VALUE OF STABLE MANURE. 169 



they work directly against the interest of the 

 buyer, by sprinkling their heaps with water and 

 then shaking them out to check fermentation, 

 and thus loss of bulk. This practice of watering 

 and shaking out, besides preventing fermentation, 

 lessens greatly the value of the manure by wash- 

 ing out the elements of the urine the most 

 valuable part of it and also by removing the 

 ammonia and soluble salts of the solid excre- 

 ment. By such means many of these dung 

 merchants accumulate large fortunes in a few 

 years ; and the farmer in this, as in some other 

 forms of manure, confounds bulk with quality, 

 and prefers a large mass of almost worthless 

 matter to a little of what is valuable. 



We shall now show the value of 1000 Ibs. of 

 well-rotted and air-dried stable manure, calculated 

 from the analysis of Dr. Voelcker : 



Water and organic | 

 volatile matter j 



Ammonia 30 " $7.50 



Phosphoric Acid 18 ; < 2.25 



Potash 20" 1.60 



Total $11.35 



A ton would be worth $22.70, or equal in real 

 value to a ton of many of the commercial fertil- 

 izers sold for $40 or $50. The importance of 

 the fermentation and rotting of manures, and 

 subsequent drying, cannot be overestimated. It 



