THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID TALKS ON MANURES. A SERIES OF FAMILIAR AND PRACTICAL TALKS BETWEEN THE AUTHOR AND THE DEACON, THE DOCTOR, AND OTHER NEIGHBORS, ON THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. BY JOSEPH HARRIS, M. 'S. ATTTHOit OF "WALKS AND TALKS ON THE FAKil," ' HAEKIS ON THE PIG," ETC. NEW ' AND ENLARGED EDITION, INCLUDING A CHAPTER SPECIALLY WEITTEN FOR IT BY SIR JOHN BENNET LAWES, OF ROTHAMSTED, ENGLAND. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 1893. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by the ORANGE JUDD COMPANY," Ja tne Office ol the Librarian of Congress, at Washington CONTENTS. CHAPTER L Fanning as a Business. High Farming and Good Farming. Summer-fallow- ing and Plowing under Clover. We must raise larger Crops per Acre. * Destruction of Weeds. Farming is Slow Work. It requires Personal At- tention 8 CHAPTER II. What is Manure ? The definitions given by the Deacon and the Doctor 19 CHAPTER in. Something about Plant-food. All soibs on which plants grow contain it. The Season. Water, Shade, Light, and Mulch, not Manures. Several Def- initions of Manure 21 CHAPTER IV. Na:ural Manure. -Accumulated Plant food in the Soil. Exhaustion of the Soil. Why our Crops are ?o Poor. How to get Larger Crops. We must Drain, Cultivate thoroughly, and Make Richer Manure 23 CHAPTER V. Swamp- muck and Peat as Manure. Draining Swamp-land. Composition of Peat and Muck 29 CHAPTER VL What is Potential Ammonia 31 CHAPTER VDL Tillage is Manure. The Doctor's Lecture on Manure 32 CHAPTER VIII. Summer-fallowing. Mr. Lawes 1 crop every other year. Wheat after Bar- ley. For Larger Crops raise less frequently, and Manure Higher ; also keep better Stock, and Feed Higher 34 CHAPTER IX. How to Restore a Worn-out 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 XL The Value of the Manure depends upon the Food rot npon the Animal 43 CHAPTER XII. Foods which Make Rich Manure.- Tab!e giving the composition of 31 kinds of Food, and the value of tho Manure they yield. Cotton-seed Cake. English and German Clover. Nitrogenous matter in Rich and Poor Foods. Manure from Corn compared with that from Straw 45 III 483! IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. Horse-manure and Farm-yard Manure. Why the one is richer 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 Ibs. of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid, and Potash 50 CHAPTER XIV. Fermenting Manure. Composition of Manure when Fresh and in its stages of Fermentation. Loss in Fermentation and from Leaching. Tables show- ing the composition of Manure at different stages. Fermenting makes Manure more Soluble - 53 CHAPTER XV. Keeping Manure under Cover. Dr. Vcelcker's Experiments. Manure Fer- mented Outside and Under Cover. Loss from keeping Manure spread in the Barn-yard. Keeping well-rotted Manure in a Heap. Conclusions from Dr. Veeleker's Experiments 59 CHAPTER XVI. An English Plan of Keeping Manure. Bos feeding of Cattle. Spreading Manure at once. Piling in Heaps in the Field. Old Sods and Ashes from CharredSods 09 CHAPTER XVII. Soluble Phosphates in Farm yard Manure. Fermented, the Manure has the most. Over 40 per cent, of the Phosphoric Acid is Soluble 72 CHAPTER XVHI. How the Deacon makes Manure. A good plan for making poor Manure 74 CHAPTER XIX. How John Johnston Manages His Manure. -Summer-fallows for Wheat- Does not plow under Clover. Value of Manure from different foods. Piling Manure. Applies Manure to Grass-land in Fall, and Plows under in Spring for Corn. His success due to the Effect of Manure on Grass It brought in Red Clover 76 CHAPTER XX. . The Author's Plan of Managing Manure. Piles as fast as it is Made. What it is Made of. Horse and Cow Manure Together. Horse Manure for Bed- ding Pigs. To Prevent Freezing. Liquid Manure from Pi-s.-Beddin" Siuep.-Piling in the Field. Where the Piles should be Made" Manure in a Basin.-Reasons for Piling.-Wlmt we Gain by Fermenting Manure 83 CHAPTER XXI. .Management Continued. Why We Ferment Manure. Dr. Vrelcker's Experi- , mem s showing the Loss when Manure is spread in Yard?. Fermenting adds Nothing to Manure, but makes it more available. Mr. Lawes' Experi" mc'iits on Wheat and Barley. Dr. Voelcker's Results. Elhvantrer & Barry's Experience. Loss of Ammonia by Fermenting. Waste from Leaching. How to Save the Liquid Manure from Cows. 94 CHAPTER XXn. Manure on Dairy Farms. Wheat removes much more Nitrogen than Cheese. Manures for Dairy Farms. Letter from HOP. Harris Lewis. How to make more and better Manure on Dairy Farms. How to save and apply it. Let- ter from T. L. Harison, Esq ...101 CONTENTS. Y CHAPTER XXIII. Management of Manures on Grain Farm:?. Letter from Hon. Gco. Geddes. Grain 011 Dairy Farms. Sheep on tiru.ii Farm*. Visit to John Julius-ton. Mr. Lawes' Wheat-field. Mr. Geddes and Clover. Gypstun ami Clover as Manures Ill CHAPTER XXIV. The Cheapest Manure a Farmer cau use. Clover vs. Tillage. As Plaut- Food. Constituents of a Crop of Clover, as compared with oue of Wheat. Making a Farm Rich by Growing Clover 127 CHAPTER XXV. Dr. Voelcker's Experiments on Clovur. Lavves and Gilbert's oa Wheat. Clover Roots per Acre. Manures for Wheat. Liebig's Manure Theory. Peruvian Guano on Wheat. Manures and the Quality of Wheat. Ammonia. Ovjr 50 Bushels of Wheat to the Acre ....135 CHAPTER XXVL Experiments on Clover Soils from Burcott Lodge Farm, Lcighton Buzzard. Soil from Part of 11-acre Field twice Mown for Hay. Soil from do. once Mown for Hay and left for Seed. Amount of Roots left in the Soil by differ- ent Crops. Manures for Wheat 149 CHAPTER XXVIL Lawes and Gilbert's Experiments on Wheat. Most Valuable and Instructive Tables now first made accessible to the American Farmer. Tlie growth of Wheat Year after Year on the same Land, nnmanurcd. with Farm-yard Ma- nure, and with various Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers 170 CHAPTER XXVIII. Lime as a Manure. Prof. Way's Experiments. The uses of Lime in the Soil. Lime in this Country. Composts with Lime 215 CHAPTER XXIX. Manures for Barley. Composition of Barley, grain find straw. Valuable Ta- bles giving the Results of Lawes and Gilbert's Experiments on the growth of Barley, Year after Year, on the same Land, without Manure, and with different kinds of Manure. Manure and Rotation of Crops 237 CHAPTER XXX. Manures for Oats. Experiments at Rothamstecl. Experiments of Mr. Bath of Virginia. At Moreton Farm 252 CHAPTER XXXI. Manures for Potatoes. Peruvian Gunno for Potatoes. Manure from different Foods. Epcriments at Moreton Farm. Mr. Hunter's Experiments 255 CHAPTER XXXII. What Crops should Manure be Applied to? How, and When? John J. Thomas' manner of Applying Manure. Top Dressing. Doct. Voelcker's Experiments 265 CHAPTER XXXIH. Manures on Permanent Meadows and Pastures. Experiments at Rothamsted.271 VI v CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. Manures for Special Crops. Hops. Indian Corn. Turnips. Mangel- Wurzel or Sugar-Beets. Cabbages, Parsnips, Lettuce, Onions, etc 274 CHAPTER XXXV. Manures for Gardens and Orchards Market Gardens. Seed-growing Farms. Private Gardens. Hot-beds. Manure for Nurserymen. Fruit Growers. Heu-Mauure 294 CHAPTER XXXVI. Different Kinds of Manures. Cow Manure. Sheep Manure. Buying Manure. Liquid Manure. Nightsoil and Sewage. Peruvian Guano. Salts of Ain- moiiiu and Nitrato of Soda 302 CHAPTER XXXVII. Bone-Dust and Superphosphate of Lime. Bone furnishes Nitrogen as well as Phosphate of Lime. Increasing the Availability of Bone with Sulphuric Acid 314 CHAPTER XXXVIIL Special Manures. Liebig's Views. Special Manure for Wheat and Turnips.^ Rot hamsted Experiments . "* CHAPTER XXXIX. Value of Fertilizers'. Cost, per pound of the Essential Constituents of Ferti- lizers. Value of Guanos. Potash as a Manure 324 CHAPTER XL. Restoring Fertility to the Soil, a Chapter by Sir John Bennet Lawes.-The Treatment of a Poor Farm, to Restore it most Profitably. Meat-making the Back-bone of tae System. The Use of Sheep to Manure the Soil. The Feeding of Cotton-seed Cake.-Artificial Manures not Profitable on Poor Land. The Loss of Nitrogen. The Formation of Nitric Acid 34S APPENDIX. Letter from Edward Jespop.-From Dr. E. L. Sturtevant.-From M. C. Weld -From Peter Henderson.-From J. B. M. Anderson.-Manure Statistics of Loin.' Island. Letter from J. H. Rushmore. Letter from John E. Backup Manure iu Philadelphia. Various other Letters 332 INTRODUCTION TO NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION. Sir John Bennet Lawcs kindly consented to write a Chapter for the new edition of this work. The Deacon, the Doctor, the Squire, Charlie and myself all felt nattered and somewhat bashful at iinding ourselves in such distinguished company. I need not say that this new Chapter from the pen of the most eminent English agricultural investigator is worthy of a very careful study. I have read it again and again, and each time with great and icnewed inteiest. I could wish there was more of it. But to the intelligent and well-informed reader this Chapter will be valued not merely for what it contains, but for what it omits. A man who knew less would write more. Sir John goes straight to the mark, and we have here his mature views on one of the most important questions in agricultural science and practice. Sir John describes a tract of poor land, and tells us that the cheapest method of improving and enriching it is, to keep a large breeding flock of sheep, and feed them American cotton- seed cake. We are pleased to find that this is in accordance with the general teaching of our " Talks," as given in this book several years ago. When this work was first published, some of my friends expressed surprise that I did not recommend the more e xtended use of artificial manures. One thing is certain, since that time the use of superphosphate has been greatly on the increase. And it seems clear that its use must be profitable. Where I live, in Western New York, it is sown quite generally on winter wheat, and also on barley and oats in the spring. On corn 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 produce 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 September. We sow from ono and a half to two and a quarter bushels per acre, It is almost invariably sown with a drill. The drill has a fertilizer attachment that distributes the superphosphate at the same time the wheat is (VII) VIII TALKS ON MANURES. sown. The superphosphate is not mixed with the wheat, but it drops into the same tubes with the wheat, and is sown with it in the same drill mark. In this way, the superphosphate is deposited where 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 day. The boys want to go fishing ! This is, undoubtedly, one reason why superphosphate is not used so generally with us for corn 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 phosphate, 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 om all I can learn, it is doubtful 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 forest. 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 year 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 had it not been for the fact that the land was seeded with timothy grasc 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 the 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 wei j 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 INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. IX of May, many of our wheat-fields, especially on clay land, looked as bare as a naked fallow. There was here and there, a good field of wheat. As a rule, 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 late. But their land is rich and unusually 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 plants to make a strong, vigorous growth of roots in the autumn. I do not say that two hundred pounds of super- phosphate per acre, drilled in with the seed, will always accom- plish 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 autumn, the plants will bo much more likely to find a sufficient supply of nitrogen in the soil than plants 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 weak 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, while 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 cf 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 economi- 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 as 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 OX MANURES. Mining for coal is a very simple matter, but how best to get the greatest quantity of plant food out of the soil, with the least waste and the greatest profit, is a much more complex and difficult task. Plant food consists of a dozen or more different substances. We have talked about them in the pages of this book, and all I wish to say here is that some of them are much more abundant, and more readily obtained, than others. The three substances most difficult to get at are: nitric acid, phos- phoric acid and potash. All these substances are in the soil, but some soils contain much more than others, and their rela- tive proportion varies considerably. The substance which is of the greatest importance, is nitric acid. As a rule, the fertility of a soil is in proportion to the amount of nitric acid which becomes available for the use of plants during the growing season. Many of our soils contain largo quantities of nitrogen, united with carbon, but the plants do not take it up in this form. It has to be converted into nitric acid. Nitric acid con- sists of seven pounds of nitrogen and twenty pounds of oxygen. It is produced by the combustion of nitrogen. Since these "Talks" were published, several important facts have been discovered in regard to how plants take up nitrogen, and es- pecially in regard to how organic nitrogen is converted into nitric acid. It is brought about through the action of a minute fungoid plant. Thera are several things necessary for the growth of this plant. We must have some nitrogenous sub- stance, a moderate degree of heat, say from seventy to one hundred and twenty degrees, a moderate amount of moisture, and plenty of oxygen. Shade is also favorable. If too hot or too cold, or too wet or too dry, the growth of the plant is checked, and the formation of nitric acid su3pended. 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 nitrata of soda, cv with potash to form nitrate of potash, or salt-petre. A water-logged soil, by exclud- ing the oxygen, 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 shade 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 INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. XI nitric acid, is the most costly ingredient in plant food, and un- fortunately it is very easily washed out of the soil and lost. Perhaps it is absolutely impossible to entirely prevent all loss from leaching; but it is certainly well worth our while to under- stand the subject, and to know exactly what we are doing. In a new country, where land is cheap, it may be more profitable to raise as large crops as possible without any regard to the loss of nitric acid. But this condition of things does not lass long, and it very soon becomes desirable to adopt less wasteful processes. In Lawes and Gilbert's experiments, thers is a great loss of nitric acid from drainage. In no case has as much nitrogen been obtained in the increased crop as was applied in the ma- nure. There is always a loss and probably always will be. But we should do all we can to make the !o33 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 tin autumn, and this stimulates, we think, the growth 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. S"ich is also the case during the winter aid early spring, when a good deal of water per- meates through the soil. The application of superphosphate, unquostionably in many cases, prevents much loss of nitric acid. It doss this by giving us a much greater growth of wheat. I was at Rothamsted in 1879, and witnessed the injurious effect of an excessive rainfall, in washing out of the soil nitrate of soda and salts of ammonia, which were sown with the wheat in the autumn. It was an exceedingly wet season, and the loss of nitrates on 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 ON MANURES. it into plants, with as little delay as possible, which will, di- rectly or indirectly, bring in some money. Our climate is very different 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, from three to five inches of rain fell, and for tne first time in many years, at this season, my underdrains discharged water to their full capacity. Had nitrate of soda been sown on bare land 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 discnarga water before the rirst of December, or continue later than the first of May. To guard against loss of nitrogsii 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 bettar, so that the roots will the more completely fill the ground and take up all the available nitrogen within their reach. I havo said that this idea had modified my own practice. I grow a considerable quantity of garden vegetables, principally for s-esd. 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 this rich land, especially on the moist low land, the rye makes a great growth during our warm autumn weather. The rye checks the growth of weeds, and furnishes a considerable amount of succulent food for sheep, during 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 unusually rich land that such precautions are particularly necessary. It has been thought that these experiments of Lawes and Gilbert afford 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 INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. XIII 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 September. The treatment of the summer- fallow varies in different localities and on different farms. Sometimes the land is only plowed once. The clover, or sod, is plowed under deep and well, and the after-treatment con- sists in keeping the surface soil free from weeds, by the fre- quent use of the harrow, roller, cultivator or gang-plow. In other 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 before sowing the wheat, many good, old-fashioned farmers, plow the land again. But in this section, a summer-fallow, plowed two or three times during the summer, is becoming more and more rare every year. Those farmers who summer-fallow at all, as a rule, plow their land 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 summer -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 urge farmers not to summer-fallow. We all naturally prefer to see the land occupied by a good paying crop, rather than to spend time, money, 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 crop, than when the roots of growing plants fill the soil, is deemed positive proof that summer-fallowing is a wasteful practice. If we summer-fallowed for a spring crop, as I have some- tunes done, it is quite probable that there would be a loss of nitrogen. But, as I have said before, it is very seldom that any XIV TALKS OX MANURES. water passes through the soil from the time we commence fc .