The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-17
Manures.

LEGATION, bit as an evidence OF gOO1 Ialbn-
Manures.
Anv substance applied to land that af-
fords nutriment to crops comes under the
head Of manure. 1t matters not whether
the substance contains only one of the
fourteen essential elements Of growth or
contains all of them that it is possible for
any single substance to contain, it is ma
nure. Manure aud fertilizer are synonmcus
terms, and there is no need for making one
stand for certain materials that the other
does not include. The disposition to do
this is indicated by the answer made by a
fairly intelligent farmer recently to the
question whether be used any fertilizer on
his crop, and he replied "Nl; he only used
homemade manure" With him, as with
many others, manure substances that came
in bags AID barrels, the commercial kind,
was fertilizer" while stable and other or
panic matter was manure"
Nearly all farmers who read agricultural
papers intelligently understand by now
that of the fourteen different elements that
enter into organic matter, it is necessary to
supply only three of them to worn land to
enable it to make good crops, and these are
potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen.
In making this statement very import
ant explanation is always called for in order
toproperly understand the true principles
of fertility and plant life. It is very gen.
orally neglected by agricultural writer's,
and the result is the undiscriminating
reader is left under the impression that onl y
these three elements are really essential to
plant growth. One may apply nitrogen.
potash and phosphoric acid to soil that is
utterly destitute OF humus and fail to get a
profitable crop. The presence of humus in
the soil implies a presence of the other ele-
ments that are also indispensable to plant
growth.
Nitrogren. in its last analysis, is the same
thing, whatever the substance that may af-
ford it, whether this be stable manure, COW
manure or other animal ma ter, cotton seed,
nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia,
dried blood. guano or raw bone, etc.
The phosphoric acid in like manner is
identical in the various substances-bone
dust, "acid phosphate, hull ash, f" and the
like.
And potash in kainit. muriate potash,
wood ash, cotton seed ash is the same.
The question with the farmer is to get
the largest amount of these principal ele-
ments for the smallest amount of money.
The practical farmer of long experience
is not dependant upon the teach ngs of
science to enable him to appreciate the
practical value of certain substances for the
purpose Of manure. The liquid and solid
excrement OF the horse is now what it has
been for all time-a complete and reliable
manure, being good or better just in pro-
portion to the richness of the food con-
sumed by the animal 1t is the same. he
knows, with the manure of cattle, poultry,
etc.
He has practical knowledge of the fact
that bones of all animals when ground or
crushed into fine particles is one of the
very best manures that he can possibly get.
1t is not necessary to profitable results for
him to know just how much nitrogen and
phosphoric acid is contained in the bone.
Tho same practical farmer knows that hard
wood ashes especially are rich in potash,
and that they make good manure for his
grass and root crops. Practical experience
taught him that cotton seed was a coed
manure long before he heard that science
had recommended it highly for the pur-
pose.
Cattle fed on cotton seed meal, wheat
bran, and pea aud corn meal produce a
much better quality of manure than cattle
that get their living off of poor pastures
and inferior hay. The first quality may be
worth intrinsically three or four times as
much as the latter. The same is true of
stable manure. A horse or mule that is fed
on corn and oats and good hay produces
manure worth much more than that that is
made from pasture and poor fodder.
A fair quality of stable manure is found
to contain about three-fourths of one per
cent. of ammonia. This is the chief ele-
ment of value in stable manure, though it
contains in small quantities all the other
elements of nutrition. 1t is therefore a
complete manure" But when copiously
applied to lind to make crops that are
grown for their seed it is always an advant-
age to supply an additional quantity of the
two principal mineral elements-potash and
puOSpHOIlC hClu. eSOeSldLtS OAc laCtoA'
No farmer yet ever had too much ma
nure, and the reason why such large trade
has been built up in commercial manures
arises from the fact that it is impossible for
anv farmer in the older sections of country
to make anything like the quantity that he
can use profitably. OF course no farmer
should reso. to this kind until he has util
lied all that he has made or can make on his
farm. He should see to it that his horses
and mules and cattle make him all the ma
nure that it is possible for them to make
with the aid of proper bedding, saving the
liquid portion, which is as valuable as the
solid part.
Humus-The Real Basis of Fertility.
Intelligent farmers understand very we'll
that soil destitute of humus cannot be