The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-03-04
Corrsspondencs Baltimore County linton.
THE APPLICATION OF MANURE.
FoRK. Nd. FEBRUARY 27th. 1905.


FORK, Nd, February 9th, 1906.
Messrs. Lonqnscksr Bros. Having noticed for
some time the discussions t the meetings Of the
farmers clubs in Baltimore and Hartford coun-
ties of the different ways the members applied
manure to the lard, It occurred to me that If
you would publish my experience for the last
six years It would doubtless be of great benefit
to the large number of farmer patrons of The
UNION, provided they will do as have done.
Up until the fall of 1898 / had been putting out
manure in the spring for corn and blowing 1t
under, and during the summer putting it on
pasture land for corn the following year. Late
in September Of that year plowed piece of
oat stubble and put it in wheat. which of course
looked very poor during the winter. Along
side of this piece was wheat on the cabbage
patch, put in by working the ground with q
spring tooth harrow instead of blowing. The
wheat on the oat stubb1e looked so badly that
top-dressed it during the winter with a thin coat
of manure spread evenly. Clover seed was sown
the old fashioned way Of throwing it on top of
the hard ground. (The new-fashioned way is to
cultivate your wheat and SOW the clover seed,
covering It in bed Of fine dirt, thus treating 1t
as carefully as you would your lettuce or radish
seed.) I was greatly surprised at the set of
clover where it was top-dressed. After the
wheat was cut the clover grew SO thick that rag
weed did not come up, whereas it did on the re-
mainder of the field where the set Of clover was
like that ordinarily obtained by farmers today.
saw at once that for me the place to put my
manure was to top-dress my wheat.
The next fall started as soon as wheat was
sown and hauled manure during the fall, winter
and spring as it was made and top-dressed most
of the field. had the best set Of clover and the
largest crop in years. In the fall of 1900 again
went to top-dressing, keeping it up until the
wheat was about eight inches high in the spring
of 1901 in order to get as much top dressing as
possible. At the time of cutting wheat in July
the clover showed to the very lines where the
manure reached, and in 1902 1t was the finest
field Of clover for miles around, and was COM
mented on by persons passing by. Others had
no clover but instead mostly weeds, with a little
timothy, to cut.
In the fall of 1901 sold my COWS and not max
ing much manure the next crop of clover in
1908 was a complete failure. The field 1 top
dressed in the spring of 1908 brought fine set
and yielded a good crop in 1904. In the late
spring of 1903. after it was too late to put on
wheat. MANFRED about an acre of corn ground,
blowing it under. This helped the corn some.
Iexpected to see the result of the manure on
the wheat that followed, but it did not do it a
particle of good, proving that wheat is shallow
feeder.
MY experience is that manure should never be
plowed down. 1t will go down fast enough If
put on as top-dressing. Manure should be ap-
piled very evenly and quite thin on top of the
wheat as the important part is to get it all over
the ground and notin Jumps. A very thin coat
will make the clover stake . it then feeds the
clover, enabling It to make a good growth by
the time the wheat is cut. 1t then shades the
ground and is not killed out by the hot sun, as Is
SO often the case when the set is poor.
The result from top-dressing wheat is that
you get two good crops of clover hay and have
made the ground rich in ammonia, which will
make you a good corn crop. whereas putting
manure on corn gives your corn but poor crop
of clover after wheat. that usually follows the
corn. Some persons who have seen the good re-
suits of my top dressing are now doing it, but
the majority still continue in the old rut.
We farmers as a class are in ruts that seem
hard to get out of, and the reason we stay in is
that farming is such an independent life that
living is made no matter how poorly the crops
are put in. If we would apply the same thought
to farming as is applied in the various profess
sions and other business enterprises the farmers
would beat the world. Owing to the many re-
searches of the Agricultural Colleges and Sta
tions farming in all its branches is being carried
on by many altogether different from what it
was few years ago, and as a farmer at the
Worlds Fair expressed it, I'VE are just COM
mencing to farm" meaning in way that we
know the reasons for doing things differently
from what we once did them.
Owing to top-dressing and having good set
of clover enabled me to prove true the state
ment made in the Ohio Farmer a few years ago.
that if you want to retain your growth of clover
the second crop should be cut before the seed
forms. Cut the second crop as soon as the bios
SONS come out. The mission of clover is to
make seed, and as soon as seed is made the clover
dies. If you do not want it for hay cut it and
let it lie. Do not let it go to seed and, it will
keep alive. The same is true of rye and other
grain. By cutting or pasturing rye and never
allowing it form head it has been continued as
a green pasture two or more years.
In conclusion will say put your manure
always on top of your wheat. The finest way to
do it is to have manure spreader, which does
the work quickly. evenly and well.
W. H. RIDDLE.