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FARM  MANURES 


By 
CHARLES  E  THORNE,  M.  S.  A. 

Director  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

LONDON 
KEGAN   PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  Gf  CO.,  Limited 


1913 


Copyright,  1913,  by 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 
LONDON.  ENGLAND 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


//^ 


AS 4 74 2 8 


PREFACE 

Thirty  3^ears  ago  Orange  Judd  Company  published 
a  little  book,  written  by  Joseph  Harris,  entitled 
''Talks  on  Manures,"  a  book  which  was  the  most 
thoroughly  practical  discussion  of  the  problems  relat- 
ing to  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility  which  had 
appeared  up  to  that  date.  Written  in  a  most  enter- 
taining style,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  practi- 
cal farmer,  it  has  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the 
agriculture  of  our  country.  The  book  is  still  abun- 
dantly worth  reading,  and  ought  to  be  in  the  library 
of  every  English-speaking  farmer. 

At  the  time  when  this  book  was  written  there  was, 
in  all  the  world,  just  one  institution  in  which  the 
soil  had  been  studied  by  the  method  of  systematic 
field  experiment  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to 
afford  data  of  any  scientific  value,  and  Mr.  Harris 
made  extensive  use  of  these  data — the  Rothamsted 
experiments — in  the  preparation  of  his  book.  It  is 
true  that  the  experiment  station  at  Moeckern  had 
been  established  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  one 
at  Rothamsted ;  but  the  German  investigations  had 
been  directed  almost  altogether  along  the  line  of 
laboratory  research. 

The  materials,  therefore,  for  "Talks  on  Manures" 
were  necessarily  derived  from  the  experience  of 
practical  farmers,  and  while  such  experience  is  not 
to  be  despised,  but,  on  the  contrary,  must  be  wel- 


iv'  PREFACE 

corned  as  an  indispensable  check  upon  the  deduc- 
tions from  scientific  investigation,  yet  it  lacks  the 
accuracy  which  can  only  result  from  long-continued 
work  under  a  systematic  method  in  which  the  scales 
and  measuring  rod  are  in  constant  use. 

Since  the  publication  of  Mr.  Harris's  book,  agri- 
cultural experiment  stations  have  been  established 
in  practically  every  civilized  country  in  the  world, 
and  these  institutions  are  now  accumulating  a  body 
of  knowledge  which,  while  still  falling  far  short  of 
completeness,  is  yet  affording  a  much  clearer  con- 
ception of  the  nature  of  the  problems  under  consid- 
eration than  was  possible  to  the  most  advanced 
students  of  agriculture  a  generation  ago,  and  it 
would  seem  to  be  time  that  some  of  the  results  of 
this  work  should  be  arranged  in  a  more  convenient 
form  for  ready  reference  than  is  afforded  by  the 
various  bulletins  and  other  publications  in  which 
they  have  been  published,  and  this  is  the  reason  for 
the  publication  of  this  book. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  treat  the  subject  exhaustively.  A  few 
paragraphs  have  been  introduced  on  the  origin  and 
nature  of  the  soil,  which  seem  to  be  essential  to  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  effects  produced  by 
manure ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  these  will  serve  to  whet 
the  appetite  for  a  more  thorough  treatment  of  the 
subject,  as  given  by  King,  Hilgard,  Hopkins,  Hall, 
Van  Slyke  and  Merrill. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  quote  some  experiments 
with  commercial  fertilizers,  in  order  to  arrive  at  a 


PREFACE  V 

standard  of  value  for  manure,  but  the  comprehen- 
sive treatment  of  this  phase  of  the  subject  has  been 
left  to  others. 

Even  in  the  branch  of  the  general  subject  of  fer- 
tility maintenance  which  is  treated  in  the  following 
pages — the  production  and  management  of  farm 
manures — no  attempt  has  been  made  to  include  all 
the  data  available.  It  has  seemed  better  to  limit 
the  discussion  for  the  present  to  such  points  as  have 
been  most  definitely  established  by  long-continued 
investigation. 

The  book  is  offered  with  a  deep  consciousness  of 
its  many  defects,  both  in  arrangement  and  treat- 
ment, but  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  add  a  little  to  the 
definiteness  of  our  knowledge ;  that  it  may  encour- 
age a  larger  production  and  aid  in  a  wiser  treatment 
and  use  of  farm  manures  by  the  practical  farmer, 
and  that  it  may  serve  as  a  stimulus  to  more  extended 
and  more  exact  research  by  the  scientific  inves- 
tigator. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  with  funding  from 
The  Library  of  Congress 


http://www.archive.org/details/farmmanuresOOthor 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.     The  Origin  of  the  Soil i 

11.     The  Composition  of  the  Plant 24 

III.  The  Feeding  of  the  Plant 35 

IV.  The  Composition  of  Manure 81 

V.     The  Production  of  Manure 94 

VI.     The  Value  of  Manure 112 

VII.     The  Waste  of  Manure 132 

VIII.     The  Preservation  of  Manure 151 

IX.     The  Reinforcement  of  Manure 165 

X.     Methods  of  Applying  Manure 182 

XL     Where  to  Use  Manure 190 

XII.     Green  Manures    199 

XIII.     Planning  the  Farm  Management  for 

Fertility  Maintenance 218 


Vll 


FARM  MANURES 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  SOIL 

The  Origin  of  the  Soil 

The  earth  a  cooling  globe — Some  astronomers 
believe  that  the  solid  earth  of  today  was  at  one  time 
a  red-hot,  molten  mass ;  that  the  water  which  now 
fills  oceans,  lakes  and  rivers  existed  then  only  in 
the  elemental  gases  surrounding  this  fiery  ball ;  that 
the  surface  of  the  globe  slowly  cooled  until  a  thin 
crust  of  solid  rock  was  formed;  that  with  further 
cooling  the  hydrogen  of  the  enveloping  gases  com- 
bined with  oxygen  to  form  the  vapor  of  water;  that 
in  time  the  cooling  had  progressed  sufficiently  for 
this  vapor  to  condense  into  a  shallow,  boiling  sea, 
covering  the  entire  surface  of  the  globe;  that  the 
steam  from  this  hot  sea  rested  upon  it  in  a  pall  so 
dense  as  to  shut  out  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  "dark- 
ness was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep." 

As  the  crust  of  the  earth  cooled,  the  mist  became 
less  dense;  in  time  the  light  of  the  sun  penetrated 
sufficiently  to  establish  the  difference  between  day 
and  night;  then  the  land  began  to  rise  from  the 
sea;  the  "firmament"  appeared  "in  the  midst  of  the 
waters,  and  divided  the  waters  which  were  under 


2  FARM    MANURES 

the  firmament  from  the  waters  which  were  above 
the  firmament." 

With  the  gradual  cooling  of  the  crust  of  the  earth 
and  its  consequent  contraction,  it  began  to  wrinkle, 
as  the  skin  of  an  apple  does  in  drying;  the  waters 
were  gathered  together  into  seas,  and  the  dry  land 
arose  between  them  in  low-lying  continents,  raised 
but  slightly  above  the  surrounding,  shallow  seas ; 
these  continents  later  were  traversed  by  great 
mountain  chains  as  the  crust  was  forced  upward  by 
the  increasing  internal  contraction. 

The  sides  of  these  primeval  mountains  were 
almost  constantly  drenched  with  torrential  rains, 
falling  from  the  saturated  atmosphere,  slowly  scour- 
ing away  the  surface  of  the  rock  and  carrying  the 
detritus  to  lower  levels.  Lichens  began  to  grow 
upon  the  rocks,  each  plant  loosening  a  few  grains 
of  the  rocky  material.  In  time  frost  came  to  the 
assistance  of  rain  and  plant  roots,  and  thus  by 
forces  whose  work  was  almost  imperceptible,  but 
which  had  eons  of  time  for  its  performance,  the 
surface  of  the  uplifted  mountains  was  slowly  ground 
to  powder. 

Other  agencies  also  assisted  in  the  work  of  soil 
formation.  The  waters  of  the  primeval  seas  were 
charged,  as  they  are  now,  with  lime  and  other  min- 
eral substances  dissolved  from  the  rocks,  and  in 
these  waters  corals  and  other  lime-using  forms  of 
aquatic  life  began  their  work  of  rock  building.  Great 
beds  of  limestone  accumulated  on  the  bottom  of 
shallow  seas,  formed  by  the  growth  and  death  of 


Tin-:   0R1(]IN    OF   THE    SOIL  3 

countless  myriads  of  shell-bearing  organisms.  With 
the  continued  crumpling  of  the  earth's  crust,  these 
limestones  were  sometimes  brought  to  the  surface 
and  even  thrown  up  into  mountains,  to  be  subjected 
to  disintegrating  agencies  by  which  their  surfaces 
were  reduced  to  powder,  which  was  here  left  in  level 
beds  on  table  lands  or  plateaus,  and  then  carried 
down  and  rearranged  in  admixture  with  the 
detritus  from  noncalcareous  rocks,  giving  rise  to  de- 
posits of  all  gradations,  from  those  rich  in  lime  to 
those  in  which  this  substance  is  found  in  very  small 
proportion. 

The  solvent  action  of  water  containing  traces  of 
carbonic  acid,  as  do  all  waters  exposed  to  the  air 
and  soil,  has  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  dissolution 
of  the  rocks,  of  limestones  especially,  and  the  redis- 
position  of  their  particles  in  other  forms.  The 
growth  of  the  higher  plants,  whose  roots  also  exert 
a  solvent  action,  as  may  be  seen  by  tracing  the 
marks  of  such  roots  upon  the  face  of  the  rocks ;  the 
action  of  earthworms  and  other  earth-burrowing 
forms  of  animal  life,  in  bringing  to  the  surface  ma- 
terials from  lower  depths,  and  in  actually  grinding 
and  pulverizing  these  materials — these  have  all  con- 
tributed to  the  slow  pulverization  of  the  rocky  earth 
crust  and  its  conversion  into  the  basis  of  arable  soil. 

Moving  ice  has  also  played  an  important  part  in 
this  work.  We  have  evidence  that  at  one  time  a 
large  part  of  the  North  Temperate  zone  was  covered 
with  a  sheet  of  ice,  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of 
feet  in  thickness  which,  under  the  ever  accumulat- 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    THE    SOIL  5 

ing  weight  of  arctic  snows,  moved  slowly  south- 
ward to  meet  the  sun,  by  which  its  southern  extrem- 
ity was  melted  away,  forming  great,  southward 
flowing  rivers;  or,  where  it  terminated  in  the  open 
seas,  breaking  off  into  icebergs,  just  as  the  Alaska 
glaciers  and  the  sheet  of  ice  which  covers  Greenland 
in  places  to  the  depth  of  2,000  feet,  are  doing  today. 

This  southward  moving  ice  carried  with  it  masses 
of  rock  material,  broken  from  the  mountain  sides 
along  which  it  passed,  or  plowed  up  before  it  in  its 
irresistible  course.  These  materials  were  deposited 
at  its  southern  extremity,  sometimes  forming  large 
ridges  or  "moraines"  of  sand  and  gravel  where  the 
glacier's  foot  had  remained  for  some  time,  these 
being  spread  out  in  sheets  of  greater  or  less  thick- 
ness as  the  increasing  heat  of  the  sun  drove  it  back 
to  the  north. 

Glacial  action  has  been  a  most  important  factor 
in  the  formation  of  the  soils  of  the  northern  part  of 
the  United  States.  By  it  mountains  have  been  cut 
down  and  valleys  have  been  filled,  the  glacial  drift 
sometimes  reaching  a  thickness  of  hundreds  of  feet, 
and  the  soil  materials  have  been  worked  over  and 
rearranged  by  the  floods  springing  from  the  gla- 
cier's foot,  so  that  glacial  soils  are  generally  among 
the  richest  in  their  supply  of  the  mineral  elements 
of  plant  nutrition,  although  the  physical  condition 
of  these  soils  is  often  such  as  to  call  for  the  exercise 
of  the  highest  skill  of  the  farmer  in  drainage,  cul- 
tivation and  crop  rotation,  in  order  to  realize  their 
full  capacity  in  crop  production. 


6  FARM    MANURES 

The  mineral  basis  of  the  soil  has  been  formed 
through  such  agencies  as  those  suggested  above.  It 
consists  merely  of  pulverized  rock.  And  that  such 
agencies  are  sufficient  to  produce  the  effect  ob- 
served cannot  be  doubted  b}^  one  who  carefully 
studies  their  workings,  bearing  in  mind  that  they 
have  certainly  been  at  work  for  tens  of  thousands, 
probably  hundreds  of  thousands,  or  even  millions, 
of  years.  But  this  mineral  basis,  of  itself,  does  not 
constitute  a  soil ;  that  term  implies  a  mixture  of 
such  a  basis  with  a  larger  or  smaller  proportion  of 
decomposed  organic  matter. 

We  may  grind  together  a  feldspar  containing 
potash ;  a  dolomite  containing  lime  and  magnesia ; 
an  apatite  containing  phosphates,  and  so  on  until 
we  have  a  combination  including  all  the  mineral 
elements  which  are  formed  in  the  plant ;  we  may  add 
to  these  powdered  leather,  rich  in  nitrogen ;  we  may 
dilute  the  mixture  with  pulverized  quartz  until  we 
have  a  proportion  of  these  elements  to  each  other 
and  to  the  entire  mass  similar  to  that  which  we  find 
in  the  most  fertile  soils,  and  we  may  add  distilled 
water  until  we  have  brought  our  artificial  soil  into 
the  most  perfect  moisture  condition  for  plant 
growth  ;  but  when  we  attempt  to  grow  plants  in  this 
soil  they  will  lead  but  a  stunted  and  miserable  exis- 
tence. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  herbivorous 
animals  are  able  to  thrive  upon  food  materials  upon 
which  the  carnivorous  organism  Avould  starve,  and 
to  convert  these  materials  into  the  most  nourish- 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    THE    SOIL  7 

iiig  food  for  the  carnivores;  but  we  are  only  just 
now  learning  that,  just  as  the  herbivores  stand  be- 
tween the  carnivores  and  the  plant,  and  the  plant 
stands  between  animal  life  and  the  soil,  so  a  fourth 
class  of  organisms  is  employed  within  the  soil  in 
working  over  the  minerals  there  and  preparing 
them  for  the  use  of  higher  vegetation,  and  that  the 
mediation  of  these  organisms,  between  the  plants 
we  cultivate  and  the  minerals,  is  as  essential  as  that 
of  the  animal  which  converts  these  plants  into  its 
tissues  is  to  the  flesh  eater. 

The  beginning  of  life  occurred  as  soon  as  the 
temperature  of  the  primeval  seas  was  reduced  to 
such  a  point  as  to  permit  its  existence.  Before  the 
pall  of  cloud  had  lifted,  the  sands  of  the  seashores, 
no  doubt,  became  inhabited  with  single-celled,  col- 
orless plants,  such  as  the  bacteria  which  are  now 
revealed  to  us  by  the  microscope  as  existing  in  the 
soil  below  where  light  penetrates,  and  which  feed 
directly  upon  the  soil  minerals  and  the  free  nitro- 
gen of  the  air  which  circulates  in  the  upper  layers 
of  the  soil,  combining  these  elements  in  their  tissues 
and  leaving  them  in  this  combined  form  as  the  first 
step  towards  their  final  destiny  as  human  food. 

Millenniums  passed  before  the  sun's  light  began 
to  penetrate  the  cloud,  during  which  the  ever-falling 
rain  washed  from  the  slowly  rising-  shores  much  of 
the  material  combined  by  these  organisms,  carry- 
ing it  into  the  sea  to  become  there  the  nutrient  sub- 
stance for  the  hosts  of  living  things,  from  the  minut- 
est single  cell  to  the  leviathan,  with  which  the  sea 


8  FARM    MANURES 

began  to  be  inhabited;  but  a  part  of  each  minute 
addition  to  the  stock  of  elementary  combination  be- 
came fixed  in  the  film  of  moisture  surrounding  each 
particle  of  sand,  so  that,  while  the  addition  to  the 
stock  of  potential  plant  food  in  the  land  was  but  a 
very  minute  fraction  of  that  carried  into  the  sea, 
yet  there  was  a  steady  increase,  especially  in  those 
portions  which  had  risen  above  the  washing  of  the 
waves. 

Green  plants  made  their  appearance  with  the  first 
dawning  of  light ;  probably  such  plants  as  the  lower 
forms  of  algae  which  we  find  today  growing  in  moist 
and  shaded  places,  and  which  also,  then  as  now, 
were  able  to  feed  directly  upon  the  original  minerals 
of  the  soil  and  upon  atmospheric  nitrogen. 

With  lowercasing  light  came  the  higher  forms  of 
plant  life,  first  feeding  upon  the  soil  food  prepared 
for  them  by  the  bacteria  and  algae,  but  after  their 
span  of  life  was  ended  returning  their  substance  to 
the  soil  and  by  their  slow  decomposition  gradually 
reducing  the  proportion  carried  to  the  sea. 

Year  after  year,  century  after  century,  eon  after 
eon,  this  work  went  on,  each  advancing  age  leaving 
a  little  larger  the  accumulation  of  organic  remains 
in  the  soil. 

Worms  have  also  contributed  materially  to  soil 
formation.  The  cast  of  a  single  earthworm,  as 
thrown  up  between  a  pair  of  paving  bricks,  seems 
a  very  insignificant  thing ;  but  when  such  casts  are 
multiplied  by  millions,  they  are  no  longer  insignifi- 
cant, but  become  a  potent  factor  among  the  agencies 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE    SOIL  9 

concerned  in  soil  building.  For  these  casts  are  the 
product  of  a  commingling  of  mineral  particles  with 
vegetable  matter;  these  mineral  particles  are  ground 
to  a  much  finer  condition  in  the  digestive  organs  of 
the  worms,  and- are  thoroughly  mixed  with  vegeta- 
ble matter  and  digestive  fluids. 

The  countless  myriads  of  insects  which  have  their 
short  existence  on  or  in  the  soil  and  in  the  vegeta- 
tion above  it  have  also  contributed  materially  to 
the  condition  which  makes  the  soil  a  feeding  place 
for  the  plants  we  cultivate,  through  their  decay  upon 
it.  And  the  same  is  true  of  other  forms  of  animal 
life  which,  after  their  period  of  existence  is  over, 
return  their  tissues  to  the  elements  from  which 
they  came — earth  to  earth  and  air  to  air.* 

Humus — A  heap  of  bright,  yellow  straw  is  built 
in  the  barnyard ;  the  farm  animals  are  given  access 
to  it  and  consume  a  part  of  it,  trampling  the  re- 
mainder under  foot;  gradually  the  heap  disappears, 
and  there  is  left  in  its  stead  a  comparatively  very 
small  quantity  of  dark  material,  brown  at  the  sur- 
face and  still  showing  the  structure  of  the  straw, 
but  black  and  formless  at  the  bottom.  Had  the 
straw  been  spread  upon  the  land  and  plowed  under, 
the  same  transition  into  a  structureless,  black  sub- 
stance would  have  taken  place. 

If,  now,  we  separate  this  black  substance,  as  may 
be  done  by  chemical  processes,  and  subject  it  to 
analysis,  we  shall  find  it  containing  the  mineral  sub- 
stances of  the  original  straw,  such  as  may  not  have 


*See  Darwin's  "  The  Formation  of  Vegetable  Mould." 


10  FARM    MANURES 

been  washed  out  by  rain,  together  with  a  consider- 
able but  variable  percentage  of  nitrogen,  which  has 
become  fixed  in  a  comparatively  stable  form. 

This  black  substance  is  humus.  It  is  the  product 
of  the  decay  of  organic  matter — vegetable  and  ani- 
mal— but  it  is  not  correct  to  apply  the  term  humus 
to  such  matter  during  the  process  of  decay.  The 
humus  of  the  soil  is  its  storehouse  of  available  plant 
food,  both  mineral  and  nitrogenous ;  plant  food  that 
has  been  wrested  from  the  rocks  and  the  atmosphere 
by  infinitesimal  agencies  working  through  eons  of 
time,  and  stored  for  the  use  of  humanity ;  plant  food 
which  we  may  so  utilize  as  to  return  it  to  the  soil 
undiminished  or  even  increased  in  quantity,  or 
which  we  may  so  waste  as  to  leave  to  those  who  fol- 
low us  a  sadly  diminished  heritage. 

The  skeleton  of  the  soil  consists  of  grains  of  sand 
or  minute  fragments  of  the  rocks  from  which  the 
soil  has  been  derived,  (The  larger  fragments,  or 
gravel,  are  not,  properly  speaking,  parts  of  the  soil.) 
This  mineral  skeleton  may  consist  of  particles  so 
coarse  as  to  be  easily  discernible,  or  of  atoms  of 
silt  or  clay  so  minute  that  they  can  only  be  sepa- 
rately distinguished  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope ; 
but  in  either  case  it  is  upon  these  separate  particles 
that  the  forces  impinge  which  control  the  growth  of 
vegetation.  Practically  all  soils  contain  particles 
of  different  degrees  of  fineness,  the  space  between 
the  larger  ones  being  occupied  by  smaller  ones  of 
silt  and  clay  and  by  fragments  of  decaying  vegeta- 
tion.   Whether  the  soil  be  classed  as  sandy,  loamy 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    Tllli:    SOIL  II 

or  clayey  depends  upon  the  relative  proportion  and 
character  of  the  coarser  and  finer  particles. 

Whatever  the  size  of  the  particles,  it  is  upon  their 
surfaces  only  that  the  various  forces  act  which  pre- 
pare the  food  for  the  plant — the  soil  water,  in  which 
that  food  is  dissolved;  the  air  which  furnishes  oxy- 
gen for  the  conversion  of  the  insoluble  mineral  mat- 
ter into  soluble  oxides;  and  the  soil  organisms, 
whose  growth  transforms  the  inert  soil  nitrogen  into 
active  nitrates,  and  the  mineral  elements  into  avail- 
able forms. 

The  size  of  the  soil  particles  is  an  important  fac- 
tor in  determining  the  rate  at  which  the  plant  food 
is  made  available.  F.  H.  King  has  shown  that  the 
surface  area  is  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  particles.  For  example,  a  marble,  i  inch  in 
diameter,  would  have  a  superficial  area  of  3.1416 
inches,  and  a  cubic  foot  of  such  marbles  would  have 
a  total  area  of  37.7  square  feet,  while  a  cubic  foot 
of  soil  grains  .001  inch  in  diameter,  would  have  an 
area  of  37,700  square  feet,  or  nearly  an  acre.  Hence, 
a  fine-grained  soil  exposes  a  very  much  larger  sur- 
face to  solvent  action  than  a  coarse-grained  one,  so 
long  as  the  size  and  condition  of  the  particles  are 
such  that  they  move  freely  upon  each  other  and 
allow  water  to  penetrate  their  interstices,  as  sands 
and  silts.  In  clays,  however,  the  soil  particles  are 
so  fine  that  the  water  cannot  circulate  freely ;  hence 
a  clay  may  be  rich  in  the  mineral  elements  of  fertility. 
and  yet  its  physical  condition  may  be  such  that  its 
plant  food  will  be  yielded  up  "to  the  growing  crop 


12  FARM    MANURES 

with  extreme  slowness;  while  a  sandy  soil,  though 
showing  under  analysis  smaller  quantities  of  the 
elements  essential  to  crop  production,  may  yet  give 
larger  yields. 

When,  however,  the  texture  of  the  clay  is  altered, 
by  manuring  or  by  the  turning  under  of  vegetation, 
it  often  becomes  more  productive  than  the  naturally 
looser  soils. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  a  coarse,  sandy  soil  the  par- 
ticles are  separated  by  such  large  interstices  as  to 
permit  too  easy  a  passage  for  the  rain  water,  and  it 
passes  below  the  reach  of  the  plant  roots  before  it 
becomes  sufficiently  saturated  with  the  mineral  ele- 
ments required  for  plant  nutrition. 

For  both  classes  of  soils  the  remedy  is  the  same, 
the  incorporation  of  vegetable  matter.  Such  mat- 
ter loosens  the  clays  by  separating  their  particles, 
and  makes  the  sands  more  compact  by  filling  their 
interstices  with  finer  material,  while  its  decay  not 
only  furnishes  plant  food  directly,  but  also  serves 
indirectly  to  bring  the  soil  and  atmospheric  elements 
into  combinations  available  for  plant  sustenance. 

The  cycle  of  life — A  dead  animal,  lying  exposed  in 
summer  weather,  is  soon  attacked  by  flies,  whose 
maggots  devour  the  carcass,  converting  the  carbon, 
oxygen  and  nitrogen  of  its  dead  tissues  into  their 
own  living  substance.  A  dead  plant,  covered  with 
a  few  inches  of  soil,  is  attacked  by  millions  of  micro- 
scopic plants  (bacteria),  which  consume  its  tissues, 
recombining  the  carbon,  oxygen  and  nitrogen  of  those 
tissues  into  the  protoplasm  which  fills  their  cells. 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE    SOIL  1 3 

The  maggots  are  transformed  into  flies  and  these, 
if  not  devoured  by  other  animals,  live  out  their  cycle 
of  existence  and  then  are  consumed  by  molds  and 
these  in  turn  by  bacteria.  Bacteria  also  may  be  con- 
sumed by  other  organisms  (amoebae),  as  has  quite 
recently  been  shown  at  the  Rothamsted  experiment 
station,  or  they  may  reach  their  natural  life  limit — 
a  matter  of  a  few  hours,  probably — when  their  cells 
will  be  decomposed  with  the  formation  of  oxides 
of  nitrogen  and  carbon  (nitric  and  carbonic  acids), 
the  nitric  acid  to  be  absorbed  by  the  soil  water  and 
carried  to  the  roots  of  growing  vegetation,  if  there 
be  such  vegetation  in  the  vicinity,  otherwise  to  be 
carried  into  the  drainage  or  separated  into  its  ele- 
ments; the  carbon  dioxide  to  escape  into  the  free 
air,  there  to  be  captured  again  by  the  foliage  of 
green-leaved  plants. 

In  some  such  way  as  this  the  never-ending  cycle 
of  life  moves  on ;  the  aztobacter  seizing  upon  the 
surfaces  of  the  soil  particles  and  combining  their 
phosphorus,  potassium  and  calcium  with  atmos- 
pheric nitrogen ;  this  combination  to  be  passed  on  to 
the  higher  plants,  which  add  to  it  the  carbon  diox- 
ide of  the  air;  these  plants  to  be  consumed  by  the 
herbivores  and  their  tissues  to  be  converted  into 
bone  and  nerve  and  milk  and  muscle ;  the  herbivores 
to  serve  as  the  food  of  the  carnivores,  and  these  in 
turn  to  feed  the  worm,  and  the  worm  the  bacteria, 
the  cycle  thus  returning  to  the  plane  from  which 
it  started. 


14  farm  manures 

Geological  Classification  of  Soils 

The  geologist  classifies  soils  in  four  principal 
groups,  according  to  their  origin,  namely  :  Sedentary 
or  residual  soils,  or  those  which  have  been  formed 
where  they  now  lie  by  the  decomposition  of  the 
underlying  rock ;  alluvial  soils,  or  those  which  have 
been  transported  by  rivers  and  deposited  upon  their 
flood  plains — soils  to  which  the  farmer  applies  the 
name  "bottom  lands" ;  glacial  or  drift  soils,  or  those 
which  owe  their  origin  to  the  action  of  moving  ice, 
by  which  agency  a  part  or  all  of  their  material  has 
been  transported  for  long  distances  and  deposited 
at  the  foot  of  continental  glaciers ;  and  seolian  or 
loess  soils,  which  have  been  formed  from  dust  blown 
by  the  wind. 

Residual  soils  vary  greatly  in  quality,  owing  to 
the  character  of  the  rocks  from  which  they  have 
been  derived.  Thus  the  soil  of  the  famous  *'Blue 
Grass"  region  of  Kentucky  is  due  to  the  weathering 
of  the  underlying  limestone,  while  in  other  places 
sandstones,  shales  and  granites  have  given  origin  to 
soils  of  very  different  character.  In  fact,  it  is  a 
matter  of  general  observation  that  soils  formed 
wholly  or  in  part  from  limestone  are,  as  a  rule,  much 
more  productive  and  more  durable  than  those  de- 
rived from  noncalcareous  rocks,  although  it  some- 
times happens  that  a  limestone  soil  has  been  so  im- 
providently  managed  that  its  natural  superiority  has 
vanished. 

Alluvial  soils — The  superior  fertility  of  alluvial 


Tin-:   ORIGIN    OF   THE    SOIL  1 5 

or  bottom  lands  has  been  recognized  since  man  be- 
gan to  till  the  soil,  and  the  cause  of  this  superiority 
is  easily  understood  by  one  who  observes  the  turbid 
streams  which  course  down  every  hillside  in  times 
of  freshet,  carrying  down  the  wealth  of  the  high- 
lands and  spreading  it  over  the  flood  plains  of  the 
rivers.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  see  such  deposits 
reach  a  thickness  varying  from  a  quarter  to  half  an 
inch,  after  an  ordinary  spring  flood  of  today,  and 
our  floods  are  evidently  much  smaller  than  those 
of  former  days,  as  shown  by  the  greater  width  of 
the  earlier  flood  plains,  which  include  the  second 
and  third  bottoms,  so  called,  or  the  river  terraces. 
Only  a  tenth  of  an  inch  annually  would  mean  ten 
inches  in  a  century  or  a  hundred  inches  in  a  thou- 
sand years,  but  in  geologic  time  "A  thousand  years 
are  but  as  yesterday  when  it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch 
in  the  night." 

Drift  soils  are  variable  in  character,  consisting 
sometimes  of  the  weathered  surfaces  of  beds  of 
gravel  containing  a  great  deal  of  limestone,  forming 
soils  naturally  underdrained  and  rivaling  the  best 
limestone  soils  in  productiveness,  while  sometimes 
they  are  found  lying  on  heavy  sheets  of  bowlder 
clay,  rich  in  the  mineral  elements  which  enter  into 
the  food  of  the  plant,  but  requiring  drainage  and 
aeration  to  bring  this  potential  food  into  an  available 
condition.  Sometimes  the  drift  is  so  modified  by 
the  rock  upon  which  it  lies  as  to  possess  the  chief 
characteristics  of  a  residual  soil. 

Loess  soils  have  been  formed  under  climatic  con- 


1 6  FARM    MANURES 

ditions  approaching  aridity.  It  may  seem  a  mystery 
to  the  farmer  in  humid  climates  that  soils  even  a 
hundred  feet  in  thickness  should  have  been  formed 
from  fine  particles  of  dust,  blown  by  the  wind,  but 
the  mystery  will  disappear  after  he  has  spent  a  dry 
summer  on  the  treeless  plains  of  the  semi-arid 
regions,  and  watched  the  clouds  of  black  dust  which 
follow  the  plowman,  filling  eyes,  nose,  ears  and 
mouth,  and  covering  face  and  hands  with  such  a 
coating  as  only  coal  heavers  carry  in  the  humid 
climates. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  deep,  black  soils  of  the 
rolling  prairie  region  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  mountains  is  of  this  character.  Loess  is  not 
always  black,  but  is  sometimes  of  much  lighter 
colors,  containing  a  larger  proportion  of  clay;  as, 
for  example,  the  blufifs  of  the  lower  Mississippi.  The 
loess  soils  are  very  fine  grained,  and  are  usually  well 
stored  with  the  elements  of  fertility. 

Sand  dunes  are  another  example  of  seolian  soils, 
but  they  are  much  coarser  grained,  and  contain 
comparatively  little  matter  of  vegetable  origin. 
They  are  as  conspicuous  for  their  poverty  as  the 
loess  soils  are  for  fertility. 

Agricultural  Classification  of  Soils 

From  the  earliest  ages  farmers  have  based  their 
classification  of  soils  upon  the  fineness  of  the  parti- 
cles into  which  the  mineral  constituents  may  be 
divided,  the  relative  proportion  between  the  mineral 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   SOIL  I7 

and  organic  constituents,  and  the  degree  of  decom- 
position which  these  latter  have  undergone.  Thus 
we  have  sandy  soils,  in  which  the  mineral  particles 
are  relatively  large,  and  clays,  in  which  they  are  im- 
palpably  -small,  with  an  intermediate  class  called 
silts.  When  a  considerable  proportion  of  organic 
matter  is  found  in  the  soil,  we  call  it  a  loam,  and 
we  use  the  terms  "sandy  loam,"  "silty  loam"  and 
''clay  loam"  to  indicate  the  condition  of  the  pre- 
dominant mineral  constituents.  The  organic  mat- 
ter may  constitute  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  soil 
as  to  change  its  color  to  black,  giving  us  black  sands, 
silts  and  sometimes  clays ;  a  still  greater  proportion 
of  organic  matter  produces  muck  soils,  and  these  pass 
into  peats,  which  are  composed  so  largely  of  partly 
decayed  vegetation  that  they  burn  readily  when 
dried,  and  may  be  used  for  fuel. 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  Soil 

The  modern  science  of  bacteriology  has  demon- 
strated that  the  soil  is  inhabited  by  numerous  spe- 
cies of  micro-organisms,  which  play  a  very  impor- 
tant part  in  the  conversion  of  its  stores  of  plant 
food  into  available  form,  and  in  the  fixation  of  at- 
mospheric nitrogen.  These  organisms  are  single- 
celled  plants,  extremely  minute  in  size,  colorless 
when  they  live  below  the  surface,  or  green  in  the 
case  of  some  low  forms  of  algae  found  at  the  surface 
of  the  soil. 

The  first  forms  of  life — Such  organisms,  growing 


l8  FARM    MANURES 

in  the  sandy  beaches  of  the  primeval  seas,  were 
probably  the  first  forms  of  life  upon  the  earth.  In 
these  sands  they  would  find  the  mineral  elements 
essential  to  their  growth,  and  they  would  necessarily 
have  the  power,  possessed  by  similar  organisms  to- 
day, of  fixing  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air  circulating 
between  the  particles  of  sand.  In  the  slow  grind- 
ing of  the  rocks  into  sand  and  silt  they  are  con- 
stantly washed  by  waves  or  rain,  so  that  their 
soluble  portions  are  extracted  and  removed.  A 
beach  sand  or  freshly  ground  rock  makes  but  a 
barren  soil,  and  the  washing  of  the  rock  powder 
increases  its  barrenness ;  hence  the  play  of  other 
than  physical  and  chemical  forces  is  required  before 
the  barren  rock  is  converted  into  productive  soil. 
The  first  of  these  forces  is  undoubtedly  bacterial 
growth,  which  serves  as  the  forerunner  to  the 
growth  of  higher  organisms.  Not  only  is  it  probable 
that  certain  bacteria  are  able  to  assimilate  mineral 
as  well  as  nitrogenous  matters  which  the  higher 
plants  cannot  appropriate,  but  their  minute  size  en- 
ables them  to  penetrate  interstices  between  soil  par- 
ticles which  are  closed  to  the  roots  of  higher  plants. 
For  example,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  particles 
of  clay  are  not  larger  than  one  five-thousandth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter;  but  some  of  the  soil  bacteria  are 
not  more  than  one-sixth  as  large  as  these  clay  par- 
ticles, and  hence  are  indefinitely  smaller  than  the 
smallest  plant  roots. 

Nitrification — Another    function     performed    by 
soil  bacteria  is  the  breaking  down  of  dead  vegetable 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE   SOIL  I9 

matter  in  the  soil  and  the  conversion  of  its  nitrogen 
into  nitric  acid.  This  work  has  been  shown  to  be 
due  to  the  action  of  organisms  which  grow  upon 
such  matter,  appropriating  its  carbon  and  causing 
the  combination  of  its  nitrogen  with  oxygen,  form- 
ing nitric  acid. 

For  centuries  saltpeter,  which  is  nitrate  of  potash, 
was  made  by  mixing  loam  with  manure  and  ashes, 
allowing  the  material  to  lie  in  heaps  for  two  or  three 
years,  shoveling  it  over  occasionally  and  watering 
with  liquid  from  the  barnyard,  but  protecting  it  from 
excess  of  rain,  and  finally  leaching  it  out  and  evap- 
orating the  lye. 

In  1862  Pasteur  suggested  that  the  combination 
of  nitrogen  with  oxygen  and  potassium  which  takes 
place  in  the  formation  of  saltpeter  is  due  to  the 
action  of  bacteria,  and  in  1877  Schloesing  and  Muntz 
confirmed  this  view,  their  work  being  supported  by 
later  investigations  by  Winogradsky,  Warington 
and  others. 

These  investigations  have  shown  that  nitrification 
takes  place  only  in  summer  weather,  that  it  may  be 
suspended  by  heating  the  material  to  212  degrees 
Fahr.,  or  by  treating  it  with  powerful  antiseptics, 
and  that  in  material  which  has  been  sterilized  by 
these  methods  nitrification  may  again  be  set  up  by 
inoculating  with  fresh  material,  thus  proving  that 
the  agent  of  nitrification  is  a  living  germ. 

Conditions  essential  to  nitrification — In  order  that 
nitrification  may  take  place  there  must  be  organic 
matter  in  the  soil — that  is,  material  carrying  nitro- 


20  FARM    MANURES 

gen  ;  there  must  be  summer  temperature  ;  there  must 
be  a  moderate  degree  of  moisture,  but  excessive 
moisture  is  as  unfavorable  to  the  work  of  these  or- 
ganisms as  it  is  to  that  of  some  higher  plants ; 
finally,  there  must  be  lime  or  some  other  similar 
alkaline  base,  with  which  the  freshly  formed  nitric 
acid  may  combine,  forming  a  neutral  salt;  other- 
wise the  increasing  amount  of  nitric  acid  will  in 
time  have  a  toxic  action  upon  the  organisms  form- 
ing it  and  thus  stop  their  work. 

The  corn  crop  makes  its  growth  in  midsummer 
just  when  the  conditions  are  most  favorable  for 
nitrification.  It  thrives  best  in  soils  heavily  charged 
with  organic  matter,  and  the  cultural  methods  em- 
ployed with  this  crop  are  such  as  are  calculated  to 
stimulate  this  process.  This  explains  the  fact  that 
a  crop  of  corn  will  extract  from  the  soil  twice  as 
much  nitrogen  as  an  equivalent  crop  of  wheat. 

The  products  of  nitrification  are  known  as 
nitrates.  In  the  old  niter  bed  the  chief  product  was 
nitrate  of  potash ;  in  ordinary  soils  it  is  nitrate  of 
lime,  although  nitrates  of  other  alkalies,  such  as 
potash  and  soda,  are  no  doubt  formed  to  a  limited 
extent.  These  nitrates  are  soluble  salts,  and  in 
humid  countries  if  they  are  not  utilized  by  growing 
plants  they  will  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  by  the 
rains  of  the  fall  and  spring.  For  this  reason  there 
is  a  great  waste  of  fertility  from  bare  corn-stubble 
land,  for  the  corn  is  killed  by  the  first  frosts,  at  a 
time  when  nitrification  is  still  active. 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    THE    SOIL  21 

When  winter  wheat  follows  corn  this  waste  is 
prevented,  the  wheat  utilizing  the  nitrates  which 
have  accumulated  after  the  corn  has  ceased  growing. 
The  same  object  may  be  accomplished  by  sowing 
rye  in  the  corn  at  the  last  working,  the  rye  to  be 
turned  under  in  the  spring.  A  Teguminous  crop 
would  be  more  desirable  for  this  purpose,  as  it  would 
not  only  utilize  the  ready-formed  nitrates  in  the  soil, 
but  would  add  more  nitrogen,  as  will  be  shown  far- 
ther on ;  the  practical  difficulty,  however,  is  to  find 
a  frost-resisting  legume  having  seeds  sufficiently 
large  to  resist  the  drouths  which  frequently  occur 
during  the  months  of  August  and  September.  The 
hairy  vetch  is  one  of  the  most  promising  plants  for 
this  purpose,  and  may  be  sown  with  rye. 

Symbiosis — A  third  class  of  soil-improving  bac- 
teria is  that  which  forms  the  nodules  found  on  the 
roots  of  the  clovers,  beans,  peas  and  other  plants 
of  the  order  Leguminosse.  From  the  earliest  history 
of  agriculture  the  observation  has  been  recorded 
that  the  growing  of  clover  leaves  the  soil  in  better 
condition  for  subsequent  crops. 

When  the  physiology  of  plants  and  the  chemistry 
of  their  nutrition  began  to  be  understood  it  was  as- 
sumed that  these  plants  were  able  to  absorb  and 
assimilate  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere 
through  their  foliage,  just  as  all  plants  utilize  the 
carbonic  acid  of  the  air  in  the  building  of  their  car- 
bonaceous tissues. 

This  theory,  however,  was  completely  overthrown 
by  a  series  of  epoch-marking  experiments  made  by 


22  FARM    MANURES 

Lawes,  Gilbert  and  Pugh  at  the  Rothamsted  experi- 
ment station,  from  1857  to  i860,  by  which  it  was 
shown  that,  when  the  atmosphere  was  made  the 
only  possible  source  of  nitrogen  to  growing  clover 
plants,  their  growth  was  limited  to  the  amount  of 
nitrogen  carried  in  the  soil. 

This  work  was  taken  up  about  25  years  later  by 
Hellriegel  and  Wilfarth,  who  found  that  leguminous 
plants  grown  in  a  soil  devoid  of  nitrogen  would 
make  a  normal  growth  when  watered  with  leachings 
from  an  old  loam,  but  when  this  normal  growth 
occurred  the  roots  were  found  to  be  the  homes  of 
bacteria.* 

At  least  three  general  classes  of  soil  organisms, 
therefore,  are  concerned  in  the  accumulation  and 
preparation  of  nitrogenous  material  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  the  higher  plants.  These  are  (i)  the 
organisms  which  exist  independently  in  the  soil, 
obtaining  their  mineral  food  directly  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil  particles,  and  their  carbon  and  nitro- 
gen from  the  air  circulating  between  these  particles ; 
(2)  the  nitrifying  organisms  which  live  upon  the 
dead  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  appropriating  its 
carbon,  nitrogen  and  oxygen ;  and  (3)  the  organisms 
Avhich  inhabit  the  nodules  of  the  legumes,  obtaining 
their  mineral  and  carbonaceous  food  from  the  juices 
of  their  host  plants  and  their  nitrogen  from  the  air. 


*  For  history  of  the  experiments  by  which  the  agency  of  bacteria  in  en- 
abling clover  to  assimilate  free  nitrogen  was  discovered,  see  Experiment  Station 
Record,  vol.  II,  p.  686.  For  that  of  the  discovery  that  nitrification's  due  to 
the  action  of  bacteria,  see  Bui.  No.  8  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture ;  and  for  investigations  on  the  direct  assim- 
ilation of  free  nitrogen  by  soil  bacteria,  see  Bui.  No.  66  of  the  Delaware  Ex- 
periment Station. 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   THE    SOIL 


23 


The  microbes  of  the  nodules  are,  therefore,  para- 
sitic in  their  first  attack,  and  the  plant  suffers;  but 
in  a  short  time  a  secondary  form  makes  its  appear- 
ance within  the  nodules,  much  larger  in  size  than 
the  bacteria,  and  apparently  due  to  accumulation  of 
nitrogenous  material  resulting  from  the  death  of  the 
bacteria,  and  which  serves  to  supply  the  host  plant 
with  nitrogen. 

We  have  as  yet  no  very  definite  knowledge  as  to 
the  amount  of  nitrogen  which  may  be  added  to  the 
soil  by  either  the  first  or  third  of  these  classes  of 
organisms— the  second  class  adds  none,  merely 
working  over  the  supply  already  in  the  soil— but 
the  very  great  increase  of  crop  produced  by  nitrog- 
enous fertilizers  in  the  long-continued  experiments 
at  Rothamsted  indicates  that  the  addition  of  nitro- 
gen by  the  first  class  is  quite  small;  while  in  the 
experiments  of  the  Ohio  experiment  station  the 
growth  of  a  heavy  crop  of  clover  apparently  fur- 
nishes little  more  than  enough  nitrogen  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  the  one  crop  immediately  following 
the  clover. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Composition  of  the  Plant 

The  living  plant  is  chiefly  water — When  freshly 
cut  grass  is  allowed  to  lie  for  a  few  hours  in  the 
sunshine  of  a  summer  day  it  loses  from  two-thirds 
to  three-fourths  of  its  original  weight.  This  loss 
consists  simply  of  water,  which  is  vaporized  by  the 
heat  and  dissipated  into  the  atmosphere.  The  water 
thus  lost  is,  in  fact,  the  liquid  in  which  are  dissolved 
the  nutrient  materials  required  for  the  growth  of 
the  plant,  and  which  are  carried  upward  through 
its  tissues  and  left  behind  as  the  water  itself  passes 
out  into  the  atmosphere.  For  the  water  does  not 
leave  the  cut  grass  any  more  rapidly  that  it  has  been 
leaving  the  standing  grass ;  and  the  cutting  of  the 
grass  has  merely  cut  off  the  supply  of  water  from 
below,  which  has  heretofore  kept  the  tissues  turgid. 
An  acre  of  growing  grass  or  similar  crop  is  there- 
fore sending  into  the  atmosphere  in  summer  weather 
several  tons  of  water  daily.  It  is  estimated  that  on 
the  average  300  pounds  or  more  of  water  passes  up 
through  the  plant  for  every  pound  of  dry  matter 
added  to  its  substance. 

The  dry  substance — If,  now,  the  air-dry  hay  thus 
made  be  placed  in  a  ventilated  oven,  heated  to  the 
temperature  of  boiling  water,  and  kept  at  that  tem- 
perature for  a  few  hours,  it  will  be  found  to  have 

24 


THE    COMPOSITION    OF    THE   PLANT  25 

suffered  an  additional  loss,  amounting  to  from  lo 
to  15  per  cent  of  its  air-dry  weight.  This  loss  also 
consists  of  water — hygroscopic  water.  Since  the 
atmosphere  itself  always  contains  more  or  less  mois- 
ture, it  is  easily  understood  that  no  substance  ex- 
posed to  the  air  can  be  absolutely  dry.  When  we 
compare  the  absolutely  dry  plant  with  the  green 
one,  we  find  that  from  75  per  cent  to  more  than  90 
per  cent  of  the  original  green  weight  has  disap- 
peared. The  residue  left  is  chemically  known  as  dry 
matter  or  dry  substance. 

Carbon — If  this  dry  substance  be  subjected  to  a 
red  heat  for  some  time,  in  a  vessel  so  arranged  that 
the  gases  of  combustion  may  escape  but  that  no  air 
can  enter,  it  will  be  found  to  have  been  converted 
into  charcoal,  a  substance  which  may  retain  the 
form  and  structure  of  the  original  material,  but 
which  has  less  than  one-third  of  its  dry  weight,  and 
which  consists  of  the  element  carbon,  together  with 
the  mineral  elements  found  in  the  plant. 

Ash — Finally,  if  this  charcoal  be  heated  at  red 
heat  with  free  access  of  air,  it  also  will  disappear, 
leaving  only  a  small  residue  of  ash,  amounting  usu- 
ally to  not  more  than  two  per  cent  of  the  original 
weight  of  the  living  plant.  This  ash  contains  all  of 
the  material  which  the  plant  has  obtained  from  the 
earthy  matter  of  the  soil.  It  is  true  that  the  water 
which  has  carried  this  earthy  matter  through  the 
growing  tissues  of  the  plant  was  contained  in  the 
soil,  but  not  as  a  necessary  part  of  it.  It  is  also 
true  that  the  nitrogen,  which  constitutes  an  impor- 


26  FARM    MANURES 

tant  percentage  of  the  plant  tissues,  is  also  carried 
Into  the  higher  plants  through  their  roots ;  but  the 
ultimate  source  of  the  supply  of  both  water  and 
nitrogen  is  the  atmosphere  and  not  the  soil. 

Ash  elements  essential — We  find,  therefore,  that 
of  the  total  substance  of  the  living  plant,  approxi- 
mately 98  per  cent  has  been  derived  from  the 
atmosphere,  and  only  about  two  per  cent  from  the 
soil ;  but  this  small  proportion  of  mineral  substance 
which  the  soil  contributes  is  as  essential  to  the 
growth  of  the  plant  as  is  the  somewhat  larger  pro- 
portion of  similar  substances  to  that  of  the  animal. 
In  both  orders  of  beings  the  ash  elements  compose 
the  skeleton,  which  serves  to  co-ordinate  and  give 
form  to  the  more  evanescent  substances  derived 
from,  and  returning  on  dissolution  to,  the  atmos- 
phere. It  is  not  only  ''earth  to  earth  and  dust  to 
dust,"  but  air  to  air  as  well. 

Components  of  the  ash — Of  the  elementary  sub- 
stances found  in  plants,  12  are  obtained  from  the 
soil — namely,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium,  cal- 
cium, magnesium,  sodium,  iron,  sulphur,  chlorine 
manganese,  aluminum  and  silicon.  Three  others — 
namely,  carbon,  oxygen  and  hydrogen — are  obtained 
directly  from  the  atmosphere,  being  absorbed  by 
the  foliage,  or  taken  in  through  the  roots  as  water. 
Of  these  15  elements  only  the  four  first  named 
require  consideration  under  ordinary  conditions. 

Oxygen  and  nitrogen  are  mixed  together  in  the 
atmosphere  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  oxygen  to 
four  of  nitrogen ;  but  while  it  has  been  proven  that 


THE    COMPOSITION    OF    THE   PLANT  2/ 

the  plant  may  absorb  and  use  the  oxygen  of  this 
mixture,  through  the  stomata  or  breathing  pores 
on  the  underside  of  its  leaves,  it  can  only  use  the 
nitrogen  after  that  has  been  chemically  combined 
with  oxygen  in  nitric  acid. 

Chemical  combination — It  is  important  to  under- 
stand the  difference  between  simple  mixture  and 
chemical  combination.  Water,  for  example,  is  a 
chemical  combination  of  oxygen  with  hydrogen,  the 
two  gases  being  combined  in  the  proportion  of  one 
volume  of  oxygen  to  two  of  hydrogen.  Nitric  acid 
is  a  combination  of  the  two  principal  gases  of  the 
atmosphere,  in  the  proportion  of  one  volume  of 
nitrogen  to  three  of  oxygen.  In  a  simple  mixture 
the  component  parts  retain  their  original  character- 
istics, but  a  chemical  compound  possesses  properties 
wholly  different  from  those  of  its  components. 
Thus  oxygen  is  a  supporter  of  combustion  ;  so  active 
is  it  in  this  respect  that  a  piece  of  iron  wire,  heated 
to  a  red  heat  and  introduced  into  a  jar  of  pure  oxy- 
gen gas,  will  burn  with  the  evolution  of  intense 
light  and  heat.  Hydrogen  is  also  a  combustible  gas, 
being  one  of  the  constituents  of  illuminating  gas ; 
but  when  oxygen  and  hydrogen  are  combined  in 
water,  we  have  the  universal  extinguisher  of  com- 
bustion. In  like  manner,  the  air  we  breathe,  which 
is  a  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  when  its  com- 
ponents are  combined  in  certain  proportions,  be- 
comes nitric  acid,  one  of  the  most  corrosive  of  acids. 

Of  the  mineral  elements  above  named,  iron  and 
sulphur  are  the  only  ones  which  exist  in  the  earth 


28  FARM    MANURES 

in  uncombined  form ;  all  others,  except  chlorine,  be- 
ing combined  with  oxygen,  or  with  this  and  some 
other  element,  in  the  forms  in  which  we  know  them. 
Thus  potassium  combined  with  oxygen  is  known 
as  potash ;  sodium  with  oxygen  as  soda ;  calcium 
with  oxygen  as  lime;  magnesium  with  oxygen  as 
magnesia;  iron  with  oxygen  as  iron  oxide,  or  rust; 
silicon  with  oxygen,  as  silica,  or  quartz;  sulphur 
with  oxygen,  as  sulphuric  acid,  and  phosphorus  with 
oxygen  as  phosphoric  acid.  Chlorine  unites  with 
various  elements,  forming  chlorides,  the  most  famil- 
iar example  of  which  is  sodium  chloride,  or  common 
salt. 

The  ultimate  source  of  all  the  mineral  elements 
is  the  rocky  crust  of  the  earth,  in  which  they  are 
held,  not  in  their  elementary  condition,  nor  often  in 
the  simple  compounds  above  mentioned,  but  in  more 
complex  combinations.  Thus  phosphoric  and  sul- 
phuric acids  are  found  only  in  combination  with 
other  substances,  chiefly  with  lime  and  iron,  giving 
the  various  phosphates,  sulphates  and  sulphides ; 
potash  and  soda  are  found  in  feldspar,  one  of  the  con- 
stituents of  granite,  as  well  as  in  deposits  of  salt.  The 
world's  chief  supply  of  commercial  potash  comes  from 
mines  in  Germany,  where  it  is  found  combined  with 
chlorine,  as  muriate  (chloride)  of  potash,  or  with  sul- 
phur in  kainit  and  sulphate  of  potash.  Beds  of  com- 
mon salt  are  widely  distributed.  Lime  is  united 
with  carbon  in  limestones,  and  these  generally  con- 
tain also  more  or  less  magnesia ;  iron  is  a  constituent 
of  hornblende  and  mica;  sulphur  is  combined  with 


THE   COMPOSITION    OF   THE   PLANT  29 

lime  in  gypsum,  with  iron  in  pyrites  (a  mineral 
often  mistaken  for  gold),  with  soda  in  glauber  salts, 
and  with  magnesia  in  Epsom  salts. 

