Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-09
VERSUS CHEMICAL MA
NIfREG

1t is hard to get people out OF n beaten
track, especially such conservative class
as farmers. Notwiths and.ng the remark
able results obtained with chemical ma
nurcs. eight farmers out of ten will MAIN
tain that there is nothing equal to farm
yard manures; an error in judgment which
has cost the country dearly
We all understand that every farmer
must produce a certain amount of yard
manure. and that the best use to make of
1t is to work 1t into the soil; but, compare
lively few understand that the crop pro-
ducing power of such manure is little more
than half of that of chemical manure,
pound for pound of tho elements of fer
til!ty contained therein. OF course all tho
manure made on the farm by the stock
necessary to operate the fields, is n nee
essary product and must be used. but it's
value as compared with chemical manures
at present prices, Is considerably under one
dollar per ton.
Many farmers buy stock for the mere
purpose of making manure, in fact it has
long been maxim to keep plenty of stock
on the farm. 1t Is not diff lNt to imagine
conditions under which Thu, would be adj
visable, but those conditions do not exist
at present in this country. Experiments
in Massachusetts,, (and / select this State
only because its experimental station has a
very high status), have demonstrated the
fact that steer feeding under a very care
full supervision. was profitable only when
the theoretical quantity of manure pro-
duced was credited at commercial prices
that Is, when its value was placed equal
to that OF chemical manures. In New Jer-
sey, under a supervision fully as efficient,
and which would not be equalled in ordn-
airy farm practice, 1t was found that the
manure must he credited in the same man.
ner to figure out a profitable business tram
sacton.
1t Is a we'll known fact that the agricul-
tural efficiency. the crop producing power
Of farm-yard manures Is much below that
of chemical manure Wagner estimates
that the nitrogen in farm-yard manures
has crop producing power equal to only
As per cent Of an equivalent amount Of
nitrogen In chemical manures. The French
experiments are scarcely more favorable
to tho farm-made product, and the results
at the celebrated Rothamsted experiment.
al farm Indicate an efficiency OF only 90
per cent. This is a matter which deserves
the serious consideration of tho farming
public. The average farm-paper scribe
talks much at this time of conserved fer
tility and similar semi-scientific rot. max
ing a great hit on the residual effect of
farm-yard manures. Let US look into this
residual effect business.
At the Rothamsted station, for % con-
secutive years an application of IA tons of
tract. ID tons per acre each year Half Of
the tract was then continued for 90 years
more Mt the same rate. but the remainder
received no manure at all. On the tract
constantly MANFRED, the gain In results
was almost uniform, but as soon as the
manure was discontinued, there was
steady and very striking loss. In sum-
ming up the results, the authorities COM
mented on the fact that the residual ef-
feet was practically nothing
This experiment .covers such long and
continuous period, that the argument of
uncomfortable conditions does not apply
The determined facts teach the farmer two
things-that he must manure strictly for
the present. and that the storage 90 of i'm
mensc quantities of organic matter in tho
soil accomplishes nothing. 1t is a clearly
determined fact that farm-yard manures
are far from being the most effective form
OF fertilizing material
AS determined eXperimentaliy, the most
effective forms of manures are the various
chemical salts containing potash and phos-
phoric acid. and the nitrates and nitro
gcnous refuse substances such as dried
blood. high grade tankage. etc. Among
the potash salts. the high grade sulphate
or muriate contains about so per cent ac-
tual potash, and kainit about 10 per cent;
all of them of the very highest efficiency.
AS a source of phosphoric acid dissolved
bone, bone black. OF plain acid phosphates
are all of very high class. They may be
purchased from almost and fertilizer deal
or. but 1t Is safer and really cheaper to buy
ready mixed fertilizer, is impossible to
get the thorough intermxture of the fer
tilizer factory. by hand methods Also.