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NEW HAMPSHIRE

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION,

DURHAM, N. H.

BULLETIN NO. 21.

FARM YARD MANURES AND
ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.

APRIL, 1894.

CONCORD, N. H.:

REPUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION.
1894. •

EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURES AND ARTI-
EICIAL FERTILIZERS.

The experiments recorded in this Bulletin are in part the
results obtained at Hanover, N. H., previous to the removal
of the Experiment Station to Durham, and in part results at
the latter place.

The term manures applies to farm-yard manures, and in this
case means the mixed manure from cows, young stock, and
pigs, with the ordinary amount of absorbents, — such as straw,
sawdust, etc. The term artijicial fertilizers means either
the prepared or commercial fertilizers, or chemical fertilizers
such as are prepared or mixed on the farm.

NATURAL MANURES.

The manure produced by farm animals varies considerably
in value, according to the richness of the food, also from the
kind of animal producing it, as well as the condition in which
the animal is ; but by far the most important factor affecting
the quality of manure is the manner oi collecting" and keeping.

About one half of the value of the manure from an ox or
cow is found in the liquid excrement, hence at the outset it
becomes necessary to adopt some plan by which this may be
saved. The con)mon, and probably the best, plan is to use
absorbents, which will readily take up this liquid and save it ;
but the nitrogen contained in liquid manures is easily ferment-
able, and when fermenting gives off ammonia, and as this
nitrogen represents more than one third of the total value of
both the solid and liquid excrement, it at once becomes evi-
dent that it should be carefully managed, and it was in view of
this tendency to loss from fermentation that the following
experiments were carried on.

(a) Manure in masses is almost sure to ferment or heat.
Some manure, like that from horses and sheep, is more prone
to fermentation than other kinds ; but all, if left for a long time
in large quantities, is sure to develop more or less heat.

(b) All manures contain soluble plant food, and the percola-
tion of water through masses of manure is sure to dissolve out,
and, if possible, carry away, this plant food.

In view of these two facts, it becomes a question whether
we should allow manure to collect long enough to allow fer-
mentation to take place ; and, secondly, w^hether any method
which allows the rains to wash piles of manure should be tol-
erated by the careful farmer.

The tendency of water to dissolve out the really valuable
parts of manure, and carry these constituents in solution, and
the further tendency of soil to sort out this material, as the
water filters through the soil, and retain it, are facts which also
have a bearing on the solution of the problem of how to apply
manures.

We are to consider then, first, when to apply manure;
secondly, hovj to apply it ; and, thirdly, how ?mtch to apply.

SPRING OR FALL APPLICATION OF MANURE.

In Bulletin 6 of this station, page 5, two acres of land are
reported on, one having 6 cords of manure on the surface in
the fall, the other having 6 cords in the spring.

Sound corn. Soft corn. Fodder.

TV,P v,>lr1 ivn<; i ^^'^ "^^"'"■'"^'' 3.070 lbs. 754 lbs. 6,o6h Ibs.
1 he yield was ^ ypj.j^g " 1,690 " 1,084 " .S.^?! "

In the fall of 1SS7 five acres of land were divided into two
parts. To one part 35 loads of manure were applied on the
surface; the following spring an equal amount was applied to
the other half, and the whole planted to ensilage. The yield
was not large, as several varieties of corn were planted, three
of which did not prove well suited to the climate.

The fall manured half yielded .... 58,530 lbs.
The spring " " .... 57,605 "

The difference here is not great, and can hardly be said to give

pos

itive evidence for or against either method.

to"-

In the fall of iS88 two half acres of land were taken and
plowed at the same time. August 20 to one of these was ap-
plied, after plowing, 3^^ cords of manure, or 10 common cart
loads. The other was left until spring. May 20, 1889, and had
applied to it 3^ cords of manure. Each half acre received
the same treatment and seed, and they were harvested at the
same time, with the following results :

Fall manured (spread on surface in Aug.), yield of ensilage per acre, 16.48 tons.
Spring " " " May), " " " 11.72 "

Cuts Nos. 7 ^nd 13 show ten average stalks bunched from
each lot. No. 7 gives the fall manured, and No. 12 the spring
manured.