The  nitrogen  of  the  soil  has  been  derived  from 
the  nitric  acid  and  ammonia  brought  down  by  rain, 
and  from  the  work  of  nitrogen-fixing  bacteria  in  the 
soil,  agencies  which,  acting  through  countless  ages, 
have  slowly  accumulated  and  stored  in  the  soil, 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  the  remains  of  former  vegeta- 
tion known  as  humus,  a  few  thousand  pounds  of 
nitrogen  per  acre. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  many  different  forms  in 
which  the  elements  of  plant  food  exist  in  the  soil. 
It  is  evident  that  if  these  elements  are  to  serve 
the  purpose  of  plant  nutrition  for  an  indefinite  period 
they  must  be  stored  in  such  form  that  they  can  be 
dissolved  by  the  soil  water,  and  yet  this  solution 
must  take  place  only  so  fast  as  they  can  be  utilized 
by  growing  plants ;  otherwise  they  would  be  carried 
into  the  drainage  and  thence  to  the  sea,  and  the 
land  would  eventually  become  sterile.  And  in  fact 
the  maintenance  of  a  successful  husbandry  depends 
upon  so  adjusting  the  cropping,  fertilizing  and  gen- 
eral management  of  the  soil  that  it  shall  meet  the 
demands  of  the  crops  grown  upon  it,  and  yet  shall 
not  suffer  waste. 

Atmospheric  elements— The  plant  constituents 
derived  from  air  and  water  are  four — oxygen,  nitro- 
gen, carbon  and  hydrogen.  The  air  we  breathe 
is  a  simple  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  in  the 
proportion  of  about  one  part  of  oxygen  to  four  of 


30 


FARM    MANURES 


nitrogen.  In  this  colorless  gas  is  disseminated  wa- 
tery vapor,  also  colorless  and  invisible  when  the  sky 
is  clear,  but  under  certain  conditions  condensing 
into  clouds  from  which  it  falls  as  rain  or  snow.  The 
air  also  contains  a  relatively  small  quantity  of 
a  combination  of  carbon  and  oxygen — the  carbonic 
acid  gas  of  the  older  chemistry,  carbon  dioxide  of 
the  newer.  From  this  carbon  dioxide  of  the  atmos- 
phere has  been  derived  the  entire  carbon  supply  of 
the  earth,  not  only  that  found  in  the  tissues  of  vege- 
tation, but  also  that  stored  in  the  world's  beds  of 
coal  and  its  strata  of  limestone. 

Carbon  absorbed  through  the  foliage — The  foliage 
of  the  plant  is  constantly  bathed  with  an  atmosphere 
carrying-  carbon  dioxide ;  this  is  absorbed  by  the 
leaves,  decomposed  by  the  plant,  and  combined  with 
the  elements  of  water,  with  nitrogen,  and  with  the 
ash  elements  held  in  solution  in  the  stream  of  water 
passing  upward  through  the  plant,  and  out  of  these 
materials  are  elaborated  the  starches,  sugars,  fats 
and  proteid  matters  by  which  animal  life  is  sus- 
tained. 

Fixation  of  nitrogen — The  earlier  chemists  as- 
sumed that  nitrogen  also  was  absorbed  by  the  plant 
through  its  foliage  from  the  inexhaustible  supply  in 
the  atmosphere,  but  this  has  been  definitely  proven 
to  be  wrong,  so  far  as  the  plants  we  cultivate  are 
concerned.  We  now  know  that  nitrogen  must  first 
enter  into  combination  before  it  can  be  utilized  by 
the  plant.  Nitrogen  is  combined  in  small  quantity 
with  the  elements  of  water  during  thunderstorms, 


THE    COMPOSITION    OF    THE   PLANT  3 1 

producing  nitric  acid  and  ammonia,  which  are 
washed  into  the  soil.  The  quantity  produced  in  this 
way,  however,  is  too  small  to  be  of  material  impor- 
tance in  agriculture.  The  investigations  of  the 
Rothamsted  experiment  station  have  shown  that  the 
total  quantity  of  nitrogen  reaching  the  soil  annually 
in  this  way,  including  a  small  portion  which  falls 
in  the  particles  of  dust  in  the  air  in  the  form  of 
organic  nitrogen,  amounts  to  about  five  pounds  per 
acre,  and  that  it  comes  chiefly  in  the  form  of  am- 
monia. 

The  plant's  food  must  be  combined — The  higher 
plants  do  not  assimilate  their  food  in  the  elemen- 
tary form,  but  the  mineral  elements  as  well  as  the 
nitrogen  must  first  enter  into  combination.  Nitro- 
gen is  believed  to  be  utilized  by  such  plants  only 
in  the  combination  with  oxygen  known  as  nitric 
acid,  the  combination  of  nitrogen  with  hydrogen  in 
ammonia  being  oxidized  to  nitric  acid  before  it  can 
be  assimilated.  Phosphorus  is  combined  with  oxy- 
gen in  phosphoric  acid,  but  this  is  further  combined, 
usually  with  lime,  before  being  absorbed  by  the 
plant.  Potassium  combined  with  oxygen  is  known 
as  potash,  but  this  combination  does  not  exist  as 
such  in  the  soil,  except  in  very  small  quantitv  result- 
ing from  the  slow  oxidation  of  feldspar  and  other 
rocks  of  which  it  is  a  constituent.  Calcium  and  oxy- 
gen are  combined  in  lime,  and  lime  again  combines 
with  water  and  carbonic  acid  on  exposure  to  the 
air,  producing  calcium  carbonate,  in  which  form 
it  exists  in  ordinary  limestones.     Other  combina- 


32  FARM    MANURES 

tions  of  lime,  less  frequently  found,  are  the  deposits 
of  phosphate  of  lime  found  in  some  of  the  southern 
states  and  in  a  few  other  limited  regions,  and  those 
of  sulphate  of  lime,  or  gypsum.  In  the  first  of  these 
the  carbonic  acid  is  replaced  by  phosphoric  acid, 
and  in  the  second  by  sulphuric  acid. 

Evaporation  removes  from  the  plant  nothing  but 
water,  hence  the  substances  which  the  water  has 
carried  upward  in  solution  are  left  behind  when  it 
is  evaporated  from  the  foliage,  to  be  recombined  in 
the  tissues  of  the  plant,  with  the  carbon  dioxide 
which  has  been  absorbed  through  its  foliage,  and 
out  of  the  combinations  thus  formed  are  built  the 
innumerable  vegetable  compounds,  with  their  vary- 
ing properties. 

These  compounds  have  been  arranged  in  five  gen- 
eral groups  or  classes,  according  to  their  composi- 
tion or  physical  structure — namely,  crude  fiber, 
nitrogen-free  extract,  ether  extract,  proteids  and 
ash. 

Crude  fiber  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  plant  and 
gives  to  it  its  form  and  structure.  It  is  composed 
of  carbon,  combined  with  the  elements  of  water. 
It  may  be  comparatively  soft  and  succulent,  as  in 
vegetables  and  young  growth,  or  hard  and  woody. 
In  the  ordinary  feeding  stuffs  it  furnishes  more  or 
less  digestible  substance. 

Nitrogen-free  extract — This  group  includes  the 
starches,  sugars  and  similar  bodies,  which  are  com- 
posed of  the  same  three  elements  as  the  crude  fiber. 
In  analysis  the  separation  of  the  two  groups  is  gov- 


THE    COMPOSITION    OF   THE    PLANT  33 

erned  largely  by  the  strength  of  the  solvent  used. 
Usually  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  substances 
belonging  to  this  group  is  digestible  than  of  the 
crude  fiber,  -but  that  portion  which  is  digestible  is 
assumed  to  have  the  same  nutritive  value  in  the 
two  groups.  The  term  ''carbohydrates"  is  fre- 
quently used  to  designate  the  digestible  part  of  the 
two  groups. 

Ether  extract — This  group  includes  the  oils,  wax, 
resins  and  similar  substances  soluble  in  ether.  In 
grains  and  seeds  this  extract  is  chiefly  oil,  and  the 
term  ''fats"  is  frequently  used  to  designate  the 
group.  The  chief  function  of  the  fats  and  carbo- 
hydrates is  the  production  of  heat  and  work.  For 
this  purpose  a  pound  of  digestible  ether  extract  is 
estimated  to  be  about  as  effective  as  2.4  pounds  of 
digestible  carbohydrates. 

The  proteids — This  group  is  composed  of  bodies 
which  contain  nitrogen  and  sulphur  in  addition  to 
the  three  elements  mentioned  above.  Egg  albumen 
is  a  familiar  proteid,  and  the  earlier  chemists  gave 
the  name  albuminoids  to  the  class.  Later  the  term 
protein  compounds  was  used  to  designate  it,  but 
with  progress  in  chemical  knowledge  the  word  pro- 
teid has  been  substituted  as  being  more  inclusive, 
while  the  group  has  been  subdivided  into  smaller 
ones — the  albumins,  globulins,  albuminates,  etc. 
Proteids  are  also  found  in  the  animal  organism,  and 
it  is  believed  that  these  are  derived  with  very  little 
change  from  those  of  the  plant.  Since  nitrogen  is 
as  mdispensable  to  animal  as  to  plant  life,  and  since 


34  FARM    MANURES 

the  animal  is  entirely  unable  to  utilize  the  elemen- 
tary substances,  as  also  the  simpler  compounds 
which  serve  the  plant,  such  as  carbon  dioxide  and 
nitric  acid,  it  is  evident  that  the  proteids  occupy  a 
very  important  place  among  animal  nutrients.  The 
proteids  not  only  serve  for  the  upbuilding  of  nitrog- 
enous tissues  in  the  animal  organism,  but  they  may 
also  be  converted  into  fat,  the  nitrogen  and  sulphur 
being  eliminated. 

The  ash — While  the  mineral  elements  are 
grouped  in  a  class  by  themselves  in  the  process  of 
chemical  analysis,  it  must  not  be  understood  that 
they  exist  as  a  separate  class  in  the  plant.  On  the 
contrary,  the  ash  elements  are  essential  constituents 
of  every  living  cell,  whether  plant  or  animal.  Starch 
and  sugar  may  exist  as  independent  granules  within 
the  cells,  but  the  protoplasm  with  which  these  gran- 
ules are  surrounded,  and  which  Huxley  has  called 
*'The  physical  basis  of  life,"  is  built  upon  the  ash 
elements,  insignificant  though  they  seem  in  relative 
prominence. 

Growth  controlled  by  the  ash  elements — Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  ash  elements  constitute 
an  extremely  small  portion  of  the  total  volume  of  the 
plant,  yet  if  any  one  of  them  should  be  completely 
absent  from  the  soil,  no  growth  would  take  place, 
and  the  one  which  is  present  in  smallest  available 
quantity,  relative  to  the  plant's  demand  for  it,  will 
be  the  controlling  factor  in  regulating  growth. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Feeding  of  the  Plant 

Condition  of  plant  food  in  the  soil — As  has  been 
shown  above,  the  mineral  elements  which  are 
found  in  the  ash  of  the  plant  constitute  a  very  small 
proportion  of  the  total  weight  of  the  living  plant, 
yet  they  are  as  indispensable  to  its  life  and  growth 
as  is  the  skeleton  to  the  life  and  growth  of  the  ani- 
mal. Of  these  elements,  as  well  as  of  the  water 
which  is  required  to  dissolve  them  and  carry  them 
into  the  tissues  of  the  plant,  the  soil  is  the  store- 
house, and  as  both  must  be  stored  together  it  is 
evident  that  the  condition  of  the  mineral  elements 
must  be  such  as  to  limit  their  solubility  to  the  an- 
nual needs  of  the  vegetation  occupying  the  land, 
otherwise  they  would  have  been  leached  out  and 
carried  to  the  sea  ages  ago.  This  point  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  following  examples  : 

Soil  potassium — Orthoclase  feldspar  is  one  of  the 
constituents  of  granite,  and  is  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  clay ;  this  feldspar  contains  nearly  14  per 
cent  of  potassium,  or  three  times  as  much  as  wood 
ashes ;  but  this  potassium  is  held  in  such  firm  com- 
bination that  feldspar  has  never  yet  been  made  an  eco- 
nomic source  of  the  potash  used  in  human  indus- 
try ;*  but,  instead,  the  world  depends  for  the  larger 

*  The  Institution  of  Industrial  Research  of  Washington,  D.  C,  claims  to 
have  discovered  a  process  by  which  the  potash  of  feldspar  may  be  made 
available  on  a  commercial  basis.  July,  1912. 

35 


36  FARM    MANURES 

part  of  its  supply  of  this  substance,  used  in  such  a 
multiplicity  of  ways,  upon  the  Stassfurt  mines  of 
Germany.  An  acre  of  land,  taken  to  the  depth  of 
7  inches,  may  contain  potassium  equivalent  to  20 
tons  of  potash,  worth  $2,000,  as  potash  is  valued 
in  the  fertilizer  market,  and  yet  the  addition  to  such 
a  soil  of  a  few  pounds  of  a  potassium  salt  may  ma- 
terially increase  the  yield  of  crops  grown  upon  it. 

Soil  phosphorus — Phosphorus  is  almost  univer- 
sally distributed  through  the  soil,  usually  in  com- 
bination with  lime  or  iron,  and  an  acre-foot  of  soil 
only  moderately  stocked  with  phosphorus  may  con- 
tain the  equivalent  of  5,000  pounds  of  phosphoric 
acid — an  acre  so  moderately  stocked  that  the  effect 
of  the  addition  of  a  few  pounds  of  a  soluble  phos- 
phate will  be  manifested  by  the  superior  growth  of 
the  wheat  crop  as  soon  as  the  young  plant  has  ex- 
hausted the  phosphorus  stored  in  the  seed  grain. 
Immense  deposits  of  phosphate  of  lime  are  found 
in  various  parts  of  the  world,  which  are  the  chief 
source  of  supply  of  this  element  for  fertilizing  pur- 
poses. Some  of  these  deposits,  notably  those  of 
Tennessee,  South  Carolina  and  Florida,  have  been 
subjected  to  the  large  annual  rainfall  of  a  humid 
climate  for  countless  ages,  and  thus  so  exhausted  of 
their  soluble  material  that,  even  when  they  are 
ground  into  an  almost  impalpable  powder,  this  pow- 
der must  first  be  dissolved  in  acid,  or  partially  de- 
composed by  incorporation  with  fermenting  or- 
ganic matter,  such  as  manure,  before  the  plant  can 
make  use  of  it. 


THE  FEEDING  OF   THE  PLANT  yj 

Soil  nitrogen — An  acre-foot  of  air-dry  swamp 
muck  or  peat  may  contain  40,000  pounds,  or  20 
tons,  of  nitrogen.  The  farmer  pays  about  20  cents 
a  pound  for  nitrogen  when  he  buys  it  at  retail  in 
nitrate  of  soda,  and  frequently  considerably  more 
than  that  when  he  buys  it  in  mixed  fertilizers,  so 
that  if  the  nitrogen  in  the  peat  bog  were  as  avail- 
able as  that  in  nitrate  of  soda,  an  acre  of  such  a 
bog,  in  which  the  muck  or  peat  is  frequently  3  feet 
in  depth  and  sometimes  much  more  than  that, 
would  have  a  potential  value  of  $6,000  for  each  foot 
in  depth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  peat  is  being  used  as 
a  source  of  nitrogen  in  mixed  fertilizers ;  but  unless 
the  peat  is  first  subjected  to  chemical  treatment  cal- 
culated to  make  its  nitrogen  available  the  farmer 
who  purchases  it  will  be  disappointed  in  the  effect 
produced;  for  the  nitrogen  of  the- peat  is  necessarily 
in  an  insoluble  form,  otherwise  the  drainage  would 
long  ago  have  carried  it  away.  It  is  true  that  peat 
nitrogen  may  become  slowly  available  when  sub- 
jected to  the  bacterial  and  other  agencies  of  decom- 
position which  are  found  in  arable  soil,  but  the 
slowness  with  which  this  operation  takes  place  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  peat  bogs  which  have 
been  drained  and  put  under  cultivation  eventually 
require  the  addition  of  nitrogenous  fertilizers,  or  of 
some  material  calculated  to  hasten  their  decay.  The 
inertness  of  soil  nitrogen  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  land  at  the  Ohio  experiment  station,  on 
which  the  yield  of  wheat  has  been  reduced  to  ii 
bushels  an  acre  by  three-quarters  of  a  century  of 


38  FARM    MANURES 

exhaustive  cropping,  has  given  a  17-year  average 
yield  of  20  bushels  when  treated  with  fertilizers  car- 
rying phosphorus  and  potassium,  and  has  given  a 
further  increase  to  2j  bushels  when  nitrogen  was 
added  to  the  phosphorus  and  potassium.  Yet  this 
soil  still  contains  about  3,000  pounds  of  nitrogen 
per  acre  in  the  upper  12  inches,  or  enough  for  100 
forty-bushel  crops  of  wheat. 

Total  store  of  plant  food  not  an  index  to  produc- 
tiveness— From  these  examples  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  total  invoice  of  plant  food  in  a  given  soil  is  not  a 
sufficient  basis  on  which  to  predicate  its  produc- 
tiveness, and  for  more  than  half  a  century  chemists 
have  been  endeavoring  to  discover  a  method  by 
which  the  availability  of  the  plant  food  in  the  soil 
may  be  measured.  To  this  end  various  solvents 
have  been  employed  in  the  chemical  laboratory,  and 
pot-cultural  methods  have  been  tested  under  glass 
or  in  the  open ;  but  the  outcome  has  been  that,  while 
much  useful  information  has  been  obtained  in  both 
lines  of  investigation,  we  have  yet  to  go  to  the  field 
itself  and  put  our  problem  to  the  test  of  field  condi- 
tions before  a  satisfactory  solution  is  obtained. 

Plant  food  availability  not  merely  a  chemical 
problem — One  reason  for  the  failure  of  the  chem- 
ists is  that,  until  quite  recently  at  least,  they  have 
assumed  that  the  extraction  from  the  rocks  of  the 
mineral  elements  upon  which  our  crops  feed  is 
merely  a  question  of  chemical  solution ;  but  the 
bacteriologist  is  showing  us  that  chemical  solution 
is  only  a  secondary  factor  in  the  preparation  of  the 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE   PLANT 


39 


food  of  the  higher  plants;  and  that  between  these 
plants  and  the  rocks  there  exists  an  organic  world, 
infinitely  minute  in  its  individuals,  infinitely  vast 
in  their  aggregation,  to  whose  action  is  primarily 
due  the  conversion  of  the  rocks  into  soluble  form. 
Different  plants  have  different  powers  of  assim- 
ilation— Another  factor  which  enters  into  this  ques- 
tion is  the  different  capacity  for  obtaining  and  as- 
similating their  food  possessed  by  different  crops. 
Take,  for  example,  the  experiments  at  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  College,  in  which  corn,  oats,  wheat 
and  clover  have  been  grown  in  rotation  since  1882. 
During  the  first  25  years  of  this  test  the  annual 
yields  of  crops  on  the  unfertilized  land,  as  reported 
in  Bulletin  90  of  the  state  college  experiment  station, 
were  as  given  in  the  table  below,  which  also  shows 
the.  composition  of  these  crops,  as  computed  from 
average  analyses. 

Table  I.     Consumption  of  Plant  Food  by  Penn- 
sylvania Crops. 

Plant  food  removed  from  crops  grown  on  unfertilized  land  at  Penn- 
sylvania State  College  Experiment  Station— 25-year  average 


Pounds  an  acre 

Crop  and  yield  an  acre 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Calcium 

r-^^,,  [42.1  bushels  grain  1 
^°^^  [  1,955  lbs.  stover     J 

n^tc  f  32.3  bushels  grain  1 
uats  ^  j^4Q3  j^g_  g^^^^       J 

WViPat  f  13-6  t>us.  grain     1 
wneat  ^  1^403  ibs.  straw   J 

Clover,  2,783  lbs.  hay 

53.9 
26.9 
21.8 
54.8 

10.8 
5.4 
3.2 
6.7 

32.6 
24.7 
12.5 
43.1 

8.2 

5.8 

2.7 

39.8 

THE   FEEDING   OF    TPIE    PLANT 


41 


The  table  shows  that  under  the  conditions  of  this 
part  of  the  experiment  the  corn  crops  have  removed 
from  the  land  more  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  than 
the  succeeding  oats  and  wheat  crops  combined,  and 
nearly  as  much  potassium  and  calcium;*  while  the 

Table  II.     Percentage  Composition  of  Ohio 
Grown  Crops. 


Crop 


Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

1.76 

0.24 

2.01 

0.41 

1.97 

0.35 

0.81 

0.07 

0.50 

0.03 

0.58 

0.09 

0.53 

0.09 

2.17 

0.18 

0.84 

0.13 

Potassium 


Corn  grain  . 
Oats  "  . 
Wheat  "  . 
Corn  stover 
Corn  cobs. . 
Oat  straw.. . 
Wheat  straw 
Clover  hay  . 
Timothy  hay 


0.34 
0.58 
0.35 
0.78 
0.64 
1.09 
0.83 
1.12 
1.34 


clover  crop,  coming  at  the  end  of  the  rotation,  has 
stored  about  the  same  quantity  of  nitrogen  as  the 
corn  crop,  about  two-thirds  as  much  phosphorus 
and  nearly  five  times  as  much  calcium,  or  nearly 
2^  times  as  much  lime  as  all  three  of  the  preced- 
ing crops. 

It  is  true  that  the  corn  crop  has  had  the  advantage 
of  following  immediately  after  the  clover,  and  thus 
has  found  a  larger  amount  of  ready-prepared  plant 
food  than  would  fall  to  the  succeeding  crops.     It 

*  The  composition  of  the  plant  is  materially  influenced  by  the  relative 
amount  of  the  different  elements  of  plant  food  available  in  the  soil  (see  Bul- 
letin 221  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station),  hence  crops  grown  on  different  soils 
and  under  different  conditions  of  climate  and  fertilization  will  show  differences 
in  composition.  The  table  below  is  compiled  from  average  analyses  made  at 
the  Ohio  Experiment  Station,  and  the  factors  given  are  employed  in  the  cal- 
culations which  follow . 


42 


FARM    MANURES 


will  be  interesting,  therefore,  to  study  the  results 
obtained  on  one  of  the  plots  at  the  Ohio  experiment 
station,  on  which  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover  and  tim- 
othy have  been  grown  in  a  five-year  rotation  since 
1894,  the  only  fertilization  being  a  dressing  of  50 
pounds  dried  blood,  120  pounds  nitrate  of  soda,  160 
pounds  acid  phosphate  and  100  pounds  muriate  of 
potash,  all  applied  to  the  wheat  crop. 

Table  III.     Consumption  of  Plant  Food  by  Ohio 
Crops. 

Plant  food  removed  by  crops  on  partly  fertilized  land  at 
Ohio  Experiment  Station — 17-year  average. 


Pounds 

an  acre 

Crop  and  yield  an  acre 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Calcium 

rnr~n     ^^-^  bus.  grain        1 
^^'"^  i  1,811  lbs.  stover     J 

43.6 

9.0 

27.4 

7.4 

Q„^„  f  33.2  bus.  grain 
"^^^  [  1,386  lbs.  straw 

27.3 

5.5 

24.6 

5.9 

WhPat  ^  24.4  bus.  grain     ] 
Wheat  ^  2,536  lbs.  straw    ] 

40.5 

6.0 

23.7 

5.4 

Clover,  2,638  lbs.  hay  . . .  . 

52.0 

6.4 

40.9 

37.7 

Timothy,  2,990  lbs.  hay  . .  . 

28.1 

4.3 

35.3 

9.6 

The  land  on  which  the  Ohio  experiment  station 
is  located  lies  over  sandstones  and  is  deficient  in 
lime,  while  that  at  the  Pennsylvania  station  is  under- 
laid with  limestones.  This  deficiency  of  lime  has  mate- 
rially reduced  the  clover  yield  in  the  Ohio  test,  and 
the  timothy  crop  has  received  most  of  the  benefit 
from  the  clover,  and  yet  the  corn  has  been  able  to 


THE   FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT  43 

secure  more  of  each  of  the  fertilizing  elements  than 
the  wheat,  notwithstanding  the  liberal  treatment 
that  crop  has  received. 

One  explanation  of  the  superior  foraging  ability 
of  the  corn  crop  is  the  fact  that  it  is  grown  through 
the  summer  months,  when  the  processes  are  most 
active  by  which  the  plant  food  of  the  soil,  and  espe- 
cially its  nitrogen,  is  converted  into  available  form. 
Moreover,  the  tillage  the  corn  receives  is  just  such 
an  operation  as  would  be  resorted  to  were  we  to 
intentionally  set  about  the  forwarding  of  the  proc- 
ess of  nitrification;  for  the  tillage  distributes  the 
nitric  ferment  and  admits  air  to  the  soil,  which 
is  essential  to  its  action. 

Composition  of  the  crop  not  a  sufficient  guide  to 
its  fertilizing — A  corollary  of  the  selective  power  of 
different  crops,  shown  by  the  above  comparisons,  is 
that  the  analysis  of  the  plant  is  not  always  a  suffi- 
cient guide  to  its  fertilizing.  If  we  were  to  take  the 
analysis  of  the  crop  as  a  guide,  we  would  assume 
that  clover  would  respond  decidedly  to  nitrogenous 
fertilizers ;  but  scientific  investigation  and  practi- 
cal farm  experience  concur  in  the  conclusion  that  if 
clover  is  abundantly  furnished  with  the  mineral 
elements  of  fertility,  including  lime,  it  will  be  able 
to  secure  a  sufficient  supply  of  nitrogen.  With  the 
cereal  crops,  however,  the  case  may  be  different, 
and  we  now  have  available  for  the  study  of  this 
question  several  long-continued  experiments  in 
which  the  principal  American  farm  crops  have  been 
grown  continuously  and  in  rotation  under  such  con- 


44  FARM    MANURES 

ditions  as  to  afford  data  bearing  upon  this  question. 

In  1882  the  Pennsylvania  State  College  instituted 
an  experiment  in  which  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  clover 
are  grown  in  rotation,  each  crop  being  grown  every 
season,  the  corn  and  wheat  receiving  various  com- 
binations of  fertilizing  materials  and  manures,  the 
oats  and  clover  being  left  unfertilized.  This  experi- 
ment has  been  continued  without  interruption,  and 
the  average  results  for  30  years  are  now  avail- 
able.* 

The  land  on  which  this  experiment  is  located  lies 
a  few  feet  above  stratified  limestones,  from  which 
it  has  been  derived  and  which  furnish  natural  drainage. 

Since  1888  experiments  have  been  conducted  at 
the  Dominion  experimental  farm,  at  Ottawa,  Can- 
ada, in  which  wheat,  barley,  oats,  corn,  mangels  and 
turnips  have  been  grown  continuously  on  the  same 
land,  the  soil  being  described  as  "a,  piece  of  sandy 
loam,  more  or  less  mixed  with  clay,  which  was  orig- 
inally covered  with  heavy  timber,  chiefly  white 
pine,"  this  having  been  succeeded  by  a  second 
growth,  chiefly  poplar,  birch  and  maple,  which  was 
cleared  off  in  i887.f 

Since  1893  several  experiments  have  been  insti- 
tuted by  the  Ohio  experiment  station,  described  as 
follows : 

I.  A  five-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover 
and  timothy,  begun  at  the  central  station  at  Woos- 
ter,  in  1893. 

*  Pennsylvania  State  College  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  70,  and 
supplement. 

t  Experimental  Farms  Reports,  1898,  p.  34. 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE   PLANT  45 

2.  An  experiment  in  the  continuous  culture  of  corn, 
oats,  and  wheat,  begun  at  the  central  station  in  1894. 

3.  A  three-year  rotation  of  potatoes,  wheat  and 
clover,  begun  at  the  central  station  in  1894. 

4.  A  five-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover 
and  timothy,  begun  at  the  Strongsville  test  farm, 
Cuyahoga  county,  in  1895. 

5.  A  three-year  rotation  of  tobacco,  wheat  and 
clover,  begun  at  the  Germantown  test  farm,  Mont- 
gomery county,  in  1903. 

6.  A  three-year  rotation  of  corn,  wheat  and  clover, 
begun  at  Germantown  in  1904. 

7.  A  three-year  rotation  of  corn,  wheat  and  clover, 
begun  at  the  Carpenter  test  farm,  Meigs  county,  in  1904. 

In  all  these  experiments  each  crop  is  grown  every 
season.  In  the  Ohio  experiments  the  land  is  divided 
into  plots  of  one-tenth  acre  and  one-twentieth  acre 
each,  and  every  third  plot,  beginning  with  No.  i, 
is  left  continuously  without  fertilizer  or  manure. 

The  plots  are  16  feet  wide  and  are  separated  by 
paths  2  feet  wide.  A  tile  drain  is  laid  under  alter- 
nate paths,  making  the  drains  36  feet  apart.  The 
drains  are  30  inches  deep. 

The  soil  at  the  central  station  is  a  light,  yellow, 
silty  clay,  lying  over  the  upper,  sandy  shales  of  the 
Waverly  series. 

That  at  the  Strongsville  test  farm  contains  a 
larger  proportion  of  clay  than  that  at  the  central 
station,  is  lighter  colored,  more  difficult  to  work  and 
much  less  productive.  It  lies  over  an  argillaceous 
shale  of  the  Waverly  series.     Both  soils  have  been 


46  FARM    MANURES 

modified  by  glacial  action,  but  both  have  been 
largely  derived  from  the  underlying  rock,  and  both 
are  quite  deficient  in  lime. 

That  at  Germantown  is  a  yellow  clay,  formed 
from  the  decomposition  of  glacial  gravel,  chiefly  de- 
rived from  the  limestones  which  underlie  the 
western  half  of  the  state. 

That  at  Carpenter  is  a  yellow  clay  of  residual  origin, 
derived  from  sandstones  and  shales  of  the  coal 
measures. 

The  five-year  rotation  and  the  experiment  in  con- 
tinuous culture  at  Wooster  are  located  on  land 
which  had  been  subjected  to  exhaustive  cropping 
for  more  than  half  a  century  before  the  experiments 
were  begun. 

Feeding  the  corn  crop — Let  us  now  study  the 
feeding  habits  of  a  few  of  the  principal  crops,  as 
illustrated  by  these  experiments : 

Corn  stands  next  to  clover  in  the  amount  of  nitro- 
gen removed  from  the  soil  by  equivalent  crops,  and 
because  of  this  habit  of  the  corn  plant  it  is  usually 
grown  on  soils  rich  in  nitrogen,  such  as  black  lands 
or  those  which  have  had  their  stock  of  nitro- 
gen reinforced  by  manuring  or  by  the  growth  of 
clover.  In  all  the  experiments  under  review  corn, 
when  grown  in  rotation,  follows  immediately  after 
clover  or  timothy,  and  thus  is  enabled  to  profit  by  the 
nitrogen  and  other  elements  accumulated  in  the  surface 
soil  by  the  clover.  The  results  of  these  tests  are  given 
in  Table  IV,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  on  the 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE    PLANT 


47 


Table  IV.     Effect   of   Fertilizing  Elements  on 
Corn  Grown  in  Rotation. 


Increase  or  decrease  (— )  in 

bushels,  an  acre 

Treatment 

Strongs- 

German- 

Carpen- 

Penna. 

Wooster 

ville 

town 

ter 

30-yr.  av. 

18-yr.  av. 

15-yr.  av. 

7-yr.  av. 

7-yr.  av. 

Nitrogen  alone 

-0.7 
5.1 

4.79 
7.48 

0.89 
8.87 

V'.io 

Phosphorus  alone 

4.71 

Potassium  alone 

2.3 

4.61 

0.74 

Nitrogen  and  phosphorus 

8.8 

14.50 

10.19 

8.16 

5.18 

Nitrogen  and  potassium.. 

0.3 

6.76 

2.12 

5.14 

2.23 

Phosphorus  &  potassium. 

13.4 

14.22 

9.65 

12.51 

7.36 

Phosphorus,  potassium 

and  low  nitrogen 

10.5 

18.93 

11.66 

Phosphorus,  potassium 

and  medium  nitrogen.. 

14.4 

18.45 

11.65 

13.75 

10.53 

Phosphorus,  potassium 

and  high  nitrogen 

15.6 

18.78 

11.29 

13.13 

10.74 

Average  fertilized  yield, . 

38.8 

29.74 

26.20 

44.84 

36.27 

comparatively  productive  soils  of  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Germantown  experiments  the  addition  of  nitro- 
gen has  produced  a  very  small  gain  over  the  in- 
crease produced  by  phosphorus  and  potassium 
alone.  On  the  thinner  soils  of  the  Wooster  and 
Strongsville  tests  the  first  addition  of  nitrogen  pro- 
duces a  larger  increase,  but  no  further  gain  follows 
the  increase  of  the  dose  of  nitrogen,  the  dressing 
of  phosphorus  and  potassium  remaining  the  same. 

Further  light  on  this  point  is  given  by  the  experi- 
ments in  continuous  culture  at  the  Wooster  station, 
in  which  corn  has  been  grown  continuously  on  the  same 
land  since  1894.  The  results  of  this  test  for  the  17 
years,  1894- 19 10,  are  shown  in  Table  V. 

In  this  experiment  the  fertilizers  are  applied  to 


4^ 


FARM    MANURES 


Table  V.     Corn  in  17  Years^  Continuous  Culture 
AT  Ohio  Experiment  Station,  Wooster. 


Plot 
No. 

Treatment  :  pounds  an  acre 

Increase 

an  acre 

Grain 
Bushels 

Stover 
Pounds 

2 

Nitrate  soda,  160  ;  acid  phosphate   160  ;    mu- 
riate potash    100                 

21.85 
32.05 
15.60 
30.63 
16.87 

948 

8 

Nitrate  soda,  '320  ;  acid  phosphate  160  ;   mu- 

1,244 

3 

Nitrate  soda,   160  ;    acid  phosphate,    60;  mu- 
riate potash    30    . .         .                      

631 

9 

Nitrate  soda,  320  ;  acid  phosphate,  120  ;  mu- 

1,164 

Average  unfertilized  yield 

1,237 

plots  2  and  8  in  arbitrary  quantities,  while  on  plots 
3  and  9  the  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium  are 
given  in  approximately  the  same  ratio  in  which  they 
are  found  in  the  plant.  Taking  the  average  analysis 
of  the  corn  crop,  as  made  at  the  Ohio  station,  the 
outcome  of  this  test  may  be  thus  summarized: 

Table  VI.  Corn  in  Continuous  Culture;  Bal- 
ance Sheet  of  Fertilizing  Elements  in  Pounds 
AND  Per  Cents. 


Given  in  fertilizers 

Recovered  in  increase 

Percentage  recovery- 

Plot 

No. 

Nitro- 

Phos- 

Potas- 

Nitro- 

Phos- 

Pot as- 

Nitro- 

Phos- 

Potas- 

gen 

phorus 

sium 

gen 

phorus 

slum 

gen 

phorus 

snmi 

% 

% 

% 

2 

25 

10. 

41. 

30.7 

3.6 

13.5 

123 

36 

33 

8 

50 

10. 

41. 

45.9 

5.2 

18.7 

92 

52 

45 

3 

25 

3.7 

12.5 

21.6 

2.6 

9.3 

86 

70 

74 

9 

50 

7.4 

25. 

41.7 

5.0 

17.7 

83 

68 

71 

THt:   FEEDING   OF   THE   PLANT  49 

The  table  shows  that  where  phosphorus  and 
potassium  have  been  furnished  in  abundance  the 
crop  has  been  able  to  secure  more  nitrogen  than 
that  given  in  the  fertilizer,  even  under  the  conditions  of 
this  test  in  which  no  nitrogen-gathering  crop  has 
been  grown.  The  amount  of  nitrogen  thus  secured, 
however,  may  be  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  nitric 
acid  carried  to  the  earth  in  the  annual  rainfall. 
When  the  fertilizing  elements  have  been  supplied 
more  nearly  in  the  proportions  in  which  they  are 
found  in  the  plant  there  has  been  a  more  complete 
utilization,  the  average  recovery  of  the  three  ele- 
ments being  'jy  per  cent  on  plot  3,  74  per  cent  on 
plot  9,  64  per  cent  on  plot  2,  and  6}^  per  cent  on  plot 
8.  In  considering  this  point,  however,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  cost  of  a  pound  of  fertilizer 
nitrogen  is  much  greater  than  that  of  a  pound  of 
phosphorus  or  potassium,  and  hence  the  highest  per 
cent  of  utilization  may  not  always  indicate  the  high- 
est net  gain. 

We  cannot  expect  to  recover  the  entire  amount 
of  a  fertilizer  in  the  increase  of  crop  harvested,  for 
the  reason  that  a  portion  will  always  be  left  in  the 
roots  and  stubble,  which,  of  course,  are  increased 
proportionally  to  the  parts  of  the  plant  which  are 
harvested.  Making  allowance  for  this  factor,  it 
would  seem  that  in  this  experiment,  conducted  on 
a  soil  depleted  of  its  virgin  fertility  by  many  years 
of  cropping,  the  most  effective  fertilizer  for  corn 
has  been  one  in  which  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and 
potassium  in  available  form  have  been  carried  to 


50 


FARM    MANURES 


the  crop  in  approximately  the  same  ratio  to  each 
other  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  plant,  and 
that  the  response  of  the  crop  has  been  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity  of  the  fertilizing  elements 
given. 

In  the  Canadian  experiments  corn  has  been  grown 
for  silage,  and  the  fertilizers  have  not  been  applied 
as  regularly  as  in  the  other  tests  under  considera- 
tion, the  fertilizing  having  been  discontinued  from 
1899  to  1905,  when  it  was  begun  again.  The  aver- 
age yield  for  18  years  under  the  treatments  most 
nearly  comparable  with  those  of  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  stations  are  as  below: 


Table  VIL  Yield  and  Increase  in  Tons  of  Silage 
Corn  at  the  Dominion  Experimental  Farms — 
1 8- Year  Average. 


Yield 

Increase 

Plot 

an  acre 

an  acre 

3-12 

None 

7.15 

IS 

Nitrogen  alone  (in  nitrate  of  soda, 

200  pounds) 
Phosphorus  alone  (in  acid  phosphate, 

9  74 

2  59 

9 

1500  pounds) 

9.03 

1.88 

18 

Potassium  alone  (in  muriate  of  potash, 

300  pounds) 

8.58 

1.43 

10 

Nitrogen  and  phosphorus  (in  nitrate  of  soda, 

200  pounds,  and  acid  phosphate  350  pounds) 

10.75 

3.60 

Phosphorus,  potassium  and  nitrogen  (in  acid 

19 

phosphate,  500  pounds  ;  muriate  of  potash, 

200  pounds,  and  dried  blood,  300  pounds) .  . 

10.44 

3.29 

In  this  test  the  fertilizing  materials  have  been 
used  in  very  much  larger  quantity  than  in  the  tests 
previously  described,  especially  the  acid  phosphate. 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE  PLANT  5 1 

and  the  relative  action  of  nitrogen  and  phosphorus 
in  producing  increase  is  the  reverse  of  that  observed 
in  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  tests,  while  the  gen- 
eral effect  of  treatment,  w^hether  w^ith  fertilizer  or 
manure,  has  been  much  smaller. 

Taking  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  experiments, 
as  more  applicable  to  the  conditions  under  v^hich 
corn  is  generally  grown,  it  would  seem  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  nitrogen  required  by  this  crop 
may  be  supplied  by  systematic  rotation  of  crops, 
and  that  in  order  to  enable  the  corn  crop  to  profit  in 
the  fullest  measure  by  the  nitrogen  supply  thus  fur- 
nished, it  must  be  provided  with  available  phos- 
phorus and  potassium. 

May  we  omit  potassium  from  the  fertilizer  for 
corn? — The  large  quantity  of  potassium  found  in 
most  soils — the  soils  of  the  Ohio  station,  for  exam- 
ple, containing  from  12  to  17  tons  of  potassium  per 
acre  in  the  upper  7  inches — justifies  the  question 
why  it  should  be  necessary  to  add  this  element  in 
fertilizers.  Table  IV  shows  that  when  potassium 
has  been  used  alone  or  with  nitrogen  only,  it  has 
produced  only  a  small  increase  or  none  at  all,  but 
when  added  to  phosphorus  potassium  has  always 
materially  increased  the  yield.  This  point  is  brought 
out  more  clearly  in  Table  VIII,  which  shows  that  in 
every  experiment,  except  the  one  at  Strongsville, 
the  addition  of  potassium  to  phosphorus  in  the  fer- 
tilizer has  caused,  not  only  a  larger  total,  but  also 
a  greater  net  gain,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
cost  of  the  fertilizer  has  been  very  greatly  increased. 


52 


FARM    MANURES 


Table  VIII.     Effect    of    Adding    Potassium    to 
Phosphorus  in  Fertilizing  Corn. 


Station  and  treatment 

Bushels 
increase 
an  acre 

Value 

of 

increase* 

Cost 

of 

fertilizer 

Net 
gain 

Pennsylvania 

Phosphorus  alone 

5.10 
13.40 

7.48 
14.22 

8.87 
9.65 

7.20 
12.57 

4.71 
7.36 

$2.55 
6.70 

3.74 
7.11 

4.43 
4.82 

3.60 
6.28 

2.35 
3.68 

$2.40 
4.90 

0.56 
2.56 

0.56 
2.56 

0.84 
1.84 

0.84 
1.84 

$0.15 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Wooster 

Phosphorus  alone 

1.80 
3.18 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Strongsville 

4.55 
3.87 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Germantown 

Phosphorus  alone   . 

2.26 
2.76 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Carpenter 

Phosphorus  alone  ....        

4.44 
1.51 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

1.84 

*  Rating  corn  at  50  cents  a  bushel   and  taking  no    account  of  increase 
of  stover. 

It  seems  probable,  moreover,  that  potassium  has 
been  given  extravagantly  in  the  older  tests,  judging 
from  the  results  at  Germantown,  where  only  20 
pounds  of  muriate  of  potash  is  used,  as  against  80 
pounds  at  Wooster  and  200  pounds  at  State  College. 

The  outcome  at  Strongsville  shows  that  there 
may  be  some  soils  which  will  not  respond  to  potassic 
fertilizing,  and  emphasizes  the  necessity  for  bring- 
ing each  separate  soil  type  under  experiment  before 
adopting  a  system  of  fertilizing. 

Does  corn  need  lime? — On  plots  22  and  23  in  the 
Pennsylvania  experiments  quicklime  has  been  ap- 
plied to  the  corn  crop,  or  once  in  four  years,  at  the 
rate  of  two  tons  per  acre,  the  lime  being  reinforced 
on  plot  22  with  six  tons  of  stable  manure,  applied 
to  both  corn  and  wheat,  or  12  tons  every  four  years. 


THE   FEEDING   OF    THE   PLANT 


53 


On  plot  34  ground  limestone  has  been  used  at  the 
same  rate  of  two  tons  per  acre,  and  applied  to 
the  corn  crop.  The  outcome  of  this  test  has  been 
as  shown  in  Table  IX. 


Table  IX.     Effect   of   Lime   and    Limestone   on 
Corn  at  Pennsylvania  State  College. 


ushels  of  corn  an  acre 


Treatment 


None 

Yard  manure,  6  tons .  .  . 
Yard  manure,  6  tons  ] 

Lime,  1  ton J 

Lime  alone 

Ground  limestone  alone 


During  the  first  25  years  quicklime  used  alone 
has  diminished  the  yield  by  nearly  seven  bushels 
per  acre,  although  it  has  slightly  increased  the  yield, 
when  used  as  a  reinforcement  of  manure,  while 
ground  limestone,  used  alone,  has  apparently  in- 
creased the  yield  by  one  bushel  per  acre. 

During  the  last  five  years  the  unfertilized  yield 
has  dropped  from  a  previous  average  of  42.1  bushels 
to  22.1  bushels,  a  loss  of  20  bushels,  and  the  yield 
from  yard  manure  alone  from  57  bushels  to  44.4 
bushels,  a  loss  of  13. i  bushels,  but  where  the  yard 
manure  has  been  reinforced  by  lime  the  yield  has 
fallen  by  only  2.3  bushels.  Where  lime  has  been 
used  alone  the  yield  has  dropped  from  35.3  bushels 
to  22.9  bushels — a  loss  of  12.4  bushels,  and  on  the 


54  FARM    MANURES 

land  receiving  ground  limestone  it  has  fallen  by  13.7 
bushels.  Ground  limestone  has  not  been  used  on 
manured  land. 

It  appears  from  these  results  that  raw  limestone 
has  to  some  extent  checked  the  downward  tendency 
of  the  yield,  and  that  lime  has  produced  a  similar 
effect  when  used  as  a  supplement  to  manure.  As 
has  been  stated,  the  soil  upon  which  this  test  is 
being  conducted  is  a  residual  soil,  formed  from  the 
decomposition  of  limestones  over  which  it  lies,  and  it 
would  not  be  expected  that  such  a  soil  would  show 
deficiency  of  lime  at  so  early  a  date  as  one  formed 
from  noncalcareous  rocks,  such  as  that  upon  which 
the  Ohio  station's  experiments  at  Wooster  are 
located. 

At  the  Ohio  station  the  use  of  lime  was  begun  in  the 
five-year  rotation  in  1900,  the  lime  being  applied  to 
one-half  the  land  and  distributed  over  all  the  plots, 
fertilized  and  unfertilized  alike,  while  the  land  was 
being  prepared  for  corn.  There  are  30  one- 
tenth  acre  plots  in  each  of  the  five  tracts  of  land 
in  this  experiment,  the  plots  being  16  feet  wide  by 
272  1-3  feet  long  and  separated  by  paths  2  feet  wide, 
except  that  between  plots  10  and  11,  and  20  and  21, 
a  roadway  12  feet  wide  is  left  to  facilitate  harvesting 
the  small  grains.  A  tile  drain  is  laid  at  the  depth 
of  30  inches  under  alternate  paths,  making  the 
drains  36  feet  apart.  The  plots  are  plowed  sepa- 
rately about  once  in  10  years,  thus  keeping  them 
slightly  ridged  in  order  to  remove  surface  water 
more  uniformly.     At  other  times  the  plowing  is 


THE    FEEDING   OF   THE    PLANT  55 

across  the  plots.  The  five  sections  of  the  experi- 
ment are  named  A,  B,  C,  D  and  E.  Each  section  is 
subdivided  into  30  plots,  and  every  third  plot,  be- 
ginning with  No.  I,  is  left  continuously  unfertilized. 
The  plots  run  east  and  v^est.  When  the  liming  v^as 
begun  the  lime  was  applied  to  the  west  half  of  Sec- 
tion E,  and  it  was  continued  on  the  west  sides  of 
the  remaining  sections  until  the  five  sections  had  all 
been  limed  on  this  side.  In  order  to  make  sure 
that  the  effects  observed  were  due  to  the  lime  and 
not  to  soil  variation,  the  liming  was  then  transferred 
to  the  east  sides  of  the  sections,  and  was  so  con- 
tinued for  three  years.  By  this  time  the  results  had 
become  so  unmistakable  that  the  liming  of  the  east 
ends  was  discontinued,  in  order  to  leave  some  of  the 
land  unlimed  from  the  beginning  of  the  test.  In 
Table  X  is  given  the  outcome  of  this  work,  so  far  as 
the  corn  crop  is  concerned,  for  six  crops  which  have 

Table  X.     Effect  of  Lime  on  Corn.     Six  Years' 
Average  Results  at  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 


Treatment* 

Bushels 
an  acre 

Bushels 
increase 
for  lime 

25.57 
36.40 
35.52 
47.09 
40.26 
52.15 
46.20 
57.75 

No  fertilizer,  lime              

10.83 

Phosphorus   no  lime                                   

11.57 

Phosphorus  and  potassium,  no  lime 

Phosphorus  potassium  and.  lime  .          

11.89 

Phosphorus,  potassium  and  nitrogen,  no  lime 
Phosphorus,  potassium,  nitrogen  and  lime.  .  . 

1V.55 

*  Phosphorus  given  in  acid  phosphate,  80  pounds  an  acre.  Potassium 
in  muriate  of  potash,  80  pounds  an  acre,  and  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda,  100 
pounds  an  acre. 


66 


THE    FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT 


57 


been  grown  on  continuously  unlimed  land,  as  com- 
pared with  those  grown  immediately  after  liming 
during  the  same  seasons . 

The  experiments  above  described  clearly  show 
that  the  corn  plant  requires  a  supply  of  available 
nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium  and  calcium,  all 
four,  for  its  complete  development,  and  that  a  par- 
ticular soil  may  be  deficient  in  part  or  all  of  these 
elements,  owing  to  its  geological  origin  and  previous 
treatment. 


Table  XL     Effect  of  Fertilizing  Elements  on 
Oats  Grown  in  Rotation. 


Treatment 


Nitrogen  alone 

Phosphorus  alone 

Potassium  alone 

Nitrogen  and  phosphorus 

Nitrogen  and  potassium 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Phosphorus,  potassium  and  low  nitrogen 
"  "  "    medium    " 

"  "  "    high 

Average  unfertilized  yield 


Increase  or  decrease  (*)  in  bushels 
an  acre 


Penna 
30-yr.  av. 


*L0 
4.7 
0.2 
8.1 
2.6 
8.2 
8.2 
11.5 
10.3 


31.5 


Wooster 
18-yr.  av. 


3.96 

8.54 

3.42 

15.14 

5.79 

12.02 

18.51 

18.40 

17.80 


30.83 


Strongsville 
15-yr.  av. 


0.12 

9.36 

0.52 

12.36 

2.38 

9.50 

13.66 

12.67 

12.47 


34.51 


Feeding  the  oats  crop — Oats  has  been  grown  in 
rotation  in  the  above-described  experiments  at  the 
Pennsylvania  experiment  station  and  in  the  Wooster 
and  Strongsville  experiments  of  the  Ohio  station. 
In  the  Pennsylvania  test  the  oats  crop  is  not  directly 
fertilized,  the  fertilizers  being  divided  between  the 


58 


FARM    MANURES 


corn  and  wheat  crops ;  but  in  the  Ohio  tests  the  oats 
crop  receives  the  same  quantities  of  fertilizing  ma- 
terials as  the  corn  crop.  The  general  outcome  of 
these  tests  is  shown  in  Table  XL 

Comparing  Table  XI  with  Table  IV,  page  47,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  a  close  uniformity 
in  the  effect  of  the  different  elements  on  corn  and 
oats.  ^ 

Feeding  the  wheat  crop — Wheat  is  grown  in  all 
the  above-described  tests,  following  oats  in  the 
cereal  rotations  in  the  Pennsylvania,  Wooster  and 
Strongsville  tests ;  following  corn  in  one  of  the  tests 
at  Germantown  and  the  one  at  Carpenter ;  following 

Table  XII.     Effect  of  Fertilizing  Elements  on 
Wheat  Grown  in  Rotation. 


Treatment 


Increase  or  decrease  (*)  in  bushels  an  acre 


PnfO 


Wooster 


^i 


i« 


O  >. 


Germantown 

8  > 

4.88 

6.64 

7.10 
1.35 
6.34 

10.93 
5.85 
9.28 

8.88 

11.41 

8.27 

12.32 

9.66 

11.10 

Nitrogen  alone 

Phosphorus  alone 

Potassium  alone 

Nitrogen  and  phosphorus. . 
Nitrogen  and  potassium  .  . 
Phosphorus  and  potassium 
Phosphorus,  potassium  and 

low  nitrogen 

Phosphorus,  potassium  and 

medium  nitrogen 

Phosphorus,  potassium  and 

high  nitrogen 

Average  unfertilized  yield.. 


*0.9 

2.3 

*2.0 

2.8 
0.2 

'5.1 

7.7 
10.3 
11.8 
13.6 


1.92 
7.97 
1.24 
13.04 
2.73 
8.89 

12.88 

16.25 

16.95 

10.18 


0.84 
5.96 
1-72 
7.30 
4.98 
8.25 

10.20 
9.19 
9.18 

25.57 


*0.10 

6.97 

*0.59 

10.37 

1.61 

8.32 

9.03 

10.13 

12.42 


7.62 


4.65 

6.51 
2.48 
6.42 


9.60 
9.97 
10.48 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE   PLANT  59 

potatoes  in  one  rotation  at  Wooster;  and  following 
tobacco  in  one  at  Germantown.  The  general  out- 
come of  this  work  is  exhibited  in  Table  XII,  from 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  same  general  law  has 
controlled  the  effect  on  wheat  of  the  three  fertilizing 
elements,  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium,  as 
on  corn  and  oats.  With  all  three  crops  and  in  every 
test  phosphorus  has  been  the  dominant  element  in 
producing  increase,  although  it  has  been  necessary 
to  reinforce  the  phosphorus  with  both  potassium 
and  nitrogen  before  the  full  demands  of  the  crop 
have  been  met.  It  is  true  that  the  rate  of  increase 
produced  by  the  different  applications  has  varied  in 
the  different  soils ;  apparently  the  Pennsylvania  and 
Strongsville  soils  are  less  responsive  to  treatment 
than  those  at  Wooster  and  Germantown;  and  in 
the  case  of  the  two  Wooster  soils,  the  high  unfer- 
tilized yield  in  the  potato  rotation  leaves  but  a  com- 
paratively small  margin  for  increase.  In  the  case 
of  the  two  Germantown  tests — which  are  located  on 
a  soil  as  absolutely  uniform  in  present  appearance 
and  previous  treatment  as  it  is  possible  to  be,  the 
two  tests  lying  side  by  side  on  the  same  original 
farm — it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  wheat  is  directly 
fertilized  in  the  cereal  rotation,  but  in  the  tobacco 
rotation  all  the  fertilizers  are  applied  to  the  tobacco 
crop,  the  wheat  following  as  a  gleaner.  The  total 
quantity  of  fertilizer  applied  in  the  tobacco  rota- 
tion, however,  is  much  larger  than  in  the  cereal 
rotation,  but  as  the  tobacco  pays  for  it  all  the  in- 
crease of  wheat  is  net  gain. 


