Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-03-14
The Application of Manure.

The Application of Manure.
IN the older States manure makes the
crops. We at the West, says the Western
hurdt, are beginning to appreciate the
importance of manure. In its manufac-
ture and application there is a wide field
opened to the farmer We have repeat
edly written on the subject, and the sub
joined article, by correspondent of the
Nec England Homestead, is timely and |
suggestive:
The value and necessity of manures to |
successful farming is now universally ad- |
mitted, but there is still much that is |
faulty In the mode of applying them; and |
while it is acknowledged that there is still |
much to learn respecting their operation,
there are some principles that experience
teaches are worthy of more notice than
has been given them. In our researches
upon this subject we find it difficult to
adopt any specific rule of practice, be
cause of the varied circumstances con-
nected with their application. For in
stance, we attempt to determine the depth
it should be covered by soil, and we find
that the soil may be hard and unyielding,
or it may be porous and dry. The ques-
ton is forced upon us, Does manure pass
off from a sandy soil by evaporation, or
does it descend deep into the earth with
| the water
If a quantity of manure is exposed to
| the action of air and rains, its value is
after while dissipated. While some of
the most valuable portions of the manure
are escaping in the form of gas, rains are
washing away valuable particles that are
not taken off in the atmosphere, till at
length, by the combined process of wash
ing and evaporation, nothing is left but a
| nf
|! process goes on in greater or less degree
when the manure is deposited in the soil,
modified, of course, by the. nature of the
soil and the depth to which it is buried.
For light and porous soil, deeper
covering is required TO prevent evapora-
ton than would be necessary in one more
compact; but the more loose the soil, the
greater would be the liability of waste
from the descent of manure by water
On the other hand, the soil may be hard
and stiff; we may say perhaps there is no
danger of waste, either from evaporation
or the teaching process in such a soil, yet
if we bury the manure beneath ten-inch
furrow the process will be very slow.
The heat and moisture of the atmosphere
cannot reach il, and the crop is but little
benefited by the application. This class
of soils, as a general rule, have in them
some valuable elements of fertility, so
locked up by strong union with other sub
stances that plants cannot appropriate
them to their uses, unless something be
added which has the power to destroy or
break up the national combination, re-
lease the fertilizers existing in the soil
and render them accessible to the wants
of vegetables. Under such circumstances,
it is of primary importance that the ma.
nure should be buried at just the right
depth to produce these results; but the
kinds of crops are so numerous, the cir
cumstances connected with their cultiva
: ton so varied, as to render it extremely
: difficult to adopt any specific rule with
regard to the depth to which manure
| should be placed in the soil. This must
5 always depend upon the kind of manure
the nature of the soil, and the crop to be
cultivated.
: At what season of the year manure
' should be applied to the soil to secure
[ the most beneficial results, is also a ques
: tion of considerable Importance to every
e farmer. In the Connecticut valley, how
4 ever, a very large per cent. of the farm
D yard manure is used in the cultivation o.
a special crops, prepared expressly for theil
S benefit, and applied at time when they
e will best promote the growth or perfec
? the maturity of the crop, regardless o
5 the effect upon the soil. The onioI
, grower will so compost his manure tina
he may apply it in autumn without fea
d of waste from evaporation, leaving it ex
5 posed to the ameliorating influence of tn
V winters frosts, to have fertiliZiug ele
il ments distributed evenly through the sol
? by the drenching rains of springtine
r The tobacco grower endeavors to have hi
n manure in condition to use in early sprin
e in such a state of decomposition that
: will supply the largest amount of plan
s food during these months when the mos
h rapid growth takes place.
e But the general farmer has to provid
r for the wants of a greater variety of crops
:, his vegetables and tobacco, root and graf
c crops, all call for manure. When tbei
IS wants are supplied, and, perhaps, his stoc
# of compost exhausted, then his grass an
l. forage crops seem hopelessly to inquire
O there is nothing left for them. With hir
If there is scarcely day in the whole yea
s when there is not demand for mauur,
u If lie strolls over his fields on a tour c
II observation, or climbs to the observator
l. on his well ventilated barn, where he ca
N see all his landed possessions, every livin
N plant on that broad domain seems to ca
o to him, "Manurel more manure!'
This universal demand for manure, an
the extreme difficulty with which any def
mite course can be mapped out with regar
to the depth to which it should be cove
W ed or the time when it should be applied
I, should stimulate the farmer to study mol
:, carefully its operation upon the soil an
y effect on the crop, that he may be able
rt act underStandingly in each individu
,s case.