VII.] COMPOSITION OF LONDON STABLE MANURE 207 



remains soluble ; the frequency with which the stables 

 are cleaned out in London, the open nature of the 

 heaps, and the many turnings to which the manure is 

 subjected in collection and transit, all result in extreme 

 aeration and a rapid fermentation with a corresponding 

 loss of ammonia. The last three samples had been 

 stored for eight or nine months on the farm ; usually no 

 great care is taken to consolidate such heaps, so that the 



Table LXI I. —Composition of London Stable Manure 

 (B. Dyer). 



Peat 

 Moss. 



Water . 

 Organic Matter 

 Nitrogen, soluble . 

 Nitrogen, insoluble 

 Phosphoric Acid • 

 Potash . 



77.8 

 i8-o 

 0.51 

 0-37 

 0-37 

 1-02 



rotting down process goes on rapidly. In the above 

 cases Dr Dyer calculates that the loss in organic matter 

 had been about 40 per cent, and in nitrogen from 15 

 to 20 per cent, during the storage. 



From a consideration of the origin of the losses of 

 nitrogen which take place during the making of dung, 

 and of the above analyses, a good deal of guidance can 

 be obtained as to the practical management of farmyard 

 manure, which remains the fundamental fertiliser in the 

 ordinary course of farming in this country. In the first 

 place, since it is clear that the most valuable part of the 

 manure resides in the liquid, far more care should be 

 taken to preserve this than is usually the case. Whether 

 the dung is made in boxes or in yards, there should be 



