FARMYARD MANURE. 11 



Brought forward ... .. .. 73*22 



Insoluble inorganic matter : 



Soluble silica 5'79 



Insoluble silica 4*11 



Oxides of iron and alumina, with phosphates 3'85 



Containing phosphoric acid 



Equal to bone earth 



Lime , 



Magnesia 



Potash .. 



Soda 



Sulphuric acid 



Carbonic acid and loss 



100-00 



* Containing nitrogen 1*21 



Equal to ammonia 1*47 



t Containing nitrogen 1*26 



Equal to ammonia 1'53 



Whole manure contains ammonia in free state .. '189 



form of salts '232 



The comparison of these analytical results with the numbers 

 obtained in the analysis of the fresh manure exhibits several 

 striking differences, to some of which I beg to direct attention. 



1. The well-rotten dung contains nearly 10 per cent, more 

 water than the fresh. The larger percentage of water, it is true, 

 may be purely accidental ; but, considering the tendency of the 

 liquid excrements to sink to the lower part of the manure pit in 

 which the rotten dung accumulates, I believe rotten dung will 

 always be found moister than fresh dung upon which no rain 

 has fallen. 



2. Notwithstanding the much larger percentage of moisture in 

 the well-rotten dung, it contains in its natural state, with 75^ per 

 cent, of water, almost as much nitrogen as the fresh dung, with 

 only 66 per cent, of moisture. Supposing both to be equally 

 moist, there would thus be considerably more nitrogen in rotten 

 dung than in an equal weight of fresh. This is clearly observed 

 by comparing the total amount of nitrogen in the perfectly dry 

 fresh and rotten dung. In the former it amounts to 1*90 per 

 cent, of nitrogen, in the latter to 2'47. As far as this most 

 valuable element is concerned, farmyard manure becomes much 

 richer, weight for weight, in becoming changed from fresh into 

 rotten dung. 



3. During the fermentation of the dung the proportion of 

 insoluble organic matters greatly diminishes ; thus the dry fresh 

 manure contained 76 per cent, of insoluble organic matters, whilst 

 there were only 52 per cent, in the dry rotten dung. 



4. It is especially worthy of observation that, whilst the in- 

 soluble organic matter is much reduced in quantity during the 

 fermentation, the insoluble organic matter which remains behind 



