530 AGRICULTURE. 



tilizers, and the consequent neglect of fallow crops and animal 

 manures. 



Farm-yard manure contains an immense amount of water, but 

 if dry matter alone be considered, the nature and proportion of 

 the materials added by it to the soil do not usually differ very 

 widely from those in the fallow crop ; the effects of its appli- 

 cation are substantially the same as are produced by the turning 

 under of a fallow crop. The value of farm-yard manure depends 

 upon the composition of the feeding-stuff, the manner of saving 

 and applying the manure, and, in some measure, upon the kind, 

 age, and breed of animals kept. No animal adds anything to 

 the feeding-stuff in converting it into manure. Young and 

 growing animals extract from the feed the elements which form 

 their bones and other tissues. Mature animals, whose bones 

 are complete, and whose growth has ceased, practically return 

 the whole of the valuable fertilizing elements of their food 

 supply in the manure. Young animals, reared on the farm and 

 sold off, make much larger draught upon the soil than mature 

 animals bought to be fattened and sold. This important con- 

 sideration is frequently left entirely out of view. 



It is perfectly clear that those animal industries which involve 

 the handling of mature animals make larger returns to the soil, 

 from a given amount of feeding-stuff, than those which involve 

 the rearing of young animals for sale. To put the matter in 

 simpler form, it may be said that the manure of mature animals 

 is of more value than that of young and actively growing ani- 

 mals. Of course the value of a ton of farm-yard manure will 

 depend largely upon the amount of coarse fodder, straw, and 

 water it contains, besides the excreta, or food residue, of the 

 animals fed. Dollar and cent valuations of farm-yard manure 

 serve well enough for comparison, but they depend so largely 

 upon a multitude of ever-varying factors that they are delusive. 

 The same remark applies, with greater force, to dollar and cent 

 valuations of chemical or commercial fertilizers. 



Feeding-stuffs, like cotton seed, linseed, and the like, which 

 abound in combined nitrogen, and also in the ash minerals re- 

 quired by crops, yield manure of great value ; whereas, ensilage, 

 or dry fodder, straw, and hay, yield manure of little value. To 

 understand such facts, no recourse is necessary to any other 



