Talks on Manures.

A 8F.KIFS Itr T \MM.I Ai: AM> rKA< I I' M I M K- liK i >% r i > i lif At TilOR

AM» TIIK I»K\< <»X. TIIK Ikk T»»lt, ASI» CITIIKU NKK.illUiICS, OX

TflK WIKILK KUIUICCT or M Nl'llKli ASV rKUTlLlZKUS.

11 Y

JOSKIMI IIAKKIS. M. S.

moa or "wtLk.^ *M' Ti:.!.- ■• rut Farm," 'UtEKIt on tu« rm," BTn.

N! .-.' AND ENLARGED EDITION,

INCLUDIMO A CIUITKR HI'BOIALLY WKITTKN FiiK IT HV SIR /OBM
BE»>KT I 4WI., Ill- i« iTll tM'^i Ki> iNfil.ASU.

N K W V « » R K :

OKA \ (IK J ID I) COMPANY,

Entered, accordinc to Act of ronjjr'-o". In the year IfWS, by th«

orancjp: .jcdi) companv.

In t>te Ufflcu of tbf Libranau uf Congress, at Wa^liinxton.

CONTENTS.

CllAl'TEU L
Faming an n BnninoB?.— High Farniiut;aiid(i<»o<l F&nnlnK.— Sommpr-fallovr-
ing and IMi wiug under Clover.— Wc must nuiw: larger ("rDpe |ht Acre. —
I><'Hinictiun of Wi-cdu.— Karining is Slow Work.— It requin!!* PiTKonal At-
tcuUuu I

CUAPTEIt II.

What is" Manure?— The dcflnitions givcu by llic Diuou and the J>(>cl<ir 19

ClIAITER III.

Bometliing alnjut Plant food —.\ll cuils on which pInntM grow contain it.—
The Season. -Water, Shade, Light, and Mulch, not Muiiurci*. Sevcnil Ucf-
LuiUouH of Mauurc 21

CU AFTER IV.

Na ural Manure. -Accumulated Plant food in the Soil.— Eshaut'tlon of the
Soil.— Why our Croj » an- fo Poor. -IIow to get I>nri.'er Crops.— We must
Dmiu, Cullivulc thoroughly, and Make Richer Manure 23

CHAPTER V.
Swiimp-niuck and Peat as Manure. --Draining Swamp-land.— Composition of
I'cat and Muck 29

CHAPTER VI.

What i.* Potential .Vmmonia 31

Cn.VPTER VU.

Tillage is Manurc.—The Doctor's Lecture on Manure .32

CUAPTER Vlll.
Snmmer-fallowing.— Mr. Lawes" crop every other year.— WTicat after Bar-
ley.—For Larger Crops rai'e less frequently, and Manure Higher ; also
keep better SUKk, and Feed Higher 34

CHAPTER IX.
How to Restore a Wom-ont Farm — The Author's Farm.— Tillage renders the
Plant-food stored in the soil available- Cultivated Lands contain less
Plant-food, but are more productive.— Grass alone will not make rich land. 37

CHAPTER X.

How to Make Manure.— We must get it out of the Land 41

CHAPTER XI.

The Value of the Manure depends upon the Food— rot upon the Animal 43

CHAPTER Xn.
Foods which Make Rich Manure— Table giving the composition of 81 kinds
of Food and the value of the Manure they yield.— Cotton seed Cake.—
Enirlish and fierman Clover— Nitrogenoui^ matter in Rich and Poor Foods.—
Manure from Corn compared with that from Straw 45

III

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

Ilorsc-manure and Farm-yard Manure— Why the one is richi-r than the oth-
er.- Amount of Manure from a Horse.— Composition of Farm-yard Ma-
nure.—We draw and spread a ton to get 33 lbs. of Nilrogeu, I'hospboric
Acid, and Potash 50

CUAPTEK XIV.
Fermenting Manure.— Composition of Manure when Fresh and in its stages
of Fermentation. -Loss in Fermeut'itiou and from Leaching. -Tables show-
ing the composition of .Manure at different stages.— Fermenting makes
Manure more Soluble 53

CIIAITER XV'.
Keeping Miinun- under Cover— Dr. Virlckirs E.xpirimenta.- Manure Fer-
m.nt.d Outside and Under Cover.— L<>>M from keeping .Manure s|)read in
the Ham yard. -Keeping well-njtted .Manure iu a Heap.— Conclusions from
Dr. VuL'lcker's Experiments 59

CHAPTER XVI.

An English Plan of Keepini,' Manure. Ik)s feeding of Cattle.- Spreading
Manure at once. Piling in Heaps in the Field -Old Sods ai d Asli. ;< from
CharredSodH • <j9

CHAI'TER XVII.
Soluble Phosphates in Farm yard Manure. — Fermented, the Manure has the
most.— Over HI per cent, of the Phosphoric Acid i.- .Soluble 72

CHAPTER XVU\.

How the Deacon makes Manure. —A good plan for making poor Manure 74

CHAI»TER XIX.
How John Johnston Manages His Manure. Summer-fallows for Wheat-
Does not plow under ("lover. Value of .Manure from different foods.—
Piling Manure. Applies .Manure to Grassland in Fall, and Plows under in
S|iriiix' for Corn.— His success due to the Eflect of Manure on Grass —It
brought in Red Clover 76

CHAPTER XX.

The Author's Plan of Maua^'ing Manure.— Pllvs as fast as it is Made.— What
it is Made of.— Hc.rse and Cow Manure Tou'ellier.— Horse Manure for Bed-
ding Pigs.— To Prevent Freezinir.- Litpiid Manure from Pi-s.-Beddin?
Shep. -Piling in the Field.— Where the Piles should be Ma'le— Manure in

^ a Basin.- Reasons for Piling.— What we Gain by Fermcntini: Manure 83

CHAPTER XXT.

M.iii.igenient Continued. -Why We Ferment Manure.-Dr Vrelcker's Experi-
menis showin'.; the Loss when Manure is spread in Y.irds— Fermenting
adds Nothing to Manure, but mnkes ir more available.- Mr. Lawes' Experi-
ments on Wheat an.l Biiley.— Dr. Vreleker's Resntts.— Ellwan-er * Barry's
Experience.— Loss of Ammonia by Fermentin-.'.— Waste from Leaching.-
How to Save the Liquid Manure from Cows »4

CHAPTER XXn.

Manure on Dairy Farms.— Wheat removes much moreNitroL'en than Cheese-
Manures for Dairy Farms.— Letter from Hon. Harris Lewis.— How to make
niore and better Manure oi, Dairy Farms.— How to save and apj)ly it.— Let-
ter from T. L. narison, Etq 101

CONTENTS. V

CIIAITEU XXIII.
Manayeiiu'iil i>f Maiiurcu on tiraiii Karms.— Li'Ucr from lion. Geo. Qeddes. —
linim on Dairy Farni.-<.— Snci'it on Gru ii Kaiuif. — Vifll to John Jolin^lon. —
Mr. Lawcs' Wlical-Iichl.— Mr. Godilcs unil Clover. — G^|iruuiuud Clover us
Maniirc;i Ill

CUAITEU XXIV.
The Clieapest Muniiru a Furnier cuu use — Clover vt*. Tillatjc. — As I'lunt-
KiHHl. — Ctiiisiiuioiiis ofa Crop of Clov* r, as coniparcu with one of Wheal. —
Making a Farm Kali by Growui;,' Clover 127

CllAriEK XXV.
Dr. Voelckur's Experinient-x on Clover.— Luwes and Gilberts on Wheat.—
CUiver Uoots per Acre.— Manures lor Wheat.— Liebi;;'s Manure Theory. —
Peruvian Ciiiano on Wheat.— Manures and the (|iialily of Wheat.— Anunonia.
—Ovjr 00 Bushels of Wheat o the Acre 135

CUAPTEIt XXVI.
Experiments oD Clover Soils from Biircoii Lo<l:;<- Farm, Lel<^liton Buzzard. —
Soil from Part of ll-atre Field twice .Mown lor Hay.— Soil from do. once
Mown for Hay ami left for Se.-d.— -Vmount of Roots left in the Soil by differ-
ent Crop!i.— Manures for Wheat 149

CHAPTER XX\TL

Lawo? and Gilbert's Experiment* on Wheat. — Most Valiiabli- and Instrtietivc
Tallies now llrst made accessible to tin- .American Farmer. — The <;rowlh of
Wheat Year !iftor Year on the same Land, niimuniireil, with Farm-yard Ma-
nure, and with various Organic and Inori^anic Feriilizors 170

CHAPTER XX^'III.

Lime as a Mannro.— Prof. Way'< Experiments. — Tlic uses of Lime in the
Soil.— Lime in this Country.- Composts with Lime * 215

CHAPTER XXTX.
Manures for Bjirley.— Coni)>o it'Oii of Rtrli-y, umin nnd straw. — Va'nable Ta-
bles ^ivini: the Results of Lawes and Gilbert's Experiments on the j;rowth
of Biirley. Year after Year, on the same Land, witlmnt Manure, and with
different kinds of Manure. — Manure ami Rotation of Crops 2*37

CHAPTER XXX.
Manures for Oat?.— Experiments at Rottiamsted.— Experiments of Mr. Bath
of Virginia.- .\t Moreton Farm 2.'j2

CHAPTER XXXI.

Manures for Potatoes.- P.rtivirin Giiniio for Pulntoes.— Manure from different
Foods.— Kperimeiifs at Moretoii F.inn.— Mr. Hunter's Experiments 255

CHAPTER XXXII.
What Crops should Manure be .Vpplicvl to ?— How. and When ?— .John J.
Thomas' manner of Applyiii'.: Manure.— Top Dressing.— Doct. Voelcker's
Experiments 265

CHAPTER XXXIII.
Manures on Permanent Meadows and Pastures.— Experiments at Rotham8tcd.271

VI CONTENTS.

(IIAITIJK XXXIV.
Manures for Special Crops.— Hops.— Inaian Corn.— Turnips.— Mangel-Wurzel
or buiiar-Bocib.— Cal)ba;,'i;:', l*ar.-nip8. Lettuce, Onions:, etc 274

ClIAPTEIt XXXV.

Manures for Gardens and Orcliur.lti.— .Maikci Oarileus.-Sceil -rowin:; Furma.
— Private Cari]en:'.—lIol-be(ls.— Manure for Nurrtcryiiien.— Fruit tirowers!
— Ueu-Munuru \)ni

vn.WTER XXXVI.
Different Kimlsof Manures.— Cow Manure.— Slieep Manure.— Buying Manure.
—Liquid .Manure.— Ni-liL-oil and Sewa-c.— Peruvian Guano.-SaUs of Am-
monia and Nitrate of Soda g^Uj

CHAITEU XXXVI L
Bone-Duel and Snp.rpliosphaie of Lime.— Bone fiirnls'liC!. Nitrogen as well as
Phospliaie of Lime.— Increasing the Availal)iliiy of Hone willi Sulphuric
Acid .,] J

CHAPTER XXXVIIL

Special Manures.- Liel)ig'a Views.- Special Manure for Whc.it and Turnips.
— Rolhamsted Expcrinient.s tHO

CHAPTER XXXIX.
Value of Fcrlilizers.— Cost per pound of the Essential ConstitnentH of Ferti-
lizers.—Value of fJuanos.—Poiash as a Manure .T2-1

CHAPTER XL.

ReBtoring Fertility to the Soil, a Chapter hy Sir John Bmnet Jjtwes.-Tho
Treatment of a Poor Farm, to Restore it must Profitably. Meal-making
the Back hone of the Sy-!t<m. -The Ise of Sh.-cp to Manure the Soil.—
The Feeding of Ci#ton-seed Cake.— Artifleial Manure- nn^ Pnifltahle on
Poor Land. — The Loss of Nitrogen.— The Fomiatiun of Nitric Acid .•H2

APPENDIX.
Letter from Edward .Tessop.— From Dr. E. h. Siiirti-vaiit.- From M. C. Weld.
—From Peter Iliiidirson.— From J. B. M. Anderson.— Manure Slalislira of
Long Island.— Letter from .1. II. Rushniore.— Letter from John E. Biickim.
— Manure in Philadelphia.— Various other Letters S33

INTRODUCTION TO NEW AND ENI^VRfJED EDITION.

Sir John Bonnot I-iwis kin<lly consentetl to write a Chapter
for th«' nrw «(liti<m of tliis work. Th«' EK'JU'on, the I)(Ktor, tlie
S«iuin'. Charli.- iin<l inysrlf all ft-lt tlatt«TiMl ami soint'wliat
hiishful at tiiuiiiiK «>iirs<Iv('s in such distiiiKuishcil roiiipaiiy. I
lUHil not sjiy tliat tills new Cliapti-r from tlu- jx-n of tht- most
eminent F^iikMsIi a^,'ri(•ultural investiKator is worthy of a very
cari'ful stuily. I liave nad it ajxaiu and aK:«iii. an<l eaeh
time with gnat ami u'mwfd interest. I couM wish there wji3
more of it. But to tlu' iutelli>c«-nt and well-informed reader
this Chapter will he valu«d not merely for what it contains, but
for what it omits. A man wluj knew Kss would write more.
Sir John K'h-s strai}?ht to tin- mark, and we have* here his
matun- vi<ws on on»- «>f the most inqiortant questions in
ajxrieultural science and priwtice.

Sir John (K'scHIms a tni<t <>f jMHir land, and tells us that the
cheap^'st nuthiMl of improving ami eiiricliing it is. to keep a
large hreeiling fl<M-k of sheep, and fee<l them American cotton-
seed cake. We are i)l<a.seti to find that this is in accordance
with the general teaching of our "Talks," as given in this book
several years ag<i.

When this work was first published, sotne of my friends
expressed surprise that I did not recommend the more < xtende<l
use of artificial manures. One thing is certain, since that time
the use of sup^Tjihosphate has Ix-en greatly on the increase.
And it seems clear that its use must l>e j»r<»fitable. Where I
live, in West<'m New York, it is sown quite generally on winter
wheat, and also on barlej' and oats in the spring. On com and
potatoes, its use is not so common. Whether this is because
its application to these crops is not so easy, or because it does
not pHMluce so marked an increase in the yield per acre, I am
unable to say.

Our winter wheat is sown here the first, second, or (rarely)
the third week in Septemlx^r. We sow from one and a half to
two 3.nd a quarter bushels per acre. It is almost invariably
sown with a drill. The drill has a fertilizer attachment that
distributes the superjjhosphate at the same time the wheat is
(VII)

VIII TALKS OX MAXTJRES.

sown. The superphosphate is not mixed with the wheat, but
it drops into the saiue tubes witli the wheat, and is sown witli
it in the same drill mai k. In this way, the supei-jihospliale is
deposited wliere the roots of the young plants can immediately
find it. For barley and oats the same method is adopted.

It will be seen that the cost of sowing superphosphate on
these crops is merely nominal. But for corn and potatoes,
when planted in hills, the superphosphate must be dropped in
the hill by hand, and, as we are almost always hurried at that
season of the year, we are impatient at anything which will
delay planting even for a daj'. The boys want to go fishing !

This is, undoubtedl}-, one reason why superphosi>hate is not
lised so generally with us for com as for wheat, barley, and
oats. Another reason may be, that one hundred pounds of corn
will not sell for anything like as much as one hundred pounds
of wheat, barley, and oats.

We are now buying a very good superphosphate, made from
Carolina rock jjhosphate, for about one and a half cents per
pound. We usually drill in about two hundred pounds per acre
at a cost of three dollars. Now, if this gives us an increase of five
bushels of wheat per acre, worth six dollars, we think it pays.
It often does far better than this. Last year the wheat crop
of Western New York was the best in a third of a century,
which is as far back as I have had anything to do with farming
here. Fi cm all I can learn, it is doiibtf ul if the wheat crop of
Western New York has ever averaged a larger yield per acre
since the land was first cultivated after the removal of the
original f on st. Something of this is due to better methods of
cultivation and tillage, and something, doubtless, to the
general use of superphosphate, but much more to the favor-
able season.

The present venr our wheat crop turned out exceedingly poor.
Hundreds of acres of wheat were plowed up, and the land re-
sown, and hundreds more would have been plowed up ha<i it
not been for the fact that the land was seeded with timothy
grass at the time of sowing the wheat, and with clover in the
spring. We do not like to lose our grass and clover.

Dry weather in the autumn was the real cause of tlie poor
yield of wheat this year. True, we had a very trying winter,
and a still more trying spring, followed by dry, cold weather.
The season was very backward. We wci.' not able to sow any-
thing in the fields before the first of May, and our wheat
ought to have been ready to harvest in July. On the first

INTRODUCTIOX TO XEAV EniTTON". IX

of May, many of our whcat-lk-lds, osprciully on clay laud,
l<K)ke(i as bare as a naked fallow.

There was here and then-, a good field of wheat. As a nde. it
was on naturally moist land, or after a good summer-fallow, sown
early. I know of but one exception. A neighboring nursery
firm had a very promising field of wheat, which was sown latt\
But their land is rich and uimsually well worked. It is. in fact,
in the very highest condition, and. though sown late, the young
plants were enabled to make a good strong growth in the
autumn.

In such a dry season, the great point is, to get the seed to
germinate, and to furnish sufficient moisture and food to enable
the young plimts to make a strong, vigorous growth of roots in
the autumn. I do not say that two hundred pounds of super-
l)hosphate per acre, drilled in with the seed, will always accom-
I)lish this object. But it is undoubtedly a great help. It does
not furnish the nitrogen which the wheat requires, but if it will
stimulate the production of roots in the early autunm. the
plants will be much more likely to find a sufficient supply of
nitrogen in the soil than pl:ints with fewer and smaller roots.

In a season like the past, therefore, an application of two
hundred pounds of superphosphate per acre, costing three dol-
lars, instead of giving an increase of five or six bushels per
acre, may give us an increase of fifteen or twenty bushels per
acre. That is to say, owing to the dry weather in the autumn,
followed by severe weather in the winter, the w^eak plants on
the unmanured land may either be killed out altogether, or
injured to such an extent that the crop is hardly worth har-
vesting, wliile the wheat where the phosphate was sown may
give us almost an average crop.

Sir John B. Lawes has somewhere compared the owner of
land to the owner of a coal mine. The owner of the coal digs
it and gets it to market in the best way he can. The farmer's
coal mine consists of plant food, and the object of the farmer
is to get this food into such plants, or such parts of plants, as
his customers require. It is hardly worth while for the owner
of the coal mine to trouble his head about the exhaustion of
the supply of coal. His true plan is to dig it as econcrai-
cally as he can, and get it into market. There is a good deal
of coal in the world, and there is a good deal of plant food in
the earth. As long a? the plant food lies dormant in the soil,
it is of no value to man. The object of the farmer is to con-
vert it into products which man and animals require.

X TALKS ON MANUKES.

Mining for coal is a very simple matter, but how l«est to get
the greatest quantity of plant food out of the soil, withtlie least
waste and the greatest fjroftt, is a much more complex and
difficult task. Plant food consists of a dozen or more dilferent
substances. We have talked about thom in the i)ages of this
l)Ook, and all I wisli to say here is that some of them are much
more abundant, and more readily obtained, than others. Tiie
three substances most difficult to get at arc: nitric acid, phos-
phovic acid and potash. All these substances are in the soil,
but some soils contain much more than othei*s, and tht-ir rela-
tive proportion varies considerably. The substance which is of
till' greatest importance, is nitric acid. As a rule, the fertility
of a soil is in proportion to tlie amount of nitric acid which
betcomes availal)le for tlie use of plants during the growing
season. Many of our soils contain large (juantities of nitrogen,
united with carbon, but tlie iihmts do not take it up in this
form. It has to be converted into nitric aeid. Nitric acid con-
sists of seven ])oiinds of nitrogen and twenty jioumls of
oxygen. It is produced by the comlmstion of nitrogen. Since
these "Talks" were published, several important facts have Imvu
discovered in regard to how plants take up nitrogen, and es-
pecially in regard to how organic nitrogen is converte<l into
nitric acid. It is brought about through the action of a minute
fungoid plant. Therj are several things necessary for the
growth of this plant. "We must have some nitrogenous 8ul>-
stance, a moderate degree of heat, say from seventy to one
hundred and twenty <legrees, a moderate amount of moisture,
and plenty of oxygen. Shade is also favorable. If too hi>t or
too cold, or too wet or too dry, the growth of the plant is
checked, and the formation of nitric acid suspended. The
presence of lime, or of some alkali, is also necessary for the
growth of this fungus and the production of nitric acid. The
nitric acid unites with the lime, and forms nitrate of lime, or
with soda to form nitrate of soda, o/ with potash to form
nitrate of potash, or salt-petre. A water-logged soil, by exclud-
ing the oxytren, destroys this plant, hence one of the advan-
tages of underdraining. I have said that shade is favorable to
the growth of this fungus, and this fact explains and confirms
the common idea that shafle is manure.

The great object of agriculture is to convert the nitrogen of
our soils, or of green crops plowed under, or of manure, into
nitric acid, and then to convert this nitric acid into profitable
products with as little loss as possible. Nitrogen, or rather

INTROnrCTIOX TO N'KW KDITIOX. XI

nitric aoitl, is tlio most costly iiij^rciliml in i»I;iiit fooil, and un-
fortunately it is v» ry ojvsily wiuslitnl out of tin' soil and lost.
Perhaps it is aWsolutoly inii>ossil)k' to entirely prevent all loss
from leaching; but it is certainly well worth our while t<5 under-
stand the subject, and t<j know exactly what wc are, doing. In
a new country, where land is clieap, it may l)e more profitable
to raise as large crops as iK)ssible witlntut any regard to the
loss of nitric acid. Hut this comlition of things does not last
long, and it very soon becomes desirable to adopt less w;usteful
processes.

In Lawe-; and ( rilbert's experiments, ther.' is a great loss of
nitric acid from drainage. In no case luus as much nitrogen
been obtained in the increased croi) ;ls was ap[)lied in the ma-
nure. There is always a loss and probably always will be. But
we should do all we can t > make the 'oss as small as possible,
consistent with the production of profitable crops.

There are many ways of lessening this loss of nitrie acid. Our
farmers sow superphosphate with their wheat in the autumn,
ami this stimulat<s. we think, the growtli of roots, which
ramify in all directions through the soil. This increased
growth of root brings the plant in contact with a
larger feeding surface, and enables it to take up more nitric
acid from its solution in the soil. Sich is also the case during
the winter and early spring, when a good deal of water iter-
meates through the soil. The application of superphosphate,
unquestionably in many cases, prevents much Vr)ss of nitric acid.
It does this by giviiig us a much greater growth of wheat.

I was at Rothamsted in 1^79, and witn(^ssed the injurious
effect of an excessive rainfall, in wasliing out of the soil
nitrate of soda and salts of aTumonia, which were sown with
the wheat in the autumn. It was an exceedingly wet season,
and the loss of nitrates f)n all the different plots was very great.
But where the nitrates or salts of ammonia were sown in the
spring, while the crops were growing, the loss was not nearly
so great as when sown in the autumn.

The sight of that wheat field impressed me, as nothing else
could, with the importance of guarding against the loss of
available nitrogen from leaching, and it has changed my prac-
tice in two or three important respects. I realize, as never be-
fore, the importance of applying manure to crops, rather than
to the land. I mean by this, that the object of applying ma-
nure is, not simply to make land rich, but to make crops grow.
Manure is a costly and valuable article, and we want to convert

XII TALKS OX MANURES.

it into plants, with as little delay as possible, which will, di-
rectly or iudirectlj^, bring in some money.

Our climate is very diflferent from that of England. As a
rule, we seldom have enough rain, from the time corn is planted
until it is harvested, to more than saturate the ground on our
upland soils. This year is an exception. On Sunday night,
May 20, 1883, we had a northeast storm which continued three
days. During these three days, fri)m three to five inches of
rain fell, and for tlie first tim? in many years, at this season, my
underdrains discharged water to their full capacity. Had
nitrate of soda been sown on bare hind previous to this rain,
much of it would, doubtless, have been lost by leaching. This,
however, is an exceptional case. My underdrains usually do
not commence to disc:iarg.> water before the first of December,
or continue later than the first of May. To guard against loss
of nitrogen by leaching, therefore, we should aim to keep rich
land occupied by some crop, during the winter and early
spring, and the earlier the crop is sown in the autumn or late
summer, the better, so that the roots will the more completely
fill the grouml and take up all the availai)le nitrogen within
their reach. I have said that this idea had modified my own
practic(>. I grow a considerable quantity of garden vegitables,
principally for seed. It is necessary to make the land very
rich. The plan I have adopted to guard against the loss of
nitrogen is this : As soon as the land is cleared of any crop,
after it is too late to sow turnips, I sow it with rye at the rate
of one and a half to two bushels per acre. On tliis rich land,
especially on the moist low land, the rye makes a great
growth during our warm autumn weather. Tlie rye checks
the growth of weeds, and furnishes a considerable amount of
succulent food for sheep, durijig the autumn or in the spring.
If not needed for food, it can be turned under in the spring for
manure. It unquestionably prevents the loss of considerable
nitric acid from leaching during the winter and early spring.

Buckwheat, or millet, is sometimes sown on such land for
plowing under as manure, but as these crops are killed out by
the winter, they cannot prevent the loss of nitric acid during
the winter and spring months. It is only on unusuallj' rich
land that such precautions are particularl}' necessary. It has
been thought that these experiments of Lawes and GillxTt
affcn-d a strong argument against the use of summer-fallows.
I do not think so. A summer-fallow, in this country, is usu-
ally a piece of land which has been seeded down one, two, and

INTR0J)UCTION TO NEW EDITION. XIIT

sometimes three years, with red clover. The land is plowed in
May or June, and occasionally in July, and is afterwards sown
to winter wheat in Septenil)er. The treatment of the suinnier-
fallow varies in ditferent localities and on different farms.

Sometimes the land is only plowed once. The clover, or sod,
is plowed under de<"p and well, and the after-treatment con-
sists in keepiTig tlie surface soil free from weeds, by the fre-
quent use of tiie harrow, roller, cultivator or gang-pk)w. In
otluT cases, especially on heavy clay land, the first plowing is
done early in the spring, and when the sod is sufficiently
rotted, the land is cross-plowed, and afterwards made tine and
mellow by the use of the roller, harrow, and cultivator. Just
bef(jre sowing the wheat, many good, old-fashioned fanners,
plow the land again. But in this section, a summer- fallow,
plowed two or three times during the smumer, is becoming
more an«l more rare every year.

Those farmers who summer-fallow at all, as a rule, plow their
liuid but once, and content themselves with mere surface culti-
vation afterwards. It is undoubtedly true, also, that summer
fallows of all kinds are by no means as common as formerly.
This fact may be considered an argument against the use of
sunnner-fallowing; but it is not conclusive in my mind. Patient
waiting is not a characteristic of the age. We are inclined to
take risks. We prefer to sow our land to oats, or barley, and
run the chance of getting a good wheat crop after it, rather
than to spend several months in cleaning and mellowing the
land, simply to grow one crop of wheat.

It has always seemed to me entirely unnecessary to iirge
farmers not to summer-fallow. We all naturally prefer to see
the land occupied b\' a good paying crop, rather than to spend
time, monej-, and labor, in preparing it to produce a crop twelve
or fifteen months afterwards. Yet some of the agricultural edi-
tors and many of the agricultural writers, seem to take delight
in deriding the old-fashioned summer-fallow. The fact that
Lawes and Gilbert in England find that, when land contains
considerable nitric acid, the water which percolates through
the soil to the underdrains beneath, contains more nitrate of
lime when the land is not occupied by a croj), than when the
roots of growing plants fill the soil, is deemed positive proof
that suimner-fallowing is a wastefiil practice.

If we summer-fallowed for a spring crop, as I have some-
times done, it is quite probable that there would be a loss of
nitrogen. But, as I have said before, it is very seklom that any

XIV TALKS OX MANURES.

water passes through the soil from tlio time we commence <4 >
summer-fallow until the wheat is sown in the autumn, or foi
many weeks afterwards. The nitrogen, which is converted
into nitric acid by the agency of a good summer-fallow, is no
more liable to be washed out of the soil after tlie field is sown
to whf-at in the autumn, than if we applied the nitrogen in the
form of some reiulily availaljle manure.

I still believe in summer fallows. If I had my life to live
over again, I would certainly summer-fallow more than I have
done. I have been an agricultural writer for onc-tliird of a
century, and liave i)ersistently advocated the more extendt-d
use of the summer-fallow. I have nothing to take back, unless
it is what I have said in reference to " fall-fallowing." Possibly
this practice may result in loss, though I do not think so.

A good summer-fallow, on rather heavy clay land, if the con-
ditions are otherwise favorable, is pretty sure to give us a good
crop of wheat, and a good crop of clover and grass afterwards.
Of course, a farmer who has nice, clean sandy soil, will not
think of summer-fallowing it. Such soils are easily worked,
and it is not a diff^ult matter to keep them clean without
Bummer-fallowinc:. Such soils, liowever, seldom contain a
large store of unavailable plant food, and instead of summer-
fallowing, we had better manure. On such soils artificial ma-
nures are often very i)rofitable, though barn-yard manure, or
the droppings of animals feeding on the land, should be the
prime basis of all attempts to maintain, or increase, the pro-
ductiveness of such .soils.

Since this book was firet published, I do not know of any new
facts in regard to the important question of. how l>est to
manage and apply our barn-yard manure, so as to make it more
immediately active and available. It is unquestionably true,
tliat the same amount of nitrogen in barn-yard maiuire, will
not produce so great an effect as its theoretical value would in-
dicate. Tliere can be no doubt, however, that the better we
feed our animals, and the more carefully we save the liquids,
the more valuable and active will be the manure.

The conversion of the inert nitrogen of manures and soils,
into nitric acid, as already stated, is now known to l>e produced
by a minute fungus. I hope it will be found that we can intro-
duce tills iKH'tcriitm into our manure piles, in such a way as to
greatly aid the ccmversion of inert nitrogen into nitrates.

Experiments have been made, and are still continued, at
Woburu, under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society

INTUODUCTIOX T<) NEW KDITION. XV

of England, to asccrtaiii, riinon;^ dtlicr thiiiL^s, wlnthi r manure
from slu'ip rtiriviii)^ an allowance of cotton-sted cake is any
richt r than that from sheep, otherwise fed alike, but liaviug,
instead »,f cotton-seed cake, tlie same amount of corn meal. We
know that such manure contains more nitrogen, and oilier
plant fcMMl, than that from the corn meal. But the exjH-riments
so far. tiiough they have ln-en continued for several years, do
not show any striking superiority of the manure from cott(m-
seed cake over that from corn meal. I saw the wheat on these
differently manured plots in 1879. Dr. Voelcker and Dr. Gil-
bert, told me tliat, one of two plots was dressed with the cot-
ton-seed manure, and the other with the corn meal manure,
and they wanted me to say which was the most promising
crop. I Ix'liive the one I s;ud w;is the l)etter, was the cotton-
seed plot. But the ditf.rence was very slight. The truth is
that suih ex|M'riments must be contnuied for many years before
th.y will prove anytliing. As I said before, we know that the
manure from the cot^^n-s(■ed cake is richer in nitrogen than
that from the corn meal ; but we also know that this nitrogen
will not produce so great an efft'ct, as a much smaller amount
of nitrogen in salts of ammonia, or nitrate of soda.

In going over thesf experiments, I was struck with the
heal'.hy iuid vigorous appearance of one of the plots of wheat,
and asked how it was manured. Dr. Vcelcker called out,
"clover, Mr. Harris, clover." In England, as in America, it
requires very little observation and exjxrii'nce to convince any
one of the valui- of cIov»'r. After what I have said, and what
the Deacon, the Doctor, Charley and the Sijuire have said, in
the pages of this book, I hoiK' no one will think that I do not
appreciate the great value of red clover as a means of enrich-
ing our land. Dr. Voelcker eviden^^ly thought I was skeptical
on this ymint. I am not. I have great faith in the benefits to
he derived from the growth of clover. But I do not think it
originates fertility ; it does not get nitrogen from the atmos-
phere. Or at any rate, we have no evidence of it. The facts
are all the other way. We have discussed this question at
considerable length in the pages of this book, and it ie
not necessary to say more on the subject. I would, however,
particularly urge farmers, especially those who are using phos-
phates freely, to grow as much clover as possible, and feed it
out on the farm, or plow it under for manure.

The question is frequently asked, whether the use of phos-
phates wUl ultimately impoverish our farms. It may, or it may

XVI TALK.-^ ON M \ N ( i;K.>.

not. It (IcimikIs on iiur p-iii-nil iiiau:iK>-nu'nt. Tlx-orrtiraHy.
tlu' ust' of a manure furiiisliin^; only one i-l«-ni«>nt of planl {inn\,
if it incrt'iuses the growth «>f crops whicli are soM fmni the
farm, must have a t«.*nileney to im{»overi8h the hmii of the oth«r
eli-ments of plant foovl. In other words, the use of 8Ui>erph«>s-
p'l.itc furuishinK only. «)r priueiiKilly, phitsphoric acid, lime and
Huiphuric a<id. iimtit have a tendency t4» im|>overiah the soil t>f
nitrogen and iM.tJi.sh. I'nictically. ho\v»'ver, it netil do nothing
of the kind. If the land is well cultivate*!, and if our low.
rich, alluvial iHirtioiis of the farm an* drained, and if the hay.
grass, clover, straw and f<Mlder «-roi»8 are n'taintsl. the more
phosphates we use, the richer and more jiroductive will the
fann become. And I think it is a fact, that the farnien* who
use the most ]>hosphates. are the very men who take the gn-at-
est pains to drain their land, cultivate it thoroughly, and make
the most manure. It follows, then-fore, that the use of phos-
phates is a national iMMielit.

Sonje of our railroad managers take this view <»f the suhjiH't.
They carry suj>erphosphate at a low rat*.*, knowing tliat its use
will increase the freight the other way. In otlnr words, they
bring a ton of sup •rphosphate from the S4*nl>oard. knowing that
its use will give them many tons of freight of priwluce, from
the interior to the si-alxiard. It is not an uncommon thing for
two hundred iM>unds of 8Ui>erphosphate, to give an incn-as*- of
five tons of turnijis ]>er acre. Or. so to 8|)e:tk, the niilrowl that
l)rings one ton of suixTphosphate from the »t»alH>ard. might, as
the result of its use, liave fifty tons of fn*ight tv carry Imck
again. Tliis is iMTliajw a:i exceptioiiahly favorable instance,
but it illustrates the prin<iple. Years ago. In-fori' the aUilition
of tolls on the English turnpike roa<ls. carriages loaded witli
lime, and all other subst;uices intendeil for manure, were
allowed to go fn-e. Ami our niilroa<ls will find it to their in-
terest to transport manures of all kinds, at a merely nominal
rate.

Many people will be surprised at tlie n'commendntion of Sir
Jolin B. I^iwes. not ti> waste time and money in cleaning |H«)r
land. iR'fore seeding it down to gra.s8. He thinks that if tlie
land is made rich, the superior grassi'S overgrow the Kid
grasses and we«>ds. I have no doubt he is right in this, though
the principle may Ix- puslied U) an extreme. Our climat*-. in
this countrv, is so favorable for killing wi-eds. that the plow
and the cidtivator will jirobably In- a more economical means
of making our land clean, than the lil.>eral U8« of expenaive

o

iNTKolil rTloN To MW KI>ITI<»\. XVII

manunw. It .l.'|«.n.ls. .|..ul.tl.-s.s. on th.- huxl an.l on rin uni-
Hlanr»-«. It is w.ll to know tluit nianun- on ^fnws lan.l, will ho
iarn'a/*.. tin- K'r<>» th of tlu- K>»«xi K'nirtst-*. jw to sinoth.-r {]u-
w ^^I.H. NVar my lioUi*.- \va« a pi.MV of land that I want^.l to
nialifiiUoa lawn. I »*ow»mI it with jcnuw M-^tl, hut th»- wi-^sIm
Hin -tiivriHl it out. I plow.-l it. an.l h.Knl it. an.l ri-8.ts|..,l it.
hut still thr wi-,^i.H ^'nw. Mallows ram.- up hy tin- lh..u.s;ir»<l!
with ..Ih.r wii-ils t.N. nunHTou.s to n».-nli.>n. It waw an .•>»••
H.H'. W». ni..w»Hl th.- w.^^ls. hut alrn.wt .l.-spainil ..f .v.t
Mi.ikinK adii-.nt hitof ^Tx-vs lan.l ..ut of it. It ho hap|HniH|
that. on«' yt-ar. wi. plar.-«l th.- thiok.n .-.Hips ..n this njis.rahle
w.^.ly HjN.t. Thf h.iw an.l .hi.k.ns wi-n- k.-pt tlurr f..r Hc'veral
w,-«-kH. Till' f«i-«l an.l th.- drippinKn inaiK- it I.K»k more un-
HiK'htly than evor. hut th.- n.-xt HprinK'. «»« if l»y nia>,'i<-. the
W.H..L* w.-n- p.nt' jui.l the lan.l wa8 iov.-r.-tl with .lark >^'r.-.-n
luxuriant »n^iHS.

In r^-^iinl t.> th.- u.s.- of iN.txsh as a nianur.'. w havr still
niu.h to l.ani. It w.ml.l s.sni that our ^;niin .rops will ujw
mrln. if th.y «ann..t pi potash, fli-y niu.h pr.-f.-r th.- i»otiwh,
ami will ^'n.w nui-h ni..r.- luxuriantly wlu-n-. in th.- H.iil or ma-
nun-, in )i.l.liti.>n t.. th.- .>th.-r .-l.-ni.-nts <)f plant f.HwI. i>..ta.sh m
ahun.lant. Hut th.- in.Tejw»-«l jfn.wth rau.s...| hy th.- |K.i;wh. iH
prinri|Killy. if not .-ntin-ly. Htniw. or l.-av.-s an.l Ht«<in. Natiir.}
iiiak."!. a ^n^'-it .'iTort to pn.pa;,':it.- th.- s|Kvi.'s. A plant of wh.-at
or harl.-y. will pnxlu..- .S.-.-.I if this i.s p«»Ksihlf. ev.-n at th.- .x-
p«'n.s»'..f th.- ..th.r parts of th- plant.

Forjrrain crops. cr.»wn for H.-.-.I. tli.-n-fon-. it woul.l s.'.-ni to
Ix- .-ntin-ly unpn>tital.l.- to us<- |M.tjush as a nianur.-. If tht- H<»il
contain.s tlu- oth.-r .-It-in.nts of plant f.Knl. th.- a.Iil tion of
IHitash may Kiv.« us a nmch m..ri> luxuriant j^owth of l.-av.-s
and st.-m. hut no mon- ^niin .)r .sit-d. F.»r hay. or K^ana or fod-
der cn>|>s. the ca.se i.s v.-ry diff.-n-nt. an.l in.tash may often 1x3
usetl on th.-s«' crops to ^.-at a«lvantaj;<'.

I am incline.] to think that c.msi.lerahl.- nitrat.- of .s<Kla will
yet h«^ U.S.-.1 in this country for manun-. I d.tnot stipi>f)si' it will
pay as a rule, on wh.-at. com an.l .>thtr standard j,'rain crojw.
But thepinlener. s.'.-d CT'i^.-r. and nurseryman, will find out
h<»w t.) us.' it with K^r.at pn.fit. Our nurs.'rymen say that they
cannot use artificial manures with any advanta;je. It is un-
douhLnlly true that a dressing of KU|>.-rphosphate, nnvm on a
hl.K-k of nurs«-ry tre.s. will do little p[<mm1. It nev.^r reaches the
r.>otsof th.- j.lants. Sup.ri>li..sphat.' can not Ix- washed down
deep into the soil. Nitrate of soda is na<lily carri.-d down, as

XVIII TALKS ON MAXUKES.

deep as tlie water siuks. For trees, therefore, it would seem
desira>)le to apply tlie superhosphate iR'fore they are planted,
and j)Io\v it undi-r. And the same is true of i>otash ; but
nitrate of soda would he b<'tter applied as a top-dressiiig every
year, early in the sprin;^.

The most discouraging fact, in L;i\ves' and Uin)ert'3 experi-
ments, is the great loss of nitrogen. It would seem that, on an
average, during the last forty years, about one-half tlie ni-
trogen is \v:ushed out of the soil, or otherwise lost. I can not
but hope and believe that, at any rate in this country, there is
no such loss in practical agriculture. In Lawes' and Gilbert's
exi>eriments on wheat, this grain is grown year after j'ear, on
the same land. P'orty annual crops have U'eii removtHl. No
clover is .sown with the wheat, ami gre.it jK-iins are taken to
keep the land clean. The crop i.s liocd whili- growing, and the
weeds are pulled out l)y hand. The best whe.it se.xson during
the forty years. w;ls the year \H(VA. Tiie i>oorest, that of 1H70 ;
and il so happened, that after an .litsenceof thirty years. I was
at K<ithamsti'<| during this iXMir year of 1879. The first thing
that .struck me. in looking at the exjH'rimental wheat, was the
ragged ai)pearance of the crop. My own wheat crop was iM'ing
cut the day I left home, July 15. Several m»'n and lM)ys were
pulling weeds out of tlie ex|)erimental wheat, two weeks later.
Hatl the weeds Ix'en suffered to grow. Sir John Bennet Lawes
tells us, there wouM be less loss of nitrogen. The loss of ni-
trogen in lM(i3, \v;is about twi-nty-four pounds |M'r acre, and in
1H7',) tifty pounds per acre — the amount of available nitrogen,
applied in each year, being eighty-seven pounds jn-r acre. As I
said before, the wheat in 1879 had to me a ragged look. It waa
thin (m the ground. There were not plants enough to take up
and evajwrate the large amount of water which fell tluring the
wet season. Such a condition of things rarely occurs in this
country. We sow timothy with our wintt-r wheat, in the
autumn, and red clover in the spring. After the wheat is
harvested, we frequently have a heavy growth of clover in the
autumn. In such circum.^tances I believe there would be com-
paratively little loss r>f nitrogen.

In the summer-fallow experiments, which have now lieen
continued for twenty-seven years, there has been a great loss of
nitrogen. Tlie same remarks ajiply to this case. No one ever
advocates summer-fallowing land every other year, and sow-
ing nothing but wheat. When we summer-fallow a piece of
land for wheat, we seed it down with grass and clover.

INTRODUCTION' TO NKW PIDITION". ,\IX

There is, an a rule, very littli' loss of nitropcen by drainage while
the wheat is growing ou tlie groiuul. hut after the wheat is cut,
the grass and elover ari- pretty sure to take up all the available
nitrogen within the range of their r«M>ts. This sununer-faliow
ex|M'riinent. instead of affording an argument against the use
of sunnner-fallowing, is an argument in its favor. The sum-
mer-fallow, by exi)osing tlie soil to the deromposing intluences
of the atmosphere, converts more or less of the inert nitro-
genous f>rganic matter into ammonia ami nitric acid. This is
precisely what a farmer wants. It is just what the wheat crop
needs. But we must Ik? very careful, wlun we render the ni-
trogen soluble, to have 8om«' plant ready to take it up, and not
let it be washed out of the soil during the winter and early
spring.

We have much i)oor land in the United States, and an im-
mense area of giMnl land. Tiie i>o<ir land will 1k' used to grow
timber, or be improvi-d by converting more or less of it, gradu-
ally, into pasture, and stoi-king it witli sheep and cattle. The
main jx)int is, to feed tlie sheep or catll" with some rich nitro-
genous fotxl, such as cotton-seed cake, malt-sproiits, bran,
shorts, mill-feed, refuse beans, or bean-meal made from beans
injured by the weevil, (»r bug. In short, the owner of such
land must buy such foo«l as will furnish the most nutriment
and make the richest manure at the least cost — taking both of
these objects into consideration. He will also buy more or less
artificial manures, to be used for the production of fodder
crops, such as corn, millet, Hungarian griuss, etc. And, as soon
as a portion of the land can be made rich enough, he will grow
more or less mang»'l wurzels. sugar Ix^ets, turnips, and other
root crops. Superphosphate will be found admirably adapted for
this purpose, and tw;). three, or four hundred pounds of cheap
potash salts, per acre, can frequently be used on fodder crops,
in connection with two or three hundred pounds of superphos-
phate, with considerable profit. The whole subject is well
worthy of careful study. Never in the history of the world
has there been a grander opportvmity for the application of
science to the improvement of agriculture than now.

On the richer lands, the aim of the farmer will be to convert
the plant food lying dormant in tlie soil into profitable crops.
The main point is good tillage. In many cases weeds now run
away with half our crops and all our profits. The weeds which
spring up after the grain crops are harvested, are not an un-
mixed evil. They retain the nitrogen and other plant food, and

XX TALKS ON MANURES.

v^hen turued under make inauuiv f<;r tlie succetHliiiR crops.
But weeds among the growing crop are evil, and only an evil.
Thorough plowing is the remedy, accompanietl by drainage
where needed.

We have an inniunHf numlier of farms on which there are
both good and poor land. In such casi-s we must a<lopt a com-
bined system. We :aust grow large c-rops on the rich land r.nd
use them, at least in part, to make manure for tin- poorer por-
tions of the farm. Drainage an<l good tillage will convert
much of our low, ."lluvial lands into a perfect mine of wealth.
And much of our high, rolling land consists of strong loam,
abounding in plant food. Such hmti re<juires little more than
thorough tillage, with iK-rhaps two hundretl ]»oun(Ls of suix^r-
phosphate per acre, to enable it to pnxiuce gooil grain crops.

After all is said and done, farming is a business that re(piire8
not merely science, but industry, economy. an<l common s»'nse.
The real basis of success is faith, accompanied witii good works.
I cannot illustrate this better than by alluding to one of my
neighbors, a stnmg. healthy, intelligent, observing ami enter-
prising German, who commeiieed life as a fann lalM)rer. jind is
to-day wortn at lea.st one hundred thousand <lollars, that he
has made, not by the advance of suburban projH^rty, b'lt by
farming, pure and simple. He first rented a farm, and then
bought it, and in a few yeare he Ijought another farm adjoin-
ing the first one. and would tonlay V>uy another if he found one
that suited him. He has faith in farming. Some people think
he '■ runs his land." and, in fact, such is the ca.se. He keejis
good teams, and good jilows, and good harrows, and good
rollers, and good cultivators, and good grade Shorthoni cows.
He acts as though he believed, as Sir John B. I..;iwes says, that
" the soil is a mine," out of which he digs money He runs
his land for all it is worth. He raises wheat, barley, oats, com,
potatoes, and hay. and when he can get a good price for his
timothy hay, he draws it to market and sells it. Thorough til-
lage is the ba.sis of his success. He is now using phosphates
for wheat, and will probably increa.se his herd of cows and
make more manure. He has great faith in manure, but acts
as though hi' had still greater faith in good plowing, early
sowing, and thorough cultivation.

r K E F A ( ' E TO F I K S T EDITION,

Tlic PrinlPrs hfivp pot our "Talks on Manurps" in typo; and
the publisliers want a Profaci-.

The Deacon is busy hoeing hia corn; the Doctor is gone to Rice
Lake, fishing; Charley is cultivatini; mangels; the Squire is hay-
ing, and I am here alone, with a jM-ncil in hand and a sheet of
blank paper l)efore me. I wouKl far rather be at work. In fael,
I have only just come in from the fleld.

Now, what shall I siiy? It will do no good to apologize for the
dcficienries of tlie l)ook. If the eritics condescend to notice it at
all, nothing I can say will propitiate their favor, or moderate their
censure. Tijey are aa independent set of fellows ! 1 know tlieiu
well I am ao old editor myscli, and nothing would please me
betttT than to sit down and write a slashing criticism of these
"Talks on Manures."

But I am denied that pleasure. The critics have the floor.

All 1 will siy her3, is, that the book is wiiat it preten^ls to be.
Some people seem to think that the *' Deacon" is a fictitious char-
acter. Notliing of the kind. He is one of the oldest farmers in
town, and lives on the farm next to mc. I have the very highest
respect for him. I have tried to report him fully and correctly.
Of my own share in the conversations I will say little, and of the
Doctor's nothing, il}- own views are honestly given. I hold mv-
self responsible for them. I may contradict in one chapter what I
have asserted in another. And sc, pr()l)ably, has the Deacon. I
do not know wliether this is or is not the case. I know very well
that on many questions "much can be said on both sides "—and
very likely the Deacon is sometimes on the south side of the fence
and I on the nortli side; and in tlie next chapter you may find the
Deacon on the north side, and where would you have me go, ex-
cept to the south side ? AVe cannot see both sides of the fence, if
both of us walk on the same side!

I fear some will be disappointed at not finding a particular sub-
ject discussed.
I have talked about those things which occupy my own thoughts.
XXI

XXII PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

There are some things not worth thinking about There arc othcri
beyond my reach.

I have said nothing about manures for cotton or for the sugar-
cane— not because I feel no interest in the matter, but because I
have had no experience in the cultivation of these imporUint crops.
I might have told what tlie crops conUiiu, and could have given
minute directions for furnishing in manure the exact tiuanlity of
plant-food which the cro|)s remove from the soil. But 1 have no
faith in such a system of farming. Tlie few cotton-planters 1 have
had the pleasure of seeing were men of education and rare ability.
I cannot uudertjike to offer them advice. But 1 presume they will
find that, if they desire to increase the growth of the cotton-plant,
in nine cases out of ten they can do it, provided the soil is proiuriy
worked, by supplying a manure conUiining available nitroiren,
pliosphorie acitl, and potash. But the pr»j»€r proportion of these
ingredients of i)lant-food must be ascerUiined by experiment, and
not from a mere analysis of the cotton i)laiit.

I have mueli faith in artificial manures. They will do great
things for American agriculture — directly, and indirectly. Theii
general use will lead to a higher system of farming — to better cul-
tivation, more root and fodder crops, improved stock, higher feed-
ing, and richer manure. But it has been no part of my olyeet to
unduly extol the virtues of commercial manures. Tliat may lie left
to tlie manufacturers.

My sympathy is with the farmer, and especially with the farmei
of moderate means, who finds thnt improved farming calls foi
more and more capital. I would like to encourajre such a man.
And so, in point of fact, would the Deacon, thouirh he often Udks
as though a man who tries to improve his farm will certainly come
to poverty. Such men as the Deacon are useful neiirhbors if their
doubts, and head-shakings, and shoulder-shru agings lead a y<»ung
and enthusiastic farmer to put more eneriry, industry, and economy
into his business. It is well to listen to tlio Deaenn — to licar all liis
obieetious, and then to keep a sharp look-out fur the dangers and
difficulties, and go-iOuad.

TALKS ON MAXITRES.

c n A r T E R I.

FAli.MlXG AS A BUSINESS.

" FamiiiiLr i?; a poor l>usincss," said the Deacon. " Take the rorn
crop. Thirty biisht-ls per acre is a fair avi-ra:,'!', worth, at 75 cents
per l)usiu'l, liiJ.oO. If we reckon tliat, for each husliil of corn, we
get 100 liJ9. of stalks, this would be a Ion and a half per acre, worth
at $5 per ton $7.50."

Total receipts per acre for com crop $30 00

Ex[>enscs. — Preparintj the land for the crop f5 00

Plautini; and seed 1 50

Cultivatmtr, three times, twice in a row hoth

ways 5 00

Hoeina: twice 3 00

Cuttinir ni» tlio corn 1 50

Huskini; and ilrn winj^ in the corn 4 00

Drawinij in the stilks, etc 1 00

Shelliii;^, and dmwini^ to market 2 00

Total cost of the crop $2.S 00

Profit per acre ^7 00

" And from this," .said the Deacon, " we have to deduct interest
on land and taxes. I tell you, farrain? is a poor business."

"Yes," I replied, "poor farmin;? is a very poor business. But
good farminir, if we have good prices, is as good a business as I
want, and withal as pleasant. A good farmer raises 75 bushels

10

TALKS ON MANURES.

of corn per acre, instead of 30. lie would get for hia crop,

inclutling stulks i|7o 00

Expenses. — Preparing land fur the croj) ^00

Planting and seed 1 5U

Cultivating 5 00

Hoeing 3 00

Cutting up tlie eorii 1 50

Uuskiiig and drawing 10 00

Drawing in the stalks 3 00

Shelling, etc G (K)

?:J5 00

ProOt per acre i-H) tK)

Take another case, which actually occurred in this neighborhood.
Tiic Judge i3 a good farmer, and particularly successful in raising
potatoes and selliug them at a good price to hotels and private
families. He cultivates very thoroughly, jilants in hills, and puts
a handful of ashes, plaster, and hen-manure, on the hill.

In 1873, his crop of Peachblows was at the rate of 208 bushels
jH'r acre. Of these, 300 husii: Is were sold at GO cents per bus'.iel.
Tlirre were 8 bushels of small j)otatoes, worth say 12i cents per
bushel, to feed out to stock.

Mr. Sloe, who lives on an aljoining farm, had three acres of
Peachblow pot:itoes the same year. The yieLl was 100 l)ushels per
acre — of which 2o bushels were not large enough for market, he
got 50 cents per bushel for tlie others.

The account of the two crops stands as follows;

Expetiscs Rr Acre;

Plowing, harrowing, rolling, marking, plant-
ing, and covering

Seed.:. :

Hoeing, cultivating, etc

Diirtrinsr

Jirreipln J\r Anr:

75 bushels, (ih .^Oo

25 " (<$12ic

200 Imshels, (?i)60c..
8 '» @ 12Jc.

Profit per acre .

J/"r„S7o.

1

$ 8 00

5 00

7 oo;

10 ooj

30 00

37 50
3 12

40 62

$10 62

Judge.

I S 00

5 (to

10 00

_1()^

120 00
1 00

121 (I.I
><.»8~00

Since then, Mr. Sloe lias been making and using more manure,
and the year before last (1875) his crop of potatoes averaged over

PAUMiyO Afi A RUSINRS.-^, II

200 Inishrls per acre, ami on llic sandy knolls, where more luiiiuiro
was applied, tlie yield w.is at least 230 biis'.iels per acre.

"Neverlliel 'ss," said the Deacon, "1 do not believe in 'high
farming.' It will not pay."

" Po.«<sibly not," I replied. "It d.pends on circumsUnces ; and
these we will talk about presently. High farming aims to get
large erojjs every year. Good farming produces eipially large erojjs
per aere, but not so many of them. This is wliat I am trying to
ilo on my own farm. 1 am aiming to get 35 bushels of wheat per
acre, 80 bushels of shelled corn, 50 l)ushels of barley, 90 bushels of
oats, ;}00 bushels of potatoes, and 1,200 bushels of mangel-wurzel
per acre, on tlie average. I can see no way of i)aying high wages
except by raising large crops jwr ncn'. But if I get tiiese large
crops it does not necessarily follow that I am practising 'high
farming.' "

To illustrate: Suppose I should succeed in getting sucii crops
by adopting tlie following plan. I have a farm of nearly :5U0 acres,
one (luarter of it l»eing low, alluvial land, too wet for cultivation,
but when drained excellent for pasturing cows or for timothy
meadows. I drain this land, and after it is drained I dam up some
of the streams that flow into it or through it, and irrigate wherever
I can make the water flow. So much for the low land.

The upland portion of the farm, containing say 200 acres, ex-
clusive of fenc:'s, roads, buildings, garden, etc., is a naturally fertile
loam, as good as the average wheat land of Western New York.
But it is, or was, badly " run down." It had been what people call
" worked to death ; '' although, i:i point of fact, it had not been
half-worked. Some siid it was " wheated to death," others that it
had been " oated to de ith," others that it had been " grassed to
death," and one man said to me, "That field has had sheep on it
until they have gnawed every particle of vegetable matter out of
the soil, and it will not now produce enough to pasture a flock of
geese." And he was not far from right — notwithstanding the fact
that sheep are thouglit to be, an 1 are, the best animals to enrich
land. But let me say, in passing, that I have since raised on that
same field 50 bushels of barley per acre, 33 bushels of Diehl wheat,
a great crop of clover, and last year, on a part of it, over 1,000
bushels of mangel-wurzel per acre.

But this is a digression. Le'; us carry out the illustration. What
does this upland portion of the farm need? It needs underdrain-
ing, tliorough cultivation, an 1 plenty of manure. If I had plenty
of manure, I could adopt high farming. But where am I to get
plenty of manure for 200 acres of land ? " Make it," says the

12 Talks ox manures.

Deacon. Very good ; but what shall I make it of ? " Make it out
of your straw and stalks and huy." So 1 do, but all the straw and
stalks and hay raised on the farm when I bought it would not
make as nmch manure as " high farming" retiuires for live acres
of land. And is this not true of lialf the farms in the United
States to day ? Wliat then, sliall we do ?

The best thing to do, t/icorcticilly, is this: An}- land tiiat is i>ro-
ducing a fair crop of grass or clover, let it lie. Pasture it or mow
it for hay. If 3'ou have a fl<ld of clayey or stiff loam}- land, break
it up in the fall, and summer-fallow it the ne.xt year, and sow it to
wheat and seed it down with clover. Let it lie two or three years
in clover. Then bre.ik it up in July or August, " fall-fallow " it,
and sow it with burliy the next spring, and seed it dt)wn again
with clover.

Sandy or liglit land, that it will not i)ay to sumincr-fallow,
should have all t'le manure you can make, and be plowed and
planted with corn. Cultivate thoroughly, and either seed it down
with the cor.'i in August, or sow it to barley or oats ne.xt spring,
and seed it down with clover. I say, theoretiCiilly this is the best
plan to adojit. But practically it may not be so, because it may be
absolutely necessary that we should raise something that wc can
s 'II at once, and get money to live upon or pay interest and taxes.
But the gentlemen who so strenuously advocate high farming, are
not perhaps often troubled with considerations of tins kind. Meet-
ing th Mn, tlierefore, on their own ground, I contend lliat in my
case " Ingh farming" would not be as profitable as the plan hinted
at above.

The rich altuvi-il low lan.l is to be pasture 1 or mown ; the upland
to b^ l)r.)ken up only wlien necessary, and when it is plowed Xu be
plowed well and worked thoroughly, and got back again into
clover as soon a.s possible. The hay and pasture from the low
land, and the clover and straw and stalks from the upland, would
enable us to keep a good many cows and sheep, with more or less
pigs, and there would be a big pile of manure in the yard every
spring. And when this is once obtained, you can get along much
more pleasantly and profitably.

" But," I may be asked, " when yi>u have got this pile of manure
can not you adopt high farming?" No. My manure pile would
contain say : 60 tons of clover-hay; 20 tons wheat-straw; 25 tons
oat, birley, and pea-straw; 40 tons mr'adow-hay; 20 tons corn-
stalks ; 20 tons corn, oats, and other grain ; 120 tons mangel-wurze]
and turnips.

FAKMINt; AS A m'SINKSS. 13

Tills would li'ivc inc alioiit ."iilO Idms dI" wtli-roUcil niaiiiirc 1
BJiuulil wiiiit 200 Ions of lliis for tia- in;iii<:;ils and luniiiis, aiul the
3U0 Ions 1 should want to top-dri'ss 20 a<ies of ij;rass land inU'iulni
for command potatoes tin" next y<ar. My piK- of niauiirc, there
fore, is all usv-d up on 2~> to oO acres of land. In other words, 1 use
the unsold produce of 10 acres to manure one. Is this " high
farming ? " I think in my circumstances it is good funning, hut it
is not higli farming. It gives mc large crops per acre, but I liave
comparatively few acres in crops that are sold from the farm.

" High farming," if tlic term is to liuvc any definite meaning at
all, should only he used to express the iilea of a farm so manaircd
that the soil is rich em)Ugh {o produce ma.ximum crops (rti-y yiir.
If you adopt the system of rotation (piite general in this section —
siy, 1st year, con on sod; 2d, barley or oats; 3d, wheat; 4th,
clover for hay and afterwards for seed ; 5th, timothy and clover
for hay ; and then tiie Clh year plowed up for corn again — it would
be necessary to make the land rich enough to i>roduce say 100
bu.sbels shelled corn, 50 bushels of l)arley, 40 bushels of wheal, 3
to!is clover hay, and 5 bushels of clover-seed, and 3 tons (lover and
timothy-bay per acre. This would l-e mnderair, hi'i^h farninig. If
we introduced lucern, Italian ryc-gra.ss, corn-fodder, and man'ccl-
wurzel into tlie rotation, we should ne: d still richiT land to pnnluce
a ma.\iinum grt)wlh of these crops. In other words, we should
need more manure.

The point I am endeavoring to get at, is this: "Where you want
a farm to be self-sup[>orting — where you depend solely on the pro-
duce of the farm to supply manure — it is a sheer impossil)ility to
adopt hijh farming on th/' whole of your I end. I want to raise just
as large crops per acre as the high farmers, but tiiere is no way of
doing this, unless we go outside the farm for manure, without
raising a smaller area ot such crops as are sol 1 from the farm.

I do not wish any one to suppose that I am opposed to high farm
in ;. There is oecasioniilly a farm where it may be practised with
advantage, but it seems perfectly clear to my mind that as hms; as
there is such an unlimited supply of land, and such a limited .sup-
ply of fertilizei-s, most of us will find it more profitable to develop
the latent stores of plant-food lying dormant in the soil rather than
to buy manures. And it is ccr'ain that you can not adopt high
faming without either buying manure directly, or buying food to
fee 1 to animals that shall make manure on the farm.

And 3'ou must recollect that high farming requires an iucrtiascd

14 TALKS ON MANURES,

sui)|)ly of labor, and bired bclp is a luxury almost as costly as
artiliciai fertilizers.

We bave beard superficial tbiukers object to agricultural papers
on tbe <j:round tbat tbey were urginj,^ farmers to inij-rove tbeir land
and i)roduce larger crops, " wliile," say tbey, " we are producing so
mucb already tliat it will not sell for as nuicb as it costs to produce
it." My plan of improved agriculture does n(»t necessjirily imply
tbe production of any more wbeat or of an}- more grain of any
kind that wc sell tban we raise at present. I would simply raise
it on fewer acres, and tbus lessen tbe expense for seed, cultivation,
harvesting, etc. I would raise 30 bushels of wiieat per acre every
third year, instead of 10 bushels every year.

If we summer-fallowed and plowed under clover in order to pro-
duce the 30 bushels of wlieat once in three years, instead of 10
bushels every year, no more produce of any kind would be raised.
But my plan does not contemplate such a result. On mj" own
farm I seldom summer-fall(nv, and never plow under clover. I
think T can enrich tbe farm nearly as much by feeding the clover
to ap.imals and returning the manure to the land. The animals do
not take out more tban from five to ten per cent of the more valu-
able elements of plant-food from the clover. And so my plan,
while it produces as mucb and no more grain to sdl, adds greatly
to the fertility of tlie land, and gives an increased production of
beef, nnitton, wool, butter, cheese, and pork.

" But what is a man to do who is poor and has poor land ? " If
be has good health, is industrious, economical, and is possessed of
a fair share of good common sense, be need bave no doubt as to
being able to renovate his farm and improve bis own fortune.

Faith in good farming is the first requisite. If this is weak, it
will be strengthened by exercise. If you bave not faith, act as
though you had.

Work hard, but do not be a drudge. A few hours' vigorous labor
will accomplish a great deal, and encourage you to continued ctTort.
Be prompt, s^'stematic, cheerful, and enthusiastic. Go to bed early
and get up wheii you wake. But take sleep enough. A man had
better l)e in bed tban at the tavern or grocery. Let not friends,
even, keep you up late ; " manners is manners, but still your eltb'a
your cltb."

"But what has this to do with good farming?" ]\lore tban
chemistry and all the science of the schools. Agriculture is an art
and must be followed as sucli. Science will help — help enormously
• — l)ut it will never enable us to dispense with industry. Chemistry

FARMING AS A 111' SIN ESS. 15

throws great light on llic art uf coukiug, but a farnuT's wife will
roast a turkey better than a Liebig.

When Mr. James O. Sheldon, of Geneva, N. Y., bought his farm,
his entire crop of hay the first year was 7G loads. He kept stock,
and bouglit more or less grain ami bran, and in eleven years from
that time l;is farm pn)due(d 4;JU loads of hay, aflorded pasture for
his large herd of SlKjrthoru cattle, and produced quite as much
gr.iin as wlien he lirst took it.

Except in the neighborho.td of large cities, "high farming" may
not pay, owing to the fact that we have so much land. But whether
this is so or not, there can be no doubt that the only protital>le
system of farming is to raise large crops on such land as we culti-
vate. High farming gives us large crops, and many of tJiein. At
present, while we iiave so much land in proportion to population,
we must, jK^rliaps, be content witli large crops of grain, and few of
them. We must adopt tlie slower but less expensive means of
enriciiing our l.md from natural .sources, rather than the cpiickcr,
more artilieial. and co.stly means adopted by many f.irmers in
En, Han 1, and l)y market gardeners, see 1-growcrs, and nurservmen
in this country. Labor is so higli tliat we can not afford to rais- a
sm dl crop. If we sow but half the number of acres, and doubly
the yielJ, we should quadruple our profits. I have made up my
mind to let the land lie in clover three j-ears, instead of two. This
will lessen the number of acres under cultivation, and enable us to
bestow more care in pi )wing and cleaiiing it. And the land will
be richer, and produce better crops. The atmosphere is capable
of supplying a certain quantity of ammonia to the soil in rains and
dews every year, and by giving th " wheat crop a three years sup-
ply instead of two years, we gain so much. Plaster the clover,
top-dress it in the fall, if you have the manure, and stimulate its
growth in every way possible, and consume all the clover on the
land, or in the barn-yard. Do not sell a single ton ; let not a weed
grow, and the land will certainly improve.

The first object should be to destroy weeds. I do not know how
it is in other sections, but with us the majority of farms are com-
plotely overrun with weeds. They are eating out the life of the
land, and if something is not done to destroy them, even exorbitant-
ly higli prices can not make farming profitable. A farmer yester-
day was contending that it did not pay to summer- fallow. He
has taken a run-down farm, and a year ago last spring he plowed
up ten acres of a field, and sowed it to barley and oats. The re-
mainder of the field he summer-fallowed, plowing it four times,
and rolling and harrowing thoroughly after each plowing. After

16 TALKS ON MANUUKS.

the barley and oats wore off, he plowed the laud once, harrowed iL
and sowf;d Med.terranean wheat. On the summtT-fallow he
drilled in Diehl wheat. He has just threshed, and got 22 bushels
per acre of Mediterranean wheat after the spring crop, at one
plowing, and 26 bushels per acre of Diehl wheat on the summer-
fallow. This, he said, would not pay, as it cost liiui f :?0 i)er acre
to sunniier- fallow, and he lost the use of the land for one season.
Now this may be all true, and yet it is no arLTument against sum
mer-fallowing. Wait a few years. Farming is slow work. Mr.
George Geddes remarked to me, when 1 told him I was trying to
renovate a run-down farm, "you will find it the work of ycur
life." We ought not to expect a ing crop on poor, run-down land,
simply by plowing it three or four times in as many months. Time
is required for the chemical changes to Uike place in the soil. But
■watcii the effect on the clover for the next two years, and when
the land is plowed again, see if it is not in far better condition tlian
the part not snnimcr-fallowe.l. I should expect the clover on the
summer-fallow to be fully one-third better in quantity, and of bet-
ter quality than on the otlur part, and this extra quantity of clover
will make an extra quantity of good manure, and thus we have the
means of going on with the work of improving the farm.

" Yes," said the Doctor, " and there will also be more dmer-
roots in the soil."

" But I can not afford to wait for clover, and summer- fa How ing,"
writes an intelligent New York gentleman, a dear lover (jf good
stock, who h.;s bought an exhausted New Enirland farm, " 1 nuist
have a portion of it producing good crops right off." Very well.
A farmer with plenty of money can do womlers in a short time.
Set a gang of ditchers to work, and put in underdrains where most
needed. Have teams and plows enough to do the work rapidly.
As soon as the land is drained and plowed, put on a heavy roller.
Then sow oOO lbs. of Peruvim guano per acre broadcast, or its
equivalent in some other fertilizer. Follow with a Shares' harrow.
This will mellow the surface and cover the guano without dis-
turbing the sod. Follow vith a forty-toothed harrow, and roll
again, if needed, working the land until there is three or four
inches of fine, mellow surface soil. Then mark off the land in
rows as strai<rht as an arrow, and plant com. Cultivate thoroughly,
and kill every weed. If the ditchers can not get tlirough until it
is too late to plant corn, drill in beans on the last drained part ot
the field.

Ano«her good crop to raise on a stock farm is corn-fodder.
This can be drilled in from time to time as the land cac be got

FAUMlNi; AS A BUSINESS. 17

ready. Put on half a ton of i;uano per acre and bariow in and
thou mark otf tlio rows three feet apart, and drill in four bushels
of eorii per acre, (."ullivute tliuntUL^h'.y, and e.xpeet a great eroj).
Hy the last of July, tiie Ayrshire eows will lake kindly to the suc-
culent corn-fo Ider, and with three or four quarts <>f meal a day,
it will enable each of Ihetn to make 10 lbs. of butt- r a we»k.

For the pigs, s-jw a few acres of peas. These will do well on
soil-land, sown early or late, or a part early anil a part late, as
most convenient. Sow broadcast and harrow in, 500 lbs. of Pe-
ruvian guano per acre and 200 U)s. of gypsum. Drill in three
bushels of iH'as per acre, or sow broadcast, and cover them with a
Shares' harrow. Commence to feed the crop green as soon as the
pods are formej, and continu to fied out the crop, thresiied or
unthreshed, until the middle of November. Up to tliis time the
bu,^ do comparatively little damage. The pigs will thrive won-
derfully on this crop, and make the richest and best of manure.

1 have little faith in .ny attempt to raise root crops on land not
previously well prepared. But as it is necessary to have some
mangel-wur/el and Swede turnips for the Ayi-shire cows and
long-wool s'aeep n^xt winter and spring, select the cleanest and
richest land that can be found that was under cultivation last
season. If fall plowed, the chances of success will be doubled.
Plow the land two or three times, and cultivate, harrow, and roll
until it is as mellow as a garden. Sow 400 lbs. of Peruvian guar.o
and COO lbs. of good sup Tpiiosphale per acre broadcast, and har-
row them in. Ri !ge up the l;;n 1 into ridges 2i to 3 ft. ai)arl,wilh
a double niould-boaril jdow. Roll down tlie ridges with a liiiht
roller, and drill in the seed. Sow the mangel-wurzel in May — the
earlier the bettor — and the Swedes as soon afterwards as tiie land
can be thoroughly prepared. Better delay until June rather than
sow on rough land.

The first point on such a farm will be to attend to the grassland.
This affords the most hopeful chr.ncc of getting good returns the
first year. But no tune is to be lost. Sow 500 lbs. of Peruvian
guano per acre on all the grass land and on t'le clover, with 200
lbs. of gypsum in addition on the latter. If this is sown early
enough, so that the spring rains dissolve it and wash it into the
soil, great crops of grass may be expected.

" But will it pay ? " My friend in New Tork is a very energetic
and successful business man, and he has a real love for farming,
and I have no sort of doubt that, taking the New York business
and the farm together, they will afford a very handsome profit.
Furtiiermore, I have no doubt that if, after he has drained it, he

18 TALKS OX MANURES.

would cover the whole farm witli 500 lbs. of Peruvian guano per
acre, or its equivalent, it would pay him better than any other
agricultural operation he is likely to engage in. By the time it
was on the laud the cost would amount to about $20 per acre. If
he sells no more grass or hay from the farm than he would sell if
he did not use the guano, this $20 may very properly be added to
the permanent capital invested in the farm. And in this aspect of
the case, I have no hesitation in saying it will pay a high rate of
interest. Ilis bill for labor will be as much in one case as in the
other ; and if he uses the guano he will probably double his crops.
His grass lands will carry twenty cows instead of ten, and if he
raises the corn-fodder and roots, he can probably keep thirty cows
better than he could otherwise keep a dozen ; and, having to keep
a herdsman in either case, tin cost of labor will not bci nmch in-
creased. "But you think it will not pay? " It will probably not
pay him. I do not think h s business would paj^ me if I lived o:i
my farm, and went to New York only once or twice a week. If
there is one business above all others that requires constant atten-
tion, it is farming — and especially stock-farming. But my friend
is right in saying that he cannot afford to wait to enrich his land
by clover and summer-fallowing. His land costs too much ; he
has a large barn and everything requisite to keep a large stock of
cattle and sheep. The interest on farm and buildings, and the
money expended in labor, would run on while the dormant matter
in the soil was slowly becoming available under the influence of
good tillige. The large birn must be filled at once, and tlie only
way to do this is to apply manure with an unsparing hand. If he
lived on the farm, I should have no doubt that, by adopting thia
course, and by keeping improved stock, and feeding liberally, he
could make money. Perhaps he can find a man who will success-
fully manage the farm under his direction, but the prol)abilitieg
are that his present profit and pleasure will come from the grat-
ification of his early love for country life.

WUAT IS MANUUK? 19

C ir A P T E 11 II.
WHAT IS MANURE?

" What is the good of asking sucli a (luestion as that ? " said the
Deacon ; " we all know what manure is."

" Well, then," I replied, " tell us what it is?"

" It is anything tluit will uuike crops grow better and bigger^^ re-
plied the Deacon.

" That is not a had definition," .said I ; " but let us see if it is a
true one. You have two rows of cabbage in the garden, and you
water one row, and the plants grow bigger and better. Is water
manure ? You cover a plant with a hand-glass, and it grows big-
ger and better. Is a hand-glass manure ? You shelter a few
plants, and they grow bigger and l)etter. Is shelter manure ?
Y'ou put some pure sand round a few plants, and they grow big-
ger and better. Is pure sand manure ? I think we shall hu?e, to
reject the Deacon's definition."

Let us hear what the Doctor has to say on the subject.

" Manure," replied the Doctor, " is the food of plants.''^

" That is a better definition," sail I ; " but this is really not
answering the question. Y'ou say manure is plant-food. But
what is plant-food ?"

" Plant-food," said the Doctor, " is composed of twelve cle»
ments, and, possibly, sometimes one or two more, which we need
not here talk about. Four of these elements are gases, oxygen,
h}'drogen, carbon, and nitrogen. When a plant or animal is
burnt, these gases are driven off". The ashes which remain are
composed of potash, soda, lime, and magnesia; sulphuric acid,
phosphoric acid, chlorine, and silica. In other words, the ' food
of plants ' is composed of four onranic, or gaseous elements, and
eight inorganic, or mineral elements, of which four have acid and
four alkaline properties."

" Th;ink you, Doctor," said the Dencon, " I am glad to know
what manure is. It is the food of plants, and the food of plants
is composed of four gases, four acid and four alkaline elements.
I seem to know all about it. All I have wanted to make my land
rich was plenty of manure, and now I shall know where to get
it — oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen ; these four atmos-
plieric elements. Then potash, soda, magnesia, and lime. I
know what these four are. Then suli)hur, phosphorous, silica

20 TALKS OX MANUUES.

(sand,) and chlorine (sill). I sbull soon have rich land and big
crops."

Charley, who has r^'ccntly come home from college, where he
has been studying chemistry, looi-:ed at the Deacon, and was evi-
dently puzzlftl to understand him. Turning to the Doctor, Char-
ley asked nn^deslly if what tlK- Doctor had said in regard to the
composition of plant food could not be sai 1 of the composition of
all our animals and plants.

"Certainly," replied the Doctor, "all our agricultural plants
and all our animals, man included, are compo.sed of these twelve
elements, o.xygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen; pliosphorus,
sulphur, silica, chlorine, potash, soda, niatrnesia, and lime."

Charley said something about lime, potash, and soda, not being
"elements;" and something al>out silica and chlorine not being
found in animals.

" Yes," said I, '' and he has left out iron, which is an important
constituent of all our farm cro|)s and animals." Neither the Doc-
tor nor t'.ic Deacon heard our remarks. The Deacon, who loves
an argument, exclaimed: "I thought I knew all about it. You
told us that manure was the food of plants, and that the food of
])lants was composed of the above twelve elements; and now you
tell us that man and bejust, fruit and flower, grain and grass, root,
stem, and branch, all are composed or made up of these same
dozen elements. If I ask you what bread is made of, you say it
is composed of the dozen elements aforesaid. If I ask w hat wheat-
straw is made of, you answer, the dozen. If I ask what a thistle is
made of, you say the dozen. There are a good many milk weeds
in my strawberry patch, and I am glad to know tlial the milk-weed
and the strawberrv are both eomposeil of thi- same dozen elements.
Manure is the food of plants, and the food of plants is composed
of the above dozen elements, and every plant and animal that we
eat is also composed of these same dozen elements, and so I sup-
pose there is no difference between an onion and an omelet, or
between bread and milk, or between mangel-wurzel and manure."

"The difference," replied the Doctor, "is one of proportif)n.
Mangels and manure are both compo.sed of the same elements. In
fact, mangels make good manure, and good manure makes good
mangels."

The Deacon and tlie Doctor sat down to a game of backgam-
mon, and Charley and I continued the conversation more seriously.

SOMKMIINt; ABOIT rLAN'1-FOOD. 21

C II A P T E K 111.
SOMETHING AIJOIT PI. A NT-FOOD.

" Tlie Doclnr is in tlu- main c-orrct-t," said 1; " but he doos not
fully au.^wcr the (jiKstiun, ' Wliat is inanure * ' To say tliat manure
i.s plant-food, do<s not cover the whole ground. All soils on whieh
planLs grow, contain more or less pluut-food. A plant can not
cn-ale an atom of ]M)tash. It can not iret it from the atmos|)heie
We find potash in the pl.-mt, and we know that it got it fron) the
soil, and we are certain, therefore, that the soil contains potash.
And so of all the other mineral elements of jilants. A soil that
will produce a thistle, or a pig-weed, contains plant-food. And so
the definition of the Doctor is defective, inasmuch as it makes no
distinction between st)il and manun-. Botli contain plant-food."

"What is your definition of manure?" asked Charley; *' it
would seem as though we all knew what manure was. W^e have
got a great hc.ip of it in the yard, and it is fermenting nicely."

" Yes," I replie 1, " we arc making more manure on the farm this
winter than ever before. Two hundreil |)iL:s, 120 large sheep, 8
horses, 11 cows, and a hundred head of poultry make considerable
manure ; and it is a good deal of work to clean out the pens, pih; the
manure, draw it to the field, and apply it to the crops. We ought
to know something about it ; but we might work among manure
all our lives, and not know what manure is. At any rate, we
mitrht not be able to define it accurately. I will, however, try my
hand at a definition.

" Let us assume that we have a field that is free from stagnant
water at all seasons of the year; that the soil is clean, mellow,
and well worked seven inches deep, and in good order for putthig
in a crop. What the coming 'sf/z^o/i' will be we know not. It
may be what we call a hot, dry summer, or it may be cool and
moist, or it may be partly one and partly the other. The ' season'
is a great clement of uncertainty in all our fanning calculations;
but we know that we shall have a season of some kind. We have
the promise of seed-time and harvest, and we have never known
the promise to fail us. Crops, however, var^'^ very much, accord-
ing to the season ; and it is necessary to bear this fact in mind.
Let us say that the sun and heat, and rain and dews, or wh;.t we
call * the season,' is cajiabie of producing 50 bushels of wheat per
acre, but that the soil I have described above, does not produce
over 20 bushels per acre. There is no mechanical defect in tlie
boil. The seed is good, it is put in properly, and at the right time,

22 TALKS ON MANURES.

and in the best manner. No weeds choke the wheat plants or rob
them of their food ; but that field does not produce as much wheat
by 30 bushels per acre as the season is capable of producing.
WhyV The answer is evident. Because the wheat plants do not
find food enough in the soil. Now, anything that will furnish
this food, anything that will cause thai field to produce what the
climate or season is capable of producing, is manure. A gardener
may increase his crops by artificial heat, or by an increased supply
of water, but this is not manure. The effect is due to improved
climatic conditions. It has nothin;^ to do with the queslioa of
manure. We often read in the agricultural papers about ' s/utdc
as manure.' We might just as well talk al)oul sunlight as ' ma-
nure.' The effects observed shouhl be referred U> modifications of
the climate or season; an.l so in regard to mulching. A good
mulch may often produce a larger increase of growth than an ap-
plication of manure. But mulch, proper, is not manure. It is
climate. It cheeks evaporation of moisture from the soil. We
might as well speak of rain as manure as to call a mulch manure.
In fact, an ordinary shower in summer Ls little more than a mulch.
It does not reach the roots of plants ; and yet we see the effect
of the shower immediately ia the increased vigor of the plants.
They are full of sap, and t'.ic drooping leaves look refreshed. We
say the rain has revived them, and so it has ; but probably not a
particle of the rain has entered into the circulation of the plant.
The rain checked evaporation from the soil and from the leaves.
A cool night refreshes the plants, and fills the leaves with sap, pre-
cisely in the same way. All these fertilizing cflFects, however,
behmg to climate. It is inaccurate to associate either mulching,
sunshine, shade, heat, dews, or rain, with tlie question of manure,
though the effect may in certain circumstances be precisely the
same."

Charlc}^ evidently thought I was wandering from the point. " You
think, then," said he, " manure is plant-food thtt the so'l needs f"

"Yes," said I, "that is a very goo 1 definition — very good,
indeed, though not absolutely .iccurate, because manure is manure,
whether a particular soil needs it or not." Unobserved by us, the
Deacon and the Doctor had been listening to our talk. — " I would
like," said the Deacon, " to hear you give a better definition than
Charley has given." — " Manure," said I, " is anything containing
an element or elements of plant-foo 1, which, if the soil needed it.
Avould, if supplied in sufficient quantity, and in an available con-
dition, produce, according to soil, season, climate, and variety, a
maximum crop."

iTATURAI. MANCRK. 23

CHAP T E r, I V.
NATURAL MANURE.

We often hear about " natural " manure. I do not like the
term, though I believe it originated with me. It is not aceurate;
not definite enougli.

" I do not know wnat you moan by natural manure," said the
Deacon, " unless it is tiie droppings of animals." — " To distinguish
them, I sui)pose," said the Doctor, " from artificial manures, such
as superphospiiate, sulpliate of ammonia, and nitrate of soda."—
" No ; that is not how I used the term. A few years ago, we
used to hear much in regard to the 'exhaustion of soils.' I
thought this phrase conveyed a wrong idea. When new land
produces large crops, and when, after a few years, the crops get
less and loss, we were toLl that the farmers were exhausting their
land. I said, no; the farmers are not exhausting the koU ; they
are merely exhausting the accumulated plant-food in the soil. In
other words, thoy are using up the natural manure.

" Take my own farm. Fifty j-ears ago, it was covered with a
heavy growth of maple, beech, black Avalnut, oak, and otlier trees.
These trees had shed annual crops of leaves for centuries. The
leaves rot on the ground ; the trees also, age after age. These
leaves and other organic matter form wdiat I have called natural
manure. When the land is cleared up and plowed, this natural
manure decays more rapidly than when the land lies undisturbed ;
precisely as a manure-pile will ferment and decay more rapidly if
turned occasionally, and exposed to the air. The plowing and
cultivating renders this natural manure more readily available.
The leaves decompose, and furnish food for the growing crop."

EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL.

" You think, then," said the Doctor, " that when a piece of land
is cleared of the forest, harrowed, and sown to wheat ; plowed
and planted to corn, and the process repeated again and again,
until the land no longer yields profitable crops, that it is the
< natural manure,' and not the soil, that is exhausted?"

" I think the soil, at any rate, is not exhausted, and I can easily
conceive of a case where even the natural manure is very far from
being all used up."

" Why, then," asked the Deacon, " is the land so poor that it
will scarcely support a sheep to the acre ? "

24 TALKS ON MANURES.

" Simply because the nalunil manure' anl other plant-food
which the soil contains is not in an available condition. It lies
dead and inert. It is not soluble, and the roots of the plants can-
not get enough of it to enable theni to thrive ; and in addition to
this, you will find as a matter of fact that these poor ' exhausted '
farms are infested with weeds, which rob the growing crops of a
large part of the scanty supply of avaihiblc plant-food."

"But these weeds," Slid the Deacon, "are not removed from
the farm. They rot on the land ; nothing is lost."

" True," .said I, " but they, nevertheless, rob the growing crops
of available plant-food. The annual supi)ly of i)lant-food, instead
of being used to grow useful i. hints, is usvd t j grow weeds."

"I understand that," siid the Deacon, "but if the weeds are
left on the land, and the useful plants are sold, the farmer who
keeps his land clean would e.vhiust his land faster than the care-
less farmer who lets his land lie until it is overrun with thistles,
briars, and pig-weed. You agricultural writers, who are con-
stantly urging us to farm better and grow larger crops, seem to
overlook this point. As you know, I do not tiike much stock in
chemical theories as applied to agriculture, but as you do, here is
a little extract I cut from an agricultural paper, that seems to
prove that the better you work your land, and the larger crops
you rai-;e, the sooner you exhaust your land."

The Deacon put on his spectacles, drew his chair nearer the
lamp on the table, and read the following :

" There is, on an average, about one-fourth of a pound of potash
to every one hundred pounds of soil, and about one eighth of a
pound of phosphoric acid, and one-sixteenth of a pound of sul-
phuric acid. If the potatoes and the tops are continually removed
from the soil, it will soon exhaust the potash. If the wdieat and
straw are removed, it will soon exhaust the phosphate of lime ;
if corn and tlie stalks, it will soon exhaust the sulphuric acid.
Unless there is a rotation, or the material the plant requires is
supplied from abroad, your crops will soon run out, though the
soil will continue rich for other plants."

" That extract," said I, " carries one back twenty-five years.
We used to have article after article in this strain. We were told
that ' always taking meal out of the tub soon comes to the bot-
tom,' and always taking potash and phosjihoric acid from the .soil
will soon exhaust the supply. But, prdrticdly, there is really little
danger of our exhausting the land. It do s not pay. The farm-
er's resources will be exhausted long before he can exhaust his
farm."

NATURAL MANURE. 25

"Assuming," suiil tin- Doctor, who is font! of an argument,
" that tho above ^talriiu'iil is triu-, let us look al tlif fads. An
acre of soil, 12 inches deep, would weigh about 1,G0U Ions; and if,
as the writer quoted by the Deacon states, the soil contains 4 ozs.
of potash in every 100 ll)s. of soil, it follows that an acre of soil,
12 inches deep, contains ^,000 lbs. of potash. Now, potatoes con-
tain about 20 per cent of diy matter, and this dry matter con-
tains, say, 4 per cent of ash, half of which is potash. It follows,
therefore, that 250 bushels of potatoes contain about 60 lbs. of
potash. If we reckon that the tops contain 20 lbs. more, or 80
lbs. in all, it follows that tho acre of soil contains potash enough
to grow an annu<;l crop of 2oO bushels of potatoes per acre for one
hundred years."

"I know farmers," i^auX Charley, "who do not get over 50
bushels of potatoes per acre, and in that case the potash would
last five hundred years, as the weeds grown with the crop are left
on the land, and do not, according to the Deacon, exhaust the
soil."

" Good for you, Charley," said the Doctor. " Now let us see
about the phosphoric acid, of which the soil, according to the
above statement, contains only half as much as it contains of pot-
ash, or 4,000 lbs. per acre.

" A crop of wheat of 30 bushels per acre," continued the Doc-
tor, " contains in the grain about 26 lbs. of asli, and we will say
that half of this ash is p'.iosphoric acid, or 13 lbs. Allowing that
the straw, chaff, etc., contain 7 lbs. more, we remove from the soil
in a crop of wheat of 30 bushels per acre, 20 lbs. of phosphoric
acid, and so, according to the above estimate, an acre of soil con-
tains phosphoric aci:! to produce annually a crop of wheat and
straw of 30 bushels per acre for two hundred years.

" The writer of the paragraph quoted by the Deacon," continued
the Doctor, " selected the crops and elements best suited to his
purpose, and yet, according to his owti estimate, there is sufficient
potash and phosplioric arid in the first 12 inches of the soil to
enable us to raise unusually large crops until the nevt Centennial
in 1976.

" But let us take another view of the subject," continued the
Doctor. " No intelligent farmer removes all the potatoes and
tops, all the wheat, straw, and chaff, or all the corn and stalks from
his farm. According to Dr. S disbnry, a crop of com of 75 bush-
els per acre removes from the soil 600 lbs. of ash, but the (/rain
contains only 46 lbs. The other oo4 lbs. is contained in the stalks,
etc., all of which are usually retained on the farm. It follows
2

26 TALKS ON MAXCRKS.

from t^li^^, tliat wiicn mily llic ;,'r;iiii is sold oil' the farm, it tiikcs
more than tliirlet'U crops to remove as imuh mineral mallLr from
the soil as is contained in the whole of one crop. Airain, the ash
of the irrain contains less than 3 per cent of sulphuiic acid, so
that the 4(5 Ihs. of ash, in 7.} i)ushels of corn, <H)nlains less than li
lbs. of sulphuric acid, and thus, if an a;re of soil contains 2,()()()
lbs. of sulphuric acid, we have sullicient for an annual croj) of To
bushels per acre f(;r fifteen hundred years !

"As I said before," continued the Doctor, " intelligent farmers
sellom sell their straw, and they frequently purchase and consume
on the farm nearly as much bran, shorts, etc., as is sent to market
with tlie ijrain they sell. In the ' Natural History <tf New York,'
it is stated that an acre of wheat in Western New York, of 30
bushels per acre, including straw, chaff, etc., removes from the
soil 144 lbs. of mineral mattrr. Gene.'jec wheat usually yields
about 80 per cent of flour. This tlour contains only 0.7 per cent
of mineral matter, while tine middlings contain 4 per cent; coarse
middlings, ok per cent; sliorts, 8 per cent, and bran 8J per cent
of mineral matter or ash. It follows from this, that out of the 144
<bs. of mineral matter in the crop of wheat, le.ss than 10 ll)s. is
contained in the flo;:r. The remaining 134 lbs. is found in the
straw, chaff, bran, :-horls, etc., which a good farmer is almost sure
to feed out on his farm. Hut even if the farmer feeds out none of
his wjieat-bran, but sells it all with his wheat, the 30 busliels of
wheat remove from the soil only 20 lbs. of mineral matter; and it
would take more than five crops to remove as much mineral mat-
ter as one crop of wheat and straw contains. Allowing that half
the as'.i of wheat is plios[ihoric acid, 30 bushels remove only 13
lbs. from the soil, and if the soil contains 4,000 lbs., it will take
three hundred and seven crops, of 30 bushels each, to exhau.st it."

" That is to say," said Charier, " if all the straw and chaff is re-
tained on the farm, and is returned to the land without loss of
phosphoric acid."

" Yes," said the Doctctr, " a id if .ill f.;e bran and short."?, etc.,
were retained on the f.irm, it wo:dd take eight hundred crojis to
exhaust the soil of phosphoric acid; and it is admitted that of all
the elements of plant-food, phosphoric acid is the one first to be
exhausteil from the soil."

I have sold some timothy hay this winter, and propose to do so
whenever the price suits. But some of my neighbors, who do
not hesitate to sell their own hay, tliink I ought not to do so,
because I " write for the ]iapors"! It ought to satisfy tliem to
know that I bring back 30 cwt. of bran for every ton of hay I

NATl liAL MANUIJE. 27

.vll. .My mil- is to sril iintliiiii,' liiil \\ .iiat, liail< y, Ix'aiis, pntalocs,
clttvrrsfed, :i|)|)lis, woul, iiiiitloii, Ixn", l»'>rk, ami biilttr. Kvcry-
tliiiiij else is (■oiisiiiiiiil <>n Uk- farm -corn, |>fu>, oats, mustard,
rape, niaiim-ls, clover, straw, stalks, etc. L<t us make a n>uj;li
estitnate of liow much is sold and li<t\v inucli retiiined on a iiun-
dre«l-acre farm, leaving; out the potatoes, bcaus, and live-stock.
We have sjiy :
Sold.

15 acres wlu-at, (a 40 Imsluls per acre IH tons

5 " t)arlcy, (ff 50 " *' fl "

15 " i-l<»ver sH-ed, 4 " " U ton.

Total sold 'S)l tons.

Retained on the fann.

15 acres corn, (n 80 bushels per acre 'A^l tons.

Com stalks from ilo -JO "

5 acres barley straw 8 "

10 " oats und pcus, equal HO bushels of oats iLl "

Straw fn)m do A) "

15 .icres wheat-straw 25 "

15 " clover-hay 'i-"> "

Clover-sted straw 10 "

15 acres p:isture and mcailow, equal 40 tons hay 4(i "

5 " mustard, equal 1(» tons hay 10 "

5 " rape, equal 10 tons hay 10 "

5 " HianjieU, 25 tons per acre, equal to 3 Ions dry 15 "

Leaves from do ;{ "

Total retained on the farm 2521 tons.

It would tike a srood many j-ears to exhaust any ordinary soil
by such a course of croppimr. Except, ]MThaps, the sandy knolls,
I think there i.i not an acre on my fariu that would be exhausted
in ten thousand years, and as some portions of the low alluvial
soil will iTfow crops witiiout manure, there will be an opportui.ity
to jjive the poor, sandy knolls more than their share of plant-food.
In this way, notwithstanding: the fact that we sell proiluce and
brin<T nothing back, I believe the whole farm will pradually
increase in productiveness. The plant-food annually rendered
available from the decomposition and disintecration of the inert
orijanic and mineral matter in the soil, will be more than ec(ual to
that exporteil from the farm. If the soil becomes deficient in any-
thing-, it is likely that it will be in phosphates, and a little super-
phosphate or bone-dust miirlit at any rate be profitably used en
ihe rape, mustard, and turnips.

The point in good farmi;i.r is to develop fr(un the latent stores

28 TALKS ON MANURES.

in the soil, and to accumulate enou;j;h available i)laut-foo(l for the
production of the largest possible yield of those crops which we
sell. In other words, we want tnough available plant-food ia the
soil to grow 40 bushels of wheat and 50 bushels of barley. I think
the farmer who raises 10 tons for every ton he sells, will .soon
reach this point, and when once reached, it is a comparatively
2agy matter to maintain this degree of fertility.

WHY OUK CROPS .VRE SO POOR.

" If the soil is so rich in plant-food," said the Deacon, " I again
ask, why are our crops so poor ? "

The Deacon said this very quietly. lie did not seem to know
that he had asked one of the most important questions in the
whole range of agricultui-al science. It is a fact that a soil may
contain enough plant-food to produce a thousand large (;rops, and
yet the crops we obtain from it may be so poor as hardl}' to pay
the cost of cultivation. The i)lant-food is there, but the plants
cannot get at it. It ia not in an available condition ; it is not sol-
uble. A case is cpioted by Prof. Johnson, where a soil was an-
alyzed, and found to contain to the depth of one foot 4,652 lbs. of
nitrogen per acre, but only 03 lbs. of this was in an available con-
dition. And this is equallj'' true of phosplioric acid, potash, and
other elements of plant-food. No matter how much plant-food
there may be in the soil, the only portion that is of any immediate
value is the small amount that is annually available for the growth
of crops.

HOW TO GET LARGER CROPS.

" I am tired of i^o much talk about plant-food," said the Deacon ;
" what we want to know is how to make our land produce larger
crops of wheat, corn, oats, barley, potatoes, clover, and grass."

This is precisely what I am trying to show. On my own farm,
the three leading objects are (1) to get the land drained, (2) to make
it clean and mellow, and (3) to get available nitrogen for the cereal
crops, iv'ter t'.ie first two objects are accomplished, the measure
of productiveness will be determined by the amount of available
nitrogen ii the soil. Ilon- to get available nitrogen, therefore, is
my chief and ultimate object in all the operations on the farm,
and it is here that science can help me. I know how to get nitro-
gen, but I want to get it in the cheapest way, and then to be sure
that I do not waste it.

There is one fact fully estiiblislie 1 l)y repeited experiment and
general experience — that 80 lbs. of available nitrogen per acre,

SWAMr-MlOIv OK PEAT AS MANURE. 20

applied in inaniirc, will alinusl iiivaiiahly ijivc us a iircally in-
crcasccl yifUl (if i^r.uii cioiks. 1 slioukl expect, on my farm, that
on land wiiieli, without n)ainire, would give me 15 bushels of wheat
per acre, such a dressing of manure would give me, in a favorable
season, 35 or 40 bushels i)er acre, with a proportional increase of
straw ; and, in additio.i to this, there would be considerable nitro-
gen left for the followmg crop of clover. Is it not worth while
making an earnest effort to get this 80 lbs. of available nitrogen ?

I have on my farm many acres of low, muck}- land, bordering
on the creek, that probably contain several thousand jiounds of
nitrogen per acre. So long as the land is surcharged w ith water,
this nitrogen, and other plant- food, lies dormant. But drain it,
and let in tlie air, and t!ie oxygen decomposes the organic matter,
and ammonia and nitric acid are produced. In other words, we
get amilable nitrogen and other plant-food, and the land becomes
capable of producing large crops of corn and grass ; and the crops
obtained from this low, rich land, will make manure for the poorer,
upland portions of the farm.

CHAPTER V.
SWAMP-MUCK OR PEAT AS MANURE.

" It would pay you," said the Deacon, " to draw out 200 or 300
loads of muck from the swamp every year, and compost it with
your manure."

This may or may not be the case. It depends on tlie composi-
tion of the muck, and how much labor it takes to handle it.

" What you should do," said the Doctor, " is to commence at
the creek, and straighten it. Take a gang of men, and be with
them with yourself, or get a good foreman to direct operations.
Commence at n, and straighten the creek to b, and from b to c (see
map on next page). Throw all the rich, black muck in a heap by
itself, separate from the sand. You, or your foreman, must be
there, or you will not get this done. A good ditcher will throw out
a great mass of this loose muck and sand in a day ; and you want
him to dig, not think. You must do the thinking, and tell him
which is muck, and which is onl}- sand and dirt. When thrown
up, this muck, in our dry, hot climate, will, in the course of a few

no

TALKS ON MANURES.

months, part with a large amount of water, and it can then be drawn
to the barns and stabhs, and used for bedding, or for composting
with manure. Or if you do not want to draw it to tlie barn, get
8ome refuse lime from the lime-kiln, and mix it with the muek
after it has been thrown up a few weeks, and is partially dry.
Turn over the lieap, and put a few bushels of lime to every cord
of the muck, mixing the lime and muck together, leaving the heap
in a compact form, and in good shape, to shed the rain.

" When you have straightened, and cleaned out, and deepened
the creek," continued the Doctor, "commence at 2 on the new
creek, and cut a ditch tlirougli the swamp to y. Throw the muck
on one side, and the sand on the other. Tliis will giv« you some

y

MAP OF CREEK.

->v

good, rich muck, and at the same time drain 3'our swamp. Then
cut some under-drains from y towards llie higher land at it, v, and
h, and from /to t. These will drain your land, and set free the
inert plant-food, and such crops of timothy as you will get from
this swamp will astonish the natives, and your bill for medical at-
tendance and quinine will sink to zero."

The Doctor is right. There is money and health in the plan.

Prof. S. W. Johnson, as chemist to the Conn. State Ag. Society,
made accurate analyses of 33 samples of peat and muck sent him
by gentlemen from different parts of the State. The amount of

WHAT IS POTENTIAL AMMONIA? 31

potential ammonia in the choniiially dry peat was found to vary
from 0.58 in the poorest, to 4.0G per cent in the richest samples.
In other words, one deposit of muck may contain seven times as
much nitrogen as another, and it would be well before spei.ding
much money in drawing out muck for manure to send a sample of
it to some good chemist. A bed of swamp-muck, easily acces-
sible, and containinLT 3 per cent of nitrogen, would be a mine of
wealth to any farmer. One ton of such muck, dr^', would contain
more nitrogen than 7 tons of straw.

" It would be ca[)ilal stuff," said the Deacon, " to put in your
pig-pens to absorb the urine. It would make rich manure."

"That is so," said 1, "and the weak point in my pig l)reeding is
the want of sufficient straw. Pigs use up more bedding than any
other animals. I have over 200 pigs, and I could use a ton of dry
muck to each pig every winter to great advantage. The pens
would be drier, the pigs healthier, and the manure richer."

The Doctor here interrupted us. "I see," said he, "that tlic
average amount of ammonia in the 33 samples of dry peat analyzed
by Professor Joiinson is 2.07 per cent. I had no idea that muck was
so rich. Bani yard manure, or the manure from the horse stal)les in
the cities, contains only half a per cent (O.o) of ammonia, and it is
an unusually rich manure that contains one per cent. We are safe
in saying tl<al a ton of dry muck, on the average, contains at least
twice as much potential ammonia as the average of our best and
richest stable-manure."

CHAPTER VI.
WHAT IS POTENTIAL AMMONIA?

" You say," said the Deacon, " that dry muck contains twice as
much '^ potential ammonia^ as manure?' '

" Yes," said the Doctor, " it contains three or four times as
much as the half-rotted straw and stalks you call manure."

"But what do you mean," asked the Deacon, "by 'potential
ammonia? ' "

■' It is a term," said the Doctor, " we used to hear much more fre-
quently than we do now. Ammonia is composed of 14 lbs. of
nitrogen and 3 lbs. of hydrogen ; and if, on analysis, a guano or

32 TALKS OX MANURES.

Other manure was found to contain, in \vli:itcver form, 7 per cent
of nitrof^en, tlie clieniist reported that lie found in it 8i per cent
of 'potential' ammonia. Dried blood contains no ammonia, but
if it contained 14 per cent of nitrogen, the chemist would be justi-
fied in saying it contained 17 per cent of potential ammonia, from
the fact that tlie dried blood, by fermentation, is capable of yield-
ing this amount of ammonia. We say a ton of conmion horse-
manure contains 10 or 12 lbs. of potential ammonia. If perfectly
fresh, it may not conUiin a particle of ammonia ; bat it contains
nitrogen enough to produce, by fermentation, 10 or 12 lbs. of am-
monia. And when it is said that drj' swamp-muck coiitains, on
the average, 2.07 per cent of potential ammonia, it simply means
that it contains nitrogen enoui:h to produce this amount of am-
monia. In point of fact, I suppose muck, when dug fresh from
the swamp, contains no ammonia. Ammonia is quite .soluble in
water, and if there was any ammonia in the swamp-muck, it
would soon be wasiied out. The nitrogen, or ' jjotcntial ammonia,'
in the muck exists in an inert, insoluble form, ar.d bef<»rc the
muck will yield up this nitrogen to plants, it is neceasary, in some
way, to ferment or decompose it. But this is a point we will
discuss at a future meeting."

CHAPTER VII.
TILLAGE IS MANURE.

The Doctor has been invited to deliver a lecture on manure
before our local Farmers' Club. " The etymological meaning of
the word manure," he said, " is hand labor, from main, hand, and
outrer, to work. To manure the land originally meant to culti-
vate it, to hoe, to dig, to plow, to harrow, or stir it in any way so
as to expose its particles to the oxygen of the atmosphere, ano
thus render its latent elements assimilable by plants.

" When our first parent," he continued, " was sent forth from
the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken,
he probably did not know that the means necessary to kill the
thorns and thistles enhanced the productiveness of the soil, yet
such was undoubtedly the case.

tili.a(;k is mamrk. 33

" The fariiuT for centuries was simply a ' tiller of tlic ^rouiul.'
Guano, tli<MigU fonneci, acconlinir to souie eminent authorities,
long ages before the erealion of man, was not then known. The
coprolites lay undisturbed in countless numbers in the lias, the
greensand, and the Sutlblk crag. Charleston pliosphates were
unknown. Superphosphate, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda,
and kainit were not dreamed of. Nothing was said aV)out the
mineral manure theory, or the exhaustion of the soil. There were
no frauds in artificial fertilizers; no Experiment Stations The
earth, fresh from the hands of its Creator, neeiicd only to be
'tickled with a hoe to laugh with a harvest.' Nothing was .siid
about the value of the manure obtained from the consumjjlion of
a ton of oil-cake, or malt combs, or bran, or clover hay. For
many centuries, the hoe, the spade, and the rake constituted
Adam's whole stock in trade.

"At length," continued the Doctor, "a great discovery was
made. A Roman farmer — proltably a prominent Granger — stum-
bled on a mighty truth. Manuring the land — that is, hoeing and
cultivating it— inereased its fertility. This was well known— had
been known for ag(s, and acted ui)on ; but this Roman farmer,
Stereutius, who was a dose observer, discovered that the dropping^
of animala had th* same cfTect as hoeing. No wonder these idol-
atrous people voted him a god. They thought there would be no
more old-fashioned manuring; no more hoeing.

" Of course they were mistaken," continued the Doctor, " our
arable land will always need plowing and cultivating to kill
weeds. Manure, in the .sense in which we now use the term, is
only a partial substitute for tillage, and tillage is only a partial
substitute for manure; but it is well to bear in mind that the
words mean the same thing, and tlie effects of both are, to a cer-
tain extent, identical. Tillage is manure, and manure is tillage."

34 TALKS OX MANURES.

CHAPTER VIII.
SUMMER-FALLOWING.

This is not tlio place to discuss the merits, or demerits, of fallow
ing. But an IntilliL'^ent (3hio farmer writes me : — " I see tint you
reconimcud fallow plowing, what are your reasons ? Granting
that the immediate result is an increased crop, is not tlic land im-
poverished y Will not the thorough cultivation of corn, or pota-
toes, answer as well ? " And a distinguished farmer, of this State,
in a recent communication expressed the same idea — that summer-
fallowing would soon impoverish the land. But if this is the case,
the fault is not in the practice of summer-fallowing, but in growing
too many grain crops, and selling them, instead of consuming them
on the farm. Take two fields; summer-fallow one, and sow it to
wheat. Plant the other to corn, and sow wheat after it in the fall.
You get, say 35 bushels of wheat per acre from the summer-fallow.
From the other field you get, say, 30 bushels of shelled corn per
acre, and 10 bushels of wheat afterwards. Now, where a farmer
is in the habit of selling all his wheat, and consuming all his corn
on the farm, it is evident that the practice of summer-fallowing
will impoverish the soil more rapidly than the system of growing
corn followed by wheat — and for the simple reason that more
wheat is sold from the farm. If no more grain is sold in one case
than in the other, the summer-fallowing will not impoverish the
soil any more than corn growing.

My idea of fallowing is this: — The soil and the atmosphere
furnish, on good, well cultivated land, plant-food sufficient, say, for
15 bushels of wheat per acre, every year. It will be sometimes
more, and sometimes less, according to the season and the character
of the soil, but on good, strong limestone land this may be taken
as about the avera-^e. To grow wheat every year in crops of 15
bushels per acre, would impoverish the soil just as much as to
summer-fallow and get 30 bushels of wheat every other year. It
is the same thing in either case. But in summer-fallowing, we
clean the bind, and the firofits from a crop of 30 bushels per acre
every other year, are much more than from two crops of 15 bush-
els every year. You know that Mr. Lawes has a field of about
thirteen acres that he sows with wheat every year. On the plot
that receives no manure of any kind, the crop, for twenty years,
averaged 16^ bushels per acre. It is plowed twice every year, and

SUMMER-FALLOW I XG. 35

the wheat is hand-liocd in the spriiiir to kecj) it tieau. A few years
a^o, ill a tieUl ailjoiiiin^ tliis experimental wheal ticlil, and that is
of iLe same charueler of laud, he made the followinii ixperimcnt.
The land, after wheat, was fal.owed, and then !-own to wheat;
then fallowed the next year, and again sown to wheat, and the next
year it was sown to wiieat after wheat. Tlie followinij: is the re-
sult compared with the yield of the continuously unmanured plot
in the experimental field that is sown to wheat every year:

1. Year— No. 1— Fallow No cro|).

No. 3 — Wheat after wheat \'> bushels 3t peeks per acre.

2. Ykar-No. 1— Wheat after fallow 87 " — " "

No. ;i— Wlieat aftir wliciit Vi " 3i " *'

3. Year — No. 1 — Fallow aftt-r wheat No crop.

No. 2 — Wheat after wheat 1.5 busliels 3i pecks per acre.

4. Year— No. 1— Wheat after fallow 42 " — " "

No. 3— Wheat after wheat 21 " (li " "

5. Year— No. 1— Wheat after wheat 17 " 11 " "

No. 3 — Wheat after wheat 17 " — "

Taking the first four years, we have a total yield from the plot
sown every year of 06 bushels 2^^ i)eeks, and from the two crops
alternately fallowed, a total yield of 79 bushels. The next year,
when wheat was sown after wheat on the land previonsly fallowed,
the yield was almost identical with the yield from the plot that has
grown wheat after wheat for so many years.

So far, these results do not indicate any exhaustion from the
practice of fallowing. On the other hand, they tend to show that
we can get more wheat by sowing it every other year, than by
cropi^ing it every year in succession. The reason for this may be
found in the fact that in a fallow the land is more frequently ex-
posed to the atmosphere by repeated plowingsand harrowings; and
it should be borne in mind that the effect of stirring the land is not
necessarily in proportion to tlic total amount of stirring, but is
according to the number of times that fresh particles of soil are
exposed to the atmosphere. Two plowings and two harrowings
in one week, will not do as much good as two plowings and two
harrowings, at diffr^rent times in the course of three or four months.
It is for this reason that I object, theoretically, to sowing wheat
after barley. We often plow the barley stubble twice, and spend
ci'isi'lerablc labor in getting the land into good condition ; but it
is generally all done in the course of ten days or two weeks. We
do not get any adequate benefit for this labor. We can kill weeds
readily at this season, (Aurust), Imt the stirring of the soil does
not develope the latent plant-food to the extent it would if the

36 TALKS ON MANURES.

work was not necessarily done in such a limited period. I say
theoreticully, for in point of fact I do sow wheat after barley. 1 do
so because it is very couvenieut, and because it is more immediately
profitable. I am satisfied, however, that in the end it would be
more profitable to seed down the barley with clover.

We must raise larger crops; and to do this we must raise tliem
less frequently. This is the key-note of the coming improved
system of American agriculture, in all sections where good land is
worth less than one hundred dollars per acre. In the neighborhood
of large cities, and wherever laud commands a high price, we must
keep our farms in a high state of fertii.'ty by the purchase of
manures or cattle foods. Those of us in the interior, where we
can not buy manure, must raise fewer grain crops, and more clover.
We must aim to raise 40 bushels of wheat, 50 bushels of barley, 80
bushels of oats, and 100 bushels of shelled corn, and 5 bushels of
clover-seed per acre. That this can be done on good, well-dr .ined
laud, from the unaided resources of the farm, I have no doubt. It
may give us no more grain to sell than at present, but it will enable
us to pro. luce much more mutton, wool, beef, cheese, butter, and
pork, tlian at present.

"But, then, will there be a demand for the meat, wool, etc.?"
Tlie present indications are higidy favorable. But we must aim
to raise good meat. The low-priced beef and mutton sold in our
markets are as unprofitable to the consumer as they are to the pro-
ducer. We must feed higher, and to do tliis to advantage we must
have improved stock. There is no profit in farming without good
tillage, larger crops, improved stock, and higlier feeding. Tiie de-
tails will be modified by circumstances, but the principles are the
same wherever agn-cidture is practised.

UOW TO KESTOUK A WUU>-OUT FARM. 37

C 11 A 1' T E R IX.
HOW TO RESTORE A WORN-OUT FARM.

I liave never yet seen a " woriiout " or " exhausted farm." I
know many farms that are " run down." 1 bougiit just such a
farm a dozen or more years ago, j.nd 1 have been trying hard, ever
since, to bring it up to aprotitauie standard of productiveness — and
am still trying, and expect to have to keep on trying so hmg as I
keep on fannuig. The trutli is, there never was a farm so rich,
that the farmer did not wish it was richer.

I have succeeded in making the hirger part of my farm much
more productive than it ever was before, sii.ce it was cleared from
the orijrinal forest. But it is far from being as rich as 1 want it.
The truth is, God sent us into this world to work, and lie has
given us plenty to do, if we will only do it. At any rate, this is
true of farming. He has not given us land ready to our hand.
The man who first cleared up my farm, had no easy task. lie
fairly earned all the good crops he ever got from it. I have never
begrudged him one particle of the " natural manure " he took out
of the land, in the fonu of wheat, corn, oats, and hay. On the
dry, sandy knolls, he i)robably got out a good portion of this
natural manure, but on the wetter and heavier portions of the farm,
he probably did not get out one-hundredth part of the natural
manure which the land contained.

Now, when such a farm came into my possession, what was I to
do with it ?

"Tell us what you did," said the Doctor, "and then, perhaps,
we can tell you what you ought to have done, and what you ought
to have left undone."

" I made many mistakes."

"Amen," said the Deacon; "T am glad to hear you acknowl-
edge it."

" Well," said the Doctor, "it is better to make mistakes in trying
to do something, than to hug our self-esteem, and fold our hands
in indolence. It has been said that critics are men who have failed
in their undertakings. But I rather think the most disagreeable,
and self-satisfied critics, are men who have i ever done anything,
or tried to do anythins-. themselves."

The Deacon, who, tliouch something of an old f'^gy, is a good
deal of a man, and possessed of good common sense, and much ex-

38 TALKS ON MANURES.

perience, took these remarks kindly. " Well," said he to me, "1
must say that your farm haseertainiy improveil, but you did things
80 ilillerenlly Irom what we expeeled, tiiat we eould i;ot see what
you were driviuj^ at."

" 1 eau tell you w hat I have been aiming at all along. 1st. To
drain the wet portions ol the arable laud. 2d. To kill weeds, and
make the soil mellow and clean. 3d. To make more manure."

" You have also bought some bone-dust, superphosphate, and
other artitieial manures."

"True; and it 1 had had more money I would have bought
more manure. It would have i»aid well. I eould have made my
It nd as rich as it is now in half the time."

