Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-07-29

Application of Manure.
BY RICHARD PHILLIPS, ESQ.

The practice of top-dressing has of late
caused increased attention. and become the
ftvorite method of intelligent gardeners
and farmers 1t Is now generally admit
ted that masses of rich manure, containing
nitre. are not what plants require about
ta.ir roots. but that manures are less iniu-
r.y-iy and more successfully applied by
tul-.lr,--.nw. Nature never manurcs her
plants with raw masses of concentrated
Irr,iiziuy substances. but imparts her slim
ui;l al. aud mineral food in Il state o. the
mos. .iliuiir division. chiefly from the sur
tJce of tL. carIh. Many fine fruit trees
inv. been k,l-I, and grape-vines des-
tr,Vcd OF IruUc.od barren, by excess of
wood. III cons -qI'uce of the heavy manur-
i'm at he oO,s formerly recommended by
writers on ftrmiur. In former wears great
oh eclion WAS made to surface manurinG,
founded upon the probable loss of ammo
nia caused by the exposure of decaying ma
nures upon the surface of the earth. But
the loss has been shown by sound reason
ing, and 10y facts deduced from practical
experience, to be much less than was com
monty apprehended: while the benefits
arising from surface manuring in other re
Spects more than cOunterbalance any pos
sIble loss OF ammonia from this practice
Ii manures are exposed upon the sur
face of the earth, even i'll hot weather, de
composition no longer goes on so rapidly
as when the same manurcs are kept in Il
heap, and the ammonia that is produced
is gradually carried into the soil by rains
The other soluble substances, such rs pot
ash, lime, the phosphates, &c, are of
course not lost, because they are not VIOLA
tile. Soluble and valuable substances are
not lost to plants by being carried into the
soil before they are needed by growing
plants. 1t has been shown by eminent
scientific authorities that any good soil,
containing Il fair proportion of clay and
carbon, is capable of taking up and retain
ing etlectually ammonia, lime, potash,
soda, &c, in soluble form, so that little, if
any, passes off in the under-drainage wa
ter of such soils.
These substances, it is true, may wash
from the surface, but they cannot pass
through good soil and 90 off in the drain
age water. The ground is mulchel and
rendered cooler in summer and warmer in
winter by surface manurlng. \ piece OF
soil shaded by surface manuring actually
decOmpOseS, like Il manure heap; that is. il
undergoes Il sort of putrefaction or chemi-
cal change, which sets free its chemical
constituents, unlOGkS, rs it were. its locked
up manurial treasures, and finds its natural
elements to become the food of plants
The conditions which are required for veg
etable and mineral decomposition are pro
duced in the soil by surlacc-manuTing
When the surface manure decOmposes, it:
elements are washed into the soil in state
of solution precisely fitted to meet the
wants of plants, and they become them
selves active agents in promoting further
decomposition and chemical change in the
entire body of the soil.
We should manure chiefly upon the sur
face, and not waste our manures by mix
ing them deep with the soil. We should
plant shallow, and keep the roots of all
trees, plants and vines near the surface
The soil should be deep and dry, but we
should plant Shallow, as near the surface
as possible. We should tOp-dress our
grass land after moving in July or Au-
gust. All manure laid upon the ground
should be spread us soon rs it is pulled
out of the cart, for it is a sure mark of Il
slovenly farmer to see manure remain I'M
spread in Il field, unless it be in the winter
months. At that time the injury sustained
by losing a few days is not great, though
as Il general rule it will be found that the
expense is always smallest when the cart
is regularly followed up. The great OBJ
ject, after a regular and economical distri-
button, is to shake and part the whole com
pletely, as by minute atteI ton to this
circumstance. Il much greater effect is
necessarily produced. The farmer can
top-drcss his grass land in July or August,
under burning sun; in the fall, before
and during the autumn rains, he can ma
nure his grass land; while snow is on the
ground, while March winds blow. and
while April rains fall, he can manure his
grass land, at any time when he has ma
nure and leisure, and he will be abundant
ly satisfied with the result. 1t is not good
policy for fruit-growers to fill their soil
with manure before they plant trees, grape
vines, &c. liant i'll good natural soil, and
manure rom the surface, spring and fall,
literally and properly, then far greater
success will be derived than if planted in
holes and trenches filled with manure as
has formerly been the custom. Surface
manuring and mulching are the true
conditions for fruit growers Wdtcltman
and reflector.