FARM MANURES 



229 



289. Reinforcing manure. — Various substances are in- 

 corporated with animal manures, either in the stall or in 

 the heap, for the purposes of : (1) curtailing loss by leaching 

 and fermentation, and (2) balancing the manure in order to 

 better adapt it to the needs of most crops. The latter has 

 been mentioned in section 280. The materials commonly- 

 used for these purposes are gypsum, kainit, acid phosphate 

 and floats. 



Experiments at the Ohio Experiment Station indicate that 

 the conserving effect is slight, but that the benefit due to 

 reinforcing is considerable when acid phosphate or floats 

 are used. To ascertain the conserving properties of several 

 substances, each was mixed with the manure at the rate of 

 40 pounds to the ton, and the loss of fertilizing value was 

 computed from analyses after the mixtures had stood from 

 January to April. The results are shown in the following 

 table : 



Table 51. 



Effect of Reinforcing Materials on Conserva- 

 tion of Fertility in Farm Manure 



The actual agricultural value of the reinforced manure was 

 ascertained from tests covering a period of fourteen years 

 in a rotation of corn, wheat and hay, of which the results 

 were as follows :, 



