Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-02-10
application OF Liquid Manure.

Ocntictnau.
The comparative advantages of applying
fertilizers to land, in liquid form, Or after
the liquid has been taken up and made
solid by absorbents, have not been fully
settled by intelligent farmers generally.
Liquids have the advantage of immediate
action when applied; while, on the contrary
the soluble portions OF solids must be first
dissolved or washed out, requiring 4 con
siderable length of time. On the other
hand, liquid manure can only be secured
by more perfect and expensive buildings,
and the facilities for conveying it to the
fields include pumps, tanks aud sprink lers.
In addition to these, care must be taken to
prevent the Inconvenience of freezing in
winter.
On a large scale, and with complete
tanks and appliances, the use Of liquids
NAV be attended with less labor in apply
ing than 4 they were all first absorbed and
then drawn out in solid form. With 4
good pump, and with the tank or tub not
much higher than the cistern, 4 laborer
will load liquid ton, ready for drawing,
with less labor than he can throw Il solid
ton on wagon with a fork. Through the
sprinkler he spreads it with no other labor
than driving tho wagon across the field.
and it is more evenly distributed and
finely d,ifused than by any spreading
with the fork and breaking with the har-
row-in which it is scarcely equalled by
kemp's spreading cart, which pulverzes
and scatters the manure with no labor to
the driver This manure spreader is the
most perfect cOntrivance yet brought into
use for making manure available by fine
pulyerzatiOn and next to this is the fall
Spreading Of manure and breaking it fine
by suitable harrowing--tEe autumn ard
winter rains washing out the soluble parts
into the soil.
Very few farmers have barns, stables
drains, cisterns, pumps and tubs lol
drawing, to enable them to use and spread
liquid manure advantaseously. Most OF
the stable floors are not water tight, and
the liquids leak through and a:e absorbed
by the earth beneath, or are lost. On
grain farms, where there is AZ abundaGc,
Of staw. enough may be used rs litter +,
hold all or nearly all the liquid, and large
quantities of this coarse or straw manure
thrown into a heap and exposed t,
weather and rains will rot down and ma,
be drawn out in in the following autumn
A question here occurs, which VIC s.gges
for vestigatiOu-namely, how mucl
gain in the labor Of drawing out soil,
manure is obtained by the spontaneous
evaporation of the water OF the liquit
manure as it lies in such i heap?
When absorbents cannot be had til.
liquid may be saved by excavating 4 sLai
low cistern beneath the stable, making th
sides SO soping that the water-Iimc NOR
tar may be spread on the smooth face c
the earth. In this way the expense vii
be moderate. The contents OF this els
tern are pumped out as needed and draw
to the fields i'm the -watercart. There al
two difficulties with this method |
the cement is not made with tn
sllarpest and pures: sand, and the hes
water lime, the frost of cold winters vii
crumble It. The fntid OGOr from til
liquid may interfere with the maintenance
of the pure air which should always exS
about every good farmers buildings. I
prevent these two difficulties is subjee
for careful investigation, which will b
differently answered according to circum
stances A large use of absorbentS in t!l
cistern would defeat the attempt to car.
off its contents by pumping.
The object of these remarks is to ope
the question for examination, and to invit
the statements of those who have tried III
different modes for securing and applyin
liquid manure under the most favOrabl
circumstances The three points to
taken specially into consideration are tt,
comparative advantages of Il. Using til
clear liquid with good and suitable appl
ances =. Employing an abundance q
straw and other absorbents in the stable
and 3. Conveying the liquids by means ,
light floors and cutters to compost heap
Of earth, peat or turf, placed unde: or nea
the barn.