Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-08-16
FARMER AND PLANTER.
FACTS ABOUT STABLE MANURE
A Natural FertiIiscr for che Farm,
Hut which Requires Proper
Care 10 Get Results.

stable manure Is natural fertilizer
In every sense, Animals feed oil the
crops that come from the soil, and
the residue is returned to the land
TO replace what has been taken away.
III there were IND waste from the time
the crop In gathered and fed to the
stock until the manure is spread over
the field, this fertilizing would keep
up the soils fertility. Unfortunately,
there are plenty of opportunities for
valuable plant food 20 escape, and
these loop-boles arc only too numer-
Gus on the average farm.
The liquid portion of stable manure
is richest in fertilzing constituents,
and IL is safe to say that in nine cases
out of ten practically all of that part
of the eXcrement of the animal IS
lost. Even with the solid part of the
manure, there is sufficient loss each
year in America to justify the state
ment that more than q million dol
lars worth of nitrogen escapes from
manure piles which become heated
during the process of fermentation.
This nitrogen leaves the manure in
the shape of ammonia gas, and many
farmers have no doubt noticed the
peculiar aromatic odor while working
around the stable, without realizing
that every pound thus lost is mat
ter of ten or twelve cents taken out
of their pockets.
Nitrogen is the most costly of the
three essential elements of plant food.
If purchased in commercial form in
The market, the price ranges from
ten to fifteen cents per pound, de-
pending ON the form in which it is
bought. Potash and phosphoric acid,
the other two essential ingredients,
can be purchased at from four to
five cents per pound. The preserve
ton of stable manure, therefore, for
the retention of nitrogen, is a ques-
ton which ought to interest every
farmer, since it is matter which so
deeply concerns their pocketbooks.
Stable manure partakes of the food
from which it is derived. If an animal
is fed on watery stuff like turnips,
the manure will contain more water
in proportion than when the animals
food is clover hay, or some other dry
er and more concentrated fodder.
Stable manurcs contain all three Of
the essential elements of plant food,
though there is an excess of nitro
gen as compared with the mineral
elements, phosphoric acid and potash.
The effect of nitrogen on plant
growth is to produce an excess of
foliage at the expense of fruits,
grains or tubers, as the case may be.
Many farmers have undoubtedly OBJ
served that heavy dressings of stable
manure produce these effects. The
cause is that the stable manure is
not well balanced, containing, as it
does, too much nitrogen, and not
enough phosphoric acid and potash.
If the excess of the nitrogen is Off
set, or balanced, by small quantity
of acid phosphate and kainit, the mix
ture forms one of the best kind Of
fertilizers. This combination would
be rich in organic matter and at the
same time contain sufiiciency of the
necessary plant food ingredients.
One of the best plans for handling
stable manure is to save all the liquid
excrement from the manure, mix it
thoroughly with the solid portion,
and then sprinkle kainit over the pile,
to prevent the escape of nitrogen,
which takes on the form of ammonia
gas when the pile becomes heated.
The kainit will, at the same time, fur
nish the potash needed in the ma
nure. Acid phosphate can be sprin-
killed. over the manure at the same
time as the kainit. On on average,
about 200 to 800 pounds of kainit, and
n similar amount of acid phosphate
would be sufficient for one acre in
addition to q good dressing of the
stable manure. When mixed with the
manure in this manner, the expense
of a >double hauling is avoided, and
the manure is made ready for direct
application to the field.-P. j. Chris
t;op in Farmers Home Journal.