Another pair of half-acre plots, where twice as many cords
of manure were used, namely, 7 cords or 20 cart loads, gave
the following results :

Fall manured (plowed in), cut No. 6, yielded . 23.17 tons.
Spring " " 2, " . 24.50 "

Here we have an experiment where the spring-applied ma-
nure gave best results. The plowing in of fall-applied manured
on sod land is not to be recominended, and the results above
recorded are no more than might have been expected, since it
gave no chance for frost and rain to pulverize and distribute
the manure.

HOW SHALL WE APPLY MANURE.?

There was a time when it was regarded as settled that the
losses from manure were through the air, that is, that the escape
of ammonia was the great thing to be guarded against, and,
indeed, under the then prevailing custom of allowing manures
to heat, — either in piles in the yard, or, worse still, in the large
heaps that were so often and are now occasionally seen where
the manure has been drawn from the barn to the field, to be
stored unprotected until the season for planting — this was true.
Here the most favorable conditions possible for fermentation, and
the attendant formation of ammonia compounds from the liquid
part of the manure, are to be found, and here it is that the ma-
nure is really wasted in the air ; but, aside from this inexcusable

method, the management of manure can hardly be planned so
that the loss will be through the air, but rather will it result
from the downward passage of soil waters. The drainage water
from our fields carries fertility away, not rapidly, it is true^ but
appreciably, and it is the brook that wanders through our fields,
and not the winds that blow over them, that rob our manured
and unmanured fields of their fertility. With this view of the
case, we should so place our farm-yard manure that it shall
have just as much soil as possible to filter through.

Rain falling on a -field, whether the field is level or consid-
erably sloping, tends first of all to enter the soilvjust as water
falling on a sponge is absorbed, and the filtering away of this
water causes it to flow along through the soil, not over its sur-
face. There are exceptions ; a field may be so steep that a
heavy rain-fall will rush down its surfoce and mechanically
carry away soil and manure, or the land may be so full of
water that rain-water does not freely filter through it, but even
then the surface water is bound to crowd out that already in
the soil ; so that the exceptions, while existing, are not to be
considered as of more importance than the general run of
cases.

Surface manuring is the logical result of a study of the facts
relating to fertilizing in general, but by surface manuring I do
not mean that the manure should be allowed to remain on the
very top of the soil, but rather that it should be mixed with
the top two or three inches of soil, and the more intimately it
is mixed the better. And right here is \Nh.evQ yall surface
manuring derives its chief advantage.

I have repeatedly seen as high as forty loads of coarse green
manure spread on the surface of an acre of land in the fall.
To have harrowed this quantity in so that little or no manure
should have been left in sight, would have been an impossi-
bility with any form of harrow that we now have ; and yet
after the fall rains, the winter snows and frosts, and the spring
rains had worked on that manure, an ordinary harrowing
would completely incorporate it into the soil : in fact, the ele-
ments had themselves mixed the plant food with the soil, and
the manure had become pulverized and as fine as compost,
and with none or very little of the loss that results from rotting

or composting as ordinarily practised. Returning now to our
experiments, I will quote from Bulletin 6, page 5, New Hamp-
shire Experiment Station, —

One acre, manure plowed in, fall applied,
" " on surface "

From our 1S90 experiments, —

Sound corn.

Soft corn.

Fodder.

2,690

935

5.555

3,070

754

6,066

Manure per

acre.

Yield

per acre.

Surface manured, cut 5

14

cords manure

24.70 tons ensilage

Plowed in, " 6 .

14

II

23.17

<i

Surface manured, " 7

7

11

16.48

«

Plowed in, " 8, .

7

<i

16.13

11

These experiments do not show as marked differences as are
often obtained, for the reason that in most cases an excessive
amount of manure was used, far more than the crop could
utilize.

HOW MUCH MANURE CAN WE USE.''

No precise answer can possibly be given to this question, for
the limit is set by the kind of crop and the nearness to market.

