1908.] 



Farmyard Manure. 



9 



stituents in the food are retained, the proportion varying 

 with the nature both of the food and the animal. Cows in 

 milk and young growing animals take the greatest toll from 

 their foods, animals in the later stages of fattening the least. 

 If, for example, 100 lb. of linseed cake be fed to milch cows 

 and oxen nearly fat respectively, the manurial constituents 

 contained in the cake will be distributed in each case as shown 

 in Table I. 



Table I. 





In 

 100 lb. 

 Cake. 



Fattening Oxen. 



Milch Cows. 



In 



Meat. 



ft 



Urine. 



In 



Fceces. 



In 

 Meat. 



In 

 Urine. 



In 



Faeces. 





Lb. 



Lb. 



Lb. 



Lb. 



Lb. 



Lb. 



Lb. 



Nitrogen 



4'75 



0-21 



3-88 



o-66 



1-32 



2-75 



o-66 



Phosphoric acid 



2'0 



0'14 



0*09 



1-77 



o'5 



0-07 



1 '43 



Potash 



I *40 



0'02 



1 • 10 



0-28 



0*14 



1 -05 



0"2I 



It is thus impossible to state the composition of the excreta 

 of the various farm animals except within certain wide limits, 

 owing to the variations induced by the food and the age of the 

 animal. 



The urine of sheep and horses is more concentrated than 

 that of cattle and pigs, similarly the solid excreta of the two 

 former are also the drier. It is this greater dryness and 

 richness which causes the gardener to describe horse manure as 

 " hotter " than that produced by either cows or pigs ; bacterial 

 changes take place in it much more rapidly, a greater amount 

 of ammonia is produced, and the rise of temperature is more 

 pronounced. 



The next factor which enters into the composition of the 

 dung is the nature of the litter on which the animals are placed ; 

 from time to time, especially among small holders, various 

 materials, such as bracken fern, hop bine, leaves, even manu- 

 facturing refuse like spent tan and sawdust, are used, but on a 

 large scale only two — straw, and to a less extent, peat moss 

 litter — get employed. The litter has a twofold function : 

 it absorbs the urine and other liquid portions, and it provides 

 both organic matter and nitrogen for the resulting manure. 

 The cereal straws contain about 0-5 per cent, of nitrogen, 



