SECRETARY'S REPORT. 77 



production of them ; how jealously sliould we guard against 

 their waste ; and how closely should we watch the effects 

 produced by their various application ! 



Manures possess different degrees of power, partly from their 

 inherent richness, and partly from the rapidity with which they 

 throw off their fertilizing ingredients to assist the growth of 

 plants. These are given oflf by solution in water, and in the form 

 of gas, the one as a liquid manure, which, running down into the 

 soil, is absorbed by the fine roots, and the other escaping mostly 

 into the atmosphere to be caught by the ever-breathing leaves, 

 or ascending far up, is again brought back to earth by the 

 descending rain or snow. Tlie great art of saving and manu- 

 facturing manure, consists in retaining and applying to the best 

 advantage these soluble and gaseous portions. The farmer who 

 should so grossly neglect his crops, either during the cultiva- 

 tion or at the harvest, as to lose or waste one-half, would be 

 scouted at, and almost condemned as criminal ; yet how many 

 farmers are there passing for good farmers, who annually lose 

 one-half their manure by neglect ; how common is it to neglect 

 the means on which the success of the crop depends ! A waste 

 of manure is a waste of the elements, and renders it impossible 

 to realize from the land what one ought in tlie present, and 

 destroys all prospect of success in the future. One of the most 

 important things, then, to which we can give our attention, is 

 to prevent the waste of manure, and to add all we possibly can 

 to our stock. 



By the census of 1860, it appears that there are in the Com- 

 monwealth 84,327 barns. The Secretary of the Board of Agri- 

 culture estimates the quantity of manure at five cords to each, 

 worth three dollars per cord, making a total of $1,204,905. 



If we assume what appears to be liberal, that one-fourth of 

 the barns have cellars, it follows that three-fourths of this 

 manure is exposed to atmospheric and other deteriorating 

 influences. Many competent persons estimate the loss from 

 this cause at one-half, but if it is only one-third, we show a 

 waste from the exposure of the solid manure of $321,635 per 

 annum. But this is not all. When the manure is thrown out 

 exposed, it is nearly impossible to save the liquid portion, 

 which, according to Dr. Dana and the authorities he quotes, is 

 nearly or quite equal to the solid excrements of neat cattle. 



