[ CHAPTER XV.]
KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER.
Dr. Vœlcker, at the same time he made the experiments alluded to in the preceding chapter, placed another heap of manure under cover, in a shed. It was the same kind of manure, and was treated precisely as the other—the only difference being that one heap was exposed to the rain, and the other not. The following table gives the results of the weighings of the heap at different times, and also the percentage of loss:
MANURE FERMENTED UNDER COVER IN SHED.
TABLE SHOWING THE ACTUAL WEIGHINGS, AND PERCENTAGE OF LOSS IN WEIGHT, OF EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FARM-YARD MANURE UNDER SHED, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR.
| Weight of Manure in Lbs. | Loss in original weight in Lbs. | Percentage of Loss. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Put up on the 3d of November, 1854 | 3,258 | ||
| Weighed on the 30th of April, 1855, or after a lapse of 6 months | 1,613 | 1,645 | 50.4 |
| Weighed on the 23d of August, 1855, or after a lapse of 9 months and 20 days | 1,297 | 1,961 | 60.0 |
| Weighed on the 15th of November, 1855, or after a lapse of 12 months and 12 days | 1,235 | 2,023 | 62.1 |
It will be seen that 100 tons of manure, kept in a heap under cover for six months, would be reduced to 49.6-10 tons. Whereas, when the same manure was fermented for the same length of time in the open air, the 100 tons was reduced to only 71.4-10 tons. The difference is due principally to the fact that the heap exposed contained more water, derived from rain and snow, than the heap kept under cover. This, of course, is what we should expect. Let us look at the results of Dr. Vœlcker’s analyses: