The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-02-28
Applying Munnre.

1t is one thing to get manure and another
thing to know how to use it. Every wear the
Vaiue OF manure increases in the estimation
OF the farmer, and he tries many ways to OBJ
tam 1t. And after he has got it, he sometimes
wastes it by not knowing how to apply it to
his land. Information on this subject grows
more important every year, as old farms be-
come exhausted and must be renewed in Or
der to give their owners anything like good
iiVlnS, to say nothing about getting rich from
them. Now manure in a raw state needs a
speedy fermentation. This is effected by sur
face application, for the sun has direct arfd
powerful effect upon it, and hence we per-
ceive that application of the manure to the
surface is highly beneficial. Without decom-
position there is but little use in manure
But when heat has decomposed it and rain
has soaked it into the soil, the work Is very
nearly accomplished.
A writer in the New York Evening Post
says the best way is TO apply the manure to
the surface OF plowed ground and harrow it
in. This mixes it with the top soil exposed
to the direct rays of the sun, the soil increas-
ing, If anything, the heat, and this in connec-
ton with the increased moisture increasing
and accelerating. the fermentation. This
practice never fails. 1t is always found to be
good, whether the manure is rotted or not.
provided it can be properly mixed with the
soil. Now it the manure is deeply ployed in.
especially in cold sells, Or in wet seasons, a
different result is produced; for heat and a
proper hydrometric condition are necessary.
The philosophy of the thing seems to be this
the nearer the surface the more heat and
the more fermentation. We have our best
success with manure narrowed in. On mead
ows top-dressing is the only way, and the best
season for this work is the latter part of
summer or in the fall when the heat and
rains work together and produce the desired
results.
When manure is deeply plowed under it
will not undergo much change by fermenta-
ton or decomposition, but remain somewhat
as it was when turned under and not does
reach the grasses or light roofing grains. We
apprehend, however, that there is not much
1SS- " Sei "AhSio piOWlHS IL uuueF very
deep; for deep plowing is not often their hab-
1t, we are sorry TO say. If the soil is porous
and of a sandy and dark or heat-attracting
nature, and the season is a warm one,
manure deeply plowed in, may do some good
to the crops. In such seasons and in such
soils long manure may be used freely and
made bed for the roots of corn and other
plants, but as general rule, top dressing is
the most profitable. II farmers soil is n
black sandy one and located where it receives
all the sun, it is probably best to plow under
for acfop OF Indian corn. The cultivator must
judge for himself after an examination of the
soil and rejecting upon the nature of ma
nures'and how they stimulate the growth of
different crops.
The successful farmer must exercise his
brains as well as his muscles. The skilled
mechanic knows where and how hard to
strike the blow, and so must the farmer have
skill and kno wledge in the management of
his business in order to have it come out
right. As fertilizers have become necess-
ty for worn out lands, it is highly important
that the farmer should know how, when and
where to use them; for without such knowl-
edge his success In agriculture will be limited
and much OF his labor lost.
AGRICoIA