Organic Manures 



as pine needles, impoverishes the manure, whilst 

 a rich litter, such as pea or bean straw, enriches it, 

 but it also makes the value of the manure vary 

 according to its absorbent properties. Thus peat- 

 moss litter, not rich in itself, can absorb from five 

 to seven cwt. of liquid to the cwt. (of moss), and so 

 forms the best absorbent in use, whilst a cwt. of 

 earth will only absorb half a cwt, of liquid. These 

 two litters have, however, one great advantage over 

 all others, that of retainmg the ammonia ; only of 

 course a great quantity of earth must be used in 

 proportion to the peat-moss. Wheat, oat, and 

 barley straw absorb nearly 2| times their weight in 

 liquid, but oat straw will be chiefly used for fodder, 

 and barley straw has the reputation of being an 

 irritant. On an average one would allow 9 lbs. of 

 litter daily per head of large stock, that represent- 

 ing about 1 1 tons per annum. 



The straws of leguminosse, although unfortunately 

 not at all plentiful, make a litter rich in nitrogen, but 

 as they are very rough and coarse they are mixed 

 with other litters. 



Variation in Value and its Causes. 



Heather is a poor litter, but bracken is excellent. 



It can be easily understood that the value of 

 manure varies largely according to the feeding and 

 treatment of the stock. Thus breeding stock ap- 

 propriate a great part of the nitrogenous matter, 

 which is essential for the formation of tissue, and the 

 phosphoric acid and the lime for the building up of 

 the frame, and give to the litter much less than the 

 grazing stock, which, requiring hydrates of carbon 



94 



