Milford chronicle., 1905-10-06
Prize Essay.

awarded the $500 prize offered by E. w
Jenkins, of Dover, for the best essay ol
the preservation of Humus," at tn
l. Grange Fair, held at Brandywine Springs
August 2Oth, 3lst and September lst
= 1905:
The preservation and the introduction o
d humus into our soils is one of the fundamen
tai principles OF our farming operations
Where crops have been grown continuously
] and no attention is given TO the supply o.
humus in the soil, whether commercial fer
tiIzers have been or have not been added
r the soil gradually gets poorer and poorer, un
7 til it is finally exhausted. A good example
OF This kind Of farming is in the single cotton
: gro siag sections OF the South, where the land
gets so poor they have to abandon it or turn
It out to let It rest. What n Humus? HUI
mas is a vague word applied to decayiQg or
, ganic matter in the soil. Any soil TO pro
duce good crops must be supplied with hu-
mus and with a sufficient amount Of mineral
plant food to meet the requirements OF the
plant. The mineral plant food which Is lack
ing in the soil may be furnished by using
! commercial fertilizers. But to keep the soil
supplied with humus ID a harder proposition.
There are two general ways Ofsupplying the
soil with humus and plant food for these two
go together, n we supply humus, we supply
/ plant food also. First, by plowing under
green manures. Sec0nd by feeding the pro-
ducts Of the soil to the animals of the farm
and then returning the manure to the soil.
Adding humus TO the soil by means efp fplow-
Ing Hnder green crops has been steadily gain
ing favor withiO the last decade especially
among the fruit growers of this state The
4eguminous crops, especially crimson clover, /
are mainly used although turnips, rape, oats, /
or any catch crop may be used that will /
make growth while the land is idle, may be .
used for this purpose. In this State, crimson
clover is used more than any other plant for
green manurins. u may be sown in July or
August in the orchard, or In The corn field
after the last working Of the corn, it will (
grow through the winter ans early spring
and be ready to turn under in late April or
early May. The eguminous plants are used
possible, on account OF their being
able TO extract nitrogen from the air through
the noduies on the wot9 and store it in the
plant. just how much Nitrogen the plant
gets from the soil and how much from the air
Is not known. A ton of green crimson clover
will contain about SO lbs. of nitrogen. @ lbs.
If phosphoric acid and s lbs. Of potash. If
We value the nitrogen at Is els. per H. the /
'hospborie acid AT cts, and the potash at
= cts, we have the iertilizing constituents ,
# "A ton OF crimson clover valued at ss.59.
Thesecond method Of adding humus to the
oil, by the add ion OF stable manure, is far
lore complicated, for in here comes the I
uesti0n OF how TO handle the manure to get t
on the land with the least loss Of plant food t
nd the least amount OF labor. At the pres d
nt day eil seem TO agree that the cheapest A
I'd test way is to haul the manure dir cot to II
ie field every day rs fast as 10 Is made. Then -
lere can 5e no loss from leaching.or from q"
eating. when the country was yoang. the il
vi was well filled with humus and good Il
ops could hsharvestsd without the addition ii
humus. Manure was regarded as waste OF
was ofien tsrown into washes. creeks, or le
en- burned Ia time- the ground became r
or' r'because thsSoi became depleted of hu- II,
as and plantf9od, then the settler cleared A.
her land woriling westward an the while.
his kind offarning is what has ruined the
nth and the East. At the present day they JI
3 beginning to keep more stock and are 70
ing i0improye shese lands by the addition th
humus. ab
n this county, Rev Castle. where every ca
m has It's dairy, the supply Of humus is he
urned 10 the soil IN the manure. The hay +b.
2 grain are fed 10 GAe animal8 on the farm, a11
the concentrated eedIng stuHs which -
bought increaSe the value OF she manure. SO
on OF wheat bran contains about So los. of Del
rogen, So OF phospIOre acid, and % OF not sta
. five value the nitrogen at e cents. the sig
'sphoric acid at cents and the potash at Til
cents, the same value as given to the mo
nson clover we hnd The value Of the Ter nre
Ang constituents OF q ton Of Bran to be fbo
Ia Sl3lK -
ton Of cOttOnseed meal contains g85s Ebs 80
5sen, SIS lbs. Of phosphorlc acid, and 17.5
Of potash. II we glve. these the same In
ie as given TO the crimson clover and 1he lad
we fina the fertilizing constituents ora free
of cOtt0aseed meal to be worth. s25Is day
e amoRnt Of this fsrtilizing material. ties
ID is reaarned to the soil viii vary from ron
q cent. 20 almost all OF it, accosding 10 +ho.
lge and 1he work Of theauimal. HfH is ,I
o a dairy COW and the. skim milk is led
e hogs IL will practically all be returned VI !
g farm sooner or later II D'
" the question is; Whichis the. cheaper it.
10 supply humus? By green rnanurtng out
feeding beefor dairy cattle. The Grim hay,
lover for green manCTing muss have The The
nom late Ia July uEtil well sn in the or n
gto make a good crop an d then a ton OIL r,.;,,
! crimson clover mas only q Fertilizer -.
ofss5b, OF equal to the fertilizer value Si1e'
ne-ouarter Of a ton O3NFheat or-only one eIce
h OF a ton of cotlonseed meal. The Il
ing under Of green manure is by far ,he no o
me5hod for the farmer, because II re- no {
him of the work Offending dis cattle. your
he other hand if the farmer buys a ton writ,
eas bran and a ton OF cottonseed Y0aal ro,,
it 20 his dairy cattie-and sells the batter -
lR. the cows viii pay for tn e feed and he 'i''l
ave $500 worth OF plant food. to aRd 10 'es'sI b
rna This manure ia IN far better eopdt- smut
sr the soil than the green manure. some as w
ill be available for the plant al once join
with the green manure TIE plant must
ntil 10 begins TO decay. To one ased 10 Il
on dairy farm It seems great waste Tn,
feed TO plow rnder crop Of crimson fomil
3. when is could be fed 70 cows. be paid =, 49,,
them and then go back TO the soil
This way ssems to be the best and was
profitable way Of the Wo to add bnyous forms