Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-06-26

be eisnerts Of sny soil are nipoesn, phos-
phoric acid and potash OF he other eIe-
ments IN ordinary soils they have supply
for long year. to come, but the above are
moot readily exhausted by crsps, and It il
because Of the exhaustion of these three,
elements that soil becomes exhausted
unpfoduetive or worn oaf. - these terms
are usually underssood. When such . con-
difion exists these elements must be sup
Piled to the soil. Nov how shall Il be
done? Well. in several vays
The, placing upon fhe soil Of commercial
fertilizer supplying these lea.iing elements
of plan; food is one Of the best
and moss easily available methods Of re-
storing fertility. Any good brand Of com
mefciai fertilizer will do this. Apothef way
Is by cultivation. working and manipulating
the soil. A compact soil 10 naturally more
unproductive than one that is open and cuI-
tivated. By good blowing, cuitivatins, har-
rowing and Hning the land. il Is made more
productive because these mechanical oper-
ations tend to expose the soil to the action
Of the elements, to heat. moisture and the
influence Of atmospheric effects, whereby
latent plant food in the soil is liberated or
made soluble and available for the growing
crops. Hence thorough cultivation il
one OF the most available
~ well ~ one Of the cheapest
means of restoring fertility. In connec-
ton with the matter of cultivation should
also be the growing Of some fodder crop
whereby more stock can be kept - . means
of obtaining farm dressing which all farms
80 much feel the need of. These fodder
crops should be corn, clover and peas.
Corn is one Of the best crops TO grow for
feeding. II may be converted into ensilage
and large amount Of fodder secured from
an acre Of land. Clover aad peas are
among the restorative crops. They obtain
large quantities of free nitPogen-one of
the most valuable and costly elements of
plant food-from the soil. where it costs
nothing, and they are among the best
crops to grow for this purpose. Even the
roots Of the clover crop left in the soil after
a crop Of clover hay has been taken from
the land for two years, furnish great deal
Of plant food for the succeeding crop of
Timothy hay. From careful experiments
il has been ascertained that there are be-
tween three and four tons of clover roots
left in an acre Of soil that had borne q good
NtoP Va ICY 4uC9hOu
furnishes $50 worth of nitrogen to crops
that follow the clover. Now after these
fodder crops have been grown TO what kind
Of farm stock shall they be fedY 1t 10 some
what to be questioned If horses at the pres
ent time, or IL sheep at the present price
Of wool, or steers at the present price of
beef can be safely recommended. But it is
safe to recommend for nearly all parts of
Maine the keeping of dairy cows and the
higher development of the dairy interests.
Dairy farms in Maine are everywhere in
good condition, the system of dairy farming
is less exhaustive of the farm than any
other system Of farming, and it can be safe
ly said that these fodder crops grown for
the purpose of bringing up up the farm can
be more proftably fed to dairy cows than
to any other class of stock. These in brief
were the main points brought out in Prof.
Winslows first lecture.
In his second lecture Prof. Winslow
spoke of the importance and methods of
Sowing and Applying Farm Manures.
constantly referring to and explaining the
above tables in the presentation of his sub
ject, which although somewhat old and
worn was treated in an interesting manner.
The problem of making or obtaining farm
| manure is the problem of feeding the AMI
mails which convert the various foods into
| manure; and in converting the foods for
their own use they retain about per cent.
Of the total plant food in their systems, the
remainder going into the manure. The &C.
tusl cash value Of the manurial substances
in certain foods was clearly explained by the
speaker, who gave 3 clear explanation of
the different constituents and what they
were worth according to the actual market
value of certain kinds of fertilizing sub
stances. These prices vary some but are
now about as follows: Nitrogen 16 cts. per
pound; phospheric acid, cts. potash,4 l-2
cts. At these prices there is about S25 worth
OF manurial substance in a ton of cotton
seed meal, and 80 go in ton and half of
potatoes. Swamp muck is q good basis for
the compost heap, and contains about 2
per cent. of nitrogen, or in half ton Sl60
worth of nitrogen. The chemical changes
taking place in swamp muck
by which the insoluble nitrogen
was more soluble or available were ex-
planned in an interesting manner. Wood
ashes or lime ashes should be applied to the
muck. 1t must be remembered that all
changes in the chemical condition of farm
manures require certain degree of heat
for them to be carried forward, hence there
can be little loss to manures that are spread
upon the ground any time between October
and May. 1t is a good plan to use muck
as an absorbent, and also to mix horse
and cattle manure, as by this mixing fer
mentation and loss are prevented. Much
loss of farm manure occurs by the liquid
portion escaping through the floor to the
soil under the barn. Again there is a
loss by the exposure of
manure. How foolish it is for far
mers by their own neglect to allow loss in
their farm manures through these agencies,
and then in the spring to take hard earned
money and purchase in commercial fertil-
izers the same ingredients which the farm
manures contain. Use saw dust, dry soil,
muck or horse manure as an absorbent of
the cattle manures; this will prevent fer
mentation and avoid loss. In applying
farm manures he believed the best way for
general practice was to spread upon the sur
face, or near the surface, and thoroughly
incorporate it with the soil. Generally
speaking manure should be spread
a. soon after il 10 made as
possible--indeed some of the best farmers
in New York state haul the manure from
the barns every day and leave it upon their
fields. If spread, it cannot heat to any ex-
tent, and never in cold weather. An ad-
vantage in hauling out manure in winter is
that it forwards the farm work of spring,
which in many years is great advantage.
Bulk in manure is chiefly valuable as
mechanical agent in tightening up. dividing
and improving the texture of the soil. The
clover is a valuable crop, but should never
be ploved under as A green manurinp crop