102 DAIRY FARMING 



material. It is clean and holds a great deal of moisture. 

 Planer shavings also answer the purpose satisfactorily. 



In addition to this it is desirable to use some powdered 

 absorbents like ground phosphate rock and gypsum. 

 These materials not only absorb moisture but also absorb 

 ammonia as it is liberated from the manure, thus saving 

 valuable volatile manurial constituents and at the same 

 time purifying the air of the barn. 



Sources of Loss of Manurial Constituents. Losses 

 of manurial constituents may be considered under two 

 heads: (i) those occasioned by leaching, and (2) those 

 caused by bacterial action or fermentation processes. 

 Where no precaution against leaching and fermentation 

 are taken, more than half the value of the manure is 

 easily lost. 



Loss Through Leaching. Experiments have shown 

 that manure as ordinarily placed in a pile will lose about 

 $0% of its value when left exposed to the weather for a 

 period of six months. Every rain washes a certain per- 

 centage of the soluble manurial constituents away from 

 the pile. That heavy losses occur in this way is evident 

 from the dark liquor which runs away from a manure 

 heap that has been exposed to the rain. Frequently for 

 convenience of handling, the manure is piled close to the 

 barn and directly under the eaves, where the amount 

 of water that pours over it becomes very considerable 



Losses from leaching can be entirely avoided by placing 

 the manure in a shallow concrete pit provided with a roof. 

 Even the concrete floor may be done away with if the 

 ground is clayey, closely packed and so sloped that no 

 water from without can drain into the pit. No farmer 

 can afford to be without a covered storage for manure. 



