Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-10-30

| BIIdItd Ildl 1t ldSlS Az ANt6AS
the Indiana station, Professor Lat''
Shove that a heavy application was Sun
showing an effect in the thirteeh'h con
tinuous crop of corn, making three ousn'
els to the acre more than Ian unInahuleu
This lasting effect makes II ratheF olhi'
cult to estimate the value OF a ton Oh ma
nure Evidently the effect OF manure OF
a crop is affected by the nature OF the
season, the quality of the soil, and tne
kind of crop.
Calculated on the basis OF It's manuriaI
elements, a ton OF average barnyaru ma
nure, as determined by a large numoer %
samples is worth about S2.75. In expert
ments being conducted by the ihoiaha
station, a certain series shows the iha,
nure to nave returned increased yields OIL
grain, I'm one year such as TO make lls
value range from 40 cents to 81 per ton
An application In one instance of tive tons
per acre made an increase of twenty-seVen
bushels of wheat per acre. Another series
shows it's value In the increased yields
from three crops to be from 20 cents 10
sI.o- per ton each year. 1T may be noted
that the increase in the third year was
greater than In the two previous years
due some what to seasonal conditions IN
the continuous corn experiment clteo
above, the increased yields of grain make
a value of almost 81 per ton. 1t should De
remembered that there was always In
these experiments an increased yield of
straw and stoyer which would add 10 the
value of the manure.
Besides the factors cited above as in
fuencing the value of manure, tnere are
other very important ones which should
be considered I'm estimating the value or
manure, especially ii it Is TO be purchas-
ed. The age and kind of animals is a
factor TO consider. Young animals re-
move a much larger amount OF nitrogen
and phosphoric acid from the feed which
they eat than do older animals. Growing
animals may throw off in their excrement-
as little as 80 per cent. of the fertilizing
elements in the food mich cows 65 to 81
per cent. and fattening or working ami
mails from 90 to 80 per cent. or more. The
manure from cattle and hogs is more
watery than that from horses, sheep, and
poultry and consequently does not fer
ment so readily. 1t is a cold manure and
is best adapted to sandy soils. A second
factor is the feed fed. a ration of corn
slower and wheat straw will not produce
as valuable manure as one of corn, clover
hay. and oil meal. The bedding used
should be a good absorbent, one that will
decay easily and add some manurial sub
stance to the manure. Wheat straw and
corn stover are common bedding and Ill
the above conditions quite We'll The
slower is better shredded. Whether ma
nure is removed directly 70 the field or is
thrown in a pile and exposed to the
weather for several months makes a diff
ference In its value as a plant food.
1t is pretty well agreed that removing
directly to the field and scattered is the
most economical, so far as saving the
chemical elements of the manure is con-
papnad Since manure GnraaHara haNa
come into use, this way OF handling ma
nure has become more popular. The
spreader is always ready. ~scatters the ma
nure uniformly and any desired thickness,
and may act as a convenient receptacle
for two or three cleanings before hauling
TO the field. Manure hauled out n
spread as sOon as made does not ferment
with consequent loss of nitrogen and per-
haps humus. What is washed by rains
goes directly into the soil and is made
use Of by the roots or becomes chemically
united with other elements in the soil.
When manure is plowed under the plant
food slowly made available, is taken care
of by the roots of the plants or is chemi-
cally united and the carbon dioxide and
acids produced from new combinations
and usually with increased available plant
food.
The common method is to throw it into
a heap in the barn lot or under the caves
Of the stable. This IS wasteful OF plant
food. One experiment shows a loss OF
AZ per cent. in six months from a pile of
horse manure; another a loss of "a per
cent. in 100 days. These losses came about
through fermentation and drainage from
the manure pile.
The fundamental principle in storing
manure is TO keep Il compact and damp
mot saturated), thereby preventing rapid
fermentation. Where animals are fed
loose in stables or sheds and plenty of
bedding is at hand to absorb the liquids,
1t is not bad practice to allow the manure
to accumulate for some time before clean
ing the stables. In such way the manure
is kept compact and moist and the fer
mentation proceeds slowly and uniformly.
The Pennsylvania station found that in
six months witt steers there was a saving
of $3.50 per head in this practice over daily
cleaning out depositiag in the yard in the
usual manne This saving was aside
from the labor involved. TX was found,
however, that when the animals are re-
moved hat tho manure should be scat
tered at once.
Few farmers will go to the expense OF
constructing specially planned manure
pits with cement bottoms and sides. but
all can have a concaye area with a nearly
or quite impervious bottom into which the
manure can be piled rather deeply. kept
moist by the rains, and packed by the
loose animals or in some other way. Ir
this way rapid fermentation will be pre-.
vented and very little. il any. drainage
will take place. Ii some land plaster is
scattered over the pile occasionally there
will be very little nitrogen escape. In no
case, however. should the manure be kept
in the pile longer than necessary and
when hauled to the field. il should be
scattered at once. When allowed &c
stand in piles in the field the juices wash
and soak into the soil under and around
the piles, thus making a poor distribution
of the plant food.
, In general it seems best 10 apply Ugh,
dressings frequently rather than heavy
dressings at long periods. At the Indiana
station applications OF two or three tons
per acre every year on wheat, corn. and
oats give as good results as four to six
tons. On a well organized farm OF eighty
acres there ought to be every year 125 tons
OF manure to spread. At FIVE tons pei
acre the whole farm could be covered
every three years. Certainly this would
be better than to apply ten tons every six
years.
In a rotation of crops the coarse strawy
manure should be applied TO the one hav-
ing the most extensive root system. This,
in a rotation OF corn, wheat or oats. and
clover. is the corn crop. The manure
should be put on the cloves sod and
| plOwed under in the aufumO mr. earlv win.