St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-02-14
MANURE in WINTER.
Why Farmers Should Devote Their Leisure
Time to Preparing 1t.

Why Farmers Should Devote Their Leisure
Time to Preparing 1t.
During the winter season every farm
er should devote his leisure time to the
matter of making manure, not only by
adding fresh material and composing
substances thereto, but by working the
heap over, thoroughly mixing it, and
rendering it as fine as possible. There
is q large amount Of material wasted on
the farms in the United States, in the
shape of straw and stalks, and such
substances are valuable in proportion to
their soluble or insoluble condition
when placed on the soil as plant food.
A ton of wheat straw does not return a
ton of matter to the soil, for, as dry as
it may seem, it contains a large guam
tity of water, and, when reduced to
remaining, after the volatile substances
have been driven off by heat, may be
anywhere from seyenty-fve to three
hundred pounds, according to the
quality and dryness of the straw. When
straw is mingled with manure, in order
to decompose it more rapidly, the straw
adds nothing to the heap except that
which remains when it is reduced to
ashes, with the exception of portion of
the volatile matter, which possesses a
certain value, and the process of de-
composition is but another method of
getting rid of the moisture and return
ing the straw to its primitive condition
of mineral matter.
A ton of wheat straw contains but q
small proportion of potash, but is made
up largely of silica, nearly sixty
pounds being present in the ash, which
is usually about seventy-fve pounds.
Lime furnishes five pounds, phosphoric
acid three and half pounds, while
small proportions of iron, magnesia
matter in the straw consists largely of
carbon, which possesses no value as
plant food in the soil, according to the
claims of those who advocate that car
bon is appropriated through the agency
of the leaves alone, but it contains
quite proportion of nitrogen in a
fixed condition. It matters nothing, |
however, what the amount of fertiliz-
ing material may be; it will not assist
the farmer in producing succeeding
crops until it is completely disin-
and rendered sufficiently fine
to become soluble and appropriated by
the plants. The advantage, therefore,
of endeayoring to have the manure
heap in a fine condition can not be too
highly estimated, especially if the bene-
fits are to be immediate, and during
the cold season the making of manure
should be the object of every farmer.
We do not imply that the making of
manure is to add to the heap but to
1econapose it. Some art is required,
also, for the heap should not fire.
.ang, and yet it should reach heat
to break all the material to
pieces. The liquids should be care.
ully saved and added to the heap, not
'nly for their value but also for the
'eason that they assist to decompose
he solid parts. BY cutting up the
straw and other material, for the pur-
pose OF absorbing the liquids, it viii be
saving of labor when turning over
he heap. which should be done as soon
IS the manure becomes heated, the
'oarser parts being thrown to the CEN
er, and the whole saturated with the
liquids every time it is worked over
Farm, Field and FiresSde.