The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-05-27


can recover by far the larger part of
the manure is carefully saved and re-
turned as speedily as practicable to
the land. we can reap a profit from the
feeding and not lose more than Is to
20 per cont OF the nitrogen. Hence. 1t
is usually better farnt economy to feed
all valuable forage crops even IL the
feeding only returns the market price
making material In the manure as we'll
as It's plant food value.
What n Good Rotation with Glover Has
Done.
In the best wheat growing section OF
Eastern Maryland ! can we'll remember
that ten to fifteen bushels OF wheat
were the usual crop. and thirty bushels
OF corn. But years ago the farmers
changed their practice. and adopted
short rotation and grew red clover
In that section / had an old friend
and correspondent, who was an en-
age OF eighty-nve. Shortly before his
thusiastic farmer to his death. at the
death he wrote to me:
Twenty or more years ago we made
sometimes as much as twenty bushels
or wheat an acre. but often less For
the past twenty years with a changed
method, have averaged forty bushels
OF wheat an acre and seventy five
bushels of corn. and during that time
nave bought commercial ferti-
hzer except plain acid phosphate for
the wheat crop. Have bought no am.
monia in fertilizer during all that
time And hundreds of others in the
same section have done likewise And
yet. all over Virginia and the whole
south the cry Is what fertilizer and
now much shall ! use for this that or
the other crop" And so long as our
farmers refuse TO adopt the method.
IKE the farmer above quoted and grow
the leSumcs and feed them JUS. so
long VIII he land remain poor and the
farmer need to spend his money for
plant food that ne could get free.
Manure and It's Handling.
IL VIII not do to make fetlch OF n
manure heap. Manure is not a thing
10 Keep. FOR YOU cannot keep II profit
ably. The sooner the manure gets out
on the land where tho crops are wait
Ing for II the better was on the
farm or very successful farmer a
ie" years ago. and 1 noticed that he
had no barn yard. and that all around
his barn and stable the land was bare
or any manure. asked him what he
ala with his manure. II do what YOU
have been urging farmers to do. That
Ia. keep the manure sprendcr right
a. the rear OF tho stables and when
IL is full drive off and leave II spread
on the land. for / always have a sod
ready TO put 1T on that will go in
corn next. and make an average OF
seventy bushels OF corn an acre at a
cost Of II cents bushel and sell IT
here for 81 and sometimes more
tThis was In Northern Alabama) Ge,
the manure out during winter and
summer nc fast as practicable. I,
loses less spread on the land than
anywhere else
some years ago I was AT the home
OF 4 good farmer In South Carolina
IN August He was stall-feeding some
cattle, and was cleaning out the ma
nure and spreading it between the
rows OF cotton. l asked him II he
thought that the manure would do
much good at that stage OF the crop
FOR here and there boil was open
ing He replied that Il would do moro
GOOD ther" than burning up In heaps
IN the barn yard. and he was righ:.
ana the manure gave him a wonderful,
stand of crimson clover sown amonp
me cotton. Composing is all right
Tor The market gardener who wants 10
make his manure fine for his special
high- priced crops. but for tho general
farmer IT does not pay 10 put so much
labor or the manure
The greatest labor saving imple-
ment o. late years is the manure
spFeader. In PENNSYLVANIA / saw the
Dutch farmers laboriously loadine, un
manure in wagons and driving our 10
the field and forlting il of in little piles
all over the field. where IL had TO be
again handled TO spread it, thus hand
mig the manure three times And
when / asked them why they did not
load II into manure spreader and
drive over the land and leave il spread
IN tar better way than any one can
spread II by hand they simply replied:
we have always been doing this wav'.
And sucn is the conservatism 81,
these really good farmers in general
that they are the slowest OF men 10
take on new methods, with a manure
spreader a. the door.
But. says one. I'VE must I'LL up the
oarnyard with straw to absorb the
manure and cannot get 1t ou, as fast
as made Now. when l was farming
IN Ainemarle County found that it
was perfectly impossible 10 get a barn
yard on the Piedmont red clay TO be
hrm. 1t would invariably work up into
muck, no matter how much straw and
other absorbents | used went to
Work and macadamized the BARNARD
with broken rock. and all the manure
was Cleaned up daily and hauled out
on the grass, and as | had large
stock of mich cows and beeves and
mules and horses. there was enough
to keep man and team busy half OF
every day But there was no more
muck, and the land got more and bet
ter manure
Stopping the Gullics.
Il have bought tract OF land in
the upper Piedmont section. Most OF
II is very hilly. and deep gullies have
formed on the hillsdes, and are In
creasing into the cultivable land. The
nils have not been cultivated for
years, and only the more fertile bot
toms into which the soil has washed
from .he hills. How shall | stop these
washes?' You have given typical
account of thousands of acres OF red
hiils In the upper Piedmont section.
These gullies have been formed through
the action of various causes. In the
iirst place the Southern hills wash
more easily than the clay soils of tho