96 EXCREMENTS AND URINE. 



ger proportion in the animal body. Accordingly, the 

 more abundant the nourishment, the more and bet- 

 ter manure will the animal supply. Hence it is re- 

 ceived as a rule, to keep only as much stock as can be 

 plentifully nourished upon the quantity of provender 

 at the disposal of the farmer ; better three cows com- 

 pletely satisfied, than four only three quarters satisfied. 



2. Composition of the Fodder. Invigorating food 

 which is rich in nitrogen (for example, grain or 

 seeds) supplies indeed a smaller quantity of ma- 

 nure, but as a compensation for this it is of excellent 

 quality ; whilst, on the contrary, only a feeble manure 

 can be produced by such means of nourishment as 

 are deficient in nitrogen. Experiments instituted 

 upon this point gave for their result, that upon food 

 of the first-mentioned kind (grain and hay) the quan- 

 tity of urine collected in a day contained half as 

 much again of solid substances, and nearly two and 

 a half times as much nitrogen, as the urine gener- 

 ated from nutrients that are poor in nitrogen (straw, 

 potatoes, roots, etc.). Whoever, therefore, wishes to 

 obtain powerful manure from his live stock, will pro- 

 vide them exclusively with invigorating fodder. 



3. Digestibility of the Fodder. Whether an article 

 of nourishment is easy or difficult of digestion, that 

 is, in other words, whether much or little of its con- 

 stituent elements can be dissolved and absorbed in 

 the stomach and intestines, must naturally be of 

 considerable influence upon the nutritious properties 

 of the provender, and the amount of manure which 



