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


The wheat ~ Quesloa was he produc
ola heId which a short lme since wa
The parl Of waste common ihat had
been cultivated Ior many years and va
deemed 10 he too poor and worn out 10
Weld any thing After enclosing it,
the present owner put lime upon IT in
the prop1rlo on of one hundred bushels
TO The acre, and subsequently, followed
the lime with liberal application Of
stable manure. Last fall the field thus
prep,red was sowed 10 wheat, and has
lust returned crop of the very besl
Quality, averaging thirty bushels 10 the
acre.
Mr.. Fleet-Permi me to direct your
attention to the above paragraph, taken
from the Bhlimore American. ]
shows the benefit to be derived from
lime and barn yard manure when 'hp
Two are used together. The fact is more
valuable since The crop is whest Since
insoluble matters rsnnot be taken up
by The roots OF plants, our farmers have
heen led TO argue that any substance
tending 10 render manures insolubl'
must be Injurious 10 them. And since
lime renders the insolube portions oI
manure insolnble, they have condemed
lis use 10 conjunction with such man.
ure. This decision, however does mol
rest on practise, out upon hypothesis,
snd consequently is liable 10 be revers'
ed.
Permit me to suggest the necessity OF
drawing a distinction between the state
ia which manures exist n the earth, aud
the state in which they are taken by
plants, especially if we wish to arrive
st Just conclusions respecting lhel
action.
Ii is known that the earth is the com
mon stomach of plants, and as sucs, re-
ceiyes their crude food which crude
food we term manure. For plants lher,
is also common power Of dises'i
the decomposng Influence Of the almos'
phrre. Under This influence manure
assumes fld or gaseous form and be-
come the digesed food of plants. We
nigh, then, with propriety, make this
distinction. The crude material 10 ht
recognised as manure, which, when d.
gesled by the atmosphere, should BE-
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-
come either fluid or gaseous body.
By such distinctions we can read the
nature of the fact which | have called
your attention to, that lime had render.
ed The soluble portions OF stable manure
insolubIe. In such stale they could
not have been aken up by the wheat
plants. But lime induces in this man
ure The action Of slow combustion, 4,
through which i, is converted into case
ous and Auid bodies, and thus becomes
The food Of the plants.
The points 10 be derived from these
experiments are, that the plants were
mostly fed upon gases and water, and
produced much grain Had stable man
ure been used alone, the crop would
have yielded much straw and but iiuIe
grain. Some three summers back was
engaged in Ulster county, dryro'tlng
barn yard manure by composing it witk
lime aud earth. My neighbors object,
ed 10 lhe course, stating that the manure
would be rendered insoIuble. Upon
heing informed that was what wished
10 produce. they raised another objec
ton, that The manure would be fire
f4nged.'
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 The dry
Iol Of the manure had been effected they
were surprised on beholding fine vel.
lowish brown Giable mass possessing
the mechanical properties Of mould in
place Of the products Of fre-fanging.
The good eff cts Of this manure upon
crops gave equal surprise. One of my
neghbors took the mailer into consid.
eralor, and afterwards stated 10 me the
following fact. lie had some years
previous bought tract Of worn oul land
for nine dollars be acre, and put upon
il all The manure he had 10 spare. Bul
as that quantity was le" than his judg
ment dictated as being required by the
land, and since lime was then consider.
asa manure. he made up his deEcien.
yin lime. The manure was first spread
and then The lime, thus the two came
together. lie remarked that the land