522 NATURE AND PROPERTIES OP SOILS 



Table CXV 



recovery of food elements in manure produced on cement 



floor; ok evrth floor. 



Constituents 



Percentage Hecovery 





Cement Floor 



Earth Floor 



Ammonia 



Phosphoric aeicl 



Potash 



74.7 

 77.5 

 87.8 



62.4 



78.9 

 78.4 



Average 



80.0 



73.2 



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

 since opportunities for excessive losses by leaching and fer- 

 mentation 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 sys- 

 tem saves time and labor, and when leaching does occur the 

 soluble portions of the manure are carried directly into the 

 soil. The practice of allowing the manure so spread to lie 

 on the surface of the land all winter is sometimes questioned, 

 especially in New England.^ On sandy soils it may some- 

 times be better practice to store the manure xnatil spring. 



298. Piles outside. — Very often it is necessary to .,tore 

 manure outside, fully exposed to the weather. When this is 

 the ease, certain precautions must be observed. In the first 

 place, the pile should be located on level ground far enough 

 from any building that it receives no extra water in times 

 of storm. The sides of the heap should be steep enough to 

 shed water readily, while the depth of the pile should be such 

 as to allow little leaching even after heavy storms. The earth 

 under the manure may be slightly dished in order to prevent 



^ Brooks, W. P., Methods of Applying Manure; Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta., 

 Bui. 196, Sept. 1920. s Jr' . 



