216 NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM 



the need of suitable absorbents to take up and conserve this 

 valuable fertilizing material. 



Some Practical Pointers on Manure. The results secured 

 in the use of manure do not come from the fertilizing elements 

 only, but also from the organic matter and the organisms added. 

 In one gram (one-fifth the weight of a nickel coin) of cow manure 

 voided in the stable have been found from a million to 120 millions 

 of organisms, and in horse manure from 100 to 150 millions. 



Manure a Quick Fertilizer. Manure has the quality of being 



FIG. 145. The manure from this dairy barn goes directly to the field. 



a most effective fertilizer, largely because of the fact that it con- 

 tains immediately, medium, and more slowly available plant-food 

 material. About one-half of the nitrogen .is soluble, about one- 

 sixth of the phosphorus and about one-half of the potassium. This 

 makes manure a good fertilizer to use as a top-dressing on pastures, 

 hay land and clover and alfalfa fields. 



Stall Manure Better Than Open-yard Manure. Manure 

 hauled directly to the field and there applied is twice to three times 

 as valuable as that which has been allowed to accumulate in an 

 open yard for a period of from three to six months. Large amounts 

 of the fertilizing elements are leached out of open-yard manure by 

 rains. No farmer can afford to follow the practice of throwing 

 the manure carelessly from the stables into the open yard and there 