1 had to depend principally on the natural resources of the land.
I got out of the soil all 1 coulil, and kept as much of it as possible
on the farm. One of the mistakes I made was, in breaking up too
much land, and putting in too much wheat, barley, oats, peas, and
corn. It would have been better for my pocket, though possibly
not so good for the farm, if I had left more of the land in grass,
and also, if 1 had sumim r-fallo\ved more, and sown less barley and
oats, anil j)lanted less corn.

" I do not see how plowing uj) the grass land," .said the Deacon,
"could possibly be any better for the farm. You agricultural
writers are always telling us that we plow too much land, and do
not raise grass and clover enough."

" What I meant by saying that it would have been better for my
pockot, though possibly not so good for the farm, if I had not
plowed so much land, may need explanation. The land had been
only half cultivated, and was very foul. The grass and clover
fields did not uive more than half a crop of hay, and the hay was
poor in quality, and much of it half thistles, and other weeds. I
plowed this land, planted it to corn, and cultivated it tlioroughly.
But the labor of keeping the corn clean was costly, and absorbed a
very large slice of the profits. But the corn yielded a far larger
produce per acre than I should have got had the land lain in grass.
And as all this produce was consumed on the farm, we made more
manure than if we had plowed less land."

I have great faith in the benefits of thorough tillage — or, in other
words, of breaking up. pulverizinir, and exposing the soil to the
decomposing action of the atmosphere. I look upon a good, strong
soil as a kind of storehouse of plant-food. But it is not an easy
matter to render tiiis plant-food soluble. If it were any less solu-
ble than it is, it would have all leached out of the land centuries
ago. Turning over, and fining a manure-heap, if other conditions

now To liliSTOUIi A WOUN-OUT FAI.'M. ii9

are favorald", cause rapid fenntntaliou with the funnatiou of cur-
boiiate of ainuionia, ami otlu r suliil)!. nails. ^lany of our soils, to
tlie lieptli oi ciijlit or ten iiieiu's, contain .nougii nitrojrenous mat
ter in an acrj lo produce two or tliree tiiousand pounds of ammonia.
By stirrins; tie st)il, and cxposinsi it to the atmosphere, a small
portion of this nitrogen becomes annually available, and is taken
up by \h2 growing crops. And it is so with the other cleme ts of
plant-food. Stirring the soil, then, is the basis of agriculture. It
has been said that we must return to the soil as much plan'-food
as we take fro... it. If this were true, nothing could be sold from
the farm. What we .should aim to do, is to develop as much as
possii)le()f the plant-food that lies latent in the soil, and not to sell
in (he form of cn)|is, cheese, wool, or animals, any more of this
plant food than we annually develop from the soil. In this way
the " condition " of the soil .vould ren.ain the same. If we sell
U-tg than we develop, the condition of the s .il will improve.

By " condition," I mean the amount of amilnhk plant-food in the
soil. Nearl}' all our farms arc poorer In plant-food to-day than
when lirst cleared of the original forest, or than they were ten,
fifteen, or twenty years later. In other words, the jdants and
animals that have been sold froni the farm, liavc carried off a con-
sitlerable amount of plant-food. V.'c have taken far more nitro-
gen, phosphoric acid, potash, etc., out of the soil, than we have
retunu'd to it in the shape of manure. Consecpiently, the soil must
contain less and less of plant food every year. And yet, while this
is a self-evident fact, it is, nevertheless, true that many of these
self-same farms arc more productive now than when first cleared,
or at any rate more productive than they were twenty-five or thirty
years ago.

Sometime ago, the Deacon and I "visited the farm of Mr. Dewey,
of Monroe Co.,N. Y. He is a good farmer. He does not practice
" liigii farming" in the sense in wliicli I use that term. Ilis is a
good example of what I term slow farming. He raises large crops,
but comparatively few of them. On his farm of HOO acres, he
raises 40 acres of wheat, 17 acres of Indian corn, and 23 acres of
oats, barley, potatoes, roots, etc. In other words, he has 80 acres
in crops, and 220 acres in grass— not permanent grass. He lets it
lie in grass five, six, dcven, or eight years, as he deems best, and
then breaks it up, and plants it to corn. The land he intends to
plant to corn next year, has been in grass for seven years. He
will put pretty much all his manure on this land. After corn, it
will ])(' sown to oats, or barley ; then sown to wheat, and seeded
down again. Il will tlii n li" in grass three, four, five, six, or seven

40 TALKS ON MANURES.

years, until he needs it again for corn, etc. This is " slow farm-
iflg," but it is also good farming — that is to say, it gives large
yields per acre, and a good return for the labor expended.

The soil of this farm is richer to-day in available plant-food than
when first cleared. It produces larger crops per acre.

Mr. D. called our attention to a fact that establishes this point.
An old fence that had occupied the ground for many years was
removed some years since, and the two fields thrown into one.
Every time this field is in crops, it is easy to see where the old
fence was, by the short straw and poor growth on this strip, aa
compared with the laud on each side which had been cultivated
for years.

This is precisely the result that I should have expected. If Mr.
D. was a poor farmer — if he cropped his land frequently, did not
more than half-cultivate it, sold everything he raised, and drew
back no manure — I think the old fence-strip would have given the
best crops.

The strip of land on which the old fence stood in Mr. Dewey's
field, contained more plant-food than the soil on either side of it.
But it was not available. It was not developed. It was latent,
inert, insoluble, crude, and undccomposed. It was so much dead
capital. The land on either side which had been cultivated for
years, produced better crops. Why ? Simply because the stirring
of the soil had developed more plant-food tban had been removed
by tbe crops. If the stirring of the soil developed 100 lbs. of plant-
food a year, and only 75 lbs. were carried off in the crops — 25 lbs.
being left on the land in the form of roots, stubble, etc. — the land,
at the expiration of 40 years, would contain, provided none of it
was lost, 1,000 lbs. more available plant-food than the uncultivated
strip. On the other hand, the latter would contain 3,000 lbs. more
actual plant-food per acre than the land which had been cultivated
— but it is m an unavailable condition. It is dead capital.

I do not know that I make myself understood, though I would
like to do so, because I am sure there is no point in s icntific farm-
ing of greater importance. Mr. Geddes calls grass the "pivotal
crop ' of American agriculture. He deserves our thanks for the
word and the idea connected with it. But I am inclined to think
the pivot on which our agriculture stands and rotates, lies deeper
than this. The grass crop creates nothing — dcvelopes nothing.
The uiitilled and unmanured grass lands of Herkimer County, in
this State, are no richer to-day than tliey were 50 years ago. The
pastures of Cheshire, England, except those that have been top-
dressed with bones, or other manures, arc no more productive that

HOW TO MAKE MANUKE. 41

they were centuries back. Grass aloue will not malie rich land.
It is a good " savings bank." It gathers up and saves plant-food
from running to waste. It pays a good interest, and is a capital
institution. But the real source of fertility must be looked for in
the stores of plant-food lying dormant in tJw soil. Tillage, under-
.iraining, and thorough cultivation, are the means by which we
develop and render this plant-food available. Grass, clover, peas,
or any other crop consumed on the farm, merely affords us the
means of saving this plant-food and making it pay a good interest.

CHAPTER X.
HOW TO MAKE MANURE.

If we have the necessary materials, it is not a difficult matter to
make manure ; in fact, the manure will make itself. We some-
times need to hasten the process, and to see that none of the fer-
tilizing matter runs to waste. This is about all that we can do.
We cannot create an atom of plant-food. It is ready formed to
our hands ; but we must know where to look for it, and how to
get it in the easiest, cheapest, and best way, and how to save and
use it. The science of manure-making is a profound study. It is
intimately connected with nearly every branch of agriculture.

If weeds grow and decay on the land, they make manure. If
vre grow a crop of buckwheat, or spurry, or mustard, or rape, or
clover, and mow it, and let it lie on the laud, it makes manure ; or
if we plow it under, it forms manure; or if, after it is mown, we
rake up the green crop, and put it i to a heap, it will ferment,
heat will be produced by the slow combustion of a portion of the
carbonaceous and nitrogenous matter, and the result will be a mass
of material, which we should all recognize as " manure." If, in-
stead of putting the crop into a heap and letting it ferment, we
feed it to animals, the digestible carbonaceous and nitrogenous
matter will be consumed to produce animal heat and to sustain
the vital functions, and the refuse, or the solid and liquid drop-
pings of the animals, will be manure.

If the crop rots on the ground, nothing is added to it. If it fer-
ments, and gives out heat, in a heap, nothing is added to it. If it

42 TALKS OX MANURES.

is passed through an animal, and produces heat, nothing is added
to it.

I have heard people say a farmer could not make manure unless
he kept animals. \V"e might with as much truth sa}' a farmer
cannot make ashes unless he keeps stoves; and it would be just
as sensible to take a lot of stoves into the woods to make ashes, as
it is to keep a lot of animals merely to make manure. You can
make the ashes by throwing the wood into a pile, and burning it;
and you can make the manure by throwing the material out of
which the manure is to be made into a pile, and letting it ferment.
On a farm where neither food nor manure of any kind is pur-
chased, the only way to make manure is to get it out of the land.

" From the land and from the atmosphere," remarked the Doc-
tor. " Pl;ints iret a large portion of the material of which they are
composed from the atmosphere."

" Yes," I replied, " but it is prineiiially carbonaceous matter,
wliicli is of little or no value as manure. A small amount of am-
monia and nitric acid are also brought to the soil by rains and
dews, and a freshly-stirrc-d soil may also sometimes absorb more
or less ammonia from the atmospliere; but while this is true, so
far as making manure is concerned, we must look to the plant-
food existing in the soil itself.

" Take such a farm as Mr. Dewey's, that we have already
referred to. No manure or food has been purchased ; or at any
rate, not one-tenth as much as has been sold, and yet the farm is
more productive to-day than when it was first cleared of the forest.
He lias developed the manure from the stores of latent plant-food
previously existing in the soil- and this is the way farmers gen-
erally make manure."

VALUK OP MANURE. 43

C U A r T E K XI.

THE VALUE OF MANURE DEPENDS ON THE FOOD-
NUT ON THE ANIMAL.

" If," said I, "you sliouUl put a ton of cut straw in a heap, wet it,
and let it rot down into manure, and should place in another heap
a ton of cut corn-fodder, and in another heap a ton of cut clover-
hay, wet them, and let them also rot down into manure; and in
another heap a ton of pulped-turnips, and in another heap a ton
of corn-meal, and in another heap a ton of bran, and in another a
ton of malt-sprouts, and let them be mixed with water, and so
treated that they will ferment without loss of ammonia or other
valuable plant-food, I think no one will say that all these different
heaps of manuie will iiave the same value. And if not, why not V "

" Because," said Charley, " the ton of straw does not contain as
much valuable jilant-food as the ton of corn-fodder, nor the ton of
corn-fodder as much as the ton of clover-ha}."

" Now then," said I, " instead of putting a ton of straw in one
heap to rot, and a ton of com-foddcr in another heap, and a ton of
clover in another heap, we feed the ton of straw to a cow, and the
ton of corn-fodder to another cow, and the ton of clover to anot'.ier
cow, and save all the solid anl liquid excrements, will the manure
made from the ton of straw be worth as much as the manure made
from the ton of corn-fodder or clover-hay ? "

" No," said Charley. — " Certainly not," said the Doctor. — " I am
not so sure about it," said the Deacon ; " I think you will get more
manure from the corn-fodder than from the straw or clover-hay."

" We are not talking about bulk," said the Doctor, "but value."
" Suppose, Deacon," said he, " you were to shut up a lot of your
Brahma hens, and feed them a ton of corn-meal, and should also
feed a ton of corn-meal made into slops to a lot of pigs, and should
save nil the liquid and solid cxcn ments from the pigs, and all the
manure from tlie hens, which would be worth the most ?"— " The
hen-manure, of course," said the Deacon, who has great faith in
this kind of " guano," as he calls it.

" And yet," said the Doctor, " you would probably not get more
than half a ton of manure from tlie hens, while the liquid and
solid excrements from the pigs, if the corn-meal was made into a
thin slop, would weigh two or three tons."

44 TALKS ON MANURES.

" More, too," said the Deacon, " the way you feed your store
pigs."

" Very well ; and yet you say that the half ton of hen-manure
made from a ton of corn is worth more than the two or three tons
of pig-manure made from a ton of corn. You do not seem to
think, after all, that mere bulk or weight adds anything to the
value of the manure. Why tlien should you say that the manure
from a ton of corn-fodder is worth more tlian from a ton of straw,
because it is more bulky ? "

" You, yourself," said the Deacon, " also say the manure from
the ton of corn-fodder is worth more than from the ton of
straw." — " True," said I " but not because it is more bulky. It is
worth more because the ton of corn-fodder contains a greater
quantity of valuable plant-food than the ton of straw. The clover
is still richer in this valuable plant-food, and the manure is much
more valuable ; in fact, the manure from the ton of clover is worth
as much as the manure from the ton of straw and the ton of corn-
fodder together."

" I would like to see you prove that," said the Deacon, " for if
it is true, I will sell no more clover-hay. I can't get as much for
clover-hay in the market as I can for rye-straw."

"I will not attempt to prove it at present," said the Doctor;
" but the evidence is so strong and so conclusive that no rational
man, who will study the subject, can fail to be thoroughly con-
vinced of its truth."

" The value of manure," said I, " does not depend on the quan-
tity of water which it contains, or on the quantity of sand, or
silica, or on the amount of woody fibre or carbonaceous matter.
These things add little or nothing to its fertilizing vakie, except in
rare cases ; and the sulphuric acid and lime are worth no more
than the same quantity of sulphate of lime or gypsum, and the
chlorine and soda are probably worth no more than so much com-
mon salt. Tiie real chemical value of the manure, other things
being equal, is in proportion to the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and
potash, that tiie manure contains.

"And the quantity of nitrogen, phosplioric acid, and potash
found in the manure is determined, other things being equal, by
the quantity of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash contained
in the food consumed by the animals making the manure."

POODS AVHicu Make uicii manure.

45

CHAPTER XII.
FOODS WHICH MAKE RICH MANURE.

The amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, contained
in difTerent foods, has been accurately' determined by many able
and reliable chemists.

The follow nig table was prepared by Dr. J. B. Lawes, of Roth-
amsted, England, and was lirst published in this country in the
" Genesee Farmer," for May, 1860. Since then, it has been re-
peatedly published in nearly all the leading agriculturcd journals
of the world, and has given rise to much discussion. The follow-
ing is the table, with some recent additions :

PER CENT.

Linseed cake 88.0

Cotton-seed cake*.. . . 89.0

Rape-cake 89.0

Linseed 90.0

Beans 81.0

Peas 84.5

Tares 84.0

Lentils 88.0

Malt-dust 94.0

Locust beans 85.0

Indian-meal i 88.0

Wheat 85.0

Barley 84.0

Malt ; 95.0

Oats t 86.0

Fine pollard t '. 8().0

Coarse pollard t 8(i.0

VVheat-br.au 86.0

Clover-ha? 84.0

84.0
82.5
82.0
84.0

Meadow-hay

Bean-straw . .

Pea-straw...

Wheat-straw

Barley-straw '< 8.5 0

Oat-straw i Ki 0

12.5
11.0
8.0

13.5
15.0

Mancjel-wurzel .
Swedish turnips..
Common turuips

Potatoes

Carrots

Parsnips

^."^

7.00

4.92

8.00

7.00

8. CO

5.75

4.00

3 38

.3.00

2.20

2.40

1.84

2.00

1.63

.3.00

1.89

8.50

5.23

1.75

1..30

1.13

1.70

1 87

2.20

1..35

2.00

1.60

2.85

1.17

5.<i0

6.44

6.20

7.52

6.60

7.95

7.50

1.25

6.00

0.88

5.. 55

0.90

5.95

0.85

5.00

0.55

4 50

0.37

5.. 50

0.48

1.00

0.09

.68

0.13

.68

O.Il

1.00

0.32

.70

0.13

1.00

0.42

1.65
3.12
1.76
1.37
1.27
0.96
0.66
0.96
2.12

o.m

0.50
0..55
0.65
0.50
1.4(5
1.49
1.45
1.30
1.50
1.11
0.89
0.65
0.63
0.93
0.25
O.IS
0.29
0.43
0.23
0.36

4.75
6.50
5.00
3.80
4.00
3.40
4.20
4.30
4.20
1.25
1.80
1.80
1.65
1.70
2.00
2.60
2.58
2.55
2.50
1.50
0.90

oieo

0..50
0.60
0.25
0.22
0.18
0..35
0.20
0.22

19.72
27.86
21.01
15.65
15.75
13.38
16.75
16.51
18.21
4.81
6.65
7.08
6.32
6.65
7.70
13.. 53
14.. 36
14.59
9.64
6.4:5
3.87
3.74
^.(i8
2.25
2.90
1.07
91
.86
1..50
.80
1.14

* The manure from a ton of undecorticated cottonseed cake is worth $15.74;
that from a ton of cotton-seed, after being ground and sifted, is worth $13.25.
The grinding and sifting, in Mr. Lawes' experiments, removed about 8 percent

of husk and cotton
economical food.

Cotton-seed, so treated, proved to be a very rich and
t Middlings, Canielle. % Shipstuff.

46 TALKS OX MANURES.

Of all vegetable substances used fcjr fcxxl, it will be seen tliut
decorticated cotton-seed cake is the ricliest in nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, and potash, and consequently makes the richest and
most valuable manure. According to Mr. Lawes' estimate, the
manure from a ton of decorticated cotton-seed cake is worth $27.86
in gold.

Rape-cake comes next. Twenty-five to thirty years ago, rape-
cake, ground as line as corn-meal, was used quite extensively on
many of the light-land farms of England as a manure for turnips,
and not unfrequcntly as a manure for wheat. Mr. Lawes used it
for many years in his experiments on turnips and on wheat.

Of late years, however, it has been fed to sheep and cattle. In
other words, it has been used, not as formerly, for manure alone,
but for food first, and manure afterwards. The oil and other car-
bonaceous matter which the cake contains is of little value for
manure, while it is of great value as food. The animals take out
this carbonaceous matter, and leave nearly all the nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, and potash in the manure. Farmers who had found
it profitable to use on wheat and turnips for m.nure alone, found
it still more profitable to use it first for food, and then for manure
afterwards. Mr. Lawes, it will be seen, estimates the manure pro-
duced from the consumption of a ton of rape-cake at $21.01.

Linseed-oil cake comes next. Pure linseed-cake is exceedingly
valuable, both for food and manure. It is a favorite food with
all cattle and sheep breeders and feeders. It has a wonderful
effect in improving the appearance of cattle and sheep. An Eng-
lish farmer thinks he cannot get along without "cake" for his
calves, lambs, cattle, and sheep. In this country, it is not so ex-
tensivel}' used, except by the breeders of improved stock. It is so
popular in England that the price is fully up to its intrinsic value,
and not tmfrcquently other foods, in proparti(m to the nutritive
and manurial value, can be bought cheaper. This fact shows the
value of a good reputation. Linseed-cake, however, is often adul-
terated, and farmers need to be cautious who they deal with.
When pure, it will be seen that the manure made by the consump-
tion of a ton of linsced-cakc is worth f|>19.72.

Malt (lust stands next on the list. This article is known by dif-
ferent names. In England, it is often called " malt-combs ;" here
it is known as "malt-sprw/fo," or " malt-/vwfo." In making barley
into malt, the barley is soaked in water, and afterwards kept in a
warm room until it germinates, and throws out sprouts and roots.
It is then dried, and before the malt is used, these dried sprouts
and roots are sifted out, and are sold for cattle-food. They weigh

\

FOODS WUICU MAKE RICH MANUKK. 47

from 22 to 25 lbs. per bushel of 40 quarls. They are frequently
mixed at the breweries with the " grains," and are sold to milkmen
at the same priee — from 12 to 15 eents per bushel. Where their
value is not known, they ean, doubtless, be sometimes obtaiueil at
a mere nominal price. Milkmen, 1 believe, prefer the " grains" to
the malt-dust. The latter, however, is a good food for sheep. It
has one advantage over brewer's " grains." The latter contain 76
per cent of water, while the malt-dust contains only 6 per cent of
water. We can afford, therefore, to transport malt-dust to a
greater distance than the grains. We do not want to carry water
many miles. There is anotlier ailvantage : brewer's grains soon
ferment, and become sour; wliile the malt-dust, being dr}% will
keep for any length of time. It will be seen that Mi. Lawes esti-
mates the value of the manure left from the consumption of a ton
of malt-dust at $18.21.

Tares or vetches, lentils, linseed or fla.xseed, beans, wheat, bran,
middlings, fine mill-feel, undecorticated cotton-seed cake, peas,
and cotton-SL'cd, stand next on the list. The value of these for
manure ranging from $13.25 to $10.75 per ton.

Then comes clover-hay. Mr. Lawes estimates the value of the
manure from the consumptic^n of a ton of clover-hay at $9.64.
This is from early cut clover-hay.

When clover is allowed to grow until it is nearly out of flower,
the hay would not contain so much nitrogen, and would not be
worth quite so much ptr ton for manure. When mixed with
timothy or other grasses, or with weeds, it would not be so valu-
able. The above estimate is for the average quality of good pure
English clover-hay. Our best farmers raise clover equally as
good ; but I have seen much clover-hay that certainly would not
come up to this standard. Still, even our common clover-hay
makes rich manure. In Wolff's Table, given in the appendix, it
will be seen that clover-hay contains only 1.97 per cent of nitro-
gen and 5.7 per cent of ash. Mr. Lawes' clover contains more
nitrogen and ash. This means richer land and a less mature con-
dition of the crop.

The cereal grains, wheat, barley, oats, and Indian corn, stand
next on the list, being worth from $6.32 to $7.70 per ton for
manure.

" Meadow-hay," which in the table is estimated as worth $6.43
per ton for manure, is the hay from permanent meadows. It is a
quite diff"erent article from the " English Meadow-hay " of New
England. It is, in fact, the perfection of hny. The meadows are fre-
quentlj- top-dressed with composted manure or artificial fertilizers,

48 TALKS ON MANURES.

aud the hay is composed of a number of the best grasses, cut early
and carefully cured. It will be noticed, however, that even this
choice meadow-hay is not as valuable for manure as clover-hay.

English bean-straw is estimated as worth $3.87 per ton for
manure. The English " horse bean," which is the kind here
alluded to, has a very stiff, coarse long straw, and looks as though
it was much inferior as fodder, to the straw of our ordinary white
beans. See Wolff's table in the appendix.

Pea-straw is estimated at $3. 74 per ton. When the peas are not al-
lowed to grow until dead ripe, and when the straw is carefully cured,
it makes capital food for sheep. Taking the grain and straw
together, it will be seen that peas are an unusually valuable crop to
grow for the purpose of making rich manure.

The straw of oats, wheat, and barley, is worth from $2.25 to $2.90
per ton. Barley straw being the poorest for manure, and oat straw
the richest.

Potatoes are worth $1.50 per ton, or nearly 5 cents a bushel for
manure.

The manurial value of roots varies from 80 cents a ton for
carrots, to $1.07 for mangel-wurzel, and $1.14 for parsnips.

I am very anxious t'jat there should be no misapprehension as
to the meaning of these figures. I am sure they are well worth
the careful study of every intelligent farmer. Mr. Lawes has been
engaged in making experiments for over thirty years. There is no
man more competent to speak with authority on such a subject.
The figures showing the money value of the manure made from
the different foods, are based on the amount of nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, and potash, which they contain. Mr. Lawes has been
buying and using artificial manures for many j'ears, and is quite
competent to form a correct conclusion as to the cheapest sources
of obtaining nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. He has cer-
tainly not overestimated their cost. Thoy can not be bought at
lower rates, either in England or America. But of course it does
not follow from this that these manures are worth to the farmer
the price charged for them; that is a matter depending on many
conditions. All that can be said is, that if you are going to buy
commercial manures, you will have to pay at least as much for the
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as the price fixed upon by
Mr. Lawes. And you should recollect that there are other in-
gredients in the manure ob'ained from the food of animals, which
are not estimated as of any value in the table. For instance, there
is a large amount of carbonaceous matter in the manure of animals,

FOODS WHICH MAKE RICH MANUKE. 49

which, for some crops, is uot without value, but which is not here
taken into account.

Viewed from a farmer's stand-point, the table of money values
must be takeu only in a comparative sense. It is not claimed that
the manure from a ton of wheat-straw is worth $2.G8. Tiiis may,
or may not, be the case. But if the manure from a ton of wheat-
straw is worth $2.08, theu the manure from a ton of pea-straw is
worth $13.74, and the manure from a tun of corn-meal is worth
$6.05, and the manure from a ton of clover-hay is worth $9.04,
an.l the manure from a ton of wheat-bran is worth $14.59. If the
manure from u. ton of corn meal is not worth $0.05, then the
manure from a ton of bran is not worth $14.59. If the manure
from the ton of corn is worth more than $().G5, then the manure
from a ton of bran is worth more than $14.59. There need be no
doubt on this point.

Settle in your own mind what the manure from a ton of any one
of the foods mentioned is worth on jour farm, and you can easily
calculate what the manure is worth froai all the others. If you
say that the manure from a ton of wheat-straw is worth $1.84, then
the manure from a ton of Indian corn is worth $;3.33, and the
manure from a ton of bran is worth $7.30, and the manure from a
ton of clover-hay is worth $4.82.

In this section, however, few good farmers are willing to sell
Btraw, though t'-iey can get from $8.00 to $10.00 per ton for it.
They think it must be consumed on the farm, or used for bedding,
or their land will run down. I do not say they are wrong, but I
do say, that if a ton of straw is worth $2.68 for manure alone, then
a ton of clover-hay is worth $9.64 for manure alone. This may
be accepted as a general truth, and one which a farmer can act
upon. And so, too, in regard to the value of corn-meal, bran, and
all the other articles criven in the table.

There is another point of great importance which should be men-
tioned in this connection. The nitrogen in the better class of
foods is worth more for manure than the nitrogen in straw, corn-
stalks, and other coarse fodder. Nearly all the nitrogen in grain,
and other rich foods, is digested by the animals, and is voided in
solution in the urine. In other words, the nitrogen in the manure
is in an active and available condition. On the other hand, only
about half the nitrogen in the coarse fodders and straw is digesti-
ble. The other half passes off in a crude and comparatively un-
available condition, in the solid excrement. In estimating the value
of the manure from a ton of food, these facts should be remembered.
3

50 TALKS ON MANLKES.

I have said that if the manure from a ton of straw is worth $2.G8,
the niamue from a ton of corn is worth $G.G5 ; hut I will not reverse
the i)rui)o8ilioii, and say that if the manure from a ton of corn is
wortli $0.05, the manure from a ton of straw is worth $2.G8. The
manure from the grain is nearly all in an availahle condition, while
tliat from the straw is not. A pound of nitrogen in rich manure
is wortli more than a pound of nitrogen in poor manure. This is
another reason why we should try to make rich manure.

C H A P T E 11 XIII.
HORSE MANURE AND FARM-YARD MANURE.

The manure from horses is generally considered richer and hetier
than that from cows. This is not always the case, though it is
probahly so as a rule. There arc three principal reasons for this.
1st. The horse is usually fed more grain and hay than the cow.
In other words, the food of the horse is usually richer in the val-
uable elements of plant-food than the ordinary food of the cow.
3d. The milk of the cow abstracts considerable nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, etc., from the food, and to this extent there is less of
these valuable substances in the excrements. 3d. The excrements
of the cow contain much more water than those of the horse. And
consequently a ton of cow-dung, other things being equal, would
not con'ain as much actual manure as a ton of horse-dung.

Boussingauit, who is eminently trustworthy, gives us the follow-
ing interesting facts :

A horse consumed in 24 hours, 20 lbs. of hay, 6 lbs. of oats, and
43 lbs. of water, and voided during the same period, 3 lbs. 7 ozs.
of urine, and 38 lbs. 2 ozs. of stolid excrements.

The solid excrements contained 23^ lbs. of wa er, and the urine
2 lbs. 6 ozs. of water.

According to this, a horse, eating 20 lbs. of hay, and 6 lbs. of oats,
per day, voids in a year nearly seven tons of solid excrements, and
1,255 lbs. of urine.

It would seem that there must have been some mistake in col-
lecting the urine, or what was probably the case, that some of it
must have been absorbed by the dung ; for 3^ pints of urine per
day is certainly much less than is usually voided by a horse.

BOBSB MANUKE AND FARM-YARD MANURE. 51

Stockard gives the amount of urine voided by a horse in a year
ai 3.000 lbs. ; a cow, 8,000 lbs. ; sheep, ;W0 lbs. ; pig, 1,200 lbs.

Dr. Vuileker, at the liuyal Agrieultural College, at Cirencester,
England, made some valualile investigations in regard to the com-
position of farm-yard manure, and the changes which take place
during fermentation.

The manure was composed of horse, cow, and pig dung, mixed
with the straw used for bedding in tbe stalls, pig-pens, sheds, etc

On the 3d of November, 1854, a sample of what Dr. Voelckei
calls " Fresh Long Dung," was taken from the " manure-pit " foi
anal}'sis. It had Iain in the pit or heap about 14 days.

The following is the result of the an:dysis :

FRESH FARM-YARD M.VNURE.

HALF A TON, OK 1,000 I,1«S.

Water 661.7 lbs.

Organic matter 2s'2.4 "

Ash 55.9 "

1,0(W).0 lbs.
Nitrogen 6.43 "

" Before you go any farther," said the Deacon, " let me under-
stand what these figures mean ? Do you mean that a ton of
manure contains only 12J lbs. of nitrogen, and 111 lbs. of ash, and
that all the rest is carbonaceous matter and water, of little or no
value " ? — " That is it precisely. Deacon," said I, " and further-
more, a large part of the ash has very little fertilizing value, as
will be seen from the following :

DETAILED COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF FRESH BARN-TARD MANUBB.

Soluble silica 21..59

Insoluble silicious matter (sand) 10.04

Phosphate of lime 5.35

Oxide of iron, alumina, with phosphate 8.47

Containing phospheric acid 3.18

Lime 21.31

Magnesia 376

Potash 12104

Soda 1.30

Chloride of sodium 0.54

Sulphuric acid I.49

Carbonic acid and loss *. .". 15.11

100.00
Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, are the most valuable in-
gredients in manure. It will be seen that a ton of fresh barn-yard
manure, of probabiy good average quality, contains:

Nitrosren 12} lbs.

- Phosphoric acid 6i "

Potash 13i '«

52 TALKS ON MANURES.

I do not say that these arc tlie only ingredients of any value in
a ton of manure. Nearly all the other ingredients are indispen-
sable to the growth of plants, and if we shouKl use manures con-
taining nothing but nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, the
time would come when the crops would fail, from lack of a
sufficient quantity of, perhaps, magnesia, or lime, sulphuric acid, or
soluble silica, or iron. But it is not necessary to make provision
for such a conting^'ncy. I' would be a very exceptional case.
Farmers who depend mainly on barn-yard manure, or on plowing
under green crops for keejjiug up the fertility of the land, may
safely calculate that the value of the manure is in proportion to
the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, it contains.

We draw out a ton of fresh manure and spread it on the land,
therefore, in order to furnish the growing crops with 12f lbs. of
nitrogen, Gi los. of phosphoric acid, and 13J lbs. of potash.
Less than 33 lbs. in all !

We cannot dispense with farm-yard manure. We can seldom
buy nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as cheaply as we can
get them in home-made manures. But we should clearly under-
stand the fact that we draw out 2,000 lbs. of matter in order to
get 33 lbs. of these fertilizing ingredients. We should try to
iruike rirfwr manvrc. A ton of manure containing GO lbs. of
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, costs no more to draw out
and spread, than a ton containing only 30 lbs., and it would be
worth nearly or quite double the money.

How to make richer manure we will not discuss at this time. It
is a question of food. But It is worth while to enquire if we can
not take such manure as we have, and reduce its weight and bulk
■without losing any of its nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash.

CHAPTEE XIV.

FERMENTING [MANURE.

Dr. VoRlcker placed 2,838 lbs. of fresh mi.xed manure in a heap
Nov. 3, 1854, and the next spring, April 30, it weighed 2,020 lbs.,
a shrinkage in weight of 28.6 per cent. In other words 100 tons
of sach manure wouM bo reduced to less than 7U tons.

Tlie heap was weig^ied again, August 231, and contained 1,994
lbs. It was again weighed Nov. 15, and contained 1,974 lbs

FERMENTING MANUKE.

53

The following tabic shows the composition of the heap when
first put up, and also at the three subsequent periods:

TAULK SUOWINU COMPOSITION OF THE WHOLE HEAP ; FRESH FARM-TARD MANTRE
(NO. I.; EXPOSED— EXPRESSED IN 13S.

Wlien put
vp iVOf.
3, 1854.

April 30.
1855.

Weij;ht of manure iu lbs

Aint. of water in llic manure

Anit. of dry matter in llie manure

Consisting of —

Soluble ori^anic matter f

SohiDle mineral matter J

Insoluble oru'anic matter J

Insoluble mineral matter (_

Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

ContainiD'.,' nitrogen

Equal lo ammonia

Total amount of nitrojjen in manure.
Equal to ammonia

The manure contains ammonia ic
free state ....

The manure contains ammonia in
form oi salts, easily decomposed by
quicklime

Total amount of organic matters. . .

Total amount of mineral matters. . .

2,838

1.877.0
%0.1

70.38
43.71
731.07
114.94

2,026

1.336.1
089.9

86.51

57.88

3S9.74

155.77

960.1

4.22

5 12

14.01

17.02

18.23
22.14

2.49
801.45
15S.15

689.9.

6.07

7.-37

12.07

14.65

Aug. 23,

1855.

1,994

1,505.3

488.7

5S.S3

39.16

243.22

147.49

488.7

3.76
4.56
9.38
11.40

Nov. 15,
1855.

1,974

1,466 5
507.5

54.04
:».89
214.92
201.65

507.5

3.65
4. .36
9..38
11.39

18.14
32.02

.15

1.71
476.25
213.65

13.14
15.96

.20

.75
302.05
186.65

13.03
15.75

268.96
2.38.54

" It will be remarked," says Dr. Voelcker, " that in the first ex-
periraental period, the fermcnlation of the dung, as might have
been expected, proceeded most rapidly, but that, notwithstanduig,
very little nitrogen was dissipated in the form of volatile ammonia ;
and that on the whole, the loss which the manure sustained was
inconsiderable when compared with the enormous waste to which
it was subject in the subsequent warmer and more rainy seasons of
the year. Thus we find at the end of April very nearly the same
amount of nitrogen which is contained in the fresh ; whereas, at
the end of August, 27 0 per cent of the total nitrogen, or nearly
one-third of the nitrogen in the manure, has been wasted in one
way or the other.

" It is worthy of observation," continues Dr. Voelcker, " that,
during a well-regulated fermentation of dung, the loss in
intrinsically valuable constituents is inconsiderable, and that in
such a preparatory process the effic icy oj the munnre becomes greatly
enhanced. For certain purposes fresh dung can never take the

54

TALKS ON MANURES.

place of well-rotted duns:. * * Tlic farmer will, therefore, al-
ways be compelled to submit a portion of home-made dung to
fermentation, and will find satisfaction in knowing that this pro-
cess, when well regulated, is not attended with any serious de-
preciation of the value of the manure. In tlie foregjing analyses
he will find the direct proof that as long as heavy showers of rain
are excluded from manure-heaps, or the manure is kept in water-
proof pits, the most valuable fertilizing matters are preserved."

This experiment of Dr. Voelcker pnnes conclusively that manure
can be kept in a rapid state of fermentation for six montlis during
winter, with little loss of nitrogen or other fertilizing matter.

During fermentation a portion of the insoluble matter of the
dung becomes soluble, and if tiie manure is then kept in a heap
exposed to rain, there is a great loss of fertilizing matter. This is
precisely what we sliould expect. We ferment manure to make it
more readily available as plant-food, and when we have attained
our object, the manure should be applied to tlie land. We keep
winter appk's in the cell.ir until they get ripe. As soon as they are
ripe, they sliould be eaten, or thry will rapidly decay. This is well
understood. And it should be equally well known that manure,
after it has been fermenting in a heap for six mcmths, cannot safely
be kept for another six montlis exposed to the weather.

Tlie following table s'lows the composition of 100 lbs. of the
farm-yard manure, at different periods of the year :

COMPOSITION OP 100 LBS. OP PI5ESH PAHM-YARD MANTHE (NO. I.) EXPOSED IN
NATURAL STATE, AT DIPPERKNT PERIODS OP THE YEAB.

Whenput
up. Nod.
3, lS.-)4.

Ffh 1-1,1 /t/w. 30.
ia").5. 1855.

Anq.^.\Nm. 15,
18.55. 18.55.

Water

Soliil)!e orsanic matter

Soluble inorganic inalter. .
Insoluble ori^aiiic mutter. .
Insoluble mineral matter..

Coiitaininij nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Total amount of nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Ammonia in a free state

Ammonia in form of salts easily de-
composed by quicklime

Total amt. of oriranic m.itter

Total amt. of miner.il substances..

(■,(!. 17
a-is
l.-5t

!J5.7C.
4.05

100.0!)
.149
.181
.494
..599
.r>43
.7H0
.0.34

.088
28.21
5..59

69.8.3
3.S«
2.97

18.44
4.90

100.00
.27
.3!
.47
..57
.74
.89
.019

.Ofil
2-).3')

7.87

65.95
4.27
2.86

19.23
7.69

75.49
2.95
1.97

12.20
7..39

74 29
2.74

1.87
10.89
10.21

100.00
..30
..%
.59
.71
.89
l.t)7
.008

.085
23.. 50
10..55

100.00
.19
.23
.47
.(!2
.06
.R5
.010

100.00
.18
.21
.47
..57
.r)5
.78
.(KMJ

.038' on
15.15 I r.r..3

9 3'i 1-'0<

It will be seen that two-thirds of the fresh manure is water.
After fermenting in an exposed heap for six mtrnths, it still cou'

FERMENTING MANUKE.

55

tains about tlic same percentage of water. When ki'j)t in tlit; licap
until Aui^usl, the pcrcoulagL' of water is nuicli greater. Uf four
tons of such manure, tliree tons arc water.

Of Nitrogt n, tlie most valuable inj^reilient of the manure, the
fresh dung, contained U.G-4 per cent ; after fermenting six mouths, it
contained 0.89 per cent. Six months later, it contained 0.65 per
cent, or about the same amount as the fresh manure.

Of mineral matter, or ash, this fresh farm-yard mauure con-
tained 5.59 per cent ; of which 1.54 was soluble in water, and 4.05
insoluble. After fermentini,^ in the heap for six months, the ma-
nure contained 10.55 per cent of ash, of which 2.80 was sohiljle,
and 7.GU insoluble. Six mouths later, the soluble ash had de-
creased to 1.97 per cent.

The following table shows the composition of the manure, at
ditFereut periods, in the dry st ite. In other words, supposing all
the water to be removed from the manure, its composition would
be as follows :

COMPOSITION OP PRESH FARM YARD MANURE (NO. I.) EXPOSED. CALCULATED DRY.

Wlienpul Feb. April ; Aug.
vp. Aov.l 14, ' .JU, 23,
3, 18.>1. law. I 1855. I 1855.

Nov.

15,

1855.

Soluble organic matter. . .
Soluble inorganic matter.
Insoluble organic matter.
Insoluble mineral matter.

T..33

4.55

76.15

ll.!)7

12.79

12..'>4

12.04

10.65

9.84

8.3i»

8.03

7.27

61.13

56.49

4II.77

42.35

16.25

22.58

30.10

39.73

Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Total amount of nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Ammonia in free etato

Ammonia in form of salts easily decom-
posed by quicklime

Total amount of organic matter

Total amount of mineral substances . .

100.00

100.00

100.00

.44

.91

.88

..53

1.10

1.06

].!6

1.55

1.75

1.77

1.08

2.12

1.00

2.46

2.(S

2.30

2.98

3.18

.10

.062

.02:3

.26

.212

240

83.48

73.01

60.05

16.52

26.09

30.97

100.00

.77
.93
1.92
2.33
2.00
3.26
.041

.1.54
61.81
38.19

100.00

.72
.88
1.85
2.24
2.57
3.12
.023

.159
53.00
47.00

" A comparison of these different analyses," says Dr. Voekker,
" points out clearly the changes which fresh farm-yard manure un-
dergoes on keeping in a heap, exposed to the influence of the
weather during a period of twelve months and twelve days.

" 1. It will be perceived that the proportion of organic matter
steadily diminishes from month to month, until the original per-
centage of organic matter in the dry manure, amounting to 83.48
per cent, becomes reduced to 53 per cent.

"2 On the other hand, the total percentage of mineral matter
rises as steadily as that of the organic matter falls.

56 TALKS ON MANUEES.

" 3. It will be seen that the loss in organic matter affects the
percentage of insoluble organic matters more than the percentage
of soluble organic substances.

*' 4. The percentage of soluble organic matters, indeed, increased
considerably during the tirst experimental period ; it rose, namely,
from 7.33 per cent to 12.79 per cent. Examined again on the 30th
of April, very nearly the same percentage of soluble organic matter,
as on February the 14th, was found. The August analysis shows
but a slight decrease in the percentage of soluble f>rganic matters,
while there is a decrease of 2 per cent of soluble organic matt( rs
when the November analysis is compared with the February' an-
alysis.

" 5. The soluble mineral matters in this manure rise or fall in
the different experimental periods in the same order as the soluble
organic matters. Thus, in February, 9.84 per cent of soluble
mineral matters were found, whilst the manure contained only 4.55
per cent, when put up into a heap in November, 1854. Gradually,
however, the proportion of soluble mineral matters again dimm-
ished, and became reduced to 7.27 per cent, on the examination of
the manure in November, 1855.

" 6. A similar regularity will be observed in the percentage of
nitrogen contained in the soluble organic matters.

" In the insoluble organic matters, the percentage of nitrogen
regularly increased from November, 1854, up to the 23d of Au-
gust, notwithstanding the rapid diminution of the percentage of
insoluble organic matter. For the last experimental period, the
percentage of nitrogen in the insoluble matter is nearly the same
as on August 23d.

" 8. "With respect to the total percentage of nitrogen in the fresh
manure, examined at different periods of the year, it will be seen
that the February manure contains about one-half per cent more
of nitrogen than the manure in a perfectly fresh state. On the
30th of April, the percentage of nitrogen again slightly increased ;
on A.ugust 23d, it remained stationary, and had sunk but very lit-
tle when last examined on the loth of November, 1855.

" This series of analyses thus shows that fresh farm-yard manure
rapidly becomes more soluble in water, but that this desirable
change is realized at the expense of a large proportion of organic
matters. It likewise proves, in an unmistakable manner, that
there is no advantage in keeping farm-yard manure for too long a
period ; for, after February, neither the percentage of soluble or-
ganic, nor that of soluble mineral matter, has become greater,

PERMEJmNG MANURE.

57

and the percentage of nitrogen in the mauuru of April and August
is only u very liltle higher than in February."

"Before you go any further," said the Deacon, " answer me
this question : Suppose 1 take five tons of farm-yard manure, and put
it in a heap on the od of November, tell me, 1st, what that heap
will contain when tirst made; 2d, what the heap will contain
April 30th ; and, 31, what the heap will contain August 23d."

Here is the table :

CONTENTS OP A HEAP OP MANURE AT DIPPERENT PERIODS, EXPOSED TO RAIK, BTO.

I When put
up, Sov.
' 3.

Total wfiarht of manure in heap I lO.Oi'H)

Wat'T in the heap of manure. .

Tutal organic matter

Total inori.'anic matter

Total nitro'ca in heap

Total soluble organic matter. . .
Total insoluble organic matter

Soluble mineral matter

Insoluble mineral matter

Nitrogen in soluble matter

Nitrogen in insoluble matter. . .

6.617
2,824

mi

64.3

^48
2..576

154

40.5
14.9
49.4

April 30.

Aug. 23.

'tarn

7.025

4.707

o.*)4

1,678

1,04

75:^

6.57

6:3.9

46.3

30.5

207

1,373

857

204

138

549

519

21.4

13.2

42.5

33.1

Nov. 15.

The Deacon put on his spectacles and studied the above table
carefully for some time. " That tells the whole storv," said he
" you put five tons of fresh manure in a heap, it ferments and o-ets
warm, and nearlj' one ton of water is driven off" by the heat."

" Yes," said the Doctor, "you see that over half a ton (1,146 lbs.)
of dry organic matter has been slowly burnt up in the heap; giv-
ing out as much heat as lialf a ton of coal burnt in a stove. But
this is not all. The manure is cooked, and steamed, and softened
by the process. The organic matter burnt up is of no value.
There is little or no loss of nitrogen. The heap contained 64.3 lbs.
of nitrogen when put up, and 63.9 lbs. after fe menting six months.
Aud it is evident that the manure is in a much more active and
available condition than if it had been applied to the land in the
fresh state. There was 14.9 lbs. of nitrogen in a soluble condition
in the fresh manure, and 21.4 lbs. in the fermented manure. And
what is equally important, you will notice that there is 154 lbs. of
soluble ash in the heap of fresh manure, ami 204 ll)s. in the heap
of fermented manure. In other words, 50 lbs. of the insoluble
mineral matter had, by the fermentation of the manure, been ren-
dered soluble, and consequently immediately available as plant-
food. This is a very important fact."

The Doctor is riglit. There is clearly a great advantage in fer-
menting manure, provided it is done in such a manner as to pre-

58 TALKS ON MANURES.

vent loss. We have uot only less maiuiro to draw out and spread,
but the plant-food which it contains, is more soluble and active.
The table we have given shows that there is little or no loss of
valuable constituents, even when manure is fermented in the open
air and exposed to ordinary rain and snows during an English
winter. But it also shows tliat when the manure has been fer-
mented for six months, and is then turned and left exposed to the
rain of spring and summer, the loss is very considerable.

The five tons (10,000 lbs.,) of fresh manure placed in a heap on
the 8d of November, are reduced to 7,138 lbs. by the aoth of April.
Of this 4,707 lbs. is water. By the 2ad of August, the heap is re-
duced to 7,025 lbs., of which 5,804 lbs. is water. There is nearly
600 lbs. more water in the heap in August than in April.

Of total nitrogen in the heap, there is 64.;} lbs. in the fresh
manure, 6;}. 9 lbs. in April, and only 46.3 lbs. in August. This is a
great loss, and there is no (compensating gain.

We have seen that, when five tons of manure is fermented for six
months, in winter, the nitrogen in the soluble organic matter is
increased from 14.9 lbs. to 21.4 lbs. This is a decided advantage
But when the manure is kept for another six months, this soluble
nitrogen is decreased from 21.4 lbs. to 13.2 ll-.s. We lose over 8
lbs. of the mopt active and availa])le nitrogen.

And the same remarks will apply to the valuable soluble mineral
matter. In the five tons of fresh manure there is 154 Ib.s. of soluble
mineral matter. By fermenting the heap six months, we get 204
lbs., but by keeping the manure six months longer, the soluble
mineral matter is reduced to 138 lbs. We lose 66 lbs. of valu-
able soluble mineral matter.

By fermenting manure for six months in winter, we greatly im-
prove its condition; by keepin^r it six months longer, we lose
largely of the very best and most active parts of the manure.

H.KBP1NU MANUBE UNDER COVSB.

59

CHAPTER XV.

KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER

Dr. Voekker, at the same time he made the experiments alluded
to in the preceding chapter, plaeed anollar heap of manure under
cover, in a shed. It was tlie same kind of manure, and was treated
precisely as tlie other— the only difference heiriirthat one heap was
exposed to the rain, and tiie other not. Tlie following tahle i^ivcs
the results <jf the weighings of the heap at ditferent times, and also
the percentage of loss :

MANURE FERMENTED UNDER COVER IN SHED.

TABLE SnoWINti THE ACTUAL WEIOIUNGS, AND TERCESTAGE OF LOSS IN WEIGHT,

or EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FARMYARD MANURE CNDEB

8HED, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR.

WtXf/hl

of
Manure
ill Lb.'i.

£o.w ill

Ot-ifjiiuU

weifiht

in Lba.

PerceiA
age of
Loss.

3,258
1,613
1,297
1,235

1,645
1,961
2,023

Weighed <in the i'\\\i of April, ISoo, or after a lapse

of 6 months

Weighed on the i!d of August, 1855, or after a lapse

50.4
60.0

Weighed on the 15th of Xovember, 185.^, or after a
lapse of 12 months and lidays

62.1

It will be seen that 100 tons of manure, kept in a heap under
cover for six months, would be reduced to 49.6-tO tons. Whereas,
•when the same manure was fermented for the same length of time
in the open air, the 100 tons was reduced to only 71.4-10 tons.
The difference is due ])rincipa]ly to the fact that the heap exposed
contained more water, derived from rain and snow, than the heap
kept under cover. This, of course, is what we should expect.
Let us look at the results of Dr. Vcelcker's analyses :

60

TALKS OX MANURES.

TABLB SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OP EXPERIMENTAL UEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FABH-

TABD MANURE UNDER SUED, IN NATUiiAL STATE AT DIFFERENT

PERIODS OF THE TEAK.

When put
up, Nov
3,1854.

Feb. 14,
1&55.

Apr. 30,
1855.

.•lMf7. 23,
1855.

Nov. 15,
1855.

Water

*Soliibli; organic matter

Soluble inorganic matter

tinsoluble organic matter

Insoluble mineral matter

♦Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

tContaining nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Total amount of nitrogen

F.qual to ammonia

Anirn.>.iia in frc(! state

Ammonia in form of silts easily de-
composed by quicklime

Total amount of oi.:auic matter

Tot;il amount of mineral substance..

66.17

2.4-i

67.33

56.89
4.63

43.43
4.13

1..M

2.12

3.38

3.05

25 76

20.46

25.43

26.01

4.05

7.47

9.67

2;i.:i8

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

.149

.17

.27

.26

.181

.20

.32

.31

.4!J4

.58

.92

1.01

.599

.70

1.11

1.23

.643

.75

1.19

1.27

.780

.90

1.4;?

l.W

.0:J4

.022

.055

.015

.088

.0.54

.101

.103

28.24

2:?. 09

30.06

30.14

5.59

9.59

13.05

26.43

41.66

5.37

4.43

27.69

20.85

100.00

.42
.51
1.09
1.31
1.51
1.82
.019

.146
33.06
25.28

TABLE SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OF EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. H.) FRESH FARM-
YARD MANURE UNDER SHED, CALCULATED DRY, AT DIFFERENT
PERIODS OF THE TEAIt.

Whe)i put
up, Nov.
3, 1854.

♦Soluble organic matter. .
Soluble inorganic matter. .
tinsoluble organic matter.
Insoluble mineral matter..

7.33

4..55
76.15
11.97

•Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

tContainiug nitrogen

Equal to ammoii^a

Total amount of "nitrogen ......

Equal to ammonia '

Ammonia in free state ! .'.'.'..'.'..

.\mmonia in form of salts, easily de

composed by quicklime

Total amount of organic matter. . .
Total amount of mineral substance

.44
.,53
1.46
1.77
1 90
2.30
.10

.26

83.48
16..'-i2

Feb. 14, L4/W-. .30.
1855. 1855.

8.04

6.48

62.60

22.88

10.74

7.84

58.99

22.43

Auo.2S.\yov. 15,
1855. 1855.

7.30

5.39

45.97

41.34

100.00 100.00 100.00 I 100.00

.53

.63

.m

.7.'j

1.77

2.14

2.14

2.59

2.30

2.77

2.80

3.a5

.0:!7

.127

.165

.2.%

70.61

69.7:i

■29.:^6

30 27

.46

..5(i
1.78
2.16
2.24
2.72

,026

.182
53.27
46.73

9.20

7.59

47.46

35.75

100.00

.72

.8S
1.88
2 20
2.(50
.3.n«

.032

.250
5fi.r6
43.34

The above analyses are of value to those who buy fresh and fer-
mented manure. They can form some idea of what they are get-
tinc:. If they buy a ton of frcsb manure in November, they get
12| lbs. of nitrogen, and 30| lbs. of soluble mineral matter. If

KEEPIXG MANURE UNDER COVER.

61

they buy a ton of tlic same manure that has been kept under cover
until Februury, they get, nitroj^en, 15 lbs.; soluble minerals, 42.i
lbs. In April, tiiey get, nitrogen, 33| lbs. ; soluble minerals, 67i
lbs. In August, they get, nitrogen, 3o| lbs. ; soluble minerals, 61
lbs. In November, when the manure is over one year old, they
get, in a ton, nitrogen, 30i lbs. ; soluble minerals, 88^ lbs.

When manure his not been exposed, it is clear that a purchaser
can afford to pay considerably more for a ton of rotted manure
than for a ton of fresh manure. But waiving this point for the
present, let us see how the matter sUmds with the farmer who
makes and uses the manure. What does he gain by keeping and
fermenting the manure under cover ?

The following table shows the weight and composition of the
entire heap of manure, kept under cover, at different times :

TABLE SHOWlXa C IMPOSITION OP EXTir.E EXPEKtMEXTAL HEAP (NO. 11.) FRESH
FARM-TAUD MANURE, UNDER SUED.

i ^'^P''^ April 30,' An;;. 23, [ Nor. 15,

1855.

1855.

1&^)5.

fl)s.
Weight of manure 3.258.

ft 8.
1,013.

Amount of water in the manure 2,150.

Amount of dry matter 1,102.

♦Consistiiis of soluble organic matter.. .

Soluble mineral matter,
tlnsoluble organic matter.
Insoluble mineral matter. .

♦Containing nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

tContaining nitrogen

Equal to ammonia ...

Total amount of nitrogen in manure. . . .

Equal to ammonia

The manure contains ammonia in free
state

The manure contains ammonia in form
of Baits, easily decomposed by quick-
lime

Total amount of organic matter

Total amount of mineral matter

50.14

a3;i.iT

131.92

1,102.

4.S5
5.88
16.08
19.52
20.93
25.40

1.10

2 86
919.94

182.06

917.6
695.4
74.68
54.51
410.24
155.97

695.4

4.38
5..33
14.88
17.46
19.26
22.79

lbs.
1,297.

5(«.2
733.8
53..56
39.55
.337.32
303.37

B>s.
1,2.35.

733.8

3.46

4.20
13.08
1.5.88
16.54
20.08

1.62

484.92
210.48

.19

1.33 1

390.88 1
342.92 ,

514.5
720.5
66.28
54.68
»4].97
257.57

720.5

5.25
6.37
13..54
1644

18.79
22.81

.23

1.80
408.25
312.35

This is the table, as given by Dr. Voelcker. For the sake of
comparison, we will figure out what the changes would be in a
heap of five tons (10,000 lbs.) of manure, when fermented under
cover, precisely in the same way as we did with the heap fer-
mented in the open air, exposed to the rain. The following is the
table:

62

TALKS ON MANURES.

OONTBNTS or A HEAP OF MANUUB AT DIFFEUENT TERIODS.

COVBB.

FERMENTED UNUEB

Total weight of manure in heap...

Water in the he:i|) of manure

Total orj.'anic mutter

Total inorganic mutter

Total nitrogen iu heap

Total 8olul)lc organic matter

Insoluble organic matter

Solubli' mineral matter

Insolul)le niinerul mutter

Nitrogen in soluble matti-r

Nitr()g(!n in in><oluble mutter

Total dry matter in heap '

iVhen put

up. A(W.3.

0>s.

lO.OOO

fi.«17

•2M4

559

ei..-}

248

2,576

15t

•105

14.9

49.4

3.:it53

April no.

S>8.

4.960

2,822

1,400

G46

59

2.10

1,260

lti7

479

13.4

45.6

2,038

Aug. 23. Nov. 15.

lbs.
4,000
1.737
1,205
1,057
50.8
165
1,040
122
ft35
10.4
40.4
2,263

lbs.
3,790
1.579
1,253
958
57.2
203.5
1.049
168
790
15.9
41.3
2,211

It will be seen that the heap of manure kept under cover con-
tained, on the IJOlli of April, Uss soluble ori^anic matter, Icks soluble
mineral mutter, lt\is soluble nitrojjciious matter, and kss total ni-
trosren than tbe heap of manure exposed to tlio weather. This is
precisely what I sliould have expected. The lieap of ntanure in
tbe shed probably fermented more r ipidly than the heap out of
doors, aiitl there was not water eno-.ii:h in the manure to retain
the carbonate of ammonia, or to favor the production o' organic
acids. T?ie Ji^ap teas too dry. If it could have received enough of
the liquid from the stables to have kept it moderately moist, the
result would have been very ditrercnt.

We will i>ostpone furtlier cimsideration of this point at oresent,
and look at the results of another of Dr. Voelcker's interesting
exi»erlments.

Dr. Y(elcker wished to ascertain the elfeet of three common
inctlidds of manairing manun :

1st. Keeping it in a /(€7^ in th(3 open air i:i the barn-yard, or
field.

2d. Keeping it in a Jieap under cover in a shed.

3d. Keeping it spread o'/t over the barn-yard.

" You say these are common methods of managing manure,"
remarked the Deacon, " but I never knew any one in this country
take the trouble to spread manure over the yard."

" Perhaps not," I replied, " but you have known a good many
farmers who adopt this very method of keeping their manure.
They do not spread it — but they let it lie spread out over the
yards, just wherever it happens to be."

Let us see what the etfect of this treatment is on the composi-
tion and value of the manure.

We have examined the cflfect of keeping manure in a heaj) in

KKKl'lNG manure: UNDKK C'OVKR.

63

the open air, and also of keeping it in a heaj) uiuU-r cover. Now
let us sec Low these methods compare with the practice of ieav
ing it exposed to the rains, spread out in the yard.

On the ;jrd of Novemlnr, 1854, Dr. Va'kker weighed out 1,653
ll»s. of manure similar to thai UM-d in the preceding experiments,
and spread it out in llie yard. It was weighed April yu, and again
August 2;J, and November 15.

The following table gives the actual weight of the manure at
the different periods, also the actual amount of the water, organic
matter, ash, nitrogen, etc. :

TABLK SHOWING TRE WKIiillT AND roMPOSITIOM OP ENTIBE MAS8 OK K.\PK1U-

MK.-^TAL MANL-KE (NO. Ml.), FREI-II KAK.M-Y.VBU MANl KL, eil'UEAlJ IN OPEN

TAKD AT DIFFEHENT PEUIODS OK TUB YEAB. IN KATUUAL STATE.

I "^C"''Xv>ri/ .30/ Avg. 2.5, I Nov. \:,,
I "/'i^"- 1855. \k-,. 'I 1800.

Weight of maDure .

Amount of wator in the manure ' 1,09:1.

Amount of dry matter

•Consistins oif soluble orjjanic matter.

Soluble rainenl nuitter

tlnsoluble ori^nic nintter

Insoluble miuural matter

•Containinff nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

+Ciintaininij nitroijen

Equal to ammonia

Total amount of nitrogen iu manure....

Equal to ammonia

The manure contains ammonia in free
state

Th'^ manure c )ntain9 ammonia in form
of salts, easil}- decomposed by quick-
lime "

T>tal amount of organic matter 4fi^.M

Total anonnt of mineral matter 9-i..'j6

InO

105

.55 .28
111.77 ! !»8.40
190.93 228.80

"One moment," said the Deacon. "These tables are a little
confusing. The table you have just given shows the actual weight
of the manure in the heap, and what it contained at difiFercnt
perioas." — "Yes," said I. "and the table following shows what
100 lbs of this manure, spread out in the yard, contained at the
different dates mentioned. It shows how greatly manure deterio-
rates by being exposed to rain, spread out on the surface of the
yard. The table merits careful study."

64

TALKS ON MANURES.

TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION OP EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. III.), FRESH FARH

TAHD MANURE, SPREAD IN OPi:.N YARD, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS

OF THE TEAR. IN NATURAL STATE.

Water

♦Soluble orf^anic matter. . .
Soluble iucrj^anic matter.,
tlusoluble organic matter
Insoluble miueral matter..

*CoDtaining nitrogen

Equal tn ammonia

tC'ontaining nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

Total amount of nitrogen

Equal lo ammonia

Ammonia in free state

Ammonia in form of isalts, easily decom-
posed by quicklime

Total amount of organic matter

Total amount of mineral substance

WlvCnpui

AprU 30,

Aug. 2;^,

Scv. 15

3. 1854.

1855.

1855.

1855.

6H.17

80.02

70.09

65.56

2.48

1.16

.49

.42

1.54

1.01

.ti4

.57

25 76

11 46

10.56

9.94

4.05

6.35

18.22

23.51

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

.149

.08

.06

.03

.181

.1/9

.07

.0.36

AM

.45

.35

M

.599

.54

.42

.46

.643

.5S

.41

.39

.780

.63

.49

.4!;6

.034

.010

.012

.0006

.0^8

.045

.051

.030

28. -.'4

12.62

11.05

10..36

5.59

7.36

18.86

24.08

The following table shows the composition of the manure, cal-
culated dry :

l^ABLE 8H0WTNG COMPOSITION OP EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (nO. III.), FRESH FARM

YARD MANURE, SPREAD IN OPEN YARD, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS

OF THE TEAR. CALCULATED DRY.

\ When put
up, jVoc.
1 3, 1851.

AprU 30,
1855.

Attr/. 23,
1855.

Nov. 15,
1855.

♦Soluble organic matter

7.33
4.55
76.15
11.97

100.00

.44

.53
1.46
1.77
1.90
2..30

.10

.26
83. J 8
16.52

5.80

5.05

57.37

31.78

1.64
2.14
35.30
60.92

1.21
1.69

30.86

68.24

*Containin!r nitrogen

Equal to ammonia

tc'ontaining nitroiren

100.00

.42
.51

2.28
2.76
2.70
3.27
.05

.225
63.17
36.83

100.00

.CO
.24
1.17
1.41
1..37
1.05
.040

.171
36.94
6306

100.00

.10

.12

1.09

1.32

Total amount of nitrogen

1.10

Equal to ammonia

l.!4
.0017

Ammonia in form of salts, easily decom-
posed by quicklime

.087
30.07

Total amount of mineral substance

69.93

I hare made out the following table, sliowing what would be
the changes in a he.ap of 5 tons (10,000 lbs.) of manure, spread out
in the yard, so that we can readily see the effectvof this method of

KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER.

65

management as compared with the other two methods of keeping
tlie manure, in compact heaps, one exposed, the other under cover.
The following is the table :

lONTKNTS OP TKB MASS OP MANURE, SPKEAD OUT IN FAJiMYARD, AVD EXPOSED
TO BAJM, ETC.

Total weiglii of manure

Waier in the manure

Total orfranic matter

Total inorganic matter

Totil nitro<j;en in manure

Total soluble orfjranic matter.

Insoluble orirunic matter

Soluble mineral matter

Insoluble mineral matter

Nitrofren in ^iolubl-J matter, ..
Nitroirea in insoluble matter.

tVhen spread
out, 3w. 3

.000
,til7
Mi
559
&1.3
248
,576
154
405
14.9
4!».4

AprU 30.

Aug 23.

lbs.

lbs.

8.050

6,180

0,!)22

4.297

iM'i

677

6.%

1,155

45.9

25

100

.30

99-i

647

87

39

&19

1,116

6.9

3.6 1

39

21.4 1

iVop. 15.

lbs.
5.750

3,';7i

595
1,384
22.4
24
571
.38
1,.351
1.7
20.7

It is not necessary to make many remarks on this table. The
facts speak for themselves. It will be seen that there is consid-
erable loss even by letting the manure lie spread out until spring;
but, serious as this loss is, it is small compared to the loss sus-
tained by allowing the manure to lie exposed in the yard during
the summer.

In the five tons of fresh manure, we have, November 3, 64.3
lbs. of nitrogen ; April 30, we have 46 lbs. ; August 23, only 25
lbs. This is a great loss of the most valuable constituent of the
manure. Of soluble mineral matter, the next most valuable ingre-
dient, we have in the five tons of fresh manure, November 3, 154
lbs. ; April 30, 87 lbs. ; and August 23, only 39 lbs. Of soluble
nitrogen, the most active and valuable part of the manure, we
have, November 3, nearly 15 lbs. ; April 30, not quite 7 lbs. ;
August 23, 3i lbs. ; and November 15, not quite If lbs.

Dr. Voelcker made still another experiment. He took 1,613
lbs. of veil-rotted dung (mixed manure from horses, cows, and
pigs,) and kept it in a heap, exposed to the weather, from Decem-
ber 5 to April 30, August 23, and November 15, weighing it and
analyzing it at these different dates. I think it is not necessarj' to
give the results in detail. From the 5th of December to the 30th
of April, there was »o loss of nitrogen in the heap, and compar-
atively little loss of soluble mineral matters ; but from April 30 to
August 23, there was considerable loss in both these valuable in
gredients, which were washed out of the heap by rain.

66 TALKS ON MANURES.

Dr. Voelcker draws the following conclusions from his experi-
ments :

" Having described at length my experiments with farm-yard
manure," he says, " it may not be amiss to state briefly the more
prominent and practically interesting points which have been
developed in the course of this investigation. I would, therefore,
observe :

" 1. Perfectly fresh farm yard manure contains but a small pro-
portion of free ammonia.

" 2. The nitrogen in fresh dung exists prmcipally in the state of
insoluble nitrogenized matters.

" 3. The soluble organic and mineral constituents of dung are
much more valuable fertilizers than the insoluble. Particular
care, therefore, should be bestowed upon the preservation of the
liquid excrements of animals, and for the same reason the manure
sliould be kept in perfectly water-proof pita of sufficient capacity
to render the setting up of dung-heaps in the corner of fields, as
much as it is possible, unnecessary.

"4. Farm-yard manure, even in quite a fresh state, contains
phosphate of lime, which is mucli more soluble than has hitherto
been suspected.

" 5. The urine of the tiorse, cow, and pig, does not contain any
appreciable quantity of phosphate of lime, whilst the drainings of
dung-heaps contain considerable quantities of this valuable fer-
tilizer. The drainings of dun^-heaps, partly for this reason, are
more valuable than the urine of our domestic animals, and, there-
fore, ought to be prevented by all available means from running
to waste.

" 6. The most effectual means of preventing loss in fertilizing
niatiere is to cart the manure directl}' on the field whenever cir-
cumstances allow this to be done.

"7. On all soils with a moderate proportion of clay, no fear
need to be entertained of valuable fertilizing substances becoming
wasted if the manure cannot be plowed in at once. Fresh, and
even well-rotten, dung contains very little free ammonia ; and
since active fermentation, and with it the further evolution of
free ammonia, is stopped by spreading out the manure on the
field, valuable volatile manuring matters can not escape into the
air by adopting this plan.

" As all soils with a moderate proportion of clay possess in a
remarkable degree the power of absorbing and r.taining manuring
matters, none of the saline and soluble organic constituents are
wasted even by a heavy fall of rain. It may, indeed, be questioned

KEEPIXG MANURE UNDER COVER. 67

whether it Is more advisable lo plow in the manure at ouce, or
to let it lie for some time on the surface, and to give the rain full
opportunity to wash it into the soil.

" It appears lo me a matter of the greatest importance to regulate
the application of manure to our fields, so that its constituents
may become properly diluted and unitornily distributed anioni^st
a large mass of soil. By jjlowing in the manure at once, it ap-
pears to me, this desirable end can not be reached so perfectly as
by allowing the rain to wash in gradually the manure evenly
spread on the surface of the tield.

" By adopting such a cour.se, in case practical experience should
confirm my theoretical reasoning, the objection could no longer be
maintained that the land is not ready for carting manure upon it.
I am inclined to recommend, as a general rule : Cart the manure
on the field, spread it at once, and wait for a favorable ojiportu-
nity to plow it in. In the case of clay soils, I have no hesitation
to say the manure may be spread even six months before it is
plowed in, without losing any appreciable quantity in inanuriiig
matter.

" I am i)erfcctly aware, that on stiff clay land, farm-yard ma>
nure, more especially long dun^, when plowed in before the
frost sets in, exercises a most beneficial action by keeping the
soil loose, and admitting the free access of frost, which pulverizes
tlic land, and would, therefore, ])y no means recommend to leave
the manure spread on the surface without plowing it in. All I
wish to enforce is, that when no other choice is left but either to
set up the manure in a heap in a corner of the field, or to spread
it on the field, without plowing it in directly, to adopt the latter
plan. In the case of very li;;ht sandy soils, it may perhaps not
be advisable to sjiread out the manure a long time before it is
plowed in, since such soils do not possess the power of retaining
manuring matters iu any marked degree. On light sandy soils, I
would suggest to manure with well-fermented dung, shortly before
the crop intended to be grown is sown.

" 8. "Well-rotten dung contains, likewisr;, little free ammonia,
but a very much larger proportion of soluble organic and saline
mineral matters than fresh manure.

" 9. Rotten dung is richer in nitrogen than fresh.

" 10. "Weight for weight, rotten dung is more valuable than
fresh.

"11. In the fermentation of dung, a very considerable propor-
tion of the organic matters in fresh manure is dissipated into the
air in the form of carbonic aci:l and other gases.

68 TALKS ON MANURES.

" 12. Properly regulated, however, the fermentation of dung is
not attended with any great loss of nitrogen, nor of saline mineral
matters.

" 13. During the fermentation of dung, ulmic, humic, and other
organic acids are formed, as well as gypsum, which flx the am-
monia generated in the decomposition of the uitrugcnized con-
stituents of dung.

" 14. During the fermentation of dung, the phosphate of lime
"which it contains is rendered more soluble than in fresh manure.

" 15. In the interior an.l heated portions of manure-heaps, am-
monia is given off; but, on passing into the external and cold lay-
ers of dung-heaps, the free ammonia is retained in the heap.

" IG. Ammonia is not given off from the surface of well-com-
pressed dung-heaps, but on turning manure-heaps, it is wasted in
appreciable quantities. Dung-heaps, for this reason, sliould not
be turned more frequently than absolutely necessary.

" 17. No advantage appears to result from carrying on the fer
mentation of dung too far, but every disadvantage.

" 18. Farm-yard manure becomes deteriorated in value, when
kept in heaps exposed to the weather, the more the longer it is
kept.

" 19. The loss in manuring matters, which is incurred in keep-
i;ig manure-heaps exposed to the weather, is not so much due to
the volatilization of ammonia as to the removal of ammoniacal
salts, soluble nitrogenized organic matters, and valuable mineral
matters, by the rain wliich falls in the period during which the
manure is kept.

"20. If ram is excluded from dung-heaps, or little rain falls at
a time, the loss in ammonia is trifling, and no saline matters, of
course, are removed; but, if nmch rain falls, especially if it de-
scends in heavy showers upon tlie dung-heap, a serious loss in
ammonia, sc)luble organic matter, phosphate of lime, and salts of
potash is incurred, and the manure becomes rapidly deteriorated
in value, whilst at the same time it is diminished in weight.

" 21. Well-rotten dung is more readily affected by the deteriorat-
ing influence of rain tlian fresh manure.

" 23. Practically speaking, all the essentially valuable manuring
constituents are preserved by keeping farm-yard manure under
cover.

"23. If tlie animals have been supplied with plenty of litter,
fresh dung contains an insufficient (luantity of water to induce an
active fermentation. In this case, fresh dung can not be properly

AN ENGLISH PLAN OF KEEPING MANURE. 69

fermented under cover, except water or liquid manure is pumped
over the heap from time to time.

" Wliere much straw is used in the maiuifacture of dung, and
no provision is made to supi)ly the nuinure in tlie pit at any time
with the requisite amount of moisture, it may not be advisable to
put up a roof over the dung-pit. On the other liand, on farms
where there is a de.ieiency of straw, so that the moisture of the
excrements of our domestic animals is barely absorbed by the lit-
ter, the advantage of erecting a roof over the dung-pit will be
found very great.

" 24. The worst method of making manure is to produce it by
animals kept in open j-ards, since a large proportion of valuable
fertilizing matters is wasted in a short time ; and after a lapse of
twelve months, at least two-thirds of the substance of the manure
is wasted, and only one-third, inferior in quality to an equal
weight of fresh dung, is left beiiind.

"25. The most rational i)lan of keeping manure in heaps ap-
pears to me tiiat adopted In' Mr. Lawrence, of Cirencester, and
described by him at length in Morton's ' Cyclopsedia of Agricul-
ture,' under the head of ' Manure.' "

CHAPTER XVI.

AN ENGLISH PLAN OF KEEPING MANURE.

" I would like to know," said the Deacon, " how Mr. Lawrence
manages his manure, especially as his method has received such
high commendation."

Charley got the second volume of "Morton's Cyclopsedia of Agri-
culture," from the book shelves, and turned to the article on
"Manure." He found that Mr. Lawrence adopted the "Box
System" of feeding cattle, and used cut or chaffed straw for bedding.
And Mr. Lawrence claims that by this plan " manure will have
been mada under the most perfect conditions." And "when the
boxes are full at those periods of the year at which manure is re-
quired for the sacceeiling crojjs, it will be most advantageously dis
pose 1 of by being transferred at once to the Ian 1, and covered in."

" Good, said the Deacon, " I think he is rig'it there." Charley
continued, and read as follows :

" But there will be accumulations of manure requiring removal

70 TALKS ON MANURES.

from the homestead at other seasons, at which it cannot be so ap-
plied, and when it must be stored for future use. The following
has been found an effectual and economical mode of accomplish-
ing this ; more particularly when cut litter is used, it saves the cost
of repeated turnings, and etfectually prevents the decomposition
and waste of the most active and volatile principle.

" Some three or more spots are selected according to the size of
the farm, in convenient positions for access to the land under Ull-
age, and by the side of the farm roads The sites fixed on are
then excavated about two feet under the surrounding surface. In
the bottom is laid some three or four inches of earth to absorb any
moisture, on which the manure is emptied from the carts. This is
evenly spread, and well trodden as the heap is forming. As soon
as this is about a foot above the ground level, to allow for sinkmg,
the heap is gradually gathered in, until it is completed in the form
of an ordinary steep roof, slightly rounded at the top by the final
treading. In the course of building this up, about a bushel of salt,
to two cart-loads of dung is sprinkled amongst it. The base laid
out at any one time should not exceed that required by the manure
ready for the complete formation of the heap as far as it goes ; and
within a daj' or two after such portion is built up, and it has
settled into shape, a thin coat of earth in a moist state is plastered
entirely over the surface. Under these conditions decomposition
does not take place, in consequence of the exclusion of the air ; or
at any rate to so limited an extent, that the ammonia is absorbed
by the earth, for there is not a trace of it perceptible about the
heap; though, when put together without such covering, this is
perceptible enough to leeward at a hundred yards' distance.

" When heaps thus formed are resorted to in the autumn, either
for the young seeds, or for plowing in on the stubbles after prepar-
ing for the succeeding root crop, the manure will be found un-
diminished in quantity and unimpaired in quality ; in fact, simply
consolidated. Decomposition then proceeds within the soil, where
all its results are appropriated, and rendered available for the suc-
ceeding cereal as well as the root crop.

" It would be inconvenient to plaster the heap, were the ridge,
when settled, above six or seven feet from the ground level ; the
base may be formed about ten to twelve feet wide, and the ridge
about nine feet from the base, which settles down to about seven
feet; this may be extended to any length as further supplies of
manure require removal. One man is sufficient to form the heap,
and it is expedient to employ the same man for this service, who
soon gets into the way of performing the work neatly and quickly.

AN ENGLISH PLAN OF KEEPING MANURE. 71

It has been asked where a farmer is to get the earth to cover his
heaps — it may be answered, keep your roads scraped when they
get muddy on the surface during raiuy weather — in itself good
economy — and leave this in small heaps beyond the margin of
your roads. This, in the course of the year, will be found an
ample provision for the purpose, for it is unnecessary to laj' on a
coat more than one or two inches in thickness, which should be
done when in a moist state. At any rate, there will always be
found an accumulation on headlands that may be drawn upon if
need be.

" Farmers who have not been in the habit of bestowing care ou
the manufacture and subsequent preservation of their manure, and
watching results, have no conception of the importance of this.
A barrowful of such manure as has been described, would pro-
duce a greater weight of roots and corn, than that so graphically
described by the most talented and accomplished of our agricul-
tural authors — as the contents of ' neighbour Drj'chaffs dung-
cart, that creaking hearse, that is carrying to the field the dead
body whose spirit has departed.'

" There is a source of valuable and extremely useful manure on
every farm, of which very few farmers avail themselves — the gath-
ering together in one spot of all combustible waste and rubbish, the
clippings of hedges, scouring of ditches, grassy accumulation on
the sides of roads and fences, etc., combined with a good deal of
earth. If these are carted at leisure times into a large circle, or in
two rows, to supply the fire kindled in the center, in a spot which
is frequented by the laborers on the farm, with a three-pronged
fork and a shovel attendant, and each passer-by is encouraged to
add to the pile whenever he sees the smoke passing away so freely
as to indicate rapid combustion, a A:er\' large quantitj' of valuable
ashes are collected between March and October. In the latter
month the fire should be allowed to go out ; the ashes are then
thrown into along ridge, as high as tliey will stand, and thatched
while dry. This will be found an invaluable st!>re in April, May,
and June, capable of supplying from twenty to forty bushels of
ashes per acre, according to the care and industry of the collector,
to drill with the .seeds of the root crop."

The Deacon got sleepy before Charley finished reading. " "We
can nut afford to be at so much trouble in this country," he said,
and took up his hat and left.

The Deacon is not altogether wrong. Our climate is very dif-
ferent from that of England, and it is seldom that farmers need
to draw out manure, and pile it in the field, except in winter, ami

72 TALKS ON MANURES.

then it is not necessary, I tliink, either to dig a pit or to cover the
heap. Those who draw manure from the city in summer, may
probably adopt some of Mr. Lawrence's suggestions with ad-
vantage.

The plan of collecting rubbish, brush, old wood, and sods, and
converting them into ashes or charcoal, is one which we could
often adopt with decided advantage. Our premises would be
cleaner, and we should have less fungus to speck and crack our
apples and pears, and, in addition, we should have a quantity of
ashes or burnt eartli, that is not only a manure itself, but is spe-
cially useful to mix with moist superphosphate and other artificial
manures, to make them dry enough and bulky enough to be easily
and evenly distributed by the drill. Artificial manures, so mixed
with these ashes, or dry, charred earth, are less likely to injure the
seed than when sown with the seed in the drill-rows, unmixed
with some such material. Sifted coal ashes are also very useful
for this purpose.

CHAPTER XVII.

SOLUBLE PHOSPHATES IN FARMYARD MANURE.

There is one thing in these experiments of Dr. Voelcker's which
deserves special attention, and that is the comparatively large
amount of soluble phosphate of lime in the ash of farm-yard ma-
nure. I do not think tlie fact is generally known. In estimating
tiie value of animal manuies, as compared with artificial manures, it
is usually assumed that the phosphates in the former are insoluble,
and, therefore, of less value than the soluble phosphates in super-
phosphate of lime and other artificial manures.

Dr. Voelcker found in the ash of fnsh farm-yard manure, phos-
phoric acid equal to 13.23 per cent of phosphate of lime, and of
this 5.35 was soluble jihosphate of lime.

In the ash of well-rotted manure, he found phosphoric acid
equal to 13.11 per cent of phosphate of lime, and of this, 4.75 was
soluble phosphate of lime.

" That is, indeed, an important fact," said the Doctor, " but I
tliought Professor Voelcker clainie:! that ' during the fermentation
of dung, the phosphate of lime which it contains is rendered more
soluble than in fresh manure.'"

SOLUBLE PHOSPHATES IN FARM-YAUD MANURE.

73

" He did say so," 1 irplit'd, " aud it may be true, but the above
figures do not seem to prove it. Wlien he wrote tlie sentence you
have quoted, be probably bad reference to the fact that he found
more soluble phosphate of lime in rotted manure than in fresh
manure. Thus, he found in 5 tons of fresh and 5 tons of rotted
manure, the following ingredients :

5 TONS,
(10,000 LBS.)

Fresh manure..
Rotted manure.

29.!)
38.~

:38.6
57 3

iSol. Insol.

68.5
95.5

57.3
44. ti

9.9

4.5

'S

IS

'^

•S

1

1

^

c

■;^-§

■j*-^

b-,

b^

l&t

405

147

058

5.59
805

" It will be seen from the above figures that rotted manure con-
tains more soluble pJiosphiie of lime tJi in fresh manure.

" But it does not follow from this fact that any of the insoluble
phosphates in fresh manure have been rendered soluble during the
fermentation of the manure.

" There are more insoluble phosphates in the rotted manure than
in the fresh, but we do not conclude from this fact that any of
the phosphates have been rendered insoluble during the process of
fermentation — neither are we warranted in concluding that any of
them have been rendered soluble, simply because we find more
soluble phosphates in the rotted manure."

" Very true,' said the Doctor, " but it has been shown that in
tlie heap of manure, during fermentation, there was an actual in-
crease of soluble mineral matter during the first six months, and,
to say the least, it is hi7:hly probable that some of this increase of
soluble mineral matter contui led more or less soluble phosphates,
and perhaps Dr. Voelcker had some facts to show that such was
the case, although he may not have published them. At any
rate, he evidently thinks that the phosphates in manure are ren-
dered more soluble by fermentation."

" Perhaps," said I, " we can not do better than to let the matter
rest in that form. I am merely anxious not to draw definite con-
clusions from the facts which the facts do not positively prove. I
am strongly in favor of fermenting manure, and should be glad to
have it shown that fermentation does actually convert insoluble
phosphates into a soluble form."

There is one thing, however, thit these experiments clearly
prove, and that is, that there is a far larger quantity of soluble

74 TALKS ON MANURBS.

phosphates in mauure than is generally supposed. Of the total
phosphoric acid in the fresh manure, 43 per cent is in a soluble
condition ; and in the rotted manure, 40 per cent is soluble.

This is an important fact, and one which is generally over-
looked. It enhances the value of farm-yard or stable manure, as
compared with artificial manures. But of this we may have more
to say when we come to that part of the subject. I want to make
one remark. I think there can be little doubt that the proportion
of solul)le phosphates is greater in rich manure, made from grain-
fed animals, than in poor manure made principally from straw.
In other words, of 100 lbs. of total phosphoric acid, more of it
would be in a soluble condition in the rich than in the poor ma-
nure.

CHAPTER XYIII.
HOW THE DEACON MAKES MANURE.

" I think," said the Deacon, " you are talking too much about
the science of manure making. Science is all well enough, but
practice is better."

" That depends," said I, "on the practice. Suppose you tell
us how you manage your manure."

" Well," said the Deacon, " I do not know much about plant-
food, and nitrogen, and phosphoric acid, but I think manure is a
good thing, and the more you have of it the better. I do not be-
lieve in your practice of spreading manure on the land and letting
it lie exposed to the sun and winds. I want to draw it out in the
spring and plow it under for corn. I think this long, coarse
manure loosens the soil and makes it light, and warm, and porous.
And then my plan saves labor. More than half of my manuie is
handled but once. It is made in tlie yard and sheds, and lies there
until it is drawn to the field in the spring. The manure from the
cow and horse stables, and from the pig-pens, is thrown into the
yard, and nothing is done to it except to level it down occasionally.
In proportion to the stock kept, I think I make twice as much
manure as you do."

" Yes," said I, " twice as much in bulk, but one load of my
manure is worth four loads of your long, coarse manure, composed

HOW THE DEACON MAKES MANURE. 75

principally of corn-stalks, straw, and water. 1 think you are wise
in not spending much time in piling and working over such
manure."

The Deacon and I have a standing quarrel about manure. We
differ on all points. He is a good man, but not what we call a good
farmer. He cleared up his farm from the original forest, and he
has always been content to receive what his land would give him.
£f he gets good crops, well, if not, his expenses are moderate, and
he manages to make both ends meet. I tell him he could double
his crops, and quadruple his profits, by better farming — but though
he cannot disprove the facts, he is unwilling to make any change
in his system of farming. And so he continues to make just as
much manure as the crops he is obliged to feed out leave in his
yards, and no more. He does not, in fact, make any manure. He
takes what comes, and gets it on to his land with as little labor a.s
possible.

It is no use arguing with such a man. And it certainly will not
do to contend that his method of managing manure is all wrong.
His error is in making such poor maimre. But with such poor
stuflF as he has in his yard, 1 believe he is right to get rid of it with
the least expense possible.

I presume, too, that the Deacon is not altogether wrong in regard
to the good mechanical effects of manure on undrained and indif-
ferently cultivated land. I have no doubt that he bases his opinion
on experience. The good effects of such manure as he makes
must be largely due to its mechanical action — it can do little
towards supplying the more important and valuable elements of
plant-food.

I commend the Deacon's system of managing manure to all such
as make a similar article. But I think there is a more excellent
way. Feed the stock better, make richer manure, and then it will
pay to bestow a little labor in taking care of it.

76 TALKS OS MANUKES.

CHAPTER XIX.
HOW JOHN JOHNSTON MANAGES HIS MANURR

One of the oldest and most successful farmers, in the State of
New York, is John Johnston, of Geneva. He has a farm on the
borders of Seneca Lake. It is high, rolling laud, but needed under
draining. This has been thoroughly done — and done with great
profit and advantage. The soil is a heavy clay loam. Mr. John-
ston has been in the habit of summer-fallowing largely for wheat,
generally plowing three, and sometimes four times. He has been
a very successful wheat-grower, almost invariably obtaining large
crops of wheat, both of grain and straw. The straw he feeds to
sheep in winter, putting more straw in the racks than the sheep
can eat up clean, and using what they leave for bedding. The
sheep run in yards enclosed with tight board fences, and have
sheds under the barn to lie in at pleasure.

Although the soil is rather heavy for Indian corn, Mr. Johnston
succeeds iu growing largo crops of this great American cereal.
Com and stalks are both fed out on the farm. Mr. J. has not yet
practised cutting up his straw ard stalks into chaff.

The land is admirably adapted to the growth of red clover, and
great crops of clover and timothy-hay are raised, and fed out on
the farm. Gypsum, or plaster, is sown quite freely on the clover
la the sjiring. Comparatively few roots are raised — not to exceed
an acre — and these only quite recently. The main crops are winter
wheat, spring barley, Indian corn, clover, and timothy-hay, and
clover-seed,

Tlie materials for making manure, then, are wheat and barley
straw, Indian corn, corn-stalks, clover, and timothy-hay. These
are all raised on the farm. But Mr. Johnston has for many years
purchased linsecd-ci] cake, to feed to his sheep and cattle.

Tliis last fact must not be overlooked. Mr. J. commenced to
feed oil-cake when its value was little known here, and when he
bought it for, I think, seven or eight dollars a ton. He continued
to use it even when he had to pay fifty dollars per ton Mr. J.
has great faith in manure — and it U a faith resting on good evidence
and long experience. If he had not fed out so much oil-cake and
clover-hay, he would not have found his manure so valuable.

" How much oil-cake does he use ? " asked the Deacon.

" He gives his sheep, on the average, about 1 lb. each per day."

fiOW JOHN .lOtlNSTON MAXAGES HIS MANUUK. 77

If he feeds out a ton of elover-hay, two tons of straw, (for feed and
beddin<f,) and one ton of oil-cake, the manure obtained from this
quantity of food and litter, would be worth, according to Mr.
Lawes' table, given on page 45, $34.72.

On the other hand, if he fed out one ton of corn, one ton of
clover-hay, and two tons of straw, for feed and bedding, the manure
would be worth $21.05.

If he fed one ton of corn, and three tons of straw, the manure
would be worth only $14.69.

He would get as much manure from the three tons of straw and
one ton of corn, as from the two tons of straw, one ton of clover-
hay, and one ton of oil-cake, while, as before said, the manure in
the one case would be worth $14.69, and in the other $34.72.

In other words, a load of the good manure would be worth, when
spread out on the land in the field or garden, more than two loads
of the straw and corn manure.

To get the same amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and
potash, you have to spend more than twice the labor in cleaning
out the stables or yards, more than twice the labor of throwing
or wheeling it to the manure pile, more than twice the labor of
turning the manure in the pile, more than twice the labor of
loading it on the carts or wagons, more than twice the labor of
drawing it to the field, more than twice the labor of unloading it
into heaps, and more than twice the labor of spreading it in the
one case than in the other, and, after all, twenty tons of this poor
manure would not produce as good an efi"ect the first season as ten
tons of the richer manure.

" Why so " ? asked the Deacon.

" Simply because the poor manure is not so active as the richer
manure. It will not decompose so readily. Its nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, and potash, are not so available. The twenty tons,
may, in the long '•un, do as much good as the ten tons, but I very
much doubt it. At any rate, I would greatly prefer the ten tons
of the good manure to twenty tons of the poor— even when spread
out on the land, ready to plow under. What the difference would
be in the value of the manure in the yard, you can figure for your-
self. It would depend on the cost of handling, drawing, and
spreading the extra ten tons."

The Deacon estimates the cost of loading, drawing, unloading,
and spreading, at fifty cents a ton. This is probably not far out of
the way, though much depends on the distance the manure has to
be drawn, and also on the condition of the manure, etc.

78 TA.LKS OK MANTTRES.

The four tons of feed and bedding will make, at a rough estimate
about ten tons of manure.

This ten tons of straw and corn manure, according to Mr. Lawes'
estimate, is worth, in the field. $14.69 And if it costs fifty cents a
load to gtt it on the land its value, i% the yard, would be $9.69 —
or nearly ninety-seven cents a ton.

The ten tons of good manure, according to the same estimate, is
worth, in Vie field, $34.72, and, C(;nsequently, would be worth, in
the ynrd, $29.72. In other words, a ton of poor manure is worth,
in the yard, ninety-seven cents a ton, and the good manure $2 97.

And so in describing John Johnston's method of managing
manure, this fact must be borne in mind. It might not pay the
Deacon to spend much labor on manure worth only ninety seven
cents a ton, while it might pa}' John Johnston to bestow some con-
siderable time and labor on manure worth $2.97 per ton.
" But is it really worth this sum ? " asked the Deacon.
" In reply to that," said T, " all I claim is that the figures are com-
parative. If your manure, made as above described, is wortli
nmety-seven cents a ton in the yard, //(^.-j John Johnston's manure,
made as stated, is certainly wortli, at least, $2.97 per ton in the
yard."
Of this there can be no doubt.

"If you think," I continued, " your manure, so made, is worth
only half as much as Mr. Lawes' estimate ; in other words, if your
ten tons of manure, instead of being worth $14.69 in the field, is
worth only $7 35 ; then John Johnston's ten tons of manure,
instead of being worth $;34.72 in the field, is worth only $17.36."

" That looks a little more reasonable, " said the Deacon, "John
Johnston's manure, instead of being worth $2.97 per ton in the yard,
is worth only $1 48 per ton, and mine, instead of being worth ninety-
seven cents a ton, is worth forty-eight and a half cents a ton."

The Deacon sat for a few minutes looking at these figures.
" They do not .seem so extravagantly higli as I thought them at
first," he said, " and if you will reduce the figures in Mr. Lawes'
table one-half all through, it will be much nearer the truth. I
think my manure is worth forty-eight and a half cents a ton in the
yard, and if your figures are correct, I suppose I must admit that
John Johnston's manure is worth $1.48 per ton in the yard."

I was very glad to get such an admission from the Deacon. He
did not see that he had made a mistake in the figures, and so 1 got
him to go over the calculation again.

HOW TOHX JOUNSTOX MANAliKS HIS MANUliK. 70

"You take :i poncil, Deacon," said I, " aixl -write down the
fieures :

Manure from a ton of cileakc ?10.73

Manure from a ton of clover liay 'J (>1

Manure from t wo tons of straw 5.3G

m.~2

*' This would make about ten tons of manure. We liave aiTced
to reduce tiic estimate onc-!ialf, and consequently we have $17.36
as the value of the ten tons of manure."

" This is John Johnston's manure. It is worth ^l.~'] jut ton in
the field.

" It costs, we have estimated, 50 cents a ton to handle tlie manure,
and conscqueutiy it is worth in the yard $1.2:J jier t(jn."

" Tliis is less than we mailc it before," said tlie Deacon.

" Never mind tiiat," said I, " tlie figures are correct. Now write
down what your manure is worth :

Manure from 1 ton of corn -?6.65

Manure, from 3 tons of straw s.()4

*14.Gy

" This will make about ton tons of manure. In this case, as in the
other, we are to reduce the estimate one-half. Consequently, we
have $7.35 as the value of this ten tons of manure in the field, or
73+ cents a ton. It costs, we have estimated, 50 cents a ton to
handle the manure, and, therefore, it is worth .'n the i/a id, 23^ cents
a ton."

" John Johnston's manure is worth in t'.ie yard, $1.23 per ton.
The Deacon's manure is worth in the j'ard, 23i cents per ton."

" There is some mistake," exclaimed the Deacon, " you said, at
first, that one load of John Johnston's manure was worth as much
as two of my loads. Now you make one load of his manure worth
more than five loads of my manure. This is absurd."

" Not at all. Deacon," said I, " you made the figures yourself.
You thought Mr. Lawes' estimate too high. You reduced it one-
haif. The figures are correct, and you must accept the conclusion.
If John Johnston's manure is only worth $1.23 per ton in the yard,
yours, made from 1 ton of corn and 3 tons of straw, is only
worth 234 cents per ton."

" And now. Deacon," I continued, " while you have a pencil in
your hand, I want you to make one more calculation. Assuming
tliat Mr. Lawes' estimate is too hi^h, and we reduce it one-half.

80 TALKS ON MANURES.

figure up what manure is worth when made from straw aloue.
T oa take 4 tons of wheat straw, feed out part, and use part for
bedding. It will give you about 10 tons of manure. And this 10
tons cost you 50 cents a ton to load, draw out, and spread. Now
figure :

" Four tons of straw is worth, for manure, according to Mr.
Lawcs' table, $2.68 per ton. "We have agreed to reduce the figures
one half, and so the

10 tons of manure from the 4 tons of straw is worth. ..?.5.36
DrawJDg out 10 tons of manure at 50 cents 5.00

Value of 10 tons of straw -manure hi yard $0.36

" In other w'ords, if John Johnston's manure is worth only $1.23
per ton in the yard, the straw-made manure is worth only a little
over 3fr cents a ton in the yard."

" That is too absurd," said the Deacon.

" Very well," I replied, " for once I am glad to agree with 3'ou.
But if this is absurd, then it follows tliat Mr. Lawcs' estimate of
the value of certain foods for manure is not so extravagant as you
supposed — which is precisely Avhat I wished to prove."

" You have not told us how Mr. Johnston manages his manure,"
said the Deacon.

" There is nothing very remarkable about it," I replied. " There
are many farmers in this neighborhood who adopt the same
method. I think, however, John Johnston was the first to recom-
mend it, and subjected himself to some criticism from some of the
so-called scientific writers at the time.

" Ilis general plan is to leave the manure in the yards, basements,
and she.is, under the sheep, until spring. He usually sells his fat
sheep in March. As soon as the sheep are removed, the manure is
either thrown up into loose heaps in the yard, or drawn directly
to the field, where it is to be used, and made into a heap there.
The manure is not spread on the laud until the autumn. It re-
mains in the heaps or piles all summer, being usually turned once,
and sometimes twice. The manure becomes thoroughly rotted."

Mr. Johnston, like the Deacon, applies his manure to the corn
crop. But the Deacon draws out his fresh green manure in the
spring, on sod-l:uid, and plows it under. Mr. Johnston, on the
Other hand, keeps his manure in a heap through the summer,

HOW JOHN JOHXSTON MAXAGES HIS MANLllE. 81

spreads it on the sod in September, or the first week in October.
Here it lies until next spring. The grass and clover grow up
through manure, and the grass and manure are turned under next
spring, and the land planted to corn.

Mr. Johnston is thorough!}- convinced that he gets far more
benefit from the manure when applied on the surface, and left ex-
posed lor several months, than if he plowed it under at once.

I like to write and talk about John Johnston. I lilie to visit
him. He is so delightfully enthusiastic, believes so thoroughly in
good farming, and has been so eminently successful, that a day
spent in his company can not fail to encourage any farmer to re-
newed efforts in improving his soil. " You must drain," he wrote
to me; "when I first commenced farming, I never made any
money until I began to underdrain." But it is not underdraining
alone that is the cause of his eminent success. When he bought
his farm, " near Geneva," over fifty years ago, there was a pile of
manure in the yard that had lain there year after j'ear, until it was,
as he said, " as black as \\\y hat." The former owner regarded it
as a nuisance, and a few months before young Johnston bought
the farm, had given some darkies a cow on condition that they
would draw out this manure. They drew out six loads, took the
cow — and that was the last seen of them. Johnston drew out this
manure, raised a good crop of wheat, and that gave him a start.
He says he has been asked a great man}- times to what he owes his
success as a farmer, and he has replied that he could not tell
whether it was "dung or credit." It was probably neither. It
was the man — his intelligence, industry', and good common sense.
That heap of black mould was merely an instrument in his hands
that he could turn to good account.

His first crop of wheat gave him " credit'' and this also he used
to advantage. He believed that good farming would pay, and it
was this faith in a generous soil that made him willing to spend
the money obtained from the first crop of wheat in enriching the
land, and to avail himself of his credit. Had he lacked this faith —
had he hoarded every sixpence he could have ground out of the
soil, who would have ever heard of John Johnston ? He has
been liberal with his crops and his animals, and has ever found
them grateful. This is the real lesson which his life teaches.

He once wrote me he had something to show me. He did not
tell me w]iat it was, and when I got there, he took me to a field of
grass that was to be mown for hay. The field had been in winter
wheat the year before. At the time of sowing the wheat, the

82 TALKS ON MAMUKS.

whole field was seeded dowa with liuiolhy. No clover was sowu
either then or iu tiie spring ; but after the wheat was sowu, he put
oil a slight ilressiug of manure on two portions of the field that
he thought were poor, lie told the man to spread it i-ut of the
wagon just as ihin as he could dij^lribute it evenly over the laud.
It was a very light nianuring, i)ut t!ie manure was rich, and thor-
oughly rfitted. 1 do not recollect whether the etl'cet of the manure
w as particularly noticed on the wheat ; but on the grass, the fol-
lowing spring, the effect was sufficiently striking. Those two por-
tions of tlie field where the manure was spread were Cfrcercd tei'th
(I spkmlid crop of red clover. You could sec the exact line, in bt)th
cases, where the manure reached. It looked quite curious. No
clover-seed was sown, and yet there Wiis as fine a crop of clover
as one could desire.

On lookin;^ into tlie matter more closely, we found tliat there
was more or less clover all over the field, but where the mnnurc
was not used, it could hardly be seen. The jilants were small,
ami the timothy bid them from view. But where the manure
was used, these plants of clover had been stimulated in their
growth until they covered the ground. The leaves were broad
and vigorous, while in the other case they were small, and almo;-t
dried up. This is prol)ably tlie right cxplanatiim. Tlie manure
did not "bring in the clover;" it simi)ly increased llie growth of
that already in l!ie soil. It shows the value of manure for gras.s.

This is what Mr. Johnstcm wanted to show me. "I might have
written and told you, but you would not have got n. clear idea of
the matter." This is true. One had to sec the great lu.xunance of
that piece* of clover to fullv appreciate the effect of the manure.
Mr. J. said the manure on that gra.ss was worth |i:?0 an acre* — that
is, on the three cro|>s of grass, before the field is ag:iin plowed. I
have no doubt that this is true, and that the future crops on the
land will also be benefited — not directly from the manure, p< r-
haps, but from the clover-roots i-i the soil. And if the field were
oasturcJ, the effect ou future crops would be very decided.

31Y UW.N I'l^N <JK MANA«JIN«; MANUKK. 83

C ][ A r T K K X X.
MY OWX PLAN OF MANAGING MANURE.

One of llic charms and the advanlages of agriculture is that a
farmer must ibiiik fur himself. He should studj princij)Ies, and
apply them in i>r.icliee, as best suits his circumstances.

.My own metliolof uianai.'ing nianun- jiives nie many of tlie
advantages claimed for tlie Deacon's method, and Jolin Johnston's,
also.

" I do nut understand wliat you mean," said the Deacon; "my
metliod differs essentially from that of John Johnston."

" True," I replied, " you use your winter-made manure in the
spring; while Mr. Johnston piles his, and gets it thon)Ughly fer-
mented ; hut to do this, he has to keep it until the autunm, and it
does not benefit his corn-crop before the ne.\t summer, lie loses
the u.se of his manure for a year."

I think my nutliod secures both these advantages. I get my
winter-made manure fermented ami in goiul condition, and yet
have it ready for spring crops.

In tlie first place, I should remark tliat my usual plan is to cut
up all the fodder for horses, cows, and sheep. F<jr horses, I some-
times use long straw for bedding, but, as a nde, I prefer to run
everything through a feed-cutter. "We do not steam the food, and
■we let the cows and sheep have a liberal supply of cut corn-stalks
and straw, and what they do not eat is thrown out of the mangers
and racks, and u.sed for bedding.

I shonld state, too, tliat I keep a good many pigs, seldom having
less than 50 breeding sow.s. My pigs are mo.stly sold at from two
to four months old, but we probably average 150 head the j'car
round. A good deal of my manure, therefore, comes from the
pig-pens, and from two basement cellars, where my store hogs
Bleep in winter.

In addition to the pigs, we have on the farm from 150 to 200
Cotswold and grade sheep ; 10 cows, and 8 horses. These are our
manure makers.

The raw material from which the manure is manufactured con-
sists of wheat, barley, rye, and oat-straw, corn-stalks, corn-fodder,
clover and timotliy-liay, clover seed-hay, bean-straw, pea-straw,
potato-tojis, mauLTel-wurzel, turnips, rape, and mu.stard. These
are all raised on the farm ; and, in addition to the home-grown
oats, peas, and corn, we buy and feed out considerable quantities

84 TALKS ON MAM KKS.

of bnin, shorts, finc-miiUUings, iniilt-coinbs, corn-nu:il, ami a little
oil-cake. 1 sell wlirat, rye, barley, and (■luver-s«'e(i, apples, and
potatoes, ami soinetinies cal)b.iges ami turnips. Probatily, on tbc
avera:;*', for each !|U)0 I reeeive from the sale of these croj*, 1
purchase $2.3 worlii of bran, inail-<<)nib.s, t-orn-nual, ami otiier
feed for animals. My farm is now rapidly iuereusing in fertility
aiid productiveness. The crops, on tlie avcraqre, are certainly at
least double what they were when I l»ou:;ht the farm thirUen
years ai^o; and much uf this increase has l.-iken place durini; tlic
last Jive or six years, and I exiM-ct to see still gn-ater improvement
year l^y year.

"Never mind all lliat," said tlie Deacon; "wo all know that
manure will enricli land, ami I will ronctnle tliat your farm li.ia
j^reatly improved, ami can not Iielp but impnne if you continue
to make and use as muili manure."

" I expect to make n»orc and more manure every year," j^aid I.
"The larjjjer tlie crops, tlie more manure we caii make; and the
more manure we make, the larger the cro|>s."

Tlie real jmint of difference In'tween my plan of managing ma-
nure, and (lie jtian adopinlby tlie Deacon, Ls es.s«*ntially this : I
aim to keep all my manun- in a compa«-t pile, when* it w ill slowly
ferment all winter. The Deacon throws hLs horse-manun- into a
heap, just outside the stable door, and l!ic cow-maiiure into an-
other heap, and the pig-manure into another heap. These heaps
are more or less scattered, and arc exposed to the niin, and snow,
and frost, Tiie horse-manure Ls quite likely to fenn'-nt Unt nip-
iJly, and if in a large heap, and the weather lA warm, it not
unlikely ''fire-fangs" in t!ic center of t!ie hcrip. 0:i the other
hand, the cow-manure lies cold and dead, an 1 during the winter
freezes into soli 1 lumps.

I wheel or cart all my maniire into one central heap The main
object is to ke -p it as compact as possible. There are two a<lva:i-
tages in this: 1st, tiie manure is less exposed t) tlie rain, and
(3d), when freezing weather sets in, only a few inches of the ex-
ternal portion of the heap is frozen. I have pr ictiscd this plan
for several years, and can keep my he;ij) of manure slowly fer-
menting during t'lc whole winter.

But in order to ensure this result, it is n cess-irv to begin iiiak«
ing the heap before winter sets in. The plan is this :

Having selected the spot in tlie yard most convenient for m.ak
ing the lic.ip, collect all the manure that can be f jund in the sheep-

MV OWS I'l \N <»K MVN\..IN<. M \ N I I: I s,',

yanls, shc<ls, row aiiil liorw stables, pi;;-lK'us, and Ihh-Iiousc, t<>-
pt'tluT witli Icavi-s, wfftls, HOtl ri'fus*' from tin- carilrn, and wIumI
or cart it to llu' inti-iidi-d hrap. If you sit a farm man to do the
work, loll him you want to m»kc a hot-l»od about five f*ft hijjh, six
fwi widf, and six fcrt lonji. I do not tliink 1 have over srcn a
fann wlicrc cnouph matrrial could not be found, say in November,
to make such a heap. And this ix ail that is needed. If tlic ma-
nure i.H rich, if it is oblaineU from animals eating clover-hav. bran,
frrain. or other frnwl rich in iiitrotren, it will soon fernient. Hut if
the manure is jKHir, coosistiui,' larL'ely «tf .straw, it will be very de-
sirable t<» make it ri' her by iiii\inj» with it bone-du'«t. blood, hon-
droppin;.'?, woollen rai.'B, i hainber lye, and animal inallirof any
kind that you can tind.

The richer you ran make the manure, the more rrudilv will it
ferment. A po«k1 plan is t«» lake the honw or sheep manure, a
few wc«ks previous, and use it for Ix-ddinn the pi;:s. !t will
altfMirb thi- liquid of the plus, and make rich manure, whii h will
8o<m ferment when phurd in a heap.

If the manure in the heap is t«M> dry, it i.s n l'Oo<1 plan, when v<<u
are killinj: hoi:s. to throw on to the nianiin- all the warm water,
hair, bloinl, intestines, etc. You may think I am making loo
much of such a simpl- matter, but I have had biters from farmers
who have tried this plan of manairinp manun-, and they say that
they cjin not keep it from free/.inp. One reason for this Is, that
they do not sunrl the heip early enough, and do n«»t take pains to
get the manure into an active fernu ntation Infore wiiiter sets in.
Much depends on this. In starlim: a fire, you take pains to pot a
little fine, dry woofl. that will burn readily, and when the fire is
fairly poini. put <>n lanrer sticks, and presently you have such a
fin- that you can burn wood, coal, stubble, sods, or anything you
wish. And so it is with a manure-heap. (Jet the fire, or fermen-
t ition, or, more strictly speaking, putrefaction fairly started, and
there will lie little trouble, if the heap is large enough, aud fresh
material is added from time to time, of continuing the fermenta-
tion all winter.

Another point to be observed, and espci ially in cold weather, is
to keep the sides of the heap straight, and the Urp knl. You
must expose the manure in t!ie heap jis little as possible to frost
and cold winds. The rule should be to spread ever}- wlir-el-bar-
rowful of manure as soon as it is put on the heap. If left un-
spread on top of the heap, it will freeze; and if afterwards cov-
ered witli other manure, it will recjuire considerable heat to melt
it, and thu'* r diicr the tcmi" r itur of the whole heap.

86 TALKS ON MANURES.

It is far less work to manage a heap of manure in this way than
may be supposed from my description of tlie ]>lan. Tlie truth is,
I find, in point of fact, lliut it is nut an easy thing to manage ma-
nure in this way ; and I fear not one farmer in ten will succeed
the first winter he undertakes it, unless he gires it his personal
attention. It is well worth trying, however, because if your heap
siiould free/x' up, it will be, at any rate, in no worse condition
than if managed in the ordinary way; and if you do succeed,
even in part, you will have manure in good condition for im-
mediate use in the spring.

As I have said before, I keep a good many pigs. Now pigs, if
fed on slops, void a large quantity of li(|iiid manure, and it is n(jt
always easy to furnish straw enough to al)sorb it. When straw
and stalks are cut into cLafT, they will absorb much more licjuid
tlian when used whole. For this reason wc usually cut idl our
straw and stalks. We also use the litter from the horse-stable for
bedding tlie store hogs, and also sometimes, when comparatively
dry, we use tiie refuse sheep bedding for the same purpose.
Where tlie sheep barn is contiguous to the pig-pens, and when the
sheep l)edding can be thrown at once into the pig-pens or cellar,
it is well to use bedding freely for the shecji and lambs, and re-
move it frequently, throwing it into the pig-pens. I do not want
my sheep to be compelled to eat up the straw and corn-stalks too
close. 1 want them to pick out what they like, and then throw
away what they leave in the troughs for bedding. Sometimes we
take out a five-bu&hel ba.sketful of these direct from the troughs,
for bedding young i)igs, or sows and pigs in the pens, but as a
rule, we use them first for bedding the sheep, and then afterwards
use the sheep bedding in the fattening or store jiig-jjcns.

" And sometimes," remarked the Deacon, " you u.se a little long
straw for your young jiigs to sleep on, so that they can bury
themselves in the straw and keep warm."

" True," I replied, " and it is not a bad plan, but we are not
now talking about the management of pigs, but how wc treat our
manure, and how wc manage to have it ferment all winter."

A good deal of our pig-manure is, to 1)orrow a phrase from the
pomologists, " double-worked." It is horse or sheei>manure,
used for bedding pigs and cows. It is saturated with urine, and is
much richer in nitrogenous material than ordinary manure, and
consequently will ferment or j)utnfy much more rapidly. Usually
pig-mauure is consid-Mcd '" cold," or sluggish, but this double-

MY OWN PLAN OF MANACIVO MANURE. S'H

worki'd pij^-manuri" will liriiKiit cvfii more rapidly tiiaii slu-ip or
liorso-inanure alDiie.

Unniixed c«»w-manure in heavy and cold, and wlicii kept in a
iieaj) i»y itself out of iloor>!, is almost certain to freeze up solid dur-
inj; tlie winter.

We usually wheel out our eow-dunir every uay, and spread on
tlie manure heap.

This is one of the things that needs attention. Tlicre will be
a constant tendency to put all the cow-dun;:: toi^ether, instead of
mixinir it with the lii^uter and more active manure from theliorses,
sIkh'p, and pii:^"- Spread it out and cover it with some of the more
strawy manure, which is not so lial)le to freeze.

Sli )uld it so happen — as v/ill most likely he the case — that on
lookini; at your heap some mornini; when the thermometer is
below zero, you find that several wlieel-harrowfuls of manure that
were put on the heap the ilay before, were not s|)rea l,and are now
crusted over with ice, it will be well to break up the barrowfuls,
even if necessary to use a crowb ir, and place the frozen lumps of
manure on the outside of the heap, ratlur tiian to let tliem liejn the
center of tlip pile. Your aim should b? ahv lys to keep the center
of the heap warm and in a state of fermentation. You do not
want the fire to 2:0 out, aud it will not go out if the heap is prop-
erly managed, even should all the sides and top be crusted over
with a layer of frozen manure.

During very severe weather, and when the top is frozen, it is a good
plan, when you are about to wheel some fresli manure on to the
heap, to remove a portion of tlie frozen crust on top of the heap,
near tiie center, and make a hole for the fresh manure, which
should l)e spread and covered up.

When the heap is high enough, say five feet, we commence an-
other heap alongside. In doing this, oir plan is to clean out some
of the sheep-sheds or pig-pens, where the manure ha-s accumulated
for some time. This gives us much more than the daily supply.
Place this manure on the outside of the new heap, and tlien take a
quantity of hot, fermenting, mmure from the middle of tlic old
heap, and throw it into the center of the new heap, and then cover
it up with the fresh manure. I would put in eight or ten i)ushel.s.
or as much as will war:n up the center of the new lieap, and start
fermentation. The colder tiie weather, the more of this hot
manure should you take fro!n the old heap— the more the better.
Fresh manure should be added to the old heap to fill up the hole
made by the removal of the hot manure.

88

TALKS OX MAXl'RES.

" Vou draw uul a i^ri-at uyv.iy loads t»f iiiaiiuru iliirini; the
winter," said tiie Deacon, "and pile il in the tield, and 1 have al-
ways thouf^lit it a good plan, as you do the work when there is
little else to do, and when tlie ijronnd is frozen."

Yes, this is an imj>rovenieiit on my old plan. I fonncrly used
to turn over the heap of manure in the burn-yard in .Mareh, or as
soon as fermentation had eea.sed.

Tlie objeet of liirniiiLr the he ip is (1st,) to mix liir manure and
make it of uniform quality; (21.) to break tiie lumps and make the
manure tine; and {:Jd,) to li:,'hten up the manure and make it
loose, thus letting in the air and indueing a second fermentation.
It is a good plan, and well rej^ays for the labor. In doing the
work, build up the end and ^ides of the new heap straight,
and keep the toj* Hat. Have an eye on the man d<fing the work,
and see that he bn-aks up the manure and mi.xes it thorouirhly,
and that he giH:ii to the ImjIIohi of the hf^ip.

My new plan that the De.icon allud. s i... :>, insicad ol lurnmg
the heap in the yard, to dr.iw the manure fn.m the heap in the
yard, and pile it up in another hr-ap in the rt.ld where it is to he
used. This lias all tlir- etFecIs of turning, and at the sjuue time
saves a good deal of teamwork in the spring.

1 A 1

0

0
0

0

0

CDE

0
0
0
0
0
_ 0

1 B 1

A, B, Mnuinr Hinps ; C,

The location of the manure-heap in the
field deserves some consideration. If the
manure is to be used fo"* root-crops or po-
tatoes, and if the land is to be ridged, and
the mainne put in the ridges, then it will
be desirable to jmt the heap on the head-
land, or, belter still, to make two heaps,
one on the headland top of the field, and
the other on the headlaiul at the bottom of
the field.as shown in the annexed engraving.

