MANURE 



Limited amounts of bedding were used in the tests from 

 which the foregoing figures were made. 



Kind of animal. Value per year. 

 Fowls (1,000 Ibs. of) $51 10 



MARANTA 



983 



Sheep 



Calves 



Pigs 



Cows 



Horses 



26 09 

 24 45 

 60 88 

 29 27 



27 74 



Usually these animals are kept in the stables but half of 

 the year, and inevitably some loss will occur, therefore 

 it will be safe to estimate the recovered value per year 

 at one-third to one-fourth of the above. 



Hei'etofore the waste of the valuable constituents of 

 Manures in the United States has been very great. Until 

 recently, large, open barnyards have been the rule. In 

 the northern and central parts of the United States the 

 rainfall exceeds 30 inches per annum. Many barnyards 

 contain from a quarter to half an acre. One inch of 

 rainfall equals 113 tons of water per acre. If this be mul- 

 tiplied by thirty, a fairly accurate estimate is secured of 

 the water which largely passes through or over the Ma- 

 nure and carries off its most soluble and hence most 

 valuable constituents. The loss of value in Manures 

 exposed at Ithaca, in loose heaps of from two to ten tons, 

 during six months, was as follows: 



1889. Horse manure 42 % 



1890. Horse manure 62 <f, 



1890. Cow manure 30 % 



1889. Mixed, compacted 9# 



Even in horticulture, where a more liberal use of 

 Manure than in general farming is admissable, too much 

 reliance is often placed on Manures and too little on 

 tillage. Manures may furnish plant-food, improve the 

 physical condition of the soil, conserve and increase 

 heat and moisture. Ten to twenty times as much food 

 as the plants can utilize is sometimes applied. Growth 

 and development are more largely determined by the 

 amount of moisture than by the amount of plant-food. 

 Five tons of preserved barn Manure contain of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash, 60, 30 and 45 

 pounds, respectively. Twenty-five bushels 

 of wheat, with straw, contain 45 Ibs. of nitro- < 

 gen, 18 Ibs. of phosphoric acid, and 27 Ibs. 

 of potash. Most soils contain large amounts 

 of unavailable or difficultly available plant- 

 food. Manures should be used largely to feed 

 plants between the time the nutrients in the 

 seed have been exhausted and that when the 

 plants have secured a firm hold on the soil 

 by manifold rootlets. Except where other- 

 wise most suitable and convenient, barn Ma- 

 nures should be spread thinly in the autumn 

 or early winter on the surface where plants 

 are growing, thus imitating nature's methods of main- 

 taining and increasing productivity, j. p t ROBERTS. 



MAPANIA (aboriginal name). Cyperacece. Perhaps 

 G or 8 described species in tropical countries, compris- 

 ing strong perennial herbs, with broad and strong Ivs. 

 arising from the crown, and large fl. -clusters on mostly 

 leafless scapes: the small, perfect fls. contain usually 6 

 hypogynous scales, usually 3 stamens, and 3 filiform 

 stigmas: nutlet sessile, 3 angled. The only species in 

 the Amer. trade is M. pandanaefolia, Sander. Its nativity 

 is not given, and it is possible that it does not belong to 

 this genus (see Gt. 46. p. 522). The plant is represented 

 as pandanus-like, 3-4 ft. high, with long, narrow, grace- 

 ful, stiffish Ivs. G.C. III. 21:349. Gt. 46, p. 523. In 

 European garden literature, M. lucida, N. E. Brown, 

 and M. humilis, Vill. (from Malaya), are also described. 

 Index Kewensis regards these species as one, M . humilis 

 being the older name. It is an erect-growing plant with 

 oblong strong-ribbed Ivs., which are produced into long 

 petioles and taper into long tail-like points. I.H. 32 :557. 

 It is also known as Pandanophyllum Wendlandi, Hort. 



L. H. B. 



MAPLE. See Acer. Flowering JO..=Abutilon. 



MAKANTA (B. Maranta, Venetian botanist, died 1754). 

 Scitaminacece. About 10 or 12 tropical American herbs, 

 very closely allied to Calathea, but distinguished amongst 



other things by having 2 of the 3 locules in the fruit 

 empty. Most of the plants cultivated as Marantas are 

 Calatheas; and the true Marantas are treated the 

 same as those plants. These plants are often named be- 

 fore the flowers are known, and some of the following 

 plants may belong to the genus Calathea. 



A. Leaves green, pubescent beneath. 



arundinacea, Linn Figs. 1370-71. Branched, 2-5 ft. 

 high, tuberous: Ivs. ovate-oblong and pointed: fls. 

 white in an open cluster, the upper lip roundish. Trop. 

 Amer. B. M. 2307. One of the sources of arrow-root 

 (see Arrow-root), the plant being often called Bermuda 

 Arrow-Root. The starch is obtained from the roots. It 

 thrives along the Gulf coast, although little cultivated. 

 There is a form with leaves variegated green and yellow. 

 AA. Leaves green, marked with strong, parallel light- 

 colored bars extending from midrib towards mar- 

 gin or with a whitish central stripe. 



splendida, Lem. Glabrous: Ivs. 2 ft. or less long, 

 large, oblong-lanceolate, with base subcordate or some- 

 what cuneate, short-acuminate at apex, above shining 

 dark green and marked with pale green transverse bars, 

 beneath violet-red. Brazil. I.H. 13 : 467-8. By some re- 

 garded as Calathea (C. splendida, Regel). Resembles 

 Calathea Veitchiana. but more robust. 



1370. Maranta arundinacea (X %). 



AAA. Leaves blotched or banded with dark colors (some- 

 times contrasted with silvery colors). 

 undulata, Lind. & Andre" (properly Calathea undulata, 

 Regel). Six to 8 in. high, compact: Ivs. ovate-oblong, 

 the blade about 4 in. long, subcordate and unequal at 



