>00 TALKS OX :vrANURES. 



us figure up what the half ton of manure and the 100 /bs. of hen- 

 munure would contain. Here are the figures, side by side : 



Water (estimated) Vi lbs. 



Organic Matter 51 " 



AsTi I_37 '^ 



Nitrogen SJ " 



Potash IJ " 



Lime 4^ " 



I'hosplioric acid t 3 " 



100 ««s. dry Half ton 

 Ben- Ma- | Coiv Dung 

 nure. with straio. 

 TTo lbs. 

 203 " 

 J2 " 



r^v 



3 " 



I would, myself, far rather have 100 lbs. of your dry hen-manure 

 than half a ton of your farmyard-manure. Your hens are fed on 

 richer food than your cows. The 100 lbs. of hen-manure, too, 

 would act much more rapidly than the half ton of cow-manure. 

 It would probably do twice as much good — possibly three or four 

 times as much good, on the first crop, as the cow-manure. The ni- 

 trogen, bcimr obtained from richer and more digestible food, is in 

 a much more active and available condition than the nitrogen in 

 the cow-dung. 



" If yoxi go on,'' said the Deacon, " I tliink you will prove that I 

 am right." 



" I have never doubted," said I, " tlic great value of licn-dung, as 

 compared with barnyard-manure. And all I wish to show is, that, 

 notwithstanding its acknowledged value, tlie fact remains that a 

 given quantity of the same kind of food will give no greater 

 amount of fertilizing matter when fed to a hen tliaii if fed to a pig." 



I want those farmers who find so much benefit from an ap|ilica- 

 tion of hen-manure, ashes, and plaster, to tlieir corn and potatoes, 

 to feel that if tliey would keep better cows, sheep, and pigs, and 

 feed tliem better, they would get good pay for their feed, and the 

 manure would enable them to grow larger crops. 



While we have been talking, the Deacon was looking over the 

 tables. (See Appendix.) " I see," said he, " that wheat and rye 

 contain more nitrogen than hen-manure, but less potash and phos- 

 I^horic acid." 



" This is true," said I, " but the way to compare them, in order 

 to see the effect of passing the wheat through the hen, is to look at 

 the composition of the air-dried hen-dung. The fresh hen-dung, 

 according to the table, contains 56 per cent of water, while wheat 

 contains less than 14^ per cent." 



Let us compare the composition of 1,000 lbs. air-dried hen-dung 

 with 1,000 lbs. of air-dried wheat and rye, and also with bran, 

 malt-combs, etc. 



I 