There is an amount of manure or fertilizer that can be used
to greatest profit ; then we may increase this amount and get
increased crops, but the value of the increase is not in propor-
tion to the cost of the additional manure ; or we may use less,
but not to as good advantage. In general the greater the
market value of the crop, the greater the amount of manure
that can be profitably used, and hence we cannot lay down any
general rule that will apply equally to the general and special
farmer.

There is another difficulty in the way of even experimentally
determining how much fertilizer or manure can profitably be
used, and that is the uncertainty as to the value of the manure
left in the soil after the first crop is taken off. In the experi-
ments above given, two widely varying amounts of manure were
used. One, 7 cords or 20 common loads per acre, is about
what our best farmers use in mixed farming; the other, 14
cords or 40 loads, i-epresents very high manuring, so far as the
common lines of farming are concerned. Take the half-acre
plots represented by cuts 6 and 8 : the former had $43 worth of

8

manure, while the latter had only $21 (this is at the compara-
tively low price of $3 per cord) ; the investment of $21 gave a
gain over no manure (plot 9) of 11.44 tons of ensilage, or the
cost of manure per ton of ensilage for the first 20 loads was
$1.83. Now when we apply an additional 20 loads to the
same land, we get as the increase due to the last amount of
manure, the difference between the yield of plot 6 (23.17) and
plot 8 (16.13), which is almost exactly 7 tons, or a ton for $3
-worth of manure. Now, so far as this evidence goes, it is
plain that 3o loads was profitable, while the additional 20 was
not.

But the question comes up, How about the residue left in
the soil in these two plots.'' This question cannot be answered,
for many reasons. First, we know very little of the availability
of the plant food in the manure ; second, we know next to
nothing of the amount lost in the drainage water ; third, we
have no knowledge as to the condition of the plant food that
is thus left in the soil. Without doubt some portion of it is
rendered insoluble by the action of the soil, thus making it of
no more value than the unavailable plant food which most
soils contain in considerable quantities.

In general, I do not believe that more than from 15 to 20
loads (5 to 7 cords) of manure can be advantageously used on
our field crops, like corn, oats, barley, and grass ; and I do
not believe that 40 loads of manure (14 cords) can be applied
to two acres with more profit than to one acre.

SUBSTITUTES FOR FARM-YARD MANURE.

The subject of chemical fertilizers has been carefully studied
by this station, and the results can be found in Bulletins 5, 6,
10, and 12 ; but as new results are year by year being added, a
short statement will not be out of place in this bulletin.

The results of all our work show, without exception, that
New Hampshire soils are more in need of potash than any
other element of plant food, and consequently, that we may so
compound our fertilizers that better results shall follow their
use than is possible with the average fertilizer found in our
markets, and this the farmer is enabled to do by buying his

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■crude fertilizing chemicals and mixing as his soil and crops
require.

Any farmer in this state may, if he will, purchase these
chemicals of the wholesale dealers or fertilizer manufacturers,
and he is then in position to adapt his fertilizers to the crops
and soil he is dealing with.

A compilation of all our results thus far obtained gives us
the following table, in which one may see at a glance the rela-
tive profit resulting from the use of chemicals and the best
prepared fertilizers :

On Hanover farm $r invested in prepared fertilizers gave increased crop,
valued at $i.8o.

On Hanover farm ^i invested in chemical fertilizers gave increased crop,
valued at $2.80.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $i invested in prepared
fertilizers, on corn, gave increased crop, valued at $0.74.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in chemical
fertilizers, on corn, gave increased crop, valued at $1.71.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in prepared
fertilizers, on sweet corn, gave increased crop, valued at $2.91.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in chemical
fertilizers, on sweet corn, gave increased crop, valued at $3.03.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in prepared
fertilizers, on potatoes, gave increased crop, valued at $2.07.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in chemical
fertilizers, on potatoes, gave increased crop, valued at $4.20.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in prepared
fertilizers, on potatoes, gave increased crop, valued at $4.20.

On ten New Hampshire farms, cooperative test, $1 invested in chemical
fertilizers, on potatoes, gave increased crop, valued at $6.05.

