The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-12-28
RAW MANURE.


Experience OF n Farmer Who Applies 10
to Fruit Trees In the Fall.
II is asserted by some writers that
much the greater waste in stable ma
nure is caused by exposure TO the rain;
that the loss from evaporation is COM
paratively small. However this may
be, it is certain shat the loss either way
is heavy enough to justify the farmer
in resorting to some method for apply
ing manure in a raw state, unless he is
much more careful in outstanding is
than most men are. The ground itself
will save the manure, in all its valuable
constituents. better than any thing else,
plaster, bedding. or what not.
l have an orchard of about three
acres, containing orange, peach and
pear trees. Aside from commercial
fertilizers. have only the manure from
one horse to apply to it; and of this 1
seek To make the utmost In October.
1895, began TO apply this manure to
the trees in perfectly fresh condition.
! had always before shared in the gen.
eral belief that il was risky to use it so,
that it ought 10 be composted; and L
was led to make this experiment
simply by the circumstance that L had
neglected to provide manure shed in
which to carry on the composing pro
cess. Candor also compels the admis-
sion that composing seemed likely to
require more labor than the direct ap-
plication. / went cautiously to work.
The stable was we'll Uttered every time
"a Il ~.
times a week; dried grass, weeds, sOds,
sand, banana and other leaves. every
thing was brought into use to absorb
the liquid part.
When the orchard had been plowed
the last time in the fall, contrary to my
orders, the earth had been thrown from
the trees instead of toward them. This
had left a furrow three or four feet
from the trees. We arrived from the
North the last week in October. It
was and is yet the general belief that
to stir the earth around trees so late in
the fall will start them on q new
growth, SO forming soft wood to be
killed by the frost about Christmas. So
/ refrained from filling up these fur
rows, and used them as receptacles for
the manure wheeled fresh from the
stable.
T. prevent fermentation il was scat.
tered thinly along for six or eight feet
opposite the tree, and covered with an
inch or two of soil sprinkled on. When
there was no furroW near the tree, tn .
manure was spread out two inches or
SD in thickness and covered with earth.
he FOL
oats or ground feed; but the neighbOrs'
chickens, in searching for the grain, so
scattered the manure and its GOVERN y
that some of it never stopped until it
reached the dead-furrow between the
rows. Thereupon the grain feed was
discontinued and wheat bran substi-
tuted. pound for pound, with results
entirely satisfactory so far as the horse
was concerned; and the chickens, find
ing nothing to reward their labor,
eventually ceased scratching altogeth-
or. The rains falling on it leached the
manure. and the discolored soil for sew
eraL inches around showed what loss
would have taken place if this element
had been allowed to wash away.
Just before the trees began to grow
in the spring the soil and the manure
were thoroughly mixed together with
prong-hoe-which, by the way. is the
best implement for stirring the soil I'M
der fruit trees-and the manure had by
this time become so rotted that there
was nothing TO be feared from its con-
tact with the roots.
The manure was applied this way all
last spring and summer, until such
time as it is generally considered I'M
advisable to apply it any longer for
that season. During the cool, moist
weather of winter little injury was to
have been expected, but when hot
weather came on, it might be perhaps
looked for. | now cover the manure
with both earth and mulching to pre-
vent heating. There was some very
hot, dry weather in June, and some of
the trees were not large enough To
shade the ground much. If tree had
been recently set, dashed bucketful
or two of water on the manure, and
perhaps repeated this operation few
days later. As soon as one or two
good rains had fallen on the manure I
did not hesitate to work it into the soil
with the proug-hoe.
Now for results. During the driest
weather of June the extreme tips of q
few rank-growing shoots turned yell
low and died down several inches, but
| am satisfied now that this was from
another cause than the manure The
growth of wood this summer has been
remarkable. The leaves had that iusty,
black-green color which one NAV seem
q river corn-field,
One of my neighbors just across the
street, who is q excellent gardener, had
also the manure of one horse, and
about one-half more trees than have.
But he added to his supply ton of cot
ton seed and about half dozen bar
rels of cow chips. The cotton seed
meal is valuable, but the cow chips are
worth only about as much as manure
made from wheat straw and long
weathered would be. He composted