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 bo washed out of the soil after the field is sown to wluat in the autumn, than if we applied the nitrogen in the form of some readily available 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 one-third of a century, and have persistently advocated the more extended 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 difficult matter to keep them clean without summer-fallowing. Such soils, however, 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 profitable, 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 first published, I do not know of any new facts in regard to the important question of, how best to manage and apply our barn-yard manure, so as to make it more immediately active and available. It is unquestionably true, that the same amount of nitrogen in barn-yard manure, will not produce so great an effect as its theoretical value would in- dicate. There can be no doubt, however, that the better wr 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 be produced by a minute fungus. I hope it will be found that we can intro- duce this bacterium into our manure piles, in such a way as to greatly aid the conversion of inert nitrogen into nitrates. Experiments have been made, and are still continued, at Vi r oburn. under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. XV of England, to ascertain, among other things, whether manure from sheep receiving an allowance of cotton-seed cake is any richer than that from sheep, otherwise fed alike, but having, instead of cotton-seed cake, the same amount of corn meal. We know that such manure contains more nitrogen, and other plant food, than that from the corn meal. But the experiments so far, though they have been continued for several years, do not show any striking superiority of the manure from cotton- 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 that, 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 believe the one I said was the better, was the cotton- seed plot. But the difference was very slight. The truth is that such experiments must be continued for many years before they will prove any tiling. As I said before, we know that the manure from the cotton-seed cake is richer in nitrogen than that from the corn meal ; but we also know that this nitrogen will not produce so great an effect, as a much smaller amount of nitrogen in salts of ammonia, or nitrate of soda. In going over these experiments, I was struck with the heaUhy and 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 experience to convince any one of the value of clover. After what I have said, and what the Deacon, the Doctor, Charley and the Squire have said, in the pages of this book, I hope 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 evidently thought I was skeptical on this point. I am not. I have great faith in the benefits to be 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 is 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 will ultimately impoverish our farms. It may, or it may XYI TALKS ON MANURES. not. It depends on our general management. Theoretically, the use of a manure furnishing only one element of plant food, if it increases the growth of crops which are sold from the farm, must have a tendency to impoverish the land of the other elements of plant food. In other words, the use of superphos- phate furnishing only, or principally, phosphoric acid, lime and sulphuric acid, must have a tendency to impoverish the soil of nitrogen and potash. Practically, however, it need do nothing of the kind. If the land is well cultivated, and if our low, rich, alluvial portions of the farm are drained, and if the hay, grass, clover, straw and fodder crops are retained, the more phosphates we use, the richer and more productive will the farm become. And I think it is a fact, that the farmers who use the most phosphates, are the very men who take the great- est pains to drain their land, cultivate it thoroughly, and make the most manure. It follows, therefore, that the use of phos- phates is a national benefit. Some of our railroad managers take this view of the subject. They carry superphosphate at a low rate, knowing that its use will increase the freight the other way. In other words, they bring a ton of superphosphate from the seaboard, knowing that its use will give them many tons of freight of produce, from the interior to the seaboard. It is not an uncommon thing for two hundred pounds of superphosphate, to give an increase of five tons of turnips per acre. Or, so to spe-ik, the railroad that brings one ton of superphosphate from the seaboard, might, as the result of its use, have fifty tons of freight to carry back again. This is perhaps a'u exceptionably favorable instance, but it illustrates the principle. Years ago, before the abolition of tolls on the English turnpike roads, carriages loaded with lime, and all other substances intended for manure, were allowed to go free. And our railroads will find it to their in- t?rest to transport manures of all kinds, at a merely nominal rate. Many people will be surprised at the recommendation of Sir John B. Lawes, not to waste time and money in cleaning poor land, before seeding it down to grass. He thinks that if the land is made rich, the superior grasses overgrow the bad grasses and weeds. I have no doubt he is right in this, though the principle may be pushed to an extreme. Our climate, in this country, is so favorable for killing weeds, that the plow and the cultivator will probably be a more economical means of making our land clean, than the liberal use of expensive INTRODUCTION TO NEW EDITION. XVII manures. It depends, doubtless, on the land and on circum- stances. It is well to know that manure on grass land, will so increase the growth of the good grasses, as to smother the weeds. Near my house was a piece of land that I wanted to make into a lawn. I sowed it with grass seed, but the weeds smothered it out. I plowed it, and hoed it, and re-seeded it, ' but still the weeds grew. Mallows came up by the thousand, with other weeds too numerous to mention. It was an eye- sore. We mowed the weeds, but almost despaired of ever making a decent bit of grass land out of it. It so happened that, one year, we placed the chicken coops on this miserable weedy spot. The hens and chickens were kept there for several weeks. The feed and the droppings made it look more un- sightly than ever, but the next spring, as if by magic, the weeds were gone and the land was covered with dark green luxuriant grass. In regard to the use of potash as a manure, we have still much to learn. It would seem that our grain crops will use soda, if tliey cannot get potash. They much prefer the potash, and will grow much more luxuriantly where, in the soil or ma- nure, in addition to the other elemgnts of plant food, potash is abundant. But the increased growth caused by the potash, is principally, if not entirely, straw, or leaves and stem. Nature makes a great effort to propagate the species. A plant of wheat or barley, will produce seed if this is possible, even at the ex- pense of the other parts of the plant. For grain crops, grown for seed, therefore, it would seem to be entirely unprofitable to use potash as a manure. If the soil contains the other elements of plant food, the addition of potash may give us a much more luxuriant growth of leaves and stem, but no more grain or seed. For hay, or grass or fod- der crops, the case is very different, and potash may often be used on these crops to great advantage. I am inclined to think that considerable nitrate of soda will yet be used in this country for manure. I do not suppose it will pay as a rule, on wheat, corn and other standard grain crops. But the gardener, seed grower, and nurseryman, will find out how to use it with great profit. Our nurserymen say that they cannot use artificial manures with any advantage. It is un- doubtedly true that a dressing of superphosphate, sown on a block of nursery trees, will do little good. It never reaches the foots of the plants. Superphosphate can not be washed down deep into the soil. Nitrate of soda is readily carried dov/n, as XVIII TALKS OX MANURES. deep as the water sinks. For trees, therefore, it would seem desirable to apply the superhosphate before they are planted, and plow it under. And the same is true of potash ; but nitrate of soda would be better applied as a top-dressing every year, early in the spring. The most discouraging fact, in Lawes' and Gilbert's experi- ments, is J;he great loss of nitrogen. It would seem that, on an average, during the last forty years, about one-half the ni- trogen is washed 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 experiments on wheat, this grain is grown year after year, on the same land. Forty annual crops have been removed. No clover is sown with the wheat, and great pains are taken to keep the land clean. The crop is hoed while growing, and the weeds are pulled out by hand. The best wheat season during the forty years, was the year 1863. The poorest, that of 1879 ; and it so happened, that after an absence of thirty years, I was at Rothamsted during this poor year of 1879. The first thing that struck me, in looking at the experimental wheat, was the ragged appearance of the crop. My own wheat crop was being cut the day I laf t home, July 15. Several men and boys were pulling weeds out of the experimental wheat, two weeks later. Had the weeds been suffered to grow, Sir John Bennet Lawes tells us, there would be less loss of nitrogen. The loss of ni- trogen in 1863, was about twenty-four pounds per acre, and in 1879 fifty pounds per acre the amount of available nitrogen, applied in each year, being eighty-seven pounds per acre. As I said before, the wheat in 1879 had to me a ragged look. It was thin on the ground. There were not plants enough to take up and evaporate the large amount of water which fell during the wet season. Such a condition of things rarely occurs in this country. We sow timothy with our winter 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 circumstances I believe there would be com- paratively little loss of nitrogen. In the summer-fallow experiments, which have now been continued for twenty-seven years, there has been a great loss of nitrogen. The same remarks apply 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 NEW EDITION. XIX There is, as a rule, very little loss of nitrogen by drainage while the wheat is growing on the ground, but after the wheat is cut, the grass and clover are pretty sure to take up all the available nitrogen within the range of their roots. This' summer-fallow experiment, instead of affording an argument against the use of summer-fallowing, is an argument in its favor. The sum- mer-fallow, by exposing the soil to the decomposing influences of the atmosphere, converts more or less of the inert nitro- genous organic matter into ammonia and nitric acid. This is precisely what a farmer wants. It is just what the wheat crop needs. But we must be very careful, when we render the ni- trogen soluble, to have some 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 poor land in the United States, and an im- mense area of good land. The poor land will be used to grow timber, or be improved by converting more or less of it, gradu- ally, into pasture, and stocking it with sheep and cattle. The main point is, to feed the sheep or cattle with some rich nitro- genous food, such as cotton-seed cake, malt-sprouts, bran, shorts, mill-feed, refuse beans, or bean-meal made from beans injured by the weevil, or bug. In short, the owner of such la:id must buy such food 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 grass, etc. And, as soon as a portion of the land can be made rich enough, he will grow more or less mangel wurzels, sugar beets, turnips, and other root crops. Superphosphate will be found admirably adapted for this purpose, and two, 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 opportunity 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 the 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 OX MANURES. vhen turned under make manure fcr the succeeding crops. But weeds among the growing crop are evil, and only an evil. Thorough plowing is the remedy, accompanied by drainage where needed. We have an immense number of farms on which there are both good and poor land. In such cases we must adopt a com- bined system. We must grow large crops on the rich land end use them, at least in part, to make manure for the poorer por- tions of the farm. Drainage and good tillage will convert much of our low, rlluvial lands into a perfect mine of wealth. And much of our high, rolling land consists of strong loam, abounding in plant food. Such land requires little more than thorough tillage, with perhaps two hundred pounds of super- phosphate per acre, to enable it to produce good grain crops. After all is said and done, farming is a business that requires not merely science, but industry, economy, and common sense. The real basis of success is faith, accompanied with good works. I cannot illustrate this better than by alluding to one of my neighbors, a strong, healthy, intelligent, observing and enter- prising German, who commenced life as a farm laborer, and is to-day wortii at least one hundred thousand dollars, that he has made, not by the advance of suburban property, b'^.t by farming, pure and simple. He first rented a farm, and then bought it, and in a few years he bought another farm adjoin- ing the first one, and would to-day buy 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 case. He keeps good teams, and good plows, and good harrows, and good rollers, and good cultivators, and good grade Shorthorn cows. He acts as though he believed, as Sir John B. Lawes 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, corn, 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 basis of his success. He is now using phosphates for wheat, and will probably increase his herd of cows and make more manure. He has great faith in manure, but acts as though h? had still greater faith in good plowing, early sowing, and thorough cultivation. PEEFACE TO FIRST EDITION. The Printers have got our "Talks on Manures "in type; and the publishers want a Preface. The Deacon is busy hoeing his corn ; the Doctor is gone to Rice Laks, fishing; Charley is cultivating mangels; the Squire is hay- ing, and I am here alone, with a pencil in hand and a sheet of blank paper before me. I -would far rather be at work. In fact, I have only just come in from the field. Now, what shall I say ? It will do no good to apologize for tho deficiencies of the book. If the critics condescend to notice it at all, nothing I can say will propitiate their favor, or moderate their censure. They ara an independent set of fellows ! I know tkeni well. I am an old editor myseli, and nothing would plcaso me better than to sit do\vn and write a slashing criticism of these " Talks on Manures." But I am denied that pleasure. The critics have the floor. All I will say hers, is, that the book is what it pretends to be. Some people seem to think that the " Deacon " is a fictitious char- acter. Nothing of the kind. He is one of the oldest farmers in town, and lives on the farm next to me. 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. My own views are honestly given. I hold my- self responsible for them. I may contradict in one chapter what I have asserted in another. And so, probably, has the Deacon. I do not know whether 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 north side ; and in the next chapter you may find the Deacon on the north side, and where would you have me go, ex- cept to the south side ? We 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 are others 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 important crops. I might have told what the crops contain, and could have given minute directions for furnishing in manure the exact quantity of plant-food which the crops remove from the soil. Bat I have no faith in such a system of farming. Tne few cotton-planters I have had the pleasure of seeing were men of education and rare ability. I cannot undertake to offer them advice. But I 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 properly worked, by supplying a manure containing available nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. But the proper proportion of these ingredients of plant-food must be ascertained by experiment, and not from a mere analysis of the cotton plant. I have much faith in artificial manures. They will do great things for American agriculture directly, and indirectly. Their 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 object to unduly extol the virtues of commercial manures. That may be left to the manufacturers. My sympathy is with the farmer, and especially with the farmer of moderate means, who finds that improved farming calls for more and more capital. I would like to encourage such a man. And so, in point of fact, would the Deacon, though he often talks as though a man who tries to improve his farm ^ill certainly come to poverty. Such men as the Deacon are useful neighbors if their doubts, and head-shakings, and shoulder-sh raggings lead a young and enthusiastic farmer to put more energy, industry, and economy into his business. It is well to listen to the Deacon to hear all his obior-tions, and then to keep a sharp look-out for the dangers and difficulties, and go-ahead. TALKS ON MANURES. CHAPTER L FARMING AS A BUSINESS. " Farming is a poor business," said the Deacon. " Take the corn crop. Thirty bushels per acre is a fair average, worth, at 75 cents per bushel, $33.50. If we reckon that, for each bushel of corn, we get 100 Ibs. of stalks, this would be a ton and a half per acre, worth at $5 per ton $7.50." Total receipts per acre for corn crop $30 00 Expenses. Preparing the land for the crop $5 00 Planting and seed 1 50 Cultivating, three times, twice in a row both ways 5 00 Hoeing twice 3 00 Cutting up the corn 1 50 Husking and dra wing in the corn 4 00 Drawing in the stalks, etc 1 00 Shelling, and drawing to market 2 00 Total cost of the crop 823 00 Profit per acre $7 00 " And from this," said the Deacon, " we have to deduct interest on land and taxes. I tell you, farming is a poor business." "Yes," I replied, "poor farming is a very poor business. But good farming, 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 OX MAXtTEES. of corn per acre, instead of 30. He would get for his crop, including stalks $ < 5 00 Expenses. Preparing land for the crop $5 00 Planting and seed 1 50 Cultivating 5 CO Hoeing 3 CO Catting up the corn 1 50 Husking and drawing 10 00 Drawing in the stalks 3 00 Shelling, etc 6 00 $35 00 Profit per acre. $40 00 Take another case, which actually occurred in this neighborhood. The Judge is a good farmer, and particularly successful in raising potatoes and selling them at a good price to hotels and private families. He cultivates very thoroughly, plants in hills, and puts a handful of ashes, plaster, and hen-manure, on the hill. In 1873, his crop of Peachblows was at the rats of 208 bushels per acre. Of these, 200 bushels were sold at 60 cents per bushel. There were 8 bushels of small potatoes, worth say 12J cents per bushel, to feed out to stock. Mr. Sloe, who lives on an adjoining farm, had three acres of Peachblow potatoes the same year. The yield was 100 busliels per acre of which 25 bushels were not large enough for market, he got 50 cents per bushel for tbe others. The account of the two crops stands as follows: Expenses Per Acre: Mr.Sloc^Judge. Plowing, harrowing, rolling, marking, plant- in ", and covering . . . .... $ 8 00 $ 8 00 Seed ... 5 00 5 00 Hoein " cultivatrn, etc 7 00 10 00 Dia-orjjjir 10 OJ 10 00 Receipts Ikr Acre: 75 bushels, (a) 50^ 30 00 87 50 33 00 25 " @12*c 3 13 200 bushels (ff) 60c 40 62 120 00 8 " @13ic 1 00 Profit per acre 810 6.3 121 OJ WOO Since then, Mr. Sloo has been making and using more manure, and the year before last (1875) his crop of potatoes averaged over FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 11 200 bushels per acre, and on the sandy knolls, where more manure was applied, t lie yield was at least 250 bushels per acre. " Nevertheless," said the Deacon, " I do not believe in ' high farming.' It will not pay." " Possibly not," I replied. "It depends on circumstances; and these we will talk about presently. High farming aims to get lar^e crops every year. Good fanning produces equally large crops per acre, but not so many of them. Tais is what I am trying to do on my own farm. I am aiming to get 35 bushels of wheat per acre, 80 bushels of shelled corn, 50 bushels of barley, 00 bushels of oats, 300 bushels of potatoes, and 1,200 bushels of mangel-wurzel per acre, on the average. I can see no way of paying high wages except by raising large crops per acre. But if I get these large crops it does- not necessarily follow that I am practising ' high, farming.' " To illustrate: Suppose I should succeed in getting such crops by adopting the following plan. I have a farm of nearly 300 acres, one quarter of it being low, alluvial land, too wet far 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 fences, 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, in point of fact, it had not been half-worked. 'Some said, it was " wheated to death," others that it had been " oated to death," 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 thought to be, and 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'j us carry out the illustration. What does this upland portion of the farm need ? It needs underclrain- ing, thorough cultivation, and 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 ON MANURES. Deicon. Very good ; but what snail I make it of ? " Make it out of your straw and stalks and hay." So I do, but all the straw and stalks and hay raised on the farm when I bought it would not make as much manure as " higli farming" requires for five acres of land. And is this not true of half the farms in the United States to day ? What then, shall we do ? The best thing to do, theoretically, is this : Any land that is pro- ducing a fair crop of grass or clover, let it lie. Pasture it or mow it for hay. If you have a field of clayey or stiff loamy land, break it up in the fall, and summer-fallow it the next year, and sow it to wheat and seed it down with clover. Let it lie two or three years in clover. Then break it up in July or August, " fall-fallow " it, an.l-sow it with barley the next spring, and seed it down again with clover. Sandy or light land, that it will not pay to summer-fallow, should have all the manure you can make, and be plowed and plautsd with corn. Cultivate thoroughly, and either seed it down with the corn in August, or sow it to barley or oats next spring, and ssed it down with clover. I say, theoretically this is the best plan to adopt. But practically it may not be so, because it may be absolutely necessary that we should raise something that we can S2ll 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 this kind. Meet- ing them, therefore, on their own ground, I contend that in my case " high farming" would not be as profitable as the plan hinted at above. The rich alluvial low land is to be pastured or mown ; the upland to be broken up only' when necessary, and when it is plowed to be plowed well and worked thoroughly, and got back again into clover as soon as possible. The hay and pasture from the low land, and ths 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 you 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 tona oat, birley, and pea-straw; 40 tons meadow-hay; 20 tons corn- stillis ; 20 tons corn, oats, and other grain ; 120 tons mangel-wurzel and turnips. FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 13 Th'u wcifd give me about 500 tons of well-rotted manure. 