104 



DAIRY FARMING 



monia fixers. Ground phosphate rock and gypsum are 

 excellent materials to use for this purpose. These ma- 

 terials should be added to the gutter in the barn, since 

 they not only act as ammonia fixers, but are also excellent 

 absorbents. On the whole the ground phosphate rock 

 is preferable to the gypsum. The latter is sulphate of 

 lime, and is commonly known as land plaster. Dry earth 

 containing a great deal of humus is also valuable as 

 an absorbent and ammonia fixer. 



Hauling Manure Directly Ufion the Land. If the 

 manure can be hauled upon ground where there is no 

 danger of its being washed away, the most economical 

 plan is to spread it upon the land as quickly as it is 

 formed. Under such conditions there \vill be practically 

 no loss from leaching and fermentation, and, moreover, 

 what is of no little importance, the manure is handled 

 with the least amount of labor. As a rule it is safest 

 to spread the manure upon some growing crop. 



Manure Carriers. A convenient and labor-saving 

 piece of apparatus upon a dairy farm is an elevated 

 manure carrier like that shown in Fig. 27. This carrier 



27. Litter Carrier. 



