The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1907-01-18
MANURE FOR LAND.

There are thousands OF farmers In
this enlightened age who still believe
that stable manure Is harmful to land
and cannot be induced to apply it.
In some sections Of the south, 1t Is
believed that stable manure polsons
the land. Many farmers, who use IL
on corn and other gross feeding grains
and meadows, believe 1t Is death to
wheat land. The objection to stable
manure Is due to ignorance of the
proper way Of applying it, In the
higu prairie lands and the semi.arid
regions, strawy manure or solid,
heavy manure in coarse chunks ap-
piled irregularly on the surface or
after the crops are In has worked in
jury and this fact, exaggerated and
greatly misunderstood, has given
grou DIS for the erroneous belief in 70
gard to 1t. The main facts regarding
stable manure and its use are easily
understood.
The elements OF plant food contain
ed In stable manure are available only
when moist or in liquid form. Mois-
ture is necessary to produce fermen-
tation which breaks the organic
matter and forms carbonic acid gas
which passes off Ia the form Of steam
II manure is allowed to stand 10
great heaps it will quickly lose lis
value because Of rapid fermentation
and teaching, The rains wash cut Of
IL the nitrogen and potash, and the
dark brown liquid that Is seen Oozing
out Of the big manure piles is good
money running to waste.
lit is allowed to lie in big piles
where it becomes hard, aud is then
pried out 10 huge masses and dlstri
buted over the land or left to lie in
small piles, it will do as much or more
harm than good, The ground direct
ly under the piles or large Jumps is so
strongly fertiIized that nothing can
grow there or the plants will be suffo-
Gated, while the rest of the field is
left unfertilized.
The only right way to apply ma
nure is by the use of spreader. The
manure can be put into the ma chine
every day direct from the barn, there
by saving one handling, and when a
load Is ready, taken to the field and
applied evenly. The manure spread
er breaks up the coarse portions and
reduces them to the proper fneness
and then spreads it over all the land
not only part.
This work can be done in the winter
when the fields are frozen, although
many good farmers prefer to apply
manure just before blowing in the
spring. These are matters of minor
the main thing being to
get the manure on the land evenly
and without loss Of any of its value.
The value Of stable manure is known
to ruu all the way from $500 to $500
per ton, depending upon the plant
food 10 it and affected somewhat by
the kiud of animal that produces 1t
and the food it eats. Therefore the
farmer who does not manage his
business as to produce as much ma
nure as possible and then use every
pound of it to the best advantage, is
losing ground every year.
Regarding the use of stable manure
on wheat lands. experiments in Ore
gon and other wheat states show con-
clusively that its use increased the
yield of grain from Is to 30 per cent.
Mr.. ,reeley, editor OF the Dakota
Farmer, III vestigsted the complaints
Of farmers 10 South Dakota who as
serted that the use of stable manure
on their wheat lands was injurious,
anG declared that he has never found
a single instance where the land was
injured, when the manure was prop.
erly applied.