We draw the manure with a cirt, the
horse walking between two of the ridges
(D), ;.nd the wheels of tin- <:irt going in C
and E. The manure is pidled out at the
back end of the cart in.o small heaps,
about five paces a|>art.

" That is what I object to with you
agricultural writers," said the Doctor; "you
say 'about five paces,' and sometimes ' altont

five paces would mean 4 yards, and sometimes 6 3'ards; and if you

MY OWN 1*1. AN OK .M.\NA<.IN«. »IAM KK.

bit

put 10 tons of iiMiuiP' |X'i .un" in llu- one case, \(MI wonlil put l")
Ions ni the ol'nT — wliiili ni.ikrs tinili- a ilitlVTrncc in tin- liosr."

TIm' I)<K-lor is ritrlil. Lti ns fiixmi- h liltir. If your carl Imlds
20 bushrls. Hnd if tlu- manure wii;;lis 7."i II).-*. t<» liie bu^lxl and
you \vi.>h t<) jtul on 10 Ions of manure |Mr ulw, or 1,5(K) husluls,
or V'ik rarl-l«iMds, then, as there an' 4;{,r>(i(» s(|uare feet in an acre,
you want a bushei of manure to 21) square feet, or say a spaee 2
yanis louj;, by nearly 5 feel wide.

Now, art our ridu'i's are '2\ feet apart, anti as our usual plan is
to mauun' 5 ritlijes at u time, or 12J f<ct wide, a load of 20
bushels of manure will j;" over a spare AVtlj feet lonir, nearly, or
say 15^ yards ; anil S4>, a load would make :t Ik aps, IT)^ feet upurl,
and there would be Uj bushels in eaeli liea|>.

If the manure is to Ik- spread on the surface of the land, there is
no necessity for placing' the heap on the headland. You can make
the heap or heaps. — ' Where most convenient." broke in the Dea-
con.— " N<», not by any means," I replied; "for if that was the
rule, the men would certainly ptit the heap just where it happened
to Ik> the least trouble for them to draw and throw olF the load.s."

The aim should be to put the heap just where it will recjuire
the least lalK)r to draw the manure on to the land in the sprinj:.

On what we call " rolling," or hilly land. I would put the heap
on the hiirhest land, so that in the sprim; the horses would be
g«)inir down hill with the full carts or wairons. Of course, it
would be very unwis*' to adopt this plan if the manure was not

o
oi.

a.

S

of.
C:

oi

.RPP.S^l.Q.BOP.S ^. 10 ROD

V,'

a.
o:
B;

%,

Field, 40x20 7?o/,i. xhoirbif) I\>)>i(i<m oj hr<, lh<ji,s of .V<inure, a, a.

drawn from the yards until sprinc:, when the land was soft;
but I am now speakinir of drawin-r out the manure in the winter,
■when there is sleiirhini:, or wiien tlie rrround is frozen. No farm-
er will object to a little extra I ibor for the teams in the winter, if
it will save work and time in the spring.

90

TALKS OX MAXURBS.

If the land is k-vel, then the heap <>r heaps should he placed
where the least distance will have to be traveled in drawinij; the
manure from the heap to the land. If there is only one he;i|), the
best point would be in the center of the field. If two heaps, and
the field is longer tlian it is broad, say 30 rods wide, and 40 rods
long, then the heaps should be made as shown on the previous
page.

If the field is square, say 40 x 40 rods, and we ran have four
heaps of manure, then, otlier things brin;; eijual, the best points
for the heaps are shown in the annexed figure:

Is

<ORODS

10 RODS

QQUtiOl

"to

Iw

.1.P..R9D.S

#

saow 01

.10 RODS

mdd, 40x40 Iio(h, showinff Ihsitwn offtmr Il-aps 'if Manure, a. n, a, a.

Having determined where to make the lieaps, the next question
is in regard to size. We make one about H feet wide and G feet
high, the length being determined by the quantity of the manure
we have to draw. In cold weather, it is well to finish the heap
each day as far as you go, so that the sloping side at the end of the
heap will not be frozen during the night. Build up the sides
square, so that the top of the heap shall be as broad as the bottom.
You will liave to see that this is done, for the average farm-
man, if left to himself, will certainly narrow up the heap like the
roof of a house. The reason he does this is that he throws the
manure from the load into the center of tlie heap, and he can not
build up the sides straight and square witlioiif getting on to the
heap occasionally, and pi i ing a layer round the outsides. lie

MY OWN I'L.VV OF M.V.\A<,IN«l MANUKB. 9l

Bhould bo iiislrurUd, too, to l)rr;ik up tin- lump-:, and mix tlic ma-
nurr, workini: it ovi.-r until it is loosi- uid tiiu-. li lliere arc any
Irozrn nia.ssi-s of inanur*-, place tlu m on the east or south outsiiie,
Hnd not in the inidille of tlie heap.

If there is any manure in the sheds, or basements, or cellars, or
piir-pens, clean it out, and draw it at onee to the pile in tiie field,
iDil mix it with tiie manure you are drawing from the heap in
the yard

Wc generally driw with two teams and three waijons. We
have one man to Mil the wairon in the yard, and two men to drive
and unload When tlic man comes back from the field, he places
his empty waijon by the sidj of tiie heap in the yard, and takes
oir the horses and puts tlu-m to the loaded wagon, and drives to
the heap in the field. If wc have men and teams enough, we
draw with three teams and three wagons. In this case, we put a
rolial)le man at the heap, who helps the driver to unload, and sees
that the heap is built properly. The driver helps the man in the
yanl to load up. In the former plan, we have two teams and three
men ; in the latter cjuse, we have three teams and five men, and as
we have two men loadim: and unloading, instead of one, we ought
to draw out double th<' tiuiintily of manure in a day. If the
weather is cold and windy, we ])Ul the blankets on the horses un-
dei the harness, so that they will not l)C chilled while standing at
the heap in the yard or field. They will trot back lively with the
empty wagon or sleigh, and the work will proceed briskly, and
the manure be less exposed to the cold.

" You do not," said the Doctor, " draw the manure on to the heap
with a cart, and dump it. as I have seen it done in England V"

I did so a few years ago, and might do so again if I was piling
manure in the spring, to be kept over summer for use in the fall.
The compression caused by drawing the cart over the manure, has
a tendency to exclude the air and thus retard fermentation. In
the winter there is certainly no necessity for resorting to any
means for checking fermentation. In the spring or summer it may
be well to compress the heap a little, but not more, I think, than
can be done by the trampling of the workman in spreading the
manure on the heap

" You do not," saiti the Doctor, " adojit the old-fashioned English
plan of keeping your manure in a basin in the barn-yard, and yet
I should think it has some advantages."

92 TALKS ON MAX IKES.

" I practised it lierc," suid I, " f<ir some years. I plowed and
scraped a lari^ebole or basin in tlie yanl four or five feet deep, with
a gradual slope at one end for convenience in drawing out the
loads — tlie other sides being much steeper. I also made a tank at
the bottom to hold tlie drainage, and ha<l a pump in it to pump
the liquid back on to the heap in dry weather. We threw or
wheeled tiic manure from the ^tables and pig-pens into this l)asin,
but I did not like the plan, for two rea.sons : (1,) the manure being
sprerul over so large a surface froze during winter, and (2.) during
the spring there was so much water in the basin that it checked
fermentation."

Is'ow, instead (»f spreading it all over the basin, we commenced a
small iieap on one of the sloping sides of the basin; with a horse
and cart we drew to this heap, just as winter set in, every bit of
maiuire that eoidd be found on the premises, and everything that
woidd make manure. When got all together, it made a heap seven
or eiglit feet wide, twenty feet l<>nu', and three or ftmr feet high.
We then laid planks on the heip, and every day, as the jtig-jH-ns,
cow and horse stables were eleaneil out, the manure was wheeled
on to the heap and shaken out and spread about. The heaji .soon
commenced to ferment, and when thccold weather set in, altliough
the sides and some parts of the top froze u little, the inside ke|)t
quite warm. Little chimneys were formed in the heap, where the
heat and steam escaped. Other parts of the heap would be covered
with a thin crust of frozen manure. B}' taking a few forkfuls of
the latter, and jilaeing them on the top of the "chimneys," they
checked the escape of steam, and ha<l a tendency to distribute the
heat to other parts of the heap. In this way the fermentation be-
came more general throughout all the nia.ss, and not so violent at
any one spot.

" But why be at all this trouble ?" — For several reasons. First.
It saves labor in the end. Two hours' work, in winter, will save
three hours' work in the spring. And three hours' work in the
spring is worth more than four hours' work in the winter. So
that we .save half the expense of handling the manure. 2d. When
manure is allowed to lie scattered about over a large surface, it is
liable to have much of its value washed out by the rain. In a com-
pact heap of this kind, the rain or snow that falls on it is not more
than the manure needs to kee]> it moist enough for feriuentation.
'3d. There is as much fascination in this fermenting heap of
manure as tliere is in having money in a savings bank. One is
continually trying to add to it. Many a cart-load or Avheel-barrow-
ful of material will be deposited that woidd otherwise be allowed

MY OWN ri.AN OF M.VNAi;lN<; MANIIIK. 93

to run to waslc. llli. Tin.' iiiaiiiirr, if tunic I over in KcIhu.iiv or
Marcli, will III' ill capital orilcr for applyiui; to root rrojis ; or if
your hay auil straw contains we»il-.'>ccils, the niannre will be in
tfood contliliou lo spread us a top-drcssinij on gntss-laiul early in
the spriniT. This. 1 think, is heller than kecpin*,' it in the yards
ull suninuT, and then drawing it out (»n the gniss hiiul in Septem-
ber. You gain six months' or a yt ar's time. You gil a si)leudid
growtli of rich grass, anil tiie rel-nujt seeds will gtrminate next
Septenilwr just as well as if tne manure was dniwn out at that
time. If the manure is dniwn out early in the spring, and spread
out immediately, and then harrowe<l two or thri'c tim«'s willj a
Thomas' smoothing-harrow, there is no dan^'er of its imparling a
rank flavor to the grass. I know from repeateu trials tliat when
part of a pasture is top-dresseil, cows and sheep will keep it much
more closely cropped down than the part which has not been
manured. The idea to the <-ontrary ori.Lrinated from not spread-
ing the m mure evenly.

"But wiiy fenncnt the manure :it all ? Why not draw it out
fn'sli from the yards? Does fermentation inena>e the amount of
plant-food in the manure':'" — No. But it renders the plant-food
in the manure mon.' immc Hatily available. It makes it more
soluble. We ferment manure for the sjime reason that wc de-
compose bone-du>t or minerd phosphates with sulphuric acid, and
convert them into superphosphate, or for the same reason that we
grind our corn and cook the meal. These processes add nothing
to the amount of plant- food in the bones or the nutriment in tlie
corn. They only increase its availability. So in fermenting
manure. When the liquid and solid e:;crcmcnts from well-fed
ani^nil-, witli tlie straw necessary to absnrli the lifiuid, are placed
in a ho jp, fermentation sets in and soon efTects very important
changes in the nature and composition of the materials. The in-
soluble woody fibre of the straw is decomposed and converted into
humic and ulmic acids. These are insoluble; and when manure
consists almost wholl}' of straw or corn .stalks, there would be
little gained by fermenting it. But when there is a good propor-
tion of manure from well fed animals in tb.e heap, carbonate of
ammonia is formed from the nitrogenous compounds in the
manure, and this ammonia unites with tiie humic and ulmic acids
and forms humale and ulmate of ammonia. Tiiese ammoniacal
salts are solubk> in water — as the brown color of tlie drainings of
a manure heap snfRtieniiy indicates.

Properly fermented manure, therefore, of good quality, is a
much more active and immediately useful fertilizer tuan fresh, un-

94 TALKS OX MANURES.

fviiiKiitcd manure. TluTc neril Itc no loss of ammonia from
evai)orali<Mi, and tlu- mauuro is far Irs^ liulky, and costs fur less
labor to draw out and s|)rca<l. The only loss that is likciy to
occur ia from leaching, aud thia muat be specially guarded against.

C ][ A P T E li X X I.

THE .MANACKMENT OF MAMHES.— Com im kd.
WHY DO WE fEUMENT MANUUE ?

nowevcr much farmers may difft-r in regard to the a«lvanUigC3
or disadvantages of fermenting manun*, I have never met with
one wiio contended tiiat it was gooil, either in theory or practice,
to leave manure for months, scalten-d over a ham-yard, exitosed
to the spring and autumn rains, and to tlic sumn>er's sun and
wind. All admit that, if it is necessiiry to leave manure in the
yar Is, it should be either thrown into a basin, or put into a j)ilo
or heap, where it will be compaer, and not much exposed.

We did not need the experiments of Dr. Vadcker to convince
us that there was great waste in leaving manure exposed to the
leaching action of our heavy rains. We did not know exactly how
much we lost, but we knew it must be considerable. No <me ad
vocates the practice of exposing manure, and it is of no use to dis
cuss the matter. All will admit tliat it is unwise and wasteful to
allow manure to lie scallered and exposed over tlie barn-yards
any longer than is absolutely necessary.

We sliould either draw it directly to the field ami use it, or we
should make it into a compaet heaj>, wliere it will not receive
more rain than is needed to keep it moist.

One reason for piling manure, therefore, is to preserve it from
loss, until we wish to use it on the land.

" We all admit that," said the Deacon, " Init is there anything
actually gained by fermenting it in the htap?" — In one sense,
no ; but in another, and very important sense, yes. When we
cook corn-meal for our little pigs, we add nothing to it. We have
no more meal after it is cooked than before. There are no more
starch, or oil, or nitrogenous matters in the meal, but we think the
pigs cau digest the food more readilj'. And so, in fermenting

I

niK MAN VtJEMKNT OK MAM'KES. Di>

manun, we add nulhiiii; to il ; thorr is iio inori' aclual nitroirpn,
or phtispljorir acid, or jiola^li, t»r any otlitr iiii:rfdiciit after ftr
DR-iilation lliaii tberi- was bcfori", imt tlit!**' iiifiR-dicnl.s art' rt iidcrtM]
more soiiiblf, and can Sc more nipialy taken up by the j hints. In
this sense, therefore, there is a great gain.

One lliin!? is certain, we do not, in many cases, pet anylliinp
like as much bene'Jt from our manure us the int;rcdients il cou
Uiins wimld lead us to ex|H.-cL

Mr. I^awes, on Ins clayey soil at Hothamsted, England, has
pn>wn over tliirty crops of wheat, year aft«T year, on tlie san»e
land. One plot has received 14 tons of ".tarn-yard manure per
acre every year, antl yet the produce from this phit is no hirt'er,
and, in fact, is fncpiently much less, than from a few hundred
|>ounds of artificial manure containim: far les.-* nitropen.

For nineti-en years, iKl'i to isTO, s»tme .)f the pl<»ts have received
the saniL' manure year after year. Thi' folhiwitii: shows tlie </r<T
aye yield for the nineteen years :

Whrat Stfiiw

]ter anr. pi r wrr.

Plot 5. — Mixed nifnend manure, alone 17 bus. 15 cwL

'* 6.— .Mixcil mineral inunure, and 'Mt lbs. ttniinu-

Jijaeal salts 27 lius. 25 cwt.

" 7. — Mixed mineral manure, anil -Kio lbs. amnio-

niacal salts ;;0 t)us. 3G cwt.

" 9. — Mixed mineral manure, and 55(» llis. nitrate

of soda 37 bus. 41 cwt.

" 2. — 14 tons farm-yard Junp SO bus. 34 cwt.

The 14 tons (31,360 lbs.) of farm-yard manure contained about
8,540 liis. orpaliic luatter, 8G8 His. mineral matter, and 200 lbs. ni-
lroL:en. Tiic 4(HJ lbs. of ammoniacal salts, and the r>.jO lbs. nitrate
of soda, each contained 82 lbs. of nitropen; and it will be seen
that this 82 lbs. of nitropi n produced as preat an effect as the 200
ll)s. of nitropen in barn-yard manure.

Similar experiments have been made on barhy, with even more
strikinp results. The plot dressed with 300 lbs. superphosphate of
lime, and 300 lbs. ammoniacal salts per acre, produced as larpe a
crop as 14 tons of farm-yard manure. The averape yield of barley
for nineteen crops prown on the same land each year was 48 bus. and
28 cwt. of straw i>er acre on both pi ts. In other words, 41 lbs. of
nitropen. in ammoniacal salt^, produced r.s preat an effect as 200
lbs. (tf nitropen in farmyard manure ! Durinp the nineteen years,
vne plot had received 102.200 lbs. of orpanic matter. 16,4!t2 lbs. of
mineral matter, and 3.800 lbs. of nitropen; while the other had
received only 5,700 lbs. mineral matter, and 77fl lbs. of nitropen-
and yet one has produced as large a crop as the other.

96 TALKS ON MANIRES.

Why this difference ? ll will not du to say iliat more nitrog*
was applied in the farm-yard lainure than was needed. M>
Lawes says : " For sume years, an ainounl of aniinouia-salls, cou
tainiiig 82 lbs. of nitrogen, was apidied to one series of plots (oi
barley), but this was found to be too much, tbc crop generally
being too heavy and laid. Yet prob.ibly alxiut 200 lbs. of uitrogec
was annually supplied in the dung, but with it there was no over-
luxuriance, and uo more crop, than where 41 lbs. of nitrogen was
supplied in the form of ammonia or nitric acid."

It would seem that there can be but one explanation of these
accurately-ascertained facts. The nitrogenous matter in the ma-
nure is not in an available condition. It Ls in the manure, l)Ul the
plants can not take it up until it is decomposed and rendered sol-
ul)le. Dr. VcDlcker analyzed " perfectly fresh horse-dung," and
found that of fne ammonia there w as not mure than one pound
in \~i tons ! And yet these 15 tons contained nitrogen enough to
furnish 140 lbs. of ammonia.

" But," it may be a.skcd, " will nut this fresh manure decompose
in the soil, and furnisli ammonia ? " In liglit, sandy soil, 1 pre-
sume it will do so to a consi Icrablc extent. We know that clay
mixed with manure retards fermentatio;i, but sand mixed with
manure accelerates fermentation. This, at any rate, is the case
when sand is added in sm dl quantities to a heap of fermenting
manure. But I do not suppose- it would have the siime cfTect when
a small quantity of manure is mixed with a large amount of sand,
as is the ca.se when manure is applied to land, and plowed under.
At any rate, practical farmers, with almost entire unanimity, think
well-rotted manure is better for sandy land than fre.sh manure.

As to how rapidly, or rather how slowly, manure decomposes
in a rather heavy loamy soil, the above -experiments of Mr. Lawes
afford very cunclusive, but at the sime time very disrouracring
evidence. During the 19 years, 3,^00 His. of nitrogen, and 1G,4!»2
lbs. of mineral matter, in the form of farm-yard manure, were ap-
plied to an acre of land, and tlie 19 crops of barley in irrain and
straw removed only 3,724 lbs. of mineral matter, and 1,001 ll)s. of
nilr.)gen. The soil now contains, unless it has drained away,
1,7;JG lbs. more nitrogen per acre tlian it did when the experiments
comnipnced. And yet 41 lbs. of nitrogen in an ava'Iahle mndlt'on
is sufficient to produce a good large crop of liarley, and S2 lbs. per
acre fnrnislied more than the plants could <ir>raiiize.

" Those are very interesting experiments," said the Doctor, " ani
show why it is that our farmers can afford to jiay a hlLMicr priic
for nitrogen and phosphoric acid in superphosphate, and other ar

TiiK m.vna<;emest (»f manures. 97

tificiul manures, than for Ihu same aiuuuut of nilrogeii auil phos-
pliuric acid iu siablc-mauurc."

We will uol discusi tiiis point at present. What 1 waut to as-
certain is, whellicr we can not tind some method of maiiiui; our
farm-yard manure more reiidily available'. Piliiig it up, and let-
ting It ftrnunt, is one uu Ihod of doing this, though 1 think other
mt tliods will yt-'t be disiovired. Possibly it will be found that
spreaciing wiU-rulted nianure on the surface of the lanil will be
one of the m<i&t jiraclical ajid simiilt st methods of accomplishing
this objecl.

"We pile the manure, therefore," said Charley, " first, because
we do not wish it to lie exposed to the rain in the yards,
and, second, becauM- fermenting it in the heap renders it more
soluble, and otherwise more available for the crops, when a])plied
to the land."

That is it exactly, and another reason for piling manure is, that
the fermentation greatly reduces its bulk, and we have less labor
to perform in ilrawing it out and spreading it. Elhvanger &
Barry, who dniw several thousand loads of slaltle-manure every
year, and pile it up to fcrnunt, t« 11 me that it takes three loads of
fresh manure to make one load of rottctl manure. This, of course,
has reference to bulk, and not wei^dit. Time tons of fresh barn-yard
manure, accordinsr to the experiment.<? of Dr. Vcelekcr, will make
about two tons when well rotted. tZwn this is a irreat saving of
lalM>r, and the mtted manure can be more easily spread, and mixed
more thoroughly with the soil — a point of great importance.

" Another rea.<^on for fermenting manure," said the S<iuire, " is
the destruction of weed-seeds."

"That is true," said I. " and a very important reason ; but I try
not to tliink about this method of killim: weed-seeds. It is a great
deal better to kill the weeds. There can be no doubt that a fcr-
mentin<r mannre-lieap w ill kill many of the weed-peeds, l)ut enough
will usually escape to re-seed the land."

It is fortunate, however, that the best means to kill weed-seeds
in the manure, arc also the best for rendering the manure most
efficient. I was talking to John Johnston on this subject a few
days ago. He told me how he piled manure in his yards.

" I commence," he said, " where the heap is intended to be, and
throw the manure on one side, until the bare ground is reached."

" What is the use of that V" I asked.

" If you do not do so," he replied, " there w ill be some portion of
5

98 TALKS ON MANUUBS,

the manure uikUt the heap lliat will be so compact that it will nol

femieiil, and tlie weed-seeds will uut be killed."

" You think," said I, " that weed-seeds can be killed in this way?"
" I know lliey can," he replied," but the heap must be carefully

made, so thai il will fernunt evenly, and when the pile is turned,

the bottom and sides should be thrown into the center of the heap."

LOSS UF A.MMONIA BY FEKMKNTiNC M.VNIKE.

If you throw a quantity of fresh horse-niauun- into a loose heap,
fernientatioii proceeds witii great rapidity. Mudi heat is produced,
and if the manure is under cover, or there is not rain enout;h to
keep the heap nmist, the manure will " fire-fang" and a large pro-
portion of the carbonate of ammonia produced by the fermentalioo
will e.^apc into the atmosphere and be lost.

As 1 have said before, we use our horse-manure for bedding the
store and fattening pigs. We throw the manure every morning
and evening, when the stable is cleaned out, into an empty sUilI
near the door of the stable, and there it remains until wanttil to
bed the pigs. >Ve find it is necessary l<t remove il fre(|ucnlly,
es|Krially in the summer, as fermentation soon sets in, and the
escape of the ammonia is delected by its well known pungent
smell. Throw this manure into the pig-cellar and let tin- pigs
trample it down, and there is no longer any is<ape of ammonia.
At any rate, I have never perceived any. Litmus paper will detect
ammonia in an atmosphere containing only one seventy five
thousandtii part of it; and, as Prof. S. W. Johnson once remarked,
"It is certain that a healthy nose is not far inferior in delicacy to
litmus paper." I feel sure that no ammonia twapes from this
horse-manure after it is trampled <lown by the pigs, although it
contains an additional quantity of " jtoteiitial ammonia" from the
licpiid and solid droppings of these animals.

Water has a strong altraction for ammonia. One gallon of ice-
cold water will .absorb 1.150 gallons of ammonia.

If the manure, therefore, is moderately moist, the ammonia is
not likely to escape. Furthermore, as Dr. Voehker has shown us,
during the fermentation of the manure in a heap, ulmic and humic,
crenic and aprocreiiic acids are produced, and these unite with
the ammonia and "fix" it — in other words, they change it from
a volatile gas into a non-volatile salt.

If tlie heap of manure, therefore, is moist enough and large
enough, all the evidence goes to show, that there is little or no
loss of ammonia. If the eenlre of the heap irets .so hot and .'»odry
that the ammonia is not reUiined, there is still noneccasity forlosK

THE m\n\i;kmi:\t ok m.wlkks. UO

The sides of tlie luap are eool and moist, and will retain the car-
bonate of aiuinonia, tiie a( ids uientiunrd also eoiniiij^ iiit(j play.

The uiiiiiionia is iiiucli nion- likely to eseape from lliu top of the
heap than from the sides. The In at and steam form little chim-
neys, and when a fermenting manure-heap Ls eovend with snow,
these little chimneys an- readily strn. If you think the manure is
fermenting; too rapidly, and that the ammonia is escaping, trample
the manure down tirmly about the ehimneys, thusclosin.; them up,
and if need he, or if convenient, throw mure manure on lop, or
throw on a few pailfuls of water.

It is a g<HKl plan, too, where conv<'nient, to cover the heap with
•oil. I sometimes do this when piliiiir manure in the field, not
from fear of losing atninonia, l)Ut in order ton-tain m<tisturo in
the heap. With proper precautions, I think we may .sifely dismi.ss
the idea of any si-rious loss of ammonia from fermenting manure.

THK WASTE OK MANTKK FRo.M LEACHING.

As we have endeavored to show, tlien- is little danger of losing
amm.inia hy keeping and fernuntin-,' manun-. But this is not the
only <iut stion to he considered. We have seen th.it in 10,(MK) lbs.
of fresh farm-yanl manun-, there is about 04 lbs. of niimijcn. Of
this, about 15 lbs. are soluble, and 4'J lbs. insoluble. Of mineral
matter, we have in this quantity of manure, 559 lbs., of which 154
lbs. are soluble in water, and 405 llts. insoluble. If we had a heap
of tive tons of fernu-ntinir manure in a stable, the es<-ape of half an
ounce of carbonate of ammonia wouM make a tremendous snnll,
and we should at once use means to cheek the escajie of thi.s pre-
cious substanee. But it will be seen that we have in this five tons
of fn'sii manure, nitrogenous matU-r, capable of forming over
180 lbs. of carbonate of ammonia, over 42 lbs. of which is in a
soluble conilition. This njay be h-ached day after d-ay, slowly and
imjierceptibly, with no hvat, or smell, to attract attention.

How often do we see manure lying under the eaves of an un-
spouted shed or bam, where one of our heavy showers will satu
rate it in a few minutes, and yet when» it will lie for hours, and
days, and weeks, until it would seem that a large proportion of its
soluble matter would be washed out of it ! T.ie loss is unques-
tionably very great, and would be greater if it were not for the
coarse nature of the mat<-ri:il. which allows the water to pass
throiigii it rapidly and without coming in direct contact with only
the outsiile portions of the particles of hay, straw, etc., of which
the manure is largely composed. If the manure was ground up
very fine, as it would be when prepared <"or analysis, the loss of

100 TALKS ON MANLKES.

soluble matter wouUl be still more st-riou.s. Or, if the manure was
fir?t fermented, so that the particles of matter would be more or
less decomi)osed and broken up tine, the rain would wash out a
large amount of soluble matter, and jirove much more injurious
th:in if the manure was fn sh and unftrn>ente<l.

"That is an argument," said the Deacon, "against your i>hin of
piling and fermenting manure."

"Not at all," I replied ; "it is a strong reason for not letting
manure lie under the eaves of an tinspouled iiuihling — esiM-cially
guod manure, that is made from rich food. Tiie lutter tlie manure,
tlia mor« it will lose fnmi bad management. I have never
recommended any one to pile their manure where it would receive
from ten to twenty times as much water as would fall on the sur
face of the heap."

" But you do rocommeml piling manure and fcnnentingit in the
open air and keeping the top tlat, so that it will catch all tijc rain,
and I tliink your heaps must sometimes get pretty well soaked."

"Soaking the heap of manure," I replied, "does not wash out
any of its solulde matter, prorld) d \o\x carry the matter no further
than the point of saturation. The water may, and doubtless docs,
•wasli out the soluble matter from .wnie port ion.'; of tlie manure, but
if the water do<>s not filter through the heap, but is all absorbed by
the manure, there is no lo.ss. It is when the water pa.s8es through
the heap that it runs awa}' with our soluble nitrogenous and min-
eral matter, aud with any ready formed ammonia it may tind in
the manure."

How to keep cows tied up in the barn, and at the same time
save all the urine, is one of the most ditlicult proldems I have to
deal with in the management of manure on my farm. The In-st
plan I have yet trieti is, to throw horse-manure, or sheep-manure,
back of the cows, where it will receive and absorb the urine. The
plan works well, but it is a question of labor, and the answer will
depend on the arrangement of the buildings. If the hor.-ies are
kept near the cows, it will be little trouble to throw the horse-
litter, every day, under or back of the cows.

In my own case, my cows are kept in a basement, w ith a tight
barn-floor overhead. When this l)am-floor is occupie.l with sheep,
we keep them -well-bedded with straw, and it is an easy matter to
throw this soiled iiedding down to the cow-stable below, where it
is used to absorb the urine of tlie cows, and is then wheeled out to
the manure-iieap in the yard.

At other times, we use dry earth as an absorbent.

MAMKi; 0\ l»Ali:V-KAUMS. Hf-

C n A r T E R XXII.
MANUKK ON DAII^Y FAHM8.

Farms (l«'v<)t»"(l i>rin(ip:illy lo (l;iir\ mir imi^Mii to In- richer and
more ppMliKlive tliuu furius liri^rly dtvolod to I lie priKluttiun of
grain.

Nearly all tlie proijuee of the f.iriii is used to feed Iheeows, and
little is sold liiit milk, or cheese, or Imtier.

■NVheii butter alone iss<ili, there ouirltl to be no hiss of ferlilizini;
matter — iw pure butler or oil contains no nilroueu, phosphoric
acid, or p<>Ui>li. Il contains nuthin:; but carbonaceous matter,
which can be removed fn»m the farm without detriment.

And even in the cxs<' of milk, or cheese, the advantajre is all on
the side of the dairyman, as compared with the grain-grower. A
dollar's worth of milk or ehei^e removes far h ss nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, and potash, than a didlar's wortli of wheal or other
grain. Five hundred ll>s. ^ f cheese contains about '2'} lbs. of nitro-
gen, and 20 lbs. of mineral matter. A cow that would make this
amoimt of cheese would eat not less than six tons of hay, or its
etjuivalenl in grass or grain, in a year. And this amount of food,
8up|M)sing it to be half clover and half ordinary meadow-hay,
would contain 240 lbs. of nitrogen and 810 lbs. of mineral matter.
In otlur w(trds, a cow eats 240 lbs. of nitrogen, and 2."j lbs. are re-
moved in the cheese, or not qui'e lOi i>er cent, and of mineral
matter not quite 2i per cent is removed. If it takes three acres
to produce this amount of food, there will l)e }:<J lbs. of nitrogen
removed by the ehee.se, per acn\ while IJO bushels of wheat would
remove in the grain 32 Ib.s. of nitnigen, and 10 to 15 lbs. in the
straw. So that a crop of wheat removes from live to six times ns
much nitrogen per acre as a crop of cheese ; and the removal of
mineral matter in cheese is quite insignificant as compared with
the amount removed in a crop (»f wheat or corn. If our grain-
growing fanners can keep up tlie fertility of their land, as they
undoubtedly cin, the dairymen ought to be making theirs richer
and mon> productive even.- year.

"All that is quite true," said the Doctor, "and y(t from what I
have .seen and heard, the farms in the dairy districts, do not, as a
rule, show any rapiil imprfivemenl. In fact, we hear it often
alle^red that the soil is becoming exhausted of phosphates, and that
the quantity and qualify of tlie gr.iss is deteriorating."

102 TALKS ON MANUUES.

"There may bt- sdiik' trutli in this," saiil I, "ami yi't I will
hazard tlic prediction tiiat in no other hrancli of ajrriculture shall
we witness a more decitled improvement durimj the next twenty-
tive 3'ears tiian on farms larfr<-ly devotetl to liie dairy. Grain-srrow-
inp farmers, lii\e our frien'l the Deaeon, here, wlio sells his grain
and never lirimrs liome a load of numure, and rarely huys even a
ton of bran to feed to stuck, ami wiio sells more nr less hay, must
certainly be impoverishinj^ their soils of pii()S|ihates much more
rai)idly than lln- dairyman who consumes nearly all lii» prmluce
on the farm, and silla little except milk, butler, cheese, young
calves, and old cows."

"Bones hail a wonderful eflfect," s;iid tlu- Doctor, "on the old
pastures in the dairy district of Cheshire in England."

" Undouittedly," 1 replied, "and so they will here, and so would
well-rollrd maiuire. There is noiliin^ in this fact to prove that
dairyin;; specially robs the .soil of |)!iosphales. It is not jtliosphates
that the dairyman needs so mu<h as riciier manun-."

" What would you add to the manure to make it richer?" asked
tlie Doctor.

" Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash," I replied.

" But how ? " asked the Deacon.

•' I suppose," saiil the Doctor, " by buying guano and tlie (Jernian
potash salts."

" Tliat would be a good plan," said I ; " but I would di> it liy buy-
ing bran, mill-feed, brewers-grains, malt-combs, corn-meal, oil-
cake, or whatever was best and cheap; St in proportion to value.
Bran or mill-feed can often be bouirht at a price at wliirh it will pay
to use it freely fur manure. A frw tons of bran wi>rk<-d into a
pile of cow-dung would warm it uj) an I add considerably to its
value. It would supply the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and p<)tash,
in which ordinary manure is d-ficient. In short, it would convert
poor manure into rich manure."

" Well, well," exclaimed the Deacon, " I knew yon talked of mix-
ing dried-blood and bone-dust with your manure, but I did not
think you would advocate anything quite so extravai^ant as taking
good, wholesome bran and spout-feed and throwing it on to yotir
manure-pile."

" Why, Deacon," said I, "we do it every day. I am putting
about a ton of spout-feed, malt-combs and corn-meal e.nch week
into my manure-pile, and that is the reason why it ferments so
reaiilyeven in the winter. It convertsmy|)Oor manure into good,
rich, well-decomposed dung, one load of which is worth three load*
of your long, strawy manure."

MANUKK ON' I».\ 1 1: VIA RMS. 103

" Do you not wet it mul Kt it frrmoiii btfurc puttiiiL,' it in tlic
pik-r"

"No, Dcat'on," sjjid I, "I ft-fil llu- Itraii. iiialt-coiiilts and corn-
nu'jil to tlic I'ow.s, |iij;>, ami slu-i-p, ami K't thnn do tlir mixing.
Tiny work it up lim-, uioi>ti-n it, break up tin- particlts, iak«" out
tlif carhonar'-ous inalttr, wliirli \vt' do not mcd for manure, and
llu- cows and >iic'<-p ami lior><'s nii.x it up tlioroui^hly with the liay,
8tniw, and forn->talks, Icavini; liif wlioU- in just the right con-
dition to put into a pile to ferment or to apply directly to the land."

"Oh ! 1 Hec," said the Deacon, " I did not think you used bran
for numurc."

" Vi-8, I do, Deacon." sjiid I, " but I use it for foo<l first, ami this
is prf<is«ly what I wnuld ur;;e you ami all others to do. I feel
sure that our dairym* (i can well atrord to buy more niill-fe<'d,
corn-m<'aI, oil-cake, <'tr., and mix it with tlieir cow-dung — or
rather, let the cows do the miximr"

LETTER FROM THE H(»X. HARRIS I.KW I.-^.

I wrote to the Hon. Harris Lewis, the well known dair}'mnii of
Herkimer Co., N. Y., asking him son)e (pKstions in regard to mak-
ing and managing manuri' on dairy f.irms. TIk- (piestions will bo
uinlerstood from the answirs. He writes as folhtws:

" My Friend Harris. — This being the first leisure time I liave h.id
since ihe receipt of your last letter, 1 devote it to answering your
(piestittns :

" 1st. I have no manure cellar.

"I bed my cows with dry bn.«swood sawdust , s;ivi ng all the
liquid manun-, keeping the cows clean, and the stable odors down
to a tolenible degree. This bedding breaks ujj the tenacity of the
cow-manure, rendering it as easy to pidveri/e anil manage as clear
horsi^-manure. I would s-iy it is just lovely to bed cows with dry
basswood sjiwdust. This manure, if left in a large pile, will ferment
and burn like horse-manure in about 10 d.iys. Hence I draw it
f)Ut as made where I desire to use it. leaving it in small heaps, con-
venient to spread.

" My pigs and calves arc bedded with straw, and this is piled
and rotted before u«ing.

" I use most of my manure on grass land, and mangels, some on
com and potatoes ; but it pays me best, when in proper condition,
to apply all I do not need for mangels, on meadow and pasture.

"Forty loads, or about IS to 00 cor Is is a homcpopathic dose for
an acre, ,ind this f|uantily, or more, a|)i>lied once in three years to
grass land, agrees with it first rate.

104 TALKS ON M ANT RES.

" Tlir laml when- I i:r<>\v inaiiLrrlsgcts altoui this dosi- c very yt'ar.

"1 vvuulil say that my up-l:iiul incatlows have bci-n iiiowii twice
each year for a great many years.

" I have heen using refuse salt from Syracuse, on my mangels,
at the rale of about six l)ushels per acre, applieil broadcast in two
applications. My henmauure is jiulverizeil, aiul sifted through a
eoiiimon coal sieve. The fine I use for duslini: the mangels after
they have been singled out, and the lumps, if any, are used to
warm up the red peppers.

" 1 have sometimes mi.xed my hen-manure wilii dry muck, in
the proportion of one bushel of hen-manure to 10 of muck, and
received a profit from it loo big to tell of, on corn, and on mangels.

"I have sprinkled the refuse salt on my cow-stable floors some-
times, but where all the liipiid is saved, I tliink we have salt enough
for most crops.

" I have abaiiilom <1 tlie use of plaster on my pastures for the
reason that milk produced on green-clover is not so good lus that
produced on the gra.sses proper. I use all the wood lushes I can get,
on my mangels as a duster, antl consider their value gn-ater than
the ouniers do who sell tli«ni to me for 15 cts. a bushel. I have
never used much linie, and have not received the ex|)ectcd benefits
from it.s use so far. But wood a-'^hes agree with my land as well
as manure does. The last ((uestion you ask, but one, is this:
' What is the usual plan of managing manure in the dairy districts ?'
The usual method is to cut holes in the sides of the stable, al>out
every ten feet along the whole length of the barn behind ihecows,
and i>iteh the manure out through these holes, under the eaves of
the Itarn, where it remains tintil too much in the way, when it is
drawn out and commonly applied to grass land in lumps as big as
your hea<l. This practice is getting out of fasliion a little now, but
nearly one half of all the c )W-manuro made in Herkimer Co. is
lost, wasted.

"Your last question, 'What improvement would you suggest,'
I answer by saving it is of no use to make any to these men, it
woidd be wasted like their manure.

" The market value of manure in this county is 50 cts. per big
load, or about one dollar V)er cord."

"Th;it is a capital letter," .said the Deacon. " It is right to the
point, an 1 no nonsi'nse about it."

" He must make a good deal of manure." said the Doctor,
" \o be able to u.se 40 loads to tlie acre on his meadows ::nd

MANUUK <>N K.VIKY-FaUMS. 105

pastures oiicc in llirrc ycjirs, and the same (luunlity ivory year ou
his tit'Iil of laaii^tl-wurwl."

"Thai is iircii.M.-ly wlial 1 havi- bcfn contcuiliuj; for," I rci)Iifcl ;
" till' dairymen r m iii:ikc iurp' i|uantilifs of manurr if liu-y makran
cfr)rt to do it, ami tlicir farms oiijjiil to In- roiistantly imitroviu;^.
Two (Toiw of hay on the siimc meadow, each year, will enalde a
farin<T to keep a lame herd of ctjws, and make u j:real (juaiitily of
manure — and when you have once cot the manure, there is no dif-
ficulty in keeping up and increasin/? the productiveness of the land."

HOW TO MAKE MOKE AND BETTEK MANL'KE ON DAIRY

FARMS.

" You arc riirht," s:iid the Doctor, " in sjiyini: that there is no dif-
ficulty in keeping up and in»Tcasinir the proiluctivenessof our dairy
farms, when you have once got plenty of manure — but the dillicully
is to get a good supply (»f manure to start with."

This is true, and it is comparatively slow work to bring up a
f:inii, unless you have plenty of ca|)ital and can buy all the artificial
manure you want. By the free use «)f artificial manures, you could
make a farm very productive in one or two years. But the slower
ami cheaper method will \>c the one adopted by most of ourj'oung
and intelligent dairymen. Few «if us are born with silver spoons
in our mouths. We have to earn our money before we can spend it,
ami we are none the worse fr)r the di-;<ipline.

Suppose a yixmg man h:is a farm of KM) acn-s, dcvototl prim ipally
to dairying. Some of the land lies on a <reek or river, while other
portions are higher and drier. In the s|)ring of the year, a stream
of water runs through a part of the farm from the adjoining bills
down to the cri'ck or river. The fann now sujiports ten head of
cows, tlirce horses, half a dozen slieop, and a few piirs. The land is
wortii ITo per acre, but does not pay the interest on half that sum.
It is getting worse instead of better. Weeds are multiplying, and
the more valuable grasses are dying out. What is to be done?

In the first place, U-t it be distinctly umlerslood that the land is
not exhausted. As I have before .said, the productiveness of a farm
does not depend so much on the absolute amount of plant-food
which the soil contains, as on the amount of plant-food which is
immediati'ly availal)le for the use of the plants. An acre of land
that produces half a ton of hay, may contain as much plant-food
as an acre that produces three tons of hay. In the one ca.se the
plant-fooil is locked \ip in such a form that the crops cannot absorb
it, wiiile in the other it is in an available condition. I have no
doubt there are fields on the farm I am alluding to, that contain

106 TALKS OV MAKI'RES.

3,000 lbs. of nitrogen, and an oqiial amount of phosphoric
acid, per acre, in the first six inches of the surface soil. This
is as much nitrogen as is contained in 100 tons of meadov;-
hay, and more phosphoric acid than is contained in 350 tons of
meadow-hay. Tliese are the two inirredients on which the fertility
of our farms mainly depend. And yet tliere arc soils containing
this quantity of plant-food that do not produce more than half
a ton of hay per acre.

In some field.s, or parts of fields, the land is wet and the plants
cannot take up the food, even while an abundance of it is witiiin
reach. Tiie remedy in this case is under-draining. On otiicr
fields, the plant-food is locked up in insolul)le corahinations. In
this case we mu.st |)low up the soil, pulverize it, and exjuise it to the
oxygen of the atmosiiherc. We must treat the soil as my mother
used to tell me to treat my collee, when I comjdained that it was
not sweet enough. " I put plenty of sugjir in," she said, "and if
you will stir it up, the coffee will be sweeter." The sugar lay un-
dissolved at the bottom of the cup; and so it is with many of our
soils. Tliere is plenty of plant-food in them, but it needs stirring
up. They contain, it u)ay l)0, ;!,ik;0 lbs. of nitrogen, and other
plant-food in still greater pniportion, and we are only getting a
crop tliat contains 18 lbs. of nitrogen a year, and of this probably
tl)e rain supplies 9 lbs. Let us stir up the soil and see if
we cannot set 100 lbs. of this 3,000 Ib.s. of nitrogen free, and
get three tons of hay pe-r acre instead of half a ton. There arc
men who own a large amount of valuable property in vacant city
lots, who do not get enough from them to i)ay their taxes. If they
would sell half of them, and put buildings on the other half, they
might soon have a haudsoine income. And so it is with many
farmers. Tiicy have the elements of 100 Ions of hay lying dor-
m<>nt in every acre of their land, while they are content to receive
half a ton a year. They have j^rojierty enough, but it is unproduc
tive, wiiile they pay high tuxes for tlie ])rivilege of Imlding it, and
high wages for the pleasure of hoanhng two or three hired men.

We have, saj-, 3,000 lbs. of nitrogen locked up in each acre
of our soil, and wc get 8 or 10 lbs. every year in rain and
dew, and yet, practically, all that we want, to make our farms
highly productive, is 100 ll)s. of nitrogen per acre per annum.
And furthermore, it should be remembered, that to keep our farms
rich, after we have once got them rich, it is not neces.sary to de-
velojic this amount of nitrogen from the soil every year. In the
rase of clover-hay, the entire loss of nitrogen in tlie animal and in
the milk would not exceed 15 per cent, so that, when wc feed out

MANURK ON DAIKY-K.V KMS 1(>7

100 lbs. of nitro!,'tu, Wf have- 80 lbs. left in the iiiaiiurr. \N>
want lo dcvil<)|K- 100 liis. of nitrogen iu the soil, to i-nablr us
to raisL- u gooii irop to slurt with, and when this is once done, an
annual di'Vi'lopinent of I't lbs. jkt am- in adilition to llif manure,
WDuld keep up the produetivenet-s of the soil. Is it not worth
while, therefore, to make an earnest etlort to f;el started? — to get
100 Ib.s. of nitr )gen in the most available eonditictn in the soil?

As I said before, this is praetieally all that is needeil to give us
large crops. This amount of nitrogen repre.-enls about twelve tons
of average bani-\ard manure — that is lo sjiy, twelve tons ctnitains
100 Ib.s. of nitrogen. But in iwiinl of fa<t it is not in an imme-
diately availaitle condition. It would probably take at least two
years before all the nitrogen it eontuins would be given up to the
plants. We want, therefore, in order to give us a good start,
24 tons of bani-yard manure on every acre- of land. How to
get this is the great prol)lem which our young dairy farmer has to
solve. In the grain-growim:: districts we get it in i)art by summer-
fallowing, and I believe the dairyman miirht often do the same
thing with advantage. A thorough summer-fallow would ii(»t
only (lean the laml, but would render some of (he latent i)lant-
footl available. This will be organized in the next crop, and when
the dair}'man has once got the plant-lood, he has deeidedlj' the
advantage over the grain-growing farmer in his ability to retain it.
lie need not lose over 16 i>er cent a year of nitrogen, and not one
]^e^ cent "f the ether eleiuenta of jiiiut-fi^Kl.

The land lying on the borders of the creek could be greatly
benefited by cutting surface ditches t > let otf the water; and later,
probably it will be found that a few underdrains can be put in to
advantage. These alluvial soils on thi' borders of creeks and rivers
are grand sources of nitrogen and otli« r jdant-food. I do not know
the fact, but it is quite probable that the meadows which Harris
Lewis mows twice a year, are on the banks of the river, and are
perhap;? flooded in the s|)ring. But, be this as it ma}', there is a
fielil on the farm I am alluding to, lying on the creek, which now
produces a bountiful growth of weeds, rushes, and coarse gras.scs,
which I am sure could easily be made to produce great crops of
hay. Tlie creek overflows in the spring, and the water lies on
some of the lower parts of tlie fl<*ld until it is evaporited. A few
ditches would allow all the water to pass off", and this alone would
be a great im])rovement. If the field was flooded in May or June,
ami thoroughly cultivated and harrowed, the sod would be suffl
ciently rotted to plow again in August. Then a thorough harrow-
ing, rolling, and cultivating, would make it as mellow as a garden,

lOS TALKS ON MANURES.

and it could be sei-drd down witli liiiiotliy and oilier good grassoa
the list of August, or be;,'iiiniiiu' of SfpU'inbcr, and produec agood
crop of hay the next year. Or, if thought hetler, it niiglit b.-sown
tf) rye and seeded down witli it. In either ease tlie land would be
greatly improved, and would be a productive meadow or pasture
for years to come — or until our young dairyman could afford to
give it one of Harris Lewis' " homceopathie " doses of 40 loads of
good manure per :icre. lie would then be able to cut two crops
of hay a year — and such hay ! But we are anticipating.

Tiiat stream wliich runs through tin- farm in the spring, and
then dries up, could be made to irrigate several uiri's of the land
adjnininu'. Tiiis would doul)le, or tril)le, or cpiadruple, (" hold on,"
sail! tiie Deacon,) the crops of grass as far as tlie water readied.
The Deacon does not seem to credit this statement; but I have
seen wonderful ed'ei ts proiluced l)y such a plan.

What I am endeavoring to show, is, that these and similar means
will give us larger crops of hay and grass, and these in turn will
enable us to keep more cows, and make more manure, and the
manure will enable us to grow larger crops on other portions of
tile farm.

I .'iin .•iware tliat m.iny will object to plowing up old grass land,
and I do not wish to be mis inderstood on this point. If a f.irmcr
has a meadow tliat will pnnluce two or three tons of h:iv, or support
a cow, to tlie acre, it would be folly to lireak it up. It is already
doing all, or nearly all, that can be asked or desired. But suppose
you have a piece of naturally good land that d les not pn^luce a
ton of hay per acre, or pasture a cow <jn three acres, if such land
can be plowed without great difBculty, I would break it up as
early in the fall as possible, and summer-fallow it thoroiiirhly, :md
seed it down again, heavily, with gr.iss seeds the next August. If
the land does not need draininir, it will not fori'et this treatment
for njany years, and it will be the farmer's own fault if it ever nins
down again.

In this country, where wa-ies are so liiirh, we must raise large
crops per acre, or not rai.se any. Where lanil is cheap, it may some-
times pay to compel a cow to travel over tliree or four acres to get
her food, but we cannot afford to raise our hay in half ton crops;
il costs too much to harvest them. High wages, hlu'li taxes, and
high-priced land, nocessitate high farminir; and bylii-jh farming, I
mean growing lar^'e croi>s every year, and on every portion of the
farm ; but high wages and loir-priad hiud i\o not neccssarilv demand
hiirli fanning. If the land is chea]) we can sutler it lo lie idle with-
out much loss. But when we raise crops, whether on high-priced

MAMKi; <»v i)Aii:v-F \i;ms. lOU

laiul or on low-priciil Iaii<l, we imisl raisr nooilcnips, or the cxpnise
of rultivutinj; an>l liarvoliii;; lluiii will ral op all llic prolits lii
the iluirv <iistru Is, 1 bi liivc laml, in proportion to ils tiualily and
Ufarniss to market, «-oinniamls a lii::litT price- than lam', in tlic grain-
growini; di." trie til. lli-nci- it follows llial liiyh tanning should be
Uu- aim of tin- Annrican dairvman.

1 am told that tlnn- art- farm- in the dairy ilistricts of this State
worth fn)m one hundred to one hundred and tifty dollars pr r a«n-,
on which a row to ftiur acres for the year is considered a good
average. At a meeting of tlie Little Falls Farmers' Cluli, the Hon.
Josiali Shull. gave a statement of the receipts and expenses of his
farn> of Sli aens. The farm cost $1:50 per acre. He ke|»t twetity
cows, ;.nd fatted one for beef. The receipts w«re as follows:

Twonty cows yielding S,:«7 lbs. of chcc«c, nt ab.ml Hi cents

|KT pound fl,lS<5.I?3

Incn-iibc wu beef vow 40 <I0

Calvrs 4^

Total roccipU $1,271.^3

KXrKNSES.

Bov, nix inonttis and l><>ard $'i><0.00

Mail l>y till- ye:ir, mid Imard :t('i<l.iKI

Carting niiik und niunufactiiring ehcese 'il.VOO

Tutiil i<.!<l of lat)t.r fT.'iS.UO

TUB OTHEK EXI'ENSKS WEKE :

Fertilizers, plant?, etc $ I'^-OO

llorse-slio.inir and other repairs of farmini; impU-monU, ( wliich

is certJiiiily i>r«tty chi-ap. ) .'jfl.OO

Wear and tear of inn>li'in»nts Jli.fHt

Averajre repairs of pluee and buililini^s 175.00

Avcrace depreciation and interest on stock ls<i.(tO

Insiininco 4.00

Ineidlntul^, (also pretty low,) ■>""0

><i-JO.OO

Total receipts ?1 ['il ■•■^'^■

Total expenses l,H7.').0O.

Tins statement, it is wid, the Clnb considered a very fair estimate.

Now, hero is a farm costing |;10,.")n.~>, the receipts from which,
saying nothing : bout interest, are less than the expenses. And if
you add two cents per pound more to the price of the cheese, the
l>ro(it would still be only about f")0 per year. The trouble is not
so much in the low price of cbee*e, as in thr low product per acre.
I know some grain-growing farmers who have done no better tl^an
this for a few years past.

Mr. Shnll places the annual depreciation and interest on stock at
f IW), eijual to nearly one-seventh of the to'al receipts of the f.irm.
It would pay the wages and board of another man for six montlia

110 TALKS ON MA VIRES.

Can not it lie avoiileil ? Good iK-cf is rclutively miicii hiirhcr in
this Sliite tiian '^oinl ciit'cse. Some of the dairy authorities tell us
that cheese is the cheai)est animal food in the world, while beef Ih
the dearest. Why. then, should our dairymen eonline their atten-
tion to the production of the cheapest of farm |)rodu(ts, and no<;-
loct almt)st entirely the production of the dearest? If l»eef is hiirh
and cheese low, wliy not raisi- more beef ? (Jn low-priced land it
may be profitable to raise and keep cows solely for the prcHluction
of cheese, and when the cows are no longer protituble for this pur-
pose, to sacrifice them — to throw them aside us we do a worn-out
machine. And in similar circumstances we may bo able to keep
sheep .solely J"or their wool, but on hijrh-priced land we can not
afford to keep sheep merely for their wool. We must a<lopt a
higher .system of farming and fee ling, and keep slu-ep that will
give us wool, lambs, and mutton. In parts of South America,
where land costM nothimr, cattle can be kei)t for their bones, tallow,
and hides, but where food is costly we must make belter use
of it. A cow is a machine for converting vegetable food into veal,
butter, cheese, and beef. The first cost of the machine, if a good
one, is considerable — say f 10(). This machine has to be kept run-
ning inght and d:iy, summer and winter, week days and Sundays.
If we were running a steam-flourini: mill that could never lie
allowed to stop, we sliould be careful to lay in a irood supply of
coal and also have plenty of grain on hand to gritnl, so that the
mill would never have to run empty. No sensible man would
keep up steam merely to run the mill. lie would want to grind
all the time, and as much as possible; and yet coal is a nmch
cheaper source of power than the hay and com with which we
run our milk-producing machine. How often is the latter allowe<l
to run empty? The m.achine is runinng night and day — must run,
but is it alwavs running to advantage? Do we furnish fuel
enough to en.dde it to do full work, or only little more than enough
to run the maihincry ?

" Wliat has all tliis to do with makinir manure on dairy farms?"
o.sked the Deacon; "you are wandering from tin- point."

" I hope not ; lam trying to show that L'ood feeding will pay
better than poor fecdin.: — and lu-tter food means better manure."

I estimate that it takes from 15 to IH lbs. of ordinary hay per
day to nm this cow-machine, which we have been talking al)OUt,
even when kept warm and comfortable; and if exposed to cold
storms, probably not less than 20 lbs. of hay a day, or its
ccpiivalcnt, and this merely to keep the machine nmning. witlnnit
doing any work. It requires this to keep the cow alive and to pre-

MAMUi: UN ItAIKY-lAKMS. lU

Vint licr l«»!iiig tlt-iili. If iidl !*ui>|ili(<l w illi tin- n<uii>itt' umuuiit
of f<MMl for tliis |>iir|M>s«.', slii' will takf rin>ii:;h fat aiul llcsli fmin
hrr own Ixnly to iiiaki- up tin- (Irriciciirv ; and if slic laiinul i^it il,
the inat-liiiie will stop — in otla-r wdhIs, iIr- cow will die.

\Vc liuvi>, tlion, a uiirliin*- tliut cosU> siiy $100; tlial will last vn
an avt-ra'^e eiijlil yi'an*; that requires careful uiana^eiucnt ; that
Hitist have constant wulchin^, or it will he liahlc lo get out of
order, and that requiri-s*, merely to keejt it runnini;;, say 20 Ilis.
t>f hay |KT day. Now , what dt» we gel in nlurn? It we furnish
only 20 Ills, of hay |>er ilay we get— itothiug e.xeepi niaiuirc.
If w«' furnisli 2"> ll»s. of hay per day, or its eipiivalent, we get,
s;iy half a fniund of cheese i>er day. If we furnish ;J0 Ihs. we
got one |>uund of cheese jmt day, or ytw lbs. a year. We may
not gel the one pound of eiieese every ilay in the year; sometimes
the cow, in.stead of givins; milk, is furnishing food for her endtryo
calf, oi slorin-.; U|i fat an i tiesh ; and this fat and llebh will Ik- u.sed
by and by to proiluce milk. Hut it all comes from tin- ftxxl eaten
by the cow; and is e(jii.d lo one pound of chees*- per day for IJO
lbs. of hay or its «'<piivalent consumed; 20 lbs. of hay gives
us nothing; 2.") lbs. of hay givi-s us half a pound of cluvse, or
40 lbs. of cheese from one ton of hay ; 30 lbs. irives us one
pound, or OOi lbs. of clu-^-se from (»ne ton of h.-iy ; 35 lbs.
gives us \\ lbs., or b.V , lbs. of cheese to one Ion of hay; 40
ll)s. gives us 2 lbs of cheese, or KX) lbs. of cheese from one ton
<»f hiy; 45 Ins. gives us 21 lbs. of cheese, or 111 lbs. of cheese
from one ton of hay; 50 lbs. jrives us 3 lbs. of cheese, or 120 lbs. of
cheese fn»m one ton of hay.

On tliis bjisis, one ton of hay, in exr^ss of the mnount rrqi/inil to
hrp up the an'mul hint and 8u«!ti'n the ritiU ftiiictiong, gives us 200
lbs. of cheese. The point I wish to illustrite by these figures,
which are of course hypothetic d, is, that it is exceedingly desiral)le
to get animals that will cat, di.'est, and assimil.ite a large amount of
food, over and above that re(iuin-d lo keep up the beat of the
body and sustain the vital functions. When a cow eats only 25
lbs. of bay a day, it retiuires one ton of hay to produce 40
lbs. of cheese. But if we could induce her to eat, digest, and
a.ssimilate 50 lbs. a day, one Ion would produce 120 1I)S. of
cheese. If a cow eats 33 lbs. of hay per day, or its equivalent
in grass, it will reijuire four acres of land, with a productive
capa' ity ecjual lo 1^ tons of hay per aero, to keep her a year.
Such a cow, according to the figures given above, will produce
401 i lbs. of cheese a year, or its equivalent in growth A
farm of yo acres, on this basis, would support 20 cows, yielding,

112 TALKS ON MANUUES.

Bay 8,000 1I)S. of cheese. Increase the i)roiluctivc power of the
farm one half, (I liope the Deacon has not gone to sleep), and keep
20 cows thai will eat half as much again food, and we should then
get 21,G0O lbs. of cheese. If cheese is worth 15 cents per lb.,
a farm of HO acres, jjroducing IJ tons of hay, or its equivalent, jht
acre, and siipporling 20 cows, would give us a, gross return of
$1,204.50. The same farm so improved as to produce 2^ tons of
hay or its etjuivalent, per acre — led to 20 (■«)ws c<tp.ibk of eating,
digesting, und itsst'iiiil it.ng it -would give u gross return of $3,240.

Ill presenting these fii,'ures, I hope you will not think me a
visionary. I do not think it is possible to get a cow to produce
\i ll)s. <jf clieese a day tliroughout the whole year. But I do
tiiink it (juite possible to so breed and feed a cow that she will pro-
duce 3 lbs. of cheese per day, or its eqniviknt in veal, tleah,
or faU We freciuently have cows that produce 3 lbs. of
cheese a day for sever.d wt-eks; and a cow can be sr fed that the
will produce 3 ll>s. of cheese a day without losing weight.
And if she can extract this aincmnt of matter out of the food for a
part of the year, wiiy can not she do so for the w hole year? Are the
powers of digestion weaker in the fall and winter than in spring
anil summery If not, we unipiestionably sustain great loss by
allowing this digestive power to run to waste. Tins digestive
power costs us 20 lbs. of hay a day. We can ill affonl to let it
lie dormant. But the Deacon will tell me that the cows arc
allowed all the food they will eat, winter and summer. Tlien we
must, if they have digestive power to spare, endeavor to persamle
them tA eat more. If they eat as much hay or grass as their
stomachs ore capable of holding, we must endeavor to give them
richer hay or grass. Not one farmer in a thousand seems tr) appre-
ciate the advantage of having hay or grass containing a hi'.'h per-
centage of nutriment. I have endeavored to show that a cow eat-
ing six tons of hay, or its equivalent, in a year, w «ndd produce 400
lbs. of cheese, worth $00. While a cow capable of eating,
digesting, and turning to goo(' account, nine t(»n9 of hay, or its
ec|uivalent, would produce 1,090 lbs. of cheese, or its equivalent
Id other products, worth $102.

" I am sorry to interrujit the gentleman," said the Deacon with
mock gravity.

"Then pray don't," said I ; " I will not detain you long, and the
subject is one which ought to interest you and every othc r famior
who keeps his cows on ])Oor grass in summer, and coni-stalks and
straw in winter."

1 was going to sav, u lit 11 ilie nia.dii interrupted me, that the

MAMKK ON n aii:y-kai:ms. 11.'?

stomach of a cow may not allow licr to cat nine tons of hay a year,
but ll will allow liiT to cat six tons; ami if these six tons contain
as >niu h nutriment as iho nine tons, what is the real tliHerenee in
iLs vahie * Unlinarily we slioul 1 i)rol)ahly timatc the one at
fit) per ton, anil the ntlrr at ifl."). Hut accnnliut; to the altove
licures, oiu- is worth |l<i per i<mi ant! the other ^21. To pt rich
i:nis.>., tlien-forr, shoultl he liie aim of th<' American dairyman. I
hope ilic Deacon begins to see what connection this lias witli a
luruc pile of rich maiiure.

1 do not mean merely a heavy frrowth of srniss, hut jrrass con-
tjiining a hi^'li |Hrccnt;i;;e of nutriment. Our lonir wintirs and
heavy snows an- a ^n-at advantage to us in this n'sjx'ct. Our
jirass in the sprinu', after its h>n;^ rest, oupht to i-tart up like aspara-
gus, and, un»l<r the omanizinjr inthnnce of our clear skies, and
jMiwerful sun, ou^hl to hv e.vi-eidinyly nutritious. C'ompanilively
few farmers, however, live up to their priv ieires in this respect.
Our climate is bett»r tiian our farmim:, tlie sim richer than our
nci:le<'tcd soil. Emjland may be able to produce more j,'rass jkt
acru in a y&ir than we can, but we ouiiht to produce richer gras.s,
an<l, conwqurntly, more clicest^ to a cow. And I believe, in fact,
that .sucli is often the C3\sc. Tiie f'nj;lisli dairvuKin has tlie advan-
tacre of a longer season of growth. We have a .sJiorter sea^^on but
abrii^hler sun, and if wc do not have riclier uT'iiS it is due to the
want of draining, chan culture, and manu. Iiig. The <»bject of
American dairymen should b( , not oid_\ to cotain more gra.>;s per
acre, but to increase its nutriment in a <:iV( n bulk. If we could
increase it one-half, making six tons ••'.j-.cii to nine tons, wc have
shown that it is nearly three times as vaaiable. Whether this can
be dime, I have not now lime to consiicr; but at any rate if your
land produces as many weeds as do some fields on my farm, not
to say the Deacon's, and if the plant-food that these weeds absorb,
could be oriranized by nutritious gra.sscs, this alone would do a
good deal towanls accompli>hing the object. Whether this can be
done or not, we want cows that can eat and turn to good account
as much food p'T annum as ^s contained in ni'-e tons of orcMnary
nieadow-hay ; and we want this nutriment in a bulk not exceeding
six tons of hay. If ponttOAf, we should get this amount of nutri-
ment in grass or hay. But if we can not d(; this, wc must feed
eiumijk concentrated food to bring it up to the desired standard.

" But will it pay ? " asked the Deacon •, " I have not much faith
in buying feed. A farnjcr ought to raise o7erything he fer-ds ojt '

114 TALKS ON MANURES.

"As a rule, this may be true," I replied, "lint tliere arc many
exceptions. I am tryins^ to show that it will often pay a dairyman
well to buy feed rich in nitrogen and phosphates, so as to make
rich manure, and give bim a start. After he gets bis land ricb,
there is little difficulty in keejjing up its productiveness

" Now, I nave said — and the figures, if anything, are too low — that
if a cow, c:iting six tons of bay, or its equivalent, a year, produces
400 ll)s. of cheese, a cow cai)ablc of eating, digesting, and turning
to good account nine tons of bay, or its eciuivalent, a year, would
produce 1,090 llis. of cheese, or its eiiuivaient in other products."

1 would like to say much more on this subjeit, but I hope
enough has been saitl to show liiat tiiere is great advantage in
feeding ricb food, even so far as the production of milk or beef is
concerned; and if this is the case, then there is no difficulty in
making rich manure on a dairy farm.

And I am deliglited to know tliat many farmei-s in the dairy
districts are purchasing more and more bran and meal every year.
Ta'iing milk, and beef, and manure all into the account, I feel sure
tliat it will be found higidy |»rofitable ; but you must have good
cows — cows that can turn their extra food to good account.

This is not the place to diseuss the merits of the ditrerent ])reed3
of cows. All I wish to show is, that to make better manure, we
must use richer food ; and to feed this to advantage, we must have
animals that can turn a large amount of food, over and aitove the
amount required to sustain the vital functions, into milk, flesh, etc.

" You do not think," said the Deacon, " that a well-bred cow
makes any richer manure than a common cow ?"

Of course not; but to make ricb manure, we must feed well ;
and we can not afford to feed well unless we have good animals.

HOW TO SAVE AND APPLY MANURE OX A DATRT-FARM.

We can not go into details on this subject. The truth is, there
are several good methods of saving manure, and whicii is best de-
pends entirely on circumstances. The real point is to save the
urine, and keep the cow-stable clean and sweet. There are three
prominent methods adopted :

1st. To throw all tlie liquid and solid excrements Into n manurf-
cellar uuderneath the cow-stable. In this cellar, dry swamp-
muck, dry earlli, or other absorbent material, is mixed with the
manure in sufficient (pianlity to keep down ofTcnsive odors. A
little dry eartii or muck is also used in the stable, scattering it
twice a day in the gutters and under the Idnd legs of the cows.
WIut:' this is carried out, it has many and decided advantagea

MAMRK ON DAIUY-FAUMS. 115

2*1. To wliool or tlirow o.it the solid parts of the manure, and
to have a dniin for farryinj: tlic litiuiil into a tank, wiiere it can
be punjprd on to tlie heap of manure in the yard. Where many
horses or sheep are kept, and only a few eows, this plan can often
be used to advantai,'e, as the iieaj) of manure in the yard, consist
ini^ of li<irse-manure, sh<ei)-manure, and a small por.iou of cow-
dunir, will he ahle to ahs(»rl) all the urine of the cows.

3U To use sutlicicnt licddini: to al)>>orl) all the urine in the stn-
hh'. In my own case, as I liave sjiid hefore, we usually chall' all
our straw and stalks. The oris are used for heddinj;;, and we also
use a little dry earth — or, to he more exact, I use it when I attend
to the matter myself, but have always found more or less trouble
in gtltinc; tlie work done pro|H'rly, unless I give it personal alien
tion. To use "dirt'' to keep the stJible clean, is. not a pojtular plan
in this neii;h!)orhoo<l. Where there is an abundance of straw, an(l
csiHtially if cut into chalf, the easiest way to keep the staiih- clean,
and the cows comfortaiile, is to use enoutrh of this chalhd straw
to absorb ali the li(|uid. ("lean out the stable twice u day, and
wheel the manure directly to the heap, and spread it.

In n>gnrd lo the application of manure on a dairy-farm, we have
seen what .Harris Lewis does with his. 1 also wrote to T. L. llar-
ison, Esq., of Si. Lawrence Co., N. Y. ; and knowing that he is
not only a xcry intelligent farmer and breeder, but also one ot our
best agricultural writers, J •i'?ked him if he had written anything
on the .subject of manures.

" Si. Lawrence Co.," .sjud the Deacon, "produces capital graFS,
oats, and barley, but is, i should think, too far n<irlh for winter
wheat; but what did Mr Ilarison say?" — Ilere is his letter:

" I never wrote anything about manure. Catch me at it! Nor
do I know anything about the niana','ement ot barn-yard manure
worth telling. My own practice is dictated quite as much by con-
veiiience as by c<msiderations of economy."

" G<»od," said the Deacon ; " he writes like a sensible man."

" My rotation," he continues, " is ?uch that the bulk of tlio ma-
nure made Is applied to 'vhc crop ; that is, to my hoed crops, corn,
potatoes, and roots, in the second year.

"The manure from the stables is thrown or wheeled out under
the sheds adjoining, and as fast as it becomes so large a quantity
as to be in the way, or whenever there is an opportunit}', \l is
hauled out to the field, where it is to be used, and put in large
piles. It is turned once, if possible, in the spring, and then spread

116 TALKS OX MANURES.

"The quantity api)liccl, is, as near as may lie, 25 loads per acre;
but as we use a great deal of straw, we haul out 30 loads, and es-
timate that in the spring it will be al)out 25 loads.

" If we have any more (:.nd occasionally we have 100 loads over),
we pile it near the barn, and turn it once or twice during the sum-
mer, ard use it as seems most profitable — sometimes to top-dress
an old grass-field, that for some reason we prefer not to break for
another year. Sometimes it goes on a piece of fall wheat, and
sometimes is kept over for a barley lieUl the following spring, and
harrowed in just before sowing.

" I should spread the manure as it comes from the sheds, instead
of piling it, but the great quantity of snow we usually have, has
always seemed to be an insupcralde obstacle. It is an advantage
to pile it, and to give it one turning, but, on the other hand, the
piles made in colil weather freeze through, and they take a pro-
vokingly long time to thaw out in the spring. I never found ma-
nure piled out of doors to get too much water from rain.

"I have given up using gypsum, except a little in the stables, be-
cause the clover grows too stn)ng without it, and so long as this
is the case, I do not need gypsum. But I sometimes have a piece
of oats or barley that stands still, and looks sick, and a dose of
gypsum helps it v<ry much."

" That is a fact worth remembering," said the Deacon.

"I use some superphosphate," continues Mr. Ilarison, "and
some ground bones on my turnips. We also use superphosphate
on oats, barley, and wheat (about 200 lbs. per acre), and find it
pays. Last year, our estimate was, on 10 acres of oats, comparing
with a strip in the middle, left for the purpose, that the 200 lbs. of
superphosphate increased the crop 15 bushels per acre, and gave a
gain in quality. If was the " 3Ianhatfan," which has about three i)er
cent ammonia, and seven to eight per cent soluble phosphoric acid.

" My rotation, which I stick to as close as I can, is: 1, oats; 2,
corn, and potatoes, and roots ; 3, barley or spring wheat ; 4, 5, and
G, grass (clover or timothy, with a little mixture occasionally).

" I am trying to get to 4, fall wheat, but it is mighty risky."

" That is a very sensible letter," said the Deacon ; " but it is evi-
dent that he raises more grain than I supposed was generally the
ease in the dairy districts ; and the fact that his clover is so heavy
that he does not need plaster, indicates that his land is rich."

It merely confirms what I have said all along, and that is, that
the dairymen, if they will feed their animals lilierally, and culti

MANAGEMENT OF MA NUKES ON GKAIN-FARMS. 117

viite their soil thoroujilily, can soon have |>ru(liulivc farms. There
are very ffw of us in tiiis section wlio eaii make manure enough
to c:ive all our corn, potatoes, anil n»ots, 25 loads of rotted manure
per acre, and have some to sjiure.

In the sprini; of 1877, Mr. llarison wrote: " 1 have been hauling
out manure all winter as fast as made, and putting it on tlie land.
At lirst we spread it; but wlien deep snows eame, we put it in
small heaps. The lii-ld looks as if there had been a grain crop on
it left uncut."

" That last remark," s;iid the Doctor, " indicates that the manure
looks more like straw than well-rotted dung, ami is an argument
in favor of ytnir plan of piling the manure in the yard or field, in-
stead of spreading it on the laud, or putting it in small heaps."

CHAPTER XXIII.

MANAGEMENT OF MANURES ON GRAIN-FARMS.

" I am surprised to find," said the Deacon, " that Mr. llarison,
living as he does in the great grass and dairy district of this State,
shouhl raise so much grain. He has nearly as large a proportion
of his land under the plow as some of the best wheat-growers of
Western New York."

This remark of the Deacon is right to the point. The truth is,
that some of our best wheat-growers are plowing less land, and
are raising more grass, and keeping more stock ; and some of the
dairj-men, though not keeping less stock, are ph)wing more land.
The better farmers of both sections are approaching each other.

At all events, it is certain that the wheat growers will keep
more stock. I wrote to the Hon. Geo. Geddes, of Onondaga Co.,
N. Y., well known as a large wheat-grower, and as a life-long ad-
vocate of keeping up the fertility of our farms by growing clover.
He replies as follows :

" I regret that I have not time to give your letter the considcrA-
tion it deserves. The subject you have undertaken is truly a dif-
ficult one. The circumstances of a grain-raiser and a dairyman
are so unlike, that their views in recrard to the treatment of the
manure produced on the farm would vary as greatly as the lines
of farming thev follow.

118 TALKS ON MANURES.

" The grain-grower has straw in excess ; he tries hard to got it
into such form that he can draw it to his tielils, and get it at work,
at the least cost in labor. So he covers his hani-yards deep with
straw, after each snow-storm, and gets his cattle, sheep, and horses,
to trample it imder foot ; and he makes his pigs convert all he can
int<j such form that it will do to ajtply it to his pastures, etc., in
winter or early spring.

" A load of such manure is large, perliaps, Itut of no very great
value, as compared witli well-rotted stahlc-manure from grain-fed
horses ; l)ut it is as good as much that I have seen ilrawn from
city stables, and carried far, to restore the worn out hay-fields on
the shores of the North River— in fact, (juite like it.

"The dai'*ynian, generally, has but little straw, and his nuinurc
is mostly dung of cow.s, worth much more, per cord, than the
straw-litter of the gniin-growcrs.

"Tiie grain-grower will want no shtds for keejjing olT the rain,
but, rather, he will desire more water than will fall on an open
yard. The milkman will wish to protect his cow-dimg from all
rains, or even snows; so he is a great advocate of manure-shed.s.
These two clas.ses of farmers will adopt tpiile unlike methods of
applying tbeir manure to ( rops.

'"1 have cited these two da.sses of farmers, simjily to show the
difficulty of making any universal laws in regard to the treatment
and use of barn-yard manure. * * *

" I think you and I are fully agreed in ngard to the farm being
the true source of the manure that is to make the land grow bet-
ter witli u.se, and still produce croiis — perhaps you will go with
me so far as to say, tlie greater the crojjs, the more manure they
will make — and the more manurr', the larger the crops.

" Now, I object to any special farming, when applied to a whole
great division of country, such as merely raising grain, or devoted
entirely to dairyini:.

"I saw at Rome, N. T., these two leading branches of New
York farming united on the ITunlington tract of 1,:500 acres.
Three or four farms (T forget which) had separate and distinct
management, conducted by different families, but each had a dairy
coml)ined with the raisins of large crops of gnin, such as wheat,
corn, oats, etc. These grain-crops, with suitable areas of meadow
and pasture, sustained the dairy, and the cows converted much of
the grain, and all of the forage, into maiuire. Thus was com-
bined, to mutual adv.intnge. these two important branches of New
York fanning. Wheat ami cheese to sell, and constant iniprovc-
rueiit in crops.

MANAtiKMENT OK M.V.\L1:ES OX (iU.VIN-KAKMS. 119

" III <mr Dwii case, slictp huvi" hn-n coinbincil witli i^niiii raising.
So wc liavf sttKl wool, wliial, and harlcy, ami, in all my life, not
tivc tons of hay. t'lovrr, yon know, lias licrn onr jjjrral forai^e-
cTop. We have winlcretl our sheep mostly on clover-hay, having
some tiniothy mixed w iih it, that was necessarily cut (to make into
hay with the medium, or early clover,) when it was but gra.ss. We
have fed such hay to our cows and horses, and liave usually
worked into manure the corn-stalks of ai)out 20 acres of ;iood
corn, eacii winter, ami we have worked all th«' straw into shape to
apply as m.-uiure thai we could, spreadin-; it thickly on pa.'>tures
and such other fields as were c<(nvenient. Some straw we have
sold, mostly to pa|Kr-makers."

"That," s;iid the Deacon, "is gom], old fashioned farmini;.
Plenty of straw for heddin;.', and n:«»od clover and timothy-hay for
feed, with wool, wheat, and barley to sell. No Udk about oil-
cake, malt-combs, and manirels ; nothiuL' about superiihosi)liate,
guano, or swam|>-muck."

Mr. Geddes and Mr. Johnston are both representative farmers;
both are large wheat-giowcrs ; both ke( p their land clean and
thoroughly cultivated ; both use gypsum freely ; both rai.se large
crops of clover and timothy; both keep sheep, and yet they rep-
n-sent two entirely dillerent systems of farming. One is the great
advocate of clover; the other is the great advocate of manure.

I once wrote to Mr. Geddes, asking his opinion as to the best
time to plow under clover for wheal. He replied as follows:

" Plow under the clover when it is at full growth. But your
qur^stion can much better be answered at the end of a long, free
talk, w hich can be;-t be had here. I have many times asked you
to come here, not to see fine farming, for we have none to show,
but to see land th:it has been used to test the effects of clover for
nearly 70 years. On the ground, I could talk to a willing auditor
long, if not wisely. I am getting tired of being misunderstood,
and of having my statements doubted when I talk about clover
as the great renovator of land. You preach agricultural truth,
and the facts you would gather in this neighborhood are worth
your knowing, and worth giving to the world. So come here and
gjither some facts al)out clover. All that I shall trj- to prove to
you is, that the fact tliat clover and plaster are by far the cheapest
manures that can be had for our lands, lias been demonstrated by
many farmei-s beyond a doubt — so much cheaper than bani yard
manure that the mere loading of and spreading costs more than

120 TALKS OX MANURES.

the plaster aud clover. Do not (luoto me as saying this, but come
anil see the farms hereabouts, and talk with our farmers."

Of course I went, and had a t'ai)ital lime. Mr. Greddes has a
magnificent farm of about 4()0 acres, some four miles from
Syracuse. It is in high condition, and is continually imjJrovinL',
and tliis is due to growing large and frequent crops of clover, and
to good, dtvp plowing, iind cUitn <uid thonmgh culture.

We drove round among the fanners. " Here is a man," said
Mr. G., " who run in debt |4.1 per acre for his farm. He has edu-
cated his family, paid otF his debt, and reports his net profits at
from ^,000 to |i'2,/)00 a year on a farm of 'JO acres; and this i.s
due to clover. You see he is l)uilding a new barn, and that does
not look as though his land was running down under the system."
The ne.\t farmer we came to was also putting up a new barn, and
another farmer was enlarging an old one. " Now, these fanners
have never paid a dollar for manure of any kind except plaster,
and their lands ccrtaiidv do not deteriorate."

From Syracuse, I went to Geneva, to sec our old friend John
Johnston. "Why di 1 you not tell me you were coming?" he
said. " I would have met you at the cars. But I am right glad
to see you. I want to show you my wheat, where I put on 250
lbs. of guano per acre last fall. People here don't know that I
used it, and you must not mention it. It is grand."

I do not know that I ever .saw a finer piece of wheat. It was the
Diehl variety, .sown 14th September, at the rate of \\ linshels per
acre. It was quite thick enough. One brt-adth of the drill was
sown at the rate of two bushels per acre. This is earlier. "But,"
said Mr. J., "the other will have larger heads, and will yield
more." After examining the wheat, we went to look at the piles
of muck and manure in the barn-yard, and from these to a splen-
did crop of timothy. "It will go 2J tons of hay per acre," said
Mr. J., "and now look at this adjoining field. It is just as good
land naturally, and there is merely a fence between, and yet the
gnss and clover are so poor as hardly to be worth cutting."

" Wiiat makes the difference?" I asked.

Mr. Johnston, emphatically, " Manure."

The jloor fi'dd did not belong to him!

Mr. .Johnston's farm was originally a cold, wet, clayey soil. Mr.
Geddcs' land di 1 not need draining, or very little. Of course, land
that needs draining, is richer after it is drained, than land that is

MAKAGENfKNT OF MANURES ON ORAIN-FARMS, l2l

naturally <lr:iiiir(l. And tlii)iii;h Mr. .lolinston w.is ahvaj's a pmd
fariiKT, yt't hi- s;iys lit- " uevi-r urn le inoiicy until he roinnit'iictMl lo
dniin." Tlie ai-(uinulaU>l fi-rtilily in the land could llji n be made
uvailalile by good tillage, and from tiiat day to this, his land has
been growing rielier and riihtr. And, in faet, the same is true of
Mr. (Jedtles' farm. It is rieln r land to-day than when first jilowed,
while there is one lield that for seventy years has had no manure
applied to it, e.vcept pliLster. How is this to be explaini'd? Mr.
Goddes would s;iy it was due t4) clover and plaster. But this docs
not fully satisfj' thow who claim, (an<l truly), that "alway.s taking
out of the meal-tub and never putting in, soon comes to the bot-
tom." The chiver can add notliing to the land, that it did not get
from the .soil, except orj^ini'- matter obtaini'd from the atmosphere,
and the i)l!Lster furnis'ies little or nothing except lime and sulphu-
ric acid There are all tin- other iiigrcdic:its of plant-food to be
accfMmted for — phosplioric acid, potash, soda, niairnesia, etc. A
crop of clover, or corn, or wh<'at, or barU'v, or oats, will not come
to perfection unless every one of tliesf elemcnt.s is present in the
soil in an available condition. Mr. (leddes has not funiishe(l a
single ounce of any one of them.

" Where «lo they come from ?"

I answer, from Ow ffi'l .7.*/^. There i« probably enough of these
elements in the s«)il to last ten thousan<l years; and if we return to
the soil all the str.iw, chaff, and br.in, and si-ll nothing but fine flour,
meat, butter, etc., t'.iere is jirobably enough to last a million years,
and you and I need not trouble ourselves with speculations as to
what will hai>pen .'.fter that time. Nearly all our soils are practi-
cally ine.\haustil)le. But of course these elements are not in an
available condition. If they were, t'.ie rains would wash them all
into the ocean. They are rendered available by a kind of fer'nen-
tation. A manure-lieap packed as hard and solid as a rock would
not deca}'; but break it up, make it fine, turn it occasif)nally so as
to expose it to the atmosphere, and witli the proper degree of mois-
ture and heat it will ferment rapidly, and all its elements will
soon become available food for plants. Nothing has been created
by the process. It was all there. We have simply made it availa-
bk. So it is with the s^)il. Break it up, make it fine, turn it
occasionally, expose it to the atmosphere, and the elements it con-
t;iins become available.

I do not think that Mr. Gcddes' land is any better, naturally,

tlian yours or mine. We can all raise fair crops by cultivating

the land thoroughly, and by never allowing a weed to grow. On

Mr. Lawes' experimental wheat-field, the plot that has never re-

6

122 TALKS ON MANUnES.

ct'ivc'd a particle of mamiro, proiluccs every year an average of
about 15 bushels per acre. Aud tlie whole crop is removed — grain,
straw, and chalf. Nothing is returned. And that the land is not
remarkably rich, is evident from the fact that some of the farms in
the neighborhood, produce, under the ordinary system of manage-
ment, but little more wheat, once in four or five years than is
ra.i^v<\ every year on this experiment il plot without any manure.

"Why? Because these farmers d<; not half work their land, and
the manure they make is little l»etter than rotten straw. Mr. Lawcs'
wheat-field is plowed twice every year, and when I was there, the
crop was hand-hoed two or tliree times in the spring. Not a weed
is suffered to grow. And this is all there is to it.

Now, of course, instead of r.iising 15 bushels of wheat every year,
it is a good deal better to raise a crop of 30 bushels every other
year, and still better to raise 45 bushels every third year. And it
is here that clover comes to our aid. It will enable us to do this
very thing, aiul the land runs no greater risk of exhaustion than
Mr. Lawes' uninanurcd wheat crop.

Mr. Geddes and I do not dilFeras much as you suppose. In fact,
I do not believe that we differ at all. lie has for years been an
earnest advocate for growing clover as a renovating crop. He
think.s it by far the cheapest manure that can be ol)tained in this
section. I agree with him most fully in all these particulars. He
formed his opinion from experience and observation. I derived
mine from the Rothamsted experiments. And the more I see of
practic;U farming, the more am I satisfied of their truth. Clover
is, unquestionabl}', the groat renovating crop of American agricul-
ture. A crop of clover, e((ual to two tons of hay, when plowed
under, will furnish more annnonia to the soil than twenty tons of
straw-made manure, drawn out fresh and wet in the spring, or
than twelve tons of our ordinary barn-yard manure. No wonder
Mr. Geddes and other intelligent farmers recommend plowing
under clover as manure. I differ from them in no respect except
this: that it is not absolutely essential to plow clover under in the
gi'een state in order to get its fertilizing effect; but, if made into
hay, and this hay is fed to animals, and all the manure carefully
saved, and relumed to the land, there need be comparatively little
loss. The animals will seldom take out more than from five to
ten per cent of all tlie nitrogen furnisheil in tlie food — and less still
of mineral matter. I advocate growing all the clover you possibl}'
can — so does !Mr. Geddes. lie says, jilow it under for manure. So
say I — unless you can make more from feeding out the clover-bay,

MANAGKMENT OK M.VVUUK8 ON (. IIVI V-KAUMS. 123

than will \r.\y yuii for wailiiiir a yi'ar, ami for fiiltiiiij; and curin;;
the clover and ilrawini: liack tlic niaiuiri'. If you i)lo\v it
under, you are sure of it. There is no loss. In feedini; it out,
you may lose more or less from leaching, and injurious feruienla-
tion. But, of eourse, you need not lose anythin^r, except the little
that is retained in the tlesh, or wool, or milk, of the animals. As
thin<y are on many farms, it is perhaps best to plow under the
clover for manure at once. As thin<^ oui^ht to be, it is a most
wasteful practice. If you know how to feed out the hay to advan-
tai^e, and tik<' pains to save tlie manure (and to atld to its value by
feedinir oil-cake, liran, etc., with it), it is far better to mow your
clover, once for hay, and once for seed, than to plow it under.
Buy oil-cake and l)r.in with the money j;ot from the seed, and
growing clover-seed will not injure the laud.

I am irlad to hear that Mr. Ceildes occasionally sells straw. I
once sold l~) tons of straw to tiie piper-makers for fl^O, they
drawing it themselves, and some of my neighbors criticised me
severely for doing so. It is not considered an orthodox practice.
I do not advocate selling straw as a rule; but, if you have more
than you can use to advantage, and it is l)ringiiig a good price,
sell part of the straw and buy bran, oil-cake, etc., with the money.
To feed nothing but straw to stock is poor economy; and to rot
it down for manure is no better. Straw itsr-lf is not worth $3.00
a ton for manure; and as one ton of straw, spread in an open
yard to rot, will make, in spring, about four tons of so-called
manure, and if it costs 50 cents a ton to draw out and spread it,
the straw, even at this comparatively high estimate of its value,
nets you, when fed out alone, or rotted down, only f 1.00 a ton.

I had about 30 tons of straw. Fed out alone or rotted down it
would make 120 tons of miuuro. After deducting the expense of
hauling, and spreading, it nets me on the land, |30. Xow S'll
half the straw for $150, and buy three tons of oil-cake to feed
out with the other half, and you would have about seventy tons of
manure. The manure from the fifteen tons of straw is worth, say
$45, and from the three tons of oil-cake, $60, or $105. It will
cost $35 to draw and spread it, and will thus net on the land, $70.
So far as the manure question is concerned, therefore, it is far
better to sell half your straw, and buy oil-cake with the money,
than to feed it out alone — and I think it is also far better for the
stock. Of course, it would bo better for the farm, not to sell any
of the straw, and to buy si.\ tons of oil-cake to feed out with it;

124 Talks on manures.

but those of us wlio are short of capital, must be content to bring
up our land l)y slow degrees.

" I am at a loss to understand," wrote Mr. Geddes, " what you
mean, when you sa^' that a ton of straw* will make, in the spring
of the year, four tons of so-called manure. If you had said that
four tons of straw would make one ton of manure, I should have
thouuht nothing of it. But how you can turn one ton of straw
into four tons of anything that anybody will call manure, I do
not see. In a conversation I had with Hon. Lewis F. Allen, of
Black Rock, more than a yc ar ago, he told me that he had enquired
of the man who furnished hay for feeding cattle at the Central
Yards, in Buffalo, as to the loads of manure he sold, and though I
can not now say the exact quiuitity to a ton of hay, I remember
that it was very little — far less than I had before supposed. Please
explain tl)is straw-manure matter."

Boussingault, the great French chemist-farmer, repeatedly ana-
lyzed the manure from his barn-j'ard. "The animals which had
produced this dung, were 30 horses, 30 oxen, and from 10 to 20
pigs. The absolute quantity of moisture was ascertained, by first
drj'ing in the air a considerable w-eight of dung, and after pound-
ing, continuing and completing, the drying of a given quantity."
No one can doubt the accuracy of the results. The dung made
in the

Winter of 18.37-8, contained 79.6 per cent of water.
" 1838-9, " 77.8 " " " "

Autumn" 1839, " 80.4 " " "

Fresh solid cow-dung contains, according to the same authority,
90 per cent of water.

I have frequently seen manure drawn out in the spring, that
had not been decomposed at all, and with more or less snow
among it, and with water dripping from the wagon, while it was
being loaded. It was, in fact, straw saturated with water, and dis-
colored by the droppings of animals. Now, how nmch of such
manure would a ton of dry straw make? If we should take 20
lbs. of straw, trample it down, and from time to time sprinkle it
with water and snow, until we had got on 80 lbs., and then put
on 20 lbs. more straw, and 80 lbs. more water, and keep on until
we had used up a ton of straw, how much " so-called manure,"
should we have to draw out ?

30 lbs. of stmw, and 80 lbs. watcr=100 lbs. so-called manure.
2,000 lbs. of straw, and 8,000 lbs. water=10,000 lbs. so-called manure.

In other words, we get five tons of such manure from one ton of

MANAGEMENT OP MANUIIES OS GRAIX-FAKMS. 125

straw. This is, porhups, an extreme case, but there eaii be little
doubt, that a ton of straw, trampled down by cattle, and sheep, in
an open barn-yard, exposed to snow and rain, would weij^di four
tons when drawn out wet in the spring.

Yes, it is quite an argument in favor of manure cellars. I have
always hail a prejudice against them — probably, because the lirst
one I saw was badly managed. There is, however, no necessity,
even in an ordinary open barn-yard, with more or less sheds and
stables, of having so much water in the manure when drawn out.
The real point of my remarks, which so surprised Mr. Geddes,
was this: We have to draw out so much water with our manure,
under any circumstances, that we should try to have it as rich as
possible. It is certainly true, that, // the manure from a ton of
straw is worth $:3, that from a ton of clover-hay, is worth $10.
And it costs no more to draw out and spread the one than the
other. I have never yet found a farmer who would believe that
a ton of clover-hay, rotted down in the barn-yard, would make
three or four tons of manure; but he would readily assent to the
proposition, that it took four or five tons of green clover to make a
ton of hay ; and that if these four or five tons of green-clover were
rotted in the yard, it would make three or four tons of manure.
And yet, the only dificrence between the green-clover and the hay,
is, that the latter has lost some 60 or 70 per cent of water in cur-
ing. Add that amount of water to the hay, and it will make as
much manure as the green-clover from which the hay was made.

GYPSUM AND CLOVER AS MANURE.

A good farmer came in while we were talking. " Nothing like
plaster and clover," he said, " for keeping up a wheat-farm." And
you will find this the general opinion of nearly all American
wheat-growers. It must be accepted as a fact. But the deduc-
tions drawn from the fact are as various as they are numerous.

Let us look first at tlie fact. And, If you like, we will take my
own farm as an example. About 60 years ago, it was covered with
the primeval forest. The trees, on the higher and drier land, were
first cut down, and many of them burnt on the land. Wheat was
sown among the stumps. The crop varied in different years, from
10 to 30 bushels per acre. When 30 bushels were grown, the fact
was remembered. When 10 bushels only were grown, little was said
about it in after years, until now there is a general impression
that our wheat crop? were formerly much larger per acre than
now. I doubt it; but we will not discuss the point. One thing is

126 TALKS ON MANURES.

certaiu. the land woukl produce good crops of ciovcr; and when
this clover was plowed under lor manure, we got better crops of
wheat afterwards. This was the rule. Later, wc coniuieuced to
use gypsum as a top-dressing on clover. The effect was often
wonderful. Farmers will tell you that they sowed 200 lbs. of
plaster per acre, on their young clover, in the spring, and it
diiubh'd the crop. Tills statement expresses an agricultural, and not
an arithmetical fact. We do not know that the crop on the plas-
tered portion was twice as heavy as on the unplastered. We know
tiiat it was larger, and more luxuriant. There was a greater, and
more vigorous growth. And this extra growth was caused by the
small top-dressing of powdered gypsum rock. It was a great fact
m agriculture. I will call it fact, No. 1.

Then, wlien the clover was turned under, we usually got good
wheat. This is fact, No, 2. On these two facts, hang many of
our agricultural theories. We may state these facts in many ways.
Still, it all conies to this : Clover is good for wheat ; plaster is good
for clover.

There is another fact, which is a matter of general observation
and remark. You rarely find a good farmer who does not pay
special attention to his clover-crop. When I was riding with Mr.
Geddes, among the farmers of Onondag-a County, on passing a
farm where everything looked thrifty — good fences, good build-
ings, good garden, good stock, and the land clean and in good con-
dition— I would ask who lived there, or some other question. No
matter what. The answer was always the same. "Oh ! he is
another of our clover men." We will call this fact, No. 3.

And when, a year afterwards, Mr. Geddes returned my visit,
and I drove him around among the farmers of Monroe County, he
found precisely the same state of facts. All our good farmers
were clover men. Among the good wheat-growers in Michigan,
you will find the same state of things.

These are the facts. Let us not quarrel over them.

CHEAPEST AfANTKK FOIi FARMERS. 127

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CHEAPEST MANURE A FARMER CAN USE.

1 do not know who first said, "The cheapest manure a fanner
can use is — clover-seed," hut the saying has become part of our
airricultural literature, and deserves a passing remark.

I hKve heard fjood farmers in Western New York say, that if
they had a field sown with wheat that they were going to plow
the spring after the crop was harvested, they would sow 10 lbs. of
clover-seed on the wheat in the spring. They thought that the
growth of the clover in the fall, after the wheat was cut, and the
growth the next spring, before the land was plowed, would afTord
manure worth much more than tlie cost of the clover-seed.

" I do not doubt it," said tiie Deacon ; " but w onld it not be
better to let the crop grow a few months longer, and then plow
it under ? "

"But that is not the point," I remarked; "we sometimes adopt
a rotation when Indian-corn follows a crop of wheat. In such a
ca.se, good farmers sometimes jilow the land in the fall, and again
the next spring, and then plant corn. This is one method. But I
have known, as I said before, good farmers to seed down the
wheat with clover ; and the following spring, say the third week
in May, plow under the young clover, and plant immediately on
the furrow. If the laud is warm, and in good condition, you will
frequently get clover, by this time, a foot high, and will have two
or three tons of succulent vegetation to turn under; and
the farmer who first recommended the practice to me, said
that the cut-worms were so fond <jf this green-clover that
they did not molest the young corn-plants. I once tried the plan
myself, and found it to work well ; but since then, I have kept so
many pigs and sheep, that clover has been too useful to plow un-
der. But we will not discuss this point at present.

" What I wanted to say is this: Here we have a field in wheat.
Half of it (A) we seed down with 12 lbs. of clover-seed per acre;
the other half (B) not. The dovcr-sced and sowing on A, cost, say,
$2 per acre. We plow^ B m the fall ; this will cost us about as
much as the clover-seed sown on A. In the spring, A and B ar^
both plowed and planted to corn. Now, which linlf of the field
will be in the cleanest and best condition, and which will produce
the best corn, and the best barley, or oats, afterwards ? "

128 TALKS ON MAXIRES.

" 1 vole lor A," .said tlic Diaoon.

" I vote for A," said the Doctor.

" 1 vote for A," said the S(iuire.

" I sliouLl tbiuk," modestly suggested Charley, " that il would
depend somewhat on the soil," and Charley is right. Ou a clean,
moderately rich piece of light, sandy soil, I should certainly ex-
pect much better corn, and better barley or oats, on A, where the
clover was grown, than on B. But if the lield was a strong loam,
that needed thorough cultivation to get it mellow enough for corn,
I am inclined to think that B would come out ahead. At any
rate, I am sure that on my own farm, moderately ^tifl■ land, if I
was going to j^lant corn after wheat, I should uot seed it down
with clover. I would jilow the wheat stubiile immediately after
harvest, and harrow and cultivate it to kill the weeds, and then,
si.\ weeks or two months later, I would plow it again. I would
draw out manure in the winter, ])ile it up in the field to ferment,
and the next spring spread it. and i)low it under, and then —

"And tlien what ?" asked the Deacon. — " Wli}- the truth is,"
said I, "then I would not plant corn at all. I should either sow
the field to barley, or drill in mangel-wurzel or Swede-turnips.
But if I did plant corn, I should e.xpect better corn than if I had
sown clover with the wheat ; and the land, if the corn was well
cultivated, would be remarkably clem, and in tine condition; and
the next time the land was seeded down with clover, we could
rcasonal)ly expect a great crop."

The truth is, that clover-seed is sometimes a very cheap manure,
and farmers are in no danger of sowing too much of it. I do not
mean sowing too much seed per acre, but they arc in no danger of
sowing too many acres with clover. On tliis point, there is no
dilTerence of oi)inion. It is only when we come to exjilain the
action of clover — when we draw deductions from the facts of the
the ea.se — that we en'.cr a field bristling all over with controversy.

" You have just finished threshing," said tlie Deacon, "and for
my part, I would rather hear how your wheat turned out, than to
listen to any of j'our chemical talk about nitrogen, phosphoric
acid, and potash."

" The wheat," said I, " turned out full as well as I expected.
Fourteen acres of it was after wheat, and eight acres of it after
oats. Both these fields were seeded down with clover List year,
but the clover failed, and there was nothing to be done but to risk
them a ::un witli wlieal. Tlic remainder was after barlev. In all,

< IIIiAPEST MAXIBK KOK lAIlMIIKS. 129

there was n<»t quite 40 acres, and we Imtl !»54 liushcls of Dielil
wheat. This is not bad in the eireuin.^tanecs ; l)Ut I shall not
be content until I can uvcra;^e, takini; oni- y<'ar with another, ;J5
to 40 bushel-* |>er acre. If the land had i>een rich enou;;h, there
would un(iueslioiiai)ly have been 40 bushels |)er acre this year.
Tliat is to say, the bia»>ii was (piite capable of produi inn' this
amount; and I think the nu'chancial condition of the land was
also ecjual to it ; all that wasnicdid was suflicient available plant-
food in the soil."

*' I can see no reason," said the Doctor, " wiiy you may not av-
crasre 40 bushels of wheat per acre in a good season."

" The tield of 14 acres," said I, " where wheal followed wheat,
yielded '2'.\ bushels per acre. Last year it yielded 22 bushels i)er
acre ; and so we got in tiie two yt ais 4.") bushels per acre."

This ticld has had no manure of any kind for years. In fart,
since till' land was cleared, 40 or 50 years ago, I ])resume that all
tiie manure that has been ap[tlicd would not, in the aggregate,
lie equal to more than a good crop of clover-ha}'. The available
jilant-fooil r('i[uin'd to i)roiluce these two crops of wheat came
from the soil itself, and from tlie rain, dews, and atmosi)here. The
land is now seeded down with clover, and with the aid of a bushel
or two of plaster per acre, next spring, it is not improbable that,
if mown twice for hay next year, it will yield in the two crops
three tons of hay per acre.

Now, three tons of clover-hay contain about 33 lbs. of phos-
phoric acid, 90 lbs. of |)olash, and I.jO lbs. of nitrogen.

The last crop of wheat, of 22 bushels per acre, and say 1,500
lbs. of straw, would contain :

/;: the grain. In the straw, hi tfjtal crop.

Phosphoric aci.l Ill lbs. .".* lbs. 1.5i lbs.

Potash t:} '• !)} " IGi "

Nitrogen 23 " Hi " 32i "

It seems very unkind in the wheat-plants not to give me more
than 22 bushels per acre, when the clover-plants comiiig after will
find phosphoric acid enough for 40 l)ushels of wheat, and potash
ami nitrogen enough for nearly 100 bushels of wheat per acre.
And these are the tliree important constituents of plant-food.

Why, tlien, did I get only 22 bushels of wheat per acre? I got
23 busliels on the same land the year previous, and it is not
improbable that if I had sown the same land to wheat again this
fall, I should get 12 or 15 bushels per acre again next year. But
the clover will find plant-fool enough for 40 bushels of wheat.

" There is not much doubt," said the Deacon, " that you will

130 TALKS ON MANURES.

get a good crop of clover, if you will keep the sheep off of the land
this fall. But I do not see what you mean by the clover-plants
finding food enough for 40 bushels of wheat, while in point of
fact, if you had sown the field again to wheat this fall, you would
not, as you say, probably get more than 13 or 15 bushels of wheat.

" He me:ins this," said the Doctor. " If he had sown the land
to wheat ihis fall, without manure, he would probably not ge
over 15 bushels of wheat per acre, and yet you both agree that the
land will, in all probability, produce next year, if mown twice,
three tons of clover-hay per acre, without any manure.

" Now, if we admit that the clover gets no more nitrogen from
the rain and dews, and from the atmosphere, than the wheat will
get, tlien it follows that this soil, which will only produce 15 bush-
els of wheat per acre, does, in point of fact, contain plant-food
enough for 40 bushels of wheat, and the usual proportion of straw.

" The two crops take up from the soil as follows :

rhoiy}?ioric acid. Jhtash. Nitrogen.

15 bushels wheat and straw lOJ^ lbs. lU lbs. 22 lbs.

3 tons clover-Lay 33 " 90 " 150 "

" These facts and figures," continued the Doctor, " are worth
looking at and thinking about. Why can not the wheat get as
much phosphoric acid out of the soil as the clover?"

"Because," said the Deacon, " the roots of the clover go down
deeper into the subsoil than the roots of wheat."

"That is a very good reason, so far as it goes," said I, "but
docs not include all the facts. I have no sort of doubt, that if I
had sown this land to wheat, and put on 75 lbs. of nitrogen per
acre, I should have got a wheat-crop containing, in grain and
straw, 30 lbs. of phosphoric acid. And so the reason I got 15
bushels of wheat per acre, instead of 40 bushels, is not because
the roots of wheat do not go deep enough to find sufficient soluble
phosphoric acid."

" Possibly," said the Doctor, " the nitrogen you apply may ren>
der the phosphoric acid in the soil more soluble."

" That is ti-ue," said I ; " and this was the answer Liebig gave to
Mr. Lawes. Of which more at some future time. But this an-
swer, like the Deacon's, does not cover all the facts of the case ;
for a supply of soluble phosphoric acid would not, in all prolxi-
bility, give me a large crop of wheat. I wull give you some facts
presently bearing on this point.

" What we want to find out is, why the clover can get so much
more phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen, than the wheat, from
the same soil ?"

CHEAPEST MANURE FOE FARMERS. 131

MORE ABOUT CLOVER.

The Deacon scemcil to think the Doctor was going to give a
scientific answer to the question. " If the clover can get more ni-
trogen, phospiioric acid, and potasli, from the same soil than
wheat," said he, " why not accept the fact, and act accordingly ?
You scientific gentlemen want to explain everytlihig, and some-
times make confusion worse confounded. We know that a sheep
will grow fat in a pasture where a cow would starve."

" True," said the Doctor, " and that is because the cow gathers
food with her tongue, and must have the grass long enough for
her to get hold of it ; while a sheep i)icks up the grass with her
teeth and gums, and, conscciucntly, the sheep can eat the grass
down into the very ground."

" Very well," said the Deacon ; " and how do you know but that
the roots of the clover gatlier ui) their food sheep-fashion, while
the wheat-roots eat like a cow V "

" That is not a very scientific way of putting it," said the Doc-
tor; "but I am inclined to think the Deacon has the right idea."

" Perhaps, then," said I, " we had better let it go at that until we
get more light on the subject. We must conclude that the wheat
can not get food enough from the soil to yield a maximum crop,
not because there is not food enough in the field, but the roots of
tlie wheat are so constituted that they can not gather it up ; while
clover-roots, foraging in the same soil, can find all they want."

" Clover," said the Deacon, " is the scavenger of the farm ; like
a pig, it gathers up what would otherwise be wasted."

" Of course, these illustrations," said the Doctor, " do not give
us any clear idea of how the clover-plants take up food. We must
recollect that the roots of plants take up their food in solution ;
and it has just occurred to me that, possibly, Mr. Lawes' experi-
ments on the amount of water given off by plants during their
growth, may throw some light on the subject we are discussing."

"Mr. Lawes found," continued the Doctor, " that a v;heat-plant,
from March 19 to June 28, or 101 days, evaporated through its
leaves, etc., 45,713 grains of water; while a clover-plan 1, standing
alongside, and in precisely similar condition, evaporated 55,093
grains. The clover was cut June 28, when in full bloom. The
wheat-plant was allowed to grow until ripe, Sept. 7. From June 28
to Sept. 7, or 72 days, the wheat-plant evaporated 67,814 grains."

" One moment," said the Deacon ; " as I understand, the clover-
plant evaporated more water than the wheat-plant, until the 28th
of June, but that during the next 71 days, the wheat-plant evap
orated more water than it had during the previous 101 days."

132 TALKS OX MANURES.

" Yes," said I, " and if these facts prove nothing else, they a\
least show that there is a great difference between wheat and
clover. I was at Rothamsted when these experiments were
made. During the first nine days of the experiment, the clovi-r-
plant evaporated 399.6 grains of water ; while the wheat-plant,
standing alongside, evaporated only 128.7 grains. In other words,
the clover-plant evaporated three times as much water as the
wheat-plant. During the ne.xt 31 days, the wheat-plant evap-
orated 1,207.8 grains, and tlie clover-plant 1,043.0 grains; but dur
ing the next 27 days, from April 28 to May 25, the wheat-plant
evaporated 162.4 grains of water per day, while the clover-plant
only evaporated 109.2 grains per day. During the next 34 days,
from May 25 to June 28, the wheat-plant evaporated 1,177.4 grains
per day, and the clover-plant 1,473.5 grains per day."

" In June," said the Deacon, " the clover evaporates ten limes
as much water per day as it did in May. How much water would
an acre of clover evaporate ? "

" Let Charley figure it out," said the Doctor. " Suppose each
plant occupies 10 square inches of land ; there are 0,272,640 square
inches in an acre, and, consequently, there wonld be 027,264
clover-plants on an acre. Each plant evaptjrated 1,473.5 grains
per day, and there are 7,000 grains in a pound."

Charley made the calculation, and found that an acre of clover,
from May 25 to June 28, evaporated 52S,.5U8 lbs. of water, or 15,-
547 lbs. per day.

A much more accurate way of ascertaining how much water an
acre of clover evaporates is afforded us l>y these experiments.
After the plants were cut, they Avere weighed and analyzed ; and
it being known exactly how much water each plant had given off
during its growth, we have all the facts necessary to tell us just
how much a crop of a given weight would evaporate. In brief, it
was found that for each pound of dry substance in the wheat-
plant, 247.4 lbs. of water had been evaporated; and for each
pound in the clover-plant, 269.1 lbs.

An acre of wheat of 15 bushels per acre of grain, and an equal
weigiit of straw, would exhale during t)ie spring and summer
177f tons of water, or calculated on 172 days, the duration of the
experiment, 2,055 lbs. per day.

An acre of clover that would make two tons of hay, w<>uld
pass off through its leaves, in 101 days, 430 tons of water, or 8,600
lbs. per da}^ — more than four times as much as tlie wheat.

These figures show that, from an agricultural point of view,
there is a great difference between wheat and clover ; and yet I

CHEArEST MA NUKE FOR lAUMEUS. 133

ihink the figures do not show the whole of the difference. The
clover was cut just at the time when the wheat-plant was
enierini; on its period of most rapid growth and exhalation, and,
conseciuently, the figures given above probably exaggerate the
amount of water given ofi" by tne wheat during the early part of
the season. It is, at any rate, ([uile clear, and this is all I want to
show, that an acre of good clover exhales a much larger amount
of water from spring to hay-harvest than an acre of wheat.

" And what," said the Deacon, who was evidently getting tired
of the figures, "does all this prove?"

The figures prove tliat clover can drink a much greater quantity
of water during March, April, May, and June, than wheat; and,
consetpientiy, to gel the same amount of food, it is not necessary
that tlie clover should have as much nitrogen, pliosphoric acid,
potash, etc., in the water as tlie wheat-i)lant requires. I do not
know that I make myself understood."

"You want to show," said the Deacon, "that the wheat-plant
requires richer food than clover."

Yes, I want to show that, though clover requires more food per
day than wheat, yet the clover can drink such a large amount of
water, tliat it is not necessary to make the "sap of tli3 soil" so
rich in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, for clover, as it is
for wheat I think this tells the whole story.

Clover is, or may be, the grandest renovating and enriching
crop commonly grown on our farms. It owes its great value, not
to any power it may or may not possess of getting nitrogen from
the atmosphere, or pliosi)horic acid and potash from the subsoil,
but principally, if not entirely, to the fact that the roots can drink
up such a large amount of water, and live and thrive on very
weak food.

HOW TO MAKE A FARM RICH BY GROWING CLOVER.

Not by growing the clover, and selling it. Nothing would ex-
haust the land so rapidly as such a practice. We must either plow
under the clover, let it rot on the surface, or pasture it, or use it
for soiling, or make it into hay, feed it out to stock, and return the
manure to the land. If clover got its nitrogen from the atnios-
p'.iere, we might sell the clover, and depend on the roots left in the
ground, to enrich the soil for tlie next crop. But if, as I have en-
deavored to show, clover sets its nitrogen from a weak solution in
th;' soil, it is clear, that thougli for a year or two we might raise
good crops from the plant-food left in the clover-roots, yet we

134 TALKS ON MANURES.

should soon find that growing a crop of clover, and leavmg only
the roots in the soil, is no way to permanently enrich land.

I do not say that such a practice will " exhaust" the land. For-
tunately, while it is an easy matter to impoverish land, we should
have to call in the aid of the most advanced agricultural science,
before we could "exhaust'' land of its plant-food. The free use of
Nitrate of Soda, or Sulphate of Ammonia, might enable us to do
something in the way of exhausting our farms, but i*, would reduce
our balance at a bank, or send us to the poor-house, before we had
fully robbed the land of its plant-food.

To exhaust land, by growing and selling clover, is an agricultural
impossibilit\% for the simple reason that, long before the soil is
exhausted, the clover would produce such a poverty-stricken crop,
that we should give iip the attempt.

We can make our land poor, by growing clover, and selling it ;
or, we can make our land rich, by growing clover, and feeding it
out on the farm. Or, rather, w^e can make our land rich, by drain-
ing it where needed, cultivating it thoroughly, so as to develope
the latent plant food existing in the soil, and then by growing
clover to take up and organize this plant-food. This is how to
make land rich by growing clover. It is not, in one sense, the
clover that makes the land rich ; it is the draining and cultivation,
that furnishes the food for the clover. The clover takes up this
food and concentrates it. The clover does not create the plant-
food ; it merely saves it. It is the thorough cultivation that
enriches the land, not the clover.

" I wish," writes a distinguished New York gentleman, who has
a farm of barren sand, "you would tell us whether it is best to let
clover ripen and rot on the surface, or plow it under when in
blossom ? I have heard that it gave more nitrogen to the land to
let it ripen and rot on it, but as I am no chemist, I do not know."

If, instead of plowing under the clover — say the last of June, it
•was left to grow a month longer, it is quite possible that the clover-
roots and seed would contain more nitrogen than they did a month
earlier. It was formerly thought that there was a loss of nitrogen
during the ripening process, but the evi<lence is not altogether con-
clusive on the point. Still, if I had a piece of sandy land that I
wished to enrich by clover, I do not think I should plow it under in
June, on the one hand, or let it grow until maturity, and rot down,
on the other. I should rather prefer to mow the crop just as it
commenced to blossom, and let the clover lie, spread out on tbe
land, as left by the machine. There would, I think, be no loss of
fertilizing elements by evaporation, while the clover-hay would act

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOTEE. 135

as a mulch, and the second growth of clover would be encouraged
by it. Mow this second crop again, about the first week in August.
Then, unless it was desirable to continue the process another year,
the land might be plowed up in two or three weeks, turning under
the two previous crops of clover that are on the surface, together
with the green-clover still growing. I believe this would be better
than to let the clover exhaust itself by running to seed.

CHAPTER XXV.
DR. VCELCKER'S EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER.

In the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, for
1M68, Dr. Voelcker, the able chemist of the Society, and formerly
Professor of Agricultural Chemistry, at the Royal Agricultural
College at Cirencester, England, has given us a paper " On the
Causes of the Benefits of Clover, as a preparatory Crop for
"Wheat." The paper has been repeatedly and extensively quoted
in this country, but has not been as critically studied as the impor-
tance of the subject demands.

"Never mind all that," said the Deacon, "tell us what Dr.
Voelcker says."

