Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-08-14
agricultural.
Manures, Vegetable and Animal.

VAIL ABLE SUGGESTIONS FROM MR.. HYDE
LOWELL LECTURES.
In pursuing the subject of manures. We
come TO consider those that are mostly OF
vegetable nature: / say mostly, for no
vegetable grows that has not mineral ele-
ments in It's composition. Too much i'm
poriance cannot be attached 10 the Ne
cessity OF restoring 10 the soil. in some
form, all that the >oil gives H.. In state
OF nature. under the direction OF the Great
Husbandmsn. this restoration Is fully
made; and by the decay of vegetation on
the surface Of the earth the soil i con-
stanly ameiiorated. Under the care OF
man. the crops are removed for the pur-
pose Of feeding man and beast, and the soil
= consequently Impoverished. Nature,
mode Of enriching the earth Is manifestly
by restoring the vegetable matter directly
10 the soil. without passing Il through the
animal economy. whereby large portion
OF i Is converted into bones muscles, hair.
etc. Ii only the excremeut is returned TO
the soil there must necessarily be a loss Of
fertility. to the extent of thst which goes
70 the support OF the animal. What the
land loses, however. the animal gains, and
a, we cannot cultivate the soil with a sole
reference TO is fertility. but must live up
on the crops we raise. We have long been
convinced that there is more excellent
way Of maintaining the productiyeness Of
farm than by blowing in the green herb
~ In
where the i Is extremely poor, or loca-
ted al such a distance from the barn ward
that the carting Of manure upon II is ex-
pensiye, but 10 do it as a general rule
would be like banks adding all it, profits
to the capital stock, and making no diyi-
dends from their lands.
BY green manuring is meant the grow
ing OF crops and blowing them in while in
green state, for the improvement Of the
land. This is not, as some suppose. mod
ern practice. Both the Greeks and Ro-
mans were well acquainted with it. and it
is not unlikely that it was practiced by
more ancient nations, a. il IS mode easily
learned from nature and one better adapt
ed 10 an early, than TO an advanced. civi
lization. The Belgians have done the
most Of any modern nation in enriching
their soil by blowing in green crops, and
they have certainly been very successful
in bringing their lands TO high state of
fertility. Some may question how land
can be increased in fertility by merely re-
storing its own products, but We must re-
member that the atmosphere is the great
reservoir from which the plant draws its
c2rbonaceous matter, and If this is plowed
into sandy fields, such as the plains of
Flanders originally were. they can in time
be converted into a fertile loan. The
roots o. some plants also extend TO a great
depth. and bring up from thence mineral
elements TO enrich the surface and furnish
good bed ia which other plants, whose
roots are less rowing, can luxuriate
There can. therefore be no question but
that green manuring enriches the soil The
only question is one OF economy. | have
no doubt that on sandy lands, remote from
ordinary resources for manure, there is no
more convenient mode of restoring fertility
which will draw largely from the atmos-
phere. and when the heritage has attained
its full growth and before the seed has de-
veloped, blowing it under The two crops
most commonly used as green manure in
this country, are red clover and buck
wheat. The former has numerous stems.
broad, succulent leaves, and long. thick
tap roots, and where the soil is strong
enough TO produce it, or can be made
strong enough by the application of plaster
or ashes, il is probably the best crop for
green manuring that can be raised. Its
tap root is specially valuable, as il pene
trates the subsoil and brings up the same
matters, which are thus made available for
the succeeding grain crops. If clover can
be made to grow on land, there is no fear
but that other crops can be made to sue
ceed II. IL Is estimated that the clover
roots and tops grown on an acre. will fur.
nish from five to seven tons of vegetable
matter, and impart to the soil as mucb
strength as ten or twelve loads of harm
yard manure. The land is made me,,ow
the decay of the vegetable matter plowed
under. but the long roots, as they perish
must render the subsoil more porous.
Practice fully confirms this theory, as corn,
oats, wheat are uniformly productive on
clover ley. Whether it may not be
more economical to NOW the first crop of
clever and pillow in the second or feed both
crops to cattle and return the manure to
Tie land. each farmer must judge from the
circumstances Of his situation. II the land