Show r i ha II r I k r I 4 S 1 1 p s sa I NA L a Jj w f lt P I p cF 7 te r ri Z y 1 1 LI LIL t iWI L r i r grit t ore are going I I to be e higher 11 lei thou than they they 7 I have hove ever be been ell been A 4 famine 0 II line impends et 1 s. s Yet Yet t the to American AIl Lean r farmer fanner wasted wore ore e t than four our OILY hundred 1 1111 mi iolJ Il I lion 1011 dollars dol oars worth t 1 W o 0 of OIl manure the best b- b fertilizer fertilizer 7 h T lizer last lost year Iea ear o X l 4 i i. i 7 I p are going to be higher than they have ever been before owIng owing ow ow- ing lug to the war So acute has the f potash situation become that Uncle Sam among all his other diplomatic troubles has been dickering with the allies and with Germany to let a little miserable shipment of 10 tons of potash potash potash pot pot- ash fertilizer come through the blockade blockade blockade block block- ade for the use of ot the department of ot agricultures agriculture's farm experiment work Yet with such sucha a n fertilizer famine staring the American farmer in the face he has hils deliberately wasted during the thelast thelast thelast last year ear between four hundred million and four hundred and fifty million dollars' dollars worth of manure the best of all fertilizers And this according to authorities on agriculture and fertilizer Is a regular regular regular regu regu- lar y yearly lly occurrence It is not theoretical it Is la actual loss and the strangest part of the story Is that the great bulk If not all of ot this waste could be saved Just as easily as not In fact most of It would be saved If It American farmers were for In Instance Instance Instance In- In stance Dutch or German farmers It would be saved by the farmers of ot any of ot the old countries where every pound of ot soil soU fertility Is conserved as automatically and as naturally as though It were minted money In Germany the size of the manure pile has long been an Index to the wealth of ot the farmer What the value would be of ot the Increased crops that would result from this American food now wasted can hardly be estimated but the Increased Increased increased In In- creased yields of ot corn wheat potatoes and all farm tarm crops would amount to something enormous On the basis of using this needlessly wasted strength in manure on the corn crop alone It is estimated that the yield would be Increased at least a billion and a half halt bushels besides permanently permanently perma perma- Improving the condition of the soil soU to a tremendous degree In fact a good many cornfields cornfields corn corn- fields of the present day would be he so surprised at receiving their quota of this wasted soil soU fertility that they would not recognize themselves And German of handling manure ma ma- manure yet et the Dutch or the way nure as it is Is not the best Americans have hae have discovered the way to prevent all aU waste In manure and It involves no more labor or exp expense nse on th the part of ot the farmer than his present methods through which he loses annually nearly half halt a billion dollars The average successful farmer or gardener will say my that this statement doesn't apply to him that he knows the Ule value aluc of good manure and uses every ery bit of or it that he can cau get Hut But Is he certain that he makes the best use of ot all nil his manure manurel When he hauls a ton of ot manure on to the Ule field Is Its fertilizing content all that It should be and is he sure that from 10 to f GO 50 per cent of its pro crop strength has not been dissipated through leaching fire or lack of ot provision pro to absorb or conserve e the animal urine Take rake as an on Instance the case alse of urine alone A cow will produce 45 to 00 GO pounds of ot solid manure a n day but she will also make tr from m 20 to 30 pounds of ot urine and antI fully balf hal of the nitrogen en In her tur r ration goes Into that urine So Itis most Important to conserve the urine for nitrogen is the most expensive expensive ex ex- pensive element of manure or fertilizer The other two Important plait foods are potash and phosphorus Even though manure Is highly regarded by allgood all allgood allgood good farmers nevertheless there Is probably no product of equal value which Is so miserably neglected neglected neglected neg neg- and regarding which such real Ignorance prevails The first gren great t source of loss Is through the Incomplete absorption of the urine and it is not infrequent to see no attempt being made to save this portion of the manure in spite of the fact tact that It Is richer In both nitrogen and potash than Is the dung and In spite of ot the fact that these fertilizers fertilizers fer fer- are more available for tor the plant In the urine than In the dung The second greatest source source ef of waste of ot manure Is the loss Incurred by leaching If It a sized good-sized manure pile Is 15 stacked up against the side of ot