CROPS AND SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



repay all the cost. It should be used daily on 

 the moist manure, as made in the stable, and 

 preferably just before bedding is added, so that 

 the phosphate will not come into direct contact 

 with the feet of the animals. Some stockmen 

 prefer the use of acid phosphate and kainit mixed 

 half-and-half. The latter is a carrier of potash, 

 and is a preservative of nitrogen. 



The use of ground rock-phosphate in stables is 

 coming into use in some localities, chiefly through 

 the recommendation that it be mixed with manure 

 to secure availability of its own plant-food. It is 

 not a preservative except in so far as it acts physi- 

 cally as an absorbent. It should not displace 

 acid phosphate in stables, the preservation of 

 nitrogen in the manure being the vital matter. 



Spreading as Made. When farm conditions 

 make it feasible to draw and spread manure fast 

 as made, the danger of heavy loss in storing is 

 escaped. There is evidence that no appreciable 

 escape of fertility occurs when manure is spread 

 on land that is not covered with ice. The phos- 

 phoric acid and potash are minerals, and leach 

 into the soil. The nitrogen does not change into 

 a gas in any appreciable amount when spread over 

 the surface, and it likewise leaches into the soil. 



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