s a general manure it should have the
addition of potash. Acid phosphate should be used in the poultry-house
to prevent loss of nitrogen, which escapes quickly on account of rapid
fermentation, and to supply phosphoric acid. Thirty pounds of acid
phosphate to each 100 pounds of the manure gives a mixture containing
one pound of nitrogen, three pounds of phosphoric acid, and two fifths
of a pound of potash. The addition of four pounds of muriate of potash
makes the mixture a well-balanced and effective fertilizer when used at
the rate of 500 to 1000 pounds per acre. Dry muck or loam should be
mixed with it to serve as an absorbent and to give good physical
condition.

CHAPTER XIV

THE USE OF STABLE MANURE

Controlling Factors.--The farm supply of stable manure is a carrier of
plant-food, returning to the soil four fifths of all the fertility
removed in the crops fed, but it is much more than this. Land which
receives only plant-food, as may be the case when fertility is supplied
in commercial fertilizers, loses good physical condition. Organic
matter is needed for maintenance of physical condition, the retention
of soil moisture, the freeing of inert minerals in the land, and the
promotion of bacterial life in the soil. No small share of the value of
a ton of manure is due to its organic matter. This is a factor in the
problem when deciding what disposition of the manure will pay best. One
field may be in condition to respond fully to the use of commercial
fertilizers, while another is too deficient in humus for best results.
Some crops are more insistent upon supplies of organic matter than
others.

Again, the disposition of the manure depends upon the supply. If most
crops are fed on the farm, the manure is a leading source of fertility
for all fields and crops, and may be used once or twice in the
crop-rotation on every field. If the manure is in small amount, due to
a scheme of farming involving the growing of crops for market, the
function of the manure may be only to encourage the starting of sods,
in which legumes are a leading factor.

Direct Use for Corn.--The practice of spreading manure on grass land
for corn is based upon much good experience. The custom is nearly
universal in regions where corn is an important part of a four, five,
or six years' rotation, and all of the corn and hay is fed on the farm.
This disposition of the manure permits the handling at times when other
work does not rush.