THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



115 



stronger one, for making and saving as 

 much ammonia on the farm as possible. — 

 We know of no modern agricultural im- 

 provement, which experience has confirm- 

 ed as giving larger crops, but what direct- 

 ly or indirectly, brings more ammonia on 

 to the farm or renders that already there 

 more available as food for plants. 



As an aid to the farmer who desires to 

 improve his manure heap, we have made 

 up from various reliable sources, the fol- 

 lowing table, showing the per centage of 

 nitrogen, &c, in varigus substances used 

 as food and as manure. It is worthy the 

 most careful study and consideration : 







<D 





_ -t-> 

 a cs 







-i-S 



o3 



si 



a> q 





?-.* 



03 



s 



itro 

 nat' 

 te. 



itro 

 dry 







Q » 



.5 « 





Barley straw, 



11.0 



89.0 



0.23 



0.26 



Oat do 



21.0 



79.0 



0.28 



0.36 



Rye do 



14.0 



86.0 



0.30 



0.35 



Wheat do 



18.0 



82.0 



0.33 



0.40 



Buckwheat straw, 



11.6 



88.4 



0.48 



0.54 



English meadow hay, 



11.0 



89.0 



1.15 



1.28 



Red clover hay, 



12.7 



87.3 



1.83 



2.10 



Pea straw, 



8.5 



94.5 



1.79 



1.95 



Carrots, 



87.6 



12.4 



0.30 



2.40 



Potatoes, 



74.0 



25.0 



0.39 



1.49 



Mangel wurzel, 



87.0 



13.0 



0.29 



2.27 



Ruta baga, 



88.6 



11.4 



0.21 



1.87 



Barley, 



16.0 



84.0 



1.60 



1.90 



Malt, 



7.0 



93.0 



1.60 



1.72 



Wheat, 



16.0 



84.0 



1.80 



2.14 



Oats, 



16.0 



84.0 



2.00 



2.38 



Indian corn, 



18.0 



82.0 



1.64 



2.00 



Malt-dust, 



7.0 



93.0 



4.00 



4.08 



Malt-grains, 



6.0 



94.0 



4.51 



4.90 



Linseed, 



12.0 



88.0 



3.75 



4.26 



Beans, peas or tares, 



16.0 



84.0 



4.00 



4.76 



American oil cake, 



11.0 



88-4 



5.04 



5,71 



Hair, feathers, leather, wooden rags, horn 

 shavings, dry blood, dry flesh, and fish, from 

 15 to 17 per cent, of nitrogen. 



It will be seen that the straw of barley 

 is the poorest, and that of wheat the rich- 

 est of all cereals. Pea straw is worth five 

 times as much as wheat straw for manure. 

 Clover hay is worth nearly as much again 

 as English meadow hay. We have no 

 analyses of corn stalks that are satisfacto- 

 ry, and therefore have not given them in 

 the table. The analyses which we have 

 indicate that the dry stalk contains about 

 1.2 per cent, of nitrogen, and the dry 

 leaves 2| per cent., showing them to be 

 of high comparative value. Of the gra- 

 mineous grains, barely is the poorest in 



nitrogen, Indian corn a little better, and 

 oats the richest. Flax seed contains a 

 large per centage, peas and beans still 

 higher, and oil cake the highest of all ve- 

 getable substances used for food. Hair, 

 feathers, &c, are most valuable fertilizers, 

 equal in nitrogen to the very best Peru- 

 vian guano, and much better than what is 

 often sold as such for $60 per ton. They 

 would be quite equal to good Peruvian gu- 

 ano, but that their nitrogen is in a far less 

 available condition. 



In making and preserving barn-yard ma- 

 nure, then, the primary object should be to 

 get as much ammonia as possible ; and, as 

 w r e have before stated, the composition of 

 the food is the true index to the composi- 

 tion of the manure. The more nitrogen 

 the food contains, the more ammonia, or 

 compounds which will ultimately form 

 ammonia, will the manure contain ; and 

 therefore, other things being equal, the 

 more profitable will it be for feeding pur- 

 poses ; for in all countries having easy ac- 

 cess to the great markets of the world, no 

 farmer can afford to feed cattle unless the 

 manure be accounted of some value. 



The first object of the farmer in making 

 manure, will be to give his animals those 

 kinds of food which, other things being 

 equal, contain the most nitrogen. The 

 next most important point is, how to treat 

 the manure so as to retain all the valuable 

 elements it contains, and at the same time 

 reduce its bulk as much as possible by fer- 

 mentation. The last consideration is sel- 

 dom mentioned by theoretical writers, but 

 it must not be forgotten. It is intimately 

 connected with the expense and profit at- 

 tending the application of manure. If, as 

 we assert, the carbon of the manure is of 

 little value on a wheat farm, and its water 

 of no value : and if carbon and water 

 compose four-fifths of all fermented barn- 

 yard manure, as we know they do, it can- 

 not but be to our advantage to reduce their 

 quantity, if it can be done without loss to 

 the valuable portions of the manure. 



The most valuable part of the excre- 

 ments of animals is the liquid. More loss 

 is sustained by allowing this to run to 

 waste than in any other one thing. Rapid 

 fermentation in a loose heap is another 

 source of loss. Allowing the eaves water 

 to run on and leach out the soluble portion 

 of the manure is another common mal- 

 practice. These three evils every one fa 



