The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-10-10
The Egis & Intelligencer
Bel Air, Md, October 10, 1884.
DEER CREEK FARMERS CLUB.
A Handsome, Well Improved Farm.
Can Lands be Made Rich with artificial
FertiIizers?
AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION.

day at the residence of Messrs. Parker H. and
Mere Mssr NJ ee nne
S. NJ. Bayless, Allen Kelly and Benz. Burgess.
Mr.. Lees farm comprises over 225 acres. nearly
all of which is in grass, the grazing of cattle
being speciality. Mr.. james Lee also farms two
adjoining places, and altogether has the care of
the finest in the State. The fields are admirably
situated, with water in all of them. and the
farm buildings are large and well arranged for
The club in body looked at and admired Mr..
Lees CATTLE and upon re-assembling at the house
BENZ. Silver, Jr s. B. silver and B. Fl. Barnes
reported. MIR. B. Silver said this might well be
called the model farm of Hartford county. Mr.:
Lee lately sent away about Is fine fat cattle and
has as many more ready 70 60. The most of the
latter will be shipped to % Europe, He also has
pointed out which weighs over 800 lbs. Mr. Lee
last met at his place. He is building new dwell
ing house on a beautiful site has erected
by a substantial shed, and has put up 475 panels
of new fence. Too much praise can not be given
to him for the admirable manner in which all his
farm operations are done and the excellent ar
rangement of the buildings.
The question discussed was Gan land be
the use of barn yard manure?
Mr.. James Lee said Barn yard manure is the
only ~ rea6e Rsed san NO enem tba
crop to which it is applied, or whether or not it
will benefit the land. This cannot be said Of any
can YOU constantly crop, and ut the same time
improve your land: know of no better illustra-
around the cities. 1t is said that they cannot
raise very large crop OF vegetables with any
other fertilizer. 80 says Peter henderson, and
The great point is to get all the benefit of all the
manure. Then the question would naturally
The first point when to apply the manure, think
is easily answered. AS far as my experience and
Rrofn f
the best manner OF applying manure, l should
prefer spreading it on grass land Immediately
to spread 1t evenly. A great deal perhaps one
half, of our manure goes to waste in the form of
to the highest state of fertility without the use
of barn yard manure? can answer that ques-
tion by what have observed around my own
county. / know of no farm made rich except
where cattle have been kept, either as dairy or
stock farm and have seen number of them
question does not take into consideration the ex-
pense, feel absolutely sure that 1t can be done
by the use OF barn yard manure II used In suffi-
cient quantities, and am very doubtful IL any
amount of commercial fertilizers, used alone,
would bring our lands to the highest state of i'm
Benjamin Silver Jr., would answer the question
in the negative, but land can be brought to high
state Of fertility if not the highest by
corn, follow that by clover, pow the latter down
and you can raise IA barrels of corn to the acre
without fertilizers. He believed in bone dust but
had seen good results from cheaper fertilizers,
such as South Carolina rock, for instance. He
had also made as good crops with low grade of
Orioe phosphate as with bone. Land can be
brought to yield 20 bushels Of corn to the acre by
the use of commercial fertilizers but at greater
cost than by barn yard manure.
Geo. e. Silver said: You might have two
fields, each raising 20 barrels of corn to the acre
and they would not be in the same condition after
the corn is taken of.
Judge Waters said the test of fertility was the
ability take off oa after IA
acre had ever been grown without barn yard ma
nure.
sedge field, and If not limited In time and expense
bring it to the highest state of fertility.
Silver said barn yard ar is sn
could not bring farm up without it.. CONNER
cal fertilizers properly applied and the land
equal 10 lands on which barn yard manure has
been used. Parts of every large farm, distant
from the barn never have barn yard manure PVT
1t will cost more to bring land up to the highest
state of fertility with commercial fertilizers. He
body as If improved with barn yard manure. If
he could get enough barn yard manure he would
never apply any other kind.
Bennett III. Barnes believed that land could be
brought to the highest state of fertility without
the aid of barn yard manure He preferred bone
dust and kainit to phosphates. He would say that
and from rs to 80 bushels of wheat to the acre,
done by commercial fertilizers.
s. M. Lee said that IL a man undertook to put
up land by commercial fertilizers alone, receiv;
err would soon be appointed for HIM. He had
seen lands of fair quality improved with clover
plaster and bought fertilizers, but the principal
matter was the clover. To make ground rich you
must have vegetable matter in it.. Start that and
return it to the ground again. Ii it were posi-
6 to Stop
plying them the ground soon becomes unproduc-
tive. Land may be put up by returning min green
it. you must use stable manure.
VIM webster said land, could be brought to
high but not the very highest state of cultivation
without the use of barn yard manure 1t makes
no difference when barn yard manure is applied.
1t can always be relied on but in the application
of commercial fertilizers you must be particular.
You can't get body in the land without barn yard
manure. Lands require certain elements and
farmers have to buy three or four times as much
of other things to get what their land needs, but
barn yard manure contains Just what crops re,
quire. In the valleys of the western States and
the Sacramento valley the manure is destroyed,
and yet the fertility is inexhaustable. There is
great accumulation of grass, which falls down
our lands for 10 years without fertilizers and they
would go back. Commercial fertilizers have
their advantages and disadvantages. ne would
not advise any young farmer whose land will
produce 20 barrels of corn to the acre to cease
fertllizinG. A light application of straw to the
body and strength to the land than commercial
fertilizers would. Shade will improve land, but
he could not tell why.
increase of fertility in ground shaded by brush,
straw &C.. is due to the origin and decay of coun-
S. 8. Silver had never thought straw had any
baG as T6e rs ms YEAR
spot was plowed it yielded a tremendous crop of
corn and the second year the crop was good, but
after that you could not notice than any rick mad
John Moores said some lands can be brought to
high state of fertility by the use of commercial
lands, however, can be made productive by q
regular system Of farming, with very small
of wheat grass and grazing.
Geo. J. Finney's opinion was that if not limited
in expense land can be brought to as high state
of fertility by bought fertilizers as by barn
yard manure. and he did not see why 1t would
not be as lasting. Take the same quality OF land,
and use the same diligence and foresight, and
farm with the same care, and you Will have
equally good results from commercial fertilizers
Would be greater There is nothing equal to barn
yard manure to make crop, but he did not think
1t follows that bone dust would not bring as good
Judge Waters remarked that all he might say
would merely be repetition of what Mr. s: M.
place we must determine what is meant by the
highest state of fertility If the standard is the
sn be aog WITH
idea of the highest state of fertility is land that
will produce large crops without any addition
Deacon Jones' wonderful one-horse shay, that
was SO perfectly adjusted In all its parts that when
with the iandHto have it that the last crop would
be as good as the first Our poor land is poor not
because 1t is deficient in all the elements of plant
food but because some elements are exhausted
faster than Others The best way to restore fer
tility is to get materials from plants II we could
find out what was needed and get it from some
other source you might make the land produc-
tive. In barn yard manure you get all the ele-
ments In the proportion required for plants. In
bone dust, also, you restore to the land what
came from It. There Is no virtue in the barn
yard. II you allow me to use everything that
constitutes barn yard manure. you may take
away the barn yard. If you add the one or two
elements lacking you will restore the fertility fol
some time but can't get land to the highest state
of fertility. As to enriching land by shading 1t
~ nd toolf