The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-03-08
Use of Manure in the Winter.

There are several reasons why tn,
winter season is the best time for draw
ing out and spreading-not heaping, b,
any mcans-;he manure upon thos'
fields where it is to be used in tht
spring. Corn stubble intended for oats
fali-plowed land for roots or potatoes
and sod to be plowed for corn, may al
be thus manured at this season wit!
advantage and benefit. The time il
propitious; there are leisure and oppor
tunity Cor the work; the material il
ready, aud it will never be worth more
for its purpose than it is now. One
handling now may be much easier than
at any other time. The land cannot
be poached or cut up by the wheels
and if snow covers the ground, sleds
may be used, with half the labor re-
quired for loading and unloading wag-
ons. These advantages are obvious and
unquestionable. Then what are the
benefits? Can the manure be injured
or its usefulness impaired, or will il
serve as good purpose as if drawn out
and spread later?
Just here it may be we'll to object
in the most forcible manner, to the
still prevalent plan of taking out ma
nuTe at this season to the fields, and
leaving it in piles, at stated distances
for future spreading. This is most
wasteful, and there is no reason for it.
Even spreading may be done from the
sled or wagon wi bout his way of meas-
uring out the manure at SO much per
square rod and SO many loads rer acre
This is quite lmmaterial Manure
should be used literally as far as it
will go, and never spread out too thiniy
because the field is large and the sup
ply small. There is point in this
direction where manure is thrown
away, just as starvation rations for too
many cattle is waste Of food, when half
the number might be fed with profit.
Manure thus left in heaps, too, is sat
urated and washed by rains, and the
best part of it goes into few square
feet Of ground, wastefully and injudc-
iously enriching this and starving the
remainder of the field. I did this very
thing, or rather permitted it to be done.
in my young days, and the result was q
warning for life. The wheat grew so
rank where the manure had been heap,
ed that it rusted and fell down, and SO
poor elsewhere for want Of food. that
it failed to fill out, and ten acres oil
land were made useless, and over 100
loads of manure were wasted. And al
though this result is inevitable, still |
see the practice followed, evidently by
farmers who cannot think, do not read,
never observe, and learn nothing from
experience, because they cannot connect
effect with cause, and blame the season
or bad luck for what is the necessary
result of mistake.
Does manure waste when lying on the
ground in the winter? This depends
upon circumstances. If the manure IS
old and soluble, aud the ground is
is frozen hard and is smooth and slop-
ing, and heavy rain comes, large
portion of it will be washed out and
flow down the slope and be lost-to be
found by the neighbor below, or to go
down to the ocean and feed the fish.
But this is the only danger. If snow
lies on the ground, or the land has
been plowed; or the land is level and
is covered with grass or clover, these
risks are not met with, and the manure
may be safely spread, although such a
washing rain may come under the un-
usual circumstances mentined. Chem
ical action is not going on in manure
while it is frozen, aud very sIowly-for
all practical purposes not at all--until
the manure is turned under in the
spring. There may be strong odor
coming from the field as the wind blows
over it, but this is not from any val
liable part of the manure. Many farm.
ers think the strong odor of a manure
heap, which is so offensive to many un-
practiced noses, is all ammonia. This
is mistake it is compound of sui
phur and hydrogeu-sulphide of hydro