Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-02-14
More about Manure.

More about Manure.
In a recent number of the New England
Farmer Vermont correspondent rather
severely and sarcastically arraigned the agri
cultural editors for giving currency to an
extract from an English paper, in which it
was declared that the manure of four sheep
for one year was sufficient for the fertiliza-
ton of one acre of ground for a four-years'
rotation, or that the yarding of one thou
sand four hundred sheep upon one acre for
one day would fit that acre for the same
course of tillage. The Vermont writer con-
sdered this to be preposterous and init
mated that the man who wrote it was ut
terly unacquainted with practical agricul-
ture. The editor of the Farmer rather
knocked under to this and although we had
not copied the item in question, fellow feel
ing led us to come to the rescue, as follows;
"Mr. Editor Il am strongly tempted
(and mean to yield to the temptation) to take
up the challenge thrown out by Mr.. Goodhue
to the agricultural editors, in the matter of
those four sheep, and the possibility of suf-
ficiently enriching an acre of land for four
course rotation with their manure for one year.
In the first place, the item criticised was
taken from an English paper, and in England
our little Merino sheep, of which Mr.. Good
hue was probably thinking, are almost un-
known. In their place we should find large
IaI n,;I lal
mainly for meat, and far more highly fed
than it would answer to feed Merinos. One
of these sheep would probably outweigh
three of Mr.. Goodhue's, and would consume
such rich food in fattening as would render
its manure equivalent in manural effect to
that of six or eight of our ordinary sheep.
"Four Cotswold sheep would weigh above
eight hundred pounds, or about as much as
more of the value of such cows feed is
taken away in the milk than of the -four
sleeps feed in the wool, the manure of the
latter would have so much the higher fer
tilizing power, allowing their feed to be the
same, or equivalent There is no doubt
that as a matter of fact the sheep in
England would have the richest food.
snow, though without practical expert
ence in sheep, know something about cows.
and it is perfectly allowable to reason from
the known to the unknown, if we reason
fairly. know from experience that the
manure of one eight UNDERGROUND COW for
n Il AMI, ~ III.
saved, liquid and solid together, is an ample
dressing to the acre for four-course rota-
ton, if the COW has been properly fed.
do it every year, and my crops will speak
for themselves. Experience is the main
thing, but it is well when we can support
and explain experimental results by scien-
tiic authority; and the analysis of cows
dung and urine, as given by various author
tiles, and lately in the Scientific Farmer
shows a sutiiciency of plant food, in years
product, for four-course rotation-one yea
grain one year roots, and two years grass
will not now take up your space with the
figures, but can do so if desired.
Il. ii. IiosKINs.
Newport, w., January l6h, 1877"
To this communication the editor of the
Farmer appei led the following remarks
which show considerable rallying OF
courage;
"Remarks We do not know to which par
ticuar number of the Scientific Farme
friend IIoskins alludes, but we find. in tn,
December number for 1876, statement
claiming that the average COW will evacuat,
from sixty to eighty pounds of solid excre
ments daily, or from eleven to fourteen anc
one.half tons year. while the urine vii
equal about fourteen tons. In the ,Januar,
number for the current year, the value o
the nitrogen and potash in the urine of
COW, is figured out at thirty.four dollars De
year-taking Professor Cheeseman's yalua
tions for nitrogen and potash, the former a
TWENTY-FIVE cents. and the latter at eipb
cents per pound. The value of the soil,
excrements is estimated at something les
than the LIQUID, or. according to some au
thorities, in the proportion of seventeen t.
twenty. Taking these figures as a basis 70