the stable where where the water from the eaves can drip on it or If it Is piled on a slope or other exposed place every heavy rain washes away crisp bank banknotes banknotes banknotes notes in the form of ot nitrogen and potash These leached chemicals are ara the most valuable portions of the pile the most available a for plant forcing I The third common source of ot loss Is that Incurred by heating and fermenting When manure Is put in piles It soon heats and throws off more more or less gas and vapor The fermentation which produces these gases Is caused b by the action of bacteria or minute organisms The bacteria which produce the most rapid fermentation In manure In order to work their best need plenty of air or more strictly strict strIct- ly oxygen ox Therefore fermentation n will be most rapid In loosely piled plied manure Heat and some moisture are necessary for fermentation but if the manure Is wet and antI heavy fermentation Is ch checked because the temperature Is lowered and mu much h of ot the oxygen excluded from the pile The strong odor of ammonia so common around a stable is a n simple evidence of the fermentation and the loss of ot nitrogen which Is going on Fresh iesh manure loses In lu the process of ot decay from 40 to 70 per cent of Its original weight An ton 80 heap of ot cow manure left exposed for one year lost CO Gj per cent of Its Us dry substance Some tests conducted conducted con con- ducted by the United States department of agriculture agriculture agriculture agri agri- culture showed that two tons of horse manure exposed exposed exposed ex ex- posed In a pile for five months lost 57 per cent o oIts or of orUs Its Us gross Jross weight CO 60 per cent of Its nitrogen n 47 per cent of ot its phosphoric acid and 76 per cent ot or Its potash or an average loss of ot three Five tons of cow manure exposed for the same sume length of time In a n compact pile lost through leachIng leachIng leaching leach- leach Ing and ami dissipation of ot gases 49 40 per cent In gross weight eIght 41 per cent of or Its nitrogen 19 10 per cent of its phosphoric acid and 8 per pcr cent of Its potash Here was a terrific waste veritably yet not greater than Is to be found In to most common farm practice What would any business businessman man or any ony farmer think of a n city real estate Investment or a land Investment Investment Invest Invest- ment meat which depreciated In value alue In this wise And what If It he discovered that he could have havo prevented it ct at t almost no cost or extra effort to himself The farm scientists and antI the theorists can preach all they want to about the economy of the farmer building fine big sheds to keep the rain off oft the manure or other such plans but tt It goes without saying that the av average rage farmer Isn't g going to see It tha way But he doesn't have to 1 I The remedy for such losses Is simple In the extreme In fact tact exactly the right way of handling manure so 50 as asto asto asto to save sa all this loss Is about the cheapest cleanest and altogether the easiest way fay to handle manure The first step to prevent the loss of the fertilizing elements In manure Is to provide plenty of bedding or the stable to absorb and save all aU the liquid The losses due to fermentation can cnn be greatly checked by mixing horse manure with cow manure and making the temporary piles plies compact to as to exclude the air and by thoroughly wetting the manure which will assist In excluding the air all and also reduce the temperature re The Ideal way oil on the average farm Is to follow the plan all through the year of hauling manure directly from the stable and spreading it at once There is a generally prevailing notion among CarmelS Carmel'S farmers farmers farm farm- ers elS that if manure is hauled and spread In midsummer midsummer midsummer mid mid- summer the he sun will scorch It to a cinder and burn burnall burnall burnall all the good out of It The government agricultural station In Maryland Just outside of Washington decided to determine this matter accurately and Its analytical experiments have exploded two ery very common beliefs the summer-burning summer theory being one of them The other common belief which has been blown to atoms Is that It Is better to plow manure under In the fall than to leave It t exposed on the lands land's surface during the winter and then plow It under in the spring In the first Instance manure spread in burning July and allowed to stand until the following spring gave better results In carefully ly checked experIments experiments ex ex- than that spread In the following spring Just before plowing In the second series serles of ot experiments experiments ex ex- better yields were secured after after- allowing allowing allow allow- ing the manure to to lie He on top of the land all winter and plowing It under In the spring than were obtained obtained obtained ob ob- from plowing It under In the fall I |