The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-05-24
lConcluded from First Page. ]

ivan guano. Each lot of land containing
L, 800 feet, and he began his experiment
hree years ago. He applied then on the
first lot two cords of well rotted manure,
mixed with two cart-loads of muck on the
second, 100 bushels of leached wood ashes
IN the third, two cords OF green COW man.
nre, on the fourth, eighty bushels of un.
leached wood ashes, and on the fifth, $50
pounds of Peruvian guano. He weighed
his hay; two crops for each of the three
years and the first year he got from the
ITO lbs. of hay, from the leached
ashes 1920 lbs., from the green manure
1000 lbs, from the unleached ashes 1850
lbs, and from the Peruvian guano 1910
lbs. The second year he got from the COM
post 1000 lbs, from the lcached ashes 400
lbs, from the green COW MANFRED 100 lbs,
from the unleached ashes 1890 lbs, and
from the guano $40 lbs. The third year
he got from the compost 9G5 lbs, from the
leached ashes 100 lbs from the green
manure 1850 lbs, from the dry wood ashes
1880 lbs, and from the guano 800 lbs.
The land selected was field free from shade
with well set sod, three years old. In
the three years the green manure produced
1900 lbs, the unleached wood ashes 1870
lbs, the leached ashes $40 lbs, the COM
post manure 1926 lbs, and the guano 5000
lbs. / consider these experiments in top
dressing very valuable.
/ have secured the minutes of another
experiment made by John Ray, who meets
with us occasionally, and who, as you all
know, is careful and successful farmer.
His experiment also runs over three years
and is intended to test the different modes
Of applying the manure, and not the kind
Tho lanI enlnptot tvaa n
warm rather light loan. 1t consisted of
one and half acres, divided into five equal
parts. On four of the parts, compost
manure was applied at the rate of twenty
cart loads per acre. On the first lot, the
manure was ploughed in eight inches; on
the second lot it WAS ploughed in four
inches; on the third lot it was narrowed in !;
on the fourth lot 1t was spread on the sur
face after planting; and the fifth lot had
no manure at all. The field was planted
with corn The first lot yielded twelve
bushels; the second lot yielded ten bushels !;
the third lot yielded nine bushels and TWEEN
weight quarts the fourth lot yielded eight
and a half bushels all the fifth lot yield
I'd seven bushels TIL. second year these
lots of land were plOughed about eight
inches deep and sown with wheat. The
first lot into which the manure was ploughed
eight inches, yielded nearly five bushels to
the lot the second lot into which the man.
ure was ploughed four inches yielded foui
quarts less than the first; the third lot into
which the manure was narrowed yielded
the same as the second; the fourth lot or
the surface of which the manure was spread
Welded FIVE bushels and the fifth lot which
had no manure at all yielded four bushels
and two quarts, The ihird year the land
was in grass. herds. grass and clover. The
first lot yielded S2j lbs, the second GA
lbs, the third 643 lbs, the fourth 544 lbs,
and the fifth 4S7 lbs. These experiments
would indicate that manure must be ap
piled to the land in different ways for diff
ferent crops.
Now, l have no doubt much important in
formation can be derived from the results al
which these gentlemen have arrived; but We
must remember that the application of ma
nurc to the soil is but small part of the
business of preparing land for crop. 1
must be properly ploughed, properly har
rowed and at the right time and it mus
he properly seeded with good seed if it
full capacity is to be reached. Manure i
all.important but the mode of dealini
with the land is important also.
''What do you say to ploughing in greei
81 have tried it, replied John Ray, WIFI
had rather light farm, land never coult
make much out of it. In the first place
il takes all summer to manure piece o
land in this way. If you sow your GRO
in the fall even you can't get at it unit
late in June; and if you SOW it in til
spring, it isn't fit to turn under till fall
and / have never seen the time in my farm
ing when | could afford to wait that lengtl
of time without getting something iron
the land to pay the bills. When you.reckol
the cost of ploughing, and manuring TO
the green crop, and seeding, and add thi
to the delay and the loss of the land for s.
many months, it is evident that this is
pretty expensive way of enrichiIg the soil
But more than all this. have seen piec
of light land apparently poisoned by plough
ing in crop of green oats. 1t was don
in July for the first time-another crop wa
sown and, when 1t was grown enough wa
ploughed in also. This, as you will sec
occupied the whole of one season. TIL
next year the land was planted to corn, an
it did not yield enough to pay for the seed
Why this is do not know. But have nc
ticed that ploughing in a mass of Glove
stubble, which had been browsed an
trampled on by the cattle, and which ha
reached some degree of maturity, will a
most always benefit the land for the mex
season. have no doubt that the acids col
tanned in crude, immature vegetable mat
ter are injurious to the soil, and contain n
soluble salts which can in any way benef
the land At any lrate, can't make any
thing out of ploughing in green crops
this part of the country, and | have neve
known anybody who could"
ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.
IL have heard a good deal said latel
about artificial fertilizers. Can anybod
here tell US about them p said the schoo
master.
'Well, said Mr.. Hopkins, no one els
seeming disposed to speak, 81 suppose {
near / can ascertain, they ought to |
called Stimuldnts rather than fertilizers.
undertook, last summer, to find out no
far | could rely upon them in renewin
some of my old worn-out fields; and | WI
satisfied that they could not take the plat
of more bulky manures, which in then
selves contain not only the humus whic
the soil requires, but all the chemical col
stituents which can be found in half
dozen artificial fertilizers combined.
learned great deal about the value
guano and the effect it had on the wor
out tobacco lands of Virginia and the CO
ton lands OF the Gulf States, But | all
learned that its effect is but Temporal
and that it did not supply the soil wi
those Ingredients which had been tax,
from il by long cropping. And so of VIII
they call superphosphates. They served
my trials, for did use some of the mo
reliable, simply to stimulate for tim
and then the work was all over. And
found that in one good shovel-full ofma
ure had all the ammonia of guano al
all the nitrogen of oil and all the solub
salts of phosphates SO determined n
TO rely upon the artificial fertilizers wi
the expectation that was to be carried
them through the season. tried morrow
an analysis of some of my soil, having be,
told that a skillful chemist could not on
ascertain in what the soil is deficient,