MANURE 



WAR ANT A 



9S:- 



Limited amounts of bedding were usfd in Ihe tests from 

 wbich the foregoing figures were njade. 



Kind of aniniaJ . I'lihu' per yrar. 



Fowls (l,(H)(l U.S. of) $,'.1 ll> 



Sheeii " " -Jfi Oil 



Calves " " -Jl ir. 



Pigs " " (1(1 SH 



Cows " " 'J'. I "J 7 



Hurries " " '21 H 



I'sually these animals are kefd in the st allies hut half of 

 tlie year, and inevitably some hjss will occur, therefore 

 it will be safe to estimate the recovered value per year 

 atoue-tbird to otie-fourtli of the above. 



Heretofore the waste of tlu^ vahiable constituents of 

 Blanures in the United States has been very great. Until 

 recently, large, open barnyards have been the rule. In 

 the northern and central parts of the United States tlie 

 rainfall exceeds ^^0 inches per annum. JIany liaruyards 

 contain from a quarter to lialf an acre. One inch of 

 rainfall equals 111] tons of water per acre. If this be mul- 

 tiplied tiy thirty, a fairly accurate estimate is secured of 

 the water which largely passes through or over the l^Ia- 

 nure and carries off its most soluble and hence most 

 valuable constituents. The loss of value in Manures 

 exposed at Ithaca, in loose heaps of from two to ten tons, 

 during six mouths, was as follows: 



1880. Horse manure 42^ 



liSOU. Horse m;uiure iy2^,i 



1890. Cow maimre ;<0 ^ 



1889. Mixed, compacted 9 ft 



Even in horticulture, where a more liberal use of 

 Manure than in general farming is a<lmissable, too rauch 

 reliance is often, placed on Manures and too little on 

 tillage. Manures may furnish plant-food, improve the 

 physical con<lition of the soil, conserve and increase 

 heat and moisture. Ten to twenty times as much food 

 as the plants can utilize is sometimes applied. (Irowth 

 and development are more largely deterniined by the 

 amount of moisture than by the amount of plant-food. 

 Five tons of preserved barn Manure contain of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash, (>0, 'SO and 45 

 pounds, respectively. Twenty-five bushels 

 of wheat, with straw, contain 45 lbs. of nitro- ■^^ 

 gen, 18 lbs, of phosphoric acid, and 27 lbs. v 

 of potash. Most soils contain large amounts N„ 



of unavailable or difficultly available plant- 

 food. Manures should be used largely to feed 

 plants between the time the nutrients in the 

 seed have been exhausted and that when the 

 plants have secured a firm bold on the soil 

 by manifold rootlets. Except where other- 

 wise most suitable and convenient, barn I\Ia- 

 nures should be spread thinly in the autumn 

 or early winter on the surface where plants 

 are growing, thus imitating nature s metliods of main- 

 taining and increasing productivity, j p Kobert.'^. 



MAPANIA (aboriginal namel. Cijperncefr. Perhaps 

 6 or 8 described species in tropical countries, compris- 

 ing strong perennial herbs, with broad and strong Ivs. 

 arising from the crown, and large fl. -clusters on mostly 

 leafless scapes: the small, perfect fls. contain usually 6 

 hypogynous scales, usually 3 stamens, and 3 filiform 

 stiirnias: nutlet sessile, 3-anglrd. The only species in 

 the Amer. trade is M. pandanaeJolia, Sander. Its nativity 

 is not given, and it is possible that it does not belong to 

 this genus (see Gt. 4(j, p. 522). The plant is represented 

 as pandanus-like, 3-4 ft. high, with long, narrow, grace- 

 ful, stiffish Ivs. G.C. m. 21:349. Gt. 4*1, p. 523. In 

 European garden literature. M. Iticlda, N. E. Brown, 

 and M. Mrailis, Vill. (from Malaya], are also described. 

 Index Kewensis regards these species as one, j\I . htintilis 

 being the older name. It is an erect-growung plant with 

 oblong strong-ribbed Ivs., which are produced into long 

 petioles and taper into long tail-like points. I.H. 32:557. 

 It is also known as Pandcnwj'Jii/Hton Weii d Unuli .Yiort. 



L. H. B. 



MAPLE. See Jr<'>'. Flowering m. = Abiftilon. 



MARANTA ( B. Maranta, Venetian botanist, died 1754). 

 Sci/aniiudeeiP. About 10 or 12 tropical American herbs. 

 very closely allied to Calathea, but distinguished amongst 



other things )>y having 2 of tiie 3 hicuh-s in the fruit 

 empty. Most of the plants cultivated as iMarantas are 

 ('ulatheas; and the true Marantas are treated the 

 same as those plants. These plants are often named be- 

 fore the flowers are known, and some of the following 

 plants may belong to the genus Calathea. 



A. Li'<iv('s (jreen, puhf-.^rciit Oeiici/IIi. 



arundinicea, Linn Figs. 137II-71. Branched, 2-5 ft. 

 high, tuberous: l\s. ovnte-oblong and pointed: fis. 

 white in an o[)en cluster, the upper lip roundish. Trop. 

 Amer. B. M. 2307. — One of the sources of arrow-root 

 (see A?-r')ir-ro('f), the plant being often called Bermuda 

 Arrow-Root. The starch is obtained from the roots. It 

 thrives along the Gulf coast, although little cultivated. 

 There is a form with leaves variegated green and yellow. 

 AA. Leaves green, marked irifli ntrong, paraJlcl Uijht- 

 eolored ha rs i'.rfi')idi mj from nildrih laicurds }iiar- 

 f/iii or irilli a ivhilisli mitral sh-ijiv. 



splendida, Lem. Ghiln-ous: ivs. 2 ft. or h-ss long, 

 large, obloiig-hmceolate, with base subcordate or some- 

 what cuneate, short-acuTuinate at a])ex, above shining 

 dark green and marked with pale green transverse bars, 

 beneath violet-red. Brazil. I.H. 13:4f)7-8.— By some re- 

 garded as Calathea ( C. spJcvdidtt , Kegel). Resembles 

 CaJaJltea. Veitchiana. but mi>re ro).u-.f. 



Ct A 





1370. Maranta arundinacea 



A,SA. Leiii'PX tilotrhrd or hii iiiJril iritli ,hiTl; rnl.irs (some- 



times contrasted iritli silvery eolors). 



undulata. Lind. & Andre (properly Cnlntlien tnnhilhia, 



Regell. Six to 8 in. high, conipuct: Ivs. ovate-oblong, 



the Ijlade about 4 in. long, subcordate and unequal at 



