Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-03-27
Aqrieultural.
On Fermenting ManureS.

One OF the important, and yet unsettled
questions In farming, is as to the best con-
dition a'i ,chich to use manure; that is,
whether In its fresh, crude state in state
of partial fermentation; or when the pro-
cess is carried so far as to reduce the man.
ure to fine and soft mass. This question
Is sometimes vexatiOus one, and is likely
to remain till an extensive series of ju-
dicious experiments shall have been made
on the subject by competent persons, equally
qualified by theoretical and practical knowl-
edge to arrive at precise results, and to be
able to communicate them.
Good farmers vary considerably in their
practice; some apply manure fresh from the
cellar or heaps under the barn windows !;
some haul it to the field, deposit in large
heaps, compost with peat or other crude
materials, and allow a slight degree of fer
mentation to take place before applying it
to the soil, while others throw everything
together and let nature take her own course
with it,-and nature, in such cases provides
pretty swift process of decay.
We have experimental sufficiently in this
matter to bring clear convictions, that the
best mode is to apply manure to the land in
an entirely crude, unfermented condition,
in the autumn, and pillow it under the sur
face to the depth of three inches But
this course can only be pursued with the
summer manure.
If fields intended for hoed crops are
plowed in the fall, they may receive green
manure In spring, just soon as the soil is
sufficiently pliable to fall to pieces when
stirred, and then if the manure is immedi-
ately plowed under decomposition will take
place sufficiently fast to furnish the grow
ing crop with the aliment it needs.
In this way there is no loss of manure
Not only are all its valuable qualities
saved, but they are fed out, as it were, AT
such times and in such quantities as best
suit the plants that require them-much as
we feed our domestic animals at such times
and with such proportions as are best suit
ed for them.
But there is still another and very valu-
able operation going on in the soil through
the agency of unfermented manure As it
heats, it expands; gases, rich in nutriment
fly off from it in every direction These
permeate the soil in all its minutest reces-
scs. warming and separating its particles
and filling them with nutritious food, which
the roots of plants are necessarily in search
of. And these roots exercise cioice i,
They will make a short turn from a course
which they had been pursuing to get at a
spot enriched by decomposing manures,
and their warm and fertilizing gases
Wonderful instinct, What else can we
call it?
Roots only take their food in a soluble
form, and if we apply manure in green
state to the soil all the operations necessary
to reduce them to soluble form takes place
beneath the surface of the ground, and in
the very home of the roots themselves
These substances that would become often
sive if left upon the surface. are soon con-
verified into forms of beauty and usefulness
In one of his lectures upon the chemistry
of agriculture, Sir Humphrey Davy. SAYS
IF the pure dung of cattle is to be used as
manure, there seems to be no reason why it
should be made to ferment ercept in the
soil !; or if suffered to ferment, it should
be only in a very slight degree The ex.
cess of fermentation tends to the destruc.
ton and dissipation of the most useful part
of the manure"
A distinguished farmer in England states
that he has entirely given up the system
formerly adopted on his farm of applying
fermented dung; and states that his crops
have been as good as they ever were, and
that has manure goes nearly fu-ice as far
We call attention to this matter now, as
the season is near when the preparation OF
manure for spring planting and sowing
will be taken in hand-Nezc England
Farmer.