Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1900-05-08
MANuRES.
SHALL WE PLOUGH UNDER? MAPLE
HILL FARM NOTES.

| Owing to deep SHOWS and late spring
we did less spring work In winter the
past season than usual. II 10 our winter
custom to draw manure out on sled
and spread Il on sod land to be broken
for corn In the spring. When snow Il
too deep to drive team over the field
We put the manure in large piles on the
piece to be ploughed, and spread - soon
owing to deep snow no manure has been
from the barn.
cannot understand why some farmers
persist in putting manure In small piles
on the ground. Last fall saw two men
drawing manure; when they reached the
field with load one man pitched 1t into
small piles and the other followed the
team spreading the piles. II both men
had spread from the wagon the work
| would have been done In half OF the
time.
Why some farmers will follow this
and other customs equally absurd, and
perhaps more so, ana do their work as
did their grsndfathers, cannot be ex-
planned by any rule Of progress or COM
mon sense.
There Is diversity Of opinion ss to
whether II is best TO plough 10 green NV
nure, or TO spread II after the land is
ploughed and then harrow Ii In. Much
Of this difference OF opinion arises from
difference In the composition and con-
dition Of the soils in different sections.
With sandy or grsvelly soil, through
which the water readily percolstes, Ii Is
unquestionably better TO keep the ms
uure AS near the surface as possible so
that the action of the water AS IL teaches
through the coll will not take much plant
food away from the growing crop. IL
land IL deficient in humus Ii will be OF
advantage to plough In the manure,
which will not only tighten the soil but
will assist In liberating the plant food
already In the soil and make II available
for the uses of the plant.
The corn plant is n vorscious feeder,
and there Is no danger Of getting the
manure out Of reach OF its roots. In my
soil, which Is q clsyey loan, intend
through this season on portion Of the
field, which for certain reasons was
ploughed last fall, the manure will be
spread from the large heaps and harrow
ed In. For barley, or oats, whose roots
do not 90 rs deep as the corn roots, we
spread manure on the surface and hsr-
row ia. For potatoes we plough 10 the
manure furrow deep, and drop COM
mercisl fertilizer with the corn planter
Much IL said about the extrsvagance
Of New England farmers In the purchase
OF commercial fertilizers, and they are
also soundly scoldcd because their ma
nure piles are not a. large as they should
be. II IL said that Vermont farmers
spend nearly half million dollars each
year for fertilizers, and don't believe
they spend any too much In this way.
Most Of IL IL used In raising corn. When
IL is understood that the corn area In
Vermont has more than Qusdrupled
during the past 10 or Is years, and that
In some sections of the state a judicious
amount OF commercial fertilizer will
nearly double the crop, Ii can readily be
seen that the money spent for fertilizers
Ia not all thrown away. That much OF
it Is used injudiciously is undoubtedly
true, but believe 1t pays mos. farmers
to use some commercial fertilizers. The
trouble Is not because farmers use too
much fertilizer, but because many OF
them do not make as much manure as
they might on the farm, and they some
times let much Of the manure they do
make go TO waste in various ways. The
scolding In this direction does not come
amiss.-Msine Farmer.