"Here is the paper," said I, " and Charley will read it to us."
Charley read as follows :

" Agricultural chemists inform us, that iu order to maintain the
productive powers of the land unimpaired, we must restore to it the
phosphoric acid, potash, nitrogen, and other substances, which
enter into the composition of our farm crops ; the constant removal
of organic and inorganic soil constituents, by the crops usually sold
oflF the farm, leading, as is well known, to more or less rapid dete-
rioration and gradual exhaustion of the land. Even the best
wheat soils of this and other countries, liecome more and more im-
poverished, and sustain a loss of wheat-yielding power, when corn-
crops are grown in too rapid succession without manure. Hence,
the universal practice of manuring, and that also of consuming oil-
cake, corn, and similar purchase! food on land naturally poor, or
partially exhausted by previous cropping.

" Whilst, however, it holds good as a general rule, that no soil
can be cropped for any length of time, without gradually becoming

136 TALKS ON MANURES.

more and more infertile, if uo manure be applied to it, or if the
fertilizing elements removed by the crops grown thereon, be not by
some means or other restored, it is, nevertheless, a fact, that after a
heavy crop of clover carried otf as hay, the land, far from being less
fertile than before, is peculiarly well adapted, even without the
addition of manure, to bear a good crop of wheat in tbe following
year, provided the season be favorable to its growth. This fact, in-
deed, is so well known, that many farmers justly regard the growth
of clover as one of the best preparatory operations which the land
can undergo, in order to its producing an abundant crop of wheat
in the following year. It has further been noticed, that clover
mown twdce, leaves the land in a better condition, as regards its
wheat-producing capabilities, than when mown once only for hay,
and the second crop fed off on the land by slieep; for, notwith-
standing that in the latter instance the fertilizing elements in the
clover-crop are in part restored in the sheep excrements, yet, con-
trary to expectation, this partial restoration of the elements of
fertility to the land has not the effect of producing more or better
wheat in the following year, than is reaped on land from off which
the whole clover-crop has been carried, and to which no manure
whatever has been applied.

" Again, in the opinion of several good, practical agriculturists,
with whom I have conversed on the subject, land whereon clover
has been grown for seed in the preceding year, yields a better
crop of wheat than it does when the clover is mown twice for hay,
or even only once, and afterwards fed off bj^ sheep."

"I do not think," said the Deacon, " that this agrees with our
experience here. A good crop of clover-seed is profitable, but it is
thought to be rather hard on land."

" Such," said I, " is the opinion of John Johnston. He thinks
allowing clover to go to seed, impoverishes the soil."

Charley, contin\ied to read :

" Whatever may be the true explanation of the apparent anom-
alies connected with the growth and chemical history of the clover-
plant, the facts just mentioned, having been noticed, bot once or
twice only, or by a solitary observer, but repeatedly, and by num-
bers of intelligent farmers, are certainly entitled to credit; and
little wisdom, as it strikes me, is displayed by calling them into
question, because they happen to contradict the prevailing theory,
according to which a soil is sai 1 to become more or less impover-
ished, in proportion to the large or small amount of organic and
mineral soil constituents carried olF in the produce."

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER. 137

" That is wt'll said," 1 remarked, " and very truly ; but I will not
interrupt tlie reading."

" In tlie course of a long residence," continues Dr. Voelcker, "in
a purely agricultural district, I have often been struck with the
remarkably health}^ appear;ince and good yield of wheat, on land
from which a heavy crop of clover-hay was obtained in the
preceding year. I have likewise had frequent opportunities of
observing, that, as a rule, wheat grown on part of a tield whereon
clover has been twice mown for hay, is better than the produce of
that on the part of the same lield on which the clover has been
mown only once for hay, and afterwards fed off by sheep. These
observaticms, extending over a number of years, led me to inquire
into the reasons why clover is specially well fitted to prepare laud
for wheat ; and in tliis paper, I shall endeavor, as the result of my
experiments on the subject, to give an intelligible explanation of
the fact, that clover is so excellent a preparatory crop for wheat, as
it is practically known to be.

" By those taking a superficial view of the subject, it may be sug-
gested that any injury likely to be caused by the removal of a cer-
tain amount of fertilizing matter, is altogether insignificant, and
more than compensated for, by the benefit which results from the
abundant growth of clover-roots, and the physical improvement in
the soil, which takes place in their decomposition. Looking, how-
ever, more closely into the matter, it will be found that in a good
crop of clover-hay, a very considerable amount of both mineral
and organic substances is carried off the land, and that, if the total
amount of such constituents in a crop had to be regarded exclu-
sively as a measure for determining the relative degrees in which
ditferent farm crops exhaust the soil, clover would have to be de-
scribed as about the most exhausting crop in the entire rotation.

" Clover-hay, on an average, and in round numbers, contains in
100 parts :

Water 17.0

Nitrogenous substances, (flesh-forming matters)* 15.6

Non-nitrogenous compounds 59.9

Mineral matter, (ash) 7-5

100.0
* Containing nitrogen 2.5

" The mineral portion, or ash, in 100 parts of clover-hay, consists
of:

138 TALKS ON MANURES.

Phosphoric acid 7.5

Sulphuric acid 4.3

Carbonic acid 18.0

Silica 3.0

Lime 30.0

Magnesia 8.5

Potash 30.0

Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, loss, etc 8.7

100.0

" Let us suppose the land to liave yielded four tons of clover-hay
per acre. According to the preceding data, we find that such a
crop includes 234 lbs. of nitrogen, equal to 273 lbs. of ammonia,
and 672 lbs. of mineral matter or ash constituents.

In 672 lbs. of clover-ash, we find :

Phosphoric acid 51i lbs.

Sulphuric acid 39 "

Carbonic acid 131 "

Silica 30 "

Lime 301 "

Magnesia 57 "

Potash 134i "

Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, etc 58 "

672 Ib^

" Four tons of clover-hay, the produce of one acre, thus contain a
large amount of nitrogen, and remove from the soil an enormous
quantity of mineral matters, abounding in lime and potash, and
containing also a good deal of phosphoric acid.

"Leaving for a moment the question untouched, whether the
nitrogen contained in the clover, is derived from the soil, or from
the atmosphere, or partly from the one, and partly from the other,
no question can arise as to the original source from which the
mineral matters in the clover produce are derived. In relation,
therefore, to the ash-constituents, clover must be regarded as one
of the most exhausting crops usually cultivated in this country.
This appears strikingly to be the case, when we compare the pre-
ceding figures with the quantity of mineral matters which an aver-
age crop of wheat removes from an acre of land.

" The grain and straw of wheat contain, in round numbers, in 100

parts :

Grains of
Wheat. Straw.

Water 15.0 16.0

Nitrogenous substances, flesh-forming matter)* 11.1 4.0

Non-nitrogenous substances 73.3 74.9

Mineral matter, (ash) 1.7 5.1

100.0 100.0

* Containing nitrogen 1.78 .64

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER. 139

I

" The ash of wheat contains, in 100 parts :
i Grain.

Phosphoric acid 50.0

Sulphuric acid 0.5

Carbonic acid

Silica 2.5

Lime 3.5

Magnesia 11.5

PoUsh 30.0

Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of ii"on, sand, etc 2.0

Total 100.0

" The mean produce of wheat, per acre, may he estimated at 25
bushels, which, at 60 lbs. per bushel, gives 1,500 lbs. ; and as the
weight of the straw is generally twice that of the grain, its pro-
duce will be 3,000 lbs. According, therefore, to the preceding
data, there will be carried away from the soil :

In 1,500 lbs. of the grain . . 25 lbs. of mineral food, (in round numbers).
In 3,000 lbs. of the straw. . 150 lbs. of mineral food, (in round numbers).

Total 175 lbs.

" On the average of the analyses, it will be found that the com-
position of these 175 lbs. is as follows:

Total.

Phosphoric acid 12.5 lbs. 7.5 lbs. 20.0 lbs.

Sulphuric acid 0.1 " | 4.0 " 4.1 '

Carbonic acid.

Silica 0.0 " 100.5 " 101.1

Lime 0.9 " \ 8.2 " 9.1

Magnesia 2.9 " 3.0 '• .5.9

Potash T.5 " I 19.5 " 27.0

Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, etc.! 0.5 " 7.3 " 7.8

175. lbs:

In the

In tJie

gram.

straw.

12.5 lbs.

7.5 lbs.

0.1 "

4.0 "

0.0 "

100.5 "

0.9 "

8.2 "

2.9 "

3.0 '•

7.5 "

19.5 "

0.5 "

7.3 "

2.-J. lbs.

150. lbs.

" The total quantity of ash constituents carried off the land, in an
average crop of wheat, thus amounts to only 175 lbs. per acre,
whilst a good crop of clover removes as much as 672 lbs.

" Nearly two-thirds of the total amount of mineral in the grain and
straw of one acre of wheat, consists of silica, of which there is an
ample supply in almost every soil. The restoration of silica, there-
fore, need not trouble ns in any way, especially as there is not a
single instance on record, proving that silica, even in a soluble
condition, has ever been applied to land, with the slightest advan-
tage to corn, or grass-crops, which are rich in silica, and which, for
this reason, may be assumed to be pai'tieularly grateful for it in a
soluble state. Silica, indeed, if at all capable of producing a bene-
ficial effect, ought to be useful to these crops, either by strengthen-
Uig the straw, or stems of graminaceous plants, or otherwise hene-
Iting them; but, after deducting the amount of silica from the

140 TALKS ON MANURES.

total aiiKJiint of mineral matters in the wheat produced from one
acre, only a trifling quantity of other and more valuable fertilizing
ash constituents of plants will be left. On comparing the relative
amounts of phosphoric acid, and potash, in an average crop of
wheat, and a good crop of clover-hay, it will be seen that one acre
of clover-hay contains as much phosphoric acid, as two and one-
half acres of wheat, and as much potasb as the produce from five
acres of the same crop. Clover thus unquestionably removes from
the land very much more mineral matter than does wbeat ; wheat,
notwithstanding, succeeds remarkably well after clover.

" Four tons of clover -hay, or the produce of an acre, contains, as
already stated, 224 lbs. of nitrogen, or calculated as ammonia,
272 lbs.

" Assuming the grain of wheat to furnish 1.78 per cent of nitrogen,
and wheat-straw, .64 per cent, and assuming also that 1,500 lbs. of
corn, and 3,000 lbs. of straw, represent the average produce per
acre, there will be in the grain of wheat, per acre, 26.7 lbs. of nitro-
gen, and in the straw, 19.2 lbs., or in both together, 46 lbs. of
nitrogen ; in round numbers, equal to about 55 lbs. of ammonia,
which is only about one-fifth the quantity of nitrogen in the pro-
duce of an acre of clover. Wheat, it is well known, is specially
benefited by the application of nitrogenous manures, and as
clover carries off so large a quantity of nitrogen, it is natural to
expect the yield of wheat, after clover, to fall sliort of what the
land might be presumed to produce without manure, before a crop
of clover was taken from it. Experience, however, has proved
the fallacy of tliis presumption, for the result is exactly the oppo-
site, inasmuch as a better and heavier crop of wheat is produced
than without the intercalation of clover. What, it may be asked,
is the explanation of this apparent anomaly ?

"In taking up this inquiry, I was led to pass in review the cele-
brated and highly important experiments, undertaken by Mr.
Lawes and Dr. Gilbert, on the continued growth of wheat on the
same soil, for a long succession of years, and to examine, likewise
carefully, many points, to which attention is drawn, by the same
authors in their memoirs on the growth of red clover by different
manures, and on the Lois Wcedon plan of growing wheat. Abun-
dant and most convincing evidence is supplied by these indefatiga-
ble experimenters, that the wheat-producing powers of a soil are
not increased in any sensible degree by the liberal supply of all
the mineral matters, which enter into the composition of the ash of
wheat, and that the abstraction of these mineral matters from the
soil, in any much larger proportions than can possibly take place

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVEK. 141

Under ordinary cultivation, in no wise affects the yield of wiicat,
provided there be at the same time a liberal supply of available
nitrogen within the soil itself. The amount of the latter, there-
fore, is regarded by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, as the measure of
the increased produce of grain which a soil furnishes.

" In confornut3" with these views, the farmer, when he wishes to
increase the yield of his wheat, finds it to bis advantage to have
recourse to ammoiiiacal, or other nitrogenous manures, and depends
more or less entirely upon the soil, for the supply of the ncccessary
mineral or ash-constituents of wheat, having found such a supply
to be amply sufficient for his requirements. As far, therefore, as
the removal from the soil of a large amount of mineral soil-constitu-
ents, by the clover-crop, is concerned, the fact viewed in the light
of the Rothamsted experiments, becomes at once intelligible ; for,
notwithstanding the abstraction of over 600 lbs. of mineral matter
by a crop of clover, the succeeding wheat-crop docs not suflfer.
Inasmuch, however, as we have seen, that not only much mineral
matter is carried off the land in a crop of clover, but also much
nitrogen, we might, in the absence of direct evidence to the con-
trary, be led to suspect that wheat, after clover, would not be a
good crop; whereas, the fact is exactly the reverse.

" It is worthy of notice, that nitrogenous manures, which have
such a marked and beneficial effect upon wheat, do no good, but
in certain combinations, in some seasons, do positive harm to
clover. Thus, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, in a series of experi-
ments on the growth of red-clover, by different manures, obtained
14 tons of fresh green produce, equal to about three and three-
fourths tons of clover hay, from the unmanured portion of the
experimental field ; and where sulphates of potash, soda, and mag-
nesia, or sulphate of potash and superpliosphate of lime were em-
ployed, 17 to 18 tons, (equal to from about four and one-half to
nearly five tons of hay), were obtained. When salts of ammonia
were added to the mineral manures, the produce of clover-hay was,
upon the whole, less than where the mineral manures were used
alone. The wheat, grown after the clover, on the unmanured plot,
gave, however, 29^ bushels of corn, whilst in the adjoining field,
where wheat was grown after wheat, without manure, only 15|
bushels of corn per acre were obtained. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert
notice especially, that in the clover-crop of the preceding year,
very much larger quantities, both of mineral matters and of
nitrogen, w^ere taken from the land, than were removed in the
unmanured wheat-crop in the same year, in the adjoining field.
Notwithstanding this, the soil from which the clover had been

142 TALKS OX MAXURES.

taken, was in a condition to yield 14 bushels more wheat, per acre,
tiian tliat upon wliicii wheat had been prcviousl}' grown ; the yield
of wheat, after clover, in these experiments, being fully equal to
that in another field, wiiere large quantities of manure were used.

" Taking all these circumstances into account, is there not pre-
sumptive evidence, that, notwithstanding the removal of a large
amount of nitrogen in the clover-hay, an abundant store of availa-
ble nitrogen is left in the soil, and also that in its relations towards
nitrogen in the soil, clover differs essentially from wheat ? The
results of our experience in the growth of the two crops, appear
to indicate that, whereas the growtli of the wheat rapidly ex-
hausts the land of its availal)le nitrogen, tiiat of clover, on the
contrary, tends somehow or other to accimiulate nitrogen witliin
the soil itself. If tliis can be shown to be the case, an intelligible
explanation of the fact that clover is so useful as a preparatory crop
for wheat, will be found in the circumstance, that, during the
growth of clover, niliojrenous food, for which wlieat is particularly
grateful, is eitlier stored up or rendered available in the soil.

"An explanation, however plausible, can hardly be accepted as
correct, if ba.sed mainly on data, which, although highly probable,
are not jiroved to be based on fact. In chemical inquiries,
especially, nothing must l)e taken for granted, that has not been
proved by direct experiment. The following questions naturally
suggest themselves in reference to this subject: "What is the
amount of nitrogen in soils of different characters? What is the
a:nount more particularly after a good, and after an indiirerentcrop
of clover? Why is tiie amount of nitrogen in soils, larger after
clover, than after wheat and other crops? Is tlie nitrogen i)rcsent
in a condition in which il is available and useful to wheat? And
lastly, are there any other circumstances, apart from tlie supply of
nitrogenous matter in the soil, whicii help to account for the bene-
ficial effects of clover as a prejiaralory crop for wheat ?

" In order to throw some light on these questions, and, if pos-
sible, to give distinct answers to at least some of them, I, years
ago, when residing at Cirencester, began a series of experiments;
and more recently, I have been fortunate enough to obtain the co-
operation of ]Mr. Roliert Valentine, of Leighton Buzzard, who
kindly undertook to supply me with materials for my analysis.

" My first experiments were made on a thin, calcareous, clay soil,
resting on oolitic limestone, and producing gencrallv a fair crop of
red-clover. The clover-tield formed tlie slope of a rather steep
hillock, and varied much in depth. At the top of the hill, tlie soil
became very stony j^t a depth of four inches, so that it could only

EXPKKI.MKNTS ON CLOVKK. 143

with diffirulty be excavated to a deptli of six inches, when Uw bare
limestone-rock niatle it^: appearance. At the bottom of tlie titld
the soil was much deeper, and tiie clover stronger, than at tiie iij)pcr
part. On the brow of the hill, where the clover aj)iKared to |»e
strontr, a square yard was measured out ; and at a little distance oil',
where the clover was very l>ad, a second square yard was nieas-
ureil; in l)oth plots, the soil being taken up to a depth of six
inches. The ^oil, where the clover was <?ood, may be di.'Jtinguished
from the other, by being marked as No. 1, and that where it was
bad, as No. 2.

CLOVERSOIL NO. 1. (GOOD CLOVErv).

"The roi>ts having first been shaken out to free them as much
as possible from the soil, were then waslicd once or twice with cold
distilled water, and, after having been dried for a little while in the
sun, were weighed, when the scpiarc yard produced 1 lb. lOi oz.
of c'eaned clover-roots, in an air-dry stitc ; an acre of land, or
4,840 square yards, accordingly yielded, in a depth of six inches,
3.44 tons, or ;U tons in round nuudtcrs, of dovcr-roots.

" Fully dried in a water-batii, the roots were found to contain
altogether 44. G7 i»cr cent of water, and on btiiig burnt in a pla-
tinum capsule, yi< Idrd O.OSi) of ash. A portion of the dried, finely
powdered and wi 11 nuxed roots, was b.inud witii soda lime, in a
combustion tube, and the nitrogen contained in the roots otliL-r-
wisc determined in t!:e usual way. Accordingly, the following
is the general composition of the roots from the soil No. 1 :

Water 44.075

Or;janic matter* 4y.'.:36

Mineral matter 6.089

~100.000

* Containuig nitroL'cn 1.297

Equal to ammonia 1.575

" Assuming the whole field to have produced 3i tons of clover-
roots, per acre, there will be 99.636 lbs., or in round immbers, 100
lbs. of nitrogen in the clover-roots from one acre ; or, about twice
as nmch nitrogen as is present in the average produce of an acre
of wheat."

"That is a remarkable fact," said the Deacon, "as I understand
nitrogen is the great thing needed by wheat, and j^et the ?y/ci<s alone
of the clover, contain twice as much nitrogen as an average crop
of wheat. Go on Charley, it is quite interesting."

"The soil," continues Dr. Voelcker, "which had been separated
from the roots, was passed through a sieve to deprive it of any
stones it might contain. It was then partially dried, and the nitro

144 TALKS ON MANURES.

gen in it determined in the usual manner, by combustion with soda-
lime, when it yielded .313 per cent of nitrogen, equal to .38 of
ammonia, in one combustion; and .373 per cent of nitro_; en, equal
to .46 of ammonia, in a second determination.

" That the reader may have some idea of the character of this
soil, it may be stated, that it was further submitted to a general
analysis, according to which, it was found to have the following
composition :
GENERAL COMPOSITION OF SOIL, NO. 1. (GOOD CLOVER).

Moisture 18.73

Orijanic matter* 9.72

Oxide of iron and alumina 13.'J4

Carbonate of lime 8.82

Magnesia, alkalies, etc 1.72

Insoluble silicious matter, (chiefly clay) 47.77

100.(10

* Containing nitrogen 313

Equal to ammonia 380

"Tlie second square yard from the brow of the hill, wliere the
clover was bad, produced 13 ounces of ar-dry, and partially clean
roots, or 1.75 tons per acre. On analysis, they were found to have
the following composition :

CLOVER-ROOTS, NO. 2. (BAD CLOVER).

Water 5.5.733

Oriranic matter* 39.408

Mineral matter, (ash) 4.860

~100.006

* Containing nitrogen 793

Equal to ammonia 901

" The roots on the spot wliere the clover was very bad, yielded
only 31 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, or scarcely one-third of the
quantity wlucli was obtained from tlic roots where the clover was
good.

" The soil from tlie second square yard, on analy.sis, was found,
when freed from stones by sifting, to contain in 100 parts:
COMPOSITION OF SOIL, NO. 3. (BAD CLOVER).

Water 17.34

Organic matter* 9.64

Oxide of iron and alumina 11.89

Carbonate of lime 14.50

Magnesia, alkalies, etc 1.53

Insoluble silicious matter 45.20

100.00

2d deter-
mination.

* ContaininLr nitrogen .306 .380

Equal to ammonia , 370 .470

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER. 145

" Both portions of the clover-soil thus contained about the same
percentage of organic matter, and yielded nearly the same amount
of nitrogen.

" In addition, however, to the nitrogen in the clover-roots, a
good deal of nitrogen, in the shape of root-fibres, decayed leaves,
and similar organic matters, was disseminated throughout the fine
soil in which it occurred, and from which it could not be sepa-
rated ; but unfortunately. I neglected to weigh the soil from a
square yard, and am, therefore, unable to state how much nitrogen
per acre was i^resent in the shape of small root-fibres and other
organic matters.

"Before mentioning the details of the experiments made in the
next season, I will here give the composition of the ash of the par-
tially cleaned clover-roots :

COMPOSITION OF ASH OF CLOVER-ROOTS, (PARTIALLY
CLEANED).

Oxide of iron and alumina 11.73

Lime 18.49

Mae7iesia 3.0:^

Potash 6.88

Soda 1.9:3

Phosphoric acid 3.61

Suli)huric acid 3.24

Soluble silica 19.01

Insoluble silicious matter 24.83

Carbonic acid, chlorine, and loss 8.25

lOO.OJJ

"This ash was obtained from clover-roots, which yielded, when
perfectly dry, in round numbers, eight per cent of ash. Clover-
roots, washed quite clean, and separated from all soil, yield about
five per cent of ash ; but it is extremely difficult to clean a large
quantity of fibrous roots from all dirt, and the preceding analysis
distinctly shows, that the ash of the clover-roots, analyzed by me,
was mechanically mixed with a good deal of fine soil, for oxide of
u'on, and alumina, and insoluble silicious matter in any quantity,
are not normal constituents of plant-ashes. Making allowance for
soil contamination, the ash of clover-roots, it will be noticed, con-
tains much lime and potash, as well as an appreciable amount of
phosphoric and sulphuric acid. On the decay of the clover-roots,
these and other mineral fertilizing matters are left in the surface-
soil in a readily available condition, and in considerable propor-
tions, when the clover stands well. Although a crop of clover
removes much mineral matter from the soil, it must be borne in
mind, that its roots extract from the land, soluble mineral fertiliz-

7

146 TALKS ON MANURES.

ing matters, which, on the decay of the roots, remain in the land
in a prepared and more readily available form, than that in which
they originally occur. The benefits arising to wheat, from the
growth of clover, may thus be due partly to this prcpaiaiion and
concentration of mineral food in the surface-soil.

" The clover on the hillside field, on the whole, turned out a
very good crop ; and, as the plant stood the winter well, and this
field was left another season in clover, without being plowed up, I
availed myself of the opportunity of making, during the following
season, a number of experiments similar to those of the preceding
year. This time, however, I selected for examination, a square
yard of soil, from a spot on the brow of the hill, where the clover
was tiiin, and the soil itself stony at a depth of four inches; and
another plot of one sciuare yard at the bottom of the hill, from a
phice where the clover was stronger than that on the brow of the
hill, and the soil at a depth of six inches contained no large stones.

SOIL NO. 1. (CLOVER THIN), ON THE BROW OF THE HILL.

" The roots in a square 3'anl, six inches deep, when picked out
by hand, and cleaned as much as possible, weighed, in their natural
state, 2 lbs. 11 oz. ; and when dried on the top of a water-bath, for
the purpose of getting them brittle and fit for reduction into fine
powder, 1 lb. 13 oz. 31 grains. In this state they were submitted
as before to analysis, when they yielded in 100 parts :

COMPOSITION OF CLOVER-ROOTS, NO. 1, (FROM BROW OF

HILL).

Moisture 4.34

Organic matter* 26.53

Mineral matter 69.13

' 100."00

* Containing nitrogen , 816

Equal to ammonia 991

" According to these data, an acre of land will yield three tons
12 cwts. of nearly dry clover-roots, and in this quantity there will
be about 66 lbs. of nitrogen. The whole of the soil from which
the roots have been picked out, was passed through a half-inch
sieve. The stones left in the sieve weighed 141 lbs. ; the soil
which passed through weighing 218 lbs.

" The soil was next dried by artificial heat, when the 218 lbs.
became reduced to 185.487 lbs.

•* In this partially dried state it contained :

BXPEKIMENTS ON CLOVER. 147

Moisture 4.21

Organic matter* 9.78

Mineral matter^ 86.01

"100.00

* Containing nitrogen 391

£(}ual to ammonia 475

+ Including phosphoric acid 264

" I also determined the phosphoric acid in the ash of the clover-
roots. Calculated for the roots m a nearly dry state, the phos-
phoric acid amounts to .287 per cent.

" An acre of soil, according to the data, furnished by the six
inches on the spot where the clover was thin, produced the follow-
ing quantity of nitrogen :

Ton. Cwts. Lbs.

Intheflnesoil 1 H 33

In the clover-roots _0_ 0 _66

Total quantity of nitrogen per acre 1 ll 99

" The organic matter in an acre of this soil, which can not be
picked out by hand, it will be seen, contains an enormous
quantity of nitrogen ; and although, probably, the greater part of
the roots and other remains from the clover-crop may not be de-
composed so thoroughly as to yield nitrogenous food to the suc-
ceeding wheat-crop, it can scarcely be doubted that a considerable
quantity of nitrogen will become available by the time the wheat
is sown, and that one of the chief reasons why clover benefits the
succeeding wheat-crop, is to be found in the abundant supply of
available nitrogenous food furnished by the decaying clover-roots
and leaves.

CLOVER-SOIL NO. 2, FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL.
(GOOD CLOVER.)

" A square yard of the soil from the bottom of the hill, where
the clover was stronger than on the brow of the hill, produced 2
lbs. 8 oz. of fresh clover-roots ; or 1 lb. 11 oz. 47 grains of par-
tially dried roots; 61 lbs. 9 dz. of limestones, and 289.96 lbs. of
nearly dry soil.

" The partially dried roots contained :

Moisture .5.06

Organic matter* !!!'.!....*!!..!!..!!'..'."!!*."..*,*.!! 81.94

Mineral matter '. '. 63.00

logoo

* Containing nitrogen .804

" An acre of this soil, six inches deep, produced 3 tons, 7 cwts.
65 lbs. of clover-roots, containing 61 Iba. of nitrogen; that is, there

I4d TALKS ON MANURES.

was very nearly tlie same quantity of roots and nitrogen in them,
as That furnished in ihe soil from the brow of the hUl.

'■ The roots, moreover, yielded .365 per cent of phosphoric acid ;
or, calculiited per acre, 27 lbs.

" In ihc partially diied soil, I found :

Moisture 4.70

Organic icatLer* 10.87

*lhicral matteit 84.43

KKJ.UO

* Coutainiug nitrogen 405

Equal lu ammonia 491

t Including phosphoric acid 321

" According to these determinations, an acre of soil from the
bottom of the hill, contains:

Tom. Cwtx. Lbs.

Nitrogen in the organic matter of the soil 2 2 0

Nitrogen ill clover-roots of the soil _^_ _^^ _^^

Total amount of nitrogen per acre 2^ 2 61

" Compared -with the amount of nitrogen in the soil from the
brow of the hill, about 11 cwt. more nitrogen was obtained in the
soil and roots from the bottom of the hill, where the clover was
more luxuriant.

" The increased amount of nitrogen occurred in fine root-fibres
and other organic mattei-s of the soil, and not in the coarser bits of
roots which were picked out by the hand. It may be assumed
that the liner particles of organic matter are more readily decom-
pose 1 than the coarser roots; and as there was a larger amount of
nitrogen in this than in the preceding soil, it may be expected that
the land at the bottom of the hill, after removal of the clover, was
in a better agricultural condition for wheal, tlvan that on the brow
of the hill.

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 149

CHAPTER XXV T.

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS FROM BURCOTT
LODGE FARM, LEIGUTON BUZZARD.

" The soils for the uext experimeuts, were kindly supplied to me,
in 1866, by Robert Valentine, of Burcott Lodge, who also sent me
some notes respecting the growth and yidd of clover-hay ami seed
on this soil.

" Foreign seed, at the rate of 12 lbs. per acre, was sown with a
crop of wheat, which yielded live quarters per acre the previous
year.

•' The first crop of clover was cut down on the 25th of June,
1866, and carried on June 30th. The weather was very warm,
from the tune of cutting until the clover was carted, the thermome-
ter standing at 80 Fahr. every day. The clover was turned in the
swath, on the second day after it was cut; on the fourth day, it
was turned over and put into small heaps of about 10 lbs. each;
and on the fifth day, these were collected into larger cocks, and
then stacked.

" The best part of an 11-acre field, produced nearly three tons of
clover-hay, sun-dried, per acre ; the whole field yielding on an aver-
age, 2^ tons per acre. This result was obtained b}^ weighing the
stack three months after the clover was carted. The second crop
was cut on the 21st of August, and carried on the 27th, the weight
being nearly 30 cvvt. of hay per acre. Thus the two cuttings pro-
duced just about four tons of clover-hay per acre.

" The 11 acres were divided into two parts. Al/out one-half was
mown for haj^ a second time, and the other part left for seed. The
produce of the second half of tlie 11-acre field, was cut on the 8th
of October, and carried on the lOlh. It yielded in round numbers,
3 cwt. of clover-seed per acre, the season being very unfavorable
for clover-seed. The second crop of clover, mown for hay, was
.'•ather too ripe, and just beginning to show seed.

" A square foot of soil, 18 inches deep, was dug from the second
portion of the land which produced the clover-hay and clover-
seed.

SOIL FROM .^ARl' OF 11-ACRE FIELD TWICE MOWN FOR HAT.

"The upper six inches of soil, one foot square, contained all the
main roots ov 18 strong plants ; the next six inches, only small
root fibres, and in the third section, a six-inch slice cut down at a

150

TALKS ON MANLKES.

depth of 12 inches from the surface, no distinct fibres could be
found. The soil was uhnost i()ini)letely saturated with ralu wheu
it was dug up on the loth of S.-picinber, 18GG:

IM.

The upper six iuches of soil, out- foot square, weighed 00

The second
The third

"Tlicse tliree portions of one foot of soil, 18 inches deep, were
dried nearly completely, and weighed again; wht-n the tirst six
inches weiirhed r»^ lbs. ; the second six iuches, 51 lbs. 5 oz. ; and
tin- third .seetion, 54 lbs. 2 oz.

"The first si.x inches contained 3 lbs. of silicious stones, (flints),
which were rejected in preparing a sample for analysis; in the
two remaining sections there were no large sized stones. The soils
were pounded flown, and pa-i^seil through a wire sieve.

"The three layers of soli, dried and reduced to jHiwder, were
mixed together, and a prepared average sample, when submitted
to analysis, yielded thi- following results:

COMPOSITION OF CLOVKKSOIL, IS INCMKS DKKP. FROM
PART OF 11 ACRE FIELD, TWICE MOWN FOR llAY.

'Orjjanic matter 5.H6

Oxides of iron 6.83

Aliimhia 7.12

(nrlionatc of lime 2.\'A

Soliihle in hy- Ma'^iiesia 'i.Ol

drochloric aciil. "j Potash ri7

Soda 08

Chloride of sodium 02

Ptio<l>lioric acid IK

Sulphuric acid 17

Insoluble silicious matter, 74.01. Consisting of :

.\luraina 4.87

Lime, ( in a state of silicate) 4.07

Insoluble in acid ; .Mainiesia 46

Potash .ly

.Soda 2,S

SiUca '..!'.! 65.1J9

99.68

"This soil. It will bo seen, contained, in appreciable quantities,
not only potash and phos|)horie acid, but all tin- elements of fertil-
ity which enter into the composition of good arable land. It may
be briefly described as a stiff clay soil, containing a s>ifflciency of
lime, potash, and phosphoric acid, to meet all the re(|uirement8 of
the elovor-crop. Originally, r;)th<r unproductive, it has l)een nuich
improved by deep culture ; by bring smashed up into ron.rb clods,
early In autumn, and by boiivir exposed in tliis state to the crum-
bling effects of the air, It now yields good com and forage crops.

EXPEBIMKNTS ON CLOVKR-80ILB. 151

"In ttcparulc purlioiis u£ ihc liircf lasers uf soil, tbr propuriious
jf iiilruj;fu Mid phospliDric acid cuiiluiiieii iu ciicli layer of six
iiiclied, were delcrmiued aiid fouud U> be as follows :

isuU drUil at 212 dty. Falir,
Ixt six 2</ six '6d mx
inc/ifji. inr/us. iiichts.

Percentage of phospboric acid 'M'J A'-A .1?-

Nilrn;,au l.»>'- .tH'2 .004

K(juiil li> auiiuouia l'.»8 .112 .078

" lu the upiHT si.\ iiKbcs, us will be seen, tbe percenUiije of botb
pbospborie acid and nitrogen, was larger than iu the two follow-
ing layers, wbile tbe proportion <»f nitrogen in tbe six iiiebes of sur-
face soil, was niucb larger than in iIk- next six incbes; and in Ibe
tliird s(Htion, containing no visible particles of root tilires, only
very little nitrogen occurred.

■' In Ibeir natural slate, tbe tbree layers of soil contained :

1st xix 2</ six 3</ .til
inrhe.^. inrhes. inr/iejt.

Moisture 17.lt; 18.24 lt;.«2

PlK.sphi.ric acid I'.W .109 .143

Nitn.p.n VM .075 .053

Equal to ammonia Itii .091 .064

lbs. lbs. lbs.

Weight of one foot square of soil tX) 01 <J3

"Calculated per acre, tbe absolute weiglit of one acre of tbis
land, six incbes deep, weigbs :

TJjs.

let six inches 2,618,600

2d six inches 2,657,160

3d six inches 2,746,280

"No great error, therefore, will be made, if we assume in the
sulxsequent calculations, that six incbes of this soil weigbs two and
one-balf millions of pounds per acre.

" An acre of land, according to tbe preceding determinations,
contains :

1«/ six incites, 2cl six incfie.'i, Zd six inches^
Lbs. Lbs. Lbs.

Phosphoric acid 4,950 2,?25 8,575

NitroiTcn 3..350 1.875 1,325

Equal to ammonia 4,0.'jO 2.275 1.600

" Tbe proportion of phosphoric acid in six inches of surface soil,
it will be seen, amounted to ;d)out two-tcntbs per cent ; a propor-
tion of tbe whole soil, so small that it may appear insufficient
for tbe production of a good corn-crop. However, when calcu-
lated to tlie acre, we find that six incbes of surface soil in an acre of
land, actually contain over two tons of phosphoric acid. An aver-
age crop of wheat, assumed to be 25 bushels of grain, at CO lbs. per

152 TALKS OX MANURES.

bushel, and o,000 lbs. of straw, removes Irom the laud on which it
isgrown, 30 lbs. of phos|)horic aeiil. The clover-soil analyzed by
me, eousequeutly coutaius aii amount of phosphoric acid in a
depth of ouly six inches, which is equal to that present in 247A
average crops of wheat; or supposing that, by good cultivation
and iu favoral)le seasons, tiie average yield of wheat could be
doubled, and 5U bushels of grain, at Hi) lbs. a bushel, and G,000 lbs.
of straw could be raised, 124 of such heavy wheat-crops would con-
tain no more phosphoric acid than actually occurred in six inches
of this clover-soil per acre.

" The mere presence of such an amount of jdiosphoric acid in a
soil, however, by no means proves its sufliciency for tlie produc-
tion of so many crops of wheat ; for, in the first place, it can not
be shown that the whole of the i)hosphoric acid found by analysis,
occurs in the soil in a readily available combination ; and, in the
second place, it is quite certain that the root fibres of the wlicat-
plant can not reach and p\ck up, so to speak, every particle of
phosphoric acid, even suppc^sing it to occur in the soil in a form
most conducive to ' ready assimilation by the plant.'

"Tiie calculation is not givi-n in proof of a conclusion which
would be manifestly absurd, but simply as an illustration of the
enormous quantity in an acre of soil six inches deep, of a constitu-
ent forming the smaller proportions of the whole weight of an
acre of soil of that limited depth. It shows the existence of a prac-
tically unlimited amount of the most important mineral constitu-
ents of jilants, and dearly points out the pro]iriety of rendering
availaitle to plants, the natural resources of the soil in plant-
food ; to draw, in fact, up the mineral wealth of the soil, by thor-
oughly working the land, and not leaving it unutilized as so much
dead capital."

" Good," said tlie Deacon, " that is the right doctrine."

" The roots," continues Dr. Yoelcker, " from one square foot of
soil were cleaned as much as possible, dried completely at 212%
and in that state weighed 240 grains. An acre consequently con-
tained l,493i lbs. of dried clover- roots.

"The clover-roots contained, dried at 212' Fahr.,

Organic matter* ^V^

Mineral matter,t (ash) 1^67

100.00

* Yielding nitrogen 1.6r5

Equal to ammonia ^-^l^'

flncluding iusoluble silicious matter, (clay and sand) 11.67

EXPERIMENTS ON CI.OVEU-SOILS. 158

"Accordingly tlio clover-roots in an acre of land fiirnislu'd 24i
lbs. of nilrogon. We have thus:

Lbx. of
nitrogen.

In the six inches of surface soil "^'^i

In large chjver-roots '^

In second six indies of soil i,oi5

Total amount of nitrogen in jne acre of soil 12 inches deep 5,249i

Equal to ammonia D,374i

Or in round numbers, two tons six cwt. of nitrogen per acre; an
enormous quantity, which must have a powerful influence in en-
couraging the luxuriant development of the succeeding wheat-
crop, although only a fraction of the total amount of nitrogen in
the clover remains may become sufliciently decomposed in time to
be available to the young wheat-plants.

CLOVER-SOIL FROM PART OF 11-ACRE FIELD OF BURCOTT

LODGE FARM, LEKiUTON BUZZARD, ONCE MOWN

FOR HAY, AND LEFT AFTERWARD.S FOR SEED.

" Produce 2^ tons of clover-hay, and 3 cwt. of seed per acre.

" This soil was obtained within a disUince of five yards from the
part of the field where the soil was dug up after the two cuttings
of hay. After the seed there was some difficulty in finding a
square foot containing the same number of large clover-roots, as
that on the field twice mown ; however, at last, in the beginning of
November, a square foot containing exactly 18 strong roots, was
found and dug up to a depth of 18 inches. The soil dug after the
seed was much drier than that dug after the two cuttings of hay :

The upper six inches deep, one foot square, weighed 56 lbs.

The next " " " 58 "

Thethird " " " 60 "

" After drying by exposure to hot air, the three layers of soil
weighed :

The upper six inches, one foot square .... . . 49i lbs.

The next " " 50i "

Thethird " " 5U "

" Equal portions of the dried soil from each six-inch section
were mixed together and reduced to a fine powder. An average
sample thus prepared, on analysis, was found to have the follow-
ing composition :

ir)4

TALKS OX MAVrRES.

COMPOSITION OF CLOVER-SOIL ONCE MOWN F(^K IIAY, AND
AFTERWARDS LEFT FOR SEED. DRIED AT 213 FAIIR.

Soluble in hy
drochloricacid. ' I'oUish
Soda..

Organic matter

Oxides of iron

Alumina

Carlionate of lime.
.Mairne'-ia

Insoluble in acid

Chloride of sodium

l'ho!*|>lioric acid

, SulpLuric acid

Insoluhlo silioioufl matter, 73.84. ConsistinRof :

Alumina

Lime ( in a state of silieate)

Magnesia

Potash

Soda

L Silica

5.34

0.07

4.51

7.51

1.27

.53

.Iti

.l«

.15

.I'J

4.14

3.69

.68

.34

.21

a5^88

99:59

'• The soil, it will he seen, in genornl character, resembles the pre-
ceding sample; it contains a good (leal of potash and phosplioric
acid, and may be presumed to l)0 well suited to the growth of
clover. It contains more carbonate of lime, and is somewhat
lighter than tlie .sainjile from the part of the field twice mown for
hay, and may be termed heavy calcareous clay.

" An acre of this land, 18 inches deep, weighed, when very nearly

dry:

Lb».

Surface, six inches 2,407.900

Next " 2,444,300

Third " 2,480,.'J00

"Or in round numbers, every six inches of soil weighed per
acre 2i millions of pounds, which agrees tolerably well with the
actual weight j)er acre of the preceding soil.

"The amount of phosphoric acid and nitrogen in each six-inch
layer was determined separately as before, when the following
results were obtained :

IN DRIED SOIL.

Find Second Third
sir inches, air inches, sir inches.

Percentage of phosphoric acid 151) .166 .140

Nitroffen 18'.t .VM .089

Equal to ammonia 339 .163 .108

"An acre, according to these determinations, contains in th»
three separate sections :

EXPBRIMKNTS ON (LOVER-SOILS. 155

First Sirtwif Third
sixinclus. six iiiclus. six inches.

lbs. Il>s. lbs.

Phosphoric arid S/JT") 4,15() 3,500

Nitrogen 4,725 3.;J.'>0 2:125

Kqual to ariimoiiia 5,?^ 4,a5(< 2,700

" Here, again, as migLit naturally be expected, the proportion of
nitrogen is largest in the surface, where all the decaying leaves
driipped during llie growth of the clover for seed are found, and
wherein root-tihres are more abundant than in the lower strata.
TIjc hrst six inches of soil, it will be seen, contained in round
nunibirs, 2i tons of nitrogen per acre, that is, considerably more
tiuin was found in the same section of the soil where the clover
was mown twice for hay ; showing plainly, that during the ripening
of the clover seid, the surface is niucii enriched Ijy the nitrogen-
ous matter in the dropping h-aves of the i^lover-plant.

" Clover-roots. — The roots from one square foot of this soil, freed
as much as possible from adhering soil, were dried at 212', and
when weighed and rcchiceil to a line powder, gave, on analysis, the
following results:

Oganic matter* 64.76

Mineral matterf _ 35.24

100.6(3

•Containing nitrogen 1.702

Equal to ammonia 2.066

t Including clay and sand (insoluble silicious matter) 26.04

*' A .square foot of this soil jiroduced 582 grains of dried clover-
roots, consequently- an acre yielded 3,622 lbs. of roots, or more
than twice the weight of roots ol)tain(Hl from the soil of the same
field where the clover was twice mown for hay.

" In round numbers, the 3,622 lbs. of clover-roots from the land
mown once, and afterwards left for seed, contained 51^ lbs. of
nitrogen.

" The roots from the soil after clover-seed, it will be noticed,
were not so clean as the preceding sample, nevertheless, they
jielded more nitrogen. In 64.76 of organic matter, we have here
1.702 of nitrogen, whereas, in the case of the roots from the part
of the field where the clover was twice mown for hay, we have in
81.33 parts, that is, much m-^re organic matter, and 1.635, or rather
less of nitrogen. It is evident, therefore, that the organic matter
in the soil after clover seed, occurs in a more advanced stage of
decomposition, than found in the clover-roots from the part of the
field twice mown. In the manure, in which the decay of such
and similar organic remains proceeds, much of the non-nitrogen-
ous, or carbonaceous matters, of which these remains chiefly,

156 TALKS ON MANUUES.

lliouirh not I'litinly, consist, is Iraiisfotinid into pasi'ous carbonic
acid, and wliat remains Itchind, hfcouus richer in nitroi^cn ami
mineral matters. A parallel case, showiiii; the dissipation of car-
bonaceous matter, and the increase in tiie percenta^a' of nitrogen
and mineral matter in what is left behind, is presented to us in
fresh and n»tten duuL'; in long or fresh dung, the j>ercenUige of
organic matter, consisting chietly of very imperfe-lly decom-
posed straw, being lirger, and that of nitrogen and mineral
matter smaller, than in well-rotted dung.

"The roots froni the field after clover-.seed, it will be borne in
mind, were ilug uj) in November, whilst those ol)tained from the
lan<l twice mown, wen- tlug up in September; the former, there-
fore, may be expected to be in a more advanced state of decay
than the latter, and richer in nilroiren.

" In an acre of soil, after clover seed, we have:

IM.

Nilrogtn in first six ii.chcs of soil 4,7"i5

Nitroi^iii ill nnfts •'Jli

Nitmiicn in seennti six inclioH of soil 'A,WM

Tutal umouut of nitrogen, per aere, in twelve Inches of boU.... 8,l;afl

"E(|ual to ammonia, 9,K(57 lbs. : or, in round numbers, 3 Urns
and 12i cwts. of nitrogen jier acre; eciual to 4 tons 8 cwt.s. of
ammonia.

" This is a very much larger amount of nitrogen than occurred in
the other soil, and shows jtlainly that tiie total amount of nitrogen
accumulates especially in the surface-soil, when clover is grown
for seed ; thus explaining intelligibly, as it appears to me, why
wheat, as stated by many practical men, succeeds better on land
where clover is grown for seed, tlnm where it is mown f(jr hay.

" All the three layers of the soil, after clover-seed, are richer in
nitroi,'en than the .same sections of the soil where the clover wjis
twice mown, as will be seen by the following comparative state-
ment of results:

I. I n.

MOWS. ANDTHBN LEPT PORBKKD.

Upper I Seomd \ Third Vppfr \ Xtxl \ Lorrtft
%iiie/iei>. 6inrAfj>. Ciinche/t. (W/wAm. Sinchss. dinehe*.

Perceiitasre of nitrogen in ; i I 1

dried'soil .HW .092 I .OM | .189 | .\Z\ \ .089

Equal to ammonia .198 | .119 ! .078 .229 | .169 i ,108

"This difference in the amount of accumulated nitrogen in
clover-land, appears still more strikingly on comparing the tola!

EXI'KIUMENTS ON < LOVER-SOILS. 157

amounts of nitrogen per ariv in tlic (lilVmnt sections of the two
portions of Ibe ll-arrc tield.

peklknta(;e of xituockn i'kk acre.

Mnt Sei-imd T/iinl

air iiic/ifn. xU iiirhen. six iitc/ua.

/J>.i. Lb<. IJm.

I. In poll, clover twico mown* i 3,:}50 1,875 \^',i2ii

II. In soil, clovtr once mown and 8«'i'(liMi v

aflerwur.lst ) 4,7jr, '.\:iiQ 2.235

Equal to ammouiii : i

♦ I. Clover twice nu.wn V 4,05') 3,275 1,600

t II. Clover seeded ) ".,725 4,050 2,7t)0

TMs.

I. Nitroppn in roots of clover twice mown \ 34i

II. Nitrofjcn in clover, onee mown, anil grown for seed after- V

wurds .' ) 5U

I. Wfi-^lit of dry roots per acre from .Soil 1 ( l,4'.>;;i

II. Weiiriit of dry roots per acre from Soil II ) 0,022

Total amount of nitronen in 1 jiere, 12 inches deep <'f Soil I*. ( 5,24'Ji

Total amount of nitroiren in 1 acn. 12 inches deep of Soil lit. \ 8,12;Ji

Excess of nitroiren in an acre of soil 12 inches deep, calculated

as ammonia in [>art of Held, mown once and then seeded

3,592*

• Equal to ammonia ) t5,S74i

t Equal to ammonia !l 9,807

"It will lie seen that not only was the amount of large clover-
roots greater in the part wiierc cl<iver was grown for .^eed, but tliat
likewise the different layers of soil were in every instaix'e richer
in nitrogen after clover-socd, t'.ian after clover mown twice for
hay.

" Reasons arc given in the beginning of this paper which it is
hoped will have convinced the reader, that the fertility of land
is not so much measured by the amount of ash constituents of
jdanls which it contains, a.s by the amount of nitrogen, which, to-
gether with an excess of such ash constituents, it contains in an
available form. It has been shown likewise, that the removal from
the soil of a large amount of mineral matter in a good clover-crop,
in conformity with many direct field e.xporimcnts, is not likely in
any degree to affect the wheat-crop, and that the yield of wheat on
soils under ordinary cultivation, according to the experience of
many farmers, and the direct and numerous experiments of Messrs.
Lawes and Gilbert, rises or falls, otlier circumstances being equal,
with the supply of available nitrogenous food which is given to
the wheat. This being the case, we can not doubt that the benefits
arising from the growth of clover to the succeeding wheat, are
mainly due to the fact that an immense amount of nitrogenoua
food accumulates in the soil during the growth of clover.

158 TALKS ON MANURES.

"This accumulation of nitrogenous plant-food, specially useful
to cereal crops, is, as shown in the preeeilin^ experiments, much
f^reater when clover is grown for seed, tlian when it is made into
hay. Tiiis affords an intelligible explanation of a fact long
observed by good practical men, although denied by other: who
decline to accept their experience as resting upon trustworthy evi-
dence, because, as they say, land cannot become more fertile when
a crop is grown upon it for seed, whieii is <arried off, than when
that crop is cut down and tht- produce consumed on the land. The
chemical points brought forward iu the course of this inquiry,
show plainly that mere speculation as to what can take place in a
soil, and what not, do not much advance the true theory of cer-
tain agricultural practices. It is only by carefully investigating
subjects like the one under consideration, that positive proofs are
given, showing the correctness of intelligent (observers in tlie fields.
Mariy years ago, I made a great many experiment.-* relative to the
chemistry of farm-yard manurr, and then showed, amongst other
pirticulars, that manure, spread at once on the hmd, need not
tlierc and then be plowed in, ina>jmuch as neither a broiling sun,
nor a sweeping and drying wind will cause the slightest loss of
nmmoniii ; and that, therefore, the ohl-fashioned farmer who carts
his maiuire on the land as soon as he can, and sjireads it at once,
but wiio plows it in at Ids convenience, acts ii perfect accordance
with correct chemical principles involved in the management of
farm-yard manure. On the present occasion, my main object has
been to show, not merely by reasoning on the subject, but by actual
experiments, that tlic la'-ger the amounts of nitrogen, pota.sh, soda,
lime, phosphoric acid, etc., which are removed from the land in a
clover-crop, the better it is, nevertheless, made thereby for produc-
ing in the succeeding year an abundant crop of wheat, other cir-
cumstances being favorable to its growth.

*' Indeed, no kind of manure can be compared in point of efl3cacy
for wheat, to the manuring which the land gets in a really good
crop of clover. The farmer who wishes to derive the full benefit
from his clover-lay, should plow it up for wheat as soon as possi-
ble in the autumn, and h.'ave it in a rough state as long as is admis-
sible, in order tliat the air may find free access into the land, and
the organic remains left in so much abundance in a good crop of
clover be changed into plant-food ; more especially, in other words,
in order that the crude nitrogenous organic matter in the clover-
roots and decaying leaves, may have time to become transformed
into ammoniacal compounds, ami these, in the course of time,tnto
nitrates, which I am strongly inclined to think is the form in which

EXPEUIMENTS (»N ( LOVKK-SOILS. 159

nitrogen isassimihiteil. par excellence by cereal crops.and in whid),
at all events, it is more efficacious than in any other state of coin-
bin.ition wherein it may be used jl^ a fertilizer.

" When the elover-lay is plowed ui> early, the decay of the clover
is sufficiently advanced by the time tiie young wheat-plant stands
in need of readily available nitrogenous food, and this being uni-
formly distrii)Uted through the whole of the cultivated soil, is
ready to benefit every single plant. This etpial and abundant dis-
tributicm of food, peculiarly valuable to cere;ds, is a great advan-
tage, and speaks strongly in favor of clover as a preparatory crop
for wheat.

" Nitrate of soda, an excellent spring top-dressing for wheat and
cereals in general, in some seasons fails to i)roduce as good an effect
as in others. In very ilry springs, the rainfall is not sufficient to
wash it properly into th • soil and to distribute it equally, and in
very wet sea.sons it is apt to be washed either into the drains or
into a stnitum of the soil not aecessibk' to the roots of the young
wheat. As, therefore, the character of tlie approaching season
can not usually be predicted, the application of nitrate of soda to
whe It is alwa3S attended with more or less uncertainty.

" The case is different, when a good crop of clover-hay has been
obtaine 1 from the land on which wheat is inten led to be grown
afterwards. An enormous quantity of nitrogenous organic matter,
as we have seen, is left in the land after the removal of the clover-
crop ; and these remains gradually decay and furnish ammonia,
which at first and during the col ler months of the year, is retained
by the well known absorbing properties which all good wheat-
soils possess. In spring, when warmer weather sets in, and the
wheat begins to make a push, these ammonia compounds in the soil
are by degrees oxidized into nitrates; and as this change into food
peculiarly favorable to young cereal plants, proceeds slowly
but steadily, we have in the soil itself, after clover, a source from
which nitrates are continuously produced ; so that it does not much
affect the final yield of wheat, whether heavy rains remove some
or all of the nitrate present in the soil. The clover remains thus
afford a more continuous source from which nitrates are produced,
and greater certainty for a good crop of wheat than when recourse
is had to nitrogenous top-dressings in the spring.

SUMMARY.

" The following are some off the chief points of interest which I
have endeavored fully to develope in the precediu'r piges :
" 1. A good crop of clover removes from the soil more potash,

160 TALKS ON MANUP.KS.

pliosphoric acid, lime, aud other mineral matters, which enter into
the composition of the asiies of our cultivated crops, than any other
crop usually grown in tliis country.

"3. Tliere is fully tlireu times as much nitrogen in a crop of
clover us in the average produce of the grain and straw of wheat
per acre.

"3. Notwithstanding the large amount of nitrogenous matter
and of a.sh-constituents of plants, in the produce of an acre, clover
is an excellent preparatory crop for wheat.

" 4. During tiie growth of clover, a large amount of nitrogenous
matter accumulates in the soil.

"5. This accumulation, whicn is greatest in the surface soil, is
due to dcc'ying leaves dropped during the growth of clover, and
to an ahundance of roots, containing, when dry, from one and
three-fourths to two per cent of nitrogen.

" 6. The clover-roots are stronger and more numerous, and more
leaves fall on the ground when clover is grown for seed, than
when it is mown for hay ; in consequence, more nitrogen is left
after clover-seed, than after hay, which accounts for wheat yiehl-
ing a l)etter crop after clover-seed than after hay.

" 7. The development of roots he\n[s checked, when the produce,
in a green condition, is fed olT by shtep, in all jirohaltility, leaves
still less nitrogenous matter in the soil than when clover is
allowed to get riper and is mown for hay ; thus, no doubt, account-
ing for the observation made by practical men, that, notwithstand-
ing the return of the produce in the sheep excrements, wheat is
generally stnngcr, and yi"lda better, after clover mown for hay,
than wlien the clover is fed off green by sheep.

"8. Tlie nilrogMious matters in tlie clover remains, on their
gradual decay, are finally transformed into nitrates, thus affordinix
a continuous .source of food on which cereal crops speeially dcliglit
to grow.

"9. There is strong presumptive evidence that the nitrogen
wliieh exists in the air, in shape of ammonia and nitric acid, and
descends, in these combinations, with the rain which falls on the
ground, satisfies, under ordinary circumstances, the requirements
of the clover-crop. This crop causes a large accumulation of
nitroi^enous matters, which are gradually changed in the soil into
nitrates. The atmosphere thus furnishes nitrogenous food to the
succeedin'r wheat indirectly, and, so to say, gratis.

"10. Clover not only provides abundance of nitrogenous food,
hut delivers this food in a rea lily available form (as nitrates), more
gradually and continuously, and, consequently, with more cer-

EXPEKIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 161

tainty of a good result, than such food can be applied to the laud
ill the shape of uilrogenous spring top-dressings."

" Thank you Charley," sa^ia the Doctor, " thit is the moxt re-
mdrhtbU puper I ever liskiud to. I do not quite know what to
think of it. We shall have to e.vaniine it carefully."

" The lirst three propositi<)ns \v the buuiuiary," said I, "are un-
questionaltly true. Proposition No. 4, is equally true, but we must
be careful what meaning we attach to the word 'accumulate.' Tiic
idea is, that clover gathers up the nitrogen in the soil. It docs not
increuae the absolute amount of nitrogen. It accumulates it — brings
it together."

" Proposition '^In. 5, will not be disputed ; and I think we may
accept No. 6, al.so, though we can not be sure that allowing clover
to go to seed, had anytliing to ilo with the increased quantity of
clover-roots."

" Proposition No. 7, may or may not l)e true. We have no
proof, only a ' prr)babilily ; ' and tlie same may be said in regard to
propositions Nos. 8, 9, and 10."

The Deacon seemtd uneasy. He did not like these remarks. lie
had got the impression, while Charley was reading, that much
more was proved than Dr. Vadckcr claims in his Summary.

" I thought," said he, " that on tlie part of the tield where the
clover was allowed to go to seed, Dr. Yoelcker found a great in-
crease in the amount of nitrogen."

" That seems to be the general impression," said the Doctor, " but
in point of fact, we have no proof that the growth of clover, either
for hay or for seed, had anything to do with tlie quantity of nitro-
gen and phosphoric acid found in the soil. The/(/r?s given by Dr.
Yoelcker, are exceedingly interesting. Let us look at them:"

" A field of 11 acres was sown to winter-wheat, and seeded down
in the spring, with 12 lbs. per acre of clover. The wheat yielded
40 bushels per acre. The next year, on the 25th of June, the
clover was mown for hay. We are told that ' the best pni-t of tlie
field yielded three tons (6,720 lbs.) of clover hay per acre; the
whole field averaging 2h tons (5,600 lbs.) per acre.' "

"We are not informed how much land there was of the 'best
part,' but assuming that it was half the field, the poorer part
must have yielded only 4,480 lbs. of hay per acre, or only two-
thirds as much as the other. This shows that there was consider-
able difference in the quality or condition of the land.

" After the field was mown for hay.it was divide'! into two parts :
one part was mown again for hay, August 31st, and yielded about

162 TALKS ON MANURES.

30 cvvt. (3,JJG0 lbs.) of hay per acre ; the other half was allowed to
grow six or seven weeks longer, and was then (October 8th), cut
for seed. The yield was a little over 5h bushels of seed per acre.
Whether the clover allowed to grow for seed, was on the richer or
poorer half of the field, we are not informed.

" Dr. Voelcker then analyzed the soil. That from the part of the
field mown twice for hay, contained per acre :

J'^rxt six Second six Third six Total, 18.

iiic/ies. itu'fws. i)icfi/'s. inches <Uep.

Phosphoric acid 4,950 2,725 8,575 11,250

Nitrogen 3,3.50 1,875 1,325 6,550

"The soil /rom the part mown once for Jiuy, and tJitn for seed,
contained per acre :

First six Second six Third six T<Aal,\%

inches. inches. inches. inches deep.

Phosphoric acid 3,975 4,150 3,500 11.625

Nitrogen 4,72.5 3,350 2,225 10,300

"Dr.Voelcker also ascertained the amount &nd composition of the
clover-roots growing in the soil on the two parts of the field. Ou
the part 77iown ticice for hiy, the roots contained per acre 24J lbs.
of nitrogen. On the part mown once for hn/, and then for seed,
the roots contained .5H lbs. of nitrogen per acre."

" Now," said the Doctor, " these facts are very interesting, but
there is no sort of evidence tending to shoir that the clover hfis any-
thing to do with increasing or decreasing the qxtantity of nitrogen or
phosphoric acid found in the soil.''''

" There was more clover-roots per acre, where the clover was
allowed to go to seed. But that maj' be because the soil happened
to be richer on this part of the field. There was, in the first six
inches of the soil, 8,3.50 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, on one-half of the
field, and 4,725 lbs. on the other half; and it is not at all surprising
that on the latter half there should be a greater growth of clover
and clover-roots. To suppose that during the six or seven weeks
while the clover was maturing its seed, the clover-plants could
accumulate 1,375 lbs. of nitrogen, is absurd."

"But Dr. Voelcker," said the Deacon, "states, and states truly,
that ' more leaves fall on the ground when clover is grown for
seed, than when it is mown for hay ; and, consequently, more nitro-
gen is left after clover-seed than after hay, which accounts for
wheat yielding a better crop after clover-seed than after hay.' "

" Tills is all true," said the Doctor, " but we can not accept Dr.
Voelckcr's analyses as proving it. To account in this way for the
1,375 lbs. of nitrogen, we should have to suppose that the clover-
plants, in going to seed, shed one hundred tons of dry clover-leaves

BXPEKIMENTS OX CLOVER-SOILS. 163

per acre ! The truth of the matter seems to be, that the part of the
field I in which the clover was allowed to go to seed, was naturally
much richer than the other part, and consequently produced a
greater growth of clover and clover-roots."

We can not find anything in these experiments tending to show
that we can make land rich by growing clover and selling the crop.
The analyses of the soil show that in the first eigliteen inches of the
surfiice-soil, there wsis 6,550 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, on one part
of the field, and 10,300 lbs. on the other part. The clover did not
create this nitrogen, or bring it from the atmosphere. The wheat
with which the clover was seeded down, yielded 40 bushels per
acre. If tlie field had been sown to wheat again, it probably would
not have yielded over 25 bushels per acre — and that for want of
available nitrogen. And yet the clover got nitrogen enough for
over four tons of clover hay ; or as much nitrogen as a crop of
wheat of 125 bushels per acre, and 7i tons of straw would remove
from the land.

Now what does this prove ? There was, in 18 inches of the soil
on the poorest part of the field, 6,550 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. A
crop of wheat of 50 bushels per acre, and twice that weight of
straw, would require about 93 lbs. of nitrogen. But the wheat can
not get this amount from the soil, while the clover can get double
the quantity. And the only explantion I can give, is, that the clover-
roots can take up nitrogen from a weaker solution in the soil than
•wheat-roots can.

"These experiments of Dr. Vcelcker," sa d I, " give me great en-
couragement. Here is a soil, * originally rather unproductive, but
much improved by deep culture ; by being smashed up into rough
clods early in autumn, and by being exposed in this state to the
crumbling effects of the air.' It now produces 40 bushels of wheat
per acre, and part of the field yielded three tons of clover-hay,
per acre, the first cutting, and 5i bushels of clover-seed after-
wards—and that in a very unfavorable season for clover-seed."

You will find that the farmers in England do not expect to make
their land rich, by growing clover and selling the produce. After
they have got their land rich, by good cultivation, and the liberal
use of animal and artificial manures, they may expect a good crop
of wheat from the roots of the clover. But they take good care to
feed out the clover itself on the farm, in connection with turnips
and oil-cake, and thus make rich manure-

164

TALKS ON MANURES.

And so it is in this country. Much as we hear about the value
of clover for manure, even those who extol it tlie liighest do not
depend upon it aIo:ie for hringiu.^ up and maintaining the fertility
of their farms. The men who raise tiie large-^t crops and make the
most money by farming, do not sell clover-ha.v. They do not look
to the roots of the clover for making a poor soil rich. They are,
to a man, good cultivators. They work their land thoroughly and
kill the weeds. Tuey keep good stock, and feed liberally, and
make good manure. Tiiey use lime, ashes, and plaster, and are
clad to draw manure from the cities and villages, and muck from
the swamps, and not a few of them bu}* artificial manures. In the
hands of such farmers, clover is a grand renovating crop. It
gathers up tlie fertility of the soil, and tiie roots alone of a
large crop, often furnish food enough for a good crop of corn,
potatoes, or wheat. But if your land was not in good lieart to
start with, you would not get the large crop of clover; and if you
depend on the clover-roots alone, the time is not far distant when
your lari:e crops of clover will be things of tlie past.

AMOUNT OF ROOTS LEFT IN TIIE SOIL BY DIFFERENT

CROPS.
"We have seen that Dr. Voplckcr made four separate deter-
minations of the amount of clover-roots left in the soil to the
depth of six inches. It may be well to tabulate the figures obtained :

CLOTBB-BOOTS, IN SIX IMCHI8 OF BOO., FBB ACRB.

Air-dry

rootn.

per

acre.

mtro

gen in

IVOt-fl,

per
acre.

Pho»-

pfioric

acid in

root*,

per

acre.

No. 1.
" 2.

" 3.
•' 4.

" 5.

^ J Good Clover from brow of tlie hill

^■iBad

C f

a

.2 J Good Clover from bottom of the field

•^iThin " " brow " bill....

•3

Heavy crop of flrst-year clover mown twice
for hav

TTO.'i
3920

7569
80t>l

100

31

61
66

61*
191*

27

" 6.

Heavy cri)p of first-year clover, mown once
for hay, and then for seed

8921

" 7.

German experiment, lOJ inchcei deep

74»

I have not much confidence in experiments of this kind. It is
so easy to make a little mistake ; and when you take only a square
foot of land, as was the case with Nos. 5 and 0, the mistake is mul-
tiplied by 43,560. Still, I give the table for what it is worth.

EXPEKIMENTS ON CLOVKR-SOILS. 165

Nos. 1 and 2 arr from a one-yi'ar-old crop of clover. The field
was a calcareous clay soil. It was somewhat hilly; or, perhaps,
what we here, iu Western New York, should call " rolliuir land."
The soil on the brow of the hill, "was very stony at a depth of
four inches, so that it could only with difficulty be excavated to
six ijiches, wlu-n the bare limt stone-rock made its aitpearance."

A square yard was seleited on this siiallow soil, where the clover
was Ejood ; and tiie roots, air-ilried, weiglied at the rate of 7,7Uo lbs.
per acre, and contained 100 lbs. of nitrogen. A few yards disUince,
on the same soil, where the clover was bad, the acre of roots con-
tained only 31 ll)s. of nitro;;en per acre.

S«> far, so iTOod. We can well understand this result. Chemistry
has little to do with it. Then- was a p)od stand of clover on the
one plot, and a poor i»ne on the other. And tiie conclusion to be
drawn from it is, that it is well worth our while to try to secure a
good catch of ch>ver.

" But, suppose," .said the Doctor, " No. 2 had happened to hav<:
been pastured by sheep, and No. 1 allowed to go to seed, what
magi • there would have been in the above figures ! "

Nos. 3 and 4 arc from the .same field, the second year. No. 4 is
from a sf[uare yard of thin clover on the brow of the hill, and
No. 3, from the rielnr, deeper land towards the bottom of the hill.

There is very little dilTerence between them. The roots of thin
clover from the brow of tlic hill, ctintain five lbs. more nitrogen
per acre, than tiie roots on the deeper soil.

If we can depend on the figures, we may conclude that on our
poor stony "knolls," the clover has larger and longer roots than
on the richer parts of the fi 'Id. We know that roots will run
long distances and great dejjths iu search of food and water.

Nos. 5 and 6 are from a heavy crop of one-year-old clover. No.
5 was mown twice for hay, producing, in the two cuttings, over
four tons of liay per acre. No. 6 was in the same field, the only
difference being th-at the clover, instead of being cut the .second
time for hay, was allowed to stand a few weeks longer to ripen its
seed. You will see that the latter has more roots than the former.

There are 24| lbs. of nitrogen per acre in the one case, and 51^
lbs. in the other. IIow far tliis is due to difference in the condition
of the land, or to the difficulties in tlie way of getting out all the
roots from the square yard, is a matter of conjecture.

Truth to tell, I have very little confidence in any of these figures.
It will be observed that I have put at the bottom of the table, the
result of an examination made in Germany. In this case, the nitro-
gen in the roots of an acre of clover, amounted to 191^ lbs. per

166

TALKS ON MANURES.

acre. If we can depend on the figutes, we must conclude that there
were nearly eight times as much clover-roots per acre in the Ger-
man field, as in the remarkably heavy crop of clover in the English
field No. 5.

" Yes," said the Deacon, " but the one was 10^ inches deep, and
the other only six inches deep ; and besides, the German experi-
ment includes the ' stubble ' with the roots."

The Deacon is right ; and it will be well to give the complete
table, as published in the American Agriculturist:

TABLE SHOWING THE AMOU.NT OF ROOTS AND 8TUBBLB LEFT PER ACRE BY DIFFEB-
BNT CROPS, AND THE AMOUNT OF INQRBDIENT8 WHICH TUET CONTAIN PER ACRE.

Lacera (4 years old)

Red-Clover (1 year old)...
Ettparsettc ( 3 years old).
Rye.

Swedish Clover.

Rape

Oats

Lupine

Wheat

Peas

Serradella

Buckwheat

Barley

^t^

^lia"

^=^

9.678.1

136.4

8.921.6

191.6

5,930.9

123.2

5,264.6

65.3

5,004.3

102.3

4,477.

56.5

3,3319

26.6

3,.'ia0.9

62.2

3.476.

2:i.5

3.222.5

55.6

3,120.1

64.8

2,195.6

47.9

1.9914

22.8

O-SS

1,201.6
1,919.9
1,()2:}.4
1,747.8
974.6
622 3
1,444.7

.'.."iO.
1,089.8
670.7
.545.6
465.5
3!>1.1

CONTENTS OF THB A8HEB, IN POtTNOS, PER ACRE.

13

1

1

M

1.

Luccm

19T.7

262.9

132.8

73.2

136.1

163.9

85.5

80.5

76.7

71.7

79.8

80.

42.2

24.2

48.4
28.7
14.3
17.6
12.9
11.2
11.2
10.1
11.
13.4
7.2
5.5

36.7

.58.3

42.6

31.2

25.9

:i4.7

24.8

16.5

28.4

11.2

8.8

8.8

9.5

26.4

200

13.8

4:1.3

5.7

20.9

18.

3.5

11.

7.

4.8

4.2

3.5

18.7
26.1
20.6
11.8
13.2
30.8

8.8

7.

7.4

9.4

9.

6.6

5.5

38.5

Red-Clover

Esparsettc

74.8
29.7

Rye

244

S wedijih Clover

24.2

Raoe

31.9

Oats

29.

Lupine

13.8

Wheat

11.8

14.3

18.4

11.

Barley

11.2

It may he presumed, that, while these figures are not absolutely,
they are relntivcly, correct. In other words, we may conclude,
that red-clover leaves more nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash,
in the roots and stubble per acre, than any other of the crops named.

EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 167

TLc gross amount of dry substance in the roots, and the gross
amount of ash per acre, are considerably exaggerated, owing to the
evidently large quantity of dirt attached to the roots and stubble.
For instance, the gross amount of ash in Lucern is given as 1,201.6
lbs. per acre; while the total amount of lime, magnesia, potash,
soda, sulpiiuric and phosphoric acids, is only 342.2 lbs. per acre,
leaving 8o9.4 lbs. as sand, clay, iron, etc. Of the 1,919.9 lbs. of ash
in the acre of clover- roots and stubble, there are 1,429.4 lbs. of
sand, clay, etc. But even after deducting this amount of impuri-
ties from a gross total of dry matter per acre, we still have 7,492.2
lbs. of dry roots and stubble per acre, or nearly 'Si tons of dry roots
per acre. This is a very large quantity. It is as much dry matter
as is contained in 13 tons of ordinary farm-yard, or stable-manure.
And these 3^ tons of dry ch>ver-roots contain 191^ ll)S. of nitrogen,
which is as much as is contained in 19 tons of ordinary stable-ma-
nure. The clover- roots also contain 74| lbs. of phosphoric acid per
acre, or as much as is contained in from 500 to GOO lbs. of No. 1
rectified Peruvian guano.

"But the phosphoric acid," said the Doctor, "is not soluble in
the roots." True, but it was soluble when the roots gathered it
up out of the soil.

"These figures," said the Deacon, " have a verj' pleasant look.
Those of us who have nearly one-quarter of our land in clover
every year, ought to be making our farms ver}' rich."

" It would seem, at any rate," said I, " that those of us who have
good, clean, well-drained, and well-worked land, that is now pro-
ducing a good growtli of clover, may reasonably expect a fair crop
of wheat, barley, oats, corn, or potatoes, when we break it up and
plow under all the roots, which are equal to 13 or 19 tons of stable-
manure per acre. Whether we can or can not depend on these
figures, one thing is clearly proven, both by the chemist and the
farmer, that a good clover-sod, on well-worked soil, is a good pre-
paration for com and potatoes."

MANURES FOR WHEAT.

Probably nine-tenths of all the wheat grown in Western New
York, or the " Genesee country," from the time the land was first
cleared until 1870, was raised without any manure being directly ap-
plied to the land for this crop. Tillage and clover were what the
farmers depended on. There certain!}- has been no systematic ma-
nuring. The manure made during the winter, was drawn out in the
spring, and plowed under for corn. Any manure made during the
summer, in the yards, was, by the best farmers, scraped up and

168 TALKS ON MANUKKS.

spread on iiortions of the land sown, or to be sown, with wheat.
Kven so i^ooil a fanner and wheat-grower as Jolin Johnston,
rarely used manure, (except lime, and latterly, a little guano),
directly for wheat. Clover and sumnier-fallowin;^ were for many
years the dependence of the ^Vestern New York wheat-growers.

"One of the oldest and most experienced millers of Western New
Yori<," remarked the Doctor, "once told me that 'ever smce our
farmers began to manure their land, the wheat-crop had deterio-
rated, not only in the yield per acre, but in the quality and quantity
of the flour obtained from it.' It seemed a strange renuirk to make ;
but when he explained that the farmers had given up summer-
fallowing and plowing in clover, :.nd now sow spring crops, to
lie followed by winter wheat with an occasional dressing of poor
manure, it is e;isy to see how it may be true."

" Yes," said I, " it is not the iivtnurc that hurts the wheat, but
tiic growth of spring crops anil weeds that rob the soil of far more
plant-food than the poor, strawy manure can supply. "We do not
now, really, furnish the wlieat-crop as much manure or jilant-food
as we formerly did when little or no manure was used, antl whea
we depcniled on summer-fallowing and |»lowingin clover."

We must cither give up the practice of sowing a spring crop,
before wheat, or we must make more and richer manure, or we must
j)low in more clover. The rotation, which many of us now adopt
— corn, barley, wheat— is profilal>le, provided we can make our
land rich enough to produce 75 l)ushels of shelled corn, 50 Dushels
of barley, anvl 85 bushels of wheat, per acre, in three years.

This can be done, but we shall eitlier require a number of acres
of rich low land, or irrigated meadow, the produce f)f which will
make manure for the upland, or we shall have to purchase oil-
cake, bran, malt-combs, or refuse beans, to feed out with our straw
and clover-hay, or we must purchase artificial manures. Unless
this is done, we must summer fallow more, on the heavier clay
soils, sow less oats and barley; or wc must, on the lighter soils,
raise and plow under more clover, or feed it out on the tarm, being
careful to save and ajiply the manure.

" Better do both," said tlie Doctor."

"IIow?" asked the Deacon.

"You had iK'tter make all llie manure you can," continued the
Doctor, " and buy artificial manures besides."

" The Doctor is right," said I, " and in point of fact, our best
farmers are doing this very thing. They are making more manure
and buying more manure than ever before; or, to slate the m.-^.tter
correctly, they are buying artificial manures ; and these increase the

KXPEniMKNTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 169

crops, and tlie extra quantity of straw, corn, and clover, so ob-
tiiined, enables them to make more manure. Tliey get cheated
sometimes in their [uirehases ; i)iit, on the wliole, tlie movement is a
good cue, uud will result in a hiiiher and better system of farming."

1 am amused at the interest and enthusiasm manifested by some
of our farmers who have used artitieial manures for a year or two.
They sceni to regard me as a sad old fogy, because I am now de-
pending almost entirely on the manures made on the farm. Years
ago, 1 was laughed at because I used gnainj and superphosphate. It
was only yesterday, that a young farmer, who is the local agent of
this neighborhood, for a manure manufacturer, remarked to me,
" You have never used superphosphate. We sowed it on our wheat
last yiar, and could see to the very drill mark how far it went. I
would like to tak" your order for a ton. I am sure it would pay."

" We are making manure cheaper than you can sell it to me, " I
replied, "and besides, I do not think superphosphate is a good
manure for wheat." — " Oh," he exclaimed, " you would not say so
if you had ever used it." — " Why, my dear sir," said I, " I made
tons o{ superphosphate, and used large quantities of guano before
you were born ; and if you will come into the house, I will show
3'ou a silver goblet I got for a prize essay on the use of superphos-
phate of lime, tliat I wrote more than a quarter of a century ago. I
sent to New York for two tons of guano, and published the result
of its use on this farm, before you were out of your cradle. And I
had a ton or more of superphosphate made for me in 1856, and some
before that. I have also used on this farm, many tons of superphos-
phate and other artificial manures from different manufacturers,
and one year I used 15 tons of bone-dust."

With ready tact, he tunied the tables on me by saying : "Now I
can understand why your land is improving. It is because you
have used superphos]ihati' and bone-dust. Order a few tons."

By employing airents of this kind, the manufacturers have suc-
ceeded in selling the farmers of Western New York thousands of
tons of superphosphate. Some fanners think it pays, and some
that it does not. We are more likely to hear of the successes than
of failures. Still there can be no doubt that superphosphate
has, in many instances, proved a valualile and profitable manuve
for wheat in Western New York.

From '.200 to 300 lbs. are used per acre, and the evidence seems
to sh(nv that it is far better to drill in i/ie manure with the seed than
to sow it broadcast.

My own opinion is, that these superphosphates are not the most

170 TALKS ON MANURBS.

economical artificial manures that could be used for wheat. They
contain too little uitrogt-n. Poruviaii tjuano conlaininir nitrogen
equal to 10 per cent of ammonia, would be, I think, a much more
effective and profilal)le manure. But before we discuss this ques-
tion, it will be necessary to study tue results of actual experiments
in the use of various fertilizers for wheat.

CHAPTER XXVII.
LAWE3 AND OILBEHTS EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

I hardly know how to commence an account of the wonderful
experiments made at Kolhamsted, Eufjland, by John Bennett
Lawes, Esq., and Dr. Jo.Kcph II. (Jilbert. Mr. La wes' first sy.ste-
matic experiment on wiieat, rommenced in the autunm of 1H4J3.
A field of 14 acres of rather heavy clay soil, resting on chalk, was
selected for the j>urpose. Nineteen plots were accurately measured
and staked off. The plots ran the long way of the field, and up a
slight ascent. On each side of the field, alongside the plots, there
was some land not included, the first year, in the e.xiK'riment proper.
This land was eitlier left without manure, or a mixture of the
manures used in the experiments was sown on it.

I have heard it said tliat Mr. Lawes, at this time, was a believer
in what was called " Liebig's Mineral Manure Theory." Liebig
had .said that " Tiie crops on a field, dimiiiisli or increa.se in exact
proportion to the diminution or increase of the mineral sul)stance3
conveyed to it in manure." And enthusia.stic gentlemen have been
known to tell farmers who were engaged in drawing ont farm-yard
manure to their land, that they were wasting their strength ; all
they needed was the minend elements of the manure. "And
you might," they said, " burn your manure, and sow the ashes, and
tinis save much time and labor. Tlie ashes will do just as much
pood as the manure it.self."

Whether Mr. Lawes did, or did not entertain such an opinion, I
do not know. It looks as thouglj the exi)eriments the first year or
two, were made with tlie expectation that mineral n'.anures, or the
ashes of plants, were wliat the wheat needed.

The following table gives the kind and quantities of manures
used per acre, and the yield of wheat per acre, as carefully cleaned
for market. Also the total weight of grain per acre, and the
weight of straw and chaff per acre.

KXPERIMKNTS ON WUEAT.

171

Straw and
Chaff, i

df/« (f'om
Straw).

H ^1

ll'

3: 1^ wO -^ — ' «-*>-» cc I cc i-» Ctf -r

c-r-ccu^ I l«o ill oscom

»sa>iooo7:.^i^oxaoo<oOA.a- Steo:?

:0cco*^cc-xco^cc-^ov-ico

*£< iu fCi t-» *i^ U^ o o o b: b* ;;« o ^ ?^ iik iu 1^ iu C7«

Com.

Straw am/
Chaff.

Total Pro-
tluce.

2>r

> O B

•30

Co/-n to 100
Straw.

172 TALKS ON MAN IRKS.

These were the rcsuHs of llie harvL-st of 1844. The first year of
these since cek'bratod exponiiients.

If Mr. Lawes e.xpected that the crops would be iu proportion to
the minerals supplied in the uiauure, he must have been greatly
disappointed. The plot without mauure of any kind, gave 15
fnishels of wheat per acre; 700 lbs. of superphosphate of lime,
made from burnt bones, produced only ii'6 lbs. or about half a
bushel more grain per acre, and 4 lbs. ksi straw than was obtained
witliout manure. UIO lbs. of superphosphate, and G5 lbs. of com-
m^Tcial sul|)hate of ainmonia (erju il to about li lbs. of ammonia),
give a little over l!)i Inishels of dressed wheat j^r acre. As com-
pared with the plot having 700 lbs. of superphi>spl.at<' per acre, this
14 lbs. of available ammonia per acre, or, say lU lbs. nitrogen,
gave an increase of 824 lbs. of grain, and 2o2 lits. of straw, or a
total increase of 570 lbs. of grain and straw.

On plot No. I'J, 81 lbs. of sulphate ammonia, with minerals, pro-
duces 24i bushels per acre. This yield Is clearly due to the am-
n)onia.

The rape-cake contains about 5 per cent of nitrogen, and is also
ridi in minerals and r iroomi^oiin mutUr. It gives an increase, but
not as large in proportion to tlie nitrogen furnislied, as the sul-
piiate of ammonia. And the same remarks apply to the 14 tons
of farm-yard manure.

We slioidd liave expected a greater incroa.sp from such a liberal
dre.s.sing of barn-yard manure. I think the explanation is this:

transparont claps, sliphtly deliqnc«C(;nt in the air. which was gronDd to a pow-

<llT UIlliiT OajJl-Ht'lDi'ti.

^ The nianuri's tfrnifd piiporpliocphato nf limo. phospliat'' of pnt;»8fi. phocphate
(if !<i>d:i, mill ptu>>pli:it<' of mairm-ciii. wrrr niado hy acting iipnn hmic-iish l>y
nii'Hiis (if >iilpliurii' acid in thr fir-»t iiictanri-. and in the ca»""- <if lln' alkiili salts
and till' nmirni'sian one ncntralizini: thi- rointxiiind thus olitaincd by moatis of
Ciii-ap preparations of the re-pectivc liases. For the snperpliopplmte of linio,
the propdrtions were ."> parts hone-asli. 3 part? water, and ■\ parts siilplinrie acid
of .sp. L,'r. I>1; and for the plidsphates iif potas!". soda, and niafnesia. they
were 1 parts hone-ash. water as needed. :\ p.art- sill phurie acid of sp. pr, l.si. and
et|iiivah-iit amounts, respectively, of pearl-ash. soda-ash, or a mixture of 1
part medicinal carbonate of majrnesia, and I narts mai,'n<'sian lim<-stone. 'l"he
mixtures, of course, all lost weight considcraoly by the evolution of water and
carbonic acid.

* .Made with nnbnmt bones.

' In this first season, neither the weiijhl nor the measure of the offal rorn was
recorded separately ; and in former papi-rs, the busluds and jiecks of total corn
(including; otrah have erroneously been given as dressed corn. To brine the
records more in conformity with those relating to the other years 5 per cent,
by weiirhl, has been deducted from the total corn previou-ly stati-d as dressed
corn, and is recorde<i as offal corn ; this being about the probable protiortion.
judging from the character of the season, the bulk of the crop, and the weight
per bushel of the dressed corn .Mthough not strictly correct, the statements of
dresM'd corn, as amended in this somewhat arbitrarv way. will ap|iroximatc
more nearly to the truth, atid be more ciimparable with those relating to other
BeaBon.s, than those hitherto recorded.

EXPEKIMENTS ON WHEAT. 17;]

*rbe luunurc Iiail not Invu pik'd. ll was probably taken oul
frc'sb from the yard (tins, at auy rate, wa-s the case when 1 was at
lt<^)thanisted), and plowed under late iu the season. Anl on this
heavy land, manure will lie l)uried in the soil for months, or, if un-
disturbed, for years, without decomposition. In other words, while
this 14 tons of barn-yard manure, contained at least 150 lbs. of
nitrogen, and a larire (piantity of minerals and carbonaceous
matter, it did not produce a bushel per acre n)ore than a manure
conliiiniMLT less than 12 lbs. of nitrou'en. And on plot li), a manure
containini; less than 10 lbs. of available nilropr«n, produced nearly
4 bushels per acre more wheat than the barn-yard manure contain-
ing at least Un times as much nitrogen.

There can l)e but one explanation of this fact. The nitrogen in
the manure lay dormant in this heavy soil. Had it been a light
samly soil, it would have decomposed more rapidly and produced
a better effect.

As we have before stated, John Johnston finds, on his clay-land,
a far greater etTect from manure spread on the surface, whore it
decomposes rapidly, than w hen the manure is [ilowed under.

The Deacon was looking .at the figun-s in the table, and not pa}--
ing much attention to our talk. " What could a man be thinking
about," he said, " to burn 14 tons of good manure ! It was a great
waste, and I am gl.ad the a-ihes did no sort of good."

Afler the wheat was harvested in 1844, the land was immedi-
ately plowed, harrowed, etc. ; and in a few weeks was i)lowed
igain and sown to wheat, the different plots being kept separate,
as before.

The following table shows the manures used this second year,
and the yield per acre :

174

TALKS ON MANURES.

1":

"?

Oft

o o *:.^ *x CO b« b* cc c*i o 00 ^ OS o x cc c.** c :;« ao x «^ •

Buj<hel.

'f''''V^-^'-'^ft'-~V^^r'.'h''''^'iZ^,^'^Z^ —

Total Oom.

Straw and

Total Pro-
ducf (Corn
and 'Straw).

ii

OS J". OS -' n w — A- ^ pt r-. M *o J^ »i I •*»■ . w» #c v z? i
CC t;? ^ — *». CO ■-T' r^ — M •-• 00 * f ^ X I T • *^ — <^ S*

Q?n».

« « >^ o" -^ -^ ." ji -' .— ' J* P 'T' .•'*■ ^ P r~ 9* ?^ "' P
iq '•-' ia ia '— ' bo Vs c 30 X M Vo o iJ -^ ii -■ -^^i — ■"?_;-*_

Straw and
Chaff.

Total
Produce.

f.'t «

Offal Corn to 10()
T>rf'""'f1.

s

2S-

tOtSOi'i't^O'

Com t'l lUi
Straw.

EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 175

The season of 1845 was iiu)rc favorable for wheat, tlian that of
1844, and the crops on all the plots were better. On plot No. 3,
whieli had no manure last year, or this, the yield is 23 bushels per
acre, ajrainst 15 bushels last year.

Lust year, the 14 tons of barn-yard manure Lrave an incrense of
only 5i bushels per acre. This year it gives an increase of nearly
9 bushels per acre.

"Do you mean," said the Deacon, "that this plot, No. 2, had
14 tons of manure in 1844, and 14 ions of manure again in 1845 ?"

" Precisely that. Deacon," suiil 1, •' and this same plot has receiv-
ed this amount of manure every year since, up to the present time
— for these same experiments are still continued from year to year
at Hothamsted."

" It is poor farming," said the Deacon, "'and I should think the
land would get too rich to L'row wheat."

" It is not so," said I, "and the fact is an interesting one, and
teaches a most important lesson, of which, more hereafter."

Plot 5, last year, received 700 lbs. of superphosphate per acre.
This year, this plot was divided ; one half was left without ma-
nure, and the other dressed with 252 lbs. of pure carbonate of
animonia per acre. The half without manure, (5a), did not pro-
duce quite as much grain and straw as the plot which had received
no manure for two years in succession. But the wheat was of
better quality, weighing 1 lb. more per busliel tlian the other.
Still it is sufficiently evident that superphosphate of lime did no
good so far as increasing the growth was concerned, either the first
year it was applied, or the year following.

The carbonate of ammonia was dissolved in water and sprinkled
over the growing wheat at three different times during the spring.
You see this manure, wliieli contains no mineral matter at all, gives
an increase of nearly 4 bushels of grain per acre, and an increase
of 887 lbs. of straw.
" Wait a moment," said the Deacon, " is not 887 lbs. of straw to

' The mannrpp termod PHporphoisphafo of lime and phosphate of potas?, were
made by acting upon bono-aph hv moans of sulplmiic acid, and in the ca-c of
the potass salt nontralizins the compound thus obtained, by means of pearl-ash.
For the sn-erphoshate of lime, the proportions were. ^ parts bone-ash. .3 parts
water, and -i parts sulphuric acid of sp. p:r. l.'^: and for the phosphate of potass.
4 parts bone ash. water as needed. :^ parts snlphuric acid of sp. pr. 1.84 ; and an
equivalent amount of pearl ash. The mixtnres. of course, lost weight consider-
ably by the evolution of water and carbonic acid.

3 The medicinal carbonate of ammonia; it was dissolved in water and top-

dress<^d. ■■ -,v n ■ .

* Plot T}. was 2 lands wide (in after vears. respeetivelv. .'ia and .W : 5' con lift-
ing of 1 aitf-rnate one fourth lengthsacross both landB, and .5^ of the 2 remain-
ing oni'-fourth lenirtlis.

* Top-dressed at once. • Top-dressed at 4 intervale. ^ Peruvian. * IcliaDoe.

176 TALKS OX MANURES.

4 bushels of grain an unusually large proportion of straw to grain ?
I have heard you say that 100 lbs. of straw to each bushel of
wheat is about the average. And actordiiig to this experiment,
the carbonate of ;;mtuonia produced over 200 lbs. of straw to a
bushel of grain. How do you account for this."

"It is a general rule," said 1, "that the heavier the crop, the
greater is the proportion of straw to grain. On the no-manure
plot, we have, this year, 118 lbs. of straw to a bushel of dressed
grain. Taking this as the standard, you will find tliat the increase
from manures is proportionally greater in straw than in grain.
Thus in the increase of barn-yard manure, this year, we have
about 133 lbs. of straw to a bushel of grain. I do not believe there
is any manure that will give us a large crop of grain without a
still larger crop of straw. There is considerable difference, in this
respect, between different varieties of wheat. Still, I like to see a
good growth of straw."

" It is curious," said the Doctor, " that 3 cwt. of ammonia-salts
alone on plots 9 and 10 should i)roduce as much wheat as was
obtained from plot 2, where 14 tons of barn-yard manure had been
applied two years in succession. I notice that on one plot, the
ammonia-salts were applied at once, in the spring, while on tlie
other plot they were sown at four different times — and that the
former gave the best results."

The only conclusion to be drawn from this, is, that it is desirable
to apply the manure early in the spring — or better still, in the
autumn.

" You are a great advocate of Peruvian guano," said the Deacon,
"and yet 3 cwt of Peruvian guano on Plot 13, only produced an
increase of two bushels and 643 lbs. of straw per acre. The guano
at $60 per ton, would cost $9.00 per acre. This will not pay."

This is an unusually small increase. The reason, probably, is to
be found in the fact that the manure and seed were not sown until
March, instead of in the autumn. The salts of ammonia arc quite
soluble and act quickly ; while the Peruvian guano has to decom-
pose in the soil, and consequently needs to be applied earlier,
especially on clay land.

" I do not want you," said the Deacon, " to dodge the question
why an ajudication of 14 tons of farmyard-manure per acre, every
year for over thirty yea'rs, does not make the land too rich for
wheat."

" Possibly," said I, " on light, sandy soil, such an annual dressing
of manure would in the course of a few years make the land too

EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. 177

rich for wheat. But on a dayey soil, such is evidently not tlic case.
And tue fact is a very important one. When we apply manure,
our object sliould be to make it as available as possible. Nature
preserves or lonserves the food of plants. The object of agricul-
ture is to use the food of plants for our own advantage.

"Please be a little more detiuite," said the Deacon, " for I must
confess I do nut quite see the significance of your remarks."

" What he means," said the Doctor, " is this: If you put a quan-
tity of soluble and available manure on laud, and do not sow any
crop, the manure will not be wasted. Tiie soil will retain it. It
will change it from a soluble into a comparatively insoluble form.
Had a crop been sown the first year, the manure would do far more
good than it will the next year, and yet it may be that none of the
manure is lost. It is merely locked up in the soil in such a form
as will prevent it from running to waste. If it was not for this
principle, our lands would have been long ago exhausted of all
their availa!)le plant-food."

" I think I understand," said the Deacon ; " but if what you say
is true, it upsets many of our old notions. AYe have thought it de-
sirable to plow under manure, in order to prevent the ammonia
from esc iping. You claim, I believe, that there is little danger of
any loss from spreading manure on the surface, and I suppose you
would have us conclude that we make a mistake in plowing it
under, as the soil renders it insoluble."

" It depends a good deal," said I, " on the character of the soil.
A light, sandy soil will not preserve manure like a clay soil. But
it is undoubtedly true that our aim in all cases should be to apply
manure in such a form and to such a crop as will give us the great-
est immediate benefit. Plowing under fresh manure every year for
wheat is evidently not the he-^t way to get the greatest benefit from
it. But this is not the place to discuss this matter. Let us look
at the result of Mr, Lawes' experiments on wheat the third year : "

178 TALKS ON MANURBS.

ExrBRlMENTS AT RoTHAMSTED ON THB GROWTH OF
TXBLB III. — MANL'BES AND rRODlCE ; 3RD 8KA80N, 1845-6.

Manubes fir Acrx.

^

-Is 1 . '<l t 1

j i^TlJ^''

^

V3

1

1

1

(3

c S
Ibt.

1 14? 1.

^5 ^-2

1

i

Tons.

JbB.

ibg.

lbs.

Ibe. lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

IhB.

lbs.

lbs.

0

896

.. ( ..

1

..

224

..

. ,

s

14

..

,,

, ,

..

..

, ,

8

Unma

Dored.

..

..

4

__

..

9H

3M

324

•»IJ

::]

Straw

••

••

8»i>

••

»{i

••

ABb.

,,

,,

, ,

448

..1

^^

,,

334'

^^

448

6a

iis

,.

, ,

6ft

4«8

,,

113

112 .. I

7o

448

,,

44«

7&

4^18

..

..

113

112

448

to

U4

,^

44B

8»

^,

8M

113

lis

9a

^^

,,

, ,

448

%

^,

,,

.. XM

448

lOa

^^

S34

106

Unma

uarcd.

..

.

11a

9»i

224

448

lid

S&t

224

112

112

ISa

180

224

2*4

..

448

12ft

180

224

224

112

113

13a

sno

«24

824 1 ..

448

13ft

.. soo

224

224 ..

113

113

14a

,,

84

224

224 ..

448

14ft

• •

84

224

224

113

113

ISa

2»(

2M 224

448

15ft

a*

..

..

224

.. 2i4 224

448

16a

67

60

R4

22 J 224 .. ..

448

IM

..

67 60 84

2J4 224

.. 224

448

170

67 1 fiO 84

2i4 2at

.. 112

113 4481

17ft

67

60 M

2-24 224

.. 224

18a

67

60

84

22^» 224

.. ,11»

lis

18ft

67

60

84

224 224

■ •

..

19

113 1 ..

118

113

448

80)

»4

Mixta

re of the residae of most of the other mannres.' . .

B|

1 1

Top-dressed in the Spring.

BXrERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

179

Wheat, Year after Year, on the same Land,
hahurks and seed ^<>ld red lammas), sown altumn, 1845.

-u

Bush.P'cks. lh». lbs

28 11 ti2..{ i:W

a oj 6-2.»i lai

27 Of 63.0 113

17 m 63.8 &t

«|

6a
66
7a
76

8a

86

Ua

96
l(ki
106

llrt
116
12a
126
Via
Vib
14a
146

15a
156

16a
166
17a
176
18a
186

W

19
27
23
.30
20
29
22
31

23

29
*{
28

27
17

23
.30
24
28
24
29
2:j
26

31
27

23
30
33
30
31
21

28

Jbd.
I'.KXi
l.'iii9
lK2«i
1207

Ih8. ! lbs.

2.'4.1 44ti7

IftVl 3462

24M 4280

1613 2720

25 3i ;63.5 130 1777 2390 4167

0*

0

2*

01

li

0*

3

63.7 87

'6J.0 126

!t>14 liifl

'63.3 165

63.7 1(K'

|U3.5 111

16:1.0 '.t7

&J.4 i:o

1305

lSi7
15W
21176
1-lrti
l'.»67
1531
2163

l.Ml
23it!l
17-.'l
-i'MW
167r.
2.'-)71
19«H
.•J007

3J 63.5 101

6-l.H 1.T2

6.3.11 ii2

63.3 114

63.6 \m

2i G:).8 92

U

Oi

H

2J

0

U

2*

'-♦

03.3 145
»i.3.2 ].\'i
6:i.0 125
fr{4 ]3»i
6J.5 1.36
t^3.2 i:«
6-3.0 117

63.4 124

1.54<» v.m

19^8 25'. 5

1614 mm

11*42 2<0.{

18.50 2244
1216 ' 1455

1628 2133

20.V> 2715

1(,61
l',i.">5
166*
1998

21tL3
2V>4
2.327
2755

If 61.5 147
2f 63.0 117

3

1

2f

2

0

1

62.5 108

62.7 122

62.8 129
63 0 113
62.S 103
62.0 157

16C5 2031
1812 , 25.M

2112 I 29.36
IStil 2.-)13

15')2 2067
201't ; 2*J6
22 U I .3278
2034 2784
204H 2838
1474 189:^

IbK.

IbP.

Ib8.

699

104S

1747 7.3

302

440

742 R.i

619

941

15tO 6.6

7.4

670

877

1447

7.8

96

28

126

..

620

796

1416 : ..

891

208

599

..

2846

4136

.•J.119

4i.77 I W;9 , 1388

3ti76

4.-:}H

srm
5ro

1512
45ta
.3»;47
4,'-)45
4091
2671

5018
4;?74

3659
4855
5519
4H18
4«86
3.367

62.0 107 1889 2425 4314

193
7tlO
327
9:,6

irS
10.'>8

405
1494

842

781
407

4.50
1W.2
.520

7.35 lOitO

643 731

» I —58

.3761

421

4-:70

848

3^24

4:a

Am>

74H

39S7

4m

47.53

791

3f..3C.

3!t8

4356

t»5

620
12(12

(■.50
1041

814

2257
356

1818

732

2450

792

1S43
927
1825
1874
-49

1041 9.8 '6.3

SO.'iO 6.1 75.7

1104 7.f) 76.8

7.4 7(i.5

9.1 71.3

7.3 72.5
7.7 79.0

7.4 71.5

7.0
.5.3
68

7.5

7.1
7.2
7.9
7.0
6.4

77.3
74.4
79.7

74.3

84.6
79.1
M.8
71.6
83 6
76.5
77.9
72.6

78.9
77.2
7!(.4
74.6
82.4

7.8 83.6

905
654

812

ia34

827
841
267

1789

12(i7

liM2 20.3.3

518 916

1021 i626

1423 2.328

1100 1654

554 939

1.333 2135 K.6 71.2

1765 2799 5.8 ti8.3

1271 2C98 5.9 73.0

1.325 2166 5.1 72.2

380 M7 6.6 77.1

7.5 71.9
5.9 74.0

■0 77.0

682 912

1594 5.8 T7.9

180 TALKS ON MANURES.

This year, the seed and manures were sown in the autumn. And
I want the Deacon to look at plot 0. 3 cwt. of Peruvian guano
here gives an increase of lOJ bushels of whent, and 1,048 Ibj?. of
straw per acre. This will pay irell^ even on the wheat alone. But
in addition to this, we may expect, in t)ur ordinary rotation of
crops, a far better crop of clover where the guano was used.

In regard to some of the results this year, Messrs. Lawes and
Gilbert have the following concise and interesting remarks:

"At tiiis third cxpirimental harvest, we have on the continu-
ously unmanured i)l(>t, namely, No. 3, not quite 18 bushels of
dressed corn, as the normal produce of the season ; and by its side
we have on plot 106 — comprising one-half of the plot 10 of the
previous years, and so highly manured by ammoniacal salts in 1845,
but now unmanured — rather more than 17^ bushels. The near
approach, again, to identity of result from the two unmanured
plots, at once gives confidence in the accuracy of the experiments,
and shows us how eflfectually the preceding crop had, in a practi-
cal point of view, reduced the plots, previously so dilTerently cir-
cumstanced both as to manure and produce, to something like an
uniform standard as regards their grain-produfing qualiti s.

" Plot 2 has, as before, 14 tons of farm-yard manure, and the
produce is 27i bushels, or between 9 and 10 bushels more than
witliout manure of any kind.

"On plot lOti, which in the previous year gave ly ammoniacal
salts alone, a produce equal to that of the farm-yard manure, we
have again a similir result: for two cwts. of sulpliate of ammonia
has now given 1,850 lbs. of total corn, instead of 1,826 ll)s., which
is the produce on plot 2. The straw of the latter, is, however,
slightly heavier than that by the ammoniacal salt.

"Again, plot 5/, which was in the previous season unmanured,
was now subdiviled: on one-half of it (namely, 5a') we have the
ashes of wheat-straw alone, by which there is an increase of rather
more than one busl 3I per acre of ilressed com ; on the other half
(or 5/') we have, besides the straw-ashes, two cwts. of sulphate of
ammonia put on as a top-dressing : two cwts. of sulphate of am-
monia have, in this case, only increa.sed the produce beyond that
of 5a' by 7J bushels of corn and 768 lbs. of straw, instead of by
9^ 4 bushels of corn and 78!) lbs. of straw, which was the increase
obtained by the same amount of ammoniacal salt on lO-J, as com-
pared with 106.

" It will be observed, however, that in the former ca.<?e the am-
moniacal salts were top-dressed, but in the hitter tliey were drilled
at the time of sowing the seed ; and it will be remembered that in

EXPERIMENTS ON WUKAT. 181

1845 the result was better «« to corn on plot 9, •where the salts were
sown earlier, than on plot 10, whire tlie top-dressing extended far
into the spring. Wo have had several direct instances of this kind in
our experience, and we would pive it as a s'lirgestion, in most cases
applicable, that manures for wheat, and especially ammoniacal
ones, should be applied before or at the time the seed is sown ;
for, although the apparent luxuriance of the crop is greater, and
the produce of straw really heavier, by spring rather than autumn
sowings of Peruvian guano and other ammoniacal manures, yet we
believe that that of the corn will not be increased in an equivalent
degree. Indeed, the success of the crop undoubtedly depends very
materially on the progress of the underground growth during the
winter months; and this again, other things being equal, upon the
quantity of available nitrogenous constituents within the soil, with-
out a liberal provision of which, the range of the fibrous feeders
of the plant will not be such, as to take up the minerals which the
soil is competent to supply, and in such quantity as will be required
during the after progress of the plant for its healthy and favorable
growth."

These remarks arc very suggestive and deserve special attention.

"The next result to be noticed," continue Messrs. Lawes and
Gilbert, "is that obtained on plot 6, now also divided into two
equal portions designated respectively Ga and 66. Plot No. 6 had
for the crop of 1844, superphosphate of lime and the phosphate of
magnesia manure, and for that of 1845, superphosphate of lime,
rape-cake, and ammoniacal salts. For this, the third season, it
was devoted to the trial of the wheat-manure manufactured under
the sanction of Professor Licbig, and patented in this country.

" Upon plots 6 ', four cwts. per acre of the patent wheat-manure
were used, which gave 201 bushels, or rather more than two
bushels beyond the produce of the unmanured plot; but as the
manure contained, besides the minerals peculiar to it, some nitro-
genous compounds, giving off a very perceptible odor of ammonia,
some, at least, of the increase would be due to that substance. On
plot (Sb, however, the furtlicr addition of one cwt. each of sulphate
and muriate of ammonia to this so-called 'Mineral Manure,' givrs
a produce of 29^ bushels. In other words, the addition of ammoni-
acal salt, to Liebig's mineral manure has increased the produce by
very nearly 9 bushels per acre beyond that of the mineral manure
alone, whilst the increase obtained over the unmanured plot, by
14 tons of farm-yard manure, was only 9^^ bushels !

The following table gives the results of the experiments the
fourth ye&T, 1846-7.

182

TALKS ON MAXQRES.
Experiments at Rothamsted on the Growth of

TABLE IV.— MANURES AND PRODCCE ; 4TH 8KAS0N, 1846-7.

Hancreb per Acrb.

1

■3

g

ti
IS

1

SuperphosphaU of Lime.

1

^

1
1

■a
^^

SI-

IbB.

t

Tons.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

0

6U0

1

200

200

350

60

9

14

,,

3

Unmanurcd.

4

2(10

200

900

6a

200

200

150

150

56

2()0

200

150

150

600

6a

..

ir.0

150

f*

150

150

7a

l.V)

l.-JO

lb

150

150

Prt

2on

200

150

1.50

500

W>

200

200

200

200

9a"
^(2

2240

i.-io

ir«

96

150

150

..

lOo

1.50

1.50

10ft

l.V)

150

lla

100

100

1.50

150

116

100

100

150

150

12a

100-

100

150

150

116

100

100

l.';0

150

1.3a

..

100

100

L-JO

l.V)

1.36

100

100

iro

150

14a

mo

100

LV)

150

146

100

100

150

150

15a

200

200

.300

500

156

200

200

300

500

ICa

100

100

150

150

166

100

100

l.-JO

150

17a

100

100

l.V)

l.'O

176

100

100

2()0

200

, ,

18a

100

100

150

150

186

100

100

ISO

1.0

19

100

100

3C0

600

30

Unmanurcd.

21
22

Mixture of the

residue of most of the other

manures.

)l

KXPKRIMKNTS UX WIIKAT.
Wheat, Yeak after Year, on toe same Land.
manrbxb amd 6uo (old heu lamxabk sown end op octobxb, 1846.

183

Pbodcck per Acrb, Ac

Increase ^ Acri
1 Bt Manure.

J

Dremd Com. ,

i

1 .

^_,

^

5|

^

1

2

1

1

1

.

s

s

8

a

5

t<3

0

1

a
,1

Total Corn
Straw and

SI

e

§

1

BuBh.P'ckfl.

Iba.

lbs.

lbs. lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

Ib-S.

0

31)

2t

01. 1

1..6

2031

8277

5.3(«

9u8

1375

2i8.3

8.2

61.9

1

32

1

Gl.2

117

2119

37.%

5-;5l

996

1833

28i9

7.2

.50 7

s

39

3»

r.2.3

117

19*tl

.3ii-.i8

5 0.»

858

1736

2584

6.2

54.6

8

16

3*

61 0

9o

1133

l'.»02

3025

8.9

59.0

4

37

1»

61.9

1

8S

1780

2948

4728

657

1046

1703

4.7

60.3

6a

29

0

61 8

130

1921

3412

5.333

798

1510

2.309

7.1

56.3

U

32

3

01.4 li6

21.32

3721

.58.Vi

loOlt

1819

28-27 6.G

57.2

6a

24

■^

6M Vii

106.3

2786

4449

.540

»a

1124 7.S

50.6

66

2t

n

01. »; 127

lt;32

2<Xi

44 ;5

509

901

1410 8-2

58.2

7a

27

3i

61.7 113

ia«

3151

4'.K-)

711

1249

i:6f) 6.S

.58.2

76

25

li

61.5 125

1682

2't5.3

4035

559

1051

1010

7.!i

.%.9

8a

.32

1}

63.1 102

2115

.3<a3

5798

992

1781

2773

5.5

57.4

86

33

3

61.7 123

2020

3720

574)

897

1818

2715

6.3

54.3

^11

22

3

oi..-; . .

1477

2o<t6

3.i8:J

228

IM

5;i.9

2()

2

(51.0

1755

3052

4S'i7

0.32

1150

57.5

96

26

0

61.3

1«

1717

2a-.8

4575

534

966

1550

60.1

10a

•25

3

61.5

118

1702

2891

4.-,93

579

98!)

1.508

7.3

58.8

106

So

8i

61.2

l:J3

1705

9874

45T9

582

972

1554

8.2

.59.3

lla

30

3*

61.6

142

2044

.3517

5.501

921

1615

2536

6.3

59.5

116

29

li

Gl.S

12:3

1911

.3203

5141

818

1.301

2119

0.7

60.6

Ui

29

2

62.0

124 ,

1:15.3

.34.-/2

.5415

830

15.50 2.380

6.0

.57.1

136

37

o«

•il.S

121 1

17..6

3124

49;o

673

1222 1895

7.1

57 4

13a !

3)

2*

02.5'

103

195.»

•i30«i

.52/:5

8:J6

1404 '2240

5.5

57.3

136 1

37

u

02.3

96

ISOl

3171

4972

678

1209

1947

5.3

56.7

14a

33

01

j2.S

175

1:114

.3362 !

5.306

821

1400

2281

9.7

.59.5

146

36

3*

62.8

166

1856

3006 1

48«i2

7.33

1104

18:^7

9.8

61.7

15a

32

3

63.0

151

2214

.3876

6090

1091

1974

3065 '

7.2

57.1

156

32

0

62.6

1

137

2140

»il7 1

5757

1017

1715 ,

27.32

6.6

59.1

16a

29

U

'■.2.3

1.32

10.-)9

.3417

5376

R36

1515

2351

6.9

57 3

166

34

2i

02.6

119

22*3

4012

02!t5

1160

2110

3270

5.2

56.9

17a

:«

3

02.3

nrt

2222

40-27

6249

10ft9 '

21-25

3224

5.6 '

55.1

176

:«

1(

62.0

117

2314

42«il

0.57.5

1191 .

2-i59

.3.VO

6.4

54.3

183

32

0*

62.7

142

2160

.38.52

6012

10:?7

1950

•29'<7

69

56.0

186

39

n

62.9

1

181 1

2029

4101

6193

906

22«i2 ,

3168

9.7 ,

48.7

19

32

3

62.8 140

2195

4202 ,

6397

1072

2.300 '

3372

6.7;

53.3

30

20

Of

62.5 70

13.;2

2074

3406

309

172

381

4.9 i

64.3

311

32 r

••

••

••

••

•• ••.

184 TALKS OX MANURES.

Here again, I want the Deacon to look at plot 0, where 500 Iba.
Peruvian guano, sown in October, gives an increase of nearly 14
bushels of dressed wheat and 1,375 lbs. of stniw per acre. On plot
2, where 14 tons of bam yard manure have now been applied four
years in succession (56 tons in all), there is a little more straw, but
not quite so much grain, as from the 500 lbs. of guano.

"But will the guauu," said the Deaoon, "be as lasting as the
manure ?"

" Not for wheat," said I. " But if you seed the wheat d(jwn with
clover, as would be the case in this section, we should get consid-
erable benefit, probably, from the guano. If wheat was sown after
the wheat, the guano applied the previous season would do little
good on the second crop of wheat. And yet it i.s a matter of fact
lliat there would l^e a considerable proportion of the guano left in
the soil. The wlieat cannot take it up. But tlie clover can. And
we all know tliat if we can grow good cro|)s of clover, plowing it
under, or feeding it out on the land, or making it into hay and
saving the manure obtained from it, we shall tlius be enabled to
raise good crops of wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and corn, and
in this sense guano is a ' lasting ' manure."

" Barnyard-manure," 3;iid the Doctor, " is altogether too ' last-
ing.' Here we have had 56 tons of manure on an acre of land in
four years, and yet an acre dressed with 500 lbs. of guano produces
just as good a crop. Tlie manure contains far more plant-food, of
all kinds, than the guano, but it is so ' la.-^ting' tliat it <loes not do
half as much good as its composition would lead us to expect. It3
' histing' properties are a decided objection, rather tlian an ad-
vantage. If we could make it less lasting — in other words, if we
could make it act quicker, it would produce a greater eflfect, and
possess a greater value. In proportion to iis constituents, the
barn-yard manure is far cheaper than the guano, but it has a
less beneficial eflP^ct, because these constituents are not more com-
pletely decomposed and rendered available."

" Tliat,'' said I, " opens up a very important question. "We have
more real value in manure than most of us are as yet able to bring
out and turn to good accoimt. The sandy-land farmer has an ad-
vantage over the clay-land farmer in this respect. Tiio latter has a
naturally richer soil, but it costs him more to work it, and manure
docs not act so rapidly. The clay-land farmer siiould use his best
endeavors to decompose his manure."

" Yes," said the Doctor, " and, like John Johnston, he will prob-
ably find it to his advantage to use it larircly as a top-dressing on
the surface. Exposing manure to the atmosphere, spread out on

EXPERIMENTS ON' WIIKAT. 185

the land for sevrral months, ami liarrowiii:; it occasionally, will
do niiRii to rcniKr its constituents availal)lc. But let us return to
Mr. Lawes' wonderful exiKTiincnts."

"On eight plots," said 1, "300 lbs. of ammonia-salts were used
without any other manures, and the average yield on these eight
plots was nearly 20 bushels per acre, or an average increase of 9
bushels per acre. The same amount of ammonia-salts, with the
addition of Buperphosphate of lime, gave an increase of 13 bushels
per acre. 400 lbs. ammonia salt.s, with superphosphate of lime,
gave an increia.. of nearly Ki bushels per acre, or throe bushels
per acre more than where 14 tons of barn yard manure had been
i\sed four years in succession.

" I hope, after this, the Deacon will forgive me for dwelling on
the value of available nitrogen or ammonia as a manure for
wheat."

" 1 see," said the Deacon, " that ground r!ee was used this year
for manure ; and in 184o, tupioca was also used as a manure. The
Connecticut Tobacco growers a few years since used corn-meal for
manure, and you thought it a irreat waste of good food."

