Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-09-12
ENRICHING FARMYARD MANURE

strated the great value of yard manur'
for building up and increasing the fertil
Ity OF the soil. and yet only compare
lively small amount of this material 1:
saved. protected and utilized advantage
ously in proportion TO what might bs
rendered available on the average farm
The neglect OF this important by-prod'
uct is probably due TO the lack of ap-
probation OF the functions 1t performs
IN the soil First OF all. il supple:
vegetable matter. thus enabling the sol
10 absorb and hold large quantities oil
water. In the second place..ft aids fer
mentation. which is necessary to the
transformation of the plant food In ths
soil into forms assimilable by plants
Third. Il brings into the soil great
variety Of bacteria which have beer
shown to have a direct influence or
crop production Fourth. each ton OF II
supplies the land with a fair amount
Of plant food. the amount depending
upon the source from which the manurs
i secured. the skill with which IL haS
been protected. and the character OF
feeds the animal producing il consumed
Yard manure. for instance. Is said &C
contain L 10 is pounds Of nitrogen,
to Il pounds OF phosphoric acid and ];
70 Is pounds OF potash per ton. or from
s. to 81 worth OF commercial plant food
As a matter OF fact, Il has been shown
70 have an influence in the soil wher
used In conjunction with commercial
fertilizers which give 1t a plant food
value OF anywhere from s. TO 81 PEI
ton OF course. these tests were made
On lands very low in vegetable matter
but at the same time quite similar &C
most os those which are being cult
vafed in the south. These facts make i
clear that yard manure furnishes d by
product invaluable 70 the farmer. and
through the medium OF which he may
build I'D his soils rapidly and econom-
icaIly.
The proposition now devolves on how
70 protect and handle the manure and
increase its value. It Is well-knowr
that large quantities OF cotton seed
meal produced in the south are shipped
To- Europe and fed to live stock by thf
farmers OF Great Britain. Norway
Sweden. Germany and the Netherlands
Each ton OF cotton seed meal contain:
about is pounds OF nitrogen. SOS pounds
or phosphoric acid and SIS pounds OF
potash Taking into consideration thai
3 ton OF corn contains S3e pounds Of nj
trogen. 49, pounds OF phosphoric acid
and ia pounds Of potash. IL is easy C
see why tnis food is so much appre-
cIated IN foreign countries, not only FOR
is high nutritive value. but for its re
markable content OF plant food as well
IN other words. a ton Of cotton seed
meal contains more than four times a
much nitrogen and phosphoric acid and
nearly three times as much potash as .
ton OF corn: yet the great majority OF
our southern farmers persist in feeding
corn. much OF which they buy. while
they permit cotton seed meal to b
a hi ~
this practice is made perfectly apparent
BY these figures. For instance. IL COM
mercial nitrogen-be valued at IS cents q
pound, phosphoric acid at>45 cents and
potash at cents, ton Of cotton seed
meal contains fertilizing ingredient:
worth SAL: a ton of corn meal, S25
In other words. four tons OF corn mea
would have to be fed TO return to the
land the fertflizing equivalent which
would be returned through feeding one
ton or cotton seed meal. Considering
the large quantities of cotton seed meal
which have been shipped ABROAD and
the tremendous drain OF plant food
which this practice has inflicted on the
south. il is surprising that our lands
respond so well in yield as they do al
the present time.
N this connection. the farmer and the
BUSINESS man should not lose sight OF
the fact that about 50 per cent OF the
fertiIIzing materials contained in a ton
OF cotton-seed meal are voided by dairy
COWS and s. per cent BY beef animals
Therefore. when the cotton-seed meal
l. fed TO the live stock on the farm and
the manure properly conserved. the
greater part OF the plant food IL contains
is rendered available for reapplication
to the soil for the maintenance Of the
supplies Of plant food needed 10 insure
larges crops and the development OF a
permanent system Of agricultural prac-
tee Moreover. il II quite apparent that
nure is as indicated In this article when
corn and other concentrates having
about the same relative content of plant
food per ton~are fed. II is made ma
teriaIly richer and better when cotton
seed meal is factor in the ration.
even though not over two or three pounds
are fed per head per day Naturally the
greater the proportion of the ration
consisting Of cotton-seed meal. the more
plant food win there be voided by the
animals consuming II and the richer
and better the manure becomes This Is
4 point OF vital importance 10 the farm
ers. OF the south and one that they
should distinctly focus in their minds.
AAtnouEn our i've STOCK INDUSTRIES are
inadequately developed. we have an
abundance Of animals 10 consume much
more cotron-Eeed meal than We are now
producing without allowing one pound OF
Il to 20 beyond the borders OF the state
in which ii is manufactured. Our fall
ure 70 feed IL il a serious economic blum
DER: and moreover. the deficiency OF
vegetable matter in our soils Is render
ing II less and less possible 20 secure
from the use OF commercial fertilizerh
alone the increase which was forreerly
obtained. We must resort as a matter
81 self-preServations 10 supplying the
lands with larger amounts Of yard ma
aure as = means OF reinvigorating them
and making IL possible 70 secure stfas
oest reactions from the plant food which
we apply In a commercial form.
IL is well 70 point out in this con-
neetion that tie farmer who can feed