The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-06-02
Cheap Fertility.

hDOub 'OOmmerClal anu faTm Ma
nures." L would like to bring out in
this article single point of the many
that were touched on. Thousands
may put it to practical use, greatly to
their advantage. Mr.. Dawley said
that in ton of wheat bran there were
55 pounds of nitrogen, SO of phosphoric
acid, and 80 of potash. These materi-
ais would cost in fertilizers now about
S12.75. The nitrogen is worth say
about ID cents pound and the acid
and potash about 8 cents. These ele-
ments as found in the bran are as valu-
able as they are in fertilizers. The |
bran may be used directly on the land |
as fertilizer. In fact large quantities |
of cotton seed meal have been used by |
manufacturers of fertilizers lately, |
since this meal has been 80 cheap 1t |
has been put directly into fertilizers to
furnish the elements it contains.
But the wheat bran (and also cotton
seed meal, oil meal, etc., has high
feeding value. And the animal does
not take out to any great extent the
elements that are valuable for fertiliz-
ing the land. 1t may be fed to stock
and still have about eighty per cent of
the fertilizing value left on the farm in
an even better condition than it was
in the raw bran. That is, in round
numbers, the manure from the ton of
wheat bran will be worth $40, if you
want the elements contained in it. In
other words that is what they would
cost you in market. Now over large
part of the country wheat bran for
months past has sold for about $40
ton. In the West it has been consider
ably lower. In states where a good
deal of fertilizer is bought, certainly
bran could have been purchased for
about this price. Do you see what this
means? Why, that you could actually
get the bran at It's fertilizing value, that
is that the manure from it would be
worth all it cost, and you would have
the feeding value for nothing. Or put
it the other way, the bran could GER
tainly be fed out 30 as to almost if not
quite get the cost back, and then we
could have the manure for nothing.
There has been just about this chance
lately. And business farmer cannot
afford to overlook such an opportunity.
Cannot you all see that it is far better
than to pay about the same money for
the fertilizing elements alone? Why,
you can almost eat your cake and have
it tool In some respects this is better
than buying fertilizers directly, as you
get some vegetable matter to add hui
mus to the soil in this way that you do
not get when you purchase fertilizers
And you have the bacterial effect of
stable manure, which is undoubtedly an
important matter, although not very
thoroughly investigated yet. OF course
it is not as easy to handle the manure,
and feed it to the crop, as it is to put
on fertilizers with drill. But it can
be managed in systematic way, prac-
tically, so the cost of the labor will be
very small as compared with the saving
in cost of actual plant food.
But now 1 said the animals would
only take out about twenty per cent of
the elements that are of value for fer
tilizing the land. This will be about
true on the average, but whether your
land gets the other eighty per cent de-
ponds on your management. If part of
the manure is wasted under stables, or
in open yards, or while the stock are
going to water, of course there will not
be as much profit in the buying and
feeding of the bran, etc. If you have
cement floor and gutter in stable, and
stock 60 out to water, or for exercise,
in covered yard, or manure shed,
well Uttered with absorbents or coarse
manure, and if you use land plaster in
stable to absorb ammonia, and handle
your horse manure so it does not heat,
and get all your manure onto your land
practically without loss, as you should,
why you can depend on getting about
all of the eighty per cent. One bust
ness method calls for another, you see.
When you are fixed for it all around
you can now actually get plant food for
about nothing by purchasing bran, oil
meal, cotton seed meal, ETC., to feed in
proper combination with the corn,
and corn stalks and timothy hay, and
straw, perhaps, that you may have.
We might 60 further and show you
that thousands of you could actually
get more out of your corn, timothy,
etc., than you do now by balancing up
the ration properly with the above
named purchased foods; but one point
is enough for this time. Now, having
got the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and
potash properly saved in your manure,
from the bran, etc., fed, you really
need machine to put it on your land.
1t is very difficult to spread a small
amount evenly by hand. 1t can be
done, of course, and would do it if
could not do better. Eight or ten
tons per acre of such manure is enough.
Where the liquid is saved and bran is
fed to balance up corn and corn
stover ration Cor ensilage) you may
calculate the manure as having on the
average q commercial valuation of near
SO so per ton. Ten tons is giving the
land good deal of plant food. Pos
sibly this manure may need to be sup
plemented with little phosphoric acid,
or potash, in some sections, for the very
best results; but in very many cases, at
least, it would not be necessary.
have met men this winter who said
they would not bother with stock just
to keep their land up, as they could buy
fertilizers more cheaply, there was 80
little money in the stock keeping now.
Well, they will have to add humus to
their soils in some way, sooner or later,
to 60 with the fertilizers. They can do
it by blowing under crops. Proper
stock keeping, however, takes care of
th;o no;nf Tho ohapoao noun fnr rat