I think so still. But we will not di.scuss the matter now. Mr.
Lawos wanted to ascertain whether cirfx)naceo"8 matter was needed
hj the growing wheat-plants, or whether they could get ad they
needed from the soil and the atmosphere. The enormous quanti-
ties of carbonaceous matter supplied by the barn-yard manure, it
is quite evident, are of little value as a manure for wheat. And
the rice seems to have done very little more good than we should
expect from the 22 lbs. of nitrogen which it contained. The large
quantity of carbonaceous matter evidently did little good. Avail
able carbonaceous matter, such as starch, sugar, and oil. was in-
tended as food for man and beast — not as food for wheat or
tobacco.

The following table gives the results of the experiments the
fifth year, lt^7-8.

186

TALKS ON MANURES.
Experiments at Rothamsted on the Growth of

TABLE y. — MANURES AND PRODCCK ; 5TH 8KA80N, 1847-8.

Manu

RE8 FBB ACRB.

auperphogphaU of

Q

Q

S"

"^

1 Lime.

s

1.
1.

s

0

^

1
•a •

a

1

1

1

OS

1

}l

1

Boneath.

Sulphuric Acid
(^p. gr. 1.7.)

1"

1

1
1

Tons.

lbs.

IbB. lbs.

lbs.

lbs. 1 lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

0

1

3

2340

..

••

14

■•

•*

][

3

Unina

nnrcd.

• •

"

••

4

..

..

200

200

300

5o

300

200 100

200

150

250

250

5*

300

201 100

200

1.50

200

200

500

6a

400

300

200

200

6A

200

150

200

200

7a

■■

400

300

150

150

500

76

200

1.50

150

150

500

8a

300

2iX)

100

200

150

.,

86

300

200

100

200

150

..

9a

,^

200

150

9b

._

■■

■■

200

150

150

150

10a

150

150

..

106

300

2O0

i66

;;

266

150

150

150

11a

200

1.50

150

150

500

116

200

150

200

200

12a

300

200

150

150

150

500

126

300

200

150

200

200

l.-^a

300

200

150

150

1.50

500

Vib

.300

200

150

2 0

200

Ua

300

200

150

150

150

s66

146

300

200

150

200

200

••

1.5a

300

200

100

200

200

300

..

156

300

200

100

200

• .

200

300

••

16a

300

200

100

200 150

1.50

1.50

500

166

300

200

100

2 10 150

,,

150

150

500

170

300

200

ii;o

200 150

,,

200

200

176

300

':;oo

100

200 1.50

200

200

18a

300

200

100

200 \ 150

• •

150

150

186

300

200

100

200

150

150

150

19

•

200

300

300

.,

500

20

Unma

Qurcd.

..

•

..

..

..

21
33

••

"

••

EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.
Wheat, Yeak aftbu Yeak, on tub same Land,
kamubxb and bekd (.old red lamma^) sown autcmn, 1847.

IS-?

PRODCCB PKR ACRS, ETC.

Increase $ Acre
I Ut Manure

Dressed Com.

1^

1

^

<:

e

e

•a

fc

^

C

C

cs

o»

Bui<b. Pks. Ibfl. lbs.

19 0^ 5S.4 l:iS

16 0* yx6 160

25 2J 58.2 210

14 3 57.3 106

30
24
26
30
39

19
19
18
25
lit
25

39
24
29
26
39
25
28
25

23

24

39

30
87
28
26
26

29
16

lbs. i lbs.

l;io9 I 2074

11 -'4 I n;)5

17.)5 I 3041

952 1712

»4 OJ 58.5 172 1583 I 2713

3*

■"♦

3i

3

3i

3i

3

01

2J

^'i

1

59.2 IM

.-.9.1 107

5-i.S 214

56.9 2Hi

59.4 106

59.6 187

56.2 1.54

59.4 127

56.7 1J5
5-!. 3 a)8
58.1 215

57.8 1.55

H

50.6

m

3

57.9

207

3

50.3

174

o»

.59.2

167

U

57.9

25.3

3J

5S.4

224

OJ

58.8

184

n

58.5

227

3+

5S.1

242

2|

5'i.9

202

Si

60.0

184

H

58.4

171

'•♦

59.7

2S5

Si

,59.7

222

3

59.'i

150

n

59.6

215

n

56.2

185

Ci

58.3

111

1911
1932
1G72
17.37
1!»:36
1!»6.3

1263
12C7
llSl
100.1

la-u

l(i04

1984
1041
1933
1717
1955
1730
1834
1726

1.571
1607

1073
1048
19:33
1946
1734
1S04

18:«
1050

3206
;j5:i3
2i78 I 4550

2:2

lbs.
a3.3.3
2859
474ii
2664

4296

5177
5465

2fl;«
30-;8
»113

2317
2118
1015
2918
2;07
2926

.3274
2803
.3:590
2';80
.3090
3')72
3257
2897

2937
3016

3115
3:380
3296
.3324
2'i:35
305!)

3205
1721

4T05
5024
5376

3.580
3115
3126
4-87
3701
45.30

5258
4539
5-K8
4597
5245
4802
5001
4623

4508
4623

.5088
5.3:8
5220
5270
4(i69
4H60

61.^3
2771

lbs.

lbs.

307

363

172

23

7.53

1.329

ft31

1001

959

1.551

980

1S21

720

llC(i

7S5

1256

9^1

1.376

1011

1701

311
315

2-:!o

717
3S2
652

1032
689
9S6
765

1003
778
882
774

619

055

1021
9 '6
981
994

782
852

98

605
436
2:^3

1206
655

1214

1562
11S6
I'mS
1168
1578
1:^60
1.545
1185

1225

1304

1403
W,H
1.-.81
1612
122.3
1:344

1583
9

lbs.

660

195

2082

916

751

462

1923

1037
1866

13.4 60.7
16.3 G4.7
13.H 56.0
12.1 55.6

1632 12.0;68.3

2513 7.0 58.5

2«01 , 5.S 57 5

1886 11.653.0

2041 14.0 58 5

23(;0 5.7 02.6

2712 10.3 67.5

2594

1875
26(14
10.3-3
2.581
21.38
2427
1959

1814
19.59

2424
2(;64
2565
2606
20f)5
2196

2469

107

13.6 54.5
11.1 5S.8

11.6 60.7
13.0 57.1

10.0 C0.3
30.654.8

1.3.1 1 60.6

14.1 50.4
9.:! 57.2

10.7 59.6
14.7 50.4
14.6 56.3
11.1 56.3
15.1 59.5

18.1 '.53.4

14.1 53.2
1 I

10.2 63.3
9 4 57.6

17.0 .58.6
12.6 .58.5
9.2 59.0

13.3 58.7

10.4 55.7
11.3 61.0

188 TALKS OJf MANUEES.

This season was consiilered unfavorable for wheat. The con-
tinuously uumanurcd plot iiroduci-d UJ bushels, and the plot
nctiviiij,' 14 tons of barn yard manure, 35J busiiels per acre nearly.

300 lbs. of ammonia-salts alone on plot lOa, pave lOJ^ bushels
per acre, while the same quantity of an^monia, with superphos-
piiale in a<ldition, gave, on plot 96, 25 bushels per acre.

The addition to the above manures of 300 11)S. of potash, 200 lbs.
soda, and 100 lbs. sulphate of magnesia, on plot 10/<, gave pre-
cisely tlie same yield per acre as the ammonia and the superphos-
jdiate alone. I'he potanh^ »id'i, <ind inug/ie-ni, Owrcfore, did no good.

400 ilts. of ammoiiia-sjilts, with superphosphate, potash, etc., gavci
on plot 176, nearly 20 busiiels per acre, or 3A bushels more than the
plot which has now received 70 t<nis of barn-yard manure in five
successive years.

*' I see that, on plot 0," said the Deacon, "one ton of superphos-
phate was used i)cr acre, and it gave only half a bushel per acre
more than 350 lbs. on 9a."

"This proves," said I, " that an excessive dose of superphos-
phate will do no harm. I am not sure that 100 Hw. of a good
superiiliosphatc f7n7/^(Z in ic'lh the sod, would not have done a»
much good as a t<jn per acre."

" You say," remarked the Deacon, " that the .season was unfa-
vorable for wheat. And yet the no-manure plot produced nearly
15 bushels of wheat per acre."

"That is all true," said I, "and yet the season was undoubtedly
an unfavorable one. This is shown not only in the less yield, but
in tlu! inferior quality of the grain. The ' dre.s.sed corn ' on tiie no-
manure plot this year only weighed 57^ lbs. per bushel, while last
year it weighed 01 lbs. per bushel."

"By the way," said the Doctor, "what do Messrs. Lawcs and
Gilbert mean by ' dressed corn' V "

" By ' corn,' " said I, " they mean wiieat ; and by ' dressed com '
they nican wheat that has been run through a fanning-mill until
all tlie liirht and shrunken grain is blown or sieved out. In other
words,' dressed corn ' is wheat carefully cleaned for market. The
English farmers take more pains in cleaning their grain than we
do. And this ' dressed corn' was as clean as a good fanning-mill
could make it. You will observe that there was more 'oflfal corn'
this year tlian last. This also indicates an unfavorable season."

"It would have been very interesting," said the Doctor, "if
Mes.srs. Lawes and Gilbert had analyzed the wheat produced by the
different manures, so that we might have known something in re-

EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. IRO

garl to the quality of tin- rtour as influenced by the use of different
fertilizers."

"They did that very thing," said I, "and not only that, but
they made the wheat crown on ditterent plots, into flour, and as-
certaini'd the yield of flour from a given weight of wheat, anil the
amount of bran, middlings, etc., etc. They obtained some very
interesting and important results. I was there at the time. But
til is is not the plac' to discuss the question. 1 am often amused,
however, at the remarks wc often hear in regard to the inferior
quality of our wheat a.s compared to what it was when the country
was new. Many seem to think tiiat ' there is something lacking in
the soil' — some say potasli, and some phosphates, and some ihis,
anil some that. I believe nothing of the kind. Depend upon it,
the variety of the wheat and the soil and season have much more
to do with the quality or slremrth of the flour, tlian the chemical
composition of the manures applied to the land."

"At any rate," said tlic D )ctor, " we may be satisfied that any-
thing tliat will produce a vigorous, healthy growth of wheat ia
favorable to quality. We may u.se manures in excess, and thus
produce over-luxuriance and an unhealthy growth, and have poor,
shrunken grain. In this case, it is not the use, but the abuse of
the manure that does the mischief. We must not manure higher
than the season will bear. As yet, this question rarely troubles us.
Hitherto, as a rule, our seasons are better than our farming. It
may not always be so. We maj* find the liberal use of manure so
profitable that we shall occasionally use it in excess. At present,
however, the tendency is all the other way. Wc have more grain
of inferior quality from lack of fertility tlian from an excess of
I)lant-food."

" Tiiat may be true," said I, '' but we have more poor, inferior
wheat from lack of draining and good culture, than from lack of
plant-food. Red-root, thistles, cockle, and chess, have done more
to injure the reputation of ' Genesee Flour,' than any other one
thing, and I should like to bear more said about thorouirh cultiva-
tion, and the destruction of weeds, and less about soil exhaustion."

The following table shows the results of the experiments the
$ixlh year, 1848^9.

190

TALKS ON MANURES.
Experiments at Rothamsted on the Growth of

TABLB VI.— MANURKS AND PRODUCE; 6TH 8EAB0N, 1848-9.

Manures per Acre.

.

Suj)erpIu>8phaU qf Lane.

1

i

M

t5

.»;

s

s

^

1

"3 V

1

^^2

^2

1

11

1

*5

1

•|fe>

4J

1

B

1

BQ

If

>>

1

1

Tons. lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

IbB.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

0

600

450

..

1

'.'. ' (>66

400

900

..

..

2

14

, ,

, ,

.,

3

UnmaDnred.

• •

••

••

••

••

4

••

200

200

300

6a

.300 200

100

200

150

2.->0

250

5b

300 200

100

200

150

200

200

500

6a

, ,

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

66

.3(>0

200

100

200

I.IO

200

200

la

m^

2t)0

100

200

liJO

20()

200

lb

3(X)

200

100

200

150

200

200

8a

Unmanurcd.

eb

^.

_.

2000

9a

. . 1 ..

\\

2000

9b

Unmannred.

, ,

10a

;,

200

aoo

106

..

..

200

200

11a

"

200

150

200

200

lib

200

150

200

200

12a

300

200

1.50

200

200

126

.soo

200

l.V)

200

200

13a

300

200

ir,0

200

200

136

300

aoo

1.50

2<i0

200

14a

.300

200

1.50

200

200

146

300

..

200

150

200

200

15a

300

200

100

200

200

300

156

300

200

100

200

200

300

500

Ifia

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

166

:ioo

200

100

200

1.50

200

200

17«

300

200

100

200

1.50

200

200

176

300

200

100

200

150

20C

200

18a

.300

200

100

200

150

200

200

186

300

200

100

200

l.')0

200

200

M

200

200

300

f

500

20

Unmannred.

..

..

..

21 I
29. f

Mixture of the reei

due of most of the other mam

ires.

EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

191

Wheat, Year after Year, on tde same Land.
■ancrb!> and 8ked (red clcstir), sown autumn, 1818.

19

30

2U

22(

1*

64.5

101

at

W.fi

75

1

64.3

111

H

64.4

112

H

64.0

93

2i

M.O

95

2i

63.9

102

192 TALKS ON MANURES.

"This was my last year at Rothamsted," said I, "and I feci a
peculiar interest in loukini; (jver the results after such a lapse of
time. When tliis crop was growin;;, my father, a i^oud practical
farmer, but with little faith in chemical manures, |)aid me a visit.
We went to the experimental wheat-field. Tiie first two plots, 0
and 1, had been dressed, the one with suiH-rpliosphalc, llie otiier
with pota.sh, soda, and maijuesia. My father did not seem much
impressed with tliis kind of cliemical manuring. Steppini: to the
D»'Xt plot, wlicre 14 tons of ham-yard manure had been used, be
rrmarkod, " tliis is good, what have you here ?"

" Never mind," said I, " we have better crops farther on."

The next plot, No. 3, was the one continuously unmanured. " I
can beat this myself," said he, and passed on to the next. " This
is better," said he, " what have you here?"

"Superphosphate and sulp!iatc of ammonia."

" Well, it is a good crop, and the straw is bright and atilT." — It
turned out 30 bushels per acre, 03 lbs. to the bushel.

The next six plots ba 1 receivCil very heavy dressings of ammo-
nia-salts, with suix'rphosphate, potash, soda, and magnesia. Ho
examined tliein with the greatest interest. " What have you hereV"
he asked, while lie was examining H*/, which aft rwards turned out
37^ bushels per acre. — " Potash, soda, epsom-salts, superphosphate,
and ammonia — but it is the ammoni.i that does the good."

He passed to the next plot, and was very enthusiastic over it.
" What have you here?" — "Rape-cake and ammonia," said I. —
"It is a grand crop," said he, and after examining it with great
interest, he pas.sed to the next, (k/. — "What have you here?" —
" Ammonia," .said I ; and at Gb he asked the same qnestion, and I rc-
I)lied "ammonia." At 7'^ the same question and t!;c same answer.
Standing lictween 76 and 8'/, he was of course struck with the
difference in the crop; S<i was left this year without any manure,
and thouijh it had received a liberal supply of miner.d manures
the year before, and minerals and amnmnia-s.ilts, and rape-cake,
the year previous, it only j)roduced tliis year, 3J bushels more than
the plot continuously unmanured. The contrast between the
wheat on this plot and the next one. might well interest a prac-
tical farmer. There was over 15 bushels per acre more wheat on
the one plot than on the otiicr, and 1,581 ]hn. more straw.

Passing to the next plot, he exclaimed " this is better, but not so
good as some that we have passed." — " It lias had a heavj' dressing
of rape-cake," said I, "equal to about 100 lbs. of ammonia per
acri', and the next jilot was manured tliis year in the same way.
The only difference being that one had superphosphate and potasli,

EXnCKIMKN'TS ON WHEAT. 193

soda, ami ma^ncsiii, tlie year hcforc, while the otlicr liad siipir-
phosphate alone." It turntil out, as you see from tlic t;il)le. Unit
the potash, etc., only iruve half a hu.-hel more wheat per acre the
year it was used, anil this y»ar, with 2,OllO lbs. of rape-rake on eaeh
plot, there is ouly a bushel per acre in favor of the potash, soda,
antl nwiixnesia.

The nc.\t plot, 9/*, was al.so unmanured and was passed by my
father witliout eomment. " Ah," said he, on cominji to the two
iie.xt plots, 10 i and lOA, "this is bitter, what have you here ?" —
*' yet fling b'lt atiimdiiia,^' siid I, "and I wish you would tell me
which is the bi-st of the two? Last year 10'!' had a heavy dressing
of minerals and superphosphate with ammonia, and 10 « the same
quantity of ammonia alone, witliout superphosphate or other
mineral manures. And tiiis year both phjt.s have had a dressin;^ of
400 lbs. each of ammonia-salts. Now, which is the best — the j)lot
that had superphosphate and min rals last year, or the one with-
out?"— " Well," said he, " 1 can't sec any diU'erence. Both arc
good crops."

You will see from the tabic, that the jjot which had the super-
phosphate, pota-sh, etc., the year before, gives a peck Ush wheat this
year than t!ie other plot which had none. Practically, the yield is
the .same. There is an increase of i:5 bushels of wheat per acre —
and this increase /."* ckiirly due U> the ammonid-iuUs alone.

The next plot was also a splendid crop.

" What have you here ? "

"Superphosphate and ammonia."

This plot (llrf), turned out 35 bushels per acre. The next plot,
with phosphates and ammonia, was nearly as good. The next plot,
with p<>ta.sh. phosphates, and ammonia, e(|ually g' od, but no better
than ll'i. There was little or no benefit from the potash, except
a little more strint. The next plot was good and I did not wait ff>r
the question, but simply said, " ammonia," end the next " ammo-
nia," and the next "ammonia." — Standing still and looking at tlie
wheat, my father asked, "Joe, where can I get this ammonia?"
He had previou?ly been a little skeptical as to the value of chem-
istry, and had not a high opinion of " book farmers," but that
wheat-crop compelled him to admit " that perhaps, after all, there
might be some good in it." At any rate, he wanted to know where
he could get ammonia. And, now, as then, every good farmer a.sks
the same question: " vVhere can I get ammonia?" Before we
attempt to answer the question, let us look at the next year's ex-
periments.— The following is the results of the experiments the
aeventh year, 1849-50.
9

194

TALKS ON MANUKES.
EXPEBIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTBD ON THE GbOWTH OF

TABLE Vn.— MANURES AND PRODUCE ; 7TH SEASON, 1849-50. AjTEB THE

2 TO 3 FEET DEEP. MANURES AND 8EBD

Manures per Acke.

3uperpfiosphate qf Lime\

S

i

"S

1

1

1

?5

1

■^

"5

^

"2 =

1

1

^1

i

f^

1

^•2

^1

1

1

•2

c

1

<t

•§•2

1

1

^

1

Tons.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

0

600

450

, ,

1

COO

400

200

..

..

2

14

. ,

..

.,

..

3

Unmanurcd.i ..

..

••

4

.,

..

..

200

200

SOO

..

..

6a

300

200

100

200

150

250

250

56

.300

200

100

200

150

250

250

6a

300

200

IfO

200

150

200

200

6b

CO

2^0

100

200

150

£00

200

la

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

500

lb

..

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

500

8a

200

200

86

"

,,

200

200

9a

200

200

95

200

200

10a

200

200

106

300

200

100

200

150

11a

200

150

200

200

••

116

200

150

200

200

..

12a

.•}('i6

2O0

150

200

200

126

300

200

150

200

200

i.;a

300

::

200

l.'iO

200

200

136

;;

300

200

i:^

20O

200

14a

;joo

200

150

200

200

146

300

-.

200

150

200

200

15a

300

200

100

200

200

300

,.

156

..

300

200

100

200

200

300

500

16a

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

__

166

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

17a

300

200

lOT

21X1

150

200

200

176

300

200

100

200

i.-o

200

200

ISa

300

200

100

200

1 1.50

200

200

186

300

200

100

200

150

200

200

19

200

200

300

500

20

Unmannred.

..

1 j 1

..

2U
22?

Mixtt

irc of f

hercB

dae of most of

the other man

oree.

EXl'ERIMKNTS ON WHEAT,
Whbat, Year after Year, on the same Land.

195

HARVEST OP 1849 THE FIELD WAS TILE-DRAINED IN EVERT ALTERNATE PURROW,
(R£D CLUSTER), BOWN tN AUTUMN, 1849.

Produce per

Acre,

ETC.

Increase ^ Acri
BY Manure.

1

Dreixfd Corn.

g

^

C^

^

s

S

.

0

1

g

§

i

^

^

i

1

si

CM

lbs.

•5

3

1^^

r

1

1

§

1
1

Bu8h

. Fk8.

lbs. Iba.

lbs.

lbs.

'• lbs. 1 lbs.

ITs"

0

1
s

19

U

60.8 42

1220

20:37

32.57

1 218

318

5:56

3.5

59 9

28

i- '

6i;9 98

1M61

3-245

5i06

859

1526

23S5

5^4

573

8

15

3i

60.6 44

1002

1719

2721

..

• .

4.5

58.2

4

27

3

61.2 87

1783

a312

50!*7

783

1593

2376

5.1

53.9

5a

2!)

^

60.4 171

1974

4.504

6478

972

27ft5 3757

9.5

43.8

Sd

.30

.3

K0.4 160

2)18

4:579 1

taar

1016

2660 3676

8.6

46.1

6a

.30

("i

SI.l IHI

1960

3127 1

.5887

9.58

2-2)8 , 3166

6.3

49.9

6b

29

^

f>1.3 148

19-<0

.39.59

5939

978

2240 3218

K.O

50.0

la

32

1

81. 0 167

2134

+K5

6619

1132

27. i6 3^98

8.4

47.9

lb

32

Oi

B1.2i 150

1

2112

4280

m:*i

1110

2561 3671

7.6

49.4

Sa

23

3

51.1' 101

18.56

.3407

.5263

851

16ft8 2542

5.5

54.5

86

30

1

51.0 103

1948

.3591

.55:39

!»46

1872

2818

5.6

54.2

9a ,

30

H

iO.4 118

1951

:5550

.5501

919

ia31

2780

6 3

55 0

9b

27

n

10.8 80

1762 ,

31f.5

4927

760

1446

2206

4.7

55.7

10a

26

3t (

50.2 100

1721

3'W9

4810

719

1.370

2089

6.1

55.7

10b

17

31 (

il.l 76

1171

1949

3120

169

2:50 :599

6.8

iO.l

Ua

30

■3* (

51.0 121

2001 ■

3S06

5807

909

2087 3086

6.4 '

52.6

lib

29

n (

51.1 145

1940 '

3741 1

5(W1

9:58

20-22 29t)0

8.0

51.9

12a !

29

3* »

il..5 94

19:i5

.3921

.5R56

9.33

2-202

31.^5

5.1

19.4

lib 1

30

3J

■ 14 11.5

2013

::l9i)5

.59 IK

1011

2186

3197

5.9 .

51.5

13a 1

31

3| (

jO.2 10.-)

2t1-2T

4()2-.

60.53

10-2.5

2:3'>7

3:5:52

5.4 .

)0.3

1.36 i

.30

H t

il.O in

1964

40ns

.5972

962

2289

.32.51

fi.O ^

19.0

14a '

31

H <

jl.l 102

202:5

40.52

6075

1021

2:53:5

a354

5.3 '

19.9

146 i

31

H <

il.5 6.5

1995

4015

6010

993

2-296

3289

3.2 '

19.7

15a

26

Oi «

'A.5 90

1693

3.321

5014

691

ir>02

2-293

5.7 51.0

156

30

"i f

il.O, 59

19(2

3:t2»)

5868

910

2-207

3147 3.0 49.5

1

16a 1

a3

1

2i (

50.3 108

2134

.51 a3

7-237

11.32 a3R4

4516 5.3 41.8

166

33

3 <

50.4 122

21.59 '

4615

6774

11.57 2896

4053 6.0 46.8

17a

31

1 f

il.2 73

19S5 1

4126

6111

983 2407

.3:590 3.8 48 1

176

29

2* '

)1.5 1.39

19'il 1

40:34

.5995

!t.59 2:315

3-2:4 7.7 48.6

18a

29

3i (

il.2 110

1934 1

.3927

.5161

932 2-208 1

.3140 6.1 49.3

186

23

2i (

iO.9 ia3

1H45

aS44

5689

84:3

21-25

29«J8 5.7 48.0

1

19

29

0 (

50.8 88

ia50

3527

5.377

848

1808

26.56

4.9 52.4

ao

14

0 .

59.1: 40

86S

16.39

2507

-134

—80

-214

4.5 53.0

211

i

^,

1

1

■• 1 "I

1

1

1

196 TALKS OX MANURES.

The summpr of 1850 was unusually cool and unfavorable for
wheat. It will be seen that on all tUe plots the Ticld of grain is
considerably lower than last year, with a greater growth of straw.
You will notice that 106, which last year gave, with ammo-
nia-salts alone, -i^i bushels, this year, with supcrphi)Si)li'itc, potash,
Boda, anJ sulphate of magnesia, gives less than 18 busliels, while
the adjoining plot, dressed with ammonia, gives nearly 27 bushels.
In other words, the ammonia alone gives !> bushels per acre more
than this large dressing of superphosphate, potash, etc.

On the three plots, 8a, Sb and 9a, a dressing of ammonia-salts

alone gives in each case, a larger yield, both of grain and straw, than

the 14 tons of barn-yard manure on plot 2. And recollect that

this plot has now received 98 tons of manure in seven years.

" That," saitl the Doctor, "is certainly a ver3- remarkable fuel."

" It is so," said the Deacon.

"But whiit of it ?" asked the Sciuire, " even the Professor, here,
does not advise the use of alunlunia-^alts for wheat."

" Tlial is so," said 1, "but pcrlnps I am mistaken. Such facts
as those just given, though I have been acquainted witli them for
many years, sometimes incline me to doubt the soundness of my
conclusions. Still, on the whole, I think I am riglit."

" We all know," said the Deacon, " that you have great respect
for your own opinions."

" Never mind all that." said the Doctor, " but tell us just what
you think on this subject."

•' In brief," said I, " my opinion is this. TVc need ammonia for
■wheat. But tlioudi ammonia-iJalts and nitrate of soda can often be
used with decided profit, yet I ftel sure that we can get anmio-
nia or nitrogen at a less cost per lb. by buying bran, malt roots,
cotton-seed cake, and other foods, and using them for the double
purpose of feeding stock and makini: manure."

" I admit that such is the case. " said the Doctor, " but here is a
plot of land that has now had 14 tons of manure every year for
seven years, and yet there is a plot along side, dressed with am-
monia-salts furnishing less than half the ammonia contained in the
14 tons of manure, that produces a better yield of wheat."

"Tliat," said I, "is simply because the nitrogen in the manure
is not in an available condition. And the practical question is,
how to make the nitrogen in our manure more inimodiately avail-
able. It is one of the most important fpirstions which agricultural
science is called upon to answer. Until we get more light, I fecJ

KXPEIilMKXTS OX WIIKAT. 197

Burc in sayiiii: tlint orir i>f tlic best motliods is, t<> feed our animals
on ri'liiT and niori- oasily tliircstr-d food."

Tlic following tabic gives Ibe results of tbe eighth seasoa of
1850--51.

11)8 TALKS ON MANUKES.

Experiments at Rothamsted on thb Gbowth of

TABLE VIII.— MANURES AND PBODCCB ; 8TH SEASON. 1850-51.

Manubeb

PER Acre.

£

•a

ij"j>fr/)Aotiphate of

^

,

a

"3
o

1
1

1

i

1

<»1

s

a
'-0

Lime.

S

a

^

5*

1?
1*

1

1
1

1' )IH.

Iha.

Ibs^

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

0

630

450

..

1

600

400

200

..

i

i4

..

8

TTuma

lurcd.

••

4

..

200

200

400

• •

..

6a

:J00

200

100

200

l.-iO

.300

300

..

6b

31X1

200

100

2)0

150

.3110

3)0

6a

310

210

100

200

150

2»0

2,)0

db

800 200

100

21 Nl

150

200

200

la

" •

300 20O

100

2)0

150

200

•iOO 1000

lb

••

300 1

300

100

2)0

150

••

200

200 1000

8a

5000

,.

..

,,

66

300

200

100

2)6

150

100

100

9a

..

200

200

9^

,^

200

200

10(1

200

200

106

200

200

11a

200

1.10

200

300

116

2)fl

l.-iO

200

200

12a

356

100

2(X) 1

l.V)

• .

200

200

126

200

100

200

150

..

200

200

18a

'.'.

300

200

1.50

200

200

..

136

300

200

150

..

200

200

14a

200

100

200

150

200

200

146

200

100

200 150

• •

200

200

"'

15a

■*

200

100

100

200

200

400

•

156

200

100

100

200

200

300

600

161

836' 200

100

100

200 150

800

.300

166

*■

200

100

100

200 LV)

.300

300

17o

200

100

100

2(10 LW

200

200

176

200

100

100

200 150

200

200

18a

..

. ■

200

200

186

..

••

• •

200

200

19

200

"

300

300

..

600

30)

(

..

21 I

Unma

nntcd. <

..

..

«l

}

■■ 1

' '

1 Top-dressed in March, 1851.

EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

199

WuKAT, Yeak aftek Yeak, on the same Land.

KANUM8 AND 8KBU (U"« CLU8TEU), BOWN AUTUMN. 1850.

5a

6ft
6a
66
^a
76

8a

86

9^1

96
10<i
106

11a
116
12a
126
13rt
136
14a
146

15a

1S6

16a
166
17a
176
18a
186

Pboducb per Acre, etc.

DrttMd Com.

I

Bu9h. P'kB. IbB. IbB.

18 3* 61.9 125

1i .11.7, 124

2* ft<.6 \m

•i\ 61.1 114

18
29
15

0^ r>2 6 159

36
37
33
31
36
37

26
27

31
29
28
38

33

31
32
32
30
30
31
31

27
:J0

36

31
30
30
31

0

3»

U

Oi

3*

(a. 3 iw

6:1 3 213

63.3 IM

ti2.3 1«)

6:5.0 201

,63.0 178

OJ •'.2.8 HI

2i <;2.ti 137

\\ ti2.J 182

Oi r.2.0 170

3* ltJl.9 179

2i J62.5 149

2t

21

3

2i

2J

31

Oi

02 3 ISl

62.5 Irtl

6.3.1 Itv)

62.5 16»i

H2.6 lt*t)

62.3 160

62.9 !•«

(12.8 165

0* 62.7 138
•,>i 62.9 148

63.5 161

tVi.4 176

63.3 131
tW.l 152
m.Q 1:^9

62.4 143

62.4 144

60.8 89

3i 61.9 127

•3

IbB.

1251
2(M9
10,S3

1019

2473
2«.ll
2271
2119
2524
2532

17S5
1M«W
2142
1970
l!»fi6
liW7

lbs.
1S«)2
1815
:jtilM
1027

•a 5

lbs.
3158
.•5«i9tl
5143
2710

Increase ^ Acre
BT Manitre.

^

tc

2»19 4868

4131
4291
:J624
35»)7
45H7
4102

27(10

:J252
2912

i :*>7o
3(H,S

221 f.

.%3S6 '

21(W

:«02

22:«

3(100

' 2203

:i581

2102

:i.>44

208:i

■.WQ

2120

3605 1

2121

35:37

1R:W

.3(41

2077

:M;«

1 2409

4234

! 2501

4:i32

2149

:V..rT

2070

3406

20«i

3:?.tO

6(101
(1905
5S'.l5
562(1
7111
OKM

4.V)4
4(.93

I .5:?.t4

4012

I 5ii:}(J

I 4985

mn

fr«>5

5SM
57»<4
.'■)61(1
552:}

IbB.
213
1(18
96(i

lbs. I IbB.
2:» I 448
218 ; :i86

1467 a4;«

8:16 1323 , 2158

rjoo '

152S ;
1188 I
1036
1441 :
1449

702
7«0
10.50

HS7
RS.3

a>4

1133
10«0
1151
1120
1019
1(¥)0

2504 3RW

2667 4105

l'.»'.t7 3185

1S80 2916

2960 4101

26'.5 412-1

1142 1844

120:i 198:1

1(125 2«1H1

1315 2202

144;} 2:«6

1421 2275

.5725 ' 10:}7
5658 1038

1750
1675
1973
lO-M
1017
1813
1978
1910

2892
27.55
3124
3074

2S13
3015
2948

4880
5509

756
904

1414 2170
1805 2799

2149
2070
20«}
2090

:V..rT
3406
3:?.tO
3586

57K1
5485
.5473
567(i

i 2031
956

i348
1609

M79
25»>5

i 1232

1763

2995

67.^3 i4i(;

«•«« 1418

10(i6

096

10' Ml

1007

948
-127

149

2607
2705
1070
17T9
17f>3
1950

1721 2669
-18 -145

1.36 285

4023
412:}
:10:«>
2775
27(13
2906

10.7 69.6
11.0(17.8

8.8 66.2

11.8 66.6

9.065.1

8.6'.50.9
8.9|(i(t.8
7.2(12.6
9.8(10.4
8.7 55.0
[ 7.6,58.8

' 8.6 M. 6
: 7.905.8
' 0.3 65.9

9.567.0
10.064.0

8.3 63.5

8.965.4
9.1165.5
8.062.0
8.261.5
9.4I59.3
8.360.5
8.6158.8
8.4.59.9

8.1160.5
7.0 60.5

I
6.9 59.0
7.6.57.7
6.5 50.7
7.961.0
7.2(14.1
7.3 58.3

7.7 60.7
10.2 .59.4

11.5 69.9

200 TALKS OK MANURES.

The plot continuously unmauurcd, gives about 16 bushels of
wheat per acre.

The i^lot with barn-yard manure, nearly 30 bushels per acre.

4UU lbs. of ammonia-salts a on*, on plot 9</, 31^ bushels; on 96,
29 Injshcls ; on 10</ and 106, nearly 29 bushels cacli. This is remark-
r\ble uniformity.

400 lbs. ammnnia-salts and a large quantity of mineral manures
in addition, on twelve different plots, average not quite 32 bushels
per acre.

"The superpliosphate and minerals," said the Deacon, "do not
Bcera to do much good, that i.s a fact."

You will notice that 3;]0 lbs. of common salt was sown on plot
16a. It does not ecem to have done the sligiitest good. Where the
salt was used, there is 2 lbs. less grain and 98 lbs. less straw than
on the adjoining plot 16A, where no salt was used, but otlierwise
manured alike. It wouM seem, however, thai the quality of the
grain was slightly improved by the salt. The salt was sown in
March a.s a top-dressing.

" It would have been l)etter," said the Deacon. " lO have sown it
in autumn witli the other manures."

" The Deacon is right," said I, " but it so happens that the next
fear and the year after, the salt tens applied at the same time as
the otlier manures. It gave an incn-ase of 94 Uks. of grain and 61
lbs. of straw in IBol, but the following year the same quantity of
salt used on the s;uiie plot I'id more harm than good."

Before we leave the results of this year, it should be observed
that on 8/, 5,000 lbs. of cut straw and chaff were used per acre. I
do not recollect seein'.j anything in regard to it. And yet the
result was very remarkable — so mucli so indeed, that it Is a matter
of regret that the experiment was not repoated.

This 5,000 11)S. of straw and chaff gave an increase of more th.in
10 bushels per acre over the continuously unmanured plot.

"Good," said the Deacon,"! have always told you that you
under-estimated the value of straw, especially in regard to its
merhiiniciil action."

I did not reply to this remark of the good Deacon. I have never
doubted the good effects of anything that li:rhtens up a clay soil
and renders it wnrnvT and more porous. I suppo.se the great benefit
derived from this applirati<in of straw must be attributecl to its
ameliorating action on the soil. The 5.000 lbs. of straw and ehalT
produced a crop within nearly 3 bushels per acre of the jtlot ma-
nured every )'ear with 14 tons of barn-yard manure.

"I am surprised," said the Dot tor, " that salt did no good. I

EXrKUlMKNTS (»N WHEAT. -01

have seen many instaiucs in wl.ich it luis l.a>l n woiul.Tful clR-ct

on wbout."

"Yfs,"sui>l I," ami our i-xpcrinicf.l frinui, .lolin Johnston, is
very tleruleillv of llu' opinH)ii tlial its uso is hi^llly prolitablc. He
sows a barn rof salt per am- broadcast on tlir lanl at tlic tinu' he
gows his wheat, and 1 have myself seen it pruduee a decided im-
provement in the crop."

We have now given the results of the first eight years of the ex-
periments. From this time forward, the ainu manuni, were used
year after year on the same plot.

The result-* are riven in the iwcompanyinc: tables for the follow-
ing twelve years-harvests for ls:,2-r):{-.'i4-r).->-r>G-rj7-58-.'>S)-C0-
81-(;2 and 180:5. Such another set of experiments arc not to be
found in tlie world, and tiicy deserve and will receive the careful
.study of every inlelligent American farmer

"I am with you there," said the Deacon. "You seem to think
that I do not appreciate the labors of scientific men. I do. Such
experiment.s as thes- wr are c'caminin-.r command the respect of
every intelligent farmer. I may not fully understand them, but I
can see clearly enough that they are uf groat value."

202

TALKS ON MANURES.

ElXPERIMENTB AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GllOWTn OF WHEAT, YHAB
AFTER YEAK, on THE SAMB LaND.

Table IX.— Manukes pt.T Acre per Aiimiin (wiih the eiceplioii!' explained in
tlie Notes on p. 2U3), for 12 Years iu succession— namely, for the 9th. lOlh,
11th, 12th, 13lli, 14th, 1.5th, lOth, ITt.., 18th. lOtli. and 20th Seasons: tliut is.
for the crops of Harvests l»52-53-&l-55-50-57-5S-5iMi0-«l-ti2 and 18«>3.»

0
1
2

3

4

5a
56
6a
6b
la
lb
8<i
Bb
9a'
96'
10a
lOA
11a
116
12a
126
13a
136
Ua
146
15a
156
lOa
166
1 17a
1176
\\8a
(l86
19
20
21
22

Manures per

Acre

})er .

Innum for

12 Yearo, 1851-2 to 1862-3 inclusivt.

except in (he

cotes exjduined in the Noief on p. 203

i

«

1

Superphonphate qf
Lime.

mtrate of Soda.
Rape Cake.

1^

5

§

(2

^•2

1

1

Sulphuric

Acid
{Sp. gr. 1.7).

^5
IbP.'

f

lbs.

Tons.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs. lbs.

600

450

GOO

400

200

14

Unma

Hired

Unina

nil red

300
300

200
200

ioo

100

200
200

1.V1

.300

200

100

200

1.50

100

100

.300

200

100

200

l.-iO

1(K)

100

300

200

100

200

l.'-.O

200

200

m)

2(K1

100

200

1.50

200

200

.300

200

100

200

1.50

300

.3(K)

.300

200

100

200

1.50

m)

300

300

200

.%0
.550

100

200

200
200
200
200

150

i.50
150
150
1.50

200
200
200
200
200
200

200
200
200
200
200
200

550 ..
550 ..

.300

200

1.50

200

200

300

420
420

200
200
200

1.50
1.50
150

200
200
200

200
200
200

300

200

100

200

200

400

300

200

100

200

200

300

600

336<

300

200

100

200

150

400

m

300

20U

100

200

150

400
200
200

400
200
200

300

200

ioo

200

150

300

200

100

200
200

150

200

300

500

Unma

mired

300

200

100

ioo

• •

300 ' 200 100

ioo

* For the partica1ar8 of the produce of each separate acaaoD, eee Tabloa
X.'XXI. inclusive.

KXi'KUlMKNTS UN WUKAT. 203

NOTES TO TABLE IX. (p. 202.)

' For the W/t and succeeding seasons- the sulphate of potass
was reduced from GOO to 400 lbs. per acre per annum on Plot 1,
and from 300 to 200 lbs. on all the other Plots where it was used ;
the sulphate of sod:i from 400 to 200 lbs. on Plot 1, to 100 lbs. on
all the Plots on wliieh 200 lbs. had previously been applied, and
from 550 to 336* lbs. (two-thirds the amount) on Plots 12a and
126; and the sulphate of magnesia from 420 to 280 lbs. (two-thirds
the amount) on Plots 14(/ and 146.

' Plot Oa — the suli)liates of potass, soda, and magnesia, and the
superphosphate of lime, were applied in the 12th and succeeding
seasons, but not in the 9th, 10th, and 11th ; and the amount of
nitrate of soda was for the 9tli season only 475 lbs. per acre, and
for the 10th and 11th seasons only 275 lbs.

' "Plot 96— in the 9th season only 475 lbs. of nitrate of soda were
applied.

* Common salt — not applied after the 10th season.

• Plots 17a and 176, and 18a and 186-the manures on these
plots alternate : that is. Plots 17 were manured with ammonia-salts
in the 9th season; with the sulphates of potass, soda, and magne-
sia, and superphosphate of lime, in the 10th ; ammonia-salts again
in the 11th; the sulphates of potass, soda, and magnesia, and
superphosphate of lime, again in the 12th, and so on. Plots 18,
on the otlier hand, had the sulphates of potnss, soda, and magne-
sia, and supcrphospliato of lime, in the 9th season ; ammonia-salts
in the 10th, and so on, alternately.

204

TALKS ON MANURKS.

Experiments at Rotiiamsted on the GuowTn of Wueat, Tear
AFTER Tear, ox tue same Land.

Table X.—PKonrcE of tlicUTiiSEAPON,
1831-2. Sekd(U><1 Climier) snwii No-
vi'inber 7, 18ol ; Crop cut August 24,
1852.

PuoDucE PER Acre,

ETC.

(For the Manures scu pp. 202

and 203.)

"8

^

Dresned Com.

§

*3k

S^

B "^-^

t

3^

i;i

^iS

1

l-g -3

"S-^c

>>;=3 5

5-^

§»

•- 1 f«i

^

Bu-I>

I'k-i.

ll>s.

11.0.

11.!..

0

15

OH.

K).8

919

2625

1

13

1

m it

825

2.3->2

3

27

2>i

.58 2

1716

5173

3

13

3'4

.56.6

HIV)

2157

4

13

n*

57.3

870

2411

5a

IG

3

57.5

Ift38

2f»ll

56

17

O'i

57.3

1(1* ;5

:wn

6a

20

3

57.6

12.S,S

■.bOVJ

6b

20

3<tf

57.5

l.JiHl

:v.m

7a

26

2'4

56.0

1615

rttiiTi

76

26

■i\

55.8

1613

5115

8a

27

3'i

55.9

M'.CI

.V.tC)

86

27

OJ^

55.9

1651

M2:j ,

9a

25

2

r>5.fi

1.501

.5.3a5 ,

96

24

m

55.3

1509

4S*J

10a

21

3!^

55 9

l:«0

4107

106

22

O'i

57 3

1313

4i(a

11a

it

O'i

.55.6

1172

•l.->.->3

116

22

1'4

55 9

13S7

42'.)9

l-2a

24

1^

57.4

l.-)l«

1760

126

24

W

57 3

1 i:t2

J 72 1

i:ja

24

0

57.5

1180

■i:&i

i:V>

m

3'i

57 1

1176

17Cs5

14a

24

1^

.Iti 9

1.V17

50.54

146

25

0.4

56.7

1.>J0

5137

15a

23

^H

57.4

1 151

mm

156

25

0)^

56.8

1.520

4<.M1

16a

28

3V

.'■.5.0

1794

f>171

1«6

2«

0

51.5

1700

6.316

17a

25

2

56,5

1.577

5.311

176

at

l"^

51; 9

1520

4!tS6

18a

13

3

.57.0

869

2556

186

14

3?i

56.7

i>21

2(»5

19

24

3X

56.1

1582

4979

20

14

O'i

56.6

875

21.52

31

19

I'i

56.9

1177

:Ba5

22

19

2^

55.9

1176

;tt55

Table XT.— Produck of the IOtu Sea-
son, 185.3. Seed (Kcd Kdetock) t»owii
M.ircli 16; C'raj) cut Sc|il«iiilK!r 10,
and carti'il Si'iiicrabiT 20. 185.3.

Pkodixe pei; Acre. etc.

(Fur tliu Mannrct^ see pp. 202

and 203).

51.1

i:j.'.7

51 1

I.'M6

51.1

1125

47 7

091

46.1

W9

48 9

612

49.8

8!K)

.50.1

1015

51.1

1073

.52.0

12S3

51 1

1.375

.52.1

1.311

51 . 1

vv.tr,

.51.2

r.vt-i

52.6

1347

47.8
50.4
49.4

5091
5;il2
5352

3090
2903

2691
:»78
.35:»
3780
4<M8
.5079
.5015
5.308
4793
5106

1143 ; 4504
i:i51 5107

1496 , 6400
1.537 6556

520 2516

.5.39 2.551

nil 4496

1256 5052

1160 4373

425 2084

7.5.3 29.34

692 2453

ftXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT.

205

Experiments at lioTii.vMSTED on the Gkowth of Wheat, Yeab
AJKTEK Year, on the same Land.

Tabi.k XIII— I'nonrrit of ihe 12th
t^EAi-oN. 1S54-^. SkkihKiiI Uostock)
cDwii NiiviMiilnT it. IS.")*; <'iii|) cut
Au;,'ii!'t 26, and cuilcil Si-uleiiibcr 2,
18J5.

Table XII - Piiomi k of the llrii
Skaso.n. IH-l;}-!. Skkl>iKi'(I K.-ciiiL-ki
Howii N>ivt-iiilifr ri. IS-Vl; C'ni|) cut
Au;;U3t 21, and carted August 31, It&i.

PlUtOUCK PKR ACRK, BTC.

(For the Munnres see pp. 202

Pboduck

PEB

^CBB,

etc.

(For

the M

iiiiiret

see pp. 202

1 1

aiid2U

i).

DrtMied Corn.

Il^

2>i

» .

s ^'^

^^"^

S

£ 5 ^

-^•^

^ i: 3

O

S". '■**

■3

2'f^

"5

ft.^

o-

^

K

Biii'li

. Pks.

li^."

;i)!..

lbs.

0

1?

0

tK) 7

llf.Ni

2822

1

18

2

(K) 5

1179

:J069

2

34

i>i

(12 0

mi

6082

3

17

0

59.2

1072

28.59

4

18

2>i

59.5

n<j8

3000

5a

18

2

59 9

11. ->7

2976

56

18

0'/,

60 1

114;J

294;j

(kj

27

3

00.3

n.-wj

45!I0

i]d

28

1

WI.9

IHII

4818

7a

:»

2?i

59.4

•am

59!»5

76

:«

1^4

5<l 5

2i:}M

62<l6

8a

at

3

58.8

li»0!t

5747

86

3;j

0?i

58.7

215:j

6495

9a

29

2X

58.3

19.32

5878

96

25

IX

57.3

KiOo

4817

10a

19

3'i

57.1

12a5

3797

106

28

0}i

58.9

I.SUj

5073

llrt

18

3

55 3

1210

3<J94

116

24

2V

5<i 3

l.j;30

47*3

12/j

30

0>4

59.5

1940

M78

126

m

2

60.2

2172

6182

l.V»

29

0

59.9

1934

.5427

i:if>

32

2

riO.4

2110

.5980

14a

2<.t

3

60.0

19.>4

.5.5:J1

146

3;J

^%

fiO.O

2158

5161

1.5a

31

z^i

60. 0

20:30

58.55

1.56

:«

3

0().6

21'.l.i

6J15

16a

33

1^

58.2

2100

6634

l»i6

32

2

58. 2

2115

7106

17a

18

3?i

60.8

1227

.3203

176

17

OX

60 3

inn

2914

18a

»2

3:^^

609

2127

6144

186

33

1?^

60.8

2170

6:«5

19

30

ox

58 7

1907

5818

20

17

2X

61.1

11.55

2986

21

24

IJi

60.8

15:«

3952

22

21

2X

60.1

1553

4010

206

TALKS ON MANURES.

Experiments at Rotdamsted on tue Growth of Wqeat, Yeab
AFTER Year, on the same Land.

Tabi.k XV'.— Pkodvce of the 14th
Season. lH.VV-7. Seed (Keil Kottock)
sown Novfiiibcr 0. ItCyj ; Crop cut
Aii;^!«t i:), and carivd August 22,
1857.

Table XIV.— Produce of tlie 1.3th
Season, IRS.")-*). Sked(Ki"i1 Kostockt
B<.wn Novfinber Vi. ISiVi ; Crop cut
Au>{U8t 'iti, and carted September 3,
1850.

Prodcce per Acre, etc.

(For the Manures see pp. 303

and 203.)

Drttsed Corn

<§.

0
1
3
3
4

6(1
56
(ki
66
7a
76
8a
86

9a
96

10a
1C6
11a
116
13a
136
13a
1.36
14a
146

l.Trt
VJ)

16a
1G6

17n
176
18a
186

19

30
31
S3

Ba^h. Pks.

18 1^

17 0\
36 1>«
14 3
16 IX

18 3>4
20 11*
27 1'*
38 0%

1
2«^

40 0>i

87 8>4

32 \%

3U 0

0^

3 '4

'4

32 3M

32 \}i

30 3'i

35 OV

34 0^

30 OV

.« 0

0!tf
3

31 3?^

30 1^

17 3,^

18 0

S3 1

17 OM

22 l)tf

31 \X

56.8
5(i 3
58.6
M 3
56.5

56.5
5«i.2
5H.2
58 5
58 0
57.6

m.%

57.1

57.3
56.3

55 6
57.2

57 3
57.5
58.7

58 8

58 6
58.9
58.6

59 0

59.1
59 4

68.5
58.7

59.0
59.1
57 8
57.7

58.9

57.7
58.0
57.8

Ibf. I 1l)f>.
1179 I 8118

11()2
2277

K!)2 245<)
1020 2757

1107
1^17
1717
17.V>
2:n2
2iU
2507
!M00

2019
1679

l.VV)
1727
2UII
l<.lli>
21(hJ
2<)7it
2<):iO
2(N)8
21'.I5
2102

1923
3(M5

8426
2450

3179

4707
4848
0872
WA'i
70«l»
7489

5«M

4831

4323
48!C)
.V.I8

5'.M".»
58(M
."iTV.*
50.V.)
0.^r7
6279

M44
57«r7

7955
7917

2059 5621

1075 29«a

1.398 a(27

1351 1 3t^i9

66
7fl
76
8a
86

9a
96

10a
l(i6
lla
116
12«
126
l.Ja
l.«.
14a
146

LVi
156

16a
166

1983 TM\ 17a

lim : 5-JOO I 176

1140 31.V2 I 18a

1131 3()0'.» 186

Produce per Acre, etc.

(For the Manures see pp. 803

and 20.3.)

Drtdsed Com.

BuhIi. Pks.

0

18

21^

1

17

2'i

8

41

OV

3

19

3?i

4

33

IX

6a

22

3V

56

24

'i\

48
60

26
25
41
40

1>4

!»»
IX
3

48 3^

43 8

36 05^

29 OX

M 2

.39 0

:» OJi

4:J 3>4

43 2

42 3

43 2
Aii 3

42 8^

43 \\

44 \%

34
0

2\'

014

41 2X

19 2«i

8i 0

23 OX

Ills. I

6i».0

59 0

60.4

58.3

58.8

59.0
58.8
69 !t

59 8

60 5
60 3
60.8
60.6

60.1
58.0

58.0
58.6
58.5
58 0
60 4
60 4
60.0
60 5
60 5
60.3

60.4
60.0

60.6
60.6

1

|4«

1

ll>s.

lbs.

1181

2726

1118

-HiJM

•i:»-

.VilO

V£M\

2813

1380

2958

140!t

.3036

I.M2

.•«47

2-Jll

rt08

21 ".•.•!

4<.t.'-0

27S'2

04(i2

atHtt

0793

3(»58

7355

3129

7579

2707

66.34

2220

5203

1810

4308

218.-^

.■^MM

24.«

.^^75

2.«17

rn\-i

2747

(►•AM

2729

6.312

2714

0421

27.W

iiV6

2781

04:»

2«;99

6351

2081 6368
27ti5 6513

60 5 3131
60.5 31»t

7814
7897

59 1 1042 3700

58.8 Vm 3.^23

59.7 2.'i«» 6009

59.8 2519 5884

59.5 2600 6793

1213 3777
l.'vtft &^^3
1491 3298

EXPEKIMKNTS ON WHEAT.

207

EXFERIMENTS AT ROTOAHSTED ON TDE GROWTH OF WUEAT, YEAR

AFTER Tear, on tee same Land.

Tablb Xyi.— PiioDft k of the ISth
8ea»os. IWT-H. SkkI) (Hod Koi^to, k)
Bowii Novciiilter :i :iii(l 11,1857; I'mp
cii'. Aiii;u»t 9, and curtuU AiigUbl 20,

0

1
s

4

6a

66
6a
66
7a
76
8a
86

9a
86

lOa
106
11a
116
12a
136
13a
136
14a
146

16a
166

19

PnoDUCB PER Acre, etc.

(For the Manures see pp. 303

and 'iOH.)

Dresaed Corn.

Buoh. Pk!>

90 3

16 lU

38 3>«

18 0

19 0^

18 2J£

1

2 4

2!> OVi

38 21*

:» 2i»

41 3\

41 3««

.r: 2v

2.1 2

23 3H

27 3

30 3><

33 OV

37 S'i

37 03^

.37 0^

37 0\

37 3!i

38 I Si

15a ' 35 IH
156 37 2

41 3
43 0;i

17a I .33
176 I 3.3
18a
186

3-4
22 3*^

20 2^
33 1>4

Ihx. I
61. 2 '
W) 7
62 6
60.4
61.1

I
61.5
»;i 4
62 1
62 1

61 it

62 3
61.8

61.7 I

60.8

588 ,

59 6

61 4

60 5
60 4

62 1
62.1
62.1
62.7
62.1
62.0 I

I
62.6

62.8 !

62.1
62.1

62.5
62 5
62.3
62.4

62.5

S ."S-^^Q

90

17

0

60.3

21

24

Vi

61 5

23

22

0

61.5

vm
lavj

2.-. 12
lUl
1206

32:m

2»iH5
U-)4»
2S11
2879

Tabi.r XVII.— PnoinrcE of tlie 16th
Skakon. 1K>H-".1. Skei) (Htd Roslock)
PKWn Novcnil)ir 4, IKV* ; (."ri>p cut
An^ut^t 4, und cm ted .\u;;ili<t 20, 1859.

1187 2719

1227 2M70

ISlrt 4.«»5

IS.-,!) vm I

21.-.0 6115

2.VK) «;22

2«iH0

7:J47

2675

T<M2

23f«

6701

1470

41.58 1

14.39

3.509

1775

4390

1977

4774

2<»'.>9

5117

2l:n

6100

2.VS7

<i<KJO

2.i><J

6077

2:i'.t7

r,074

2^113

6150

24;W

6146

22ft5

5S00

iViC,

6l:}4

2702

7499

2717

75:30

31.-)0

."ms

21S1

.54.55 ;

1472

.3480

i.3;i8

a305

2177

5362

1089

2819

1.574

.3947

1412

3592 '

Produce per Ache, etc.

(For Ibc Miiniircs bcu pp. 203

and20a)

Drauied Corn.

ia39 .32.56
1.5.38 4723
1460 ' 4440

208

TALKS ON MANURES.

Experiments at Rotcamsted on the Gkowth of Wheat, Yeab
AFTER Tear, on the same land.

Table XVIII.— Prodixe of the 17th
Season. 185!MiO. Seed (Rod Kustoci>)
Bowii Novi-mbtT 17, ISoK ; Crop cm
September 17 aud 19, and carted Octo-
ber 5, 1860.

Pkoducb

nn ACUE, ETC.

(For the Manures

see pp. 202

aud 203.)

1

Dressed Corn.

S3I

»- .

1

^"5

C

i S S

M

tl

"3

■^.s H

ll-^

|-^

Bush

Pks.

lbs.

lbs.

11)9.

0

14

Wi

5:i.5

m>

2271

1

12

15!£

52.8

717

2097

2

32

1'4

55.5

1864

5304

3

12

3>4

52 6

7:M

2197

4

14

2

53.0

832

2;352

5a

15

2'^

54 0

903

2-483

5b

16

OX

m.\

9:J5 2505

6a

21

0,V

5.J 7

1210 3:J!I3

66

22

3-4

54.2

l:«6 3719

7a

27

3Sf

W 3

1(il2 4615

76

27

2-4

54.3

1.597 47:M

8a

30

3

52.8

17.59 5<W9

86

31

2?i

52.3

1787 5000

9a

32

25^

51.5

m^S 66.^5

96

I'J

2.'*

48.5

11.55 4285

10a

l.'S

OX

40.5

905 3118

106

18

2v;

51.0

KMiO 3120

lla

22

IX

51 0

1270 3773

116

22

1'/.

51.2

1307 4000

12a

28

OX

5.3.4

](i48 4878

126

26

2'4

M 5

1577

4(X;4

13a

26

O'i

51.3

1.575

45(;s

136

27

OX

5.3.8

KiCO

4(^7

14a

27

IX

5:^.7

1.583

4(B6

146

27

0'4

5:j.2

1563

4666

15a

25

IX

53 8

1510

4.387

156

28

0

54.0

1614

4704

16a

32

3

52 0

1856

5973

1G6

32

3

51.7

1889

6096

17a

24

0-4'

54.1

1409

4109

176

26

l'/»

.54.3

15-18

4518

18a

15

1'4

.54.5

929

26-19

186

16

1'4

54.6

9<i3

2706

19

24

o;4

53.0

14.35

4178

20

12

ov

51.5

722

21.55

21

15

2

52 5

893

2fW9

22

13

su-

53.8

817

2114

Table

XIX

.— Pkodice

of the

18th

Season. 18<>0-1. fc

EEl) (

Red Rostock)

sown

November

5. 1860; Crop cut

, Auj,'ust 20

, aud

caned Au<:u8t 27.

' 1861.

PllODUCE

PEU Ague, etc.

(For

the Manures

see pp. 202

•22

aud 203.)

Dressed Corn.

^

5"

».___.

a

a

fl

2*

t£

K |K

Bueh

Pk8.

"ibT

lbs. lbs.

0

15

1'/,

57.6

1001 2709

1

12

35i

57.6

m» , 2215

2

34

3'4

60.5

2202 5;»3

3

11

1'4

57.4

736

1990

4

11

3X

58.0

86;3

2193

5a

15

1,'i

59.1

1047

2540

56

15

IX

59.0

1082

2692

6a

27

1'4

59.5

17.55

4328

66

27

3'4

59.4

1818

4501

7a

35

^H

50.0

2263 ] 5764

76

34

IJi

59.0

218:i 5738

8a

36

0

58,3

2290 6203

86

31

OH.

58.5

2190 5985

9a

33

3

56.8

2162

6607

96

13

3

53.9

909

3079

10a

12

3X

55.0

8.54

2784

106

15

3'i

55.5

1033

3196

lla

2:^

Vi

55.3

14.55

4032

116

2.5

i)\

55.8

1578 1 4223

l2a

32

I'i

58.1

2009 5201

126

3:i

1M

.58.7

2144 1 5481

13a

.33

1'4

.50.9

2168 .5486

l:i6

35

0

60.0

2.304 \ 5794

14a

3:i

O'C

59.1

2125 5502

146

33

3=^

59.3

2173 5476

15a

34

IM

60 0

2188

5506

156

34

3

60 2

2249

5727

16a

36

15i

58.0

23.38

6761

166

37

2

58.6

2432

6775

17a

19

1

59.3

1229

2982

176

18

0?;£

59.1

1166 1 2829

18a

32

IX

59.6

20.50

5144

186

3;j

14

.59.5

2122

5446

19

32

2

58.8

2107 5345

20

13

OX

57 9

872 2.340

21

16

1'4

58.2

1109 2749

22

19

2^1

58.5

1306

3263

EXPKKIMKNTS ON \VHEAT.

200

Experiments at Rothamsted on the Guowtii of Wueat, Year
AFTER Year, on the same Land.

Table XX— Pkodice of the 1!»th
Season, 1^61-",'. Seed (Uoii Uosiock)
sown OtiiilKT 25. 18»il ; C'lop cut
Auijust 29, and carted Si'ptetubcT 12, i
1863. I

Taiu.e XXI.— PuciDrcB of the 20th
Sea.-*()N. 1S(;2-:J. SSekdiHimI I^(^^()c■k)
pown Noveinhfr 17, 1.S(I2; Crop cut
Am:iisl 10, and carted Ati;;usl 18,
18«i:{.

Pboducb

PER Acre, etc.

Produce per

Acre, etc.

(For

the M

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210 TALKS OX MANURES.

The ninth season (185 1-2), was unusually cold in June and wet
in August. It will be seen that the wheat, both in quantity and
quality, is the poorest siuce the comuienrement of the experi-
ments. The unnianured plot gave less than 14 bushels of drcs.srd
grain per acre ; the plot with barn-yard manure, less than 28
bushels, and the best yield in the whole series was not quite 29
bushels per acre, and only wei;4:hed 55 lbs. per bushel. On the same
plot, the year before, with precisely the same manure, the yield
was nearly 37 bushels p -r aero, and the weight per bushel, G3J lbs.
So much for a favorable and an unfavorable season.

The tenth season (1852-3), was still more unfavoral)le. The
autumn of 1853 was so wtt that it was impossible to work the
land and sow the wheat until liic IGtli of March 1853.

You will 8fc t'.iat tho produce on the unmanurcd plot was less
than 6 bushels per acre. With barn yard manure, 19 bushels, and
with a heavy dressing of ammonia-salts ami minerals, not quite 26
bushels per acre. With a heavy dressing of superphosphate, not
quite 9i busiiels per acre, and with a full dressing of mixed
mineral manures and siipfrphosphatc, 10 bushels per acre.

The wcigiit per bushel on the unmanurcd plot was 45 lbs.; with
mixed mineral manures, 48^ lbs. ; with ammonia salts alone, 48J
lbs.; with barn-yard manure, 51 lbs.; and with ammonia-salts and
mixed mineral manures, 52i lbs.

Farmers are greatly dependent on the season, but the good
farmer, who keeps up the fertility of his land stands a better chance
of making money (or ot losing less), than the farmer who depends
on the unaided products of the soil. The one gets 6 bushels per
acre, and 1,413 lbs. of straw of very inferior quality; the
other gets 20 to 2(3 bushels per acre, and 5,000 lbs. of straw. And
you must recollect that in an unfavorable season we are pretty
certain to get high prices.

Tiie eUvent'i season (1853-4,) gives us much more attractive-
looking figures ! We have over 21 busiiels per acre on the plot
which has grown eleven crops of wheat in eleven years without
any manure.

With barn-yard manure, over 41 bushels per acre. With am-
monia-salts alone (17a), 45J bushels. With ammonia salts and
mixed minerals, (16i), over 50 bushels per acre, and 6,635 lbs. of
straw. A total produce of nearly Hk tons per acre.

The twelfth season (1854-5), gives us 17 bushels of wheat per acre
on the continuously unnianured plot. Over 34^ bushels on the
plot manured with barnyard manure. And I think, for the first
time since the commencement of the experiments, this plot pro-

KXPKKIMKNTS 0.\ WIILAT. 211

(luces the largest yield of any plot in the lield. And well it niay,
for it has now Lad, in twelve years, 1G8 tons of barn-yard manure
per acre !

Several of the plots with aramonia-salts and mixed minerals,
are nearly up to it in grain, and ahead of it in straw.

The ihirk^nth season (ISoo-fJ), gives llj bushels on the unnianur-
ed plot; over 3(JJ bushels on the plot manured with barn-3ard ma-
nure ; and over 40 Inishels on 8 /.dressed with GOO lbs. ammonia-
salts and mi.xed mineral manures. It will be notieed that 800 lbs.
ammonia-salts does not give quite as large a yield this year as GOO
lbs. I suppose 40 bushels per aere was all that the seison was capa-
ble of produiing, and an extra quantity of ammonia did no good.
400 lbs. of aramonia-salts, on 7(i, produced ;37i bushels per acre,
and 800 lbs. on IGA, only 37} biisljels. That extra half bushel
of wheat was produced at considerable cost.

The fourteenth season (ls.")G-7), gives 20 bushels per acre on the
unmanured plot, and 41 bushels on the plot with barn-yard
manure. Mixed mineral manures alone on oa gives nearly 23
bushels per acre. Mixed mineral manures and 200 lbs. ammonia-
salts, on 0<i, give 35^ bushels. In otlier words the ammonia gives
us over 12 extra bushels of wheat, and 1,140 lbs. of straw.
Mineral manures and 400 lbs. ammonia-salts, on 7b, give 46i
bushels per acre. Mineral manures and 600 lbs. aramonia-salts, on
Sb, give nearly 49 bushels per acre. Mineral manures and 800 lbs.
of ammonia-salts, on 16ft, give 50 bushels per acre, and 4,703 lbs.
of straw.

"This exceedingly heavy manuring," said the Deacon, "does
not pay. For instance,

"200 lbs. ammonia-salts give an increase of 12i bushels per acre.
400 " " " " 2:;i

6(X) " " " " 26 " "

800 " " " " 27 " "

The Deacon is right, and Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert call especial
aitention to this point. The 200 lbs. of ammonia-salts contain
about 50 lbs. of ammonia, and the 400 lbs., 100 lbs. of ammonia.
And as I have said, 100 lbs. of ammonia per acre is an unu.sually
heavy dressing. It is as much ammonia as is contained in 1,000
lbs. of average Peruvian guano. We will recur to this subject.

The ffleenth season (1857-8,) gives a yield of 18 bushels of wheat
per acre on the continuously unmanured plot, and nearly 39
bushels on the plot continuously manured with 14 tons of barn-
yard manure. Mixed mineral manures on 5a and 56, give a mean
yield of less thau 19 bushels per acre.

212 TALKS Oy MAN L' RES.

Mixed mineral manures and 100 lbs. ammonia-salts, on plots 21
and 22, give 23^- busiiels per acre. In other words :

25 lbs. ammonia (100 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 4i bush.

50 " " (:iOO " " " ), " " " " 10 "

100 " " (400 " " " ), " " " " 20 '•

l.jO " ' (60(J " " " ), " " " " 23 "

200 " " (SOO " " " ), •' " " " 23 "

"It takes," said the Deacon, "about 5 lbs. of ammonia to pro-
duce a bushel of wheat. And accordmij to this, 500 lbs. of Peru
vian guano, guaranteed to contain 10 per cent of ammonia, would
give an increase of 10 bushels of wheat."

"This is a very intcrestmg matter," said I, "but we will not
discuss it at present. Let us continue the examination of the sub-
ject. 1 do not propose to make many remarks on the tables. You
must study them for yourself. I have spent hours and days and
weeks making and pondering over these tables. The more you
study them the more interestmg and instructive thry become."

The sixteenth season (1858-9), gives us a little over ISj bushels
on the unmanurcd plot. On the plot manured with 14 tons farm-
yard manure, 36i bushels; and this is Ihe highest yield this season
in the wheat-field. Mixed mineral manures alone, (mean of plot
5a and 5b), give 20i bushels.

25 lbs. amnioni:i (100 lbs. ammonia-salts), and mixed minerals,
give 25J bushels, or an increase over minerals alone of 4f bushels.

."iO lbs. ammonia, an increase of 9i bushels.

100 " " " " " 14 "

1.50 " " " •' " 14 *•

200 " " " " " 14i "

The season was an unfavorable one for excessive manuring. It
•was too wet and the crops of wheat when hiirhly manured were
much laid. Tlie quality of the grain was inferior, as will be seen
from the light weight per busliel.

The seventeenth season (1859-60,) gives less than 13 bushels per
acre on the unmanured plot; and 321 bushels on tiie plot ma-
nured with 14 tons farm-yard manure. This season (1860), was a
luserable year for wheat in England. It was both cold and wet.
Mixed mineral manures, on plots 5a and 56, gave nearly 16 bushels
per acre. 25 lbs. ammonia, in addition to the above, gave less
than 15 bushels. In other words it gave no tnnrnse at all.

50 lbs. ammonia, gave an inrrrase of 6 bushels.
100 " " " " " " n*

i:,9 " " » " " " lai »

200 " " " " " " lt)J "

It was a poor year for the wheat-grower, and that, whether he
manure 1 ox 'Cpsivcly, liberally, moderately, or not at all.

BXPERIMENTS ON WUEAT. 21o

" I do not quite see that," said the Deacon, " the farm-yard ma-
nure gave an incrc'ise of nearly 20 bushels per acre. And the quality
of the grain must have been nmch better, as it weighed '6i lbs.
per bushel more than the plot unmanureJ. If the wheat doubled
in price, as it ought to do in sur-h a poor year, 1 do not see but that
the good farmer who had in previous years made his land rich,
would come out ahead."

" Good for the Deacon," said I. " ' Is Saul also among the
propliets ? ' " If the Deacon continues to stutly these experiments
much longer, we shall iiave 'lim advocating chemical manures and
high farming !

The eighteenth season (1860-1,) gave less than lU bushels per
acre on the unmanured plot; and nearly 35 bushels on the ma-
nured plot.

The mixed mineral manures, crave ncnrly 15i bushels.

" " and 25 11)8. ammonia ..l^^i "

" " •• .50 '• " 27* "

" " " 100 " *' 35 "

" " " l.-)0 " " 35 "

" " " 200 " " 37 "

The nineteenth season (1861-2,) gave 16 bushels per acre on the
unmanured plot, and over 38i bushels on the plot manured with
farm-yard manure.

Mixed mineral manures, pave nearly 18 bushels per acra.

" " " and 25 lbs. ammonia.. 20; " "

'• .50 " " 2-i " "

" " " " l(iO " " 36 " ••

•• " " 1.50 " " 39i " "

" " " " 200 " " 36i •' "

The ticentieth season (1862-3), gave 17J bushels on the unma-
nured plot, and 44 bushels per acre on the manured plot.

M'xed mineral manures alone gave 191 bushels per acre.

' " " and 2.') Ihs. ammonia.. 3 I " "

2.-> Ihs.

ammonia.

.3 1

50 "

"

3f'i

100 "

(<

5-i

150 "

ti

.55*

200 "

((

50

When we consider that this is the twentieth wheat-crop in suc-
cession on the same land, these figures are certainly remarkable.

" They are so," said the Deacon, " and what to me is the most sur-
prising thing about the whole matter is, that the plot which has had
no manure of any kind for 25 years, and has grown 20 wheat-crops
in 20 successive years, should still produce a crop of wheat of 17J
bushels per ncre. Many of our farmers do not average 10 bushels
per acre. Mr. Lawes must either have very good land, or else the

214 TALKS ON MANUKES.

climate of England is better adapt" d for wbcat-growing than West-
eru New York."

'* 1 do not think," said I, '• that Mr. Lawcs' land is any better
than yours or mine; and I do not tliink the climate of England is
any more favorable for growing wheat without manure than our
climate. If there is any ditlerenie it is in our favor."

" Why, then," asked the Doctor, " do we not grow as much
wheat per acre as Mr. Lawes gets from his continuously unmanured
plotV"

This is a question not diflicult to answer.

Isl. UV grow ton mtuty wecdit. Mr. Lawes plowed the land twice
every year; and the crop was hoed once or twice in the .'■i>ring to
kill the weeds.

2d. We do not half work our heavy land. We do not plow it
enough — do not cultivate, harrow, and roll enougli. I have put
wheat in on my own fann, and have seen otlii rs do tlie same thing,
when the drill on the day spots could not deposit the seed an inch
deep. Tlierc is "plant-food" cuouL'h in these 'clay-spots" to
give 17 busliels of wheat per acre — or perhaps 40 bu.shels — but we
sliall not get ten bushels. The wheat will not come up until
late in the autumn — the plants will be weak and thin on tlie
ground ; and if they escape tlie winter tluy will not get a fair hold
of tlie ground until April or May. You know the result. The
straw is full of s;ip, and is almost sure to rust; the grain shrinks
up, and we harvest the crop, not because it is worth the lalior, but
because we can:iot cut tlie wheat with a machine on the better
parts of the field without cutting these poor spots aLso. An acre
or two of poor spots pull down the average yield of the fiold
l)eIow Ihcaverau'p of .Mr. Lawes' well-workeil Itut unmanured land.

3d. Much of our wheat is seriously injured by stagnant water in
thf Koif, and sfrinding water on the surface. I think we may safely
say tliat one-tliird the wheat-crop of this county (Monroe Co., N.
Y.), is lf)st for want of l»ett'T tilla£re ami Itetter draining— and yet
we think we have as good wheat-land and arc as good farmers as
can be found in this country or any other!

Unless we drnin land, where <lrainage is needed, and unless we
work land thorou :hly that needs workincr, and unless we kill the
wecils or check their excessive growth, it is poor economy to sow
expensive manures on o»ir wheat-crops.

But I do not tliink there is much dansrer of our falling into this
error. The farmers who try artificial manures are the men who
usually take the greatest pains to make the best and most manur«

LIME AS A MANPRK. 216

from the iiuitnuls ki'pl on llic farm. Tlicy know wlnit nianuns cost
and what iIk y arc wortli. As a rule, too, such men arc gooil farra-
irs, aO'l endeavor to work tUeir land tboroughly and keep it clean.
When this is llie case, there can be little doubt that we can often
use artitlcial manures to grout advantage.

" You say," said the Deacon, who had been lookin£j over the
tables wliile I was tulkiii;:, " that mixed iinneral manures
and 50 His. of ammonia irive 39} bushils per acre. Now these
nii.xed mineral manures contain [lota.'^li. .>^oda, mapnrsia, and super-
phosphate. And I see where sujierpliosphale was used without any
potasli, soda, and ma rnesia, but with the same amount of ammonia,
the yield is nearly 46 bushels per :icre. Tiiis docs not say much in
favor of potash, soda, and magnesia, as manures, for wheat. Again,
I see, on plot 1(V>, 50 lbs. of ammonia, afunf, gives ov(r43i bushels
per acre. On plot ll'^ 50 lbs. ammonia mid superpiiosphate, give
4fii bushels. Like your father, I am inclined to ask, ' Where can I
get tftii ammonui f ' "

C II A r T E K X X \ I 1 1 .
LIME AS A MANURE.

These careful, systematic, and long-continued experiments of
Lawc- and Gill>crt seem to prove that if you have a piece of
lanil well prepared for wheat, which will produce, without manure,
say 15 bushels per acre, there is no way of making that land pro-
duce 30 buslu Is of wheal per acre, without directly or indin ctly
furnishing the soil with a liberal supply of available nitrogen or
ammonia.

"What do you mean by directly or indirectly?" asked the
Deacon.

" What I had in my mind," said I, " was the fact that I have
seen a good dressing of lime double the yield of wheat. In such
a case I suppose the lime decomposes the organic matter in the
soil, or in some otlier way sets free the nitrogen or ammonia
already in the soil ; or the lime forms compounds in the soil which
attract ammonia from the atmosphere. Be this as it may, the
facts brought out by Mr. Lawes' experiments warrant us in con-
cluding that the increased growth of wheat was connected in some
way with an increased supply of available nitrogen or ammonia.

21 fi TALKS ON MANURES.

yiy father used threat (juanlilics of lime as manure. He drew
it a distance of 13 miles, and usually applied it on land intended
for wheat, spreadini]; it l)road-cist, after the land had received it3
last plowin;;, ami harrowin;; it in, a few days or weeks before sow-
ing the wheat. He rarely applied less than 100 bushels of stouc-
lime to the acre — generally 150 bushels. He used to say that a
small do.se of lime did little or no irood. He wanted to use enough
to clianire the general character of the land — to make the light land
firmer and the heavy laml lighter.

Wliilc I was with Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert at Hi>(hanisted, I
went home on a visit. My f.ither had a four-horse team drawing
lime every day, and putting it in lar^'C heaps io the field to slake,
before spreading it on the land for wheal.

" I do not believe it pays you to draw so much lime," .^aid I, with
tlie coiifiden<e whicli a young man who has learned a liltleof agri-
cultural chemistry, is ai)t to feel in his newly acquired knowledge.

" Perhaps not," said my fatln-r, " but we have got to do some-
thing for the land, or the crops will be poor, and |)oor crops do not
pay these times. What would you u^e instead of lime ? " — "Lime
is not a manure, strictly speaking." .saiil I; "a bushel to the acre
would furnisli all the lime the crops require, even if there was not
an al)undant supjily already in the .soil. If you mix lime with
guano, it sets free the ammonia ; and when you mix lime with the
soil it probably decomposes .some compounds containini; ammonia
or the elements of annnonia, and thus furnishes a supply of ammo-
nia for the plants. I think it would be cheaper to buy ammonia
in the shape of Peruvian guan«)."

After dinner, my father asked me to take a walk over the farm.
We came to a field of barley. Standing at one end of the field,
about the middle, he asked me if I could see any difTerence in the
crop. "Oh, yes," I replicil, "the barley on the right-hand is far
better than on the left hand. The straw is stifTer and brighter, and
the heads larger and heavier. I should think the right half of the
field will be ten Inishels per acre better than the other."

"So I think," he said, "and now can you tell me why?" —
"Probalily you manured one half the field for turnips, and not the
otiier half." — " No." — " Yoii may have drawn offtlie turnips from
half the field, and fed them off by sheepon the other half."— " No,
both siiles were treated precisely alike."— I c^ave it up — "Well,"
said he, " this half the field on the riuht-hand was limed, thirty
years ago, and that is the only reason I know for the difference.
And now you need not tell me that lime does not pay."

I can well understand how this might happen. The system of

LI Mi: AS A MAMliK. 217

rolafmn a-lopl.-d w.s. Isl . l..vcr. -Jd wheat, M turnips, 4th barh-y,
socilcil with I lover.

Now you put «.n. sav 150 bu.hcls ..f Ihnc for wheal. Afi-r the
when the land is manured and sown with turnips. The tiirn.i)8
»re eaten off <.n the land by sheep ; and it is reasonable to suppose
that on th.. half of th field dressed with lime there would be a
mueh heavier erop of turn.ps. These- turnips being eaten oH by
the sheep would furnish m-re manure f<.r this half than the other
naif Th.n a-ain, when the land was in grass or elover, the
lin»ed half w.uild alTord more and sweeter grass and elover than
the other half, and the sheip would ninain on it longer. 1 hey
would eat it elo.se into the ground, going ..nly on to the other half
when th.y eould not gc t «nough U» eat .m the lime.l half. M..re
of their droppings would be left on the limed half of the held.
The lime, too. would (ontinue to a. t for several years; but even
after all direet benefit from the lime had ceased, it is easy to un-
derstand why the crops might be better for a long period of time.
" Do you think lime would do any good," asked the Deacon, " on
our limestone land ? "-I certainly d<.. So far as I have seen, it
docs just as much goo»l here in Western New York, as it did on
my faMier'8 farm. I should use it very freely if we could get it
cheap enouirh-but we are charged from 2.-) to 30 cts. a bushel for
it, and I d.. not think at these nites it will piy to use it. Even gold
mav be bouir'it to dear.

"You should burn vour own lime." said the Deacon. " you have
plenty of limestone on the farm, an<l could use up your down
wood."— 1 believe it woidd pav me to do so, but one man cannot
do everythinjT. I think if farmers wouM u.se more lime for manure
we should get it cheaper. The demand would increase with com-
petition, and we should soon get it at its re.il value. At 10 to 1.-5
cents a bushel. I feel sure that wc could use lime as a manure with
very great benefit.

"I was much interested some years airo," said the Doctor, "m
the results of Prof. Way's investigations in regard to the absorp-
tive powers of soils."

His experiments, since repeated and confirmed by other chem-
ists, formed a new epoch in a-rieullural chemistry. They afforded
some new suggestions in regard to how lime may benefit land.

Prof. Wav found that ordinary soils possessed the power of sep-

aratimr. from solution in water, the different earthy and alkaline

substances presented to them in manure ; thus, when solutions of

salts of ammonia, of potash, magnesia, etc., were made to filter

10

218 TALKS ON MANURES.

slowly through a l»0(l of dry soil, five or six inches deep, arranged
in a flowerpot, or otlior siiitablo vessel, it was observed tliat the
liquid wbieh ran through, no longer contained any of the ammonia
or other salt employed. The soil bad, in some form (jr other, re-
tained the alkaline substance, while the water in which it was pre
viously dissolved passed through.

Further, this power of the soil was found not to extend to the
whole salt of ammonia or potash, but only to the alkali itself. If,
for instance, sulphate of ammonia were the compound used in the
experiments, the ammonia would be removed from solution, but
the filtered liquid would contain sulj^huric acid in abundance —
not in the free or uncombined form, but united to lime; instead of
sulphate of ammonia we should find sulpiiate of lime in the solu-
tion; and this result was obtained, whatever the acid of the sail
experimented upon might be.

It was found, moreover, that the process of filtration was by no
means necessary, by the mere mixing of an akalinc solution with
a proper quantity of soil, as by shaking them together in a bottle,
and allowing the Soil to subside, the same result was obtained.
The action, therefore, was in no way referable to any physical
law brought into operation by the process of filtration.

It was also found that the eombinati<m between the soil and
the alkaline .'substance was rapid, if not in.'^tantaneous, partaking
of the nature of tlie ordinary union between an acid and an alkali.

In the course of these experiments, several diflerent soils were
operated upon, and it was found that all soils capable of profitable
cultivation possessed this property in a gi eater or less degeee.

Pure sand, it was found, did not possess this property. The
organic matter of the soil, it was proved, had nothing to do with
it. Tlie addition of carbonate of lime to a soil did not increase its
absorptive power, and indeed it was found that a soil in which car-
bonate of lime did not exist, possessed in a high degree the power
of removing ammonia or potash from solution.

To what, then, is the power of soils to arrest ammonia, potash,
magnesia, phosphoric acid, etc., owing? The above experiments
lead to the conclusion that it is due to the cbiy which they contain.
In the language of Prof. Way, however,

" It still remained to be considered, whether the whole clay
took any active part in these changes, or whether there existed in
clay some chemical compound in small quantity to -which the
action wns due. This question was to be decided by the extent to
which clay was able to unite with ammonia, or other alkaline
bases; and it soon became evident that the idea of the clay as a

LIMK AS A MANURE. 219

whole, hcinij the cause of tlio absorptive property, was inconsis-
tent Willi all the asccrtaint-d laws of chemical coniliination."

After a series of experiments, Prof. Way came to tlic couclusioa
that there is iu clays a peculiar class of double silicates to which
the absorptive properties of soil are due. lie found that the double
silicate of alumini and lime, or soda, whether found naturally in
soils or produced artiticially, would be decomposed when a salt of
ammonia, or poUish, etc., was mixed with it, the ammonia, or pot-
ash, taking the place of the lime or soda.

Prof. Way's discovery, then, is not that soils have " absorptive
properties" — that has been Ion? known — but that they absorb am-
monia, potash, phosphoric acid, etc., by virtue of the double sili-
cate of alumina and soda, or lime, etc., which they contain.

Soils are also found to have the power (»f absorbing ammonia,
or rather carbonate of ammonia, from the air.

" It has long been known," says Prof. Way, " that soils acquire
fertility by exposure to the influence of the atmosphere — hence one
of the uses of fallows. * * I find that clay is so greedy of ammonia,
that if air, charged with carbonate of ammonia, so as to be highly
pungent, is passed through a tube filled with small fragments of
dry clay, every pi rt.'cle of (h? g is is arrested."

This power of the soil to absorb ammonia, is also due to the
double silicates. But there is this remarkable difference, that while
either the lime, soda, or potas'.i silicate is capable of removing the
ammonia from solut'on, the lime silicate alone has the power of ab-
sorbing it from the air.

This is an important fact. Lime may act beneficially on many
or most soils by converting the soda silicate into a lime silicate, or,
in other words, converting a salt that will not absorb carbonate of
ammonia from the air, into a salt that has this important property.

There is no manure that has been so extensively used, and with
such general success as lime, and yet, " who among us," remarks
Prof. Way, " can say that he perfectly understands the mode in
which lime acts ? " We are told that lime sweetens the soil, by neu-
tralizing any acid character that it may possess ; that it assists tJ3
decomposition of inert organic matters, and t'lerefore increases the
supply of vegetable food to plants : that it decomposes the remains
of ancient rocks containing potash, soda, magnesia, etc., occurring
in most soils, and that at the same time it liberates silica from these
rocks; and lastly, that lime is one of the substances found uni-
formly ana in considerable quantity in the ashes of plants, that
therefore its application may be beneficial simply as furnishing a
material indispensable to the substance of a plant.

220 TALKS ON MAN CUES.

These explanations arc no donltt pood as far as they iro, but
experience furnishes many fads wliieh cannot beexphiiiied by any
one, or all, of these suppositions. Lime, we all know, does much
good on soils abounding in orjranij matter, and so it frequently
does on soils ahnost destitute of 't. It may liberate pi)tasii, soda,
silica, •■tc, from clay soils, i)ut the application of potash, soda, and
silica has little benelicial effect on the soil, and therefore we can-
not account for the action of lime on the supposition that it ren-
ders the potash, soda, ct<'.,of the soil available to plants. Further-
more, lime ctFecls great siood on soils abounding in salts of lime,
and thcref'-re it cannot be that it operates as a source of lime for
the structure of the plant.

None of the existing theories, therefore, aatisfr.ctorily account
for the action of lime. Prof. Way's views are most consistent with
tljc facts of practical experience; but they are confes.sedly hypo-
thetical; and his more recent investigati(ms d'» not confirm the
idea that lime acts beneficially by converting the soda silicate into
the lime silicate.

Thus, six .<;oils were treated with lime water until they had alv
sorbed from one and a half t » two per cent of their weight of limo.
This, supposing the soil to be six inches deep, would be at the rate
of about 300 bushels of lime p r acre. Tiie amoimt of ammonia in
the soil was determined before liming, after liming and then after
being exposed to the fume-i of carltonale ammonia until it had ab-
sorbed as much as it would. The following table exhibits the results:

iNo. 1.1 No. a. No. 8. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6.

Ammonia in 1,000 prains of natural I

soil O.Sai'o.lSl 0.08.". 0.109 0.137 O.0S3

Ammonia in l.()00 gniius of Boil af.er I i

limin;^ 0.1(» 0.102 0.040 O.OSO 0.051

Ammonia in 1.000 ;;ni!na of soil after III

limin:; and cxpoBiirc to the vopor of 'I

ammonia 2.226 ! 2.060 .'$.297 1.070 3.265 1.887

Ammonia in 1.0 tO grain;' of soil after i

exposure to ammonia without liming 1.506 2.557 .3.286 1.097 2.615 2.088

No. 1. Surface .«i)il of Lo-idon clay.

No. 2. Same soil from I^ ti> 2 feot below the eurface.

No. :i. Same soil ."J f'-ot hi low tho surface.

No. 4. Loam of tertian- drift I feet below the enrfacc.

No. .I. (Jau't clay— surfaci,' soil.

No. 6. Ciraltclay 1 feet below the surface.

It is evident that lime neither assisted nor interfered with the
absorption of ammonia, and hence the beneficial effect of liming
on such soils must be accounted for on some other supposition.
This negative result, however, does not disprove the truth of Prof.
Way's hypothesis, for it may be that the silicate salt in the natural
soils was that of lime and not that of soda. Indeed, the extent to

MME AS A MANri:K. ~~'

which the natural soils ahsorlx-il ammonia— oqual, in No. o, to
about 7U0() ll>s. of ammonia per aero, cMiuivuknt to the quantily
conUiino.l in 700 tons of barn-yard manure— shows this to have
been the ease.

The liiiuslibeniUd oiif-hilf the ammonia ronUiined tn (he foil.
"This resu t," says Prof. Way. "is so nearly the same in all
cases, that we are justitie I in b.lievin- it to be due to some special
cause, and probably it arises from the existence of some compound
silicates contiinin? ammonia, of which lime under the circum-
stances can r. i.lace onc-half-formimr, for instance, a double sdi-
a;te of alumina, with half lime and half ammonia—such com-
pounds arc not unusual or new to the chemist."

This loss of ammonia from a heavy drcssin- of lime is very
CTeat A soil five in»hes deep, w.iirhs. in n.und numlxrs, 500 tons,
or 1 000 000 lbs. The soil. No. I, <ontaiiu- 1 .0293 per cent of am-
monia, or in an acre, five inches deep, -.):} lbs. After limin..', it
contained .OIGK per cent, or in an acre, five inches deep, lOJ lbs
The loss bv liming is 124 lbs. of ammonia per acre. This is equal
to the quantity contained in 1200 lbs. of good Peruvian guano, or
12i tons of barn var 1 manure. ,

In commenting on this great lo^s of ammonia from limin-.
Prof. Wav observes :

" Is it not possible, that for the profiUible agricultural use, the
ammonia of the soil is t<iO ti-htly locked up in it? Can we sup-
pose that the verv powers of the soil U> unite with and preserve
the Clements of manure are, however excellent a provision of
nature, yet in some de-ree opposed to the growth of tlic abnormal
crops which it is the business of the farmer to cultivate ? There
is no absolute reason why such should not be the c ise. A provision
of nature must relate to natural circumstances; f.)r instance, con?
pounds of ammonia mivhe found in the soil, capable of giving out
to the a-encies of water and air quite enou-h of ammonia for the
growth of ordinarv plant-s and the preservation of their species ;
but this supply mav be totally ina.l.quatc to the necessities of man.
• ♦ * Now it is not impossible that the laws which preserve the
supply of ve-etable nutrition in the soil, are too stringent for the
requirements of an unusual and excessive vegetation, such as the
cultivator must promote.

" In the case of ammonia locked up in the soil, lime may be the
remedy at the command of t'.ie farraer-his means of rendering
immediately available stores of wealth, waich can otherwise only
slowly be brou<_'lit into use.

" In this view, lime would well deserve the somewhat vague

222 TALKS OV MAXIRBS.

nime that has been given it, namely, that of a ' stimulant ' ; for its
appiic-ation would be in some sort an application of ammonia,
whil ' its excessive application, by clrivnig off ammonia, would
k-ad to all the disastrous effects wiiich are so justly attributed to it.
"I do not wish to push tliis assumption too far." says Prof.
Way, in conclusion, "but if there be any truth in it, it points out
the import.inc(' of employ! g ''"^c in small (luaiitities at short in-
tervals, rather than in large doses once in many years."

"The Squire, last year," said the Deacon, "drew several hundred
bushels of refuse lime from tlie kiln, and mixed it with his ma-
nure. It made a powerful smi-ll, an 1 not an agreeaide one, to the
passers by. He put llic mixture on a twenty-acre field of wheat,
and hi said he was going to beat you."

" Yes," said I, " so I un lerstoo 1 — l»ut he did not do it. If he
ha 1 applied the lime and the manure separately, he would have
stood a better chance; still, there are two sides to the question.
I should not think of mixing lime witli good, rich farm-yard ma-
nure; but with long, coarsf. strawy manure, there would be less
injury, and i)ossibly some advantage."

"Tlie S I'lin-," said the Deacon. " got one advantage. He had
not much trouble in drawing the manure about the land. There
was not much of it left."

Lime does not always decompose organic matter. In certain
conditions, it will prtserve vegetaiile substances. We do not want
to mix lime with manure in order to preserve it; and if our object
is to increase fermentation, we must be careful to mix sufficient soil
with the manure to keep it moist enough to retain the liberated
ammonia.

Many farmers who use lime for the first time on wheat, are apt
to feel a little discouraged in the spring. I hive frequently seen
limed wheat in the spring look worse thfiu where no lime was
used. But wait a little, and you will see a change for the better,
and at harvest, the lime will generally give a good account of itself.

There is one thing about lime which, if generally true, is an im-
portant matter to our wheat-growers. Lime is believed to hasten
the maturity of the crop. " It is true of nearly all our cultivated
crops," says the late Professor Johnston, " but especially of those
of wheat, that their full growth is attained more speedily when
the land is limed, and that they are ready for the harvest from
ten to fourteen days earlier. This is the cise even witii buck-

LI Mi: AS A MANUUh. •—"»

wh.at which becomes sooner ripe, though it yields no larger a
relur./ when lime is applied t.. the hmd on which it is .'?rown

1„ ui^trkts where the mid^-e aff.cts the wheat. U is exceedingly
imp<.rtant to get a variety of wheat that ripens early ; and if mie
will favor early maturity, without checking the growth, it will be
of great value.

A correspondent in Delaware writes: "I have used lime as.
manure in various ways. For low land, the best way is, t<. sow it
Troaacast while the vegetation is in a green state, at the ra e of 40
or 50 bushels to the a.re ; but if I can not use it before the frost
kills the ve-'Ctation. I wait until the land is plowed in the spring,
when I spread it on the plowed u-rnuud in about the same cp.ant.ty
as before Last year, I tried il bo.h ways, and the result was my
crop w,us increased at least fourlold in each instance, but that
used on the veirelation was best. The soil is a low, black sa»d.

A farmer writes frou. New Jersey, that he has used ov. r
C 000 bushels of lime on his farm, and also considerable guano and
nh..sphates, but considers tnat the lime has pail the best. Is
farm has mole than doubled in real value, and he attributes this

prinfipallv to the use of lime.

^ MU- lime." he says, "whenever it i3 convenient but prefer to
put it on at least one year before plov.ing the land We spread
from 25 to 40 bushels of lime on the sod in the fall ; plant with
corn the f.dlowing summer; next spring, sow with oats and
clover; and the ne..t summer, plow under the c over and sow
with wheat and timothy. We have a variety of soils from a
sandy loam to a stiff clay, and are certain that lime will pay on
all or any of them. Some of the best farmers in our C..unty com-
menced iiminir when the lime cost 25 cts. a bushel, and their farms
are ahead yet, more in value, I indge. than tue hme cost The
man who first commences using lime, will get so far ahead, whUe
his neighbors arc looking on. that they will never catch up. ^^

Another correspondent in Hunterdon Co., >*. J., writes : r.^-
perience has tauirht me that the best and most profitable mode of
Applying lime is on grass land. If the grass seed is «own in the
fill with the wheat or rye, which is the common practice with us
in New Jersey, as soon as the l-.arvcst comes off the next year, we
apply the lime with the least delay, and while fresh slacked and in
a dry .and mealy state. It can be spread more evenly on the
ground, and is in a state to be more readily taten „p by the fine
roots of the plants, than if allowed to got wet and clammy. It m
found most beneficial to keep it as near the surface of the ground

224 TALKS OX JIANCRES.

as practicable, as the specific gravity or weight of this mineral
manure is so great, that we soon find it too deep in the ground for
the librous roots of plants to derive the greatest possible benefit
from its use. With this method of application are connected sev-
eral advantages. The Ii:iie can be hauled in the fall, after the
bu.«!y season is over, and when spread on the sod in this way, comes
in more immediate contact with the grass and grass-roots than
when the land is first plowed. In fields that have been limed in
part in this manner, and then plowed, and lime applied to the
remainder at the time of planting with corn, I always observe a
great dillerence in the corn-crop ; and in plowing up the stubble
the next season, the part limed on the sod is much mellower than
that limed after the sod was broken, presenting a rich vegetable
mould not observed in the other part of the field."

A farmer in Chester Co., Pa., also prefers to apply lime to newlj-.
seeded gras.s or clover. He puts on 100 bushels of slaked lime per
acre, cither in tlie fall or in tlie spring, as most convenient. He
limes one field every year, and as the farm is laid off into eleven
fields, all the land receives a dressing of lime once in eleven years.

In some sections of the country, where lime has been used for
many years, it is possible that part of the money might better be
used in the purchase of guano, phosphates, fish-manure, etc. ; while
in this section, where we seldom use lime, we might find it great-
1}' to our interest to give our land an occasional dressing of lime.

The value of q ick-lime as a manure is not merely in supplying
an actual constituent of the plant. If it was, a few pounds per
acre would be sufiicient. Its value consists in changing the chem-
ical anl physical character of the soil — in developing the latent
mineral plant-food, and in decomposing and rendering available
organic matter, and in forming compounds which attract ammonia
from the atmospliere. It may be that we can purchase this am-
monia and other plant- food cheaper tlian we can get it by using
lime. It depends a good deal on the nature and composition of
the soil. At present, this question can not be definitely settled,
except by actual trial on the farm. In England, where lime was
formerly used in large quantities, the tendency for some time has
been towards a more liberal and direct use of ammonia and phos-
phates in manures, rather tlian to develop them out of the soil by
the use of lime. A judicious combination of tlie two systems will
probably be found the most profitable.

Making composts with old sods, lime, and barn-yard manure, is

LIME AS A MANL'IIE. ZZi)

a time-honored praclicc in Europe. I have seen oxcclknt nsiills
from llie application of sucii a compost on mcadow-Iaiid. The
usu.d plan is, to select an old hcd^o-row or headland, which has
lain waste for iiiany years. Plow it up, and cart the soil, sods,
etc., into a long, narrow heap. Mi.\ lime with it, and let it lie six
months or a year. Then turn it, and as soon as it is tine and mel-
low, draw it on to llie land. I have a^^sistcd at making' many a
heap of this kind, but do not recollect the proporlioti of lime used;
in fact, I (juestion if we had any definite rule. If we wanted to
use lime on tlie land, we put more in the hea]>; if not, less. Tlie
manure was u.^ually put in wlien the heap was turned.

Dr. Voelcker analyzed the dry earth used in the closets at the
prison in Wakefield, England, lie found that:

Nitro- J'/iosp/ior-

ifit. XV Ai-itl.

10 tons of dry earth bofore usint; contained 6'i lbs. 36 1I)r.

10 tons of dry cartli after t)oinij used once contnined... 74 " 50 "

10 tons (if dry citrtli after ticing used twice cnntainetl.. 84 " 88 "

10 tons of dry eartti after being used thrice contained. 10^ " 102 "

After looking at the alcove figures, the Deacon remarked : " You
say 10 tons of dry earth before jjeing used in the closet contained
62 lbs. of nitrogen. How much nitrogen does 10 tons of barn-
yaid manure contain?"

"That depends a good deal on what food the animals eat. Ten tons
of average fresh manure would contain about 80 lbs. of nitrogen."

" Great are the mysteries of chemistry ! " exclaimed the Deacon.
"Ten tons of dry earth contain almost as much nitrogen as 10
tons of barn-yard manure, and yet you think that nitrogen is the
mo;>t valuable thing in manure. What shall we be told next ?"

" You will be told. Deacon, that :he nitrogen in the soil is in
such a form that the plants can take up only a small i)f)rtion of it.
But if you will plow such land in the fall, and expose it to the
disintegrating eJfccts of the frost, and plow it again in the fiprinir,
and let the sun and air act upon it, more or less of the organic
matter in the soil will be decomposed, and the nitrogen rendered
solulde. And then if you sow this land to wheat after a good
summer- fallow, you will stand a chance of having a great crop."

This dry earth which Dr. Voplcker analyzed appeared, he says,
"to be ordinary garden soil, containing a con-iderable portion of
clay." After it had been passed once through the closet, one ton
of it was .'spread on an acre of grass-land, which produced 2 tons
8 cwt. of hay. In a second experiment, one ton, once pa.sscd
through the closet, produced 2 tons 7 cwt. of hay per acre. We
are not told how much ha}- the land produced without an}' dress-

226 TALKS OX .MANURES.

ing at all. Still we may infer that this top-dressing did considera-
ble good. Of one thing, however, there can be no doubt. This one
ton of earth manure contained -.^uly li lb. more nitrogen and 1^ lb.
more phosphoric acid than a ton of the dry earth itself. Why
then did it prove so valuable as a top-dressing for grass ? I will
not say that it was due solely to the decomposition of the nitro-
genous mailer and other plant-food in the earth, caused Ity the
working over and sifting and exposure to ihe air, and to the action
of the nighl-soil. Still it would seem that, so far as the beneficial
effect was due to the supply of plant-food, we must attribute it to
the eartii itself ratlier than to the small amount of night-soil
•which it contained.

It is a very common thing in England, as I have said before, for
farmers to make a compost of the sods and earth from an old
hedge-row, ditch, or fence, and mix with it some lime or barn-
yard manure. Then, after turning it once or twice, and allow-
ing it to remain in the heap for a few months, to spread it on
meadow-land. I have seen great benefit apparently derived from
sucii a top-dressing. The young grass in the spring a.ssumed a
rich, dark green color. I have observed the same effect where
coal-a.<5hes were spread on grass-land ; and I have thought that
the apparent 1)enefit was due largely to the material acting as a
kind of mulch, rather than to :ts supplying plant-food to the grass.

I doubt very much whether we can afford to make such a com-
post of earth with lime, a.shes. or manure in this country. But I
feel sure that those of us having ricli day land containing, in an
inert form, as much nitrogen and phosphoric acid as Dr. Va^lcker
found in Ihe soil to b" used in the earth-closet at Wakefield, can
well afford to stir it freely, and expose it to the disintegrating and
decomposing action of the atmosphere.

An acre of dry soil six inches deep weighs about 1,000 tons; and
consequently an acre of such soil as we are talking about would
contain 6,200 lbs. of nitrogen, and 8,600 lbs. of phosphoric acid. In
other words, it contains to the depth of only six inches as much
nitrogen as would lie furnished by 775 tons of common barn-yard
manure, and as much phosphoric acid as 900 tons of manure.
With such facts as these before us, am I to blame for urging farmers
to cultivate tlieir land more thoroughly? I do not know that my
land or the Deacon's is as rich as this English soil ; but,at any rate,
I see no reason why such should not be the case.

MANURES FOU DARLEY. 227

CHAPTEK XXIX.
MANURES FOR BARLEY.

Messrs. Lawcs ami Gill)crt have j)ublisbeJ the results of experi-
ments witli tlitrcrciit manures on barley grown annually on the
same land for twenty years in succession. The experiments com-
menced in l>i')2.

The soil is of the same general chanicter as that in the field on
tlie same farm where wheat was grown annually for so many
years, and of which we have given such a full account. It is what
we should call a calcareous clay loam. On my farm, we have
what the men used to call " clay sjjots." These spots var\' in sb,e
from two acres down to the tentli of an acre. Tliey rarely pro-
duced even a fair crop of corn or potatoes, and the barley was sel-
dom wortli harvesting. Since 1 have drained the land and taken
special pains to bestow e.vtra care in plowing and working these
hard and iiitraftable portions of the fields, the "da}' sjxits" have
disappeared, and are now nothing more than good, rather stiff, clay
loam, admirably adapted for wheat, barley, and oats, and capable
of producing good crops of corn, potatoes, and mangel-wurzcls.

The land on which Mr. Lawes' wheat and barley experiments
were made is not dissimilar in general character from these "clay
spots." If the land was only half-worked, we should call it clay;
but being thoroughly cultivated, it is a good clay loam. Mr.
Lawes describes it as " a somewhat heav>' loam, with a subsoil of
raw, yellowish red clay, but resting in its turn upon chalk, which
provides good natural drainage."

The part of the fiild devoted to the experiments was divided
into 24 plots, about the fifth of an acre each.

Two plots were left without manure of any kind.

One plot was manured every year with 14 tons per acre of farm-
yard manure, and the other plots "with manures,'' to quote Dr.
Gilbert, " which respectively supplied certain constituents of farm-
yard manure, separately or in combination."

In England, the best barley soils are usually lighter than the
best wheat soils. This is probably due to the fact that barley
usually follows a crop of turnips — more or less of which are eaten
off on the land by sheep. The trampling of the sheep compresses
the soil, and makes even a light, sandy one firmer in texture.

In this country, our best wheat land is also oar best barley
land, provided it is in good heart, and is very thoroughly worked.

228

TALKS ON MANURES.

It is no use sowing barley on heavy land half worked. It will do
better on light soils ; but if the clayey soils are made fine and mel-
low, they produce with us the best barley.

In chemical composition, barley is quite similar to wheat. Mr.
Lawes and Dr. Gilbert civc the composition of a wheat-crop of 80
bushels per acre, 1,800 lbs. of grain, and 3,000 lbs. of straw; and
of a crop of barley, 40 bushels per acre, 2,080 lbs. grain, and 2,500
lbs. of straw, as follows :

In Grain

Nitropcn

Phosphoric acid.

Potach

Lime

MH(;DC8ia

Silica

In Straw.

W/ieat.

BarUnj.

\be.

lbs.

13.

12.

7.

5.

20.5

18.5

9.

10.5

3.

2.5

99.5

M.

in Total Produce.

/■

Wheat.

Barley.

IbB.

lbs.

4'j.

45.

2.J.

22.

30.

30.

10.

12.

«.5

6.5

100.

75.

A few years ago, when the midge destroyed our wheat, many
farmers in Western New York raised "winter barley," instead of
" winter wheat," and I have seen remarkably heavy crops of thi.s
winter barley. It is not now grown with us. The maltsters would
not pay as much for it as for spring barley, and as the midge
troubles us less, our farmers are raising winter wheat again.

Where, as with us, we raise winter wheat and spring bailey, the
difference between the two crops, taking the above estimate of
yield and proportion of grain to straw, would be:

1st. Almost identical composition in regard to nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid, potash, lime, and magnesia ; but as it has more straw,
the wheat -crop removes a larger amount of silica than barley.

2d. The greatest difference is in the lcn','th of time tiie two
crops are in the ground. We sow our winter wheat the last of
August, or the first and second week in September. Before win-
ter sets in, the wheat-plant often throws out a bunch of roots a
foot in length. During the winter, though the thermometer goes
down frequently to zero, and sometimes 10 to 15 below zero, yet
if the land is well covered with snow, it is not improbable that the
roots continue to absorb more or less food from the ground, and
store it up for future use. In the spring, the wheat commences to
grow before we can get the barley into the ground, though not to
any consideralile extent. I have several times sown barley as soon
as the surface-soil was thawed out five or si.K inches deep, but with
a bed of solid frozen earth beneath.

3d. Two-rowed barley does not ripen as early as winter wheat,
but our ordinary six-rowed barley is ready to harvest the same
time as our winter wheat.

MANURES FOR BARLKT. 2ii9

4th. Wc SOW our barley usually in May, and harvest it in July,
The barley, therefore, has to take up its food rapidly. If wc ex-
pect a good growth, we must provide a good supply of food, and
have it in the proper condition for the roots to reach it and absorb
it; in otlier words, the land must be not only rich, but it must he
6o well worked that the roots can spread out easily and rapidly in
search of food and water. In this country, you will hud ten good
wbcat-growers to one good barley grower.

" That is so," saiil the Deacon ; " but tell us about Mr. Liiwcs'
experiments. I have more confidence in them than in your spec-
ulations. And first of all \\hat kind of land was the barley grown
on ? "

" It is," said I, " nither heavy hind — as heavy as what the men
call ' cl.iy-spot.s,' on my farm."

" And on those day-spots," said the Deacon, "you either get
very good barley, or a crop not worth harvesting."

" You have hit it exactly. Deacon," said I. "The b(st barley I
have this year (1878) is on Ihise clay-spots. And the reason is,
that wc gave liiem an extra plowing last fall with a three-horse
plow. Tha> extra plowing has probably given me an extra 30
bushels of barley per acre. The barley on some of the lighter por-
tions of the field will not yield over 25 bushels per acre. On t'lc
cl.iy-sj>ots, it looks now (June 13) as though there would be over
50 bushels per acre. It is all headed out handsomely on the clay-
spots, and has a strong, dark, luxuriant appearance, while on the
sand, the crop is later and has a yellow, sickly look."

" Tou ouglit," said the Doctor, " to have top-dressed these poor,
sandy parts of the field with a little superphosphate and nitrate
of soda."

" It would have paid wonderfully well," said I, " or, perhaps,
more correctly speaking, the loss would have been considerably
less. "We have recently been advised by a distinguished writer, to
apply manure t) our best land, and let the poor land take care of
itself. But where the poor Ipnd is i i the same field with the good,
we are obliged to plow, harrow, cultivate, sow, and harvest the
poor spots, and the question is, whether we shall make them capa-
ble of producing a good crop by the application of manure, or be
at all the labor and expense of putting in and harvesting a crop
of chicken-feed and weeds. Artificial manures give us a grand
chance to make our crops more uniform."

"You are certainly riglit there," said the Doctor, "but let us
examine the Rothamsted experiments on barley."

You will find the results in the following tables. The manures

230 TALKS ON MANURES.

used, arc in many respects the same as were adopted in the wheat
experiments already given. The mineral or ash constituents were
supplied as follows:

Potdsh — as sulphate of potash.
Soda — as sulphate of soda.
Magnesia — as s^ulpliatP of mai^nosia.
Lime — as sulphate, phosphate, and superphosphate.
Pliosphoric acid — as bone-ash, mixed with suflicient sulphuric
acid to convert most of the insoluble earliiy pbnsphale of
lime into sulphate and soluble superphosphate of lime.
Sulphuric acid — in the phosi)hatic mixture just mentioned; in
sulphates of potash, soda, and magnesia; in sulphate of am-
monia, etc.
Chlorine — in muriate of ammonia.
Silica — as artificial silicate of soda.
Other constituents were supplied as under:
Nitrogen — as sulphate and muriate of ammonia; as nitrate of

soda: in farm-yard manure; in rape-cake.
Non-nitrogenous org>tnic matter, yielding by decomposition, car-
bonic acid, and other products — in yard manure, in rapc-cakc.
The artificial manure or mixture for each i)lot was ground up, or
otherwise mixed, with a suflicient quantity of soil and turf-aslics
to make it up to a convenient measure for equal distributiim over
tlic laud. Tiie mixtures so jirepaied were, with proper ]T((aiiti()ns,
sown broadcast by hand; as it has been found that the application
of an exact amount of manure, to a limited area of land, can bo
best accomplished in that way.

The same manures were used on the same plot each year. Any
exceptions to this rule are mentioned in foot-notes.

MANUr.ES I'OU MAULEY.

231

EXPERIMBNTS ON TTIB (iROWTn OF BaRLET, TEAR AFTER TEAR, ON THE

SAUK LAND, WITIIOIT MaNCICE, AM) WITH DIKFEKKNT rESCUlPTIONS

OF MaNIHIJ. IIOOS FlEM), RoTIIAMSTED, KNGLAND.

TABLK I.— snowiNo. tiil^n together tcilh the foot-note-; the nrsirRH'TioN and

QUAKTITIKS OF THE MAM KES AI'I'LIKl" I'EB APRK ON EACH I'LOT, l.N KACH
YEAR OF TUB TWENTY, 1S52 1S71 INlLfBlVK.

[N. B. Thl» table has reference to all the hucceedluK Tables].

PloU.

1 o.

3 O.
S O.

4 O.

1 A.

2 A.
8 A.

IIAK(7B>S PBB ACBB, PER ANNUM iu»/<!«« Otherwise stated
in thefoot-noteM). I

PloU.

ri A\.

2 AA.

3 AA.

(\ AAS
2 A.VS

S AAS

.4 AAS

fl C.
2 C.
SC.

[4 C.

TTJ2N.

6 O.
S A.

!<1

Unmanurert cuntlnuougly

3S cwts. Siiix'rphospi.ale of Lime •

2iUll).'<. tSuli'!i:ii<' >r Toiasg, lUUlbs. % Sulphate Soda, lOUlba.
Sulphate N!

2U0 ii)g. t M: ^ 1UU lbs. X Sulphate Soda, lOU lbs.
Siilphaii' " cwl!). Superphu-pi ate

a") Ib.t. .Mil

aaUh.s. .\ii) -. Super phosphate

am lt>9. .\ii t Sulphate PotanH, 100 lbs. t ,
Suli«liuii - . itc MaK'Dola

201 Itih. AiiiiiiouU t,.i;:», Au ibi. t Sulphate Potass, UO lbs. t '
Sulplmie Soda, UIU lbs. Sulphate MaKDesIa, 3^ cwts. Su
perpliosphale t

275 lbs. Nil rate Sinl:i

2T5 lbs. Nitrate S.nia, :i i cwts. Su'ii-rpliogpliate

275 lbs. NIrt-at.- s,. la, iO lbs. t Sulphate Potass, I'X) lbs. i
Sulphate SoJa. W Ibd. Sulphate Ma.-iiesla

275 lbs. Mt ate Soda, AVI lbs. t Sulphate Potass, 100 lbs. t,
Sulphate Soila. no lbs. Sulphate .Slagucsia, 3^ cwts. Su-
perphosphate I

275 lbs. NUrati- Suda, 4<«i Ihs. "T Silicate .'^oda |

275 lbs. Nlir.ii.' .-oda. 100 lbs. ^ Silicate Soda, 3H cwts. Su-
perpli'.Bpli.ite

275 lbs. Nitrate Soda, 4i>i lbs. " Silicate Soda. 3X1 lbs. t Sul-
phate P.ita.-<s. lUO lbs. : Sulphate Soda. IW lbs. Sulpbato
Slatniesla i

275 lbs. Nitrate Snda. 400 lbs. i: Silicate Soda, 300 lbs. t Sul-
phate Potiusg, 10» lbs. : Sulphate Soda, 100 lbs. Sulphate I
Ma;;ue-la, :t'.. ewts. Superphosphate

lao Iba. l;ape-eake

lOUMbs UaiK-eake, 3S cwts. Superphosptiate.

luOO lbs. laj>e-cake. 'M lh«. t Suliiliate p..ta-8, 100 lbs. i Sul-

1 pliale Soda. h«i lbs. Mipliate .vlaKnc^ia

icon lbs. Kape-ca^e. 200 lbs. t Sulphate Potass, 100 lbs. J Sul- j

I pliaie s>>da, luu lbs .>^ulphate Mat^iiesla, 3)^ cwta. Super-

I ph 'Sphate

2;5 Ibj. Nitrate Soda

275 lbs. Nitrate Soda (550 lbs. Nitrate for 5 years, 1853, 4, 5, 6, 1

I and 7) I

lOo lbs. XX Sulphate Sod*, lOu lbs. Sulphate Mapnesla, 3^
cwts. Superphosphate .coininenclug 1855; 1852, 3, and 4,

I uninaniinili

200 lbs. + Sulphate Potass, 3'«; cwts. Superphosphate (2C01b8.

