110 ECONOMY OF FARMING. 



nure as if he was fed on hay only, and sets it at double the weight. According to him. 

 it is the same whether we give a horse 25 lbs. of hay. or 10 lbs. of oats and 5 lbs. of 

 hay ; and 25 lbs. of hay or 15 lbs. of dry nutritious substance give the same weight in 

 excrements. But if 10 lbs. of oats will give a beast as much nutritious substance in 24 

 hours as 20 lbs. of hay, then must there be not only in an absolute but also in a relative 

 respect a much less weight of excrement than from 20 lbs. of hay. That the excre- 

 ments of a beast fed with grain are of greater efficacy as manure, we have already 

 shown ; but since here the only object is to ascertain the quantity of manure from the 

 quantity of fodder and litter, therefore we cannot now have regard to that point 

 Count d'Angeville (Mogl. Annual, Vol. I.) says that with a very small littering 100 

 lbs. of hay give 216 lbs. of fresh manure, which is nearly the same I have supposed. 

 But because the object is to know the weight of manure which has lain in heaps for 

 3 or 4 months compared with the consumed materials of fodder and litter ; therefore 

 it will not be too small to reckon 100 parts of fodder and Utter against 200 parts ol 

 half-rotten manure. 



Finally, I must here observe, that, in the first edition of this work, I have multiplied 

 the materials of fodder and litter by 2.17, in order to compute the weight of manure ; 

 and that in the following editions I have thrown away the fractional part of the 

 multiplier, and taken the double weight of manure for the single in fodder and litter, 

 which has been retained in the present edition, while I am always more convinced 

 that we do best in this approximation of computing the manure, to reckon all the 

 fodder^ be it of what description it may be, according- to its dry weight, to add to 

 it the litter and then multiply by two the collective sjim. 



[Thaer's views have been alluded to above, by our Author. He has given a 

 great variety of tables and deductions, which are found in his first volume, and after- 

 wards modified in the Introduction to the second volume of his work heretofore 

 quoted. It may be well to subjoin a few extracts from these, as they contain valua- 

 ble information in reference to the production of manure from the various crops pro- 

 duced. It is not supposed indeed that the products will exactly correspond to those 

 in our own country, though the principles of computation may answer. 



Vol. I., p. 177, he thus speaks of the proportions of grain, straw, and manure: 

 " As the result of many experiments, it is found that the proportion of grain to the 

 straw varies — 



In Rye, from 38—42 : lOf 



V^heat, " 48—52 : lOl 



Barley, •* 62—64 : 10( 



Oats, " 60—62 : 100 



" W^ith peas, it is more undetermined, and the addition of the pods, as is well known, 

 is in very different proportions to the stalk. Count Podewill found it to be as 5 to 

 21. I believe that on the whole it should be given as 35 to 100, as peas are usually 

 planted ; but it would be the surer way to reckon the straw of one yoke (= 1.422 

 acre) of peas at 4130 lbs. (== 3844 to an acre), while the product of straw in this 

 fruit is usually much larger than of the grain. It is the same with respect to vetches. 

 If therefore 1 metzen (= 1.69 bushels) of good rye, somewhat heaped, weight 88 1 

 lbs. (= 1 bushel at 52 lbs.), and the grain on an average is as 40 : 100 ; then one 

 yoke (= 1.422 acre) of rye will give. 



At 3 metzen (= 5 bushels), product 



This, corresponding to the first computation of one yoke at 3 metzen, is for 1 acre 

 at 3| bushels, a product of straw of 467 lbs., and of manure of 1066 lbs. Conse- 

 quently, every added bushel on the acre will give about 125 lbs. of straw, and about 

 300 lbs. of manure. 



" If one metzen (= 1.69 bushels) of wheat weighs 94^ lbs. (= 56 lbs. the bushel) 

 and the grain is to the straw as 50 to 100, then 1 yoke (= 1.422 acre) gives, 



