410 
The Woburn Field Experiments , 1913. 
Dung-making Experiment, 1912 — 1913. 
It is customary in some parts of the country, more 
especially in the North of England, to penalise, at the rate 
of 5s. per ton, the selling of hay off the farm, this representing 
the loss to the farm. On the other hand, if hay be consumed 
on the holding, the farmer is allowed 5s. per ton for cartage, 
and is supposed to get the consuming value of the hay from 
the increased bulk of the dung produced. It was accordingly 
considered desirable to ascertain by exact experiment how far 
the consumption of a certain amount of hay would increase the 
bulk of the manure produced when the latter was measured in 
accordance with the usual practice. 
For this purpose the special feeding boxes or “pits ” at the 
Woburn Farm were utilised, and were found most suitable. 
Four bullocks were purchased and placed in these boxes, being 
fed on a mixed diet of bean meal and crushed oats, together 
with roots, oat-straw and chaff. To the diet of two of the 
bullocks an addition of hay was made, and the four bullocks 
were fed continuously from December 19, 1912, to April 30, 
1913, by which time the two bullocks receiving hay additionally 
had consumed one ton of hay. The different foods given, as 
also the litter and water supplied, were all weighed, the total 
quantities fed to each lot of two bullocks during the nineteen 
weeks being as follows : — 
Lb. 
183 
133 
5,275 
885 
2,240 
947 
Bean meal 
Crushed oats . 
Roots . 
Oat-straw chaff ■ . 
Hay (to hay lot only) . 
Litter . 
The bullocks receiving no hay took 1,960 lb. of water, those 
with hay 3,773 lb., or nearly twice as much. 
When the bullocks had finished feeding they were removed, 
the surface of the manure produced was carefully levelled, and 
measurements of the depth of the manure, taken at different 
spots over the whole area, were made. Subsequently the 
manure was removed and weighed. The results obtained were 
as follows : — 
Volume of manure 
Box I. (without hay) 
produced 
Cubic feet 
204-69 
T. c. q. lb. 
5 5 3 21 
Weight of manure 
,, II. (1 ton of hay consumed 
additionally) . 
259-87 
6 15 2 14 
Increase due to consumption of 1 ton 
of hay additional 
55-18 
1 9 2 21 
