The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-01-04
agricultural.
Applying Manures and Breaking
Winter Roads.
ny W. l. sIMoNDs, RoxBURY, VT.

Mr.. Editor :-Inasmuc as | had no
chance to get a word in edgewise dur
ing the experience meeting" that
followed Professor Cookies paper on
" Mowings and Pastures" read before
the meeting held at Montpelier the
other day, 1 wish to occupy a little
space in your department. Inregard to
top-dressing, quite agree with him that
it is useless to spread manure on sandy
lands with the hope of getting any fair
return in hay. My experience is that
as soon as the grass crop fails it is bet
ter to turn the sod over and thoroughly
mix in the manure on the surface. A
disc harrow does the work to perfec-
ton. / have had excellent results
from top-dressing on the rest of my
land, though it is all dry enough for
raising corn. A few loads applied with
Kemp's spreader after the sec
ond crop is taken off in the fall in
sures heavy crop year after year, and
it is because of the fertilizing property
contained in the manure and not the
mulching it gives the roots, as 1 have
proved by using muck, which seemed
to have no beneficial effect whatever.
In regard TO blowing manure in during
the fall, or even in spring, l agree with
Professor Cooke that it pays better to
apply it on the surface and thoroughly
mix it with the surface soil. The re-
suit of my first experiment in blowing
under was such that l did not care to
repeat it. My crop of corn was not
more than half as good where the ma
nure was turned under. l flattered
myself that the next year, and after it
was in grass, would get the benefit
that | lost the first year; but it came
not. Still l would not presume to ma
nure heavily for potatoes with barn
manure. For several years l have
used phosphate for potatoes with bet
ter results, but 1 intend to plant my
potatoes next spring on land that pro-
duced good crop of corn last year and
shall not use any fertilizer. l wish my
friend Andrews had plowed little
strip last fall that had no manure on it
and before winter set in spread as
much fresh-made manure on it as he
plowed under on the other part of his
field / think he would have been sur
prised at the result, even if he had not
mixed it with the soil until spring.
Now word about breaking roads
and l will close. Acting on the adj
vice of S. F. Nutting, hitched my
thirty-tooth harrow behind my sled the
other morning and went forth to beat
down our first heavy fall of snow, and
l was so well pleased with my success
that | shall continue its use when l
have occasion to make roads or beat
down the snow in the door-yard. AS
presume some who may read this arti-
Gle will not see the instructions he
gave | will give them briefly. He
says: " Hitch your harrow behind one
runner of your sled-and the more
teeth it has the better-and in going
out and returning you will make a
road wide enough for two teams to
pass safely on" l found that for the
door-yard no sled was needed. Just
hitch on as you would to harrow your
garden. He recommends the cutting
of notches in the edge of slab Ga
plank will do as welD that fit down
over the runners of the sled, and after
one has been both ways with the har-
row leave it and slip the plank forward
of the beam under the rave until the
runners will fit into the notches; turn
it up next to the beam, make hole
in the said board and put pin in
down in front to hold it in place. He
would have the two ends run out three
feet each side of the sled, and l would
add: Cut out foot or more in the cen
ter to make a ridge in the middle of
the road. l had used the plank many
years, but did not let it run out more
than a foot each side of the sled.