Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-05-19
The Compost Question.

composing OF Hanures IL p1ontablei tnat il
whether composted manure, made by The
admixture of dung with other substances
such as muck, sawdust, sand, loan, etc, and
the whole fermented and shoyoled over, OF
worked over by hogs, will give enough add
tional fertilzing material Cplant food to pay
for the additional labor expended in the
work.
Without assuming to sit as 8 judge in the
determination of the matter, VIC venture to
offer some remarks upon it, with the hope Of
at least presenting the real points involved
in clearer way, 40 as 10 admit Of an intel
ligent application of reason and experience
toward its solution.
Animal dung and animal urine contain a
large amount Of plant-food, since they are
the digested and more or less decomposed re-
mains Of plants 1t is more or less strong"
or concentrated, in proportion to the strength
or concentration Of the vegetable substances
upon which the animals are fed. If they
are fed upon the stalks, leaves, OF roots of
plants alone, the resulting manure will he
weaker than when the seeds Of plants form
part Of the ration. That is manure from
granted animals is stronger than that from
hay or grass-fed animals. A given weight
of the former is not worth az much as the
same weight Of the latter But the whole
Of the manure from stock of animals, with
out reference to its bulk, may be equally as
valuable, or contain as much plantfood
whatever feed may be given, if it is only Of
quality and quantity sufficient to keep the
stock in equal condition. We say it may be
as valuable, and the rule would be uniform
II all the food, in either method Of feeding,
were equally well digested and assimilated
into the system of the animals fed. This,
however, is rarely the case. 1t requires a
very skillful admixture of coarse and rich
feed, of roots and hay with grain, to admit
Of as thorough digestion and as complete
extraction of nutritivc value by the animal,
as is effected when poorer class of forage
is fed. Consequently, rich feeding usually
gives richer manure than poor feeding,
whether we consider it in reference TO bulk
and weight, or in reference TO the number Of
animals and the length of time during which
they are stabbed. For instance, in feeding
bran, which is rich in phosphoric acid, I'M
less it is mixed with some other food that
is poor in phosphoric acid, the manure will
contain large proportion of phosphates,
and consequently will abound in that de
scription Of plant-food. And in feeding
clover hay, or pea meal, or oil cake, unless
these kinds Of food, rich in heterogeneous mat
ter, are mixed in the right proportion with
other food having low percentage Of nitro
gen, the manure will contain much nitrogen
In these cases, as the food contains more
phosphoric acid or heterogeneous matter than
the animal needs, great deal of it is left in
the manure, thus causing the latter to be
richer than it would be il the food were
properly proportioned with reference to the
use of all Of its nutritious ingredients with.
out waste. This matter of proportioning
the different kinds Of food, so that there will
be no waste in digestion, is now attracting a
good deal of attention among the more ad
yanced farmers Of Europe, and recipes ar,
being made out for the combination of diff
ferent articles Of food, so arranged as TO bes
serve the purpose of the feeder, according a
it may be milch cows, working oxen, fatt
ing beeyes, etc. etc, that are to be fed an'
no doubt great economy will be effected
when the principles involved are rightly car
ried out in practice.
Now the manure produced by stock o
cattle, or other domestic animals, depend
for its value upon the food which the ami
mails receive. 1t is divided, in the animal,
body, into liquid and solid portion. The
former is fully as valuable as the latter, anC
it is great object to save it. In order Il
do this there must be some absorbent EN-
ployed unless it is all discharged into
cemented, water-tight barn cellar. And eyel
in the latter case, before it can be handil
applied TO the land, there must be some ali
sorbent used in the cellar. The use of thi
absorbent introduces the first idea in rea
ton to composing. But the employment o
simple absorbent does not necessarily max
the manure a compost" Otherwise al
farmers whose stock is bedded, no matte
with what material, whether straw, sawdus
sand, loan, or muck is used for that pun
pose, may be said to practice composing.
To compost manure, properly speaking
means to mix certain fertilizing material
together, in definite or indefinite proper
tons; to allow the mass TO ferment, if it con
tains fermentable materials to watch tn
fnrpnaut a ipp au1 hat 80.
is lost by excessive action or overheating
and, finally, to work these materials thoi
oughly together, either by manual labor O
through the fundamentally Of swine. 1t
in the nature Of true compost that all il
materials should be thoroughly fined an
mixed together and that nothing should b
added to it from the beginning except wit
definite, useful purpose. As regards it
final value that will depend upon the mgr,
dents used, the carefuluess of the Who'll
process, and the ultimate state Of hnenes
and solubility to which it is brought.
The materials of which compost is mad
are all important in reference to the fin,
value of the MIXTURE and the profit or wal
VI fitAie tlph VIC NHblt IfuCttt
ing. The use TO which the compost is pu
also has bearing upon the question OF prof
or loss.
A compost, the basis OF which is anims
excrement, will be richer or poorer accor,
ing to the nature and amount of the sui
stance used as an absorbent Of the lqui
constituent. The absorbents commonly ell
ployed have been named above, and the o
der Of their value, as a useful addition [
the manure, aside from their absorber
properties is as follows muck, straw, loan
sawdust, sand. Their relative value as al
sorbents, merely, depends upon theird rynesi
but supposing them all TO be equally dry,
would be, muck, loan, sawdust, sand, stray
Dry muck, then, stands at the head of III
list, both for its intrinsic yalae and its Absorb
ent power. Although there is great diffe
enec between the fertilizing value of the bes
and the poorest muck, there are few muck bed
in Vermont that, when properly composite,
are inferior 10 ordinary stable manure TIL