1 should want 200 tons of tills for the mangels and turnips, and the 300 tons I should want to top-dress 20 acres of grass land intended for corn and potatoes the next year. My pile of manure, there- fore, is all ussd up on 25 to 30 acres of land. In other words, I use the unsold produce of 10 acres to manure one. Is this " high farming ? " I think in my circumstances it is good firming, but it is not high farming. It gives me large crops per acre, but I have comparatively few acres in crops that are sold from the farm. " High farming," if the term is to have any definite meaning at all, should only be used to express the idea of a farm so managed that the soil is rich enough to produce maximum crops every year. If you adopt the system of rotation quite general in this section say, 1st year, co:n on sod; 3d, barley or oats; 3d, wheat; 4th, clover for hay and afterwards for seed ; 5th, timothy and clover for hay ; and then the 6th year plowed up for corn again it would be, necessary to make the land rich enough to produce say 100 bushels shelled corn, 50 bushels of barley, 40 bushels of wheat, 3 tons clover hay, and 5 bushels of clover-seed, and 3 tons clover and timothy-hay per acre. This would be moderate high farming. If we introduced lucern, Italian rye-grass, corn-fodder, and mangel- wurzel into the rotation, we should need still richer land to produce a maximum growth 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-supporting where you depend solely on the pro- duce of the farm to supply manure it is a sheer impossibility to adopt high farming on the whole of your land. I want to raise just as large crops per acre as the high farmers, but there is no way of doing this, unless we go outside the farm for manure, without raising a smaller area of such crops as are sold from the farm. I do not wish any one to suppose that I am opposed to high farm- ing. There is occasionally a farm where it may be practisscl with advantage, but it seems perfectly clear to my mind that as long cs there is such an unlimited supply of land, and such a limited sup- ply of fertilizers, 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 ceriain that you can not adopt high farming without either buying manure directly, or buying food to feed to animals that shall make manure on the farm. And you must recollect that high farming requires an increased 14 TALKS ON MAXUBES. supply of labor, and hired help is a luxury almost as costly as arciuciul fertilizers. We have heard superficial thinkers object to agricultural papers oa the ground that they were urging farmers to improve their land and produce larger crops, "while," say they, u we are producing so much already that it will not sell for as much as it costs to produce it." My plan of improved agriculture does not necessarily imply the production of any more wheat or of any more grain of any Mud that we sell than we raise at present. I would simply raise it on fewer acres, and thus lessen the expense for seed, cultivation, harvesting, etc. I would raise 80 bushels of wheat 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 80 bushels of wheat 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 my own farm I seldom summer-fallow, and never plow under clover. I think I can enrich the farm nearly as much by feeding the clover to animals and returning the manure to the land. The animals do not take out moro than 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 much and no more grain to sell, adds greatly to the fertility of the land, and gives an increased production of beef, mutton, wool, butter, cheese, and pork. " But what is a man to do who is poor and has poor land ? " If he has good health, is industrious, economical, and is possessed of a fair share of good common sense, he need have no doubt as to being able to renovate his farm and improve his own fortune. Faith in good farming is the first requisite. If this is weak, it will be strengthened by exercise. If you have 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 effort. Be prompt, systematic, cheerful, and enthusiastic. Go to bed early and get up when you wake. But take sleep enough. A man had better be in bed than at the tavern or grocery. Let not friends, even, keep you up late ; "manners is manners, but still your elth's your elth." " But what has this to do with good farming ? " More than chemistry and all the science of the schools. Agriculture is an art and must be followed as such. Science will help help enormously but it will never enable us to dispense with industry. Chemistry FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 15 throws great light on the art of cooking, but a farmer'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 76 loads. He kept stock, and bought more or less grain and bran, and in eleven years from that time his farm produced 430 loads of hay, afforded pasture for his large herd of Shorthorn cattle, and produced quite as much grain as when he first took it. Except in the neighborhood 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 profitable system of farming is to raise large crops on such land as we culti- vate. High farming gives us large crops, and many of tliem. At present, while we have so much land in proportion to population, we must, perhaps, be content with large crops of grain, and few of them. We must adopt the slower but less expensive means of enriching our land from natural sources, rather than the quicker, more artificial, and costly means adopted by many farmers in England, and by market gardeners, seed-growers, and nurserymen in this country. Labor is so high that we can not afford to raise a small crop. If we sow but half the number of acres, and double the yield, we should quadruple our profits. I have made up my mind to let the land lie in clover three years, instead of two. This will lessen the number of acres under cultivation, and enable us to bestow more care in plowing and cleaning 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 the 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 tho 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- pletely overrun with weeds. They are eating out the life of the land, and if something is not done to destroy them, even exorbitant- ly high 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 Lhe field he summer-fallowed, plowing it four times, and rolling and harrowing thoroughly after each plowing. After 16 TALKS OX MANUKES. the barley and oats were off, be plowed the land once, harrowed it, and sowed Mediterranean wheat. On the summer-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 him $30 per acre to summer-fallow, and he lost the use of the land for one season. Now this may be all true, and yet it is no argument 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 big crop on poor, run-down land, simply by plowing it three or four times in as many months. Time is required for tho chemical changes to take place in the soil. But watch 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 than the part not summer-fallowed. 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 other part, and this extra quantity of clover will make an extra quantity of rood manure, and thus we have the means of going on with the work of improving the farm. " Yes," said the Doctor, " an:l there will also be more clever- roots in the SDil." " But I can not afford to waittor clover, and summer-fallowing," writes an intelligent New York gentleman, a dear lover of good stock, who has bought an exhausted New England farm, " 1 must have a portion of it producing good crops right off." Very well. A farmer with plenty of money can do wonders 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 rapklly. As soon as the land is drained and plowed, put on a heavy roller. Then sow 500 Ibs. of Peruvhn 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 with 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 straight as an arrow, and plant corn. Cultivate thoroughly, and kill every weed. If tho ditchers can not get through until it is too late to plant corn, drill in beans on the last drained part of the field. Another good crop to rais? on a stock farm is corn-fodder. This can be drilled i-i from time to time as the land car, bo got FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 17 ready. Pat on half a ton of guano per acre and harrow in , and then mark off the rows three feet apart, and drill in four LusLcls of corn per acre. Cultivate thoroughly, and expect a great crop. By the last of July, the Ayrshire cows will take kindly to the suc- culent corn-fodder, and with three or four quarts of meal a day, it will enable each of them to make 10 Ibs. of butttr a week. For the pigs, sow a few acres of peas. These will do well on sod-land, sown early or late, or a part early and a part late, as most convenient. Sow broadcast and harrow in, 500 Ibs. of Pe- ruvian guano per acre and 200 Ibs. of gypsum. Drill in three bushels of peas per acre, or sow broadcast, and cover them with a Shares' harrow. Commence to feed the crop green as soon as the pods are formed, and continu 3 to feed out the crop, threshed or unthreshed, until the middle of November. Up to this lime the bugs do comparatively little damage. The pigs will thrive won- derfully on this crop, and make the richest and best of manure. I have little faith in *ay attempt to raise root crops on land not previously well prepared. But as it is necessary to have some mangel-wurzel and Swede turnips for the Ayrshire cows and long-wool sheep next 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 Ibs. of Peruvian guano and 000 Ibs. of good superphosphate per acre broadcast, and har- row them in. Riclge up the land into ridges 2$ to 3 ft. apart, with a double mould-board plow. Roll down the ridges with a light roller, and drill in the seed. Sow the mangel-wurzel in May the earlier the better and the Swedes as soon afterwards as the land can be thoroughly prepared. Better delay until June rather than feow on rough land. The first point on such a farm will be to attend to the grass land. This affords the most hopeful chance of getting good returns the first year. But no time is to be lost. Sow 500 Ibs. of Peruvian guano per acre on all the grass land and on the clover, with 200 Ibs. 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 York is a very energetic and successful business man, and he has a real love for far nun g, and I have no sort of doubt that, taking the New York business and the farm together, they will afford a very handsome profit. Furthermore, I have no doubt that if, after he has dr-ined it, he 18 TALKS OX MANURES. would cover the whole farm with 500 Ibs. 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 land 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 ot interest. His 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, tli3 cost of labor will not bs much in- creased. " But you think it will not pay ? " It will probably not pay him. I do not think h'.s business would pay me if I lived on 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 barn must be filled at once, and the 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 this 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 probabilities are that his present profit and pleasure will come from the grat- ification of his early love for country life. \VHAT IS MANU11E? 19 CHAPTER II. WHAT IS MANURE? " What is the good of asking such a question as that ? " said the Deacon ; " we all know what manure is." " Well, then," I replied, " tell us what it is?" " It is anything that will make crops grow better and bigger" re- plied the Deacon. " That is not a bad 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 better. Is shelter manure ? You put some pure sand round a few plants, and they grow big- ger and better. Is pure sand manure ? I think we shall hare 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," said I ; " but this is really not answering the question. You say manure is plant-food. Bui what is plant-food ?" " Plant-food," said the Doctor, " is composed of twelve ele- ments, and, possibly, sometimes one or two more, which we need not here talk about. Four of these elements are gases, oxygen, hydrogen, 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 organic, or gaseous elements, and eight inorganic, or mineral elements, of which four have acid and four alkaline properties." " Thank yon, Doctor," said the Deacon, " 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- pheric elements. Then potash, soda, magnesia, and lime. I know what these four are. Then sulphur, phosphorous, silica /?Q TALKS ON MANURES. (sand,) and chlorine (salt). I shall soon have rich land and big crops." Charley, who has recently come home from college, where he has been studying chemistry, looked at the Deacon, and was evi- dently puzzled to understand him. Turning to the Doctor, Char- ley asked modestly if what the Doctor had said in regard to the composition of plant food could not be said of the composition of all our animals and plants. "Certainly," replied the Doctor, "all our agricultural plants and all our animals, man included, are composed of these twelve elements, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen ; phosphorus, sulphur, silica, chlorine, potash, soda, magnesia, and lime." Charley said something about lime, potash, and soda, not being " elements ;" and something about 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 crops and animals." Neither the Doc- tor nor the Deacon heard our remarks. The Deacon, who loves an argument, exclaimed : " I thought I knew all about it. Yoa told us that manure was the food of plants, and that the foocl of plants was composed of the above twelve elements ; and now you tell us that man and beast, 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 what 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 that the milk-weed and the strawberry are both Composed of the 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 proportion. Mangels and manure are both composed of the same elements. In fact, mangels make good manure, and good manure makes good mangels." The Deacon and the Doctor sat down to a game of backgam- mon, and Charley and I continued the conversation more seriously. SOMETHING ABOUT PLANT-FOOD. 21 CHAPTER III. SOMETHING ABOUT PLANT-FOOD. " The Doctor is in the main correct," said I; " but he does not fully answer the question, ' What is manure ? ' To say tnat manure is plant-food, does not cover the whole ground. All soils on which plants grow, contain more or less plant-food. A plant can not create an atom of potash. It can not get it from the atmosphere- We find potash in the plant, and wo know that it got it from the soil, and we are certain, therefore, that the soil contains potash. A:ul so of all the other mineral elements of plants. 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 soil and manuro. Both contain plant-food." " What is your definition of manure ? " asked Charley ; " it would seem as though we all knew what manure was. We have got a great heap of it in the yard, and it is fermenting nicely." " Yes," I replied, " we are making more manure on the farm this winter than ever bafore. Two hundred pi^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, pile 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 might 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 putting in a crop. What the coming 'season* will bo 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. Tho ' season ' is a great element of uncertainty in all our farming calculations; but we know that we shall have a season of some kind. We have the promise of S33d-time and harvest, and we have never known the promise to fail us. Crops, however, vary 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 clews, or what we call ' the season,' is capable of producing 50 bushels of wheat per acre, but that the soil I have described above, docs not produce over 20 bushels per acre. There is no mechanical defect in the soil. The seed is good, it is put in properly, and at the right time, 22 TALKS OX 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. Why? The answer is evident. Because tlie wheat plants do not find food enough in tJie so'.l. Now, anything that will furnish this food, anything that will cause that 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 nothing to do with the question of manure. We often read in the agricultural papers about ' shads as manure.' We might just as well talk about sunlight as ' ma- nure.' The effects observed should be -referred to modifications of the climate or season; and 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 checks evaporation of moisture from the soil. We might as well speak of rain as manure as to call a mulch mjimire. In fact, an ordinary shower in summer is little more than a mulch. It does not reach the roots of plants ; and yet we see the effect of the shower immediately in tho increased vijor of the plan! 3. They are full of sap, and the 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 loaves with sap, pre- cisely in the same way. All these fertilizing effbcts, however, belong to climate. It is inaccurate to associate either mulching, sunshine, shade, heat, dews, or rain, with the question of manure, though the effect may in certain circumstances be precisely the same." Charley evidently thought I was wandering from the point. " You think, then," said he, " manure is plant-food that the so'l needs?" " Yes," said I, " that is a very good cbfinition very goo 1, indeed, though not absolutely accurate, because manure is manure, whether a particular soil needs it or not." Unobserved by us, tho 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." "M inure," said I, " is anything containing an element or elements of plant-food, which, if the soil needed it, would, if supplied in sufficient quantity, and in an available con- dition, produce, according to soil, season, climate, and variety, a maximum crop." NATURAL MANUEE. 23 CHAPTER IV. NATURAL MANURE. We often hear about "natural" manuro. I do not like the term, though I believe it originated with me. It is not accurate ; not definite enough. " I do not know what you mean by natural manure," said the Deacon, " unless it is the droppings of animals." " To distinguish them, I suppose," said the Doctor, " from artificial manures, such as superphosphate, sulphate 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 phrass conveyed a wrong i,lea. When new land produces large crops, and when, after a few years, the crops get less and loss, we were tol;l that the farmers were exhausting their land. I said, no ; the farmers are not exhausting the soil ; they are merely exhausting the accumulated plant-food in the soil. In other words, they are using up the natural manure. " Take my own farm. Fifty years ago, it was covered with a heavy growth of maple, beech, black -walnut, oak, and other trees. These trees had shed annual crops cf leaves for centuries. The leaves rot on the ground ; the tre23 also, age after age. These leaves and other organic matter form what I have called natur 1 manure. When the land is cleared up and plowed, this nature.! 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 ? " 2i TALKS ON MANURES. " SLnply because the natural maaura and otaer 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 them 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 available plant-food." "But these weeds," said 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 supply of plant-food, instead of being used to grow useful plants, is used ta grow weeds." "I understmd that," said the Deacon, "but if the weeds are left on the land, and the useful plants are sold, the farmer who keeps his lan:l clean would exhaust 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- st mtly urging us to farm better and grow larger crops, seem to overlook this point. As you know, I do not take 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 : " Ther^ is, on an average, about one-fourth of a pound of pot^sli to every one hundred pounds of sail, 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 wheat and straw ar2 removed, it will soon exhaust the phosphate of lime ; if cora and the 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 phosphoric acid from the soil will soon exhaust the supply. But, practically, there is really little danger of our exhausting the land. It dors not pay. The farm- er's resources will be exhausted long befor? he can e:;lnust his farm." NATUIiAL MANURE. 25 "Assuming," said the Doctor, who is fond of an argument, " that the above statement is true, let us loo'v at tae facts. An acre of soil, 12 inches deep, would weigh about 1,600 tons; and if, as the writer quoted by the Deacon states, the soil contains 4 ozs. of potash in every 100 Ibs. of soil, 'it follows that an acre of soil, 12 inches deep, contains 8,000 Ibs. of potash. Now, potatoes con- tain about 20 per cent of dry matter, and tais 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 Ibs. cf potash. If we reckon that the tops contain 20 Ibs. more, or 80 Ibs. in all, it follows that the acre of soil contains potash enough to grow an annual crop of 250 bushels of potatoes per acre for one hundred years." "I know farmers," said Charley, "who do not gst 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 Ibs. per acre. " A crop of wheat of 30 bushels per acre," continued the Doc- tor, " contains in the grain about 26 Ibs. of ash, and we w T ill say that half of this ash is phosphoric acid, or 13 Ibs. Allowing that the straw, chaff, etc., contain 7 Ibs. more, we remove from the soil in a crop of wheat of 30 bushels per acre, 20 Ibs. of phosphoric acid, and so, according to the above estimate, an acre of soil con- tains phosphoric aciil to produce annually a crop of wheat and straw of 30 bushels per acre for two hundred years. u The writer of the paragraph quoted by the Deacon," continued the Doctor, " selected the crops an:T elements best suited to his purpose, and yet, according to his own estimate, there is sufficient potash and phosphoric arid in the first 12 inches of the soil to enable us to raise unusually large crops until the nest 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. Salisbury, a crop of corn of 7i> bush- els per acre removes from the soil 600 Ibs. of ash, but tne grain contains only 46 Ibs. The other 554 Ibs. is contained in the stalks, etc., all of which are usually retained on the farm. It. follows 26 TALKS ON MANURES. trom this, that when only the grain is sold off the farm, it takes more than thirteen crops to remove as much mineral matter from the soil as is contained in the whole of one crop. Again, the ash of the grain contains less than 3 per cent of sulphuric acid, so that the 46 Ibs. of ash, in 75 bushels of corn, contains less than 1 Ibs. of sulphuric acid, and thus, if an acre of soil contains 2,000 Ibs. of sulphuric acid, we have sufficient for an annual crop of 75 bushels per acre fcr fifteen hundred years ! " As I said before," continued the Doctor, u intelligent fanners seLloui sell their straw, and they frequently purchase and consume on the farm nearly as much bran, shorts, etc., as is sent to market with the grain they sell. In the ' Natural History of 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 Ibs. of mineral matter. Ganesee wheat usually yields about 80 per cent of flour. This flour contains only 0.7 per cent of mineral matter, while fine middlings contain 4 per cent ; coarse middlings, 5 per cent ; shorts, 8 per cent, and bran 8|- per cent of mineral matter or ash. It follows from this, that out of the 144 Ibs. of mineral matter in the crop of wheat, less than 10 Ibs. is contained in the flour. The remaining 134 Ibs. is found in the straw, chaff, bran, shorts, etc., which a good farmer is almost sure to feed out on his farm. But even if the farmer feeds out none of his wheat-bran, but sells it all with his wheat, the 30 bushels of wheat remove from the soil only 26 Ibs. 