6o 


FARM    MANURES 


Wheat  in  the  fertility  tests-  at  Wooster  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station.  Plot 
1  (left),  unfertilized  and  Plot  2  (right),  acid  phosphate;  18-year  average 
yield  of  Plot  I,  10.6  bushels;  of  Plot  2,  18.7  bushels  per  acre. 

Do  oats  and  wheat  need  lime? — Unfortunately, 
the  oats  and  wheat  crops  were  not  harvested  sepa- 
rately on  the  limed  and  unlimed  land  throughout 
the  entire  course  of  the  first  rotation,  after  the  lim- 

Table  XIII.     Effect  of  Lime  on  Oats  and  Wheat. 


Yield  in  bushels  an  acre 

Treatment 

Oats 

Wheat 

Average 
2  crops 

Gain  for 
lim.e 

1906 

Gain  for 
lime 

No  fertilizer,  no  lime 

30.47 
40.44 
49.84 
54.34 
52.26 
58.51 

59.92 

58.51 

9.97 
4.50 
6.25 

*1.41 

17.02 
23.98 
27.42 
34.00 
29.33 
35.25 

40.08 

45.33 

No  fertilizer,  lime 

Phosphorus,  no  lime 

6.96 
6.58 

Phosphorus  and  potass.,  no  lime  .  .  . 

Phosphorus,  potass,  and  lime 

Phosphorus,  potass,  and  nitrogen, 
no  lime 

Phosphorus,  potass.,  nitrogen  and 
lime 

5.25 

*  Loss. 


THE    FEEDING    OF    THE    PLANT 


6i 


ing  was  begun,  only  two  oats  crops,  those  of  1901 
and  1905  being  thus  separated,  and  only  the  wheat 
crop  of  1906.  The  results  obtained  for  the  crops 
separately  harvested  were  as  shown  in  Table  XIII . 
The  failure  of  the  lime  to  produce  a  further  in- 
crease in  the  oats  crop  after  the  addition  of  nitrogen 
was  probably  due  to  accidental  variation,  as  other  plots 
receiving  like  quantities  of  phosphorus,  potassium  and 
nitrogen,  with  the  nitrogen  in  different  carriers  and 
quantities  show  a  different  result. 

Table  XIV.  Effect  of  Lime  in  Conjunction 
WITH  Various  Carriers  of  Nitrogen  on  Wheat 
AND  Oats. 


Nitrogen  carrier 

Yield  in  bushels  an  acre 

Plot 
No. 

Oats 

Wheat 

Average 

Gain  for 

1906 

Gain  for 

2  crops 

lime 

lime 

11 

Nitrate  of  soda,  no  lime .  . 

59.92 

40.08 

11 

and  lime 

58.51 

*1.41 

45.33 

5.25 

no  lime. . 

56.15 

41.17 

12 

and  lime 

58.89 

2.74 

47.17 

6.00 

17 

"             no  lime. . 

58.90 

37.92 

17 

and  lime. 

61.32 

2.42 

43.08 

5  16 

21 

Lmseed  oilmeal,  no  lime .  . 

57.34 

37.17 

21 

"              "        and  lime 

63.59 

6.25 

39  67 

2.50 

23 

Dried  blood,  no  lime 

57.81 

33.50 

23 

and  lime   .... 

60.70 

2.89 

38.50 

5  00 

24 

Sulphate  of  ammonia,  no 

lime 

55.70 

30.42 

24 

Sulphate  of  ammonia  and 

6.09 

40.67 
39.00 

10.25 

18 

Barnyard  manure,  no  lime 

44.45 

18 

and  lime 

49.21 

4.76 

46.17 

7.17 

*  Loss. 


62 


FARM    MANURES 


On  plot  II  each  cereal  crop  receives  25  pounds  of 
nitrogen;  on  plot  12,  38  pounds;  and  on  plots  17,  21, 
23  and  24,  12^  pounds.  The  larger  applications  of 
nitrogen  have  caused  more  lodging  in  the  oats,  and 
thus  have  sometimes  diminished  the  yield  instead  of 
increasing  it.  The  wheat,  however,  shows  regu- 
larly a  larger  yield  for  the  larger  dose  of  nitrogen, 
although  the  rate  of  increase  is  smaller  for  the  sec- 
ond increment  of  nitrogen  than  for  the  first. 


Wheat  in  the  fertility  tests  at  Wooster  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station.  Plot 
2  (left),  acid  phosphate;  Plot  3  (right),  muriate  of  potash;  18-year 
average  yield  of  Plot  2,  18.7  bushels;  of  Plot  3,   12.1  bushels  per  acre. 


Taking  all  these  results,  it  seems  reasonable  to 
assume  that  on  this  soil,  originally  deficient  in  lime, 
and  having  had  that  deficiency  accentuated  by 
nearly  a  century  of  cropping,  the  addition  of  lime 
has  increased  the  yield  of  corn  by  about  lO  bushels 
per  acre,  and  that  of  oats  and  wheat  by  five  bushels 
or  more  for  each  crop,  under  the  conditions  of  ordi- 
nary fertilizing  or  manuring.  (In  this  experiment 
the  manure  is  applied  only  to  the  corn  and  wheat, 


THE  FEEDING  OF   THE  PLANT 


63 


the  oats  receiving  no  direct  manuring,  but  the  fer- 
tilizers are  applied  to  all  three  crops.) 

Liming  the  cereals  on  limestone  land — ^At  Penn- 
sylvania State  College  the  soil  under  experi- 
ment, as  has  been  previously  stated,  lies  over  lime- 
stone from  which  it  has  been  derived  by  weather- 
ing. In  these  experiments  plot  22.  has  received 
quicklime  at  the  rate  of  two  tons  per  acre,  applied 
once  in  four  years  to  the  corn  crop ;  plot  23  has  re- 
ceived the  same  quantity  of  quicklime,  together  with 
12  tons  of  yard  manure,  the  manure  being  divided 
between  the  corn  and  wheat  crop,  six  tons  to  each 
crop,  and  plot  34  has  received  two  tons  of  ground 
limestone  every  two  years,  on  the  corn  and  wheat 
crops.  The  effect  on  the  cereal  crops  of  these  treat- 
ments is  shown  in  Table  XV. 

Table  XV.    Effect  of  Lime  on  Cereal  Crops  at 
Pennsylvania  Experiment  Station. 


30-year  average  yield  an  acre 

Treatment 

Bushels 

Pounds 

Com 

Oats 

Wheat 

Hay 

Nothing                            .          

38.8 
33.5 

-5.3 
4L3 

+2.5 
55.2 
58.7 

+3.5 

3L5 
28.6 

-2.9 
33.4 

+1.9 
39.4 
40.9 

+  1.5 

12.5 
15.0 

+1.5 
15.9 

+2.4 
23.3 
23.2 

-0.1 

2,608 

2,569 

Increase  (+)  or  decrease  ( — )  for 

-39 

2,961 

Increase  for  powdered  limestone  .  .  . 

+353 
3,956 

Farmyard  manure  and  lime 

Increase  (+)  or  decrease  ( — )  for 
lime                                 

4,267 
+311 

64  FARM    MANURES 

Two  tons  of  quicklime  applied  every  four  years  to 
unmanured  land,  or  the  equivalent  of  half  a  ton  an- 
nually, has  reduced  the  yield  on  this  soil  of  every 
crop  grown  except  wheat;  whereas  powdered  lime- 
stone, carrying  an  equivalent  quantity  of  calcium, 
has  increased  the  yield  of  every  crop,  the  average 
increase  for  each  rotation  having  a  total  value  of 
$5.05,  counting  corn  at  half  a  dollar  per  bushel,  oats 


Wheat  in  the  fertility  tests  at  Wooster  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station:  Plot 
7  (left),  unfertilized;  Plot  8  (right),  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of 
potash;  18-year  average  yield  of  Plot  7,  10.9  bushels;  of  Plot  8,  19.9 
bushels  per  acre. 

at  one-third  of  a  dollar,  wheat  at  90  cents  and  hay 
at  $8  a  ton. 

It  will  be  observed  that  although  the  quicklime 
when  used  alone  has  diminished  the  yield,  it  has 
produced  a  small  increase  in  every  crop  but  wheat 
when  used  in  conjunction  with  manure,  over  the 
yield  from  manure  alone. 

In  the  Ohio  experiments  lime  was  used  at  the  first 
application  at  the  rate  of  one  ton  of  quicklime  or 


THE    FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT  65 

two  tons  of  powdered  limestone  once  in  five  years, 
or  less  than  half  the  quantity  applied  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania test,'  while  the  second  application  was  re- 
duced to  half  these  quantities,  and  this  smaller  rate 
of  application — less  than  one-fourth  that  used  in  the 
Pennsylvania  test — appears  to  be  sufficient  to  sat- 
isfy the  need  for  lime  of  a  soil  originally  deficient 
in  that  substance.     There  is  ground,  therefore,  for 


Wheat  in  the  fertility  tests  at  Wooster  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station :  Plot 
12  (left),  acid  phosphate,  muriate  of  potash  and  nitrate  of  soda;  Plot  13 
(right),  unfertilized;  18-year  average  yield  of  Plot  12,  27.8  bushels;  of 
Plot  10.9  bushels  per  acre. 

the  conjecture  that  the  unfavorable  efifect  of  quick- 
lime on  the  otherwise  untreated  soil  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania test  has  been  due  to  an  excessive  use,  a 
conjecture  which  is  supported  by  the  different  re- 
sult attained  where  lime  has  been  used  in  conjunc- 
tion with  manure,  as  the  manure  would  to  some 
extent  restore  the  organic  matter  oxidized  by  the 
lime. 

Since    1905    another   experiment   has   been   con- 


66  FARM    MANURES 

ducted  at  the  Ohio  experiment  station  in  which 
different  forms  of  lime  and  ground  limestone  have 
been  used  alone  and  as  supplements  to  manure  in  a 
three-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats  and  clover;  the 
manure  being  plowed  under  for  the  corn  crop  at  the 
rate  of  eight  tons  per  acre,  and  the  lime  and  lime- 
stone applied  to  the  surface.  The  results  of  this 
comparison  for  the  seven  years,  1905-11,  are  given 
in  Table  XVI. 

Table  XVI.  Comparative  Effect  of  Lime  and 
Limestone  on  Corn.  Oats  and  Clover,  Grown  in 
Rotation  at  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 


Value  of  increase 
Treatment  an  acre 

Manure,  8  tons  ;  caustic  lime,  1,000  pounds $1L83 

Manure,  8  tons  ;  ground  limestone,  1,780  pounds 13.60 

Manure,  8  tons  ;  air-slacked  lime,  1,780  pounds 12.03 

Manure,  8  tons  ;  hydrated  lime,  1,320  pounds 13.21 

Caustic  lime  alone,  1,000  pounds 5.75 

Ground  limestone  alone,  1,780  pounds 2.55 


The  land  on  which  this  test  is  located  had  been 
under  regular  rotative  cropping  before  the  test  was 
begun,  manure  having  been  applied  every  fourth  or 
fifth  season,  and  was  in  such  condition  that  the  un- 
manured  yields  during  the  seven  years  of  the  test 
have  averaged  58^^  bushels  of  corn,  48  bushels  of 
oats  and  2  1-3  tons  of  hay,  and  the  increase  over 
these  yields  produced  by  the  treatment  has  been 
relatively  small,  as  compared  with  that  attained  on 
less  fertile  land.  It  appears,  however,  that  the 
ground  limestone  has  been  the  more  effective  when 


THE    FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT  67 

used  as  a  supplement  to  manuring,  while  the  caustic 
lime  has  produced  the  larger  increase  when  used 
alone. 

The  air-slaked  lime  used  in  this  test  had  been 
slaked  a  year  in  advance  of  application  and  exposed 
to  the  air  so  that  it  had  in  part  returned  to  the  car- 
bonate form. 

Feeding  the  clover  crop — Table  XVII  shows  the 
effect  on  the  clover  crop  of  fertilizing  elements  ap- 


Wheat  in  the  fertility  tests  at  Wooster  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station:  Plot 
18  (left),  barnyard  manure;  Plot  19  (right),  unfertilized;  18-year  average 
yield  of  Plot  18,  22.2  bushels;  of  Plot  19,  10.7  bushels  per  acre. 


plied  to  the  preceding  crops  in  the  several  experi- 
ments under  consideration.  From  this  table  it  ap- 
pears that  on  the  soil  on  which  the  Pennsylvania 
experiments  are  located  nitrogen  and  potassium, 
when  used  alone,  have  diminished  the  yield  of 
clover;  when  the  two  have  been  used  in  conjunction 
there  has  been  a  very  slight  increase  in  yield ;  phos- 
phorus has  increased  the  yield  in  every  case,  but  the 


68 


FARM    MANURES 


combined  effect  of  either  phosphorus  and  nitrogen 
or  phosphorus  and  potassium  has  been  much  greater 
than  that  of  phosphorus  alone.  In  fact,  the  combi- 
nation of  phosphorus  and  potassium  has  produced 
a  greater  increase  than  any  combination  of  the 
three  elements,  thus  indicating  that  for  this  soil  it 
has  not  been  necessary  to  add  nitrogen  to  the  fer- 
tilizer for  clover. 

In  the  cereal  rotation  at  Wooster,  while  the  supe- 
riority of  phosphorus  is  marked,  yet  both  nitrogen 

Table  XVII.  Residuary  Effect  on  Clover  of 
Fertilizing  Elements  Applied  to  Preceding 
Crops  of  Rotations. 


[ncrease 

or  decrease  (— )  in  pounds  an  acre 

Wooster 

Germantown 

Treatment 

Penna. 
30-yr. 
aver. 

Strongs- 

Car- 

Cereal 

r 

17-yr. 

Potato 

R 
13-yr. 

ville 
15-yr. 
aver. 

Cereal 

R. 
7-yr. 

Tobac- 
co R 

7-yr. 

penter 

Cereal 

R 

aver. 

aver. 

aver. 

aver. 

Nitrogen  alone .... 

-398 

332 

349 

210 

Phosphorus  alone.. 

526 

497 

382 

887 

548 

747 

298 

Potassium  alone   .  . 

-280 

252 

185 

87 

.... 

Nitrogen  and 

phosphorus  

965 

1,080 

570 

764 

645 

1,150 

426 

Nitrogen  and 

potassium 

40 

400 

565 

247 

110 

530 

35 

Phosphorus  and 

potassium 

1,566 

914 

456 

663 

640 

1,211 

515 

Phosphorus,  potass. 

and  low  nitrogen 

1,388 

1,220 

934 

914 



Phosphorus,  potass. 

and   medium  ni- 

trogen   

1,512 

1,325 

574 

897 

637 

1,250 

760 

Phosphorus,  potass. 

and  high  nitrogen 

1,547 

1,390 

714 

803 

572 

1,441 

732 

Average  unfertilized 

yield 

2,608 

1,808 

3,693 

1,847 

2,367 

2,066 

1,819 

THE    FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT  69 

and  potassium  have  produced  a  decided  increase, 
whether  used  separately  or  in  combination  with 
each  other  only,  and  when  combined  with  phos- 
phorus the  effect  of  nitrogen  has  apparently  been 
greater  than  that  of  potassium,  the  largest  total  in- 
crease being  found  on  the  plot  receiving  the  com- 
plete fertilizer  containing  the  largest  quantity  of 
nitrogen. 

In  the  potato  rotation  at  Wooster  the  unfertilized 
yield  of  clover  has  averaged  nearly  two  tons  of  hay 
per  acre,  and  the  increase  over  this  yield  has  been 
relatively  small  and  somewhat  irregular,  but  even 
on  this  fertile  soil  it  is  surprising  to  note  that  the 
largest  increase  is  found  on  plots  receiving  nitrog- 
enous fertilizers. 

In  the  Strongsville  experiments  the  role  of  phos- 
phorus appears  to  be  more  important  than  that  of 
either  of  the  other  elements,  nitrogen  coming  sec- 
ond, while  potassium  has  produced  a  very  small 
effect,  whether  used  separately  or  in  combination. 

In  the  Germantown  and  Carpenter  tests  nitrogen 
and  potassium  have  not  been  used  separately;  but 
at  Germantown  their  combination  has  produced  a 
relatively  small  effect  in  the  absence  of  phosphorus. 
When  added  to  phosphorus,  however,  they  have 
materially  increased  the  yield  in  the  tobacco  rota- 
tion; although  the  smaller  quantities  used  in  the 
cereal  rotation  have  produced  but  little  effect,  the 
crops  in  this  rotation  receiving  but  25  pounds  of 
nitrogen  and  16  pounds  of  potassium  per  acre  for 
each  three-year  rotation.     And  yet  the  application 


TO 


THE    FEEDING    OF    THE    PLANT  7I 

of  only  15  pounds  of  phosphorus  per  acre  during  the 
same  period  has  produced  an  unmistakable  effect. 

A  point  of -importance  in  this  study  of  clover  is 
that  of  the  vehicle  in  which  the  fertilizer  nitrogen 
is  carried.  In  the  Pennsylvania  experiments  dried 
blood  has  been  used  as  the  standard  carrier  of  nitro- 
gen, while  in  the  Ohio  experiments  nitrate  of  soda 
has  been  the  standard.  In  both  experiments  the 
standard  carrier  has  been  the  only  one  used  where 
nitrogen  has  been  given  alone  or  in  combination 
with  only  one  of  the  other  elements,  but  in  both 
tests  other  carriers  have  been  employed  in  the  com- 
binations containing  all  three  elements.  In  the 
Pennsylvania  test  dried  blood,  nitrate  of  soda  and 
sulphate  of  ammonia  have  each  been  employed,  in 
quantities  calculated  to  furnish  24,  48  and  "^2 
pounds  of  nitrogen  per  acre.  In  the  Ohio  tests  at 
Wooster  and  Strongsville  nitrate  of  soda  has  been 
similarly  used,  while  dried  blood,  sulphate  of  am- 
monia and  linseed  oil  meal  have  been  used  in  the 
smaller  quantity. 

In  the  cereal  rotation  at  Wooster  lime  has  been 
applied  to  one-half  the  land,  fertilized  and  unfer- 
tilized alike,  since  1900;  the  lime  being  used  when 
the  land  was  being  prepared  for  corn,  and  at  the 
rate  of  one  ton  of  quicklime  or  two  tons  of  pow- 
dered limestone  per  acre  for  the  first  application, 
and  in  half  these  quantities  subsequently.  After 
treating  the  west  half  of  each  of  the  five  tracts  of 
land  in  the  experiment  the  liming  was  transferred 
to  the  east  half,  and  so  continued  for  three  years. 


72 


THE   FEEDING   OF   THE   PLANT 


73 


or  long  enough  to  make  sure  that  the  effects  ob- 
served were  not  due  to  variations  in  the  soil.  Since 
then  the  lime  has  been  used  only  on  the  west  half. 
In  the  following  table,  therefore,  part  of  the  land 
given  as  unlimed  has  had  one  liming,  but  an  interval 
of  eight  years  had  elapsed  between  the  application 
of  the  lime  and  the  harvesting  of  the  clover  crop. 
Even  after  this  long  interval  the  clover  has  still 
shown  considerable  advantage  from  the  liming. 

Table  XVIII.  Residual  Effect  on  the  Clover 
Crop  of  Fertilizers  Applied  to  Preceding  Crops 
ON  Central  Farms  of  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 
Average  for  9  Years,  1903-1911. 


Increase  an  acre  (Pounds) 

Treatment 

Unlimed 

Limed 

372 
471 
147 

1,213 
414 
903 

1,360 
876 
935 

1,047 

442 

Phosphorus 

789 

140 

Nitrogen  (in  nitrate  of  soda)  and  phosphorus .  . 
Nitrogen  (in  nitrate  of  soda)  and  potassium  .  . .. 

1,383 
421 

1,479 

Phosphorus,  potass,  and  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda 
Phosphorus,  potass,  and  nitrogen  in  dried  blood 
Phosphorus,  potass,  and  nitrogen  in  sulphate  amm. 
Phosphorus,  potass,  and  nitrogen  in  linseed  oilmeal 

1,959 
1.762 
1.956 
1.699 

1,605 

2,105 

In  this  experiment  the  fertilizers  have  been  ap- 
plied to  all  three  of  the  cereal  crops,  and  the  stand- 
ard carrier  of  nitrogen  has  been  nitrate  of  soda, 
which  has  been  used  at  the  rate  of  160  pounds  per 
acre  on  each  crop,  when  used  alone,  or  with  phos- 


74  FARM    MANURES 

phorus  or  potassium  only,  which  quantity,  on  the 
average  analysis  of  this  salt,  would  contain  about 
25  pounds  of  nitrogen.  In  the  complete  fertilizers, 
however,  carrying  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potas- 
sium, all  three,  the  nitrogen  has  been  reduced  to 
one-half  this  quantity  for  the  plots  given  in  the 
above  table,  while  the  phosphorus  has  been  in- 
creased from  the  standard  application  of  20  pounds 
of  phosphorus  to  30  pounds. 

The  table  shows  that  all  the  fertilizing  combina- 
tions have  increased  the  clover  crop,  both  on  the 
limed  and  unlimed  land,  and  that  the  increase  on 
the  limed  land  is  much  greater  than  that  on  the  un- 
limed land  whenever  the  fertilizer  has  carried  phos- 
phorus. At  first  glance  it  would  seem  that  the  nitro- 
gen had  increased  the  yield ;  and  that  nitrate  of  soda 
has  caused  an  increase  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but 
it  is  not  so  certain  that  the  principal  effect  of  the 
nitrate  of  soda  has  been  due  to  the  nitrogen  carried. 
For  further  light  on  this  point  let  us  compare  the 
yields  of  clover  obtained  in  the  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania experiments  from  a  fertilizer  carrying  phos- 
phorus and  potassium  only — made  up  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania experiments  from  dissolved  bone  black  and 
muriate  of  potash,  calculated  to  carry  42  pounds  of 
phosphorus  and  166  pounds  of  potassium  for  each 
four-year  rotation,  the  fertilizer  being  divided  be- 
tween the  corn  and  wheat  crops  in  a  rotation  of 
corn,  oats,  wheat  and  clover,  and  in  the  Ohio  ex- 
periments of  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash, 
calculated  to  carry  20  pounds  of  phosphorus  and  108 


THE   FEEDING-  OF   THE   PLANT 


IS 


pounds  of  potassium  for  every  five-year  rotation, 
and  so  divided  between  the  corn,  oats  and  wheat  as 
to  give  the  wheat  half  the  total  phosphorus  and 
about  two-fifths  of  the  total  potassium — with  those 
found  after  nitrogen  has  been  added  to  the  fertilizer. 
The  table  shows  that  when  the  results  on  the 
unlimed  land  in  the  Ohio  test  are  compared  with 


Table  XIX.  Average  Yield  in  Pounds  of  Clover 
Hay  an  Acre  from  Phosphorus  and  Potassium^ 
and  Increase  or  Decrease  When  Nitrogen  Is 
Added.  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Experiment 
Stations. 


Pennsylvania 
30-year 
average 

Ohio, 

Wooster 

9-year  average 

Unlimed 

Limed 

Nitro- 
gen 
an 

Treatment 

In- 

In- 

In- 

acre 

Yield 

crease 
(+)  or 

de- 
crease 

Yield 

crease 
(+)  or 

de- 
crease 

(-) 

Yield 

crease 
(+;  or 

de- 
crease 

(-) 

Phosphorus        and 
potassium 

4.174 

2.494 

3.672 

Phosphorus,  po-  f 
tassium    and    \ 
dried  blood  . .  i 

24 
48 
72 

3.996 
4.120 
4.155 

-178 

-  54 

-  19 

2.338 

-156 

3.719 

-1-47 

Phosphorus,   po-  [ 
tassium       and  \ 
nitrate  of  soda  [ 

24 
48 

72 

4.308 
4.302 
4.302 

+134 
-M28 
+128 

2.815 
3.074 
3.075 

+321 
+580 
+581 

3.977 
3.808 
3.900 

+305 
+  136 
+228 

Phosphorus,   po-  [ 
tass.and  sulphate 
of  ammonia 

24 

48 

72 

3.966 
3.574 
3.270 

-208 
-600 
-904 

2.473 

-  21 

4.005 

+333 

76 


FARM    MANURES 


those  at  the  Pennsylvania  station,  they  agree  in 
showing  a  decrease  in  yield  when  nitrogen  has  been 
added  in  dried  blood  or  sulphate  of  ammonia,  but 
an  increase  when  the  nitrogen  carrier  has  been 
nitrate  of  soda ;  whereas,  when  lime  has  been  added 
to  the  Ohio  land,  it  has  not  only  caused  a  large  in- 
crease in  the  yield  of  clover  on  the  land  treated  only 


Clover  in  the  fertility  tests  of  Pennsylvania  State  College  Experiment  Sta- 
tion: Plot  13  (left),  320  pounds  gypsum;  Plot  14  (middle),  nothing; 
Plot  15  (right),  320  pounds  dissolved  boneblack  and  200  pounds  muriate 
of  potash  on  preceding  wheat  crop. 


with  phosphorus  and  potassium,  but  has  reversed 
the  results  on  the  plots  receiving  dried  blood  or  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  in  addition  to  the  phosphorus  and 
potassium,  thus  producing  a  still  greater  increase 
on  these  plots  than  that  found  where  the  nitrogen 
has  been  omitted. 

That  the  superiority  of  nitrate  of  soda  as  a  fer- 


THE    FEEDING   OF   THE    PLANT 


17 


tilizer  for  clover  is  not  altogether  due  to  greater 
effectiveness  as  a  carrier  of  nitrogen  is  indicated  by 
Table  XX,  which  gives  the  average  increase  in  the 
cereal  crops  of  the  five-year  rotation  at  Wooster 
and  Strongsville  from  different  treatments  on  land, 
half  of  which  has  been  limed  for  each  corn  crop 
since  1900  at  Wooster,  and  since  1905  at  Strongs- 
ville. 


Table  XX.  Comparative  Effect  of  Carriers  of 
Nitrogen  on  Cereal  Crops  Grown  in  Rotation 
at  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 


Station,  crop 

duration  of  test  and  a^ 

-erage 

Treatment 

increase  an  acre   (bushels) 

Plot 

Wooster 

Strongsville 

Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

18  yrs. 

18  yrs. 

18  yrs. 

15  yrs. 

15  yrs. 

14  yrs. 

No. 

2 

Phosphorus  alone 

7.20 

8.54 

7.95 

8.87 

9.36 

6.97 

8 

Phosphorus  and  potas- 

14.22 

12  02 

8  85 

9.64 

9.50 

8.32 

23 

Phosphorus,  potassium 

and  38  pounds  nitrogen 

in  dried  blood 

17.87 

17.13 

12.25 

10.69 

13.30 

9.16 

24 

Phosphorus,  potassium 
and  38  pounds  nitrogen 

m  sulphate  ammonia .  . 

17.34 

17.96 

12.46 

9.82 

13.95 

9.79 

21 

Phosphorus,  potassium 
and  38  pounds  nitrogen 

in  Unseed  oil  meal. .  .  . 

17.79 

16.06 

13.55 

10.15 

12.87 

9.87 

r; 

Phosphorus,  potassium 
and  38  pounds    itrogen 

in  nitrate  of  soda 

18.93 

18.51 

12.88 

11.66 

13.66 

9.03 

11 

Phosphorus,  potassium 
and  76  pounds  nitrogen 

in  nitrate  of  soda 

18.45 

18.40 

16.25 

11.66 

12.67 

10.13 

12 

Phosphorus,  potassium 
and    114  pounds  nitro- 

gen m  nitrate  of  soda .  . 

18.78 

17.80 

16.95 

11.29 

12.50 

12.42 

THE    FEEDING   OF    THE    PLANT  79 

The  table  shows  that  when  the  fertilizer  has  con- 
tained nitrogen,  in  whatever  carrier,  there  has  been 
a  much  greater  increase  in  the  cereal  crops  than 
when  the  nitrogen  has  been  omitted,  and  that  the 
different  carriers  of  nitrogen  have  differed  much 
less  widely  in  their  effect  on  the  cereals  than  on  the 
clover  crop. 

It  is  true  that  plots  17,  21,  23  and  24  have  received 
more  phosphorus  than  plots  2  and  8,  but  in  the  fer- 
tilizing of  plots  8,  II  and  12  the  only  difference  is  in 
the  nitrate  of  soda,  the  phosphorus  and  potassium 
being  the  same  for  all.  While  the  corn  and  oats 
have  not  responded  to  the  increase  of  nitrogen  on 
plots  II  and  12,  the  wheat  shows  an  increase  in 
yield  for  each  addition  of  nitrogen. 

Considering  these  results  as  a  whole,  we  must 
conclude  that,  notwithstanding  its  high  content  of 
nitrogen,  clover  is  comparatively  indifferent  to  nitrog- 
enous fertilizers,  and  that  the  superior  growth  of 
clover  following  applications  of  nitrate  of  soda  on 
acid  soils  is  probably  chiefly  due  to  the  neutralizing 
effect  of  the  soda ;  for  the  plant  probably  does  not 
absorb  nitrate  of  soda  as  such  in  any  considerable 
quantity,  but  by  the  selective  power  of  its  roots 
separates  the  salt  into  its  constituents,  absorbing 
the  nitric  acid  and  leaving  the  soda,  or  most  of  it, 
in  the  soil,  where  it  will  immediately  recombine 
with  other  acids,  thus  neutralizing  their  effect. 
Such  an  hypothesis  would  account  for  the  fact  that 
where  nitrate  of  soda  has  been  given  in  larger  quan- 
tity than  the  cereal  crops  have  been  able  to  utilize 


So  FARM    MANURES 

there  has  been  no  further  increase  in  the  yield  of 
clover. 

The  larger  growth  of  the  cereal  crops  resulting 
from  the  application  of  nitrogenous  fertilizers  has 
left  correspondingly  larger  residues  of  roots  and 
stubble,  which  would  account  for  a  considerable  in- 
crease in  the  clover  crops  following;  but,  as  has 
been  shown  above,  the  difference  between  the  resid- 
ual effect  of  fertilizers  in  which  the  nitrogen  car- 
rier has  been  nitrate  of  soda  and  those  in  which  it 
has  been  sulphate  of  ammonia  or  organic  materials 
has  been  greater  in  the  clover  crop,  on  acid  soils, 
than  on  the  crops  directly  fertilized. 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Composition  of  Manure 

Terminology — The  word  manure  is  derived  from 
the  French  "manceuvrer,"  to  manipulate,  to  work, 
and  in  its  earlier  significance  manuring  meant  both 
tilling  or  working  the  land  and  adding  to  it  mate- 
rials designed  to  increase  its  productiveness.  Even- 
tually the  term  became  restricted  to  its  narrower 
meaning  of  adding  fertilizing  materials,  and  in 
England  manures  are  substances  of  any  kind  used 
for  this  purpose,  whether  the  excreta  of  animals, 
chemical  fertilizers,  or  crops  grown  to  be  turned 
under  without  harvesting.  In  America  we  some- 
times speak  of  such  crops  as  "green  manures,"  but 
with  this  exception  we  limit  the  words  manure  and 
manuring  to  the  excreta  of  animals  and  their  use 
for  soil  enrichment;  the  use  of  chemical  substances 
for  this  purpose  being  expressed  as  "fertilizing."  In 
the  following  pages,  therefore,  "manure"  will  mean 
the  excreta  of  animals — dung  and  urine  with  the 
straw  or  other  material  used  as  the  absorbent; 
"green  manure"  will  mean  crops  grown  to  be 
plowed  down  for  soil  improvement,  and  "fertilizer" 
will  mean  a  chemical  or  manufactured  material  used 
for  the  same  purpose. 

The  food  controls  the  composition  of  manure — 
The  food  of  the  animal  is  the  source  of  its  manure, 

81 


THE   COMPOSITION    OK    MANURE  83 

and  the  composition  of  the  manure  must,  then,  de- 
pend largely  upon  that  of  the  food.  It  is  true  that 
this  composition  may  be  modified  by  the  quantity 
of  water  drunk,  and  that  in  case  of  under  feeding 
the  body  substance  may  be  drawn  upon  to  a  limited 
extent  to  replace  elements  not  sufficiently  abundant 
in  the  food;  but  these  are  factors  of  minor  impor- 
tance. 

The  dung — A  considerable  part  of  the  food,  espe- 
cially the  coarser  portion,  resists  the  digestive  ac- 
tion and  passes  out  unchanged,  except  that  it  is 
ground  to  a  finer  condition  by  mastication,  softened 
by  admixture  with  water  and  digestive  fluids,  and 
with  small  amounts  of  waste  tissue,  cast  ofif  from  the 
linings  of  the  digestive  tract.  This  constitutes  the 
dung,  or  solid  part  of  the  excrement.  The  larger 
portions  of  the  nitrogen  and  potassium  of  the  food 
are  dissolved  out  and  carried  into  the  circulation, 
to  be  excreted  through  the  kidneys ;  hence  the  dung 
is  relatively  poor  in  these  elements,  as  compared 
with  the  total  excrement,  while  the  portion  that  it 
does  contain  is  in  a  comparatively  insoluble  form, 
and  therefore  less  available  to  plants,  being  chiefly 
that  contained  in  the  food  residues  which  have 
resisted  the  action  of  the  digestive  fluids. 

The  urine — The  substances  dissolved  out  of  the  food 
by  the  digestive  process  are  carried  into  the  blood, 
by  which  they  are  conveyed  to  all  parts  of  the  body, 
and  from  which  the  various  tissues  and  organs  ap- 
»propriate  what  is  needed  for  the  maintenance  and 
heat  of  the  body,  for  growth,  and  for  the  renewal  of 


84  FARM    MANURES 

worn-out  tissues.  Such  of  the  dissolved  nitrogen  and 
mineral  elements  of  the  food  as  are  not  thus  appropri- 
ated, together  with  the  waste,  are  excreted  through  the 
kidneys  in  the  urine,  which  thus  carries  off  about  half 
the  nitrogenous  excretions  and  about  three-fifths  of 
the  potassic.  That  a  larger  portion  of  phosphorus  is 
not  excreted  through  the  kidneys  appears  to  be  due 
to  the  fact  that  this  element  chiefly  enters  the  blood 
as  phosphate  of  lime,  which  is  insoluble  in  alkaline 
fluids,  and  the  urine  is  usually  alkaline. 

Relative  production  and  composition  of  dung  and 
urine — In  189 1  the  Cornell  University  experiment 
station  collected  separately  the  dung  and  urine 
from  four  cows  for  24  hours. "^  The  total  produc- 
tion of  dung  was  225  pounds,  and  of  urine  72.25 
pounds.  The  average  live  weight  of  the  cows  was 
1,178  pounds.  Calculated  per  1,000  pounds,  live 
weight,  the  production  was  as  follows : 


DAILY   WEIGHT   OF   EXCRETA 

Average  daily  weight  of  dung,  54-12  pounds 

''         -  urine,  15.33         '' 


Average  daily  total  excrement,  69.45  pounds 

The  dung  and  urine  were  analyzed  and  found  to 
contain  the  following  percentages  of  fertilizing  ele- 
ments : 


♦  Cornell  University  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  27. 


THE   COMPOSITION    OF    MANURE  85 


PERCENTAGES   OF   ELEMENTS   IN    EXCRETA 


In  total 

In  dung 

In  urine 

excrement 

Nitrogen, 

0.26 

1.32 

0.49 

Phosphorus, 

0.123 

.... 

0.097 

Potassium, 

0.166 

0.83 

0.315 

The  daily  excrement  would  therefore  contain  the 
following  quantities  per  1,000  pounds  live-weight: 

POUNDS   OF   ELEMENTS    IN    EXCRETA 


In  total 

In  dung 

In  urine 

excrement 

Nitrogen, 

0.14 

0.203 

0.35 

Phosphorus, 

0.066 

.... 

0.066 

Potassium, 

0.09 

0.128 

0.218 

Value,*  $0,034  $0,038  $0,072 

In  1893  Prof.  Harry  Snyder,  of  the  Minnesota 
experiment  station,!  collected  separately  the  dung 
and  urine  from  cows — weight  not  given — for  five 
days,  with  results  as  below : 

AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF  EXCRETA  FROM   COW 

Average  daily  weight  of  dung,  a  cow,      40.8  pounds 
"       "  urine,     "  22.6 

"  "      total  excrement,    "  63.4 


*  Computing  nitrogen  at  15  cents,  phosphorus  at  11  cents,  and  potassium 
at  6  cents  a  pound. 

t  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  University  of  Minnesota,  Bulletin  26. 


86  FARM   MANURES 

The  analysis  of  the  dung  and  the  urine  showed 
the  following  percentages : 

PERCENTAGES  OF  ELEMENTS  IN  EXCRETA 


In  dung 

In  urine 

Nitrogen, 

0.26 

I.21 

Phosphorus, 

0.194 

0.026 

Potassium, 

0.266 

0.905 

Calculated  per  cow  per   day,   these  percentages 
would  show  the  following  production  (pounds)  : 

DAILY  WEIGHT  OF  ELEMENTS  IN  EXCRETA 


In  total 

In  dung 

In  urine 

excrement 

Nitrogen, 

0.106 

0.273 

0.379 

Phosphorus, 

0.079 

0.059 

0.138 

Potassium, 

0.108 

0.205 

0.318 

Value,  $0,031  $0,060  $0,091 

Both  the  quantity  and  the  composition  of  urine 
are  variable,  both  for  the  different  classes  of  ani- 
mals and  for  the  same  animal  under  different  condi- 
tions, being  affected  by  the  character  of  the  food, 
the  water  drunk,  the  external  temperature,  etc.  The 
tables  of  the  Mentzel  u.  von  Lengerke  Landw.  Kal- 
ender  give  the  following  as  the  average  percentage 
composition  of  fresh  urine  from  different  classes  of 
animals : 


THE   COMPOSITION    OF    MANURE  87 

AVERAGE  PERCENTAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  URINE 


Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potass 

From  horses, 

1-5 

0.004 

1.6 

"       cattle. 

I.O 

0.004 

1.6 

"       sheep. 

2.0 

0.004 

2.0 

"       swine. 

0.5 

0.04 

2.0 

The  experiments  above  described  show  that  more 
than  half  the  fertilizing  value  of  the  excrement  of 
dairy  cows  may  be  found  in  the  urine. 

Variation  of  composition — Since  the  manure  is 
derived  from  the  food  consumed,  it  is  evident  that 
its  composition  may  be  materially  modified,  accord- 
ing to  the  character  of  the  food.  The  feeding  of 
highly  nitrogenous  foods,  such  as  bran  and  oil  meal, 
for  example,  will  produce  a  manure  rich  in  nitrogen  ; 
and  as  these  substances,  bran  especially,  also  contain 
a  large  amount  of  phosphorus,  that  element  also  will 
be  found  abundant  in  the  manure. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  ration  be  largely  made 
up  of  such  foodstuffs  as  corn  and  timothy  hay,  it 
will  contain  very  little  surplus  of  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phorus beyond  the  needs  of  the  animal,  and  the 
manure  will  consequently  be  relatively  low  in  these 
elements. 

If  clover  hay  should  replace  timothy,  there  would 
be  an  increase  of  calcium  and  potassium  in  the 
manure,  as  the  percentage  of  these  elements  is  much 
greater  in  clover  than  in  timothy. 

The  age  and  function  of  the  animal  also  affect  the 


88  FARM    MANURES 

composition  of  the  manure.  A  growing  calf,  for 
example,  gaining  say  50  pounds  per  month  in  live 
weight,  will  store  away  3^  to  4  pounds  of  phos- 
phorus annually  in  its  bones  and  other  tissues,  or  as 
much  as  would  be  contained  in  two  tons  of  mixed 
hay ;  and  a  cow,  giving  4,000  pounds  of  milk  a  year, 
would  put  into  the  milk  about  3  1-3  pounds  of  phos- 
phorus ;  while  a  two-year-old  steer,  fattened  in  three 
or  four  months'  feeding,  may  not  appropriate  more 
than  a  fraction  of  a  pound  of  this  element  during 
the  fattening  period,  although  he  may  be  consum- 
ing a  much  larger  quantity  of  phosphorus  in  his 
food  than  is  ordinarily  given  to  the  growing  calf. 

Manure  is  never  entirely  depleted  of  phosphorus — 
It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  extract  all  the  phos- 
phorus from  the  food.  A  portion  passes  through  in 
the  undigested  material,  while  of  that  digested,  a 
considerable  portion  merely  takes  the  place  of  an 
equivalent  quantity  which  is  being  liberated  in  the 
metabolic  processes  and  excreted ;  for  growth  is  not 
simply  a  process  of  building  up ;  the  old  structure  is 
constantly  being  torn  down  to  make  room  for  the 
new.  Hence  a  very  much  larger  quantity  of  each 
of  the  various  elements  must  pass  through  the  body 
than  is  required  for  the  actual  growth  of  the  ani- 
mal. In  this  respect  the  growth  of  the  animal 
organism  differs  radically  from  that  of  the  plant. 

The  possible  differences  in  composition  of  manure 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  analyses,  the  first 
being  of  manure  from  well-fed  dairy  cows,  the  sec- 
ond of  that  from  fattening  steers : 


THE   COMPOSITION    OF    MANURE 


89 


ELEMENTS  IN  MANURE  OF  ANIMALS  VARIOUSLY  FED 

Pounds  a  ton  of  manure 
Nitrogen      Phosphorus     Potassium 
Cow  manure,'  8.88  2.42  11.90 

Steer      "  978  473  9-34 

Both  cows  and  steers  were  being  fed  liberally  with 
corn  meal  and  bran,  but  the  cows  were  consuming  a 
larger  proportion  of  roughage  than  the  steers,  which 
were  being  fed  all  the  concentrates  they  could  con- 
sume. 

The  following  table  gives  the  composition  of  vari- 
ous manures  as  found  by  the  authorities  quoted : 

Table  XXI.     Percentage  Composition  of  Manures 


Kind  of  manure 


HORSE  MANURE 
Fresh  with  straw 


Average . 


70.8 
72.0 
48.7 
60.0 
62.7 
62.8 


Fresh  without  straw. 
From  city  stables*  . . . 

From  open  yard2 

Dung  only3 


COW  manure 

Fresh  with  straw 

•*  "  "4 


Average 

Fresh,  without  straw. . , 


75.8 
69.3 
80.1 
67.3 


0.51 
0.49 
0.49 
0.63 


0.092 
0.163 
0.114 
0.123 


0.73  0.116 
0.57  0.122 


0.47 
0.53 
0.69 
0.45 
0.47 


73.2  0.43 


81.4 
75.2 
71.7 
81.5 
80.1 
78.0 

85.3 

86.8 


0.47  0.141 
0.43  0.128 


0.172 
0.180 
0.295 
0.176 
0.154 
0.140 


Authority 


0.440 
0.747 
0.398 
0.564 
0.647 
0.539 

0.780 
0.420 
0.522 
0.415 
0.183 


Cornell  Exp.  Sta.Bul.  27 
Ohio 


56 
183 


0.351   Ohio 


0.43 
0.49 
0.47 
0.46 

0.53 
0.50 
0.45 


0.132 
0.122 
0.132 
0.131 


0.398 
0.365 
0.398 
0.324 
0.304 
0.358 


0.070  0.299   Conn. 
0.145  0.365    Cornell 
0.114  0.325    N.  J. 


Cornell 
Conn. 


Cornell 
Conn. 


Cornell 


Conn. 
Ohio 


"    27 
Rpt.  1889 

Bui.  27 
Rpt.  1889 
Bui.  183 


"    27 

•♦    56 

Rpt.  1889 

Bui.  183 


Rpt.  1889 
Bui.  27 
(Note) 


90 


FARM    MANURES 


Kind  of  manure 

g 

ft 

a 
.3 

tn 

Authority 

% 
^ 

2 

1 

PL, 

Fresh,  dung  only5 

84.6 

).35 

3.135 

0.170 

N.  J.      Exp. 

Sta.  (Note) 

"           «'         " 

85.0 

[1.36 

0.113 

0.174 

Ohio 

"    Bui,  183 

From  covered  shed 

S2.4 

0.42 

0.088 

0.249 

Conn.        " 

"    Rpt.  1889 

"      open  yard6 

67.0 

0.55 

0.224 

0.705 

Cornell      '^' 

;;    Bui.  27 

Urine  only 

0.32 
0.90 

0.830 
0.558 

Ohio 

"       "     183 

STEER  MANURE 

Fresh  with  straw 

From  cemented  floor? 

80.5 

0.79 

0.313 

0.417 

i<                     a 

II      II       II 

"      earth  floor? 

78.8 

0.73 

0.326 

0.390 

<<                      << 

Untreated 

75.2 
76.0 

0.51 
0.48 

0.162 
0.138 

0.407 
0.393 

.< 

Treated  with  gypsumS 

"     kainitS 

76.2 

0.49 

0.144 

0.585 

11                    << 

"     floatsS 

76.5 

0.53 

0.430 

0.369 

0                     11 

II       II       II 

"           "    acid  phosphates 

77.0 

0.49 

0.285 

0.344 

From  open  3' ard 

Untreated 

83.1 
83.1 

0.35 
0.39 

0.121 
0.131 

0.164 
0.126 

" 

II      11       II 

Treated  with  gypsumS 

"     kainitS 

81.7 

0.33 

0.121 

0.243 

"                     " 

"     floatsS 

81.1 

0.34 

0.340 

0.162 

<<                     .1 

II       II       II 

"           "    acid  phosphates 

82.6 

0.35 

0.235 

0.147 

"                     " 

II       11       11 

MIXED  YARD  MANURE 

Open-yard  manure^ 

77.1 

0.53 

0.150 

0.589 

Conn. 

"     Rpt.  1889 

"       (old)  10... 

54.7 

0.46 

0.317 

0.133 

II        11       11 

"         "           " 

72.3 

0.44 

0.154 

0.469 

Hatch       " 

"     Bui.  70 

Hog  manure 

74.1 

0.84 

0.172 

0.265 

Cornell      " 

"     56 

0.54 

0.290 

0  606 

N.  Y.  State" 

'I'l     ^?}-?, 

••          «'       ■  ■  ■  ■  

0.57 

0.365 

0.307 

Sheep  manure 

Fresh,  without  straw H 

59.5 

0.77 

0.172 

0.490 

Cornell      " 

"     Bui.  56 

Fresh,  with  straw  12 

Ration,  corn,  mixed  hay 

58.4 

1.49 

0.228 

1.115 

Ohio          ]| 

"        "     183 

"     oil  meal"    

65.7 

1.55 

0.235 

1.022 

II        11       1. 

"            "          "         ■'.... 

66.2 

1.56 

0.218 

1.088 

"              " 

II       II       II 

"     stock  food,  hay 

67.9 

1.35 

0.181 

0.974 

" 

II 

Ration,  corn,  oilmeal,  clover 

hay 

62.0 

1.68 

0.259 

1.037 

"             " 

"        "       " 

Ration,    corn,    stock    food, 

clover  hay 

61.8 

1.48 

0.259 

1.014 

"              " 

•1        II       1. 

Ration,  corn,  clover  hay 

61.0 

1.60 

0.254 

1.002 

"              " 

II       11       II 

"            "          "         "   . . .  . 

59.1 

1.70 

0.259 

1.171 

"              " 

II        II       II 

Average  Ohio  tests 

62.8 

1.55 

0.236 

1.052 

HEN  MANURE 

Fresh,  nitrogenous  rationl3  . 

59.7 

0.80 

0.405 

0.266 

N.  Y.  State' 

I'l    Rept-  8 

Fresh,  carbonaceous  rationlS 

55.3 

0.66 

0.317 

0.207 

Fresh  from  capons 

65.0 

1.24 

0.40? 

0.299 

II 

average  sample 

55.0 

1.15 

0.405 

0.373 

N.  J. 

"   Bui.   84 

no  description 

59.0 

1.20 

0.44C 

0.73? 

Mass. 

"     37 

« i        11             11 

52.6 

0.46 

0.304 

0.93C 

"     63 

A  ir  dry 

8.3 

2.13 

0.88? 

0.82  = 

"     Rpt.  8 

"    nitrogenous  ration . 

7.4 

1.81 

0.972 

0.921 

N.  Y.  State' 

11        .1     II 

"      "    carbonaceous  ration 

7.1 

'■" 

0.24  = 

0.838 

" 

THE   COMPOSITION   OF    MANURE  9I 


Notes. 

t.  Manure  without  bedding,  from  10  work  horses  liberally  fed  on  oats 
and  hay. 

2.  After  five  'months'  exposure  in  open  yard.  During  this  time  the 
total  weight  of  manure  was  reduced  by  57  per  cent,  that  of  the  nitrogen  by 
60  per  cent,  that  of  the  phosphorus  by  47  per  cent  and  that  of  the  potassium 
by   76  per  cent. 

3.  Fresh  dung  from  a  horse  fed  daily  with  14  pounds  of  timothy  hay 
and  four  quarts  of  oats  with  cracked  corn.     Somewhat  dried. 

4.  Average  of  four  analyses  of  manure  from  18  cows  bedded  with  cut 
wheat  straw  and  the  drops  sprinkled  with  plaster. 

5.  Average  of   17  analyses  made  1898  to  1906,  inclusive. 

6.  After  six  months'  exposure  in  an  open  yard.  The  total  weight  of 
manure  was  reduced  from  10,000  pounds  to  5,125  pounds,  and  the  nitrogen, 
phosphorus  and  potassium  from  47,  14  and  40  pounds  to  28,  11.5  and  36.5 
pounds  respectively,  or  by  40,   18  and  9  per  cent. 

7.  Manure  treated  during  accumulation  with  floats,  at  the  rate  of  one 
pound  per  steer  per  day. 

8.  The  materials  were  used  for  treatment  at  the  rate  of  40  pounds  per 
ton  of  manure  in  each  case. 

9.  Manure  taken  from  a  heap  containing  the  accumulations  from  young, 
growing  cattle  and  a  few  horses.  A  liberal  quantity  of  bran,  a  few  oats  and 
a  little  corn  meal  with  good  timothy  made  up  the  feed. 

10.  Old  yard  manure  made  by  young  cattle  fed  in  yard  on  hay.  It 
represents  well-rotted  yard  manure  in  its  usual  washed  condition. 

11.  Average  of  six  analyses. 

12.  Average  of  two  analyses  in  each  case  of  manure  made  by  fattening 
lambs. 

13.  Part  of  the  nitrogen  believed  by  the  analyst  to  have  been  lost  in 
drying  the  samples  for  analysis. 


A  large  number  of  analyses  of  manure,  including 
some  of  the  foregoing,  have  been  collected  by  Pro- 
fessor Storer  in  his  "Agriculture  in  Some  of  its  Re- 
lations with  Chemistry."  These  are  averaged  below  : 

PERCENTAGE   COMPOSITION   OF   MANURES 

Percentage  composition : 


Nitro- 

Phos- 

Potas- 

Kind of  manure : 

gen 

phorus 

sium 

Horse  manure,  17  analyses, 

0.59 

0.150 

0.432 

Cattle         -       53 

0.58 

0.123 

0.440 

Yard         "        36 

0.51 

0.145 

0.440 

Sheep         "        II 

0.68 

0.176 

0.622 

THE   COMPOSITION   OF    MANURE 


93 


Computed  in  pounds  per  ton,  the  foregoing  analy- 
ses indicate  the  range  and  average  in  composition 
shown  in  Table  XXII. 

Table  XXII.     Average  Composition  of  Manures 
IN  Pounds  a  Ton. 


Nitrogen 


Phosphorus 


Potassium 


Fresh  manure  with  straw   Range 
Average 

Same  from  cows Range 

Average 

"         "  fattening  steers    Range 

Average 

"         "  sheep Range 

Average 

Manure  from  hogs Range 

Average 

"  "     fowls Range 

Average 

Yard  manure  from  cattle    Range 

Average 

"  "       mixed Range 

Average 


9.8-14.6 

11 
8.6-  9.4 

9 

9.6-15.8 

11 

12.6-34.0 

20 

10.8-16.8 

13 
9.2-24.8 

18 
6.6-  7.8 

7 

8.8-10.6 

9 


1.8-3.2 

2.4 
2.5-2.8 

2.6 
2.7-3.2 

3.0 
3.4-5.2 

3.9 
3.4-7.3 

5.5 
6.1-8.8 

7.6 
2.4-2.6 

2.5 
3.0-6.4 

4.1 


9.0-15.0 

11 
6.0-  8.0 

7 
6.8-  8.3 

8 
9.8-23.4 

14 
5.3-12.1 

8 
4.1-18.6 

8 
2.5-  2.3 

3 
1.7-11.8 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  PRODUCTION  OF  MANURE 

Manure  from  horses — In  1889  the  experiment  sta- 
tion of  Cornell  university  collected  the  manure  from 
a  stable  on  two  successive  Sundays,  the  horses  being 
in  the  stable  all  day  on  that  day  of  the  week;  the 
first  Sunday  from  nine,  the  second  from  eight  horses, 
or  a  total  of  17  horses  for  one  day,  with  the  follow- 
ing result:* 

WEIGHT   OF   HORSE    MANURE 

Total  weight  of  manure  and  bedding,     1,025.5  pounds 
Weight  of  bedding,  68.5 

"       of  excrement,  solid  and  liquid,     975.0         " 
"      of  excrement,  a  horse,  a  day,         56.2        " 
"      manure  and  straw,  a  horse,  a  day,  60.3         " 
The  weight  of  the  horses  is  not  given. 
The  next  year  this  experiment  was  repeated  with 
ten  horses  for  a  period  of  11  days,  including  one. 
Sunday.  The  horses  were  mostly  grade  draft  horses,  of 
about  1,400  pounds  weight,  doing  heavy  work  and 
liberally  fed  on  oats  and  hay.     There  was  secured 
in  the  stables  3,461  pounds  of  clear  excrement,  or 
31.5  pounds  per  horse  per  day — about  three-fifths  of 
the  total  production,  f 


♦Cornell  University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  13. 
tibid.,  Bulletin  27. 

