Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-01-13

Wherever. in manure, the nitrogen which
IL contains exists as an ammonia salt the
presence Of ashes will tend 10 set the am-
monin free and thus favor its escape into
the air But in fresh manure nitrogen new
er exists in that form 1t is only when ma
nure is fermenting ,heating) that the organ
ic nitrogen takes the form of ammonia
Fresh manure cannot be made to give off
ammonia gas by the admixture Of ashes
Manure that is actively fermentng sends
off considerable quantity Of ammonia.
and by sprinkling such manure pile with
land plaster, a little Of it may he caught,
but only little. Water or snow, is far
more effective. If you have pile Of ma
nure which is heating and steamng in win
ter, tho best way to save the ammonia is
to shovel snow on it. The snow will alb
sarb the gas far better than plaster, and
the melted snow, soaking into the pile, will
carry down the ammonia and cool off the
fermentation at the same time. If there is
no snow. then water will accomplish the
same purpose. Be careful, however, not
| to nut on enough Of either to cause leach
! ing.
It's very important TO a practical farmer
| TO he able TO understand how to handle, as
well as how to save his manure. 1t is prob
| ably fact that manure is never worth any
more, as a fertilizer, than when it is drop
ped. IL the bedding used is of such a ma
| ture as not to interfere with proper mix
ing Of the manure with the soil then, for
all ordinary farm crops, and especially for
| grass, it is Just as well to draw out your
manure as fast as it is made, and spread it
where it is to 90. But though it contains
all the clements of fertility, green manure
is slow fertilizer, and if you desire to use
| ,4
rotted manure is the best, if it has been
properly rotted. The rotting or fermenting
process in manure pile, is much Like the
treatment of bone with oil Of vitriol that
is, the result in both cases is that the fertil-
izer is made more completely ready for the
immediate nourshment Of the crop. The
point is to so conduct the rotting process as
not to lose of the plant food. This may
get away from us in two ways. The nitrogen
may 20 off as ammonia gas, i'll consequence
of over-heating i'll the pile. When this hap
pens, the nose will indicate the fact by the
smell of "hartshorn" in the air The other
way that we may lose the richness is by
teaching from exposure of the dung to the
weather Of all ways Of disposing of oui
manure, the very worst is the one mos
commonly Notwithstanding it out un
der the caves of the stable But this is be
ing slowly abandoned Dropping it into
cellar, with hogs to work it over and keel
it from heating, is great improvement
A manure shed is thought preferable
by many, and if the shed is so construct
ed as not to darken the stable, this metho,
has its points of superiority,
In the discussion succeeding Prof. Cooke
address, the subject of top-dressing gras
was very actively canvassed by the audi
ence The principal parties to this discus
sion were Major Circuit of Derby, the chair
man of the meetingl, and H. G. Clevelan
of Coventry. Mr.. Cleveland was strongl
| in favor of blowing all the manure down
, and seeding the grass with grain. By tn
use of the grain drill, leaving a space q
seven inches between the rows, all DANCE
Of injuring the grass seeding had bee
entirely overcome in his practice, RnC
| when liberal dressing of manure is used
q both grain and grass are highly satisfactory
, No artificial fertilizers Of any kind are use
on his farm. He did not believe they pal
hei r cost for grass or grain, and he grow
no roots or ensilage, but feeds his stock ell
o tirely on grass, hay and grain. After tr!
t ing other ways, he is best pleased with thi
e He is not IA dairy farmer, but a stoc
breeder.
Major Circuit strongly favored top-dres
ing, nut got the best results from thls
I new seedlings. He does not think it pa!
It to top-dress an old meadow, where the era
it is partly run out He top dresses from
, to 40 acres of moving annually. Won
prefer to do this rather lightly, ten loads
" even five, he thought might be enough, bl
IL his men generally manage to get on fro
p, Is to 20 loads in spite Of him. He has We
e heavy grass and now, in the seventh ye
,e Of his farming the farm carries 80 head
# cattle and 40 horses, being more than dou
lie his original stock lie is a horse al
l. stock breeder, conjoined with dairying.
Is makes free use of muck as an absorber
r He prefers to top dress his grass in the ia
lie before snow. He wound up by sayiu
10 Grass is our crop, the crop Of crops,
- fore grain, or anything else