The Portland daily press., 1878-02-28
AGRICULTURAL.
The Use of MFanure

The agricultural editor of the New York
which should guide the farmer in the pse of
manure:
First-Plants absorb their nutriment BY
means of the surfaces of their roots; not, as
has been supposed by some, by some means
of spongioles at the rootlets, but by means of
the delicate skin or surface of the newer
portions of the roots, or by means of micro-
scopic ilaments called "root-hairs," which
spring from the tender surfaces of the fibrous
roots.
Second-The medium in which the roots
grow has great influence upon their extern
sion. In fertile soil they are numerously
branched and spread thickly ia every direc-
ton, and are abundantly furnished with the
machinery for absorption of nutriment. On
the contrary, in infertle soil the roots are few,
attenuated, and are sparsely supplied with
fibrous rootlets.
Thrd-We cannot form any adequate idea
OF the quantity of roots possessed by a plant
by roughly tearing it from the soil. If we
wish to discover the whole mass of the roots
of a plant it must be done by carefully wash
ing away the earth from the plant, by means
OF stream of water. Then we may find
that in rich soil the roots in a field of
wheat, which fill the ground to a depth of
three or four feet, or from that down to seven
or nine feet in depth in suitable soil.
Fourth-It is upon the abundance of roots
that the growth of the plant above the surfa &c
depends.
Fifth-Plants absorb nothing that is not
soluble in water, nor do they absorb anything
at all except by their roots, nor except it is
in the state OF watery solution.
Sixth-Before any organic matter can be-
come food for plants it must be decomposed.
Thus, we cannot feed a starch-producing
plant upon starch, nor an albuminous plant
upon albumen; but when starch is decom-
posed into original carbon, and albumen into
its original nitrogen, then and then only can
plants feed upon these substances.
Seventh-The fertilizing matter existing in
the soil must be in state of fine division and
be intimately mixed with the soil to be
readily reached by roots of plants.
From the consideration of the foregoing it
is concluded that the manure should be ap-
piled before the crop is sown or planted; that
it should be in thoroughly decomposed
condition, or at least should be put into the
soil in such condition and at such period
that 1t shall be decomposed by the time that
it is needed for the nourishment of the young
plant that it should be spread upon the sur
face, and should be mixed with the soil as in
timately as possible by means of the plough
and the harrow; that it should be kept as
near the surface as possible, and to do this it
should be covered by a first ploughing, and
then by means of second ploughing across
the first one it should be brought to the sur
face again and mingled with the soil, the
ultimate and complete intermingliDg being
done by narrowing.
For spring planting, whether for corn, po-
tatoes or turnps, it has been abundantly
shown that no certain rule can be laid down.
1t depends greatly upon the character of the
soil whether it is better to manure in the fall
or spring. Few farmers have any choice in
this. 1t is the manure made in the winter
that goes to make the spring crops. But we
have found upon clay soils, which are re-
tentive of manure, that it will pay to spread
it as it is made, whether before the snow has
fallen and covered the ground or afterwards.
For early potatoes or for garden crops we
have found it greatly the best to spread the
manure in the fall and cover with the plough,
leaving the land rough until spring, when the
cultivator will quickly level the ground and
mingle the manure with it. For later plant
ed crops, manure spread as made during the
fall and winter, even upon the snow, and left
until the usual time for plonghing in the
spring, has been most efaetive with us. But
upon lighter soils we have not found it ad-
visable to spread manure for spring crops un-
til short time previous TO ploughing for
them. The only exception to this rule as to
light soils has been in the case of clover sod,
which is to be ploughed for corn in the
spring. Then the earliest application of ma
nure possible produces a heavy growth of
clover to be ploughed under, and a clover
sod is the best fertilizer for corn that we
know Of