The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1845-05-03
AGRICULTURAL, A
From the Far mer and Mechanic.
LINE AND BARN BARD MAN
URE IN RAISING WHEAT


the p3rl Of q waste common that ha,
been cultivated for many years and va
deemed to he too poor aud worn ouI +,
WELD any thing. Afer enclosing il
the present owOer put lime upon it il
The proportion Of one hundred buShe Is
TO The acre, and subsequently followed
the lime with a liberal application o.
stable manure. Last fall the field thus
prepared was aowed in whea', aud ha,
Just returned crop Of The very bes
qlauy, syersgiug thirty bushels TO the
acre.
Mr.. Fleet-Permit me 10 direct your
attention 10 the above paragraph, tsker
from the Bil,imure American. J
shows The benefit to be derived from
lime and bArn yard manure when the
two are used together. The fact is more
valuable since the crop is wheat. Slnc-
insoluble matters cannot be taken up
by The roots of plants, our farmers have
been led to argue that any substance
tending 10 render manures insolublt
must be injurious 10 them. And since
lime renders The insoluble portions OF
manure insolnble, they have condemed
irs use in conjunction with such man.
ure. This decision, however does not
rest on practice, out upon hypothesis,
and consequently is liable 10 be revers-
ed.
Permit me to suggest the necessity OF
drawing distinction between the state
IN which manures exist in the earth, aud
The state in which they are taken by
plants, especially if we wish to arrive
st just conclusions respecting theiI
action.
1t is known thai the earth is the com
mon stomach OF plants, and as sucs, re
ceives their crude food which crude
food we term manure. For plants lher,
is also a common power of dige slion
The decomposing influence of The almos-
phfre. Under this influence manure
.ssumgs fllid or gaseous form and be-
come the digesled food of plants. We
might then, with proprlety, make lhls
distinction. The crude material 10 tt
recognised as manure, which, when di-
ges,ed by the atmosphere, should br
considered as having become the food
of plants. And thus we are led 10 say
that manures may be either Of solu-
BILE nature, but The food of plants be.
cone either a fluid or gaseous body.
BY such distinctions we can read The
nature of the fact which l have called
your attention to, that lime had render.
ed the oluble portions OF stable manure
insoluble. In such a state they could
not have been taken up by the wheat
plants. But lime induces in This man
ure The action Of slow combustion
through which il is converted into case.
Gus and fluid bodies, and thus becomes
the food of The plants.
The points 10 be derive ed from these
experiments are, ,hs, The plants were
mostly fed upon gases and water, and
produced much grain. Had stable man
ure been used alone, the crop wou d
have yielded much straw and but little
grain. Some three summers back was
engaged in Ulster county, dryroltiug
barn yard manure by composing it wlk
lime and earth. My neighbors object.
ed 10 the course, stating that the manure
would be rendered insoluble. Upon
being informed that was what | wished
10 produce. they raised snolher obiec
tion, that The manure would be fire
fsnged.'
Upon being assured that such action
was impossible, since the earth, being
Intimately blended with The manure,
would prevent il, they then resolved
to leave me as one bent upon the pur
suits of his own folly. After Inc dry
rol o! the manure had been tffected they
were surprised on beholdng a fine vel.
lowish brown fliable mass possess 9
the mechanical properties of mould iu
place OF lhe products Of fire.langng.
The good tf cts Of This manure upon
crops gave equal surprise. One of my
nelghbors took the matter into consid,
eralion, and afterwards stated 10 me the
following fact. He had some years
previous bought a lrJcl of worn out LAND
for nine dollars tie acre, and put upor
it ell The manure he had TO spare. Bu
as that quantity was less than his iud z
ment dictated as being required by ,h
lend, and since lime was then consider
asa manure. he made up his dehcien
yin lime. The manure was first sprea
and the0ihe lime, thus the TWO cam