94 


THE   PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE  95 

This  experiment  was  repeated  a  year  later  with 
five  horses,  four  work  horses  and  one  two-year-old 
colt,  the  five  having  a  total  weight  of  6,410  pounds. 
The  food  consisted  of  a  grain  ration  of  12  quarts  of 
a  mixture  of  oats,  corn  meal  and  wheat  bran  with 
hay,  for  the  work  horses,  and  hay  only  for  the  colt, 
the  exact  amount  consumed  not  being  given.  One 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  pounds  of  gypsum  was 
used  on  the  stable  floor,  and  ii2}i  pounds  of  straw 
was  given  for  bedding.  The  total  weight  of  manure 
was  555  pounds,  including  bedding  and  plaster,  or 
48.8  pounds  of  excrement  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight  of  animal  per  day,  excluding  the  bedding  and 
plaster.  The  manure  was  analyzed  and  found  to 
contain  0.49  per  cent  nitrogen,  0.08  per  cent  phos- 
phorus and  0.179  per  cent  potassium.* 

These  experiments  indicate  an  average  produc- 
tion of  manure  by  horses  amounting  to  about  50 
pounds  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight  per  day,  ex- 
clusive of  bedding. 

Manure  from  dairy  cows — In  1891  the  same  sta- 
tion collected  the  manure  for  one  day  from  18  Jersey 
and  Holstein  cows  which  were  consuming  daily  114 
pounds  of  hay,  893  pounds  of  silage,  186  pounds  of 
beets  and  154  pounds  of  a  mixture  of  12  parts  wheat 
bran,  nine  parts  cottonseed  oil  meal,  three  parts 
corn  meal  and  one  part  malt  sprouts.  The  outcome 
is  given  below  if 


i^ 


*Ibid.,  Bulletin  56. 
t  Ibid.,  Bulletin  27. 


96  FARM   MANURES 

DAIRY   COW    MANURE 

Average  weight  of  cows,  1,132  pounds 

Excrement  produced,  1452        " 

"         per  cow,  per  day,  81         " 

"         per  1,000  pounds,  live  weight,  71^     " 

In  1893  this  experiment  was  repeated  on  a  larger 
scale,  18  cows  being  included  in  the  test  for  three 
days,  and  17  for  one  day.* 

The  average  weight  of  the  cows  was  1,125  pounds, 
and  during  the  test  they  consumed  780  pounds  of  hay, 
3,105  pounds  silage,  475  pounds  beets,  275  pounds 
bran,  52  pounds  corn  meal,  171  pounds  cottonseed 
meal  and  612  pounds  straw.  The  cows  produced 
per  day  and  per  1,000  pounds  live  weight  74.2  pounds 
excrement  (excluding  bedding),  found  to  contain 
0.351  pound  nitrogen,  0.108  pound  phosphorus  and 
0.237  pound  potassium.  Somewhat  more  than  60 
per  cent  of  the  fertilizing  elements  in  the  feed  and 
bedding  was  recovered  in  the  manure. 

In  1907  the  Ohio  experiment  station  fed  six  cows 
for  ten  days,  the  average  weight  of  the  cows  being  905 
pounds  .and  the  feed  consisting  of  170  pounds  bran, 
1^577  pounds  corn  silage,  400  pounds  stover,  34 
pounds  hay  and  125  pounds  distiller's  grains,  with 
240  pounds  straw  for  bedding.  The  total  produc- 
tion of  manure  was  3,705  pounds,  or  61^  pounds 
per  cow  per  day,  or  57^  pounds  excrement,  exclud- 
ing bedding.  Calculated  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight,  the  daily  production  of  manure  was  68j4 

*Ibid.,  Bulletin  56. 


THE  PRODUCTION   OF   MANU&fi 


97 


pounds ;  or  that  of  the  excrement  only,  exclusive  of 
bedding,  63.81  pounds.* 

Director  E.  B.  Voorhees,  of  the  New  Jersey  ex- 
periment station,  states  that  the  records  kept  at  the 
Rutgers  college  farm  show  that  the  average  produc- 
tion of  excrement,  unmixed  with  litter,  has 
amounted  to  70  pounds  per  day  for  cows  averaging 
about  1,000  pounds  in  weight. f 

The  above  data,  together  with  those  furnished  by 
the  New  York  and  Minnesota  experiments,  in  which 
the  dung  and  urine  were  separately  collected,  are 
summarized  in  Table  XXIII,  the  bedding  being  ex- 
cluded in  all  cases : 


^y 


Table  XXIII.     Production  of  Manure  by  Dairy 
Cows. 


Station 


N.^  Y.  (Cornell) 

«*            « 
Minnesota .... 
New  Jersey . . . 
Ohio 


Number 
of  cows 
in  test 


Average 

live  weight 

of  cows 


1.178 
1,132 
1,125 

1,666 
90S 


Quantity  of  excrement 
a  day 


Per  cow 


Perl.OOOlbs, 
live-weight 


81.81 
80.71 


63.40 
57.75 


69.45 
71.30 
74.20 
70.00 

63.81 


It  appears  from  the  above  experiments  that  the 
larger  cow  produces  more  manure,  in  proportion 
to  live  weight,  than  the  smaller  one.    The  quantity 


♦  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  183,  p.  201. 
t  Annual  Report  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station,  1901,  p.  141. 


98  FARM    MANURES 

of  manure  is,  of  course,  affected  by  the  total  quan- 
tity of  food  consumed,  and  also  by  the  water  drunk. 

Manure  from  fattening  steers — Forty-eight  grade 
Angus  steer  calves,  bred  in  the  "Panhandle"  of 
Texas,  and  weighing  448  pounds  each  on  the  aver- 
age, were  stabled  at  the  Ohio  experiment  station 
January  i,  1903.  On  May  15,  1904,  24  of  these 
calves  were  turned  on  pasture,  where  they  ran  until 
November  15,  when  they  were  returned  to  the 
stable,  where  the  other  24  had  remained  during  the 
summer.  On  March  15,  1904,  the  cattle  which  had 
been  continuously  stabled  were  withdrawn  from  the 
test,  their  average  weight  being  then  1,216  pounds. 
The  24  which  had  been  pastured  were  fed  until  June 
15,  their  weight  then  averaging  1,083  pounds.  The 
average  weight  of  the  48  cattle,  during  the  period 
when  they  were  stabled,  was  950  pounds.  The  total 
time  they  were  stabled  was  equivalent  to  624  months 
for  one  animal.  During  this  time  they  produced 
699,504  pounds  of  manure,  including  bedding,  or 
almost  350  tons,  equivalent  to  1,120  pounds,  or  a 
little  more  than  one-half  ton  per  animal  per  month, 
\  or  practically  40  pounds  per  day  for  each  thousand 
pounds  of  live  weight.* 

Table  XXIV  gives  the  total  quantities  of  the 
different  kinds  of  feed  consumed  by  these  cattle 
while  stabled  and  the  straw  used  for  bedding;  the 
chemically  dry  substance  in  the  feed  and  bedding, 
and  the  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium  con- 
tained, computed  on  average  analyses. 


*Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  183,  p.  196. 


THE    PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE 


99 


Table  XXIV.  Production  of  Manure  by  Fatten- 
ing Steers  ;  Quantity  of  Feed  and  Bedding,  and 
Fertilizing  Elements  Contained. 


Feed  and  bedding 


Wheat  bran 

Corn  meal 

Linseed  oil  meal .  . 
Dried  beet  pulp  .  . 

Mixed  hay 

Clover  hay 

Com  silage 

Com  stover 

Total  in  feed 

Straw  and  bedding 

Grand  total 


Quantity! 
Pounds 


83,256 
100,121 

25,446 
2.088 

79,093 

12,817 
120,027 

23.707 


107,778 


Dry 

substance 
Pounds 


73,348 
85,103 
23,410 
1,775 
73,008 
10,856 
30,000 
21,336 

318,836 
97.431 

416,267 


Elements  (Pounds) 


Nitrogen 


2,223 

1,822 

1,382 

32 

1,115 

265 

336 

247 

7,422 
636 

8,058 


Phos- 
phorus 


1,059 

308 

186 

1 

94 

21 

58 

30 

1,751 

57 

1,814 


Potas- 
sium 


1,112 

332 

289 

31 

1,018 
234 
368 
275 

3,659 
456 

4,115 


The  increase  in  live  weight  of  the  cattle  while 
stabled  amounted  to  33,492  pounds,  or  105^  pounds 
for  each  hundred  pounds  of  dry  substance  in  the 
feed.  This  increase  is  estimated  to  have  contained 
733  pounds  of  nitrogen,  210  pounds  of  phosphorus 
and  46  pounds  of  potassium,  as  computed  on  the 
basis  of  Lawes  &  Gilbert's  investigations.  The 
Ohio  station's  analyses  of  the  manure  indicate  that 
it  contained  0.496  per  cent  nitrogen,  0.237  per  cent 
phosphorus  and  0.473  P^^  ^^^t  potassium,  or  9.92, 
4.74  and  9.46  pounds,  respectively,  per  ton,  thus  show- 
ing a  total  recovery  in  the  manure  of  3,472  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  or  46  per  cent  of  that  given  in  the  feed 
and  bedding;  1,659  pounds  of  phosphorus,  or  92  per 
cent,  and  3,311  pounds  of  potassium,  or  81  per  cent. 


100  FARM    MANURES 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  investigations  it  seems 
probable  that  the  actual  recovery  of  nitrogen  was 
much  greater  than  that  indicated  above,  a  part  of 
the  nitrogen  having  been  lost  in  the  analysis  through 
the  methods  employed. 

Valuing  nitrogen  at  15  cents,  phosphorus  at  7 
cents,  and  potassium  at  6^  cents  per  pound,  the 
manure  in  this  experiment  would  have  a  total  value 
of  $902,  or  $2.57  per  ton,  a  value  which  the  field 
experiments  of  the  same  station  have  shown  to  be  quite 
possible  to  realize,  when  the  manure  is  properly  used. 

Feeding  on  earth  or  cement  floors — This  experi- 
ment was  followed  the  next  year  by  another,'''  in 
which  58  grade  Hereford  and  Shorthorn  steers  were 
fed  from  December  i,  1904,  to  June  i,  1905 — 182 
days.  These  steers  were  fed  in  two  divisions — one 
of  28  head,  which  were  fed  on  a  cemented  floor;  and 
one  of  30  head,  which  were  fed  on  an  earth  floor, 
which  had  been  packed  by  several  years*  use. 

Table  XXV  shows  the  quantities  of  different  feeds 
consumed  by  each  division  during  this  test,  with 
the  amounts  of  dry  substance  and  nitrogen,  phos- 
phorus and  potassium  contained,  as  computed  on 
average  analyses.  In  both  cases  the  stables  were 
dusted  occasionally  with  the  finely  powdered  phos- 
phate rock,  known  as  floats,  using  a  little  less  than 
a  pound  per  animal  per  day.  The  total  quantity 
thus  used  is  given  in  the  table.  The  manure  was 
allowed  to  accumulate  for  several  weeks  at  a  time, 
when  it  was  weighed  out. 


*  Ibid.,  p.  197, 


THE  PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE 


lOI 


The  28  steers  fed  on  the  cemented  floor  produced 
a  total  of  255,203  pounds  of  manure,  including  bed- 
ding and  floats,  or  50  pounds  each  per  day,  equiva- 
lent to  47^  pounds  per  day  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight,  the  steers  weighing    on    the    average    874 


Table  XXV. 
iNG  Steers. 
Contained. 


Production  of  Manure  by  Fatten- 

QUANTITY   OF    FeEDS   AND    ELEMENTS 


Feeds 


Total 
quantity 
Pounds 


Dry 

substance 

Pounds 


Elements  contained  (Pounds) 


Nitrogen 


Phosphor-      Potas 


28  steers  on  cement  floor 


Wheat  bran 

Corn  meal 

Linseed  oilmeal  .  . 
Cottonseed  oilmeal 

Corn  silage 

Corn  stover 

Mixed  hay 

Total  feed 

Straw 

Floats 

Total 


9,448 
48,128 

5,593 

5,097 
63,231 

4,896 
31,814 


39,033 
4,753 


8,324 
40,909 

5,083 

4,685 
15,808 

4,406 
26.946 

106,161 
35,131 


141,292 


252.3 
875.9 
304.0 
346.1 
177.0 
50.9 
448.6 

2454.8 
230.3 


2,685.1 


120.1 
148.2 
40.9 
64.6 
30.6 
6.2 
37.8 

448.4 

20.6 

564.6 

,033.6 


126.2 

159.8 
63.7 
36.8 

194.2 
56.8 

409.3 

1,046.8 
165.2 


30  steers  on  earth  floor 


Wheat  bran 

Corn  meal 

Linseed  oilmeal  .  . 
Cottonseed  oilmeal 

Com  silage 

Corn  stover 

Mixed  hay 

Total  feed 

Straw 

Floats 

Total 


2,325 

2,048 

62.1 

29.6 

53,654 

45.606 

976.5 

165.3 

6,695 

6.079 

363.5 

48.9 

6,125 

5.622 

415.9 

77.6 

54.355 

13.588 

152.2 

26.1 

3,440 

3.096 

35.8 

4.4 

36,986 

31,318 

521.5 

44.0 

107,357 

2,527.5 

395.9 

38,762 

34,886 

228.7 

20.5 

4.720 





560.7 

.... 

142,243 

2,756.2 

977.1 

31.0 
178.1 

76.1 

44.2 
166.9 

40.0 
475.8 

1012.1 
164.1 


1.176.2 


102 


FARM    MANURES 


pounds  when  the  test  began  and  1,230  pounds  at  the 
close,  making  a  gain  of  one  pound  for  every  10.65 
pounds  of  dry  substance  in  the  feed. 

From  the  30  steers  fed  on  the  earth  floor  there 
was  weighed  out  236,399  pounds  of  manure,  or  43.3 
pounds  per  steer  per  day,  or  41.3  pounds  per  day  per 
1,000  pounds  average  live  weight,  the  steers  averag- 
ing 867  pounds  each  at  the  beginning  and  1,227  3-t 


Table  XXVI.  Percentage  Composition  of  Manure. 


Constituents 


Water 

Ash 

Organic  matter   

Nitrogen  total 

Nitrogen  water-soluble  .  . 

Phosphorus  total 

Phosphorus  water-soluble 

Potassium  total 

Potassium  water-soluble . 


A— On 

B — On 

A  more  (-f-) 

cement 

'or  less  (-) 

floor 

thanB 

80.526 

78.786 

+1.740 

3.006 

3.597 

-0.591 

16.467 

17.619 

-1.152 

0.786 

0.727 

+0.059 

0.498 

0.427 

+0.071 

0.313 

0.326 

+0.013 

0.089 

0.074 

+0.015 

0.417 

0.390 

+0.027 

0.363 

0.334 

+0.029 

the  close  of  the  test,  the  gain  being  one  pound  for 
9.9  pounds  dry  substance  in  the  feed.  Thus  there 
was  a  loss  of  six  pounds  of  manure  per  head  per 
day  on  the  earth  floor  as  compared  with  that  col- 
lected on  the  cement  floor,  presumably  due  .to  the 
seepage  of  urine,  and  amounting  to  half  a  ton  per 
steer,  or  15  tons  for  the  30  steers  during  the  six 
months  of  the  test. 

Excluding  the  floats,  the  steers  fed  on  the 
cemented  floor  produced  1,772  pounds  of  manure  for 
1,000  pounds  of  dry  substance  in  the  feed  and  bed- 
ding, and  those  on  the  earth  floor,  1,628  pounds. 


THE   PRODUCTION   OF   MANURE  IO3 

Four  analyses  were  made  of  the  manure  produced 
on  the  cemented  floor,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
station  chemist.  Prof.  J.  W.  Ames,  and  five  of  that 
on  the  earth  floor,  which  indicated  the  composition 
shown  in  Table  XXVI. 

The  table  shows  more  water  and  less  ash  and 
organic  matter  in  the  manure  from  the  cemented 
floor;  more  nitrogen  and  potassium,  both  total  and 
water  soluble,  and  less  total  phosphorus,  but  more 
water-soluble  phosphorus. 

In  April,  1907,  these  stables  were  again  filled  with 
63  grade  steers,*  21  of  which  were  fed  on  the 
cemented  floor  and  42  on  the  earth  floor,  but  no 
separate  record  was  kept  of  the  manure  production 
on  the  two  floors.  The  steers  averaged  1,089  pounds 
each  at  the  beginning  of  the  test,  and  1,234  pounds 
at  .its  close,  60  days  later.  They  consumed  feeds 
and  bedding  containing  a  total  of  110,627  pounds 
of  dry  substance,  and  produced  178,740  pounds  of 
manure,  equivalent  to  1,615  pounds  of  manure  to 
1,000  pounds  of  dry  substance  in  feed  and  bedding, 
or  49.37  pounds  manure  per  steer  per  day,  or  42.52 
pounds  manure  per  day  per  1,000  pounds  live 
weight. 

Hogs  following  steers — In  February,  1907,  42 
steers,  in  six  lots  of  seven  steers  each,  were  placed 
in  this  stable, t  on  the  earth  floor,  and  were  fed  until 
July  20th,  150^^  days. 

The  steers  were  confined  to  their  pens  throughout 


*  Ibid.,  p.  200. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  224. 


104  FARM    MANURES 

the  test,  being  watered  in  the  pens.  In  each  pen 
were  kept  three  shoats,  which  had  no  other  feed 
than  the  droppings  of  the  steers,  except  that  one  lot 
received  tankage  in  addition,  the  total  quantity  of 
tankage  fed  amounting  to  135  pounds. 

Three  of  the  lots  of  steers  received  corn  silage, 
two  years  old,  as  part  of  their  ration,  while  the  other 
three  lots  were  fed  corn  stover  instead  of  silage. 

The  silage-fed  steers  averaged  1,111.3  pounds  in 
live  weight  during  the  experiment,  and  the  dry-fed 
steers  1,101. 1  pounds. 

The  feed  consumed  daily  by  the  silage-fed  steers 
is  estimated  to  have  contained  2^  pounds  of  dry  sub- 
stance per  thousand  pounds  live  weight,  and  that 
by  the  dry-fed  steers,  25.7  pounds. 

The  silage-fed  steers  received  bedding  to  the 
amount  of  9.69  pounds  daily  per  thousand  pounds 
live  weight,  and  the  dry-fed  steers  to  the  amount  of 
9.47  pounds,  these  amounts  being  two  or  three 
pounds  greater  than  for  the  bedding  used  in  previ- 
ous experiments.  All  the  pens  were  dusted  with 
floats  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  per  steer  per  day. 

The  total  manure  taken  from  the  silage-fed  lots 
amounted  to  174,805  pounds,  and  that  from  the  dry- 
fed  lots,  to  206,320  pounds.  The  production  of  total 
manure,  including  bedding  and  floats,  was  therefore 
57.8  pounds  per  day  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight 
for  the  silage-fed  steers  and  65.3  pounds  for  the  dry- 
fed  steers. 

Excluding  bedding  and  floats,  the  average  daily 
production  of  excrement  was  47.2  pounds  per  day 


THE   PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE  IO5 

per  thousand  pounds  live  weight  of  steers  for  the 
silage-fed  lots  and  54-5  POunds  for  the  dry-fed  lots. 
This  production  of  excrement,  it  will  be  observed, 
is  considerably  greater  per  thousand  pounds  live 
weight  than  that  found  in  the  previous  experiments. 
The  increase  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  steers  were 
kept  constantly  in  the  stable,  and  to  the  presence  of 
the  pigs.  It  is  true  that  the  pigs  merely  worked 
over  material  that  would  otherwise  have  gone  into 
the  manure,  with  the  trifling  exception  above  noted, 
but  they  added  to  this  material  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  water. 

The  average  total  weight  of  the  nine  pigs  follow- 
ing the  silage-fed  cattle  amounted  to  i,i88  pounds, 
and  that  of  those  following  the  dry-fed  steers,  to 
1,270  pounds.  Adding  their  weight  to  those  of  the 
steers,  the  average  production  of  excrement  for  the 
3ilage-fed  lots  was  41.5  pounds  per  day  per  thousand 
pounds  live  weight,  and  that  for  the  dry-fed  lots  was 
7.7  pounds. 

The  larger  production  of  manure  by  the  dry-fed 
steers  was  due  to  a  larger  consumption  of  feed. 
These  steers  had  a  larger  proportion  of  roughage  m 
their  ration,  and  consumed  daily  2.7  pounds  more 
dry  substance  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight  than 
the  silage-fed  steers. 

The  data  for  these  tests  in  steer  feeding  are  sum- 
marized in  Table  XXVIl . 

The  table  shows  a  recovery  of  excrement  amount- 
ing to  nearly  two  pounds  for  each  pound  of  dry 
•substance  in  the  feed  on  the  cemented  floor,  and  to 


io6 


FARM    MANURES 


about  1.75  pound  on  the  earth  floor,  where  there 
were  no  pigs  following  the  cattle.  Where  the  pigs 
were  added  the  recovery  on  the  earth  floor  has  been 
practically  the  same  as  that  on  the  cemented  floor 
without  them. 

Manure  from  sheep — Bulletin   183    of    the    Ohio 
station  reports  the  production  of  manure   in   two 

Table  XXVII.     Production   of   Manure  by   Fat- 
tening Steers — Summary. 


Average 

weight  of 

steers 

Pounds 

Daily  weight  excrement 
(Pounds) 

No.  steers 
in  test 

Per  1,000 

pounds 
live  weight 

Per  1,000 

pounds  dry 

substance 

in  feed 

Kind  of  floor 

48 
28 
30 
63 
20 
21 

950 
1,052 
1,047 
1,161 
1,111 
1,101 

34.2 
38.9 
34.2 
35.2 
41.5 
47.7 

1,856 
1,991 
1,797 
1,700 
1,843 
1,925 

Cement 

Cement 

Earth 

Earth  and  cement 

Earth 

Earth 

co-operative  experiments  in  the  feeding  of  western 
range  lambs.  In  the  first  experiment,  made  during 
the  winter  of  1905-6,  160  lambs  were  fed  over  a 
period  of  112  days.  The  lambs  were  fed  in  lots  of 
40  each  on  an  earth  floor,  and  the  manure  was 
trampled  under  foot  with  the  bedding,  being  re- 
moved once  during  the  course  of  the  experiment  and 
again  at  its  close.  The  average  weight  of  the  lambs 
during  the  test  was  84  pounds,  and  there  was  a 
total  production  of  49,895  pounds  of  manure,  includ- 


THE   PRODUCTION   OF    MANURE  lOj 

ing  4,950  pounds  of  bedding.     The  lambs  received 
the  following  quantities  of  feeds  and  bedding: 

FEED  AND  BEDDING  USED  BY  FLOCK  OF  LAMBS 


Corn, 

20,057  pounds 

Cottonseed  oil  meal, 

905 

Linseed  oil  meal, 

905 

Clover  hay. 

11,110         '' 

Mixed  alfalfa  and  bluegrass  hay, 

15,826 

Oat  straw. 

3,020 

Of  the  hay,  1,933  pounds  was  rejected,  and  was 
returned  to  the  pens  as  bedding,  together  with  the 
straw,  which  was  chiefly  oat  straw. 

The  nitrogen  was  determined  in  the  hays  and 
eight  analyses  were  made  of  the  manure.  On  the 
basis  of  these  determinations  and  of  average  anal- 
yses for  the  other  feeding  stuffs  the  following  bal- 
ance sheet  is  computed : 

AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF  ELEMENTS  IN   FEED,   BEDDING  AND 
MANURE 


Pounds  nitrogen  in  feed  and  bedding, 

1,150 

phosphorus     " 

137 

potassium      " 

538 

"        nitrogen  recovered  in  manure, 

743 

"        phosphorus     " 

108 

"        potassium      " 

525 

Per  cent  nitrogen          ''           ^         " 

64 

phosphorus     "'         "         " 

79 

potassium      " 

97 

I08  FARM    MANURES 

The  total  manure  amounted  to  33.15  pounds  per  day 
per  1,000  pounds  live  weight  of  animal,  or  to  29.86 
pounds  of  excrement,  excluding  bedding. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  the  following  win- 
ter, with  176  lambs,  which  were  fed  Ii5j4  days, 
during  which  they  averaged  62^  pounds  in  live  weight. 
They  consumed  feed  and  bedding  as  follows : 

FEED  AND  BEDDING  USED  BY  FLOCK  OF  LAMBS 


Corn, 

21,917  pounds 

Linseed  oil  meal, 

930     " 

Clover  hay. 

23.3 1 5 

Wheat  straw. 

3,060     " 

Of  the  hay,  1,888  pounds  was  rejected,  and  was 
used  for  bedding.  The  feeds  were  not  analyzed,  but 
eight  analyses  were  made  of  the  manure  as  before. 
Assuming  average  composition  for  the  feeds  and 
bedding  and  taking  the  station  analyses  of  the 
manure,  the  outcome  of  this  test  was  as  below : 


AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF 

ELEMENTS  IN   FEED, 

BEDDING  AND 

MANURE 

Pounds 

nitrogen    in 

feed  and  bedding, 

950 

(( 

phosphorus 

(<        a          (( 

115 

(( 

potassium 

a              ((                 (< 

521 

(( 

nitrogen  recovered  in  manure. 

681 

(( 

phosphorus 

a                 a            a 

109 

(( 

potassium 

<(                 ((            << 

450 

Per  cent  nitrogen 

a                  ((             (( 

72 

« 

phosphorus 

i(                  a             if 

95 

(( 

potassium 

a                  a             a 

86 

THE    PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE  ICQ 

While  it  is  probable  that  an  exact  analysis  of  all 
the  feed  and  bedding  would  have  shown  a  larger 
quantity  of  the  fertilizing  elements  than  has  been 
assumed  in  the  above  computations,  thus  reducing 
the  percentage  recovery,  yet  those  accustomed  to 
feeding  sheep  after  the  method  employed  in  these 
tests  will  readily  agree  that  such  feeding  involves 
the  smallest  possible  loss  of  the  manurial  elements 
of  the  feeds,  as  the  smaller  quantities  in  which  the 
urine  is  voided  by  sheep  permits  a  more  thorough 
absorption  by  the  bedding  than  is  practicable  in  the 
feeding  of  larger  animals. 

Manure  from  pigs — The  Cornell  University  ex- 
periment station  fed  three  lots  of  grade  Poland- 
China  pigs,*  three  pigs  in  each  lot,  for  one  week  on 
galvanized  iron  pans,  collecting  all  the  excrement. 
The  pigs  received  the  following  quantities  of  feed : 

FEEDS   CONSUMED   BY    PIGS    ( POUNDS) 

Skim  milk,  4i3-00 

Corn  meal,  128.29 

Wheat  bran,  4.57 

Linseed  meal,  6.86 

Meat  scraps,  61.76 

The  pigs  weighed  134  pounds  each  on  the  aver- 
age, and  produced  a  total  of  803.5  pounds  of  ex- 
crement, or  85.6  pounds  per  day  per  1,000  pounds 
live  weight  of  animal.  The  percentage  composition 
of  the  manure  was  : 


i^ 


*  Cornell  University  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  56. 


no 


FARM    MANURES 


ELEMENTS  IN   PIG   MANURE:   PERCENT 

Nitrogen,  0.84 

Phosphorus,  0.172 

Potassium,  0.266 

This  composition  would  indicate  a  value  per  ton 
of  $2.71.  There  was  no  doubt  a  larger  quantity  of 
manure  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  the  pigs  had 
had  dry  feed  only,  instead  of  milk,  and  it  was  higher 
in  nitrogen  because  of  the  large  amount  of  nitrogen 
contained  in  the  meat  scraps. 

Table  XXVIII  shows  the  estimated  quantities  of 
fertilizing  elements  given  in  the  feed  and  recovered 
in  the  manure  in  this  test. 


Table  XXVIII.     Recovery     of     Manurial     Ele- 
ments IN  Pig  Feeding. 


Weight  of  various  elements  (Pounds) 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

10.761 
8.028 

74.6 

2.266 
1.597 

70.5 

1.274 

1.103 

86.6 

Manure  from  hens — In  1888  the  New  York  state 
experiment  station*  made  a  series  of  experiments  on 
the  production  and  composition  of  hen  manure.  In 
one  of  these  experiments  two  pens,  No.  6  and  No. 
7,  containing  13  to  16  laying  hens  each,  about  evenly 
divided  between  the  larger  and  the  smaller  breeds, 


*  N.  Y.  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  8th  Annual  Report. 


THE    PRODUCTION    OF    MANURE  III 

were  fed  for  ten  months,  pen  No.  6  receiving  a  more 
nitrogenous  ration  than  No.  7.  The  weight  of 
manure  collected  from  the  roost  platforms  was  at 
the  rate  of  13.4  pounds  per  hen  per  year,  equivalent 
to  33.3  pounds  of  fresh  manure,  for  pen  No.  6,  and  of 
13  pounds,  equivalent  to  29  pounds  fresh  manure, 
from  pen  No.  7. 

In  another  experiment  two  pens  of  fowls,  12  in 
each,  one  pen  of  cockerels  and  one  of  capons,  were 
fed  for  fattening.  The  cockerels  produced  manure 
at  the  rate  of  42.8  pounds  of  fresh  manure  per  year 
per  fowl,  and  the  capons  at  the  rate  of  43.6  pounds, 
while  on  the  roosts,  thus  indicating  a  total  annual 
production  per  fowl  of  70  to  80  pounds,  as  probably 
at  least  as  much  manure  is  dropped  through  the  day 
as  while  on  the  roosts. 

The  composition  of  these  manures  is  given  in 
Table  XXI,  together  with  that  of  samples  analyzed 
by  other  stations,  but  for  which  no  data  of  produc- 
tion are  given. 

In  its  fresh  state  hen  manure  contains  55  to  65 
per  cent  of  moisture,  so  that  it  is  relatively  drier 
than  the  excrement  of  quadrupeds.  Moreover,  it  is 
in  such  physical  condition  that  it  loses  moisture 
readily,  and  thus  soon  comes  to  the  air-dry  state, 
which  is  practically  the  only  form  in  which  it  is 
used. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  VALUE  OF  MANURE 

The  Rothamsted  experiments — The  longest  con- 
tinued experiments  in  the  use  of  manures  and  fer- 
tilizers in  the  world  are  those  of  the  Rothamsted 
experiment  station,  in  England,  which  were  begun 
in  1843  3.nd  are  still  in  progress.  In  one  of  these  ex- 
periments wheat  has  been  grown  continuously  on 
the  same  land,  in  ^'Broadbalk  Field,"  either  without 
any  manure  or  fertilizer,  or  with  various  combina- 
tions of  fertilizing  chemicals,  or  with  barnyard 
manure.  The  field  contains  about  eleven  acres  and 
is  subdivided  into  half-acre  plots. 

Previous  to  1843  the  land  had  been  cropped  in  a 
five-course  rotation.  The  latest  manuring  was  in 
1839,  ^^^  the  first  experimental  crop  of  wheat,  har- 
vested in  1844,  yielded  but  15  bushels  per  acre  on 
the  unmanured  land,  although  the  season  was  one 
of  more  than  average  yield  in  general.* 

In  this  experiment  plot  2  has  received  manure 
at  the  rate  of  14  long  tons,  equivalent  to  15^  short 
tons,  or  31,366  pounds,  per  acre  every  year  since  the 
beginning  of  the  test,  and  plot  3  has  been  con- 
tinuously unmanured  for  the  same  period.  After  the 
first  eight  years  a  change  was  made  in  the  fertili- 
zing of  the  other  plots  in  the  test,  but  beginning 


*  The  Book  of  the  Rothamsted  Experiments,  by  A.  D.  Hall. 
112 


THE  VALUE  OF   MANURE  II3 

with  the  crop  of  1852  plot  6  has  received  per  acre 
every  year  a  dressing  made  up  of  200  pounds  of 
ammonia  salts,  containing  43  pounds  of  nitrogen, 
392  pounds  of  superphosphate  (or  acid  phosphate, 
as  it  is  called  in  America),  200  pounds  of  sulphate 
of  potash  and  100  pounds  each  of  the  sulphates  of 
soda  and  magnesia,  a  total  of  nearly  1,000  pounds 
per  acre.  Omitting  the  sulphates  of  soda  and  mag- 
nesia as  probably  unnecessary,  the  other  materials 
w^ould  cost,  at  present  prices  in  this  country,  about 
$15.25,  of  v^hich  $7.30  v^rould  go  for  nitrogen  in  the 
ammonia  salts. 

On  plot  7  the  same  mineral  substances  have 
been  used,  in  combination  with  400  pounds  of  am- 
monia salts,  thus  raising  the  cost  to  $22.55,  ^^^  on 
plot  8  the  same  minerals  again,  with  600  pounds 
of  ammonia  salts,  at  a  total  cost  of  $29.85  per  acre 
annually. 

Both  the  manure  and  the  fertilizers  have  been 
used  in  excessive  quantities  in  this  test,  the  object 
being  primarily  to  study  the  feeding  habits  of  the 
wheat  plant,  and  only  incidentally  to  obtain  a  guide 
to  the  use  of  fertilizers  and  manures;  but  the  test 
is  not  without  its  value  from  the  practical  as  well 
as  from  the  scientific  standpoint. 

In  Table  XXIX  the  results  of  this  test  are  ar- 
ranged in  six  periods,  the  first  of  eight  years  pre- 
liminary to  the  final  organization  of  the  test,  the 
others  of  ten  years  each. 

The  table  shows  that  there  was  a  general  depres- 
sion in  yield  during  the  period  1872  to  1881,  a  de- 


114 


FARM    MANURES 


pression  which  was  due  to  a  series  of  unfavorable 
seasons.  Eliminating  this  period,  we  see  that  the 
unfertilized  yield  fell  slowly  for  30  years,  after 
which  it  remained  practically  stationary. 

Table  XXIX.     Average  Yield  of  Wheat  in  Broad- 
balk  Field  in  Bushels  an  Acre,  by  Periods. 


Treatment 

Period 

Plot  3 

Plot  2 

Plot  6 

Plot  7 

Plot  8 

200  pounds 

400  pounds 

600  pounds 

14  tons 

ammonia 

ammonia 

ammonia 

None 

manure 

salts  with 

salts  with 

salts  with 

minerals 

minerals 

minerals 

1844-51 

17.2 

28.0 

1852-61 

15.9 

34.2 

27.2 

34.7 

36.1 

1862-71 

14.5 

37.5 

25.7 

35.9 

40.5 

1872-81 

10.4 

28.7 

19.1 

26.9 

31.2 

1882-91 

12.6 

38.2 

24.5 

35.0 

38.4 

1892-01 

12.5 

39.2 

23.1 

31.8 

38.5 

50  years 

1852-1901 

13.1 

35.6 

23.9 

32.9 

36.9 

The  manured  yield  has  arisen  steadily  from  the 
beginning  of  the  experiment,  the  increase  from  the 
manure  rising  from  10.8  bushels  per  acre  during  the 
first  eight  years  to  26.7  bushels  during  the  last  10 
years,  averaging  22.5  bushels  for  the  50-year  period 
1852  to  1901,  an  increase  of  1.44  bushel  of  wheat 
for  each  ton  of  manure. 

The  yield  on  plot  6,  receiving  200  pounds  of  am- 
monia salts  with  minerals,  has  steadily  diminished, 
ending  the  50-year  period  with  a  lo-year  average  of 
23  bushels,  or  16  bushels  per  acre  less  than  that 
given  by  the  manure  for  the  same  period.    The  50- 


THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE  II5 

year  average  increase  for  this  application  has  been 
10.8  bushels  per  acre,  or  0.71  bushel  for  each  dollar's 
v^orth  of  fertilizers  at  present  valuations. 

On  plot  7,  with  its  larger  application  of  a 
highly  nitrogenous  fertilizer,  the  yield  stood,  for  the 
first  lo-year  period  after  the  beginning  of  the  appli- 
cation, at  a  point  slightly  above  that  given  by  the 
manure  during  the  same  period ;  but  during  the  four 
succeeding  periods  the  yield  on  this  plot  has  re- 
mained below  that  on  the  manured  plot,  finally  end- 
ing the  50-year  period  more  than  seven  bushels 
under  it.  The  average  increase  on  this  plot  for  the 
50  years  has  been  19.8  bushels  per  acre,  or  0.88 
bushel  for  each  dollar's  worth  of  fertilizers. 

On  plot  8,  with  a  still  larger  dressing  of  am- 
monia salts,  the  yield  for  40  years  was  a  little  higher 
than  on  the  manured  land,  but  here  also  the  yield 
has  dropped  below  the  manured  yield  for  the  last  10 
years.  The  average  increase  on  this  plot  for  the  50- 
year  period  has  been  23.8  bushels  per  acre,  or  0.80 
bushel  for  each  dollar's  worth  of  fertilizers,  thus 
showing  that  the  point  of  greatest  net  effectiveness 
in  fertilizing  lies  somewhere  between  the  applica- 
tions given  to  plots  7  and  8. 

The  dressing  on  plot  8  has  carried  annually 
about  129  pounds  of  nitrogen,  28  pounds  of  phos- 
phorus and  83  pounds  of  potassium,  while  the 
manure  applied  to  plot  2  is  estimated  by  Direc- 
tor Hall  to  have  carried  each  year  about  200  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  34  pounds  of  phosphorus  and  195 
pounds  of  potassium.    If  we  were  to  rate  these  ele- 


Il6  FARM    MANURES 

ments  at  the  same  prices  at  which  they  are  com- 
puted in  the  chemicals,  the  value  of  15^  short  tons 
of  manure  applied  annually  would  amount  to  $50, 
or  more  than  $3.00  per  ton,  and  the  increase  would 
average  0.45  bushel  of  wheat  for  each  dollar's  worth 
of  manurial  chemicals. 

Such  a  comparison  is  manifestly  unfair  to  the 
manure,  both  because  the  manure  has  evidently  car- 
ried far  larger  quantities  of  fertilizing  elements  than 
the  crops  could  utilize,  and  because  these  elements 
must  necessarily  exist  in  a  less  readily  available 
condition  in  the  manure  than  in  the  chemicals;  but 
taking  the  results  as  they  stand,  the  immediate 
effect  from  the  manure  has  been  about  60  per  cent 
of  that  from  the  combination  of  chemicals  most 
nearly  comparable  with  the  manure — that  used  on 
plot  8. 

Valuing  wheat  at  80  cents  per  bushel  and  straw 
at  $2  per  ton,  the  manure  used  in  this  test  has  pro- 
duced increase  to  the  value  of  $1.45  per  ton  of  2,000 
pounds. 

The  fact  that  the  manure  has  carried  to  the  soil 
much  larger  quantities  of  fertilizing  elements  than 
have  been  removed  by  the  crops  would  lead  us  to 
expect  a  considerably  greater  residual  effect  from 
the  manure  than  from  the  chemicals,  were  manur- 
ing and  fertilizing  to  be  discontinued — an  expecta- 
tion which  these  experiments  justify,  as  will  be 
shown  later. 

Experiments  on  barley — In  another  of  the  Roth- 
amsted  experiments,   conducted   in   "Hoos   Field," 


THE  VALUE  OF    MANURE  II7 

barley  has  been  grown  continuously  since  1852,  both 
with  and  without  manure  and  fertilizers.  In  this 
experiment,  also,  the  manure  has  been  used  at  the 
same  rate  of  14  long  tons  per  acre,  but  the  most 
effective  chemical  fertilizer  has  been  made  up  of 
200  pounds  of  ammonia  salts  and  392  pounds  of 
superphosphate  without  any  potash.  This  applica- 
tion has  produced  a  50-year  average  increase  of  28.6 
bushels  per  acre,  raising  the  total  yield  to  43.9  bush- 
els ;  and  while  the  manure  has  produced  an  increase 
of  32.4  bushels,  it  is  evident  that  it  has  been  used 
in  quantity  far  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  crop  to 
utilize  it. 

Residual  effect  of  manure — The  most  interesting 
feature  of  this  experiment  is  that  after  20  years  the 
manuring  was  discontinued  on  one-half  of  the 
manured  plot,  and  this  half  has  been  left  without 
any  manure  or  fertilizer  since.  The  result  has  been 
that  at  the  end  of  the  50-year  period,  or  thirty  years 
after  the  manuring  had  been  discontinued,  this  land 
was  still  yielding  twice  as  much  barley  as  the  con- 
tinuously unmanured  land.  The  course  of  this  ex- 
periment is  illustrated  by  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram, compiled  from  Director  Hall's  "Book  of  the 
Rothamsted  Experiments." 

In  this  diagram  the  upper  heavy  line  shows  the 
yield  of  the  continuously  manured  plot,  No.  7,  by 
lo-year  periods.  At  the  end  of  20  years  this  plot 
was  divided  into  7-1,  on  which  the  manuring  was 
discontinued,  and  7-2,  still  manured  as  before.  The 
diagram  shows  that  there  was  a  rapid  falling  off  in 


ii8 


FARM    MANURES 


the  yield  of  plot  7-1  during  the  first  five  years,  but 
after  that  its  yield  has  fallen  much  more  slowly, 
maintaining  an  average  about  twice  that  of  the  land 
which  has  had  no  manure — plot  i-o — during  the  50 
years  of  the  test. 

Diagram  I.  Barley  in  Hogs  Field,  Rothamsted. 
Average  Yield  of  Grain  Per  Acre,  for  Succes- 
sive 10- Year  Periods,  1852-1901,  Inclusive. 


10  years 
1852- 1S61 

10  years 
1862-1871 

10  years 
1872-1881 

10  years 
1S82-1891 

10  years 
1892-1901 

BUSHELS 
PERACRE 

50 

1 

<0 
30 

s 

1 

20 

10 

7-2 


7'/ 


1-0 


Plot   7-2,  manured   continuously;   Plot   7-1,  manured   first  20   years,   manur- 
ing then  discontinued;   Plot   1-0,  continuously  unmanured. 


Evanescent  effect  of  chemicals — In  striking  con- 
trast with  this  outcome  is  that  of  another  experi- 
ment in  Broadbalk  Field,  in  which  two  plots  receive 
one  season  400  pounds  of  ammonia  salts  and  the 
next  season  600  pounds  of  a  mixture  of  superphos- 
phate and  the  sulphates  of  potash,  soda  and  mag- 
nesia, the  plots  being  alternately  fertilized — the  one 
receiving  the  ammonia  salts  while  the  other  receives 


THE   VALUE    OF    MANURE  1 19 

the  minerals,  and  vice  versa.  The  result  has  been 
a  50-year  average  production,  for  the  years  v^hen 
the  ammonia, salts  were  applied,  of  30.4  bushels  per 
acre,  against  15.3  bushels  for  the  years  v^hen  the 
minerals  only  were  given,  the  unfertilized  yield  aver- 
aging 13. 1  bushels,  thus  illustrating  the  paramount 
influence  of  nitrogen  in  producing  increase  of  crop 
in  this  continuously  grown  wheat,  and  also  showing 
the  evanescent  effect  of  the  nitrogen  carried  in  chem- 
icals, as  compared  with  that  carried  in  manure. 

It  is  true  that  phosphorus  and  potassium  have  been 
relatively  less  effective  on  the  wheat  in  Broadbalk 
Field  than  on  the  barley  in  Hoos  Field,  as  the  50- 
year  .average  increase  of  wheat  from  fertilizers  car- 
rying these  elements,  but  no  nitrogen,  has  been  less 
than  two  bushels  per  acre,  whereas  the  increase  of 
barley  from  similar  fertilizers  has  been  five  bushels. 
Yet,  after  making  full  allowance  on  this  score,  it  is 
evident  that  the  effect  of  manure,  while  not  so  im- 
mediate as  that  of  chemicals,  is  much  more  perma- 
nent. 

Excessive  quantities  of  manure  and  fertilizers — 
In  these  English  experiments  both  manure  and 
chemicals  have  been  applied  in  quantities  contain- 
ing much  more  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium 
than  the  entire  crops  have  carried  away,  conse- 
quently there  has  been  a  waste  of  fertilizer,  so  far 
as  the  immediate  needs  of  the  crops  were  concerned, 
for  in  addition  to  the  reinforcements  of  such  mate- 
rials, carried  in  the  manure  and  chemicals,  the  soil 
itself  has  been  able  to  furnish  a  considerable  quan- 


I20  FARM    MANURES 

tity  of  plant  food,  as  shown  by  the  unfertilized 
yields,  that  of  wheat  having  remained  practically  sta- 
tionary at  about  12  bushels  per  acre  during  the  last 
30  years  of  the  test. 

The  Woburn  experiments — Next  to  the  Rotham- 
sted  experiments,  the  longest  continued  field  experi- 
ments in  the  world  are  those  of  the  Woburn  experi- 
ment station,  on  the  estate  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford. 
These  experiments  were  begun  in  1877,  ^^^  ^^^  ^s 
one  of  their  objects  the  study  on  a  soil  of  different 
type  of  some  of  the  problems  suggested  by  the  Roth- 
amsted  experiments,  the  soil  at  Woburn  being  more 
sandy  and  containing  less  lime  than  that  at  Rotham- 
sted.  In  one  of  these  experiments,  in  which  wheat 
and  barley  are  grown  continuously,  plot  11  has  re- 
ceived annually  a  quantity  of  manure  produced  by 
steers  fed  a  fattening  ration,  and  described  as  "well- 
rotted,  cake-fed  dung."*  The  manure  has  been  esti- 
mated to  contain  200  pounds  of  ammonia  (equiva- 
lent to  164  pounds  of  nitrogen)  per  acre.  In  the 
earlier  years  of  the  test  the  quantity  of  manure  was 
reported  at  eight  (long)  tons  per  acre,  but  in  the 
summary  of  the  first  20  years'  results,  above  referred 
to.  Dr.  Voelcker  states  that  the  average  application 
has  been  about  seven  tons  per  acre,  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  nearly  eight  tons  of  2,000  pounds  each. 

After  five  years  this  plot  was  subdivided,  the 
manuring  being  discontinued  on  ii-a,  but  remaining 
as  before  on  ii-b. 


*  Journal  Royal  Agriculture  Society  of  England,  8,  282. 


THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE 


121 


The  outcome  of  this  test  is  shown  in  Diagram 
II,  which  represents  the  total  yield  for  each  lo-year 
period  of  the  continuously  unmanured  land  (plot 
o)  ;  of  the  land  manured  for  five  years,  after  which 
the  manuring  was  discontinued  (plot  ii-a)  ;  of  the 
continuously  manured  land  (plot  ii-b)  ;  and  of  plot 
6,  receiving  each  year  a  chemical  fertilizer  com- 
posed of  392  pounds  of  superphosphate,  200  pounds 
of  sulphate  of  potash,  100  pounds  each  of  the  sul- 

DiAGRAM  II.  Wheat  and  Barley  at  Woburn. 
Average  Yield  of  Grain  per  Acre  for  Successive 
Ten-Year  Periods,  1877-1906,  Inclusive. 


WHEAT 
10  years        10  vears  10  vearR 

1877-1886      1887-1896       189'7-1906 


10  vears        10  yeara         10  years 
1877-1886     1887-1896      1897-1906 


6 

lib 


fta 
O 


i    ^ 

lla 
0 

—^ 

POUNDS 

PER 

ACRE 


20,000 
15,000 
10,000 
5,000 


Plot  6,  chemical  fertilizer;  Plot  lib,  manured  continuously;  Plot  lla, 
manured  first  5  years,  manuring  then  discontinued.  Plot  O,  continu- 
ously unmanured. 

phates  of  soda  and  magnesia,  and  260  pounds  of 
nitrate  of  soda  per  acre. 

The  diagram  shows  that  during  the  first  lo-year 
period  the  chemical  fertilizer  produced  a  much 
larger  yield  than  the  manure;  the  second  period 
shows  a  slightly  larger  gain  from  the  fertilizer  than 
from  the  manure,  but  the  difference  is  much  less 
conspicuous  than  at  first;  the  final  period  shows  a 


122  FARM    MANURES 

practically  equal  yield  of  wheat  from  both  applica- 
tions, and  a  slightly  larger  yield  of  barley  from 
the  manure.  In  all  cases  there  has  been  a  consider- 
able reduction  in  yield,  showing  that  neither  fer- 
tilizer nor  manure,  in  the  quantities  here  employed, 
has  been  able  to  maintain  the  yield  of  these  crops 
when  grown  continuously,  but  the  reduction  on  the 
fertilized  land  has  been  much  greater  than  on  that 
receiving  manure. 

Residual  effect  of  manure  at  Woburn — Consider- 
ing now  the  land  which  has  received  manure  only  dur- 
ing the  first  five  years  of  the  30-year  period,  we  see  that 
its  yield  remains  much  greater  than  that  of  the  contin- 
uously unmanured  land,  up  to  the  end  of  the  period. 

It  is  probable  that  the  land  received  for  each 
crop  (wheat  and  barley),  about  40  tons  of  manure, 
of  2,000  pounds  each,  during  the  five  years  of  appli- 
cation. This  produced  a  total  increase  of  crop,  for 
the  first  ten  years,  amounting  to  24  bushels  of  wheat 
and  126  bushels  of  barley.  For  the  next  10  years 
the  residual  increase  from  this  manuring  was  46 
bushels  of  wheat  and  124  bushels  of  barley,  and  for 
the  last  10  years  it  was  45  bushels  of  wheat  and  95 
bushels  of  barley,  so  that  the  total  increase  from 
the  application  of  40  tons  of  manure  to  wheat  has 
amounted  to  115  bushels,  and  that  from  the  same 
quantity  of  manure  given  to  barley,  to  295  bushels, 
while  it  is  evident  that  the  end  of  the  eft'ect  of  the 
manure  is  not  yet  reached. 

The  Pennsylvania  experiments — At  Pennsyl- 
vania   State    College    experiments    in    the    use    of 


THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE 


123 


manures  and  fertilizers  were  begun  in  1882.  In  these 
experiments  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  clover  are  grown 
in  a  four-course  rotation,  each  crop  being  grown 
every  season.  Three  quantities  of  yard  manure  are 
used,  six,  eight  and  10  tons  per  acre,  in  comparison 
with  chemical  fertilizers  carrying  24,  48,  and  72 
pounds  of  nitrogen  per  acre,  combined  with  21 
pounds  of  phosphorus  and  83  pounds  of  potassium. 
The  nitrogen  is  carried  in  dried  blood  to  one  series 
of  plots,  in  nitrate  of  soda  to  another,  and  in  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  to  a  third.    Both  manure  and  fer- 


Table  XXX.  Thirty- Year  Average  Yield  and  In- 
crease AT  the  Pennsylvania  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. 


Aver- 
age 
unfer- 

Applied an  acre  during  each  rotation 

Fertilizers  containing 

Manure  at  the  rate  of 

tiliz- 
ed 

yield 
per 
acre 

Crop 

48 

lbs. 

nitro- 

96 

lbs. 
nitro- 

144 

lbs. 
nitro- 

12 

tons 

16 

tons 

20 

tons 

gen 

gen 

gen 

Increase  an  acre 

Com,  bushels  grain  .  .  . 
"      pounds  stover.  . . 

38.8 
1,898 

13.9 
1,021 

16.1 
1,102 

17.0 
1,109 

16.4 
792 

13.6 
641 

17.5 
915 

Oats,  bushels  grain 

"     pounds  straw  .... 

31.5 
1,342 

9.0 
393 

10.5 
514 

10.3 
564 

7.9 
520 

9.6 
602 

9.7 
606 

Wheat,  bushels  grain .  . 
pounds  straw  . . 

13.5 
1,264 

8.7 
1,124 

10.9 
1,552 

12.2 
1,763 

9.8 
1.095 

10.6 
1,363 

11.3 

1,372 

Clover,  pounds  hay  .  .  • 

2,608 

1,544 

1,603 

1,620 

1,348 

1,595 

1.600 

Total  value  of  increase, 
(grain  and  hay  only) 

§24.14 

$28.44 

$30.12 

$24.96 

$25.73 

$28.24 

124  FARM    MANURES 

tilizers  are  applied  twice  during  each  rotation — 
to  the  corn  and  wheat. 

The  results  of  this  work  for  the  first  25  years  are 
given  in  Bulletin  90  of  Pennsylvania  State  Col- 
lege experiment  station,  and  for  the  next  five  years 
in  a  supplement  published  in  191 1,  from  which  the 
following  comparisons  are  drawn : 

In  Table  XXX  is  shown  the  30-year  average  yield 
of  the  unfertilized  crops  grown  in  this  experiment, 
with  the  average  increase  produced  by  fertilizers 
carrying  different  quantities  of  nitrogen  and  by  dif- 
ferent applications  of  manure,  together  with  the 
value  of  this  increase,  reckoned  as  in  previous  com- 
putations of  this  kind. 

The  increase  given  for  each  quantity  of  nitrogen 
is  the  average  for  two  plots,  one  receiving  its  nitro- 
gen in  dried  blood  and  one  in  nitrate  of  soda.  A 
third  series  of  plots  receives  nitrogen  in  sulphate  of 
ammonia,  but  this  carrier  has  produced  an  injuri- 
ous effect  on  the  crop  when  used  in  the  larger  quan- 
tities. 

