Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-12-14
Take Care of the Manure Pile.

Why does land wear out? Is 1t be
cause some of the soil is lostp No, in
deed. Every one of you fellows know
that worn-out land Is that which lack
some of the elements of plant food. Yor
know that the farmer who rotates bill
crops, and uses plenty of fertilizer
will not have worn. out farm. That II
why the dairy farmer does not hav'
worn-out land; he keeps stock, and re-
turns plant food to the soil In the form
Of manure. Instead of selling all the
plant food off the farm in the form o
grain, he returns part of it to the lano
as barnysrd manure.
AS the plant grows, food from the
soil is used in the roots, stem, leaves,
and seeds. As a rule more goes to
make up the seeds than to any other
part. Now If all the grain is sold this
plant food is lost from that farm. So
when land is cropped year after year
and the product sold, the field gradually
becomes run down, or poor in the neces-
sary food elements. On the other hand,
if the grain and hay raised were fed to
stock on the farm, conditions would be
changed. The animal uses only part
of the nitrogen, potassium, and phos,
phorus in the food, the rest passing out
in the manure. Then, by putting the
manure on the land, we are returning at
least part of the plant food to the soil.
1t has been said of the American
people, that what they waste would feed
a nation. This is true of the farmers as
well as anyone else; most OF them waste
a large amount of plant food every year.
They pile the manure taken out each
day in one big, loose pile where it is ex-
posed to sun, wind, and rain. Once or
twice a year it is spread on the fields,
but there is always some that is lost in
the yard. Some of the plant food in
manure is easily dissolved in water, and
the rains washing the manure pile take
out considerable amount. How would
you 60 to work to avoid this loss9 The
simplest way would be to erect shed
under which the manure could be piled.
ANY open shed that will keep off the
rain would do, but it is often possible to
build it in so that it may also serve as a
shelter for the stock running loose in
the ward. Iu this way it will serve a
double purpose and will soon save it's
cost.
There is another way 10 which plant
food may be lost from the manure pile,
that is by the action of bacteria. In
manure there are countless numbers of
little organisms which work on the
plant food, changing it into different
forms. They attack the nitrogen and
change it into the form Of ammonia
which, as you all know, evaporates
This passes off as gas and is
lost. II you have ever noticed the smell
of ammonia coming from pile of horse
manure, you may be sure that valuable
nitrogen was being lost. Such loss
goes on even when the manure is under
a shed, and in fact may be greater in
some cases il the pile is protected from
the rain. The burned condition or fire.
fauging of manure is also caused by bac-
terial action.
How shall we prevent all these losses9
At present it is hardly possible to pre-
vent all loss of plant food, but 1t is quite
possible to reduce the loss to large ex-
tent. Let us see how we can best care
for the manure. First, the covered shed
to prevent losses by washing or teaching.
Then, if we have the floor paved with
concrete, the ground will have no
chance to soak up the liquid portion.
II the paving is slightly dishsd to pre-
vent any of the liquid manure from run
ming of, it will be of still more value.
Many of the bacteria which cause fermen-
tation in the manure, need plenty of air
to work we'll, soft is possible to stop
much of their work by shutting out
the air. This may be done to large ex-
tent by packing the pile firmly and keep
ing it moist. Pour enough water on it
every few days to keep the whole mass
damp, but not so much that it will run
off. There are many expensive ways to
take care of the manure which are not
practical on the average farm, but any
farmer can do some of these inexpensive
things, and every farm boy can help in
this matter.