These results represent more than 500 individual tests,
and it cannot be that the results thus obtained are acci-
dental: they rest on some law, and from a study of the condi-
tions of the experiments we are brought to the conclusion that
the prepared goods are deficient in potash. The following
table shows the per cents, of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and
potash in the combinations of chemicals that in actual practice
have proved best :

Phos.
Nitrogen acid Potash
per cent, per per cent.

cent.
Best results on plots at Hanover came from mixtures

containing ....,._.. 2.5 5.75 25.0

10

COOPERATIVE SERIES.

Phos.
Nitrog-en acid Potash
percent, per percent,
cent.
Best results on seven New Hampshire farms (husked

corn) 4.7 9.0 10.7

Best results on seven New Hampshire farms (fodder) 2.3 9.5 11. 9

Best results on potatoes 2.3 11.6 7.1

Best results on sweet corn 2.1 lo.S ii.o

Best results on ensilage .0 4.0 24.0

Best results 011 potatoes (2d series) .... 2.8 9.7 12.4

Average composition of mixtures of chemicals that

have produced best results 2.4 S.6 14.6

Average composition of fertilizers sold in the state 3.0 12.0 3.0

RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF CHEMICALS AND FARM-YARD

MANURES.

Can chemical manures compete with farm-yard manures.''
Will they hold out.'' — These are questions that are asked hun-
dreds of times ever}' year b_v careful farmers.

The experiment begun at Hanover in 1SS5, and reported on
at times as the work progressed, is now completed, the full
rotation having been accomplished the year before the station
was moved from that town.

Two acres of land, from a field of six acres, were selected
for this experiment. The land had produced hay for three
years previous, to iSS^J ; oats and sugar-beets had preceded
the hay.

The third acre had 13 loads of manure plowed in and
9 loads harrowed in, or in cords this would be 5.6 cords
plowed in and 3.8 cords on surface, or 9.4 cords in all,
which would sell, as it lay under the stables, for $33. This
manure was from fattening steers, well fed with hay, straw,
cotton seed, and corn meal. The fourth acre had yearly
applications of chemical fertilizers, inixed as follows:

Dissolved bone-black 346 lbs.

Muriate of potash 150 "

Sulphate of ammonia 55 "

The average cost of this mixture has been $11, and as there
have been three applications since 1SS5, it follows that each
acre has received $33 worth of fertilizer ; the third having

1]

$33 worth of manure, and the fourth $33 worth of chemicals.
The first year the crop was corn, the second year corn, the
third oats, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth, grass.

The following table shows the yield of each acre for each
year, and also the value of the crop, assuming 80 pounds of
corn as harvested to be worth 60 cents, 34 pounds of soft corn
10 cents, and fodder 30 cents per hundred, oats 50 cents per
bushel, straw 30 cents per hundred, and hay $10 per ton :

■ r Sound*

Corn J Soft-- •

lvalue..

( Grain f.

Oats \ Straw ..

(Value..

3 (Yield...
^^y (Value..

2 (Yield...
^^y j Value ..

jj (Yield...
"^y Value..

Third acre, —
manure.

1885.

112 bu.
161 bu.
4,835 lbs.
$49.75

1886.

833 bu,
27 bu.
4,435 lbs,
$41.12

Fourth

acre, —

chemicals.

1885.

1886.

97 bu.

823 bu.

15 bu.

24 bu

5,352 lbs.

4,927 lbs

$46.65

$42.00

1887.

43 bu.

4,5.35 lbs.

$35.10

47i bu.

5,267 lbs.

$39.55

1888.

5,880 lbs.

$29.40

6,202 lbs.
$31.01

1889.

4,200 lbs.
$21.00

4,800 lbs.
$24.00

t

1890.

3,700 lbs.

$18.50

2,800 lbs.
$19.00.

Total crop for six years

Excess of value produced by chemicals.

1953 bu.
43i bu.
9,270 lbs.
$90.87

* Sound corn, 40 lbs. per bushel; soft corn, 34 lbs.
t Oats, 32 lbs. per bushel.

Oi (0

p a

$35.10

$29.40

$21.00

$18.53

$194.87

$7.34

O J3

1793 bu.
39 bu.
10,279 lbs.
$88.65

$39.55

$31.01

$24.00

$19.00

$202.21

per bushel.

