cyanamid 

 as the nitrogen supplement. The odor of the decomposing mixture when stirred 

 was none too pleasant, but the rate of decomposition was very rapid. The pres- 

 ence of the garbage seemed to speed up the slow decomposition of leaves when 

 they were used alone. The manure made from the garbage and leaves suggests a 

 possible way of getting rid of, and at the same time putting to good use, refuse 

 which is plentiful in every household. From the chemical analyses in tables 1 

 and 2, it will be seen that the garbage-leaves artificial manure was richer in plant 

 foods than any of the other manures. 



