Production of Artificial Manure


 The material in the center of the composts was the least well
decomposed. The stakes at the corners of the compost heap
show the original height of the pile.
 A sample of the green plants was taken at the time of com-
posting. Representative 3-pound samples of the different com-
posts were taken aseptically after 1, 2 and 4 months for
microbiological and chemical analyses.
 The numbers of molds and bacteria in the different composts
were determined by the dilution plate method. Synthetic acid
agar was used for the mold counts and egg-albumin agar for
the bacteria. The numbers of microorganisms at the different
samplings are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2.-NUMBERS OF MOLDS AND BACTERIA (THOUSANDS) IN WATER
 HYACINTH COMPOSTS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DECOMPOSITION.

 Thousands of Microorganisms per Gram of Dry Material
 Compost 1 Month 2 Months 3 Months
 Molds I Bacteria Molds Bacteria ] Molds Bacteria
 No. 1 (urea
 reagent) ........ 5.0 3,250 25 2,300 300 76,000
 No. 2 (cyanamid
 'reagent) ........ 10.0 1,100 75 6,700 330 9,300
 No. 3 (without I
 reagent) ....... 12.5 870 25 1,200 330 10,600

 After 1 month the mold count was highest in the untreated
 compost and the bacterial count was highest in the compost
 treated with urea. At the 2 months sampling the mold and bac-
 terial counts were highest in the compost treated with cyanamid.
 Numbers of both molds and bacteria increased in all composts
 at the 4 months sampling. The greatest increase in bacteria
 occurred in the urea-treated compost.
 Samples of the composts were dried and ground for chemical
 analysis. One hundred grams of the moist materials were dried
 in the oven at 1100 C. over-night for moisture determinations.
 Nitrogen determinations were made on the air-dry materials
 by the Kjeldahl method and results were calculated on an oven-
 dry basis. Standard methods of plant analysis were used for.
 the carbohydrate determinations. The column "polysaccharides,"
 Table 3, includes dextrin, starch, pentosans and hemicellulose
 or any other complex carbohydrate hydrolizing to reducing sugar