Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-01-14

substance. SaWQuSt VIII dDSOrD elSl'
pounds per ton. Wheat straw will
absorb nearly four pounds Of the nj
trogen. The necessity for absorbents
brings us to the consideration Of the
compost heap.
The Compost Heap.
By the compost heap the farmer
is able to multiply his available ma
nure many fold. We should remem-
ber that anything Of vegetable or
animal origin is a valuable fertilizer
If put in proper condition. The COM
post heap is the means Of doing this.
One ton Of leaves contains sixteen
pounds of nitrogen, six pounds OF
phosphoric acid and six pounds OF
potash, and at ordinary values for
these substances Is worth nearly SO. A
ton of straw similarly treated Is worth
$2.25 and sawdust s2.20. These val
ues, of course, are based on their to-
tai composition. In actual practice
1t Is safe to assume that half Of their
values are available. But 1t Is only
after undergoing fermentation In the
compost heap that these values are
available.
That 1t will pay the farmer to give
more attention to the compost heap
has been repeatedly proved by prac-
tical trials. At the North Louisiana
experiment station, Calhoun, La, the
following results were obtained: The
land normally would produce one
fourth of a bale of cotton and seven
to ten bushels Of corn to the acre.
BY the annual application Of thirty
bushels per acre of compost COM
posed of stable manure, cotton seed,
acid phosphate and loam, this yield
has been increased from 1 IA to IL
bales of cotton and fifty to sixty BUSH
els of corn. The annual expense OF
applying this compost amounted to
a little over 81 per acre.
How the Compost Heap Is Made.
Locate the compost heap in an old
shed, or build shed, with any kind
of old material for roof If the
shed leaks some, all the better.
Spread on the ground in a layer ten
inches thick ten bushels Of stable ma
nure, wetting thoroughly. Over this
scatter 100 pounds Of acid phosphate
or 100 pounds Of high grade ground
phosphate rock. Then follow with
another layer of manure and phos-
phate, etc. Continue these alternate
layers until all the manure Is used
up, or until the pile has become in
conveniently high; then cover the
pile, both top and sides, with four
inches of forest mold or good loam
taken from the fence corners. If sta
BILE manure or mold is not available
use straw, leaves or any waste ma
terial, even weeds. Be sure and wet
all thoroughly. After the heap has
stood from four to six weeks it should
be worked over and we'll mixed. This
is best done by beginning at one
end and cutting 1t down vertically,
throwing the manure in a pile be-
hind. Wet again and cover again
with loan, 1t will be ready for use
in three or four weeks.
The above, proportions Is for use
with cotton. When the compost Is
desired for corn the quantity of phos-
phate can be reduced-use only fifty
pounds instead Of 100 to each layer
Thirty bushels, or one two-herse
wagon load, per acre Of this compost
will produce very marked results
When this quantity is used, it is best
applied in the drill just prior ia
planting. If preferred, the rows car
be marked off and the compost dis
tributed in this furrow and then
bedded on. Be careful, however, not
to bury it too deep, especially on clay
quantity of such a compost will more
than double the crop on poor land
the first year. Thus the composted
land can be rotated, and in the
course of a very few years all the
land will be permanently improved
Bearing in mind the supplemental
value Of the cowpea, 1t Is safe to say
that at least so per cent can be ad'
ded to the productiveness of, the aver
age 100-acre farm, and that simply
at the cost of a few tons Of acid
phosphate and a little labor. With
the compost and with the cowpea al
his service to save and gather nitro
gen for him, the average farmer Is
simply throwing his money away
when he buys that substance in COM
mercial fertilizer, for he could pro-
duce all his land needs upon his farm
Economy should be his watchword
and there is no better place for him
to start than by stopping the waste
of nitrogen that is so f1agran,
throughout the whole south. The
soil is the farmers bank, and the
fertility stored therein by nature Is
his capital. He can no more expect tc
draw indefinitely upon this supply
without ultimately exhausting 1t thar
he could expect his check to be hon.
ored without making fresh deposits
The people of the south have beer
doing this for years, and their credit
in natures bank is getting low
Every ton of hay sold from the farm
the manure from which is not re-
turned to the soil, takes off SIS worth
of fertilizer cotton seed about $11
corn $6.75 This has been going or
till the farm responds reluctantly tc
many Of our drafts.
We trust that we have made the
value of farm manures sufficiently
evident and that more farmers will
give attention to their saving.
S. A. Knapp,
Special Agent in Charge.
PARIS RAGPIckERS.