The  table  shows  that  the  three  applications  of  fer- 
tilizers and  manures  have  produced  nearly  the  same 
total  increase ;  but  the  dressings  of  manure  have  car- 
ried more  than  twice  as  much  nitrogen  as  the  fer- 
tilizers, although  the  manure  has  contained  only 
about  four-fifths  as  much  phosphorus  and  a  little 
more  than  half  as  much  potassium  as  the  fertilizer. 
It  seems  probable  that  the  low  yield  of  corn  under 
the  medium  application  of  manure  has  been  due  to 
some  other  cause  than  effect  of  the  manure. 


THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE  I25 

Valuing  corn  at  40  cents  per  bushel,  oats  at  30 
cents,  wheat  at  80  cents,  hay  at  $8  per  ton,  stover  at 
$3  and  straw  at  $2,*  we  find  that  the  30-year  average 
increase  from  12  tons  of  manure,  6  tons  each  on  corn 
and  wheat,  has  had  a  total  value  of  $24.96,  or  $2.08 
per  ton  of  manure  ;  that  from  16  tons,  8  tons  each  on 
corn  and  wheat,  has  amounted  to  $25.73,  or  $1.61 
per  ton  of  manure;  and  that  from  20  tons,  10  tons 
each  on  corn  and  wheat,  has  amounted  to  $28.24,  or 
$1.41  per  ton  of  manure. 

The  application  of  chemical  fertilizers  carrying  24 
pounds  of  nitrogen  would  cost  $21.80;  that  contain- 
ing 48  pounds,  $29.00;  and  that  containing  ^2 
pounds,  $36.20  for  each  rotation.  The  value  of  the 
increase  from  the  fertilizers  containing  the  smallest 
amount  of  nitrogen  has  been  $24.14;  that  from  the 
medium  quantity,  $28.44;  and  that  from  the  largest 
$30.12;  or  $1.11,  98  cents  and  84  cents  for  each 
dollar  expended  in  fertilizers. 

The  total  recovery  of  fertilizing  elements  has  been 
nearly  as  great  on  the  manured  land  as  on  that 
treated  with  fertilizers ;  but  the  percentage  recovery 
has  varied  with  the  amount  given  in  the  carrier. 

*The  Bureau  of  Statistics,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  estimates  the  aver- 
age t  arm  pnces  of  the  different  crops  for  the  10  years,  1900-1909,  as  follows, 
for  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania : 

Ohio  Pennsylvania 

Com 48  cents  a  bushel  59  cents  a  bushel 

Oats 36     "      "       "  42     '*       "      " 

Wheat 86     "      "       "  87     "      "      " 

Hay $10.06  a  ton  $13.45  a  ton 

The  prices  used  in  computing  this  and  subsequent  tables  are  therefore 
sutticiently  low  to  leave  an  ample  margin  for  cost  of  harvesting  the  additional 
crops  produced  by  the  fertilizers  or  manure,  and  also  for  the  labor  cost  of  ap- 
plying the  fertilizers.  No  attempt  is  made  to  compute  the  cost  of  the  manure, 
as  that  will  vary  with  every  farm  and  with  different  fields  on  the  same  farm 


126  FARM   MANURES 

That  is,  the  crops  grown  in  this  rotation  have  been 
able  to  obtain  a  large  part  of  their  nitrogen  from 
other  sources  than  fertilizers  or  manure,  so  that  the 
proportion  of  nitrogen  to  phosphorus  and  potassium 
in  the  manure  has  been  relatively  greater  than  could 
be  used  vv^ith  economy,  thus  suggesting  that  manure 
should  be  looked  upon  primarily  as  a  carrier  of  nitro- 
gen, and  that,  considering  the  relatively  great  cost 
of  this  element  in  commercial  fertilizers,  it  should 
be  the  policy  to  so  care  for  the  home  supply  of 
manure  as  to  conserve  its  nitrogen  to  the  utmost 
extent  possible,  and  then  to  reinforce  it  v^ith  phos- 
phorus and  potassium. 

The  Ohio  experiments — In  the  experiments  with 
fertilizers  and  manures  conducted  at  the  Ohio  sta- 
tion on  crops  grown  in  rotation,  plot  i8  of  the  five- 
year  rotation  has  received  per  acre  i6  tons  of  open- 
yard  manure  every  five  years,  eight  tons  each  on 
corn  and  wheat,  and  plot  20  half  that  quantity, 
while  plot  14  has  received  a  chemical  ferti- 
lizer, made  up  of  nitrate  of  soda,  dried  blood,  muri- 
ate of  potash  and  acid  phosphate,  calculated  to  carry 
per  acre  about  51  pounds  of  nitrogen,  15  pounds  of 
phosphorus  and  75  pounds  of  potassium.  This  dress- 
ing is  likewise  distributed  over  the  corn  and  wheat 
only,  leaving  the  oats,  clover  and  timothy  without 
any  treatment. 

The  smaller  application  of  manure  is  estimated  to 
have  carried  about  j6  pounds  of  nitrogen,  10  of 
phosphorus  and  56  of  potassium  per  acre.  Valuing 
these  elements  as  before,  the  quantity  carried   in 


THE   VALUE  OF    MANURE 


127 


the  manure  would  have  cost  $2.06  per  ton,  or  $16.50 
per  acre  if  purchased  in  chemicals,  while  the  chem- 
ical fertilizers  applied  to  plot  14  would  cost,  at  the 
same  rate  of  prices,  $14.80  per  acre  for  each  rota- 
tion. The  increase  on  plot  14  has  amounted  to  an 
average  value  of  $30.59  per  acre  for  each  rotation 
during  the  first  18  years  of  the  experiment ;  that  on 
plot  18  to  $39.32,  and  that  on  plot  20  to  $25.34.*  In 
other  words,  a  dollar  invested  in  chemicals  has 
brought  increase  to  the  value  of  $2.07  on  plot  14, 
while  yard  manure,  carrying  fertilizing  constituents 
which  would  have  cost  $1.00  if  purchased  in  chem- 
icals, has  produced  increase  to  the  value  of  $1.19 
on  plot  18,  and  $1.53  on  plot  20,  thus  indicating  an 
effectiveness  for  the  constituents  of  yard  manure  of 
57  per  cent  and  74  per  cent  of  that  of  the  same  con- 
stituents in  the  chemicals. 

This  experiment  is  being  duplicated  on  the 
Strongsville  test  farm  of  the  Ohio  station,  the  soil 
of  which  is  a  cold,  heavy  clay,  much  less  responsive 
to  treatment  than  that  of  the  main  station  at  Woos- 

Table  XXXI.     Comparative    Effect    of    Manure 
AND  Fertilizers  at  Strongsville. 


Plot 

Treatment 

Value  of 

increase  a 

rotation 

14 

$19.31 

18 

"Varri  mnniirp    1  6  tnns      

22.59 

20 

"           ♦'            3  tons                 

13.38 

*Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Circular  120, 


128  FARM    MANURES 

ter.  The  experiment  has  been  in  progress  since 
1895,  and  the  following  results  have  been  obtained 
as  the  average  for  the  first  17  years,  plots  of  the 
same  number  receiving  the  same  treatment  in  both 
tests  : 

A  dollar  in  chemicals  has  here  produced  increase  to 
the  value  of  $1.30,  while  manure  of  equivalent  chemical 
value  has  produced  increase  to  the  value  of  68  cents  in 
the  larger,  and  80  cents  in  the  smaller  application,  these 
sums  being  52  and  62  per  cent  respectively  of  the  in- 
crease produced  by  an  equivalent  quantity  of  chem- 
icals on  plot  14. 

This  manure,  be  it  remembered,  in  both  tests  was 
open  barnyard  manure ;  that  given  to  the  corn  hav- 
ing been  subjected  to  the  washing  occurring  in  an 
ordinary  barnyard  for  several  winter  months  be- 
fore being  applied  to  the  crop,  and  that  given  to  the 
wheat  having  suffered  the  additional  loss  incident 
to  further  exposure  during  the  spring  and  summer 
months.  By  such  treatment  the  manure  is  deprived 
of  the  more  soluble,  and  therefore  more  immedi- 
ately effective  portions  of  its  constituents. 

Fresh  vs.  yard  manure — In  another  experiment  at 
the  Ohio  station  cattle  manure,  taken  directly  from 
the  stable,  is  compared  with  manure  from  cattle 
similarly  fed,  but  which  has  lain  in  an  open  barn- 
yard through  the  winter  and  has  thus  been  sub- 
jected to  considerable  leaching.  Both  kinds  of  ma- 
nure are  spread  on  clover  sod  and  plowed  under  for 
corn,  the  corn  being  followed  by  wheat  and  clover 
in  a  three-year  rotation  without  any  further  manur- 


THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE  129 

ing    or    fertilizing.      The    manure    is    used    at    the 
uniform  rate  of  8  tons  per  acre. 

Several  analyses  have  been  made  of  the  manures 
used  in  this  experiment,  from  w^hich  the  following 
figures  are  deduced  as  representing  the  approximate 
average  composition  and  value  per  ton,  computing 
nitrogen  at  15  cents  per  pound,  phosphorus  at  11 
cents  and  potassium  at  6  cents,*  these  valuations  being 
employed  .as  representing  the  approximate  cost  of  the 
different  elements  in  tankage,  bonemeal  and  muriate 
of  potash,  wheiT  purchased  in  carloads. 

VALUE    OF    ELEMENTS    IN    MANURE 


Yard 

Stall 

manure 

manure 

Nitrogen,  pounds  a  ton. 

9.5 

10.5 

Phosphorus  *'       "    " 

2.0 

3-0 

Potassium      ''       "    " 

7.0 

lO.O 

Value  a  ton, 

$2.06 

$2.50 

This  experiment  has  been  in  progress  for  15  years, 
and  the  increase  produced  by  the  yard  manure  has 
had  an  average  value  of  $2.55  for  each  ton  of  manure, 
and  that  by  the  stall  manure  of  $3.31  per  ton.  Reck- 
oned on  the  basis  of  market  value  of  the  chemical 
constituents,  one  dollar's  worth  of  such  constituents 
has  produced  increase  to  the  value  of  $1.24  when 
carried  in  yard  manure,  and  of  $1.32  when  in  stall 
manure. 


*  Equivalent  to  12.3  cents  per  pound  for  ammonia,  4.84  cents  for  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  4  92  cents  for  potash. 


130 


FARM    MANURES 


•  Reinforcement  of  manure — On  two  other  plots  in 
this  test  the  two  kinds  of  manure  are  treated  with 
acid  phosphate,  which  is  mixed  with  the  manure  at 
the  rate  of  40  pounds  per  ton  of  manure  a  short 
time  before  spreading  it  in  the  spring,  thus  raising 
the  chemical  value  of  the  manure  to  $2.38  per  ton 
for  the  yard  manure,  and  $2.82  for  the  stall  manure. 
The  increase  of  crop,  however,  has  been  raised  to  a 
value  of  $4.10  per  ton  of  manure  for  the  yard, 
and  to  $4.82  for  the  stall  manure,  thus  giving  a 
value  of  $1.72  for  each  dollar  represented  in  the 
chemicals  contained  in  the  ton  of  treated  yard  man- 
ure, and  $1.71  for  the  similarly  treated  stall  manure. 
Comparing  this  outcome  with  that  found  on  plot 
14,  in  the  five-year  rotation  at  Wooster,  the  in- 
crease on  which  has  amounted  to  $2.07  for  each 
dollar's  worth  of  chemicals  in  the  fertilizer,  we  see 
that  when  manure  is  used  in  moderate  quantity  and 
so  reinforced  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  needs  of  the  soil 
to  which  it  is  applied,  it  may  yield  returns  very 
closely  approximating  those    given    by    the    most 

Table  XXXII.     Cumulative    Effect    of    Manure 
AND  Fertilizers. 


Treatment 

Average  value  of  increase  an 
acre  by  five-year  periods 

Plot 

First 
5  years 

Second 
5  years 

Third 
5  years 

14 
18 

Chemical  fertilizer,  740  pounds .  .  . 

$21.37 
19.82 
13.02 

$32.91 
34.24 
21.28 

$37.33 
55.94 

20 

8  tons 

35.36 

THE   VALUE   OF    MANURE  I3I 

effective  chemical  combinations,  pound  for  pound, 
of  the  elements  carried,  the  immediate  effective- 
ness of  this  reinforced  manure  being  about  85  per 
cent  of  that  of  the  chemical  fertilizer. 

The  claim  is  sometimes  made  that  manure  pos- 
sesses a  greater  value  than  would  be  indicated  by  its 
chemical  composition,  in  the  physical  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  soil  and  in  favoring  the  distribution 
and  work  of  the  nitrif3nng  bacteria,  but  the  experi- 
ments above  quoted  would  seem  not  to  support  this 
claim.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  cumulative 
effect  of  the  manure  is  increasing  more  rapidly  than 
that  of  the  fertilizers,  as  shown  in  Table  XXXII,  a 
comparison  of  the  average  annual  value  of  the  in- 
crease per  acre  by  five-year  periods  in  the  five-year 
rotation  at  Wooster. 

This  study  of  the  comparative  effectiveness  of 
manure  and  chemicals  leads  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  chief  function  of  these  substances  is  that  of  car- 
rying to  the  plant  the  elements  necessary  for  its  growth 
in  such  form  that  it  may  most  readily  make  use  of 
them;  and  that  the  efficiency  of  a  plant  nutrient, 
whether  in  the  form  of  chemicals  or  manure,  is  pro- 
portionate to  the  solubility  of  its  constituents  and 
to  their  relationship  to  the  constitution  of  the  plant 
and  to  each  other. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  WASTE  OF  MANURE 

Losses  in  the  stable — The  experiments  quoted  on 
page  85  show  that,  in  the  case  of  dairy  cows  at 
least,  more  than  half  the  total  value  of  the  manure 
is  found  in  the  urine,  and  it  is  probable  that  cow 
manure  is  not  exceptional  in  this  respect.  It  is 
therefore  evident  that  when  the  stable  floor  is  so 
constructed  as  to  permit  the  liquid  to  escape  through 
open  cracks  to  the  ground  below,  a  very  large  part 
of  its  fertilizing  value  may  be  lost. 

The  Ohio  experiment  station  replaced  a  plank 
floor,  through  which  the  liquid  had  been  permitted 
to  escape,  with  a  cemented  floor  from  which  the 
liquid  was  conducted  to  a  cistern.  In  this  cistern 
there  was  collected  from  30  cows  in  125  days  24,000 
pounds  of  liquid,  Avhich  was  found  to  contain  0.64 
per  cent  of  nitrogen  and  0.925  per  cent  of  potassium, 
or  a  total  of  155  pounds  of  nitrogen  and  222  pounds 
of  potassium,  representing  a  total  value  of  at  least 
$36,  at  the  current  cost  of  these  elements  in  com- 
mercial fertilizers. 

In  this  case  the  cows  were  well  bedded  with 
straw,  which  absorbed  part  of  the  liquid.  The  ma- 
jority of  stable  floors,  however,  are  the  ground  itself, 
sometimes  carefully  puddled  with  clay,  but  more 
often  left  with  such  compacting  as  it  gets  from  the 

132 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE 


133 


animals  standing  on  it.  Many  farmers  assume  that 
very  little  loss  can  occur  on  such  a  floor,  but  the 
experiment  quoted  on  page  100  indicates  that  such 
losses  may  amount  to  more  than  is  suspected. 

The  data  given  in  Chapter  VI  show  that  when 
manure  is  properly  reinforced  and  handled  without 
waste,  either  from  exposure  or  from  using  it  in 
larger  quantity  than  the  crop   can  utilize,  it  is   a 

Table  XXXIII.  Value  of  Manure  Produced  in 
Six  Months  by  One  Steer  Averaging  1,000 
Pounds  Live  Weight. 


Constituents 


Nitrogen 

Phosphorus  . . 
Potassium    . . 

Total  manure 

Value  a  ton .  . 


On  cemented  floor 


Pounds 


67.2 
26.8 
35.6 

8,550 


Value 


$7.56 
2.21 
1.60 

11.37 

2.66 


On  earth  floor 


Pounds  Value 


54.0 
24.2 
29.0 

7,434 


$6.07 
2.00 
1.30 

9.37 

2.52 


conservative  estimate  to  rate  the  potential  crop- 
producing  value  of  its  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and 
potassium  at  75  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the  same  ele- 
ments when  purchased  in  nitrate  of  soda,  acid  phos- 
phate and  muriate  of  potash.  On  this  basis  Table 
XXXIII  has  been  computed  from  the  data  given  in 
Tables  XXV  and  XXVI,  calculating  the  total  value 
on  the  average  production  of  manure  per  thousand 
pounds  live  weight. 


134  FARM    MANURES 

Deducting  the  floats,  the  cost  of  which  for  the  six 
months  was  64  cents  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight 
for  the  steers  on  the  cemented  floor,  and  60  cents  for 
those  on  the  earth  floor,  the  total  value  of  the 
manure  was  $10.73  ^or  the  thousand-pound  steer  on 
the  cemented  floor,  and  ^S.yy  for  the  steer  of  equiv- 
alent weight  fed  on  the  earth  floor. 

Reference  to  the  table  giving  the  feed  statistics 
will  show  that  the  steer  fed  on  the  earth  floor 
received  less  food  than  the  one  on  the  cemented 
floor.  This  point,  however,  does  not  affect  the  fol- 
lowing statement,  which  shows  the  total  quantity 
of  nitrogen,  phosphorus  and  potassium  contained  in 
the  feed,  bedding  and  floats,  for  each  lot  of  steers ; 
the  quantity  recovered  in  the  manure,  and  the  per- 
centage which  this  recovery  bears  to  the  original 
amount : 

ELEMENTS  GIVEN   IN   FEED  AND  RECOVERED   IN   MANURE 
ON  CEMENTED  AND  EARTH  FLOORS 


On  cemented 

On  earth 

floor 

floor 

Nitrogen  in  feed,  etc.,  pounds,        2,685 

2,756 

"  manure,          "              2,006 

1719 

"        per  cent  recovered,             74.7 

62.4 

Phosphorus  in  feed,  etc.,  pounds,   1,033 

977 

"            "  manure,         ''             799 

771 

"           per  cent  recovered,        77.5 

78.9 

Potassium  in  feed,  etc.,  pounds,     1,212 

1,176 

"  manure,         "           1,064 

922 

"         per  cent  recovered,         87.8 

78.4 

THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE  I35 

The  percentage  recovery  of  phosphorus  was  as 
large  on  the  earth  as  on  the  cemented  floor,  as  would 
be  expected  from  the  fact  that  this  element  is  voided 
in  the  solid  portion  of  the  excrement,  but  the  recov- 
ery of  nitrogen  and  potassium  was  considerably 
smaller  on  the  earth  floor.  Had  the  proportionate 
recovery  of  these  elements  been  as  great  on  the 
earth  as  on  the  cemented  floor,  the  manure  taken 
from  the  earth  floor  would  have  contained  339 
pounds  more  nitrogen  and  103  pounds  more  potas- 
sium than  it  did,  thus  having  a  total  value  greater 
by  $50  than  that  actually  recovered. 

The  cattle  fed  in  these  experiments  had  been  de- 
horned, and  they  v^^ere  fed  in  lots  of  six  to  eight 
steers  each,  running  loose  in  stables  which  gave  to 
each  steer  about  50  square  feet  of  space. 

The  cemented  floor  had  been  made  by  the 
ordinary  labor  of  the  farm,  and  at  a  total  cost  of 
about  6  cents  per  square  foot,  so  that  more  than  half 
the  cost  of  the  floor  was  recovered  in  the  superior 
value  of  the  manure  made  upon  it  during  the  six 
months. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  discussion  of  this 
experiment  the  comparisons  are  based  on  the 
assumption  that  the  fertilizing  elements  of  the 
manure,  as  taken  from  the  two  floors,  were  in  an 
equally  available  condition.  The  station's  analyses, 
however,  show  that  this  was  not  the  case,  there 
being  a  greater  loss  on  the  earth  floor  of  the  water- 
soluble  portions  of  the  different  constituents,  as 
shown  on  the  following  page : 


136  FARM    MANURES 


POUNDS  OF  WATER-SOLUBLE  ELEMENTS  A  TON  OF 
MANURE 


Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

On  earth  floor, 

8.54 

1.48 

6.69 

On  cement  floor, 

9.96 

1.80 

7.25 

Losses  in  the  feed  lot — Throughout  the  corn-belt 
states  it  is  the  custom  to  feed  cattle  in  open  lots, 
often  around  straw  stacks,  the  manure  being 
trampled  under  foot  and  mixed  with  straw  and  corn- 
stalks. This  method  unquestionably  involves  the 
loss  of  a  very  large  part  of  the  value  of  manure 
through  the  leaching  action  of  the  rain.  The  fact 
that  no  stream  of  brown  liquid  is  seen  running  from 
the  feed  lot  is  no  evidence  that  this  loss  is  not  tak- 
ing place,  for  the  mulch  of  manure  and  litter  is  just 
what  is  needed  to  keep  the  ground  beneath  in  con- 
dition to  absorb  the  liquid,  whether  from  manure  or 
from  rainfall. 

We  see  the  showers  falling  on  the  plowed  fields 
and  do  not  think  it  strange  that  the  water  is  at  once 
absorbed  by  the  loose  earth,  but  the  ground  under 
the  feeding  yard  is  in  as  good  a  condition  to  absorb 
the  water  as  in  the  field,  and  the  accumulating  heap 
of  manure  and  litter  serves  as  a  sponge  to  receive 
and  hold  the  excess  of  moisture  until  the  ground 
below  can  dispose  of  it. 

Loss  from  heating — The  prevention  of  the  waste 
which  manure  undergoes  by  drainage  through  loose 
stable  floors  or  from  barnyards  is  a  simple  physical 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE  1 37 

problem  which  requires  for  solution  only  the 
mechanical  methods  of  tight  floors  and  shelter  from 
excess  of  rain;  but  the  loss  which  results  from  the 
chemico-vital  processes  by  which  the  nitrogen  of 
the  manure  is  converted  into  ammonia  gas  is  not  so 
easily  prevented. 

For  the  manure  heap  is  at  once  occupied  by  organ- 
isms similar  to  those  by  which  the  organic  matter 
of  the  soil  is  reduced  to  humus,  and  if  left  un- 
checked their  work  eventually  results  in  the  con- 
version of  the  heap  into  a  small  quantity  of  ash. 

Bacteria  of  the  manure  heap — Two  general  classes 
of  organisms  are  concerned  in  this  work — the  one 
living  near  the  surface  where  air  circulates,  and  the 
other  limited  to  the  lower  and  more  compact  por- 
tions of  the  heap.  The  fermentation  produced  by 
the  first  class  is  known  as  aerobic,  and  that  by  the 
second  class  as  anaerobic.  In  aerobic  fermentation 
much  heat  is  evolved,  the  carbon  of  the  matter  un- 
dergoing decay  is  united  with  oxygen  and  is  given 
off  as  carbon  dioxide  (carbonic  acid  gas),  while  its 
nitrogen,  liberated  from  its  combinations  with  car- 
bon, is  recombined  with  hydrogen  derived  from  the 
moisture  of  the  heap  and  passes  off  as  ammonia 
gas,  or  there  may  be  a  combination  of  this  gas  with 
carbon  dioxide,  forming  ammonium  carbonate, 
which  also  is  volatile. 

When  the  manure  heap  contains  a  considerable 
portion  of  soluble  nitrogen  compounds,  as  when  it 
contains  the  urine  as  well  as  the  solid  excreta,  there 
may  be  a  direct  conversion  of  these  compounds  into 


138  FARM    MANURES 

nitric  acid,  by  combination  with  atmospheric  oxy- 
gen, which  will  sink  to  the  lower  portions  of  the 
heap,  to  serve  there  as  a  source  of  oxygen  to  the 
organisms  inhabiting  the  layers  from  which  the  air 
is  excluded,  and  which  feed  upon  the  carbon  of  the 
vegetable  refuse  in  the  manure.  By  this  action 
the  nitric  acid  is  decomposed,  and  its  nitrogen  may 
escape  as  free  nitrogen  into  the  air. 

Losses  in  rotting — In  the  rotting  of  manure,  there- 
fore, there  are  three  channels  of  loss :  (i)  The  liber- 
ation of  carbonic  acid  gas,  by  the  breaking  down 
of  the  carbonaceous  material  and  thus  reducing  the 
humus  matter;  (2)  the  formation  of  ammonia  and 
ammonium  carbonate  and  its  escape  into  the  air; 
and  (3)  the  liberation  of  free  nitrogen.  In  this 
way,  if  the  manure  heap  is  left  exposed  long  enough, 
it  will  be  as  effectually  deprived  of  everything  of 
value  for  plant  food,  except  its  mineral  elements, 
as  if  it  had  been  burnt.  But  if  to  these  sources  of 
loss  be  added  the  leaching  of  the  heap  with  water, 
the  mineral  substances  also  may  be  dissolved  out 
and  carried  away.  These  losses,  moreover,  may  go 
forward  for  a  considerable  time  without  reducing 
the  weight  of  the  heap,  for  the  rotting  process  makes 
the  heap  capable  of  containing  a  larger  proportion 
of  water,  by  breaking  down  the  litter  and  thus  mak- 
ing the  interstices  smaller,  so  that  water  will  take 
the  place  of  the  elements  which  have  been  lost. 

The  rotting  of  the  manure  tends  to  make  its  con- 
stituents more  soluble,  and  if  rotting  could  be  ac- 
complished without  escape  of  ammonia  gas  on  the 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE 


139 


one  hand  and  without  leaching  on  the  other,  it  would 
add  to  the  value  of  the  manure.  This  result,  how- 
ever, is  very  (difficult  of  attainment,  and  the  general 
outcome  of  the  rotting  process  is  a  considerable  loss 
of  nitrogen  in  the  gaseous  form,  and  a  conversion 
of  both  the  nitrogenous  and  mineral  substances  into 
a  more  soluble  condition,  in  which  they  are  caught 
and  washed  out  of  the  heap  by  the  rain. 

Relative  value  of  the  nitrogen  and  ash  constitu- 
ents of  manure — On  the  black  soils  of  the  central 
provinces  of  India  cattle  dung  is  largely  used 
for  fuel  during  the  dry  season,  and  during  the  rainy 
season  much  of  it  is  allowed  to  go  to  waste.  The 
improvidence  of  this  practice  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing experiment,  made  by  the  Nagpur  experiment 
farm  and  reported  by  D.  Clouston  in  the  Agricul- 
tural Journal  of  India  for  July,  1907: 

Table  XXXIV.     Nitrate    and    Manure    on    Irri- 
gated Wheat  in  India. 


Average  yield  of  grain  in  pounds 

Treatment 

5  years 
1890-94 

5  years 
1895-1900 

5  years 
1901-06 

15  years 
'90-06 

bo  ui 

II 

Saltpeter,  240  pounds 

Cattle  dung,  12,800  pounds  .  .  . 
Ashes  of  12,800  pounds  dung  .  . 

931 
717 
584 
486 

826 
915 
618 

371 

1,278 

1,500 

820 

627 

1,012 

1,044 

677 

495 

517 
594 
182 

The  table  shows  the  same  cumulative  effect  from 
systematic  treatment  which  has  been  shown  in  other 
experiments  of  this  character,  the  manured  yield 


140  FARM    MANURES 

being  twice  as  great  during  the  third  five  years  of 
the  test  as  during  the  first.  It  is  true  that  this  was 
a  period  of  better  seasons,  as  shown  by  the  yield  of 
the  untreated  land,  but  the  increase  over  the  un- 
manured  yield  rose  on  the  dunged  land  from  231 
pounds  during  the  first  five  years  to  873  pounds  dur- 
ing the  third  period. 

The  manure  ash  has  improved  the  yield,  but  to  a 
far  less  degree  than  the  manure  itself,  the  experi- 
ment thus  confirming  such  long-continued  tests  as 
those  at  the  experiment  stations  of  Rothamsted, 
Woburn,  Pennsylvania,  Canada  and  Ohio,  in  show- 
ing that  as  cropping  is  continued  the  addition  of 
nitrogen  becomes  more  and  more  essential  to  the 
production  of  wheat.  This  is  further  exemplified  by 
the  effect  of  the  saltpeter,  which  was  in  this  case 
presumably  the  nitrate  of  potash  and  not  that  of 
soda,  and  which  has  produced  a  much  greater  rela- 
tive effect  than  the  similar  application  has  done  on 
the  American  soils. 

Losses  from  leaching — When  manure  is  thrown 
from  the  stable  into  the  barnyard  it  contains  on 
the  average  about  80  per  cent  of  water  if  from  cat- 
tle, or  about  70  per  cent  if  from  horses.  Of  this 
water  a  small  fraction — less  than  5  per  cent — is  the 
hygroscopic  water  of  the  organic  matter  in  the 
manure,  but  the  greater  portion  is  liquid  water 
from  the  alimentary  and  urinary  canals.  This 
water,  whichever  its  source,  holds  in  solution  the 
major  part  of  the  salts  which  give  the  manure  its 
value  for  soil  fertilization,  that  part  contained  in  the 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE  I4I 

undigested  organic  residue  being  a  comparatively 
insignificant  -factor. 

Let  such  material,  saturated  as  it  is  to  its  full 
capacity  for  holding  moisture,  be  exposed  to  rain 
under  conditions  which  allow  the  escape  of  drainage, 
and  the  liquid  of  the  manure  will  be  replaced  by 
that  from  the  clouds,  the  former  flowing  away,  or 
being  absorbed  by  the  soil  beneath  the  heap,  and 
carrying  with  it  the  salts  contained.  This  fact  is 
most  familiarly  illustrated  in  the  leaching  of  ashes. 
In  regions  where  wood  is  used  for  fuel  the  ashes 
are  placed  in  a  V-shaped  receptacle,  the  bottom  of 
which  rests  in  a  trough — many  of  the  older  readers 
will  remember  the  trough  hewn  out  of  a  log  which 
served  the  pioneers  for  this  purpose — and  under  the 
end  of  the  trough  a  vessel  is  placed  to  catch  the 
drainage.  Water  is  poured  on  the  top  of  the  vat 
until  the  entire  contents  are  saturated,  when  a 
brown  stream  begins  to  issue  from  the  bottom. 
More  water  is  added  as  long  as  the  liquid  collected 
will  float  an  tgg,  but  when  it  becomes  so  weak  that 
the  egg  sinks  quickly  then  the  leaching  is  discon- 
tinued. In  this  way  the  pioneer  farmer's  wife  se- 
cured potash  for  soap  making;  but  the  potash  of  the 
manure  heap  is  undoubtedly  more  easily  leached  out 
than  that  of  the  ash  vat,  for  it  is  already  largely  in 
solution  in  the  urine. 

The  experiment  station  of  Cornell  University  has 
conducted  some  noteworthy  investigations  on  this 
point.  In  1889  this  station  placed  a  lot  of  horse 
manure,  taken  from  a  tight  floor  and  weighing  529^ 


142 


FARM    MANURES 


pounds,  of  which  :^^y2  pounds  was  straw  bedding, 
in  a  wooden  box  which  was  not  water  tight  and  ex- 
posed it  out  of  doors  from  April  ist  until  September 
30th,  the  box  being  surrounded  with  similar  manure 
in  order  that  the  whole  might  heat  up  evenly,  the 
object  being  to  subject  the  manure  to  the  same  con- 
ditions as  if  it  had  been  thrown  loosely  in  a  heap 
from  the  stable  door.  The  box  was  left  exposed  for 
six  months  during  the  summer,  after  which  its  con- 
tents were  found  to  weigh  but  372  pounds.  The 
analysis  of  this  manure,  before  and  after  the  six 
months'  exposure,  is  given  below : 


LOSSES  IN  EXPOSED  MANURE 

Percentage  composition  of  manure 

Water 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Fresh  manure 

After  six  months 

70.79 
81.74 

0.51 
0.46 

0.092 
0.066 

0.440 
0.257 

Not  only  was  there  a  loss  in  weight,  but  also  in 
the  percentages  of  fertilizing  elements  contained. 
Calculated  per  ton  of  manure,  the  results  of  this 
test  were  as  below : 


LOSSES  IN  EXPOSED  MANURE 

Pounds  each  original  ton  of  manure 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Value 

Before  exposure 

After           "          

Percentage  loss 

10.2 
6.5 

36. 

1.84 
0.92 

50. 

8.8 
3.6 

60. 

$1.98 
1.12 

43. 

THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE 


143 


The  net  loss  in  value  amounted  to  43  per  cent, 
on  the  valuation  here  employed,  assuming  that  the 
constituents  found  in  the  manure  at  the  end  of  the 
period  v^ere  equally  effective  with  those  at  the  be- 
ginning, pound  for  pound.* 

The  following  season  this  experiment  was  re- 
peated with  a  pile  of  4,000  pounds  of  horse  manure 
and  one  of  10,000  pounds  of  cow  manure,  the  ex- 
periment extending  over  six  spring  and  summer 
months,  as  before.  This  season  proved  to  be  a  very 
rainy  one,  and  when  the  manure  was  taken  up  the 
horse  manure  weighed  but  1,730  pounds,  a  loss  of 
57  per  cent  in  gross  weight,  and  the  cow  manure 
but  5,125  pounds,  a  loss  of  49  per  cent.  Calculated 
per  ton  of  manure,  the  outcome  was  as  below : 

LOSSES    IN    EXPOSED    MANURE 


Pounds  each  original  ton  of  manure 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Value 

Horse  manure  : 

9.80 
3.89 

60. 

9.40 
5.60 

41. 

3.25 
1.71 

47. 

2.82 
2.29 

19. 

14.94 
3.59 

76. 

7.97 
7.30 

8. 

$2.41 

After         "            

0.84 
65. 

Cow  manure  : 

1.89 

After           "       

1.29 

32. 

The  loss  in  value  amounted  to  65  per  cent  for  the 
liorse  manure  and  32  per  cent  for  the  cow  manure. 


*  Cornell  University  Experiment  Station,  Bui.  13 


144 


FARM    MANURES 


A  valuable  contribution  to  this  subject  has  been 
made  by  Prof.  F.  T.  Shutt,  of  the  Dominion  experi- 
mental farms,  who  placed  four  tons  of  a  mixture  of 
equal  parts  of  horse  and  cow  manure  in  a  weather- 
tight  shed,  and  an  equal  quantity  in  an  outside  bin, 
open  to  the  weather  but  with  sides  and  bottom  prac- 
tically water  tight.  These  manures  were  analyzed 
monthly  for  a  year.  The  more  important  data  are 
given  in  Tables  XXXV  and  XXXVI,  reproduced 
from  Bulletin  31  of  that  station. 

Table  XXXV.  Weights  (Pounds)  of  Fertilizing 
Constituents  in  "Protected"  and  "Exposed"' 
Manures. 


Fresh 

At  the 

end  of 

3  months 

At  the 

end  of 

6  months 

At  the 

end  of 

9  months 

At  the 

end  of 

12  months 

Fertilizing  constituents 

1 
1 

PL, 

1 
1 

1 

X! 

0 

1 

1 
1 

Weight  of  manure 

Organic  matter 

8000 
1938 

48 
25 

15 

62 

54 

8000 
1938 

48 
25 

15 

62 
54 

2980 
880 

40 

25 

20 

65 
62 

3903 
791 

34 
23 

15 

4S 
45 

2308 
803 

39 
26 

19 

59 
52 

4124 
652 

33 

22 

15 

44 
42 

2224 
760 

37 
25 

21 

60 
56 

4189 
648 

29 

21 

17 

41 
38 

2158 
770 

37 
24 

19 

60 

55 

3838 
607 

Total  nitrogen 

31 

Total  phosphoric  acid    .  . 
Available  phosphoric  acid 
*Total  potash 

21 
16 
40 

t Available  potash 

35 

*  Soluble  in  strong  hydrochloric  acid. 
t  Soluble  in  dilute  citric  acid. 

From  the  data  given  in  Table  XXXV,  Professor 
Shutt  calculates  the  loss  of  fertilizing  constituents 
as  shown  in  Table  XXXVI. 


THE   WASTE  OF   MANURE 


145 


Table  XXXVI.    Loss  of  Fertilizing  Constituents 
IN  THE  Rotting  of  Manure. 


At  the  end 

At  the  end 

At  the  end 

At  the  end 

of 

of 

of 

of 

3  months 

6  months 

9  months 

12  months 

Fertilizing  constituents 

13 

T) 

0 

'O 

0) 

tJ 

<D 

TJ 

-O 

OJ 

iri 

0 

irf 

0 

0 

OJ 

0 

R 

^ 

ft 

0 

X 

u 

^ 

P. 

W 

P. 

W 

CM 

W 

Ph 

W 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

Loss  of  organic  matter  .  . 

55 

60 

58 

65 

60 

67 

60 

69 

Loss  of  nitrogen 

17 

29 

19 

30 

23 

40 

23 

40 

Loss  of  phosphoric  acid. . 

None 

8 

None 

12 

None 

16 

4 

16 

Loss  of  potash 

None 

22 

3 

29 

3 

34 

3 

36 

In  1888,  Director  Voorhees,  of  the  New  Jersey 
experiment  station,  began  a  series  of  experiments  on 
this  subject  which  are  still  in  progress.  In  these 
experiments  100  pounds  each  of  fresh  dung  and  of 
fresh  total  excrement,  liquid  and  solid  mixed,  and 
in  both  cases  without  litter  and  from  cows,  are 
collected  and  placed  in  galvanized  iron  boxes,  8 
inches  deep  and  with  perforated  bottom,  so  as  to 
permit  drainage,  though  covered  with  wire  gauze 
above  and  below,  in  order  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
solid  matter.  The  boxes  with  their  contents  are 
placed  in  the  open  air  and  allowed  to  remain  undis- 
turbed for  several  weeks  or  months.  The  manure 
is  analyzed  both  before  and  after  exposure.  The 
results  of  this  work  are  averaged  in  Table  XXXVII 
for  eight  years,  the  reports  of  the  station  for  1902 
and  1903  not  giving  the  necessary  data  for  those 
years. 


146 


FARM    MANURES 


The  average  duration  of  the  test  was  77  days,  and 
the  average  final  weight  of  the  sample  was  64.4 
pounds  for  the  solid  manure,  and  59.3  pounds  for  the 
solid  and  liquid. 

Table  XXXVII.     Loss  of  Manure  in  Leaching  at 
New  Jersey  Experiment  Station. 


Percentage 
Composition 

Pounds  each  original 
ton  of  manure 

Constituents 

Before 
leaching 

After 
leaching 

Before 
leaching 

After 
leaching 

Solid  manure 


Water 

Nitrogen  . . 
Phosphorus . 
Potassium . . 


83.983 

79.723 

0.348 

0.433 

6.96 

0.139 

0.158 

2.78 

0.203 

0.168 

4.06 

5.58 
2.04 
2.16 


Solid  and  liquid  manure 


Water 

Nitrogen  . . . 
Phosphorus . 
Potassium . . 


85.823 

80.005 

0.427 

0.495 

8.54 

0.112 

0.154 

2.24 

0.291 

0.279 

5.82 

5.87 
1.82 
3.30 


Table  XXXVII  shows  that  the  percentage  of 
nitrogen  and  phosphorus  has  been  higher  in  the 
leached  than  in  the  fresh  manure,  but  when  we 
apply  the  percentage  found  at  the  end  of  the  leach- 
ing period  to  the  actual  quantity  of  manure  left  we 
find  that,  in  the  case  of  the  solid  manure,  of  the 
0.348  pound  of  nitrogen  contained  in  the  original  100 
pounds  of  manure  the  residue  contains  but  0.279 
pound;  the  phosphorus  has  been  reduced  from 
0.139  pound  to  0.102  pound,  and  the  potassium  from 
0.203  pound  to  0.108  pound. 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE  I47 

To  put  it  in  another  form  :  A  ton  of  the  fresh  dung 
would  have  contained  6.96  pounds  of  nitrogen,  2.78 
pounds  of  phosphorus  and  4.06  pounds  of  potassium, 
the  whole  worth  $1.59  if  we  compute  nitrogen  at 
15  cents  per  pound,  phosphorus  at  11  cents,  and 
potassium  at  6  cents;  but  after  about  two  and 
one-half  months'  exposure  there  is  left  but  5.58 
pounds  of  nitrogen,  2.04  pounds  of  phosphorus,  and 
2.16  pounds  of  potassium,  reducing  the  total  value  to 
$1.19,  a  loss  of  more  than  25  per  cent. 

Taking  the  total  excrement,  solid  and  liquid,  we 
find  that  a  ton  when  first  put  out  would  have  con- 
tained 8.54  pounds  nitrogen,  2.22  pounds  phosphorus 
and  5.82  pounds  of  potassium,  having  a  total  value  of 
$1.87,  but  after  leaching  there  would  remain  only 
5.87  pounds  nitrogen,  1.82  pounds  phosphorus,  and 
3.30  pounds  potassium,  the  value  being  reduced  to 
$1.28,  a  loss  of  nearly  33  per  cent,  thus  illustrating 
again  the  fact  that  the  liquid  portion  of  the  manure 
is  the  first  to  waste. 

In  1907  the  Ohio  station  exposed  lots  of  manure, 
of  1,000  pounds  each,  for  three  months,  from  Jan- 
uary until  April,  the  manure  being  analyzed  when 
first  exposed  and  again  when  taken  up,  by  Mr.  J. 
W.  Ames,  chemist  to  the  station.  In  this  experi- 
ment four  of  the  lots  were  treated  with  preserva- 
tive or  reinforcing  materials,  while  the  fifth  lot  was 
left  untreated. 

The  average  weight  of  the  manure  was  as  great — 
in  some  instances  greater — when  taken  up  than 
when  put  out;  but  the  analyses  revealed  the  fact 


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148 


THE    WASTE   OF    MANURE  I49 

that  there  was  a  considerable  substitution  of  water 
for  the  organic  matter  and  ash  elements  in  the 
manure.  Calculated  per  ton  of  manure,  this  experi- 
ment furnishes  the  data  shown  in  Table  XXXVIII. 

Taking  the  average  analyses,  the  ton  of  manure 
originally  put  out  in  this  test  was  worth  $2.50; 
when  taken  up,  although  it  still  weighed  a  ton,  its 
value  had  been  reduced  to  $1.74,  a  loss  of  nearly  one- 
third. 

These  Ohio  experiments  show  that  there  may  be 
a  considerable  loss  in  the  value  of  the  manure  heap 
without  any  diminution  in  weight  or  bulk,  the  reduc- 
tion of  its  materials  to  finer  particles,  through  the 
process  of  decay,  enabling  it  to  retain  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  water,  which  gradually  displaces  the 
organic  matter  and  ash  constituents,  each  fresh 
rainfall  taking  the  place  of  water  saturated  with 
fertilizing  elements,  just  as  the  pail  of  clear  water 
poured  on  the  top  of  an  ash  vat  displaces  an  equal 
quantity  of  brown  lye  at  the  bottom. 

In  these  experiments  again  the  Ohio  station's 
tests  show  that  it  is  usually  in  the  water-soluble, 
and,  therefore,  the  more  valuable  constituents, 
that  the  manure  suffers  most  loss. 

The  enormous  waste  of  manure — The  United 
States  department  of  agriculture  estimated  the 
number  of  cattle  in  the  United  States  on  January 
I,  1907,  at  72,533,000;  the  number  of  sheep  at  53,240,- 
000,  and  the  number  of  swine  at  54,794,000.  If  we 
assume  that  10  sheep  or  swine  are  equivalent  to  one 
cattle  beast  in  manure  production,  we  shall  have  a 


150  FARM    MANURES 

total  of  83,000,000  cattle.  These,  of  course,  are  of 
all  ages,  and  may  be  assumed  to  be  equivalent  to 
60,000,000  one-thousand  pound  cattle.  If  these  are 
yarded  four  months  each  winter,  there  should  be  a 
total  manure  production  during  that  period  of  150,- 
000,000  tons,  having  a  potential  crop-producing 
value  of  at  least  $200,000,000,  over  and  above  all  cost 
of  handling.  It  is  a  very  conservative  estimate  to 
place  the  waste  of  this  manure  under  the  prevalent 
system  of  management  at  25  per  cent,  or  $50,000,000 
annually.  It  is  probably  more  nearly  twice  that 
amount. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  PRESERVATION  OF  MANURE 

Manure  loses  nothing  but  water  in  drying — The 
fact  is  familiar  to  the  farmer  that  when  manure  is 
loosely  piled  the  evolution  of  ammonia  gas  begins 
within  a  few  hours ;  the  overnight  accumulations 
in  the  stable  give  off  this  gas  by  morning,  and  it  is 
constantly  produced  in  the  heaps  into  which  the 
manure  has  been  thrown,  as  evidenced  by  the  odor 
of  ammonia  constantly  pervading  such  heaps,  an 
odor  greatly  intensified  when  the  heaps  are  stirred, 
by  the  sudden  liberation  of  the  gas  which  has  ac- 
cumulated in  their  interstices. 

This  fact,  of  the  increase  in  odor  from  freshly 
stirred  manure,  led  to  the  practice  of  piling  the 
manure  in  small  heaps  in  the  field,  to  be  distributed 
just  ahead  of  the  plow,  the  assumption  being  that 
it  was  the  drying  of  the  manure  that  caused  its  loss 
of  ammonia;  but  an  experiment  made  by  Prof. 
F.  T.  Shutt,  of  the  Dominion  experimental  farms, 
shows  that  the  loss  of  nitrogen  due  to  mere  drying 
is  insignificant.  In  this  experiment  two  samples  of 
manure  were  dried  in  thin  layers,  with  the  result 
indicated  in  Table  XXXIX. 

The  chief  source  of  the  nitrogen  loss  of  manure 
is  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  the  bacterial  organisms 
which  pervade  the  manure  heap  and  which  cause  the 

151 


152 


FARM    MANURES 


combination  of  its  nitrogen  with  hydrogen  in  the 
form  of  ammonia.  Moisture  is  indispensable  to  all 
plant  life  (and  the  bacteria  are  plants)  and  it  is 
moreover  water  which  furnishes  the  hydrogen  of 
the  ammonia;  hence,  when  the  drying  is  complete 
there  is  no  further  production  of  ammonia,  and 
consequently  no  further  loss  of  nitrogen. 

The  best  place  to  preserve  manure  is  in  the  soil — 
If,  therefore,  it  were  practicable  to  at  once  quickly 
and  thoroughly  dry  the  accumulations  of  the  stable, 

Table  XXXIX.     Loss  of  Nitrogen  in  Manure  by 
Drying  in  Thin  Layers. 


Nitrogen  in  manure 

Manure 

Per  cent 

Lbs.  a  ton 

Value    ^ 

.515 
.505 

.490 
.466 

10.3 
10.1 

9.8 
9.3 

$1.75 
1  72 

after           "        

1.67 

after         "            

1.58 

and  keep  them  in  this  condition  until  the  opportu- 
nity came  to  incorporate  them  with  the  soil,  there 
would  be  the  least  possible  loss  of  fertilizing  value. 
The  nearest  approach  to  this  condition  which  it  is 
practicable  to  attain  on  the  ordinary  farm  is  to  haul 
the  manure  daily  from  the  stable  to  the  field,  when 
weather  and  other  conditions  permit,  and  spread  it 
there  at  once  and  as  uniformly  as  possible. 

The  manure  spreader  as  a  manure  preserver — In 
humid  climates,  however,  there  will  be  wet  days, 


THE   PRESERVATION    OF    MANURE  1 53 

when  the  team  cannot  go  upon  the  fields  intended 
for  tillage  without  causing  more  damage  than  would 
be  compensated  in  the  saving  of  the  manure.  There 
will  be  other  days  when  urgent  work  of  other  kinds 
may  make  it  seem  impossible  to  give  the  time  neces- 


Manure  shed  on  the  left,  stable  on  the  right,  manure  spreader  ready  for 
its  load. 

sary  to  this  care  of  the  manure,  although  such  emer- 
gencies may  be  reduced  to  the  minimum  by  keeping 
a  manure  spreader  expressly  for  this  work,  and  so 
locating  it  that  it  will  be  more  convenient  to  drop 
the  morning's  accumulations  of  the  stable  into  the 
spreader  than  anywhere  else ;  such  an  arrangement 
as  is  shown  on  this  page. 


154  FARM    MANURES 

Times  when  manure  cannot  be  drawn  to  the 
field — There  will  also  be  days  when  the  ground  will 
be  covered  with  snow,  which  interferes  with  the 
working  of  the  manure  spreader,  and  which,  if  it 
should  go  off  in  a  flood  of  rain,  might  carry  with  it 
part  of  the  more  soluble  portion  of  the  manure, 
although  the  danger  of  loss  from  this  source  is 
probably  smaller  than  is  generally  supposed.  The 
loss  Avhich  manure  suffers  from  leaching  in  open 
barnyards  is  undoubtedly  many  times  greater  than 
that  resulting  from  spreading  on  the  snow. 

There  will  be  other  days  when  the  land  upon 
which  it  is  desired  to  put  the  manure  is  occupied 
by  crops,  although  this  difficulty  might  often  be  met 
by  systematic  planning  of  the  manuring,  so  that 
meadows,  pastures  and  orchards  would  receive  their 
share  when  the  manuring  of  the  tillage  land  would 
be  impracticable. 

Under  the  best  of  management,  however,  there 
will  be  some  manure  which  cannot  be  drawn  out  at 
once  to  the  field,  and  the  preservation  of  such  accu- 
mulations becomes  a  matter  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. 

Air  must  be  excluded  to  preserve  moist  manure — 
With  manure,  as  with  all  other  perishable  sub- 
stances, the  first  essential  to  preserA^ation  is  the  ex- 
clusion of  air.  This,  in  the  case  of  manure,  is  for 
two  reasons :  First,  because  the  air  is  constantly 
laden  with  germs  of  the  microscopic  organisms 
which  promote  fermentation  or  decay ;  and,  second, 
because  the  presence  of  free  oxygen  is  essential  to 


T1I1£    rKESEKVATlUN    OF    MANURE  1 55 

the  activity  of  those  organisms  which  produce  the 
destructive  chang-es  in  the  manure  heap.  What- 
ever w\\\  exclude  the  air,  therefore,  v^ill  preserve  the 
manure. 

The  box  stall  method  of  manure  preservation — 
The  simplest  method  by  w^hich  this  exclusion  of  air 
can  be  effected  is  that  of  trampling  the  manure  un- 
der foot  in  cemented  pits  during  accumulation,  fol- 
lowing the  method  made  familiar  in  the  process  of 
ensilage,  and,  where  it  is  practicable  to  employ  it, 
the  old  English  box  stall,  the  floor  consisting  of  a 
shallow,  cemented  pit,  the  manger  being  so  adjusted 
to  be  raised  with  the  accumulation  underfoot,  is  the 
ideal  system  of  saving  manure,  as  by  this  method 
the  least  possible  handling  is  required,  and  handling 
is  an  important  item  in  the  cost  of  manure. 

This  method,  however,  is  not  adapted  to  horses 
under  any  conditions,  nor  to  dairy  cows;  as  the 
manure  of  horses,  if  left  without  any  further  treat- 
ment, would  evolve  an  amount  of  ammonia  injurious 
to  the  eyes  of  the  animals,  and  in  large  dairies  the 
cost  would  be  considered  prohibitive,  although  with 
liberal  use  of  bedding  it  is  probable  that  this  method 
would  be  found  as  cleanly  as  the  ordinary  stall  with 
its  daily  removal  of  excrement  and  consequent  re- 
newal of  odor. 

In  the  case  of  fattening  cattle  or  sheep,  however, 
this  method  of  preserving  the  manure  is  both  the 
simplest  and  most  effective  possible.  With  horn- 
less cattle  it  involves  no  waste  of  space,  since  such 
cattle  may  be  handled  like  sheep  and  will  thrive 


156  FARM    MANURES 

better  when  so  handled  than  if  tied  up  in  separate 
stalls.  The  one  important  point  is  to  provide  abun- 
dant litter,  of  which  cattle  require  a  larger  quantity 
than  sheep,  because  of  the  greater  proportion  of 
water  in  the  dung. 

The  manure  shed — For  horses  and  dairy  cows 
some  other  method  of  manure  storage  is  necessary, 
and  it  is  here  that  the  manure  shed  comes  into  play. 
For  the  manure  shed  to  serve  its  purpose,  however, 
it  must  be  so  situated  that  stock  can  have  access  to 
it,  and  they  must  be  encouraged  to  frequent  it  in 
order  to  trample  the  manure  well ;  for  if  this  is  not 
done  the  shed  will  only  serve  to  waste  the  manure 
the  more  rapidly  instead  of  preserving  it. 

It  will  be  found  very  difficult  to  preserve  horse 
manure  alone  in  any  kind  of  shed,  because  of  its 
great  tendency  to  heat.  This  point  is  illustrated  in 
the  making  of  hotbeds,  for  which  fresh  horse  manure 
is  piled  in  loose  heaps  until  active  fermentation  has 
begun,  when  it  is  placed  in  shallow  pits,  moder- 
ately packed  by  trampling,  covered  with  earth  and 
sheltered  from  excess  of  moisture.  The  fermentation 
continues  for  weeks  with  considerable  evolution  of 
heat. 

This  tendency  of  horse  manure  to  ferment  may 
be  held  in  check  by  mixing  it  with  cow  manure 
and  packing  it  thoroughly,  or  by  keeping  it  soaked 
with  water.  The  manure  shed,  therefore,  should  be 
located  so  as  to  receive  the  mixed  manure  of  both 
classes  of  animals,  and  should  also  be  where  its  con- 
tents can  be  wet  down  when  necessary.    If  a  cistern 


THE   PRESERVATION    OF    MANURE 


157 


is  used  to  collect  the  urine,  this  should  be  pumped 
over  the  contents  of  the  manure  shed  occasionally, 
both  for  the  purpose  of  w^etting  the  latter  and  also 
to  improve  the  effectiveness  of  both ;  for  the  urine, 
as  has  previously  been  showm,  carries  a  large  quan- 
tity of  nitrogen  and  potassium,  but  almost  no  phos- 
phorus ;  but  on  most  soils  nitrogen  and  potassium 
produce  comparatively  little  effect  unless  reinforced 
with  phosphorus. 

