Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-08-02
APPLICATION OF MANURE.
Advantages of Spreading 1t on the Surfac e
of Land in Summer.

APPLICATION OF MANURE.
Advantages of Spreading 1t on the Surface
of Land in Summer.
The practice of hauling manure
made during the winter months from
stables and feeding-yards directly to
the fields where it is to be applied, and
of spreading it over the surface of the
! ground, has now become general. 1t
| saves time and insures degree of
cleanliness about the farm buildings.
| Farmers have comparatively little to
do during the winter. and they can
haul manure over grass fields without
doing any serious injury to the sod.
| Manure is liable to be washed away or
injured if it remains for a long time in
| heaps about the farm buildings. If
| spread on the surface of the soil with
which it is to be Incorporated none of
it will be injured or lost.
1t will not heat, as it generally will
| when piled in large heaps. If the
weather is cold enough to freeze it and
the soil above which it is placed, both
will remain unchanged. If the frost
| leaves them the rain will carry the
soluble portions of the manure into
the soil. Only the coarser parts OF the
manure will remain above ground, and
then will be buried by the pillow and
| will rot in the moist soil.
Although the practice of hauling out
! the manure made in winter has become
| common and meets with general favor,
the manure that accumulates near
stables and in barnyards generally re-
| mains where it is dropped or thrown
out. Sometimes that made in the
| barnyard is thrown into heaps so as to
insure a clean space for milking and
the cows to lie on. Most kinds of
! manure when left in heaps during the
summer will heat to such degree as
to render it of very little value. This
is especially true of horse dung that is
thrown out of stables. If it is COM
posted with COW dung and pond muck
or peat it will slowly ferment and be
improveds But farmers in the West
will not generally take the trouble to
wheel horse dung to compost heap
and mix it with some substance that
will prevent it from heating. They
allow it to remain till fall when they
find that il. is fire-fanged. The am
monia it contains has been driven off
and little remains but carbon. The
mass is as dry as chaff and is of very
little value as a fertilizer.
1t is likely that as good results would
follow hauling out manure and spread
ing it on the surface of land in sum-
mer as in winter. If a portion of past
ure land is to be plowed up next fall or
the following spring the manure could
be hauled and spread on it any time.
1t could be applied to stubble field as
soon as the grain is cut, and to a potato
patch as soon as the crop is harvested.
Any portion of new prairie or meadow
that produces clover or the cultivated
grasses. If the grass or clover is
lodged or broken down by the wind so
as to make it difficult to cut and cure,
the manure could be placed above it.
1t would insure its rotting and would
convert into a valuable fertilizer.
Grass and clover that have been broken
down by their weight or the wind are
of very little value for stock food.
Generally they can not be cured so
that they will make good feeding.
They are of more value for making
manure than for any thing else, and
the sooner they are rotted the better it
will be for the land they are to enrich.
All have noticed that the grass is
killed in pastures where cattle and
horses have dropped their dung. Most
have noticed that the turf becomes
rotted after short time. The dung
excludes the light and air, and both
the roots and stalks are killed as eff
fectually as if they were buried by the
pillow. Manure spread over a grass
plot will not become as dry as that
which is on the surface of bare ground.
The grass serves to keep it moist. 1t
prevents evaporation and causes the
grass to die out, then to decay. 1t puts
it in condition to be food for culti-
waited plants. When plowed late in the
fall or the following spring the turf
will break up and crumble as it is
turned. Land prepared in this way
will produce large crop of potatoes of
the finest quality. The soil will be
rich in potash, which will be deposited
by the decay of the stalks, leaves, and
roots of the grass. Being loose the
tubers will have an excellent chance to
expand. They will mot be likely to
be misshapened or scabby. They will
be easy to dig and will come out of the
ground free from dirt. As the soil
will be loose large proportion of the
potatoes will remain on the vines as
they are drawn out.
ss Land prepared in this manner will
be in excellent condition to produce
pumpkins, squashes. melons and GU
cumbers. 1t will be rich and warm.
Boys who are fond of melons have no.
ticed how well the vines grow on
ground that has been covered by
manure-heap Or straw-stack. The turf
is better rotted than that which has
been buried by the plow- Land treated
in this way will produce large crops of
tomatoes, cabbage, caulifiower, Lima
beans, and all kinds of roots. It will
also produce a large yield of corn,
which will require but little cultiva-
ton, as the soil will be free from the
seeds of weeds and in no condition to
become solid OF course the manure
should be applied to a sufficient thick
ness to kill all the grass. If farmer
has not dung enough to cover all the