The Portland daily press., 1874-10-12
THE PR ES S.
MONDAY MORNING, OCTOBER -, "a
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Lasting Effects of Manure.

Lasting Effects of Manure.
A correspondent of one of our English ex-
changes recently gave the results of some ex.
perlments as to the comparative effects of
guano and barnyard manure, with trials ex-
Lending through periods of four years, in or
der to get at the lasting effects of the manures
as well as the immediate results usually made
the sole object of such comparative trials,
The writer, Mr.. Dove of Coldstream ION the
dividing line between England and Scotland),
says:
In the discussions that have for some time
past been. going on about compensation to
tenants for unexhausted improvements at the
termination OF lease, there has been consid-
cradle difference OF opinion expressed about
the lasting effects of different manuIes. In
recent agricultural trial which attracted a
great deal OF attention, some witnesses pro-
pounded the theory that the effects of farm
yard manure continued for four years, but
that Peruvian guano exhausted itself in two
years, and that no value should be put on it
after that time; and that even if you applied
Peruvian guano in addition to farm-yard ma
nure, they would both be sooner exhausted
than the farm-yard manure would have been
theory appeared to me rather peculiar, and as
had some time ago carried out series of
experiments which have some bearing upon
it, send them to you for publication, as a
small contribution towards the clearing up of
this point t' aA
About fifteen years ago the Highland Soc-
ETY. offered premium for the best report on
the comparative effects of special and farm
yard manure over four. course rotation,
lh9Vino IL IN tho fbap n,
choose any kind of special manure to test
against the farm-yard. In 1859 commenced
an experiment with that object in view, and
liked upon Peruvian guano, pure dissolved
bones, and pure dissolved coprolites to try
against farm-yard manure. To this expert
ment when finished the society awarded a
premium, and it was published in their trans
actions, and will be found in the volume,
July, 1868, to March, 1865, page 214. After
finished this experiment, for my own salts
faction, resolved to repeat it with the same
manures on the same piece of land. Each
lot, consisting OF half an acre, had been
marked ont and plowed so that no mistake
could be made as to each manure being again
applied to exactly the same piece of land.
The manures used in the first experiment
were analyzed by Professor Anderson, which
analysis will be found in the published report,
and for the other rotations l got manures as
farm-yard manure in all the trials was of the
best quality had on my farm each year, and
was well preserved, In all the three rota-
tions the whole turnip crop was carted off the
land, none OF the produce raised upon it dur
ing the continuation of the experiment being
consumed upon it, except the second crop OF
grass after the two crops of hay, which were
pastured by sheep, and the whole crop Of
grass in the years 1865 and 1870. In 1855
nm 70 ynotn axxha Gnl1 ~ l,ox,
having good stock of old left over, and 1
could not conveniently fence off the two acres
of the experiment, as they were in the centre
Of the field. In 1870 was within three years
of the expiration of my lease, and as 1 was
bound to farm according to the five-course
shift for the last five years of it, 1 was COM
PEELED to pasture it that year. During both
the years it was pastured did not give the
stock grazing on it any artificial food.
need not send you copy of the experiment
on the first rotation, but for the sake of ease
Of comparison I append the gross results of
the four years of it.
This series of experiments, so far as it is
to be relied upon, shows that there is less
difference in the permanent effects of farm
yard and special manures than is generally
believed. In the first and third rotations,
when the first crop of the rotation (turnips)
was small one, and nearly equal on all, ard
WOuIu HOI CAuduSt u ldlSG QuduLlIy vi bu6
manure, the value of the last crop of the ro-
tation (oats) raised By guano was only few
shllllngs less than the value of those raised
by farm-yard manure. In the second rota-
ton when the first crop of it (turnips) was
very large one over all, but largest on the
guano lot, the value of the last crop (oats)
is just about as much below that raised by
farm-yard manure as the value of the turnp
crop raised by guano as above that raised by
ard mo- e1,a t,otr rx-I,o
the first crop of the rotation exhausts about
the same quantity of either farn1-yard ma
nure or guano, there is about the same guam.
tity of both left in the soil for the use of the
last crop, but when the first crop exhausts
more OF the guano than of the farm-yard
manure there is just about the same propor-
ton less left. With regard to the dissolved
bones and coprolites, it will he noticed that
the gross produce from them over the whole
experiments is less than that from the other
two manures, showing that they had not sup
piled so much of the proper manurial ele-
lnents for the whole crops grown as the other
two did; but while this is the case it also
shows that what they do supply is not ex-
hausted any sooner; if we compare the bar
leyIcrop of 1860, the first corn crop of the
last rotation, with the oat crop of 1862, the
last crop of that rotation, it will be seen the
value OF the crop of barley raised by the
yoiu AhduuiO 10 COboiuCldUlJ SEGdUeI
than that raised by the bones and coprolites,
but there is only a few shillings difference in
the value of the last crop; this looks as if the
greater quantity Of ammonia applied in the
farm-yard manure aud guano than in the
bones and coprolites had acted more rapidly,
and having exhausted itself in the increased
crop OF the first part of the rotation, there
had been nearly an equal quantity of mineral
elements left in the soil by all the manures
for the last crop of it,
This seems TO lead to the conclusion that
on average good soil, containing fair pro-
portion of clay, such as that on which these
experients were made, it does not matter
much in what shape we apply the manures
to them, if we only give them sufficient
quantity of the proper manurial elements of
the crops we sow upon them, as they seem
to retain them in all the different shapes till
they are exhausted by the crop grown; for
here the lots to which special manures alone
were applied for three rotations show as few
symptoms of manuaial exhaustion at the end
of that time as that to which the farm-yard
manure was applied. believe all the lots
were in quite as good condition when fin
ished the experiment as were when l COM