The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-07-20
'Mhss Esasm.
Our Cultivated Fields.

cS1ST"ASr lssZS
Our Cultivated Fields.
The following article from the German I
toson Telegraph on manure, in its main
features 20 comedies with our views on this
important subject to the farmer, that we
transfer it to The Wing for the benefit OF
our agricultural readers.
purpose in this letter to say something
in regard to the management Of eur Guilt
waited fields, and the sources which we
must look to for manners to keep up ana
increase their productiveness, hero in the
rural towns of New England and
other similar localities. And just here
will say that think We must look to the
solid and liquid droppings Of animals as the
primary source for food to feed such plants
as grow in our cultivated fields.
Providence hss wisely and kindly pro-
vidsd that whichever grows from tho neio
as food for maa or beast, after having per.
formed it, kindly Office and administered
to their support and comfort, there re-
mains an excrement over and above tna'
the bodily system docs not nesd, but re-
iects - worthless, that contains all OF inc
very elements Of plant-food to be returned
to the soil again to feed other plants anu
reuroducs second crop, Of the Same xmas
and quantity of food as the original 'r''n
vhence it was derived, and little more
besides, believe, in tho refuse returned 10
the earth a. dscayed vegetation. no"
this agreement shall be saved and annually
returned to the soil is . very Important anu
difficult question to answer, so as 70 "0' =
tho wants of every case on every farm.
do mot uropose to undertake: the task, ou'
simply to state my method OF DONG 'n'
thing such as it is, for tho benefit Oh my
brother farmers. ,
use absorbents for this purpose.
have nv barn so arranged q have no ceii.'
under it, that my cattle stand on ~, -,
Ground. loose and single, in pens for tn"'
-nr,ose and fed from the barn floor our
inc tho foadering season, and they sis'
occupv the same pens at night during IN
summer season. As my cultivated n.'0
A.. sandy loan lands with dry suosol',
use for absorbents swamp muck in.
nov a. I have plenty Of that ar!'e''
accessible at all times, and have give
.o,,. account of in former letter 70 'n'
1.LcrnpA. I have found by experience
that dry swamp muck not only acts - -
absorbent to the dropping' OF tho cav. ,a'
readily uniting with tho liqu'os' o'' go '
~ take up the rich light and fiery gasss'
49, contain. and through chemical pr
.... Tho muck itself becomes ricp
o.,,,.hls manure to feed all kinds ofci
inc feld.plants. Take equal parts Ae-
and green manure, treated as hem .
.cr;hsd through winter, coDrlnmer
esther for . while through ahe heap
~ndar cover, turning and ~'| consider,
once or 80 during the t>sSaal in value
for example, this conn., stable ma
load for load to the yields crops on
nure, to feed any bys-e, as described
such lands as RI mold from the
above Leave, Spse, brakes and small
forests. vepet,r ares, and alluvial soils
hrsh., from Sn many places, are all
that aceuss and like swamp muck are
.ood .bsasres of themselves when de-
s.,uabv slhe compost heap with green
conn.,
mpsSsce Of reclaimed swamp that
@1S mswing- field apply sand and
foam as absorbents for the manure l
a this field for top-dressing. And for
* clay soils should think sand would
love the right absorbent for manures to
dress such fields, though have had NO
personal experience in the tillage or man
agement of such soils.
1t is my present belief that all manures,
as far as possible, should be dropped and
cOmpostsd under some kind Of shelter, to
protect them and keep their strength from
being fritted away and wasted by the &C.
ton of the sun, the winds and tho storms,
that in this way the manure heap may not
only be greatly enlarged or doubled, but
the quality, strength and richness of the
heap may be also greatly improved as food
to feed the growing crops of the field.
There is one other resource for manures
that is cheap and available to most farm
ers. allude to such substances as lime,
ashes, salt, nitre, plaster, copperas, ground
bones, &c. / believe that any farmer Of
ordinary intelligence, on small scale at
first perhaps by way Of experiment, may
become his own chemist and by mingling
in proper quantities part or all of the
above substances, according to the wants
of the soil and particular crop to be grown
may require, may so chemcalize his com
post heaps as to double at least their
strength and efficiency as food for his cul-
tivated crops.
Lime and ashes decompose the woody
parts of manure and make it fine and fra
BILE, liberats tho gases for the absorbents
to take up and promote the heating pro-
cess; on the contrary salt and plaster allays
fermentation and fixes. the gases, chang
ing them to valuable salts and thereby pre-
venting them from flying away in the air.
Nitro and copperas are rich in plant-food
and ground bones abound in the phosphate
Of lime. From all the above mentioned
sources the intelligent farmer may gather
plant-food, cheaply and in abundance,
annually to supply the wants of his farm,
to moro than repair the waste in the soil
caused by his growing crops, and making
it yearly more productive.
l will here say that there is no kind of
field crop THAT cultivate that seems so
grateful for little manure as the grass
crop, and none that yields me better re-
turn for it than that does. Though Iprac-
tics mixed husbandry, which l think is
best, have been giving my attention more
of late to the production Of hay. and use
annually mora than half Of NV mannroS a. |