The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-10-12

MANURE AS ToPDRESSING.
More Practical to Plow Under-where to
Put Fertilizers.

I should always prefer to put the sta
BILE manure on top, as topdressing, and
work it into the soil, in preference to
blowing it under, if it was always prac-
ticable to do so, but stable manure in
a great many instances is too coarse and
contains too much straw and other ma.
terial to be used as a topdressing, be-
cause it interferes with proper cultiva-
ton; consequently, the only way to
handle it is to spread it on the land and
pillow it under, writes Colon G. Lille in
the Michigan Farmer | think, as
rule, all fertilizers should be mixed with
the sLfface soil, and not put into the
ground deep, because the rain will have
a tendency to carry the fertilizer down
to the roots of the plant The tendency
will be to work it into the ground rather
than working out Of it, and in the case
of stable manure, which forms partial,
and in some instances quite successful
mulch, it is beneficial from this fact.
My own practice is to draw the stable
manure directly from the stable and
spread it on the field the year around.
This summer, until after the clover was
/ cut, we used it as a topdressing on the
pasture, and we did the same last sum
mer and probably win continue to do so
! each summer. When the clover is cut,
then we have place to put the manure.
We are now putting it on the clover
sod, where we intend to plant corn and
! potatoes next year. This field will not
be plowed until next spring. In the
! meantime, we win be applying it as a
! topdressing and mulch until next spring,
but of course we will be applying it
iall through the fall and winter and late
next spring until it is time to pillow for
1 the corn
+, That which we put on late next spring
we do not expect to get as good results
, out of the first year as we do out OF
that which we are applying now, be-
, cause that will be spread upon the top
] and plowed under in short time, while
this mulch we are applying now acts as
F., a mulch and the rains will wash out the
soluble portions of it into the soil, and it
will get SO firmly fixed in the soil and
rendered so available that we will get
more direct benefit from it next year,
while that which we pillow under later
, will give us a greater benefit the follow
ing year.
Now, with regard to applying stable
manure on wheat The old practice was
to pile up the stable manure near the
lbarn; in many instances it was simply
thrown out of the stable into pile and
left there until after harvest; then it
was hauled out and spread on the oat
stubble nd plowed under for wheat.
Where manure is handled in this way,
if it could be forked over once during
the summer time it would be made fine
enough so that it could be used as a
topdressing and if it was, | should by
all means wait until after | had plowed
the ground, if possible, and then spread
this manure on and harrow it in, work.
ing it into the soil and think you will
get a greater value of it than you would
if you had plowed it under.
But, on the other hand, | should have
preferred to haul this manure out from
day to day as it was made, and put it
on the land, rather than to have it lie
in a pile and leach and ferment during
a greater portion of the year. 1t is now
generally conceded that the value of sta
BILE manure can best be conserved by
hauling it direct to the field as soon as
possible.