COTTON CULTURE 4J 



ments presuppose that all the dung and urine are saved, 

 a supposition which is not often true, considering the 

 manner in which stable manure is commonly treated. 



Perhaps the element of manures least understood is 

 the humic matter, of which ordinary manure contains 

 from six to ten per cent. The litter used in bedding stock 

 furnishes much of this, the quantity depending upon the 

 nature of the material used. 



PROPER CARE OF FARM-MADE MANURES 



Farm-made manures suffer loss from leaching or wash- 

 ing away of the soluble fertilizing ingredients and from 

 chemical decomposition. Losses from leaching may be 

 checked by building a covered manure shed, and by the 

 use of ample supplies of bedding material. If plenty of 

 bedding material is used, it will absorb the liquid portions 

 of the manure, and thus, in a large measure, prevent the 

 loss of large amounts of plant food contained in the urine. 

 In disposing of stable manure the modern method is to 

 be preferred, as it not only saves much labor of handling, 

 but there is less loss of valuable nitrogen from over-heat- 

 ing (fire-f anging) . It consists in hauling the green or 

 partly-rotted manure directly to the field, spreading it 

 and plowing it under. This method does not entirely 

 obviate the necessity of storing the manure as it comes from 

 the stalls under a shed, where it may be occasionally wet- 

 ted with water to prevent over-heating. Kainit, or acid 

 phosphate, may be sprinkled over the manure in the stalls, 