For  example,  in  the  Pennsylvania  experiments, 
in  which  corn,  oats,  wheat  and  clover  are  grown 
in  rotation  under  different  combinations  of  fertili- 
zing materials,  a  mixture  carrying  nitrogen  in  dried 
blood  and  potassium  in  the  muriate  has  produced  an 
average  increase  for  each  rotation,  for  the  first  30 
years  of  the  test,  to  the  value  of  $1.98  at  the  valua- 
tions heretofore  employed.  When  this  mixture  was 
reinforced  with  superphosphate  the  value  of  the  in- 
crease rose  to  $20.91,  although  the  same  quantity 
of  superphosphate,  used  alone,  has  produced  but 
$8.88  in  increase  of  crop.     These  results  are  tabu- 


Table  XL.  Effect  of  Combination  in  Fertilizers.* 


Value  of  increase  a  rotation 

Fertilizer 

Penna. 

Wooster 

Strongsville 

$  1.98 

20.91 

8.88 

$11.08    • 
39.14 
16.53 

$  4  62 

Potassium,  nitrogen  and  phosphorus .... 
Phosphorus  alone    

24.35 
17  39 

*For  details  of  the  Pennsylvania  :est,  see  Bulletin  No.  90  of  Pennsylvania 
State  College  Experiment  Station:  for  those  of  the  Ohio  tests  see  Bulletins  182, 
183  and  184  and 'Circular  120,  of  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


158 


FARM    MANURES 


lated  above,  together  with  those  of  the  Ohio  sta- 
tion's five-year  rotations,  averaged  for  i8  years  at 
Wooster  and  17  years  at  Strongsville. 

Of  course,  the  superior  efifect  of  phosphorus  in 
these  tests  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  soils  under 
experiment  are  deficient  in  available  phosphorus,  a 
condition  which  is  found  in  the  majority  of  soils 
which  have  been  long  in  cultivation,  although  there 
are  occasional  exceptions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Lex- 
ington soil  of  the  Kentucky  experiment  station,* 
that  of  the  Massachusetts  experiment  station  at  Am- 
herst,! and  certain  muck  soils, §  in  which  potassium 
seems  to  be  the  element  most  deficient.  On  sandy 
soils  potassium  appears  to  be  more  frequently 
needed  than  on  clays. 

It  may  be  asked,  "Why  build  a  manure  shed  if 
the  manure  must  be  kept  wet  under  it?"  The 
answer  is  that  the  manure  shed  gives  us  control  of 
the  moisture,  enabling  us  to  use  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
preserve  the  manure  without  causing  leaching. 

It  may  be  doubtful  whether  the  manure  shed  will 
pay  for  itself  simply  as  a  shelter  for  manure;  but 
those  farmers  who  have  built  such  sheds  have  usu- 
ally made  them  also  serve  the  purpose  of  straw 
storage  overhead,  and  of  an  exercise  yard  for  stock 
in  stormy  weather.  When  these  functions  are  judi- 
ciously combined  there  can  be  no  question  of  the 
economy  of  the  manure  shed. 


*  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  61. 
t  Hatch  Experiment  Station,  Fifteenth  Annual  Report,  p.  132. 
§  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,   University   of    Illinois,   Bulletin  93, 
and  Purdue  University  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  95. 


THE   PRESERVATION    OF    MANURE  1 59 

The  manure  cellar — A  substitute  for  the  manure 
shed  is  the  manure  cellar.  But  such  a  cellar  is  not 
practicable  on  flat  building  sites,  and  it  is  generally 
open  to  the  serious  objection  of  keeping  the  ani- 
mals in  a  contaminated  atmosphere  and  of  being 
an  unwholesome  place  to  work  in  cleaning  out. 
With  the  modern  litter  carrier  a  manure  shed  may 
be  built  adjoining,  or  even  entirely  separate  from 
the  barn,  thus  entirely  removing  the  odor  of  its 
contents  from  the  barn  itself.  It  may  be  so  arranged 
that  the  litter  carrier  may  pass  over  a  manure 
spreader,  standing  ready  to  receive  its  contents 
when  practicable  to  take  the  manure  at  once  to  the 
field,  as  .shown  by  the  illustration  on  page  153. 

The  manure  pit — Where  horse  manure  must  be 
kept  alone,  it  is  probable  that  the  outdoor  pit  will 
be  found  the  most  satisfactory  receptacle  in  which 
to  preserve  it.  Such  a  pit  should  be  deep  enough 
to  hold  the  annual  rainfall,  less  evaporation  and 
plus  the  amount  of  material  that  may  be  thrown 
into  it,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  leaching.  The 
bottom  and  sides  should  be  cemented,  and  it  should 
be  so  arranged  that  a  wagon  can  be  driven  through 
it,  unless  the  quantity  of  manure  is  so  small  that  it 
can  be  emptied  from  the  side  with  not  more  than 
one  extra  handling. 

Horse  manure  thrown  into  such  a  pit  would  ordi- 
narily receive  water  enough  from  the  rain  to  pre- 
vent fermentation,  and  would  probably  suffer  less 
destructive  losses  than  under  any  other  practicable 
method  of  preservation. 


l6o  FARM    MANURES 

Such  a  pit  is  but  a  modification  of  the  basin- 
shaped  manure  yard,  which  is  in  occasional  use, 
but  which  is  very  seldom  so  constructed  as  to  be 
absolutely  secure  from  leaching  on  the  one  hand  and 
overflow  on  the  other. 

Manure  preservatives — Many  experiments  have 
been  made  by  European  investigators,  in  the  en- 
deavor to  find  some  practicable  method  of  arrest- 
ing the  ammonia  escaping  from  the  manure  heap, 
but  while  it  has  been  shown  that  many  finely  pul- 
verized materials  perform  this  function  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  the  quantity  required,  or  the  difficulty 
of  application,  is  usually  so  great  as  to  counterbal- 
ance the  saving  accomplished. 

One  of  the  most  effective  materials  for  this  pur- 
pose is  dry  earth,  and  especially  dry  muck,  which 
has  the  advantage  not  only  of  preventing  some 
escape  of  ammonia,  but  also  of  reinforcing  the  ma- 
nure with  nitrogen,  and  where  this  material  is  avail- 
able it  might  often  be  used  with  advantage. 

Sulphate  of  lime,  commonly  known  as  gypsum,  or 
land  plaster,  has  been  used  for  this  purpose  for 
many  years,  being  dusted  over  the  manure  heap  and 
over  the  stable  floors.  This  substance  is  probably 
partly  decomposed  by  the  manure,  its  sulphuric 
acid  uniting  with  ammonia  to  form  sulphate  of  am- 
monia, which  is  a  comparatively  stable  salt. 

Dilute  sulphuric  acid  would  perhaps  be  one  of  the 
most  effective  of  manure  preservatives  if  it  were 
practicable  to  use  it,  but  it  is  too  dangerous  to 
handle,  and,   moreover,  it   would  be   injurious    on 


THE   PRESERVATION    OF    MANURE  l6l 

some  soils,  because  of  increasing  the  tendency  to 
soil  acidity. 

Common  salt  is  an  excellent  manure  preservative, 
and  those  living  near  salt  works  are  sometimes 
able  to  procure  the  refuse  salt  almost  v^ithout  cost. 
One  of  the  properties  of  salt  is  that  of  conserving 
moisture,  and  this  may  partly  explain  its  effect  on 
the  manure  heap. 

The  crude  potash  salt,  kainit,  which  is  a  mixture 
of  the  chlorides  of  sodium  and  potassium  with  sul- 
phates of  potassium  and  magnesium  (common  salt 
being  chloride  of  sodium),  is  also  a  useful  manure 
preservative,  and  would  be  a  very  suitable  material 
to  use  on  manure  intended  for  soils  deficient  in 
potassium,  or  for  such  systems  of  cropping  as  cause 
heavy  drafts  upon  the  soil  stores  of  potassium,  such 
as  market  gardening. 

While  there  are  a  few  soils  that  are  relatively  de- 
ficient in  potassium,  there  are  many  more  in  which 
phosphorus  is  the  limiting  element,  and  for  such 
soils  such  phosphatic  materials  as  floats  and  acid 
phosphate,  or  even  bone  meal,  would  seem  to  be 
appropriate  materials  with  which  to  treat  manure. 
These  materials,  together  with  those  previously 
mentioned,  have  been  used  by  German  and  French 
investigators,  chiefly  in  laboratory  experiments,  or 
in  field  tests  extending  over  one  or  two  seasons 
only,  with  considerable  diversity  in  results.  The 
general  outcome  of  the  work  appears  to  have  been 
that  attention  has  been  directed  chiefly  to  the  con- 
servation of  ammonia,  and  it  has  been  found  that  the 


1 62  FARM    MANURES 

effect  produced  in  this  direction  alone  has  seldom 
been  sufficient  to  justify  the  expense  of  the  treat- 
ment. It  does  not  appear  that  there  has  been  in 
Europe  any  systematic,  long-continued  study  of  the 
effect  of  manure  treatment  by  experiments  made 
under  the  natural  conditions  of  the  field,  nor  that, 
in  either  field  or  laboratory  tests,  the  question  of 
the  better  adaptation  of  the  manure  to  the  needs 
of  particular  soils  or  systems  of  cropping  has  been 
adequately  studied. 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  of  these  European  ex- 
periments was  made  by  Maercker  and  Schneide- 
wind  at  Lauchstadt  in  1896-97,*  who  made  three 
experiments,  two  with  cattle  and  one  with  sheep, 
fed  in  stalls  about  2  feet  deep  and  with  cemented 
bottoms,  the  manure  accumulating  under  foot,  and 
parallel  experiments  on  open  and  covered  heaps  of 
manure  from  animals  receiving  the  same  treatment, 
as  to  feed  and  bedding,  as  those  in  the  deep  stalls. 

The  outcome  of  this  work  was  that  the  loss  of 
nitrogen  from  the  deep  stalls,  when  the  manure  was 
sampled  immediately  after  the  removal  of  the  ani- 
mals, amounted  to  about  13  per  cent  of  the  total 
nitrogen ;  but  when  the  manure  was  allowed  to  lie 
in  the  stalls  for  four  weeks  during  warm  weather 
after  the  cattle  were  removed,  the  loss  increased  to 
35  per  cent. 

In  an  ordinary  uncovered  heap  the  loss  of  nitro- 
gen was  37  per  cent,  and  there  was  practically  the 


*Landw.  Jahresb.  72  (1898).  abs.  Experiment  Record,  10  (1899). 


THE    PRESERVATION    OF    MANURE  I63 

same  loss  when  the  heap  was  covered.  The  weather 
conditions,  however,  were  especially  favorable  to 
the  uncovered  manure,  being  wet  and  cloudy,  while 
the  covered  manure  became  too  dry. 

The  addition  of  30  per  cent  of  marl  to  the  manure 
reduced  the  loss  of  nitrogen  to  less  than  10  per  cent, 
and  the  addition  of  30  per  cent  of  marl  and  two  per 
cent  of  peat  reduced  it  to  6  per  cent.  The  best  re- 
sult, however,  came  from  the  addition  of  6  per  cent 
of  sodium  bisulphate,  corresponding  to  1.5  per  cent 
of  sulphuric  acid,  which  reduced  the  loss  to  1.3  per 
cent,  thus  keeping  the  manure  practically  un- 
changed. 

An  experiment  similar  to  the  above  was  made 
by  Prof.  William  Frear  at  the  Pennsylvania  experi- 
ment station  in  1901,*  in  which  manure,  allowed  to 
accumulate  during  two  months  (April  and  May) 
under  animals  in  cement-lined  stalls,  was  compared 
with  manure  removed  daily  and  stored  in  a  heap 
under  a  covered  shed.  The  outcome  was  that  the 
trampled  manure  suffered  but  little  loss  of  fertili- 
zing constituents,  while  the  covered  shed  manure 
lost  one-third  of  its  nitrogen,  one-fifth  of  its  potas- 
sium and  one-seventh  of  its  phosphorus.  The  loss  of 
potassium  and  phosphorus  is  explained  by  seepage 
of  the  liquid  manure  into  the  clay  floor  of  the  stor- 
age shed,  but  the  loss  of  nitrogen  was  chiefly  due 
to  the  volatilization  of  carbonate  of  ammonia.  The 
money  value  of  the  loss  by  the  second  method  was 
computed  at  $2.50  for  each  steer  stabled  six  months. 


*  Pennsylvania  State  College  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  63. 


164  FARM   MANURES 

Dr.  Frear's  final  conclusion  is  that  "manure,  if 
prepared  upon  a  tight  floor  and  with  such  propor- 
tion of  litter  that  it  can  be  trampled  into  a  com- 
pact mass,  loses  very  little,  if  any,  of  its  fertili- 
zing constituents  so  long  as  the  animals  remain  upon 
it" — a  conclusion  which  is  in  harmony  with  the  gen- 
eral consensus  of  opinion  of  European  investigators. 

Preservation  of  hen  manure — The  Maine  experi- 
ment station*  reports  an  experiment  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  hen  manure  in  which  one  lot  was  stored  in 
a  barrel  from  May  to  November  without  any  treat- 
ment, while  other  lots  were  mixed  with  kiln-dried 
sawdust,  kainit,  plaster  and  acid  phosphate.  The 
outcome  of  this  test  was  that  the  untreated  manure 
became  moldy  and  lost  more  than  half  it3  nitrogen. 
The  sawdust  alone  slightly  improved  the  mechanical 
condition  of  the  manure,  but  was  of  no  service  in 
conserving  nitrogen.  The  manure  stored  with  ap- 
proximately an  equal  weight  of  plaster  lost  about 
one-third  of  its  nitrogen ;  with  nearly  twice  its 
weight  of  plaster  there  was  no  loss  of  nitrogen. 
The  lots  stored  with  kainit  and  acid  phosphate  re- 
tained practically  all  their  nitrogen,  even  when  these 
materials  were  used  in  but  little  more  than  half  the 
weight  of  the  manure.  When  these  materials  were 
used  alone  the  manure  was  rather  wet  and  sticky, 
but  when  they  were  used  in  connection  with  saw- 
dust the  physical  condition  was  more  satisfactory. 


*  Annual  Report,  1903. 


•  CHAPTER  IX 
THE  REINFORCEMENT  OF  MANURE 

Manure  not  a  complete  fertilizer — It  is  ordinarily 
assumed  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil  may  be  indefi- 
nitely maintained  by  a  sufficient  use  of  manure ;  and 
while  this  is  true  for  a  limited  area  it  is  not  the 
most  economical  way  of  maintaining  fertility,  for 
the  animal  necessarily  withdraws  from  its  food  the 
elements  required  for  the  building  of  its  tissues,  and 
if  it  be  a  young  animal,  or  a  cow  giving  milk,  the 
proportion  of  phosphorus  and  lime  consumed  will  be 
much  larger,  relatively,  than  that  of  nitrogen  or 
potassium.  Hence  the  manure  never  carries  back 
to  the  soil  the  full  amount  of  any  of  the  elements 
carried  in  the  food,  and  in  the  case  of  growing  ani- 
mals or  milk  producers  the  ratio  of  these  elements 
to  each  other  is  very  different  in  the  manure  from 
that  found  in  the  food. 

Fertility  losses  from  permanent  pastures — Take 
the  case  of  a  permanent  pasture  :  Even  when  grazed 
by  so  perfect  a  manure  producer  as  the  sheep,  it  is 
evident  that  in  the  bones  of  the  young  stock  grown 
upon  it  and  sent  to  market  there  must  be  a  steady 
drain  of  phosphorus  and  lime,  which  must  ultimately 
become  manifest  in  reduced  production,  and  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  the  use  of  phosphatic  fertilizers 
upon  such  pastures  produces  a  marked  increase  in 
the  production  of  grass. 

165 


1 66  FARM    MANURES 

Fertility  losses  in  grain  production — Take  the 
case  of  the  grain  farmer:  A  bushel  of  wheat  carries 
about  a  fifth  of  a  pound  of  phosphorus — a  very  small 
quantity  it  is  true,  and  not  a  large  quantity  when 
multiplied  by  the  average  American  yield  of  only 
about  14  bushels  per  acre — say  three  pounds  of  phos- 
phorus per  acre ;  but  when  the  average  annual  addi- 
tion of  four  pounds  of  phosphorus  per  acre  to  land 
that  has  grown  wheat  along  with  other  crops  for 
three-quarters  of  a  century,  or  to  land  that  has  been 
in  pasture  for  a  third  of  that  time,  after  previous 
cropping,  will  increase  the  value  of  the  yield  by  30 
per  cent,  as  it  has  done  and  is  doing  in  the  experi- 
ments of  the  Ohio  station,*  it  means  that  the  insig- 
nificant quantity  of  this  element  contained  in  the 
single  bushel  of  wheat  has  become  a  very  impor- 
tant matter  within  less  than  a  century  from  the 
time  when  the  soil  was  first  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion. 

And  when  the  addition  of  two  pounds  and  a  half 
of  phosphorus  to  a  ton  of  manure  will  add  20  per 
cent  to  its  eft'ectiveness,  over  and  above  the  increase 
produced  by  such  materials  as  gypsum  or  kainit, 
as  indicated  by  the  experiments  reported  farther 
on.  It  shows  that  manure  alone  is  not  a  complete  fer- 
tilizer for  soils  exhausted  by  long-continued  crop- 
ping. 

On  soils  deficient  in  lime  the  time  will  come,  un- 
der ordinary  management,  when  the  supply  of  this 
constituent,  as  well  as  of  phosphorus,  will  run  short. 


*See  Bulletin  182,  p.  154 


THE   REINFORCEMENT    OF    MANURE  167 

for  the  oxides  of  phosphorus  and  calcium — phos- 
phoric acid  and  lime — are  associated  in  the  ratio 
of  about  46  per'  cent  of  the  former  to  54  per  cent 
of  the  latter  in  bone ;  hence  there  is  a  steady  con- 
sumption of  both  in  animal  growth,  so  that  manure 
alone  will  not  maintain  the  lime  supply,  any  more 
than  it  will  that  of  phosphorus. 

The  effect  of  supplementing  manure  with  lime  has 
been  discussed  on  previous  pages.  The  experiments 
now  to  be  described  throw  some  light  upon  the  re- 
inforcement of  manure  with  phosphates. 

Experiments  in  the  reinforcement  of  manure — 
Field  and  laboratory  experiments  with  manure  have 
been  conducted  at  the  Ohio  experiment  station  since 
1897,  the  object  of  which  is  to 'gain  information  re- 
garding the  losses  suffered  by  manure  on  exposure 
to  the  weather  and  also  to  test  the  effect  of  adding 
certain  preservative  or  reinforcing  materials  to  the 
manure. 

During  the  first  years  of  these  experiments  five 
lots  of  cattle  manure,  of  1,000  pounds  each,  were 
taken  in  April  from  an  open  barnyard  in  which  the 
manure  had  lain  through  the  winter.  One  lot  re- 
ceived no  treatment,  while  with  each  of  the  other 
four  20  pounds,  either  of  gypsum,  kainit,  acid  phos- 
phate or  finely  pulverized  phosphate  rock,  was  thor- 
oughly mixed. 

At  the  same  time  five  similar  lots  were  taken 
from  box  stalls  where  the  manure  had  been  tram- 
pled under  foot  during  accumulation,  and  similarly 
treated.    For  the  first  two  seasons  this  manure  was 


168 


THE    REINFORCEMENT    OF    MANURE  169 

produced  by  bulls,  receiving  a  maintenance  ration 
only,  while  the  yard  manure  came  from  liberally 
fed  dairy  cows ;  but  since  then  it  has  been  the  prac- 
tice to  have  both  yard  and  stall  manure  produced 
by  fattening  steers. 

After  lying  a  few  weeks  the  manure  was  spread 
upon  the  clover  in  a  three-year  rotation  of  corn, 
wheat  and  clover,  the  clover  being  shortly  after- 
ward plowed  under  for  the  corn,  the  manure  being 
applied  at  the  rate  of  eight  tons  per  acre. 

Because  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  quantity  of 
fresh  manure  required  to  produce  a  ton  of  yard 
manure  under  this  system,  the  method  of  selecting 
the  manure  was  changed  in  1903,  and  since  then  all 
the  manure  for  the  experiment  is  taken  from  the 
stable  in  December  or  January  and  subjected  to 
the  different  treatments,  after  which  one-half  of  each 
of  the  differently  treated  lots  is  spread  in  its  place 
in  the  field,  while  the  other  half  is  piled  in  a  flat, 
compact  heap  in  an  open  yard,  where  it  remains 
until  April,  when  it  is  spread  in  its  place  and  the 
whole  is  plowed  under. 

Three  tracts  of  land  are  used  in  the  experiment, 
in  order  that  each  crop  may  be  grown  every  sea- 
son, the  tracts  being  arranged  as  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram. 

The  corn  is  cut  off  in  September  and  wheat  is 
sown  after  it,  clover  being  sown  on  the  wheat  the 
following  spring.  The  results  of  this  test,  for  the 
15  years  ending  with  191 1,  are  shown  in  Tables 
XLI  and  XLII. 


;i    Kothingr 


^    Yard  manure  and  gypsum 


Stall  manure  and  gypsum 


2    Yard^  manure,  untreated 


S    Stall  manure,  untreated 


Nothing 


Chemical  fertillier 


Chemical  fertilizer 


S    Nothing 


:i 

Nothing 

5 

Yard  manure 

and  gypsum 

« 

Stall  manure 

and  gypsum 

s 

Nothing 

w 

Yard  manure 

,  untreated 

55 

Stall  manure 

untreated 

^ 

Nothing 

S 

CheraicaHertilizer                             | 

5 

Chemical  fertilizer 

g 

Nothing 

s 

Nothing 

5 

Yard  manure  and  gypsum 

s 

Stall  manure  and  gypsum 

r" 

Noth.ng 

s 

Yard  manure,  untreated 

i" 

Stall  manure,  untreated 

^ 

Nothing 

s 

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CO 

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g" 

Nothing 

Nothinir 

„ 

Yard  manure  and  floats 

t>c 

Stall  manure  and  floats 

Ctf 

Nothing 

*. 

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Ol 

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&. 

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^ 

Yard  manure  and  kainit 

OC 

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cc 

Nothing 

£ 

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H. 

Yard  manure  and  floats 

re 

Stall  manure  and  floats 

t>; 

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^ 

Yard  manure  and  acid  phos. 

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Stall  manure  and'acid  phos. 

c; 

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cc 

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£ 

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to 

Stall  manure  and  floats 

C3 

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Yard  manure  and  acid  phos. 

cr 

Stall  manure  and  acid  pbos. 

c: 

Nothing 

Yard  manure  and  kainit 

OC 

Stall  manure  and  kainit 

ec 

Nothing 

£ 



Diagram  III  of  Arrangement  of  Plots  and  Plan  of  Fertilizing  in  Experi- 
ments WITH  Manure  at  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 

170 


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17? 


THE   REINFORCEMENT   OF    MANURE  173 

In  this  experiment  every  third  plot  is  left  con- 
tinuously unmanured,  and  the  manured  plots  are  ar- 
ranged in  pairs,  as  indicated  in  the  table,  with  an 
unmanured  plot  on  each  side  of  each  pair,  the  in- 
crease on  the  manured  plots  being  computed  by 
comparison  with  the  two  unmanured  plots  between 
which  they  lie. 

Superiority  of  stall  manure  over  yard  manure — 
Table  XLI  shows  that  in  every  case  the  average  yield 
from  the  stall  manure  is  decidedly  greater  than  from 
the  yard  manure,  excepting  the  wheat  on  the  gyp- 
sum-treated plots. 

The  table  also  shows  that  each  of  the  materials 
used  in  treating  the  manure  has  added  to  its  effec- 
tiveness, and  that  in  this  respect  the  phosphatic  ma- 
terials have  been  more  useful  than  the  gypsum  and 
kainit.  These  points  are  more  clearly  brought  out 
in  Table  XLII,  in  which  the  relative  value  of  the 
increase  resulting  from  the  variously  treated  ma- 
nures is  shown.  Table  XLI  shows  that  the  yields 
on  plots  I  and  ii  in  this  test  have  been  larger  than 
any  other  unfertilized  yields  except  those  of  corn 
on  plot  17.  The  details  of  the  experiment  show 
that  these  exaggerated  yields  are  due  chiefly  to  Sec- 
tion C.  No  sufficient  explanation  of  this  difference 
is  found  in  the  contour  or  other  appearance  of  the 
land,  and  it  is  suspected  that  at  some  time  the  land 
covered  by  these  plots  which,  it  will  be  observed, 
stand  end  to  end,  may  have  been  occupied  by  a 
fence  row.  Were  we  to  calculate  the  increase  on  the 
basis  of  the  general  average  of  all  the  unfertilized 


174 


THE   REINFORCEMENT    OF    MANURE 


175 


plots,  the  results  would  be  as  shown  in  Table  XLIII, 
which  gives  for'  the  average  of  the  two  kinds  of 
manure  the  net  value  of  increase  per  ton  of  manure 
as  compared  (A)  with  the  adjoining  unfertilized 
plots,  or  (B)  with  the  general  average  of  all  the 
unfertilized  plots. 


Table  XLIII.  Net  Value  of  Increase  a  Ton  of 
Manure  as  Compared  (A)  with  Adjoining  Un- 
fertilized Plots,  or  (B)  with  the  General 
Average  of  All  the  Unfertilized  Plots. 


Gypsum  as  a  manure  preservative — Gypsum  has 
been  used  for  a  long  time  as  a  preservative  of 
manure,  and  this  experiment  shows  that  it  may  be 
used  with  excellent  effect,  the  gypsum-treated 
manure  producing  increase  to  the  value  of  49  cents 
per  ton  greater  than  the  untreated,  over  and  above 
the  cost  of  treatment,  in  the  case  of  yard  manure, 
and  25  cents  per  ton  greater  in  the  case  of  stall 
manure,  gypsum  being  rated  at  $6  per  ton. 

Kainit  as  a  manure  preservative — Kainit  has  also 
been  highly  recommended  for  this  purpose,  and  the 


176  FARM    MANURES 

results  of  this  experiment  would  have  justified  its 
use  had  not  more  effective  materials  been  found. 
As  compared  with  gypsum,  the  total  increase  from 
kainit  has  been  greater,  but  the  greater  cost  of  kainit 
in  Ohio,  as  compared  with  gypsum,  has  left  the  net 
gain  practically  the  same,  kainit  being  rated  at  $17 
a  ton.  In  the  case  of  both  materials  the  freight  is  so 
important  a  factor  in  the  cost,  that  it  would  in  many 
cases  determine  which  of  the  two  materials  should 
be  used. 

On  soils  deficient  in  potassium  kainit  would  serve 
to  reinforce  the  manure  in  this  element,  and  might 
be  expected  to  produce  a  relatively  greater  increase 
than  it  has  shown  in  this  test;  but  here  it  seems 
that  the  chief  effect  of  both  the  gypsum  and  kainit 
has  been  to  arrest  a  part  of  the  ammonia  escaping 
from  the  fermenting  manure,  or  to  reduce  the  activ- 
ity of  fermentation,  and  thus  conserve  the  ammonia. 

Common  salt  as  a  manure  preservative — Common 
salt  has  been  found  useful  in  reducing  the  ammonia- 
cal  fermentation  of  the  manure  heap  and  at  the  same 
time  promoting  its  decay,  an  effect  possibly  due  in 
part  to  the  hygroscopic  character  of  salt,  by  which 
it  promotes  the  absorption  of  moisture  in  the  heap, 
thus  preventing  the  excessive  heat  resulting  from 
the  uncontrolled  action  of  the  ammonia-producing 
organisms,  and  giving  the  nitric  ferments  opportu- 
nity to  convert  the  ammonia  into  nitrates  before  its 
escape. 

Reinforcement  of  manure  with  crude  phosphates 
— For  an  unknown  period  bones  have  been  softened 


THE   REINFORCEMENT   OF    MANURE  1 7/ 

by  mixing  them,  after  pulverizing,  with  fermenting 
manure,  and  this  fact  suggested  the  use,  in  the  ex- 
periment under  consideration,  of  the  crude  phos- 
phate rock  from  which  acid  phosphate  is  made,  and 
which  is  known  as  floats.  This  material,  it  will  be 
observed,  has  added  more  than  $i  per  ton  to  the 
net  effectiveness  of  the  manure,  and  the  net  increase 
per  ton  of  manure  for  floats  over  gypsum  has  been 
more  than  half  a  dollar  per  ton  of  manure,  floats 
being  rated  at  $8  per  ton,  and  gypsum  at  $5.  In 
this  case  both  the  original  cost  and  the  freight  affect 
the  relative  profit,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  the  net 
value  of  the  increase  from  floats  is  greater,  for  both 
kinds  of  manure,  than  the  total  value  of  the  in- 
crease from  either  gypsum  or  kainit.  In  other 
words,  it  has  been  more  profitable  to  use  floats  at 
$8  per  ton  than  to  use  gypsum  or  kainit,  though 
they  had  cost  nothing.* 

Reference  to  Table  XLI  shows  that  the  total 
yields  of  corn  and  wheat  have  been  greater  from 
the  manures  treated  with  acid  phosphate  than  from 
those  treated  with  floats,  while  the  hay  yields  have 
been  a  little  smaller  on  the  yard-manure  plot  after 
the  acid  phosphate  than  after  the  floats.  These  dif- 
ferences, however,  have  been  so  small  that  the  final 
conclusion  respecting  the  relative  efficiency  of  the 


*  The  Dominion  Experimental  Farms  have  used  "  untreated  mineral  phos- 
phate" in  the  treatment  of  manure  since  1888;  but  whereas  the  treated 
manure  was  used  at  the  rate  of  six  tons  per  acre  annually,  the  untreated  ma- 
nure was  used  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  tons,  thus  leaving  no  opportunity  for 
comparison  of  the  effect  of  treated  with  untreated  manure,  nor  of  the  effect  of 
the  manure  on  the  phosphate  ;  for  while  the  six  tons  of  treated  manure  has 
produced  nearly  as  great  an  increase  as  the  15  tons  untreated,  the  latter  quan- 
tity is  so  far  in  excess  of  the  capacity  of  the  crop  to  utilize  its  constituents 
that  no  comparison  can  be  made. 


178 


THE   REINFORCEMENT    OF    MANURE  1 79 

two  reinforcing-  materials  rests  upon  whether  the 
soil  is  assumed  to  be  of  uniform  natural  fertility, 
or  whether  we  assume  that  there  has  been  a  pro- 
gressive decrease  in  natural  fertility  from  plot  i  to 
plot  7,  as  is  indicated  by  the  yields  of  all  the  crops, 
the  indication  being  that  the  yield  has  fallen  ofif  more 
abruptly  between  plots  i  and  4  than  between  plots 
4  and  7. 

The  ordinary  retail  price  of  acid  phosphate,  14 
percent  grade,  is  $15  to  $17  per  ton,  though  it  may 
be  bought  in  carloads,  freight  paid,  by  those  who  are 
informed,  at  not  exceeding  one  dollar  per  ton  for 
each  percent  of  phosphoric  acid,  or  $14  per  ton  for 
the  14  percent  grade.  At  this  price  the  40  pounds 
per  ton  of  manure,  or  320  pounds  per  acre,  used  in 
this  experiment,  would  cost  $2.24  per  acre,  thus 
leaving  the  net  gain  from  the  acid  phosphate  $32.97 
per  acre,  or  $4.12  per  ton  of  manure,  for  the  yard 
manure,  and  $38.71  per  acre,  or  $4.84  per  ton,  for 
the  stall  manure. 

The  floats  used  in  this  test  has  analyzed  about  27 
percent  total  "phosphoric  acid,''  so  that  it  has  car- 
ried nearly  twice  as  much  phosphorus  to  the  soil  as 
the  acid  phosphate,  and  if  reinforcement  of  the  soil 
with  phosphorus  were  the  only  effect  of  the  treat- 
ment of  manure,  it  would  be  expected  that  in  time 
the  floats-treated  manure  would  begin  to  show  a 
greater  effect  than  that  treated  with  acid  phosphate. 
That  time,  however,  has  not  yet  arrived,  as  the  combi- 
nation of  manure  with  acid  phosphate  is  still  producing 
a  larger  yield  than  that  treated  with  floats.    This  point 


i8o 


FARM    MANURES 


is  brought  out  by  Table  XLIV,  in  which  the  yields 
of  corn  and  wheat  are  compared  by  six-year  periods. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  corn  crop  shows  a 
diminished  yield  for  the  last  period  under  every 
treatment  except  that  of  the  fresh  manure  reinforced 
with  floats  and  acid  phosphate,  but  the  wheat  crop 
shows  a  large  increase  in  yield  for  the  last  six-year 
period  over  the  first  in  every  case,  and  the  rate  of  in- 
crease has  been  greater  on  the  acid  phosphate  plots 
than  on  the  floats  plots  for  both  kinds  of  manure 


Table  XLIV.  Comparison  of  Stall  and  Yard 
Manures,  Variously  Treated.  First  Six  Years 
Compared  with  Last  Six  Years.  Average  Yield 
IN  Bushels  an  Acre. 


Plot 
No. 

Yield  an  acre 

Gain  (+)  or 

loss  (-)  for 

second  6  years 

Crop  and  treatment 

First 
6   years 

Last 
6    years 

An  acre 

Percent 

Com,  unmanur 
"      yard  mar 

ed 

40.10 
54.98 
60.88 
58.99 
60.22 
61.46 
59.20 
63.50 
61.05 
62.68 
63.46 
8.51 
15.63 
21.90 
18.50 
22.39 
21.50 
17.59 
22.54 
20.99 
24.28 
23.37 

27.63 
47.36 
55.08 
50.26 
58.61 
59.08 
57.11 
57.83 
59.08 
63.94 
65.29 
14.31 
24.03 
26.94 
24.59 
28.83 
30.94 
25.10 
25.59 
25.66 
29.72 
30.18 

-12.47 

-  7.62 

-  5.80 

-  8.73 

-  1.61 

-  1.38 

-  2.09 

-  5.67 

-  1.97 
+  1.26 
+  1.83 
+  5.80 
4-  8.40 
-1-  5.04 
+  6.09 
+  6.44 
4-  9.44 
+  7.51 
+  3.05 
4-  4.67 
+  5.44 
+  6.81 

30 

15 

lure,  untreated 

—14 

12 
8 
2 
5 

16 

Wheat,  unmani 

and  gypsum 

"    kainit 

"     floats 

*          "    acid  phosphate 
'        untreated 

-  9 

-IS 

-  3 

-  2 
_  3 

13 
9 
3 

and  gypsum 

'           "    kainit 

'           "    floats 

-  9 

-  3 

+  2 
+  3 
+68 
+54 
+23 
+3i 
+28 
+44 
+42 
+13 
+22 
+22 
+28 

6 

'           "    acid  phosphate 
ired. . 

IS 

yard  ma 

;;    stall. 

12 
8 
2 

and  gypsum 

"    kainit 

'          "    floats 

5 
16 

"    acid  phosphate 
'        untreated 

13 
9 
3 

and  gypsum 

"    kainit 

"    floats 

6 

'          "    acid  phosphate 

THE   REINFORCEMENT   OF    MANURE  l8l 

The  land  upon  which  this  experiment  is  being 
conducted  has, been  reduced  to  a  very  low  state  of 
fertility  by  many  years  of  exhaustive  farming,  and 
while  it  shows  a  great  lack  of  phosphorus,  by  its 
ready  response  to  phosphatic  fertilizers,  yet  it  is  equally 
hungry  for  nitrogen. 

To  illustrate :  In  the  experiments  with  fertilizers, 
conducted  on  the  same  farm,  the  i8-year  average 
unfertilized  yield  of  wheat  grown  in  rotation  with 
other  crops  has  been  10.72  bushels;  where  phos- 
phorus has  been  given  the  yield  has  risen  to  18.69 
bushels;  where  potassium  has  been  added  to  the 
phosphorus  there  has  been  a  further  increase  to 
19.91  bushels,  and  where  nitrogen  has  been  added 
to  the  combination  of  phosphorus  and  potassium 
the  average  yield  has  risen  to  27.13  bushels. 

This  hunger  of  the  soil  for  both  phosphorus  and 
nitrogen  explains  the  fact  that  the  acid  phosphate 
has  been  more  effective  when  used  in  combination 
with  manure  than  when  used  alone;  for  whereas 
the  quantity  used  with  manure  has  increased  the 
annual  value  of  the  total  yield  by  $5.24  per  acre 
over  that  given  by  the  untreated  manure,  yet  when 
the  same  quantity  of  acid  phosphate  has  been  used 
alone  in  the  five-year  rotation  on  the  same  farm  its 
increase  has  amounted  in  value  to  only  $3  annually. 
Each  material  has  supplemented  and  reinforced  the 
other,  the  phosphate  supplying  the  element  in  which 
the  manure  was  deficient,  and  the  manure  furnish- 
ing the  nitrogen  and  potassium  required  to  utilize 
the  full  effect  of  the  phosphate. 


CHAPTER  X 
METHODS  OF  APPLYING  MANURE 

Effect  on  manure  of  drying — A  generation  ago  it 
was  the  general  practice,  in  handling  manure,  to 
haul  it  from  the  barnyard  to  the  field  when  conveni- 
ent, pile  it  there  in  small  heaps,  15  to  20  feet  apart, 
and  leave  it  in  these  heaps  until  the  time  came  to 
plow  the  land,  when  the  manure  was  scattered  just 
ahead  of  the  plow  and  turned  under  as  quickly  as 
possible ;  the  idea  being  that  the  drying  of  the  manure 
would  cause  a  large  part  of  its  virtue  to  be  lost. 

Few  farmers  of  that  day  knew  that  the  pungent, 
invisible  gas  escaping  from  the  manure  heap  was, 
in  fact,  its  most  valuable  constituent.  The  great 
n\ajority  did  not  know  that  this  gas  was  constantly 
being  formed,  so  long  as  the  manure  lay  in  moist 
heaps,  and  was  as  constantly  passing  from  the 
heaps  into  the  air;  they  did  not  know  that  the  dry- 
ing of  the  manure  took  away  only  water,  leaving 
all  the  actual  plant  food  behind,  and  that,  in  fact,  the 
complete  removal  of  the  water  would  leave  the  manure 
in  better  condition  for  preservation  than  before. 

We  now  know  that  the  decomposition  of  manure 
can  only  take  place  in  the  presence  of  moisture; 
that  if  we  can  withdraw  all  moisture,  the  residue 
will  preserve  all  its  fertilizing  qualities  indefinitely, 
and  that  when  the  moisture  is  evaporated  from  the 

182 


METHODS    OF   APPLYING    MANURE  183 

manure  heap  it  carries  with  it  none  of  these  ferti- 
lizing qualities,  but  goes  into  the  atmosphere  sim- 
ply as  watery  vapor. 

Everybody  knows  that  when  brine  is  evaporated 
all  the  salt  is  left  behind,  and  this  is  equally  true  of 
manure  water.  There  are  two  ways,  and  only  two, 
in  which  manure  loses  its  value;  these  are  leach- 
ing and  the  heating  which  accompanies  chemical 
action.  When  the  manure  is  heaped  in  the  field 
both  these  agencies  of  loss  begin  their  action.  The 
rain  falls  upon  the  heap  and  washes  its  more  solu- 
ble, and,  therefore,  more  valuable,  constituents  into 
the  ground  immediately  under  and  around  the  heap, 
and  chemical,  or  more  properly,  bacterial  action  be- 
gins in  the  heap,  liberating  its  nitrogen  and  convert- 
ing its  phosphorus  and  potassium  into  more  soluble 
forms,  to  be  washed  out  by  the  next  shower. 

Of  all  the  ways  in  which  manure  is  handled, 
therefore,  this  old  way  of  piling  it  in  small  heaps 
in  the  field  is  the  most  wasteful.  It  is  worse  than 
leaving  it  under  the  barn  eaves  and  letting  it  leach 
out  there,  because  of  the  waste  of  labor  involved  in 
hauling  a  lot  of  material  to  the  field  to  be  there 
thrown  away,  and  because  the  excess  of  fertilizing 
material  washed  into  the  soil  under  the  manure 
heaps  is  an  actual  injury  to  the  soil,  if  the  heaps  be 
allowed  to  lie  for  any  length  of  time.  The  over- 
growth of  lodged  and  half-filled  grain  over  such 
spots  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  convince  any  observ- 
ing man  of  the  mistake  of  such  a  method,  and  yet 
there  are  thousands  of  farmers  who  still  follow  it. 


184  FARM    MANURES 

Value  of  the  liquid  manure — If  we  would  but  stop 
and  reflect  that  fully  half  the  potential  fertilizing 
value  of  the  manure,  as  it  is  voided  by  the  animal, 
is  found  in  the  salts  dissolved  in  the  liquid  portion ; 
that  the  full  effect  of  neither  the  solid  nor  the  liquid 
portion  can  be  realized  except  when  used  in  connec- 
tion with  the  other;  that  when  the  liquid  is  per- 
mitted to  flow  away,  in  stable  or  yard,  or  when  it  is 
displaced  by  rain  and  separated  from  the  solid  por- 
tion, whether  in  yard  or  field,  it  carries  with  it 
these  fertilizing  salts;  but  that  when  it  is  merely 
evaporated  they  are  left  behind  and  still  combined 
with  those  of  the  solid  portion,  it  would  be  easy  to 
realize  that  the  only  right  way  to  handle  manure  is 
to  collect  the  liquid  by  abundant  absorbents,  get  it 
promptly  to  the  field  where  its  effect  is  wanted, 
spread  it  there  at  once  and  as  perfectly  as  possible, 
and  then  let  sunshine  and  rain  do  their  work.  The 
sunshine  will  evaporate  the  water,  and  that  only, 
and  the  rain  which  follows  will  redissolve  the  salts 
and  wash  them  into  all  the  soil,  where  they  are  needed, 
and  not  simply  into  little  spots  here  and  there. 

The  manure  spreader — When  we  come  to  under- 
stand the  nature  and  value  of  manure,  the  need  of 
thorough  distribution  becomes  apparent.  When  it 
is  spread  with  the  fork  there  will  inevitably  be 
lumps  here  and  bare  spots  there,  thus  losing  part 
of  the  possible  effect  in  one  spot  from  excess  and 
in  another  by  deficiency.  It  is  true  that  the  dis- 
tribution of  manure  with  a  fork  may  be  very  much 
improved  by  following  with  a  smoothing  harrow, 


METHODS   OF   APPLYING    MANURE  185 

but  even  with  this  extra  labor  the  work  cannot  be 
so  well  done  as  with  a  manure  spreader. 

Another  great  advantage  in  the  manure  spreader 
is  that  it  is  always  ready  for  its  special  purpose,  and 
therefore,  the  manure  is  much  more  likely  to  be 
drawn  promptly  to  the  field  than  if  a  wagon,  used 
chiefly  for  other  purposes,  must  be  gotten  ready  for 
this  job  every  time  a  lot  of  manure  is  to  be  moved. 

Not  only  is  manure  distributed  more  perfectly  by 
the  spreader  than  by  hand,  but  the  work  is  done 
more  cheaply.  With  the  steadily  increasing  cost  of 
labor  it  becomes  constantly  more  important  to  de- 
vise means  for  substituting  the  labor  of  horses  for 
that  of  men,  and  with  the  spreader  a  team  will  un- 
load a  ton  of  manure  in  a  small  fraction  of  the  time 
that  would  be  required  to  do  it  by  hand. 

Considering  the  convenience,  the  perfection  and 
the  economy  of  its  work,  the  manure  spreader 
should  be  ranked  next  to  the  automatic  harvester  in 
importance  as  a  farm  implement. 

Spreading  manure  in  winter — Many  farmers  fear 
that  if  they  spread  manure  on  frozen  ground,  espe- 
cially on  hillsides,  it  will  be  in  danger  of  being 
washed  away  by  the  spring  freshets;  but  clay  is  a 
powerful  absorbent,  and  the  rain  which  would  carry 
away  the  fertilizing  salts  of  the  manure  would  very 
soon  thaw  the  surface  of  the  soil  so  that  it  would 
extract  these  salts  from  the  water  flowing  over  it. 

Admitting  that  there  may  be  occasional  small 
losses  from  this  source,  such  losses  are  unquestion- 
ably insignificant  as  compared  with  those  which 


1 86  FARM    MANURES 

occur  in  the  average  barnyard,  or  in  the  small 
manure  heaps  in  the  field. 

Fresh  vs.  rotted  manure — It  has  been  commonly 
assumed  that  the  effectiveness  of  manure  is  in- 
creased by  rotting,  and  old  books  on  agriculture, 
and  especially  on  gardening,  abound  in  advice  to  use 
only  "well-rotted"  manure,  and  in  methods  to  bring 
it  to  this  condition.  The  investigations  which  have 
been  described  in  the  previous  pages  show  that  the 
ton  of  rotted  manure  may  sometimes  contain  as 
many  pounds  of  fertilizing  constituents  as  the  ton 
of  fresh  manure,  and  so  long  as  these  investigations 
did  not  go  into  the  question  of  the  loss  of  fertilizing 
constituents  suffered  by  manure  in  rotting,  and  of 
the  comparative  aA^ailability  of  the  constituents  in 
the  two  kinds  of  manure,  it  was  easy  to  imagine 
that  rotted  manure  might  be  more  valuable  than 
fresh  manure.  Prof.  F.  T.  Shutt,  of  the  Domin- 
ion Experimental  Farms,  says,  on  this  point: 

"The  advantages  gained  by  rotting  may  be 
enumerated  briefly  as  follows  :  The  manure  becomes 
disintegrated  and  of  uniform  character  throughout, 
allowing  an  easier  and  more  uniform  distribution  in 
the  field  and  a  more  intimate  mixing  with  the  soil ; 
the  coarse  litter  is  decomposed  and  its  plant  food 
thus  made  more  available;  compounds  are  formed 
from  the  organic  matter  that  more  readily  produce 
humus  within  the  soil ;  the  availability  of  the  nitrogen 
of  the  solid  portion  of  the  manure  is  increased;  the 
phosphates  are  made  more  assimilable ;  there  is  less 


METHODS    OF    APPfA'TXC    MANURE  15/ 

weight  of  manure  to  haul  to  the  fields ;  the  large  num- 
ber of  weed  seeds  that  may  be  present  are  destroyed." 

After  thus  stating  the  advantages  of  rotted 
manure  Professor  Shutt  says : 

"It  has  also  been  seen,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
even  under  a  good  system  of  preservation,  rotting 
must  be  accompanied  by  loss  of  fertilizing  constitu- 
ents. Weight  for  weight,  rotted  manure  is  more 
valuable  than  fresh  manure,  containing  a  larger  per- 
centage of  plant  food  and  having  these  elements 
in  a  more  available  condition,  but  the  losses  in 
rotting  may,  and  frequently  do,  outbalance  the  bene- 
fits. Undoubtedly  the  safest  storehouse  for  manure 
is  in  the  soil.  Once  in  the  soil,  the  only  loss  that 
can  occur  is  through  draining  away  of  the  soluble 
nitrates,  and  this  is  usually  very  slight,  indeed  it  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  loss  of  nitrogen  in  the 
fermenting  manure  heap.  We,  therefore,  unhesi- 
tatingly say  that  the  farmer  who  gets  his  manure 
while  still  fresh  into  the  soil  returns  to  it  for  the 
future  use  of  his  crops  much  more  plant  nourishment 
than  he  who  allows  the  manure  to  accumulate  in 
piles  that  receive  little  or  no  care,  and  which,  there- 
fore, must  waste  by  excessive  fermentation  or  leach- 
ing, or  both."* 

Whether  the  constituents  of  rotted  manure  are 
really  more  valuable,  pound  for  pound,  than  those 
of  fresh  manure,  however,  has  been  shown  by  the 
work  of  Mr.  Ames,  of  the  Ohio  station,  quoted  on 
page  147,  to  be  dependent  upon  whether  the  rotting 

*  Central  Experimental  Farm  Bulletin  31,  pp.  23,  27. 


1 88  FARM    MANURES 

has  been  conducted  under  such  conditions  as  to 
avoid  all  loss  of  the  more  readily  soluble  portions, 
either  by  leaching  or  by  seepage,  so  that  under  the 
conditions  which  usually  attend  the  rotting  of  manure 
it  not  only  loses  in  total  quantity  of  plant  food,  but  in 
the  relative  value  of  that  which  is  left. 

As  a  study  of  the  comparative  value  of  the  two 
kinds  of  manure,  an  experiment  was  begun  at  the 
Dominion  Experimental  Farm  at  Ottawa  in  1888,  in 
which  wheat,  barley,  oats,  ensilage  corn,  mangels 
and  turnips  are  grown  continuously  on  land  cleared 
from  the  forest  for  the  purposes  of  the  experiment, 
and  in  which  one  plot  (No.  2)  has  received  annually 
15  tons  per  acre  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  fresh 
manure  and  cow  manure,  and  another  plot  (No.  i) 
has  received  the  same  quantity  of  "well-rotted" 
manure  from  the  same  classes  of  animals. 

This  experiment  was  continued  without  change 
for  10  years;  the  manuring  was  then  discontinued 
until  1905,  in  order  to  study  the  residual  effect  of 
the  manures.  The  application  of  the  manures  was 
resumed  in  1905.  Table  XLV  shows  the  average 
yield  per  acre  for  the  entire  period  of  experiment,  as 
computed  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  director. 

These  experiments  show  practically  no  difference 
in  the  effectiveness  of  the  two  kinds  of  manure,  ton 
for  ton,  the  only  decided  advantage  indicated  for  the 
fresh  manure  being  that  it  has  required  more  than 
two  tons  of  fresh  manure  to  produce  one  ton  of 
rotted  manure — a  difference  abundantly  sufficient  to 
justify  the  use  of  fresh  manure. 


METHODS   OF   APPLYING    MANURE 


189 


Table  XLV.     Comparison   of   Fresh   and   Rotted 
Manure  at  the  Dominion  Experimental  Farm. 


Average  yield  an  acre 


No 
manure 


Rotted 
manure 


Fresh 
manure 


Wheat,  bushels . 

Barley,      " 

Oats, 

Silage  com,  tons 

Turnips,  " 

Mangels,  *' 


11.24 

15.13 

35.39 

6.33 

7.50 

8.21 


22.53 
37.12 
52.48 
14.92 
15.70 
22.18 


22.77 
37.07 
56.11 
14.22 
15.73 
21.21 


But  15  tons  of  manure,  applied  every  year,  would 
carry  such  large  quantities  of  fertilizing  elements 
that  there  would  have  to  be  a  very  great  difference 
in  effectiveness  if  the  crops  were  to  show  it.  Tak- 
ing the  analyses  of  similar  manures  made  by  Pro- 
fessor Shutt  in  1898  (see  page  144),  we  find  that 
15  tons  of  the  fresh  manure  would  have  carried  180 
pounds  of  nitrogen,  56  pounds  of  available  phos- 
phoric acid  and  200  pounds  of  available  potash,  or 
as  much  of  each  of  these  available  constituents  as 
would  be  contained  in  90  bushels  of  wheat  with  its 
straw,  or  26  tons  of  mangels.  Of  course,  the  total 
available  plant  food  is  never  completely  utilized  by 
the  crop,  but  the  differences  between  the  quantities 
supplied  in  the  manure  in  this  instance  and  those 
recovered  in  the  increase  of  crop  are  so  great  as  to 
show  that  the  weight  of  crop  was  limited,  not  by  the 
plant  food  supplied  in  the  manure,  but  by  seasonal, 
physical  or  physiological  conditions. 


CHAPTER  XI 
WHERE  TO  USE  MANURE 

Manuring  corn — While  all  the  crops  ordinarily 
grown  on  the  farm  may  be  benefited  by  judicious 
applications  of  manure,  there  are  some  to  which 
it  is  better  adapted  than  to  others,  and  which,  there- 
fore, should  have  the  preference  if  there  is  not  a 
sufficient  supply  for  all,  and  of  these  corn  easily 
stands  first. 

Of  all  the  crops  grown  in  the  Temperate  Zone  none 
is  capable  of  producing  as  much  food  to  the  acre 
as  Indian  corn.  A  crop  of  80  bushels  of  corn  to  the 
acre  is  more  easily  attained  than  one  of  40  bushels 
of  wheat,  and  while  the  stover  which  produces  this 
quantity  of  corn  will  weigh  but  little  more  than 
the  straw  carrying  half  as  much  wheat,  yet  it  is 
practicable  to  convert  a  very  much  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  stover  into  meat  or  milk  than  of  the 
wheat  straw,  so  that  the  corn  crop  will  yield  at  least 
twice  as  much  potential  food  to  the  acre  as  wheat. 

If  we  compare  corn  with  potatoes  we  would  need 
to  raise  more  than  500  bushels  of  potatoes  to  the 
acre  to  produce  as  much  digestible  dry  material  as 
is  yielded  by  the  grain  alone  of  an  80-bushel  corn 
crop,  but  the  comparative  rate  of  production  of  the 
two  crops  under  the  ordinary  circumstances  is  less 
than  three  bushels  of  potatoes  to  one  of  corn. 

190 


WHERE   TO    USE    MANURE  I9T 

The  average  rate  of  production  of  the  different 
crops  in  Ohio,  as  shown  by  the  statistics  collected 
by  the  township  assessors  for  the  ten  years,  1890- 
99,  was  as  follows : 

Corn,  33-68  bushels  an  acre 

Wheat,  14.60  "          "  " 

Oats,  29.34  '^          "  " 

Potatoes,  75.25  "          "  " 

On  an  average,  about  60  pounds  of  stover  is  re- 
quired to  carry  a  bushel  of  corn;  about  iio  pounds 
of  straw  to  the  bushel  of  wheat,  and  about  70 
pounds  to  the  bushel  of  oats. 

