EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURES AND ARTI- 

 EICIAL FERTILIZERS. 



The experiments recorded in this Bulletin are in part the 

 results obtained at Hanover, N. H., previous to the removal 

 of the Experiment Station to Durham, and in part results at 

 the latter place. 



The term manures applies to farm-yard manures, and in this 

 case means the mixed manure from cows, young stock, and 

 pigs, with the ordinary amount of absorbents, — such as straw, 

 sawdust, etc. The term artijicial fertilizers means either 

 the prepared or commercial fertilizers, or chemical fertilizers 

 such as are prepared or mixed on the farm. 



NATURAL MANURES. 



The manure produced by farm animals varies considerably 

 in value, according to the richness of the food, also from the 

 kind of animal producing it, as well as the condition in which 

 the animal is ; but by far the most important factor affecting 

 the quality of manure is the manner oi collecting" and keeping. 



About one half of the value of the manure from an ox or 

 cow is found in the liquid excrement, hence at the outset it 

 becomes necessary to adopt some plan by which this may be 

 saved. The con)mon, and probably the best, plan is to use 

 absorbents, which will readily take up this liquid and save it ; 

 but the nitrogen contained in liquid manures is easily ferment- 

 able, and when fermenting gives off ammonia, and as this 

 nitrogen represents more than one third of the total value of 

 both the solid and liquid excrement, it at once becomes evi- 

 dent that it should be carefully managed, and it was in view of 

 this tendency to loss from fermentation that the following 

 experiments were carried on. 



