The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-04-09
MANURE.
some Speculations Relative to Its Manu-
facture and Use.

is the question of keeping up the fertility
of the soil. If farming is so conducted
that the farmer is continually exhaust
ing his capital. the soil. bankruptcy can
only be question of time. If the farm
ers should grow the ordinary rotation
of crops, selling off the farm all the
fruits, VERSAILLES, grass, straw and
grain grow. At is evident that. while
ne would be selling his products in their
cheapest, least valuable forms. he would
| be reducing constantly the amount of
food for crops in MS soil. diminishing
its capacity for producing future crops.
| The farmer who consumes on the farm
only what is necessary Ia feed his family
and such animals as are needed to work
the farm and supply the family with
such meat, milk, etc. as it needs, sell
| ing the remainder, is reducing the farms
fertility little less rapid. but none the
| less certainly. The farmer who works
enough stock 70 consume all the hay,
straw, corn, oats and barley, converting
all of these products into beef, mutton,
wool, milk, pork, eggs, etc, and selling
I them in such forms, generally receives
more money for his products and re-
tains larger percentage on the farm TO
feed future crops, than by any other
disposition he can make of his farms
products.
There is still another wav: The
/ farmer who converts his products into
animal forms. selling in their crude
state only his wheat, potatoes, beahs
and fruits, purchasing and feeding
enough meal. middlingS, oil meal. etc,
to equal the plant food sold. and care
fully saves and iudiciously applies the
manure to growing crops, may accumu-
late money and keep his principal. the
ingredients of crops in his soil unim-
paired. After having done all of this
many farmers really increase the fer
tility of their soil, under crops, by q
judicious purchase and use of CONNER
cial fertilizers, some forms of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash. When a
/ farmer is able to do all OF this he is 4
successful farmer.
Next to the question of making all
| the manure consistent with true econ
Omy, it becomes a question OF hardly
/ less Importance how best to save and
use the manure. Forty or fifty years
/ ago, while the farmer understood some
/ thing of the value of the solid eXcre-
ments of animals, but little effort was
made to save the liquid excrements.
! Since then chemistry has taught him
! the value of the latter, and considerable
effort is made to save them by using
| litter under the animals to absorb their
| liquids, or by draining them into
cutters supplied with absorbents.
Doubtless few farmers make all neces-
sary efforts to save the urine voided by
their domestic animals, but progress
has been made in this direction
But how shall the manure be saved
! from loss through decomposition, evap-
Grafton, solution, ETC.? Forty years ago
much was said about composing ma
nures, mixing them with absorbents, so
| that decomposition would be slow, and
| the volatile parts. the ammonia eSpec-
| tally, would be taken up by the absorb
ents Practical farmers found that this
| involved too much labor, handling over
| the manure and absorbents too many
| times. Finally, practical farmers con-
| ceived the idea of conserving manure
! by applying it to the soil rs fast as
made. and allowing the soil to act as an
absorbent. The greater bulk of the ma
nure made on the farm is when the an
finals are up from pasture, from the first
of November to the first of May, and q
large proportion of farmers apply this
manure to sod land for corn. ConSid-
! cradle experience has satisfied them
| that if this manure is drawn out daily
or weekly, and spread upon the sod,
more beneficial effects will be visible in
the next seasons crop of corn than by
keeping it in the barn yard and apply
ing it in the spring. We have been
assured by farmers that have COM
menced in November drawing out and
| spreading their manure on sod. contin-
uing it up to the time of ploughing for
corn in May, that the best corn in the
field was where the first manure was
| applied and the corn diminished gradu-
ally TO the last application before
ploughing. The manure can gain
nothing in plant-food by lying in pile
in the barn-yard or under shed or in
a barn-celar, and it must inevitably
lose something"
Will it not waste more where spread
out upon a sod? Experience says not.
The small proportion of ammonia re-
| leased by slow decomposition is prob
ably absorbed by the moisture present
and gradually washed into the soil, and
| the soluble portions are also washed in
| Then the effect of the manure as a mulch
| is beneficial. Scientists have not salts
| factorily explained the good effects of
mulch, summer and winter, upon soil,
but experience has borne witness to it.
For gardening operations of many
kinds it seems quite important that
| stable manure should be rOtted down
fine, but for ordinary farming purposes
it is seldom necessary. Well-rotted
manure undoubtedly costs several times
more than crude manure, and the ex-
ira cost is only returned where the
| products are much more valuable than
ordinary farm crops.
The manure made through summer
appears to be used to best advantage as
| a top dressing for wheat. 1t is gen.
orally applied after ploughing and har-
rowed in. Perhaps, if applied upon the
surface Just before drilling. it would be
quite as beneficial. if it would not in
terfere with the drilling. Commercial
fertilizers have generally been found
most useful when drilled in with the
seed. That, with a great many farm
ers. they have added very much to the
Yields of wheat, barley, oats, corn,
beans, etc, we have had abundant evil
dence during the last twenty-five years.
On some soils they do not appear to be
effective. What soils they will benefit
and what not not can only be deter
rninnI kv eynprimnnt RHIrlL Homo.