The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-02-04
Save Farmysrd Manure;
1t Is Best Fertilizer

- Az SSSS SA NAAAANA
BY E. B. Stookey, Agronomist.
r EXPERIMENTS at this Station, as
l. well as those at many other sta
tions, have proved conclusively that
barnyard manure is the best fertilizer
that can be used for most crops on
our soils. With systematic crop ro-
tation and the application of Is to
20 tons of manure per acre every
three or four years the fertility OF
most soils in Western Washington
can be materially increased, and so
be made to yield increased returns.
On the proper handling of manure
depends the amount that can be
saved to apply to the land, and also
its fertilizing value. When planning
to handle manure to save all the fer
tility possible two facts should be
kept well in mind 1st, the liquid
excrement of animals contains equal
ly as much fertilizing value as does
the solid excrement; and I'd, fresh
manure in the open will lose one-half
or more of it's bulk and almost half
of its fertilizing value in six months.
The loss in the open is largely due to
teaching and heating. The annual
loss in fertilizing value in the United
States from the teaching and wasting
of farmyard manure is estimated at
$750,000, 900. Any method the
farmer may employ to reduce these
losses to the minimum will increase
his supply of fertilizer and be well
worth while.
Experience and experiments show
that manure can be stored with the
least amount of loss when kept under
cover, the manure from the different
farm animals being we'll mixed and
we'll compacted by the tramping of
farm stock. This plan anticipates
the use of sufficient bedding to alb
sorb all the liquid manure. The
above plan can very well be put into
practice where a covered concrete
manure pit is provided. The farm
animals should be allowed to use the
shelter and tramp over the manure,
or such a pit might we'll be part of
a covered barnyard for housing the
stock in Winter. The pit should be
built with sloping sides so that the
manure can be more easily hauled
out.
Provision is often made to store the
LIQUID manure from dairy barns in
concrete tanks. This plan is prac-
tical but in order that 1t may work
satisfactorily there must be catch
basins close to the ends of the gut
ters from which the drain leads to
the LIQUID manure tank. Without
these catch basins the drain becomes
.clogged periodically, much to the an
noyance and inconvenience OF the
farmer.
The time to apply manure Is large
ly a question of farm management.
The greatest fertilizing value would
undoubtedly be secured II the fresh
manure were hauled every day on to
the land, especially grass land. II
the manure is applied to the land in
the Spring 1t should be plowed under
and the soil we'll worked down SO
that the manure becomes thoroughly
incorporated with it. When a heavy
coat of strawy manure is plowed un-
der it may form layer In the bottom
of the furrow through which moisture
from the subsoil cannot penetrate, In
which case the land is apt to suf1el
in case of drouth.
Considerable losses may occur
when manure is applied to land In
the Fall where there is much surface
drainage unless the land can be
plowed before periods of heavy rain
The really important thing Is tt
get as much manure on to the land
as possible and in such way tha'
there is but little loss OF fertility.