12

Plots on which no manure or chemicals were used for the
same six years, gave us crops valued at $128.77, ^° that we
have a gain of crops on the manured acre valued at $66.10,
and this is the result of investing $33. On the acre fertilized
with chemicals the excess is valued at $73.44.

This exjDeriment I regard as a safe one for farmers to study,
as it was on a large scale, and under the most favorable cir-
cumstances so far as the uniformity of soil and treatment were
concerned.

In the series of experiments represented by the cuts in this
bulletin made in iSS9-'90, we have a comparison of the effi-
ciency of chemicals, prepared fertilizers, and manure, on land
which had been fertilized with ashes either in 1879 or 1880 and
had since been in grass.

PREPARED FERTILIZERS, CHEMICALS, AND ASHES COMPARED.

Cost. Yield.

Plot I had the follow-
ing chemicals

dissolved bone-black, 404 lbs., )
muriate of potash, 122^ lbs., > $12.25 19.85 tons,
.g, v,..v.....^.*.o ^ sulphate of ammonia, 86 lbs., )

* Plot 14, the same as plot I 12.25 16.01 "

Plot 13 had 6S0 lbs. of Bowker's Hill and Drill Phos-
phate 12.25

Plot 10 had 244 bushels of leached ashes . . . 12.25

Plot II had 98 bushels of whole ashes .... 12.25

16.93 ''
16.88 "
13.60 "

The amount and cost of the fertilizer above is per /la^J" acre,
but the yield is computed per acre, as we are more accustomed
to think of the amount we produce per acre.

MANURE AND ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.

Plots 10-14 form a series which may be studied by them-
selves, and as the yield of 10, 11, 13, and 14 do not vary greatly,
except II, we will average them and compare them with No.
12, which was spring manured.

Cost per acre. Tons.

Fertilized with,
riot ID, leached ashes,
" II, whole ashes,
" 13, Bowker's H. and D. Phosphate,
" 14, chemicals,
" 12, 3^ cords of manure,

Gain in favor of artifical fertilizer,

► S12.25 average yield, 15.85
12.25 yield, 11.72

4-13

* Plots 10 to 14 had some six or eight years previous to this experiment been
fertilized with ashes.

13

This is, however, the gain over manure spring appHed. If we
take plot 7, where $12.25 worth of manure was fall applied,
we get a yield of 16. 48 tons, a gain of 0.63 tons in favor of
manure.

Or, take plots i, 4, 7, and S, another series that may be com-
pared, because the fertilizer used on each represents the same
cost.

Cost of fertilizer Yield

per half acre. per acre.

Plot 4, manured Feb. II, 3>^ cords per half acre, $12.25 10.18 tons.

" 7, " fall, " " " 12.25 16.48 "

" 8, " " " " " 12.25 16.13 "

Average • • 14.26

p, ( bone-black, 404 lbs. per half acre, >

chemcals ] muriate of potash, I22>^ lbs. " [ 12.25 IQ-SS "

Chemicals, ^ s^iph^te of ammonia, 86 lbs. " )

Gain resulting from chemicals instead of manure . . 5.59 "

In a series of experiments carried on at Durham, under the
supervision of Mr. D. E. Stone, the following results were

obtained :

Cost per Yield per
half acre. acre.

Plot 2, (one half acre), 5 cords manure, $i7-5o '5 08 tons.

" 4, " " 10 " 35-00 16.32 "

( dis. b. black, 162 lbs., )

" 3, " " chemicals ^ mur. of pot., 50 " > 5.00 13.56 "

( sulp. of am., 38 " ;

" 6, " " Stockbridge manure, 250 lbs., 5.00 8.13 "

" 7, " " Bowker's H. and D., 250 lbs., 4.50 8.48 "

" 8, no fertilizer of any kind 5-46 "

In this series we see that the comparatively small amount of
fertilizer used on plot 3, costing only $5, gave a very credit-
able yield, even alongside of $17.50 worth of manure; and
that $10 per acre gave an increased crop of 8.10 tons, or a ton
at a cost of $1.23, but this is on the assumption that all of the
chemicals were used up last year, which will not prove to be
the case.

