The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1911-09-08
BARN YARD MANURE is THE
MOST PRODUCTIVE OF FER.
TlLlZERS.
is YERl EIGA IN AIIROGtN
Pens to contains the Droppings
Should Be Kept Covered So That
Rains viii Not Wash Out Elements
For Plant Food.
(By Capt. I. f. Peck, Commissioner
OF Agriculture

ds many dnlludls On MS farm dS ne
can possibly take care of, for a farm
with many animals will become Itch
and productive because of the supply
of manure, if it is saved and proper
ly applied to the land. Experience
has shown in all countries that this
is the material for enriching all
kinds of soil. Some chemical terti
lizers however, are beneficial On GER
tain soils
Manure makes the earth loose and
mellow, allowing the roots and all
to come in contact with all parts OF
the soil. After it has rotted it en-.
ables the soil to hold moisture in dry
weather; it furnishes plant food to
the roots of growing crops; it adds
needed germs and causes the bene-
fetal ones already in the soil to
multiply, thus helping the crop.
Barnyard manure is composed
largely of ground up parts of plants,
and contains nearly what the plants
contained. The richest manure is
made by feeding cotton sed meal and
other foods rich In nitrogen. Hay
from cowpeas and other legumes,
makes better manure than from
shucks, straw or grass. The cotton
seed meal produced from cotton
seed in Tennessee should all be fed
to Tennessee animals, and the man
are returned to Tennessee farms.
II all the solid and liquid manure
from the animals fed on the cotton
seed meal was saved, from 100
pounds it would have the same value
as fertilizer as 80 pounds of cot
ton seed meal. Animals take from
the food fed them chiefly those sub
stances that are WORTHLESS as ferti-
lizers, such as starch and fat.
The farmer who uses cotton seed
meal for feed and saves his manure,
makes two profits.
The manure from different an
imals is different in fertilizing value,
because they are fed on different
foods. Manure from the poultry
houe is several times more valuable
than any other. When only the solid
waste from animals is saved the
farmer gets only about half the ferti-
lizer available, If the manure pile
has no roof over it, the rain destroys
much of the fertilizing value. Man
ure that mas been exposed to rain
for number of months, is some
times worth les than half as ferti-
lizer for crops as it was at first;
mot of the plant fod has ben dissolv-
the nitrogen has ben changed into
ammonia, and passed off into the air
as strong smelling gas; and a
large part of the soil-loosening ma
terial has disappeared or been slowly
burned, for rotting is kind of slow
burning. If the manure can not be
Immediately spread on the ground,
q roof should be put over the man
ure pile
Compost heaps are piles Of man
ure mixed with other materials, such
as leaves or cotton seed with some
times phosphate added. Partial rot
ting makes the manure less coarse
and makes it act more quickly on
the crop. The same materials can
be mixed in the burrows in the field,
and when they rot there the soil pre-
vents loss. Moreover, when the or
eanic matter rots in the soil 1t
causes the soil touching 1t to rot
too, that is, to change some OF its
compounds into substances that
plants cay use as food.
ManYd.should be plowed under as
soon aSY tead on the ground. Fully
three-foufS1s of the weight of barn
yard manure is water-large
amounts must be used to the acre.
In ton of manure there is only
g out 25 to 35 pounds Of the three
T-acious forms of plant food intro
g=7 phosphoric acid and potash, or
bout as much as is in 200 pounds
nigh grade, complete fertilizer.
plant food in ton of manure
Id be bought in the form of COM
cial fertilizer for between $3.50
Il SO. But atom Of manure con-
ms besides direct plant food, bill
rs Of helpful germs and about a
tE~ter Of a ton Of organic matter,
az Is very beneficial in making the
mellow and able to hold moist
These can not be bought In
umercial fertilizers, which In
tease the crops chiefly in the year