The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-01-31
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MANUP.E.
IT'S PROPER DISPOSITION FOR THE WINTER.
From the N. Y. Times.

IT'S PROPER DISPOSITION FOR THE WINTER.
From the N. Y. Times.
j. B. Armstrong, Glen Ellen, Cham
paign, county, Ohio, writes:
Instead of the usual Wintry condi-
ton of Uttered barn-yards, and half
formed piles of straw and dung accu-
mulating under the caves of buildings,
we would advise the hauling Of the ma
nure to the fields where needed at once,
rather than suffer the soluble parts to
be wasted. Spread the straw and ma
nure on the young wheat thinly and
evenly, and my experience for it, the
good effects will be visible before next
harvest. As mulch the litter answers
an excellent purpose, besides the stimu-
lus impaired to the young rootlets by
the manure The same may be said of
meadow lands. No apprehension need
be felt as to littering the ground. For
long before harvest time there will
scarce be any traces visible of the top
dressing save in the increased growth
of the crop. This believe is scientific
farming as any. If, in my own exper-
fence, | may be allowed an opinion, it
is that, without any useless expense or
delay, we thus obtain at once the bene.
fit to be derived from the use Of manure
The labor is performed at time of the
wear when it does not interfere with the
other operations of husbandry ; and,
above all, the manure in its application
performs two-fold duty, mulching and
enrichng. The twadde we read about,
such as loss of ammonia by exposure to
the rains and the elements, is stuff
When spread where its enriching quail
tiles are needed, the elements only as
simulate it for use. 1t is nature work
ing in her own laboratory
An excellent time to haul is when
there is plenty of snow. A sled then
becomes a convenience The snow is
a good base of operations to spread
upon. You do not miss any part
When it melts there is your mulch to
protect the growing plant from freezing
and thawing If we only thus dispose
of the poor spots and exposed points in
our fields it is triumph, and will dou-
BILE the crop.
Somebody may say: "Why don't
you practice what yov preach? How
about that compost heap you put out
last Summer in your meadow? Well,
l get about 5000 bushels of ashes year
", and | am all the year round receiv-
ing them. They cannot be spread on a
growing crop generally. BY passing
them through compost heap in warm
weather we render valuable a large
bulk of other material, and avoid the
direct application of the ashes. But,
after all, | used my compost last Sum-
mer as mnlch on the bare roots of the
newly-cut timothy, and expect to cut
9 - tons of well-cured hay per acre
this year, sure.
If we except Col. Waring, Peter
Henderson, Old "Walks and Talks, "
and perhaps few others, say two doz-
en-, nearly all of whom make gardening a
speciality, l will make the broad asser-
ton that there are not ten of your read
ers out of every one hundred thousand
who possess cisterns for saving liquid
manure The great question then is
not any fine-spun theory about phos-
pilates and chlorides, or how growing
timber affects the RAINFALL but how to
reinvigorate a soil which is annually
decreasing in productiveness. 1t needs
fertilizing, and the work must be done
by those who till it. So far as the
application of barn-yard manure will
aid in giving fertility, the writer's ex-
perience is that its cheapest and best
use is by spreading as soon as made.