Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1886-12-27
THE FARMERS MEETING.

The Farmers meeting at Irasburgh,
Tuesday and Wednesday called together
a good number Of representative farmers
from various portions of the county.
John E. Chamberlin was elected chair
man and presided in his usual acceptable
welcomed and introduced in very pleas
ant manner by Hon. E. p. Cotton. The
first address delivered was by Prof w.
w. Cooke of Burlington on ''Farm Fertil-
ization, "who discussed the question from
a chemists standpoint. Among many
other things he told the farmers that they
were annually buying 5000 tons of COM
mercial fertilizers at cost Of $240. 900,
and this outlay might be in part over
come by saving the manure made on the
farm in more careful manner, One way
to do this is to build the barn with Gel
lar having tight bottom so that no part
of the moisture can escape. If this is i'm
practicable, use abSorbents TO take up
and hold the liquid manure. Various
one of the best being muck, which alone
had but little fertilizing power. Another
absorbent of plant food was ordinary
dry dirt, or common road dust, which
was very ready to grasp the elements
needed for plant growth and hold them
unchanged until they were needed by the
plant.
The necessary elements for plant food
are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.
These are none of them except nitrogen
capable Of evaporation. Once put upon
any soil except pure sand they are taken
in by and become part of it and remain
unchanged until taken up by plants OIL
leeched out by the action of water.
Nitrogen for agricultural purposes is
found in three forms: In gas, in ammo
MIA and in nitric acid. In the first form
it is taken from the atmosphere. AS am
monia farmers lose much Of the value O.
their manure as it is one Of the mos
costly elements and easily passes off int(
the air. To avoid this some absorben
should be used which will take it up ant
hold it. Land plaster having the great
est affinity will hold most, but many 9th
er things can be used, leaves straw AM
saw dust; of the last hard wood is bet
ter, but soft wood, though worthless Q
itself will take up and hold valuabl
elements and so be of use by giving O
the nitric acid contained by the GROWN
plant. Owing to the facts that moistur
is necessary to liberate these foods an
convey them to the plant, and the fac
that in the early summer we usually su
fer from a drought, it is best to sprea
manure upon the land after the gronn
is frozen in the fall. The moisture of til
spring will convert the soluble porto
into liquid plant food, which the earth {
it gradually thawS and freezes in I'll
spring will take up like a sponge ar
hold ready for the plant roots to reaC
down below the surface and receive. B
cause the water flowing off the manure
Land is colored, it is no sign that the va
ne of the fertilizer is running away. I'll
elements required by growing plan
are all colorless. The earth has an affi
ity for these principles and eager
grasps them before they have time to {
cape on ordinary slopes. The manu-
spread in the spring dries up and renal
when most needed by the plant, in a s.
i'd form which can not be used. The
manuring cannot be done too early, a:
warm rain will send down food to
grass roots and cause the germ, viii
should remain securely guarded in lit
bulb covered with hard scales, to spri
mp and be killed by the frost instead
remaining protected until spring.
The farmer can make his manure M
valuable than it now is by proper feedil
The general rule is that the higher
feeding value of a grain or other fod
the higher the value of the manure ma
Corn is an exception to this rule. BIZ
shorts, oil CAKE and cotton seed meal
all valuable in this way. As gene
rule 81 worth of cotton seed meal A,
after being fed to the stock add as M
to the manure as 81 worth of commer
fertilizer. BY feeding in this way
farmer gets double the value of his m
ey, the value as feed for his stock and