460 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



ing an efficient and at the same time an economical diet for his 

 live stock. 



The question whether one or the other fodder mixture will 

 prove ultimately, under otherwise corresponding circumstances, 

 the cheapest one, can only be answered intelligently when 

 both the original cost of the feed consumed and the value of the 

 manurial residue subsequently obtained are duly considered. 



The close relation, which quite necessarily exists in most 

 farm managements between the system of cultivating the lands 

 and the keeping of farm live-stock for farm work, for the dairy 

 and for the supply of food for the general market, imparts to 

 the barn-yard manure a special if not a controlling importance 

 as a valuable manurial resource. The barn-yard manure ought 

 to remain in a judicious system of mixed farming, — not only the 

 main reliance of the farmer for plant food, but also the cheap- 

 est manure at his disposal. The objections raised at times 

 against a liberal use of barn-yard manure ought not to rest on 

 its higher cost of production, when compared with other manu- 

 rial substances in our market. The name "barn-yard manure" 

 is, however, too frequently used without any particular dis- 

 crimination with reference to all kinds of manurial refuse ob- 

 tained in connection with stock feeding and stock raising, 

 which are frequently of widely differing composition. To ap- 

 proximate even fairly the comparative value of two samples 

 obtained on different farms remains a hopeless task, as long as 

 a more definite information regarding the following points is 

 wanting : — 



1. The character of the fodder consumed. 



2. The kind, the age and the function of the animal which 

 served for its production. 



3. The nature and the quantity of the material which served 

 for the absorption of the animal excretions. 



4. The care bestowed upon collecting and preserving the 

 entire liquid and solid excretions. 



Assuming for our present purpose, in both instances, iden- 

 tical conditions, as far as the kind of animal, the mode of col- 

 lecting and the care of keeping the manuare are concerned, it 

 will be apparent that the relative value of the two kinds of barn- 

 yard manure stand essentially in a direct relation to the amount 



