rice 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 pr