The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-10-21
How To Make The Most Out OF The
Products Of The Barnyard.
Prof franklin Menges in York pa Gazette


Prof franklin Menges in York (Pa.) Gazette.
BARNYARD MANURE.
The time for permanently housing animals
will soon be here and therefore discussion
of how to handle their eXcreta so that the soil
will derive the greatest benefit therefrom is in
place at this time. Manure is just ss much
product of the farm as are wheat, corn, cattle
and horses and deserves as good treatment as
they In order to get the greatest benefit from 1t.
The excreta of animals are never in a better
condition for the soil THAI when voided and
never thereafter contain as much available
fertility, and the straw which is used as an alb
sorbent never contains more fertility than
when it is harvested, but what little it does
contain may through the process of rotting on
the barnyard be made more available for the
use of the plant.
LOSSES IN MANURE ON THE BARNARD.
1t has been determined through the agency
of the United States census that the total value
of the manures of all the animals on the farms
in this country is 81, 1852, 700, 900. If the esti
mate is based on the values usually assigned
to fertilizers purchased by the farmer and that
one-third of this, or Sos, 400, O00 are lost an
nually by the careless way in which manure is
handled, where is there another industry that
could sustain such a loss and still be prosper
Gus?
CAUSES OF loss.
As soon as manure is drawn out on the yard
and piled up it begins to heat or ferment
This fermentation is due to two classes of fer
ments or bacteria. The one requiring an
abundance of air and therefore lives at or
close to the surface Of the pile, and the other
bacterium of ferment which can not live in
the air and therefore does Its work in the in
terror of the pile. These two classes of fer
ments supplement each other, the ones in the
interior prepare the manure for the action of
those on the outside and as soon as the decay
has proceeded far enough for the air to reach
what was once the interior the outside fer
ments begin their work. The work of these
organisms is to decompOSe the straw or what
ever may have been used as an absorbent and
the uudecomposed eXcreta and get them out
of the way. Nature clearing up the manure
pile furnishes ideal conditions, such as the
heat or temperature, the right supply Of air
and moisture and the partial absence of direct
sunlight In this way the manure is prepared
for the process of teaching, which takes place
during the winter and spring. | have seen
many barnyards in this county which contain
not less than one-fourth of an acre. the ma
nure is drawn out and spread or tramped over
the whole yard by the cattle, making an
ideal condition, for the bacteria or fer
ments, | have described, TO perform their
function of decomposition. This yard. in
this vicinity, where we have from thirty-iv
to forty and more inches Of rainfall annually,
receives over eleven hundred tons of water
from rain alone, to say nothing about what
comes on it from the ewes of the roofs to wash
it out. Here is where nine out OF every ten
of the many millions of dollars loss | have re-
ferred to goes. In a recent experiment in
which the conditions which prevail in many
barnyards were initiated solid manure lost
37.6 per cent. Of its phoSphorc and AL per
cent. of its potash in one hundred and nine
days. Mixed liquid and solid excreta lost dur.
ing the same time 81 per cent nitrogen, jl.l
per cent. phosphOric and GIL per cent. potash
From this it is obvious that more than one
half of the fertiizing value of COW manure
may be lost by an exposure Of less than four
months. This is loss that the farmer who
is in the business 10 make money can not
permit