The Dermott news., 1916-07-06
SOILS AND SOIL FERTILITY
Nc. 7. =arw Manure.
Fly 'N' Y. HunS-rrord. Assistapt Agro-
 nOmist. University or Arkansas

"oHiS, tntSsfsi'y Dt Arkansas
 Farm manure ts without riastioo. fhe best fertiliser ths farmer van put on ats and Tue oidsst experiment. station iu ths world. located st Rots anstsad. England has conducted ax. psrtmsnts for many years comparing manure with various amounts of com. mercial fertiliksrs n ona at tnase 'ests ths plot receiving no manure or fertilizer ot any kind yielded l3l bushal ot wheat as an avsrass for nifty years The plot receiving i< tons ot manure per acre NaGh year yielded 3bS bushels as sh. ntfy year average Another plot Was treateh Hsch year with fertilizer costing Si5 2b per acrs and produced 289 5ushsis of wheat Tho only plot tu he t-s, which produced ss much wtaai as inc naeuursd plot was one which received each year fertilizer st cost of s29s6 par acre This plot avsragei S6 hushal4 Of wheat per acre for hfty ysars Countless othsr axparimen.s have shown ti-,t manure k valuable fertilizer and should bs praseryed and used accordingly
 Tha reasons for ths afectivenss o' msnnrs ss f.r''ii,er are apparent when its com oosltion and action in thu soil is uuher~toad Plants reaH.rs certain SubstanraS t0 make them grow iust aS animals must have food The most important of thesa suhstanCss are nitrogen. phosphoric acid and pot ash These are commonly called plant fools hecauss they serve as food Tor plants \ foa Of ,yerag. manure contains n p0uuds Nf nitrogen five pounds of phosphor'e acii and lo pounds o' potash Those quantities. may seem 10 he lnsigniaeant but plans do not reauifr fery large amounts although a liftle nf each "a absotatrDy essential IT these matsr. ials arn 5DasAf m commercial trrtlli,. ora theg are sVpaasta Al the GUS. tomarv priea for fertilizers 'he con stttu.ats m one ton of manure would cost s2 S5 Tho cost would h. very maca mora at ttr prtcas now pro Faj,lns
 Ths value ot manure varies som.. what with ths tend he animals r. c~iv" Tho richer the feed k Tn pro .ain the mora nitrogen "a contained in 'ha manurs For this reason tha ma nure from animals tsd on cotton seed masl 1ran alfalfa hay or other rich f-sds Ia especially valuable. Nearly all ot 'Ae nitrogen fed "a fatteninE ,n~ual Is returned Tn the manure
 Manure is valuable for other rea- sons AAsides the plant food lt con 'aira Ir every ton of average manure natter Thi- has very beneficial In ruancr on the phvstcal condition ot 'ha Soh T. makes Nravy clay soils more mellow and open, and it binds tha .a0t gratuN foc-thar tr sandy sou making a hrmar seed bed and cn ablirg the soil fo s'n~a no moro water aEsiost q time o' t~onslf One Of fha xrrat.st n-eds nf thu soils of thts s'afe k | larger supply ot organic mat tor TGe orEanIc mntter supplied In utanUra also furnishes food for the bacteria which arc essertial tn the best growth of cro7s Snms o' the bacteria i.1 h> the manure are able 70 tsks nitrogen from the a.r and make lt RHaushis for crops iu much inc Sau.e manner as io the bacteria Vhtch UvA on tha roots af le2umas Others cause fermrni atior of .he or.
 cal, .t,b .a liberation ot carhonle aeid which ren- d"rs thn mineral matter ot th" soil avat'ebia
 Since manure "a valuable in ,o many WAYS great car" should be exer cisri 70 prevent unnecessary lo'ses Some cf the valuable ingredients are soluble and others arc lost by expos ure 10 the air T.eaCheng should there fore hs avoided as much ss posstble The manure Is Frequently thrown out of window in tho stable and allowed fo lie under the caves until most of the plant food Ia lesched out Th. 6,rk brown liquid often seen about harnvards is rich in The clements nsed.d by crops f ths manure Is al lowed to lie in loos. open h.aps wher. tha air can circulate freely through lt the iusoluele nitrogen changes 10 soluble forms and is then lost by teaching In this WAY mauure left out in the open subject to alter nate wrtting and drying. quickly loses much of It's value
 Tn order to reduce losses to a mint mum manure should be spread on the sand as soon as produced Then the rains will wash the soluble part into the soil where it ia aeedad If if a impractical to spread fhe manure every day Iosses car be kept down oy storing In large moist compact heaps under roof A hssin.shapad zataAat floor under tho heap vii prevent most of the laaching \ very economical method of storing manure ia tD keep the stock in iaep stalls and ll'pw it D accumulate under thair feet Tna