Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1869-05-28
Aliesellamu.
Westminster Farmers' Club.

Of Fertilizers. Opened by HENRY
FLOYD by saying-I am in favor of max
ing our own manure, or phosphate. Hen
manure, muck, decomposed barn-yard
manure in proper proportions, well pull
verified and mixed, to be used in the hill,
is excellent and is within the reach of
every farmer and would save much ex-
pense. Farming is great trade. L
once learned the joiner's trade, but l tell
YOU there is no trade like farming, though
a man should be we'll off to be good
farmer. (But to the point every farm
err has muck bed or sods or some rich
alluveal spot by the roadside that can
be resorted TO, to replenish his manure
heap and save this outlay for foreign
manures.
JOHN PHELPs.-I never used any for
eign manures or concentrated fertilizers
except ashes put upon the hill in grow
ing corn. If can have ashes enough it
is all want except l use plaster, which |
think increases clover crop one-third, l
don't know as it is fertilizer itself but
retains. / SOW broad cast.
FLoYD.-I think by constant use of
plaster, in time land will become impov-
erished. / know of several farmers who
abandoned its use in consequence and re-
claimed their land by the use OF ashes.
PHELPs.-The time to sow plaster is
as soon as snow is gone-125 pounds to
the acre. | have increased to double the
amount, and even ON low heavy meadow.
l think would act favorably on old pas
ture lands.
NATHAN FIsHER.-When l have used
plaster have increased my clover crop
one-fourth to one-third.
HENRY A. WILLARD.-One impor-
tant fact is brought out, large amount
of fertilizing substances are constantly
accommodating in our cities and large
towns and it has become the deep study
of a class of men how it shall be brought
into use. / would not underrate these
foreign fertilizers, but there are numer-
GUS substances that are running to waste
some by passing off in gas, some in liq-
uid, which if we would collect and keep
at hand some (even among the many,)
deorderizing substances, such as char
coal or its refuse, dry earth, &C., to be
used upon stable floors, prwy vaults, sink
cests, to deorderize and absorb the gases
and liquids constantly wasting, we should
have mine of fertilizing property of
our own.
FIsHER.-I used last year the scrap
ings of my sheep stable (used in summer
for hens,) so had an amount of hen
manure mixed with some earth and
sheep manure, pulverized it nicely and
put handful in each hill, increased the
crop one-third. think it equal to any
phosphate | believe we have all the
materials at hand to make just as good
phosphate as we can buy. ! think this
phosphate is sort of yeast, it may adj
vance vegetation, but too expensive.
D. G. WRIGHT. concentrated ma
nures on the top of seed planted, the
blade will endure it while the root will
not. use plaster (if you call it fer.
tilizer,) SOW broadcast on clover as soon
as snow is off,
CAPT. TITcoMB.-I planted piece O
corn and used in the hill phosphate mix
ed with muck that had previously beer
hauled into and lain in the barn yard
and / left small portion of the piec
where / did not use the composition, an,
there was an astonishing difference, ia
voring the use of the compound Man,
of the club visited that field and saw tn
result, which fully confirmed these state
ments of the Capt.
w. r. KIMBALL-Had used phos
phate and thought that it very much il
creased the crop of corn, and that tn
fodder stood up better.
N. G. PIERCE spoke well of pho.
phate from his limited use of it.
M. w. d., Sec'y.