Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1847-06-02
From The Albany Cultiuator.
MANNER OF APPLYING MANURE
To THE SOIL.

MANNER OF APPLYING MANURE
TO THE SOIL
There is much difference Of opinion in
regard to the best mode Of applying man-
ures. Some hold that they should always
be plowed 10. and give as a reason. that
.manure never goes down. hui IL lost al
all i, is by evaporation" Others 60 coun,
Ter TO this rule in. all respects, and contend
tha, "surface manurius" is Tar preferable
that the valuable principles OF manure
cannot be carried of by The air, but are
only in danger ofbeing lost by bleaching"
,Phe advocates of the two systems may DC
regarded as. in. a situation similar 10 me
knights who fought over tho while and
black shield-bolh are in part right, IN pur'
wrong. :,
never lostly going downward, every mans
,,hseryaiion may have taught him that ii
Is an error. Whoever has examined the
Garth under his manure heaps, or in his
barn.1ard, must have found palpable eri.
dence that the ferlilizing elements of ma
nure may penetrate 10 greater depth than
is commonly reached BY The plow. In
one instance within The writer's observation,
The surface OF the ground where barn
had stood was carried off TO the depth oil
e;oh,een inches or two feet, and yet for
several years afterwards the spot, (tholsh
ns,he midst Of a 6eId.) was plainly dis
covelable in the increased luxuflaoce oi
the crops i, produced. The cases cited
NAV be said TO be extreme ones, but they
show that the theory 10 which we refer IS
false.
The idea that nothing can be lost from
manure by exhalalion does not seem TO be
any better supported by facts Than The
Opposite theory previously considered.
Carbon and nitrogen, which constitute the
chief elements Of manure, are both capable
of assuming an aeriform state. The nj
,ropen. which exists 10 manure for the most
mar, in tho form of ammonia, readily be-
comes volatile, and escapes into the air.
The escapes orthis substance from manure
heaps aud fermen,ing urine, is readily per-
ceived by The strong smell emitted. The
dung dropped on pastures by cattle and
horses, does comparatively but little good.
II mostly dries up, and loses its value
Ifall the strength oft soaked into the soil,
should we not see a greater effect from
il? The urine dropped by animals is i'm
media,ely absorbed, and The effect is sooner
or later slrkiDgly seen in The rankness OF
the grass.
The true point 10 be observed in the
application Of nanures, is 10 place them
where none Of their value shall be wasted,
and a, the same time in situation 10 be
acted on by the agents Of decomposition.
These agents are chiefly heat, air, aud
moisture. Heat is required, because in its
absence substances are without change /;
air is required because oxygen, kind Of
air aud part oil the atmosphere, is the
greatest iecomposing element in nature !;
and moisture is required because lis absorp-
lion by, objects admits the entrance and
actor, Of oxygen, Light, also, land per-
haps eleclriciiy,) exercises some agency in
decomposition. The medicines of the
doctor and apothecary are sometimes de-
Composed by the influence of light, even
when Z: contained in vessels which are
perfectly impervious 10 the air---lt is
! nni account of this influence that wines
and other fermented liquorsare kept in the
dark. Every one may have noticed the
effect Of lighl in making vinegar. and may
have seen how the souring process is has.
tened by setting the barrel where the sun
will shine ON it,and by turning the rays on
the liquor by putting bo'tle>in the buns-
hole. =
: The influences essential 10 The germin.
alion ofseeds. are nearly the same as those
which promote decomposition. The seeds
of some plants will remain inert, when
buried deep in the soil, for an indefinite
pcriod, and on being brought near the sur
face, or within the influence of heat, air,
and light, will germinale and produce pcr-
fec,ly healthy plants. Instances of ibis
kind are within the observation of every
farmer. When furrowslice of seven or
eight inches inches in thickness is turned
over in rich soil, (ihough that soil may
not have been pIowed for years before,)
the newly exposed surface soon teens with
a growth of plants, produced from seeds
which could no vese,ate under the deep
covering where they had been placed.
Now i, follows from our prcvioas rea-
soning. that the circumstances which
would prevent the termination Of seeds
would prevent or relari the action Of ma
nure., We conclude, therefore, that manure
living at the bottom Of furrow eight in.
chcs deep, would be Of much less benefit
10 growing plants than ifit was only from
,wo to three inches below The surface.
From The principles above laid down.
the following rule is deduced in regard 10
the application of manure. That it is
best to keep them near the surface, we'll
mixed with earth, in which situation they
arc most readily brought into a soluble
condition and rendered available to the
support Of pIan,s-their valuable qualities
doing neither liable to be dissipated by The
atmosphere or washed too deeply intolhe
soil.
An exception to this rule is made in ro-
gard to soils which it is wished to render
more loose and friable by strawy manure