Sharp County record., 1882-08-03
Manuring in Il Fall.

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ton of their next year S Lnting ground
the previous fall, and Tltivate it in,
they would find it gre help about
getting on with their pring work,
especially such spring ithe past has
been. 1t often happens TT the success
or failure of a summers terations de-
pends upon a very few da, at a certain
time in the spring. The is, every
spring, a last week when will pay to
put in each of the farm3nd garden
crops. Some years corn M be planted
at intervals for month oTonger and
have ample time to matul the crop,
but there are other years win the plant
ing season is reduced by rms or frost
to very few days. There's not only
a limit to the season for plating, but
limit also to what one can don given
time. Now if one can get hi planting
ground ready, or nearly Pady the
previous autumn, it will be aimee seen
that the acreage Of planting glund may
be greatly increased. We Emember
when it was common practicto do all
the preparatory work Of plantg in the
spring. The ground was plOied, the
manare hauled on over the sof4lrrows.
and all the work of harroMg and
pulverization done just befte the
seed was dropped, If the season
was short the work was lneces-
sarily hurried and very implicitly
done Carting loads over soft lowed
grounds in spring when the soil iSamp,
IS always Objectionable. 1t maks the
ground hard and lumpy and dihiolt to
cultivate, and hard for the roots / the
crops to penetrate, lfthis work belone
the previous autumn, the fro5ts ofHin-
ter will tend to tighten the soil ccted
over, and leave it IN better conditioi for
planting. In any case the time will all
be saved for other work in spring 1t
has been our aim for several years pst
to get in condition for manuring plat
ing ground the previous fall, and tits
not such q difficult matter perhaps rs
one might suppose who had not givu
the subject much thought. Some ma
object that the manure wastes if haule
out and narrowed six months in advanc
of putting in the crop. We have NJ
fears whatever of waste in this direc
ton. The soil has at all times grea
"afinity" for manure, and will hold tC
it with a good deal of tenacity until the
growing plants are ready to take it up
There certainly can be but little waste
in winter when the ground is much o.
the time frozen solid. Coarse manureE
spread and cultivated in from two tc
four inches deep, it would seem, coulC
not be in a better place during the win.
ter. The soluble portions will to some
extent be washed out and dittused even
ly through the soil, or just where the
roots will most easily find them. Ma.
nure spread in spring may lie in humps
for long while without doing the croE
very much good.
Manuring in the fall gives more time
for thorough cultivation and prepara-
ton before plantingin spring. We have
worked our fields over about once q
week, from the time the frost was out
till the day the seed went into the
ground. This kills great many weeds,
and consequently will save a great
amount of work during the ordinary
wedding season. 1t not on y kills sor-
rel and other weeds that live through
the winter, but working the ground Just
before.rather late planting, kills mill.
ions OF ANNALS that are just starting. II
the manure is hauled the previous fall
the spring work may 90 on so leisurely
that the planting may all be delayed til
the air and the ground are both wei
warmed. Cultivation helps to warm the
soil by letting the warm air into it. We
never saw a field that appeared to be
cultivated too much. Draw the manure
in the fall, work it in with a disc har
row, and even though the field were il
grass. itmay, by frequent working in the
spring, be made as mellow and free
from weeds and sods as an old garden
Some will say that they can never ge
enough ahead to manure year in ad
vance. The manure is made in winter
and it would be wasteful to keep it an
other whole year before using it. TC
these we should say, try to save manure
in summer by stalling the cattle nights
and some of the time days when they
are fed in the barn. 1t is getting quite
common to feed some green food dur
ing the drought spell in summer ant
fall, and it is very wasteful practice
to feed green food in the pastures, or tc
feed it in the stables and then turn the
cattle out Immediately to lie in The
pastures and waste the manure, which
is needed for producing another supply
of green food. Many farmers buy ;
little fertilizer every year to make thc
stable manure hold out. Now if they
would, after learning its value and get
ting confidence in it, buy enough tC
wholly manure one crop, they could
then keep their stable manure on hanC
for use at such time as would seen
most desirable 1t would seem as i
almost any method would be an i'm
provement over the too common Gus
tom of hauling out green manure oyel