116 NATURAL MANURES. VI. 



Various substances are used as litter in different districts. 

 The following are the chief : 



1. Straw. 4. Dried leaves. 



2. Peat or peat moss. 5. Sawdust. 



3. Dried bracken. 6. Tanners' refuse. 



Straw is the material most largely used as litter on the 

 farm. Its composition varies considerably, but it always 

 consists mainly of woody fibre, cellulose, &c., which have 

 practically no manurial value ; its nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 

 and potash are always small in quantity. The average pro- 

 portion of manurial constituents in the straw of different plants 

 is seen in the following table : 



% Nitrogen. % Potash. % Phosphoric acid. / Lime. 



Wheat ... -48 -9 -25 -31 



Barley ... -57 1-2 -26 -39 



Oats .... -72 1-2 -19 -41 



Eye ... -57 1-4 -28 -45 



A point which is attracting great attention just now 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 Ger- 

 many, &c., 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 nitro- 

 genous matters, varying in different samples from *3 to as high 

 as 2-0%. It also has strong absorptive powers for gases, 

 e.g., ammonia, and acts as an antiseptic in preventing the too 

 rapid putrefaction of the organic matter of the excreta and the 

 injury to the health of the animals resulting from such putre- 

 faction. The manure produced is richer, especially in ni- 

 trogen, than that produced by straw. 



The chief constituents of peat, according to American 

 analyses," are as follows : 



* U.S. Dept. of Agric., Bulletin 15, 1893. 