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 asa of wheat is phosphoric acid, 30 bushels remove only 13 Ibs. from the soil, and if the soil contains 4,000 Ibs., it will take three hundred and seven crops, of 30 bushels each, to exhaust it." " That is to say," said Charley, " 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 Doctor, " and if all the bran and shorts, etc., were retained on the farm, it would take eight hundred crops 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 exhausted 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, think I ought not to do so, because I " write for the papers"! It ought to satisfy them to know that I bring back CO cwt. of bran for every ton of hay I NATUKAL MANURE. 27 sell. My rulo is to sell nothing but wheat, barley, beans, potatoes, clover-seed, apples, wool, mutton, beef, pork, and butter. Every- thing else is consumed on the farm corn, peas, oats, mustard, rape, mangels, clover, straw, stalks, etc. Let us make a rough estimate of how much is sold and how much retained on a hun- dred-acre farm, leaving out the potatoes, beans, and live-stock. We have say : Sold. 15 acres wheat, @ 40 bushels per acre 18 tons 5 " barley,@50 " " 6 ' 15 " clover seed, 4 " " 1* ton. Total sold 25* tons. Retained on the farm. 15 acres corn, @ 80 bushels per acre 331 tons. Corn stalks from do 40 " 5 acres barley straw 8 " 10 " oats and peas, equal 80 bushels of oats 121 " Straw from do 20 " 15 acres wheat-straw 25 " 15 " clover-hay 25 " Clover-seed straw 10 " 15 acres pasture and meadow, equal 40 tons hay 40 " 5 " mustard, equal 10 tons hay 10 " 5 " rape, equal 10 tons hay 10 u 5 " mangels, 25 tons per acre, equal to 3 tons dry 15 " Leaves from do 3 " Total retained on the farm 252* tons. It would take a good many years to exhaust any ordinary soil by such a course of cropping. Except, perhaps, the sandy knolls, I think there is not an acre on my farm that would be exhausted in ten thousand years, and as some portions of the low alluvial soil will grow crops without manure, there will be an opportunity to give the poor, sandy knolls more than their share of plant-food. In this way, notwithstanding the fact that we sell produce and bring nothing back, I believe the whole farm will gradually increase in productiveness. The plant-food annually rendered available from the decomposition and disintegration of the inert organic and mineral matter in the soil, will be more than equal to that exported 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 might at any rate b3 profitably used on the rape, mustard, and turnips. The point in good farming is to develop from the latent stores 23 TALKS ON MANURES. in the soil, and to accumulate enough available plant-food for uhe production of the largest possible yield of those crops which we sell. In other words, we want enough available plant-food in tho 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 easy matter t j maintain this degree of fertility. WHY OUR CROPS ARE 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. He did not seem to know that he had asked one of the most important questions in the whole range of agricultural science. It is a fact that a soil may contain enough plant-food to produce a thousand large crops, and yet the crops we obtain from it may be so poor as hardly to pay the cost of cultivation. The plant-food is there, but the plants cannot get at it. It is not in an available condition ; it is not sol- uble. A case is quoted by Prof. Johnson, where a soil was an- alyzed, arid found to contain to the depth of one foot 4,652 Ibs. of nitrogen per acre, but only 63 Ibs. of this was in an available con- dition. And this is equally true of phosphoric 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 so much talk about plant-food," said the Deacon ; " what we want to know is ho\v 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, i^'ter the first two objects are accomplished, the measure of productiveness will be determined by the amount of available nitrogen in the soil. How 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 tho cheapest way, and then to be sure that I do not waste it. There is one fact fully ost iblishccl by repotted experiment and general experience that 80 Ibs. of available nitrogen per a^re, SWAMP-MUCK OE PEAT AS MANURE. 29 applied in manure, will almost invariably give us a greatly in- creased -yield of grain crops. I should expe;t, on my farm, that on land which, without manure, 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 per acre, with a proportional increase of straw ; and, in addition to this, there would be considerable nitro- gen left for the following crop of clover. Is it not worth whilo making an earnest effort to get this 80 Ibs. of available nitrogen ? I have on my farm many acres of low, mucky land, bordering on the creek, that probably contain several thousand pounds of nitrogen per acre. So long as the land is surcharged with water, this nitrogen, and otb^r plant-food, lies dormant. But drain it, and let in the air, and t'ic oxygen decomposes the organic matter, and ammonia and nitric acid are produced. In other words, we get available 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 laud, will make manure for tl:c 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 800 loads of muck from the swamp every year, and compost it with your manure." This may or may not be the caso. It depends on the composi- tion of tho muck, and how much labor it takes to handle it. " What you should do," said the Doctor, " is to commence r.t the creek, and straighten it. Take a gang of men, and be with them witli yourself, or get a good foreman to direit operations. Commence at a, and straighten the creek to &, and from I to c (see map on next pag"). 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 only sand and dirt. When thrown up, this muck, in our dry, hot climate, will, in the course of a few 30 TALKS ON MANUliES. months, part with a large amount of water, and it can then be drawn to the barns and stables, and us3d for bedding, or for composting with manure. Or if you do not want to draw it to the barn, get some refuse lime fro.n the lime-kiln, and mix it with the muck after it has been thrown up a few weeks, and is partially dry. Turn over the heap, and put a few bushels of lime to every cord of the muck, mixing the lime and muck together, leaving the he^p 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 z on the new creek, and cut a ditch through the swamp to y. Throw the muck on one side, and the sand on the other. This will give yon some Z\ \ YV H MA.P OP CREEK. good, rich muck, and at the same time drain your swamp. Then cut some under-dralm from y towards the higher land at w, 0, and h, an:l from / to x. 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 ri^ht. There is money and health in the plan. Prof. 8. 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 chemically dry peat was found to vary from 0.58 in the poorest, to 4.06 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 speeding 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 containing 3 per cent of nitrogen, would be a mine of wealth to any farmer. One ton of such muck, dry, would contain more nitrogen than 7 tons of straw. " It would be capital stuff," said the Deacon, " to put in your pig-pens to absorb the urine. It would make rich manure." "That is so," said I, "and the weak point in my pig-breeding is the want of sufficient straw. Pigs use up more bedding than any other animals. I have over 200 pi;^s, 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 the average amount of ammonia in the 33 samples of dry peat analyzed by Professor Johnson is 2.07 per cent. I had no idea that muck was so rich. Barn-yard manure, or the manure from the horse stables in the cities, contains only half a per cent (0.5) of ammonia, and it is an unusually rich manure that contains one per cent. We are safo in saying that 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' 1 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 Ibs. of nitrogen and 3 Ibs. of hydrogen ; and if, on analysis, a guano or 32 TALKS OX MANURES. other manure was found to contain, in whatever form, 7 per cent of nitrogen, the chemist reported that he found in it 8| 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 the dried Stood, by fermentation, is capable of yield- ing this amount of ammonia. We say a ton of common horsc- nianure contains 10 or 12 Ibs. of potential ammonia. If perfectly fresh, it may not contain a particle of ammonia ; bat it contains nitrogen enough to produce, by fermentation, 10 or 12 Ibs. of am- monia. And when it is said that dry swamp-muck contains, en the average, 2.07 per cent of potential ammonia, it simply means that it contains nitrogen enough 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 washed out. The nitrogen, or ' potential ammonia,' in the rnuck exists in an inert, insoluble form, ar.d before the inuck will yield up this nitrogen to plants, it is necessary, in some way, to ferment or decompose it. But this is a point we will discuss at a future meeting." CHAPTEE 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 ouvrer, 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, and 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. TILLAGE IS MANURE. 33 " The farmer for centuries was simply a ' tiller of the ground.' Guano, though formed, according to some eminent authorities, long ages before the creation of man, was not then known. The coprolites lay undisturbed in countless numbers in the lias, the greensand, and the Suffolk crag. Charleston p'.osphates were unknown. Superphosphate, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, and kainit were not dreamed of. Nothing was said about 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, needed only to be 'tickled with a hoe to laugh with a harvest.' Nothing was said about the value of the manure obtained from the consumption 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 probably a prominent Granger stum- bled on a mighty truth. Manuring the land that is, hoeing and cultivating it inore:ised its fertility. This was well known had been known for ages, and acted upon ; but this Roman farmer, Stercutius, who was a close observer, discovered that the droppings of animals had th same effect as hoeing. No wonder these idol- atrous people voted him a god. They thought there would be no more oU-fasMoned manuring ; no more hoeing. " Of coarse they were mistaken," continued tfce Doctor, " our arable land will always need plowi-g 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 the 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 intelligent Ohio farmer writes me : " I see tli-t you recommend fallow plowing, what are your reasons ? Granting that the immediate result is an increased crop, is not the land im- poverished ? Will not the thorough cultivation of com, or pota- toes, answer as well ? " And a distingu shed 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 t ae 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 average. 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 bnd, and the profits from a crop oi ? 30 bushels per acre every other year, are much more finn 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-FALLOWING. 35 the wheat is hand-hoed in the spring to keep it clean. A few years ago, in a field adjoining this experimental wheat field, and that is of the same character of land, he made the following experiment. The land, after wheat, was fallowed, and then sown to wheat ; then fallowed the next year, and again sown to wheat, and the next year it was sown to wheat after wheat. The following 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. TEAK No. 1 Fallow No crop. No. 2 Wheat after wheat 15 bushels 3i pecks per acre. 2. TEAK No. 1 Wheat after fallow 37 " " * No. 2 Wheat after wheat 13 " 3i " " 3. TEAR No. 1 Fallow after wheat No crop. No. 2 Wheat after wheat 15 bushels 3i pecks per acre. 4. TEAR No. 1 Wheat after fallow 42 " " " No. 2 Wheat after wheat 21 " Oi " " 5. TEAR No. 1 Wheat after wheat 17 " H " " No. 2 Wheat after wheat 17 " Taking the first four years, we have a total yield from the plot sown every year of 66 bushels 2J pecks, 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 previously 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 cropping 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 plo wings and harro wings ; and it should be borne in mind that the effect of stirring the land is not necessarily in proportion to the 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 different 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 considerable 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, (August), but 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 theoretically, for in point of fact I do sow wheat after barley. I ao so because it is very convenient, and because it is more immediately profitable. I am satisfied, however, that in the end it wouLl bo more profitable to seed down the barley with clover. We must raise larger crops ; and to uo this we must raise them 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 land commands a high price, we must keep our farms in a high state of fertility 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 land, from the unaided resources of the farm, I have no doubt. It may give us no more grain to S3ll than afpresent, but it will enable us to produce much more mutton, wool, beef, cheese, butter, and pork, than at present. " But, then, will there be a demand for the meat, wool, etc.?" The present indications are highly 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 this to advantage we must have improved stock. There is no profit in farming without good tillage, larger crops, improved stock, and higher feeding. The de- tails will be modified by circumstances, but the principles are the same wherever a.gri-cvJture is practised. HOW TO RESTORE A WORX-OUT FARM. 37 CHAPTER IX. HOW TO RESTORE A WORN-OUT FARM. I have never yet seen a "worn-out" or "exhausted farm." I know many farms that are "run down." I bougut just such a farm a dozen or more years ago, and 1 have been trying hard, ever since, to bring it up to a profitable standard of productiveness and am still trying, and expect to have to keep on trying so long as I keep on farming. The truth is, there never was a farm so rich, that the farmer did not wish it was richer. I have succeeded in making the larger part of my farm much more productive than it ever was before, smce it was cleared from the original 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 He h_s 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. Ho 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 form of wheat, corn, oats, and hay. On the dry, sandy knolls, he probably 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." "Ain3n," said the Daacon; le mineral matter I 1,877.9 960.1 70.88 4:3 71 1.336.1 689.9 86.51 57 S8 1,505.3 488.7 58.S3 89 16 1,4665 507.5 54.04 36 89 Insoluble organic matter , 731 07 389 74 243 2 214 9 Insoluble mineral matter ^ 11494 155 77 147 49 201 65 Containing nitrogen 960.1 4 22 689.9 607 48S.7 3 76 507.5 3 65 Equal to ammonia 5 12 7 37 4 56 4 36 Containing nitrogen 14.01 12 07 <) gg 9 38 Equal to ammonia 17 02 14 65 11 40 11 39 Total amount of nitrogen in manure. Equal to ammonia 18.23 22.14 18.14 3202 13.14 15 96 13.Q3 15 75 The manure contains ammonia in free state 96 15 20 |1 The manure contains ammonia in form of salts, easily decomposed by quicklime 2 49 1 71 75 80 Total amount of organic matters... Total amount of mineral matters. . . 801.45 15S.15 476.25 213.65 302.05 186.65 2r8.96 238.54 " It will be remarked," says Dr. Vrelcker, " that in the first ex- perimental period, the fermentation of the dung, as might have been expected, proceeded most rapidly, but that, notwithstanding, very little nitrogen was dissipated in the form of volatile ammonia ; and that on the whole, the loss which the manure sustained wcs inconsiderable when compared with tbe 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 9 per cent of the total nitrogen, or nearly one-third of the nitrogen in the manure, has been wasted in one way or tbe other. "It is worthy of observation," continues Dr. Yoelckcr, "that, during n well-regulated fermentation of dung, the loss in intrinsically valuable constituents is inconsiderable, and that in such a prepnratory process the cfficicy of the minure becomes greatly enhanced. For certain purposes i'resh dung can never take the 54 TALKS ON MANURES. place of well-rotted dung. * * The farmer will, therefore, al- ways be compelled to submit a portion of home-made dun*.; 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 the foregoing analyses he will find the direct proof that as long as heavy showers of rain are excluded from man are-heaps, or the manure is kept in water- proof pits, the most valuable fertilizing matters are preserved." This experiment of Dr. Vcelcker proves conclusively that manure can be kept in a rapid state of fermentation for six months 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 the manure is then kept in a heap exposed to rain^ there is a great loss of fertilizing matter. This is precisely what we should expect. We ferment manure to make it more readily available as plant-food, and when we have attained our object, the manure shoull be applied to the land. We keep winter apples in the cellar until they get ripe. As soon as they are ripe, they should be eaten, or they 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 months, cannot safely be kept for another six months exposed to the weather. The following table shows the composition of 100 Ibs. of the farm-yard manure, at different periods of the year : - COMPOSITION OF 100 LBS. OF FRESH FARM- YARD MANURE (NO. I.) EXPOSED IN NATURAL STATE, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR. Whenput np. Nov. 3, 1854. Feb 14, 1855. Apr. 30, 1855. Auff.M. 1855. Nov. 15, 1855. Water Soluble organic matter Soluble inorganic matter Insoluble organic matter 60.17 2.43 1.54 25.70 69.83 3.86 2.97 18.44 05.95 4.27 2.80 19.23 75.49 2.95 1.97 12.20 7429 2.74 1.R7 1089 Insoluble mineral matter Containing nitrogen 4.05 100.00 149 4.90 100.00 27 7.09 100.00 30 7.39 KXMxT 19 10.21 100.00 18 Equal to ammonia . ... 181 33 30 23 21 Containing nitrogen .494 .47 .59 47 .47 Equal to ammonia 509 57 71 02 57 Total amount of nitrogen .013 .74 .89 66 65 Equal to ammonia 7HO 89 1 07 85 78 Ammonia in a free state Ammonia in form of salts easily de- composed by quicklime Total arnt. of organic matter Total amt. of miner.il substances.. .034 .088 28.24 5.59 .019 .004 22.30 7.87 .008 .085 23.50 10.55 .010 .038 15.15 9 80 .006 .041 13.03 12 OS It will be seen that two-thirds of the fresh manure is water. Afte"r fermenting in an exposed heap for six months, it still con- FERMENTING MANURE. 55 tains about the same percentage of water. When kept in the Leap until August, the percentage of water is much greater. Of four tons of such manure, three to.;s are water. Of Nitrogen, the most valuable ingredient of the manure, the fresh dung, contained 0.64 per cent ; after fermenting six months, 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 manure con- tained 5.59 per cent; of which 1.54 was soluble in water, and 4.05 insoluble. After fermenting in the heap for six months, the ma- nure contained 10.55 per cent of ash, of which 2.86 was soluble, and 7.69 insoluble. Six months later, the soluble ash had de- creased to 1.97 per cent. The following table shows the composition of the manure, at different periods, in the dry stzte. In other words, supposing all the water to.be removed from the manure, its composition would be as follows : COMPOSITION OP JT.ESH FAF.M YAKD MANURE (NO. I.) EXPOSED. CALCULATED DET. Whenput up, Mov. 8, 1854. 7.33 4.55 76.15 11.97 Feb. 14, 1855. April 30, 1855. Aug. 23, 1855. Nov. 15, 1855. 10.65 7.27 42.35 39.73 Soluble organic matter 12.79 9.84 61.12 16.25 12.54 8.3:) 56.<19 22.58 12.04 8.03 49.77 30.16 Soluble inorganic matter Insoluble organic matter Insoluble mineral matter . Containing nitrogen 100.00 .44 .53 1.46 1.77 1.90 2.30 .10 .26 83.48 10.52 100.00 .91 1.10 1.55 1.88 2.4G 2.98 .062 .212 73/>l 6.09 100.00 .83 1.06 1.75 2.12 2.K3 3.1R .023 24^ 60.03 30.97 1CO.OO .77 .03 1.92 2.33 2.r,o 3.26 .011 .154 61.81 S8.19 1CO.OO .72 .83 1.85 2.24 2.57 3.12 .0^3 .159 53.00 47.00 Equal to ammonia Equal to ammonia Total amount of nitrogen Equal to ammonia Ammonia in free state Ammonia in form of salts easily decom posed by quicklime Total amount of organic matter Total amount of mineral substances . " A comparison of these different analyses," says Dr. Vcelcker, " 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. 44 4. The percentage of soluble organic matters, indeed, increased considerably during the first experimental period ; it rose, namely, from 7.83 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 organic matters, while there is a decrease cf 2 per cent of soluble organic matters 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. Gradual!}^ however, the proportion of soluble mineral matters again dimin- 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 August 23d, it remained stationary, and had sunk but very lit- tle when last examined on the 15th 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, FEI1MEXTING MANURE. 