SAVING THE NITROGEN 447 



manure and discarded litter, probably the accumulation of several 

 years. Needless to say, these mounds furnished anything but 

 sanitary scratching quarters for the fowls. They were objec- 

 tionable enough in dry weather. In wet weather they were 

 abominable — a slimy, unsanitary, steaming, stinking mass. 

 The proprietor of this place was not only wasting several hundred 

 dollars annually in the loss of this by-product, but he was menac- 

 ing the success and health of the flocks by imposing such un- 

 sanitary conditions. 



Yet many persons wonder at the number of failures in the 

 chicken business. 



Loss of Nitrogen. — Some poultrymen profess to take care of 

 the droppings, and really do go to considerable trouble ; but their 

 care consists merely in storing the manure under cover. Keeping 

 it from the weather, of course, will preserve it to a certain extent, 

 because there is no leaching; but it will not prevent the escape 

 of a large percentage of the nitrogen, which is its most valuable 

 product, and the most expensive element. 



Physical Condition. — Undoubtedly, the chief reason for the 

 great waste of poultry manure is due to its physical condition, 

 which is such that it requires special treatment to conserve it. 

 Its greatest value, as mentioned before, is in its nitrogen content, 

 which is subject to what are termed putrefactive processes, which 

 convert it into ammonia compounds. These compounds are 

 highly volatile, and unless they are conserved in some way, a 

 third or more of the nitrogen will pass off as ammonia gas. You 

 can smell this gas in almost every poultry house, and it is par- 

 ticularly noticeable in damp, humid weather, especially in the 

 winter months. 



By itself, hen manure, like air other natural maniires, is not 

 a well-balanced fertilizer. It contains too much nitrogen in 

 proportion to the amount of potash and phosphoric acid. Used 

 alone it is wasteful, because of this excess of nitrogen. To 

 properly balance this manure, and thus afford an economical 

 distribution of the nitrogen, suitable amounts of potash silts 



