MANURES FOE GARDENS AND OECI1ARDS. 301 



" That table," said the Doctor, " is well worth studying. You 

 sec, that when wheat is put through the process of milling, the 

 miller takes out as much of the starch and gluten as he wants, and 

 leaves you a product (bran), richer in phosphoric acid, potash, and 

 nitrogen, than you gave him." 



" And the same is true," continued the Doctor, " of the hen. You 

 gave her 2,000 grains of wheat, containing 41.6 grains of nitrogen. 

 She puts this through the mill, together with some ashes, and 

 bones, that she picks up, and she takes out all the starch and fat, 

 and nitrogen, and phosphate of lime, that she needs to sus- 

 tain life, and to produce flesh, bones, feathers, and eggs, and 

 leaves you 1,000 grains of manure containing 32.6 grains of nitro- 

 gen, 17.0 grains of potash, and 30.8 grains of phosphoric acid. I 

 do not say," continued the Doctor, " that it takes exactly 2,000 

 grains of wheat to make 1,000 grains of dry manure. I merely 

 give these figures to enable the Deacon to understand why 1,000 

 Ibs. of hen-dung is worth more for manure than 1,000 Ibs. of 

 wheat." 



"I must admit," said the Deacon, " that I always have been trou- 

 bled to understand why wheat-bran was worth more for manure 

 than the wheat itself. I see now it is because there is less of it. 

 It is for the same reason that boiled cider is richer than the cider 

 from which it is made. The cider has lost water, and the bran has 

 lost starch. What is left is richer in nitrogen, and potash, and 

 phosphoric acid. And so it is with manure. The animals take 

 out of the food the starch and fat, and leave the manure richer in 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash." 



" Exactly," said I, " Mr. Lawes found by actual experiment, that 

 if you feed 500 Ibs. of barley-meal to a pig, containing 420 Ibs. of 

 dry substance, you get only 70 Ibs. of dry substance in the manure. 

 Of the 420 Ibs. of dry substance, 276.2 Ibs. are used to support res- 

 piration, etc. ; 73.8 Ibs. arc found in the increase of the pig, and 70 

 Ibs. in the manure." 



The food contains 52 Ibs. of nitrogenous matter ; the increase of 

 pig contains 7 Ibs., and consequently, if there is no loss, the ma- 