I .\iiimoiila-salts also, for the first year, 1852, only; I

20t) lbs. t Sulphate Potass, 3H cwts. Superphosphate, 200 lbs
Arauionla-salts

C niuanu red con 1 1 nuously

lAshes burnt--oll and tui^)

14 Tons Farmyard- .Manure

1 O.

2 O.

4 O.

1 A.

2 A.

3 A.

4 A.

1 AA.

2 A A.

3 AA. \ I

4 AA.

1 AAS

4 AAS.

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4C.

1 N.

M.

S O.

5 A.

n

NOXr.S TO TABLE I.

•"3S cwts. Superphosphate of Lime'— In all cases, made from 200 lbs. Boa&>
asb, 150 lbs. Sulphuric aejil sp. pr. 1.7 and water .

t Sulphate Potass :««• lbs. per annum for the first 6 years. 1S52-7.

i Sulphate Soda -2ni lbs. per annum for the first 6 years, 185'J-7.

§ The" .\inmonla-salt8 "— luall cases equal parts of Sulphate and Muriate of Am«
monla of Ciimmerce. . „ :, .,«.

|Plots"A.\" and ".\ AS "—first 6 years. 1852-7, instead of Nitrate of Soda, 400
lbs. Aninionia-salrs per annum; next 10 vears, 1858-67,200 lbs. Ammnnia-salts per
annum ; ISM. and since, 275 lbs. Nitrate of Soda per annum. 275 lbs. Nitrate of Soda
Is reckoned to c 'ntain the same :imount of Nitropen as 200 lbs. " Ammonia-salts."

'\ Plots "A.\S"— the applicalon of Silicates did not commence until 1864; In
'W-.V*. and 7, 2<0 lbs. Silicate of Soda and 20u lbs. Silicate of Lime were applied per
•ere, but In 1S68. and since, I'O lbs. Silicate of Soda, and no Silicate of Lime. 1 heso
plots compri-e. respectively, one half of the (jrlEinal " A A " plots, and. excepting the
addition of the Silicates, have been, and are, in other respects, manured in the same
way as the •* .\A " plots. ,..,,_

•* 2000 lbs. liape-cake per annum for the first 6 years, and 1000 lbs. only, each year
eince. t+SUUlbs. >uh'hate Potass, and 3^ cwts. Superphosphate of Lime, without
Nitrate of Soda, the flr-t year ls52); Nitrate alone each year since, tj SulpnaW
Boda— 200 IbB. per annum 18^, 6. and 7.

232

TALKS OS MANURES.

ExrBBlHENTS ON TUB GkoWTH OF BaRLEY, TkAR AFTER YeAR, ON

TION8 OF MaNLKE, IIOOS
TA3LB II.— DRESSED

[N.B. The double vertical llncB show that there was a change in the descrip-

TadU /., and foot-notes

Habtebts.

^5

1852

1853

18M

1855 1856

1857

1858

1859 1860 1861

1862 1863

bashels.

bush. bush, bos bns

bush. bush.

has bns bus bus bus 1

1 O.

27 '4

25'^ a') 31 |13'»

26 '8 21 Vb IW-^ 13'4 16Hi 16,V 22 '^1

2 O.

2SS

SS-^ 40^ 3614 In^i

:«'4 28^

l".t»8 l.-iv 2.5 i\\ :ii^

3 O

26 ^i

27Si 36V :14^ 16^

32 211-4

15', 151^4 IS'a l'.»?4 27H

4 0.

32 3i

S5S 42 37;, 19?4

3'J^ 30 ig

19V I8.L4 29i', 25^ 33

Means

88X 1

30>g SdV :i4X 17

32J£ 26>i

17J4 15*8 22?8 203£ 287i

1 A.

SH%

38^i i U^ 44V 25

38i» 31V

153^ 2C?i 30V'31V 42*i

2 A.

33)4

40'8 <rf)'^ 473^29>4

56 !i til^

Si\ 43^8 55 i4S», 61 5i

3 A.

m

36 Si 50 41'^ 28^

42 'i 34 U

16^8 28 32V :J5V 48H

4 A.

40»i

36U i 60's

48-'g31,?i|
46>4 28vl

O'VJi 51V

34^, 43V 51)8 47?, 551,

Means

384

SSH 1 M^

48?i 1 424 25?i 35?i 431< 40'i 52)i

1 AA.

41V

mi i MiH 48 36ii|

40 V

39^^ 21'<< 2.^\ -iS .MV 49

2 A.\.

43*i

42'4 1 63 '4 50^^ Sli^l

Wi .,

5«J'4 .T)', 4.SI4 .'■>5V ■'■'1 'iOV

3 AA.

41 ?i

41 '4 51'i 47':( 200^1

49^,i|

40'>i 20'„ :{(Mj .-iO'B 3614 .M

4 AA.

45 >i

4^JV 62'i ;49?i3T?i

64:'8 1

56 '« 3o,V 46 S 55:'i 48:!4 59.V
481^ 88?6 369i 45?. 41 ?» 553ii

Means

43)£

42'i

58V

48?i 32H

57^

1 AA8.

1

2 AAS.

3 AAS.

4 AAS.

Means

&)%

1

36?4'

1

1

1 0.

39%

60 »i 148 V

64H

6;}»i 38 V 31V 56V, 41 151^

2 C.

3(W

36'8 60:-i M'4 S-ig

62',

.'■>7?^ 41 .-J^iV 56'a 45 55

3 C.

3.3 >^

35 Si 56", 48'i 32S

60 'i

.-■12 .-141^ a'iU 51', .56 ,53 V

4 C.

38

40'i 1 60 U 51,'i 35^

6214

57>i 35 40V 5.J»8 45V

54X

Means

36^i

37'^ 1 59V 50!^ 35',

62 U

55 37 V

36>8 54i/, 4i:!i

539i

1 N.

[(257b){

|3»'«

493i 60 2<<V

47 's 37 V 2^1',

27'h 381.4 .^5V51vI

2 N.

|37>i

5:J'i 49^^ 48

58 1 1 43'8 2<i>., iltV 4i:s8 88^ 5;iii]

M.

1 '321^'lS'i

24V

|25T^ 19 V

10^

2796 93 '„ 28^

5 0.

(3r,v) 1

27V

30V 3-2'« 19l8

31'h

2.V18 16',,

10'„

28»i n^ 2*»V

5 A.

30 V

40 Is

51% 47'8 33'ii

51^8

48fi 33',

39

49^ 46?8 51V

eU

29

ifi^i

354 37V15's

34^8 ' 264 174

n\

les^ 18>^ 27>i

1.^2

25 'i

iV'i

83 V 361^4 15 's

314 25 V 14?i

121^

17 ?8 19 28*i

7

33

364

56'.' 50'S324

51>4 55 40

41 ?»

545^J9»i59V

(!) Averaj^os of I years, 4 years, and 8
last 10 years,

year?.

and tutal 17

(') Averages of 9 years,
years. (*) AveragcB

MANURE FOR BARLKT.

233

THB SAME Land, wituoit Manure, and with dikfekknt descrip-

FlELI), ROTUAMSTED, ENGLAND.
CX>RN PEIl ACKE — bUriliel.-.

tion, or quautity, of ^auurc, at the period indicated, for particolarB of which see
tbureto, p. £il.J

Harvests.

Average Annual.

1864

1865

1866

1867 1868

1869

1870

1871

^

bash.

26',

bus
18
22.-*
ti

bn?h.

194
24

bus bush, bus bus 'bu»
17-. ir.4 15', i:J'^ 16>4
24s 18'9 W4 18 i2:J',
17 144 18S 16^4 l'.»S

20,', 17H ;224 mx 25

bushcls. bush.
22-^8 17M
27', 23 '4
247, 20',
80!4 247i

bushels- '
20

257^ 1
2i%

27'/,

1 0.

2 0.
30.
4 0.

28 »i 2\M

20 a.

197, 16;^ jlSS 16^4 21',

26?6 214

237i

Means

Kii 29',
68'4 48^
43 ii :«•„
55s 46>i

274
50 Vj,

30?i! 20S 27', 27»J:}6S
44 , 37 s 48 41\. 4r,'„
33 25 34'., 30'. :«',
4:JT, 34 ;4 |49,4 :18 Ms

334 31 4'

45 S 48 ^i

a-) a-.

464 , 464'

32X
47
35
4(i4

1 A.

2 A.

3 A.

4 A.

494 >9!(f

384

294
5*1',
293i
50'i

877-.| 29?i 397i

29V '27 32',
44'., -14 4S1.J

4> |45'. 4'.t',

344J41)tf;

294 39'.,
4tii. ■46'.,
.32S30',
44;^ 46 1

404 ] 404

404

Means

41=!£ 33>i
K\ 47',
44S ai4
66?,- 48'.

394 344

4S', 4!tS
; 38S 36'.
1 497, 497i

37
49"^
37 'i
4'.17i

1 AA.

2 AA.

3 AA.

4 AA.

4a% 414

40'.

38

36 41 38S 42

1 444 4Z%

43 ?i

Means

444 3A7i

S47i 47^
50 ,41
594 ^504

371^
51'.'
41',
50ȣ

32 V
44

39',.

45 '4

29", 34', 3-) 48','
44 'i 49'a 443i£ 4i)V
3(i4' 40'^ 42'4' 484
46S 51\ 474j-48',|

, r374 :367i

;,.i49'4 474

(> 434 42
t51?i ; 48?^

37 -)
50 J

1 AAS.

2 AAS.

3 AAS.

4 AAS.

62 43'i

45'.-

404

w,

4r.>^;

38'.
42s 1

3!>'.'

444 42;,;'48?4

454 1 43?.i

44./,

Means

484 45
51 »i 4fi4
49', 48ii
68 j484

45'i
47 '4
43'.
48s

37
354
35'.
364

42'i41'4 44
48 '4 41'.. J Pi
43S «'» 45S
52', *i?i 474

47 1 43 S'
47'i 45?.i
44 , 43 '4
477.' : 474

45 ><
464
43 S

47?,i

1 C.

2 C.
3C.
4C.

60?^

46 U'

25-^

60>i

254
254

62

47

46 •<

41'.'' 35'8 46S 41^

44 S

43'.
457,

22 ',

20

444

18»i
244

544

46?*' 45

45%

Means

37

39 'i

19'^
23

48-4

21
194

52%

»14-
41

19

22V,

43'-

16V

17 '4

53','

33 1 2o><r a') 4 :u%
316% 2.5S- 38s 404

20"^ U'i 16S 16'e
I'.tv 15 |-23^« ll".^
3418 36',' 4!l', 41?i

16'.' 15 '4' 14',' 15 '4-
19\ 157i 15'i 15',

45*^' 43 S' 46'i47J,r

~137S' 374
' 'H24' 407^

(S' (22 Vs 204-

>*) (244 214

434 44 7i

25 18'^
23Ji 20

45 51 7<

4i;i^'>

21 ,V) (S)'
22?i) (*)
447.'

82
21 7i

484

1 N.
2N.

M.

5 0.
5 A.

u«

7

(1853-"61\ last 10 vears. and total
0/ 9 years (1S>J-"61), last 10 years,

19 yoars.
and total

(3) Averages of 7 years (1855-'61),
19 years.

234

Talks on manubbs.

EXITSRIIIENTS on TUB GbOWTU OF BaSLEV, YEAR AFTEK TEAR, ON THB

Manure. Uooa

TABLK ni.— WBIOHT PKB

(N.B. The double vertical lines show that there was a cbaD{;e in the description,

7'(iUf I., and foot notes,

IIAKTKSTS.

1

1SQ3

1853 I 1854

1855

1806 1857

1868

1869 1860

llih lh«.

1881 1862' 1863

Ibl* 11.1. lbs.

vt.6

«8

- ,'rl 5

MO ;.;i.O M.8

1 o.

JO.
8 0.
4 O.

lbs.
6i.l

51.5

51.4

sa.o

51. 'J
58.1

It.-.

lU-

H.« ' lf».

n.-.

5t.a
5:).6

Mauia

518

63.0

. H

52.8

60.8 60.7 r>3.1 61.5 M.3

1 A.

3 A.
8 A.

4 A.

50.7
60.5
50.9
51.4

53.4

'.»

MO

.'. : 8

1 0

. 0

47.5 60.8 51.5 49.4 53.6
61.0 61.0 5.t..'. 53.5 V..3
4:..'. 50.8 51.6 r,0.5 r4.3
51.0 51.1 51.0 M.0 56.5

Mmuis

50.9

6i7

' .M.9 54.9

. . ..i - .'O.O M.9

: 6i.:i at.'. 51.4 5.V7

: .'. 50.4 51.5 51.5 61.5

'5 61.0 53.5 Jrt.O 56.4

r I 5(t.9 53.0 53.6 65.1

1 AA.
S AA.
8 AA.
4 AA.

49.1

■J'J.6
60.6
5i).6

61..3
51.7
5I..1
51.1

51.4

58.6

Mouis

50.0

I AAS.

8 AAS.
8 AAS.
4 AAS.

1

Means

1

1

M2

!

1 C.
8 C.

3 C.

4 C.

51.7
51.8
51.3
51.4

61.3
51.6
51..-)
50.4

5:'>

50.2 46.(1

•r.". ^

r.2.0

i 0
61.6

630 MO M.5 66.s{
61.5 Ml .V..3 56.4'
51. s M5 .'i3.5 5»i.8
M.l M.l MO 66.7 1

Menns

51.0

51.2

.'.1.3
.49.7

51.8
62.3

50.3
60.9

61.6

.v>.8

63.8

63.8

51.6 54.0 M.3I56.6]

1 N.

SN.

M.

5 0.
5 A.

*u

7

f (51.7) 1

(51.0) 1
61.0

62.0
58.0

68.8

53.3 '■ .V2.n 50 0
5.1.1 50.1 48.1

1 •
Rll

5.3.3 :

68.8 52.5 .'O."
63.6 6i.r, 5').0

6.3.9 63.9 47.1

539

5.-1.01

■ R
I

52.3
63.3

54.8

6.1.5
MO

.W6
.-40
51.0

53.1
58.1

64.5

48.0
4S.5

40.5
51 0
51.0

48.5
47.5

58.5

610 52 0 51.5 58.4
61 1 51 » 51.3 53.9
1 '
51 0 .^3 8 52 8 5.3.8
MO .13 3 .M.5 .54.1

51.2 5i.O 52.(1 55.6,

1

61.3 580 51.8 M.O,

51.0 53.0 53.0 54.1

53.1 54.8 64.8 BT»

0) Averages of 4 years.

4 yenrs. and R years,
last 10 year?, and

(^) Averages
total 17 year*. (*)

of 9 years
Averages

XIANTKi; FoU ItAULKY.

235

siMB Land, witiioit Mantke, and with i>iffekrnt descriptions o»

FlKl^U, KOTUAMsTHD.
BUnUKL or UKI(!>ltBU COKN -Ibs.

or qaanllty, <>f Manure, at the p. r; mi inaicifu. for partlculATfl of which Be«
thereto, p. «U.]

18M 1865 19M IM7 1968

III

1869 1870

Atkraob Amuval.

1871 -1-

55:
5«. ~

57.J .<4.U

ln«. Ih^

P.I

S;^3 £!j«?| Kg*

JiJi —i.J M.u [

88.7 51.1 r<3 3 53 1 55. J :.l D

55.4 518 riil.'.t 51.8 53.3

57.0 '9: 54.4 Ml 54 6

56.1 .M ; 5J.1I.M.9 M8
57.6 53 5 .>4.T 54.3 55.0

a«.6 53.7 53 0 5i.9 516 56.4 i 66.1 i 55.8

1)>^. I Iba. Iba. lbs.

' 51.fi 53.1 .'A.3

M.O 54.4 5a a

• ,, 51.8 513 KiO

^■6 54.3 54.6 53.4

55.5 |l

55.6 II

fiSO 51. 1 53.0

61.2 53.0 .'>2,1

r 1 N .',.'. 1 53.5

f I •■ MI .V.'.S

f ;; i .v.." .'AG

61.6 &1.5 153.1

55.*. '■• ■ '-'■' ■ ■ ' ■■' -
57 -J ■

56..-.

5i.6 J> t >-'. i .11 ri Hi II

66.7 53.5 53 3 53.3 55.1

156.1 5l.i 51 8 53.5 154 3

57.a 5i.4 .V.61Vi.I '36.9

57.3 5t.H .V2..') .S3 0 .VS.5

|57.0 5i.l 55.3 54.1 ,56.3

M 1

.M .t
5<..3

55.3

M.8
57.4
56.6
57.8

56 9 5.J.6 51.S .wg 55.5 I 56.7

57.1 .'»3 8 55.1 -,J.4 .Vi.8

67 0 51.:i .-)-,. 7 55.0 56.1

57.3 r^.i .V...3 .-.1.7 .5.5.8

57.8 53..> 53.0 5J.S 55.4

55.8

.V>.0
57.4
55. 'J
57.8

56.5

55.2

r.T2 .'■)2.0

.'..-. J .Vi.3

.V, s 52.3

.v.. 8 :.3.4

61.0 &1.6 52.8

r.n

Ml

57.1 5 {.5 5-..4 M.7| 53.9

56.0 54.1 52.0 .",2.9 52 8

56.5 51.8 52.8 52.7 55 5

I

56.3 .M.J 5}.0 .\3 9 5J.0

57.6 51.5 .\3.4 .'>» 0 5ti.4
57.5 M.1 54.8 53.2 57.5

I i

56.0 SS.-J 51.3 52 0 53.5

55.8 53.9 j51 .8 52.5 53.8

67.4 54.4 '54.9 54.S 57.1

n858-'61). laet 10 years, and U tal
Of 9 jetn (1853-'61). laut 10 years,

.'.6.7

57.5

57.1

57.S

57.1

57.6

5T.4

58.0

57.1

57.7

51.3

5.5.6

54.8

55.8

54.0

5.5.3

55.6

55.9

57.5

57 3

52.8

54.0

52.9

54.6

564

57.1

546
55.6
6.J.8
55.4

54.9

5.'}.9 W.6 51.3

,|v J 55. 1 56.7 55.9

^ •'■' 54.4 5.5.5 55.0

54.9 56.8 ;.55.8.

54.6 55.9 55.2

{')

56.3 1 1
56.4
5«;.3 I

56.4 I

se.4

51.7 5.5.8 .\3.a

61.7 .%.0 5.3.9

51.7 55.« 5J.7

51.4 55.9 M.6

51.6 55.9 .53.8

M.f.
51.6

.55.0
a5.1
55,5

.55.4
54.9

56.6

«)J.51.6 53.7 1.52.7 »,^
' '(51.1 54.2 ,52.7 r '

1 O.

2 O.

3 O.

4 O.

Meftiu

1 A.

2 A.

3 A.

,4A.

I Meana

I AA.
I 2 AA.

I 3 AA.

4 AA.

' Metna

I I AAa

I S AAS.
I 3 AAS.
I 4 AAS.

Means

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

Means

1 N.

2 N.

O r.1.8

(*) (.52.0
51.9

51.5
51.6

53.6

54.2 .5.3.2) (»)l M.
.54.8 53.4; («)|. 5 o.
55.7 53.8 ; 5 A.

53.5 52.5

53.6 .52.6

56.0 54.3

1 9 T cirg. (3 1 ATcrages of 7 years (1855-'61).

and total 19 years.

236

TALKS Oy MANHRKS.

EXPRKIMENTS ON THE GROWTU OF BaKLKY, TeAB AFTKB TeAB, ON THB

Manibk. Hoos

TABLE IT. — OFrAL

[N.IV The double vertical lines ebow that there was a chaogc in the description,

TaUe /., and foot-notes

HARTKSTS.

1

1

1

1853

1853

1S54

1856 1856

1857 1868

1R69 1860 1861 1862 1868

Iba.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs. lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs. IbsJibs. lbs. lbs.

1. o.

1(*4

225

K4

144 131

93

86

110 78 88 frt 1 49

2 O

lUO

101

101

ti9 5H

1U6

1(0

ISlt 84 78 114 68

3. O.

183

151

M

76 i lau

61

96

K-> 78 88 7.1 , 64

4. O.

i;«i

160

106

Mj 88

53

108

ItiO 74 68 117 [ 57

Means

146

159

89

96 1102

78 1 96

129 78

78 92 66 1

1. A.

SIS

S-'iS

COl

138 219

lis

98

184 150

170 2(>9

110

a. A.

260

214

l.-«

181 121

88

114

274 1.VJ 13(1 191

»!i

3. A.

2.-.3

3:i6

V.fl

177 180

91

96

IT.'. 11.'. 109 26:i

106

4. A.

273
251

274

138

142 125

70

117

253 150 110 150

81

Means

277

17?

160 161

91

.106

232 143 1 130 220 101

1. A A.

2f)9

303

326

SOI 310

135

88

21.'> 109 \n 296 110

2. A A.

315

251

:r»

181 2:«

l.i3

134

32() 118 190 1.^1 143

3. A A.

318

236

S-M

213 2:10

108

118

21..-. 123 l.W .164 95

4. AA.

816

:»1

273

150 170

183

113

285 141

179 191 66

Means

2»l

273

316

187,252

140

121

•271 123

170 2-J6 103

1 A AS.

2 A AS.

8 AAS

4 A.\S.

Means

1

1 C.

^68

178

219

173

135 1 ia3

225 120 ' IM ' IM

85

2 C.

lOl

•r.r,

2.)S

195 IfJl

M'J 1 1 18

171 156 l,-.i) 128

109

3 0.

l'.«

296

218

is! IS')

i.m; I i(»5

ZV\ II.-. 204 190

71

4 ('.

144

277

227

222

2a->

iiisi, ir,

3.-« Vii 204 , 174

88

M.ans

1(JT

3(M

233

S05

183

\m

120

246 136 ' 178 1 161

1 N

283

109

12H

215

99

119

20.-. lie. 22-. 245

120

2 N.

228

28G

224

i;t3

151 1

110

2:^ 17J 190 216

114

M.

1

31!

91

W)

RJ

K, 75 78 108

40

5 I).

(173)1

CS

113

ra

90

101

71

110 73 73 103

41

5 A.

173

210

170

12li

151

63

151

168 19:1 188 210

1 1

81

, ( 1

130

2(10

144

110 ir.3

78

84

121 i 88 73 75

51

fi-la

118

IGl

119

73 125

105

81

127 95; 67:194

1 1

65

7

101

260

m

109

141

1»1

191

260 147 190 1208

66

(') Avcratres of 4 years, 4 j-e.-ir". and 8 v:irs. (') Avrragps o' 0 years

lacit 10 years, and total 17 years. ('; Averages

MANUKK Koli MAKI KV.

2.'?:

BASn LaNI>, WITHOIT >f\MUK, AND WITH DIKKEKKNT nKSCUIITIONS OP

Field, Rotuamsteu.

COR!« PER ACKE lbs.

or quantity, of Manure, at the poriixi indicated, for particulars tif which, see
thereto, p. 231.]

IlABTE8Ta.

Atkbaok Akncau

1

1864

1866 1866

I 1
1867 1868 181)9 1870 1871;

i

||?

1

1
lbs. IbB.

11=

lbs.

Ibe. Iba.

lbs. Mm.

lb«.

Ibo.

lbs.

IbH.

4S :

47 41

im 21

+« , 81 48

120

4H

&4

1 0.

69

88

St

53 2t

S:> 18 m

>>6

52

74

s o.

48

^

SK

04 ; j;

70 ! 18

85

! 101

46

74

3 O.

41

as

55

60 1 -^5

69

26

48,

1 104

53

78

4 O.

48 i

38

89

67 1 25
115 j 4'.l

68
13!»

S3 41 1
2:{ 115

1 105

50

78

Mcana

99 1

58 1 94

174

1(17

141

1 A.

C3

81 ! M

76 3rt

113

26 1^0

172

94

133

2 A.

83

51 106

(M 31

95

24 89

1 173

95

134

3 A.

110

CO , li-l

71 50

21

27 146

1 1(15

78

122

4 A.

89 1

68 89

89 ;

46

92

6t

25 132

3:5 133

171

94

123

Means

no 1

64 148

no

ei6

111

16J

1 AA.

50

113 111

6'j 1 m

Ki

2» ItW

220

95

153

2 AA.

76 1

48 laj

106 r.9

111

s ):;■;

214

113

164

3 AA.

46

76 ,133

119 |43

7?<

80 90

2(:8

h7

148

4 AA.

71 1

75 ,l»i

101 48

86

31 131

1 215

102

159

Meana

»t 1

56 98

85

4'J

121

33 94

1 f «>

74

771
75 ,,.

89j

1 A AS.

ra

86 96

or,

(.4

fiO

23 151

(■>■ g

75

2 A AS.

70

50 141

79

.•-,9

i:j<i

Si» i:.0

84

3 AAS.

93

70 1 80

93

46

125

SO

IC8

1 I 84

93

4 AAS.

•n

65 :ioi

81 50

111 1 28

! 81

82

8',

1 Means

78

83 104

lOfl 43

r,9 1 25

78

175

83

129

1 C.

92

44 M)

h^ 6J

111

24 ' KS

1'.3

84

138

; 2 C.

90

66 'M

91 3"!

'.11

37 141

102

01

142

' 8 c;.

133

69 128

Ti 42

^67

28

124
108
90

208
192

89
87

149
139

4 C.

96

G6 104

90 1 47

85

28

Means

74

98 121

111) i 61

l.V) , 33

,r».n73
/^■(199

112

149 t ^ '

IN.

95

84 104

88 35

98

3:j

171

104

2 N.

58

60 ' 44

56 26

61

25

58

P) (77

64

60) (')

M.

78

35 48

r*i , 20

75

2.J

41

(*) (81

61

72) (*)

5 0.

91

94 5.}

74 j 33

63

30

114

1 KiO

87

124

5 A.

51

45 1 72

103

27

71

26

50

117

57

87

2)«

54

47 , 51

83

21

57

23

41

\ 107

64

85

117

56 118

111

48

100 26

171

156

105

va

7

(1853-611, lact 10 ynars. and total 19 ye.ir?. (') .\vrrage8 of 7 years n855-'f.:),
of y years Uti53-'01), last 10 years, and total 10 years.

238

TALKS ON MANURES.

EXFBSIMBNTS ON THE GBOWTH OF BaRLEY, YeAH AFTER TeAK, ON THE

Manure. Hoos

TABLE v.— 8TRAW

N.B. The doable vertical lines show that there was a chan;;e in the descrip-

T(U)U /., and footnotes

IIabtbbts.

1

18S2

1853

1854

1855 1856

1867

1858 1859

1860 1861

1862

1863

1 0.

2 O.
8 O.
4 0.

CwU.
ICM
16;^
Itl"^
19Ji

n«4

cwts.
18

17 '«
20 !4

18^4

cwts
2P*'
2:^4
20'.
2:j',

22'.'

cwt cwt

17*. sv

17 V 8V
17V 9'.

18 1 9',

17*i 9

cwts.
12*£

15H
45 1

174!

cwts. cwt
10', 9'.
14', 12'*
I214 !»'<
16>i 12Kc

cwt cwt cwt cwt
7V 11 9»4 1134
8', 13 V 12'; 15 V
H'i IIV 10', 13\
9V IS?* 13^ 15»4

Means

15 V

13',^ 10»,

8*; 12X IIV 1374

11', l!t»; 20»4 21V
2.->V 29»i 32>, 81
I6V 21 »4 2:JV26V
36*, :»'4 31|^;32

20'4 25V 26>4 28';

13'i22 21><25V
21', 31 »; 31 'i 32 V
!«', 2.J'. •iA\ 27';
29 :«', .a's MM

1 A.

2 A.

3 A.

4 A.

227i
26
23 »i

25 V
25'.
26^

.■JO'4'

40 'i
40V
36?.-

il'.- 17 'i
29', 21V
27V 17',
31 21 \

20'4
21=«i

2754

15V 11 ■«
2H>; 21'.
17', jUJ..,
2l»?i 27 '4

Means

35^

K\
28',
26',
28',

asti

28 19V

23)^

22V 19Ki

1 A A.

2 A A

3 AA.

4 AA.

26'»
28',-
27'4
31 »,

37 'i
44 >i
37',
49

32'.
3SS
3t
:»',

21V' 2;j'4
31*. 32',
2<ii, 26
:« ; 36>4

:!•<,■ 14 V

:t2», 26 ,
22 ■, Ki'.
.•<5'i j.«)^

Means

a7>tf

23 ?i

48 U

36^

38Jil 29H

27V i21?4|21«4 27ri27s, 30

1 AAS.

2 AAS.
S AAS.
4 AAS.

'

Means

1

1

1 C.
3 C.

3 C.

4 C.

24 S
23^
21 ?<

26 7i
25^i

27V
26 '4

4314
44',
4114
42',

4-2 'i

30 'i
36',-

37 »,

28 1 33>i
31V 33 \

26 >^ m\

30 V 3:]!i

.30ȣ 26', 17', 27'i
33'; »\ 20s, «',
.30;; 251, 201bI:«>4
.35 2<.tV 2214 .31

26

27V
23?;
287,

28H

30V
29?4
:«?i

Means

2:J14

3<>V

5n~
3:j«4

15>4
14 \
31

18 V
16?i

27V

28?4j S2«i

32*4 27»i

20',':»

36 V 29%

1 N.

2 N.

M.

5 O.

5 A.

7

((15..)]

(2.Vi) 1
25',-

174
14 S'

18V

2:iS,'
25'.

15?i

16V
15'i

22 ':f

3:J?i
38 U

..I

22 V

20?;

37«4

19S' 24*4
28Ji 32 1

lOS lO'i
10'. 13'4
225!i 27*i

oh' 16'i

9Vj 14^

19?i 23 S

20V IS'*
23 J4 21 '4

|12='4 10',
12 V 10 'v
|28>, 2li',

12 11 V

1114 10
81V 28 V

16?4

18 ».

7V
6',
25-^

7V
7?i

25 V

27^4
29S

15','

\^\

31',

9';
10

•31 >4

24 V

^^\

144

31 i.

10',
lis

34 V

.30V

29?4

19V
15V
•M

134

14,V

•33V

(') Averat^es of 4 years, 4 years, and 8 years,
last 10 years, and

(') Averages of 9 years
total 17 yevs. (*) Averages

MANURE FOR BARLEY.

2^9

SAMT! Land, withoit Manure, \su with inrrEUENT desckiptions of
Field, Kotuamsted.

(and CHAFF) PER ACRE C\vt"i.

tion, or quantity, of Manure, at the period indicated, for particulars of which see
thereto, p. .231.]

Harvksts.

1864 1866 1966

ISffT

1868

18G91870

1871

Atkbaob Ahncai^

cwta. cwt cwt«

n\ e\ 9'i

IJ'. 9', 12 S

13'. 9U. lO",

1C»4 10 12',

14S I 9V lUi llSi 9% ^UH f}% laS

cwt cwtB. cwt cwt cwt
lOSi' 11% ill 6\ 11
121, 9\ 10', 8 121^*
10',, 8». 11 Svs, ll",
J2 lOH 12', 9S 14

e2

cwta. icwts.
13>i 101^
14'. I 11^
13', lO^ii
1«% 12S

aO'. 13 I 15S

32", 8i».i as*,

19)t 16 16\

W, 28\ r.'.

86=Si 18.VJ 21 »« 2-J

23 V 16 ! 1"'*

33 . 23 ! 2s'.

»i', 17 ■ 18-,

87", 24', 2S'h

'iT",! 12k 18V 12''j 2:J'

14,V

19^
27'.
21 'i

28J,

cwta.
11 V
13'.
12>*

llJi 12Tt

17'.
27',
1»\
28

18>4
27'.

28>»

80>, 20V 23 V

26V 22'. 20V

.%3', 2:<V 30V

30V 20V 2.5

40i£ 25', 2914

17'.

|14S

.■«) ,

•■•1"«

*".

' "i I

'^'.

!25-.

24V

19S

18'

1 1''>V

*)',

a-'^v

23'. 22
v8V 26V

82V 22'i 26'. 24'. 22 V

26V

21V

24V

25V

19V

31V

21V

iM'i

26'. 1

19 S

31

22

24'.

22 V

10^'

34V

22

27 V

MV

21V

2r. 17- 005^1

2av 20ii 29v!

2!?V 17 29\
37-. 2(n. .3»;v
30 V 20 1 31 'g
42|,20'4 3»

33V 19V 33»i

27 n^ 27' it
33', 17V 27V'
30V 18V 30 Vi
35'. 20'. 32 ;

ai4

23V

23V

24

81V
25 V
34V

»v

29'.

22':,

30'.

22 V
30',
24

,32V

»

25»i

i27'4

(')

f21V

2;»v

24V
31

21V
«»V
26 V
32

21 Vl
1 31>s J

26 V

27V

27

29'. a4V

30'. 26

28', 25'.

31V 27V

26'i
28V

27 V
29V

31 21V

24V 18>,

r.^ 21;,

2oV 24V| 19V 31V 18'4 29Vj

24 13V' 29V '
27 V 1 19 V 31'/,,

SOV 253!£ I 28

21V
23J.

12'i

13' 9'i

14'I lOvl lOV

33', 24', 28

13V i S\\ Wi

13V 8Ji| 9'/4

21 VI 18 V

,2ix nv

12 10 V

10 V I 8",

22V 20',

9'-.' 10 V

10 V 10 V

,.j23V 22>/, 22ii I ,,.

^ ' i 27': a4ii I 2fi^i I ^ '

11 V' 8V 14V
15' i 4', 13 ■/
36'. 21V 2^»V
I
9V 7J£ 13
lOV ; 7J, 13V

I 27V 24!i

■») (ll'i 12S£

(*) (13 V 11%'

27 V 28 '^

22V I
26V t'

12'.0 (»)
12V) (^)

lOV

IIV

12V
12V

37V 25V' 31)^ '27vl 24y 2851i W% 37^1 26Ji 29^ I 28«4

1 O.

2 O.

3 O.

4 O.

Means

1 A.

2 A.

3 A.

4 A.

Means

1 A.\.

2 AA.

3 AA.

4 AA.

Means

1 A AS.

2 AAS.

3 AAS.

4 AAS.

Means

1 C.

2 C.

3 C.

4 C.

Means

1 N.

2 N.

M.

5 O.
5 A.

u«

7

OR53-f.ln last 10
Of 9 years (1853-

year». and total 19 years.
61 », last 10 years, and total

ih Averages of 7 years (1855-'61),
19 years.

240 TALKS ON MANUKKS.

The produce of barley the first season (1852), was, per acre :

On the uninanurcd plot 271 busbele

With 6Upi.Tph()Si)haie (if lime 2^| "

" potash, soda, and mnffnesia :.>6} "

" " " " and superphosphate 32* "

" 14 tons barn-yard manure Sa "

" 200 Ihs. ammonia-salts alone 3(5J "

" " " and superphosphate :;8i '•

" " " and potash, soda, and magnesia 30 "
" " " and superphosphate, potash,

soda, and magnesia 40 J "

" 400 lbs. ammonia-salts alone 44i "

The 200 lbs. of ammonia-salts contain 50 lbs. of ammonia:=41
lbs. nitrogen.

It will be seen that this 50 lbs. of ammonia alone, on plot la.
gives an increase of nearly 10 bu.'^bcls per acre, or to be more accu-
rate, it gives an inerea.so over the nnmantircd plot of 503 Ib.s. of
grain, and 32!) lbs. of straw , while double the quantity of ammonia
on plot la.a., gives an increase of 17^ bushels per acre — or an in-
crease of 901 lbs. of grain, and 1,144 lbs. of straw.

"Put that fact in separate lines, side by side," said the Deacon,
" so that we can see it."

Total
Grain Straw Produce.

50 lbs. of ammonia gives an increase of 503 lbs. 704 lbs. 1207 Ibe.

100 " " " " " " " .... l»01 " 1144 " 2045 "
The first 50 lbs. of ammonia gives an in-
crease of .. .. 503 " 704 " 1207 "

The second 50 Ibe. of ammonia gives an in-
crease of 398 " 540 " 738 "

" That shows," said the Deacon, " that a dressing of 50 lbs. per
acre pays better than a dressing of 100 lbs. per acre. I wish Mr.
Lawes had sown 75 lbs. on one plot."

I wish so, too, but it is quite probable that in our climate. 50
lbs. of .available ammonia per acre is all that it will usu.ally be
profitable to apply per acre to the barley crop. It is equal to a
dressing of 500 lbs. guaranteed Peruvian guano, or 275 lbs. nitrate
of soda. — " Or to how much manure ? " asked the Deacon.

To about 5 tons of average stable-manure, or say three tons of
good, well-rotted manure from grain-fed animals.

" And yet," said the Deacon, " Mr. Lawes put on 14 tons of yard
manure per acre, and the yield of barley was not as much as from
the 50 lbs. of ammonia alone. How do you account for that?"

Simply because the ammonia in the manure is not ammonia. It
is what the chemists used to call " potential ammonia." A good
deal of it is in tlie form of undigested straw and bay. The nitro-
genous matter of the food wliich has been digested by the animal

MANUKB von BAULKY. 2i\

and thrown otT in the liquid excrements, is in such a form tliat it
will readily firment and produce ammonia, while the nitrogenous
matter in the undigested food and in the straw used for bedding,
decomposes slowly even under the most fatorable conditions; and
if buried while fresh in a chiy soil, it probably would not all de-
compose in many years. But we will not discuss this at present.

" The superphosphate does not 8eem to have done much good,"
saiil the Deacon ; " 3i cwt. per acre gives an increase of less than
two bushels per acre. And I suppose it was good superpliosphate."

There need be no doubt on that point. Better superphosphate
of lime cannot be made. But you must recollect that this is pure
superphosphate made from burnt boues. It contains no ammonia
or organic matter. Commercial superphosphates contain more or
less ammonia, and had they been used in these experiments, they
would have shown a better result than the pure article. They
would have done good in proportion to the available nitrogen they
contained If these experiments prove anything, they clearly indi-
cate that superphosphate alone is a very poor manure for either
wheat or barley.

The second year, the unmanured plot gave 2.5f bushels per acre.
Potash, soda, and magnesia, (or wliat the Deacon calls "ashes,")
27J bushels; superphosj)hale ;33V, and "ashes" and superphos-
phate, ncarlj' 36 bushels per acre.

50 lbs. of ammonia, alone, gives nearly 39 bushels, and ammonia
and superphosphate togetlier, 40 bushels.

The supcrphospliatc and " ashes " give a better account of them-
selves this year ; but it is remarkable that the ammonia alone, gives
almost as good a crop as the ammonia and superphosphate, and a
better crop than the ammonia and " ashes," or the ammonia, super-
phosphate, and ashes, together.

The 14 tons farm-yard manure gives over 36 bushels per acre.
This plot has now had 28 tons of manure per acre, yet the 50 lbs.
of ammonia alone, still gives a better yield than this heavy dress-
ing of manure.

The third season (1851), was quite favorable for the ripening of
wheat and barley. The seed on the experimental barley-field, was
sown Feb. 24, and the harvest was late ; so that the crop had an
unusually long season for growth. It was one of the years when
even poor land, if clean, gives a good crop. The unmanured plot,
it will be seen, yielded over 35 bushels per acre of dressed grain,
weighing over 53^ lbs. per bushel. The total weight of grain, was
1,963 lbs. This is over 40 bushels per acre, of 48 lbs. per bushel,
which is the standard with us.
11

242 TALKS OX MANURES.

The 14 tons of farm-yard manure produce nearly 56^ bushels
per acre.

50 lbs. of ammonia, on plot la 471 bushels per acre.

100 " " " ." " laa 5G* " "

You will see, that though the plot which has received 43 tons of

manure per acre, produced a splendid crop ; the plot having nothing

except 100 lbs. of animouia per acre, produceil a crop equally good.

"IIow much increase do you gtt from 50 lbs. of ammonia,"

asked the Deacon, " and how much from 100 lbs. ?"

Equal Anier.
Grain. t^raw. jiu.ififh.
50 lbs of ammonia, pives an increase of WK) lbs. 952 lbs. 161 bush.
100 " '• •• " " " *' 1,300 '• 2,100 " 3S "

If you buy nitrate of soda at 3} cents a lb., the ammonia will
cost 20 cents a lb. lu the above experiment. 50 lbs. of amuioiiiu,
costing |10, gives an increase of IGjj bushels of barley, and nearly
half a ton of straw. If the straw is worth |4.00 per ton, the barley
will cost -18 cents a bushel.

Double the quantity of manure, costing $20, gives an increase of
28 bushels of barley, and over one ton of straw. In this case the
extra barley costs 57 cents a bushel.

On plot 2 I., 50 lbs. of ammonia and 3* cwt. of superphosphate,
give 3,437 lbs. of c^rain, e(iual to 7H of our bushels per acre.

On plot 2<i.'i. 100 lbs. of ammonia and 3^ cwt. of superphos hate,
give 3,643 lbs. of grain, which lacks only 5 lbs. of 76 bushels per
acre, and nearly 2| tons of straw.

"That will do," said the Dea-on, " but I sec that in 1857, this
same plot, with the same manure, produced 6Gi bushels of dressed
grain per arre, wciirhing 53A lbs. to the bushel, or a total weight of
3,690 lbs., equal to just 77 of our bu.sliels per acre."

" And yet," said the Doctor, " this same year, the plot which
had 84 tons of farm-yard manure per acre, produced only 2,915
lbs. of grain, or less than 61 of our busliels of barley per acre."

The Squire happened in at tliis time, an<l heard tlie last remark.
" What are you saying," he remarked, " about only 61 bushels of
barley per acre. I should like to sec such a crop. Last year, in
this neighborhood, there were hundreds of acres of barley that did
not yirld 20 bushels per acre, and very little of it would weigh 44
lbs. to the bushel."

This is true. And t lie maltsters find it almost impossible to get
six-rowed barley weighing 48 lbs. per bushel. They told me, that
they would pay fl.lO per bushel for good bright barley weighing
48 lbs. per bushel, and for each ponnd it weighed less than this,
they deducted 10 cents a bushel from the price. In other words,

MANURE KOIi IJAKLEV. 243

they would pay f 1.00 :i busliil fur b;irl( y WL-JL^bing 47 lbs. to the
bushel; 90 cents for barley weighing 4G lbs; 80 cents for barley
weighing 4o lbs., and 70 cmts for barley weighing 41 lbs. — and at
these figures tiiey much preferred the heaviest barley.

It is certainly well worth our while, if we raise barley at all, to
Bee if we cannot manage not only to raise larger crops per acre, but
to produce barley of better (juality. And these wonderful experi-
ments of Mr. Lawcs are well worth careful examination and study.

Tlie Squire put on his spectacles and looked at the tables of
figures.

"Like evcryliody else," said he, "you pick out the big figures,
and to hear you talk, one would think you scientific gentlemen
never have any poor crops, and yet I see that in IHOO, there are
three ditFerent crops of only 12i, 12J, and 13^ bushels per acre."

"Those," said I, "are the three plots which have grown barley
every year without any manure, and you have selected the worst
year of the whole twenty."

" Perhaps so," said the Squire, " but we have got to take the
bad with the good, and I have often heard you say that a
good farmer who has his land rich and clean makes more
money in an unfavorable than in a favorable season. Now, this
year 1800, seems to have been an unfavorable one, and yet your
pet manure, superphosjihate, only gives an increase of 148 lbs. of
barley — or three l^ushels and 4 lbs. Yet this plot has had a tre-
mendous dressing of 3i cwt. of superphosphate yearly since 1852.
I always told you you lost money in buying superjihosidiate. "

" That depends on what you do with it. I use it for turnips, and
tomatoes, cabbages, lettuce, melons, cucumbers, etc., and would
not like to be without it; but I have never recommended any one
to use it on wheat, barlev, oats, Indian com. or potatoes, except as
an experiment. "What I have recommended you to get for barley
is. nitrate of soda, and superphosphate, or Peruvian guano. And
you will see that even in this decidedly unfavorable season, the
plot 2a. '7. , dres-ed with superphosphate and 275 lbs. of nitrate of
soda, produced 2,338 lbs. of barley, or 48f bushels per acre. This
is an increase over the unmanured plots of 33*^ bushels per acre,
ana :m increase of 1,872 lbs. of straw. And the plot dressed with
superphosphate and 200 lbs. of salts of ammonia, gave equally as
good results."

And this, mark you, is the year which the Squire selected as the
one most likely to show that artificial manures did not pay.

" I never knew a man except you," said the Squire," who wanted
unfavorable seasons."

244 TALKS OX MANURES.

I have never said I wanted unfavorable seasons. I should not
dare to say so, or even to cherish the wish for one moment. But
I do say, that when we have a season so favorable that even poorly
worked land will produce a fair crop, we arc almost certain to have
prices below the average cost of production. But wheu we have
an unfavorable season, such crops as barley, potatoes, and bcaus,
Dften advance to extravagantly high prices, and the farmer wlio has
good crops in such a st-ason, gels something like adequate pay for
his patient wailing, and for his efforts to improve his land.

'* That sounds all very well," said the Squire," but will it pay to
use these artlGcial manures V "

I do not wish to wander too much from the point, but would
like to remark before I answer that question, that 1 am not a
special advocate of artificial manures. I think we can often make
manures on our farms far ch apcr than wc can buy them. But aa
the Squire has asked the question, and as he has selected from Mr.
Lawes' results, the year 1800, I will meet him on his own ground,
lie lias selected a season specially unfavorable for the growth of
barley. Now, in sucli an unfavorable year in this country, barley
would be likely to bring, at least, $\:2~t per bushel, and in a favor-
able season not over 75 cents a bushel.

Mr. Lawes keeps his land clean, which is more than c^in be said
of many barley-growers. And in this unfavorable season of 1800,
he gets on his three unmanured plots an average of 730 lbs. of
barley, equal to 151^ bushels per acre, and not quite 800 lbs. of
straw.

Many of our farmers frequently do no better than this. And
you must recollect that in such careful experiments as those of
Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert, great paiii.s would be taken to get all
the barley that grew on tl)C laml. Willi us, barley is cut with a
reaper, and admirable as our machines are, it is not an easy matter
to cut a light, spindling crop of barley perfectly clean. Then, in
pitching the cr )p and drawing it in, more or less barley is scattered,
and even after we have been over the field two or three times with
a steel-toot'i rake, there is still considerable barley left on the
ground. I think we may safely assume that at least as much barley
is left on the ground as we usually sow — say two l)ushels per acre.
And so, instead of bavin;; 15^ busliels per acre, as Mr. Lawes had,
we should only harvest 13i bushels.

Of all our ordinary farm crops, barley is attended with the lea.<^t
labor and expense. We usually sow it after corn or potatoes. On
sjch stnmg land as that of Mr. Lawes, we ought to plow the land

MAN U UK i-uli UAliLKY. 2i5

in the autumn and ai^ui" in the spring, or at least stir up the land
tJboriiugldy with :i two or turi-c-horsf cullivalor or guii^-plow.

Lei us say that tbe cost of plowing, harrowing, drilling, and
rolling, is |r).uO per acre. Seed, $2.00. Ilurvesting, $2.00. Thresh-
ing, G cents a bushel.

Receipts :

13i husbels barley 07 1.25 $16.57

SOU lbs. ol stniw (u fl. jrt lou l.tiO

Putting in and harvesting the crop $y.00

ThreBliing 13i bushels {a 0 c «U— 'JM

Rent and profit per acre f b.37

"That is a better showing than I expected," said the Squire,
*♦ and as barley occupies tbe land only a few months, and ui we
sow wheat after it, we cannot expect large profits."

" Very well," said I, " Now let us take tbe crop, this same un-
favorable year, on plot 2a. ii., dressed with superphosphate and
nitrate of soda.

The expense of plowing, harrowing, drilling, rolling, seed, and
harvesting, would be about the same, or we will say $2.00 an acre
more for extra labor in harvesting. And we will allow two busiiels
per acre for sciUtcrings — though there is nothing like as much
barley left on the gnmnd when we have a good crop, as when we
have a poor crop. But I want to be liberal.

The yield on pb)t 2a.<i., was 48J bushels per acre, and 2,715 lbs.
of straw.

Receipts:

461 bushels (cb fl.25 fS.'^.iS

2,715 lbs. straw (a $4. per ton 5.43

$63.86
Putting in the crop and harvesting. . . $11.00

Thrcshinir 4 '-i bushels in 6 c 2.S0

375 lbs. nitrate of soda (a 4 c 11.00

392 lbs. superphosphate @ 2 c 7.84

$32.&4
Rent and profit $31.22

In ordinary farm practice, I feel sure we can do better than this.
Grow ing barley year after year on tbe same land, is not tlie most
economical way of getting tbe full value of the manure. There is
much nitrogen and phosphoric acid left in the land, which barley
or even wheat does not seem capable of taking up, but which would
probably be of great benefit to tbe clover.

246 TALKS ON MANURES.

MANURE AND ROTATION OF CROPS.

The old notion that there is any retii chemical necessity for a
rotation of crops is unfounded. Wheat can be grown after wheat,
and barley after barley, and corn after corn, provided we use the
necessary manures and get the soil clean and in the right mechani-
cal condition.

' What, then, do we gain by a rotation ? " asked the Deacon.

Much every way. A good rotation enables us to clean the land.
We can put in diflferent crops at ditFcrenl seasons.

" So we could," broke in the Deacon, " if we sowed wheat after
wheat, barley after barley, anu com after corn."

True, but if we sowed winter-wheat after winter-wheat, there
would not be time enough to clean the land.

"Just as much as when we sow wheat after oats, or peas, or
barley."

"True again. Deacon," I replied, "but we arc supposed to have
cleaned the Ian 1 while it was in corn the previous year. I say sup-
posed, because in point of fact, many of our farmers do not half
clean their land while it is in corn. It is the weak spot in our
agriculture. If our land was as clean as it should be to start with,
there is no rotation so convenient in this section, as com the first
year, barley, peas, or oats the second year, followed by winter-
wheat seeded down. But to carry out this rotation to the best ad-
vantage wc need artificial nuinures."

"But will they pay?" asks the Deacon.

"They will pay well, provided we can get them at a fair price
and get fair prices for our produce. If we could get a good su-
perphosphate made from Charleston phosphates for li cent per lb.,
and nitrate of soda for oi or 4 cents per lb., and the German pot-
ash-salts for i cent per lb., and could get on the average $1.25 per
bushel ft)r barley, and f 1.75 for good white wheat, we could use
these manures to groat advantage."

" Nothing like barn-yard manure," says the Deacon.

No doubt on that point, provided it is good manure. Barn-yard
manure, whether rich or poor, contains all the elements of plant-
food, but there is a great difference between rich and poor manure.
The rich manure contains twice t)r three times as much nitrogen
and phosphoric acid as ordinary or poor manure. And this is the
reason why artificial manures are valuable in proportion to the
nitrogen and phosphoric acid that they contain in an available con-
dition. When we use two or three hundred pounds per acre of a
good artificial manure we in effect, directly or indirectly, convert

MANURE FOR BARLEY. 247

poor manure into rich manure. There is manure in our soil, but
it is poor. There is manure in our barn-yard, but it is
poor also. Nitrogen and phosphoric acid will make these
manures rich. This is the reason why a few pounds of a good
artificial manure will protiuce as great an effect as tons of common
manure. Depend upon it, the coming farmer will avail himself of
the discoveries of science, and will use more artificial fertilizers.

But whether we use artiticial fertilizers or farm-yard manure, we
shall not g^n the full elTcct of the manures unless we adopt a
judicious rotation of crops.

When we sow wheat after wheat, or barley after barley, or oats
after oats, we certainly do not get the full eflFect of the manures
used. Mr. Lawes' exp"riments afford conclusive evidence on this
point. You will recollect tuit in 1840, one of the plots of wheat
(106), which had received a liberal dressing of salts of ammonia
the year previous, was left without manure, and the yield of wheat
on this plot was no greater than on the plot which was continu-
ously unraanured. In other words, the ammonii w/iich was left in
the toil from the prer'ous year, had no effect on the wheat.

The following table shows the amount of nitrogen furnished by
the manure, and the amount recovered in the crop, when wheat is
grown after wheat for a series of years, and also when barley is
grown after barley, and oats after oats.

248

TALKS ON MANURES.

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MANURE FOR nARLET. 249

It is not necessary to make any nuimu'nts on this table. It
speaks for itself; but it iloes nut tell h:ilf the story. For instance,
in the case of wheat and barley, it pvcs tbe average result for 20
years. It shows that when 100 lbs. of nitrogen in a soluble and
available form, are applied to wheat, about 6>t lbs. are lejt in the
toil. But you must recollect that 100 lbs. was api>]ii'd again the
next year, and no account is taken of the 6S lbs. left in tlie soil —
«\nd so on for 20 years. In other words, on plot 8, for instance,
2,460 lbs. of nitrogin have been applied, and only llh lbs. have
been recovered in ihc total produce of grain, straw, and chaff,
and 1,685 lbs. have been left in the soil.

Mr. Lawes estimates, from several analyses, that his farm-yard
manure contains 0.637 per cent of nitrogen, 2.76 per cent of mineral
matter, and 27.24 per cent of organic matter, and 70 per cent of
water.

According to this, the plot dressed with 14 tons of manure every
year, for 20 years, has received 3,'.>y.* lbs. of nitrogen, of which 58;H
lbs. were recovered in the produce, and 3,411J lbs. were left in the
soil.

In the case of barley, 3,995 lbs. of nitrogen was applied dur-
ing the 20 years to the plot dressed with farm-yard manure, of
which 427* lbs. were recovered in the crop, and 3,567J lbs. left in
tbe soil.

*' I see," s;iid the Deacon, " that barley gets less of the goodness
out of farm-yard manure than wheat, but that it gets more out of
the salts of ammonia and nitrate of soda. How do you account
for that?"

" I sui pose, because the manure for wheat was applied in the
autumn, and the rains of winter and spring dissolved more of tbe
plant-food than would be the case if the manure was applied in
the spring. If tbe manure had been applied on the surface, in-
stead of plowing it under, I believe the effect would have been
Btill more in favor of the autumn-manuring."

When the nitrogen is in an available condition, spring barley
can take up and utilize a larger proportion of the nitrogen than
winter wheat. Neither tbe wheat nor the barley can get at and
take up half what is applied, aid tliis, notwithstanding the fact
that a heavy dew or a sliirht rain furnishes water enough on an
acre to dissolve a liberal dressin;; of nitrate of soda or sulphate
and muriate of ammonia. The truth is, the soil is very conserva-
tive. It does not, fortunately for us, yield up all its plant-food in
a year

We have seen that when wheat or barley is dressed with sol-

250

TALKS ON MANURES.

iiblc auiiiiouia-salts or nitrate of soila, a considerable amount of
tl^' nitro^^i-n is loft in the soil — an 1 yet this uilroi^en is of eoinpara-
tively liltlo bjui'tit to the succeeding crops of wheat or barley,
while a fresh dressing of ammonia-salts or nitrate of soda is of
great benefit to the crop.

In other words, when wheat is sown after wheat, or barley
after barlr-y, we do not get lialf the benefit from the manure which
it is theoretically capable of producing.

Now, the question is, whether l)y a judicious rotation of crops,
we can avoid this great loss of manure ?

Tii're w.is a time when it was tliou-^ht that the growth of tur-
nips enriched tiie soil. I have heard it said, again and again, that
the reason E:i,dish farmers grow larger crops of wheat and bailey
than we do, is because ihey grow so many acres of turnips.

" So I have often heard," said the Deacon, "and I supposed the
broail turnip leaves absorbed nitrogen from the atmosphere."

ThiTO is no evidence that l-aves have any sucii power; while
tliere are many facts wliich jioint in an opposite direction. The
following experiments of Lawesand (Jilbert seem to show that the
mere growth of turnips does not enrich land for grain crops.

Turnips w.'re grown on the same land, year after year, for ten
years. Tlu; \u\ 1 was then plowed and sown to barley for three
years. The following table gives the results:

Three Years of Barlet after Ten Years of Turnips.

PARTICCLAUS or MANIRES, KTP.

IIoos-Ficld —
Bailey, without manure, after 3 corn-crops

Birn-Field—
Biiiicy. after 10 yrs. Turnips raannred as under—

l.—Miiieral manures (la-t 8 year!') —

2.— Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; .\inmoiiia-salts (6 yrs.).

3.— Mineral manures (8 yrs.); Rape-cake (6 yrs.)

4. —Mineral manun-s (8 yrs.); Ammonia-salts and
Itape-cake ((J yrs.)

Produce qf Barley per Acre.

bush.! I>ush. bu!*!!.
26

20 'i
234
28'4

294

5.— Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Ammonia-salts, for Bar-' I

lev, ISot (aO)<?)

6.— Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Nitrate Soda, for Bar-
Icy. 'W and '55 ' (2flV)

The yield of barley after turnips is less than
crops, and it is evident that this is due to a lack of

354

344

19<<
21 ii
24^

20
21 ?i
234

23X

23X

■

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26H

M%

40 ^i

bush,
31 J(

20
22
25X

26J4

394

it is after grain
available nitro-

>fANi r.E van n.vni.EY. 251

gen in llio soil In otliiT wonls, the iiirnii)s IcaVi; ItKi aviiihiblo
nitro^oii in the soil liian j^rain crops.

Aftrr aiiuilini; to llie fat-Is given in liic foregoing table, Messrs.
Lawrs ami Gilbert say :

" There is eviilenee of another kind that may be cited as show-
ing that it was of available nitrogen that the turnii)s hail rendered
the soil so delicicnt for the aftergrowth of barley. It may be as
sumed that, on the average, between 2') and ^0 lbs. of nitrogen
would be annually removed from the Rothainsted soil by wheat
or barley grown year after year witlioul nitrogenous manure. But
it is estimated that fron> the niineral-nianured turnip-plots there
were, over the 10 years, more than 50 lbs. <»f nitrogen per acre per
annum removed. As, however, on some of the plots, small quan-
tities of ammonia-salts or rape-cake were ai)plie.l in the first two
years of the ten of turnips, it is, perhaps, more to the purjxise to
tiike the average orer l lie last 8 yeai-s of turnips only ; and this
would show about 45 lbs. of nitrogen removed per acre per annum.
An immaterial proportion of this migiit be due to the small
amounts of nitrogenous manures applied in the first two years.
Still, it may be assumed tLat about li time as much nitrogen was
removed from the land for 8, if not for 10 years, in succession, as
would have been taken in an equal number of crops of wheat or
barley grown without nitrogenous manure. No wonder, then,
that considerably less barley has been grown in 3 years after a
series of mineral-manured turnip-crops, tlian was obtained in an-
other field after a les? number of corn-crops.

"The residts obtained in Barn-field afford a striking illustration
of the dependence of the turnip-plant on a supply of available ni-
trogen within the soil, and of its comparatively great power of
exhausting it. They are also perfectly consistent with those in
Hoos-field. in showing that mineral manures will not yield fair
crops of barley, unless there be, within the soil, a liberal supply of
available nitrogen. The p'sults obtained under such very ditTerent
conditions in the two fields are, in fact, .strikingly mutually con-
firmatory."

252

TALKS OX MAVURBS.

CHAPTER XXX.

MANURES FOR OATS.

" What is the use of talking about manure for oats," said the
Deacon, " if laud is not rich enough to produce oats withdut ma-
Dure, it certainly will not pay to manure tliem. "We can use our
manure on some crop tbat will pay better."

" That is precisely what we want to know," said I. " Very likely
you are riglit, but have you any evidence ? "

" Evidence of wliat V "

"Have you any facts that show, for instance, that it will pay
better to use manure for wheat or Itarley than for oats? "

" Can't say that I have, but I think manure will pay better on
wheat tlian on oats."

Mr. Lawes is making a series of experiments on oats. Let us
take a hasty glance at the results of the first two seasons :

Experiments on Oats at Rothamsted.

MANUnE» PEK ACRE.

Giain, in

bushds.

Straw, cwts.

Weight per
biuhel, Ihf.

18(J!t.

1870.

1869.

1870.
9H
9*i

285i
23

mi

1869.

36?i

38X
37>i^

39 V
38'/,

1870.

3ti?g

45
56 H

75»4
62;^

69?i

16?8

mi

50 ?8
50

19 '4

3678

54
42 Ji

49 »

35

2.— Mixc-.i Alkalic? and Snpcrphosplmtc
i>f Lime

35 >«

3.— 4CI0 Itis. .\ininoiiia-!;:i]l?

4.— Mixed .\lk:ilies and Siiperphospliate,

and 4W 9>». Aminoiiiii-salts

5.— 5.50 ft)". Nitrite of Soda

6.— Mixed Alk.ilies, Supcrpliosphate,

and 550 lbs. Nitrate of Soda.

34 'i

36
35^1

355li

It seems clear that, for oats, as for barley and wheat, what we
most need in manure, is available nitrogen.

The first yfar, the no-manure plot produced 36| bushels of oats
per acre, weighing 361 lbs. per bushel, and plot 3, with ammonia-
salts alone, 56^ bushels, and with nitrate of soda alone, on plot 5,
62} bushels per acre, botli weighing 08i lbs. per bushd. In other
words, 82 lbs. of available nitrogen \n the salts of ammonia gave
an increase of about 20 bushels per acre, and the same quantity of
nitrogen in nitrate of soda an increase of 26 bushels per acre.

The next year, the season seems to have been a very unfavor-

MANURES FOR OATS. 253

able one for oaU;. Tlie no-manure plot produced less than 17
bushels per acre ; and the "ashes" and superphosphate on plot 2,
give an increase of less than 3 bushels per acre. Uul it will be
seen that on plot 3 the ammonia-salts do as much gooil in this un-
favorable season as in the fa\orable one. They give an increase
of over 20 bushels per acre.

"A few such facts as this," said the Deacon, " would almost
persuade me that j'ou are right in contending that it is in the un-
favorable seasons, when prices are sure to be high in this country,
that a gooil fanner stiinds the best chance to make money."

" Will-re mixed alkaliis and superphosphate," said the Doctor,
"are added to the ammonia, the increase fnna the nmmoiiia is far
greater tiian wiiere ammonia is used alone. In other words, by
comparing plot 2 and plot 4, you will see that the ammonia gives
an increase of 30^ bushels per acre in 1809, and 3U bushels
in 1870."

The truth of the matter probably is this : 100 lbs. of available
ammonia per acre is an excessive suppl}', when used alone. And
in fact Mr. Lawes himself only recommends about half this
quantity.

Whetlier it will jniy us to use artificial manures on oats depends
on the price we are likely to get for the oats. When the price of
oats^r lb. and oat-straw is as high as barley and barley straw per
/i.,then it will \i\\y a I'ttte httter io use manure on oats than on
barley. As a rule in t'.iis country, however, good barley >s worth
more per lb. than good oats ; and it will usually pay better *o use
artificial manures on barley than on oats.

Some years ago Mr. Bath, of Virginia, made some experiments
on oats with the following results :

BusTids of oats
per acre.

No. 1— :200 lbs. Superphosphute 22

No. 2—200 lljs. Peruvian f^uano 48J

No. 3—100 lbs. Peruvian guano 32

The oats were sown March 13, and the crop harvested July 4

In 1860, 1 made some experuuents with gypsum, superphosphate,
and sulphate of ammonia as a top-dressing on oats.

The land was a clover-sod, i)lowed about the middle of May,
and the oats .sown May 20. On the 26th of May, just as the oats
were coming up, the manures were sown broadcast. The oats
■were sown too late to obtain the best results. On another field,
where the oats were sown two weeks earlier, the crop was decidedly
better. The oats were cut August 28.

The following is the result :

2:)4

TALKS ON MANURES.

EXPEBIMENTS ON OaTS AT MOBETON FaBM, RocaESTER, N. Y.

Plots.

MANl'KES 1-KK AtKE.

No. 1 No manure

a two li)S. (Jypsiiiu (Sulplmte of Lime)

3 l-'lOO lbs. !Siii>erplui>|>lmle of Lime...

4 .'iOO lljs. Suipliaie <>i Aiiiinoiiiu

5 -'WO lb:*. SiiperplKj^pli.ite of Lime, uiul 3tX)
I lb:-. SulpUate o> Ammonia

Biuhtls Wei(j/U airaw
01 Oat« jxr liimUel /jtr acre

jxrr acre.

ae

47

50
50

III /A,<.

•i-i

•il
•z-i.

22>4

III lbs.

1,U5U
2,475
•J,47o
2,730

2,576

These experiments wore made when my laml was not as clean
as it {■n uow. I presume the weeds got more benetil from the am-
monia th.m the oats. To top-dress foul laud with e.vpensive arti-
licial maniirvs is money thrown away. If t'.ie hind had hccii ph)wcd
in the autumn, and tlie s<'ed and manures eouhl liave been put in
early in the spring, I presume we should have had more favoraltle
results.

" Are you not ashamed to acknowledge," paid the Deacon, " tliat
you have ever rai.sed oats weigliing only 22 lbs. per bushel."

No. I have raised even worse crojis than thi.s — and so has the
Dencon. But I made up my niin<l that such farming did not paj',
and I have been trying hard since then to dean my land and got
it into I)ottor condition. And until this is done, if is useless to talk
]nu( li of artiti( ial manures.

The most striking result is the ofToct of the gypsum. It not only
gave an increased yield of 11 itushels per acre, but the oats were of
decidedly better quality, and there was nearly half a ton more
straw per acre than on the plot alongside, where no manure was
used.

The superphosphate was a good article, similar to that used in
Mr. Lawes' experiments.

MANUUES FOi; roTATOKS. 255

C n A i' T E K \ XXI.

MA\riU:S FOR POTATOES.

Some time ago, a fiiriiR-r in Pennsylvaniii wrote me that he
waiittd " to rai.^e a tirst-ratc irop of potalcjcs." I aiiiswcred him
as tollows throui^'h the Anurictn Agriculturint :

" Tlierc- are many ways of doiu- this. But as you only enter on
tlie farm this spring, you will work to disaiivaniage. To obtain
the be;*t results, it is necessary to prepare for (he crop tw o or three
years beforehand. All that you can do this year is to select the
best land <»n the f.irni, put on 400 ll»s. of Peruvian piano, culti-
vate thoroughly, and sulFer not a weed to prow. A two or three-
year-old <lovcr-sod, on warm, rich, sandy loam, gi\es a good
chance for pot^itocs. Do not plow until you are ready to plant.
Sow the guano broa least afler plowing, and harrow it in, or api)ly
a tJiblespoonfuI in each hill, and nii.x it with the soil. Mark out
the rows, both ways, three feet apart, and drop a fair-sized potato
in each hill. Start the cultiv.itor as .soon as the rows can be dis-
tinuMii.sht'd, and repeat every week or ten days until there is danger
of disturbing the roots. We usually hill uj> a little, making a broad,
flat hill. A tablespoonful of plaster, dusted on the young plants
soon after thev come up, will usually do good. We recommend
guano, because in our experience it does not increase the rot.
But it is only fair to add, that we have not found even barn-yard
manure, if thoroughly rotted and well mixed with the soil the fall
previous, half so injurious as some people would have us suppose.
If any one will put 25 loads per acre on our potato land, we will
agree to plant and run the risk of the rot. But we would use some
guano as well. The truth is, that it is useless to expect a large
crop of potatoes, say 350 bushels per acre, without plenty of
manure."

This was w ritten before the potato-beetle made its appearance.
But I think I should say the same thing now — only put it a little
stronger. The truth is, it will not pay to '• fight the bugs" on a
poor crop of potatoes. We nmst select the best land we have and
make it as rich as possible.

"But why do you recommend Peruvian guano," asked the
Doctor, "rather than superphosphate or ashes ? Potatoes contain
a large .amount of potash, and one would expoct considerable
benefit from an ap;ili(ation of ashes."

" Ashes, plaster, and hen-dung," said the Judge, " will at any rate

256 TALKS OX MANUnES.

pay well on potatoes. I have tried this mixture again and again,
and always with good effect."

" I believe in the hen-dung," said I, " and possi])]y in the plaster,
but on my land, ashes do not seem to be specially V»eneficial
on potatoes, while I have rarely used Peruvian guano without
good effect; and sometimes it has proved wonderfully prolil
able, owing to the high price of potatoes."

Sometime ago, I had a visit from one of the most enterprising
and successful farmers in Western New York.

"What I want to learn," he said, "is how to make manure
enough to keep my land in good condition. I sell nothing but
l)eans, potatoes, wheat, and apples. I feed out all ni}' corn, oats,
stalks, straw, and hay on the farm, and draw into the barn-yard
the potato-vines and everytiiing else thit will rot into manure. I
make a big pile of it. But the point with me is to tind out what is
the i)est stock to feed this straw, stalks, hay, oats, and com to, so
as to make tiie best manure and return the largest profit. Last
year 1 bouglit a lot of steers to feed in winter, and lost money.
This fall I bought G8 head of cowa to winter, intending to sell
them in the spring."

" What did they cost yon ? "

" I went into Wyoming and Cattaraugus Counties, and picked
them up among tlie dairy farmers, and selected a very fair lot oJ
cows at an average of $'22 per bead. I fcypect to sell them as new
milch cows in the spring. Such cows last opring would have "been
worth $60 to $70 each."

" That will i^ay. But it is not often the grain-grower pets such a
chance to teed out his straw, stalks, an 't other fodder to advantage.
It cannot be adopted as a permaucnt system. It is bad for the
dairyman, and no real help to tha grain-grower. The manure is not
rich enough. Straw and stalks alone can not be fed to advantage.
And when you winter cows to sell again in the spring, it will not
pay to feed grain. If you were going to keep the cows it w< uld pay
well. The fat and flesh you put on in the winter would be re-
turned in the form of butter and cheese next summer."

" Why is not the manure good ? I am careful to save everything,
and expect seven or eiglit hundred loads of manure in the spring."

" You h:id 60 acres of wheat that yielded 25 bushels per acre,
and have probably about 50 tons of wheat straw. You had also
30 acres oats, that yielded 50 bushels per acre, say 35 tons of
straw. Your 20 acres of corn produced 40 bushels cf shelled corn
per acre ; say t'.ic stalks weigh 30 tons. And you have 60 tons of

MANUBKS hOll I'UTATOKS. 257

hay, half clover and lialf timothy. Ltt us see what your manure

from this amount of gr:iin aiul fodder is worth.

Manures from

50 tons whcut-etraw, (a $2.GS | 134.00

35 loiis oal-?.lraw, (<( *;2.'.M) 101.50

30 tons c(ini-stalkt>, «/ f;j..>s 107.40

SOtons tiiui.tliy-liav, (« #<1.43 VJ-2.'M

30 tons clovcr-liay,"(«/ *H.64 )18\K'M

14 tons oats (l,5(Hi bush.), (^(i $7.70 107.'50

at tons corn (ftOO bushels;, (<t $0.(>> lo'.t.tiO

Total . .213 tons *l,0.t2.40

"This is the value of the manure on the land. Assuminj: tliat
tliore are 600 loads, and that the labor of cleaning out the stal»les,
piling, carting, and spreading the manure is worth ^0 cents per
loatl, or $lfSO, we have $'.tl'2.4U as the net value of the manure.

" Now, your 2o0-acre farm iinght he so managed that tliis amount
of manure aunuall}- aj'plied would soon greatly increase its fertility.
But you do not think you can afford to summer-fallow, and you
want to raise thirty or forty acres of potatoes every year."

" I propose to do so," he replied. " Situated as I am, close to a
pood shipping station, no crop pays me better. My potatoes this
year have averaged me over |!100 per acre."

" Very good. But it is perfectly clear to my mind that sooner
or later, you must either farm slower or feed higher. And in your
case, situated close to a village where you can get plenty of help,
and with a good shipping station near by, you had better adopt
the latter plan. You must feed higher, and make richer manure.
You now feed out 213 tons of stuff, and make 600 loads of manure,
worth |;912.40. By feeding out one third, or 71 tons more, you can
more than dimhle the value of the manure.

50 tons of bran or mill-feed would trivc manure worth % 729.50

21 tons dccorticatcil cotton-seed cake S'^'j.OO

?:i,314.5(;
" Bu3' and feed out this amount of bran and cake, and you would
have 800 loads of manure, worth <>n the hmd ^2,226.90, or, estimat-
ing as before that it cost 30 cents a load to handle it, its net value
would be $1,986.96."

I am well aware that comparatively few farmers in this section
can afford to adopt this plan of enrichinir their land. We want
better stock. I do not know where I could buy a lot of steers that
it would pay to fatten in the winter. Those farmers who raise
good grade Shorthorn or Devon cattle are not the men to sell
them lialf-fat at low rates. They can fatten them as well as I can
For some time to come, the farmer who proposes to feed liberally,

258 lALKS ON MAJJUEES.

■will have lo raise his own stock. He can rarely buy well-bred ani-
mals to fatten. A good farmer must be a good farmer throughout.
He can not be good in spots. His land must be drained, well-
worked, and free from weeds. If he crops heavily he must manure
heavily, and to d(i this he must feed liberally — and he can not
atford to feed iilxTuUy unless he has good stock.

" 1 have, my.self, no doul)t but you are right on this point,'' said
the Doctor, " but all this takts time. Suppose a farmer becomes
satislied that the manure he makes is not rich enough. To tell him,
when he is an.xious to raise a good crop of potatoes next year, that
be must go to work and improve his stock of cattle, sheep, and
swine, and then l)ny bran and oil-cake to make richer manure, is
somiwhal tantalizing."

This is true, and in sndi a case, instead of adding nitrogen and
phosplioric acid to his manure in tlic shape of bran, oil-cake, etc.,
he can buy nitrogen and pliosphoric acid in guano or in nitrate of
soda and sni)erpliospliate. This gives him richtT manure ; which
is precisely what he wants for his potatoes. His potir manure i3
not so much deficient in poLa.sh as in nitrogen and jjliosphoric acid,
and consetpirntly it is nitrogen and plios|)horic acid that he will
probably need to make his soil capable of producing a large crop
of potatoes.

I have seen Peruvian guano extensively used on pf)tatoes, and
almost always with good eirect. My first experience with it in this
country, was in 18o'2. Four acres of pot:itoes were planted on a
two-year-old clover-sod, plowed in the spring. On two acres,
Peruvian guano was sown broalcast at the rate of 300 lbs. per acre
and harrowed in. The potatoes were planted May 10. On the
other two acres no manure of any kind was used, though treated
exactly alike in every other respect. The result was as follows:

No manure 11^ bushels per acre.

30t» ll)s. Peruvian gtiano S*^

Tiie guano cost, here, about 3 cents a lb., and consequently nine

dollars' worth of guano gave 84 bushels of potatoes. The potatoes

were all .'^ound and good, but where the guano was used, they were

larger, with scarcely a small one amongst tiiem.

In 1857, I made the following experiments on potatoes, in the
same field on which the preceding exiieriment was made in 18.')2.

In this case, as before, the land was a two-year-old clover-sod. It
was plowed about the first of May, and harrowed until it was in a
gootl mellow condition. The potatoes were planted in bills 3i

NfAXUKKS FOR rOTATOKS.

259

feet apart each way. Tlie following table shows the manures used
and the yield of ]><)tatoc*s per acre.

EXPEKIMKNTS O.V POTATOES AT MoKETON FaBM,

1>r~i iiiiTiMN

■ c Manure.-* v*zit. >

AI'I'UKU I-EH Al'K):

1) OIASTITIK?

^•1
II

No manure i>5

151) lb!'. Hulphatc of ammonia 14<)

;«) li)i«. 7<a|MTplii)!<plmt<- of lime l."J2

150 lb!<. ^ull)hato uf animouiu, and SUO lbs. 8U|>or[>huH

I pimte of linic 179

401 lb?*, of uiil<ath«<l xv.H)d-a«lies | HW

lOOIbrt. pla.-«t(.T, iirvp-uni. or sulplmti' of limo,) 101

400lb^. UDl.achi-d'«oo<l-:ishir' an 1 lai lb.". pluHter i 110

400 lb!<. uiili-achcd \vuo(i-a>lic-!<. V*i lbi«. i«ulplmto of am-

' nioiiia. .ind l(>i> lb:*, plii^t.r 109

300 lbi$. rupiTpbo-ipbal-! <>f lime, l.'i I Iba. fiilphato of am-

I niouia and lOO lb;*. iinb-acbL-d woodaxlii-H l.X

1^

^1

45

H4

The superpliosphate of lime w;is made expressly for experimen-
tal |>urp(ises, from calcined bones, ground line, and mixed with
stil|)huric acid in the proper prnportion.s to convert all the pho.s-
piiate of lime of the bont-s into the sDliible sup Tphospliatc. It wa«i
a purely min ral article, fn-e from ammoiiii and other organic
matt -r. It co>t about two and a half cents per pound.

Tlie manures were deposited in the hill, covered with an inch or
two of soil, and tlie seed then pl:inle<l on the top. Where supcr-
piiospiiate of lime or sidp'.iate of ammonia was u.sed in conjunction
with ashes, tiie as'.ies were tir>t deposited in the hill and covered
with a little soil, and then the superphosphate or sulphate of am-
monia placed on the top and covered with soil before the seed was
planted. Notwitlist;mding this precaution, the rain washed the
sul|)liate of ammoni.i into the a.>hes, and decomposition, witii loss
of ammonia, was the result. This will account tor tlie less yield
on plot 8 than on plot 2. It would have been better to have sown
tlie ashes bro.idcast, but some previous experiments with Peruvian
guano on potatoes indicated that it was liest to apply guano in the
hill, carefully coverincr it with soil to prevent it injuring the .seed,
than to sow it broadcast. It was for this reason, and for the greater
convenience in sowing, that the manures were applied in the lull.

Tlie ash of potatoes consists of about 50 per cent of potasii, and
this fact has induced many writers to recommend ashes as a manure
for this crop. It will be seen, however, that in this instance, at

260 TALKS ON MAJfUEES.

least, they have very little eflfect, 400 lbs. giving an increase of only
five bushels per acre. One hundred pounds of plaster per acre gave
an in 'rease of six bushels. Plaster and ashes combined, an increase
per acre of 15 busheLs.

One fact is clearly brought out by these experiments : that this
soil, which has been under cultivation without manure for many
years, is not, relatively to other constituents of crops, deticieiit iu
potash. Had such been the case, the sulphate of ammonia and
supcrphospiiateof lime — manures wliich coataiu no potasli — would
not have given an increase of 84 bushels of potatoes j)er acre.
There was sufficient potash in the soil, in an available condition,
for 179 bushels of potatoes per acre ; and the reason wliy the soil
without manure produced only 95 bushels per acre, was owing to
a deficiency of ammonia and phosphates.

Since tljese experiments were made, Dr. Voelcker and otiiers have
nvide similar ones iu England. Tlie results on the whole all point
in one direction. They show that the manures most valuable for
potatoes are thosj rich in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and that
occasionally potash is also a useful addition.

"There is one thing I should like to know," said the Doctor.
" Admittmg that nitrogen and phosphoric acid and potash are the
most important elements of plant-food, hovv many bushels of po-
tatoes should we be likely to get from a judicious application of
these manures?"

"Tliere is no way," said I, "of getting at this with any degree
of certauny. The numerous experiments that have been made in
England seem to show tliat a given quantity of manure will produce
a larger increase on poor land than on land in better condition."

In England potatoes are rarely if ever planted without manure,
and the land selected for tliis crop, even witliout manure, would
usually be in better condition than the average potato land of this
section, and consequently a given amount of manure, applied to
potatoes here, would be likely to do more good, up to a certain
point, than the same amount would in England.

Let us look at some of the cxpenments that have been made in
England : —

In tlie Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of
Scotland for 1873 is a prize essay on " Experiments upon Potatoes,
with Potash Salts, on Light Land," by Charles D. Hunter, F. C. S.,
made on the firm of William Lawson, in Cumberland. Mr. Hun-
ter " was cliarircd witli the manuring of the farm and tiic purehas-
inur of cliemical maimres to the annual value of £2,000," or say
110,000.

MANLKES FOK POTATOES. 261

" Potatoes," says Mr. Hunter, " were hirgclj'- growu on the farm,
and in the absence of a suIBcieney of farni-yurcl manure, potash
naturally suggested itsdf is a necessary constituent of a chemical
potato-manure. The soil was light and gravelly, with an open
subsoil, and the rainfall from 29 to 38 inches a year."

Tiie first .>^eries of experiments was made in 18G7. The follow-
ing are some of the results : —

Bushels per acre.

No manure 2:il

4 cwl. mineral 6Uj)erphospliate 225

4 ewt. mineral suporphosphatc and | ,^t^

4 cwt. of uiuriatf of potash \ "'^

154 tons farm-yard manure 293

"That does not say mueli for potash r.nd superphosphate," said
the Deacon. " The superphosphate only produced four bushels
more than the no manure, and the ptuash and superphosphate
only fifteen bushels more than the superphosphate alone."

It may be worth while mentioning that one of the experimental
plots this year was on a head-land, " where the cattle frcriuently
stand tor shelter." This plot was dressed with only eight and a
half tons of manure, and the crop was over 427 bushels per acre,
while a plot alongside, without manure, produced only 163 bushels
per acre.

" That shows the importance." said the Deacon, " of planting
potatoes on rich land, rather than to plant on poor land and try to
make it rich by applying manure directly to the crop."

The following are some of the results in 1868 :

Bus f I el X per acre.
1. No manure 232

( 4 cwt. superphosphate |

2. -I 2 " muriate of potash [-340

(2 " sulphate of ammonia )

3 . 20 tons farm yard manure 342

. ( 4 cwt. superphosphate | 274

*• I 4 " muriate of potash j

"Here again," said the Doctor, "superphosphate and potash
alone give an increas? of only forty-two bushels per acre, while on
plot 2, where two hundre 1 weight of muriate of potash is substi-
tuted by two hundre 1 weight of sulpliatc of ammonia, the increase
is 108 busliels per acre. It certainly looks as thcmgh a manure for
potato 's, so far as yield is concerned, should be rich in available
nitrogen."

262 TALKS ON MANURES.

The following are some of the results in 1869 :

Bushels per acre.
1. No munurc *. 176

(4 cwt. superphosphate "1
} " eulphate of majjnesia lo^^
2 " muriate of potash f*'^
2 " sulphate of ammonia J

3. 4 cwt. 8U|)erpliosphate 189

_. ( 4 cwt. superphospliate ) oqi

(2 " sulphate of ammonia j

( 4 cwt. 8uper|)hosphate i

5. -(2 " muriate of potash >-340

(2 " 8uli>hate of ammonia )

g ( 4 cwt. 8Uiierpho.sphale [ oig

■j2 " muriate of potash j

"Tlii.'? is a very interesting experiment," said the Doctor.
"Siipcrpliospliate alone gives an increase of thirtct'n husliels.
Siipcrpliospliato and potash an increase of seventy-three bushels.
The potash, tliereforc, gives an inirease of si.xly bushels. Super-
phospliate n/id ammonia give twelve bushels more than superphos-
pliatc alone, and the reason it does not produce a better crop is
owing to a deficiency of potash. When this is supplied the am-
monia gives an increase (plots 5 and 6) of ninety-one bushels per
acre."

In 1870 the aliove experiments were repeated on the same land,
with the same genenil results.

In 1871 some cxperiinenis were made on a sharp, gravelly soil,
wliicli had been over-cropped, and was in poor condition. The fol-
lowing are the results: —

Busfich prr acre.

, j 9 cwt. superphosphate ( , o-

■|3 " sulphate of ammonia f ^

9 ewt. su[)erphospliatc.

( 9 ewt. su[)erphospliatc i

2. < 31 " muriate of pota.sh 1204

(3 " sulpliite of ammonia )

3. No manure 70

{ 9 ewt. supcrpho.sphate )

4. -j 3i " muriate of pota.sti 1205

(3 " sulphate of ammonia )

5. 20 tons farm-yard manure 197

" On this poor soil," said the Doctor, " the ammonia and super-
pliospiiate gave an increase of IIG bushels per acre; and 3^ hun-
dred weight of muriate of potash an increa.se, on one plot, of
eighteen bushels, and on the other nineteen bushels per acre."

In tiic same year, 1S71, another set of e.xperiments was made on
a better and more loamy soil, which had been in trra.ss for several
years. In 136!) it was sown for hay, and in 1870 was broken up
and sown to oats, and the next spring planted with potatoes. The
following are some of the results :

MANLRES F(»K TOTATOES. 263

Biushcls ])er acre.

I 6i c wt. superphosphate |

l.-|2i " inuiiale of potash >-321

("21 " 8iilpbalf of armuoiiia )

o i tii cwt. 8iipirpliot;i)bute (^ .,tjg

"(24 " t<ulphatc of ammonia )~

3. No iiianurt- 252

- 3 6i ewt. suiterphosphatc * ... ,

*■ ) 2i •• muriate of pctasb )

5. 2i cwt. fuliiliale ot auimuiiia 238

6. Lj tons farm-} aid manure 3t>5

" It is curious," said the Doctor, " that tiic plot with sulphate of
ammonia alone sliould produce less than the no-manure plot."

"The sulphate of anunonia," said I, "may have injured the
seed, or it may have produced too luxuriant a growth of vine."

Another series of experiments was m.ide on another portion of
the sjime field in 1871. The "no-manure" plot produced 337
bushels per acre. Manures of various kinds were used, hut the
largest yield, 351 iiushels per acre, was from superpliosphate and
sulphate of ammonia; fourteen tons barn-yard manure prod; ce
340 bushels per acre; and Mr. Iluntir remarks: "It is evident
that, when the produce of the unmanured soil n^aches nine tons
[336 bushels] per acre, there is but little scope for manure of any
kind."

" I do not sec," .<5aid the Doctor, " that you have answered my
question, but I suppose that, with potatoes at fifty cents a bushel,
and wheat at $1.50 per bushel, artificial manures can be more
profitably used on potatoes than on wheat, and the same is prob-
ably true of oats, barley, corn, etc."

I have long been of the opinion that artificial manures cnn be
applied to potatoes with more profit than to any other ordinary
farm-crop, for the simple rea.son that, in this country, potatoes, on
the average, command relatively high prices.

For instance, if average land, without manure, will produce fif-
teen bushels of wheat per acre and 100 bushels of potatoes, and a
given quantity of manure costing, say if>'2~), w ill double the crop,
we have, in the one case, an inrreasc of: —

15 bushels of wheat at 11.50 $22.50

15 cwt. of straw 3. .50

?2fi.OO

Cost of manure 25.00

Profit from ueing manure f 1.00

A.nd in the other: —

100 bushels of potatoes at 50 cents ^.W.OO

Cost of manure .. 25.00

Profit from using manure :f25.00

264 TALKS ON ^rAxrRES.

The only question is, whether the same quantity of the right
kind of manure is as likely to double the potato crop as to double
the wheat crop, when botli are raised on average land.

" It is not an easy matter," said the Deacon, " to double the yield
of potatoes."

" Neither is it," said I, " to double the yield of wheat, but both
can be done, provided you start low enough. If your land is clean,
and well worked, and dry, and only produces ten Imshels of wheat
per acre, there is no ditBculty in makin;:: it produce twenty bushels;
and so of potatoes. If the land be dry and well cultivated, and,
barring the bugs, produces without manure 75 bushels per acre,
there ought to lie no dilliculty in making it produce 150 bushels.

" But if your land produces, without manure, 150 bushels, it is
not always easy to make it produce 300 bushels. Fortunately, or
unfortunately, our land is, in most cases, poor enough to start
■with, and we ought to be able to use manure on potatoes to great
advantage."

'• But will not the manure," asked the Deacon," injure the quality
of the potatoes?"

I think not. So far a^ my experiments and experience go, the
judicious use of good manure, on dry land, favors tiie perfect ma-
turity of the tubers and the formation of starch. I never manured
potatoes so highly as I did last year (1877). and never had potatoes
of such high quality. They cook white, dry, and mealy. We
made furrows two and a half feet apart, and spread ricli, well-rotted
manure in the furrows, and planted the potatoes on top of the ma-
nure, and covered them with a plow. In our climate, I am inclined
to think, it would be l)etter to apply the manure to the land for
potatoes the autumn previous. If sod land, spread the manure on
the surface, and let it lie exposed all winter. If stubble land,
plow it in the fall, and then spread tlie manure in the fall or win-
ter, and plow it under in the^ spring.

WHAT f-ROrs SIIOILI) MANUHE HE APPI.IEU TO. 265

0 il A !• T E R XXXII.
WHAT CROPS SHOULD MANURE BE APPLIED TO.

" It will not do any harm on any crop," said the Deacon, "but
on my farm it seems to be most convenient to draw it out in the
winter or spring, and plow it under for corn. I do not know any
farmer except you wlio uses it on potatoes."

My own rule is to apply manure to those crops wliich require
the most labor per acre. But I am well aware that this rule will
have many exceptions. For instance, it will often i)ay well to use
manure on barley, and yet barlcv requires far less labor than corn
or potatoes.

People who let out, and tho.-JC who work f.irms "on shares"
seldom understand this matter clearly. I knew a farmer, who last
year let out afield of good land, that had been in corn the previous
year, to a man to sow to i)arley, and afterwards to wheat on " the
halves." Anotlu-r part of tiie farm was taken b}' a man to plant
corn and potatoes on similar terms, and another man put in several
acres of cabbage, beets, carrots, and onions on halves. It never
seemed to occur to either of them that the conditions were un-
equal. The expense of digging and harvesting the potato-crop
alone was greater than the whole cost of the b irley-crop ; while,
after the barley was otf, the land Avas plowed once, harrowed, and
sowed to winter wheat ; and nothing more has to be done to it
imtil the next harvest. With the garden crops, the difference is
even still more striking. The labor expended on one acre of
onions or carrots would put in ami harvest a ten-acre field of
barley. If the tenant gets pay for his labor, the landlord would
get say $5 an acre for his barley land, and |50 for his carrot and
onion land. I am pretty sure the tenants did not see the matter
in this light, nor the farmer either.

Crops which require a large amount of labor can only be grown
on very rich land. Our successful market-gardeners, seed-growers,
and nurserymen understand this matter. They must get great
crops or they cannot pay their labor bill. And the principle is ap-
plicable to ordinary farm crops. Some of them require much more
labor than otliers, and should never be grown unless the land is
12

266 TALKS OX MANURES.

capable of producing a maximum yield per acre, or a close ap-
proximation to it. As a rule, the least- paying crops arc those wliich
require the least labor per acre. Farmers are afraid to expend
much money for labor. They are wise in this, unless all tlie con-
ditions are favorable. But when they have land in a high state of
cultivation — dramed, clean, mellow, and rich — it would usually pay
them well to grow crops which require the most labor.

And it should never be forgotten that, as compared with nearly
all other countries, our labor is expensive. No matter how cheap
our land may be, we can not afford to waste our labor. It is too
costly. If men would work for nothing, and board themselves,
there are localities where we could perhaps alTord to keep sheep
that shear two pounds of wool a year; or cows that make 75 lbs.
of butter. We might make a profit out of a wheat crop of 8 bush-
els per acre, or a corn-crop of 15 bushels, or a potato-croj) of 50
bushels. But it cannot be done with labor costing from $1.00 to
$1.25 pL'r d.iy. And I do not believe labor will cost much less in
our time. The only thing we can do is to employ it to the best ad-
vantage. Machinery will help us to some extent, but I can see no
real escape from our difficulties in this matter, except to raise larger
crops per acre.

In ordinary farming, " larger crops per acre " means fewer acres
planted or sown with grain. It means more summer fallow, more
grass, cl:)ver, peas, mustard, coleseed, roots, and other crops that
are consumed on the farm. It means more thorough cultiva-
tion. It means clean and rich land. It means husbanding the
ammonia and nitric acid, which is brought to the soil, as well as
that which is developed from the soil, or which the soil attracts
from the atmosphere, and using it to grow a crop every .second,
third, or fourtli year, instead of every year. If a piece of land will
grow 25 bushels of corn every year, we should aim to so manage
it, that it will grow 50 every other year, or 75 every third year, or,
if tiie climate is capable of doing it, of rtkising 100 bushels per acre
every fourtli year.

Tiieorotically this can bo done, and in one of ]Mr. Lawes' experi-
ments he did it practically in the case of a summer-fallow for
wheat, the one crop in two years giving a little more than two
crops sown in succession. But on sandy land we should probably
lose a portion of the liberated ]i!ant-food, unless we grew a crop of
some kind every year. And the matter organized in the renovat-
ing crop could not be rendered completely available for the
next crop. In tJie end, however, we ought to be able to get it with
little or no loss. How best to accomplish this result, is one of the

WHAT CROPS SllOin.I) MANl RE RK APPLIED TO, 2Cu

most interesting and iniporliiiit i ilds for sciontitic invcstifj^ationand
practical experiment. We know enongli, liowever, to he sure that
there is a great advantage in wailing until there is a sutHcient ac-
cumulation of available i)]ant-food in the soil to produce a large
yield, before sowing a crop that requires much labor.

If we do not want to wait, we must apply manure. If we have
no barn-yard or stable-manure, we must buy artificials.

HOW AND WHEN .MANL'RE SHOULD BE APPLIED.

This is not a merely theoretical or chemical question. We must
take into consideration the cost of application. Also, whether we
apply it at a busy or a leisure season. I have seen it recommended,
for instance, to spread manure on meadow-land immediately after
the hay-crop was removed. Now, I think this may be theoretically
very good advice. But, on my farm, it would throw the work
right into the midst of wheat and barlej- harvests ; and I should
make the theory bend a little to my convenience. The meadows
would have to wait until we h;ul got in the crops — or until harvest
operations were stopped by rain.

I mention this merely to show the complex character of this
question. On my own farm, tiic most kisure season of the year,
except the winter, is immediately after wheat harvest. And, as
already stated, it is at this time that John Jolinston draws out his
manure and spreads it on grass-land intended to be plowed up the
following spring for corn.

If the manure was free from weed-s'^eds, many of our best farm-
ers, if t'.iey had some well-rotted manure like this of John John-
ston's, would draw it out and spread it on their fields prepared for
winter-wheat.

In this case, I should draw out the manure in heaps and then
spread it carefully. Then liarrow it, and if the harrow pulls the
manure into heaps, spread them and harrow again. It is of the
greatest import;ince to spread manure evenly and mix it thor-
oughly with the soil. If tliis work is well done, and the manure
is well-rotted, it will not interfere with the drill. And the manure
will be near the surface, where the young roots of the wheat can
get hold of it.

" You must recollect," said tlie Doctor, " that the roots can only
take up the manure when in solution."

" It must also be remembered," said I, " that a light rain of, say,
only half an inch, pours down on to the manures spread on an
acre of land about 14,000 gallons of water, or about 56 tons. If

268 Talks on manures.

you liaw put on 8 tons of manure, lialf an inch of rain would fur-
nisli .1 gillon of water to cacli pound of manure. It is notditticult
to understand, therefore, how manure applied on tlic surface, or
near the surface, can he taken up hy the younji roots."

" Tliat puts the matter in a new light to me," said the Deacon.
" If tlie manure was plowed under, five or six inches deep, it
would require an abundant rain to reach the manure. And it is
not one j'ear. in five tluit we get rain enough to tlioroughly soak
tiie soil for several weeks after sowing the wlieat in August or
September. And when it does come, the season is so far advanced
that the wheat plants make little growth."

.My own opinion is, that on clayey land, manure will act much
quicker if aiiplicd on, or near the surface, than if plowed under.
Cliy mixed with manure arrests or checks decomposition. Sand
has no such elTi-ct. If anything, it favors a more active decompo-
sition, and hence, manure acts much more rapidly on .sandy
land than on clay land. And I think, as a nde, where a farmer
advocates the application of manure on the surface, it will be
found that he occupies clay land or a heavy loam ; while those
who oppose the practice, and think manure should be plowed
under, occupy sandy land or .sandy loam.

" J. J. Thomas," said I, "once gave me a new idea."

"Is that anything strange," remarked tlie Deacon. "Are ideas
so scarce among you agricultural writers, that you can recollect
who first suggested them ? "

"Be that as it may," said I, "this idea Ikls had a decided influ-
enci' on my farm practice. I will not sj»y that the idea originated
with Mr. Thomas, but at any rate, it was new to me. I had alwa3'3
been in the habit, when spading in manure in the garden, of putting
the manure in the trench and covering it up ; and in plowing it in,
I thought it was desirable to put it at the bottom of the furrow
where the next furrow w(»ul(l cover it up."

" Well," said the Deacon, " and what objection is there to the
practice V "

" I am not objoctiuir to the practice. I do not say tliat it is not a
good plan. It may often be the only practicable method of a])ply-
ing manure. Bu« it is well to know that there is aometimex a better
plan. The idea that Mr. Thomas gave me, was, that it was very
desiralde to break up the manure fine, spread it eveidy, and thor-
oughly mix it with the soil.

" After the manure is spread on the soil," said Mr. Thoma.s, " and
before plowing it in, great benefit is derived by thoroughly harrow-
ing the top-soil, thus breaking finely both the manure and the soil,

What cuors sitoii.n Mwi ui: luc aii'mki* to, 2G0

auil miviiii; Uicin will Idfji-llior. Another way for llic perfect ilif-
fusion of till' luanure unionir tiic parlii les of earth, is, to spnad
the inaiiure in aiituimi, so thal-jill the raius of this season may dis-
solve the soluble portions and carry them down among the parti-
cles, where they are absorbeil and retained for the irrowin-j eroj).

"In experiments," continues Mr. Thomas, *' when the manure
fur corn was thus applied in autumn, has afforded a yield of about
70 bushels i>er acre, when the same amount applied in spring, gave
only 50 bushels. A thin coating of manure applied to winter-
wheat at the time of sowing, and was harrowed in, has increased
the crop from 7 to 10 bushels per acre — and in addition to this, by
the stmnirer growth it lia.-< caused, as well as by the |irotection it
has atforded to the surface, it lias not unfrequently saved the crop
from parti.d or total wint«'r-kiHing.

" In case; wher^ it is necessary to apply coarse manure? at once,
much may be done in lessening the evils of coarseness by artificially
grinding it into the soil. The instrument called the drag-roller —
which is like the common roller set stiff so as not to revolve — has
been used to great advantage for this purpose, by passing it over
the surface in connection with the Inrrow. We have known this
treatment to effect a tiiorough intermixture, and to more than
doul)le tiie crop obtained by common management with common
manure."

TOP-DRESSING WITH MANURE.

The term " top-dressing" usually refers to sowing or spreading
manures on the growing crop. For instance, we top-dress pastures
or meadows by spreading manure o:i the surface. If we sow ni-
trite of s«)da, or guano, «m our winter-wheat in the spring, that
would be top-dressing. We often sow gypsum on clover, and on
barley, and peas, while the plants are growing in the spring, and
this is toi>-dressing.

" If the cypsum was sown broadcast on tlio land before sowing
the seed," said the Deacon," would not that be top-dressing also?"

Strictly speaking, I suppose that would not be top-dressing.

Top dressing in the sense in which I understand the term, is
scMom adopted, except on meadows and pastures as a regular sys-
tem. It is an after-thought. We have sown wheat on a poor,
sandy knoll, and we draw out some manure and spread on it in the
winter or early spring; or we top-dress it with hen-manure, or
guano, or nitrate of soda and superphosphate. I do not say that
this is better than to apply the manure at the time of sowing the

270 TALKS OX MANURES.

wheat, but if we neglect Id do so, tlKii top-drtssing is a commend-
abk' prartice.

Dr. Vaelfkcr reports tlic result of some experiments in top-dress-
ini,' winler-wlieal on the farm of tlie Hoyal Airricultunil Collepe at
Cireueester, En,i,'h»nd. The niaiiurcs were th x\y sifted and nuxed
with about ten liiue.s tlieir weiirht of fine soil, and sown l)roa<lcast
on the jyrrowing wheat, March 22. A fine rain (Kcurrcd the follow-
inji day, and washed the manure into the soil. The following is
the yield per acre : —

N> > manure 27 bushcla and UJH4 lbs. of straw.

jso Ills. IVruviiin t'uiuo 4n " " 2.'>7»5 " "

r.i"> •• nitrate f.f sotlii 'M " <• 'MKi " *'

!"«) •• nitnito of Mula, and HW lbs. of

cdintnon salt 4ni " '• 27H6 " "

14H Ills. I'rortor'H whcttt-inanurc :RM " " 'JTidS " "

•■>7.' " " " " 44i " " »KR» " "

4 tons chalk-marl 27 " " 1«72 " "

The nvinuri's in e.ich ca.^e cost $7. SO jxr acre, except the larsre
dose of IVoctor's wlieal-tnanure, which cost $11.70 per acre. The
wheat was wortli if 1.20 jwr bushel. Ix-avinij the value of the straw
out of the (jues'ion, t!ie profit from the use of the lop dressing was :

With irimno $.H.rO jht acre.

" nitrate ..f Rola.. 0.00

" nitrate of himIu mill eonunoii Halt (t.ItS

" 4ls llm. wlu-atiii iiiiirc 7.JM

" «r2 •' " 10.10

The marl did no good.

The nitrate of soda and c«>mmon salt conUiined no phosphoric
acid, and yet produced an excellent eflect. The guano and the
wheat manure cont.iined phosphoric aciil a< well as introgen, and
the following croj) of clover woidd be likely to get 8on»e benefit
from it.

John .Tolms;<Mi wrote in 1808. " I have u.sed manim* only as a
top-dn>.'4sing for the last 20 years, and I do think one loa<l, used in
that way, is worth far more than two loads plowed under on our
stiiriaud."

MAMKES C-N l-hi;MANKNT MKADOWS. 271

C II A PTE i: XXXIII.

MANIUES ON I'KUMANKNT MKADoWS AND
I'ASTIKES.

In this tountry, wluTr labor is coinparativily high, and hay
often connnaniU a gtKul price, a goml, pcriiiancnt ini-adow frc-
(jurntly atFonls as iniirli nal profit as any othir iM>rtion of the
farm. Now that we liave iriiod iiio\vin<;-iiia('hiius, l«'dd(.r>, rakes,
and loading; and iinloadin,' apparatus, thi- lahor of liay-mnkini^
Ls jjreally U'ss<-iu'd. Thi' only dilliciilty is to kin-p up and incri'Jise
the annual ijrowth of irood j;r.iss.

Numi'rou-* rxperiinrnl-s «)n topdrrssing nuailows arc reported
from year t«i year. The n-sulls. of course, diffiT considerably, bcin^
influenced by the soil and season. The profit of the practice de-
pends very much on the price of liay. In tl»e liAstern States, hay
jrenenilly coinman b a higher relati%'e price than gniin, and it not
unfrcipiently hap|K'ns t!iat wc can use manure on gra.'^s to decided
ail vantage.

The celebrated experiments of Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert with
" Manun's on Permanent Meadow land " were comminced in 1856,
and have been continut d on the .same plots every year since that
time.

" You need not be afraid, Deacon," said I, as tlie old gentleman
commeDced to ixitton up his coat," I am not going into the details
of these wonderfid experiments ; but I am sure you will be inter-
ested in the results of tlie hrst six or seven years.

The following table explains itself:

272

TALKS ON MANl r.ES.

■

U

S" *

>•

<
a

"a -St

ft

i

5

5 2

» cs o ^ oeo •*

o« :s ;r T< ■?• •!< ^

»-. ^ -^ c c « 55

cc CO «- =•. c w f-

' <«• ^ !S «^5 o

S. « O

55 M

S5 2?

S I g § 5| S

«- S S« Q oS ?-
o ed S: 2 t<S( is

» I

X j; « X

5»<

NT

i;5c

1^

U

S l^J:.

i i

2^

!;3

s s

3 e:

S I S g £|

P 9 'V S lOa

8 I?

■;♦ c« "»■ '!♦'?♦ O

^ -"T S kjS 2

11 111

2 2 ys s
« 9 :^§ 1

S 52

? = I P

ill ii

g g

■-^

:x

= a
= a ?

- = = r a = =

,= -Ei^ -«= r£ re ■:;

IT. -3

i-=E-§ = «3

3 - - - c a —

11'

^^.l^^^-e

CO'* '

»0 r-

e* cc*

i

f

MAVUKES ttV rKUMANKN'T MKADOWS, 273

TliPsf arc all thi' Ajj^ins I will InuiliI • you with. The "niixiHl
mim-rul nmmirt's" coiisipteil of su|MTiiho.sphalf of lime (composi'il
of 150 lbs. bone-a.sli and I'M lbs. sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1.7), ;]U(J lbs.
sulphate of |M»ta8h. 200 lbs. sulphate of soda, and 100 lbs. sulphat.-
if njai^ncaia. The anuiu)nia-.>iulls consisted jf cciual parts sulphate
and muriate of ammonia, eonlnining about 25 per cent, of ammo-
nia. The manuri s were sown as early as p(»ssible in the sprint;,
and, if the weather was suitable, st)mctimes in February. Tiie
farmyard-manure was spna 1 on the*lanil, in the first year, in the
.'^priiiL', afterwards in November or December. The hay was cut
froui the middle to the last of June; anil the aftermath was pas-
tured olT by sheep in October.

" II is curious," said the Deacon, " that 400 lbs. of ammonia-sjilts
should give as jn^-al an inerca.se in the yield of hay the fii-st year
as 14 tons i»f farmyard-manure, but the second year tin- farmyard-
mau'.ire comes out ileeidedly ahead."

"Tije fannyanl-manure," .s;iitl I," was applieil ever}* year, at the
rite of 14 u'ross tons per acre, for eii:ht years — \H'}i] to 1H(;;J. After
186;{, this pU)t wa« left williout manure of any kind. The averai^e
yield of this plo*. durini: the lii-sl 8 years was 4,s00 lbs. of hay per
acre.

On the plot dressi'd wUh 14 tons of farmyard-manure and 200
lbs. ammonia-Sidts, the average yield of hay for 8 years was 5,544
lbs. \tor acre. Aft<T the eighth year the farmyard-manure was dis-
continued, and during the next twelve years tlie yield of hay
averaged 3,683 lbs., or 1,14"J lbs. more tlian the continuously unma-
nured plot.

In 18.5!), superphosphate of lime was used alone on plot 3, and
has been continued ever since. It scenes clear that this land, which
had been in pasture or me idow for a hundred years or more, was
utjt deficient in phosphates.

'' It does not seem," said the Deacon, " to have been deficient in
anything. The twentieth crop, on the continuously unmanured
plot was nearly IJ ton per acre, the first cutting, and nearly |-ton
tiie second cutting. And apparently the land was just as rich in
1875, as it was in 1850, and yet over 25 tons of hay had been cut
and nmared from the land, without any manure being returned.
And yet we are told that hay is a very exhausting crop.'"

"Superphosphate alone," .said the Doctor, "did very little to
increase the yield of hay, but superphosphate and ammonia jiro-
duced the first year, 1859, over a ton more hay per acre than the
siip<rphosphate alone, and when poVish is added to the manure, the
yield is still further increased."

274

TALKS ON MANURES.

"Answer ine one question," said the Deacon, " and let us leave
the subject. In the light uf Uiese and other experiments, what do
you consider the cheapest and best manure to apply to a perma-
nent meadow or pasture?"

" Rich, well-decomposed farmyard or stable manure," said I,
"and if it is not rich, apply 200 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre, in
addition. This will mtike it rich. Poor manure, made from straw,
corn-stalks, hay, etc., is poor in nitrogen, and comparativelj' ricli
in potash. The nitrate of soda will supply the deficiency of ni-
trogen. On the sea-shore fi.sh scrap is a cijcaper source of nitrogen,
and may be used histead of the nitrate of soda."

CHAl'TElt XXXIV.

MANURES FOR SPECIAL CROPS.

MANURES FOR HOPS.

" For hops," said the Doctor, " tliere is nothing better than rich.,
well-decomposed farmyard-manure — surii manure as you are now
making from your pigs tliat are bctlded with stable-manure. "

" That is so," said I, " anil the better you feed your horses and
pigs, the better will tiie manure be for hops. In England, Mr.
Paine, of Surrey, made a series of experiments with different ma-
nures for hops, and, as the result of four years trial, reported that
rapccakc, singly, or in combination, invariably proved tlie best
manure for hops. In this country, cotlon-sccd, or colton-seed-
cak< , would be a good siihstitulc for the rape-cake. Whatever ma-
nure is used should be ust-d liberally. Hops require a large amount
of labor per acre, and it is, therefore, specinlly desirable to obtain
a large yield per acre. This can be accomi)lished only by the most
lavish expenditure of manure. And all experience seems to show
that it must be manure rich in, nitrogen. In the hop districts of
England, 25 tons of rich farmyard-manure are applied per acre ;
and in addition to this, soot and rags, both rich in nitrogen, have
long been i)opular auxiliaries. Tlie value of soot is due to the
fact that it contains from 12 to 15 per cent of sulphate of am-
monia, and the fact tliat it has been so long used with success as a
manure for hops, seems to prove that sulpliate of ammonia, which

MAMlv-KS FOR SrE<IAL TROPS. 275

can now Ik- readily oltlaincd, coiiUl be used to advantage by our
liop-j^rowers — say at ilie rale, in addition to farui-yard manure, of
000 lbs. i)er acrt, sown bro^ideast early in the spring.

MANTRES FOR TOBACCO.

Wlicn tobacco is grown for wrappers, it is desirable to get a
large, strong leaf. The richest land is selected for tlie crop, and
large quantities of the richest and most stimulating manures are
used.

Like cabbages, this crop requires a large amount of plant-food
per acre; and, liite them, it can only l>e grown by constant and
high manuring. More manure must be used than the plants can
take up out of the st)il, and hence it is, that !and wliich has been
used for growing tobacco for some years, will be in high conditioa
for other crops without further manuring.

Farm-yard or stable-manure, must be the mainstay of the tobac-
co-jilanter. "With this, he can use artificial fertilizers to advantage
— such as fish-scrap, woollen-rags, Peruvian guano, dried blood,
slaughter-house offal, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, etc.

For choice, high-tlavored smoking-tobacco, the grower aims to
get (luality rather tlian quantity. This seems to depend more on
the land and the climate than on the manures used. Superphos-
phate of lime would be likely to prove advantageous in favor-
ing the early growth and maturity of the crop. And in raising
tobacco-plants in the seed-bed, I should expect good results from
the use of superphosphate, raked into the soil at the rate of three
or four lbs. per square rod.

MANURES FOR INDIAN CORN.

"We know less about the manurial requirements of Indian corn,
than of almost any otlier crop we cultivate. We know that wheat,
barley, oats, and gra-;ses, require for their maximum growth a lib-
eral supply of available nitrogen in the soil. And sucii facts and
experiments as we have, seem to indicate that the same is also true
of Indian corn. It is, at any rate, reasonable to suppose that, as
Indian corn belongs to the same botanical order as wheat, barley,
oats, rye, timothy, and other grasses, the general manurial require-
ments would be the same. Such, I presume, is the case ; and yet
there seem to be some facts that would incline us to place Indian
corn with the leguminous plants, such as clover, peas, and beans,
rather than with the cereals, wiieat, barley, oats, etc.

" Why so," asked the Deacon, " Indian com does not have much
in common with beans, peas, and clover? "

f

276 TALKS OX MANLKES.

As we have shown, clover can get more nitrogen out of the soil,
than wlieat, barley, and oats. And the same is true of beans and
peas, though probably not tr) so great an extent.

Now, it would seem that Indian corn c m get more nitrogen out
of a soil, than wheat, barley, or oats — and to tliis extent, at
leiist, tve may consider Indian corn as a renovating crop. In other
wonls, the Indian corn <an get more nitrogen out of the soil, than
wheat, barley, and oats — and when we feed out tiie corn and
stalks on the farm, we have more food and more manure than if
we raised and fed out a crop of oat.s, barley, or wheat. If this
idea is correct, then Indian corn, when consumed on the farm, ]£*

should not be classed with what the English farmers term " white
crops," but ratlier with the " green crops." In otlier words. In Man
corn is what (dil writers used to call a " fallov.- croi)" — (jr what
we call a renovating crop.

If tliis is so, then the growth and consumption of Indian corn cm
tlie farm, as is the ca.sc with clover, should leave tiie farm richer
for wheat, rather than j)oorer. I do not mean richer absolutely,
but richer so far as {Uottral'ihlr supply of plant-food is concerned.

" It may be that you are right," said the Doctor, " when corn is
grown for/'/rW/T, but not when grown for the grain. It is the for-
mation of the seed which exhausts the soil."

If I coul 1 be .sure that it was true of corn-fodder, I should have
little doui>t that it is true also of corn as ordinarily grown for
grain and stalks. For, I think, it is dear that the grain is formed
at the expense of the stalk.s, and not directly from the soil. The
corn-fodiler will take from the soil as much nitroL^en and phos-
plioric acid as the crop of corn, and the more it will take, the more
it approximates in cliaracter to clover and other renovating crops.
If com -fodder is a renovating crop, so is the ordinary c(jrn-crop,
also, provided it is consumed on the farm.

" But what makes you think," said the Deacon, " that corn can
get more nitroiren from the soil, than wheat? "

" That is tiie real point, Deacon," said I, " and I will a.'skyou this
question. Sui>pose you had a field of wheat seeded down to clover,
and the clover failed. After harvest, you i)low up half of the field
and sow it to wheat again, the other half of the field you plow in
the spring, and plant with Indian corn. Now, suppose you get 15
bushels of wheat to the acre, how much corn do you think you
would be likely tn get ?"