14

CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS— now TO MIX AXD USE.

WHAT THE CHEMICALS ARE AND WHAT THEY CONTAIN AND WEICH.

Weight
per *, bu.

Dissolved bone-black contains 1 6 percent, soluble phosphoric acid, 30 lbs.

Muriate of potash " 50 " actual potash,

Sulphate of ammonia " 20 " nitrogen,

Nitrate of soda " 15 " nitrogen.

34

44

STANDARD COMBINATIONS.

No. I.

For Corn.

Dissolved bone-black .
Muriate of potash
Sulphate of ammonia

lbs.

325
100

75
500

V.

Foi- Oats.

(Or use No. 1.)

Dissolved bone-black . . . 325

Muriate of potash . . .125

Sulphate of ammonia . . 50

»

500

IX.

For Potatoes.
(Following a manured crop.)
Dissolved bone-black . . . 340
Muriate of potash

160
500

No. 4.
For Ensilage.

Dissolved bone-black .
Muriate of potasli
Sulphate of ammonia

X.

For Potatoes.
(On poor ground.)
Dissolved bone-black .
Muriate of potash
Sulphate of anmionia

lbs.
250
200

50
500

No. VII.

For Hay.

Dissolved bone-black .

22 c

Muriate of potash

. 250

Nitrate of soda .

• 25

500

300
150

JO

500

These chemicals are all dry, harmless substances, as easily
mixed as corn meal, shorts, and middlings. The combinations
are vastly superior to the prepared fertilizers on the markej:,

15

chiefly because they are entirely soluble and contain a high
per cent, of potash.

The amounts are for one acre where no manure is used, and
in every case on planted crops use either 300 or 350 pounds of
the mixture broadcast, putting only from 150 to 200 in the hill
or drill, and do not let it come in contact with the seed.

This cost, on an average, about as follows :

Dissolved bone-black $25-^30 per ton.

Muriate of potash 42- 45 "

Sulphate of ammonia 78- 80 "

and may be bought of any fertilizer manufacturer.

CONCLUSIONS.

Manure applied in the fall to the surface, either of plowed
or grass land, will, by the action of frost and rain, become so
thoroughly pulverized and distributed through the soil that it
acts more quickly, and is in better condition for plants to as-
similate, than the same manure would be if applied in the
spring.

The loss from evaporation and drainage (unless the surface
is very steep) will probably be rhuch less than the loss result-
ing from fermentation if the manure is allowed to accumulate
in cellars or the washing if left in open yards.

On most soils, and for most crops, surface application is bet-
ter than plowing in, and especially if manure is applied in the
fall, but in any case, except for manure that is so coarse that it
cannot l)e mixed with the soil by cultivation, it is a safe rule to
keep the manure as near the surface as possible, and to have it
as thoroughly mixed with the seed-bed as can be done. This
carries with it the necessity of using only such bedding and
absorbents as are of themselves fine or easily pulverized.

For our common field crops — corn, oats, rye, barley, pota-
toes, etc. — it is not profitable to use more than from 15 to 20
cart loads (5-7 cords) of manure per acre.

On an average, on New Hampshire soils and with general
crops, $1.00 invested in the best prepared fertilizers has given
an increase of crop valued at $2 34, while $1.00 invested in
the chemicals — dissolved bone-black, muriate of potash, and

16

sulphate of ammonia— has given an increase valued at $3. 56— a
difference of $1.22 in favor of, and due entirely to, the substitu-
tion of chemicals for prepared fertilizers, at equal cost.

This difference is due chiefly to the wrong properties of
plant food in the prepared fertilizers, and more to the defi-
ciency of potash than any other cause.

( phosphoric acid
Prepared fertilizer gives . . ) potash

( nitrogen .

While the chemicals that give { Phosphoric acid
best result contain . i potash

( nitrogen .

12.0 per cent.
3.0
3.0

8.6
14.6

2.4 "

Chemicals properly mixed and used can and do give as good
returns as farm-yard manure, and oftentimes better, and this in.
a six years rotation.

Leached ashes gave better results per dollar invested thaa
whole ashes.

G. H. WHITCHER,

Director.

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