CARE OF STABLE MANURE 



There are soils in which the decay of the organic 

 matter would have a more beneficial effect than 

 the rotting upon the surface, it may be, but the 

 mulching effect of the manure is valuable. There 

 should be no doubt that the loss from manure is 

 kept to a minimum when it goes directly to the 

 soil. In some latitudes the snow and ice often- 

 times prevent spreading, or make it inadvisable, 

 and in many farm schemes it is desirable to hold 

 manure for special fields and crops. Some means 

 of storing manure must be provided in these in- 

 stances. 



The Covered Yard. If the possible value of 

 manure were realized, provision for its care would 

 be made as promptly and surely as provision for 

 the care of a harvested crop. There are only three 

 conditions that must be provided in order that 

 manure may be preserved without much loss. 

 The manure must be protected from leaching 

 rains, it must be kept moist, and air must be ex- 

 cluded. The exposure of stable manure to the 

 processes of fermentation and leaching produces 

 a waste that is believed to amount to several 

 hundreds of millions of dollars in the United 

 States annually. The day will come when no 

 farmer will be willing to share heavily in a loss 



[133] 



