Middletown transcript., 1905-09-23
a PRIZE ESSAY

the Preservation oil humuS, at TIL
Grange Fair, held at Brandywine Springs
August 30th, 3lst and September LIST, 1905
The preservation and the introduction
of humns into our soils is one of the fun
damental principles of our farming oper
ations. Where crops have been grow
continuously and no attention is given t,
J the supply of humus in the soil, whethe
commercial fertilizers have been or hav
not been added, the soil gradually get
poorer and poorer, until it is finally ex
hausted A good example of this kint
of farming is in the single cotton growing
sections Of the south, where the land get
so poor they have to abandon it.or turn
it out to let it rest. What is Humus
Humus is a vague word applied to decay
ing organic matter in the soil. Any sol
to produce good crops must be supplied
with humus and with a sufficient amount
of mineral plant food to meet the require
ments OF the plant. The mineral plant
food which is lacking in the soil may be
furnished by using commercial fertilizers
But to keep the soil supplied with humus
is harder proposition.
There are two general ways of supply.
ing the soil with humus and plant food,
for these two 60 together, if we supply
humus, we supply plant food also. First,
| by blowing under green manure. Second,
by feeding the products OF the soil to the
animals OF the farm and then returning
the manure to the soil.
Adding humus to the soil bv means of
blowing under green crops has been
steadily gaining favor within the last de-
cade, especially among the fruit growers
of this State. The leguminous crops, es-
pecially 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 clo-
yer is used more than any other plant for
green manuring. 1t 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 and early
spring and be ready to turn under in late
April or early May. The leguminous
plants are used whenever possible, on ac-
count of their being able to extract nitro
gen from the air, through the nodules on
the wots 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 S.6 lbs. of nitrogen, 26
lbs Of phosphoric acid and 9S lbs of pot
ash. If we value the nitrogen at Is cents
per pound, the phosphoric acid at cents
and the potash at A cents, we have the
fertilizing constituents OF ton of Grim
son clover valued at $3.50
The second method Of adding humus
to the soil, by the addition OF stable
manure is far more complicated, for in
here comes the question Of how to han
die the manure to get it on the land with
the least loss Of plant food and the least
amount Of labor At the present day all
seem to agree that the cheapest and best
way is to haul the manure direct to the
field every day as fast as it is made. Then
there can be no loss from teaching or
heating. When the country was young,
the soil was well filled with humus and
good crops could be harvested without
the addition of humus. Manure was re-
garded as waste. 1t was often thrown
into washes, creeks or even burned In
time, the ground became poor, because
the soil became depleted Of humus and
plant food, then the settler cleared other
land, working westward all the while.
This kind of farming is what has ruined
the South and the East. At the present
day they are beginning to keep more
stock and are trying to improve these
lands by the addition of humus.
In this county, New Castle, where
every farm has its dairy, the supply of
humus is returned to the soil in the ma
nure The hay and grain are fed to the |
animals on the farm and the concentrated |
feeding stuffs which are bought crease
the value OF the manure. A ton Of wheat |
bran contains about 81 lbs of nitrogen,
Of OF phosphoric acid and 80 of potash. |
If we value the nitrogen at Is cents, the
phosphoric acid at cents and the potash
at u cents, 1.-THE same value as given to |
the crimson clover we find the value Of
the fertilizing constituents OF a ton of |
bran to be worth $l316.
A ton Of cottonseed meal contains l35. s
lbs. nitrogen, SO lbs. of phosphoric acid
and ia lbs. Of potash. If we give these
the same value as given to the crimson
clover and the bran, we find the fertiliz-
ing constituents Of ton of cottonseed
meal to be worth S25l8
The amount of this fertiizlng material,
which is returned to the soil will vary
from % per cent. to almost all OF it, &C.
cordlng to the age and the work of the
animal. If it is fed to diary COW and
the skim milk is fed to the hogs, it will
practically all be returned to the farm
sooner or later.
Now the question is: Which is the
cheaper way to supply humus2 BY green
manurlng or by feeding beef OF. dairy cat
tie. The crimson clover for green manur-
ing must have the land from late in July
until well on in the spring, to make
good crop and then ton OF green crimson
clover has only fertilizer value of $3.50,
or equal to the fertilizer value OF a ! of
ton OF wheat or only of ton of cotton
seed meal. The blowing under of green
manure il by far the easier method for
the iarmer, because it relieves him of the
work OF tending his cattle.
On the other hand, if the farmer buys
ton OF wheat bran and ton of cotton
seed meal, feeds it to his dairy cattle and
sells the butter or milk, the cows will pay
Tor the feed and he will have $3S. 90 worth