Stable Manure 



and 



Commercial Fertilizers 



Weight and 

 Composi- 

 tion of 

 Manure 



Its Chief 



Value 



Comes 



from 



Humus 



Best 

 When 

 Used with 

 Fertilizers 



It is estimated that a cord of stable manure, weighing 4,000 

 lbs., contains, on the average, 50 lbs. of plant food, worth about 

 $3, the remainder (3,950 lbs.) being water, straw and organic 

 matter. For the 50 lbs. of plant food to be rendered available, 

 we are dependent very largely upon bacterial action in the 

 manure and in the soil. In the old days, with cheap labor, we 

 composted manure in advance in order to hasten the process 

 of decomposition and increase its availabiUty. Now, as a 

 rule, depending upon commercial manures for active avail- 

 able plant food, we apply the manure on the soil directly as we 

 produce it or receive it from city stables. 



While there are only SO lbs. of actual plant food (nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash) in a cord of manure, yet we must 

 not overlook the value of the organic matter, straw, etc., not 

 only for the humus which is added to the soil by means of the 

 manure, but also for the improved physical condition which 

 it imparts to the soil. This humus no commercial manure 

 supplies, and in this respect stable manure is superior to com- 

 mercial manures; but the value of this excessive amount of 

 humus in stable manure, as a source of plant food, depends, 

 as we have seen, not only upon a thorough distribution of the 

 manure in the soil, but chiefly on normal conditions of warmth 

 and moisture, in order that bacterial action may be induced 

 and by means of which it is rendered available. Thus, when 

 we rely solely on stable manure, we are more dependent on 

 weather conditions than when we apply predigested fertilizers, 

 or part fertilizer and part manure. 



Stable manure, as a by-product of the farm, will be a favorite 

 source of fertiHty, partly because of its plant food and chiefly be- 

 cause of the humus it supplies, but in market gardening and in gen- 

 eral farm practice the best results will be obtained when 

 it is used in connection with chemical manures. On the other 

 hand, chemical manures not only supply in a concentrated 

 way needed plant food, but supply it in forms that anticipate, 



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