Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1873-01-10

corn or potatoes.
Mr.. T.. l.. lIovey When | came up here
this afternoon on business, | did not think of
dropping right down into such mn intelligent
company Of farmers. My experience is not
so great rs many OF these older speakers, but
have had something to do with phosphate.
One year | bought one and one-half tons
and used IL, and think il depends entirely
on how it is used, whether IL pays or not. If
person worth $4,000 exchanges IL for gold,
and then hammers II into logging chain,
we should call it ioolishnoss. So of phos-
phate used Unfortunately. do not be-
lievc phosphate can be used to advantage in
more than one case out of n hundred. There
arc some people that believe intoxicating
liquors should not be used ut all except in
some peculiar cases of sickness. view
phosphate in similar light. There is very
little virtue in it except to hurry corn along
during short seasons.-which is very neces-
sary in this country,-and sometimes il is of
advantage TO early potatoes. II will not be
of any benefit to the soil after the first year,
and is of no use whatever to grass, the only
real crop we can raise in this country. The
great demand for manure is to increase the
productivoness of our grass lands for we
have ultimately got to come to this method
OF farming; top-dress our meadows and de-
pend principally upon the hay crop. Our
treatment of phosphate has worked us many
other things DO with Yankees. Farmers will
perhaps see on exhibition nj our county fair
u large squash, said TO he grown entirely
from the use of phosphate, and they expect
that by II similar application they can, of
course, succeed rs well, but when the mann
moth squash fails to adorn their gardens ms
they expected it would, they go to the
other extreme and Disregard IL altogeth-
er. 1t is fancy article, luxury, and may
in its proper place be of value. If we must
raise whole crops, regardless of expense, in
my opinion II moderate, decent, wise appli-
cation may be beneficial.
Mr.. A. II. Hovey. have used phosphate
for tho past twelve years, and shall be moro
favorable towards it than my brother who
has just spoken. have been in doubt many
times whether it did really pay or not, and
have tried il on all kinds of crops, even grass.
by sowing il broadcast. In this case 1 never
could see any difference, but on turnips it is
really useful. | never could raise good crop
without, and never failed with its use. 1t also
pays on India wheat, but the margin of profit
is very small. On one acre applied $50
pounds, and produced 30 bushels against 10
where it was not used. always apply it to
corn in the hill but where the corn had been
previously MANFRED in the hill, for some
reason,l never could see any benefit resulting.
have used IL in strips in my oat-ield, but
without any apparent benefit. We get what
little benefit there is in phosphate the first
year, and my conclusion is that we have got
to rely upon something besides this expensive
fertilizer for our crops in this country.
have a way of making something better than
this by the use of muck rs Il basis, as follows:
dig out a quantity of muck and after the
water has drained out. cart about twenty
loads into my hog house, and a quantity to
the barn yard also keep my cows tied up
every night during summer, and place in
their stables five or seven bushels of dry
muck each morning to absorb moisture, then
pitch it into the hog yard to he worked over
by swine. In this way obtain large guam
tity of manure superior TO any phosphate.
Mr.. $. lIuse. never made il pay but
once. That was two years ago, on my corn
field. We had very short season, and
great deal of corn did not get ripe, but
through the influence of u barrel Of phos-
phate, which | applied, my corn got thor
oughly ripe before the frost. There is II
certain time in the growth of corn that
worms are apt to iniure it, but have noticed
that phosphate will prevent this in great
measure. can say so much in favor of our
subject this evening, but still | think that
two-thirds of the money in phosphatcs can
be more prolitably expended in handling
muck. When | first bought the farm where
now live, it was very badly run out. My
idea was to get it into II good grass crop. !
saved all my manure, and carted ii ont twice
a year. | also worked in from 10 to 60 loads
of muck each season. That which incor
porate with my hog manure, consider bet
ter than anything else for corn. Some think
that good, rotten barn yard manure is the
best thing for manuring in the hill, but | tell
you there is nothing superior to that taken
4
have described There is nothing that pays
better than increasing our manure. Any
man can make II good farmer with plenty Of
that, but no one can succeed in this country
without it. Help is so scarce and expensive
at present that il seems almost rs though we
had nn excuse for not making more use of
our muck beds. We are hurried through
Al.
succeeds planting, then we must attend to
the roads and fences; then comes on haying
with its imperative demands; after this we
are hurried through grain harvesting, and
falls work succeeds. BY this time the days
are so short that we think we cannot keep
our hired help longer, and so our muck beds
arc apt to he neglected too much from year to
year, But after all do really think it pays
well to kind of work in II little muck by odd
spells, say one day zach week, and in the
course of the summer the manure will be
considerably increased.
Mr.. |. G.. Smith. | am a phosphate man.
You have not taken into consideration the
increase of corn fodder, which think will in
many cases pay for the phosphate. | have
used it on corn ut the rate of 300 pounds per
acre where had previously MANFRED lightly,
and by this means doubled the quantity of
fodder, think have got my money back
in every case where | have used it, | once
made trial of phosphates on corn by sepa-
ratio rows. 1858 pounds of corn were increas-
ed by Bradley's phosphate to 1903 pounds,
and to 1871 pounds by the use of Deans.
Question for next meeting; SIS it better
to keep one class OF stock, or variety?'