PERMEJmNG MANURE. 



57 



and the percentage of nitrogen in the mauuru of April and August 

 is only u very liltle higher than in February." 



"Before you go any further," said the Deacon, " answer me 

 this question : Suppose 1 take five tons of farm-yard manure, and put 

 it in a heap on the od of November, tell me, 1st, what that heap 

 will contain when tirst made; 2d, what the heap will contain 

 April 30th ; and, 31, what the heap will contain August 23d." 



Here is the table : 



CONTENTS OP A HEAP OP MANURE AT DIPPERENT PERIODS, EXPOSED TO RAIK, BTO. 



I When put 

 up, Sov. 

 ' 3. 



Total wfiarht of manure in heap I lO.Oi'H) 



Wat'T in the heap of manure. . 



Tutal organic matter 



Total inori.'anic matter 



Total nitro'ca in heap 



Total soluble organic matter. . . 

 Total insoluble organic matter 



Soluble mineral matter 



Insoluble mineral matter 



Nitrogen in soluble matter 



Nitrogen in insoluble matter. . . 



6.617 

 2,824 



mi 



64.3 



^48 

 2..576 



154 



40.5 

 14.9 

 49.4 



Nov. 15. 



The Deacon put on his spectacles and studied the above table 

 carefully for some time. " That tells the whole storv," said he 

 " you put five tons of fresh manure in a heap, it ferments and o-ets 

 warm, and nearlj' one ton of water is driven off" by the heat." 



" Yes," said the Doctor, "you see that over half a ton (1,146 lbs.) 

 of dry organic matter has been slowly burnt up in the heap; giv- 

 ing out as much heat as lialf a ton of coal burnt in a stove. But 

 this is not all. The manure is cooked, and steamed, and softened 

 by the process. The organic matter burnt up is of no value. 

 There is little or no loss of nitrogen. The heap contained 64.3 lbs. 

 of nitrogen when put up, and 63.9 lbs. after fe menting six months. 

 Aud it is evident that the manure is in a much more active and 

 available condition than if it had been applied to the land in the 

 fresh state. There was 14.9 lbs. of nitrogen in a soluble condition 

 in the fresh manure, and 21.4 lbs. in the fermented manure. And 

 what is equally important, you will notice that there is 154 lbs. of 

 soluble ash in the heap of fresh manure, ami 204 ll)s. in the heap 

 of fermented manure. In other words, 50 lbs. of the insoluble 

 mineral matter had, by the fermentation of the manure, been ren- 

 dered soluble, and consequently immediately available as plant- 

 food. This is a very important fact." 



The Doctor is riglit. There is clearly a great advantage in fer- 

 menting manure, provided it is done in such a manner as to pre- 



