CHAPTER XXIV 

 HANDLING MANURE; MATERIAL FOR BEDDING 



Composition and Value of Manure. In all countries 

 where agriculture has been highly developed, the value of 

 barnyard manure is fully appreciated. It is saved with 

 great care, and applied to the soil under the best conditions 

 possible. In purchasing feeds, the probable fertilizing value 

 is taken into account, as well as the feeding value. 



Experiments at the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Ex- 

 periment stations have shown that on the average per 1000 

 pounds live weight, the cow excretes 46 pounds of dung 

 and 27 pounds of urine, a total of approximately 70 pounds 

 per day, exclusive of bedding. This amounts to over 12 

 tons per year without bedding, and from 14 to 15 tons with 

 bedding. 



According to Professor Snyder of the Minnesota Experi- 

 ment Station, barnyard manure gives a return of from $2 to 

 $ 3 per ton when applied to the soil, the latter amount being 

 realized when manure is applied to a soil reduced to a low 

 state of fertility. This value is computed by actual increase 

 in crops produced in five years' time in tests made by the 

 Minnesota Experiment Station. At this rate the manure 

 from a single cow would be worth from $ 25 to $ 30 per year. 

 This value is practically the same as the estimate made 

 by the Cornell Experiment Station, based upon the analysis 

 of barnyard manure as given in the following table : 



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