114 MAINE AGRICUI^TURAL e;xPERIMENT STATION. I914. 



them to live stock on the farm, a large proportion of this fer- 

 tility is retained on the farm, and if the business of stock feed- 

 ing is carried to the point where feed is purchased in addition 

 to that grown on the farm a considerable addition may in this 

 way be made to the fertility of the farm at almost a nominal 

 cost. It is this indirect purchase of fertilizers practiced largely 

 in Europe that to quite a degree accounts for the profits of 

 stock raising abroad. Of course these advantages vv^ill not be 

 secured unless the manure produced is carefully saved and used. 



It seems to be difHcult for the average farmer to really grasp 

 the idea that manure should be as carefully preserved from 

 unnecessary losses as any other product of the farm. The large 

 bulk of the material, the insidious losses, the ease with which 

 commercial fertilizers can be had, the expense of properly pro- 

 viding for storage and application of manure to land, and the 

 lack of proper understanding of the value of the manure and of 

 the large losses that prevail under ordinary farm management, 

 are among the reasons that have led to this neglect. 



While it is customary to compare farm manures with ferti- 

 lizers on the basis of their content of nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 and potash, this comparison is not adequate for determining the 

 relative value, since manures serve certain purposes fertilizers 

 cannot serve. Farm manure is of a very complex composition. 

 It contains more or less of all of the elements contained in the 

 foods given to the animals and in the litter. It is rich in or- 

 ganic matters, being composed chiefly of vegetable substances. 

 Organic matter is the source of humus to the soil and is of 

 much value. Soils need humus and it can only be supplied by 

 the addition of organic matter in farm manure or by plowing 

 under green crops. Commercial fertilizers do not supply 

 humus. 



The urine is by far the most valuable part of the excreta of 

 animals. It is not sufficient to save the solid droppings but the 

 liquid should be collected as well. The amount of fertilizing 

 constituents in a manure stands in direct relation to those in the 

 food. The nitrogen in a food exerts a greater influence on the 

 quality of the manure than any other constituent. It is the most 

 costly fertilizing constituent. It undergoes more change in 

 the animal's stomach than the mineral constituents and rapidly 

 escapes from the manure in fermentation. Even if all the 



