Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-01
snritulssiral Department.
NJ r1TID. FARM AND GARDEN.

.sol,cit articles Tor this department.
,noo If the writer should accompany
rotrsror article, not necessarily for
u.,iootion. but as evidence of good taith.
,,,o decomposition of Manure.
lem an unsettled question among
- vhetber manure should be spread
o. tho surface to remain or be DioWed
'p 1ar some say that the soluble por-
,;ons are absorbed into the son ana car
.,.5 away by the rams, but others thinK
,.Foroctly. Mr.. Henry Stewart, IN the
r'sol New Yorker, thinks that manure
'SanId either be fresh from the stable or
IN aacomposed. Fresh manure, he says,
"''. -so and contains much crude CON-
"osod litter. while the materials are also
and unfit for plant food exceps so far
as soluble. ,,,,
concerning this question the Philadel-
- pacord has the following to say:
Pn,.,,e C.ad only by their roots and alb
.n,h nothing hut what is dissolved in
a.ar Rut manure decOmposes aud In
,he course of it's decomposition gives up
n water whatever becomes soluble in the
..oooss of decay. This process OF decay
,,os On only when the manure is moist,
sor no chemical action can take place In
.bo absence OF moisture. When fresh
manure is spread upon grass land 1t be-
girs to decay, but if it is constantly moist
9rj rain fall. frequently it slowly becomes
soIubIe. and the soluble portions of it are
r.sbed into the ground and down to the
wants But this is not always the case,
In when the manure is dried by the too
toe action of the air then, as 1t decays, it
oiyas of carbonc acid gas and ammonia,
hath free and in the evaporated moisture,
which are lost in the air. When, how
aver the manure in the heap has been in
mo ward the two months from February
n Anrtl il will have decOmpOsed there
under the action OF moisture and heat
mncb more than if it had been spread on
| The field
manure in the heap, according to Mr..
stewart does not lose anything by eVapo-
ration and fermentation. A heap of fer
manting manure is undergoing rapid de-
/ cav and is being prepared for use as plant
] food, If not neglected, and plaster added
4 to the heap, the ammonia that may other
j wise be carried of in the watery vapor will
1 he arrested. 1t is best not to spread ma
oure upon grass land until it is dec0m-
4 posed as much as possible. Flowing,
d narrowing and cutiyating the soil con-
yerts manure into plant-food because the
processes admit oxygen, but there can be
i 10 waste of plant-fOOd when the manure
s vel Incorporated with the soil, for
4 lrder the influence Of warmth and moist
! ure the oxidizjng effect of the pulyerized
sOl causes a Wig rOus chemical action to
take place. The free &C ion OF air and
water circulating in the soil quickly de-
cOmposes the manure, aud this, in its
decomposition, dIssolves the silicates OF
potash aud soda and lime, and the phos-
4 pilates Of these minerals in the soil, and
thus not only is it converted into plant
food but it also converts mineral matter
into plant food. The teaching of manure
is an important matter, also. Porous
substances, especially soil, have an afin-
ty for solid substances in solution and
liter them ont OF the descending water.
Soils do not leach unless the water is in
great excess, and then the water escapes
almost pure into the drains, carrying off
portion OF the nitric acid only. Other
wise there is little or no loss from leach
ing"