56 BULLETIN" 355, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 
manure is worth from $2.50 to $2.75 per ton. After being exposed 
in the open yard for a few months, 2 tons of fresh manure decomposes 
to about 1 ton, with an analysis showing 10 pounds of nitrogen, 3 
pounds of phosphorus, and 8 pounds of potassium, having a fertilizer 
value of from $2.60 to $2.85 per ton. These estimates do not include 
the value to the soil of the organic matter furnished by manure. 
The comparative value of manures voided by different animals will 
be found in the references. It is highly important in farm practice 
to understand that the kind of feed given to farm animals has a very 
close relation to the value of the manure voided. The richer the feed 
in nitrogen content, the more valuable will be the excrement pro- 
duced. Therefore, one who winters live stock largely on corn fodder 
and straw will have much less valuable manure to return to the soil 
than one who adds clover hay, alfalfa, or grain to the feeding ration. 
Losses from barnyard manure. — The losses from manures on farms 
of the United States is hundreds of millions of dollars annually. This 
is poor economy, considering the needs of the farms from which this 
immense loss occurs and the fact that much of it could be avoided by 
good management. The losses occur largely in two ways: (1) From 
liquid manures not being saved, and (2) from storing and exposure. 
Loss of liquid manure. — The collection and return to the soil of 
the liquid portion of the manure is evidently the most difficult prob- 
lem. About one-half of the fertilizing value of barnyard manure is 
contained in the liquid portion. Storage in cisterns is only partially 
successful, especially in the Northern States, where the freezing of 
the liquid during the winter makes its distribution difficult or im- 
possible. On the whole, the most satisfactory method for conserving 
liquid manure on the farm is to absorb it in the bedding. As much 
straw, cut or shredded cornstalks, or other refuse material should 
be used as may be necessary entirely to absorb the liquid. (Ref. 
No. 4, pp. 160, 161.) Peat or moss, when available, is a far more 
effective absorbent than straw. The dust from this material, how- 
ever, makes it objectionable for bedding dairy cattle. Finely ground 
phosphate rock is often used upon the floors as an absorbent after 
cleaning the stables. Such use also helps the phosphorus of this 
material to become available to plants after the manure is applied 
to the soil and decomposition begins. 
Losses from storing manures (Ref. No. 3, pp. 598-602; or No. 4, 
pp. 175-181). — There are two ways in which fertility is lost from 
the manure pile while stored. First, by leaching out of much of the 
soluble and most valuable part, and second, by fermentation and 
heating, which causes loss of nitrogen in the gaseous form. Leaching 
should be prevented by having the manure pile either covered or 
so completely built that no more water is absorbed by the manure 
than is necessary to keep it in a moist condition. In the South and 
