URINE OF THE HORSE, SHEEP, AND PIG. 463 



from it in the analysis — with the view of ascertaining how far such 

 an admixture would tend to retain the volatile ammonia produced by 

 the natural decomposition of the urea. 



An inspection of these tables shows three facts of importance to 

 the agriculturist — 



1°. That the quantity of urea in the urine of the cow is considerably 

 greater than in that of man ; 2^. That as the urine ferments, the quan- 

 tity of urea diminishes, while that of ammonia increases — owing, as I 

 have already stated, to the gradual decomposition of the urea and its 

 conversion into carbonate of ammonia; and 3^,. That by dilution with 

 an equal bulk of water the loss of this carbonate of ammonia, which 

 would otherwise naturally take place, is in a considerable degree pre- 

 vented. Tke quantity of ammonia retained by the urine^ after dilu- 

 tion, was in the same circumstances nearly three times as great as when 

 it was allowed to ferment in the state in which it came from the cow. 



But even by this dilution the whole of the ammonia is not saved. 

 One hundred parts of urea form by their decomposition 56^ parts of 

 ammonia, and as 36 parts of the urea in the urine B. had disappear- 

 ed, there ought to have been in its stead 19 parts of ammonia in ad- 

 dition to that which the urine contained in its recent state, or 21 parts 

 in all — whereas the table shows it to have contained only 16 parts. 

 Even when diluted with its own bulk of water, therefore, the urine 

 had lost by fermentation in the open air upwards of one-fourth of 

 the ammonia produced in it during that period. This shows the ne- 

 cessity of causing our liquid manures to ferment in covered cisterns, 

 or of adopting some other means by which the above serious loss of 

 the most valuable constituents may be prevented. 



3^. The urine of the horse, sheep, and pig, have not been so care- 

 fully analysed as that of the cow. They consist essentially of the 

 same constituents, and the specimens which have been examined 

 were found to contain the three most important of these in the follow- 

 ing proportions : 



Horse. Sheop. Pig. 



Water 940 960 926 



Urea 7? 28 56 



Saline substances . . 53 12 18 



1000 1000 1000 



Some of the saline substances present in the urine, as above stated, 

 contain nitrogen. This is especially the case in the urine of the horse, 

 so that the quantity of urea above given is not to be considered as re- 

 presenting the true ammonia-producing power of the urine of this ani- 

 mal. The urine of the pig, if the above analysis is to be relied upon as 

 any thing like an average result, is capable of producing more ammonia 

 from the same quantity than that of any other of our domestic animals. 



§ 11. Of the waste of liquid manure — ofurate^ and ofsidphated urine. 

 1°. Waste of human urine. — The quantity of solid matter contain- 

 ed m the recent urine voided in a year by a man, a horse, and a cow, 

 and the weight of ammonia they are respectively capable of yielding, 

 may be represented as follows : 



