518 NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS 



phoric acid, and 65 per cent, of the potash. This means a loss 

 of at least one-half of the nutrient constituents of the ma- 

 nure and considerably over one-half of the fertilizing value, 

 since the elements wasted are those most readily available to 

 plants. Considering the losses which the food sustains during 

 digestion and the waste of the manure in handling and stor- 

 age, it cannot be expected that more than 25 per cent, of the 



Table CXIII 



LOSSES FROM MANURE THROUGH LEACHING AND 

 FERMENTATION. 



organic matter, 30 per cent, of the ammonia, 50 per cent, of 

 the phosphoric acid, and 30 per cent, of the potash of the 

 original crop will reach the land. 5 Even if leaching losses 



1 Roberts, I. P., and Wing, H. H., On the Deterioration of Farmyard 

 Manure by Leaching and Fermentation; Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta., Bui. 13, 

 1889. 



a Sehutt, M. A., Barnyard Manure. Canadian Dept. Agr., Centr. Exp. 

 Farms, Bui. 31, 1898. 



3 Thome, C. E., Farm Manures, p. 146 ; New York, 1914. 



4 Thorne, C. E., and others, The Maintenance of Fertility; Ohio Agr. 

 Exp. Sta., Bui. 183, 1907. 



5 Voeleker and Hall have drawn up recommendations for the compen- 

 sation of the out-going English tenant for manure produced on the farm 

 but not realized on. They suggest that he receive pay at fertilizer prices 

 for one-half of the nitrogen, three-fourths of the phosphoric acid, and 

 all of the potash contained in the food consumed during the last year 

 of tenancy. For the second, third, and fourth years previous, the com- 

 pensation value shall be one-half that of the year immediately preced- 

 ing. Voelcker, A., and Hall, A. D., The Valuation of Unexhausted 

 Manures; Jour. Eoy. Agr. Soc. Eng., Vol. 63, pp. 76-114, 1902. 



