CHAPTER XIV 

 THE USE OF STABLE MANURE 



Controlling Factors. The farm supply of stable 

 manure is a carrier of plant-food, returning to the 

 soil four fifths of all the fertility removed in the 

 crops fed, but it is much more than this. Land 

 which receives only plant-food, as may be the 

 case when fertility is supplied in commercial 

 fertilizers, loses good physical condition. Organic 

 matter is needed for maintenance of physical con- 

 dition, the retention of soil moisture, the freeing 

 of inert minerals in the land, and the promotion 

 of bacterial life in the soil. No small share of the 

 value of a ton of manure is due to its organic mat- 

 ter. This is a factor in the problem when deciding 

 what disposition of the manure will pay best. 

 One field may be in condition to respond fully to 

 the use of commercial fertilizers, while another 

 is too deficient in humus for best results. Some 

 crops are more insistent upon supplies of organic 

 matter than others. 



Again, the disposition of the manure depends 

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