COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL MANURES 371 



it to be much richer in fertilizing ingredients. Roberts 

 calculated the value of the manure produced in one 

 year by a 150-pound pig fed on a highly nitrogenous 

 ration to be $3.24, and that of a pig of similar weight 

 fed on a carbonaceous ration to be $1.84 for the same 

 period. 



The manure of swine is wet, but not quite so much so 

 as cow manure. According to Boussingault, about one- 

 sixth of the solid excrement is dry matter. It decomposes 

 slowly. As the urine contains by far the larger part of 

 the nitrogen, it should be saved. 



241. Sheep manure. The total amount of excre- 

 ments voided by mature sheep is from 30 to 40 pounds 

 per 1,000 pounds of live weight, of which about one- 

 fourth is dry matter. Although drier than horse manure 

 and generally richer in nitrogen it is less likely to lose 

 that constituent by fermentation, as the compact nature 

 of the solid excreta is not so favorable to rapid decom- 

 position as is the physical structure of horse manure. 

 It is however, when placed in the soil, a readily acting 

 manure and is frequently used by gardeners for that 

 reason. To obtain the best results, it should be mixed 

 with horse and cow manure. 



242. Relative values of animal manures. Extensive 

 experiments conducted by Roberts, Wing and Cava- 

 naugh at Cornell University Experiment Station, with sev- 

 eral different kinds of animals fed on the common Ameri- 

 can feeds, but perhaps in somewhat heavier rations than 

 the average, and kept under normal conditions, may well 

 be taken to show the relative values of animal manures, 

 although the absolute values may be somewhat above 



