Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-08-23
Manure on Sandy Lands.

A correspondent Of the Prairie Farmer
thus states his experience with horse manure
on sandy land, in answer to the assertion
that it was of no value on that kind of soil :
Now my experimental few years ago
very richly and pleasantly proved the contra
ny, on one of those very same " sand ridges !"
ear Chicago, in experiments by which we
raised over one hundred bushels Of sound
shelled corn TO the acre, two years in success
sion, on the same field. We grubbe out and
pIoughed with u pair of horses, piece on
the sand ridge, at summit late in the
fall /; then in the spring, we marked off the
rows about three ieet apart, with good iur
rows, and then about two and one. half feet
apart in the rows, threw shovellul Of
horse manure for the hills, and on this plant
ed our corn, letting three stalks grow in each
hill. When the corn was up two or three
inches high, we put small handful Of old
ashes on each hill, while dressing it out with
hoe. From this crop, we harvested over
one hundred bushels good shclled corn to the
acre. The land is IL light yellow sand, GOV.
ed with small oak glubs After taking off
the corn, in the fall, we spread fair coat Of
horse manure, letting it lie until the next
spring-then late in April ploughed it a little
deeper than the frs time-turroWin as be.
fore, and manuring, lightly, in the hill ;
again, hen it was well up, we put small
handful of old lime and ashes on each hill ;
and our yield was again over one hundl ed
bushels good shelIed corn to the acre.
On the 4th Of July, Hon. John Went
worth and d. NJ. Bradley ESQ, visited this
field of corn, and it was then higher than
/" Long Johns head, although corn, general
ly, at that date, was about up to ones vest
p cket. That same summer Mr.. Wentworth
bought that land In cultivating this corn,
both years, no chilling up was done,
but perfectly feoel culture was Observed
Not having ashes enough for the whole field,
portion of it was not so treated, and there
was small difference in the yield-not five
bushels to the, acre.
81 much fJy the simple f cts in the oase,l6r
our governments.
Nov let us reason little: the idea that
the "sand land was already too hot, and
that the (" horse manure" tends to increase
the heat and "burn up vegetation" is in
my estimation entirely falIacious. The de-
composition and fermentation of the manure,
going on in the soil, supplies moisture and
humaS, which renders it more porous for the
circulation Of air and gases, which constant.
ly stimulate vigorous, healthy and rapid
growth; which, of course, exhausts the soil
faster, but gives you correspondingly larger
and richer crops, so that you are amply com.
pensatcd-and that is just what you want
quick and ample return for the labor and
feed which we give to the soil; my corn, al
though the land was MANFRED every gear
cost me less per bushel, than those who had
strong land, which they did not manure
Land to produce proftably needs stimulating
as we'll as fertilzing it needs to be "spurreG
up" as well as to be rich; just as some
great, stout, fat, able boys, of good capacity
need stimulating to get their ability out o.
them. And no land acknowledges and re
turns your efforts more promptly and richly
than warm, porous sandy Soils if we'll ma
nured.