Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-10-29
What Plants Feed On.
Notes from Prof GOsssmann's Lectures.

Notes from Prof GOessmann's Lectures.
We last considered the nitrogen plant
food produced by rotation of crops. The
second step towards an accumulation of
this important fertilizing substance consists
in the saving of all vegetable and animal
refuse material, incidental to any system of
farming for all contain more or less nj.
trogen compounds, aud in fact differ more
in quantity than quality. The most prom.
inent substances that deserve attention in
this connection are the animal excretions.
The quality Of these refuse matters depends.
first, on the kind, the age, the employment
of tho animal from which they are Obtained
and, secondly, on the kind and amount Of
food consumed. Full grown animals return
the entire amount or nitrogen consumed in
their foOd young animals retain some of it
for their growth cows pass part Of it in
their milk, and sheep secrete it in wool.
The excretions of high fed oxen often contain
two and one-half as much nitrogen, and three
and one.half times as much phosphoric acid
as those Of cows and young stock.
Where the practice prevails of keeping an
account Of the motions Of the various items
Of plant food it is customary to allow a loss
to the manure pile Of twenty-five per cent Of
the nitrogen consumed in the food by its en-
teriug into. the composition Of milk, aud va.
rious textures. Cows or oxen, for example,
which require for their daily support from
six and one-haf to seven ounces of nitrogen
in their food, per 1000 pounds Of their live
weight, consume annually from l4S to 178
pounds Of nitrogen deductiug 20 per cent
for other purposes we find that from Ill to
l2S pounds Of nitrogen will be contained in
their fresh excretions. This quantity Of nj
trogen is equal to that contained in from
$50 to 800 pounds of the best Chincha
Island guano, or in 5000 pounds of bone
meal, or in $4,000 pounds OF half.rOtten
barn.yRrd manure. .......
The efficiency of animal manure as q nj.
trogenous fertilizer depends, to a great ex.
tent, upon the preservation Of the entire
amount of both the liquid and solid portions.
The liquid manure contains all the soluble
constituents of the food which usually rep.
resent the most valuable portion Of the fer
tilizing substances Of the whole excretons.
The amount Of nitrogen contained in the
urine of domestic animals differs widely,
independent of the kind of food consumed.
The nitrogen of the food has been found
distributed in their excretions as follows:
Liquid 1873 $50 SIS SIS rs SO $40
The saving Of the urine from our farm
stock, therefore, deserves most careful attsn-
tion, not only for the nitrogen it contains
but other important items as well, e. g., pot.
ash aud phosphoric acid. Its presence is
essential for the production Of anything like
a complete fertilizer for the reproduction oI
the crops which served as food its absence
depreciates the value Of the stable manure
more than half To suffer the liquid man
ure to waste means loss Of nitrogen aud pot
ash in particular. Fresh animal excrement
contains but little ammonia it is soou
largely evolved, however, in consequence oI
n particular process of fermentation, and the
manure is thus liable to suffer seriously il
nitrogen compounds. Here the value o.
humus, loan or turf as absorbents in stables
is readily apparent. These substances ab,
sorb ammonia freely, hence deserve recon
mendation for the above purpose. Dry
fresh, vegetable, refuse material, as straw
leaves, etc. quickly absorb the liquid ma
nure but they are little 6t to take care o.
the ammonia before they have advanced Il
a certain stage Of decay, /. e., partly
changed to humus. An addition of loan
or better, daily sprinkling of plaster o
sulphate of magnesia, is, for this reason, o
particular Importance. Partly rotten ma
nure does not evolve ammonia to any ap
preciable extent. The incorporation of al
kinds of vegetable refuse into the stable ma
nure is TO be recommended, for such decom
pose more readily when mixed in this way
and tend to make the stable manure q NOR
efficient fertilizer. Grain and straw contain
tho same articles Of plant food, and differ il
this respect merely in regard to the relativ
proportions. ....... ....
Numerous actual experiments made il
connection with stock feeding have furnishes
US with good mode to calculate, approx
mately, the annual production of manure 70
every kind Of farm stock. First, the entir
fresh excretions Of cattle, sheep and horses
amount, on an average, to so per cent Of tn
dry substance lat PIP degrees F.) of tn
food consumed. Secondly, one-fourth Of th
weight Of the dry food consumed is require
10 dry straw, for example, to absorb the lie
uid excrement; and thirdly, stable manur
contains, on an average, 25 per cent Of DR.,
substance and rs per cent Of water. Henc'
allowing for absOrbents, for every 10
pounds Of dry food consumed We have 80
pounds Of manure.
The commercial value Of stable manul
may be approximately asoertained by ALLOW
ing for every ton about ten pounds of po
ash, eight pounds Of nitrogen, and fot
! pounds Of phosphorio acid but these q
ures are an average Of a very uncerta
series, for we have seen that the quality (
!, animal excrement depends altogether upc
the food consumed, The agricultural yall
Of stable manure stands higher than al
: commercial fertilizer containing these su
stances 10 like proportions; for barD-ya
manure not only furnish plant food, b
also acts benehCially upon the physical co
dition Of the soil.
. TIE only serious objection which can
!, urged against the exclusive use Of stab