Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-01-31
Falls Church Farmers Club.

FALLS CHI RCH, VA, January z.
E5i'or n re Ereniag Star Owing 10 the bad
c, nditiou Of the roads the last meeting OF the
club was not largely attended. The discussion,
however Of the subject for debate, Where
aud how hall we apply manures was very IN
NT. !. Bramhau opened the meeting. He
would aUrIv mapures when most convenient.
In tn " nter having the most spare time, he
would haul out his manure and spread II, and
rlovS n ,.r,ler IN the spring. he thought IL
had riau 10 manure pear orchards In the spring
or sumner. 1t stimulated the trees to con
true growing too late. lie had once top
dr,s-ei a hin sown TO winter wheat. expecting
the r1aJt1re TO be washed down to the foot OF
the hill. bit found that wherever the manure
was sprt al a luxuriant growth of wheat. He
Fasin favor OF manUre> rather than phOs pilates.
MI Riley INQUIRED what manure cost per
Toad when hauled from " sshington" and he in
4g'Ied also, whether 80 IN manures OF phos-
plates would be OF the most value 10 the farmer;
Nj i. l. Fowler thought that manure hauled
from Washington cost ahout - load. He
was decidedly IN favor OF manure and attached
Fttie OF no value to fertilizers except bone. Tie
SAID that the farmer should be able 10 make
from ~ 20 % acres Of land a rich a. garden
AZ from ( 10 years from the 3ck he would be
able t. Keep on such al amount OF land lie
thought he could readily make ~ loads OF
manure a year from various sources. lie
thought a farmer would become bankrupt in
few wears by using fertilizers. and that clay
nsed IN the stables a. an absorbent, was an eN-
Mr.. Levi Parker said lie would apply manure
in the .pring after the llou2hing of his land,
aud then drag II in. lie "oulc apply hls ma
nuTe 20 a meadow immediately after naying
Mr.. > ;. Riley asked Mr.. Parker what he
thought OF dragging the manure INTO meadows
after having
Mr. Fowler said that 10y 20 wing gras- see in
September a crop OF grds> could be moved IN
Nr Tt7ey asked Il it was not benefit 20 SOW
plaster on a meadow III the summer asa p5otec-
Ron "a uSf lTOuth.
NJ Parker said that he lad sown plaster on
~ Va times. hat thought Ia AZ
he had experienced the most beneht from II III
a wet season. ,
marks delivered 4 20 mewhat lengthy argument
ia favor o; manure as the thing needtd by the
farmer 70 enrich the coil He spoke a. follows.
GwHgS AND HOW SHALL We APrLY MANURE
Preparatory TO its consideration some denni-
tiOns are requ red. BY manure, l mean no
new tangled mixtures, or manipulated sub
stances compounded OF one OF two OF the Gle
menis Of manure, born OF the trlckish Character
OF this tTsficking age. i mean animal eNcre-
tnentatiOus matter, or orduTe o: decayed yege-
JatiCn. Manure is a COMPOUND so various in Its
Corstituents and 20 null that it will produce to
the fullest extent without the aid of any other
substance all the plants OF the vegetable king
dom. no matter what may have been the den-
cIencies of the soil previous to its application.
Burn plants, ana we have lime, SODA, potash,
magn' ala, silica, suiPbstes; and phosphates
with some mineral OF earth substances as
Iesiduum. Manure must contain most OF these
substances OF elements.
when shall We apply manure? % Generally
wish 70 grow. You would then apply II ia the
tall ana spring both, but principally in the
latter season, for the greater part OF the grain
A. planted OF sOwn then. am not at all disposed
TO winter application. 1t is only a little better
than sheer waste, in my Judgment, to do so.
he manure, or At least the useful properties,
are washed away, eyapora ted, OF absorbed by
IEe atmosphere.
But How shall we apply manure"
answer - let. Generally by brOadcastlng and
pIOwing ia at once. puT fathers understood this
method ana ITS utility They did not spread their
manure faster than they could plow 1t under.
We are, a. a rule one year ahead in the appl-
cation OF manure. Manure should DC thoroughly
rOtted previous TO it, application. 1t Will 60
further then, because IL is ready 10 nOurish the
plant. snd will waste less. whatever the appli-
eaton be. y the farmer is short of manure,
--YPly generally IN the hill, but broadcast 1t II
he has abundance.
IEtfe ale IwOeNceptiOns 70 ploughing under.
Meadows must be top dressed, as there is no
other mode OF application. Apply as soon az the
tai! rains come, or spread il early in the spring,
a. soon as the frost leaves the ground. When
Won have piece OF ground that will ''heave"
and you wish to SOW fall wheat, top dress and l.
viii prevent ''heaying.' at the same time there
will be a waste. Finally, avoid top dressing
when u can be done. PiOughing under is the
true mode of application. This course admits
Of the clearest demonstration. The two most
active substances ia etiecting plant growth in
manure are ammonia and nitric acid Both are
compounds. The former IL composed of one
part OF nitrogen and three parts Of hydrogen;
the latter OF one part OF nitrogen and i've parts
OF oxygen. Both are lighter than air, are VIOLA
tile, dying on into air II not fixed by some sub
stance that with them forms a chemical cOmb-
LatiOn- Green manuTes, especially II applied,
should be plOughed in. Such manure spread
nYOn the surface j. liable, with respect its
sOlvable substance TO the wastes OF washing
evaporation and volatilization, whilst its por-
lions OF vegetation dry up and cumber the
grounds, OF blow away, there not being enough
OF il to continue as a mulch.
discussion then arose, in which all the
nenbe of the club participated.
M. Parker maintained that experience would
demonstrate that spreading manure on the top
OF lowed ground and dragging it in was the
best application OF manure.
Mr.. Abbott said the ammonia was almost
wholly lost in the top dressing.
Mr.. Parker said he did not regard the ammo
n'awith much favor or value, as most lands
contained enough OF il.
Mr. Abbott said that manure was not in con-
u toH TO nourisn TO the fullest until 1t was fully
rOtted.
Mr.. Parker said that green manure was the
Bsst manure for plant use; that rotted manure
was uUoetter than com mon dirt.
Iae interest manifested in this discussion de-
t-rmined the club to adjourn the same one
week TO Wednesday evening, January 18th.
II. IL. \.
OZONE AND ITS PHYSIOLOGICAL EPFRcrs-