101 



CHAPTER IX. 



MANURES (CONTINUED). 



Comparative valie of manures from our domestic animals; value 

 of liquid and solid portions: means of preservation. Why 

 nitrogen renders manures so powerful and valuable. Manure 

 from birds; reasons for its great efficacy. Guano; its compo- 

 sition and value. Fish manure; nature of its action. Shell- 

 fish. Saline and mineral manures. Lime; forms in which it 

 is used; quicklime; hydrate of lime; carbonate of lime. Mag- 

 nesian limestone. Marls. Greensand of N. Jersey. Shell 

 sand. 



SECTION I. 



AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



The manure of various domestic animals is, in this 

 country, most commonly employed as a fertilizer, all 

 other manures being used in comparatively small quan- 

 tities; and yet even these are seldom preserved and 

 applied as carefully as they might, or ought to be. 



The principal varieties are those of the ox, the cow, 

 the hog, the horse, and the sheep. Of these, that of 

 the horse is most valuable in its fresh state: it con- 

 tains much nitrogen, but is very liable to lose by fer- 

 mentation. That of the hog comes next. That of 

 the cow is placed at the bottom of the list. This is 

 because the enriching substances of her food go prin- 

 cipally to the formation of milk, the manure being 

 thereby rendered poorer. 



The manure of all these animals is far richer than 

 the food given them, because it contains much more 

 nitrogen. This is for the reason that a large part of 



