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NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM 



the need of suitable absorbents to take up and conserve this 

 valuable fertilizing material. 



Some Practical Pointers on Manure. — The results secured 

 in the use of manure do not come from the fertilizing elements 

 only, but also from the organic matter and the organisms added. 

 In one gram (one-fifth the weight of a nickel coin) of cow manure 

 voided in the stable have been found from a million to 120 millions 

 of organisms, and in horse manure from 100 to 150 millions. 



Manure a Quick Fertilizer. — Manure has the quality of being 



Fig. 145. — The manure from this dairy barn goes directly to the field 



a most effective fertilizer, largely because of the fact that it con- 

 tains immediately, medium, and more slowly available plant-food 

 material. About one-half of the nitrogen is soluble, about one- 

 sixth of the phosphorus and about one-half of the potassium. This 

 makes manure a good fertilizer to use as a top-dressing on pastures, 

 hay land and clover and alfalfa fields. 



Stall Manure Better Than Open-yard Manure. — Manure 

 hauled directly to the field and there applied is twice to three times 

 as valuable as that which has been allowed to accumulate in an 

 open yard for a period of from three to six months. Large amounts 

 of the fertilizing elements are leached out of open-yard manure by 

 rains. No farmer can afford to follow the practice of throwing 

 the manure carelessly from the stables into the open yard and there 



