306 



TALKS 



MANURES. 



"A ton of fresh horse-manure," said the Doctor, "contains 

 about 9 Ibs. of nitrogen ; a ton of fresh cow-dung about 6 Ibs.; a 

 ton of fresh sheep-dung, 11 Ibs., and a ton of fresh pig-manure, 12 

 Ibs. But if the Deacon and you weighed correctly, a ' load ' or 

 cord of cow-manure would contain more nitrogen than a load of 

 pressed horse-manure. The figures are as follows : 



A load of 50 bushels of fresh horse-dung, pressed 



and free from straw contains 12.37 Ibs. nitrogen. 



A load of fresh cow-dung 13.05' " " 



" " sheep ' 10.45 " " 



" pig " 22.50 " 



" These figures," said I, '* show how necessary it is to look at 

 this subject in all its aspects. If I was buying manures by weight, 

 I would much prefer a ton of sheep-manure, if it had been made 

 under cover, to any other manure except hen-dung, especially 

 if it contained all the urine from the sheep. But if buying manure 

 by the load or cord, that from a covered pig-pen would be prefer- 

 able to any other." 



LIQUID MANURE ON THE FARM. 



I have never had any personal experience in the use of liquid 

 manure to any crop except grass. At Rothamsted, Mr. Lawes used 

 to draw out the liquid manure in a water-cart, and distribute it 

 on grass land. 



" What we want to know," said the Deacon, " is whether the 

 liquid from our barn-yards will pay to draw out. If it will, the 

 proper method of using it can be left to our ingenuity. " 



According to Prof. Wolff, a ton of urine from horses, cows, 

 sheep, and swine, contains the following amounts of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash, and, for the sake of comparison, I 

 give the composition of drainage from the barn-yard, and also of 

 fresh dung of the different animals : 



TABLE SHOWING THE AMOUNT OP NITROGEN, PHOSPHORIC ACID, AND POTASH, 



IN ONE TON OP THE FRESH DUNG AND FUESH URINE OP DIFFERENT 



ANIMALS, AND ALSO OF THE DRAINAGE OF THE BARN-YARD. 



