164 AMERICAN MANURES. 



Stable manure and litter from the animals 

 kept on a farm, contain all the elements of 

 plants; but if all these materials were saved with 

 scrupulous care, the amount would be insufficient 

 to preserve the normal fertile condition of the 

 soil, and deterioration, with reduced crops, must 

 ensue. It is folly to suppose that the straw and 

 chaff the least valuable portion of a crop of 

 wheat will grow another crop of equal amount, 

 or that the excrements of a growing animal are 

 sufficient to grow enough plants to raise another 

 such animal. Therefore the prudent father, who 

 has a care for the interest and prosperity of his 

 children, should endeavor by the best and cheap- 

 est means to preserve the fertility of his land. 

 In order to effect this object, he should know the 

 value of all the materials that can be cheaply 

 accumulated on the farm and utilized as manures, 

 as well as of those he has to procure from abroad. 



All organic substances contain a portion of all 

 the necessary elements of the plants cultivated ; 

 but the amount in some varieties is so small, 

 that the advantage gained would not pay for the 

 labor of collecting and preparing them. The 

 leaves of some trees are rich in some of the inor- 

 ganic elements of plants, and would amply repay 

 the farmer for collecting and applying them ; 

 while others are nearly worthless, and their use 

 as a manure would merely involve a loss of time 

 and labor. 



