234 



FARMYARD MANURE 



[chap. 



composition of farmyard manure as met with in practice. 

 It is naturally extremely variable according to the 

 nature of the animal, and of the food, and again 

 according to the method of making adopted, and the 

 age of the product. The average of a large number of 

 analyses at Rothamsted would show that ordinary 

 farmyard manure contains about three-quarters of its 

 weight of water, about 6 parts per thousand of nitrogen, 

 2 to 3 of phosphoric acid, and 3 to 4 of potash, or 

 about 15 lb. of nitrogen, 5 lb. of phosphoric acid, and 

 7 lb. of potash per ton. Thus, farmyard manure is in 

 the main a nitrogenous fertiliser, and as an all-round 

 manure it is somewhat deficient in phosphoric acid for 

 the majority of crops. The effect of feeding and 

 management is well seen in the first four analyses given 

 in Table XXIV. 



Table XXIV.— Composition of Farmyard Manure. 



No. I shows that fresh manure taken from under the 

 feet of the animals contained about 0-59 per cent, of 



