VI. 



MANURING AND GENERAL MANURES 



111 



1. Straw. 4. Dried leaves. 



2. Peat or peat moss. 5. Sawdust. 



3. Dried bracken. 6. Tanners' refuse. 



Straiv is the material most largely used as litter on the farm. Its 

 composition varies considerably, but it always consists mainly of woody 

 fibre, cellulose, etc., which have practically no manurial value ; its 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are always small in quantity. 

 The average proportion of manurial constituents in the straw of differ- 

 ent plants is seen in the following table : 



A point which has recently attracted great attention is the general 

 occurrence of denitrifying organisms on the outsides of the stems of 

 wheat and other straws (see Chap. IV). 



Mingled with the litter, there are generally considerable quantities 

 of the wasted fodder supplied to the cattle or horses, consisting often 

 of hay or straw. The manurial value of such material is similar to 

 that of the straw used as litter. 



Peat, or better, peat moss, is largely used as litter in Germany, 

 and, to some extent, in town stables in England. It possesses great 

 porosity and absorptive powers for liquids, and in itself often contains 

 a considerable quantity of nitrogenous matters, varying in different 

 samples from 0'3 to as high as 2'0 per cent. It also has strong ab- 

 sorptive powers for gases, e.g., ammonia, and acts as an antiseptic in 

 preventing the too rapid putrefaction of the organic matter of the ex- 

 creta and the injury to the health of the animals resulting from such 

 putrefaction. The manure produced is richer, especially in nitrogen, 

 than that produced by straw. 



The chief manurial constituents of peat, according to American 

 analyses, 1 are as follows : 



Water 61-50 per cent. 



Nitrogen 0-85 



Potash 0-18 



Phosphorus pentoxide ..... 0'08 ,, 



Dyer found in peat moss and wheat straw 



. Dept. of Agric., Bulletin 15, 1893. 



