POULTRY MANURE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1236, 19 September 1911, Page 8

POULTRY MANURE.

ITS VALUE DISCUSSED. Weight for weight, poultry manuro is superior to other manuro produced on the farm. It was shown by tho late Dr. Voelcker that a sample of fresh manuro contained one-eighth part of its weight of sand and 131 per cent, of moisture, but that the Organic matter contained over 2 per cent, of nitrogen, while tlio phosphate of lime reached 8 per cent. When partially dried, as it usually is whero it is kept in casks for future use, a. sample contained pel' cent, of nitrogen and 5 per cent, of phosphate of lime, so that 1001b. should bo worth, at tho market price of these two materials, 3s. Gd., without regard to the value of the potash. Farmyard manure, consisting largely of straw, and containing 50 per cent, more water than fowl manure, is usually valued at ss. a ton, or practically .'ld. per 1001b. (remarks tho "London Field"), but to this value something must bo added to represent the value of the straw which assists in the improvement of the texture of tho soil as well as in tho production of heat, for which reason horse-dung is so largely used by market gardeners. The following are tho "results of Wolff's analyses of fresh manures, including litter, per 1001b.:—

Phosphoric Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. . Catflo 3.4 1.6 1.0 Horse 5.8 2.8 5.2 Sheep 8.3 2.3 G. 7 Pig 4.5 l.fl 0.0 Poultry 1G.3 15.3 8.5 Sheep manure, which is usually extremely dry, contains only one-half ot tho nitrogen found in fowl manure, while in all cases the proportion of phosphoric acid is small compared with that present in tho droppings of tho fowl. Potash alone is approximately near. Fowl manure is much superior to the droppings of the duck, while the excrement of geese con-, tains only half the nitrogen and less than half the phosphoric acid found in duck manure, although the percentage of potash is larger than in the manure of ducks or liens.' Fowl manure is excellent for uso in the garden, and especially where it is spread thinly in drills in which seeds of those varieties of plants are sown which depend largely upon phosphates for their subsistence, beans and peas in particular. Owing, however, to its richness in nitrogen, it is well .vlapted to plants with abundant fojiago, such as cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and turnips. It is also useful for the potato, which demands a completo manure, i.e., ono which contains large proportions of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.