57 and the percentage of nitrogen in the manure of April and August is only a very little higher than in February." " Before you go any further," said the Deacon, " answer wz this question : Suppose I take five tons of farm-yard manure, and put it in a heap on the 3d of November, tell me, 1st, what that heap will contain when first made; 3d, what the heap will contain April 30th ; and, 3.1, what the heap will contain August 23d." Here is the table : CONTENTS OP A HEAP OF MANURE AT DIFFERENT PERIODS, EXPOSED TO RAIN, ETC. When put up, Aov. 3. April 30. Aug. 23. Nov. 15. Total weight of manure in heap Water in the heap of manurj 10,000 6,617 2 824 7,138 4707 l'G78 7,025 5.304 1.0o4 6.954 5,167 !)47 Total inorganic matter 55!) 753 657 840 Total nitrogen in heap 64 3 63.9 463 46.0 Total soluble organic matter Total insoluble organic mutter Soluble mineral matter 248 2,575 154 305 1.373 204 207 857 133 190 757 130 Insoluble mineral matter Nitrogen in soluble matter 405 14.9 549 21.4 519 13.2 710 12.9 Nitrogen in insoluble matter 49.4 43.5 33.1 33.1 The Deacon put on his spectacles and studied the above table carefully for some time. "That tells the whole story," said he, " you put five tons o^ fresh manure in a heap, it ferments and gets warm, and nearly one ton of water is driven off by the heat." " Yes," said the Doctor, " you see that over half a ton (1,146 Ibs.) of dry organic matter has been slowly burnt up in the heap ; giv- ing out as much heat as half 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 643 Ibs. of nitrogen when put up, and 63.9 Ibs. after fe mentingsix months. And. 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 Ibs. of nitrogen in a soluble condition in the fresh manure, and 21.4 Ibs. in the fermented manure. And what is equally important, you will notice that there is 154 Ibs. of soluble ash in the heap of fresh manure, and 204 Ibs. in the heap of fermented manure. In other words, 50 Ibs. of the insoluble mineral matter had,1)y 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 right. 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 not only less manure 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 that when the manure has been i'er- 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 Ibs.,) of fresh manure placed in a heap on the 3d of November, are reduced to 7,133 Ibs. by the 30th of April. Of this 4,707 Ibs. is water. By the 23d of August, the heap is re- duced to 7,025 Ibs., of which 5,304 Ibs. is water. There is nearly 600 Ibs. more water in the heap in August than in April. Of total nitrogen in the heap, there is 64.3 Ibs. in the fresh manure, 63. 9 Ibs. in April, and only 46.3 Ibs. 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 Ibs. to 21.4 Ibs. This is a decided advantage But when the manure is kept for another six months, this soluble nitrogen is decreased from 21.4 Ibs. to 13.2 lt>s. We lose over 8 Ibs. of the most active and available nitrogen. And the same remarks will apply to the valuable soluble mineral matter. In the five tons of fresh manure there is 154 Ibs. of soluble mineral matter. By fermenting the heap six months, we get 204 Ibs., but by keeping the manure six months longer, the soluble mineral matter is reduced to 138 Ibs. We lose 66 Ibs. of valu- able soluble mineral matter. By fermenting manure for six months in winter, we greatly im- prove its condition; by keeping it six months longer, we lose largely of the very best and most active parts of the manure,, KEEPING MANUJSE UNDER COVEB. 59 CHAPTER XV. KEEPING MANURE UNDER COYER Dr. Voelcker, at the same time lie made the experiments alluded to in the preceding chapter, placed another heap of manure under cover, in a shed. It was the same kind of manure, and was treated precisely as the other the only difference being that one heap was exposed to the rain, and the other not. The following table gives the results of the weighings of the heap at different times, and also the percentage of loss : MANURE FERMENTED UNDER COVER IN SHED. TABLE SHOWING THE ACTUAL WEIGHINGS, AND PEttCENTAGE OP LOSS IN WEIGHT, OF EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FARM-YARD MANURE UNDER SHED, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR. Weight of Manure inLbs. Loss in original weiqht inLbs. Percent age of Loss. Put up on the 3d of November 1854 3,258 Weighed on the 30th of April, 1855, of 6 months or after a lapse 1.613 1,645 50.4 Weighed on the 23d of August, 1855 of 9 months and 20 days , or after a lapse 1,297 1,981 60.0 Weighed on the 15th of November, lapse of 12 months and 12 days 185r, or after a 1,235 2,023 62.1 It will be seen that 100 tons of manure, kept in a heap under cover for six months, would be reduced to 49.6-10 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 principally 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 : GO TALKS ON MANURES. TABLB SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OP EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH PARK- YARD MANURE UNDER SHED, IN NATUKAL STATE AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR. When put tip, Nov. 3, 1854. Feb. 14, 1855. Apr. 30, 1855. A u.j. 23. 1855. Noc. 15, 1855. Water 66.17 67.32 56.F;9 43.43 41.06 *Soluble organic matter .... 2.43 2.63 4.<>3 4.13 5.37 Soluble inorganic matter 1.54 2 12 3.38 3 0.3 4 43 tlnsoluble organic matter .... Insoluble mineral matter 25 70 4.0.5 20.46 7.47 25.43 9.67 26.01 83.:* 27.69 20.85 ^ontainino' nitrogen 100.00 .149 1CO.OO 17 100.00 .27 100.00 26 100.00 42 Equal to ammonia tContainin" nitrogen .181 .494 .20 58 .32 .92 .31 1 01 .51 1 0*) Equal to ammonia 599 70 1 11 1 23 1 31 Total amount of nitrogen Equal to ammonia .643 .780 .75 .90 1.19 1.43 1.27 1.51 1.51 1.82 Ammonia in free state .. .034 022 .055 015 019 Ammonia in form 6f salts easily de- composed by quicklime Total amount of or_rauic matter. . . . Total amount of mineral substance.. .088 28.24 5.59 .054 23.09 9.59 .101 30.0G 13.05 .103 30.14 26.43 .146 33.06 5.23 TABLE SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OF EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FARM- YARD MANURE UNDER SHED, CALCULATED DRY, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR. When put Feb. 14, Apr. 30. Auq. 23, Nov. 15, 3, 1854. 1855. 1855. 1855. 1855. *Soluble organic matter Soluble inorganic matter 7.33 4.55 8.04 6.48 10.74 7.84 7.30 5.39 9.20 7.59 tlnsoluble organic matter 7(i.l5 62.60 58.99 45.97 47.46 11.97 22.88 22.43 41 34 3575 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 *Containing nitrogen . .41 .53 .63 .46 .7.7 Equal to ammonia . . 53 63 76 56 QO tContaining nitrogen 1 46 1 77 2 14 1 78 1 88 Equal to ammonia 1.77 2.14 2.59 2.16 220 Total amount of nitrogen Equal to ammonia 1 90 2 30 2.30 280 2.77 835 2.24 2 72 2.fiO 3 08 Ammonia in free state .10 .067 .127 .026 032 Ammonia in form of salts, easily de composed by quicklime Total amount of organic matter Total amount of mineral substance .26 83.48 16.52 .165 70.64 29.86 .234 69.73 3027 .182 53.27 46.73 .250 56.C6 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- ting. If they buy a ton of fresh manure in November, they get 12$ Ibs. of nitrogen, and 30 Ibs. of soluble mineral matter. If KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER. 61 they buy a ton of the same manure that has been kept under cover until February, they get, nitrogen, 15 Ibs. ; soluble minerals, 43 Ibs. In April, they get, nitrogen, 23| Ibs. ; soluble minerals, 67$ Ibs. In August, they get, nitrogen, 25 Ibs. ; soluble minerals, 61 Ibs. In November, when the manure is over one year old, they get, in a ton, nitrogen, 30 Ibs. ; soluble minerals, 88 fr Ibs. When manure has 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 freaa manure. But waiving this point for the present, let us see hew the matter stands with the farmer who makes and uses the manure. What does he gam by keeping and fermenting the manure under cover ? The following table shows the weight and composition of tlie entire heap of manure, kept under cover, at different times : TABLE SHOW1NO COMPOSITION O7 ENTIRE EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. II.) FRESH FARM-YARD MANURE, UNDER SHED. Whenpui up, Nov. 3,1854. April 30, 1855. ^tt<7.23, 1855. Nov. 15, 1855. Weight of manure Ibs. 3.258. B>3. 1,613. B>s. 1,297. ft* 1,2C5. Amount of water in the manure Amount of dry matter 2,153. 1 102 917.6 693 4 6G3.2 7338 514.5 7205 *Consisting of soluble organic matter. . . Soluble mineral matter 1 80!T7 50 11 74.68 5451 53.56 39.. r 5 66.28 54.68 tlnsoluble organic matter 833 17 410.24 887.32 341.07 Insoluble mineral matter 131 92 15597 303.37 257.57 *Containin rr nitrogen 1,102. 4P5 695.4 4.38 733.8 3.46 720.5 5.25 Equal to ammonia 5.81 5.33 4.20 6.C7 t Containing nitrogen 1608 14.88 13.C8 13.54 Equal to ammonia .... ... 19.52 17.46 15.88 1644 Total amount of nitrogen in manure Equal to ammonia . . 20.93 25.40 19.26 22.79 16.54 20.03 18.79 22.C1 The manure contains ammonia in free state 1.10 .88 .19 .23 The manure contains ammonia in form of salts, easily decomposed by quick- lime 286 1.62 1.33 1.80 Total amount of organic matter 919.94 484.92 390.88 408.25 Total amount of mineral matter 182.06 210.48 342.92 312.35 This is the table, as given by Dr. Yoelcker. For the sake of comparison, we will figure out what the changes would be in a heap of five tons (10,000 Ibs.) 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 : TALKS OX MANURES. CONTENTS OP A HEAP OF MANURE AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. FERMENTED UNDEB COVEB. When put up, A3. 10000 B>s. 4960 B>8. 4000 B>8. 3 790 Water in the heap of maaure Total organic matter Total inorganic matter. . . . 6,017 2.824 559 2,822 1,490 646 1,737 1,205 1 057 1,579 1,253 958 Total nitrogen in heap 64 3 59 50 8 57 2 Total soluble organic matter 248 2:30 165 203 5 Insoluble organic matter Soluble mineral matter 2,576 154 1,269 167 1,040 122 1,049 168 Insoluble mineral matter Nitrogen in soluble matter Nitrogen in insoluble matter 405 14.9 49.4 479 13.4 45.6 935 10.4 40.4 790 15.9 41.3 Total dry matter in heap ' 3.383 2,033 2,63 2,211 It will be seen that the heap of manure kept under cover con- tained, on the 30th of April, less soluble organic matter, less soluble mineral matter, less soluble nitrogenous matter, and less total ni- trogen than the heap of manure exposed to the weather. This is precisely what I should have expected. The heap of manure hi the shed probably fermented more rapidly than the henp out of doors, and there was not water enough in the manure to retain the carbonate cf ammonia, or to favor the production of organic acids. The heap was too dry. If it could have received enough of the liquid from the stable3 to have kept it moderately moist, the result wouLl have been very different. We will postpone further consideration of this point at oresent, and look at the results of another of Dr. Yoelcker's interesting experiments. Dr. Voelcker wished to ascertain the effect of three common methods of managing manure : 1st. Keeping it in a heap in the open air in the barn-yard, or field. 2d. Keeping it in a heap under cover in a shed. 3d. Keeping it spread out 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 effect of this treatment is on the composi- tion and value of the manure. We have examined the effect of keeping manure in a heap in KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER. 63 the open air, and also of -keeping it in a heap under cover. Now let us see how these methods compare with the practice of leav ing it exposed to the rains, spread out in the yard. On the 3rd of November, 1854, Dr. Voelcker weighed out 1,652 Ibs. of manure similar to that used in the preceding experiments, and spread it out in the yard. It was weighed April 30, and again August 23, 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. : TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT AND COMPOSITION OF ENTIRE MASS OF EXPERI- MENTAL MANURE (NO. III.), FRESH FARM-YARD MANURE, SPREAD IN OPEN YARD AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAB. IN NATURAL STATE. When put up, Nov. 3, 1854. April 30, I8o5. Aug. 23, 1S55. Nov. 15, 1855. Weight of manure H>s. 1 632 ft 8. 1 429 B>s. 1 012 t>8. 9"0 Amount of water in the manure 1,093. 1.143. 709.3 622 8 Amount of dry matter 559 2855 3027 327 2 *Consisting of soluble organic matter.. . Soluble mineral matter tlnsoluble organic matter 4097 25,43 425. ()7 16.55 14.41 163.79 4.96 6.47 106.81 3.95 5.52 94 45 Insoluble mineral matter 60 93 90.75 18446 223 28 *Containing nitrogen 550.0J 3 23 285.50 1 19 302.70 fin 327.20 Oft Equal to ammonia 3 98 1 44 73 on tContaining nitrogen 6 21 6 51 q KA Equal to ammonia 754 7 93 4 29 4 9^ Total amount of nitrogen in manure. . . . Equal to ammonia The manure contains ammonia in free state 9.49 11.53 55 7.70 9.34 14 4.14 5.02 13 3.88 4.64 00~5 The manure contains ammonia in form of salts, easily decomposed by quick- lime 1 45 fi2 RK M Total amount of organic matter 4^6 04 1">0 31 111 77 Total amount of mineral matter 92.36 105.16 190.93 228.80 "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 different periods." "Yes," said I, "and the table following shows what 100 Ibs 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 yarJ. The table merits careful study." TALKS ON MANURES. TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION OF EXPERIMENTAL HEAP (NO. in.), FRESH FARM- YARD MANURE, SPREAD IN OP.iN YARD, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR. IN NATURAL STATE. When put up, j.\w 3, 1854. April 30, 1855. Aug. 23, 155. Ncv. 15, 1855. Water 66 17 8002 7009 65 56 *!Soiuble organic matter Soluble inorganic matter 2.48 1 54 1.16 1 01 .49 64 .42 57 tlii&oluble organic matter 25 76 11 46 1056 9 94 Insoluble mineral mutter , . ,. 4 03 b b5 1822 23 51 *Containing nitrogen 100.00 149 100.00 08 100.0J 06 100.00~ 03 Equal to ammonia .181 8. 10,000 6,017 B>s. 8,650 6 922 B>8. 6,10 4 5:97 B>8. 5,750 3 771 Total organic matter 2824 1 02 677 595 Total inorgauic matter 559 '636 1 155 1 384 Total nitrogen m manure Total soluble organic matter. .. Insoluble orcrauic matter 64.3 248 2 576 45.9 100 992 25 30 647 1 2.4 24 571 Soluble mineral matter Insoluble mineral matter Nitrogen in soluble matter Nitrogen in insoluble matter. . . . 154 4'J5 14.9 4'. .4 87 549 6.9 39 39 1,116 3.6 21.4 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, ssrious 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 tho five tons of fresh manure, we have, November 8, 64.3 Ibs. of nitrogen ; April 30, we Lave 46 Ibs. ; August 23, only 25 Ibs. This is a great loss of the most valuable constituent of the manure. Of soluble mineral matt; r, the next most valuable ingre- dient, we have in the five tons of fresh manure, November 3, 154 Ibs. ; April 30, 87 Ibs. ; and August 23, only 39 Ibs. Of soluble nitrogen, the most active and valuable part of the manure, we have, November 3, nearly 15 Ibs. ; April 30, not quite 7 Ibs. ; August 23, 3| Ibs. ; and November 15, not quite If Ibs. Dr. Veelcker made still another experiment. He took 1,613 Ibs. of well-rotted dung (mixed manure from horses, cows, and pijs,) and kept it in a heap, exposed to the weather, from Decem- ber 6' to April 30, August 23, and November 15, weighing it and analyzing it at these different dates. I think it is not necessary to give the results in detail. From the 5th of December to the 30th of April, there was no 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 ID- gredients, which were washed out of the heap by rain. 63 TALKS OX MANURES. , Dr. Voelcker draws tii3 following conclusions from his experi- ments : "Having describe J 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 principally in tlic 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 should be kept in perfectly water- proof pits 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 stato, contains phosphate of lime, whicn is much more soluble than has hitherto been suspected. " 5. The urine of the horse, 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 dung-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 moans of preventing loss in fertilizing matters is to Cart the manure directly 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 valuabb 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 retaining manuring matters, none of the saline and soluble organic constituents are wasted even by a heavy fall of rain. lt may, indeed, be questioned KEEPING MANURE UNDER COVER. 67 whether it is more advisable to plow in the manure at once, 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 to 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 uniformly distributed amongst a large mass of soil. By plowing 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 field. " By adopting such a course, 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 opportu- 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 manuring matter. " I am perfectly aware, that on stiff clay land, farm-yard ma- nure, more especially long dung, 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 tiie land, and would, therefore, by 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 cither 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 light sandy soils, it may perhaps not be advisable to spread out the manure a long time before it ia plowed in, since such soils do not possess the power of retaining manuring matters in 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, likewise, little free ammonia, but a very much, larger proportion of soluble organic and saline mineral matters than fresh manure. " 9. Eotten 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 acid 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, nlmic, humic, and other organic acids are formed, as well as gypsum, which fix the am- monia generated in the decomposition of the nitrogenized 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 and heated portions of manure-heaps, am- monia is given off; but, on passing into the external and cold lay- ers of dung-heaps, the freo ammonia is retained in the heap. " 16. Ammonia is not given off from the surface of well-com- pressed dung-heaps, but on tuming manure-heaps, it is wasted in appreciable quantities. Dung-heaps, for this reason, should 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 Iocs in manuring matters, which is incurred in keep- ing manure-heaps exposed to the weather, is not so much due to the volatilization of ammonia as to the removal of ammoniacal salts, soluble nitrogenizcd organic matters, and valuable mineral matters, by the rain which 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 much rain falls, especially if it de- scends in heavy showers upon the dung-heap, a serious loss in ammonia, soluble 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 than fresh manure. " 22. Practically speaking, all the essentially valuable manuring constituents arc preserved by keeping farm-yard manure under cover. " 23. If the animals have been supplied with plenty of litter, fresh dung contains an insufficient quantity of water to induce an active fermentation. In this case, fresh dung can not be properly AN ENGLISH PLAN OF KEEPING MANURE. G9 fermented under cover, except water or liquid manure is pumped over the heap from time to time. " Where much straw is used in the manufacture of dung, and no provision is made to supply the manure in the 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 hand, on farms where there is a de.-ciency 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. " 21 The worst method of making manure is to produce it by animals kept in open yards, 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 behind. " 25. The most rational plan of keeping manure in heaps ap- pears to me that adopted by Mr. Lawrence, of Cirencester, and described by him at length in Morton's ' Cyclopaedia 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 s'jcond volume of "Morton's Cyclopaedia of Agri- culture," from the book shelves, and turned to the article on "Manurs." 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 succeeding crops, it will be most advantageously dis posed of by being transferred at once to the hn 1, and covered in." " Good, said the Deacon, " I think he is right 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 effectually 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 till- 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 sinking, 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 lail out at any one time should not exceed that required by the manure ready for the complete formation of the heap cs far as it goes ; and within a day 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 percsptible 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. AX 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 ou the surface during rainy 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 lay 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 i.ced be. " Farmers who have not been in the habit of bestowing care on 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, thtin that so graphically described by the most talented and accomplished of our agricul- tural authors as the contents of ' neighbour DrychafFs 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 very large quantity 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 a long ridge, as high as they will stand, and thatched while dry. This will be found an invaluable store 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 not 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, an " said the Doctor, " adopt 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 MANURES. " I practised it here," said I, " for some years. I plowed and scraped a large hole or basin in the yard four or five feet deep, with a gradual slope at one end for convenience in drawing out the loads the other sides being much steeper. I also made a tank at the bottom to hold the drainage, and had a pump in it to pump the liquid back on to the heap in dry weather. We threw or -wheeled the manure from the stables and pig-pens into this basin, but I did not like the plan, for two reasons : (1,) the manure being spread 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." Now, instead of spreading it all over the basin, we commenced a small heap 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 manure that could be found on the premises, and everything that would make manure. When got all together, it made a heap seven or eight feet wide, twenty feet long, and three or four feet high. We then laid planks on tae he ip, and every day, as the pig-pens, cow and horse stables were cleaned out, the manure was wheeled on to the heap and shaken out and spread about. The heap soon commenced to ferment, and when the cold weather set in, although the sides and some parts of the top froze a little, the inside kept 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. By taking a few forkfuls of the latter, and placing them on the top of the "chimneys," they checked the escape of steam, and had a tendency to distribute the heat to other parts of the heap. In this way the fermentation be- came more general throughout all the ma>s, 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. 