Show ti J I f 1 f F URAL 1 1 OF P U li y K r I i n eY f r wy J LI i. i yr rf jy r. r r lY e y Y S bY y Tobert vert N H. Moult f r Sw t h LS lt are going d C tRY P V I 7 t to 0 b be e higher er t than t they I E F Y Z En 1 1 have hove ever been A 4 famine amine impends ant en s. s Yet et the American All farmer waste wasted more ore t than hail four 0 our llY hundred h nn million II dollars' dollars worth q of manure lire the best fertilizer fertilizer ertl t l lizer last lost year yeah eor r P f E e r v w y J p M tz i tR Pi are going to be higher than they have ever eyer been before owing owing ow ow- ing lug to the war So acute has the fERTILIZERS potash situation become that hat Uncle Sam among all nIl his other diplomatic troubles has been dickering with the allies and with Germany to let a little miserable shipment of ot 10 tons of ot potash potash pot pot- ash fertilizer come through the blockade blockade blockade block block- ade for the use of the department of or agricultures agriculture's farm tarm experiment work Yet with such sucha n R fertilizer famine staring the American farmer in the face he has deliberately wasted during the thelast thelast thelast last year car between four hundred million and four tour hundred and fifty million dollars' dollars worth of manure the best of ot a all ap 1 1 fertilizers And this according to authorities on agriculture and fertilizer Is a regular regular regular regu regu- lar y yearly ally occurrence It is not theoretical It is actual loss and the strangest part of the story is that the great bulk if not all of tills this waste could be saved Just as easily as not In fact tact most of ot it for Instance Instance instance In In- would be saved if it American farmers were Dutch German farmers It would be or stance saved by the tile farmers of ot any of the old countries where every pound of soil fertility Is conserved as ns It were naturally as ns though automatically and as minted money moncy In Germany the size of the manure Index to the wealth of ot the pile has hns long been an fU farmer What the value would be of ot th the Increased crops would result from this American plant food that hardly be estimated but the Increased In- In can wasted now creased c yields of corn wheat potatoes and ond all allS S would amount t to something enormous farm form crops this needlessly wasted basis of using the On the corn crop alone It Is In manure on strength estimated that the yield would be bc increased at billion and a half bushels besides permanently permanently perma- perma least a ImprovIng the condition ot of the soil to a good many cornfields corn corn- degree In fact a tremendous would be so surprised nt at day ft fields of the present ot of this wasted soil fertility their quota r recognize themselves An And would not they ther that way of handling manure ma- ma Dutch or the theeman German yet the is not the best Americans It is lent as ns nure efficient prevent an all waste In inand n discovered red the way ay to P ha have hae e J no more labor or expense l Involves it manure a aon and methods jt ot of the fa farmer than his hg present on the part annually nearly half bal ut u a t through which h loses billion dollars will or gardener successful f j farmer T The average n doesn't apply to him this statement that and uses shy say the value ot of good manure w that t he knows get But Is he certain of It that he can eve er every overy bit best use or of aU all his manure U he mal makes es the theton on to the field geld is of or manure Wat ton o is a he hauls and Is Isis When that It should d be bJ s all nl Its is f fertilizing from content 10 to W 50 per cent ot of Its crop pro crop pro pro- he hc sure that not hot been di dicent dissipated through duct 6 rt has lack of provision to absorb l cachin ng fire n 61 rig or urine animal lor or conserve the Instance the case ot of urine alone A Take 8 ns as s nn 45 to w 50 pounds or of solid manure scow coW will produce o also make from 20 to 30 pounds will wUl a day d y b but she of the aft ro en Lu In her half I I'd ai urine and f ration goes Into that urine So It is most important to conserve the url urine e for nitrogen is the most expensive expensive expensive ex ex- pensive element of manure or fertilizer The other two Important plant foods are potash and Even though manure is highly regarded by all allgood 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 great 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 that It Is richer in both nitrogen and potash than Is the dung and in spite of the fact that these fertilizers fertilizers fer fer- are more available for the thc plant in the urine than In the dung The second greatest source of waste of manure is the loss incurred by leaching If a sized good-sized manure pile Is stacked up against the side of ot the stable where the water from the eaves can drip on It or If It is piled on a slope or or other exposed place every heavy rain washes away crisp bank banknotes banknotes banknotes notes in the form of nitrogen and potash These leached chemicals are the most valuable portions of ot the pile the most available for plant forcing 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 oft more or less gas gns and vapor The fermentation which produces these gases Is caused by the action of ot 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 Therefore fermentation will be most rapid In loosely piled manure Heat and some moisture are necessary for fermentation but if it the manure Is wet and heny heavy fermentation Is checked because the tile temperature Is lowered and much of ot the oxygen excluded from the pile pUe The strong odor of ot ammonia so common around a stable Is a simple evidence of the tile fermentation and the loss Joss of ot nitrogen which Is going on Fresh manure loses In the process of decay from 40 to 70 per pcr cent of Its original weight An ton oton heap of ot cow manure left exposed posed for tor one year lost CO 66 per cent of ot Its dry substance Some tests conducted conducted con con- ducted by the United States department of ot agriculture agriculture agriculture agri agri- culture showed that two tons of horse manure exposed exposed ex ex- posed in a pile for five months lost 57 67 per cent of ot Its gross weight CO GO per cent of ot Its nitrogen n 47 per cent of ot Its phosphoric acid and j 70 76 per cent or ot orIts Its potash or an on average loss of ot three three Five Fhe tons of ot cow manure exposed for Cor the same length of time in a compact pile lost through leachIng leaching leaching leach leach- ing and dissipation of ot gases 40 49 per cent In gross weight 41 per cent of ot Its nitrogen 19 10 per cent of ot Its phosphoric acid and 8 per cent of its potash Here was a terrific waste veritably yet not greater grenter than Is to be found in most mORt common farm tarm practice What would any business man or any farmer think of a u city real estate Investment or a land Investment investment invest Invest- ment which depreciated In value In this wise And what If he discovered that he could have prevented It ct at almost no cost or extra effort to himself The farm scientists and the theorists can preach all nil they want to about the economy of ot the farmer building fine big sheds to keep the rain ot oft off the manure or other such plans but It goes without saying that the average farmer Isn't going to see it that way But he doesn't have to I The remedy for such losses is simple In the extreme In fact exactly the right way of ot handling manure so as ns asto asto to save all this loss Is about the cheapest cleanest and altogether the easiest way to handle manure The first step to prevent the loss of ot the fertilizing elements In manure Is to provide plenty of bedding or litter titter in the stable to absorb and save all the liquid The losses due to fermentation can be greatly checked by mixing horse manure with cow manure and making the temporary piles compact to as to exclude the air nil and by thoroughly wetting the manure which will assist In excluding the air and also reduce the temperature The ideal way on Oll the average farm is to follow tollow the plan all through the year of ot hauling manure directly from the stable and spreading It at nt once There is a generally prevailing notion among farmers farmers farm farm- ers that if manure is hauled and spread In midsummer midsummer midsummer mid mid- summer th the sun will scorch h it to a cinder and burn burnall burnall all nIl the good out of it The government agricultural station In Maryland Just outside of Washington decided to determine this tilis matter accurately and Its analytical experiments have exploded two 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 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 nIl allowed owed to stand until the following spring gave better results in carefully checked experiments experiments experiments ex ex- than that spread In the following spring Just before plowing In the second series of ot experiments experiments experiments ex ex- better yields were secured after allowing allowing allow allow- ing the manure to lie He on top of the land all winter and plowing it under in the spring than were obtained obtained ob ob- tamed from plowing it under in the fall o f |