MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



taina minute traces of phosphoric acid, but is rich in nitrogen and the 

 alkalies (including potash and soda). In the experiments at the 

 Pennsylvania Station, it was observed that the urine of milch cows 

 contained about one-half of the nitrogen and three-fourths of the 

 potash of the food consumed, but almost no phosphoric acid. The 

 dung, on the other hand, contained about one-third of the nitrogen, 

 one-sixth of the potash, and three-fourths of the phosphoric acid of 

 the food. The remainder of the fertilizing constituents was found 

 in the milk. In experiments with sheep at the Maine Experiment 

 Station it was found that the urine contained nearly half the potash 

 of the total excreta and from half to three-fourths of the nitrogen, 

 but no phosphoric acid, the latter being wholly in the solid excre- 

 ment. Urine used alone is, therefore, an incomplete fertilizer, and 

 should, as a rule, be supplemented by phosphates. It is best, how- 

 ever, to apply it along with the dung, which contains a considerable 

 amount of phosphoric acid, but much less potash than the urine. 

 These facts help to explain why leachings from mixed manure are 

 often more valuable as a fertilizer than either dung or urine alone. 

 The leachings contain, in addition to the constituents of the urine, 

 the soluble matter of the dung, in which there is a considerable 

 amount of phosphoric acid. Mixing the solid and liquid manure 

 insures a better balanced fertilizer as regards potash, as well as 

 phosphoric acid. Experiments made at the New Jersey Station 

 show that the potash of cow dung varied from 0.13 to 0.27 per cent; 

 in mixed dung and urine from 0.28 to 0.73 per cent, the percent- 

 age of phosphoric acid in the mixed manure being substantially the 

 same as in the dung alone. The comparative value of solid and 

 liquid manure, as indicated by chemical composition, is shown in 

 the following table : 



Composition of Solid and Liquid Excrement of Farm Animals. 



The urine is seen to be much richer than the solid dung in 

 every case except that of hogs, in which the high percentage of 

 water (97.5) causes the percentages of the other constituents to fall 

 below those of the same constituents in the solid dung. The fact 

 that the urine of all farm animals (including hogs) is much richer 

 than the solid excrement is strikingly brought out in the following 

 table, which shows the composition of the dung and urine after 

 the water has been completely removed: 



