44 TALKS ON MANURES. 



" More, too," said the Deacon, " the way you feed your store 

 pigs." 



" Very well ; and yet you say that the half ton of hen-manure 

 made from a ton of corn is worth more than the two or three tons 

 of pig-manure made from a ton of corn. You do not seem to 

 think, after all, that mere bulk or weight adds anything to the 

 value of the manure. Why then should you say that the manure 

 from a ton of corn-fodder is worth more than from a ton of straw, 

 because it is more bulky ? " 



" You, yourself," said the Deacon, "also say the manure from 

 the ton of corn-fodder is worth more than from the ton of 

 straw." " True," said I " but not because it is more bulky. It is 

 worth more because the ton of corn-fodder contains a greater 

 quantity of valuable plant-food than the ton of straw. The clover 

 is still richer in this valuable plant-food, and the manure is much 

 more valuable ; in fact, the manure from the ton of clover is worth 

 as much as the manure from the ton of straw and the ton of corn- 

 fodder together." 



" I would like to see you prove that," said the Deacon, " for if 

 it is true, I will sell no more clover-hay. I can't get as much for 

 clover-hay in the market as I can for rye-straw." 



"I will not attempt to prove it at present," said the Doctor; 

 " but the evidence is so strong and so conclusive that no rational 

 man, who will study the subject, can fail to be thoroughly con- 

 vinced of its truth." 



" The value of manure," said I, " does not depend on the quan- 

 tity of water which it contains, or on the quantity of sand, or 

 silica, or on the amount of woody fibre or carbonaceous matter. 

 These things add little or nothing to its fertilizing value, except in 

 rare cases ; and the sulphuric acid and lime are worth no more 

 than the same quantity of sulphate of lime or gypsum, and the 

 chlorine and soda are probably worth no more than so much com- 

 mon salt. The real chemical value of the manure, other things 

 being equal, is in proportion to the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 

 potash, that the manure contains. 



"And the quantity of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash 

 found in the manure is determined, other things being equal, by 

 the quantity of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash contained 

 in the food consumed by the animals making the manure." 



