222 



SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



tion of litter is variable, depending on the extent to which 

 bedding is used. 



279. Chemical composition of manures. — From what 

 has already been said regarding the variable nature of ma- 

 nure, it will be understood how difficult it is to give a state- 

 ment of the composition of a representative sample of ma- 

 nure. The following table gives the results of an analysis 

 that may be considered fairly representative of mixed fresh 

 manure from several different classes of animals. 



Table 45. — Pounds of Water and Plant-Food Materials in 

 One Ton of Solid Excreta, One Ton of Liquid Excreta 

 and in One Ton of Entire Excreta of Several Different 

 Classes of Animals 



Percentage op Solid and Liquid Parts of 

 Excrement 



{Solid, 80 percent 

 Liquid, 20 percent 

 Entire excreta . 



{Solid, 70 percent 

 Liquid, 30 percent 

 Entire excreta . 



{Solid, 67 percent 

 Liquid, 33 percent 

 Entire excreta . 



{Solid, 60 percent 

 Liquid, 40 percent 

 Entire excreta . 



Pounds in a Ton 



Water 



1500 

 1800 

 1560 



1700 

 1840 

 1720 



1200 

 1700 

 1360 



1600 

 1940 

 1740 



Nitro- 

 gen 



11 



27 

 14 



8 

 20 

 12 



15 



27 

 19 



11 



8 

 10 



Phos- 

 phoric 

 Acid 



6 



trace 



5 



4 



trace 



3 



10 

 1 



7 



10 

 2 



7 



Potash 



8 

 25 

 11 



2 



27 

 9 



9 

 42 

 20 



8 

 9 



8 



This table shows that the solid excrement constitutes by 

 far the larger part of the total. It also shows that a ton of 

 liquid excreta is generally richer in nitrogen and potash than 



