The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1877-12-13

ldll Vi 80 CONa,
fixed in the nimal OF passes INTO the
atmosphere by respiration. OF the
better sorts of food, not more than
~one-fourth or one-tifth finds its way
back To the manure heap. one ton,
being the average of the whole $40
tons. will give the following compost
ton -
Organic matter. . cWte.
Mineral matter. o. cwts.
Total dry matter. ......... cwts.
Water. II cNts.
Total 90 cwt..
SELECT CONSTITUENTS.
II lbs.
Phosphoric acid, reckoneda az
nbosnhate lime 3 lbs.
Nitrogen 10 lbs.
Total. 81 lbs.
The 6 cwts. of dry matter contain
rather more than ) IA of organic mat
ter. and II 10. in nitrogen % 10. IN
minera matter, and out OF THIS b2 I'D.
by far the most important ingredients
are 10 10 of potash and 8 10. OF phos-
phate of lime. You will perceive that
| NdItE anu OI2dlHC HltllCl up
more than 10 IA cwts. Of the ton of
dung.
DIR. Voelcker has made some careful
analyses of yard anu He found
in the dung he analysed nitrogen
equal to II 1-2 10. of ammonia, hut ne
said it was rich dung made tn a
great deal of cake. | excluded cake
from nv calculation, and my dung
gave nitrogen equal to IA 1-2 10. of
ammonia. If | had added the con
sumption Of 90 IONS of cake, the
amount of ammonia would have been
the same in both. DR.. Noelcker shows
US also that by far the larger part of
the ingredients in dung are in an
insoluble state-that is to say, in a
state in which plants cannot feed upon
them until they have undergone fnz
Their change. out of nitrogen wh1o4l
would yield II 10. of ammonia, Mt
more than 2 1-2 10. were in the form Of
salts of ammonia. : :
mentioned that nearly four-fifths
of farm yard consisted of
straw. The influence of straw as a
manure cannot therefore be left out of
our estimates. On two half-acres of
permanent pasture the same quantity
of chemical salts was applied every
year, one receiving in addition each
year 1000 10. of finely cut wheat straw
per acre. 1t was not until eight years
after the first application that the in
tiuence of the straw upon the crop was
perceptible since that. the effect has
been continuous, and the increase Of
hay due to the straw has been for the
last ten years equal to IL cwt. per
acre per annum. On another part of
the same piece of pasture. farm yard
dung was applied for eight years in
succession. a hay crop being removed
each year. Since the last application
of dung. thirteen crops of hay have
been taken, n 1t appears probable. as
the last crop gave z cwt. of hay due to
the unexhausted dung. that several
years may elapse before all further in
huence of the dung ceases.
On a field where barley has been
grown for twenty-five years in success
sion, we have found by experience
that 6 quarts AS bushels is the limit of
a successful crop. If we attempt to
grow more. to use an expressive term
amongst farmers. the crop runs to
straw" To obtain this crop of 6 quar-
ters, we find it necessary to apply 80
lbs. of ammonia in the form of salts of
ammonia. OF the same equivalent in
nitrate of soda. Owing to the insolu-
bility of SO much Of the nitrogen in
farmyard dung. We apply four to five
times as much nitrogen as we do i IN
che chemical salts, without producing
a larger crop or causing over-growth.
On a field which had been growinp
wheat. potatoes We're last year brought
under experiment. AS is usual with
us. a portion Of land was left unma-
nured, Il tons of dung We're applied to
another acre. and various chemical
salts We're used in other parts. The
total increase potatoes obtained by the
dung over the unmanured ground was
) cWt.. the dunged crop of being a liz
tie under that weight. You Will ma
turally say that such a result does not
accord with your own experience. and
that you would undertake to get a bet
ter result than this. You have. how
ever. no experience on land which has
received no manure for eighteen wears.
The want of action was due to some
ingredient in the dung not being in an
active state. This is quite evident bv
the fact that, when soluble salts Were
used, a full crop of nearly 9 IONS pei
acre were obtained. Owing to'the IN
even shape of the permanent wheat
field. a piece Of about one acre was cut
from the top. and has been growing
wheat without manur ever since.
This must have occurred TWENTY-FIVE
years ago. or perhaps more 4 care
full observer may still distinguish a
slight difference IN the wheat where
dung was applied in former years. Ii
would appear, from these results. that
the influence of farmyard manures ex-
tend further back than is commonly
supposed, and although the last an
plcation contributes by far the largest
amount of the food of your crops il
would appear that the n an
piled by you on your first entry might
still be contributing something tow
ards the last crOD taken ar tho ayro