3d. 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 keep it moist enough for fermentation. 3d. There is as much fascination in this fermenting heap of manure as there is in having money in a savings bank. One is continually trying to add to it. Many a cart-load or wheel-barrow- ful of material will be deposited that would otherwise be allowed MY OWN PLAN OF MANAGING MANURE. 93 to run to waste. 4th. The manure, if turned over in February or March, will be in capital order for applying to root crops ; or if your hay and straw contains weed-seeds, the manure will be in ood condition to spread as a top-dressing on grass-land early in the spring. This, I think, is better than keeping it in the yards all summer, and then drawing it out on the grass land in Septem- ber. You gain six months' or a year's time. You get a splendid growth of rich grass, and the red-root seeds will germinate next September just as well as if the manure was drawn out at that time. If the manure is drawn out early in the spring, and spread out immediately, and then harrowed two or three times with a Thomas' smoothing-harrow, there is no danger of its imparting a rank flavor to the grass. I know from repeated trials that when part of a pasture is top-dressed, cows and sheep will keep it much more closely cropped down than the part which has not been manured. The idea to the contrary originated from not spread- ing the manure evenly. "But why ferment the manure at all ? Why not draw it out fresh from the yards ? Does fermentation increase the amount of plant-food in the manure ? " No. But it renders the plant-food in the manure more immediately available. It makes it more soluble. We ferment manure for the same reason that we de- compose bone-dust or mineral 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 the corn. They only increase its availability. So in fermenting manure. When the liquid and solid excrements from well-fed animals, with the straw necessary to absorb the liquid, are placed in a h3ip, fermentation sets in and soon effects 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 wholly of straw or corn stalks, there woul 1 be little gained by fermenting it. But when there is a good propor- tion of manure from well fed animals in the heap, carbonate of ammonia is formed from the nitrogenous compounds in the manure, and this ammonia unites with the humic and ulmic acids and forms humate and ulmate of ammonia. These ammoniacal salts are soluble in water as the brown color of the drainings of a manure heap sufficiently indicates. Properly fermented manure, therefore, of good quality, is a much more active and immediately useful fertilizer than fresh, un- 94 TALKS ON MANURES. fermented manure. There need be no loss of ammonia from evaporation, and the manure is far less bulky, and costs far less labor to draw out and spread. The only loss that is likeiy to occur is from leaching, and this must be specially guarded against. CHAPTER XXI. THE MANAGEMENT OF MANURES. CONTINUED. WHY DO WE FERMENT MANURE? However much farmers may differ in regard to the advantages or disadvantages of fermenting manure, I have never met with one who contended that it was good, either in theory or practice, to leave manure for months, scattered over a barn-yard, exposed to the spring and autumn rains, and to the summer's sun and wind. All admit that, if it is necessary to leave manure in the yards, it should be either thrown into a basin, or put into a pile or heap, where it will be compact, and not much exposed. We did not need the experiments of Dr. Vcelcker 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 one ad vocates the practice of exposing manure, and it is of no use to dis cuss the matter. All will admit that it is unwise and wasteful to allow manure to lie scattered and exposed over the barn- yards any longer than is absolutely necessary. We should either draw it directly to the field and use it, or we should make it into a compact heap, where 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, " but is there anything actually gained by fermenting it in the heap ? " In one sense, DO ; 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 can digest the food more readil}'. And so, in fermenting THE MANAGEMENT OF MANURES. 95 manun , we add nothing to it ; there is no more actual nitrogen, or phosphoric acid, or potash, or any other ingredient after fer- mentation than there was before, but these ingredients are rendered more soluble, and can be more rapidly taken up by the j.-iants. In this sense, therefore, there is a great gain. One thing is certain, we do not, in many cases, get anything like as much benefit from our manure as the ingredients it con- tains would lead us to expect. Mr. Lawes, on his clayey soil at Rothanisted, England, has grown over thirty crops of wheat, year after year, on the same laud. One plot has received 14 tons of barn-yard manure per acre every year, and yet the produce from this plot is no larger, and, in fact, is frequently much less, than from a few hundred pounds of artificial manure containing far less nitrogen. For nineteen years, 1852 to 1870, some of the plots have received the same manure year after year. The following shows the aver age yield for the nineteen years : Wheat Straw per acre. per acre, Plot 5. Mixed mineral manure, alone 17 bus. 15 cwt. " 6. Mixed mineral manure, and 200 Ibs. ammo- niacal salts 27 bus. 25 cwt. " 7. Mixed mineral manure, and 400 Ibs. ammo- niacal salts 6 bus. 36 cwt. " 9. Mixed mineral manure, and 550 Ibs. nitrate of soda 37 bus. 41 cwt. " 2. 14 tons farm-yard dung 6 bus. 34 cwt. The 14 tons (31,360 Ibs.) of farm-yard manure contained about 8,540 Ibs. organic matter, 868 Ibs. mineral matter, and 200 Ibs. ni- trogen. The 400 Ibs. of ammoniacal salts, and the 550 Ibs. nitrate of soda, each contained 82 Ibs. of nitrogen; and it will be seen that this 82 Ibs. of nitrogen produced as great an effect as the 200 Ibs. of nitrogen in barn-yard manure. Similar experiments have been made on barley, with even more striking results. The plot dressed with 300 Ibs. superphosphate of lime, and 200 Ibs. ammoniacal salts per acre, produced as large a crop as 14 tons of farm-yard manure. The average yield of barley for nineteen crops grown on the same land each year was 48 bus. and 28 cwt. of straw per acre on both plots. In other words, 41 Ibs. of nitrogen, in ammoniacal salts, produced as great an effect as 200 Ibs. of nitrogen in farm-yard manure ! During the nineteen years, one plot had received 162,260 Ibs. of organic matter, 16,492 Ibs. of mineral matter, and 3,800 Ibs. of nitrogen ; while the other had received only 5,700 Ibs. mineral matter, and 779 Ibs. of nitrogen^ and yet one has produced as large a crop as the other. 96 TALKS ON MANURES. Why this difference ? It will not do to say that more nitrogc was applied in the farm-yard manure than was needed. MV Lawes says : " For some years, an amount of ammonia-salts, con taming 82 Ibs. of nitrogen, was applied to one series of plots (01 barley), but this was found to be too much, the crop generally being too heavy and laid. Yet probably about 200 Ibs. of nitrogen was annually supplied in the dung, but with it there was no over- luxuriance, and DO more crop, than where 41 Ibs. 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 is in the manure, but the plants can not take it up until it is decomposed and rendered sol- uble. Dr. Vcelcker analyzed " perfectly fresh horse-dung," and found that of free ammonia there was not more than one pound in 15 tons ! And yet these 15 tons contained nitrogen enougu to furnish 140 Ibs. of ammonia. " But," it may be asked, " will not this fresh manure decompose in the soil, and furnish ammonia ? " In light, sandy soil, I pre- sume it will do so to a considerable extent. We know that clay mixed with manura retards fermentation, but sand mixed with manure accelerates fermentation. This, at any rate, is the case when sand is added in small quantities to a heap of fermenting manure. But I do not suppose it would have the same effect when a small quantity of manure is mixed with a large amount of sand, as is the case 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 fresh 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 conclusive, but at the sime time very discouraging evidence. During the 19 years, 3,800 Ibs. of nitrogen, and 16,492 Ibs. of mineral matter, in the form of farm-yard manure, were ap- plied to an acre of land, and the 19 crops of barley in grain and straw removed only 3,724 Ibs. of mineral matter, and 1,064 Ibs. of nitrogen. The soil now contains, unless it has drained away, 1,736 Ibs. more nitrogen per acre than it did when the experiments commenced. And yet 41 Ibs. of nitrogen in an available condit'on is sufficient to produce a good large crop of barley, and 82 Ibs. per acre furnished more than the plants could organize. " Those are very interesting experiments," said the Doctor, " ani show why it is that our farmers can afford to pay a higher price for nitrogen and phosphoric acid in superphosphate, and other ar THE MANAGEMENT OF MANURES. 97 tificial manures, than for the same amount of nitrogen and phos- phoric acid in stable-manure." We will not discuss this point at present. What I want to as- certain is, whether we can not nnd some method of making our farm-yard manure more readily available. Piling it up, and let- ting it ferment, is one method of doing this, though I think other methods will yet be discovered. Possibly it will be found that spreading well-rotted manure on the surface of the land will be one of the most practical and simplest methods of accomplishing this object. "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, because fermenting it in the heap renders it more soluble, and otherwise more available for the crops, when applied 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 drawing it out and spreading it. Ellwanger & Barry, who draw several thousand loads of stable-manure every year, and pile it up to ferment, tell me that it takes three loads of fresli manure to make one load of rotted manure. This, of course, has reference to bulk, and not weight. Three tons of fresh barn-yard manure, according to the experiments of Dr. Voelcker, will make about two tons when well rotted. Even this is a great saving of labor, and the rotted manure can be more easily spread, and mixed more thoroughly with the soil a point of great importance. t{ Another reason for fermenting manure," said the Squire, " is the destruction of weed-seeds." "That is true," said I, " and a very important reason ; but I try not to think about this method of killing weed-seeds. It is a great deal better to kill the weeds. There c-an be no doubt that a fer- menting manure-heap will kill many of the weed-seeds, but enough will usually escape to re-seed the land." It is fortunate, however, that the best means to kill weed-seeds in the manure, are 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 bo, and throw the manure on one side, until the bare ground is reached." " What is the use of that ?" I asked. " If you do not do so," he replied, " there will be some portion of 5 98 TALKS ON MANURES. the manure under the heap that will be so compact that it will not ferment, and the weed-seeds will not be killed." " You think," said I, "- that weed-seeds can be killed in this way? " " I know they can," he replied," but the heap must be carefully made, so that it will ferment evenly, and when the pile is turned, the bottom and sides should be thrown into the center of the heap." LOSS OF AMMONIA BY FERMENTING MANURE. If you throw a quantity of fresh horse-manure into a loose heap, fermentation proceeds with great rapidity. Much heat is produced, and if the manure is under cover, or tbere is not rain enough to keep the heap moist, the manure will "fire-fang" and a large pro- portion of the carbonate of ammonia produced by the fermentation will escape into the atmosphere and be lost. As I 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 stall near the door of the stable, and there it remains until wanted to bed the pigs. We find it is necessary to remove it frequently, especially in the summer, as fermentation soon sets in, and the escape of the ammonia is detected by its well known pungent smell. Throw this manure into the pig-cellar and let the pigs trample it down, and there is no longer any escape of ammonia. At any rate, I have never perceived any. Litmus paper will detect ammonia in an atmosphere containing only one seventy five thousandth 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 escapes from this horse-manure after it is trampled clown by the pigs, although it contains an additional quantity of " potential ammonia " from the liquid and solid droppings of these animals. Water has a strong attraction 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. Vo3lcker has shown us, during the fermentation of the manure in a heap, ulmic and humic, crenic and aprocrenic 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 the 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 centre of the heap gets so hot and so dry that the ammonia is not retained, there is still no necessity for loss. tHE MANAGEMENT OF MANURES. 99 The sides of the heap are cool and moist, and will retain the car- bonate of ammonia, the acids mentioned also coming into play. The ammonia is much more likely to escape from the top of the heap than from the sides. Tae heat and steam form little chim- neys, and when a fermenting manure-heap is covered with snow, these little chimneys are readily seen. If you think the manure is fermenting too rapidly, and that the ammonia is escaping, trample the manure down firmly about the chimneys, thus closing them up, and if need be, or if convenient, throw more manure on top, or throw on a few pailfuls of water. It is a good plan, too, where convenient, to cover the heap with soil. I sometimes do this when piling manure in the field, not from fear of losing ammonia, but in order to retain moisture in the heap. With proper precautions, I think we may safely dismiss the idea of any serious loss of ammonia from fermenting manure. THE WASTE OF MANURE FROM LEACHING. As we have endeavored to show, there is little danger of losing ammonia by keeping and fermenting manure. But this is not the only question to be considered. We have seen that in 10,000 Ibs. of fresh farm-yard manure, there is about 644bs. of nitrogen. Of this, about 15 Ibs. are soluble, and 49 Ibs. insoluble. Of mineral matter, we have in this quantity of manure, 559 Ibs., of which 154 Ibs. are soluble in water, and 405 Ibs. insoluble. If we had a heap of five tons of fermenting manure in a stable, the escape of half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia would make a tremendous smell, and we should at once us? means to check the escape of this pre- cious substance. But it will be seen that we have in this five tons of fresh manure, nitrogenous matter, capable of forming over 180 Ibs. of carbonate of ammonia, over 42 Ibs. of which is in a soluble condition. This may be leached day after day, slowly and imperceptibly, with no heat, or smell, to attract attention. How often do we see manure lying under the eaves of an un- spouted shed or barn, where one of our heavy showers will satu- rate it in a few minutes, and yet where 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 ! The loss is unques- tionably very great, and would be greater if it were not for the coarse nature of the material, which allows the water to pass through it rapidly and without coming in direct contact with only the outside 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 f or analysis, the loss of 100 TALKS ON MANURES. soluble matter would be still more serious. Or, if the manure was first fermented, so that the particles of matter would be more or less decomposed and broken up fine, the rain would wash out a large amount of soluble matter, and prove much more injurious than if the manure was fresh and un fermented. " That is an argument," said the Deacon, " against your plan 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 unspouted building especially good manure, that is made from rich food. The better the manure, ths more it will lose from 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 recommend piling manure and ferment ing it in the open air and keeping the top flat, so that it will catch all the rain, and I think your heaps must sometimes get pretty well soaked." "Soaking the heap of manure," I replied, " does not wash out any of its soluble matter, provided you carry the matter no further than the point of saturation. The water may, and doubtless does, wash out the soluble*matter from some portions of the mar.ur^, but if the water does not filter through the heap, but is all absorbed by the manure, there is no loss. It is when the water passes through the heap that it runs away with our soluble nitrogenous and min- eral matter, and with any ready formed ammonia it may find in the manure." How to keep cows tied up in the barn, a^-d at the same time save all the urine, is one of the most difficult problems I have to deal with in the management of manure on my farm. The best plan I have yet tried 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 horses 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, with a tight barn -floor overhead. When this barn-floor is occupied with sheep, we keep them well-bedded with straw, and it is an easy matter to throw this soiled bedding down to the cow-stable below, where it is used to absorb the urine of the cows, and is then wheeled out to the manure-heap in the yard. At other times, we use dry earth as an absorbent. MANURE ON DAIRT-FABMS. 1(K CHAPTER XXII. MANURE ON DAIRY-FARMS. Farms devoted principally to dairying ought to be richer and more productive than farms largely devoted to the production of grain. Nearly all the produce of the farm is used to feed the cows, and little is sold but milk, or cheese, or butter. When butter alone is sold, there ought to be no loss of fertilizing matter as pure butter or o.l contains no nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash. It contains nothing but carbonaceous matter, which can be removed from the farm without detriment. AnJ even in the case of milk, or cheese, the advantage is all on tlie side of the dairyman, as compared with the grain-grower. A dollar's worth of milk or cheese removes far less nitrogen, phos- phoric acid, and potash, than a dollar's worth of wheat or other grain. Five hundred Ibs. cf cheese contains about 25 Ibs. of nitro- gen, and 20 Ibs. of mineral matter. A cow that would make this amount of cheese would eat not less than six tons of hay, or its equivalent in grass or grain, in a year. And this amount of food, supposing it to be half clover and half ordinary meadow-hay, would contain 240 Ibs. of nitrogen and 810 Ibs. of mineral matter. In other words, a cow eats 240 Ibs. of nitrogen, and 25 Ibs. are re- moved in the cheese, or not quite 10^ per cent, and of mineral matter not quite 2J per cent is removed. If it takes three acres to produce this amount of food, there will be 8 Ibs. of nitrogen removed by the cheese, per acre, while 30 bushels of wheat would remove in the grain 32 Ibs. of nitrogen, and 10 to 15 Ibs. in the straw. So that a crop of wheat removes from five to six times as 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 of wheat or corn. If our grain- growing farmers can keep up the fertility of their land, as they undoubtedly can, the dairymen ought to bo making theirs richer and more productive every year. " All that is quite true," said the Doctor, " and yet from what I have seen and heard, the farms in the dairy districts, do not, as a rule, show any rapid improvement. In fact, we hear it often alleged that the soil is becoming exhausted of phosphates, and that the quantity and quality of the grass is deteriorating/' 102 TALKS ON MANURES. "There may be some truth in this," said I, "and yet I will hazard the prediction that in no other branch of agriculture shall we witness a more decided improvement during the next twenty- five years than on farms largely devoted to the dairy. Grain-grow- ing farmers, like our Menu the Deacon, here, who sells bis grain and never brings home a load of manure, and rarely buys even a ton^of bran to feed to stock, and who sells more or less hay, must certainly be impoverishing their soils of phosphates much more rapidly than the dairyman who consumes nearly all his produce on the farm, and sells Uttle except milk, butter, cheese, young calves, and old cows." "Bones bad, a wonderful effect," said the Doctor, "on the old pastures in the dairy district of Cheshire in England." " Undoubtedly," I replied, "and so they will here, and so would well-rotted manure. There is nothing in this fact to prove that dairying specially robs the soil of phosphates. It is not phosphates that the dairyman needs so much as richer manure." " What would you add to the manure to make it richer?" as'.:ed the Doctor. "Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash," I replied. " But how ? " asked the Deacon. <: I suppose," said the Doctor, " by buying guano and the German potash salts." " That would be a good plan," said I ; " but I would do it by buy- ing bran, mill-feed, brewer's-grains, malt-combs, corn-meal, oil- cake, or whatever was best and cheapest in proportion to value. Bran or mill-feed can often be bought at a price at which it will pay to USG it freely for manure. A few tons of bran worked into a pile of cow-dung would warm it up and add considerably to its value. It would supply the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, in which ordinary manure is d ficient. In short, it would convert paor manure into rich manure." " Well, well," exclaimed the Deacon, " I knew you talked of mix- ing dried-blood and bone-dust with your manure, but I did not think you would advocate anything quite so extravagant as taking good, wholesome bran and spout-feed and throwing it on to your 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 each week into my manure-pile, and that is the reason why it ferments so readily even in the winter. It converts my poor manure into good, rich, well-decomposed dung, one load of which is worth three loads of your long, strawy manure." MANURE ON DAIRY-FARMS. 