This  supremacy  of  corn  as  a  food  producer  is 
due  to  its  ability  to  secure  and  utilize  immense 
quantities  of  soil  nitrogen.  Making  its  growth,  as 
it  does,  during  the  summer  months,  when  nitrifica- 
tion is  most  active,  and  under  conditions  of  culture 
which  favor  the  action  of  the  nitrifying  organisms, 
it  has  greater  opportunity  to  obtain  this  element 
than  those  crops  which  make  most  of  their  growth 
during  the  cooler  months. 

Further  than  this,  the  corn  plant  is  so  constituted 
that  it  will  reach  its  greatest  perfection  in  a  soil 
so  rich  in  nitrogen  that  the  small  grains  would  lodge 
on  it  before  reaching  maturity,  and,  therefore,  corn 
will  thrive  under  doses  of  manure  that  would  be 
fatal  to  wheat  or  oats. 

Another  reason  for  giving  the  corn  crop  the  pref- 
erence in  the  distribution  of  manure  is  that  this 
crop  is  ready  for  the  manure  early  in  the  spring, 


192  FARM    MANURES 

thus  making  it  possible  to  avoid  the  waste  which 
usually  follows  the  keeping  of  manure  through  the 
summer.  Moreover,  corn  is  usually  grown  on  sod 
land,  on  which  the  manure  may  be  spread  at  any 
time  during  the  fall  or  winter,  if  the  land  is  reason- 
ably level.  Many  farmers  are  now  following  this 
method,  and  they  find  that  the  manure  spread  dur- 
ing the  fall  or  early  winter  produces  larger  crops 
than  that  spread  later. 

Of  course,  manures  spread  on  steep  hillsides  may 
lose  somewhat  by  leaching,  but  it  is  probable  that 
the  loss  which  occurs  in  this  way  is  insignificant,  as 
compared  with  that  which  takes  place  in  the 
ordinary  farmyard;  for  clay  has  a  powerful  affinity 
for  manure,  and  a  thin  sheet  of  manure  water  flow- 
ing down  a  hillside  will  lose  most  of  its  manurial 
salts  before  it  reaches  the  bottom. 

Potatoes  are  also  a  spring  crop  which  is  usually 
grown  on  sod  land,  and  while  they  produce  less 
actual  nutriment  to  the  acre  than  corn,  the  average 
market  value  per  acre  of  the  potato  crop  is  con- 
siderably greater  than  that  of  the  corn  crop,  hence 
it  is  a  very  general  and  rational  practice  to  deal 
liberally  with  this  crop  in  the  distribution  of 
manure.  In  fact,  it  is  a  principle  of  general  applica- 
tion that  the  higher  the  acre-value  of  a  crop  the 
more  profitably  it  will  respond  to  manuring  or  fer- 
tilizing; for  this  reason  all  crops  known  as  truck 
crops  may  well  receive  first  attention  in  the  matter 
of  manuring. 

The  oats  crop  is  seldom  directly  manured,  both 


WHERE    TO   USE    MANURE  I93 

because  it  is  a  crop  of  low  acre-value,  and  because 
it  is  so  easily  lodged  by  excess  of  nitrogen  in  the 
soil. 

Manuring  wheat — In  former  days  it  was  the  gen- 
eral custom  to  leave  the  manure  in  the  barnyard 
until  after  harvest,  and  then  apply  it  to  the  land 
intended  for  the  wheat.  So  long  as  the  idea  pre- 
vailed that  manure  must  not  be  permitted  to  be- 
come dry  it  was  the  custom  to  deposit  it  in  small 
piles  in  the  field,  these  piles  to  be  spread  in  ad- 
vance of  the  plow,  being  careful  not  to  get  too  far 
ahead  of  the  plowing;  and  the  writer,  who  has 
witnessed  every  step  in  the  progress  of  agriculture, 
from  that  of  reaping  and  threshing  the  wheat  with 
such  implements  as  Farmer  Boaz  may  have  used, 
to  the  enormous  steam  harvester  of  today,  cutting 
a  swath  of  20  feet  or  more  in  width  and  threshing 
and  sacking  the  grain  as  it  goes,  has  spent  many 
hours  in  scattering  manure  in  this  fashion. 

But  as  the  sickle  gave  place  to  the  reaper,  and  the 
bonds  of  tradition,  which  had  led  the  farmer  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father  since  man  first  learned  to  till 
the  ground,  began  to  weaken,  it  was  discovered  that 
the  drying  of  manure  was  not  so  wasteful  a  process 
as  had  been  imagined,  and  the  practice  of  plowing 
the  land  first  and  then  top  dressing  it  with  manure 
came  into  vogue,  the  farmer  finding  that  this  prac- 
tice possessed  the  double  advantage  of  permitting 
the  plowing  to  be  done  earlier,  thus  securing  the 
benefit  of  a  short  summer  fallow,  and  of  keeping  the 
coarser  portion  of  the  manure  on  the  surface,  to 


194  FARM    MANURES 

serve  as  a  partial  protection  to  the  growing-  wheat 
during  the  winter  and  a  stimulus  to  the  clover  and 
grass  seeds  during  the  early  spring. 

Later  on  commercial  fertilizers  came  into  use, 
and  these  have  proved  so  convenient  and  effective 
for  improving  the  wheat  crop  that  top  dressing  is 
much  less  practiced  than  formerly,  and  more  of  the 
manure  goes  to  the  corn  crop.  This  disposal  of  the 
manure  is  an  improvement  on  the  former  method, 
but  unfortunately  it  has  followed  a  large  decrease  in 
the  number  of  live  stock  kept,  so  that  much  less 
manure  is  being  produced  in  proportion  to  the  area 
under  cultivation  than  was  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago. 

In  the  Ohio  station's  experiments  corn,  which  has 
received  eight  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  has  given 
an  ii-year  average  yield  of  58  bushels  per  acre,  an 
increase  of  23  bushels  over  the  yield  of  the  un- 
manured  land  alongside,  and  the  wheat  which  has 
followed  this  corn  without  any  further  manuring 
or  fertilizing  has  yielded  19.7  bushels,  an  increase  of 
9.9  bushels  over  the  unmanured  yield;  whereas, 
when  the  wheat  land  has  been  top-dressed  with  the 
same  quantity  of  manure  just  before  seeding,  the 
manure  having  lain  in  the  barnyard  until  drawn  out 
for  this  purpose,  the  increase  in  yield  has  averaged 
but  I  I.I  bushels,  or  only  one  and  one-fifth  bushel 
more  than  that  given  by  the  wheat  which  has  eaten 
at  the  second  table  after  the  corn. 

In  other  words,  while  this  manure  zvas  lying  in  the 
barnyard  zvaiting  for  the  zvheat  it  might  have  grozvn 


WHERE    TO    USE    MANURE  I95 

more  than  20  bushels  of  corn  without  materially  im- 
pairing its  value  for  zvheat  production! 

Taking  no  account  of  the  fact  that  much  more 
than  a  ton  of  manure  has  to  be  thrown  into  the 
barnyard  in  the  winter  for  every  ton  taken  out  in 
August,  it  seems  evident  that  the  proper  way  to 
handle  the  winter's  accumulation  of  manure  is  to 
put  it,  as  promptly  as  possible,  upon  the  spring 
crops.  Many  farmers  have  learned  this  lesson,  and 
the  practice  is  steadily  increasing,  although  there 
are  still  far  too  many  who  follow  the  old,  wasteful 
methods. 

The  grass  crops,  both  meadows  and  pastures,  re- 
spond promptly  to  manuring.  A  familiar  illustra- 
tion of  this  point  may  be  seen  in  meadows,  the  after- 
math of  which  has  been  pastured  the  previous  fall, 
in  the  superior  growth  around  the  animal  droppings. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  liberal  dressing  of  manure 
would  have  doubled  the  yield  of  many  such  a 
meadow. 

In  one  of  the  experiments  of  the  Ohio  experiment 
station,  clover  and  timothy  occupy  the  land  for  two 
years,  after  corn,  oats  and  wheat  have  been  grown 
in  succession.  In  this  test  one  plot  receives  every 
five  years  a  dressing  of  1,060  pounds  of  chemical 
fertilizers,  distributed  over  the  three  cereal  crops, 
while  another  receives  during  the  same  period  16 
tons  of  open-yard  manure,  divided  between  the  corn 
and  the  wheat.  The  result  has  been  an  18-year 
average  increase  in  the  cereal  crops  to  the  value  of 
$29.72  per  acre  for  each  rotation,  for  the  chemical 


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196 


WHERE   TO   USE    MANURE  I97 

fertilizers,  as  against  a  value  of  $25.56  from  the  same 
crops  for  the  manure ;  but  the  clover  and  timothy 
have  given  a  residual  increase  following  the  chem- 
icals to  the  value  of  $9.50  per  acre,  as  against  a 
value  of  $14.04  for  the  same  grass  crops  following 
the  manured  cereals.  This  relatively  greater  effect 
of  manure  on  the  grass  crops  has  been  partly  due  to 
the  grass  seeds  carried  in  the  manure,  as  shown  by 
the  thicker  stand,  especially  of  timothy,  shown  on 
the  manured  plots ;  but  this  is  only  an  additional  rea- 
son for  using  manure  on  meadows  and  pastures 
whenever  practicable,  for  here  its  grass  seeds  give 
it  additional  value,  whereas  they  are  a  disadvantage 
on  the  cultivated  crops. 

It  is  true  that  manure  may  carry  weed  seeds  to 
the  meadows  and  pastures  as  well  as  the  more  de- 
sirable grass  seeds;  but  if  the  system  of  farming 
has  been  such  as  to  avoid  the  production  of  weeds, 
this  will  not  be  a  serious  objection. 

Meadows  and  pastures  may  be  manured  at  times 
when  it  is  not  practicable  to  manure  cultivated 
lands,  and  hence  the  system  of  farm  management 
should  contemplate  the  regular  division  of  the 
manure  produced  between  the  lands  in  grass  and 
those  under  cultivation. 

Manuring  the  orchard — Another  part  of  the  farm 
which  is  too  often  overlooked  in  the  distribution  of 
manure  is  the  orchard.  It  is  probable  that  the  seeds 
carried  in  a  full  crop  of  apples  contain  as  large  a 
quantity  of  the  essential  elements  of  fertility  as  an 
ordinary  crop  of  corn  or  wheat,  and  the  conditions 


195  FARM    MANURES 

of  cropping  in  the  orchard  are  similar  to  those  of 
continuous  culture  on  the  same  land.  It  is  true 
that  the  fruit  tree  sends  its  roots  deeper  into  the 
soil  than  the  cereals,  and  thus  has  a  larger  foraging 
ground,  but  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
starvation  is  one  of  the  prime  causes  of  irregular 
crops  and  frequent  failures  in  the  orchard. 

Orchardists  are  learning  that  conservation  of 
moisture  is  another  essential  to  successful  fruit  pro- 
duction, and  the  mulch  system  is  making  many  con- 
verts;  but  a  coarse,  strawy  manure  is  not  only  an 
ideal  mulch,  but  a  conveyer  of  needed  soil  enrich- 
ment as  well.  In  using  it  for  this  purpose  it  should 
be  kept  well  out  under  the  ends  of  the  branches,  as 
it  is  there  that  the  feeding  roots  are  most  active. 

The  only  time  in  the  year  when  manure  is  unac- 
ceptable to  the  orchard  is  the  brief  period  during 
which  the  fruit  is  being  gathered,  and  even  then  it 
might  be  spread  and  covered  with  straw,  an  opera- 
tion which  would  involve  no  waste  of  labor,  since 
more  mulching  material  can  be  used  to  advantage 
than  would  be  carried  in  a  moderate  dressing  of 
manure. 


CHAPTER  XII 
GREEN  MANURES 

Green  manures  are  crops  which  are  grown  to  be 
turned  under  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  the  land. 
The  process  of  green  manuring  serves  three  prin- 
cipal functions:  (i)  The  improvement  of  the  physi- 
cal texture  of  the  soil  by  incorporating  with  it  the 
fibrous  roots  of  the  manure  crops,  which  separate 
the  soil  particles,  permitting  a  more  ready  access 
of  air  and  moisture ;  (2)  the  bringing  up  from  lower 
depths  and  storing  near  the  surface  of  fertilizing 
elements;  and  (3)  the  addition  of  nitrogen  to  the 
soil. 

Two  principal  methods  are  employed  in  green 
manuring:  First,  the  production  and  turning  under 
of  crops  which  require  one  or  more  season's  growth, 
and,  second,  the  sowing  of  so-called  "catch"  or 
"cover"  crops  after  corn  or  potatoes,  which  occupy 
the  ground  only  during  the  winter  and  are  turned 
under  the  next  spring. 

The  first  method  has  been  in  use  for  many  years, 
in  the  plowing  under  of  clover,  a  practice  which 
was  more  common  half  a  century  ago  than  at  pres- 
ent. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  this  practice 
the  fertility  of  the  superficial  soil  may  be  greatly 
improved,  both  by  the  bringing  up  from  the  subsoil 
of  mineral  plant  food  and  storing  it  in  the  surface, 


2(X)  FARM    MANURES 

and  by  actual  addition  of  nitrogen  obtained  from 
the  air  by  leguminous  crops.  There  is  no  doubt, 
moreover,  that  the  improvement  thus  effected  may 
be  much  greater  than  if  the  roots  and  stubble  only 
are  plowed  under.  According  to  average  analyses,  a 
yield  of  two  tons  of  red  clover  hay  should  contain 
the  following  constituents : 

Nitrogen,  79  pounds 

Phosphorus,  10        " 

Potassium,  62        " 

If  these  constituents  were  purchased  in  nitrate  of 
soda,  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash,  their 
cost  would  be,  at  present  market  prices,  freight  paid 
to  interior  points,  approximately  as  shown  below : 

WEIGHTS  AND   VALUES   OF   ELEMENTS 


Nitrate  of  soda. 

525  pounds  at  $55  a  ton, 

$14.43 

Acid  phosphate 

(14%), 

114        ''       "     14"    " 

.80 

Muriate  of  potash. 

152        "       "     46"    " 

3-50 

Total,  $18.73 

or  $9-37  per  ton  for  the  hay.  This  value,  how- 
ever, would  not  be  realized,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, by  merely  plowing  under  the  clover,  for 
experience  has  shown  that  on  most  soils  phosphorus 
is  needed  in  much  larger  proportion  to  nitrogen 
than  it  is  found  in  the  clover  hay,  which  is  relatively 
deficient  in  this  element,  as  compared  with  wheat 
and  corn,  as  shown  below  in  the  analysis  of  yields 
practically  equivalent  to  two  tons  of  clover  hay : 


GREEN    MANURES 


20 1 


WEIGHT  OF  ELEMjENTS  IN  EQUIVALENT  CROPS   ( POUNDS) 


Corn 

50  bushels 

Wheat 

with  cobs 

25  bushels 

Clover 

Elements 

and  stover 

with  straw 

2  tons 

Nitrogen, 

72 

42 

86 

Phosphorus, 

8 

7 

■      7 

Potassium, 

40 

28 

45 

That  is :  50  bushels  of  corn,  with  its  cobs  and 
stover,  will  carry  a  little  more  phosphorus  and  a 
little  less  nitrogen  and  potassium  than  two  tons  of 
clover  hay,  but  25  bushels  of  wheat  with  its  straw, 
carrying  the  same  quantity  of  phosphorus  as  two 
tons  of  hay,  will  contain  only  about  half  as  much 
nitrogen  and  potassium  as  the  hay.  For  the  nitro- 
gen and  potassium  of  a  clover  crop  to  be  efficiently 
used  as  a  green  manu»re  for  wheat,  therefore,  they 
must  be  reinforced  with  phosphorus. 

If  the  hay  be  fed  to  live  stock  and  the  manure 
saved  and  returned  to  the  land,  there  will,  it  is  true, 
be  some  loss  of  fertilizing  constituents,  but  under 
careful  management  it  should  be  possible  to  recover 
in  the  manure  three-fourths  or  more  of  the  fertili- 
zing value  of  the  hay,  after  realizing  its  full  market 
value  as  a  feed.  The  question,  therefore,  for  the 
individual  farmer  to  decide  will  be,  whether  the 
additional  value  to  be  r-ealized  by  feeding  the  clover 
will  offset  the  cost  of  making  it  into  hay,  storing  and 
feeding  the  hay  and  returning  the  manure  to  the 
field. 


202  FARM    MANURES 

Other  crops  for  green  manuring — If  a  crop  is  to 
be  grown  expressly  to  be  turned  under  as  a  green 
manure,  the  medium  red  clover  is  not  the  one  that 
should  be  selected,  under  ordinary  conditions.  The 
mammoth  clover  will  make  a  ranker  growth  and  is 
hardier  than  the  medium  clover,  and  should  be  used 
for  this  purpose  in  preference;  its  treatment,  as  to 
seeding,  being  the  same  as  for  the  medium  red. 

The  soy  bean  and  cowpea  are  both  well  adapted 
to  this  purpose,  the  soy  bean  for  the  region  north 
of  the  Ohio  river,  and  the  cowpea  for  the  territory 
south  of  that  river.  These  are  hot  weather  plants, 
and  should  not  be  planted  until  the  ground  is  thor- 
oughly warm,  a  little  later  than  corn  is  usually 
planted.  When  grown  for  this  purpose  they  may  be 
sown  with  the  ordinary  grain  drill,  with  all  the  runs 
open,  using  about  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  seed  to  the 
acre.  Both  plants  are  killed  by  the  first  sharp  frost, 
but  they  grow  rapidly  and  under  favorable  condi- 
tions will  produce  as  heavy  a  weight  of  crop  as  the 
clovers.  They  are  especially  adapted  to  serve  as 
substitutes  for  clover,  where  the  latter  has  failed 
from  any  cause.  In  more  northerly  latitudes  the 
Canada  pea  might  be  used  for  the  same  purpose,  but 
it  should  be  sown  early  in  the  spring  and  plowed 
under  in  midsummer. 

Either  of  these  plants  may  be  grown  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  wheat.  If  the  Canada  pea  is  grown,  it  may 
be  plowed  under  long  enough  before  the  wheat  is 
sown  to  give  time  for  compacting  the  soil ;  if  the  soy 
bean  or  cowpea  is  selected,  the  better  way  to  man- 


GREEN    MANURES  203 

age  is  to^  cut  the  crop  into  the  surface  with  a  disk 
harrow,  instead  of  plowing  it  under,  thus  keeping 
the  fertility  which  it  has  accumulated  near  the  sur- 
face, where  it  is  most  needed,  both  by  the  wheat  and 
by  the  clover  following. 

Sweet  or  Bokhara  clover— One  of  the  most  valua- 
ble plants   for  soil    improvement   is   sweet   clover, 
Melilotus  alba.    This  plant  thrives    throughout    the 
entire  range  of  climate  from  Michigan  to   Missis- 
sippi, and  its  one  soil  requirement  is  that  there  shall 
be  an  abundance  of  lime.     Its  special  mission  ap- 
pears to  be  to  occupy  the  waste  places  of  the  earth, 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  other  crops.    When  once 
introduced  in  a  region  where  the  soil  is  well  sup- 
plied with  lime,  it  speedily  occupies  the  roadsides 
where  the  surface  soil  has  been  removed  or  where 
it  has  been  puddled  by  the  trampling  of  animals. 
An  abandoned  brickyard  is  to  melilot  what  a  clover 
sod  is  to  corn,  and  in  such  a  place  it  sends  its  roots 
deep  mto  the  hard  clay  and  makes  luxuriant  growth. 
A  striking  peculiarity  of  the  melilot  is  the  fact 
that,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  does  not  be- 
come a  weed,  in  the  sense  of  invading  cultivated  land 
or  meadows  and  pastures.     In  California  the  com- 
plamt  is  made  that  it  does  become  a  weed  in  the 
alfalfa  fields,  and  it  is  sometimes  found  growing 
with  alfalfa  in  the  East.    In  fact,  the  two  plants  are 
so  closely  related,  botanically,  that  one  who  is  not 
an  expert  may  easily  mistake  one  for  the  other  dur- 
ing the  earlier  stages  of  growth ;  moreover  the  same 
root-nodule  organisms  are  common  to  both  plants, 


204 


FARM    MANURES 


SO  that  soil  upon  which  melilot  has  grown  serves  to 
inoculate  alfalfa  with  these  organisms.  At  the 
Rothamsted  experiment  station,  melilot,  alfalfa  and 
vetch  were  grown  continuously  on  the  same  ground 
for  a  period  of  12  to  14  years,  beginning  with  1878. 
Table  XLVI  shows  the  annual  and  accumulated 
yields  of  nitrogen  secured  in  the  crops  harvested 
from  these  plants. 

Table  XLVI.     Melilotus,    Alfalfa    and    Vetch 
Grown  Continuously  at  Rothamsted. 


Estimated  annual  and  cumulative  yield  of  nitrogen  in  pounds 
an  acre 

Year 

Melilotus 

Alfalfa 

Vetch 

Season 

Total 

Season 

Total 

Season 

Total 

1878 

53 
130 
36 
60 
145 
27 
56 
58 

'82 
32 
23 

53 
183 
219 
279 
424 
451 
507 
565 
565 
647 
679 
702 

"28 
28 
111 
143 
337 
270 
167 
247 
161 
153 
124 
147 

"28 

56 

167 

310 

647 

917 

1084 

1331 

1492 

1645 

1769 

1916 

51 

46 

58 

65 

146 

101 

113 

90 

52 

64 

60 

65 

61 

79 

51 

1879 

97 

1880 

155 

1881 

220 

1882. . . 

366 

1883 

467 

1884 

580 

1885 

670 

1886 

722 

1887 

786 

1888 

846 

1889 

911 

1890 

972 

1891 

1051 

The  table  shows  that  at  the  end  of  the  third  sea- 
son the  melilot  had  secured  a  total  of  219  pounds  of 
nitrogen,  as  against  155  for  vetch  and  28  for  alfalfa. 
By  the  sixth  season  the  vetch  had  passed  the  meli- 
lot, and  the  seventh  season  the  alfalfa  passed  both 


GREEN    MANURES  20$ 

the  others,  and  from  that  time  kept  the  lead,  the  total 
accumulation  of  nitrogen  in  14  years  amounting  to 
1,916  pounds  for  alfalfa,  as  against  1,051  pounds  for 
vetch  and  702  pounds  for  melilot. 

This  is  but  one  experiment,  and  on  different  soils 
or  under  other  conditions  a  different  outcome  might 
be  reached;  but  the  fact  that  the  vetch  and  melilot 
are  annual  or  biennial  in  habit  of  growth,  thus  re- 
quiring a  frequent  reseeding,  v^hile  alfalfa  is  peren- 
nial, increasing  in  root  growth  for  several  years, 
makes  it  probable  that  this  test  gives  a  fair  index 
to  the  comparative  values  of  these  plants,  and  that 
for  immediate  results  in  soil  improvement  alone, 
and  as  a  preparation  for  other  crops,  the  melilot  is 
decidedly  the  plant  to  choose ;  whereas,  if  the  primary 
object  be  the  production  of  a  large  quantity  of  for- 
age, with  ultimate  soil  improvement  as  a  secondary 
consideration,  the  choice  would  fall  upon  the  other 
plants — alfalfa  for  conditions  permitting  a  continu- 
ous occupation  of  the  land  by  the  same  crop,  and 
vetch  for  use  in  short  rotations  with  other  crops. 

Seeding  to  melilot  and  alfalfa — Notwithstanding 
the  readiness  with  which  melilot  spreads  along  the 
roadsides  and  waste  places,  many  failures  have  re- 
sulted from  attempts  to  cultivate  it.  Like  alfalfa, 
melilot  must  have  an  abundance  of  lime.  As  already 
suggested,  the  only  plant  with  which  melilot  appears 
to  be  willing  to  associate  is  alfalfa,  and  this  point 
suggests,  further,  that  the  methods  of  seeding  which 
succeed  best  with  alfalfa  are  likely  to  be  equally 
adapted  to  melilot. 


206  FARM    MANURES 

Whether  the  melilot's  apparent  preference  for 
soils  which  are  inhospitable  to  other  plants  is  an 
actual  preference,  or  whether  it  merely  signifies  that 
the  young  melilot  cannot  endure  crowding,  is  an 
undetermined  question.  The  facts  that  it  will 
grow  luxuriantly  on  good  land,  if  the  land  be  kept 
clear  of  other  plants,  and  that  the  slow  growth  of 
the  young  alfalfa  plants  gives  the  melilot  a  chance 
to  get  ahead,  would  seem  to  lend  support  to  the  lat- 
ter view. 

In  the  case  of  alfalfa,  experiments  have  shown 
that  the  chance  of  securing  a  successful  stand  is 
much  improved  by  preparing  the  land  early  in  the 
spring  and  then  spending  a  few  weeks  in  encoura- 
ging the  weed  seeds  near  the  surface  to  germinate,  so 
that  the  plants  they  produce  may  be  destroyed  with  the 
harrow  before  the  alfalfa  is  sown,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  a  similar  method  would  be  equally 
successful  with  melilot.  Such  a  method  has  an  ad- 
ditional theoretical  support,  in  the  fact  that  it  brings 
the  date  of  seeding  to  the  time  when  the  plant  seeds 
itself  under  natural  conditions. 

Buckwheat  as  a  green  manure — Another  plant 
frequently  grown  in  earlier  days  as  a  green  manure 
is  buckwheat;  but,  with  a  wider  knowledge  of  the 
function  of  leguminous  plants  in  the  capture  of  at- 
mospheric nitrogen,  the  use  of  buckwheat  for  this 
purpose  has  become  less  common. 

In  experiments  by  the  Ontario  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, reported  in  the  circular  of  the  Experimentalist 
for  1907,  land  on  which  field  peas  were  used  as  a 


GREEN    MANURES  2.0'J 

green  manure  yielded  6j/^  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre 
more  than  land  on  which  buckwheat  was  so  used, 
in  the  average  of  eight  separate  tests. 

Catch  crops — The  conservation  of  fertility  by 
catch  crops  depends  upon  the  fact  that  the  process 
of  nitrification,  by  which  the  nitrogen  of  the  decay- 
ing organic  matter  in  the  soil  is  converted  into  forms 
available  to  cultivated  plants,  is  in  constant  opera- 
tion whenever  the  temperature  of  the  soil  is  above 
the  freezing  point.  The  result  of  this  process  is  the 
formation  of  nitric  acid,  which  may  at  once  be  ab- 
sorbed by  the  roots  of  growing  crops,  or  may  be 
temporarily  stored  in  combination  with  an  alkali, 
such  as  lime,  in  the  form  of  a  neutral  salt.  Soda 
and  potash  serve  the  same  purpose  as  lime  where 
they  are  sufficiently  abundant,  and  nitrate  of  soda 
and  nitrate  of  potash  are  familiar  examples  of  this 
combination.  In  humid  climates,  however,  these 
alkalies  have  usually  been  leached  from  the  soil 
to  such  an  extent  that  not  enough  is  left  for  this 
purpose,  and  lime  is,  consequently,  the  chief  depend- 
ence. Nitrate  of  lime,  however,  like  the  nitrates  of 
soda  and  potash,  is  a  soluble  salt,  simply  serving  as 
temporary  storage,  and  if  the  ground  be  not  occu- 
pied by  growing  plants  this  nitrogen  store  will  be 
dissolved  out  and  carried  away  by  the  late  fall  and 
early  spring  rains. 

The  corn  crop  is  grown  under  conditions  espe- 
cially favorable  to  the  formation  of  nitrates.  It 
makes  its  growth  during  the  hottest  months,  when 
nitrification  is  most  active,  and  the  occasional  stir- 


268  FARM    MANURES 

ring  of  the  soil  by  cultivation  re-distributes  the  nitri- 
fying organisms  and  favors  their  work  by  loosen- 
ing the  soil  so  that  air  can  penetrate  more  readily. 

But  the  growth  of  the  corn  crop  is  stopped  by  the 
first  frost,  if  not  earlier,  after  which  there  are  sev- 
eral weeks  during  which  nitrification  still  continues, 
while  the  bare  ground  left  by  the  corn  is  in  just  the 
condition  to  facilitate  leaching,  so  that  in  time  there 
must  be  considerable  waste  of  nitrogen  from  corn- 
stubble  land  which  is  left  bare  through  the  winter. 

The  practice  of  following  corn  with  winter  wheat, 
which  is  quite  generally  followed  in  some  sections, 
especially  south  of  the  latitude  in  which  oats  reaches 
its  highest  development,  is  supported  by  the  fact 
that  the  wheat  makes  its  start  just  at  the  opportune 
time  for  utilizing  the  nitrate  residue  left  by  the  corn 
crop. 

Whether  such  a  rotation  or  a  longer  one  is  better 
depends  largely  upon  the  relative  adaptability  of  the 
soil  to  different  crops;  upon  the  conditions  of  the 
local  market,  and  upon  the  special  preferences  of 
the  farmer.  Where  these  conditions  make  it  pref- 
erable to  follow  the  corn  with  some  other  crop  than 
wheat  or  other  winter  grain,  it  becomes  desirable  to 
sow  a  temporary  crop  in  the  corn  at  the  last  work- 
ing, or  on  the  stubble  immediately  after  the  corn  is 
harvested,  to  save  the  nitrate  aftermath  which  would 
otherwise  be  wasted. 

Rye  as  a  catch  crop — A  crop  frequently  used  for 
this  purpose  is  rye,  which  may  be  sown  in  the  stand- 
ing corn  during  August,  or  if  the  corn  has  been 


GREEN    MANURES  209 

blown  down  so  that  it  is  impracticable  to  cover  in 
the  seed,  the  sowing  may  be  delayed  until  the  corn 
comes  off,  with  a  reasonable  assurance  of  having  a 
late  fall  and  early  spring  growth  which  will  serve 
the  purpose  in  view  even  more  perfectly  than  would 
be  done  by  a  wheat  crop,  because  of  the  hardier 
nature  and  more  vigorous  growth  of  the  rye. 

A  rye  catch  crop  of  this  kind  may  be  pastured 
when  the  ground  is  dry  enough  not  to  be  injured  by 
the  trampling  of  stock,  and  in  most  seasons  it  may 
be  made  to  yield  enough  in  this  way  to  pay  for  the 
cost  of  seed  and  labor,  aside  from  the  economy  re- 
sulting from  the  saving  of  nitrates. 

In  an  experiment  of  this  kind,  the  pasturage  of  the 
rye  crop,  grown  during  the  winter  between  two 
crops  of  corn,  amounted  to  a  value  of  $5  per  acre, 
while  the  second  corn  crop  was  better  than  the  first, 
the  rye  having  filled  the  soil  with  a  mass  of  fibrous  roots 
which  materially  improved  its  physical  condition, 
in  addition  to  serving  as  a  reservoir  of  available 
plant  food,  ready  to  be  yielded  to  the  growing  crop 
as  needed. 

A  later  experiment  on  the  same  land,  however, 
had  quite  a  dififerent  result.  In  this  case  the  rye  was 
permitted  to  grow  until  time  to  plant  corn,  by  which 
time  it  had  headed  out  or  nearly  so,  when  it  was 
turned  under.  Dry  weather  followed,  and  the  corn 
following  the  rye  was  almost  a  total  failure,  an  out- 
come due  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  water  supply  in 
the  soil  by  the  rye  crop,  leaving  the  corn  to  depend 
solely  upon  the  summer  rains  for  its  supply. 


2IO  FARM    MANURES 

It  requires  more  than  an  average  summer  rainfall 
to  furnish  enough  water  for  a  good  corn  crop  under 
ordinary  conditions;  but  if  the  soil  is  pumped  dry 
before  the  corn  is  planted  the  crop  must  inevitably 
suffer,  unless  the  succeeding  rainfall  is  greater  than 
usual. 

Had  this  last  rye  crop  been  turned  under  early 
in  the  spring  and  the  ground  left  fallow  for  three 
or  four  weeks  before  planting  the  corn,  giving  it  an 
occasional  harrowing  to  fill  up  the  crevices,  com- 
pact the  seed  bed  and  destroy  all  germinating  weed 
seeds,  it  is  probable  that  the  result  would  have  been 
even  more  favorable  than  in  the  first  instance. 

"Souring"  the  land  with  green  manures — It  is 
probable  that  experiences  similar  to  the  above  have 
given  rise  to  the  idea  that  the  turning  under  of  a 
heavy  crop  of  green  material  may  "sour"  the  soil. 
Such  a  green  crop  might  amount  to  ten  to  fifteen 
tons  to  the  acre,  or  less  than  such  an  application  of 
manure  as  many  farmers  apply;  it  probably  would 
not  decompose  in  the  soil  any  more  rapidly  than 
would  manure,  nor  give  rise  to  products  containing 
any  greater  acidity.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
the  occasional  unfavorable  effect  observed  from  the 
turning  under  of  green  manures  should  be  ascribed 
to  previous  exhaustion  of  the  water  supply,  and  not 
to  any  excessive  production  of  deleterious  acids. 

The  crop  which  is  grown  for  a  green  manure  fills 
the  soil  with  a  mass  of  fibrous  roots  which  separate 
the  soil  particles  and  cause  it  to  crumble  when 
plowed.    If  the  plowing  be  followed  by  dry  weather 


GREEN    MANURES  211 

and  the  ground  be  left  without  harrowmg  for  a  few 
days,  the  exhaustion  of  water  supply  caused  by  the 
growth  of  the  plant  will  be  completed  by  the  evapo- 
ration of  the  small  amount  left  in  the  soil,  for  the 
water  contained  in  the  crop  which  is  turned  under 
is  as  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket  as  compared  to  the 
quantity  required  for  crop  growth,  a  point  which 
will  be  realized  at  once  when  it  is  remembered  that 
if  the  crop  were  mown  and  left  upon  the  surface 
the  greater  part  of  its  water  would  disappear  dur- 
ing a  day's  sunshine,  showing  that  a  similar  quan- 
tity of  water  has  been  transpired  daily  by  its  foliage 
during  growth. 

The  rye  crop  adds  nothing  to  the  soil.  It  merely 
catches  some  of  the  soil  nitrates  that  would  other- 
wise be  wasted,  combines  them  with  phosphorus 
and  potassium  already  in  the  soil,  and  holds  them 
to  be  given  back  again  to  succeeding  crops.  To 
accomplish  this  function  perfectly  the  rye  should 
have  at  hand  a  supply  of  quickly  available  phos- 
phorus and  potassium,  otherwise  it  will  not  be  able 
to  capture  the  nitrates  as  fast  as  they  are  formed, 
hence  the  greatest  effectiveness  of  this  crop,  or  of 
any  other  green  manure,  will  only  be  attained  when 
it  is  reinforced  with  a  light  dressing  of  mineral 
fertilizers. 

Catch  crops  should  be  fertilized — The  catch  crop, 
whatever  it  may  be,  is  supposed  to  follow  cultivated 
crops — corn,  cotton,  potatoes,  tobacco  or  beets — 
which  have  grown  through  the  summer  under  the 
stimulus  of  cultivation,  and  have  largely  exhausted 


212  FARM    MANURES 

the  immediately  available  supply  of  the  mineral  ele- 
ments of  fertility.  This  point  is  strikingly  brought 
out  when  turnips  or  rape  are  used  as  catch  crops. 
If  these  crops  are  to  be  of  any  service,  the  land 
must  either  be  in  good  heart  to  start  with,  or  else 
they  must  be  well  fertilized. 

Turnips  and  rape,  like  rye,  will  furnish  excellent 
pasture  in  the  fall,  but  in  northern  latitudes  they 
will  be  killed  down  by  the  winter,  and,  therefore,  will 
give  no  spring  pastures.  Like  rye,  these  crops  add 
nothing  to  the  soil,  merely  working  over  and  storing 
near  the  surface  the  plant  food  already  there.  These 
crops  are  more  sensitive  than  rye  to  poverty  of  soil, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  useless  to  try  to  grow  them  ex- 
cept on  rich  land;  but  on  such  land  they  may  be 
made  to  materially  increase  the  income. 

Leguminous  catch  crops — A  crop  which  would 
not  merely  work  over  the  old  material  in  the  soil, 
but  would  add  new  material  as  well,  would  be  the 
ideal  one  for  this  purpose.  In  the  southern  states 
it  has  become  a  quite  common  practice  to  sow  cow- 
peas  in  the  corn,  much  as  rye  is  grown  in  the  North. 
Crimson  clover  has  been  successfully  used  in  this 
way  in  the  territory  lying  between  the  domains  of 
King  Cotton  and  King  Corn,  but  it  has  not  proved 
reliable  in  the  corn  belt  proper. 

The  winter,  or  hairy,  vetch  comes  nearer  serving 
the  purpose  for  this  region,  but  there  are  two  seri- 
ous objections  to  it  in  the  facts  that  the  seed  is 
expensive  and  the  growth  is  so  slow  at  the  start 


GREEN    MANURES  213 

that  there  is  not  a  satisfactory  quantity  to  turn  un- 
der if  the  plowing  is  done  early  in  the  spring. 

Vetch  and  rye  may  be  sown  together,  using  a 
bushel  of  each.  Such  a  combination  makes  an  ex- 
cellent crop  to  turn  under,  or  to  cut  green  for  soil- 
ing; while  if  it  is  desired  to  grow  the  vetch  for 
seed,  this  is  the  best  way  to  handle  it,  the  rye  sup- 
porting the  vetch  and  both  maturing  together. 

Soy  beans  and  rye — Another  combination  which 
might  be  employed  would  be  soy  beans  and  rye,  the 
beans  to  be  sown  in  the  corn  at  the  last  working,  at 
the  end  of  July  or  early  in  August,  and  then  to  be 
cut  into  the  surface  with  a  disk  harrow,  after  the 
corn  is  taken  off,  and  rye,  or  rye  and  vetch,  sown 
to  occupy  the  land  through  the  winter.  The  cost  of 
such  a  treatment  would  be  considerable  at  present 
prices  of  vetch  and  soy  bean  seed.  Whether  it 
would  be  the  most  economical  way  of  increasing 
fertility  would  depend  upon  the  cost  of  manuring, 
or  of  fertilizing  with  chemicals,  and  this  point  ap- 
plies to  all  forms  of  green  manuring. 

Experiments  by  the  Illinois  station — A  compre- 
hensive series  of  experiments  in  the  use  of  catch 
crops  and  green  manures  has  been  inaugurated  by 
Dr.  C.  G.  Hopkins,  agronomist  and  chemist  of  the 
experiment  station  of  the  University  of  Illinois, 
which  will  soon  furnish  a  basis  for  more  exact 
knowledge  than  we  now  possess. 

In  Bulletin  115  of  that  station  is  reported  an  ex- 
periment which  is  being  conducted  on  worn  land 
near  Vienna,  Johnson  County,  in  the  southern  part 


214  FARM    MANURES 

of  the  state,  the  soil  being  a  yellowish-red  silt  loam, 
commonly  known  as  the  red  clay  hill  soil  of  south- 
ern Illinois.  It  is  quite  deficient  in  nitrogen,  some- 
what poor  in  phosphorus,  but  well  supplied  with 
potassium.  As  a  rule  the  soil  is  too  acid  to  grow 
clover  successfully.  The  land  on  which  the  experi- 
ment is  located  has  been  cropped  for  about  75  years, 
with  little  or  no  manuring  or  fertilizing.  The  field 
is  divided  into  three  series  of  five  fifth-acre  plots, 
and  is  cropped  in  a  three-year  rotation.  During  the 
first  four  years  the  rotation  was  corn,  cowpeas  and 
wheat,  after  which  it  was  changed  to  corn,  wheat 
and  clover.    The  soil  treatment  has  been  as  follows : 

Plot  I  of  each  series,  no  treatment,  except  as  the 
cowpea  stubble  or  the  second  growth  of  clover  has 
been  plowed  under  in  the  regular  course  of  the  rota- 
tion. 

Plot  2,  legume  catrh  crops  plowed  under. 

Plot  3,  legumes  plowed  under  and  lime  applied. 

Plot  4,  legumes,  with  lime  and  phosphorus. 

The  legume  treatment  consists  of  plowing  under 
legume  catch  crops  grown  after  the  wheat  and  in 
the  corn  after  the  last  cultivation.  The  first  three 
crops  of  cowpeas  in  the  regular  rotation  were  also 
plowed  under,  one  crop  in  each  series  on  all  the 
plots  except  the  untreated  check  plot.  No.  i.  Since 
that  time  the  regular  cowpea  crops  have  been  har- 
vested and  removed  from  all  the  plots. 

The  primary  object  in  applying  lime  is  to  correct 
soil  acidity.  In  the  spring  of  1902  one  ton  of  slaked 
lime  per  acre  was  applied,  but  it  having  been  found 


GREEN    MANURES 


215 


that  the  sub-surface  and  sub-soil  were  more  acid 
than  the  surface,  the  acidity  increasing  with  the 
depth,  an  additional  application  of  eight  tons  per 
acre  of  ground  limestone  was  made  in  the  fall  of 
1902.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  two  to  four  tons 
per  acre  as  an  initial  application  might  have  given 
satisfactory  results. 

Once  in  three  years  600  pounds  per  acre  of 
steamed  bone  meal  and  300  pounds  of  potassium 
sulphate  is  applied,  carrying  about  75  pounds  of 
phosphorus  and  120  pounds  of  potassium,  or  25 
pounds  of  phosphorus  and  40  pounds  of  potassium 
per  annum. 

Oats  were  grown  instead  of  wheat  in  1902 ;  since 
then  four  crops  of  wheat  have  been  grown,  while 
five  crops  each  of  corn  and  cowpeas  have  been 
grown.  Taking  the  last  three  years,  after  the  effect 
of  the  lime  had  been  manifest,  the  effects  of  this 

Table  XLVIL     Effect    of    Legume-Lime    Treat- 
ment ON  Southern  Illinois  Soil. 


Treatment 

Annual     yield    and    increase 
(Bushels) 

an     acre 

Wheat 

Corn 

Yield 

Increase 

Yield 

Increase 

1 

3.9 

7.8 
15.4 
17.2 

20.8 

3.9 
11.5 
13.3 

16.9 

36.4 
39.7 
53.3 
49.2 

47.4 

2 

3.3 

3 

16.9 

4 
5 

Legume,  lime,  phosphorus   .  .  . 
Legume,  lime,  phosphorus,  po- 
tassium   • 

12.8 
11.0 

2l6  FARM    MANURES 

treatment  on  the  wheat  and  corn  have  been  as 
shown  in  Table  XLVII. 

The  table  shows  that  the  legume  treatment  has 
doubled  the  yield  of  wheat,  and  that  the  combina- 
tion of  legumes  with  lime  has  quadrupled  it.  This 
combination,  apparently,  has  been  all  that  was  re- 
quired to  produce  the  maximum  yield  of  corn,  the 
addition  of  phosphorus  and  potassium,  while  in- 
creasing the  yield  of  wheat,  producing  no  further 
increase  in  that  of  corn  (the  slight  falling  off  in  the 
corn  yield  on  plots  4  and  5  is  probably  due  to  the 
inequalities  of  the  soil,  rather  than  to  the  effect  of 
the  fertilizers). 

It  is  evident  that  lime  has  been  a  most  important 
factor  in  producing  increase  of  crop  on  this  soil,  but 
probably  the  increase  in  the  wheat  and  corn  on  the 
limed  land  is  chiefly  due  to  the  indirect  effect  of  the 
lime  in  increasing  the  growth  of  the  legume  crops. 

Increase  of  soil  nitrogen  by  leguminous  crops — 
The  following  experiment,  planned  to  show  the  in- 
crease of  soil  nitrogen  from  the  growth  of  legumes, 
was  made  by  Prof.  Frank  T.  Shutt  of  the  Domin- 
ion Experimental  Farms. 

A  plot  of  16  feet  by  4  feet  was  staked  off  and  the 
sides  protected  by  boards  sunk  to  the  depth  of  8 
inches.  The  surface  soil  to  this  depth  was  then 
removed  and  in  its  place  a  strictly  homogeneous 
but  very  poor  sandy  loam  substituted — the  nitrogen 
content  of  which  was  .0439  per  cent.  This  was 
dressed  with  a  mixture  of  superphosphate,  used  at 


GREEN    MANURES 


217 


the  rate  of  400  pounds  per  acre,  and  muriate  of  pot- 
ash, at  the  rate  of  200  pounds. 

It  was  then  sown  with  red  clover,  May  13,  1902. 
During  each  succeeding  season  the  growth  has  been 
cut  twice,  and  the  material  allowed  to  decay  on  the 
soil.  At  the  end  of  every  second  season  the  crop  has 
been  turned  under,  the  soil  being  stirred  to  a  depth 
of  approximately  4  inches,  and  the  plot  resown  the 
following  spring.  Four  samplings  and  analyses  of 
this  soil  have  been  made  since  the  experiment 
began,  as  shown  in  Table  XLVIII ;  and  each  suc- 
cessive sampling  has  shown  a  marked  increase  in 
nitrogen — an  increase  which  would  seem  to  be  very 
satisfactory  for  such  an  open,  sandy  soil. 

Table  XLVIII.    Nitrogen   Enrichment  of  Soils 
Due  to  the  Growth  of  Clover. 


Date  of 
collection 

Nitrogen 

Percentage  in 
water-free  soil 

Pounds  an  acre 

to    a    depth    of 

4  inches 

May  13,  '02 
"      14,  '04 
"     15, '06 
"     30,  '07 

.0437 
.0580 
.0608 
.0689 

.0252 

533 

After  2  years 

708 

742 

"      5       "     

841 

Increase   of   nitrogen   due   to 
5  years'  growth  clover.  . 

308 

In  two  years  this  soil  was  enriched  in  nitrogen  to  the 
amount  of  175  pounds  per  acre;  in  five  years,  despite 
losses,  the  land  is  richer  by  308  pounds  per  acre.* 

*  "  Science,"  Aug.  30,  1907. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PLANNING  THE  FARM  MANAGEMENT  FOR 
FERTILITY  MAINTENANCE 

Maintenance  of  fertility  a  complex  problem — The 

experiments  quoted  in  the  previous  pages  would 
seem  to  furnish  indubitable  evidence  that  the  suc- 
cessful solution  of  the  problem  of  the  maintenance 
of  soil  fertility  rests  upon  the  suppl5^  in  suitable 
proportions,  of  compounds  carrying  three  or  four 
chemical  elements,  to  a  soil  v^hich  is  maintained 
in  such  physical  condition  as  to  afford  these  ele- 
ments, together  v^ith  the  organisms  by  v^hich  they 
are  converted  into  available  form,  the  most  favor- 
able environment  for  their  reactions  on  each  other 
and  on  other  elements  in  the.  soil.  In  other  words, 
the  maintenance  of  fertility  is  a  physico-chemico- 
vital  problem,  and  these  classes  of  agencies  must  all 
be  considered  in  the  planning  of  a  permanent  sys- 
tem of  agriculture. 

Manure  alone  not  a  balanced  ration  for  plants — 
The  practical  experience  of  farmers,  gathered 
through  the  ages  since  man  first  began  to  till  the 
soil,  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  possible  to  main- 
tain and  increase  the  productiveness  of  the  soil 
by  a  liberal  use  of  animal  manure.  The  average 
yield  of  wheat  in  England  is  more  than  30  bushels 
per  acre,  and  it  has  been  brought  up  to  within  a 

218 


PLANNING   FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         219 

few  bushels  of  this  point  within  200  years  from  an 
average  of  about  12  bushels,  by  the  use  of  manure 
alone;  for  while  chemical  fertilizers  are  now  used 
extensively  in  that  country,  the  average  yield  of 
wheat  had  reached  25  bushels  or  more  before  the 
use  of  such  fertilizers  began. 

This  result,  however,  has  been  accomplished 
through  a  lavish  and  wasteful  use  of  manure,  the 
drain  of  phosphorus  from  the  land  having  been  met 
by  the  use  of  manure  in  such  quantity  that  much 
of  its  nitrogen  and  potassium  was  wasted  in  order 
to  provide  a  sufficient  quantity  of  phosphorus,  the 
supply  of  manure  having  been  kept  up  by  the  pur- 
chase of  foreign-grown  feeding  stufifs. 

There  are  many  American  farmers  who  say  that 
they  cannot  produce  enough  manure  to  keep  up  the 
fertility  of  their  soils.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  true 
that  no  farmer  should  depend  upon  manure  alone 
for  this  purpose,  but  as  a  rule  the  farmers  who 
make  this  assertion  are  neither  producing  as  much 
manure  as  they  might  produce  to  advantage,  nor 
using  what  they  do  produce  in  such  a  way  as  to 
secure  its  full  effect. 

Data  now  available  on  production  and  value  of 
manure — The  many  careful  experiments  in  feeding 
for  meat  or  for  milk  which  have  been  made  by  vari- 
ous experiment  stations  during  recent  years  enable 
us  now  to  form  a  close  estimate  of  the  direct  effect 
which  may  be  expected  from  a  judicious  combina- 
tion of  feeding  stuffs,  fed  to  selected  animals,  and 
the  investigations  reported  on  the  preceding  pages 


220  FARM    MANURES 

furnish  data  upon  which  we  may  base  a  similar 
estimate  of  the  secondary  recovery  which  may  be 
secured  in  our  feeding  operations  in  the  form  of 
manure;  these  investigations  giving  not  only  prac- 
tical information  relative  to  the  quantity  of  manure 
which  may  be  produced  under  given  conditions,  but 
also  showing  the  effectiveness  of  that  manure  for 
crop  production,  as  compared  with  fertilizers  which 
have  a  commercial  value. 

Systematic  planning  of  farm  management  now 
possible — It  is,  therefore,  now  practicable  to  plan  a 
system  of  management  under  which  the  farmer  may 
calculate  in  advance,  more  closely  than  has  ever  be- 
fore been  possible,  the  probable  outcome  of  his 
operations. 

In  planning  such  a  system  of  management  the 
points  which  require  first  consideration  are  the  spe- 
cial choice  and  aptitude  of  the  farmer  himself;  the 
character  of  his  soil  and  climate ;  his  market  facil- 
ities and  other  environmental  conditions. 

The  farmer  may  have  a  free  choice — The  first 
point  is  of  prime  importance.  A  man  may  succeed 
in  a  business  which  is  more  or  less  distasteful  to 
him,  because  of  general  business  ability,  but  the 
chances  are  that  greater  skill  in  management  will 
be  developed  in  a  business  in  which  one  takes  more 
than  a  perfunctory  interest.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  different  branches  of  agriculture.  The  man 
who  does  not  take  delight  in  the  management  of 
domestic  animals  of  some  sort  will  not  handle  them 
as  successfully  as  the  one  who  does,  and  this  is  true, 


PLANNING   FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         221 

not  only  of  live  stock  as  a  whole,  but  also  of  each 
class  of  animals.  Some  men  prefer  horses,  others 
cattle,  others  sheep,  hogs,  or  poultry,  and  for- 
tunately there  is  room  and  opportunity  for  each  to 
have  his  choice,  and  the  conditions  throughout  the 
United  States  are  now  such  that  the  man  who  makes 
a  thorough  study  of  the  nature  of  these  classes  of 
animals  and  of  the  special  conditions  prevailing  in 
the  various  sections,  can  profitably  handle  some  one, 
if  not  all  of  them,  in  practically  any  locality  in  the 
humid  regions,  and  over  much  of  the  arid  area. 

Some  possible  systems  of  farm  management — Let 
us  now  compare  a  few  possible  systems  of  farm 
management,  and  for  the  purpose  of  this  study  let 
us  take  a  farm  of  i6o  acres,  practically  all  tillable, 
well  drained,  with  sufficient  buildings  for  ordinary  grain 
farming,  but  one  from  which  the  surface  fertility  has 
been  skimmed  by  half  a  century  or  more  of  exhaustive 
cropping.  Many  farms  may  be  found  throughout 
the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  answering  the  above 
description  in  all  points  except  the  drainage,  and 
occasionally  this  point  will  have  been  fairly  well  pro- 
vided for,  either  by  the  natural  drainage  of  underly- 
ing gravels  or  stratified  rocks,  or  by  artificial  drains. 

Let  us  assume  that  a  farm  of  this  character  can  be 
purchased  for  $10,000,  or  rented  at  six  per  cent  on 
this  valuation.  Probably  some  farms  of  this  char- 
acter could  be  bought  for  less  money,  but  many 
others,  especially  if  well  located  with  reference  to 
market,  are  held  at  a  much  higher  value. 

To  properly  carry  on  the  work  on  such  a  farm 


222  FARM    MANURES 

would  involve  an  investment  in  teams  and  imple- 
ments of  at  least  $2,000.  If  the  farmer  is  able-bod- 
ied he  may  perform  most  of  the  work  with  the  help 
of  one  man  for  eight  months,  and  the  equivalent  of 
two  months'  additional  help  in  harvest.  At  present 
rates  of  wages  the  cost  of  this  help,  including  board, 
would  amount  to  at  least  $300  per  year. 

