44 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



ciently moist decomposes very rapidly. Because of the 

 fine texture, it is regarded as especially valuable for 

 frame, greenhouse and open-ground crops that require a 

 fine manure and a large amount of nitrogen. Onions are 

 especially benefited by this manure. 



82. Hen manure, of all the farm manures, is the most 

 valuable for garden purposes. It contains a large per- 

 centage of potash and phosphoric acid and is especially 

 rich in nitrogen. It has long been regarded the best fer- 

 tilizer for onions as well as for all other garden crops re- 

 quiring large amounts of nitrogen. The fine texture, 

 when an absorbent has been used in sufficient quantity, 

 makes it highly desirable for intensive systems of 

 cropping. 



At the Pennsylvania State College, manure was col- 

 lected from May i till May 18 from the dropping boards 

 under the roosts of 145 hens. During this period 75 

 pounds of 14 per cent available acid phosphate were scat" 

 tered on the platforms daily to prevent the loss of nitro- 

 gen. The platforms were cleaned about twice a week. A 

 barrel filled in 18 days contained 330 pounds of manure, 

 including the acid phosphate. The manure was analyzed 

 by the experiment station and found to contain 52.46 

 per cent of moisture, 1.85 per cent of nitrogen, 3.17 per 

 cent of phosphoric acid and 0.31 per cent of potash. At 

 the prices usually paid for fertilizers it was worth $9 a 

 ton. The 145 hens would produce a ton in no days. 

 These figures of course do not take into account the 

 amount of manure dropped in the litter and in the yards, 

 but they do show that it is well worth while taking care 

 of the poultry manure. The added acid phosphate pre- 

 vents the escape of ammonia and increases the value of 

 the manure, since a liberal amount of phosphoric acid is 

 required by all garden crops. The greatest objection to 

 this plan of handling poultry manure is that it is too 

 wet to spread very satisfactorily, but this trouble can be 