103 " Do you not wet it and let it ferment before putting it in the pile?" " No, Deacon," said I, "I feed tlie bran, malt-combs and corn- meal to the cows, pigs, and sheep, and let them do the mixing. They work it up fine, moisten it, break up the particles, take out the carbonaceous matter, which we do not need for manure, and the cows and sheep and horses mix it up thoroughly with the hay, straw, and corn-stalks, leaving the whole in just the right con- dition to put into a pile to ferment or to apply directly to the land." " Oh ! I see," said the Deacon, " I did not think you used bran for manure." " Yes, I do, Deacon," said I, " but I use it for food first, and this is precisely what I would urge you and all others to do. I feel sure that our dairymen can well afford to buy more mill-feed, corn-meal, oil-cake, etc., and mix it with their cow-dung or rather, let the cows do the mixing." LETTER FROM THE HON. HARRIS LEWIS. I wrote to the Hon. Harris Lewis, the well known dairyman of Herkiiner Co., N. Y., asking him some questions in regard to mak- ing and managing manure on dairy farms. The questions will be understood from the answers. He Avrites as follows: " My Friend Harris. This being the first leisure time I have had since the receipt of your last letter, I devote it to answering your questions : " 1st. I have no manure cellar. " I bed my cows with dry basswood sawdust , saving all the liquid manure, keeping the cows clean, and the stable odors down to a tolerable degree. This bedding breaks up the tenacity of the cow-manure, rendering it as easy to pulverize and manage as clear horse-manure. I would say it is just lovely to bed cows with dry basswood sawdust. This manure, if left in a large pile, will ferment and burn like horse-manure in about 10 days. Hence I draw it out as made where I desire to use it, leaving it in small heaps, con- venient to spread. " My pigs and calves aro bedded with straw, and this is piled and rotted before using. " I use most of my manure on grass land,. and mangels, some on corn 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 18 to 20 cords is a homoeopathic dose for an acre, and this quantity, or more, applied once in three years to grass land, agrees with it first rate. 104 TALKS ON MANURES. " The land where I grow mangels gets about this dose every year " I would say that my up-land meadows have been mown twice each year for a great many years. " I have been using refuse salt from Syracuse, on my mangels, at the rate of about six bushels per acre, applied broadcast in two applications. My hen-manure is pulverized, and sifted through a common coal sieve. The fine I use for dusting the mangels after they have been singled out, and the lumps, if any, are used to warm up the red peppers. " I have sometimes mixed my hen-manure with dry muck, in the proportion of one bushel of hen-manure to 10 of muck, and received a profit from it too 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 tho liquid is saved, I think we have salt enough for most crops. " I have abandoned the use of plaster on my pastures for the reason that milk produced on green-clover is not so good as that produced on the grasses proper. I use all the wood ashes I can get, on my mangels as a duster, andx consider their value greater than the burners do who sell them to me for 15 cts. a bushel. I have never used much lime, and have not received the expected benefits from its use so far. But wood ashes agree with my land as well as manure docs. The last question 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, about every ten feet along the whole length of the barn behind the cows, and pitch the manure out through these holes, under the eaves of the barn, where it remains until too much in the way, when it is drawn out and commonly applied to grass land in lumps as big as your head. This practice is getting out of fashion a little now, but nearly one-half of all the cow-manure made in Herkimer Co. is lost, wasted. " Your last question, ' What improvement would you suggest,' I answer by saying it is of no use to make any to these men, it would be wasted like their manure. u The market value of manure in this county is 50 cts. per big load, or about one dollar per cord." " That is a capital letter," said the Deacon. " It is right to the point, and no nonsense about it." "He must make a good deal of manure," said the Doctor, " to be able to use 40 loads to the acre en his meadows and MANURE OX DAIRY-FARMS. 105 pastures once in three years, and the same quantity every year on his field of mangel-wurzel." " That is precisely what I have been contending for," I replied ; " the dairymen can make large quantities of manure if they make an effort to do it, and their farms ought to be constantly improving. Two crops of hay on the same meadow, each year, will enable a farmer to keep a large herd of cows, and make a great quantity of manure and when you have once got the manure, there is no dif- ficulty in keeping up and increasing the productiveness of the land." HOW TO MAKE MORE AND BETTER MANURE ON DAIRY FARMS. " You are right," said the Doctor, " in saying that there is no dif- ficulty in keeping up and increasing the productiveness of our dairy farms, when you have once got plenty of manure but the difficulty is to get a good supply of manure to start with." This is true, and it is comparatively slow work to bring up a farm, unless you have plenty of capital and can buy all the artificial manure you want. By the free use of artificial manures, you could make a farm very productive in one or two years. But the slower and cheaper method will be the one adopted by most of our young and intelligent dairymen. Few of us arc born with silver spoons in our mouths. We have to earn our money before we can spend it, and we are none the worse for the discipline. Suppose a young man has a farm of 100 acres, devoted principally to dairying. Some of the land lies on a creek or river, while other portions are higher and drier. In the spring of the year, a stream of water runs through a part of the farm from the adjoining hills down to the creek or river. The farm now supports ten head of cows, three horses, half a dozen sbesp, and a few pigs. The land is worth $75 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, let it be distinctly understood 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 immediately available 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 case the plant-food is locked up in such a form that the crops cannot absorb it, while 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 ON MANURES. 3,000 Ibs. of nitrogen, and an equal 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. These are the two ingredients on which the fertility of our farms mainly depend. And yet there are soils containing this quantity of plant-food that do not produce more than half a ton of hay per acre. In some fields, or parts of fields, the land is wet and the plants cannot take up the food, even while an abundance of it is within reach. The remedy in this case is under-draining. On other fields, the plant-food is locked up in insoluble combinations. In this case we must plow up the soil, pulverize it, and expose it to the oxygen of the atmosphere. We must treat the soil as my mother used to tell me to treat my coffee, when I complained that it was not sweet enough. " I put plenty of sugar in," she said, "and if you will stir it up, the coffee will be sweeter." The sugar lay un- dissolvcd at the bottom of the cup ; and so it is with many of our soils. There is plenty of plant-food in them, but it needs stirring up. They contain, it may be, 3,OCO Ibs. of nitrogen, and other plant-food hi still greater proportion, and we are only getting a crop that contains 18 Ibs. of nitrogen a year, and of this probably the rain supplies 9 Ibs. Let us stir up the soil and see if we cannot set 100 Ibs. of this 3,000 Ibs. of nitrogen free, and get three tons of hay par acre instead of half a ton. There are men who own a large amount of valuable property in vacant city lots, who do not get enough from them to pay their taxes. If they would sell half of them, and put buildings on the other half, they might soon have a hindsome income. And so it is with many farmers. They have the elements of 100 tons of hay lying dor- ment in every acre of their land, while they are content to .receive half a ton a year. They have property enough, but it is unproduc tive, while they pay high taxes for the privilege of holding it, and high wages for the pleasure of boarding two or three hired men. We have, say, 3,000 Ibs. of nitrogen locked up in each acre of our soil, and we get 8 or 10 Ibs. every year in rain and dew, and yet, practically, all that we want, to make our farms highly productive, is 100 Ibs. of nitrogen par 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 necessary to de- velope this amount of nitrogen from the soil every year. In the case of clover-hay, the entire loss of nitrogen in the animal and in the milk would not exceed 15 per cent, so that, when we feed out MANURE ON DAIRY-FARMS, 107 100 Ibs. of nitrogen, we have 85 Ibs. left in the manure. We want to develope 100 Ibs. of nitrogen in the soil, to enable us to raise a good crop to start with, and when this is once done, an annual development of 15 Ibs. per acre in addition to the manure, would keep up the productiveness of the soil. Is it not worth while, therefore, to make an earnest effort to get started ? to get 100 Ibs. of nitrogen in the most available condition in the soil? As I said before, tlas is practically all that is needed to give us large crops. This amount of nitrogen represents about twelve tons of average barn-yard manure that is to say, twelve tons contains 100 Ibs. of nitrogen. But hi point of fact it is not in an imme- diately available condition. It would probably take at least two years before all the nitrogen it contains would be given up to the plants. We want, therefore, in order to give us a good start, 24 tons of barn-yard manure on every acre of land. How to get this is the great problem which our young dairy farmer has to solve. In the grain-growing districts we get it in part by summer- fallowing, and I believe the dairyman might often do the same thing with advantage. A thorough summer-fallow would not only clean the land, but would render some of the latent plant- food available. This will be organized in the next crop, and when the dairyman has once got the plant-food, he has decidedly the advantage over the grain-growing farmer in his ability to retain it. He need not lose over 16 per cent a year of nitrogen, and not one per cent of the other elements of plant-food. The land lying on the borders of the creek could be greatly benefiteel by cutting surface ditches to let off the water; and later, probably it will be found that a few underdrains can be put in to advantage. These alluvial soils on the borders of creeks and rivers are grand sources of nitrogen and other plant-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 perhaps flooded in the spring. But, be this as it may, there is a field on the farm I am alluding to, lying on the creek, which now produces a bountiful growth of weeds, rushes, and coarse grasses, which I am sure could easily be made to produce great crops of hay. The creek overflows in the spring, and the water lies on some of the lower parts of the field until it is evaporated. A few ditches would allow all the water to pass off, and this alone would be a great improvement. If the field was flooded in May or June, and thoroughly cultivated and harrcwed, the sod would be suffi- ciently rotted to plow again in August. Then a thorough harrow ing, rolling, and cultivating, would make it as mellow as a garden, 108 TALKS ON MANUUES. and it could be seeded down with timothy and other good grasses the Lst of August, or beginning of September, and produce a good crop of hay the next year. Or, if thought betler, it might bj sown to rye and seeded down with it. In either case the 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' " homo3Opathic " doses of 40 loads of good manure per acre. He would then be able to cut two crops of hay a year and such hay ! But we are anticipating. That stream which runs through the farm in the spring, and then dries up, could be made to irrigate several acres of the land adjoining. Tnis would double, or treble, or quadruple, (" hold on," said the Deacon,) the crops of grass as far as the water reached. The Deacon does not seem to credit this statement ; but I have seen wonderful effects produced by 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 cow:>, and make more manure, and the manure will enable us to grow larger crops on other portions of the farm. I am aware that many will object to plowing up old grass land, and I do not wish to be misunderstood on this point. If a farmer has a meadow that will produce two or three tons of hay, or support a cow, to the acre, it would be folly to break 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 ^es not produce a ton of hay per acre, or pasture a cow on three acres, if such land can b3 plowed without great difficulty, I would break it up as early in the fall as possible, and summer-fallow it thoroughly, nnd seed it down again, heavily, with grass seeds the next August. If the land does not need draining 1 , it will not forget this treatment for many years, and it will b3 the farmer's own fault if it ever runs down again. In this country, where wages are so high, we must raise large crops per acre, or not raise any. Where land is cheap, it may some- times pay to compel a cow to travel over three or four acres to get her food, but we cannot afford to raise our hay in half ton crops ; i. costs too much to harvest them. High wages, high taxes, and high priced land, necessitate high farming; and by high farming, I mean growing large crops every year, and on every portion of the farm ; but high wages and low-priced land do rot necessarily demand high fanning. If the land is cheap we can suffer it to lie idle with- out mush loss. But when we raise crops, whether on high-priced MANURE ON DAIllY-FARMS. 109 land or on low-priced land, we must raise good crops, or the expense of cultivating and harvesting them will eat up all the profits In the dairy districts, I believe land, in proportion to its quality and nearness to market, commands a higher price than land in the grain- growing districts. Hence it follows that high farming should be the aim of the American dairyman^ I am told that there are farms in the dairy districts of this State worth from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per acre, on which a cow to four acres for the year is considered a good average. At a meeting of the Little Falls Farmers' Club, the Hon. Josiah Shull, gave a statement of the receipts and expenses of his farm of 81| acres. The farm cost $130 per acre. He kept twenty cows, and fatted one for beef. The receipts were as follows : Twenty cows yielding 8,337 Ibs. of cheese, at at^ut 14 cents per pound $1,186.33 Increase on beef cow 40 00 Calves 45.00 Total receipts $1,271.33 EXPENSES. Boy, six months and board $180.00 Man by the year, and board 3CO.OO Carting in ilk and manufacturing cheese 215.00 Total cost of labor "$755.00 THE OTHER EXPENSES WERE : Fertilizers, plants, etc $ 18.00 Horse-shoeing and other repairs of farming implements, (which is certainly pretty cheap,) 50.00 "Wear and tear of implements 65.00 Average repairs of place and buildings 175.00 Average depreciation and interest on stock 180.00 Insurance 4.00 Incidental^, (also pretty low,) 50.00 $620.00 Total receipts $1,271.33. Total expenses 1,375.00. This statement, it is said, the Club considered a very fair estimate. Now, here is a farm costing $10,595, the receipts from which, saying nothing cbout interest, are less than the expenses. And if you add two cents per pound more to the price of the cheese, the profit would still be only about $50 per year. The trouble is not so much in the low price of cheese, as in the low product per acre. I know some grain-growing farmers who have^done no better than this for a few years past. Mr. Shull places the annual depreciation and interest on stock at $180, equal to nearly one-seventh of the total receipts of the farm. It would pay the wages and board of another man for six months, 110 TALKS ON MANURES. Can not it be avoided ? Good beef is relatively much higher in this State than good cheese. Some of the dairy authorities tell us that cheese is the cheapest animal food in the world, while beef is the dearest. Why, then, should our dairymen confine their atten- tion to the production of the cheapest of farm products, and neg- lect almost entirely the production of the dearest? If beef is high and cheese low, why not raise more beef ? On low-priced land it may be profitable to raise and keep cows solely for the production of cheese, and when the cows are no longer profitable for this pur- pose, to sacrifice them to throw them aside as we do a worn-out machine. And in similar circumstances we may be able to keep sheep solely for their wool, but on high-priced land we can not afford to keep sheep merely for their wool. We must adopt a higher system of farming and feeding, and keep sheep that will give us wool, lambs, and mutton. In parts of South America, where land costs nothing, cattle can be kept for their bones, tallow, and hides, but where food is costly we must make better 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 $100. This machine has to be kept run- ning night and day, summer and winter, week days and Sundays. If we were running a steam-flouring mill that could never be allowed to stop, we should be careful to lay in a good supply of coal and also have plenty of grain on hand to grind, so that the mill would never have to run empty. No sensible man would keep up steam merely to run the mill. He would want to grind all the time, and as much as possible ; and yet coal is a much cheaper source of power than the hay and corn with which we run our milk-producing machine. How often is the latter allowed to run empty ? The machine is running night and day must run, but is it always running to advantage? Do we furnish fuel enough to enable it to do full work, or only little more than enough to run the machinery ? " What has all this to do with making manure on dairy farms? " asked the Deacon; "you are wandering from the point." " I hope not ; I am trying to show that good feeding will pay better than poor feeding and better food means better manure." I estimate that it takes from 15 to 18 Ibs. of ordinary hay per day to run this cow-machine, which we have been talking about, even when kept warm and comfortable ; and if exposed to cold storms, probably not less than 20 Ibs. of hay a day, or its equivalent, and this merely to keep the machine running, without doing any work. It requires this to keep the cow alive, and to pre- MANURE ON DAIKY-FARMS. Ill vent her losing flesh. If not supplied with the requisite amount of food for this purpose, she will take enough fat and flesh from her own body to make up the deficiency ; and if she cannot get it, the machine will stop in other words, the cow will die. We have, then, a machine that costs say $100 ; tliat will last on an average eight years; that requires careful management; that must have constant watching, or it will be liable to get out of order, and that requires, merely to keep it running, say 20 Ibs. of hay per day. Now, what do we get in return ? If we furnish only 20 Ibs. of hay per day we get- nothing except manure. If we furnish 25 Ibs. of hay per day, or its equivalent, we get, say half a pound of cheese per day. If we furnish 30 Ibs. we get one pound of cheese per day, or 365 Ibs. a year. We may not get the one pouncl of cheese every day in the year; sometimes the cow, instead of giving milk, is furnishing food for her embryo calf, 01 storing up fat and flesh; and this fat and flesh will be used by and by to produce milk. But it all comes from the food eaten by the cow ; and is equal to one pound of cheese per day for SO Ibs. of hay or its equivalent consumed; 20 Ibs. of hay gives us nothing; 25 Ibs. of hay gives us half a pound of cheese, or 40 Ibs. of cheese from one ton of hay; 30 Ibs. gives us one pound, or 66| Ibs. of cheese from one ton of hay ; 35 Ibs. gives us 1 Ibs. , or 85*/ 7 Ibs. of cheese to one ton of hay ; 40 Ibs. gives us 2 Ibs of cheese, or 100 Ibs. of cheese from one ton of hay ; 45 Ibs. gives us 2% Ibs. of cheese, or 111 Ibs. of cheese from one ton of hay ; 50 Ibs. gives us 3 Ibs. of cheese, or 