CHAPTER X, 



RETiATION OF FOaD TO MANURE. 



Quantity of the Maimre — How calculatDd — Character of manure from 

 horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. The Litter— Its absorbent power 

 and composition. Comjposition of Mianzwe— Proportion of the ash 

 constituents and nitrogen of the food which appears in the liquid 

 and solid excrements — Composition of the excrements of sheep, 

 oxen and cows. Manure Value of Foods — The quantity of nitrogeij 

 and ash constituents contained in foods and their relative manure 

 value. — The actual value of the manure under various circum- 

 stances — Economic use of manure. 



Quantity of the Manure. — The quantity of manure 

 furnished by an animal is plainly dependent to a con- 

 siderable extent on the quantity and kind of food 

 which it consumes. An animal on a maintenance diet 

 will yield a minimum quantity of manure, an animal 

 liberally fed will produce much more. The quantity 

 of the solid excrement will be much influenced by the 

 proportion of indigestible matter in the food. An ox 

 fed on hay and straw will produce far more solid 

 manure than one fed on roots, the former foods leav- 

 ing 40 — 50 per cent, of their organic matter undi- 

 gested, while of the roots only 12 per cent, is so left. 

 The bulk of the urine is chiefly determined by the 

 quantity of water in the diet, feeding with roots will 

 thus greatly increase the volume of the urine. The 

 solid matter in the urine, being the residue of the pro- 

 cesses of oxidation in the animal body, will rise and 

 fall in quantity according to the amount of nitro- 



