604 SOILS: PROPERTIES AND MANAGEMENT 



The next care is that floors shall be tight, so that free 

 liquids cannot drain away but will be held in contact 

 with the absorbing materials. The preserving of manures 

 in stalls with tight floors has been for years a common 

 method of handling dung in England. The trampling 

 of the animals, and the continued addition of litter with 

 the liquid and solid excrement, explain the reason for 

 the success of the method. The following data, from 

 Ohio, 1 show the relative recovery of food elements in 

 manure produced on a cement floor and on an earth floor, 

 respectively. The experiment was conducted with steers 

 over a period of six months. 



Recovery of Food Elements in Manure Produced 

 on Cement Floor; on Earth Floor 



Per Cent 



Nitrogen . 

 Phosphorus 

 Potash . . 



62.4 



78.9 



78.4 



508. Hauling directly to the field. — Where it is pos- 

 sible to haul directly to the field, this practice is to be 

 advised, since opportunities for excessive losses by leach- 

 ing and fermentation are thereby prevented. Manure 

 may even be spread on frozen ground or on the top of 

 snow, provided the land is fairly level and the snow is 

 not too deep. This system saves time and labor, and 

 when leaching does occur the soluble portions of the ma- 

 nure are carried directly into the soil. 



509. Cement pit. — Very often it is not convenient 



1 Thome, C. E. The Maintenance of Fertility. Ohio 

 Agr. Exp. Sta., Bui. 183, p. 199. 1907. 



