CHAPTER VII 

 FARMYARD AND GREEN-MANURES 



OF the many materials used by the farmer for soil 

 improvement, there is no one so thoroughly appreciated 

 as farmyard manure. It is a natural product of the farm 

 and returned to the land supplies humus and small 

 amounts of plant-food which assist materially in main- 

 taining soil fertility. Even though the amount of plant- 

 food is relatively small and poorly balanced, its use is 

 faultless, almost never injurious, and the advantages are 

 easily apparent. 



The advantages of farmyard manure, and green-manures 

 as well, are in large measure the result of indirect action. 

 They increase the water-holding capacity of soils, improve 

 tilth or physical character and make the soil a more 

 favorable medium for the growth and development of 

 bacteria so pertinent to soil improvement. Different 

 from green-manures, farmyard manure actually contains 

 these bacteria. This is one of its greatest assets. 



In spite of the many advantages of manure, little care 

 is given it. The losses from manure are enormous each 

 year. Unfortunately proper care means considerable in- 

 convenience and often an outlay of capital. When these 

 losses are efficiently checked, much greater results may 

 be expected. 



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