The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-01-13
agricultural.
T. H. HosKlNS, M. D., Editor,
Newport, Vermont.
Liquid Manures.

ing field, near the barn. The next
spring l filled the hollow left with
soils from knoll near by. Wishing to
test the value of liquid manure used
alone, l dipped up with the shovel into
pail, and carried from the stable every
day pailful or more of the liquid
manure, until l had carried perhaps
twenty pailfuls, and poured on the spot.
This was early in the spring, when the
ground was full of water. When it
was time to plant corn planted western
corn on the spot, but it did not come up.
After awhile 1 planted it again with
nicely and was of very dark green
color. 1t grew-none of it more than
six inches high, except few stalks in
one corner, that grew little taller and
lived all summer. The rest all died.
The next summer | sowed grass-seed
on the spot, which lived and grew, but
was no better than the grass surround
ing it. When the whole field was top
dressed with manure from the yard,
that place received the same quantity
as the rest, and l have never been able
to see any difference in the growth of
grass. The same spring liquid manure
was also applied to a piece of plowed
ground near by, which was part planted
as garden and part sowed with oats.
The oats seemed to grow better where
the liquid manure was applied, but
beans in the garden did not seem to
grow very well. / could see no differ
ence in the peas and vegetables. We
hardly ever have good beets. What
kind of soil and manure is best suited
to their requirements? The soil here
is almost everything but clay. When a
pile of manure is drawn from the barn
and left in the field until used in the
spring, the place where that manure
pile was shows for years. spread all
manure now as it is drawn to the field.
What kind of fertilizer is required to
give strength of stalk to grain or corn?
A. W., Worcester, vt.
REMARKS BY AGRICULTURAL Ed
IToR.-The experiments of A. w. with
liquid manure are interesting, but can
not be considered conclusive. 1t would
pay him to repeat them. If he will re-
fleet upon his own statement that wien
pile of manure is drawn from the bar
and left in the field until used in the
spring, the place where that manure
pile was shows for years." he will have
reason to suspect that this effect is
due mainly to the liquid manure that
soaks into the ground from the pile
One cause of failure in experiments
with liquid manure is that it is not suf-
ficiently diluted, and consequently can
not be taken up by the roots of the
plants, unless the application is followed
soon by good soaking rain.
1t is a fact that will be evident after
little thought that manure is not and
cannot be taken up by plants, except
in liquid form-that is, dissolved in
the water of the soil This is the reason
why manure does so much less good in
dry season-there is not water enough
in the soil to dissolve much of it, But
the strong liquid manure of the barn
yard, or even urine that has fermented,
has too much free ammonia in it to be
used without dilution on growing
plants. The ammonia acts as a caustic
upon the delicate feeding roots, and de-
stroys them, so that the plant is injured,
instead of being benefited, just as it
would injure a child to be fed with
scalding milk. We are not told how
large the spot was upon which the
twenty pailfuls of yard liquid were
poured, but unless it was more than a
rod square the application of so much
strong liquid would produce exactly the
effect recorded-kill the first planting
of seed, and the plants of the second
planting very soon after they came up.
The feed stalks in the corner had a
chance to seed some roots into the I'M
MANFRED ground. Too much of good
thing is sometimes worse than none.
Liquid manure, to be most effective,
should be much diluted, and not APP
piled until the crop is up and growing.
AS the liquid is so Immediately avail
able, unless there are growing llants to
use it much is lost by evaporation and
washing, so that the spot where liquids
are applied sometimes shows but little
improvement after the fall rains and
spring thaws have soaked and leached
the ground. Yet many times the effect
of liquid manurial applications show for
a long time, especially on strong soil
The experiment in the garden re-
suited much like one made by DIR. Stur.
tevant of the New York Experiment
Station. He wished to ascertain whether
heavy manuring would make peas
earlier and more productive, but found
that apparently it produced no effect at
To ,Nolyn ro1.z