134 SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



the power which it possesses when dry of absorbing 

 water, it is a valuable material to use as an absorbent 

 in stables. As previously explained, peat is slow of 

 decomposition, but when mixed with the liquid ma- 

 nure it readily yields to fermentation, particularly if 

 a little land plaster or marl be used in the stable along 

 with the peat. Peat has high absorptive power for 

 gases as well as liquids, and when used stables are 

 rendered particularly free from foul odors. 



RELATION OF FOOD CONSUMED TO MANURE PRODUCED 



170. Bulky and Concentrated Foods. The more 

 concentrated and digestible the food consumed, the 

 more valuable is the manure. Coarse bulky fodders 

 always give a large amount of a poor quality of ma- 

 nure. For example, the manure from animals fed on 

 timothy hay and that from animals fed on clover hay 

 and grain, show a wide difference in composition. 

 The dry matter of timothy hay is about 55 per cent, 

 digestible. From a ton of timothy hay there will be 

 about 790 pounds of dry matter in the manure. The 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash in the food con- 

 sumed are nearly all returned in the manure, except 

 under those conditions which will be noted. The 

 manure from a ton of mixed feed, as clover and bran, 

 is smaller in amount but more concentrated than that 

 produced from timothy. In a ton of timothy and 

 in a ton of mixed feed (1500 Ibs. clover, 500 Ibs. bran) 

 there are present : 



Timothy. Mixed feed. 



Lbs. Lbs. 



Nitrogen 25.0 40.0 



Phosphoric acid 9.0 24.0 



Potash 40.0 30.0 



