28 SHEEP-MANURE. 



matter. 1 The amount of nitrogen these excrements 

 contain is only .05 lb., and of mineral ingredients .313 

 Ib. If we take the amount of straw, most suitable for 

 absorbing this quantity of excrementitious matter, at 

 from 4 to 8 lb., then we shall find that the manure 

 produced by a pig will contain from .06 to .074 lb. 

 nitrogen, and .545 to .772 lb. mineral matter. These 

 quantities, calculated for a year, give from 22 to 27 lb. 

 of nitrogen, and from 1 cwt. 87 lb. to 2 cwt. 57 lb. of 

 mineral matter. That is about as much nitrogen as 

 would be contained in 1J to 1J cwt. of nitrate of soda 

 (95 per cent purity) ; or from slightly less than 1 cwt. 

 to slightly over 1 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia (97 per 

 cent purity). 



As has already been pointed out, the excrements of 

 the pig are, as a rule, very poor in nitrogen. This 

 accounts for the fact that pig -manure is a "cold" 

 manure, slow in fermenting. 



4. Sheep-manure. The dung and the urine of the 

 sheep, as we have already seen, are, weight for weight, 

 the most valuable of any of the common farm animals. 

 The total weight of the excrements voided by a sheep 

 in a day may be taken, on an average, 2 at 3.78 lb., of 

 which .97 lb. is dry matter. These excrements contain 

 .038 lb. of nitrogen and .223 lb. mineral matter. Tak- 

 ing the amount of straw most suitable for absorbing 



o 



1 This is for a pig of 6 to 8 months old, and fed on potatoes. 



2 Taken from a very large number of analyses by a number of 

 experimenters. See Heiden's Diingerlehre, vol. i, p. 99. 



