which has a tendency to produce colic. Perfectly ripe straw 

 is not so wholesome as fodder nor so valuable as manure. 

 When too ripe leguminous straws are poorer in N than cereal 

 straws. 



858. Saw-dust is a poor manure especially if there is 

 much resinous matter in the wood. The saw-dust from gas- 

 works absorbing a large proportion of ammonium sulphate 

 is a good manure. Saw-dust improves the mechanical texture 

 of soils, and it should be utilized wherever available. 



859. Leaves of trees either ploughed in or first used as 

 litter and then applied to fields as manure are a fairly good 

 fertilizer. Their composition varies, but usually leaf-mould 

 contains '5 to i per cent, of N, *i to '3 per cent, of KgO and 

 i to '4 of P2Oo. Sedges, rushes, and ferns are richer in 

 potash. Peat is sometimes used to fertilize soils, as it is fairly 

 rich in N and often very rich in ash constituents, (5 to 20 per 

 cent.) especially P 2 O 5 and CaSO 4 , which, however, are slowly 

 decomposeable. Peat may be used in cowhouses and stables 

 as it absorbs liquid manures well. Cocoanut fibre has scarce- 

 ly any manurial value. When fresh it contains only f o6 per 

 cent, of N and when dry -2 per cent. Tannery refuse also 

 decomposing very slowly is a poor manure. It should be 

 burnt and the ash used as manure. Of all vegetable manures, 

 oil-cakes are richest in nitrogen. Rape-cake, earth-nut oil- 

 cake, cotton-cake, linseed-cake and cocoanut-cake, should be 

 first used as cattle food and the excrements applied as manure. 

 Oil-cakes getting mouldy or rancid, and such oil cakes as 

 mustard-cake, w^w-seed-cake, castor-cake and mahua-cake, 

 should not be used as cattle-food, but as general-manures in 

 preference to dungs. 



860. Seeds of all plants are richer in manurial constitu- 

 ents than flowers, and flowers richer than leaves, and leaves 

 richer than sterns. Rape-cake used alone for turnips and 

 potatoes encourage too luxuriant growth of leaves. It should 

 be used along with phosphates. Two cwt. of oil-cake, is a sub- 



