Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1891-10-20
APPLICATION OF MANuat-wHGRG

opportunity OF feplvtEg. lhe question:
presented by Mr.. Marsh are u follows
What Il the best way Of applying ma
nurcf lat. should II be- spread on th'
sosi AMI plowed In, or on the fuIrow aus
cultivated ins ~. should II he appllc
la the fall, aud allowed 10 lie until
spring, or spread on the snow In Marci
or Aphlt II. Does the manure los'
largely by lying on top of the ground
from fall until springt ith. l. II he
slrable to top dress green sward Ia In
crease the hay crop, aud would IL be- AZ
rcmunsrailye as to plow aud seed, tax
Ing OF a crop ~ grAlnt
In taking up the first question
"should the manure b. spread on Oh.
sod aud plowed In. or on the furrow aud
cultivated In y I ~iii say In my boy hood
! often heard thl. question discussed,
and the advocates of plo~ing In manure
advanced the theory that the fcrtIllsing
principle. of the manure have Tendency
to rise by capillary attraction, and that
by plowing the manure In seven or eight
inches, all % the soll above II would be-
come lmprcgnated with the fertllifing
elements of III. manure. tn. sdvocate-
% applylng manure on the Mrrow aud
culti,Ating II into the coll, said; "On
the contrary, the tendency ~ the M.
nurc :. downward 9th the water, and
manure that I. applied Ia the surfscs
~lll b. thoroughly washed Into the .oll,
and be In position Tor the plants Ia take
Il up; while msnar. that l. plcwei Ia
will r,maln beyond their reach"
The facts Arv. that 81 long n the fer
tlllSing elements remain soluble In the
soll. they will move both ways With the
water. I. O., When u rains, the water
will wash IA. salt. down into the soll,
aud during dry weather the water ~ill
/ riss io the surface hy capillary attraction
and 90 evaporation Will leave all the
matter u held Ia solution st of nesrihe
surface Of the .oil. Not all 81 the water
/ that falls upon the ground escapes by
evaporation, however. 4 large portion
passes downward aud otf q. drainage,
aud whatever fertlllElug material this
water contains !. Loaf. Hut the larger
part ~ the f.rtillIing material Ia rapidly
! changed to form. insolubls la water, Va
/ good loamy soils, .o that practically
thsr, !. but little movement QUO way OF
the other.
i
manurs and from IN. original siock 81
plant food ln the soil. That which 10
supplied In msnar-. IL, a. rule, In q
h-itsr condition to = taken up by crops
than that offered by the origlnsl stock
20 plant fooi. During the early stages
% sro~th, all plant. rr.luir, q literal
suppl, of plant fcoi that u Immediately
available In or,isr to attain 'igoroa.
rot and leaf development early la the
.ea.on. After having acquired thl. con-
dliiou, the plants sr- able io complsie
/ their growth under conditions as a. sup
PILE. - plan, food that would have
raa.-i starvation earlier In the season,
not h.rau.e the fo-Ni ~A. not ,hsrr, but
b.cau.s IL "a. not la q form a. b. di-
g,.is,i by the yoang plant. nes born
calf sill stArNc Ia death on hay, but "
tel milk during IT, early life, t-'come.
la time able o. live on hay alone. ~
slth a plant. f-.d u In it, early lifc on
easily asslmllatsi plant fools, and ln
oui.T o. have plants gvt IN. full rfivf ~
ihr manure applied while Young, that
MANURE should d. near the surface.
haruis fsr gsssrai firs oruTs, uiHsrs
,Aaaid saf ~ plifs.i .ssrs tAia 30 O. fusr
iasAss hsln,. "a ,srfIos. Mosi farmer.
plow from .is % eight Inches, and In
.uch cases u Ia b-ti.r "a spread on the
furrow aud cultivate In, than .pr-ad on
the .oi and plos. There may - special
cs.-. Ia ~hlch plowing la To that depth
may b. desirable.
m. third question shoald 10 di.cu.ssi
b@forr the ..cond "Dce. manure lo.s
largely by b-ing on top ot the ground
from fall until spring. The chance, of
io.. from manure spr-ad on the fnfros
/ In th. fall, aud sllos~'i io i've until
spring, are very small. Whenever rain
| tall. On the manure, the fertillSing pflb-
clpls. ~ the manure arr sashoi Into The
.oll aud quickly ab.ofbs,i. In the -arly
fall, when the weather l. warm, thcfr
might y. loo. - nitrogen through the
/ formation 70 ammouA and IT. eVapora-
ton. Hut believe that the losse. from
thi. cAuss have b..n much exaggerated.
Dn level lahi., therr 4. little danger %
los. In applying manure In Msrch of
Aprii. or, Ia fact, during the winter
mouths. I .houid hesitate. however. Ia
apply manure To hlllslie., especially "
the incline b. great, while the snow \.
on the ground.
To return "a the second question
.should manur. be spread on the fur
row In the fall, and allowed to lie until
.prins. or shOuld II he spread on the
snow Ia March or Aprilr' Ii IL largely
. matter 20 conycBience, " the land be
fairly level. Other things being equal,
nv preference would he Ca apply III.
manure when there IL little or NO snos
on the ground. Hut would not allow
men aud team. "a I've Idle even la mid
winter, II there VA. large quantity oi
dressing "a be spread on the land. for
fear of Losses. The manure should all
be In place tefor. the ground !. dry
enough to work In the spring; otherwis"
th. seeding 4. DELAYED. Aud In order Ia
accomplish thl. rr-uli, II mus, b. put on
In the fall or winter. ar before ths
ground soften. In the spring.
The fourth question ~ Mr.. Marsh u
one that l. asked by nearly every farme'
Who visits the college to see what Ne are
doing on the farm; .ls IL desirable "a
ton dress green swari to Increase the
HAY crop, and would II be as rcmunera-
tive a. Ia plow and seed, taking on q
erop Of gralnf" Tao wears ago, I'm
mciIately after haying, a portion Of the
field In trout of the farm buildings on
the college farm va. top dressed, al th'
rate Of fift.en double horse loads To th'
acre. Last year the grass MA. but little
heavier than on sections of the sam'
held receiving no manure. This yeal
the top dressed portion showed the enoc'
of the manure Ia a greater extent, bu'
Welded Only about ton aud half Pei
acre. The same fall, eight aud hal
acres ~ an adjoining field that va. u
about the same condition a. to fertilit,
a. the fret, VA. pio~ed, and the same
amount ~ dressing applied per acre ot
the furrOw, and seeded to barley the foI
lowing spring. The harley Was dana ~,
. by NET weather Ia th. early part of tn
season, and gave light crop of barley
but a good crop of clover, which wer'
cut aud fed out together. This sessoi
thsr. wer. taken OF - tons of we'll cure'
. Ihay from the eight sud q half acres
last fall another section of . field Ma
, top dressed, az the rate of hfteen load
4 Of manure, and the aeld gave no eyidepe
: of an application Of manure when tn
hay Was cut; but since having The era.
/ looks better on portions of the Held ~
. cel,ing the manure. II IL very doubtful
a however, II IL ever Yields even two ton
. rer acre unsii IL Ia plowed. The observa
. ton. made Ia connection With spplica
ton of manures at the college farm, to
D gethsr with information obtained fror
/. practical farmers, leaves no doubt In IN
. mind that farm msnures are more effect
\ live when spread on the fhrrow tina
When applied Ia the sod as top dressins
= The theoretical considerations in faSo