Of course litter also performs a very useful function sanitarily, inasmuch as it serves to keep the stall or byre fresher and cleaner, and more free from noxious gases, which it absorbs, than would otherwise be the case.
Straw is almost universally used for this purpose. Besides being one of the bye-products of the farm, it is admirably suited in many ways, both owing to its peculiar shape—its tubular structure being excellently adapted for this purpose—as well as on account of its composition, being largely composed of cellulose, a very absorptive substance. Straw thus possesses considerable absorptive power. In manurial ingredients it is not very rich; for, of the various parts of the ripened plant, straw contains the least percentage of nitrogen and phosphates. This is due to the fact that, as the straw ripens, a considerable proportion of these ingredients passes up from the stalk to the seeds, where they are retained.
Generally speaking, straw may be said to contain not more than a half per cent of nitrogen—i.e., 11.2 lb. per ton. Its percentage of nitrogen varies, of course; the recorded analyses[143] for wheat-straw ranging from .22 to .81 per cent, or furnishing an average of .48 per cent—i.e., 10.75 lb. per ton. Barley-straw is somewhat richer in nitrogen, the recorded analyses ranging from .41 to .85 per cent, or giving an average of .57 per cent—i.e., 12.76 lb. per ton; while oat-straw is the richest of the commoner straws, ranging from .32 to 1.12 per cent, an average of .72 per cent—i.e., 16.12 lb per ton.
| Composition of Straw.[144] | ||||||
| Ash. | Composition of Ash. | |||||
| Lb. per ton. | Number | |||||
| Per | Lb. | Phosphoric | of | |||
| cent. | per ton. | Potash. | Acid. | Lime. | Analyses. | |
| Wheat (winter) | 5.54 | 124.09 | 18.61 | 5.05 | 7.18 | 8 |
| Wheat (summer) | 5.14 | 115.13 | 25.76 | 6.47 | 7.12 | 6 |
| Rye (winter) | 5.33 | 119.39 | 20.61 | 5.89 | 9.73 | 8 |
| Rtye (summer) | 6.14 | 137.53 | 42.41 | 6.73 | 10.53 | 1 |
| Barley | 4.90 | 109.76 | 26.83 | 5.75 | 8.73 | 8 |
| Oats | 5.09 | 114.01 | 26.22 | 4.17 | 9.12 | 4 |
Of mineral matter, however, straw contains a very much larger percentage, proportionally, than of nitrogen; for, with the exception of phosphates, there is a considerable quantity of inorganic fertilising matter, in the shape of potash, lime, &c., present in it. Of total ash ingredients, on an average, there are generally about 5 per cent—or 112 lb. per ton. The largest percentage of the fertilising matter in this 5 per cent is potash, which varies in the ashes of the straws of the commoner crops from 30 to 15 per cent. The above table will show the variation in composition of the straws of some of the commoner farm crops, and may be valuable for purposes of reference. The crops are wheat (winter and summer), barley, oats, and rye (winter and summer), and the amount is also calculated in lb. per ton. The results represent the average of a number of analyses.[145] From the table it will be seen that the percentage of phosphates is, as has already been noticed, very small.
But while straw is well adapted for the purposes for which litter is used, it is not the only substance. Its almost exclusive use as litter is largely owing to the fact that it is a bye-product of the farm.
Loam as Litter.—Generally speaking, any substance which has great absorptive as well as retentive powers for nitrogen and the soluble fertilising matters present in farmyard manure, and whose price is nominal, is well suited for acting as litter. Ordinary loamy soil possesses the above qualifications, and is, besides, a substance to be had for nothing, and, under certain circumstances and in certain countries, is actually used for this purpose, often along with straw. A great objection against loam, however, is that it forms a dirty litter. Moreover, it possesses a very small percentage of fertilising matter. The tendency, consequently, in using ordinary loam, would be to dilute the manure too much, besides retarding fermentation to an undesirable extent. Except, therefore, under very exceptional circumstances, loam is not to be regarded as a good litter.
Peat as Litter.—Some kinds of soil, however, are well suited for this purpose. Of these, the best are those rich in organic matter, the so-called peaty soils. Peat, when dried and freed from any earthy matter, forms an excellent absorbent of the liquid portion of the manure, surpassing in this respect straw itself. It is, further, generally very much richer in nitrogen—some peats having been found to contain between 4 and 5 per cent of nitrogen. In some thirty samples of peat analysed by Professor S. W. Johnson, the percentage of nitrogen varied from .4 to 2.9, giving an average of 1.5 per cent.
While it has a very great capacity for absorbing liquids, it possesses in an unequalled degree the power of retaining the soluble nitrogen compounds. This is undoubtedly one of the most important properties which recommend peat for the purposes of litter.[146]
Some interesting experiments on the value of peat-moss as a litter have been recently carried out by Dr Bernard Dyer.[147] From these experiments Mr Dyer has found that both its liquid-absorbing and liquid-retaining powers are very much greater than those of straw. While straw was only able to absorb three times its weight of water, peat-moss was found to absorb nearly ten times its weight. With regard to its water-retaining power, this was also found to be in excess of that of straw. Both these properties are, it need scarcely be pointed out, of very great value in a litter. Another point of interest in these experiments was the respective amounts of nitrogen absorbed and retained by the peat-moss and the straw. It was found that, in this respect, the peat-moss had again an advantage over the straw. Lastly, the manure produced by the peat-moss was shown to be richer in fertilising matter than that produced by the use of straw.[148] These experiments are interesting as demonstrating the fact that in peat-moss we have a substance which is capable of acting as an excellent substitute for the more costly straw, and which might increasingly be used as a fodder with great benefit to the farmer.