234 DAIRY FARMING 



the manure. In arid regions even this precaution is not 

 always necessary because there may be only enough rain to 

 keep the manure wet without washing it away. With this 

 method of handling, it should be hauled away frequently. 

 If possible, all of it should be hauled out in the winter and 

 spring so that as little as possible will be lost by summer 

 rains. In August usually it can be cleaned up again. Bet- 

 ter care of manure by using the covered shed method, or by 

 some other method, is well worth consideration. 



210. Value of Manure. Manure is sometimes valued 

 according to its chemical analysis. If purchased in com- 

 mercial fertilizers, the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, 

 potassium, and calcium in a ton of manure would cost over 

 $2. But what manure is worth to a farmer depends not 

 on its chemical analysis but on what he is going to do with 

 it. If it is to be left in the barnyard, it has no value. If 

 used on some crops, it may have a very high value. 'On 

 other crops its value is less. If applied in very large quan- 

 tities, its value per ton is less than when used in moderate 

 amounts. 



The good returns that often come from combining dairying 

 with such intensive crops as potatoes, cabbages, hops, to- 

 bacco, apples, and grapes are due partly to the high value of 

 manure for growing such crops. It is just as easy by use of 

 manure to increase the potato crop ten per cent as it is to 

 increase a grain crop by the same proportion. But the po- 

 tato crop has so much greater value per acre that the returns 

 from such an increase are much more. Manure has a high 

 value for growing corn and is chiefly used on that crop in 

 regions where more intensive crops are not raised. 



For raising corn, small grain, and hay, manure is often 

 credited to the cows at about $1 to $1.50 per ton at the barn, 