To  the  interest  on  investment  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  add  an  estimate  for  maintenance  of  teams 
and  implements.  The  average  working  life  of  a 
horse  probably  does  not  exceed  10  years,  which 
means  that  an  allowance  of  10  per  cent  annually 
must  be  made  on  the  investment  in  teams  to  cover 
depreciation  in  value.  Under  most  conditions  the 
teams  must  be  shod  at  least  part  of  the  time.  The 
cost  of  keeping  a  horse  shod  the  year  round  will 
average  $10  or  more.  Implements  wear  out,  so  that 
15  per  cent  of  the  original  value  would  not  more 
than  cover  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  inventory 
of  teams  and  implements.  Including  all  these  items, 
and  including  taxes  in  the  items  of  interest  and 
maintenance  of  inventory,  the  cost  of  conducting 
such  a  farm  as  that  under  consideration,  exclusive 
of  the  labor  of  the  owner  or  tenant,  would  be  ap- 
proximately as  below : 

COST  OF  FARMING  l6o  ACRES 

Interest  or  rental  on  land,  160  acres,  $600 

Maintenance  of  inventory,  at  15  per  cent,      300 
Wages  and  board  of  help,  350 

Total,  $1,250 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         223 

Of  the  i6o  acres  we  will  allow  lo  acres  for  wood- 
land and  waste,  five  acres  for  pasture  and  building 
lots,  and  lo  acres  for  production  of  crops  for  sup- 
port of  teams,  leaving  135  acres  to  be  cropped  for 
commercial  purposes. 

Since  1894  the  Ohio  experiment  station  has  con- 
ducted experiments  with  fertilizers  and  manures  on 
a  farm  answering  the  above  description,  and  while 
this  work  has  been  done  on  plots  containing  only 
one-tenth  of  an  acre  each,  yet  one  who  has  inspected 
the  work  and  observed  the  regularity  with  which 
similar  treatment  has  produced  similar  results,  on 
widely  separated  plots,  cannot  doubt  that  it  would 
be  possible  to  reproduce  on  larger  areas  the  results 
which  have  been  obtained  on  these  small  plots. 

Table  XLIX.     Eighteen-Year  Average  Yield  of 
Unfertilized  Land  in  Five- Year  Rotation. 


Crop 

Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay 
Pounds 

Com . . . 

29.7 
30.8 
10.7 

1  668 

Oats 

1,287 

Wheat 

Clover  hay 

1,093 
1,921 
2,698 

Farming  without  fertilizers  or  manure — In  one  of 
these  experiments,  the  five-3^ear  rotation  previously 
mentioned,  corn,  oats  and  wheat  have  been  grown  in 
succession,  followed  by  two  years  in  clover  and 
timothy,  five  tracts  of  land  of  three  acres  each  being 


224  FARM    MANURES 

included  in  the  test,  so  that  each  crop  has  been 
grown  every  season.  Each  tract  contains  30  plots, 
and  every  third  plot  has  been  left  continuously  un- 
treated, thus  giving  50  unfertilized  plots.  The  aver- 
age yield  of  these  plots  for  the  18  years,  1894-1911, 
is  shown  in  Table  XLIX. 

At  the  prices  heretofore  employed  in  such  com- 
putations the  above  produce  would  be  worth  $53 
per  acre  for  each  rotation,  or  $10.60  per  acre  annu- 
ally, amounting  to  a  total  for  our  farm  of  $1,430, 
from  which,  deducting  the  cost  of  production,  as 
computed  above,  $1,250,  a  balance  of  $180  would 
be  left. 

Let  us  assume  now  that  our  farmer  is  a  renter,  who 
feels  that  he  cannot  afford  to  purchase  fertilizers  to 
be  used  on  another  man's  land,  and  that  this  par- 
ticular farm  has  been  occupied  by  renters  of  similar 
mind  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  as  had  apparently 
been  the  case  with  the  farm  on  which  the  experi- 
ment we  are  now  considering  is  being  conducted. 
On  this  assumption  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tenant's 
net  income  will  be  about  half  that  of  the  man  whom 
he  hires  by  the  month,  for  the  farmer  must  work 
twelve  months  in  the  year,  instead  of  only  eight  or 
ten. 

If  the  farmer  be  so  fortunate  as  to  own  the  farm 
and  to  be  free  from  debt,  his  income  will  be  increased 
by  the  amount  above  allowed  for  interest  or  rental ; 
and  if  he  has  the  further  good  fortune  to  have  a 
rugged  boy  or  two,  so  that  he  will  not  have  to  hire 
help  outside  his  family,  he  may  make  a  fairly  com- 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE 


22: 


fortable  living;  otherwise  he  will  find  it  necessary 
to  move  off  the  farm  to  avoid  starvation. 

Effect  of  addition  of  phosphorus — The  soil  on 
which  the  experiment  under  review  is  being  con- 
ducted is  hungry  for  phosphorus,  as  are  most  soils 
that  have  been  under  cultivation  for  many  years, 
and  the  application  of  320  pounds  of  acid  phosphate 
per  acre  for  each  rotation — 80  pounds  each  on  corn 
and  oats  and  160  pounds  on  wheat — has  increased 
the  average  yields  by  the  amounts  shown  in 
Table  L. 

Table  L.     Eighteen-Year  Average  Increase  from 
Acid  Phosphate. 


Crop 

Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay- 
Pounds 

Com.  . 

7.48 
8.54 
7.95 

208 

Oats 

356 

Wheat 

740 

534 

265 

This  increase  would  have  an  average  annual  value 
of  $3.30  per  acre,  or  a  total  value  of  $445  for  the 
farm  under  consideration,  which,  added  to  the 
value  of  the  unfertilized  yield,  amounts  to  a  total 
of  $1,875.  At  $15  per  ton  the  acid  phosphate  would 
cost  $65 ;  adding  this  to  the  cost  of  production,  we 
have  a  total  of  $1,315,  which  leaves  a  net  balance 
of  $560 — more  than  three  times  the  net  earnings  of 
the  farmer  who  will  not  fertilize. 


226 


FARM    MANURES 


Effect  of  addition  of  potassium — When  potassium 
has  been  added  to  the  phosphate,  in  the  form  of 
muriate  of  potash,  applied  at  the  rate  of  80  pounds 
per  acre  each  to  the  corn  and  oats  and  100  pounds  to 
the  wheat,  and  increasing  the  cost  of  the  fertihzer  to 
$8.90  for  each  rotation,  or  $1.78  per  annum,  there 
has  been  the  further  increase  in  yield  shown  in 
Table  LI. 

Table  LI.  Eighteen-Year  Average  Increase  in 
Yield  from  Acid  Phosphate  and  Muriate  of 
Potash. 


Crop 

Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
Pounds 

Com 

14.22 
12.03 
9.03 

554 

Oats 

582 

Wheat 

779 

970 

473 

The  value  of  this  increase  would  be  $4.90  per 
acre  annually,  or  a  total  sum  of  $660  for  the  farm, 
which  added  to  the  value  of  the  unfertilized  yield 
would  amount  to  $2,090.  The  cost  of  the  fer- 
tilizer would  be  $240,  which  would  increase  the  cost 
of  production  to  $1,490,  and  would  leave  a  net  bal- 
ance of  $600,  or  $40  more  than  that  resulting  from 
the  use  of  acid  phosphate  alone. 

Farming  with  complete  chemical  fertilizer — 
When  a  complete  fertilizer  has  been  used,  contain- 
ing the  quantities  of  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE 


22'^ 


potash  above  given,  reinforced  with  480  pounds  of 
nitrate  of  soda,  160  pounds  on  each  of  the  cereal 
crops,  the  average  increase  has  been  raised  to  the 
quantities  shown  in  Table  LII. 

Table  LII.     Eighteen-Year  Average  Increase  in 
Yield  from   Complete  Fertilizers. 


Crop 

Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay 
Pounds 

Com                     ....                  

18.46 
18.40 
16.25 

688 

Oats 

928 

Wheat.             .                          

1,791 

1,408 

Timothy  hay.    .    . .            

966 

The  total  value  here  amounts  to  $4.93  per  acre 
annually,  or  to  $1,056  for  the  farm,  increasing 
the  value  of  the  total  produce  to  $2,486.  The 
nitrate  of  soda,  however,  has  raised  the  cost  of  the 
fertilizer  to  a  total  for  the  farm  of  $594,  thus  increas- 
ing the  cost  of  production  to  $1,844,  and  leaving  a 
net  balance  of  $642,  or  $82  more  than  that  recovered 
from  the  acid  phosphate  alone. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  potassium  salt 
has  been  used  in  this  experiment  in  larger  quantity 
than  necessary.  At  the  two  southern  test  farms  of 
the  station,  experiments  were  begun  in  1904  in  which 
corn,  wheat  and  clover  are  grown  in  a  three-year 
rotation,  acid  phosphate  being  applied  at  the  rate 
of  120  pounds  per  acre  to  the  corn  and  wheat  on 
plot  2,  and  the  same  quantity  of  acid  phosphate,  re- 


228 


FARM    MANURES 


inforced  with  20  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash,  on 
plot  3,  while  plot  8  has  received  the  same  applica- 
tion as  plot  3,  together  with  160  pounds  of  nitrate 
of  soda,  80  pounds  each  on  corn  and  wheat. 

In  Table  LIII  the  results  of  these  tests  are  com- 
pared with  those  attained  at  the  main  station  on  the 
basis  of  the  average  annual  value  of  increase. 


Table  LIII.     Effect  of  Reducing  the  Proportion 
OF  Potassium  in  the  Fertilizer. 


Annual  value  of  increase 

Treatment 

Wooster=!= 

Germantownt 

Carpenter! 

Acid  phosphate  alone 

Acid  phosphate  and  muriate 

of  pDtash 

Compleie  fertilizer 

$3.31 

4.90 
7.L3 

$3.29 

4.65 
5.60 

$2.43 

3.68 
5.35 

*  18-year  average;  t'^-year  average. 

In  the  experiment  at  Wooster  there  has  been  a 
marked  gain  in  the  rate  of  increase  with  the  prog- 
ress of  the  work,  the  increase  for  the  second  five 
years  being  nearly  twice  as  great  as  for  the  first 
five  years,  and  that  for  the  third  five  3^ears  greater 
than  for  the  second.  Whether  this  accelerated  rate 
of  gain  is  in  part  due  to  the  liberal  fertilizing  of  the 
earlier  years,  and  whether  a  similar  acceleration  will 
be  experienced  at  the  southern  farms  remains  for 
future  results  to  determine.  At  present,  however, 
the  gain  at  the  southern  farms  is  greater  than  it  was 
at  Wooster  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  test. 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         229 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  nitrogen  also  has 
not  been  given  in  excess.  A  direct  answer  to  this 
question  is  given  by  the  experiments  at  Wooster,  in 
which  one  plot  (No.  17)  receives  only  half  the 
nitrate  of  soda  given  to  the  one  heretofore  con- 
sidered (No.  11),  but  receives  480  pounds  acid  phos- 
phate instead  of  320,  The  average  annual  value  of 
the  increase  on  these  plots  and  the  cost  of  the  fer- 
tilizer for  the  18  years  are  as  below : 

VALUE  OF  INCREASE  IN  EIGHTEEN  YEARS 

Plot  II       Plot  17 
Average  value  of  increase  an  acre,       $7.83  $6.98 

Cost  of  fertilizers  an  acre,  4.40  3.33 


Net  gain,  $3.43  $3.65 

This  comparison  shows  that  the  total  yield  has 
been  considerably  greater  from  the  larger  applica- 
tion of  nitrate,  but  the  net  gain  has  been  slightly 
greater  from  the  smaller  application.  It  seems 
probable,  therefore,  that  the  net  gain  may  be  in- 
creased, for  a  considerable  period  at  least,  by  reduc- 
ing the  proportions  of  nitrogen  and  potassium  in 
the  fertilizer. 

Fertilizer  nitrogen  too  costly — But  fertilizer  nitro- 
gen is  a  very  expensive  commodity.  At  current 
prices  a  pound  of  phosphorus  may  be  purchased 
at  retail  in  its  most  effective  carrier,  acid  phosphate, 
for  about  11  cents;  and  a  pound  of  potassium  in  the 
muriate,  at  6  1-3  cents,  while  a  pound  of  nitrogen, 


230  FARM    MANURES 

in  nitrate  of  soda,  costs  about  18  cents,  freight  paid  to 
interior  points  in  each  case.  It  is  true  that  a  pound 
of  nitrogen  may  be  purchased  in  tankage  for  a  little 
less  money,  but  it  is  also  true  that  such  nitrogen  is 
less  valuable,  because  less  promptly  available,  than 
that  of  nitrate  of  soda.  In  the  ordinary  mixed  fer- 
tilizer, however,  with  its  fancy  name,  the  pound 
of  nitrogen,  though  usually  derived  from  tankage, 
or  muck,  is  sold  to  the  farmer  at  a  much  higher  price 
than  he  would  pay  for  it  in  nitrate  of  soda,  so  that 
in  using  nitrate  of  soda  in  these  experiments  nitro- 
gen has  been  applied  in  the  cheapest,  as  well  as  the 
most  effective  carriers. 

Of  the  total  $594,  which  the  fertilizer  on  plot  11 
would  cost,  if  applied  at  the  same  rate  on  the  farm 
under  consideration,  $353  would  be  paid  for  nitro- 
gen, $175  for  potassium  and  $65  for  phosphorus.  If 
this  expenditure  for  nitrogen  and  potassium  could 
be  avoided,  without  reduction  in  yield  of  crops,  it 
would  add  very  materially  to  the  farmer's  income. 
And  this  may  be  done. 

Maintaining  fertility  with  clover  only — In  an- 
other experiment  on  the  same  farm  with  the  one 
we  have  been  considering,  corn,  wheat  and  clover 
have  been  grown  since  1897  in  a  three-year  rota- 
tion. In  this  case  also  each  crop  is  grown  every 
season,  and  one-third  of  the  land  is  left  continuously 
without  any  other  amelioration  than  that  which  it 
gets  from  the  clover.  The  yield  on  this  untreated 
land  has  averaged  as  shown  in  Table  LIV,  for  the 
15  years,  1897-1911 : 


planning  for  fertility  maintenance      23 1 

Table  LIV.     Fifteen-Year  Average  Yield  of  Un- 
treated Land  in  Corn-Wheat-Clover  Rotation. 


Grain 
Bushels 


Stover,  straw 
or  hay- 
Pounds 


Corn  (14  crops). . 
Wheat  (14  crops) . 
Hay  (11  crops). . . 


34.44 
11.16 


2,155 
1,323 

2,435 


The  value  of  this  yield,  using  our  previous  scale 
of  prices,  would  be  $37  per  acre  for  each  rotation, 
or  $12.33  P^''  annum,  as  against  an  annual  value  of 
$10.60  for  the  unfertilized  yield  in  the  five-year  rota- 
tion. 

Applying  these  results  to  our  160-acre  farm,  v^e 
w^ould  have  a  total  annual  value  of  produce  amount- 
ing to  $1,665,  from  v^hich,  deducting  the  cost  of 
production,  $1,250,  there  v^ould  be  left  to  the  farmer 
a  net  balance  of  $415,  or  $235  more  than  that  result- 
ing from  the  practice  of  the  longer  rotation,  but  this 
balance  is  still  too  low  to  give  living  wages  to  the 
man  who  manages  the  farm.  It  is  true  that  in  both 
cases  the  clover  hay  has  been  removed  from  the  land 
and  only  the  roots  turned  under.  What  might  have 
occurred  if  the  whole  plant  had  been  plowed  under 
we  can  only  guess  at,  as  there  are  as  yet  no  reported 
experiments  on  this  point  which  have  been  con- 
tinued a  sufificient  length  of  time  to  furnish  definite 
information  on  this  point. 

A  ton  of  average  clover  hay  contains  about  43 
pounds  of  nitrogen,  seven  pounds  of  phosphorus  and 


232 


FARM    MANURES 


23  pounds  of  potassium,  or  nitrogen,  worth  $6.45, 
phosphorus  worth  75  cents  and  potassium  worth 
$1.40,  a  total  of  $8.60,  which  is  a  larger  value  than 
has  been  given  to  the  hay  as  a  feeding  stuff  in  the 
computations  on  the  preceding  pages,  saying  noth- 
ing of  the  additional  cost  of  harvesting  and  market- 
ing the  hay.  To  realize  this  value,  however,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  reinforce  the  clover  with 
phosphorus  on  the  great  majority  of  soils,  otherwise 
much  of  the  nitrogen  would  be  wasted;  eventually 
it  would  become  necessary  to  add  potassium  and 
lime  also,  because  clover  only  turns  over  the  mineral 
elements  already  in  the  soil,  nitrogen  being  its  only 
actual  addition  to  the  soil. 

Farming  with  manure — A  part  of  the  land  in  this 
last  experiment  has  received  each  spring  a  dress- 
ing of  open-yard  manure,  such  manure  as  would  be 
produced  by  cattle  fed  in  open  feed  lots  where  the 
manure  is  exposed  during  the  winter  to  the  action  of  the 
weather.  This  manure  has  been  applied  at  the  rate 
of  eight  tons  per  acre,  and  has  produced  the  increase 
over  the  unmanured  land  alongside  shown  below : 


Table  LV.     Fifteen- Year   Average   Increase   an 
Acre  from  Eight  Tons  of  Open-Yard  Manure. 


Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay- 
Pounds 

Com                                                      

18.61 
9.49 

793 

Wheat      .             

965 

Hav                        

801 

PLANNING   FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         233 

The  value  of  this  increase  would  be  $23.39  per 
acre  for  each  rotation,  or  $6.80  annually,  which 
would  amount  to  $918  for  our  farm. 

There  being  135  acres  in  our  rotation,  exclusive  of 
land  set  aside  for  support  of  teams  and  other  purposes, 
there  would  be  45  acres  in  each  crop  every  season,  thus 
requiring  360  tons  of  manure  each  year  to  give  a 
dressing  equivalent  to  that  used  in  the  experiment. 

Passing  the  farm  crops  through  the  open  feed  lot 
— The  Ohio  station's  experiments  show  that  an  av- 
erage 1,000-pound  steer,  on  a  well-balanced  fatten- 
ing ration,  will  consume  in  six  months  feeds  con- 
taining about  4,000  pounds  of  dry  substance,  on 
which  he  should  make  a  gain  of  about  360  pounds 
in  live  weight,  and  that  in  this  time  he  will  pro- 
duce about  five  tons  of  manure,  inclusive  of  bedding, 
or  about  2^  pounds  of  manure  with  bedding  to  each 
pound  of  dry  substance  consumed. 

To  produce  360  tons  of  manure  in  six  months' 
feeding  would  therefore  require  the  feeding  of  72 
cattle  of  1,000  pounds  average  weight,  and  to  feed 
these  cattle  would  require  feeds  containing  288,000 
pounds  of  dry  substance. 

Including  the  wheat,  on  the  assumption  that  it 
may  be  exchanged  for  bran  and  oilmeal  or  similar 
feeds ;  omitting  the  straw,  and  discarding  one-third 
of  the  stover  as  waste,  the  crops  receiving  this 
dressing  of  yard  manure  have  yielded  dry  substance 
at  the  rate  of  about  7,600  pounds  per  acre  for  each 
rotation,  or  340,000  pounds  for  our  farm,  which 
would  be  more  than  sufficient  to  provide  the  re- 


^ 


234  FARM    MANURES 

quired  manure,  were  there  no  waste.  But  these  and 
other  experiments  have  shown  that  there  is  always 
a  large  loss  of  manurial  elements  when  manure  is 
exposed  in  this  manner,  and  usually  a  loss  of  total 
weight,  although  sometimes  the  liquid  manure  is 
replaced  by  water  from  the  clouds,  so  that  there  is 
apparently  little  if  any  reduction  in  total  weight. 

The  above  estimate  assumes  that  the  corn  is  fed 
in  the  shock  without  husking,  a  method  which 
involves  less  labor  than  that  of  husking  and  hand- 
ling the  corn  and  stover  separately,  before  hauling 
to  market.  The  hay,  also,  is  fed  with  less  expense 
than  it  can  be  marketed,  as  if  marketed  it  must  be 
baled;  so  that  this  rough  method  of  feeding,  with 
hogs  following  the  cattle,  which  is  practiced  by 
occasional  farmers  throughout  the  territory  known 
as  the  "corn  belt,"  puts  the  crops  into  market  at  the 
least  possible  expense. 

This  method  of  management,  however,  involves 
the  handling  of  feed  daily  throughout  the  winter, 
and  the  hauling  of  a  large  amount  of  manure  in  the 
early  spring;  hence  it  will  be  necessary  for  our 
farmer  to  keep  help  the  year  round,  instead  of  only 
through  the  eight  months  of  crop  production.  Cap- 
ital will  also  be  required  for  purchasing  the  cattle, 
on  which  interest  must  be  allowed  for  six  months 
each  season.  These  two  items  would  raise  the  cost 
of  production  on  a  feeding  farm  by  $150 — $60  for 
labor  and  $90  for  interest — or  to  a  total  of  $1,400. 

The  expert  stock  feeder  expects  to  get  at  least  as 
much  for  his  feed  as  it  would  bring  in  the  market, 


PLANNING   FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         235 

without  reference  to  the  manure.  Sometimes  he 
will  fail  to  accomplish  this,  but  at  other  times  he 
will  make  up  the  deficit.  We  are,  therefore,  justi- 
fied in  rating  the  produce  fed  to  stock  at  the  same 
price  it  would  have  brought  if  sold  in  the  market. 
Adding,  therefore,  the  value  of  the  increase  pro- 
duced by  the  manure,  $918,  to  the  value  of  the  un- 
manured  yield,  $1,665,  we  have  a  total  of  $2,583, 
from  which  must  be  deducted  $1,400,  as  the  cost  of 
production,  leaving  a  net  balance  of  $1,183. 

Passing  the  crop  through  sheltered  feeding  pens 
— In  another  of  the  Ohio  station's  tests  the  manure 
has  been  hauled  directly  from  the  stable  to  the  field 
instead  of  first  passing  through  the  barnyard.  The 
increase  from  this  manure,  applied  also  at  the  rate 
of  eight  tons  per  acre,  has  been  as  follows : 


Table  LVI.     Fifteen-Year  Average  Increase  an 
Acre  from  Eight  Tons  of  Stall  Manure. 


Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay- 
Pounds 

Corn 

23.57 
10.88 

1,103 
1,121 
1  395 

Wheat 

Hay 

The  increase  in  this  case  amounts  in  value  to 
$26.48  per  acre  for  each  rotation,  or  to  $8.83  annu- 
ally, or  to  a  total  of  $1,192  for  our  farm,  which, 
added  to  the  unfertilized  yield,  gives  a  total  value 
of  production  amounting  to  $2,857. 


236  FARM    MANURES 

To  produce  this  kind  of  manure  requires  feeding 
under  shelter,  but  the  building  for  the  purpose  need 
not  be  very  expensive.  A  roof  overhead,  and  a 
cemented  floor  under  foot  to  hold  the  manure  are  the 
essentials;  additional  storage  room  for  feed,  includ- 
ing a  silo  and  other  conveniences,  will  pay  a  good 
interest  on  the  investment.  We  may  assume  that 
the  necessary  addition  to  the  buildings  of  our  farm 
will  cost  $4,000,  the  interest  on  which  will  increase 
the  annual  expense  account  to  $1,640,  leaving  a  net 
gain  of  $1,217. 

Shock  corn  may  be  fed  in  a  properly  arranged 
feeding  shed,  and  with  much  greater  satisfaction 
than  out  of  doors.  It  is  true  that  the  stalks  will 
interfere  with  the  easy  handling  of  the  manure, 
and  for  this  reason  it  will  pay,  when  the  feeding 
operations  are  large  enough  to  justify  equipment 
for  cutting  by  power,  to  cut  or  shred  the  stover.  In 
fact,  the  question  may  well  be  raised  whether  the 
cost  of  storing  and  cutting  the  stover  would  not 
be  much  more  than  offset  by  the  saving  of  labor  in 
hauling  in  the  crop  from  the  field  from  day  to  day, 
as  Is  generally  practiced  in  open-yard  feeding. 

There  is  but  one  more  disagreeable  job  on  the 
farm  than  that  of  handling  shock  corn  during  a  Jan- 
uary thaw,  when  each  step  sinks  to  the  ankles  in 
mud,  and  the  team  must  be  doubled  to  get  out  of  the 
field  with  even  part  of  a  load,  and  that  is  the  one 
of  moving  the  same  crop  when  the  blizzard  follow- 
ing the  thaw  has  come,  and  the  stalks  have  sunk  into 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         237 

the  ground  and  frozen  there,  so  that  they  must  be 
cut  loose  with  a  mattock. 

Considering  the  extra  labor  and  exposure  involved 
in  this  method  of  handling  the  crop,  the  injury  to  the 
land  resulting  from  trampling  it  when  soft,  and  the 
loss  in  value  from  exposure  of  the  shocks  for  two 
or  three  months  to  the  weather,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  easiest  and  cheapest  way  to  take 
care  of  the  crop  is  to  get  it  in  during  the  dry  weather 
of  the  fall,  and  house  it  or  stack  it  near  to  the  place 
of  feeding. 

Farming  with  reinforced  manure — In  still  another 
of  the  tests  under  consideration  the  manure  has  been 
treated  with  acid  phosphate  during  accumulation, 
using  the  phosphate  at  the  rate  of  40  pounds  to  the 
ton  of  manure,  or  approximately  a  pound  per  day 
for  each  1,000-pound  animal;  this  manure  has  then 
been  spread  directly  upon  the  land,  as  in  the  test 
previously  described,  and  has  produced  the  follow- 
ing increase: 


Table  LVII.  Fifteen-Year  Average  Increase  an 
Acre  from  Eight  Tons  of  Phosphated  Stall 
Manure. 


Grain 
Bushels 

Stover,  straw 
or  hay- 
Pounds 

Com 

34.53 
16.31 

1,539 
1,692 
2,523 

Wheat 

Hay 

238 


FARM    MANURES 


The  value  of  the  increase  in  this  case  has  reached 
a  total  of  $40.95  per  acre  for  each  rotation,  or  of 
$13.65  per  acre  annually,  or  of  $1,842  for  the  farm, 
which,  added  to  the  value  of  the  unfertilized  yield, 
gives  a  total  value  amounting  to  $3,507. 

The  total  cost  of  the  phosphate  would  be  $65, 
which  added  to  our  previous  estimate  of  $1,640 
raises  the  total  cost  of  production  to  $1,705  and 
leaves  a  net  income  of  $1,802. 

To  recapitulate,  the  foregoing  calculations  are 
collected  for  comparison  in  Table  LVIII. 


Table  LVIII.  Estimated  Annual  Income  from 
Farm  of  160  Acres  Under  Various  Systems  of 
Management. 


treatment 

Total  value 
of  produce 

Total  cost 
of  production 

Net  gain 

Five-year  rotation 

No  fertilizer  nor  manure 

With  acid  phosphate 

"      phosphate  and  potash. . 

"      complete  fertiUzer 

$1,430 
1,875 
2,090 
2,486 

$1,250 
1,315 
1,490 
1,844 

$180 
560 
600 
642 

Three-year  rotation 

No  fertilizer  nor  manure 

With  ^  ard  manure 

"     fresh        "       

$1,665 
2,583 
2,857 
3,507 

$1,250 
1,400 
1,640 
1,705 

$415 
1,183 
1,217 

"         "           "      phosphated 

1,802 

Of  course,  the  outcome  deduced  from  the  above 
calculations  would  never  be  exactly  realized. 
Farms  differ  in  their  state  of  fertility — or  of  exhaus- 


PLANNING    FOR    FERTILITY    MAINTENANCE         239 

tion;  farmers  differ  in  their  capacity  for  manage- 
ment ;  seasons  differ,  so  that  no  two  successive  sea- 
sons, nor  two  successive  lo-year  periods,  will  give 
the  same  results ;  the  point  is,  that  under  the  same 
conditions,  land  which  has  been  farmed  under  the 
common  five-year  rotation — which,  by  the  way,  is 
a  better  plan  than  that  pursued  on  a  great  many 
farms — is  yielding  at  such  a  rate  that  the  tenant  who 
will  not  buy  fertilizers  for  fear  he  may  enrich  an- 
other man's  land  will  probably  receive  on  the  aver- 
age less  for  his  year's  work  than  the  laborer  whom 
he  employs  by  the  month  gets  for  8  months'  work ; 
whereas  the  one  who  has  not  this  fear  may,  on  the 
same  farm  and  under  the  same  system  of  cropping, 
realize  fair  wages,  while  the  man  who  has  the  capac- 
ity for  handling  live  stock  may  double  or  treble 
the  net  income  of  the  best  fertilizer  farmer,  or  mul- 
tiply that  of  the  one  first  mentioned  by  ten. 

It  is  very  true  that  the  successful  management  of 
live  stock  requires  ability  of  a  much  higher  order 
than  is  necessary  for  fertilizer  farming;  to  know 
how  to  buy  and  how  to  feed  involves  judgment, 
training  and  practical  experience,  and  even  the  most 
skillful  stockman  will  sometimes  find  that  he  would 
have  done  temporarily  better  if  he  had  sold  his  crops 
instead  of  feeding  them;  but  in  the  long  run  there 
can  be  no  question  that  the  farmer  who  understands 
and  practices  the  keeping  of  live  stock,  and  the 
production,  preservation  and  use  of  manure,  will 
secure  a  very  much  better  income  from  the  land, 
whether  he  owns  it  or  rents  it,  than  the  one  who 


240  FARM    MANURES 

depends  upon  chemical  fertilizers  alone  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil ;  while  as  for 
the  farmer  who  undertakes  to  take  everything  from 
the  land  without  making  any  restitution,  his  liberty 
will  eventually  be  taken  from  him  and  he  will  be- 
come the  servant  of  wiser  men,  either  on  the  farm 
or  elsewhere. 


Sweet  clover  on  a  test  field  of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station. 


INDEX 


Page 
Agricultural  classification  of  soils  16 
Alfalfa,   accumulation   of   nitrogen 

by    204 

seeding  to    205 

Alluvial  soils   14 

Ames,  J.  W.,  analyses  by....  103,  147 
Ash  constituents  of  manure,  value 

of     139 

Ash   of  plants,   components   of.  . .     26 

growth    controlled    by 34 

source  of 28 

Atmospheric  elements  of  plants..     29 
Bacteria  of  the  manure  heap.  137,  151 

soil    17 

Barley,   experiments  with 116 

Beginning   of   life,   the 7 

Buckwheat   as   a   green   manure..   206 
Canada  peas  for  green  manuring  202 

Catch    crops    199,  207 

fertilizing     211 

leguminous     212 

Cement         floors,         experiments 

on    100,  133 

Chemical  combination,  meaning  of     27 
fertilizers,   evanescent   effect   of  118 

Cisterns   for  manure 156 

Clouston,    D.,    experiments    by. .  .    139 

Clover  crop,   feeding  the 67 

manurial   value   of 200 

Composition  of  average  crops. ...     41 
crop   not  a  guide  to   fertilizing     43 

manure   81 

plants 24 

Corn   crop,    fertilizing  the 46 

Cornell       University      Experiment 
Station,   experiments    at 

84,  94,   109,   141 
Com  grown  continuously,  experi- 
ments on    48 

grown   in   rotation,   experiments 

on    47 

lime  for   52 

potassium  for   51 

Cowpeas  as  a  catch  crop 212 

for   green   manuring    202 

Crimson  clover  as  a  catch  crop..   212 

Cycle   of  life,   the 12 

Dominion       experimental       farms, 
experiments   at 

44,  50,  144,  177,  188,  216 

Drift  soils    15 

Drying   manure,    effect    of 182 

Earth  a  cooling  globe,  the 1 

Farming     without     fertilizers     or 

manure   223 


Page 

Farming  with  manure   232 

with    phosphorus 225 

with  phosphorus  and  potassium  226 
with  phosphorus,  potassium  and 

nitrogen    227 

with   reinforced   manure    237 

Feeding  of  the   plant,   the 35 

the    clover    crop 67 

Fertility    losses    in    grain    produc- 
tion        166 

losses  from  permanent  pastures   165 
Fertilizers    on    corn,    experiments 

with     46 

'on  oats,  experiments  with 57 

on    wheat,    experiments    with..     58 

First  forms  of  life,  the 17 

Frear,  Prof.  Wm.,  experiments  by  163 

Grass  crops,  manuring   195 

Green    manures    199 

Canada    peas    for    202 

cowpeas    for    202 

souring    land   with 210 

sweet   clover   for    203 

Gypsum    as    a    manure    preserva- 
tive        175 

Hen  manure    110 

preservation    of    164 

Hogs  following  steers,  production 

of  manure  by    103 

Hopkins,   Dr.   C.   G.,   experiments 

by    213 

Humus,   formation   of    9 

Ice,  action  of  in  soil  formation.  .       3 
Illinois     Experiment    Station,    ex- 
periments by   213 

India,    manure   experiments    in...    139 

Inhabitants    of    the    soil,    the 17 

Kainit   as   a  manure   preservative.    175 
Kentucky       Experiment       Station, 

soil   of    158 

Lawes,  Gilbert  and  Pugh,  investi- 
gations by   22 

Life,  first  forms  of   17 

Lime,    effect    of    on    clover 66,71 

corn     52,  66 

oats    and   wheat    60,66 

Liming    on    limestone    land 63 

Liquid   manure,  value   of   184 

Loess   soils    15 

Maine  Experiment  Station,  experi- 
ments   at    164 

Maintaining    fertility    with    clover 

only     230 

Manure,   analyses  of   89 

composition    of     81 


242 


INDEX 


Page 

Manure,  cellars   for 159 

cisterns  and  pits  for   156 

fresh,   vs.   rotted  manure    186 

fresh,  vs.  yard  manure 128 

from    dairy   cows 84,89,95 

from   hens 90 

from   horses    89,  94 

from  sheep    106 

from    steers    90,  98 

losses   from    heating    136 

losses    from    leaching 140 

losses  in  drying   151 

losses   in   the    feed   lot 136 

losses   in   the   stable    132 

losses    in    rotting 138 

methods    of    applying 182 

not  a  balanced  ration  for  plants  218 

preservatives      160 

preserving  in  box  stalls 155 

production   of    94 

reinforcement    of    129 

residual    effect    of    117 

sheds    for    156 

solid  and  liquid,  composition  of     84 

spreader,    the    152,184 

spreading    in    winter    185 

value    of    112 

variation  in  composition  of .  .  .  .      87 
waste    of    132 

Manuring   corn    190 

grass    crops    195 

meadows    and    pastures    197 

oats     192 

orchards   206 

potatoes    192 

wheat    193 

Massachusetts  Experiment  Station, 

soil   of    158 

Melilotus   for   green   manuring. . .   203 

at    Rothamsted    204 

seeding  to    205 

Methods   of   applying  manure    .  . .    182 

Mineral  basis  of  the  soil 6 

Minnesota  Experiment  Station,  ex- 
periments   at     85 

New    Jersey    Experiment    Station, 

experiments   at    97,145 

New  York   State   Experiment   Sta- 
tion,  experiments    at 110 

Nitrification    18 

Nitrogen,   comparison    of  carriers 

of     77 

in    fertilizers    too   costly 230 

fixation   of  in   plants 30 

of  the  soil,  condition   of 37 

of    the    soil,     increase    of    by 
clover    217 

Oats  crop,   fertilizing  the    57 

manuring    the     192 

Ontario   Agricultural   College,   ex- 
periments  at    206 

Orchards,   manuring    197 


Page 
Pennsylvania    State    College,    ex- 
periments   at 

44,  53,  57,  58,  63,  68,  71,75,  157 
Phosphorus   of  the  soil,  condition 

of     36 

Pigs,  manure   from    90,  109 

Planning    the     farm    management 

for   fertility    maintenance....   218 

Plant    food,    assimilation    of 39 

combination    essential    31 

condition  of  in  the  soil 35 

consumption      of      by      average 

crops     39,42 

total  store  not  an  index  to  pro- 
ductiveness           38 

Plants,    composition    of    24,32 

Potassic    fertilizers,    effect    of    on 

corn     51 

Potassium    of   thw    soil,    condition 

of     35 

Potatoes,  manuring    192 

Preservation  of  manure,  the....  151 
Rate  of  yield  of  different  crops..  191 
Reinforcement   of   manure.  .  .  .  167,  176 

Residual  soils    14 

Rothamsted   experiments,   the.  112,  204 

Rye  as  a  catch  crop 208 

Salt  as  a  manure  preservative...  176 
Shutt,    Prof.    F.    T.,    experiments 

by    144,  151,  186,216 

Soil   bacteria    17 

mineral   basis    of    6 

origin    of    1 

size  of  particles   of   11 

Soils,   alluvial    14 

classification    of    14,  16 

drift     15 

loess    15 

residual     14 

Soybeans  as  a  catch  crop 213 

for   green   manuring    202 

Spreading  manure  in  winter 185 

Stall   and  yard  manure,   compari- 
son   of    173 

Straw    and    stover    per   bushel    of 

grain   191 

Sweet  clover   (see  Melilotus), 

Symbiosis     21 

Vetch   as   a  catch  crop    212 

Voorhees,    Prof.    E.    B.,    experi- 
ments by    97,  145 

Waste   of  manure    in    the    United 

States      149 

Wheat  crop,  fertilizing  the   58 

manuring   the    193 

Wheat  yields   at  Rothamsted 114 

Where   to  use   manure    190 

Woburn    experiments,   the    120 

Worms,  agency  of,  in  soil  forma- 
tion            8 

Yard  and  fresh  manure  compared  173 


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First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility 

By  Alfred  Vivian.  There  is  no  subject  of  more  vital 
importance  to  the  farmer  than  that  of  the  best  method 
of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  very  evideni 
decrease  in  the  fertility  of  those  soils  which  have  been 
under  cultivation  for  a  number  of  years,  combined  with 
the  increased  competition  and  the  advanced  price  of  labor, 
have  convinced  the  intelligent  farmer  that  the  agriculture 
of  the  future  must  be  based  upon  more  rational  practices 
than  those  which  have  been  followed  in  the  past.  We 
have  felt  for  some  time  that  there  was  a  place  for  a 
brief,  and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive,  treatise  on 
this  important  subject  of  Soil  Fertility.  Professor  Vivian's 
experience  as  a  teacher  in  the  short  winter  courses  has 
admirably  fitted  him  to  present  this  matter  in  a  popular 
style.  In  this  little  book  he  has  given  the  gist  of  the 
subject  in  plain  language,  practically  devoid  of  technical 
and  scientific  terms.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  "First  Book," 
and  will  be  found  especially  valuable  to  those  who  desire 
an  introduction  to  the  subject,  and  who  intend  to  do  subse- 
quent reading.     Illustrated.    5x7  inches.    265  pages.     Cloth. 

Net,  $1.00 

The  Study  of  Corn 

By  Prof.' V.  M.  Shoesmith.  A  most  helpful  book  to  all 
farmers  and  students  interested  in  the  selection  and  im- 
provement of  corn.  It  is  profusely  illustrated  f^om  photo- 
graphs, all  of  which  carry  their  own  story  an^'  contribute 
their  part  in  making  pictures  and  text  mattet  &  clear,  con- 
cise and  interesting  study  of  corn.     Illustrated.     S^7  inche.-^. 

100  pages.     Cloth Net,  $0.50 

(1) 


Profitable  Stock  Raising 

By  Clarence  A.  Shamel.  This  book  covers  fully  the 
principles  of  breeding  and  feeding  for  both  fat  stock  and 
dairying  type.  It  tells  of  sheep  and  mutton  raising,  hot 
house  lambs,  the  swine  industry  and  the  horse  market. 
Finally,  he  tells  of  the  preparation  of  stock  for  the  market 
and  how  to  prepare  it  so  that  it  will  bring  a  high  market 
price.  Live  stock  is  the  most  important  feature  of  farm 
life,  and  statistics  show  a  production  far  short  of  the 
actual  requirements.  There  are  many  problems  to  be 
faced  in  the  profitable  production  of  stock,  and  these  are 
fully  and  comprehensively  covered  in  Mr.  Shamel's  new 
book.       Illustrated.       5x7     inches.       288     pages.       Cloth. 

Net,  $1.50 

The  Business  of  Dairying 

By  C.  B.  Lane.  The  author  of  this  practical  little  book 
is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  successful  manner  in  which 
he  has  treated  so  important  a  subject.  It  has  been  pre- 
pared for  the  use  of  dairy  students,  producers  and  handlers 
of  milk,  and  all  who  make  dairying  a  business.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  present  in  a  clear  and  concise  manner  various 
business  methods  and  systems  which  will  help  the  dairy- 
man to  reap  greater  profits.  This  book  meets  the  needs 
of  the  average  dairy  farmer,  and  if  carefully  followed  will 
lead  to  successful  dairying.  It  may  also  be  used  as  an 
elementary  textbook  for  colleges,  and  especially  in  short- 
course  classes.     Illustrated.    5x7  inches.    300  pages.     Cloth. 

Net,  $1.25 

Questions  and  Answers  on  Buttermaking 

By  Chas  a.  Publow.  This  book  is  entirely  different 
from  the  usual  type  of  dairy  books,  and  is  undoubtedly  in 
a  class  by  itself.  The  entire  subject  of  butter-making  in 
all  its  branches  has  been  most  thoroughly  treated,  and 
many  new  and  important  features  have  been  added.  The 
tests  for  moisture,  salt  and  acid  have  received  special 
attention,  as  have  also  the  questions  on  cream  separa- 
tion, pasteurization,  commercial  starters,  cream  ripening, 
cream  overrun,  marketing  of  butter,  and  creamery  man- 
agement.     Illustrated.      5x7    inches.      100    pages.      Cloth. 

Net,  $0.50 

Questions  and  Answers  on  Milk  and  Milk  Testing 

By  Chas.  A.  Publow,  and  Hugh  C.  Troy.  A  book  that 
no  student  in  the  dairy  industry  can  afford  to  be  without. 
No  other  treatise  of  its  kind  is  available,  and  no  book  of 
its  size  gives  so  much  practical  and  useful  information  in 
the  study  of  milk  and  milk  products.  Illustrated.  5x7 
inches.      100    pages.      Cloth Net,  $0.50 

(3) 


Soils 

By  Charles  William  Burkett,  Director  Kansas  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station.  The  most  complete  and 
popular  work  of  the  kind  ever  published.  As  a  rule,  a 
book  of  this  sort  is  dry  and  uninteresting,  but  in  this  case 
it  reads_  like  a  novel.  The  author  has  put  into  it  his  in- 
dividuality. The  story  of  the  properties  of  the  soils,  their 
improvement  and  management,  as  well  as  a  discussion  of 
the  problems  of  crop  growing  and  crop  feeding,  make  this 
book  equally  valuable  to  the  farmer,  student  and  teacher. 
Illustrated.    303  pages.     5j^x8  inches.     Cloth.     .     Net,  $1.25 

Weeds  of  the  Farm  Garden 

By  L.  H.  Pammel.  The  enormous  losses,  amounting 
to  several  hundred  million  dollars  annually  in  the  United 
States,  caused  by  weeds  stimulate  us  to  adopt  a  better 
system  of  agriculture.  The  weed  question  is,  therefore, 
a  most  important  and  vital  one  for  American  farmers. 
This  treatise  will  enable  the  farmer  to  treat  his  field  to 
remove  weeds.  The  book  is  profusely  illustrated  by  photo- 
graphs and  drawings  made  expressly  for  this  work,  and 
will  prove  invaluable  to  every  farmer,  land  owner,  gar- 
dener and  park  superintendent.  5x7  inches.  300  pages. 
Cloth Net,  $1.50 

Farm  Machinery  and  Farm  Motors 

By  J.  B.  Davidson  and  L.  W.  Chase.  Farm  Machinery 
and  Farm  Motors  is  the  first  American  book  published 
on  the  subject  of  Farm  Machinery  since  that  written  by 
J.  J.  Thomas  in  1867.  This  was  before  the  development 
of  many  of  the  more  important  farm  machines,  and  the 
general  application  of  power  to  the  work  of  the  farm. 
Modern  farm  machinery  is  indispensable  in  present-day 
farming  operations,  and  a  practical  book  like  Farm  Ma- 
chinery and  Farm  Motors  will  fill  a  much-felt  need.  The 
book  has  been  written  from  lectures  used  by  the  authors 
before  their  classes  for  several  years,  and  which  were  pre- 
pared from  practical  experience  and  a  thorough  review  of 
the  literature  pertaining  to  the  subject.  Although  written 
primarily  as  a  text-book,  it  is  equally  useful  for  the  prac- 
tical farmer.  Profusely  illustrated.  5^x8  inches.  520 
pages.     Cloth ...     Net,  $2.00 

The  Book  of  Wheat 

By  P.  T.  DoNDLiNGER.  This  book  comprises  a  complete 
study  of  everything  pertaining  to  wheat.  It  is  the  work 
of  a  student  of  economic  as  well  as  agricultural  condi- 
tions, well  fitted  by  the  broad  experience  in  both  practical 
and  theoretical  lines  to  tell  the  whole  story  in  a  condensed 
form.  It  is  designed  for  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  and  the 
student  as   well.      Illustrated.      5]/2x8   inches.     370   pages. 

Cloth Net,  $2.00 

(4) 


The  Cereals  in  America 

By  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  M.S.,  D.Agri.,  Professor  of  Agron- 
omy, Cornell  University.  If  you  raise  five  acres  of  any  kind 
of  grain  you  cannot  afford  to  be  without  this  book.  It  is  in 
every  way  the  best  book  on  the  subject  that  has  ever  been 
written.  It  treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every 
grain  crop  raised  in  America  in  a  thoroughly  practical  and 
accurate  manner.  The  subject-matter  includes  a  comprehen- 
sive and  succinct  treatise  of  wheat,  maize,  oats,  barley,  rye,' 
rice,  sorghum  (kafir  corn)  and  buckwheat,  as  related  particu- 
larly to  American  conditions.  First-hand  knowledge  has  been 
the  policy  of  the  author  in  his  work,  and  every  crop  treated  is 
presented  in  the  light  of  individual  study  of  the  plant.  If  you 
have  this  book  you  have  the  latest  and  best  that  has  been 
written  upon  the  subject.  Illustrated.  450  pages.  55^x8 
inches.      Cloth $1.75 

The  Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America 

By  Thomas  F.  Hunt.  This  book  is  exactly  what  its  title 
indicates.  It  is  indispensable  to  the  farmer,  student  and 
teacher  who  wishes  all  the  latest  and  most  important  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  of  forage  and  fiber  crops.  Like  its  famous 
companion,  "The  Cereals  in  America,"  by  the  same  author,  it 
treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every  one  of  the 
forage  and  fiber  crops.  With  this  book  in  hand,  you  have 
the  latest  and  most  up-to-date  information  available.  Illus- 
trated. 428  pages.     5j^x8  inches.     Cloth $i.75 

The  Book  of  Alfalfa 

History,  Cultivation  and  Merits.  Its  Uses  as  a  Forage 
and  Fertilizer.  The  appearance  of  the  Hon.  F.  D.  Coburn's 
little  book  on  Alfalfa  a  few  years  ago  has  been  a  profit  revela- 
tion to  thousands  of  farmers  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
increasing  demand  for  still  more  information  on  the  subject 
has  induced  the  author  to  prepare  the  present  volume,  which 
is  by  far  the  most  authoritative,  complete  and  valuable  work 
on  this  forage  crop  published  anywhere.  It  is  printed  on  fine 
paper  and  illustrated  with  many  full-page  photographs  that 
were  taken  with  the  especial  view  of  their  relation  to  the  text. 
336  pages.  6^  x  9  inches.  Bound  in  cloth,  with  gold  stamp- 
ing. It  is  unquestionably  the  handsomest  agricultural  refer- 
ence book  that  has  ever  been  issued.    Price,  postpaid,  .     $2.00 

Clean  Milk 

By  S.  D.  Belcher,  M.D,  In  this  book  the  author  sets  forth 
practical  methods  for  the  exclusion  of  bacteria  from  milk, 
and  how  to  prevent  contamination  of  milk  from  the  stable 
to  the  consumer.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches.  146  pages. 
Cloth $100 


Successful  Fruit  Culture 

By  Samuel  T.  Maynard.  A  practical  guide  to  the  culti- 
vation and  propagation  of  Fruits,  written  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  practical  fruit  grower  who  is  striving  to  make  his 
business  profitable  by  growing  the  best  fruit  possible  and  at 
the  least  cost.  It  is  up-to-date  in  every  particular,  and  covers 
the  entire  practice  of  fruit  culture,  harvesting,  storing,  mar- 
keting, forcing,  best  varieties,  etc.,  etc.  It  deals  with  principles 
first  and  with  the  practice  afterwards,  as  the  foundation,  prin- 
ciples of  plant  growth  and  nourishment  must  always  remain 
the  same,  while  practice  will  vary  according  to  the  fruit 
grower's  immediate  conditions  and  environments.  Illustrated. 
265  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $i.og 

Plums  and  Plum  Culture 

By  F.  A.  Waugh.  A  complete  manual  for  fruit  growers, 
nurserymen,  farmers  and  gardeners,  on  all  known  varieties 
of  plums  and  their  successful  management.  This  book  marks 
an  epoch  in  the  horticultural  literature  of  America.  It  is  a 
complete  monograph  of  the  plums  cultivated  in  and  indigenous 
to  North  America.  It  will  be  found  indispensable  to  the 
scientist  seeking  the  most  recent  and  authoritative  informa- 
tion concerning  this  group,  to  the  nurseryman  who  wishes  to 
handle  his  varieties  accurately  and  intelligently,  and  to  the 
cultivator  who  would  like  to  grow  plums  successfully.  Illus- 
trated.   391  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.50 

Fruit  Harvesting,  Storing,  Marketing 

By  F.  A.  Waugh.  A  practical  guide  to  the  picking,  stor- 
ing, shipping  and  marketing  of  fruit.  The  principal  subjects 
covered  are  the  fruit  market,  fruit  picking,  sorting  and  pack- 
ing, the  fruit  storage,  evaporation,  canning,  statistics  of  the 
fruit  trade,  fruit  package  laws,  commission  dealers  and  deal- 
ing, cold  storage,  etc.,  etc.  No  progressive  fruit  grower  can 
afford  to  be  without  this  most  valuable  book.  Illustrated. 
232  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Systematic  Pomology 

By  F.  A.  Waugh,  professor  of  horticulture  and  landscape 
gardening  in  the  Massachusetts  agricultural  college,  formerly 
of  the  university  of  Vermont.  This  is  the  first  book  in  the 
English  language  which  has  ever  made  the  attempt  at  a  com- 
plete and  comprehensive  treatment  of  systematic  pomology. 
It  presents  clearly  and  in  detail  the  whole  method  by  which 
fruits  are  studied.  The  book  is  suitably  illustrated.  288 
pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.00 

(11) 


Rural  School  Agriculture 

By  Charles  W.  Davis.  A  book  intended  for  the  use  of 
both  teachers  and  pupils.  Its  aim  is  to  enlist  the  interest  of 
the  boys  of  the  farm  and  awaken  in  their  minds  the  fact  that 
the  problems  of  the  farm  are  great  enough  to  command  all  the 
brain  power  they  can  summon.  The  book  is  a  manual  of  exer- 
cises covering  many  phases  of  agriculture,  and  it  may  be  used 
with  any  text-book  of  agriculture,  or  without  a  text-book.  The 
exercises  will  enable  the  student  to  think,  and  to  work  out  the 
scientific  principles  underlying  some  of  the  most  important 
agricultural  operations.  The  author  feels  that  in  the  teaching 
of  agriculture  in  the  rural  schools,  the  laboratory  phase  is  al- 
most entirely  neglected.  If  an  experiment  helps  the  pupil  to 
think,  or  makes  his  conceptions  clearer,  it  fills  a  useful  pur- 
pose, and  eventually  prepares  for  successful  work  upon  the 
farm.  The  successful  farmer  of  the  future  must  be  an  experi- 
menter in  a  small  way.  Following  many  of  the  exercises  are  a 
number  of  questions  which  prepare  the  way  for  further  re- 
search work.  The  material  needed  for  performing  the  experi- 
ments is  simple,  and  can  be  devised  by  the  teacher  and  pupils, 
or  brought  from  the  homes.  Illustrated.  300  pages.  Cloth. 
5x7  inches $1.00 

Agriculture   Through   the   Laboratory   and   School 
Garden 

By  C.  R.  Jackson  and  Mrs.  L.  S.  Daugherty.  As  its  name 
implies,  this  book  gives  explicit  directions  for  actual  work  in 
the  laboratory  and  the  school  garden,  through  which  agri- 
cultural principles  may  be  taught.  The  author's  aim  has  been 
to  present  actual  experimental  work  in  every  phase  of  the 
subject  possible,  and  to  state  the  directions  for  such  work  so 
that  the  student  can  perform  it  independently  of  the  teacher, 
and  to  state  them  in  such  a  way  that  the  results  will  not  be 
suggested  by  these  directions.  One  must  perform  the  experi- 
ment to  ascertain  the  result.  It  embodies  in  the  text  a  com- 
prehensive, practical,  scientific,  yet  simple  discussion  of  such 
facts  as  are  necessary  to  the  understanding  of  many  of  the 
agricultural  principles  involved  in  every-day  life.  The  book, 
although  primarily  intended  for  use  in  schools,  is  equally 
valuable  to  any  one  desiring  to  obtain  in  an  easy  and  pleasing 
manner  a  general  knowledge  of  elementary  agriculture.  Fully 
illustrated.    5J-^  x  8  inches.    462  pages.     Cloth.     Net     .     $1.50 

Soil  Physics  Laboratory  Guide 

By  W.  G.  Stevenson  and  I.  O.  Schaub.  A  carefully  out- 
lined series  of  experiments  in  soil  physics.  A  portion  of  the 
experiments  outlined  in  this  guide  have  been  used  quite  gen- 
erally in  recent  years.  The  exercises  (of  which  there  are  40) 
are  listed  in  a  logical  order  with  reference  to  their  relation 
to  each  other  and  the  skill  required  on  the  part  of  the  student. 
Illustrated.     About  100  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .     $0.50 

(17) 


^lAY   24  1913