Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-09-27

he old mode Of blowing ana seeding. The |
grass on newly stocked lands looks as tho
it would yield more abundantly than it re-
ally does, as it is not apt to thicken and
grows tall and coarse. Some may like the
coarse forage for stock, but we greatly pre-
fer fine hay, such as is found in meadows
well top-dressed, and the longer a meadow
has been moved, provided it has peen kept
in good heart, the better is the quality of
hay.
We have never seen sweeter mows of hay
than are to be found in the dairy districts
of Worcester county, where the farmers
apr ly all their manure as top-dressing, on
ly blowing land enough to furnish potatoes
for the family and some roots for the stock.
BY top-dressing, and moving early, the
meadows are made to furnish two crops of
grass annually, and the third growth of
grass is sufficient to give vitality to the
roots and protect them from the rigors of
winter. Both crops are excellent for pro-
ducing milk, as the grasses are cut while
tender and full of succulence, and furnish
a fodder in winter which much resembles
the fresh grass of summer. The meadows
are also very free from weeds. Grass, not
weeds, is the spontaneous production of the
soil. Weeds come in only when the grass
fails for want of sufficient nutriment. We
know no better mode of choking out these
interlopers from moving lots than by top
dressing them literally. Where the drop
pings of the cattle fall, thorns and briars
do not grow, but the grass in such spots Is
always luxuriant On an old charcoal pit
we have noticed the white clover growing
for many years in succession, when the
surrounding territory was covered with
brakes and brambles.
Spring IS q bad time to move manure, as
the ground is full of moisture and easily
poached The manure is wet and heavy,
and we question whether It's weight is any
more when the quantity IS doubled by com
posting, as what is gained in bulk is lost
in moisture. Spring IS also busy season,
and if we get out our manure in the au-
tumn, after the pressure Of fall work Is
over, we take time by the forcIock. The
Creators mode of fertilizing the earth i.
/ by top-dressing, and this is mostly done IN
the autumn. In state of nature the leaves
Of the forest and the grasses Of the prairie
cover the ground in the fall, and the roots
are thus protected in the winter, and a.
the old vegetation decays, there is con
slant increase Of fertilizing matter in tn,
soil. Can We do better than to initial,
the Creators mode?
We hear two main objections to thi
plan Of composing. The first is that com
posting involves labor, and the second
that it adds nothing to the value of tn
manure. There is some force in the frs
objection, but as the work can be done dur
ing the rainy days Of haying and at othe
odd times, it has less force than might b
supposed. We should hardly know wha
to put our hired men about of a rainy day
if the compost heap did not furnish then
occupation, The assertion that compost
ing does not add to the value Of the ma
nure, that the bulk, not the virtue, is in
creased, is not true. It might as well b
said that all the virtue Of bread is in til
grain, and grinding this grain and mixin
water and yeast with the meal and ferment
ing and baking the dough are only super
fuous labor. We might live, but shout
find it tough living were we to subsist 0
the unbroken, unfermented and unbake
kernels of corn, and we have no doul
many Of our cultivated crops find it toug
living when sustained only by coarse ms
nure. By composing, the manure is mad
fine, and as fermentation produces a chen
ical change in the dough, converting SON
f of the starch into sugar and making Il
whole mass more really assimilated by IL
animal system, so the process Of putrefa
, ton in the compost heap renders the M
nure more easily assimilated by plants
this process is allowed to go on withol
muck or loan to act as an absorbent, muC
of the virtue is lost. Both from the the
r ry and practice we are confident that III
Y nure gains in value by being composite
d Whether the gain is always equal to Il
cost of the labor may be question, but '
have no doubt of the gain.
4 "What is the best basis for the compost
+ is often asked. This must depend som
what upon the convenience of the materi
l. and the nature of the soil to which it is
be applied. If this is gravelly or sand
f. there is no better basis for the compost tn;
V muck from the swamp. or leaf mould fro
the forest. If on the contrary, the soil
which the compost is to be applied is CT
or clay loan, sand OF sandy loan, max
the best basis. We have used muck
Ie great quantities, but muck is of a co
81 sour nature, absorbS moisture as well
r. gases, and we have found the tendency
,e it, used year after year, was to make cl
land too cold and we have latterly subs
" tuted sand or alluvial soil in our comp
l. heaps. Sand heats readily and the mani
in in connection with it rapidly passes tn
n the putrifactive process and becomes
as and fit for USE Sods from the roadside,
leaf mould are excellent in the comp
heap.-Romcstedd