CARE OF STABLE MANURE 



Harmless Fermentation. There is a kind of 

 fermentation in manure that goes on in the absence 

 of air. It is due to bacteria that break up the 

 organic matter, producing rotted manure. This 

 is not attended by much loss, and proceeds be- 

 neath the surface of the moist and packed mass. 

 Manure properly controlled under a roof goes into 

 prime condition for spreading later in the season. 

 The only danger is neglect, and especially when 

 the livestock is removed to the pasture fields in 

 the spring. If no water is added from time to 

 time, hot fermentation replaces the harmless kind 

 because air can penetrate through the bed of 

 manure. Compactness and moisture can save 

 the plant-food with small loss throughout the 

 summer, and a body of good manure is available 

 when needed for top-dressing land in the summer. 



Rotted Manure. Mixed stable manure con- 

 tains in a ton as many pounds of potash as it does 

 of nitrogen, and yet we speak of it as a highly 

 nitrogenous fertilizer. When fresh manure has 

 suffered no loss of the liquid part, much of its 

 nitrogen is almost immediately available. The 

 nitrogen in the urine is in soluble forms, and 

 fermentation quickly occurs. When manure is 

 used on grass, it cannot be too fresh, as the im- 



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