" "Well, that depends," said the Deacon, "but I should expect at
least 30 bushels of shelled corn pr^r acre."

"Exactly, and I tliink most farmers would tell you the same;

MAM 1:KS h\>n M"K< lAL < IlUl'S. 277

you prt twic'f as iiiurli corn ami stalks Id the acre as you woulil of
wheat and straw. In dIIkt words, wliili- th«' wheal taniiot tiiid
more nitro^^-n than is nec«-ssary to prodiuc 15 bushels of wluat
and straw, the corn can find, an.l doe-^ fintl, take up, and organize,
at least twice us ujueh nilrojiin as the wheat."

If these are faets, then the remarks we have made in re;?artl to
the value of clover as a fertiliziiii; i rop, are aitplicahle in some de-
gree to Indian corn. To jzrow clover and sell it, will in the end
impoverisii the soil ; to irrow clover and feed it out, will enrich the
land. And tiie same will be true of Indian corn. It will L'ather
up nitrojren that the wheat-crop can not appropriate; and when
tlie corn and stalks are fed out, some 90 [kt cent of the nitrogen
will be left in the manure.

"You do not think, then," .sjjid tin- Doctor, " tliat nitrogen is
such an important elemer.t in manure for corn, as it is hi a manure
for wheat."

I have not said that. If we want a largi- crop of corn, we shall
usually need a liberal supply of availal.l.- nitrogen. IJut this is
because a larger crop of corn means a much largj-r produce per
acre, than a large crop of wiieat. Forty bushels of wheat per acre
is an unusually large crop with us ; but 80 bushels of shelled corn
can be grown in a favorable sea'^on, and on rich, well-cultivated
land. As the Deacon has said, 30 bu.shels of corn per acre can be
grown a-s easily as 15 bu.shels of wheat ; and it is quite probable, in
many cases, that a manure contiiiiing no nitrogen, migiit give us
a crop of 35 or 40 bushels per acre. In other words, up to a cer-
lam point, manures containing mineral, or carbonaceous mattiT,
might frequently, in or linary agriculture, increa.se the yield of In-
dian corn ; while on similar land, such manures would have little
effect on wheat.

"That is so," sail the Dcacor, " we all know that plaster fre-
quently increases the growth of corn, wiiile it seldom does much
good on wheat."

But, after you have got as large a crop as the land will produce,
aided by plaster, ashes, and superphosphate, say 40 bushels of
shelled corn per acre, i/ifn if you want to raise 70 bushels jkt acre,
you must furnish the soil with manures containing sufiBcient avail-
able nitrogen.

Some years ago, I made some careful experiments with artificial
manures on Indian com.
" Oh, yes," sai 1 the Deacon, " they were made on the south lot,

278 TALK.t ON MANURES.

in front of my house, and I recollect that the N. Y. State Ag.
Society awauled you a prize of $75 for thera."

" And I recollect," add I, " how you and some other neighbors
laugiicd at me for spending so much time in measuring the land
and ai»i)lying the manures, and nu-asuring the crop. But I wish I
could have afforded to continue them. A single experiment, how-
ever carefully made, can not he depended on. However, 1 will
give the results for what they are worth, with some remarks made
at the time:

" The soil on which the cxperimeuts were made, is a light, sandy
loam. It has been under cultivation for upwards of twenty years,
and St) far as I can ascerUiin has never Ijeen manured. It has been
somewhat imi)overisiieil by the growth of cereal crops, and it was
thought that for this reason, and on account of its light texture
and "ctive character, which would cause tlie manures to act imme-
dialily, it was well adapted for the jiurpose of showing the effect
of diflferent manurial substances on tlie corn-crop.

"The land was clover-sod, two years old, pastured the previous ;?

summer. It was plowed early in the spring, and harrowed until ^

in excellent condition. The corn was planted May 23, in hills 3J v

feet apart each way.

"The manures were applied in the hill immediately before the
seed was planted.

"With superphosphate of lime, and with plaster (gypsum, or
tulphdU' of Unit'), the seed was placed directly on top of the ma-
nure, as it is well known that tiie.se manures do not injure the
girminating principle of even the smallest seeds.

"The ashes were dropped in the hill, and then covered witli soil,
and the seed planted on the top, so that it should not come in con-
tact with the ashes.

" Guano and sulphate of ammonia were treatel in the same way.

"On the plots where ashes and guano, or ashes and sulphate of
ammonia were both used, the ashes were first i)ut in the hill, and
covered with soil, and the guano or suljihate of ammonia placed
on the top, and also coven d with soil before the seed was planted.
The ashes and superpliosphate of lime was also treated in the same
way. It is well known that unleached ashes, mixed eitlier with
guano, sulphate of ammonia, or superpliosphate, mutually decom-
pose each other, setting free the ammonia of the guano and sul-
phate of a'limonia, and converting the soluble phospliate of the '
9uperphosph;ite of lime into the insoluiile form in which it existed
before treatment with sulphuric acid. All the plots were planted
on the same day, and the nu.nurcs weighed and applied under my

MANUI'vKS FOR srEriAI. mOPS.

279

own immediate suiKrvi!ii()ii. Kvcn tiiiii:^' was done that was
tktiiu-(l iK-irssary to si-cun- accuracy.

"The following Mble gives the results of the experiments:

TABUt 8UOW1NO TMK BB91 1.T8 OF EXTKRIMENTO OS INDIAN COIIN.

Description.-' OP mamu - .\m»

iJCANTlTIKS AITLIKU I'ER ACUK.

■§5 I 'fe'- 1 v;

55 5

^8 |-a5
f|| '51' ^'S^

-5

9

5^?

'fe. 5

I!

flO

70

68
90

70

85

87 10

12.

100
60

9r>

78
88

111

14

78
105

90
72

97

108
08

to;

88
101

136

1 1

10

1

11

8

8

11

."50

8

88

10

1

11

25

28

5

5

1 27

1

3

30

40

1

41

t

1

1

a->

18
28

51

I. No mannrt- I

a. KiO lbs pli».-tcr(gvp8Uin or #«/pA<i/< or

HfM>

3. 400 Ibi*. unU-achi-d wood-ashes and
I 100 lb!« nlantcr iinixfdi

4. l!in Ihn fufiilmti- of iininiuiiia

5. *Ni lbs. nunfri>h"i*i>lmi<' of lime

6. l.V) lb!» ^ul^)hnt^• i>f aniiixiniH and :100

lb-. iiup''riihM(<phati' of lime (luised)

7. 400 lb- iinl'-achtd wood a.^hi-s. (un-

ciT.iiim

8. 150 lbs pulphatc of ammonia and 400
I lb«. unlt-achi'd wood ai-lu!? (w)vvn
' i>i'par;it«'lv >

9. 300 lbs. supirplio-phat«' of lime. l.'iO
I lb(». sulpli ammonia, and 40o lbs.

unliacti<-d wotxi a>h<s

10. ^00 lb*. unl<-acb<-d wood-aMK's

II. 100 lbs. plastiT. 4Nt lbs unli-nchod
I wood-ashes. ;«0 lbs pupi-rphos-

pbateof limo. and 200 lbs. Ptruvian

I miano

."> lbs. sulphate of ammonia

1.3. 200 lb*. Periiviun k ano

14. 400 lbs. unli-achfd wood-ashes, 10.)
I lbs. plaster, and .Vhi lbs. Pcruviani
I guano I

" The supen^hosphate of lime was made on purpose for these
experiment?, and wa.-^ a pure mi:ieral manure of superior quality,
made from calcined bones ; it cost about 21 ci nts per jwund. The
sulphate of ammonia was a good, commercial article, obtained
from London, at a cost of about seven cents per pound. The ashes
w.re made from beech and hard maple (Acer siccharinum) wood,
and were sifted through a fine sieve before being weighed. The
guano was the best Peruvian, costing about three cents per pound.
It was crashed and sifted before using. In sowing the ashes
on plot 7, an error occurred in their application, and for the
purpose of checking the result, it was deemed advisable to repeat
the experiment on plot 10.

" On plot 5, with 300 Ib^. of superphosphate of iime per acre, the
plants came up first, and exhibted a healihy, dark-green appear-

88

21

u

58

280 TALKS ON MANURES.

auce, which they rcUiiui'il for some time. This result was not an-
ticipated, thoUL^h it is well known that superphospiiate of lime has
the effect of stimulating the germination of ^turnip-seed, and the
early growtli of the plants to an astonishing degree; yet, as it has
no such effect on wheat, it appeareil probable that it would not
produce this effect on Indian corn, which, in chemical composition,
is very similar to wheat. The result shows how uncertain are all
speculations in regard to the manurial recjuirements of plants.
This immediate effect of superphosphate of lime on corn was so
marked, that the men (who were, at the time of planting, somewhat
inclined to be skeptical, in regard to the value of such small doses
of manure), declared that 'superphosphate beats all creation for
corn.' The difference in favor of superphosphate, at the time of
hoeing, was very perceptible, even at some distance.

" Although every precaution was taken that was deemed ne-
cessary, to prevent the manures from mixing in the hill, or from
injuring the seed, yet, it was found, that those plots dressed with
ashes and guano, or with ashes and sulpliate of ammonia, were in-
jured to some extent. Shortly after the corn was planted, heavy
rain set in, and washed the sulphate of ammonia and guano, down
into the ashes, and mutual decomposition took place, with more
or less loss of ammonia. In addition to this loss of ammonia, these
manures came up to the surface of the ground in the form of an
excrescence, so hard that the plants could with difficulty penetrate
through it.

"It will be seen, by examining the tabl(% that although the su-
perpliospliatc of lime had a good effect during tiie eaily stages of
the growtli of the plants, yet the increase of ears of corn in the end
did not come up to these early indications. On plot 5, with 300 lbs.
of superphosphate of lime per acre, the yield is precisely the same
as on plot 2, with 100 lbs. of plaster {sulphate of Ume\ per acre.
Now, superphosp'iate of lime is composed necessarily of soluble
phosphate of lime and plaster, or sulphate of lime, formed from a
combination of the sulphuric acid, employed in the manufacture of
superphosphate, with the lime of the bones. In the 300 lbs. of
superphosphate of lime, so%vn on plot 5, there would be about 100
lbs. of plaster; and as the effect of this dressing is no greater than
was obtained from the 100 lbs. of plaster, sown on plot 2, it fol-
lows, tliat the good effect of the superphosphate of lime was due
to the plaster that it contained.

"Again, on plot 4, with 150 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia per
acre, we have 90 bushels of ears of sound corn, and 15 bushels of
ears of soft corn, ('nubbins,') per acre ; or a total increase over the

MAXLRES K<>K SPECIAL C'UOPS. 281

plot without manure, of ;iS husht'ls. Now, Hk- sulphate of aiutuo*
niacoDliiins no pbosplialeof lime, and the fact that sucli a manure
gives a c-onsiilcralih' increase of crop, confirms the conclusion we
have arrived at, from a comparison of tlie results on plots 2 and 5;
that the increase from the supcr[)hosphate of lime, is not due to
the phosphate of lime which it contains, unless we are to conclude
that the sulphate of ammonia rendered tlie phosphate of lime in
the soil more ri'adily solui)lc, and tlius furnished an increased
quantity in an available furm for assimilation by the plants —
a conclusion, which the results with superphosphate alone, on
plot 5, and with superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia, cooi-
biaed, on plot 6, do not susUiin.

"On plot 12, half the (piantity of sulpJiatc of ammonia, was
used as on plot 4, and the increase is a little more than half wi»at it
is where double the quantity was used. Again, on plot 13, 200 lbs.
of Peruvian guano i)er acre, gives nearly as great an increase of
sound corn, as the 150 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia. Now, 200 lbs.
of Peruvian guano contains nearly as much ammonia as 150 lbs.
sulphate of ammonia, and the increase in both cases is evidently
due to the ammonia of these manures. Tiie 200 lbs. of Peruvian
guano, contained al>out 50 ll)s. of piiosphate of lime ; but as the sul-
phate of ammonia, which contains no phos|>hate of lime, gives as
great an incn-ise as the guan(», it follows, that the phosphate of
lime in the guano, had little, if any effect; a result precisely simi-
lar to that obtained with superphosphate of lime.

" We may conclude, therefore, that on this soil, which has never
been manuivd, and which has been cultivated for many years with
the Cerdlia— or, in other words, with crops which remove a large
quantity of phosphate of lime from the soil — the phosphate of
lime, relatively to the ammonia, is not deficient. If such was not
the case, an application of soluble phosphate of lime would have
given an increase of crop, which we have shown was not the case
in any one of these experiments.

" Plot 10, with 400 lbs. of unleached wood-ashes per acre, pro-
duces the same quantity of sound corn, with an extra bushel ol
'nubbins' per acre, as plot 1, without any manure at all; ashes,
therefore, applied alone, may be said to liave had no effect what-
ever. On plot 3, 400 lbs. of ashes, and 100 lbs. of piaster, give the
same total number of bushels per acre, as plot 2, with 100 lbs. of
plaster alone. Plot 8, with 400 lbs. ashes, and 150 lbs. of sulphate
of ammonia, yields three bushels of sound corn, and five bushels
of 'nubbins' per acre, less than plot 4, with 150 lbs. sulphate of

282 TALKS ON MANURES.

ammonia alone. This result nui}' be ascribed to the fact previously
alluded to — the ashes dissipated some of the ammonia.
"Plot 11, with lOU lbs. of plaster, 400 lbs. aslies, 300 lbs. of super-
phosphate of lime, and 20C lbs. Peruvian guano (whieh contains
about as much ammonia as loO lbs. sulphate of ammonia), pro-
duced precisely the same number of total bushels per acre, as jdot
4, with 150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia alone, and but 4 bushels more
per acre, tliau plot Vi, with :200 lbs. Peruvian guano alone. It is
evident, from these results, that neither ashes nor phosphates had
much effect on Indian corn, on this impoverished soil. Plot 14 re-
ceived the largest dressing of ammonia (500 lbs. Peruvian guano),
and produced much the largest crop; though the increase is not so
great in proportion to the guaao, as where smaller quantities were
used.

"The manure which produced the mo.st profitable result, was
the 100 lbs. of plaster, on |)lot 2. The 200 lbs. of Peruvian guano,
on plot 13, and whidi cost about $0, gave an increase of 14 bushels
of slielled corn, ami G l)usbels of ' nubbins.' This will pay at the
present price of corn in Rochester, although the profit is not very
great. Tiie superphosphate of lime, although a very superior
article, and estimated at cost price, in no ease paid for itself. The
same is true of the ashes.

"But the object of the experiment was not so much to ascertain
what manures will pay, but to ascertain, if possible, wlial constitu-
ents of manures are required, in greatest quantity, for the maxi-
nmm growth of com. * * Hitherto, no experiments have been
made in this country, on Indian corn, that afforded any certain in-
formation on this point. Indeed, we believe no satisfactory experi-
ments have been made on Indian corn, in any country-, that throw
any definite light on this interesting and important question. A
few years ago, Mr. Luwes made similar experiments to those given
above, on his farm, at Roth;imsted, England ; but owing to the
coolness of the English climate, the crop did not arrive at maturity.

"Numerous experiments have been made in this country, with
guano and superphospliate of lime; but the superphosphates used
were commercial articles, containing more or less ammonia, and if
they are of any benefit to those crops to which they are applied, it
is a matter of uncertainty whether the beneficial effect of the appli-
cation is due to the solul)le phosphate of lime, or to the ammonia.
On the other hand, guano contains ])otli ammonia and phosphate;
and we are equally at a loss to determine, wiietiier the effect is at-
tributable to the ammonia or phosphate, or both. In order, there-
fore, to determine satisfactorily, which of the several ingredients

11

AfANTUES FOR SPECIAI, CROPS. 283

of plants Is rc(iuin(l in irrratost |)rnporti()H. for tlio maxnnuni
^rowtli of any particular crop, we must apply tlitsr inii:roclicnts sep-
arately, or in such definite compounds, as will enable us to deter-
mine to what particular element or compounds the beneficial effect
is to be ascribed. It was for this reason, that sulphate of ammo-
nia, and a purely mineral superphosphate of lime, were used in
the above experiments. No one would think of using sulphate of
ammonia at its price, [sulphate of ammonia is now cheaper, while
Peruvian guano is more costly and less rich in ammonia], as an
ordinary manure, for the reason, that the same (juantity of ammo-
nia can bo obtained in otiier substances, such as barnyard-njanure,
Peruvian guano, etc., at a much cheaper rate. But these manures
contain uU the elements of j^lants, and we can not know whether
the effect produced by them is due to the ammonia, phosphates, or
any other ingredients. For the purpose of experiment, therefore,
we must use a manure that furnishes ammonia without any ad-
mixture of phosphates, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, etc., even
though it cost mucii more than we could obtain the same amount
of ammonia in other manures. I make these remarks in order to
correct a very common opinion, that if experiments do not pay,
they are useless. The ultimate object, indeed, is to ascertain the
most profitable method of manuring; but the Jticans of obtaining
this information, can not in all cases be profitable.

" Similar experiments to those made on Indian corn, were made
on soil of a similar character, on about an acre of Chinese sugar-
cane. I do not propose to give the results in detail, at this time,
and allude to them merely to mention one very important fact, the
superphosphate of lime had c. rery marked effect. This manure was
applied in the hill on one plot (the twentieth of an acre,) at the
rate of 400 lbs. per acre, and the plants on this plot came up first,
and outgrew all the others fnmi the start, and ultimately attained
the height of about ten feet ; while on the plot receiving no ma-
nure, the plants were not five feet high. This is a result entirely
different from what I should have expected. It has been supposed,
from the fact that superphosplnte of lime had no effect on wheat,
that it would probably have little effect on com, or on the sugar-
cane, or olher cer alia ; and that, as ammonia is so beneficial for
wheat, it would probably be beneficial for corn and sugar-cane.
The above experiments indicate that such is the case, in regard to
Indian com, so far as the production of grain is concerned, though,
as we have stated, it is not true in reference to the early growth of
the plants. The superphosphate of limeon Indian corn, stimulated
the growth of the plants, in a very decided manner at first, so

284

TALKS OIV^ MAXURKS.

much so, that we were led to suppose, for some time, tliat it would
give the largest crop ; but at harvest, it was found that it produced
no more com than plaster. These results seem to indicate, that
superphosphate of lime stimulates the growth of stalks and leaves,
and has little effect in increasing the production of seed. In raising
Indian corn, for fodder or for soiling purposes, superphosj)hate of
lime may be beneficial, as well as in growing tlie sorghum for sugar-
making purposes, or for fodddcr — though, perhaps, not for seed."

" In addition to the experiments given above, I also made the
same season, on an adjnining field, another set of experiments oa
Indian corn, the results of which arc given below.

" The land on which these experiments were made, is of a some-
what firmer texture than that on which the other set of experi-
ments was made. It is situated about a mile from the barn-yard,
and on this account, has seldom, if ever been manured. It has
been cultivated for many years "with ordinary farm crops. It was
plowed early in the spring, and it was harrowed until quite
mellow. The corn was planted May 30, 18o7. Each experiment
occupied one-tenth of an acre, consisting of 4 rows 3j feet apart,
and the same distance between the hills in tiie rows, with one row
without manure between each experimental plot.

" The manure was applied in tiie hill, in the same manner as in
tlie first set of experiments.

" The barnyard-manure was well-rotted, and consisted princi-
pally of cow-dung with a little horse-dung. Twenty two-horse
wagon loads of this was applied per acre, and each load would
probably v/eigh about one ton. It was put in the hill and covered
with soil, and the seed then planted on the top.

" The following table gives the results of the experiments:

TABLE SnoWINQ TnE RESULTS OF EXPEKIMENT9 ON INDIAN CORN, MADE NEAR
ROCUESTER, N. T , IN THE YEAR 18o7.

I

Descriptions op manures, and
quantities atplied pek acre.

V^

'^r

^"2

5^ <^

§ ^

i- ■** C

5 c>

K^ -?^ >5^

"fe^S

g a.

1 . No manure 75

'.'. 2(1 Iliads barn-yard manure Hii

3. l.iO 11)8. sulphate of ammonia 8,5

4. HftU I'ds. superphosphate of lime 88

5. 400 lbs. Peruvian Ruano 90

6. 400 lbs. of " Cancerine," or fish man'e 85

12

87

10

;t2i

30

115

10

98 I

30

120

20

105 '

J

M.VNCUKS FOR SPEiI.VL ( UOPS. 285

* As before stated, the laud was of a stronger nature tbaii that
o^ wliich the tirst set of experiiDents wac made, and it was evi-
dently in better condition, as tlie plot b-viui; no manure procluecd
20 busbels of ears of corn per acre more than tbe plot witbout
manure in tbe '^tber field.

" On plot 4, 300 lbs. of superpbospbate of lime gives a total in-
crease of 11 busbels of cars of corn per acre over tbe unmanured
plot, agreeing exactly witb the increase obtained from tbe same
quantity of tbe same manure on plot 5, in tbe first set of experi-
ments.

"Plot 3, dressed witli 150 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia per acre,
givts a total increase of 28 busbels of ears of corn per acre, over
tbe unmanured plot; and an increase of 22.^ bushels of ears per
acre over plot 2, which received 20 loads of good, well-rotted barn-
yard-dung per acre.

" Plot 5, with 400 lbs. of Peruvian guano per acre gives the best
crop of this series viz : an increase of 33 busbels of corn per acre
over the unmanured plot, and 21 ^ over the plot manured with
20 loads of barnyard-dung. The 400 lbs. of ' Cancerine ' — an arti-
ficial manure made in New Jersey from fish — gives a total in-
crease of 18 busliels of eai-s per acre over tbe unmanured plot, and
12A bushels more than that manured witb b;irn-}-ard dang, though
5 busbels of ears of sound corn and 10 bushels of 'nubbins' per
acre less than tbe same quantity of Peruvian guano."

MANURES FOR TURNIPS.

To raise a large crop of turnips, especially of ruta-bagas, there is
nothing better than a liberal application of rich, well-rotted faim-
yard-manurc, and 250 to 300 lbs. of good superphosphate of lime
per acre, drilled in with the seed.

I have seen capital crops of common turnips grown witb no
other manure except 300 lbs. of superphosphate per acre, drilled
with tb? seed. Saperphosphate has a wonderful efiFect on tbe de-
velopment of the roots of the turnip. And this is the secret of its
great value for this crop. It increases the growth of the young
plant, developing tbe formation of tlie roots, and when tbe turnip
once gets full possession of tbe soil, it appropriates all tbe plant-
food it can find. A turnip-crop grown with superphosphate, can
get from tbe soil much more nitrogen than a crop of wheat. The
turnip-crop, when supplied with superphosphate, is a good "scav-
enger." It will gather up and organize into good food tbe refuse
plant-food left in tbe soil. It is to tbe surface soil, what clover is
to tbe subsoil.

286 TALKS ON MANURES.

To the market jrardcner, or to a farmer who manures heavily
common turnips drilleil in with superphospiiule will prove a valu-
able crop. On such land no other niauure will Ijc needed. I can-
not too earnestly recommend the use of superphosphate as a ma-
nure for turnips.

For Swede turnips or ruta-bagas, it will usually be necessary, in
order to secure a majciraum crop, to use a manure which, in addi-
tion to superphosphate, contains available nitrogen. A good dress-
ing of rich, well-rotted manure, spread on the laud, and plowed
under, and then 300 lbs. of superphosphate drilled in with the
seed, would be likely to give a good crop.

In the absence of manure, there is probably nothing better for
the ruta bagas than oOO lbs. of so-called " rectified " Peruvian
guano, that is, guano treated with sulphuric acid, to render the
pliosphalcs soluble. Such a guano is guaranteed to contain 10 per
cent of ammonia, and 10 per cent of soluble phosphoric acid, and
would be a good dressing for Swede turnips.

The best way to use guano for turnips is to sow it broadcast on
the land, and harrow it in, and then either drill in the turnip-seed
on the flat, or on ridges. The latter is decidedly the better plan,
provided you have the necessary implements to do the work expe-
ditiously. A double mould-board plow will ridge up four acres a
day, and the guano being previously sown on the surface, will be
turned up with the mellow surface-soil into the ridge, where the
seed is to be sown. The young plants get hold of it and grow so
rapidly as to be soon out of danger from the turnip-beetle.

MANURES FOR MANGEL-WURZEL OR SUGAR-BEETS.

When sugar-beets are grown for feeding to stock, there is prob-
ably little or no difference in the manurial requirements of sugar-
beets and mangel-wurzel. Our object is to get as large a growth
as possible consistent with quality.

" Large roots," said the Deacon, " have been proved to contain
less nutriment than small roots."

True, but it docs not follow from this that rich land, or heavy
manuring is the chief cause of this diff"erence. It is much more
likely to be due to the variety selected. The seed-growers have
been breeding so'ely for size and shape. They have succeeded to
such an extent that 84 gross tons of roots have been grown on an
acre. This is equal to over 94 of our tons per acre. " That is an
enormous crop," said the Deacon; "and it would require some
labor to put 10 acres of them in a cellar."

"If they were as nutritious as ordinary mangels," saiil I, " that

i

MANURES FOK SPECIAL CROPS. 287

would l)c no arj^ument against tlicni. But sucli is not the case.
In a letter just received from Mr. Lawes, (May, 1878,) he charac-
terizes them as ' bladders of water and salts.' "

Had the seed growers bred for qudity, the roots would have
been of less size, but they would contain more nutriment.

Wliat we want is a variety that has been bred with reference to
quality ; and when this is secureil, we need not fear to make the
land rich and otherwise aim to secure great growth and large-sized
roots.

It certainly is not good economy to select a variety which has
been bred for years to produce large-sized roots, and then sow this
seed on poor land for the purpose of obtaining small-sized roots.
Better take a variety bred for quality, and then make the land rich
enough to produce a good crop.

Wc are not likely to err in making the land too rich for mangel-
wurzel or for sugar-beets grown for stock. When sugar-beets are
grown for sugar, we must aim to u^e manures favoraljle for the pro-
duction of sugar, or rather to avoid using those whicii arc un-
favorable. But where sugar-beets are grown for food, our aim is
to get a large amount of nutriment to the acre. And it is by no
means clear to my mind that there is much to be gained by .select-
ing the sugar-beet instead of a good variety of mangel-wurzel. It
is not a difficult matter, by selecting the largest roots for seed, and
by liberal manuring, and continuously selecting the largest roots,
to convert the suirar-bect into a mangel-wurzel.

When sugar-beets are grown for food, we may safely manure
them as we would mangel-wurzel, and treat the two crops pre-
cisely alike.

I usually raise from ten to fifteen acres of mangel-wurzel every
year. I grow them in rotation with other crops, and not as the
Hon. Harris Lewis and some others do, continuously on the same
land. We manure liberally, but not extravagantly, and get a fair
yield, and the land is left in admirable condition for future crops.

I mean by this, not that the land is specially rich, but that it is
very clean and mellow.

"In 1877," said the Deacon, "you had potatoes on tlie land
■where you grew mangels the previous year, and had the best crop
in the neitrhborliood."

This is true, but still I do not think it a good rotation. A barley
crop seeded with clover would be better, especially if the mangels
were heavily manured. The clover would get the manure which
had been washed into the subsoil, or left in such a condition that
potatoes <'-T grain could not take it up.

288 TALKS OX MANURES.

There is one thing in iclulion to my mani^els of 1876 which has
escaped the Deacon. The whole piece was manured and well pre-
pared, and :libl)led in with mangels, the rows being 2^ feet apart,
and the e^^eed dropped 15 inches apart in the rows. Owing to poor
seed, the mangels failed on about three acres, and we plowed up
the land and drilled in corn for fodder, in rows 2^ feet apart, and
at the rate of over three bushels of seed per acre. We had a great
crop of corn-fodder.

The next year, as I said before, the -whole piece was planted
with potatoes, and if it was true that mangels are an "enriching
crop," while corn is an "exhausting" crop, we ought to have had
much better potatoes after the mangels than after corn. This was
certainly not the case; if there was any dilference, it was in favor
of tbe corn. But I do not place any confidence in an experiment
of this kind, where the crops were not weighed and the results
carefully ascertained.

Mr. Lawes has made some most thorough experiments with dif-
ferent manures on sugar-beets, and in 1870 he commenced a series
of experiments with mangel-wurzel.

The land is a rather stiff clay loam, similar to that on which the
wheat and barley experiments wers made. It is better suited to
the growth of beets than of turnips.

"Why so," asked the Deacon, "I thought that black, bottom
land was best for mangels."

"Not so, Deacon," said I, "we can, it is true, grow large crops
of mangels on well-drained and well-manured swampy or bottom
land, but the best soil for mangels, especially in regard to quality,
is a good, stiff, well-worked, and well-manured loam."

"And yet," said the Deacon, "you had a better crop last year
on tlie lower and blacker portions of the field than on the heavy,
clayey land."

in one sense, this is true. We had dry weather in the spring,
and the mangel seed on the dry, clayey land did not come up as
well as on the cooler and moister bottom-land. We had more
plants to the acre, but the roots on the clayey land, when they
once got fair hold of the soil and the manure, grew larger and bet-
ter than on the lighter and moister land. The great point is to get
this heavy land into a fine, mellow condition.

But to Mr. Lawes' experiments. They are remarkably interest-
ing and instructive. But it is not necessary to go into all the de-
tails. Suffice it to say that the experiments seem to prove, very
conclusively, that beets require a liberal supply of available nitro-

MANURES FOR SPECIAL CKOPS. 289

gen. Thus, without manure, the yield of beets was about 7i tons
of bulbs per acre.

With 550 lbs. nitrate of soda per acre, the yield was a little over
22 tons per acre. With 14 tons of farmyard-manure, 18 tons per
acre. With 14 tons of farmyard manure and 550 lbs. nitrate of
soda, over 27j tons per acre.

Superphosphate of lime, sulphates of potash, soda, and magne-
sia, and common salt, alone, or with other manures, had conipura-
tively little etTcet.

Practically, when we want to iirow a good crop of beets or man-
gels, tliese experiments prove that what we need is the richest kind
of barnyard-manure.

If our manure is not rich, then we should use, in addition to the
manure, a dressing of nitrate of soda — say 400 or 500 lbs. per acre.

If the land is in pretty good condition, and we have no barn-
yard-manure, we may look for a fair crop from a dressing of ni-
trate of soda alone.

" I see," said the Deacon, " that 550 lbs. of nitrate of soda alone,
gave an increase of 14.V tons per acre. And the following year, on
the same land, it gave an increase of 13} tons; and the ne.vt year,
on the same land, over 9 tons."

" Yes," said I, " the first three years of the experiments (1871-2-3),
550 lbs. of nitrate of soda alone, ajiplied every year, gave an average
yield of 19^ tons of bulbs per acre. During the same three years,
the plot dressed with 14 tons of barnyard-manure, gave an average
yield of 16^ tons. But now mark. The next year (1874) all the
plots were left without any manure, and the plot which had been
previously dressed with nitrate of soda, alone, fell off to 3 tons per
acre, while the plot which had been previously manured with
barnyard-manure, produced lOj tons per acre."

" Good," said the Deacon, " there is nothing like manure."

MANURES FOR CABBAGE, PARSNIPS, CARROTS, LETTUCE,
ONIONS, ETC.

I class these plants together, because, though difTering widely in
many respects, they have one feature in common. They are all
artificiul productions.

A distinguished amateur horticulturist once said to me, " I do
not see why it is I have so much trouble with lettuce. My land is
rich, and the lettuce grow well, but do not head. They have a
tendency to run up to seed, and soon get tough and bitter."

I advised him to raise his own seed from the best jilants — and
especially to reject all plants that showed any tendency to go pre-
13

290 TALKS ON MANURES.

maturely to seed. Furtlierniore, I told him I thought if he would
sow a little superphosphate of lime with the seed, it would greatly
stimulate the early growth of the lettuce.

As I have said before, superphosphate, when drilled in with the
seed, has a wonderful effect in developing tlie root-growth of the
young plants of turnips, and I thought it would have the same
eflFect on lettuce, cabbage, cauliflowers, etc.

" But," said he, " it is not roots that I want, but heads."

" Exactly," said I, " you do not want the plants to follow out
their natural disposition and run up to seed. You want to induce
them to throw out a great abundance of tender leaves. In other
words, you want them to ' head.' Just as in the turnip, you do not
want them to run up to seed, but to produce an unnatural develop-
ment of ' bulb.' "

Thirty years ago. Dr. Gilbert threw out the suggestion, that
while it was evident that turnips required a larger proportion of
soluble phosphates in the soil than wheat ; while wheat required a
larger proportion of available nitrogen m the soil, than turnips, it
was quite probable, if we were growing turnips /or seed, that then,
turnips would require the same kind of manures as wheat.

We want exceedingly rich land for cabbage, especially for an
early crop. This is not merely because a large crop of cal)bage
takes a large amount of plant-food out of the soil, but because
the cultivated cabbage is an artificial plant, that requires its food
in a concentrated sliape. In popular language, the plants have to
be " forced."

According to the analyses of Dr. Anderson, the outside leaves of
cabbage, contain, in round numbers, 91 per cent of water ; and the
heart leaves, 94i per cent. In other words, the green leaves con-
tain Z\ per cent more dry matter than the heart leaves.

Dr. Voelckcr, who analyzed more recently some " cattle-cab-
bage," found 89^ per cent of water in the green leaves, and 83|
per cent in the heart and inner leaves — thus conflxmini^ previous
analyses, and showing also that the composition of cabbages varies
considerably.

Dr. Voelcker found much less water in the cabbage than Dr.
Anderson.

The specimen analyzed by Dr. V., was grown on the farm of
the Royal Ag. College of England, and I infer from some incidental
remarks, that the crop was grown on ratlier poor land. And it is
probably true that a large crop of cabbage grown on rich land, con-
tains a higUer percentage of wate^ than cabbage grown on poorer

M^VNURES FOU SPECIAL CROPS. 291

land. On the poor land, the cabbage would not be likely to head
so well as on the rich land, and tlie green leaves of cabbage con-
tain more than half as much again real dry substance us the heart
leaves.

The dry matter of the heart leaves, however, contains more
actual nutriment than the dry matter of the green leaves.

It would seem very desirable, therefore, whether we are raising
cabbage for market or for home consumption, to make the land
rich enough to grow good heads. Dr. Vojlcker says, " In ordinary
seasons, the average produce of Swedes on our poorer fields is
about 15 tons per acre. On weighing the produce of an acre of
cabbage, grown under similar circumstances, I found that it
amounted to 17| tons per acre. On good, well-manured fields,
however, we have had a much larger produce."

In a report on the " Cultivation of Cabbage, and its comparative
Value for Feeding purposes," by J. M. M'Laren, of Scotland, the
yield of Swede turnips, was 29| tons per acre, and the yield of cab-
bage, 47J tons per acre.

" It is very evident," said the Deacon, " that if you grow cabbage
you should make the land rich enough to produce a good crop —
and I t;ike it that is all you want to show."

" I want to show," I replied, " that our market gardeners have
reason for applying such apparently excessive dressings of rich
manure to the cabbage-crop. They find it safer to put far more
manure into the land than the crop can possibly use, rather than
run any risk of getting an inferior crop. An important practical
question is, whether they can not grow some crop or crops after
the cabbage, that can profitably take up the manure left in the soil."

Prof. E. Wolff, in the last edition of "Praktische Diingerlehre,"
gives the composition of cabbage. For the details of which, see
Appendix, page 345.

From this it appears that 50 tons of cabbage contain 240 lbs. of
nitrogen, and 1,600 lbs. of ash. Included in the ash is 630 lbs.
of potash; 90 lbs. of soda; 310 lbs. of lime; 60 lbs. of magnesia;
140 lbs. of phosphoric acid ; 240 lbs. of sulphuric acid, and 20 lbs.
of silica.

Henderson, in " Gardening for Profit," advises the application
of 75 tons of stable or barn-yard manure per acre, for early cab-
bage. For late cabbage, after peas or early potatoes, he says about
iO tons per acre are used.

Brill, in "Farm Gardening and Seed Growing," also makes the
same distinction in regard to the quantity of manure used for early

292 TALKS ON MANUEES.

and late cabbage. He speaks of 70 to 80 tons or more, per acre, of
well-rotted stable-manure as not an unusual or excessive dressing
every year.

Now, according to Wolffs table, 75 tons of fresh stable-manure,
with straw, contains 830 ll<s. of nitrogen ; 795 lbs. of potash ; 150
lbs. soda; 315 lbs. of lime; 210 lbs. of magnesia; 420 lbs. of phos-
phoric acid ; 105 lbs. sulphuric acid ; 2,655 lbs. of silica, and GO lbs.
of cidorine.

" Put the figures side by side," said the Deacon, " so that we can
compare them."

Here they are :

Nltrocen

Potasli

Phosphoric acid

Soda

Lime

Magnosia

75 tons
Frenh Borse

Manure
^820 Tbs7

79.-) '•

420 "

KiO "

315 "

210 "

50 torn
Cabbage.

240 lbs!"
&«) •'
140 "

•10 "
310 "

60 "

" That is rather an interesting table," said the Doctor. " In the
case of lime, tlio crop takes about all that this heavy dressing of
maiuiro supplies — but I suppose the soil is usually capable of fur-
nishing a considerable quantity."

" That may be so," said the Deacon, " but all the authorities on
market gardening speak of the importance of either growing cab-
bage on land containing lime, or else of applying lime as a manure.
Quinn, wIkj writes like a .sensible man, says in h s book, 'Money
in tiie Garden,' ' A top-dressing of lime every tliird year, thiHy or
forty busliels per acre, spread broadcast, and harrowed in, just be-
fore planting, pays handsomely.' "

Ilenilerson thinks cabbage can only be grown successfully on
land containing abundance of lime. He has used heavy dressings
of lime on land which did not contain shello, and the result was
satisfactory for a time, but he found it too expensive.

Experience seems to show that to grow large crops of perfect
cabbage, the soil must be liberally furnished with manures rich in
nitrogen and phosphoric acid.

In saying this, I do not overlook the fact that cabbage require a
large quantity of potash. I tliink, however, that when large quan-
tities of stabh> or barn-yard manure is used, it will rarely be found
that the soil lacks potash.

Wliat we need to grow a large crop of cabbage, is manure from
well-fed animals. Such manure can rarely be purchased. Now,
tJie diflference between rich manure and ordinary stable or bam-

MANURES FOIi SPECIAL CKOl'S. 293

yard-manure, consists principally in tliis : Tiie rich manure con-
tains more nitrogen and phosphoric acid tiian the ordinary stable-
manure — and it is in a more available condition.

To convert conmion manure into rich manure, therefore, we nmst
add nitrogen and phosphoric acid. In other words, we must use
Peruvian guano, or nitrate of soda and superphosphate, or bone-
dust, or some other substance that will furnish available nitrogen
and phosphoric acid.

Or it may well be, where stal)le-manure can be iKJUglit for |1.00
per two-horse load, that it will be cheaper to use it in larger (pian-
tity rather tiian to try to make it rich. In this case, however, we
must endeavor to follow the cabbage by some crop that has the
iwwer of taking up the large quantity of nitrogen and other plant-
food that will be leit in the soil.

The cabbage needs a large supply of nitrogen in the soil, but re-
moves comparatively little of it. We see that when 75 tons of
manure is used, a crop of 50 tons of cabbage takes out of the soil
less than 30 per cent of the nitrogen. And yet, if you plant cab-
bage on this land, the next year, without manure, you would get
a small crop.

" It cannot be for want of nitrogen," said the Deacon.

" Yes it can," said I. " The ciibbage, especially the early kinds,
must have in the soil a much larger quantity of available nitrogen
than the plants can use."

I do not mean by this that a large crop of cabbage could be
raised, year after year, if furnished only with a large supi)ly of avail-
able nitrogen. In such a case, the soil would soon lack the necessary
inorganic ingredients. But, what I mean, is this : "Where land has
been heavily manured for some years, we could often raise a good
crop of cabbage by a liberal dressing of available nitrogen, and still
more frequently, if nitrogen and phosphoric acid were both used.

You may use what would be considered an excessive quantity
of ordinary stable-manure, and grow a large crop of cabbage; but
still, if you plant cabbage the next year, without manure of any
kind, you will get a small crop; but dress it with a manure con-
taining the necessary amount of nitrogen, and you will, so far as
the supply of plant-food is concerned, be likely to get a good crop.

In such circumstances, I tliink an application of 800 lbs. of ni-
trate of soda per acre, costing, say $:j2, would be likely to afford a
very handsome profit.

For lettuce, in addition to well prepared rich /and, I should sow
3 lbs. of superphosphate to eac'.i scjuare rod, scattered in the rows

294 TALKS ON MANURES.

before drilling in the seed. It will favor the formation of fibrous
roots and stimulate the growtli of the young plants.

In raising onions from seed, v/e require an abundance of rich,
well-rotted manure, clean land, and early sowing.

Onions rre often raised year after year on the same land. That
this entails a great wa.ste of manure, is highly probable, but it is
not an easy matter to get ordinary farm-land properly jirepared
for onions. It needs to be clean and free from stones and rubbish
of all kinds, and when once it is in good condition, it is thought
better to continue it in onions, even though it may entail more or
less loss of fertility.

" What do 3'ou mean," asked the Deacon, " by loss of manure ?"

" Simply this," said I. " We use a far greater amount of plant-
food in the shape of manure than is removed by the crop of onions.
And yet, notwithstanding this fact, it is found, as a matter of ex-
perience, that it is absolutely necessary, if we would raise a large
and profitable crop, to manure it every year."

A few experiments would tlirow much light on this matter. I
should expect, when land had been heavily dressed every year for
a few years, with slable-manure, and annually sown to onions,
that 800 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia, or of nitrate of soda, or 1,200
lbs. of Peruvian guano would give as good a crop as 25 or 30 tons
of manure. Or perhaps a better plan would be to apply 10 or 15
loads of manure, and 600 lbs. of guano, or 400 lbs. sulphate of am-
monia.

CHAPTER XXXV.

MANURES FOR GARDENS AND ORCHARDS.

MANURE FOR MARKET-GARDENS.
The chief dependence of the market gardener must be on the
stable-manure which he can obtain from the city or village. The
chief defect of this manure is that it is not rich enough in avail-
able nitrogen. The active nitrogen exists principally in the urine,
and this in our city stables is largely lost. A tov of fresh, unmixed
horse-dung contains about 9 lbs. of nitrogen. A ton of horse-urine,
31 lbs. But this does not tell the whole story. The nitrogen in
the dung is contained in the crude, undigested portions of the
food. It is to a large extent insoluble and unavailable, while the
nitrogen in the urine is soluble and active.

MANUUES FOR GARDEXS AND ()K( HAKDS. 2l»5

Till' iiiarktt-i^iirck'iuT, of course, has lo take siiclj iiiaiiurc as lie
can ujc't, and the only points to be consideird are (1), whether he
had belter continue to use an excessive (luantity of the manure, or
(2), to buy substiinces rich in available nitrogen, and either mix
Ihcm with the manure, or apply them separately to the soil, or (3),
whether he can use this hoi-se-manure as bedding for pigs lo be
fed on rich nitrogenous food.

The latter plan 1 adopt on my own farm, and in this way I get
a very rich and active manure. I get available nitrogen, phosphoric
acid, and potash, at far cheaper rates than they can be purchased in
the best commercial fertilizers.

Pigs void a large amount of urine, and as pigs arc ordinarily
kept, much of this liquid is lost for want of sutBcient bedding to
absorb it. With the market-gardener or nurseryman, who draws
large quantities of horse-manure from the city, this need not be
the case. The necessary buildings can be constructed at little cost,
and the horse-manure can be used freely. The pigs should be fed
on food rich in nitrogen, such as bran, malt-combs, iirewers' grains,
the refuse animal matter from the slaughter-houses or butchers'
stores, lish scrap, pea or leiitil-mcal, palm-nut cake, or such food
as will furnish the most nitrogenous food, other things being
equal, at the cheapest rate.

The market-gardener not only requires larsrc quantities of rich
manure, but he wants them to act quickly. The nurseryman who
sets out a block of trees which will occup\^ the ground for three,
four, or five years, may want a "lasting manure," but such is not
the case with the gardener who grows crops which he takes off the
land in a few months. As long as he continues to use horse or
cow-manure freely, he need not trouble himself to get a slow or
lasting manure. His great aim should be to make the manure as
active and available as possible. And this is especially the case if
he occupies clayey or loamy land. On sandy land the manure will
decompose more rapidly and act quicker.

" There are many facts," said the Doctor, " that show that an
artificial applfcation oT water is equivalent to an application of
manure. It has been shown that market-gardeners find it neces-
sary to apply a much larger amount of plant-food to the soil than
the crops can take up. This they have to do year after year. And
it may well be that, when a supply of water can be had at slight
cost, it will be cheaper to irrigate the land, or water the plants,
rather than to furnish such an excess of manure, as is now found
necessarj'. Even with ordinary farm-crops, we know that they feel
the eflfects of drouth far less on rich land than on poor land. la

29G TALKS ON MANURES.

otlier words, a liberal supply of plant food enables the crops to
flourish witli less water; and, on the other hand, a greater supply
of water will enable tlie crops to flourish with a less supply of
plant-food. The market-gardeners should look into this question
of irrigation.

MANURES FOR SEED-GROWING FARMS.

In growing garden and vegetable seeds, much labor is neces-
sarily employed per acre, and consequently it is of great import-
ance to produce a good yield. The best and cleanest land is neces-
sary to start with, and then manures must be appropriately and
(reely used.

" But not too frcel}-," said the Doctor, " for I am told it is quite
possible to have land too rich for seed-growing."

It is not often that the land is too rich. Still, it may well be that
for some crops too much stable-manure is used. But in nine cases
out of ten, when such manure gives too much growth and too little
or too poor seed, the trouble is in the quality of the mapure. It
contains too much carbonaceous matter. In other words, it is so
poor in nitrogen and jihosphoric acid, that an excessive quantity
has to be nsed.

Tho'remedy consists in making richer manures and using a less
Quantity, or use lialf the quantity of stable-manure, and appl}' the
rectified or prepared Peruvian guano, at the rate of 300 lbs. or 400
lbs. per acre, or say 200 lbs. superphosphate and 300 lbs. nitrate of
soda i>er acre.

Where it is very important 1o have the seeds ripen early, a lib-
eral dressing, say 400 lbs. per acre, of superphosphate of lime, will
be likely to prove beneficial.

MANURE FOR PRIVATE GARDENS.

I once had a small garden in the city, and having no manure, I
depended entirely on thorough cultivation and artificial fertilizers,
sucli as sujierpliosjihate and sulphate of ammonia. It was culti-
vated not for profit, but for pleasure, but I never saw a more pro-
ductive piece of land. I had in almost every case two crops a year
on the same land, and on some plots three crops. No manure was
used, except the superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia, and
coal and wood ashes from the liouse.

About 5 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia was sown broadcast to the
square -rod, or worked into the soil very thoroughly in the rows
where the seed was to be sown. Superphosphate was applied at
the same rate, but instead of sowing it broadcast, I aimed to get it
as near the seed or the roots of plants as possible.

I

MANUEES FOTl GARnENS AND ORCHARDS. 297

Half a teaspuonful of the iiiixturi', consisting? of equal parts of
superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia, stirred into a large three
gallon can of water, and sprinkled on to a bed of verbeuas, seemed
to have a remarkable effect on the size and brilliancy of the tiowers.

Even to this ila}-, although I have a good supply of rich barn-
yard-manure, I do not like to be without some good artificial ma-
nure for the garden.

MANURE FOR HOTBEDS.

The best manure for hot-beds is horse or sheep-dung that has
been used as bedding for pigs.

When fresh stable manure is used, great pains should be taken to
save all the urine. In other words, you want the horse-dung
thoroughly saturated with urine.

The heat is produced principally from the carbon in the manure
and straw. Iiut you need active nitrogenous matter to start the fire.
And the richer the manure is in nitrogenous matter, and the more
thoroughly this is distributed through the manure, the more readily
will it ferment. There is also another advantage in having rich
manure, or manure well saturated with urine. You can make the
heap more compact. Poor manure has to be made in a loose heap,
or it will not ferment ; but such manure as we are talking about
can be trodden down quite firm, and still ferment rapid enough to
give out the necessary heat, and this compact heap will continue
to ferment longer and give out a steadier heat, than the loose heap
of poor manure.

ilAXURE FOR NURSERYMEN.

Our successful nurse lymen purchase large quantities of stable
and other manures from the cities, drawing it as fast as it is made,
and putting it in piles until wanted. They usually turn the piles
once or twice, and often three times. This favors fermentation,
greatly reducing it in bulk, and rendering the manure much more
soluble and active. It also makes the manure in the heap more
imiform in quality.

Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry tell me that they often ferment the
manure that they draw from the stables in the city, and make it so
fine and rich, that they get but one load of rotted manure from
three loads as drawn from the stables. For some crops, they use
at least 20 loads of this rotted manure per acre, and they esti-
mate that each load of this rotted manure costs at least $5.00.

H. E. Hooker places the cost of manure equally high, but seems
willing to use all he can get, and does not think we can profitably
employ artificial manures as a substitute.

298 TALKS ON MANURES.

Ill this I agree with hiin. But while I should not cXpcct arti-
ficial manures, wlien used alone, to prove as cheap or as valuable
as stable-manure at present prices, I think it may well be that
a little nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, and superphosphate
of lime, or dissolved Peruvian guano, might be used as an auxil-
iary manure to great advantage.

Mr. H. E. Hooker, once sowed, at my suggestion, some sulphate
of ammonia and superphosphate on part of a block of nursery
trees, and he could not perceive that these manures did any good.
Ellwanger & Barry also tried them, and reported the same nega-
tive result. This was several years ago, and I do not think any
similar experiments have been made since.

" And yet," said the Deacon, " you used these self same manures
on farm-crops, and they greatly increased the growth."

" There are several reasons," said the Doctor, " why these ma-
nures may have failed to produce any marked efTect on the nursery
trees. In the first place, there was considerable prejudice against
them, and the nurserymen would hardly feel like relying on these
manures alone. They probably sowed them on land already well
manured ; and I think they sowed them too late in the season. I
should like to see them fairly tried."

So would I. It seems to me that nitrate of soda, and superphos-
phate, or dissolved Peruvian guano, could be used with very great
advantage and profit by the nurserymen. Of course, it would
hardly be safe to depend upon them alone. They should be used
either in connection with stable-manure, or on land that bad pre-
viously been frequently dressed with stable-manure.

MANURE FOR FRUIT-GROWERS.

How to keep up tlie fertility of our apple-orchards, is becoming
an important question, and is attracting considerable attention.

There are two methods generally recommended — I dare not say
generally practised. The one, is to keep the orchard in bare-fal-
low ; the other, to keep it in grass, and top-dress witli manure, and
either eat the grass off on the land with sheep and pigs, or else
mow it frequently, and let the grass rot on the surface, for mulch
and manure.

" You are speaking now," said the Deacon, " of bearing apple-
orchards. No one recommends keeping a young orchard in grass.
We all know that young apple trees do far better when the land is
occupied with corn, potatoes, beans, or some other crop, which can
be cultivated, than they do on land occupied with wheat, barley,
oats, rye, buckwheat, or grass and clover. And even with bearing

MAKUBES Foil GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 299

peach trees, I Lave seen a woiulcrful diffLTCnce in an orchard, lialf
of which was cultivated with corn, and the other half sown with
wheat. The trees in the whevt were sickiy-h)okinir, and bore a
small crop of inferior fruit, while the trees in the corn, grew vigor-
ously and bore a line crop of fruit. And the increased value of
the crop of peaches on tlie cultivated land was far more than we
can ever hope to get from a crop of wheat."

" And yet," said t!ie Doctor, " the crop of corn on the cultivated
half of the peach-orchard removed far more plant-food from the
soil, than the crop of wheat. And so it is evident that the differ-
ence is not due wholly to the supply of manure in the surface-soil.
It may well be that the cultivation which the corn received favored
the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and the formation
of nitrates, and when the rain came, it would penetrate deeper into
the loose soil than on the adjoining land occupied with wheat.
The rain would carry the nitrogen down to the roots of the peach
trees, and this will account for the dark green color of the leaves
on the cultivated land, and the yellow, sickly-looking leaves on
the trees among the wheat.

HEN-MANURE, AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

A bushel of corn fed to a hen would give no more nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, and potash, in the shape of manure, tlian a Iju.sliel
of corn fed to a pig. The manure from the pig, however, taking
the urine and solid excrement together, contain 83 per cent of
■water, while tiiat from the hen contains only 5G per cent of water.
Moreover, hens pick up worms and insects, and their food in such
case would contain more nitrogen than the usual food of pigs, and
the manure would be correspondingly richer in nitrogen. Hence
it happens that 100 lbs. of dry hen-manure would usually be richer
in nitrogen than 100 lbs. of dry pig-manure. But feed pigs on
peas, and hens on corn, and the dry pig-manure would be much
richer in nitrogen than the dry hen-manure. The value of the
manure, other things being equal, depends on the food and not on
the animal.

Let no m;in think he is going to make his farm any richer by
keeping hens, ducks, and geese, than he will by keeping sheep,
pigs, and horses.

"Why is it, then," asked the Deacon, "that hen-dung proves
pueh a valuable manure. I would rather have a hundred lbs. of
hen-dung than half a ton of barnyard-manure ? "

" And I presume you are right," said I, " but you must recollect
that your hen-manure is kept until it is almost chemically dry. Let

>00 TALKS OX :vrANURES.

us figure up what the half ton of manure and the 100 /bs. of hen-
munure would contain. Here are the figures, side by side :

Water (estimated) Vi lbs.

Organic Matter 51 "

AsTi I_37 '^

Nitrogen SJ "

Potash IJ "

Lime 4^ "

I'hosplioric acid t 3 "

100 ««s. dry Half ton
Ben- Ma- | Coiv Dung
nure. with straio.
TTo lbs.
203 "
J2 "

r^v

3 "

I would, myself, far rather have 100 lbs. of your dry hen-manure
than half a ton of your farmyard-manure. Your hens are fed on
richer food than your cows. The 100 lbs. of hen-manure, too,
would act much more rapidly than the half ton of cow-manure.
It would probably do twice as much good — possibly three or four
times as much good, on the first crop, as the cow-manure. The ni-
trogen, bcimr obtained from richer and more digestible food, is in
a much more active and available condition than the nitrogen in
the cow-dung.

" If yoxi go on,'' said the Deacon, " I tliink you will prove that I
am right."

" I have never doubted," said I, " tlic great value of licn-dung, as
compared with barnyard-manure. And all I wish to show is, that,
notwithstanding its acknowledged value, tlie fact remains that a
given quantity of the same kind of food will give no greater
amount of fertilizing matter when fed to a hen tliaii if fed to a pig."

I want those farmers who find so much benefit from an ap|ilica-
tion of hen-manure, ashes, and plaster, to tlieir corn and potatoes,
to feel that if tliey would keep better cows, sheep, and pigs, and
feed tliem better, they would get good pay for their feed, and the
manure would enable them to grow larger crops.

While we have been talking, the Deacon was looking over the
tables. (See Appendix.) " I see," said he, " that wheat and rye
contain more nitrogen than hen-manure, but less potash and phos-
I^horic acid."

" This is true," said I, " but the way to compare them, in order
to see the effect of passing the wheat through the hen, is to look at
the composition of the air-dried hen-dung. The fresh hen-dung,
according to the table, contains 56 per cent of water, while wheat
contains less than 14^ per cent."

Let us compare the composition of 1,000 lbs. air-dried hen-dung
with 1,000 lbs. of air-dried wheat and rye, and also with bran,
malt-combs, etc.

I

MANURES KOU (i.VUDENS ANT) ORCIIAUDS. 301

Phoi<phoric

yUroi/'ii. Potash. Arid.

Wheat 3(i.8 5.:; 7.9

Wheat Bran -'2.4 14.8 27.3

Rje 17.0 5.fi 8.4

Rye Bran 2:i.2 19.:i U.'i

Buckwheat 14.4 2.7 5.7

Buckwlieat Bi-an 27.2 11.2 12.5

Malt-roots 36.8 20.6 18.0

Air-<iry Uen-duiif; 32.6 17.0 30.8

'" That table," said the Doctor, " is well worth studying. You
SCO, that when wheat is put through the process of milling, the
miller takes out as much of the starch and gluten as he wants, and
leaves you a pro luct (bran), richer in phosphoric acid, potash, and
nitrogen, than you gave him."

" And the same is true," continued the Do.ctor, " of the hen. You
gave her 2,000 grains of wheat, containing 41.6 grains of nitrogen.
She puts this through the mill, together with some ashes, and
hones, that she picks up, and she takes out all the starch and fat,
and nitrogen, and phosphate of lime, that she needs to sus-
tain life, and to produce flesh, bones, feathers, and eggs, and
leaves you 1,000 grains of manure containing 32.G grains of nitro-
gen, 17.0 grains of potash, and 30.8 grains of pliosplioric acid. I
do not say," continued the Doctor, " that it takes exactly 2,000
grains of wheat to make 1.000 grains of dry manure. I merely
give these figures to enable tlie Deacon to understand wliy 1,000
lbs. of hen-dung is worth more for manure than 1,000 lbs. of
wheat."

" I must admit," said the Deacon," that I always have been trou-
bled to understand why wheat-bran was worth more for manure
than the wheat itself. I see now — it is because there is less of it.
It is for the same reason that boiled cider is richer than the cider
from which it is made. The cider has lost water, and the bran has
lost starch. What is left is richer in nitrogen, and potash, and
phosphoric acid. And so it is with manure. The animals take
out of the food tlie starch and fat, and leave the manure richer in
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash."

" Exactl}'," s:iid I, " Mr. Lawes found by actual experiment, that
if you feed 500 ll)s. of barley-meal to a pig, containing 420 lbs. of
dry substance, 30U get only 70 lbs. of dry substance in the manure.
Of the 420 lbs. of dry substance, 276.2 lbs. are used to support res-
piration, etc. ; 73.8 lbs. are found in the increase of the pig, and 70
lbs in tlie manure."

The food contains 52 lbs. of nitrogenous matter ; the increase of
pig contains 7 lbs., and consequently, if there is no loss, the ma-

302 TALKS ON MANURES.

nurc shou' 1 contiiin 4.'3 lbs of iiitroLreiMms bubstuiice=:to 7.14 lbs.
of nitrogen.

'• Id other words," said the Doctor, " the 70 lbs. of dry liquid and
solid pig-manure contains 7.14 lbs. of nitrogen, or 100 lbs. would
contain 10.2 lbs. of nitrogen, which is more nitrogen than we now
get in the very best samples of PenuMan guaiio."

"And thus it will be seen," .said 1, " that though corn-fed pigs,
leaving out the bedding an<l water, produce a very small quantity
of manure, it is exceedingly rich."

The table from which these facts were obtained, will be found in
the Appendix — pages ;342-y.

CUAPTEK XXXVl.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MANURE.

COW-MANURE, AND HOW TO USE IT.

"It will do more good if fermontcd," said a German farmer in
the nciL:lil)orhood, who is noted for raising good crops of cabbage,
'' but I like hog-manure better than cow-dung. The right way is
to mix thchog-raanure, cow-dung, and horse-manure together."

";Nodoul»t about tliat," said I, " but when you have a good
many cows, and few other animals, how wonld you manage the
manure ?"

" I would gather leaves and swamp-muck, and use thom for bed-
ding the cows and pigs. Leaves make s|)lon lid beddina, and they
make ricii manure, and the cow-dung and leaves, when made into
a pile, will ferment readily, nnd make grand manure for — any-
thing. I only wish I hail all I could use."

There is no question but what cow-manure is belter if fermented,
but it is not always convenient to pile it during the winter in such
a way that it will not freeze. And in this case it may be the better
plan to draw it out on to the land, as opportunity oflFers.

"I have heard," said Charley, " that pig-manure was not good
for cabbage, it produces ' fingers and toes,' or club foot."

Possibly such is the caf«> when there is a predisposition to the
disease, but our German friend says he has never found any ill-
eflFects from its use.

DIKKKKKNT KINDS OK MAM KE. 303

" Cows," said tlif Doctor, " when giviiii; a hirice (luanlily of
milk, makt' rather poor manure. The muuure loses what the milk
takes from the food."

" We have shown what that loss is," s:iiil I. " It amounts to less
than I tiiink is generally supposed. And in the winter, when the
cow.sare ilry, the manure would be as rieh as from oxen, provided
both were fed alike. See Appendix, pagi- 'M2. It will there be
seen that oxen take out only 4.1 li)s. of nitrogen from 100 llts. of
nitrogen consumed in the food. In otlier wonls, provided there
is no loss, wc should get in the li(iuid and solid excrements of the
ox and drj' cow "J").;) per cent, of the nitrogen furnished in the
food, and a still higher per cent of the mineral matter.

SllEEP-MAXUKE.

According to Prof. WolflTs table of analyses, sheep-manure, both
solid and liquid, contain less watf^r than the manure from horses,
cows, or swine. With the exception of swine, the solid dung is
also the riciiest in nitrogen, while tiie urine of siicep is pre-
eminently rich in nitrogen and potash.

These facts are in accordance with the general o|>inionsof farm-
ers. Sheep-manure is considered, next to hen-manure, the most
valuable manure made on the farm.

I do not think we have any satisfactory evidence to prove that
3 tons of clover-hay and a ton of corn fed to a lot of fattening-
sheep will afford a quantity of manure contaiMin? anymore i>lant-
food than the s;imo kind and amount of food fid to a lot of fat-
tening-cattle. The experiments of Lawes & Gilbert indicate that
if there is any diff'-rence it is in favor of the ox. See Appendi.x,
page;U;{. But it may w 11 l)e tiiat it is much easier to save the
manure from the sheep than from the cattle. And so, practically,
Bheep may be better manure-makers than cattle — for the simple
reason that less of the urine is lost.

"As a rule," said the Doctor, "the dung of sheep contains far
less water than the dung of cattle, though when you slop your
breeding ewes to make them give more milk, tlie dung differs but
little in appearance from that of cows. Ordinarily, liowevcr. sheep-
dung is light and dry, and, like horse-dung, will ferment much
more rapidly than cow or pig-<lung. In piling manure in the win-
ter or spring, special pains should be used to mix tiie sheep and
horse-manure with the cow and pia-manure. And it may be re-
marked that for any crop or for any purpose where stable-manure
is deemed desirable, sheep-manure would be a better substitute
than cow or pig-manure."

304 TALKS ON MANURES.

MANURE FROM SWINE.

The dry matter of hog-manure, especially the urine, is rich in
nitrogen, but it is mixed with such a large quantity of water that
a ton of hog-manure, as it is usually found in the pen, is less valu-
able than a ton of horse or aheep-manure, and only a little more
valuable than a ton of cow-manure.

As I have before said, my own plan is to let the store-hogs sleep
in a basement-cellar, and bed them with horse and slicep-raanure.
I have this winter over 50 sows under the horse-stable, and the
manure from 8 horses keeps them dry and comfortable, and we
arc not specially lavish with straw in bidding the horses.

During the summer we aim to keep the hogs out in the pastures
and orcliards as much as possil)le. This is not only good for the
health of the pigs, but saves labor and straw in the management
of the manure. It goes directl}^ to the land. The pigs are good
grazers and distribute tlie manure as evenly over the land as sheep
— in fact, during hot weather, sheep are even more inclined to hud-
dle together under the trees, and by the side of the fence, than
pigs. This is particularly the case with the larger breeds of sheep.

In the winter it is not a difficult matter to save all the liquid
and solid excrements from pigs, provided the pens are dry and no
water comes in from the rain and snow. As pigs are often man-
aged, this is the real difhculty. Pigs void an enormous quantity
of water, especially when fed on slops from the house, whey, etc. If
they are kept in a pen with a separate feeding and sleeping apart-
ment, both -should be under cover, and the feeding apartment may
be kept covered a foot or so thick with tlie soiled bedding from
the sleeping apartment. When the pigs get up in a morning, they
will go into the feeding apartment, and the liquid will be dis-
charged on the mass of manure, straw, etc.

"Dried muck," said the Deacon, "comes in very handy about a
pig-pen, for absorbinij the liquid."

" Yes," said I, " and even dry earth can be used to great advan-
tage, not. merely to absorb the liquid, but to keep the pens sweet
and healthy. The three chief points in saving manure from pigs
are: 1, To have the pens under 'cover; 3, to keep the feeding
apartment or yard covered with a thick mass of strawy manure
and refuse of any kind, and 3, to scatter plenty of dry earth or
dry muck on the floor of the sleeping apartment, and on top of
the manure in the feeding apartment."

" You feed most of your pigs," said the Deacon, " out of doors
in the yard, and they sleep in the pens or basement cellars, and it

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MAKUEB.

305

seems to mc to be a good plan, as they get more fresh air and ex-
ercise than if confined."

" We do not lose much manure," said I, " by feeding in the yards.
You let a dozen pigs sleep in a pen all night, and as soon as they
hear you putting the food in the troughs outside, they come to the
door of the pen, and there discharge the liquid and solid excre-
ments on the mass of manure left there on purpose to receive and
absorb them. I am well aware that as pigs are often managed, we
lose at least half the value of their manure, but there is no neces-
sity for this. A little care and thought will save nearly the whole
of it.

BUYING MANURE BY ^fEASURE OR WEIGHT.

The Deacon and I have just been weighing a bushel of different
kinds of manure made on the farm. We made two weighings of
each kind, one thrown in loose, and the other pressed down firm.
The following is the result :

WEIGHT OP MANURE PER BUSUEL, AND PER LOAD OF 50 BUSHELS.

No.

KIND AND CONDITION OF MANURES.

V=

>v fq ^ i .S O 3
«;; .5 U K^ rf3

iFresh Lorsc-maniirc free from straw

I " " " '• " '" piL'SScri.

Fresh liorse-minure, as used for bedding pi'^s.

Horse-manure from piLj cellar

I " •' " '• " ])ressed. .

iPi?-nianure

" " pressed

Ipis^-niannre and dry earlli

Sliecp-manure from o|)eii shed

I " " " " " pressed..

Sheep-manure from closed shed

I ». .1 I. li i. pressed.

Fresh cow-dung, free fiom straw

Ilen-manure

I " •• pressed

pressed.

lbs.

5.5
28
4(i
50
T2
57
75
98
42
65
28
38
87
34
4S

lbs.
1875
2750
1400
2:;00
2500
3600
2850
3750
4000
2100
3250
1400
1900
4.350
1700
2400

" In buying manure," said the Deacon, " it makes quite a differ-
ence whether the load is trod down solid or thrown loosely into the
box. A load of fresh hor.se-manure, when trod tlown, weighs half
as much again as when thrown in loose."

" A load of horse-manure," said Charley, " after it has been used
for bedding pigs, weighs 3,600 lbs., and only 2,300 lbs. when it is
thrown into the pens, and I suppose a ton of the ' double- worked '
manure is fully as valuable as a ton of the fresh horse-manure. If
so, 15 ' loads' of the pig-pen manure is equal to 34 ' loads' of the
stable-manure."

306

TALKS ON MANURES.

"A ton of fresh horse-manure," saiel the Doctor, "contains
about 9 lbs. of nitrogen ; a ton of fresh cow-dung about 6 lbs.; a
ton of fresh sheep-dung, 11 lbs., and a ton of fresh pig-manure, 13
lbs. But if the Deacon and you weighed correctl}-, a ' load ' or
cord of cow-manure would coutiiu more nitrogen than a load of
pressed horse-manure. The figures arc as follows :

A load of 50 bushels of fresh horse-dung, pressed

and free from straw contains 12.37 lbs. nitrogen.

A load of fresh cow-dung 13.05 " "

" " sheep" 10.45 " "

" " pig " 22.50 "

"These figures," said I, "show how necessary it is to look at
this subject in all its aspects. If I was buying manures by weight,
I would much prefer a ton of sheep-manure, if it had been made
under cover, to any other manure except hen-dung^ especially
if it contained all tlie urine from the sheep. But if buying manure
by the load or cord, that from a covered pig-pen would be prefer-
able to any other."

LIQUID MANURE ON THE FARM.

I have never had any personal experience in the use of liquid
manure to any crop except grass. At Rothamsted, Mr. Lawcs used
to draw out the liquid manure in a water-cart, and distribute it
on grass land.

" What we want to know," said the Deacon, " is whether the
liquid from our barn-yards will pay to draw out. If it will, the
proper method of using it can be left to our ingenuity."

According to Prof. Wolff, a ton of urine from horses, cows,
sheep, and swine, contains the following amounts of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, and potash, and, for the sake of comparison, I
give the composition of drainage from the barn-yard, and also of
fresh dung of the different animals :

TABLE SHO-WISO TUB AMOUNT OP KITROOEK, PnOSiPHOniC ACID, AND TOTASH,

IN ONE TON op THE FKESH DUNG AND PUESII URINE OF DIFFERENT

ANIMALS, AND ALSO OP THE DRAINAGE OP THE BARN-TARD.

Horse

Cow

Sheep

Swine

Mean

Drainage of barn-yard.

1 TON FRESH

DUNO.

Nitro-

Phos-
2)fio)ic

Potash.

acid.

lbs.

Ibfl.

Ibi?.

8.8

7.0

7.0

.5.8

3 4

2.0

11.0

C.2

3.0

12.0

8.2

5.2

9.4

0.2

4.3 j

1 TON PKESII URINE.

Nitro-
gen.

Phos- I

phoric \ Potash,
acid.

11)9.

31.0
11.6
39.0

8.6
22.5

3 0

lbs.

0.2

1.4
0.4
0.2

lb?.
30.0

9.8
45.3
16.6
25.4

9.8

I

DIFFEUENT KIXDS OF MANURE. 307

The drainage from a barn-yard, it will be seen, contains a little
more than half as much uitroi^cn as cow-dung ; and it is probable
that the nitrogen in the liquid is in a much more available condi-
tion than that in the dung. It contains, also, nearly five times a3
much potash as the dung. It would seem, therefore, that with
proper arrangemcnta* for pumping and distributing, this liquid
could be drawn a short distance with profit.

But whether it will or will not pay to cart away the drainage, it
is obviously to our interest to prevent, as far as possible, any of
the liquid from running to waste.

It is of still greater importance to guard against any loss of
urine. It will be seen that, on the average, a ton of the urine of
our domestic animals contains more than twice as much nitrogen
as a ton of the dung.

Where straw, leaves, swamp-muck, or other absorbent materials
are not sufficiently abundant to prevent any loss of urine, means
should be used to drain it into a tank so located that the liquid
can either be pumped back on to the manure when needed, or
drawn away to the land.

" I do not see," said the Deacon, " why horse and sheep-urine
should contain s) much more nitrogen and potash than that from
the cow and pig."

" The figures given by Prof. Wolff," said I, " are general aver-
ages. The composition of the urine varies greatl}'. The richer the
food in digestible nitrogenous matter, the more nitrogen will there
be in the dry matter of the urine. And, other things being equal,
the less water the animal drinks, the richer will the urine be in
nitrogen. The urine from a sheep fed solely on turnips would
contain little or no more nitrogen than the urine of a cow fed on
turnips. An ox or a dry cow fed on grass would probibly void
no more nor no poorer urine than a horse fed on grass. The urine
that Mr. Lawes drew out in a cart on to his grass-land was made
by sheep that had one lb. each of oil-cake per day, and one fb. of
chaffed clover-hay, and all the turnips they would eat. They voided
a large quantity of urine, but as the food was rich in nitrogen, the
urine was doubtless nearly or quite as rich as that analyzed by
Prof. Wolff, though that probably contained less water.

If I was going to draw out liquid manure, I should be very care-
ful to spout all the buildings, and keep the animals and manure as
much undercover sis possible, and also feed food rich in nitrogen.
In such circumstances, it would doubtless pay to draw the urine
full as well as to draw the solid manure.

308

TALKS ON MANURES.

NIGHTSOIL AND SEWAGE.

The compo.sitioii of humaa excrements, as compared with the
mean composition of the excrements from horses, cows, slicep, and
swine, so far as the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash are con-
cerned, is as follows :

TABLE SHOWING THE AMOUNT OP NITUOGEN, PHOSI-HOUIC Al'Il), AND POTASH,

IN ONE TON OF FUEiSU HUMAN EXCREMENTS, AND IN ONE TON OP KKESH

EXCREMENTS FKOM HOUSES, COWS, SHEEP, AND SWINE.

SOLIDS.

URINE.

One Ion (:J0O0 lbs).

Nitro-
gen.

Phm-
photic
acid.

Potash.

Nitro-
gen.

Plm-
p/ioric
acid.

Potash.

Human

20 0 11)8.

21.8 lbs.

5.0 lbs.

12.0 lbs. 3.7 lbs.

4.0 lbs.

Mean of horse, cow, slieep,
and swine

9.4 '=

6.2 '•

4.3 "

22.5 '• •0.4 "

25.4 "

One ton of fresh faeces contains more than twice as much nitro-
gen, and more tliau tlircc times as much phosphoric acid, as a ton
of fresh mixed animal-dung. The nitrogen, too, is probably in a
more available condition than that in common barnyard-dung;
and we should not be far wrong in estimating 1 ton of faeces equal
to 2i tons of ordinary dung, or about equal in value to carefully
preserved manure from liberally-fed sheep, swine, and fattening
cattle.

" It is an unpleasant job," said the Deacon, " but it pays well to
empty the vaults at least twice a year."

" If farmers," si'd the Doctor, " would only throw into the vaults
from time to time some dry earth or co:il a.><hcs, the contents of
the vaults could be removed without any disagreeable smell."

" That is so," said I, " and even where a vault has been shame-
fully neglected, and is full of offensive matter, it can be cleaned
out without difficulty and without smell. I have cleaned out a
large vault in an hour. We were drawing manure from the yards
■with three teams and i)iling it in the field. We brought back a load
.f sand and threw half of it into the vault, and put the other half
on one side, to be used as required. Tiie sand and faeces were then,
ivith a long-handled sliovcl, thrown into the wagon, and drawn to
the pile of manure in the field, and thrcwn on to the pile, not more
than two or three inclies thick. The team brought back a load of
sand, and so we continued until the work was done. Sand or dry
earth is cheap, and we used all that was necessary to prevent the
escape of any unpleasant gases, and to keep the material from ad-
hering to the sliovels or the wagon.

" Human urine," said tLe Doctor, " is richer in phosphoric acid,

1

DIFFEKENT KINDS OF MANURE. 309

but much poorer in nitrogen and potash thau the urine from
horses, cows, sheep, and swine."

" Some years ago," said tlie Deacon, " Mr. H. E. Hooker, of Roch-
ester, used to draw considerable quantities of urine from the city
to his farm. It would pay better to draw out the urine from farm
animals."

" The figures given above," said I, " showing the composition of
human excrements, arc from Prof. WoltT, and probably are gener-
ally correct. But, of course, the composition of the excrements
would vary grealh', according to the food."

It has been ascertained by Lawes and Gilbert that the amount of
matter voided by an adult male in the course of a year is— faeces,
95 lbs.; urine, 1,049 lbs.; total liquid and solid excrements in the
pure state, 1,144 lbs. These contain :

Dry substance — faeces, 231 lbs.: urine, 34i ; total, 58i lbs.
Mineral matter— fteccs, 2i llis.; urine, 12 ; total, 144 lbs.
Carbon— faices, 10 lbs.; urine, 12 ; total 22 lbs
Nitrogen— faeces, 1.2 lbs.; urine, 10.8; total, 12 lbs.
Phosphoric acid— fipccs, 0.7 lbs.; urine, 1.93 ; total, 2.G3 lbs.
PoUsh— fu-ces, 0.24 lbs.; mine, 2.01; total, 2.25 lbs.

The amount of potash is given by Prof. E. WollF, not by Lawes
and Gilbert.

The mixed solid and liquid excrements, in the condition they
leave the body, contain about 95 per cent of water. It would re-
quire, therefore, 20 tons of fresh mixed excrements, to make one
ton of dry nightsoil, or the entire amount voided by a mixed family
of 43 persons in a year.

One hundred lbs. ot fresh faeces contain 75 lbs. of water, and 25
lbs. of dry substance.

One hundred lbs. of fresh urine contain 96J lbs. of water, and
3i lbs. of dry substance.

One hundred lbs. of the dry substance of the faeces contain 5 lbs.
of nitrogen, and 5i lbs. of phosphates.

One hundred lbs. of the dry substance of the urine contain 27
'^s. of nitrogen, and lOf lbs. of phosphates.

These figures are from Lawes and Gilbert, and may be taken as
representing the composition of excrements from moderately well-
fed persons.

According to Wolflf, a ton of fresh human urine contains 12 lbs.
of nitrogen. According to Lawes and Gilbert, 18 lbs.

The liquid carted from the city by Mr. Hooker was from well-fed
adult males, and would doubtless be fully equal to the figures given
bv Lawes and Gilbert. If we call the nitrogen worth 20 cents a lb.,

310 TALKS ON MANURES.

and the phosphoric acid (soluble) worth 12J cents, a ton of such
urine would be worth, on the land, $4.06.

"A ton of the fresh faeces," said the Deacon, "at the same esti-
mate, would be worth (30 lbs. nitrogen, at 20 cents, $4; 21f lbs.
phosphoric acid, at 12^ cents, $2.70), $6.70."

" Not by a good deal," said the Doctor. " The nitrogen and
phosphoric acid in the urine are both soluble, and would be imme-
diately available. But the nitrogen and phosphoric acid in the
faeces would be mostly insoluble. We cannot estimate the nitrogen
in the faeces at over 15 cents a lb., and the phosphoric acid at
5 cents. This would make the value of a ton of fresh faeces, on the
land, $4.09."

" This makes the ton of faeces worth about the same as a ton of
urine. But I would like to kcow," said the Deacon, " if you really
believe we could afford to pay $4 per ton for the stuff delivered on
the farm ? "

"If we could get the genuine article," said the Doctor, "it would
be worth $4 a ton. But, as a rule, it is mi.xcd with water, r.nd dirt,
and stones, and bricks, and rubbish of all kinds. Still, it is un-
questionably a valuable fertilizer."

"In the dry-earth closets," said I, "such a large quantity of

earth has to be used to absorb the liquid, that the material, even if

used several times, is not worth carting any considerable distance.

Dr. Gilbert found that 5 tons of absolutely dry earth, before usinr-,

contained 16.7 lbs. of nitrogen.

Af tCx- being used once, 5 tons of the dry earth contained 34.0 lbs.

" " " twice, " " " " " " 36.3 "

" " " three times,. " " " " " " 44.6 "

" " " four thnes, . . " " " " " " 54.0 "

" " " five times,.. " " " '.' " " 61.4 "

" " " six times,.... " " " " " " 71.6 "

Dr. Veelcker found that five tons of dry earth gained about 7 lbs.
of nitrogen, and 11 lbs. of phosphoric acid, each time it was used
in the closets. If we consider each lb. of nitrogen with the phos-
phoric acid worth 20 cents a lb., 5 tons of the dry earth, after being
used once, would be worth $1.46, or less than 30 cents a ton, and
after it had been used six times, five tons of the material would be
worth $11.98, or about $2.40 per ton.

In this calculation I have not reckoned in the value of the nitro-
gen the soil contained before using. Soil, on a fami, is clienp.

It is clear from these facts that any earth-closet manure a fanner
would be likely to purchase in the city has not a very high value.
It is absurd to talk of making "guano" or any coHceutrated fertil-
izer out of the material from earth-closets.

DIFFKKKNT KINDS OF MAN CUE. 311

"It is rather a reflection ou our scicuce and practical skill," said
the Doctor, " but it looks at present as though the only plan to
adopt in large cities is to use enormous quantities oi^ water and
wash the stuff into the rivers and oceans for the use of aquatic
plants and fishes. The nitrogen is not all lost. Some of it comes
back to us in rains and dews. Of course, there are places where
the sewage of our cities and villages can be used for irrigating
purposes. But when water is used as freely as it ought to be used
for health, the sewage is so extremely poor in fertilizing matter,
that it must be used in enormous quantities, to furnish a dressing
equal to an application of 20 tons of stable-manure per acre."

" If," continued the Doctor, " the sewage is used merely as water
for irrigating purposes, that is another question. The water itself
may often be of great benefit. This aspect of the question has not
received the attention it merits."

PERUVIAN GUANO.

Guano is the manure of birds that live princii^ally on fish.

Fish contain a high percentage of nitrogen and phosphoric acid,
and consequently when fish are digested and the carbon is burnt
out of them, the manure that is left contains a still higher percent-
age of nitrogen and phosphoric acid than the fish from which it
was derived.

Guano is digested fish. If the guano, or the manure from the
birds living on fish, has been preserved without loss, it would con-
tain not only a far higher percentage of nitrogen, bat the nitrogen
would be in a much more available condition, and consequently
he more valuable than the fish from which the guano is made.

The difference in the value of guano is largely due to a difference
in the climate and localit}' in which it is deposited by the birds.
In a rainless and iiot climate, where the bird-droppings would dry
rapidly, little or no putrefaction or fermentation would take place,
and there would be no loss of nitrogen from the formation and
escape of ammonia.

In a damper climate, or where there was more or less rain, the
bird droppings would putrefy, and the ammonia would be liable to
evaporate, or to be leached out by the rain.

Thirty years ago I saw a quantity of Peruvian guano that con-
tained more than 18 per cent of nitrogen. It was remarkably light
colored. Tou know that the white part of hen-droppings consists
priacipaUy of uric acid,which contains about 33 per cent of nitrogen.

For many years it was not difficult to find guano containing 13
per cent of nitrogen, and genuine Peruvian guano was the cheap-

312 TALKS ON MANURES.

est and best source of available nitrogen. But iattcrly, not only
has the price been advanced, but the quality of the guano has de-
teriorated. It has contained less nitrogen and mure phosphoric
acid. See the Chapter on " Value of Fertilizers," Page 324.

SALTS OF AMMONIA AND NITRATE OF SODA.

" I wish," said the Deacon, " you would tell us something about
the ' ammonia-salts ' and nitrate of soda so long used in Lawes and
Gilbert's experiments. I have never seen any of them."

" You could not invest a little money to better advantage than
to send for a few bags of sulphate of anmionia and nitrate of soda.
You would then see what they are, and would learn more by using
them, than I can tell you in a month. You use them just as you
would common salt. As a rule, tiic better plan is to sow them
broadcast, and it is important to di.^lribute them evenly. In sowing
common salt, if you drop a handful in a place, it will kill the
plants. And so it is with nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia.
Two or three pounds on a square rod will do good, but if you put
half of it on a s(iuare yard, it will l)urn up the crop, and the other
half will be api»lied in such a small quantity that you will see but
little effect, and will conclude that it is a humbug. Judging from
over thirty years' experience, I am safe in saying that not one man
in ten can be trusted to sow these manures. They should be sown
with as much care as you sow grass or clover-seed."

"The best plan," said the Doctor, "is to mi.x them with sifted
coal-ashes, or with gypsum, or sifted earth."

" Perhaps so," said I, " though there is nothing gained by mix-
ing cartii or as'jcs with them, except in securing a more even dis-
tribution. And if I was going to sow them myself, I would much
prefer sowing them unmixed. Any man who can sow wheat or
barley can sow sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of soda."

" Lawes and Gilbert," said the Deacon, " used sulphate and mu-
riate of ammonia, and in one or two instances the carbonate of
ammonia. Which is the best ?"

"The one that will furnish ; mraonia or nitrogen at the cheapest
rate," said the Doctor, " is the best to use. The muriate of ammo-
nia contains the most ammonia, but the sulphate, in proportion
to the ammonia, is cheaper than the muriate, and far cheaper than
the carbonate.

Carbonat(> of ammonia contains 21 i per cent of ammonia.

Sulphate of ammonia contains 25| per cent of ammonia=21V»
of nitrogen.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MANURE. 313

Muriate of auimuuiu contains 31 per cent of aninionia=25i of
nitrospn.

Nitrate of so la contaius 16'^, s per cent of nitrogen.

Nitrate of potash, 1;J| per cent of nitrogen.

From tiiese fiirures you can ascerUiin, when j-ou know tiie price
of each, which is the cheapest source of nitrogen.

" True," said I, " but it must be understood tliat tliese figures re-
present the composition of a pure article. The coniniercial sul-
phate of ammonia, and nitrate of soda, would usually contain 10
percent of impurities. Lawes and Gilltert, who have certainly iiad
much experience, and doui)tltss get the best commercial articles,
state th It a mixture of e([ual parts sulphate and muriate of ammo-
nia contains about 2~) per cent of ammonia. According to the fig-
ures given by the Doctor, the mixture would contain, if pure, over
28 per ce:it of ammonia. In other words, 90 lbs. of the pure article
contains as much as 100 lbs. of the commercial article."

As to whether it is better, when you can buy nitrogen at the
same price in nitrate of soda as you can in sulphate of ammonia,
to use the one or the other will depend on cirtHimstances. The
nitrogen exists as nitric acid in the nitrate of soda, and as ammo-
nia in the sulphate of ammonia. But there are good reasons to
believe that before ammonia is used by the plants it is ctrnvcrted
into nitric acid. If, therefore, we could apply the nitrate just
where it is wanted by tlie growing crop, and when there is rain
enough to thoroughly distribute it through the soil to the deptii of
six or eight inches, there can be little doubt that the nitrate, in
proportion to the nitrogen, would have a quicker and better effect
than the sulphate of ammonia.

"There is another point to be considered," said the Doctor.
" Nitric acid is much more easily washed out of the soil than am-
monia. More or less of the ammonia enters into chemical com-
bination with portions of the soil, and may be retained for months
or years."

When we use nitrate of soda, we run the risk of losing more or
less of it from leaching, while if we use ammonia, we lose, for the
time being, more or less of it from its becoming locked up in in-
soluble combinations in the soil. For spring crops, such as barley
or oats, or spring wheat, or for a meadow or lawn, or for top-
dressing winter-wheat in the spring, the nitrate of soda, provided
it is sown early enough, or at any time in the spring, just previous
to a heavy rain, is likely to produce a better effect than the sulphate
of ammonia. But for sowing in the autumn on winter-wheat the
ammonia is to be preferred.
U

314 TALKS ON MANURES.

" Saltpetre, or nitrate of potash," said the Deacon, " does not
contain as much nitrogen as nitrate of soda."

"And yet," said the Doctor, " if it could be purchased at the
same price, it would be the cheaper manure. It contains 46^ per
cent of potash, and on soils, or for crops where potash is needed,
we may sometimes be able to purchase saltpetre to advantage."

" If I could come across a lot of damaged saltpetre," said I,
" that could begot for whaf it is worth as manure, I should like to
try it on my apple trees — one row with nitrate of soda, and one row
with nitrate of potash. When we apply manure to apple trees, the
ammonia, phosphoric acid, and potash, are largely retained in the
first fev; inches of surface soil, and the deeper roots get hold of
only those portions whicli leach tlirough the upper layer of earth.
Nitric acid, however, is easily w-ashed down into the subsoil, and
would soon reach all the roots of the trees."

CnAPTER XXXVII.
BONE-DUST AND SUPERPnOSPIIATE OF LIME.

Bone-dust is often spoken of as a phosphatic manure, and it has
been supposed that the astonishing effect bone-dust sometimes pro-
duces on old pasture-land, is due to its furnishing phosphoric acid
to the soil.

But it must be remembered that bone-dust furnishes nitrogen
as well as phosphoric acid, and we are not warranted in ascribing
the good effect of bones to phosphoric acid alone.

Bones differ considerably in composition. They consist essen-
tially of gelatine and phosphate of lime. Bones from young ani-
mals, and the soft porous parts of all bones, contain more gelatine
than the solid parts, or the l)ones from older animals. On the aver-
age, 1,000 lbs. of good commercial bone-dust contains 38 lbs. of
nitrogen.

On the old dairy farms of Cheshire, whore l)one-dust produced
such marked improvement in the quantity and quality of tlie pas-
tures and meadows, it was usual to apply from 4,000 to 5,000 lbs
per acre, and often more. In other words, a dressing of bone-dust

BONE-DUST AND SlIPERPHOSPO ATE OF LIME. 315

frequently rontaiiud 200 lbs. of nitiogcn per acre — equal to 20 or
25 tons of hani-yanl inamirc.

"It has been supimsed," said tlic Doctor, " tliat owing to the
removal of so much phosphoric acid in tlie cheese sold from tiie
farm, that the dairy pastures of Chcsiiire had been exhausted of
phosphoric acid, and that the wonderful benefits following an ap-
plication of bone-dust to these pastures, was due to its supplying
phosphoric acid."

" I do not doubt," said I, " the value of phosphoric arid when
applied in connection with nitrogen to old pasture lands, but I
contend that the experience of the Cheshire dairymen with bone-
dust is no positive proof that their soils were particularly deticient
in phosphoric acid. Tiiere are many instances given where the
gelatine of the bones, alone, proved of great value to the grass.
And I think it will be found that the Cheshire dairymen do not tind
as much benefit from superphosphate as they did from bone-dust.
And the reason is, that the latter, in addition to the phosphoric
acid, furnished a liberal dressing of nitrogen. Futhermore, it is
not true that dairying specially robs the soil of phosphoric acid.
Take one of these old dairy farms in Ciieshire, where a dressing of
bone-dust, according to a writer in the Journal of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society, has caused ' a miserable covering of pink grass,
rushes, and a variety of other noxious weeds, to give place to the
most luxuriant herbage of wild clover, trefoil, and other succulent
and nutritious grasses.' It is evident from this description of the
pastures before the bones were used, that it would take at least
three acres to keep a cow for a year.

"I have known," says the same writer quoted above, "many a
poor, honest, but half broken-hearted man raised from poverty to
comparative independence, and many a sinking family saved from
inevitable ruin by the help of this wonderful manure." And this
writer not only spoke from observation and experience, but he
showed his faith by bis works, for he tells us that he had paid
nearly $50,000 for this manure.

Now, on one of these poor dairy farms, where it required 3 acres
to keep a cow, and where the grass was of poor quality, it is not
probable that the cows produced over 250 lbs. of cheese in a year.
One thousand pounds of cheese contains, on the average, about
45^ lbs. of nitrogen ; 2^ lbs. of potash, and 11| lbs. of phosphoric
acid. From this it follows, if 250 lbs. of cheese are sold annually
from three acres of pasture, less than one lb. of phosphoric acid
per acre is exported from the farm in the cheese.

One ton of timothy-hay contains nearly 14^^ lbs. of phosphoric

310 TALKS ON MAXDRKS.

acid. Ami so a farna-r who raises a ton of tiinotliy-hay per arro,
and sells if, sends olT as nuub phosphoric acitl in one year as such
a Cheshire dairyman as I iiave alluded lo did in fourteen years.

Wiiat tile dairymen want, and what farmers generally want, is
nitroi^en and phospiioric acid. Bone-dust furnishes both, and this
was the reason of its wonderful effects.

It does not follow from this, that bone-dust is the cheapest and
Itest manure we can use. It is an ohl and popular manure, and
usually commands a good j)rice. It sells for all it is worth. A
dozen years airo, I i)ou>;ht ten tons of iMmc-dust at |18 per ton. I
have otFired $25 per ton since for a similar lot, but the mauufac-
turiTs timl a market in New York for ail tluy can make.

Bone-dust, l)e.sides nitroi^cn, contains about 23 per cent of
l)liosphoric acid.

"That does not give me," said the Deacon, " any idea of its
value."

" Let us put it in another shape, then," .said I. " One ton of good
bon«-dust contains about as much nitrogen as 8i tons of fresh
stable-manure, and as much phosphoric acid as 110 tons of fresh
stal)le-iuanure. But one ton of manure contains more potash than
5 tons of bone-dust.

Bone-dust, like barnyard-manure, does not imrai-diately yield
up its nitrogen ami phosphoric acid to plants. The bone phosphate
of lime is insoluble in water, and but very slightly .soluble in
water containing carbonic acid. The gelatine of the bones would
.';oon decompose in a moi.st, porous, warm soil, provided it was
not protected by tlie oil and by the hard matter of the bones.
Steaming, by removing the oil, removes one of the hindrances to
deconjposition. Reducing the Itonos as fine as possible is another
means of increasing thi'ir av.iilaliility.

Another good method of increasing the availability of bone-dust
is to mix it with barnyard-manure, and let both ferment together
in a heap. I am inclined to think this the best, simplest, and
most economical method of rendering bone-dust available. The
bone-dust causes the lieap of manure to ferment more readily, and
the fermentation of the manure softens the bones. Both the ma-
nure and the bones are improved and rendered richer and more
available by the process.

Another method of increasing the availability of bone-dust is by
mixing it with sulplmric acid.

BoxE-i»usT AND srPKi:rin>srn.\TE of i.imk. 317'

Tin- i)li(>si)li;il(' of liino in bones is insoluble in water, Ihoiij^li
niin wilier conlaiiiinj; carbonic acid, and the water in soils, slowly
dissolve it. Hy Ireatini; the bones witii sulplinric acid, tiic phos-
phate of lime is decomposed and rendered soluble. ('onse(inently,
bone-dust treated with sulpiiurie acid will act much more rapidly
than ordinary l)one-dust. The sulphuric acid does not make it any
richer in phuspimric acid or nitroi:en. It simply renders them more
availalile.

" And yet," said the Doctor, " the use of sulphuric acid for ' dis-
solvin;;' l»ones, or rather phosphate of lime, introduced a new era
in agriculture. It is the ^rand ai^ricultural fact of the nineteenth
century."

"It is perhapp not necessary," said I, " to pive any direction for
treatin.: bones with sulphuric acid. We have got beyonil that.
We can now buy superphosphate cheaper tiian we can make it
from bones."

" Bui IS it as good ? " asked the Deacon.

"Soluble phosphate of lime," said I, "is soluble phosphate of
lime, and it makes no dilFerence whether it is made from burnt
bones, or from phosphatic guano, or mineral |)hosphate. That ques-
tion has been fully decided by tlie most satisfactory experiments."

"BL'fore you and the Deacon tliscuss that subject," said the Doc-
tor, " it would be well to tell Charley wiiat supcrjjhosphate is."

"I wish you would tell me," said Charley.

"Well," said the Doctor," phosphate of lime, as it exists in
bones, is composed of tliree atoms of lime and one atom «)f phos-
phoric acid. Chemists call it the tricalcic phosphate. It is also
called the basic phosphate of lime, and not unfrequcntly the
'bone-earth phosphate.' It is the ordinary or common form of
phosphate of lime, as it exists in animals, and plants, and in the
various forms of mineral phosphates.

"Then there is another pliosphate of lime, called the dicalcic
phosphate, or neutral phosphate of lime, or reverted phosi)hate of
lime. It is composed of one atom of water, two atoms of lime,
and one atom of pliosphoric acid.

" Then we have wliat we call superphosphate, or acid phosphate
of lime, or more properly monocalcic phosphate. It is composed
of »wo atoms of water, one atom of lime, and one atom of phos-
phoric acid. This acid phosphate of lime t.« soluble in ipater.

"The manufacture of superphosphate of lime is based on these
facts. The onr-Vmc phosphate is soluble, the threeWmo phosphate
is insoluble. To convert tlie latter into the former, all we have
to do is to take away two atoms of lime.

318 TALKS ON MANIRES.

"Sulpluiric acid has a stronger aftiaity for lime tlian phosphoric
acid. And when you mix enough sulphuric acid with tinely ground
three-lime phosphate, to take away two atoms of lime, you get t.iC
phosphoric acid united with one atom of lime and two atoms of
water."

" And what," asked the Deacon, " becomes of the two atoms of
lime ? "

" They unite with tlio sulphuric acid," said the Doctor, "and
form plaster, gypsum, or sulphate of lime."

"The molecular weight of water." continued the Doctor, " is
18; of lime, 56; of sulphuric acid, 80; of phosphoric acid, 142.

" An average sample of commercial bone dus"t," continued the
Doctor, " contains about ijO per cent of phosphate of lime. If we
take 020 lbs. of finely-ground bone-dust, containing 310 lbs. of
three lime jthosphati', and mi.\ with it IGO ll>s. of sulphuric acid
(say 240 lbs. common oil of vitriol, sp. gr. 1.7), the sulpiiuric acid
will unite with 112 lbs. of lime, and leave the 142 lbs. of phos-
phoric acid united with the remaining 56 lbs. of lime."

"And that will give j'ou," said the Deacon, " 780 lbs. of 'dis-
solved bones,' or superphosphate of lime."

" It will give you more than that," s.iid the Doctor, " because, as
I said before, the two atoms of lime (112 ll>s.) are replaced by two
atoms (oG lbs.) of water. And, furthermore, the two atoms of
sulphate of lime produced, contained two atoms (36 lbs.) of water.
The mi.vture, therefore, contains, even wlien perfectly dry, 72 lbs.
of water."

" Where does fliis water come from?" asked the Deacon.

" When I was at Rothamsted," said 1, " the superpliosphate
whic'ii Mr. Lawes used in his experiments was made on the farm
from animal cliarcoal, or burnt i>on:s, ground as fine as jtossible —
the tlner tlie better. We took 40 lbs. of the meal, and mixed it
witli 20 lbs. of wafer, and then poured on 30 Ib.s. of common sul-
phuric acid (sp. g. 1.7), and stirred it up rapidly and tliorouglily,
and then threw it out of the vessel into a heap, on the eartli-floor
in the barn. Then mixed another portion, and so on, until we had
the desired quantity, say two or three tons. The last year I was
at Rothamsted, we mixed 40 lbs. bone-meal, 30 lbs. v.-ater, and 30
lbs. acid ; and we thought the additional water enabled us to mix
the acid and meal together easier and better."

"Dr. Ilabirshaw tells me," said tlie Doctor, "that in making
the ' Rectified Peruvian Guano' no water is necessary, and none
is used. The water in tlie txuano and in the acid is sufficient to

BONE-DUST AXI) SUPERPUOSl'HATE OK LIMi:. .'U9

furriisli the two atoms of water for the ph<jsphate, and the two
atoms for the sulphate of lime."

"Such is unciouliteclly the case," said I, "and when large quan-
tities of superphosi)hate are made, and the mixing is done by ma-
chinery, it is not necessary to use water. The advantage of using
water is in tlie greater ease of mixing."

" Bone-dust," said the Doctor, "contains alioul G per cent of
water, and the suli)huric acid (sp. g. 1.7) contains about one-third
its weigiit of water. So tliat, if you take 620 lbs. of bone-dust,
and mix with it 240 lbs. of common suliihuric acid, you have in
the mixture 117 lbs. of water, which is 45 lbs. more than is needed
to furnisii the water of coml)iiiati()n."

"The superph()si)hate produced from 020 llis. of bones, there-
fore," continued the Doctor, "would contain:

Phosphoric acid ) (142 lbs.

Limu J- acid phosphate -{ 50 "

Water ) I :«". "

Sulphuric acid | I KX) lbs.

Lime J- sulphate of lime ^ 112 "

Water J ■ { '^> "

Organic matter, ash, etc., of the bonc6* 3:3."> "

Total dri/ superphosphate 877 "

Moisture, or lo>s 45 "

Total mixture 92^ lbs.

• ConUinins iiilro^^eii, 2.!', Itis.

"There is a small quantity of carbonate of lime in the bones,"
Baid I, "which would take up a little of tiic acid, and you will
have a remarkably good article if you calculate that the 020 lbs. of
bone-dust furnish you half a ton (1,000 lbs.) of superphosphate. It
will be a better article than it is practically jjossible to make."

" Assuming that it made half a ton," said the Doctor, " it would
contain 14} per cent of soluble piiosphoric acid, and 2^^ per cent
of nitrogen."

"With nitrogen at 20 cents per lb., and soluble phosphoric
acid at 12ic. per lb., this half ton of superphosphate, made from
620 lbs. of good bone-dust, would be worth $22.50, or $45 per ton."

" Or, to look at it in another light," continued the Doctor, " a
ton of bone-dust, made into such a superphosphate as we are talk-
ing about, would be worth $72.58."

" How much," asked the Deacon, " would a ton of the bone-dust
be considered worth before it was converted into superphosphate ? "

"A ton of bone-dusl," replied the Doctor, " contains 76 lbs. of
nitrogen, worth, at 18 cents per lb., $13.68, and 404 lbs. phosphoric
acid, worth 7 cents per 11>., $32.48. In other words, a ton of bone-
dust, at the usual eslimatJ, ii worth $46.16."

320 TALKS ON MANURES.

" Ami," said the Deacon, " after it is converted into superphos-
phate, the same ton of bones is worth $72.58. It thus appears that
you pay $26.42 per ton for simply making the phosjihoric acid in
a ton of bones soluble. Is'a<, it paying a little too much for the
whistle?"

" Possibly such is the case," said I, "and in point of fact, I
think bone-dust, especially from steamed or boiled bones, can be
used with more economy in its natural state than in the form of
superphosphate."

Superpliosphate can be made more economically from mineral
phosphates than from bones— the nitrogen, if desired, being sup-
plied from fish-scrap or from some other cheap source of nitrogen.

But for my own use I would prefer to buy a good article of
superphosphate of lime, containing no nitrogen, provided it can
be obtained cheap enough. I would buy tlie ammoniacal, or nitro-
genous manure separately, and do my own mi.xing — unless the
mixture could be bought at a Ivss cost than the same weight of
soluble phosphoric acid, and available nitrogen could be obtained
separately'.

A pure superphosphate — and by pure I mean a superphosphate
containing no nitrogen — can be drilled in with the seed without
injury, but I should be a little afraid of drilling in some of the
ammoniacal or nitrogenous superpliosphateo with small seeds.

And then, again, the " nitrogen" in a superphosphate mixture
may be in the form of nitric acid, or sulphate of ammonia, in one
case, or, in another case, in the form of hair, woollen rags, hide,
or leather. It is far more valuable as nitric acid or ammonia,
because it will act quicker, and if I wanted hair, woollen rags,
horn-shavings, etc., I would prefer to have them separate from
the superphosphate.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
SPECIAL MANURES.

Twenty five to thirty years ago, nmch was said in regard to spe-
cial Auanures. Fertilizers were i)repared for the different crops with
special reference to the composition of the plants.

"But it was known then, as now," said the Doctor, "that all
our agricultural jdants were composed of the same elements."

" True, but what was claimed was this : Some crops contain, for

SPECIAL MANURES. 321

instance, more phosphoric acid than other crops, and for these a
manure rich in phosphoric acid was i)rovided. Otliers contained a
large proportion of potasli, and these were called ' potash crops,'
and tlie manure prescrihed for them was rich in potash. And so
with the other ingredients of phints."

" I recollect it well," said the Doctor, " and, in truth, for several
years I had much faith in the idea. It was advocated with con-
summate ability by the lamented Liebig, and in fact a patent was
tiiken out by the Musjrraves, of Liverpool, for the manufacture of
Liebig's Special Manures, based on this theory. But the manures,
though extensively used by the leading farmers of England, and
endorsed Ity the highest authorities, did not in the end stand the
test of actual farm practice, and their manufacture was abandoned.
And I do not know of any experienced agricultural chemist who
now advocates this doctrine of special manures.

"Dr. Vadcker says: ' The a.sh-analyses of plants do not afford
a sufficiently trustworthy guide to the practical farmer in selecting
the kind of manure which is best api>lied to each crop.' "

" Never mind the authorities," said the Deacon ; " what we want
are facts."

" Well," replied the Doctor, " take the wheat and turnip crop as
an illustration.

" We will suppose that there is twice the weight of wheat-straw
as of grain ; and that to 10 tons of bulbs there is 3 tons of turnip-
tops. Now, 100 lbs. each of the ash of these two crops contain :

mieat croj). Turnip crop.

Phosphoric acid 11.44 7.33

Potash 1.5.44 32.75

Sulphuric acid 2.44 11.2.5

Lime 5.09 19.28

Magnesia 3.33 1..56

" There are other ingredients," continued the Doctor, " but these
are the most important.

" Now, if you were going to compound a manure for wheat, say
100 lbs., consisting of potash and phosphoric acid, what would be
the proportions ? "

The Deacon figured for a few moments, and then produced the
following table:

100 LBS. SPECIAL MANURE FOR WHEAT A:N'D TCRNIPS.

Wheat manure. Turnip tnaiuire.

Phosphoric acid 42 j lbs. 181 lbs.

Potash 57^ " 81f "

100 lbs. 100 lbs.

"Exactly," said the Doctor, " and yet the experiments of Laweg

322 TALKS ON MANUKES.

and Gilbert clearly prove that a soil nee Is to be richer jn available
phospboric acid, to produce even a fair crop of turnips, than to
produce a large crop of wheat. And the experience of farmers
everywhere tends in the same direction. England is the greatest
turnip-growing country in the world, and you will find that where
one farmer applies potash to turnips, or superphosphate to wheat,
a hundred farmers use superphosphate as a t<i)cciul manure for the
turnip crop.'

" And we are certainly warranted in saying," continued the Doc-
tor, " </t'// the composition <if a pdnt affords, in practical agriculture,
and on ordinary cultivated soils, no 8>rti'f indicntioii as to the com-
position of tlie manure it is best tc upplt/ to the crop^

" Again," continued the Doctor, " if the theory was a correct one,
it would follow that those crops which contained the most nitro-
gen, would require tlie most nitrogen in the manure. Beans, peas,
and clover would require a soil or a manure richer in available ni-
trog(;n than wheat, l)arley, or oats. We know that the verij reverse
is true — know it from actual, and repeated, and long-continued ex-
periments like thos • of Lawes and Gilbert, and from the common
experience of fanners everywhere."

" You need not get excited." said the Deacon, " the theory is a
very plausible one, and while I cannot dispute your facts, I must
ccmfcss I cannot see why it is not reasonable to suppose that a
plant which contains a large amount of nitrogen sliouid not want
a manure specially rich in nitrogen ; or why turnips which contain
80 much potash should not want a soil or manure specially rich in
potash."

" Do you recollect," said I, " that crop of turnips I raised on a
poor blowing-sand ? "

" Yes," said the Deacon, " it was the best crop of turnips I ever
saw grow."

" That crop of turnips,'" said I, " was due to a dressing of super-
phosphate of Ihne, with little or no potash in it."

"I know all that," said the Deacon. "I admit the fact that
superphosphate is a good manure for turnips. What I want to
know is the reason why superphosphate is better for turnips than
for wheat?"

"Many reasons might be given," said the Doctor; "Prof.
Vcelcker attributes it to the limited fee ling range of the roots of
turnips, ns compared to wheat. 'The rpots of wiieat,' says Prof.
Vcrlcker, ' as is well known, penetrate the soil to a much greater
depth than the more delicate fee ling fibres of the roots of turnips.
Wheat, remaining on the ground two or three months longer than

SPECIAL MAXURBS. 3:23

turnips, can avail itself for a longer perioil of the resources of the
soil ; therefore in most casts tiie phosphoric acid disseminated
through the soil is amply sunicicnt to meet the requirements of the
wheat crop; whilst turnips, dependiui? on a thinner depth of soil
during tlieir shorter period of growtli, cannot assimilate suHicient
phosphoric acid, to come to prrfeclion. This is, I believe, the
main reason why the direct supj)!}' of readily available phosphates
is so btnrticial to root-crops, and not to wheal."

"This reason," said I, " has never been entirely satisfactory to
me. If the roots of the turnip have such a limited range, how are
they able to get such a large amonut of potash?

"It is probable that the turnip, containing such a large relative
amount of potisli and so little phosphoric acid, has roots capable
of absorbing potash from a very weak solution, but not so in re-
gard to phosphoric acid."

"There is another way of looking at this matter," said the Doc-
tor. "You must recollect that, if turnips and wheat were grow-
ing in th" same field, both plants gi t their food from the same so-
lution. And instead of supposing that the wheat-plant has the
power of taking up more phosithoric acid than the turnip-plant,
we may suppose that the turnip has the power of rejecting or ex-
cluding a portion of phosphoric acid. It takes up no more potasli
than the wheal-plant, but it takes Uss phosphoric acid."

But it is not necessary to speculate on this matter. For the
present we may accept the fact, that the proportion of potash,
phosphoric acid, and nitrogen in the crop is no indication of the
proper proportion in which these ingredients sliould be applied to
the soil for these crops in manure.

It may well be that we should use special manures for special
crops; but we must ascertain what these manures should be, not
from analyses of the crops to be grown, but from experiment and
experience.

So far as present facts throw light on this subject, we should
conclude that those crops which contain the least nitrogen are the
most likely tu be benefited by its artificial application ; and the
crops containing ihe most phosphoric acid, are the crops to which,
in ordinary- practical agriculture, it will be unprofitable to apply
superphosphate of lime.

'.' That," said the Doctor, " may be stating the case a little too
strong."

" Perhaps so," said I, " but you must recollect I am now speak-
ing of practical agriculture. If I wanted to rai.se a good crop of
cabbage, I should not think of consulting a chemical analysis

324 TALKS ON MANURES.

of the cabbage. If I set out cabbage on an acre of land, wliich,
wilhout manure, would produce 16 tons of cabbage, does any one
mean to tell me that if I put the amount of nitrogen, paosphoric
acid and potash which 10 tons of cabbage contain, on an adjoining
acre, that it would produce an extra growth of 10 tons of cabbage.
I can not b'.'lieve it. The facts are all the other way. Plant
growth is not such a simple matter as the advocates of this theory,
if there be any at this late day, would have us believe."

C n A r T E R XXXIX.
VALUE OF FERTILIZERS.

In 1857, Prof. S. W. Johnson, in his Report to the Connecticut

Agricultural Society, adopted the following valuation:

Potash 4 cents per lb.

Phosphoric acid, insoluble in water 4i " " "

" " soluble " " ....12i " " "
Nitrogen 17 " " "

Analyses of many of the leading commercial fertilizers at that
time showed that, wlicn judged by this standard, the i)rice charged
was far above their actual value. In some cases, manures selling
for $G0 per ton, contained nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash
worth only from $20 to $25 per ton. And one well-known manure,
which sold for $28 per ton, was found to be worth only $2.33 per
ton. A Bone Fertilizer selling at $50 per ton, was worth less than
$14 per ton.

"In 1852," said the Doctor, "superphosphate of lime was manu-
factured by the New Jersey Zinc Co., and sold in New York at
$50 per ton of 2,000 lbs. At the same time, superphosphate of
lime made from Coprolites, was selling in England for $24 per ton
of 2,240 lbs. The late Prof. Mapes commenced making ''Im-
proved Superphosphate of Lime," at Newark, N. J., in 1852, and
Mr. De Burg, the same year, made a plain superpli'dsphate of lime
in Brooklyn, N. Y. The price, in proportion to value, was high,
and, in fact, the same may be said of many of our superplios-
phate manures, until within the last few years.

Notwithstanding the comparativelv high price, and the uncer-
tain quality of these commercial manures, the demand has been
steadily on the increase. We have now many honorable and in-

VALUE OF FERTILIZERS. 325

telligent men engaged in the manufacture and salo of these artifi-
cial manures, and owing to more definite knowledge on the part
of the manufacturers and of the purchasers, it is not a difficult
matter to find manures well worth the money asked for them.

" A correct analysis," said I, " furnishes the only sure test of
value. ' Testimonials ' from farmers and others are pre-eminently
unri'liable. With over thirty years' experience in the use of these
fertilizers, I would place far more confidence on a good and reli-
able analysis than on any actual trial I could make in the field.
Testimonials to a patent fertilizer are about as reliable as testimo-
nials to a patent-medicine. In buying a manure, we want to know
what it contains, and the condition of the constituents."

In 1877, Prof. S. W. Johnson gives the folhnviug figures, show-
ing " the trade-values, or cost in market, per pound, of the ordi-
nary occurring forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as
recently found in the New York and New England markets :

Cents per jwund.

Nitrogen in ammonia and nitrates 24

" in Peruvian Oiiano, tine steamed bone, dried and

fine ground blood, meat, and fish 20

" in fine trround bone, horn, and wool-dust 18

" in coarse bone, horu-shavings, and fish-scrap 15

Phosphoric acid soluble in water T 12i

" " " reverted," and in Peruvian Guano 9

" " insoluble, in fine bone and fish jruano 7

" " " in coarse bone, bone-ash, and

bone-black 5

•' " " in fine ground rock phosphate... 3i

Potash in high-c^ade sulphate 9

" in kainit, as sulphate 71

" in muriate, or potassium chloride 6

" These ' estimated values,' " says Prof. Johnson, " are not fixed,
but vary with the state of the market, and are from time to time
subject to revision. They are not exact to the cent or its fractions,
because the same article sells cheaper at commercial or manufac-
turing centers than in country towns, cheaper in large lots than in
small, cheaper for cash than on time. These values are high
enough to do no injustice to tlie dealer, and accurate enough to
serve the object of the consumer.

"By multiplying the per cent of Nitrogen, etc., by the trade-
value per pound, and then by 20, we get the value per ton of the
several ingredients, and adding the latter together, we obtain the
total estimated value per ton.

"The uses of the ' Valuation ' are, 1st, to show whether a given
lot or brand of fertilizer is worth as a commodity of trade what it
costs. If the selling price is no higher than the estimated value,

326 TALKS ON MANURES.

the purchaser may be quite sure that the price is reasoaable. If
the selling price is but $2 to $3 per ton more than the estimated
value, it may still be a fair price, but if the cost per ton is $5 or
more over the estimated value, it would be well to look further.
2d, Comparisons of the estimated values, and sclUng prices of a
number of fertilizers will pcncralh' indicate fairly which is the
best for the money. But the ' estimated value ' is not to be too
literally construed, for analysis cannot always decide accurately
wiiat is the/or//i of nitrogen, etc., while the nu chanical condition
of a feriilizer is an item whose influence cannot always be rightly
expressed or appreciated.

