Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-08-22
AGRICULTURAL.
COMpOSrS.

| There are variety of crops raised on
the farm. and especially IN the garden,
which, however rich the soil, are all the
/ better for little well-digested compost
| in the hill In all districts where ma
nnre must he used, more or less, for all
| crops, this is well understood. Hence the
large amounts of commercial fertilizers
| bought each year. As rule, i'll all the
newer sections of the country, the far
mer having virgin land cannot spend the
+ time tn make compost The more thick
4 ly II country becomes settled, and the
greater the diversity of the crops raised
/ the greater the necessity of manure. The
making of compost for special applira-
ton next follows. Tho crops to which
compost is especially valuable are those
raised in hills and drills, such as sor-
| ghum, corn, potatoes, etc. Strong com
mercial fertilizers, as glano, must not be
allowed to come directly IN contact with
the seed 1t is apt to kill. Farm com
posts, however. may be applied directly
i'll the hill or drill, and Immediately i'll
contact with the seed.
Compost is simply any vegetable or all
imal substance reduced 10 n homogene-
GUS mass by being thoroughly rotted
and mixed with earthly or mineral sub
stances, as sods, loan, muck, peat, ashes,
salt, gypsum, etc To make 1t, it is sim
ply necessary to prepare Il piece of
ground so that liquid constituents may
not escape Into this, any trash. weeds,
litter. strong EARTH all the wash of the
house, and if possible the DRAWINGS of
the barnyard, if any NAV be carried also
any dead animal matter that may accumu-
late. To this add what ashes is made,
and gypsum and salt Mt the rate of fifty
to one hundred pounds TO each ton of
other substances employed. Keep the
whole moist, not wet, until ii is half de
cayed.
To insure uniform moisture, it is well
to have hogshead tank in the bottom Of
the heap, connected with II pump, for
throwing the liquid back upon the pile
from time to time When the whole is
sufficiently decayed SO it may be broken
up, turn and mix all thoroughly. and ST.
proceed until the whole becomes an uni
form and homogeneous mould In this
condition from double handful to a
small shovelful to the hill, according to
the nature of plants, will force vegetation
in its earlier stages wonderfully. For
garden work, especially, it will be invalu-
able, either applied to the hills or drills,
or scattered broadcast over the surface
and raked or narrowed in.
In preparing compost manure many
persons make the mistake Of working the
mass too often. All that is needed after
it has laid long enough to become disin-
tegrable is to be thoroughly mixed i'll all
its parts. Then one more turning will
generally suffice
There is much difference of opinion in
relation to the action of compost for gene
raj farm operations. We have always adj
vised drawing the green manure directly
to the land, and ploughing it under. This
will apply especially to our prairie soils.
On such soils, strong to compact loans,
the action is two fold, mechanical AMI
chemical. Very often the mechanical ae
tion is of fully us much value rs it is i'll
the plant food the manure contains. Ii
acts as Il divisor and disintegratUr of the
soil, and decays less quickly than more
porous soils. Hence again the value Of
compost i'll all clayey soils i'll assisting
plants while yet they are young, and es-
pecially So to the gardener.
We have heretofore shown that in the
case Of claycy garden soils both wood and
coal ashes Were especially valuable as dis
intcgrators Coal ashes contain hut little
manurial value. Its value consists prin-
cipally in its mechanical action in disin-
tegrating the PARTICLES Of soils. rendering
them rs sand would. light AMI porous.
Coal ashes may he applied to such soils,
from time TO time until they form about
one-quarter of the soil. to the depth to
which il is worked For sandy soils coal
ashes should not he used \ better APP
plication would be to use from twenty to
forty loads per acre of thoroughly frost
weathcred dry clay With this twenty or
thirty bushels of lime and the same OF
ashes, and four hundred pounds of salt
per acre will also be found valuable -
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