The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-11-02

any large section built up a success
full agriculture. In other words, while
livestock production alone possesses
some of the fatal defects of other
one-crop farming systems and live
stock manures contain too little
PHOSPHORUS and lime to alone main
tain soil fertility, still the legumes
which must b egrown to economically
obtain the required supplies of nitro
gen and many unstable products or
~by-products found on every farm can
be most profitable disposed of by
feeding them to good livestock.
Livestock an Economic Necessity.
If any general system of farming
livestock is, therefore, essential to
the economical maintenance of soil
fertility; but livestock as a one-crop
system of farming, is not to be advo-
Gated for general use and alone will
not maintain the fertility of the soil.
Many Southern farmers have stat
ed as a reason for giving little at
tention to stable manure, that they
cannot make enough to cover the
whole. farm every year, hence they
dismiss the whole subject. In the first
place., it is not necessary to manure
the whole farm every year, for the
good effects of one good application
will continue in decreasing degree
for many years. In the second place,
no farmer should think of depending
on stable manure entirely to supply
the nitrogen and humus required; for
he must also depend on legumes and
the turning under of green manure
crops to a considerable extent, as an
aid or supplement to the livestock
manure.
1t is not wise to depend on stable
manure entirely, but it is equally I'M
wise to neglect to produce and save
all the manure possible in disposing
of the products of the farm that can
be advantageously fed to livestock.
If it be true that more legumes, cover
crops and green manuring crops
should be produced in the South for
the purpose of soil improvement, then
it follows, beyond question, that more
livestock should be fed and more
livestock manures produced. This is
the lesson which we must learn, and
having produced more feeding stufs
we must then learn to ave and use
the manur produced, to better ad-.
vantage.
Factors Affecting the Value Of
Manures..
The value of the manure from live
stock depends most on the feeds
used and the manner in which it is
handled in getting it on to the land.
If we remember that comparatively a
small portion of the plant foods or
fertilizer elements of a feedingstuff
is destroyed or retained by the ami
mails except t~heorganic matter, when
it is run through livestock, and the
further fact that the manure may
quickly lose from one-fourth to one
half its fertilizing value by ferment-
ing or heating and teaching, if ex-|
posed to the rain, we can readily ap-
preciate the Importance of giving
much thought to the methods of pro-
ducing and handling the manures Of
livestock. If we remember that the
fertilizer value of a ton of %cottonseed
meal when used directly on the soil
as fertilizer is nearly four times that
of a ton of corn grain, II or Is times
that of a ton of cor silage, nearly
three times that of a ton of wheat
bran or legume hay and nearly five
times that of a ton of grass hay, we
can appreciate the influence of the
character of the feed on the quality
of the manure.
AS to the part of the fertilizer value
of a feed that is destroyed or retain
ed by the livestock in passing it
through their bodies, we must re-
mmber that from one-half to two
thirds the organic matter or humus-
making material is destroyed. If
proper provision is made for bedding
or litter, which is necessary to hold
the liquid portions of the manure, the
manure will not be deficient in or
ganic matter, but from one-half to
t~wo-thirds of the organic matter ac-
tually eaten by the animals will be
destroyed.
Handle Manures Efficiently.
The animals only retain in their
bodies from 10 to 20 per cent of the
plant foods in the feedstuffs, but this
does not mean that from 80 to 80 per
cent of these plant foods will be held