*' The Agricultural value of a fertilizer is measured by the benefit
received from its use, and depends upon its fertilizing effect, or
crop-producing power. As a broad general rule it is true that
Peruvian guano, supei phosphates, tish-scraps, dried blood, potash
salts, plaster, etc., have a high agricultural value which is rt luted
to their trade-value, and to a degree determines the latter value.
But the rule has many exceptions, and in particular instances the
trade-value cannot always ic expected to fix or even to indicate
the agricultural value. Fertilizing elfect depends largely upon soil,
crop, and weather, and as these vary from place to place, and from
year to year, it cannot be foretold or estimated except by the
results of past experience, and then only in a general and probable
manner."

*' It will be seen," said the Doctor, " that Prof. Johnson places
a higher value on potash now than he did 20 years ago. He re-
tains the same figures for soluble phosphoric acid, and make s a very
just and proper discrimination between the different values of dif-
ferent forms of nitrogen and phosphoric acid."

"The prices," said I, "are full as high as farmers can afford to
pay. But there is not much probability that we shall see them
permanently reduced. The tendency is in the other direction. In
a public address Mr. J. B. Lawes has recently remarked: 'A
future generation of British farmers will doubtless hear with some
surprise that, at the close of the manure .season of 1876, there were
40,000 tons of nitrate of soda in our docks, wliich could not find
purchasers, although the price did not exceed £12 or £13 per ton.' "

" lie evidently thinks," said the Doctor, " that available nitro-
gen is cheaper now than it will be in years to come."

" Nitrate of s da," said I, "at the prices named, is only 2J to SJ-
cents per 1 ., and the nitrogen it contains would cost less than 18
cents per lb., instead of 24 cents, as given by Prof. Johnson."

"No. 1 Peruvian Guano, 'guaranteed,' is now sold," said the

1

I

VAI.UK OF FERTILIZERS. 327

Doctor, " at a price per ton, to be detcrmiued by its composition,
at the following rates:

Valiu2Kr pouTid.

Nltrocen (ammonia, ITlc. ) 2Uc.

Soluble pbos|>horic acid 10 c.

Reverted " " 8 c.

Insoluble " " 3 c.

Potash, as sulphate and phosphate Tic.

"The first cargo of Penivian guano, sold under this guarantee,
contained :

Value j)er ton.

Ammonia fi.S per cent 123.80

Soluble phosphoric acid.. 3.8 " " 7.60

Reverted " " ..11.5 " " 18. -W

Insoluble " " .. 3.0 " " 1.20

Potash 3.7 " " .^ 5^

Estimated retail price per ton of 2,0(K) lbs $56..'i5

Marked on bags for sale :$5G.00

The second cargo, sold under this guarantee, contained :

Value jjer ton.

Ammonia 11.5 per cent $40.50

Soluble phosphoric acid. . 5.4 " " 10.80

Reverted " " ..10.0 " " 16.00

Insoluble " " .. 1.7 " " 68

Potash 2.3 " " •^A'*?

$71.43
Selling price marked on bags |70.00

"It is interesting," said I, " to compare these analyses of Peru-
vian guano of to-day, with Peruvian guano brought to England
twenty-nine or thirty years ago. I saw at Rothamsted thirty years
ago a bag of guano that contained 22 per cent of ammonia. And
farmers could then buy guano guaranteed by the dealers (not by
the agents of the Peruvian Government), to contain 16 per cent of
ammonia, and 10 per cent of phosphoric acid. Price, £9 5s. per
ton of 2,240 lbs.— say $40 per ton of 2,000 lbs.

The average composition of thirty-two cargoes of guano im-
ported into England in 1849 was as follows :

Ammonia 17.41 per cent.

Phosphoric acid 9.75 " "

Alkaline salts 8.75 " "

At the present valuation, adopted by the Agents of the Peruvian
guano in New York, and estimating that 5 per cent of the phos-
phoric acid was soluble, and 4 i)er cent reverted, and that there
was 2 lbs. of potash in the allialine salts, this guano would be
worth :

328 TALKS Ol!i MANUEBS.

Value per ton o/ 2,000 lb«.

Ammonia 17.41 per cent $60.93

Soluble phosphoric acid.. 5 00 " " 10.00

Kevorted " " .. 4.00 " " 6.40

Insoluble " " .. 75 " " 30

Potagh 3.00 " " 3.00

*80.63
Selling price per ton of 2,000 lbs $40.00

Ichaboe guano, which was largely imported into England in
l844:-5, and used extensively as a manure for turnips, contained,
on the average, 7+ per cent of ammonia, and 14 per cent of phos-
phoric acid. Its value at the present rates we may estimate as
follows :

Ammonia, 7i per cent $26.25

Soluble Phosphoric acid, 4 per cent 8.00

Kevertud " " 10 " 16.00

' $50.25
Selling price per ton of 2,000 lbs $31.80

The potash is not given, or this would probably add four or five
dollars to its estimated value.

"All of whicli goes to show," said the Deacon, "that the Peru-
vian Government is asking, in proportion to value, from two to
two and a half times as much for guano as was charged twenty-
five or thirty years ago. That first cargo of guano, sold in New
York under the new guarantee, in 1877, for $56 per ton, is worth
no more than the Ichaboe guano sold in England in 1845, for lcs3
than $23 per ton !

" And furthermore," continued the Deacon, " from all that I can
leani, the guano of the present day is not only far poorer in nitro-
gen than it was formcrh', but the nitrogen is not as soluble, and
consequently not so valuable, pound for pound. ^luch of the
guano of the present day bears about the same relation to genuine
old-fashioned guano, as leached ashes do to unleached. or as a ton
of manure that has been leached in the barn-yard does to a ton
that has been kept under cover."

"True, to a certain extent," said the Doctor, "but you must
recollect that this ' guaranteed ' guano is now sold by analysis.
You pay for what you get and no more."

" Exactly," said the Deacon, " but what you get is not so good.
A pound of nitrogen in the leached guano is not as available or as
valuable as a pound of nitrogen in tlie unleached guano. An this
fact ought to be understood."

"One thing," said I, "seems clear. The Peruvian Government
is charging a consid( rably higher price for guano, in proportion
to its actual value, than was charged 20 or 25 years ago. It may

I

VAT.UE OF FERTILIZEIiS. 329

be, Uiat the ffuano is still the cheapest manure in tlie market, but
at any rale the price is higiier than formerly — while there has been
no corresponding advance m the price of produce iu the markets
of the world."

POTASH AS A MANURE.

On land whore fish, fish-scrap, or guano, has been used freely
for some years, and the crops exported from the farm, we may ex-
pect a relative deficiency of potash iu the soil. In such a case, an
application of unleachcd ashes or potash salts will be likely to
pro.kice a decided benefit.

Clay or loamy land is usually richer in potash than soils of a
more sandy or gravelly character. And on poor sandy land, the
use of fish or of iruano, if the crops are all sold, will be soon likely
to prove of little benefit owing to a deficiency of potash in the soil.
They vaay produce good crops for a few years, but the larger the
crops produced and sold, the more would the soil become deficient
in potash.

We have given the particulars of Lawes and Gilbert's experi-
ments on barley. Mr. Lawes at a late meeting in London, staled
that " he had grown 25 crops of barley one after the other with
nitrogen, either as ammonia or nitrate of soda, but without
potash, and that by tlie use of potash the}' had produced practically
no better result. This year (1877), for the tirst time, the potash
had failed a little, and they had now produced 10 or 12 bushels
more per acre with potash than without, showing that they were
coming to the end of the available potash in the soil. This year
(1877), they obtained 54 bushels of barley with potash, and 42
bushels without it. Of coursn, this was to be expected, and they
had expected it much sooner. The same with wheat ; he expected
the end would come in a few years, but they had now gone on be-
tween 30 and 40 years. "When the end came they would not be
sorry, because then they would have the knowledge they were
seeking for."

Dr. Toelcker, at the same meeting remarked : " Many soils con-
tained from 1| to 2 per cent of availaJjle potash, and a still larger
quantity locked up, in the shape of minerals, which only gradually
came into play ; but the quantity of potash carried off in crops
did not exceed 2 cwt. per acre, if so much. Now 0.1 per cent of
any constituent, calculated on a depth of six inches, was equiva-
lent to one ton per acre. There ""ore, if a soil contained only 0.1
per cent of potash, a ton of potash might be carried off from a

330 TALKS ON MANURES.

depth of 6 inches. But jdu had not only 0.1 per cent, but some-
thing like H per cent and upwards in many soils. It is quite true
there were many soils from which you could not continuously
take crops witliout restoring the potash."

" In all of which," said the Doctor, " there is nothing new. It
does not help us to determine whether potash is or isnot deficient
in our soil."

" That," said I, " can be ascertained only by actual experiment.
Put a little hen-manure on a row of com, and on another row a
little hen-manure and ashes, and on another row, ashes alone, and
leave one row without anyth.ng. On my farm I am satisfied that
we need not buy potasli-salts for manure. I do not say they would
do no good, for they may do good on land not deficient in availa-
ble potash, just as lime will do good on land containing large
quantities of lime. But potash is not what my land needs to make
it produce maximum crops. It needs available nitrogen, and
possibly soluble phosphoric acid."

The system of farming adopted in this section, is much more
likely to impoverish the soil of nitrogen and phosphoric acid than
of potash.

If a soil is deficient in potash, the crop which will first indicate
the deficiency, will probably be clover, or beans. Farmers who can
grow large crops of red-clover, need not buy potash for manure.

On farms where grain is largely raised and sold, and where the
straw, and corn-stalks, and hay, and the hay fiom clover-seed are
retained on the farm, and this strawy manure returned to the land,
the soil will become poor from the lack of nitrogen and phos-
phoric acid long before there would be any need of an artificial
supply of potash.

On the other hand, if farmers should use fish, or guano, or
superphosphate, or nitrate of soda, and sell all the hay, and straw,
and potatoes, and root-crops, they could raise, many of our sandy
soils would soon become poor in available potash. But even in
this case the clover and beans would show the deficiency sooner
than wheat or even potatoes.

" And yet we are told," said the Deacon," that potatoes contain
no end of potash."

"And the same is true," said I, "of root-crops, such as mangel-
wurzel, turnips, etc., but the fact has no other significance than
this: If you grow potatoes for many years on the same land and
manure them with nitrogenous manures, the soil is likely to be
speedily impoverished of potash."

" But suppose," said the Deacon, " that you grow potatoes on the

VALUE OF FE UTILIZERS. 331

same land without manure of any kind, would not the soil become
equally poor in potash ?"

" No," said I, " because you would, in such a case, get very
small crops — small, not from lack of potash, but from lack of nitro-
gen. If I had land which had grown corn, potatoes, wheat, oats,
and hay, for many years without manure, or an occasional dress-
ing of our common barnyard-manure, and wanted il to produce a
good crop of potatoes, I should not expect to get it by simply
applying potash. The soil might be poor in potash, but it is
almost certain to be still poorer in nitrogen and phosphoric acid.

Land that has been manured with farm yard or stable manure
for years, no matter how it has been cropped, is not likely to need
potash. The manure is richer in potash than in nitrogen and
phosphoric acid. And the same may be said of the soil.

If a farmer uses nitrogenous and phosphatic manures on his
clave}' or loamy land that is usually relatively rich in potash, and
will appl}' his common manure to tlie sandy parts of the farm, he
will rarely need to purchase manures containing potash.

332 TALKS OK MA.NU11ES.

C U A P T E R XL.
RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL.

BY SIB J. B. LA\VE3, B.UIT., LL.D., F.K.S., KOTUAMSTED, ENO.

A relation of mine, wlio already possessed a very consider'
able estate, consisting of lij^ht land, about twenty j'ears ago
purchased a large properly adjoining it at a very high price.
These were days when farmers were flourishing, and they no
more anticipated what was in store for them in the future,
than the inhabitants of the earth in the days of Noah.

Times have changed since then, and bad seasons, low prices
of wheat, and cattle-disease, have swept off the tenants from
these two estates, so that my relatii^i finds himself now in the
position of being the unhappy owner and occupier of five or
six farms, extending over several thousand acres — one farm
alone occupying an area of two thousainl four liinidred acres.
Fortunately for the owner, he possi'sses town projierty in addi-
tion to his landed estates, so that the question with him is not,
as it is with many land owners, how to find the necessary capi-
tal to cultivate the land, but, having found the capital, how to
expend it in farming, so as to produce a proper return.

It is not very siirprising that, under these circumstances, my
opinion should have been asked. What, indeed, would have
been the use of a relation, who not only spent all his time in
agricultural experiments, but also pretended to teach our
neighbors how to farm on the other side of the Atlantic, if he
could not bring his science to bear on the land of an adjoining
county ! Here is the land — my relation might naturally say —
here is the money, and I have so much confidence in your
capacity that I will give you carte-hhtnchc to spend as nmch as
you please — what am I to do ?

An inspection of the property brought out the following facts
—that all the land was very light, and that you might walk
over the fresh plowed surface in the wettest weather without
any clay sticking to your boots : still a portion of the soil was
dark in color, and therefore probably contained a sufficient
amount of fertility to make cultivation profitable, provided the
management could be conducted with that care and economy
which arc absolute essentials in a business where the expendi-
ture is always pressing closely upon the income.

llESTOHIXG FEIITILITY TO THE SOIL. '^'-V-)

Upon land of this doscriptiou nicat-making is the backbone
of the system, whic-h must be adopted, and a large breeding
flock of sheep the first essential towards success.

Science can make very little im{)rovement upon the four-
course n>tation — roots, barlej", clover, and wheat, unless, per-
haps, it may be by keeping the land in clover, or mixed grass
and clover, for two or three years.

A g(xid deal of the land I was inspecting was so light, that, in
fact, it was hardly more than sand, and for some years it had been
left to glow anything that came up, undisturbed by the plow.

To a practised t-ye, the character of the natural vegetation is
a sure indication of the fertiUt\' of the soil. Where herds of
buffaloes are to Ije seen — their sides shaking with fat — it is
quite evident that the p^istures ui)on which they feed cannot
be very bad ; and in the same way, where a rank growth of
weeds is found springing up upon land that has been abandon-
ed, it may be taken for certain that the elements of food exist
in the soil. Tliis ground was covered with vegetation, but of
the most im[X)verished descriptiim, even the "Quack" or
"Couch-grass" could not form a regular carpet, but grew in
small, detached bunches ; everything, in fact, bore evidence of
poverty.

Possibly, the first idea which might occur to any one, on
seeing land in this state, miglit be : Wh}- not grow the crops by
the aid of artificial manures?

Let us look at the question from two points of view : first, in
regard to the cost of the ingredients ; and, secondly, in regard
to the growth of the crop.

We will begin with wheat. A crop of wheat, machine-reap-
ed, contains, as carted to the stack, about six pounds of soil in-
gredients in every one hundred pounds ; that is to say, each
five poimds of mineral matter, and rather less than one pound
of nitrogen, which the i)lant takes from the soil, will enable it
to obtain ninety-four p)unds of other substances from the at-
mosphere. To grow a crop of twentj- bushels of grain and
two thousand pounds of straw, would require one hundred and
sixty pounds of minerals, and about thirty-two pounds of nitro-
gen ; of the one hundred and sixty pounds of minerals, one-
half would be silica, of which the soil possesses already more
than enough ; the remainder, consisting of about eighty pounds
of potash and phosphate, could be furnished for from three
to four dollars, and the thirty-two pounds of nitrogen could
be purchased in nitrate of soda for six or eight dollars.

334 TALKS OX MANURES.

The actual cost of tlic ingredients, therefore, in the crop ot
twenty buslielsitf wlu-at, would be about ten to twelve dollars.
But as this manure would furnish the injj^redients for the
growth of both straw and grain, and it is customary to return
the straw to the laud, after tlie tirst crop, fully one-third of the
cost of the manure might, in consequence, be deducted, which
would niiike the ingredients of the twenty bushels amount to
six dollars. Twenty bushels of wheat in Kngland would sell
for twenty -eight dollars ; therefore, there woukl be twenty-two
dollars left for the cost of cultivatitm and profit.

A French writer on scientific agriculture has em])loyed
figures very similar to the above, to show liow Fiench farmers
may grow wlieat at less liian one dollar per bushel. At this
jirier they might ct-rtaiidy defy the comp<'tition of the United
States. It is one thing, however, to grow crops in a lecture
room, and (piite another to grow them in a field. In ilealing
with artificial .nanures, furnishing jihosphoric acid, i)ot;ush,
and nitrogen, we have substances which act upon the soil in
very (lifTerents ways. Phosphatt^ of lime is a very insoluble
substance, and nnjuires an enormous amount of water to dis-
solve it. Salts of potash, on the other hand, are very 8()lu])le in
water, but fi>rm very insoluble com])ounds with the soil. Salts
of ammonia ami nitrate of soda an- perfectly soluble in water.
U hen applied to the land, the ammonia of the former sulv
stance forms an insoluble compound with the soil, but in avery
short time is converted into nitrate of lime ; and with this sjxlt
and nitrate of soda, remains in solution in the soil water until
they are either taken up by the plant or are washed away into
the drains or rivers.

Crops evaporate a very large amount of water, and with this
water they attract the soluble nitrate from all ])arts of the soil.
Very favorable sci-sons are therefore those in which the soil is
n«'ither too dry nor too wet; as in one case the solution of
nitrit)^ becomes dried up in the soil, in the other it is either
waslied away, or the soil remains so wet that the plant cannot
evaporate the water sufKciently to draw up the nitrates which
it contains.

The amount of potash and phosphoric acid dissolved in the
water is far too small to supi)ly the requirements of the plant,
and it is probable that what is required for this puqwse is dis-
.^^olved by some direct action of the roots of the plant on com-
ing in contact with the 'nsoluble phosphoric acid and potash La
the soil.

RESTOUIXO FKHTILITY TO THE SMIL. 3;}.")

In support of this view, I may mention that we have cleat
evidenee in some of our ex|x»riinents of the wheat crop taking
up both phospliati's and potash that were applied to the land
thirty years a^o.

To suppose, tlierefon-, that, if the ingredients which exist in
twenty buslu'ls of wheat and its straw, are simply ajjplied to a
tKirren soil, tiie crop will he ahle to c<tme in contact with, and
take up these substances, is to assume what certaiidy will not
take place.

I have often expresse<l an opinion that aral)l(> land, could not
be cultivated protitably by means of jutilicial nuumres, unless
the soil was ca pal )le of producing, from its own n-sources, a
considerable amount of produce: still the (piestion had never
up to this time come before me in a distinct form as one \ipon
which I ha«l to decide one way or tlie other. I hatl. however,
no hesitation in coming to the conclusion, that grain crops could
never be grown at a profit upon my relation's land, aii<l that
consecjuently, for .some years, it would b ■ better tt) give up the
attempt, and try to improve the pasture.

After what I have said alxnit the insolubility of potsish ami
phosphoric acid, it nuvy possibly 1h' :isked — why not give a good
dose of the.se substances at once. :is they do not w;i.sh out of
the soil — 3;iy enough to grow sixty crops of grain, and apply
the nitrate, or ammonia every ye:tr in just suHicient amounts
to supply the wants of the crop?

The objections to this i)lan are ;ls follows: assuming the most
favorable conditions of climate, and the largest jmssible pro-
duce, the wheat could certainly not take up the whole of the
thirty-two ix)unds of nitrogen applied, ami the crop which re-
quires nearly one i>ound of nitrogen in everj' one hundred
pounds of gross produce, would i)e certainly less than tliree
thousand two hundred pounds, if supplied with onW thirty-two
pKJunds of nitrogen. If we take the total i>roduce of the best
and W(^rst wheat crop, gr<nvn during the forty j-ears of our ex-
periments, we sh:dl arrive at a better xuiderstanding m the
matter. The following are the figures :

Weigut of Dry Produce of Wheat Per Acre.

Siraii: and Grain.

1863 9330 lbs.

1879 - 3859 "

In order to ascertain the increa.se due to the nitrogen of the
salts of ammonia or nitrate of soda, we must deduct from the

33G TALKS ON MANURES.

crop the produce obtained, where mineral manures without
nitrogen were used. In 1863 tliis amount was three thousand
pounds, and in 1879 it was one thousand two hu.idred pounds.
Deducting these amounts from the gross produce in each case,
leaves si-c thousand throe Imndred and thirty as the produce
due to the nitrogen in the season of 1863, and two thousand six
hundred and fifty-nine as the produce due to the nitrogen in
1879.

But in each case we apphed the same amount of nitrogen,
eighty-seven pounds ; and as the amount of nitrogen in a wheat
crop, as carted from the field, contains less tlianone per cent, of
nitrogen, it is evident that if all that was contained in the
manure had been taken up by the plant, tlie increased crop
should have weighed ei^ht thousand ssven hundred pounds in-
stead of six thousand tliree hundred and thirty. Tlius even in
our best year, some of th • nitrogen applied failed to produce
growth ; and when we come to the bad year we find that only
twenty-six atid a half pounds were taken up out of the eighty-
seven pounds applied, thus leaving more than two-thirds of the
whole unaccounted for.

Seasons are only occasiijnally either very bad or very good.
What we call an average season does not ditfer very much from
the mean of the best and worst years, which in this ca^e
would be represented b}' a crop of four thousand four hundred
and ninety -four pounds, containing nearly forty-five pounds of
nitrogen. I may say that, altliough I liave employed one per
cent, to avoid fractions in my calculations, strictly speaking
three-<piarters of a per cent, would more nearly represent the
real quantity. If, however, on the average, we only obtain
about forty-five pounds from an application of about eighty-
seven pounds of nitrogen, it is evident that not more than one-
half of the amount applied enters into the crop.

Now in dealing with a substance of so costly a nature as am-
monia, or nitrate of soda — the nitrogen contained in which
substances cannot cost much less than twenty-five cents per
pound by the time it is spread upon the land, it becomes a ques-
tion of importance to know what becomes of the other half,
or the residue whatever it may be, which has not been taken
up by the crop. Part is undoubtedly taken up by the weeds
which grow with the wheat, and after the wheat has been
cut. Part sinks into the sub-soil and is washed completely
away during the winter.

I, myself, am disposed to tliiiik that the very great difference

RESTOKIN'(J FERTILITY TO TIIK SOIL. 337

in the size of tlio Indian corn crops, as compared witli the
wheat crops in the States, is partly accouutt'd for by their
greater free loiu from weeds, which are large consumers of
nitric aci<l, anil, in the case of the wheat crop, frequently re-
duce the j'ield by several bushels per acre. It must, however,
be borne in mind that, tliough the wlieat is robbed of its food
where there are weeds, still if there were no vceeds, the amount
of nitric acid which the crop could not get hold of, wouM, in
all probabilty, he washed out of the soil during the ensuing
winter. I come to the conclusion, therefore, that the nitro-
gen alone, which would be retjuired to produce one bushel of
wheat, would cost not much less than fifty cents ; and that, in
consequence, wheat-growing by means of artificial manures,
will not pay upon very poor land.

I have said that the laud, about which I was consulted, had
not been plowed for several years, and that alllujugh nature
hail done all she could to clothe the soil with vegetation, the
most disheartening feature in the case was, the poverty of the
weeds. A thistle may be a giant or a dwarf, according to cir-
cumstances ; here they were all dwarfs. The pl-.dntain, which
I believe is sometiiu's sown in thesj districts for food, has a
very deep root : here the plants were abundant, but the leaves
were very small and la}' so close to the ground, that, as the
manager informed m ', '* the sheep were often injured from the
amount of sand which they swallowed with the leaves when
feeding."

At Rotharasted, the analyses of the rain water passing
through the ordinary soil of one of my fields, which has been
kept free from vegetation, have shown that the amount of
nitric acid liberated in a soil, and washed out each year, is very
large. Taking the ten years during which these special experi-
ments have been in progress, I should think that the loss of
nitrogen would be equal to, or possibly exceed, the amount of
that substance removed by the average crops grown in the
United States.

The results obtained by the rain gauges, are further com-
pletely confirmed by those in an adjoining field, where wheat
and fallow have been grown alternately for twenty-seven years.
The liberation of nitric acid, during the year of rest, produced
for a time a large growth of wheat, but it was done at a very
great waste of the fertility of the soil, and the produce is now,
in proportion, considerably lower thai that grovra on the con-
tinuously unmauured laud.

15

338 TALKS ON MANURES.

These results, if they are to be accepted as correct, must
bring about a very considerable change in the generally re-
ceived views in regard to fertility. We not only see more clearly
the connection between a former vegetation and the stored up
fertility in our soil, but we also see the importance of vegeta-
tion at the present day, as the only moans by whicli the loss of
nitric acid is prevented. The more completely the laud is cov-
ered with vegetation, and tlie mor^^^ growth there is, the greater
will be the evaporation of water, and the less will be the loss of
nitric acid by drainage.

I was not at all suri)rised to find, that the surface soil of a
wood on my farm, was poorer in nitrogen than the soil of an
old permanent pasture, to which no manure had been applied
for twenty-five yeare, though during tlie whole period, the crop
of hay had been rejioved every year from tlie laud. The wood
to which I refer is covered with oak, centuries old, and the
foliage is so dens.' that but little underwood or other vegetation
can grow l)eneath it. If both the wo(xl and the pasture were
put into arable cultivation. I have no doubt that the pasture
would i)n)ve much more fertile than the wood land.

In our experiments on [)ermanent pasture, it has been ob-
served that the character of the lierbage is mainly dependent on
the food supplied. Weeds, and inferior grasses, can hold their
own as long as poverty exists, but with a Uberal supply of ma-
nure, the superior grasses overgrow and drive out the bad
grasses and weeds. In consequence of the low price of wheat
a good deal of land in England has baen laid down to perma-
nent pasture, and much money has been spent in cleaning the
land preparatory to sowing tlie grass-seeds. ,1 have on more
occasions than one. suggested that the money employed in this
process would be better expended in manure, by which the
weeds would be " improved "' off the face of the land. Wlii^e
walking over the abandoned portion of these estates I explained
my views upon this point to the manager. They were, how-
ever, received with the usual skepticism, and the rejoinder that
"there was only one way of getting rid of the weeds, which
was by the plow and fire."

There is nothing that speaks to me S(j forcibly as color in
vegetation ; when travelling by rail, I do not require to be told
that such a farm is, or is not, in high condition, or that we are
passing through a fertile or infertile district. There is a i)eiu-
liar gretn color in vegetation which is an unmistakable sign
that it is living upon the fat of the land. I need hardly say

RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. 339

that, in this case, the color of tlic vt-gctation gave uTunistakable
eigUK of the poverty of the soil ; but in the midst of the dingy
yellowish-green of the herbage, I came ujion one square of
bright green grass. In answer to my enquiry I was told that,
a " lambing-fold had been there last year," and my informant
atlded his opinion, " that the manure would be so strong tliat
it would kill anj-thing !" It had certainly killed the weeds, but
in their place, some good grasses had taken possession of the
Boil.

The plan I proposed to adopt was, to spend no more money
on tillage operations, but to endeavor to improve the pasture by
giving to it the food necessary to grow good grasses, sowing at
the same time a small ([uantity of the best seeds. I further
suggested that a tlock of sheep should l»e allowed to run over
the whole of the land by day. and be folded there every night
— about one pound of cotton-seed cake per head being allowed
daily. By this means, as tlie fold would be moved every day,
the amount of manure deposited on the soil could be
estimated.

If there were a hundred sheep, receiving one pound of de-
corticated cotton- seed cake per head, tlaily, and tlie hurdles
were arranged to enclose a space of twenty-five bj' twenty yards,
in the course of ten days an acre of land would have received
manure from one thousand pounds of cake ; which amount
would supply seventy-seven pounds of nitrogen, sixty-eight
pounds of phosphate of lime, and thirty-two pounds of potash.
This amount of cake would cost about sixteen dollars.

As regards the value of the cake as a food, it is
somewhat difficult to form an estimate ; but it takes nine or
ten pounds of dry food — say roots, cake, and hay — to produce
an increa.se of one pound of live weight in sheep. The cake
has certainly a higher fcv'ding value, than either hay or roots,
1)ut I will here give it only the same value, and consider that
one hvmdred and ten pounds of increase of the animal was ob-
tained by the consumption of the one thousand pounds of cake.
Tiic value of the increase of the live weight would be in Eng-
land fully eleven dollars, leaving five dollars as the cost of the
mv.nure. Now the cake furnished seventy-seven pounds of
nitrogen alone, which, if purchased in an artificial manure,
would have cost nineteen dollars ; and the other substances
supplied l)y the cake, would have cost from four to five dollars
more. The manures required, therefore, would be obtained
much more cheaply by this than by any other process.

3i0 TALKS ON MANURES.

Labor would bo saved by not cultivating the land. Manure
would be saved by substituting vegetation which grows under
or above ground, almost all the year round. And, by feeding
the siock with cake, the necessary fertility would be obtained
at the lowest possible cost.

It is probable that the land would require this treatment to
be rei^eated for several >ears, before there would be a fair
growth of gr ss. The land might then be broken up and one
grain crop be taken, then it might again be laid down to grass.

Hitherto, I have considered a case where fertility is almost
absent from the land, this, however, is an exception, as agri-
culture generally is carried on upon soils which contain large
stores of fertility, though they may be very unequally distribu-
ted. By analysis of the soil we can measure tlie total amount
of fertility which it contains, but we are left in ignorance in re-
gard to the amount of the ingredients whicli are in such a form
that the crops we cultivate can make use of them.

At Rothamsted, among my experiments on the growth of con-
tinuous wheat, at the end of forty years, the soil supplied with
salts of ammonia has yielded, during the whole time, and still
continues to yield, a larger produce than is obtained by a liberal
supply of phosphates and alkaline salts without ammonia.

When we consider that every one hundred pounds of wheat
crop, as carted to the stack, contains about five per cent, of
mineral matter, and one per cent, of nitrogen, it is iijipossible
to avoid the conclusion that my soil has a large available bal-
ance of mineral substances which the crop could not make use
of for want of nitrogen. The crop which has received these
mineral manures now amounts to from twelve to thirteen
bushels per acre, and removes from the land about sixteen
pounds of nitrogen every year.

Analyses of the soil show that, even after the removal of
more than thirty crops in succession, without any application
of manure containing ammonia, the soil still contains some
thousands of pounds of nitrogen. This nitrogen is in combina-
tion with carbon ; it is very insoluble in water, and until it be-
comes separated from the carbon, and enters into combination
with oxj^gen, does not appear to be of any use to the crop.

The combination of nitrogen with oxygen, is known as ni-
tric acid. The nitric acid enters mto combination with the
lime of the soil, and in this fonn becomes the food of plants.

From its great importance in regard to the growth of plants,
nitric acid might b-^ called the main spring of agriculture, but

RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. 341

being perfectly soluble in water, it is constantly liable to be
washed out of the soil. In the experiment to which I have re-
ferred above — where wheat is grown by mineral manures alone
— we estimate that, of the amount of nitric acid liberated each
year, not much more than one-half is taken up by the crop.

The wheat is ripe in Juh', at which time the land is tolerably
free from weeds ; several months, therefore, occur during
which there is no vegetation to take up the nitric acid; and
even when the wheat is sown at the end of October, much ni-
tric acid is liable to be washed away, as the power of the plant
to take up food from the soil is very limited until the spring.

The formation of nitric acid, from the organic nitrogen in the
soil, is due to the action of a miimte plant, and goes on quite
independent of the growth of our crops. We get, however, in
the fact an explanation of the extremely different results ob-
tained by the use of different n:anures. One farmer applies lime,
or even ground limestone to a soil, and obtains an increase in
his crops ; proba])ly he has supplied the verj' substance which
has enabled the nitrification of the organic nitrogen to increase;
another applies potash, a third phosphates ; if either of these
are absent, the crops cannot make use of the nitric acid, how-
ever great may be the amount diffused through the soil.

It may possibly be said that the use of mineral manures tends
to exhaust the soil of its nitrogen ; this may, or may not, be
true ; but even if the minerals enable the crop to take up a
larger amount of the nitric acid found in the soil year by year,
this does not increase the exhaustion, as the minerals only tend
to arrest that which otherwise might be washed away.

We must look upon the organic nitrogen in the soil, as the
main source of -the nitrogen which grows our crops. Whatever
may be the amount derived from the atmosphere, whether in
rain, or dew ; or from condensation by the soil, or plants, it is
probable that, where the land is in arable cultivation, the ni-
trogen so obtained, is less than the amount washed out of the
soil in nitric acid. Upon land which is never stirred by the
plow, there is much less waste and much less activity.

The large increase in the area of land laid down to perma-
nent pasture in England, is not due alone to the fall in the price
of grain. The reduction of fertility in many of the soils, which
have been long under the plow, is beginning to be apparent.
Under these circumstances a less exhausting course of treat-
ment becomes necessary, and pasture, with the production of
meat, milk, and butter, takes the place of grain fields.

APPENDIX.

LETTER FROM EDWARD JESSOP, TOKK, PA.

York, Pa., March 16, 1876.
Joseph Harris, £k'j., Morcton farm, KiMhcster, N. Y. :

Dear Sir — Your favor of the 'J!d of last month came safely to band,
and I am truly obliged to you for the reply to my question. — You ask,
can I help you with fact.'! or suggestions, on the subject of manure » 1
fear not much ; but it may be useful to you to know what others need
to know. I will look forward to the advent of "Talks on Manures"
with much interest, hoping to get new light on a subject second to none
in im{)ortance to the farmer.

I have done a little at composting for some years, and am now having
a jiile of about forty cords, made up of stable-manure and earth taken
from the wash of higher lands, turned and fined. The labor of digging
and hauling the earth, composting in thin layers with manure, turning,
and (ining, is so great, I doubt whether it pays for most farm crops —
this to be used for mangel-wurzel and market-carden.

The usual {)lan in this county is to k<cp the stable-manure made dur-
ing winter, and the accumulation of the summer in the barn-yard, where
it is soaked by rain, and trampled fine by cattle, and in August and Sep-
tember is hauled upon ground to be seeded with wheat and grass-seeds.
I do not think there is much piling and turning done.

My own conclusions, not based on accurate experiments, however,
arc, that the best manure I have ever applied was pre[)ared in a covered
pit on which cattle were allowed to run, and so kept well tramped —
some drainage into a well, secured by jiouring water upon it, when
necessary, and the drainajre pumped and distrihutcd over the surface, at
short intervals, i^articularly the parts not well tramped, and allowed to
remain until it became a homogeneous mass, which it will do without
having undergone so active a fermentation as to have thrown off a con-
siderable amount of gas.

The next best, composting it with earth, as above described, piled
about five or six feet liich, turned as often as convenient, and kept moist
enough to secure fermentation.

Or, to throw all the manure as made into a covered i>it, until it is
thoroughly mixed and made fine, by allowing hogs to run upon it and
root at will ; and when prepared for even spreading, apiily it as a top-
dressing on grnss-land — at any convenient time.

As to how many loads of fresh manure it takes to make one of well-
rotted manure, it may be answered approximately, three to one, but that
would depend a good deal on the manner of doing it, and the amount
of rough material in it. If well trodden by cattle under cover, and suf-
ficient drainage poured over it, to prevent anv violent fermentation, the

APPENDIX.

343

loss of Wfit;ht, I think, woulil not l>e very sroat, nor the Imlk lessiMud
ovtT one-luilf.

Many years a^'o an old and successful farmer said to me, " if you want
to fret the full benetit of manure, spread it as a lop-drcssiug on some
grouimj r/cyj," and all my experience and observation since tend to con-
firm the correctness of his advice.

While on this subject, allow me to protest against the practice of
naming the (piantity of manure applied to a given space, as so many
IkvIs, as altogether too indefinite. The bushel or cord is a definite quan-
tity, which all can understand

The average i>rice of good livery stable horse-manure at tiiis place haa
been for several years four dollars a cord.

With two and a half miles to haul, I am trying whether keeping a flock
of 50 breeding ewes, and feeding liberally with wheat bran, in addition
to hay and pasture, will not prtxiuce the needed maimre more cheaply.
Respect fully yours, Euward Jessop.

P. S. — You ask for the average weight of a cord of manure, such as we
pay four dollars for.

1 had a conl of horse-stable manure from a livery stable in York which
had been all the time under cover, with several pigs ninning upon it,
and was moist, witiiout any excess of wet, loaded into a wagon-box
holding an entir'^ cord, or I'i-^ cubic feet, tramped by the wagoner three
times while loading.

The wagon was weighed at our hay-scales before loading, and then the
wagou and load together, with a net result for the manure of 4,400 lbs.
I considered this manure rather better than the averatre. I had aiiother
load, from a ditTerent place, which weighed over 5,000 lbs., but on ex-
amination it was found to contain a good deal of coal ashes. We never
buy by the ton. Harrison Bros. & Co., Manufacturing Chemists, Phila-
delphia, rate barnyard-manure as worth .$5.77 per ton. and say that would
be about $7.21 per cord, which would be less than li tons to the cord.
If thrown in loosely, and it happened to be very dry, that might be pos-
sible.

Waring, in his " Handy Book of Ilusbaiidry," page 201, says, he caused
a cord of well-trodden livery stable manure containing the usual pro-
portion of straw, to be carefully weighed, and that the cord weighed
7,080 lbs.

The load 1 had weighed, weighing 4,400 lbs., was considered by the
wagoner and by myself as a fair sample of good manure. In view of
these wide differences, further trials would be desirable. Dana, in his
"Muck Manual," says a cord of green cow-dung, pure, as dropped,
weighs 9,289 lbs.

Farmers here seldom draw manure with less than three, more generally
with four horses or mules ; loading is done by the purchaser. From the
barn-yard, put on loose boards, from 40 to 60 bushels are about an aver-
age load.

In hauling from town to a distance of three to five miles, farmers cren-
erally make two loads of a cord each, a day's work. From the barn-yard,

344 TALKS ON MANUEHS.

a very variable number, per day. In niy own case, two men with three
horses have been haulinjj six and seven loads of sixty bushels, tine com-
post, a distance of from one-half to three-fourths of :i mile, up a long
and rather steep hUl, and spreading from the wagon, as hauled, upon
grass-sod.

Our larger farmers often have one driver and his team, two wagons,
one loading, while the other is drawn to the tield ; the driver slips off
one of the side-boards, and with his dung-hook draws off piles at nearly
equal distances, to be sprc:d as convenient. Euwakd jE&sor.

LETTER FUOM DH. E. L. STl KTEVANT, SOUTH FRAMINGUAM, MASS.

South Fuamixgham, Mass., April 2, 187G.
Friend Harris — Manure about Boston is sold in various ways. First,
according to the number of animals kept ; price varying so much, that I
do not venture to name the figures. By the cord, to be trodden over
while loading ; never by weight, so far as I can learn — price from 0 to
?12.00 per cord, according to season, and various accidental circum-
6tances. During the jiast winter, manure has been given away in Boston.
Uandlinir. hauling to the railroad, and freight costing ?4 per cord for
carrying ',iO miles out. Market-gardeners usually haul manure as a re-
turn freight on their journeys to and from market. About South Fra-
mingham, price stifT at $S a cord in the cellar, and this may be considered
the ruling suburban price. Very friendly yours,

E. Lewis Stubtevant.

LETTER FROM M. C. WELD.

New York, Nov. 9, ISTG.
Mt De.^r TTarrts — I don't know what I can write about manures,
that would be of use. I have strong faith in humus, in ashes, leached
and unlcachcd, in lime, gas-lime, plaster, bones, ammonia ready formed,
nitrates ready formed, not much in meat and blood, unless they are
cheap. Nevertheless, they often are cheap, and produce splendid effects.
I believe in sulphuric acid, with organic nitrogenous manures ; the com-
posting of meat, blood, hair, etc., with peat and muck, and wetting it
down with dilute sulphuric acid. I believe in green-manuring, heartily,
and in tillage, tillage, tillage. Little faith in superphosphates and com-
pounded manures, at selling prices. Tlabirshaw's guano is good enough.
So much for my creed. Truly yours, M. C. Weld.

LETTER FROM PETER HENDERSON.

New York, Oct. 26, 1876.
Jllr. Josejyh ITarrix:

Dear Sir— If you will refer to my work " Gardening for Profit," New
Edition, page 34, you will get about all the information 1 possess on
Manures, except that I do not say anything about price. In a general
way it might be safe to advis'^ that whenever a (on (it is always best to
speak of manures by weight) of either cow, horse, hog, or other stable-
manure can be laid on the ground for $3, it is ehea])erthan commercial
fertilizers of any kind at their usual market rates. This :?3 per ton, I

I

APPENDIX. 345

think, would be about tbo avcnigc cost in Now York, Hostoii, or IMiila-
ddpliia. We uevor haul it on the grouiul until we are readj to plow it
in. If it has to be taken from the hog or cattle yards, we draw it out into
larije heaps, convenient to where it is to be put on the land, turnine: it,
to keep it from burning or " lirc-fan;jinir," if necessary. None of our
farmers or market gardeners here keep it under cover. The expense of
such covering and the greater ditliculties in getting at it, for the immense
quantities we use, would be greater than the benelits to be derived from
keeping it under cover— benefits, in fact, which, I think, may be greatly
overrated. Very truly yours, Peter Hendekson.

LETTER FROM J. M. B. A?fnER30N, ED. "CANADA FARMER," TORONTO.

" Canada Farmer " Office, Toronto, March 21), 1876.
J. Jfiirris, Esq. :

Dear Sir — Tours of the 2.".tli tnst. is to hand, and I shall be most
happy to render you any assistance in my power. The work you under-
take is in aide hands, and I have every conlidence that, when completed,
it will form an invaluable acqui.-ilion to the agricultural literature of the
day.

Manuro in this city is usually sold by the two-horse load — about H
tons — at the rate of .?l per load, or GO cents per ton. The load contains
just :i bout a cord of manure, consrquenlly a cord will weigh about li tons.

With rcferc!)ce t<> the general management of manure in Canada, I may
eay that the system followed diders in no material respect from that of
New York and the other Eastern States. It is usually kept over winter
in the open bam yard (rarely under cover, I am sorry to say), laid out on
the land about the time of disai>pearancc of last snow, and plowed in.
In some cases it is not carted out until the land is ready fur immediate
plowing. With some of our more advanced farmers, the system has
lately been adopted of keeping manure under cover and sprinkling it
thorouchly at intervals with plaster and other substances. Tanks arc
also becoming more common than formerly, for the preservation of liq-
uid manure, which is usually applied by means of large, perforated hogs-
heads, after the manner of street-watering.

Tou ask. how the manure is managed at Bow Park, Brantford. That
made during fall and winter is carefulh- kejl in as small bulk as possible,
to prevent cxi>osure to the weather. In February and March it is drawn
out and put in heaps 8 feet square, and well packed, to prevent the es-
scajie of ammonia. In spring, as soon as practical)le, it is spread, and
jilowed under immediately. Manure made in spring and summer is
spread on the field at once, and plowed under with a good, deep furrow

Very truly yours, J. M. B. Anderson, Ed. Canada Fartiier.

MANURE STATISTICS OF LONG ISLAND.

THE MANrRE TRADE OF LONG ISLAND— LETTER FROM 3. H. RUSHMORE.

Old Westblrt, Long Island, April 6, 1876.
Joaeph Harris, Exq. :

Dear Sir — The great number of dealers in manure in New York pre-

346

TALKS ON MANURES.

eludes accuracy, yet Mr. Skiilmore (who has been testifyiug volumi-
nously before the New York Board of Health in relation to manure and
street dirt), assures me that the accompanyinj^ figures are nearly correct.
I enclose statement, from two roads, taken from their books, and the
amount shipped over the other road 1 obtained verbally from the General
Freight Agent, and embody it in the sheet of statistics.

The Ash report I ktiow is correct, as I had access to the books showing
the business, for over ten years. I have made numerous applications,
verbally, and by letter, to our largest market gardeners, but there seems
to exist a general and strong disinclination to communicate anything
worth knowing. I enclose the best of the replies received. Speaking
for some of our largest gardeners, I may say that they cultivate over one
hundred acres, and use land sufficiently near to the city to enable them
to dispense with railroad transportation in bringing manure to their
jilai^es and marketing crops. I have noticed that one of the shrewdest
gardeners invarial)ly composts horn-shavings and bone-meal with horse-
manure several months before expecting to use it. A safe average of
manure used jter acre by gardeners, may be stated at ninety (90) tubs,
and from two humlrcd to twenty hundred pounds of fertilizer in addi-
tion, according to its strength, and the kind of cnjp.

The following railroad manure statistics will give a generdly correct
idea of the age of manure, when used :

STATB.VIENT OF MANURE SENT FROM JAN. 1 TO DEC. 31, 1875.

Ora- F. X. .S'. <f- C. li. li. Orer Southern li. R.

January 1,531 tubs. 5,815 tubs.

February 4,:i57 "

March 740 " 12,217 "

April 12,122 " 7,055 "

May 7,:»3 " :^,049 "

June 5,725 " l,::i05 "

July (),47:U " (585 "

August 0,3701 " 2,911 "

September 3,197 " 14,702 "

October S80 " 060 "

November 512 " .VIO "

December J,406 ^^ 4,023 "

40,340 tubs. 57,679 tubs.

A tub is equal to 14 bushels.

Hobson, Hurtado ^ Co. report the amount of Peruvian guano sold in
this country last year at thirt}' thousand tons.

Estimated numi)er of horses in New York city, 100,000.

Estimated product of manure per horse. Four cords.

Estimated proportion of straw to pure excrement. One-halt

Amount shipped direct from stables. Nearly all.

AmovNit shipped on vessels. One-half.

Length of time the unshipped manure remains in heaps. From three
to four months.

Average cost per horse, annually. S3.

Greatest distance of shipment. Virginia-

APPENDIX. 347

Average amount shipited via L. I. K. 11. tiO.OOO tubs.
Price of manure per tub delivered on cars or vessel. 80 cents.
Average amount i>ut on car. 40 tubs.

Statistics of Ash Trade. — Time wlien aslica are delivered. From
middle of June to middle of October.

Places from which they are mostly shipped. Montreal, Belleville, aud
Toronto (Canada).

Method of transportation. Canal boats.
Average load \^er boat. About .S,0<)0 bushels.
Average amount annually sold. 36(),000 bushels.
Average cost delivered to farmers. 201 cents per bushel.

JV/' Acre, about.

Amount used iiy farmers for potatoes 00 tuba.

" " " " " cabbage (late). ... 50 "
" " <' " " corn I'i "

Amount of guano used on Long Island, as rcf resented by the hooki
of Chapman & Vauwyck, and their estimate of sales by other firms,
5,000 tons.

The fertilizers used on the Island are housht almost exclusively by
market gardeners or farmers, who do a little market gardening, as it is
the general conviction that ordinary farm-crops will not give a compen-
sating return for their applieatiun. Most market gardeners keep so
little stock that tlie manure made on the place is very inconsiderable.
Our dairy farmers either compost home-made manures with that from
the city, spread it on the land for corn in the spring, or rot it separate,
to use in the fall for wlieat, on land that has been cropped with oats the
same year. The manure put on for potatoes is generally estimated to
enrich the land sufficient for it to produce one crop of winter grain, and
from five to seven crojis of grass, when it is again plowed and cultivated
in rotation witli, first, corn, second, potatoes or oats, and is rcseeded in
autunm of the same year.

Fish and fish guano are laruely used on land bordering the water, and
adjacent to the oil-works. The average price for guano in bulk at oil-
works is $\'2 per ton. The average price for fish en wharf i.s .^1..50 per
thousand, and it is estimated that, as a general average, 6,000 fish make
a ton of guano. The fish, when applied to corn, are placed two at each
hill, and plowed under at any time after the corn is large enough to cul-
tivate. Seaweed is highly prized by all who use it, and it will produce
a good crop of com when spread thickly on the land previous to plowing.

Very respectfully, J. II. Rusiimore.

LETTER FROM JOHN E. BACKUS.

Newtown, Long Island, N. Y., March 2nd, 1876.

Jdr. 6. IT. liusTimore :

Dear Sir. — Some farmers and market-gardeners use more, and some
less, manure, according to crops to be raised. I use about 30 good two-
horse wagon-loai.s to the acre, to be applied in rows or broad-casted, as
best for certain crops. I prefer old horse-dung for most all purposes.

348 TALKS ON MANURS8.

Guano, as a fertilizer, phosphate of bone and blood arc very good; they
act as a stimulant on plants and vegetation, and are highly beneficial to
some vegetation— more valuable on poor soil than elsewhere, except to
produce a thrifty growth in plants, and to insure a large crop.

By giving you these few items they vary considerably on different
parts of the Island ; judgment must be used in all cases and all busi-
ness. Hoping these few lines may be of some avail to Mr. Harris and
yourself, I remain, yours, etc., John E. Backus.

MANURE IN PHILADELPHIA.

LETTEK FROM JOSEPH HEACOCK.

Jenkintown, Montgomery Co., Pa., April 18th, 1876.

My Dear Friend Harris. — Stable-manure in Philadelphia, costs by
the single four-horsc-load, about §9 or $10. Mostly, the farmers who
haul much of it, have it engaged b)' the year, and then it can be had for
from §7 to $8 per load. Mostly, four horses are used, though we fre-
quently see two aTid three-horse teams, aud occasionally, five or six
horses are used. I have never seen any kind of dung hauled but that of
horses. Cow-manure would be thought too heavy to haul so long a dis-
tance. Sugar-house waste, spent hops, glue waste, etc, are hauled to a
email extent. We live about 9 miles from the center of the city, and the
road is very hilly, though otherwise a good one, being made of stone.

The loads vary from 2i to 3i or 4 tons for four horses, according to
the dryness of the manure. The wagons are made very strong, and weigh
from 1,600 lbs. to 2,800 or 2,400 lbs., according to the number of horses
that are to be used to them. I cannot say how many cords there are in
an average load, but probably not less than two cords to four horses.
One of my neighbors has a stable engaged by the year. He pays $2.50
per ton, and averages about three tons per load, and the distance from
the stable in the city to his place, can not be less than 12 miles. His
team goes empty one way and of course can not haul more than a load
a day. In fact, can not average that, as it would be too hard on his
horses. The horses used for the purpose are large and strong. Fifteen
or twenty years ago, there was kept on most farms of 75 to 100 acres, a
team purposely for hauling manure from the city. But it is ditferent
now, many of the farmers using artificial manures, as it costs so much
less ; and others are keeping more stock, and so making their own
manure. Still, there is a great deal hauled yet. And some of it to a
distance of 20 miles. Though when hauled to this distance, the teams
are loaded both ways. For instance, they will start to the city with a
load of hay (35 to 50 cwt.), on Monday afternoon (Tuesday is the day of
the Hay Market) ; and when tliey have their load of hay off on Tuesday,
they load their manure and drive out five or six miles and put up for the
niglit. Next morning they start about 3 o'clock, arriving home before
noon, having been away two days. On Thursday afternoon, they start
again. You can see that manuring in this way is very expensive. But
farmers about here well know that if they do not manure well they raise

APPENDIX. 340

but little. Probably about four loads are used per acre on the average.
Each load is generally thrown off the wagon in one large heap near
where wanted, and is allowed to lie until they use it. I can not tell
how much it loses in bulk by lying in the heap.

As to what crops it is used on, farmers do not think that they could
go amiss in applying it to anything except oats. But it is probably used
more for top-dressing mowing land, and for potatoes, than for any-
thing else.

The usual rotation is corn, potatoes, or oats, wheat seeded to clover
and timothy, and then kept in grass from two to four years. Those who
haul stable-manure, usually use bone-dust or superphosphate to a greater
or less extent.

Last December I built a pig-pen, 20 ft. x40 ft., li stories high. The
upper story to be used for litter, etc. There is a four feet entry on the
north side, running the length of the building. The remainder is divided
into five pens, each 8 ft. x 16 ft. It is made so that in cold weather it can
be closed up tight, while in warmer weather it can be made as open as
an out-shed. I am very much pleased with it. The pigs make a great
deal of manure, and I believe that it can be made much cheaper than
it can be bought and hauled from Philadelphia.

Joseph Heacock, Jr.

letter from herman l. routzahn.

MiDDLETOWN, Md., May 11th, 1876.
Joseph Harris, Esq. :

I herewith proceed to answer questions asked.

Wheat and corn are principal crops. Corn is fed now altogether to
stock for the manure.

There is but little soiling done. The principal method of making
manure is : Feeding all the com raised, as well as hay, oats, and roots,
to cattle ; using wheat straw, weeds, etc., as bedding, throwing the
manure in the yard (uncovered), and to cover the pile with plaster (by
sowing broadcast), at least once a week. To this pile is added the
manure from the hog-pens, hen-house, etc., and worked over thoroughly
at least twice before using. It is then applied to com by plowing
under; to wheat, as a top-dressing. For corn it is usually hauled to the
field, thrown off in heaps 25 feet each way, a cart-load making two heaps.
Spread just before the plow. For wheat, spread on directly after plow-
ing, and thoroughly harrowed in. Applied broadcast for potatoes. Com-
posts of different kinds are made and used same as in other localities, 1
presume. Artificial manures are going into disrepute (justly too). This
is the plan now adopted by the farmers in this county (Frederick).
Where woods are accessible, leaves and mould are hauled in and added to
the manure-heap ; in fact, every substance that can be worked into the
manure-heap is freely used. Well-rotted stable-manure is worth from
$1.50 to $2.50 per cord, according to condition and locality.
Very Respectfully Yours,

Herman L. Routzahn.

3o0 TALKS OX MANURES.

fcETTEK FROM PROF. E. M. SHELTOS, PUOF. OF AGRlCrLTl'KE, KANSAS

state aqrici i.tiral college.

Kansas State Agricultural College,

Manhattan, Kansas, May 5, 1876.

Dear Sir. — In reply to your first question, I would SLy that stable-
manure in this vicinity, is held in very lij^lit estimation. Indeed, by the
householders of this city, and quite generally by the farmers, manure is re-
garded as one of those things — like drouth and grasshoppers — with which
a mysterious Providence sees fit to clog the operations of the husband-
man. Tlie great bulk of the stable-manure made in this city is, every
spring, carted into ravines and vacant lots— wherever, in short, with
least expense it can be put out of reach of the senses.

It must not be understood by this that niaimre has little influence on
the growing croi)s in Kansas. Nowhere have I seen such excellent
results from application of home-made fertilizers, as in Kansas. For
those sterile wastes known as "Alkali lands," and "Buffalo wallows,"
manure is a speedy and certain cure. During two years of severe drouth,
I have noticed that wherever manure had been supplied, the crop with-
stood the effects of dry weather much better than where no application
had been made. Four years ago, a strip across one of our fields was
heavily manured ; this year this field is into wheat, and a dark band that
may be seen half a mile shows where this application was made.

These facts the better class of our farmers are beginning to appreciate.
A few days ago, a neighbor, a very intelligent farmer, assured me that
from manuring eight to ten acres every year, his farm was now in better
condition than when be broke up the prairie fifteen years ago.

T know of no analysis of stable or farmyard -manure made in
Kansas. Concerning the m-if/fit of manures, I can give you a few facts,
having had occasion during the past winter to weigh several loads used
for experimental purposes. This manure was wheeled into the barnyard,
chiefly from the cattle stalls, during the winter of 1874-."). It lay in the
open yard until February last, when it was weighed and hauled to the
fields. I found that a wagon-box, 11x3x9 feet, into which the manure
was pitched, without treading, held with slight variations, when level
full, one ton. At this rate a cord would weigh very close to three tons.

The greatest difficulty that we have to encounter in the management
of manure grows out of our dry summers. During our summer months,
unless sufficient moisture is obtained, the manure dries out rapidly, be-
comes fire-fanged and practically worthless. My practice ujion the Col-
lege farm has been to give the bottom of the barn-yard a " di.shing "
form, so that it holds all the water that falls upon it. Tlifc manure I
keep as flat as possible, taking pains to place it where the animals will
keep it trod down solid. I have adopted this plan after having tried
composting and piling the manure in the yards, and am satisfied that it
Is the only practical way to manage manures in this climate.

There is no particular crop to which manure is generally applied

APPENDIX. " 351

in this State, unless, perhaps, wheat. The prattiee of applying mauure as
a top-dressin;^ to winter-wheat, is rapidly gaining ground here. It is
found that the manure thus applied, aeliiig us a muleh, mitigates the
effects of drouth, besides improving the quality of the grain.
Very Respeetfully Yours,

E. M. Shelton.

letter fkom prof. w. h. bkeweh, professor of agriculture in
sheffield scientific school of yale college.

Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College,

New Haven, Conn., April 14th, 1876.
Joseph Han-is, Esq. , Itochester, N. Y. :

My Dear Sir.— I have made inquiries relating to " the price of stable-
manure in New Haven, and how far the farmers and gardeners haul it,
etc." I have not been to the horse-car stables, but I have to several
livery stables, and they are all essentially the same.

They say that but little is sold by the cord or km, or by any weight or
measure. It is sold either " in the lump," " by the month," "by the
year," or " per horse." Some sell it at a given sum per month for all
their horses, on a general estimate of their horses — thus, one man says,
"I get, this year, $25 per month for all my manure, he to remove it as
fast as it accumulates ; say one, two, or three times per week. He hauls
it about five miles and composts it all before using."

Another siiys, he sells per horse. " I get, this year, $13 per horse,
they to haid it." The price per horse ranges from $10 to $15 per
year, the latter sum being high.

From the small or private stables, the manure is generally " lumped "
by private contract, and is largely used about the city. It is hauled
sometimes as much as 10 miles, but usually much less.

But the larger stables often sell per shipment— it is sent by cars
•up the Connecticut Valley to Westfield, etc., where it is often hauled
several miles from the railroad or river.

Much manu.e is sent by boat from New York to the Connecticut
Valley tobacco lands. Boats (" barL'-es ") are even loaded in Albany, go
down the Hudson, up the Sound to Connecticut, to various places near
Hartford, I am told. Two or three years ago, a man came here and
exhibited to us pressed masses of manure — a patent had been taken out
for pressins it, to send by R. R. (stable manure). I never heard anything
more about it — and he was confident and enthusiastic about it.

Yours truly, Wm. H. Bkeweb.

;j.r^

TAUS.S ON MANURES.

FOOD, INCREASE, MANURE, ETC., OF FATTENING ANIMALa

Tlif followini; table is ijiven by Mr. J. B. Lawt-s, of Ruthainsted, Enj^-
laixl, showing,' the relation of the increase, manure, and loss by respira-
tion, to the food consumed by diflcrcnt animals :

asoa*. Oii-i-aJte]
600 " Clurtr-

3500 /&». SwrtU
tumi/it and
gupjdy.

1

Product,
IW) lbs.
Incrtate.

100 Total Dry fhib- 5. 5

*taitrf qf tuod ' "§ = 5

$upiily. S-5|

a

5l" 5

■•5
- S3. ,

In In
create.

In .Ma-
nure.

In Res-

pirutloa

etc.

lis

Nitroccnous Hubxtancn.
Noil .Siin>geiii>uH Hiib-

Rtance

MiD'-ral Matter

lbs.

318

808
83

lbs. lbs. , lbs. ll 1 1
9.0) I 1 0.8 ' 1
\ .IS-l.O 636-{ V ».l 57 8-

58. oi /; ss 1 1

1.6 81 4 - 1 O.a 1 7.4 1 ...

4.1

7.8
1.9

Total dry ouhxtancc

1109

68.6 404

.4 686 1

6.S 1 86.5 I57.3 1

8HBXF.

SBO lb*. Oa-cakt-

^rhafr ''^'^" r^'"^-

tiirtJim and
mipiJy.

8 '8«

I lbs.

Nitri'ijenoiiB oubt<tancc.l 177
Nod Nitrogenous Bub-|

stance 6T1

Mineral m.ntter M

Total dry eabstance 912

lbs. j lbs. lbs.
7.51 i (' t

V 22C»- MS..',-(
3.0) /

63
2 0
7S.5

OS
21)1

548.6

100 Total Dn/ Sub-

»(ance of h'ood

fiipply.

• . i 9

a« at"

0.8 j

7.0 I

0.3

8.0

as.i CO

6.8
31.9

■']

GO.l

1^1

lis

4.3

9.4
3.1

Nitrojrenons enhstance.
Non - Nitrogenous sub-

stJince

Minenil matter

Totnl dry substance

500 lb.'. liarl'y menl jiroduce
100^°. iiimane. and fiipplij.

• S

I 1 -Hs

a r«

lbs.
52

a-)7
11

420

lbs. lbs. lbs.

7.01 ( ( 1.7)

J- 59.8- 276.2-{ V

B.O) / \ 1I5.7I

100 /..'.// Dry Sub-

stance nf Food

fiippfy-

g •". :

ti6
0.8
7:j.8

10 2

70.0

276.2

0.2

117.fi

14.3 65.7^

2.4

16.7

Ky.1

13.5

186
7.8

APPENDIX.

353

Inflio ]v^t edition of his book on Manure, " Pralitischc DQnRerlehre,"
Dr. Einil Wullf, >:i%i'S tlu- foIlowiuK tubk-s :

of 100 11)6. of dry i^uMaiice lu the food, there is found in the cxcre-
nii'nts :

Dbt Sobstamcs.

Cow.

Ox.

Sluep. norse.

Mean.

6.a "
49.4 "

Toul dry Mibrtiance in the Manure. . Ut.I "J51.4 "jM-5 " '-JS.C.

Of 100 lb8. of (mjmtu- rubstanrf In the food, there is found in the ex-
cremcntji :

Organic SrBPTAsrE

In th'- DunK...

Ii

T

Ooa.

Ox.

Sheep. I Uorte. I ifean.
.KiUh».\-»^i IbB. II .0 lbs"

Of 100 lbs. of nUror^rn in tho food, there is found in the excrements :

NlTBOC«H.

Cow.

Ox.

Sheep.

Horse.

Mean.

In ttir Dtiii,
In thi- I rin

45 .--, lbs. .-.1 0 lbs. 43.7 lbs. 5<1.1 lbs. 19.1 lbs.
1H..3 •• -is.e *• 51 .H '• 27.-3 •' :M.0 ■

T«>Ul Nitn>g<-n in Manure w.s »»-o ""-^

Of 100 lb.:. ".."' ml »ia/ter in the food, there is found in the excrements :

Mineral M.^tteu.

C01D.

Ox.

70.8 lbs.
46.7 '•

1117.5

Sheep.

j (3.2'lbsT
40.3 "

10:^.5 "

norse.

85.(j lbs.
16.3 "

101.9

Mean.

'6S.4 lbs,
35.1 "

103.5

Intl.einnifr fe"? 'V.**-

In th.- rriiM- ivi

Total mineral matter in Ma-| ^^

The excess of mineral matter is due to the mineral matter in the
■water drank by the animals.

The followins tables of analyses arc copied in full from the
last edition (1875), of Dr. Emil WoltTs Praktische Dnngerlehre.

The fi-urcs differ materially in niany cases from those previously
nublished Thev represent the average results of numerous relia-
ble analyses, and are sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes
connected with the subject of manures. In special cases, it wUl be
weU to consult actual analyses of the articles to be used.

3.-i4

TALK.S VS MAKIKES.

I.— TABLES FOK (.ALdLATlNG THE EXIIALSTK^N AND EN-
RICH ING OF SOILS.

A.— HARVEST PRODUCTS AND VAHIOUS MANIFACTURED ARTICLES.

Average qunntiiy of water, nitro>;en. and t<>tal a.»h, and the different ingrcdi-

eiJts tif tlie aeh iu lOOU lbs. uf fresh or air-drkd cubetancc.

Sl-BSTA.NCX.

.0

<;

1

5"

V

1

e

I5

■5;

1^

L-IUr.

Meadow Ilnv

14.1

IS..-)

61. ."i

J.3.S

2.3

8.6

3.3

4.1

2.4

1.3.9

Kye (iriiw

Tiuuxhy

ll-'l

Ki.S

.w.a

»).i

2.0

4.3

1.3

6.2

2.3

18.5

14.1

15.'>

62.1

2«».4

15

4.5

1.9

7.2

1.8

22.1

Moharlisy

l-^t

17.a

.'.HI

SI.2

1.2

6.1

5.4

3.4

2.1

16.3

K< d Oliver

ll»

l.'lO

1'.».7
12..'i

44.1)

18.3
'.t.s

1 2
1.4

2ti.O
15.6

6.1

6.8

h.r,

4.3

1.7
1.3

1.4

l{i(l Cliivcr. ri|M;

3.0

NS liiic (lover

IW

2:1.2

5(1.8

lll.l

4..'.

19.3

6 0

8.4

4.9

8.5

Al^-ike Clover

lUI

VI. 0

3'.».7

11 0

1.2

1.'.5

.'..0

4 0

1.6

1.6

CriiiiHon Clover

If.T

1 ■.!..')

50.7

11 7

4 3

Iti.O

.•1.1

3.6 1.8

8.8

Lurirn

167

«3.0
21.3

62.1
45.S

V,:i

1.3
1.5

S6.2
Iti.K

.3.3
8.0

5 5 :j.7
4.6 1.4

:i.8

KMuin-ctte

.{.7

Yellow ( lover

16;

22.1

.'i.7

11 9

1.3

82*. S.l

4.8 1.0

1.5

(ireon Vetch Hay

167

22.7

KJ.7

2S.3

6.6

22.8 5.4

10.7 28

4.9

(in en IVa Hay

167

28.«

62.4

S:i.2 ! 9.3

1.'..6

6.8

6.8 5.1

0.9

Spurry

167

lU.S

66.8

UI.9

4.6

10.9

6.9

8.4

3.0

0.8

II. C;ilEBM FODDKR.

Meadow Cirasa in blixim

'no

6.1

18.1

4.6

0.8

S.0

1.1

1.5

0.8

4.9

Youni; (JraM

8O1)

5.f.

211.7

11.6

04

2.2

0.6

2.2

0.8

2.1

Kti' < im**'*

eH

5 7
5.4

211.4
21.6

7.8
7.4

0.7
0.6

1.5

1.6

0.4

0.7

2 2 <i.8
2.'> O.ii

6.5

Tiniothv Cnisa

iOO

7.7

Hye-l'.Klder

7(iO

5.8

16..J

6.3

0.1

1.2

0..'.

2.4 0.2

.V2

(Jreell OatJl

MO

3.7

Ib.H

7.6

0.6

1.2

0.6

1.7 O.f.

5.7

Green Corn Fodder

K-a

l.'J

12.0

43

0.6

1.6

1.4

13 0.4

1.7

Sorrhum

773

4.0

13.0

3.6

1.8

1.2

0.6

0.8 0.4

3.7

M"liarl;ay ...

71 N)

6.9

13.'.»

5.0

0.3

1.4

1.3

0.8 0.5

3.9

Red I lover in hUi-'-otn

7S)

6.1

i:}.7

4.4

0.3

48

1.5

1.4 04

0.3

•' before '

s-0

5. .J

14.5

5.3

0.8

4.S

1.6

1.7 0.3

04

Whit.' Clover...

,' •

T> 11

l.-I.f.

2.3

1.0

4.4

1.4

1.9 1.1 0.6

ANike Clover ..

.'..:t

K.8

2.4

0.8

3.0

1.1

0.9 0.4

0.4

Cnin-on Clover

~

4..I

122

2.8

1.0

3.8

0.7

09 0.3

2.0

Liicern

71 1

72

1S.7

4.6

0.4

7.9

1.0

1.6 1.1

1.1

Ei-iian'ette

H0;»

6.1

12.1

8.4

0.4

4.4

0.8

1.2

0.4 1 1.0

Yellow Clover

sat

4..%

M.7

3.2

0.8

8.6

0.6

1.1

0.3 ' 0.4

(Jrecn Vctrh

Kail

SI. 5
H7()

5.6
5.1
4.6

IH.l

1.J9
12.2

6.1
6.1

4.0

1.3

0.5
04

4.9

:i.5

2.7

l.S
1.4
0.5

2.3
1.5
1.4

0.6 1.1

(irern Peas

1.1 0 2

(irecn Kape

Spurry

1.7 0.6

800

3.7

Ui

4.3

1.0

2.3

1.5

1.8

0.4 0.3

Ill -Root Chops.

1

Potatoes

7.V)

3.4

9.4

57

0.2

0.2

0.4

1.6

0.6 0.2

.T.rusrilrni .\rticlioke...

s««

3.2

'.t.8

4.7

1.0

0.3

0.3

1.4

0.5 1.0

Mani.'1'l-wiirzel

sso

1.8

7.5

4 1

1.2

0.3

0.3

0.6

0.2 0.2

Sl.-i

1.6

7.1

3.9

0.7

0 4

0.5

0.8

0.3 0.1

Tiirnipn

<wo

1.8

7.3

3 3

0.7

0.8

03

0.9

0.8 0.1

Carrot.-»

S.V)

2.2

7.8

2.8

17

0.9

0.4

1.0

0.5 0.2

Russia Turnips

Succory

K70

2.1

11.6

4.7

1.2

1.8

03

1.7

1.5 0.1

two

2.5

6.7

2.6

1.1

0.5

0.3

0.8

0.5 , 0.3

Susrar Beet, upper part
of root

840

2.0

9.6

2.8

2.3

0.9

1.1

1.3

0.7

!o.3

ArrENPix.

355

SuiUTANCe

IV.— Li AVE* * Stihb
or K>M)T Ceoi-s.

Potato Vintfi, nearly

ri|M-

Potato Vinen. UDrii»e.
.F.-ru-alcin Artichoke.
M.iri_Tl wiir/.el

'I'tir ipH

("irrots ....

Suci-ory

I{ii--i:i Turnips
f:il)li,i;,'.-. white
(.'ttiili:!;,'!' Sterna

V . — M A N I- r AtTPBED

PiioiifCT* A KEr(7i<ii.

\Vh It Brin

H>. llniii

Ilirl V Bntn ....

O.u Hull..

I'l-a Hr.iii

R||<-li^^hcat Bran
Wli.-at Klojr
Hv F our
Barl.r M.-;i!.
I'orn Mtul .
(irvoii Malt.

Dry Malt

Brewc-ra (JraioB

Bt'er

Mall Rpniiit'4
Potato Fil>rf
Potato Slump
Sujrar-bcL-i F'omacc.
Clarifyin'4 K<-fii-<iv ..
Suffnr-bfot MoIjjx -a
M.il:i<!"'* Slump

It^iix- c-ike

Lin^i' U Oil cak<
Poppy-cikL-
Bt-erli nut-cake

Wil Mlt rak-- ....

( ; ■ ake

!■. .■• ...

VL— {straw

Winter Wheat
Winter Spelt
Winter Rye .
Spring Wheat
Spring Rye

Barlev

Oats.'.

Indl.'tn Corn-stalk
Buckwheat Straw
Pea Straw
Field Bean
Garden Bean
Common Vetch

350

TALKS ON MANURES.

SlTBlTANCE.

Lupine

Rape

Poppy

Vir.— Chaff.

Winter Wheat ...
Spring Wluat...

Winter Spelt

Winter Kyc

Barley Awdh

Oats

Indian Corn-cobs..

Field Beans ,

Lupine ,

Itape

Flax-seed hulls.. .

VIII -Com MEKCIAL '

Plams*, btc. I

Flnx Stems 1 140

Rotted Flax Stems. ... 1(X)

Flax Fibre ItK)

Hemp Stems l.'iO

Hops, entire plant — 140

Hops . .. lao

Hop Stems 1110

Tobacro Lenves 180

Win<' and Must 8t'.<i

Wine eronnds liSO

Cinipe Stems, etc STjO

N iilberry Leaves , 850

IX. — Matkrials fob

fihDDINO. I

■Reed

Sedue (}ra!is

Rush

Beech Leaves, August

" •• Autumn.

Oak Leaves, August..

Autumn.

Fir Needles

Pine "

M088

Fern

Ileath

Broom

Sea-Weed

x.— guains and
Seeds.

Winter Wheat

Spring Wheat

Spelt, without husk...

Spelt, with husk

Winter Rye

Winter BaVley

Spring Barley

Oats

Millet

Indian Corn

7.2
7.5
5.6
5.8
4.8
6.4
2.3
16.8
7.2
6.4

180
110
140

1.-jO

150
475
450 ..
250 ...
250

200 lO.O
2.V) ...
150 1 14.0

8.0

8.0
5.0

41.4
40.8
48.7

92.5

121.4

82.7

&4.0

120.0

71.2

4.6

54.5

18.1

73.2

W.7

30.4

7.0

6.8

3:3.2

81.4

66.8

4(1.7

151.0

2.1

la.'.t
1:10

16.3

36.7
61.2
4H.1
19.0
58.5
15.8
41.7
18.4
32.0
19.2
50.7
16.6
13.6
122.3

114 20.8

16.9

14.i 20 5

18.3

113 2i 0

14.2

118 16.0

:w.6

143 17 6

17.0

1-15 16.0

17.0

14:( 16.0

22.2

113 r.ii

27.0

140 20.3

Sit. 8

144 16.0

13.0

8.0
11.1
18.4

8.5
4.8
7.9
5.3
9.4
4.6
2.4
a5.3
8.7
11.8
15.4

9.4

0.3

0.3

4.6

20.1

23.0

11.4

3(1.3

1.3

6.1

4.0

1 3.9

6.8
17.7
19.0
3.7
2.3
5.4
1.4
1.0
0.6
26
18.0
2.1
4.S
15.9

5.3
5.5
6.1
6.7
5.6
2.6
4.5
44
3.4
3.7

«<

«

r?.

^

2.6

14.8

3.S

11.6

0.6

14.7

1.7

1.8

1.0

4.0

0.2

2.0

0 3

3.5

l.-J

Ivi.V

2.9

4.0

0.1

0.2

1.3

6.8

07

.3.6

4.4

36.3

3.0

15.4

2.5

6.8

0.2

3.6

0.3

3.6

0.7

20.3

2.8

18.1

1.4

11.1

1.7

12.6

5.1

62.8

0.1

0.2 2.9
1.4 4.
O.S 5.4

0.2
4.9
3.1

0.4
0.4

6.3
0.3
0.1
1.6
2.1
1.1
, 0.3
1S8.I

0.4
0.4
0.5
04
0.3
07
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.2

3.3
4.2
3.6
6.4

26.4
4.1

20.3
6.1
4.3
2.2
6.2
3.6
2.2

16.7

3.6
2.5
3.1

1.2

1.5
2.1
12
1.6
15
0.2
5.9
1.5
4,2
3.3

2.0
0.2
0.3
2.4
6.4
3.7
2.7
17.7
0.1
0.7
0.7
10

1.1

2.9
8.1
1.4
3.5
2.1
1.7
1.1
0.5
1.1
3.5
1.6
1.6
10.0

2.0
2.2
1.7
2.4
2.1
2.1
1.9
1.9
2.9
2.0

4.0
0.8
0.7
2.3
7.5
11.2
4.4

4.8
0.4
2.5
1.6
1.3

S-3

0.6
2.3
1.3
0.4
2.1
0.4
1.8
0.1
0.6
1.0
1.8
0.7
0.4
26.3

2.1
2.6
5.5

75.1

105.3

61.3

69.2

86.6

60.4

1.3

0.3

0.9

1.0

5.C

1.7
1.3
0.8
3.5
16.4
11.1
3.4
13.5

6.3
0.2
4.1

20.0

20.3
6.8
3.8

19.7
0.7

12.9
6.3

22.6
5 5

10.3
4.9
1.3
2.5

0.1

0.4

0,3

0.3

0.8

1.1

17.1

0,2

0.4

0.5

4.9

0.4

6.1

0.1

12.0

0.1

15.8

0.2

0.2

APPENDIX.

357

SUBSTANCB.

Sorghum

Buckwheat

V u»

Field Bcana

(iunli-u Buana

\ etfli

Lii| iiic

1{.<1 Clover

While Clover

Kei>.r8ettc

Kuta baga"*

Sug;ir-Boet

CarroU

Sufcorr

Tumiim

Rjipc

Siumner-llape

Mu>tard

Poppy

Linseed

Hemp

(irape-pceds

llorse-chestnuta, fresh
Acorns, fresh

XL— Various Animal
Products.

Cows' Milk ^875

Sheep •• S60

Cheese-.. 450

Ox blood T'.W

Calf-blood 800

Sheep-blood TyO

Swine-blood 8tK)

Ox flesh T70

Calf flesh 7s0

Swine- flesh 740

Living Ox 5!t7

Living Calf WW

Living Sheep -V-tl

Living Swine 5'28

Ekks r,--i

Wool, washed VM

Wool, unwashed ' l.M)

358

TALKS ON MAXUIJES.

B.-AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS MANURES.

Name op Fertiuzeb.

757 ' 211
838 145
655 311
820 150

noi

872
967

L— Animal Excre-
ments.

(In 100() parta of Ma-
nure.)

Fresh F;ece8:

Horse

Cattle

Sheep

Swine

Fresh Urine:

Horse

Cattle '

Sheep

Swill.;

Fresh Dunj; (with
Btraw : )*

Horse I

Cattle I

Sli.<ep I

Swine

Common Baru-yard I
Manure: .

Fresh '

Modoratelv lotd-d . .

Tliorouijliiy rottfd..
Draina^rc from Barn-
yard Manure

Human Kicces, fresh.

Urine,
Mixed human cxcre-

m'^nts. fri'sh

Mixed liuman excre-
ments, mostly liquid
Hove Manure, fresh..
Hen " ..

Duck " " ..

Gteese " " ..

n.— COMMEItClAL Ma-

NfRBS. I

(In 100 parts of Fer-
tilizer.)

Peruvian Guano 14.8 51.4

Norway Fish-Guano.. 12.0 53.4

Poudr.tt'^ 24.0 27,0

Pulverized Dead Ani-
mals 5.7.56.9

Flesh-Meal 27.8.")6.6

Dried Blood 14 0 70.0

Horn Meal and Shav-
ing's S.5685

Bone-Meal 6.0.3.}.:^

713 254

775 203

«i46 318

TM 250

710 346

7.^i0 192

790 145

0S-> 7

772 I'.tB

'.m 24

31.6
17.2
31.1
30.0

28.0
27.4
45.2
15.0

39.6
21.8
.35.6
25.6

44.1
5,v0
650

10.7
2<i.!t
13 5

4.4 3.5 0 6
2.!) 10 0 2
5 5 15 10
6.0 2.6 2.5

15.5 15 0 2 5

5.5 -I <» 6 4
lit. 5 22 6 6.4

4.3 8.3 2 1

5.8 5 3 10

3.4 4 0 14
8 3 6 7 2 2

4.5 6.0 2 0

1.2 .3.5 0.6

1.3 1.7 0.4
1.5 3.1 1.4

0.9 1.0; 4.1 0.4

.. lO 6
.. 1.3
0.1 3 0
0.7 0.8

2.1 1.4 2.8 0.7

3.1 1.1 I 16 0 6

3.3 1.8 2.3 1 5

0.8,0.9 l.'.t 0.8

4 5

5.0

5.8

5.2 1.5 5.7 1.4
6.31 1.9 7.0 1.8
5.0l 1 3 8.8 1.8

i

19.6 0 2
7.2 0 2
;7.5 0 3
15 0 0.3

0.8 1 5
0 3 3.8
0 16 5
.. 2.3

17.7 0 4
8.5 1.0

11.7 1.7

10.8 1.7

2 1 1.2 12.5,1.5
2 6 1.6 16.8] 1.9
3.0 1.3 17.0 1.6

1.5 4 !• 10 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.7 0.211.2
10.(1 2 5 1.6 6.2 3.6 10.9 0.8 1.9 0.4
6.0 2 0, 4 6 0.2 0.2 1.7 0.4 .. 5.0

933 51 16 0 7.0 2ll3,8 0.9 0.6 2.6 0.5

055 :w

510 .3(18

.')60 25.")

.566 262

771 i:J4

15 0
173.0

ia-i.()

172.0
95.0

as. 8

31.0
49.0

37.4
15.6
7.0

25.0
(Ml. 7

0.2

4.0

3 5 20 4 0 1.0 0.6 2 8 0.4 0.24.3

17.6 10.0 0 7il6.0 5.0 17 s 3.3 '20 2, ..

16.3 8.5 1 0 21.0 7 4 15.4 4.5 .35.2

10.0 6.2 0.5!l7.0 3 5 14.0 3.5 28.0

5.5 9.5 1.3 8.4 2.0 6.4 1.4 14.0

13.0 2.3
9 0 0.3

2.0| 0.0

6.5 0.3

0.7: ..

11.7 0.

10.2
3.8 0.2

14 11.0 1.2'13 0 1.0
0 9 15 4 0.6 13.5 0 3
1.0 18.6,0 5 2.1 1.0

1.7 1.3
1.6 1.1
5.4,1 5

0 8 18.2 0,4 13 0 1,0 1.7 0.2

.. 7.0 0.3 6.3 0.1 1.1 ..

0.6 0.7 0.1 1.0 0.4 2.1 0.4

.. 6.6 0.3 5.5 0.9 11.0 ..

0 3 31 S'l 0 23.2 0 1 3.5 0.3

• It is estimated that in the case of horses, cattle, and swine, one-third of the
urine drains awav. The followin<j is the amount of wheat-atraw used daily as
hedding for each "animal. Horse, 6 lbs. ; Cattle, 8 lbs. ; Swine, 4 lbs., and ehcep,
Q.6 lbs.

ATPEXDIX.

359

1 1 =

Namb OF Kbrtiuzbr. c U

1 = s

1

1

d

1

1
1

2;

4i

<

R

« .

e §

(In 100 parts.) Vo Vo
Bono Meal from solid

"Vo"

Vo

v7

Vo

Vo

Vo

v7

Vo

Vo

Vo

Iiart? i 6.031.5

63.5

3.5

0.1

0.2

33 0

1.0

25.2

0.1

3.0

0.2

Boiif Meal from soft 1

parts' 7.0,37.3

55.7

4.0

Q.i 0.3

29.0

1.0

20.0

0.1

3.5

0.2

Boni-hlark before 1

ns.d 1 6 010 0

84.0

1.0

0.1 0.3

43 0

1.1

■33 0

0.4

5.0

Bon. - >l:nk, fpeut.... 10 0 G.O

84.0

0.5

0 1 0.2

37.0

1.1

26.0

0 4

15.0

■■

Bone asli 6.0 3.0

91.0

0.:5

0.6

46.0

1.2 •■«.4

0.4

fi.5

Baker (Juaiio .... 10 0 0.2

Sl.O

6!5

0 2

1.2

41.5

1.5

34. s

1 5

0.8

6!3

Jarviifi (jiiano

11. H 8.2
0 6..

80.0

0.4

0.1
0.7

0.3
0.3

:}!».l
48.1

0 5
0.1

20.6
37.6

18.0
0.2

0.5
9.0

0.2

E.-itremadum .\patite..

1.5

Sombrero Plmepliatc. 8..') ..

9i!5

o'l

0.3

4.3.5

0 6

35.0

0.5

1.0

0.6

Nava.«»a I'liosphatc... 2.(5 5.4

92.0

0.1

37.5

0.6

33.2

0.5

5.0

0.1

Nassau Phospborlte, i

rich 2.6 ..

97.4

,.

0.8

0.4

45.1

0.2

33.0

0.3

5.5

3.1

Nassaa Phosphorite, 1

mediani 2.5 ..

97.5

,,

0.7

0.4

40.1

0.2

24.1

20.8

1.5

Westphalian Phoa- |

phorite 6.5 l.fi

91.8

,.

21.8

0.9

10.7

1.0

22.0

1.6

ITauover Phosphoritel 2.0 3.5

94.5

.,

37.2

0 2

29.2

0.5

3.3

1.5

Coprulites 4.3 ..

95.7

iVo

0.5

45.4

1.0

26.4

08

7.5

0.1

Sulphate of Ammonia. 4.0 ..

26!o

..

..

0.5

__

580

3.0

1.4

Nitnito of Soda 2.6 ..

15 5

35.0

0.2

0.7

1.5

1.7

Wool dust and offal .. 10.0 56.0

34^0

5.2

0 3

0.1

1 4

0.3

l!3

0.5

29 0

0.2

Litnocake 6.5 47.0

46 5

3 1

20.5

2.4

3.0

8.0

Whale-oil refuse 2:i.0 6s.4

8.6

5.7

.

3.0

0 2

2.3

3.0

Common Salt 15.0 ..

9.-..0

44.3

1.2

0.2

iU

2.0

18.2

Gvp.xum or Plaster.... 20.0 ..

80.8

31.0

0.1

, ,

44.0

4.0

Gas-lime 7.0 1.3

91.7

0 4

0.'2

64.5

1.5

..

12.5

3.0

Sujrar-IIouse Scum...

34 5^1.5

41.0

1.2

0.2

0.6

20.7

0.3

1.5

0.3

9.1

6!l

Leaclied wood ashes. .

20.0 5,(1

7.-..0

2.5

1.3

24.5

2.5

6.0

0.8

20.0

Wood soot

5.0 71.8

2;J 2

i!3

2.4

0.5

10.0

1.5

0.4

0.3

4.0

,^

Coal-soot

5.0 70 2

24 8

2.5

0.1

4.0

1.5

__

1.7

16.0

^^

Ashes from Deciduous

trees

5.0

5.0

90.0

.,

10.0

2.5

30.0

5.0

6.5

1.6

18.0

0.3

Ashes from Evergreen

trees

5.0 5.0

90.0

..

6.0

2.0

35.0

6.0

4.5

1.6

18.0

0.3

Peat-a<hes

5.0, ..

95.0

1.5

0 8

?

1.5

0.6

1.3

?

0.8

Bituminous coal-ashes

5.0 ..

95.0

.,

0.5

0.4

?

3.2

0.2

8.5

T

Anthracite coal-ashes.

5.0 5.0

90.0

0.1

0.1

?

3.0

01

5.0

?

• .

III.— Stterphos-

PHATE, from

Peruvian Guano 'l6.0'41.9

42.1

10.0

2.0

1.2

0.5

1.0

10 5

15. o'

1..^.

1.1

Bakir(;uano 15.0 6.2

78.8

0.3

0.1

0.8

25 0

0.0

21.8 28 5

0.!l

0.2

Estriinadura Apatite.. 15.0 ..

85.0

..

0.4

0.2

28.2

0.1

22.1

28.5

5 3 0.9

Sombrero Pho-phate. 15.0 ..

&i.O

0.5 26 4

0.4

20 2

25.5

0.6 0.4

Navassa Phosphate... 15.0 2.5
Nassau Phosphorite, !

82.5

,

7 17.0

0.3

15 4

19.5

2 :i T

1 1

1

rich 15.0 ..

85.0

,_

0.5

0.2 26.5

0.1

10.4

25.5

3.2 1.8

Nass-iu Phosphorite, | |

1

1

medium 12.0 ..

88.0

0.3

0.1 24.2

0.1

16.6

19.5

13.5 1.3

Bone-black 15.0 8.0

7T.0

6' 3

0.1 25.0

0 7

16.2

21.0

9.3 ..

B<ine-Meal 13.0 23.8

m.-2

2.0

o!i

0.2 22.4

0.7

16.6

19.5

2.5 0.2

Phospho-truano ,

1

1

(manufactured.) ...

15 5

13.0

80.3

3.3

0 3

0.4

24.0

20.5

28.8

3.0

0.9

300

TALKS ON MANTRES.

-TABLE SUOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF INGREDIENTS
LN SOME MANUFACTURING PROCESSES.

Name of Material.

4>

.33

360

9

30

i.;j8

8.74

2.14

3.2
0 56

(I.2S
4.04

14.08
2.S2
0.71

17 61

12 .32
4.23

4 fin

11.95

1.— Brewing. lbs. lbs.

1000 lbs. Barley, contain 86.5 I 15.3

IT) " Ilo|)3 '■ 13.2 j

Diptribution of the Ingredients: |

Water .

Malt-Sprouts

Brewers" Grains

Spent Uops

Yeast

Beer

2.— Distillery.
a. 1000 lbs. Potatoes, contain.... 2.V)

40 •■ Ki'u-.Malt 37

20 " Yeast-Malt 18 5

The Slump, contains j 125

(/;.) (Jrain S|)irlt.s.

80<) lbs. Hve. contain I 681

200 " Kiln-Malt, contain ^ 184

.'iO " Ycasl-Malt, " ' 46

The Slump, " 443

3.— Yea.«T MANUFACTtTRB.

TOO lbs. bruised R ve, contain 599

300 •' B;irl.-y-M:Ilt, >' .... 276
Distribution of the Ingredients :

Yeast 45

Grains and Slump 325

4.— StaUCII M.VNfFACTURB. I I

1000 lbs. Potatoes, c<)nt.ain 250 3.20

The remains in the Fibre 75 O.fiO

Water 45 2.60

5.— Milling. | '

1000 lbs. Wheat, c^ntain

Distribution of the Iiiirrcdicnts:

Flour i77.5 per cent)

Mill-feed (6.5 " )

Bran (IC.O " )

6.— Cheese-Making.
1000 Ihs. Milk, contain

Distribution of the luirredients :

Cheese 65

Whey 60

7.— Beet-Sioar Mantjfactcrb.
1000 Ihs. Roots, contain

Distrlbutionof the Infrredients:
Tops and Tails il2 per cent of

roots) 19

Pomace (15 per cent of roots) 46

Sklmminsis (4 per cent of roots).. 24

Molasses (3 per cent of roots) 25

Sugar and loss 85

8.— Fi.ax Dkessino.
1000 lbs. Flax Stalks, contain... 860

Distribution of the Ingredients :

In the Water 215

Stems or Husks 460

Flax and Tow 155

lbs i lbs. lbs
22 23 4.48 0.58
1.00 0.345 0.167

1 23

2 l.J
13. (W

0.5»

2 27

, 3.65

lbs.
1.92
0.056

0 852 0.039 0.0-15
0.749 I 0.069 0.0m\
O.SHOl 1.474 1.134
0.02:j O.ltiO 0.055
0.(>4;j I 0.097 0.185
1.998 1 .... ,0.484

9.43 5.69 !0.24 '0.44

1.06 O.mj'O 040 0.088

O..^;} 0.092 0 020 0.(M4

11.02 5 966:0.30010.572

14.. 32 4. 501
5 12 0 H8:i
1 28 0 221

lbs.
7.71
0.168

0 2.34

0 6.5.3
3 6.31
0.062

1 »I9
0.939

1.63
0.:«8
OHM
2.212

0.:J76 1 M8 6 710
0 195 0.429] 1.526
0.049 0.1071 0.;«2

20.72 , 5 tK)5 O.fBO 2.184 8 618

12.53
7.67

' 3.41
16.79

3.911
1 .325

0.329 1 m
0.293 0 64.3

5.876
2.801

1 273 0.192 0.367 2.672
3.9'.t3 0.430 1 720 1 6.005

9 13 ' 5 69
0.51 0 086
8.89 5 604

857 20.80 '16.88

664 14.65
58 1.64
135 4.51

5. 50
1 81
9.60

5.36

1.980
0.f>48
2.6r.4

125 4.80 6.10 1..505

4..>3
0.27

2.84 0.247
3.26 1.2JS8

184 I 1.60 7.10 3.914

0^
0.44
O.liO
0.32

1.15
1.71
1.20
2.47
0.57

0.24 0.44 11 63
0.266 0 1)42:0.13.3
... 1 0.398 1.497

0.57 ' 2.02

i.94

0 154 0.4,58 2.862
0 0.50 0.118 0.936
0.3% 1.394 4.102

1.3:}3 0.186

0.687 0.028
0.646 0.158

0.379 0.536

1.735

1.151
0.584

0.780

0..3.36 0 108 0.132 0.144
0.5-<5 0 .390 0 105 0.165
0.:}H0 8.610 0 210 0 -.iM

1.741 0.141 O.OtV.i
0.872 .... 0.(M0

0 015
0.072

3 990

30.36 9.426 6.751 1.995

125 15 9.175 4.100 1 R,-.0 3 400
4 0:5 0 171 2(1.52 0aMi|0.474
1.22 ,(l.05» 0 148 0a>ll0.126

II

INDEX.

Abwirptivo Power? of Soils "^l?

Ammoni.i Abwirbi'd by Soil from

till- Alnl<)^*phl■rc ".r.^

Auiiiinuia and Siiperpbospliatc 2)2

and \Vc<ds '^54

'• Converted Into Nitric

Aci<l in tbe Soil 313

" f"irl>at8 -jsa-aoi

" fur Potaioea — 2(il

for Wb>at 19J--.'13

" in Fresh llorse-dung: 'M

'• in Limed and I'nlimed

Soiln -220

" in the Soil Liberated bj-

Limp 2-21

" Locked I p in the Soil... 221
*• Loss of by FcrinentinE;

Manure ..08

" on (Jni-s Lund 273

" Potential 31

" (Quantity of to Produce
One Bushel of Wheat,

211-212
'* Required to Produce a

Bushel of Bail.-r.. 240-2 12

" Retained by the Soil 218

*' Salts, Composition of....3ri
" " IIow to Applv,

a*-312
" " for Private Gar-
dens 207

Anderson. J. M. B.. Letter from. . . U'l
Animals, Compositiim of Manure

from Diflorent 306

*' What They Kemove from

thi' Food .301

Apple Trees. Nitrate of Soda for... 314
Artificial Manures, Will They Pay..214

Ashes, Burnt Earth 72

Coal 72

*' for Barley 241

" for Indian Corn 279

*' for Oats 2.")3

" for Potjuoes 2.")9

" of Manure for Wheat 173

" on Long Island 346

" Plaster and lien-dung for

Potatoes 255

" Wood 1(H

Barley After Ten Crops of Turnips. i^O

*' a Lar^e Yield of 5M2

" and Clover after a heavily-
manured Root-crop 1.287

" Best Soil for 227

" Cost of Raising With and

Without Manure 245

361

Barley,La\ves' and Gilbert's E.Tperi-

ments on 227

" Potash Incp-ases the Crop of

at Kothiiinsted 329

" Proflts of Raising in Poi-r

Seasons 243

" Quality and Price of 212

" \ ield Per Acre 11

Barn-yard Manure, Difference in

l^uality of 246

Bi'an-straw for Manure 48

Beets, Sugar, Lawes' and (iilberfs

Kxperiments on... 288

" Manure for 28(j

Blood .32

B<»ne-du8t 314

" Composition of Com-
pared with Stable Ma-
nure 316

" Firinented with Manurc.316
Made into SuperpUos-

I'hate 319

" " on Dairy Farm.s 315

Bones as Manure 102

Bran 26

for Manure 102

" Richer in Plant-food than

Wheat .301

Brewer, Prof. W. II., Letter from.. 341
Cabbage and Barn-yaid Manure,

Composition of 292

" Composition of 290-292

" Hog and Cow Manure for.302

" Lime for 292

" !Manure for 275-290

" Manure for Early and

Late 291

" Needs a Large Supply ( f
Nitrogen in the Soil,
Though it Removes

butLi'.tlc 293

" Potash for 292

Special Manun- for 323

" Yield of per Acre 291

Cattle vs. Sheep as Manure-makers. .303

Cheese, from a Ton of Hay Ill

Plant-food in 101

" versus Beef 110

Clay Retains Ammonia 219

Clover and Indian Corn 275

" as a R(movating and Ex-

hansti ng Crop 277

" as Manure 11^122

" as Manure for Wheat 158

" Does it Get Nitrogen from

the Atmosphere 133-138

362

INDEX.

^^over, Dr. Voelcker's Experiments

on 135

" for Wheat 12(j

" Gathers Up Manure from tlie

Sub-soil 287

" Hay, Composition of 129-137

" Hay, English and German,

for Manure 47

" How to Make a Farm Rich

by (irowing 133-1&3

" Letting it Hot on the Sur-
face as Manure 134

" Nitrogen as a Manure for. ..141
" Pasturing by Sheep versus

Mowing for Uay 137

" Plowing I'nder versus Feed-
ing Out 123

" Roots, Amount of per Acre,

143-144-1.55
" Roots, Composition of..l4.")-147
" Seed, Amount of Roots i)er

Acre 162

" Water Evaporated bv 132

" Why it Enriches Laiid 131

Coal-a'^hes to Mix with Artificial

Manures 312

Composting Cow-manure with

Muck. Leaves, etc 302*

Compost of Stable-manure and

Earth 342

Corn, as a Renovating Crop 27.5

" Aslies for ... 2T'.l

" Barn->-'ard Manure for 2H4

" Cost of Raising 9

" Crop, Composition of 25

" E.xperiments on 279

" Guano for 279---2S4

" Manure for 275

" Meal for Manure 185

" Superpliosphate for 279-281

'* Fodder 273

" " vs. Mangel- wurzels. ..2S8

" " Plasterer 277

" " vs. Wheat, Yield per

acre -... 276

Crops Best to Ap|)ly Manure to 2i;5

'• Flow to Get Larger 28-36

" Raised and Sold from tlie

Farm 27

" Rotation of 116-108

" We Must Raise Larger per

Acre 266

" Why so Poor 28

Cotton-se<'d Cjke 4;^339

Cow-manure 8()-100

" " and How to Use it. . . .302

" " Compositiou of 3 '6

Cows, Feeding Grain to 110-113

'• Feeding in Winter for Ma-
nure 256

Dairy Farms, Bone-dust on 315

Drainage from Barn-vard 3116

Dry Earth for Pig Pens 304

Earth-closet Manure 310

" " " on Grass 225

Fallow.Fall 12

" for Wheat, How to — Mr.

Luwes' Experiments 35

" Summer, for Wheat 15-34

Farm Dairy, Receipts and Expenses

of 109

" Hon. George Geddes' 119

" Hon. Joseph Shull's 109

" John Johnston's 76-81-120

" Mr. Dewey's 39

" Mr. Joseph O. Sheldon's 15

" to Restore a Worn Out 37

Farming, a Poor Business 9

'• Diflerence Between High

and Good 11

" Faith in Good 14

'* Good Does Not Lead to

Overproduction 14

" Slow Work 17

Fermenting Manure to Kill Weed-
Seeds . 97

Fish as Manure 347

Food, Nothing Added to it by the

Animal 42

Gardens, IManure for Private 296

Geddes, Hon. George 17-117

Grains, Malt. English and German. 47

Grass a Saving's Bank 41

" Importance of Rich 113

" Manure for 120

Guano as a Top-dressing 'or Wheat. 270

for Barley 240

" forOats 253

" for Peas 17

" for Potatoes 255-258

" on Wheat 120-180-184

" Peruvian, Composition of.. 311

" *' for Oniuns 2;M

'^ " Price and Compo
sition of Now
and:M)Y"rsAgo.327
" " Rectified for Tur-
nips 286

What it is 311

Gypsum 104-116-126

forOats 254

" for Peas 17

" for Potatoes 255-2.59

ITnrison, T. L., Letter from 115

Uay, Best Manure for 2;4

" Plant-food in 101

Hi-acock, Joseph. Letter from 348

Henderson. Peter, Letter from 344

Hen Manure 43-104-301

" " for Potatoes 255

nigh Farming 12

" ■' versus Good Farming 11

Fops, Manure for 274

Horse-manure, Compositiou of. . . .306

Hot-beds. Manure for 297

Human E.xcrements, Composition

of 308

Indian Corn. See Corn

Irrigation on Market Gardens 295

Jessup, Edward, Letter from 342

Johnsim, Prof. S. W., on the Value

of Fertilizers 324

Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments

on Barley 22"?

Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments

on Oats 252

Lawes" and Ciilbert's Experiments
on Permanent Meadows 271

INDEX.

303

Lawcs' and fiilbert's Exporiments
oil the Amount of Excremeuls

Void.d by Man :«)9

Lawi's' and Gilbert's Exi»erinifUts
on Sugar bcfts and Mangel-wur-

zds 288

Lawes' and Uilben's Kxpcriincnts

on Wheat 170

Lawes" and Gilbert's Experiments,

Potash Beneficial for Barley 329

Lawes' Table, Showing Composi-
tion and Value of Foods 45

Lettuce. Manure for 2H9

Superphosphate for. . . 21K)-293

Lewis, lion. Harris, Letter from 10:3

Liebig's Special Manures 321

Lime as Manure 213

•' Beneficial Effect of for Thirty

Years 210

" Changes the Chemical and
Physical Character of the

Soil 224

" Composting with Old Soda... 224

" for Cabbage 292

" Hastens the Maturity of the

Crop 22*2

" Impoverishes the Soil 222

" in Connecticut 224

" in Delaware 223

" in New Jer-ey ..223

" in Pennsylvania 224

" Mixed with Barn-yard Ma-
nure 222

" on Grass Land "223

" on Limestone Land 217

" C^uantity pet Acre 21G

" Sets Free Ammonia in the

Soil 221

" Silicate Absorbs Ammonia

from Atmosphere 219

" When to App! v 22:i

" Why Beneficia'l -220

Liquid Manure 3Ui)

Lowland. Draining 30

Malt-combs 46

Maugel-wurzels for Manure 48

Manure forl0:j-28tt-283

" " Yield per Acre 11

Manure Absorbing Liquid 115

'• Amount from Feed and

Bedding 73

♦' Amount Made by a Horse

50-346
" " Made by Horses,

Cows, Sheep, aiid Pigs. . . .'il
" Amount Made on a 25(Vacre

Farm •^',^

" Amount of Rain Required

to Dissolve 267

" Amount of Straw in Horse. 346

" and Rotati' n of Crops 246

*' Applying Artificial 312

" Applying Near the Surface. 267
" Applying on the Surface... 173

" as Top-dressing 2(19

" Barn-yard for Barley 2^10

" Barn-yard vs. Artificial for

Indian Corn 284

" Basinfor 92

Manure Best for llav 27^

Bone-dust.: al4-31t;

" Brings in Red Clover S'^i

Buying 306

Buying by Measure or

\Veight 305

" Baying by the Load or Ton. 306

Cellar. 114

'• Cheapest a Farmer Can U9e.l27

Clover as 11!»-I22

" Clover-seed as 127

" Comes from the Land 42

" Common Saltas ...2<X)

" Composition of Fresh Barn-
yard 51

" Composition of from Dif-
ferent Animals 306

" Conipositiim of Heap at

Ditft rent Periods 57

" Corn-meal for 185

Cost of Hauling 342

" Cost of Loading and Draw-
ing ''■7

Cow 87-100

" Dairy-farm, How to Save

and Apply 114

" Dr. Valcker's Experiments

on 51

Drawing Out to the Field.. 89
" English Plan of Keeping. .. 69

" Equivalent to Water 2!)6

" Farm yard for Potatoes . . .261

'• Fermenting' in \\inti'r.H,>-92-93

Fernieniiiiir, Shrinkage in. .116

Fire-fang. '. 84-98

'• Fish. as,"on Long Island. . 347

■' Foods which Make Rich 45

'■ for Cabbage, Parsnips,
Onions, Carrots, Lettuce,

etc 289

" for Corn 80

f..r Grass 82

" for Hops 274

for Hot beds 297

" for Indian Corn 275

" for Mangel-wurzels and

Sugar-beets 287

" for Market Gardens 294

for Oats 252

" for Potatoes 255

" for Seed-growing Farms. . .296
" for Sorghum or Chinese

Sugar-cane 283

" for Tobacco 275

for Turnips 285-322

" lor Wheat 167

fromCows 302

'■ from Earth-closet 310

" from Oxen 303

" from Pigs. Mr. La\¥e8' Ex-
periments... . 301

" from Sheep 303

" Grain Farms, Management

of 117

" Guano, Price of Kow and

Thirty Years Ago 328

" Guano. Rectified Peruvian. 319

I " Gypsum and Clover as 125

' " Heap, Changes iu 67

304

INDEX.

Manarc Ilcap, Fcrmcntinjj 38

" in Winter 84

" Piling ill Fic!d..88-&'.M»0

" Turning 88

Hen 43-104-SOl

" Horse 32-8!>

" Ilorse and Farm-yard 50

'• Dow and When it Should

be Applied 207

*' How John Johnston Man-
ages it 76

" Flow Made and Used in

Maryland 349

" Ilort' the Deacon Makes it.. 74

" How ti) Make 41

" How to Mike More 2JG

" How to .Make More and Bet-
ter on Dairy Farms Iftj

" How to Make Poor, Ricli,

271 2a3

" How to Makp Richer 25T

" How Much it Shrinks by

Fermentation 342

" How Much Nitrogen in a

Loadof 30T

" in Kansa.-* 340

'• in Philad<'lphia, Interest-
ing Fact.-* .^3<^

'• Keeping Under Cover 5!»

" Lime lu* S15

Liquid -.. .. 3)6

" Management of in Canada. 335
" Mr. Lawes" Experiments

with 9.5

" Loss fri>m Leaching it!)

" Manuuement of 94

" Marl<et Value of 104

" Mixed with Lime 22i

" Natural 23

Nii^lit soil as .30S

" Nitrateof Soda as 131

" Not Available 95

" on Dairy Farm 101

" on Permanent Mejidows

and Pastures 271

" Preserved by the Soil 177

" Pis*" 8«

" Piling no

" Potjish as 3^9

" Price of in Boston 3 >4

" •' " Marvland 33.1

" " " New Haven.... 3 11

" " " New York 3)4

" " per Horse in New

»c)rk 336

" Quantity Made on a Farm.. 12
" Quantity of Used on Lung
Island. Interesting Sta-
tistics sm

" Roductjd by Fermentation. 2i>7
" Richer in Plant-food than
the Food from which it is

Derived 301

" Sea-weed as 3-37

" Sheep H6

'■ Should be Broken Up Fine. 268

" Soluble Phoephates in 72

" Special 110-320

Manure, Specific Gravity of from

Different .\niinal!- 305

" Spread in Oi)en Yard 63

" Stable, Management .332

Straw and Cnaff as 200

" Superphosphate, How

Made 317

" Swamp-Muck as 29

Tank 115

" the Author's Plan of Man-
aging R3

Tillage us 32-121-225

■' Top-dressing for Wheat in

Kansas 3.')0

" " " on (irowing

Crops 343

" to 'WTiat Crops Should it be

Applied 265

Value of 78

Value of Depends on the
Food, Not o.i tlie Animal. 43

Value of Straw as 12;3

Water in 124

" Weeds as 24

" M'eijjht of .'Vti-.-JSO

" Well-rotted, Composition

of 65

" Well-rotted. Loss from

Leaching 65

" Wliatisitl' 19-22

" Why Do We Ferment? 94

Market Gardens, Irrigitiim in 295

•' " Manure fur 294

" " Piij-manure on.. 295

Meadows. ;Manurc for 271

Ni-ht soil 225-308

Nitrate of Pota.-h 312

Nitrate of Soda 1*4

" Acts Quicker tliau

Ammonia .'il-'J

" " as a Top-dressing

for Wheat 270

" " Composition of 312

" " for Apple Trees 314

" for Barley 243

" for Oats 2.52

" for Onions 294

" "for Su gar-Beets 289

" for Wheat 159

•' " How to Apply 312

Nitric Acid 341

Nitrogen, Amount per Acre In the

Soil 28-162

" as Manure 28

in Soils 10«!-226-:«6-341

" Makes Poor Manure

Rich 246

Nnrsernnon, Manure for 297

nais. Experiments on in Virginia.. 2,53
Experiments on at ftlorcton

Farm 254

'■ Lawes" and Gilbert's Experi-
ments on 252

'• Manures for 2,52

Oil cake for Sheep 76

Onions. Manure for 294

Peas for Pigs 17

Pea-straw for Manure 48

INDEX.

;}(;:)

P«^at, Composition of 31

Phu8pliutu» 27

" £xl)nu:<ti(>u of on Dairy

Farms 101

" Soluble in Barn-yard

Manure 72

PhoPiilioric Acid in Soils 10«-2ae

per Acre in Soils. Iti2
" " liitaiued by the

Soil 219

" " Renii ved from the

Farmbv Ilay, and by Milch Co\vs.316

Pig Maniiru 4»-86

Composition of 30<i

" " for Cabbage 302

Pigs as Manure-Makers for Market

Gardeners 2!I5

Pigs' Bedding 31

•^ for Euriehing Pasture- Land . . ..Wl
" How to Save Manure from. . ..'i>4

" Manure from '-iOl-'-'JOi

Piling Manure _ !i7

I'lunt-food 21-105

Amount of in an Acre. 24-^
" " in New and Cultivated

Land 39

Plaster for Indian Corn 277

Plowii'g in the Fall 17

Potash, Amount of in the Soil 2>-329

■' as Manure 3-J9

•* as Manure for Wheat 215

" for Cabbages 292

" forPotatoes 255-260

" for Putalous and Root-

C,>->ps 330

" How to Ascertain when the

Soil Needs *M

" in Nitrate of Potash 314

" Not a Special Manure for

Turnips :fi2

" on Grass Land 273

" our Soils not so likely to be
Deficient in, as of Nitro-
gen and Phosphoric Acid.330

" Retained by the Soil 219

" Value of in Artificial Ma-
nures 326

Potatoes, after Root-Crops 287

'• Ammonia for 261

Cost of Reusing 10

" Experiments on at More-
ton Farm 259

" for Manure 48

" How to Raise a Large

Crop 255

" Manures for 255

" Mr. Hunter's Erperiments

on in England 260

*' on Ricl) Land 263

" Pi-oflts of Using Artificial

Manures on 263

" Will Manure Injure Qual

ityof 264

Bape-cake 46

" '■ as Manure for Hops 274

Roots. Amount of Left in Soil by

Diffi-rent Crops 164

Root-crops 17

Rotation of Crops and Manures 246

Ruslimore, J. II., Letter from 345

Ri.utzahn. H. L.. Letter from 349

Salt as a Manure for Wheat 270

■' Common as Manure for Wheat. 200

" for Mangel-wurzels 104

Saw-dust for Bedding 103

Season, a Poor. Proil table for Good

Farmers 213

" and Manure for Oats 253

Inlluence of on the Growth

of Wheat 210

" Profit in Raising Oats in a

Poor 253

" Profit in liaising Barley in

a Poor 243

Seasons. Inlluence on Crops •... 21

Seed Growers, Manures for 290

Sewage 308

Sheep-Manure 303-33.J-;i39

Composition of ;MG

" vs. Oxen as Manure Makers. 303
S!ielton. Prof. E. M.. Letter from.. 350

Soil, Composition of 144-150

•• Exhau.-tion of 2.3-27-:W2

from Earth-closet 225

■ Nitrogen and Phosphoric Acid

in 226

" Plant-food in 105

" Weight of per Acie 221

Soils Ab.-orb Ammonia from Atmos-
phere 219

" Absorptive Powers of .. 217

Sorghum, Manures for 28;J

Special Manures 320

Straw 26

Amount of Manure from 124

" and Ohafl' for Manure 200

' for Manures 48

" on Ciraiu Farms 118

" Selling 123

Sturtevant. Dr. E. L., Letter from 344

Superphosphate 116

for Barley 241

" for Indian Corn. .279

" for Potatoes 259

" for Private Gar

dens 296

for Turnips. .2a5-;i22

" forWlieat 168-169

" from Bones, Com-

position of.. . . 319
" from Mineral

Phosphates... 320

How Applied... 320

" on Dairy Farms . 315

'• on Grass Land ..273

" Value of as Com

pared with Bone-

Dust 319

" What Crops Best

for 243

Superphospatc of Lime Doctor

Telle How it is Made 317

Superphosphate of Lime, When

First Made in the United States 324
Surface Application of Manure. .Tfr 268

Swamp-muck 29

" Composition of 31

Swine, see Pigs

366

IXPET.

Tliomas. J. ,T.. Tiotnarko on tho Aiv
pliiatioii (,f Maiiun ^<.. xoo

Tillii-f IS M„i,i,rr aJ-i-ii i63-i»

J ohaou. Maiiiiri" for. . . 275

Top (Irrssiiii; Hill, Munur'f .'..'.' -Jb')

J urnipH, Do'Th.v Midori) Nitn.i^eii '
fruiii the Atm<>«|)|i,Tr. .ilt)
luiiM.v. rish th..- tjoil More

tliuu (iiuiu 250

" Manure for !. 8h5

and Wheat. Special Ma

nnrof> for.. 321

Urim- from Fami AnimalB RJchc-r

than Human gpg

vif. S<ilid Manure.. ". «►!

\aluation of FirtllizcrH 341

VNai.r. .\n)ouiit (JivenOff hv I'Jantu

iMirimr Th.lr lin.uth... ' 131

W.it.r K(juival.iit to Mannre.. .' " aw

u'" I •. < V. 1.^-11-189

« icd-Hccdr' ill .Manure. . ir,

w.hl. c.i. M. r. L.ttorfrom.;.." 3U

•Vhi-at, .\miiionia for jjU

" Arilllcial Miintin-n fi,r
Should l).-I)rillrd in with
8««d IfW 168

Whoat, Common Salt a? Manure for 200
tn>p, Compoeition of..a6 120-

• Pff . ,« . 1"»-3J0
r.n<ct of Manure on. in Poor

Season 213

'I Intluciici- of Sc-ason on..!. 210
If* it Deteriorating*. .. igj)

• jjtrger Cn >px i.rr Acre . . .' ' i-*>
Law es' and <;ilbert ^ Exper-
iment., on MO-17l)-.a3

-Munureh for njj

! ».'.'' '•''"»'" K3y>erimentoon.l22
' Nitrogen a- Manure for .. Hi

II I'lanr-fiMKl in joi

Pot.:i-li ii" Manure for .. ..21.')
Straw and Cliair a.-< a Manure

.. ^. '■"■ ; am

Siimiiier Fallowinp for. ..tfi-ies

■■ til.- -iiiti, Croii on Same Land.^l.j

To|»-<lri»»ing for -/to

**,., .r""'- (>>ni|.aratlve

1 ield of 27g

W.II niite.l Manure for '267

'.* ^Vli.\t»iirt rop, nie.m, Poor -.^14

1 leld jMT Acre \i

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