FOODS WHICH MAKE EICH MANURE. 49 



which, for some crops, is not without value, but which is not here 

 taken into account. 



Viewed from a farmer's stand-point, the table of money values 

 must be taken only in a comparative sense. It is not claimed that 

 the manure from a ton of wheat-straw is worth $2.68. This may, 

 or may not, be the case. But if the manure from a ton of wheat- 

 straw is worth $2.68, then the manure from a ton of pea-straw is 

 worth $3.74, and the manure from a ton of corn-meal is worth 

 $6.65, and the manure from a ton of clover-hay is worth $9.64, 

 and the manure from a ton of wheat-bran is worth $14.59. If the 

 manure from a ton of corn meal is not worth $6.65, then the 

 manure from a ton of bran is not worth $14.59. If the manure 

 from the ton of corn is worth more than $3.65, then the manure 

 from a ton of bran is worth more than $14.59. There need be no 

 doubt on this point. 



Settle in your own mind what the manure from a ton of any one 

 of the foods mentioned is worth on your farm, and you can easily 

 calculate what the manure is worth from all the others. If you 

 say that the manure from a ton of wheat-straw is worth $1.34, then 

 the manure from a ton of Indian corn is worth $3.33, and the 

 manure from a ton of bran is worth $7.30, and the manure from a 

 ton of clover-hay is worth $4.82. 



In this section, however, few good farmers are willing to sell 

 straw, though they can get from $8.00 to $10.00 per ton for it. 

 They think it must be consumed on the farm, or used for bedding, 

 or their land will run down. I do not say they are wrong, but I 

 do say, that if a ton of straw is worth $2.68 for manure alone, then 

 a ton of clover-hay is worth $9.64 for manure alone. This may 

 be accepted as a general truth, and one which a farmer can act 

 upon. And so, too, in regard to the value of corn-meal, bran, and 

 all the other articles given in the table. 



There is another point of great importance which should be men- 

 tioned in this connection. The nitrogen in the better class of 

 foods is worth more for manure than the nitrogen in straw, corn- 

 stalks, and other coarse fodder. Nearly all the nitrogen in grain, 

 and other rich foods, is digested by the animals, and is voided in 

 solution in the urine. In other words, the nitrogen in the manure 

 is in an active and available condition. On the other hand, only 

 about half the nitrogen in the coarse fodders and straw is digesti- 

 ble. The other half passes off in a crude and comparatively un- 

 available condition, in the solid excrement. In estimating the value 

 of the manure from a ton of food, these facts should be remembered. 

 3 



