vilI 



LOSSES DURING DUNG-MAKING 



199 



84 days in boxes with well-rammed clay floors, the 

 dung was not disturbed but was kept trampled down by 

 the animals; this is taken as the period of "making" 

 the dung, and at the end samples were drawn by cutting 

 out sections. The dung was now left without moving 

 for six months, May to November, and again sampled 

 as it was taken out — this constitutes the storage period. 

 Table LVII. shows the fate of 100 lb. of dry matter and 

 nitrogen respectively fed to the animals. 



In an experiment made by Russell and Goodwin 

 at the Wye Agricultural College, the beasts were fed 

 upon roots, hay, and linseed cake, a comparison being 

 made between linseed cake poor and rich in oil respec- 

 tively. The feeding lasted for twelve weeks and the litter 

 was composed of a bottom layer of peat moss, to which 

 straw was added at the rate of 28 lb. per week. Table 

 LVII I. shows the results obtained. 



The dung was sampled immediately the experiment 

 was over, while the manure was still tight under the 

 feet of the animals ; the experiment also took place 

 during the winter months, yet the loss still amounted 

 to nearly 15 per cent, of the total nitrogen. It is note- 

 worthy that all the experiments quoted show practically 

 this same loss of 15 per cent, for the first stage of 