120 Ibs. of cheese from one ton of hay. On this basis, one ton of hay, in excess of tlie amount required to keep up the animal heat and smia'.n the v'taf functions, gives us 200 Ibs. of cheese. The point I wish to illustrate by these figures, which are of course hypothetical, is, that it is exceedingly desirable to get animals that will cat, dijest, and assimilate a large amount of food, over and above that required to keep up the heat of the body and sustain the vital functions. When a cow eats only 25 Ibs. of hay a day, it requires one ton of hay to produce 40 Ibs. of cheese. But if we could induce her to cat, digest, and assimilate 50 Ibs. a day, one ton would produce 120 Ibs. of cheese. If a cow eats 33 Ibs. of hay per day, or its equivalent in grass, it will require four acres of land, with a productive capacity equal to 1-J- tons of hay per acre, to keep her a year. Such a cow, according to the figures given above, will produce 401| Ibs. of cheese a year, or its equivalent in growth A farm of 80 acres, on this basis, would support 20 co\T3, yielding, 112 TALKS ON MANURES. say 8,000 Ibs. of cheese. Increase the productive power cf the farm one half, (I hope the Deacon has not gone to sleep), and kejp 20 cows tuat will eat half as much again food, and we should Uen get 21,600 Ibs. of cheese. If chees.) is worth 15 cents per lb., a farm of 80 acres, producing 1 tons of hay, or its equivalent, per acre, and supporting 20 cows, would give us a gross return of $1,204.50. The same farm so improved as to produce 2 tons of Lay or its equivalent, per acre led to 20 cows capable of eating ^ digesting, and a&8Jmilj,ting it -would give a gross return of $3,240. In presenting these figures, I hope you will not think me a visionary. I do not think it is possible to get a cow to produce 3 Ibs. of cheese a -day throughout the whole year. But I do think it quite possible to so breed and feed a cow that she will pro- duce 3 Ibs. of checs3 per day, or its equivalent in veal, flesh, or fat. We frequently have cows that produce 3 Ibs. of cheese a day for several weeks ; and a cow can be so fed that Lhe will produce 3 Ibs. of cheese a day without losing weight. And if she can extract this amount of matter out of the food for a part of the year, why can not she do so for the whole year? Arc the powers of digestion weaker in the fall and winter than in spring and summer? If not, we unquestionably sustain great loss by allowing this digestive power to run to waste. This digestive power costs us 20 Ibs. of hay a day. We can ill afford to let it lie dormant. But the Deacon will tell me that the cows are allowed all the food they will eat, winter and summer. Then we must, if they have digestive power to spare, endeavor to persaude them to eat more. If they eat as much hay or grass as their stomachs are capable of holding, we must endeavor to give them richer hay or grass. Not one farmer in a thousand seems to appre- ciate the advantage of having hay or grass containing a high per- centage of nutriment. I have endeavored to show that a cow eat- ing six tons of hay, or its equivalent, in a year, would produce 400 Ibs. of cheese, worth $60. While a cow capable of eating, digesting, and turning to good account, nine tons of hay, or its equivalent, would produce 1,090 Ibs. of cheese, or its equivalent in other products, worth $162. " I am sorry to interrupt 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 other farmer who keeps his cows on poor grass in summer, and corn-stalks and straw in winter." I was going to say, when the Deacon interrupted me, that the MANURE ON DAIRY-FARMS. 113 stomach of a cow may not allow her to eat nine tons of Lay a year, but it will allow her to eat six tons; and if these six tons contain as much nutriment as the nine tons, what is the real difference in its value ? Ordinarily we should probably ^stirnate the one at $10 per ton, and the other at $15. But according to the above figures, one is worth $10 per ton and the other $27. To get rich grass, therefore, should be the aim of the American dairyman. I hopj the Deacon begins to see what connection this has with a large pile of rich manure. I do not mean merely a heavy growth of grass, but grass con- taining a high percentage of nutriment. Our long winters and heavy snows are a great advantage to us in this respect. Our grass in the spring, after its long rest, ought to start up like aspara- gus, and, under the organizing influence of our clear skies, and powerful sun, ought to be exceedingly nutritious. Comparatively few farmers, however, live up to their priv. leges in this respect. Our climate is better than our farming, the sun richer than our neglected soil. England may be able to produce more grass per acre in a year than wo can, but we ought to produce richer grass, and, consequently, more cheese to a cow. And I believe, in fact, that such is often the case. The English dairyman has the advan- tage of a longer season of growth. We have a shorter season but a brighter sun, and if we do not have richer grass it is due to the want of draining, clean culture, and manuiing. The object of American dairymen should be, not only to obtain more grass per acre, but to increase its nutriment in a given bulk. If we could increase it one-half, making six tons equal to nine tons, we have shown that it is nearly three times as valuable. Whether this can be done, I have not now time t:> consi-.ier; but at any rate if your laud produces as many weeds as elo some fields on my farm, not to say the Deacon's, and if the plant-food that these weeds absorb, coukl be organized by nutritious grasses, this alone would do a good deal towards accomplishing the object. Whether this can be done or not, we want cows that can eat and turn to good account as much food per annum as "is contained in nine tons of ordinary meadow-hay ; and we want this nutriment in a bulk not exceeding six tons of hay. If possible, we should get this amount of nutri- ment in grass or hay. But if we can not d 144 TALKS OX MAXTJRKS. 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 nitrogen, equal t3 .46 of ammonia, in a second determination. " That the reader may have some idea of the character of this soil, it may be stated, chat 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). M Msture 18. 73 Organic matter* 9.72 Oxide of iron and alumina 13.24 Carbonate of lime 8.82 Magnesia, alkalies, etc 1.72 Insoluble silicious matter, (chiefly clay) 47.77 100.00 * Containing nitrogen ....................................... 313 Equal to ammonia ......................................... 380 "The second square yard from the brow of the hill, where the clover was bad, produced 13 ounces of air-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 ....................................................... 55.732 Organic matter* .............................................. 39.408 Mineral matter, (ash) ........................................ __ 4.860 100.000 * Containing nitrogen ..................................... 792 Equal to ammonia ...................... ................. 901 " The roots on the spot where the clover was very bad, yielded only 31 Ibs. of nitrogen per acre, or scarcely one-third of the quantity which was obtained from the roots where the clover was good. " The soil from the second square yard, on analysis, was found, when freed from stones by sifting, to contain in 100 parts : COMPOSITION OF SOIL, NO. 2. (BAD CLOVER)> Water ......................................................... 17.24 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 mination. *Containing nitrogen ............................ 306 .330 Equal to ammonia ...... ........................ 370 .470 EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER. 145 "Both portions of the clover-soil thus contained about the same percentage of orgaaic 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 present hi 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 Ma.^esia 3.03 Potash 6.88 Soda 1.93 Phosphoric acid 3.61 Sulphuric acid 2.24 Soluble silica 19.01 Insoluble silicious matter 24.83 Carbonic acid, chlorine, and loss 8.25 100. OJ " 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 iron, 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 sulphur'c acid. On the decay of the clover-roots, these and other mineral fertilizing matters arc 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 fcrtlliz- 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 prepaiacion 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, durirg 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 thin, and the soil itself stony at a depth of four inches; and another plot of one square yard at the bottom of the hill, from a place 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 yarcl, six inches deep, when picked out by hand, and cleaned as much as possible, weighed, in their natural state, 2 Ibs. 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 Ib. 12 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 Ibs. 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 Ibs. ; the soil which passed through weighing 218 Ibs. " The soil was next dried by artificial heat, when the 218 Ibs. became reduced to 185.487 Ibs. * In this partially dried state it contained : EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER. 147 Moisture 4.21 Organic matter* 9.78 Mineral umttert _ 86 :^: IQOTOQ * Containing nitrogen 391 Equal to ammonia *'* t Including phosphoric acid 20-1 " I also determined the phosphoric acid in the ash of the clover- roots. Calculated for the roots in 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. In the fine soil 1 H In the clover-roots Total quantity of nitrogen per acre . ,\ _1 11 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 bs doubted that a considerable quantity of nitrogen will become available by the lime 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 Ibs. 8 oz. of fresh clover-roots ; or 1 Ib. 11 oz. 47 grains of par- tially dried roots; 61 Ibs. 9 oz. of limestones, and 239.96 Ibs. of nearly dry soil. " The partially dried roots contained : Moisture 5.06 Org.inic matter* 7 31.91 Mineral matter 63.00 100.00 * Containing nitrogen "7804 " An acre of this soil, six inches deep, produced 3 tons, 7 cw f s. 65 Ibs. of clover-roots, containing 61 Ibs. of nitrogen ; that is, there 3*3 TALKS ON MANURES. was very nearly tne same quantity of roots and nitrogen in them, as that furnished in the soil from the brow of the lull. ' The roots, moreover, yielded .365 per cent of phosphoric acid ; or, calculated per acre, 27 Ibs. " In the partially dried soil, I found : Moisture 4.70 Organic matier* .' 10.87 Mineral matterf 84.43 luO.OO * Containing nitrogen 405 Equal to ammonia 491 t Including phosphoric acid 321 " According to these determinations, an acre of soil from the bottom of the hill, contains : Tons. Owts. Lbs. Nitrogen in the organic matter of the soil 2 2 Nitrogen in clover-roots of the soil 61 Total amount of nitrogen per acre... r 2 2 ~~6l " 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 matters of the soil, and not in the coarser bits of roots which were picked out by the hand. It may be assumed that the finer particles of organic matter are more readily decom- posed 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 wheat, than that on the brow ofthehilL EXPERIMENTS OX CLOVER-SOILS. 149 CHAPTER XXV I. EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS FROM BURCOTT LODGE FARM, LEIGHTON BUZZARD. 5 The soils for the next experiments, were kindly supplied to me, A 1866, by Robert Valentine, of Burcott Lodge, who also sent me some notes respecting the growth and yield of clover-hay and seed on this soil. " Foreign seed, at the rate of 12 Ibs. per acre, was sown with a crop of wheat, which yielded five quarters per acre the previous year. a 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 Ibs. 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-J tons per acre. This result was obtained by 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 cwt. 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. About one-half was mown for hay a second time, and the other part left for seed. The produce of the second half of the 11-acre field, was cut on the 8th of October, and carried on the 10th. 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, waa rather 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 FART OF 11-ACRE FIELD TWICE MOWN FOR HAT. "The upper six inches of soil, one foot square, contained all the main roots of 18 strong plants; the next six inches, only small root fibres, and in the third section, a six-inch slice cut clown at a 150 TALKS ON MANURES. depth of 12 inches from the surface, no distinct fibres could be found. The soil \vas almost completely saturated with ruin wnen it was dug up on the 18th of September, 186G : Lbs. The upper six inches of soil, one foot square, weighed 60 The second " 6L The third " t>3 " These three portions of one foot of soil, 18 inches deep, were dried nearly completely, and weighed again ; when the first six inches weighed 51 Ibs. ; the second six inches, 51 Ibs. 5 oz. ; and th? third section, 54 Ibs. 2 oz. " Th3 first six inches contained 3 Ibs. 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 down, and passed through a wire sieve. " The three layers of soil, dried and reduced to powder, were mixed together, and a prepared average sample, when submitted to analysis, yielded the following results : COMPOSITION OF CLOVER-SOIL, 18 INCHES DEEP, FROM PART OF 11-ACRE FIELD, TWICE MOWN FOR HAY. f Organic matter 5.86 Oxides of iron 6.83 Alumina 7.12 Carbonate of lime 2.13 Soluble in hy- I Magnesia 2.01 drochloric acid. ] Potash 67 Soda 08 Chloride of sodium 02 Phosphoric acid 18 Sulphuric acid 17 f Insoluble silicious matter. 7'4.G1. Consisting of : Alumina 4.37 Lime, (in a state of silicate) 4.07 Insoluble in acid \ Magnesia 46 Potash 19 Soda 23 Silica 65. 29 "This soil, it will be seen, contained, in appreciable quantities, not only potash and phosphoric acid, but all the 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 sufficiency of lime, potash, and phosphoric acid, to meet all the requirements of the clover-crop. Originally, rather unproductive, it has been much improved by deep culture ; by being smashed up into rough clods, early in autumn, and by being exposed in this state to the crum- bling effects of the air, it now yields good corn and forage crops. EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 151 " In separate portions of the three layers of soil, the proportions of nitrogen and phosphoric acid contained in each layer of six inches, were determined and found to be as follows : Soil dried at 212 deg. Fahr. lat MX KJ, mx 3d nix inches, inches, inches. Percentage of phosphoric acid 249 .1^4 .172 Nitrogen 1.62 .092 .064 Equal to ammonia 198 . 112 .078 " In the upper six inches, as will be seen, the percentage of both phosphoric acid and nitrogen, was larger than in the two follow- ing layers, while the proportion of nitrogen in the six inches of sur- face soil, was much larger than in the next six inches ; and in the third section, containing no visible particles of root-fibres, only very little nitrogen occurred. " In their natural state, the three layers of soil contained : 1st six 2d kix 3d six indies, inches, inches. Moisture 17.16 18.24 16.62 Phosphoric acid 198 .109 .143 Nitrogen 131 .075 .053 Equal to ammonia 1CU .091 .064 Ibs. Z&. ibs. Weight of one foot square of soil GO 61 63 " Calculated per acre, the absolute weight of one acre of this land, six inches deep, weighs : Lbs. 1st six inches 2,613,600 2d six inches 2,657,160 3d six inches 2,746,280 " No great error, therefore, will be made, if we assume in the subsequent calculations, that six inches of this soil weighs two and one-half millions of pounds per acre. " An acre of land, according to the preceding determinations, contains : 1st six inches, 2d six incJws, 3d six inches, Lbs. Lb\ Lbs. Phosphoric acid 4,950 2,725 3,575 Nitrogen 3,350 1,875 1,325 Equal to ammonia _i- 050 g ' 275 " The proportion of phosphoric acid in six inches of surface soil, it will be seen, amounted to about two-tenths per cent ; a propor- tion of the whole soil, so small that it may appear insufficient for the production of a good corn-crop. However, when calcu- lated to the acre, we find that six inches 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 60 Ibs. per 152 TALKS OX MANURES. busliel, and 3,000 Ibs. of straw, removes from the land on which it is grown, 20 Ibs. of phosphoric acid. The clover-soil analyzed by nie, consequently contains- an amount of phosphoric acid in a dyptu of only six inches, which is equal to that present in 2474- average crops of wheat ; or supposing that, by good cultivation and in favorable seasons, the average yield of wheat could be doubled, and 50 bushels of grain, at GO Ibs. a bushel, and 6,000 ILs. 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 phosphoric acid in a soil, however, by no means proves its sufficiency for the produc- tion of so many crops of wheat ; for, in the first place, it can not be shown that the whole of the phosphoric 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 wheat- plant can not reach and pick up, so to speak, every particle of phosphoric acid, even supposing it to occur in the soil in a form most conducive to 'ready assimilation by the plant.' " The calculation is not given 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 cf that limited depth. It shows the existence of a prac- tically unlimited amount of the most important mineral constitu- ents of plants, and clearly points out the propriety of rendering available 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 the Deacon, " that is the right doctrine." " The roots," continues Dr. Voelcker, " from one square foot of soil were cleaned as much as possible, dried completely at 212, and in that state weighed 240 grains. An cere consequently con- tained 1,493 Ibs. of dried clover-roots. " The clover-roots contained, dried at 212 Fahr. , Organic matter* 81.33 Mineral matter, t (ash) 18.67 100.00 * Yielding nitrogen 1.6-5 Equal to ammonia 1.985 t Including insoluble silicious matter, (clay and sand) 11.67 EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 153 " Accordingly the clover-roots in an acre of land furnished 24^ Ibs. of nitrogen. We have thus : Lbs. of nitrogen. In the six inches of surface soil 3,350^ In large clover-roots In second six inches of soil 1,<5 Total amount of nitrogen in one acre of soil 12 inches deep 5,249 Equal to ammonia ^?I^t 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 sufficiently decomposed in time to be available to the young wheat-plants. CLOVER-SOIL FROM PART OF 11-ACRE FIELD OF BURCOTT LODGE FARM, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, ONCE MOWN FOR HAT, AND LEFT AFTERWARDS FOR SEED. " Produce 2| tons of clover-hay, and 3 cwt. of seed per acre. " This soil was obtained within a distance 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 55 Ibs. The next " u t? 58 " The third " " " .. 60 " " After drying by exposure to hot air, the three layers of soil weighed : The upper six inches, one foot square 40t Ibs. The next " " 5land, appears still more strikingly on comparing the tots! EXPERIMENTS OX CLOVER-SOILS. 157 amounts of nitrogen per acre in the different sections of the two portions of the 11-acre field. PERCENTAGE OF NITROGEN PER ACRE. First Second Third six inches, six inches, six inches. Lbs. Lbi. Lx. I. In soil, clover twice mown* ) 3,350 1,875 1,325 II. In soil, clover once mown and seeded > afterwardst ) 4,725 3,850 2,025 Equal to ammonia : ) * I. Clover twice mown V 4,059 2,275 1,GOO til. Clover seeded j 5,725 4,050 2,700 Lbs. I. Nitrogen in roots of clover twice mown ) 241 II. Nitrogen in clover, once mown, and grown for seed after- > wards ) 51i I. Weight of dry roots per acre from Soil I j 1,493 i II. Weight of dry roots per acre from Soil II j 3,022 Total amount of nitrogen in 1 acre, 12 inches deep of Soil I*. [ 5,249* Total amount of nitrogen in 1 acre, 12 inches deep of Soil Ilf. \ 8,128 i Excess of nitrogen in an acre of soil 12 inches deep, calculated ( rQOi as ammonia in part of field, mown once and then seeded [ ~>_*_ * Equal to ammonia ) ~674 1 H t Equal to ammonia j 9,867 <: It will be seen that not only was the amount of large clover- roots greater in the part where clover was grown for seed, but tliat likewise the different layers of soil were in every instance richer in nitrogen after clover -seed, than after clover mown twice for hay. " Reasons are 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 plants which it contains, as by the amount of nitrogen, which, to- g;ther 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 experiments, 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, other 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 nitrogenous 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 preceding experiments, much greater when clover is grown for seed, than when it is made into hay. This 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, which is carried off, than when that crop is cut down and the produce consumed on the land. The chemical points brought forward in 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 the fields. Many years ago, I made a great many experiments relative to the chemistry of farm-yard manure, and then showed, amongst other particulars, that manure, spread at once on the land, need not there and then be plowed in, inasmuch as neither a broiling sun, nor a sweeping and drying wind will cause the slightest loss of nmmonin; and that, therefore, the old-fashioned farmer who carts his manure on the laud as soon as he can, and spreads it at once, but who plows it in at his convenience, acts in 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 the larger the amounts of nitrogen, potash, soda, lime, phosphoric acid, etc., which are removed from the laud 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 efficacy 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 leave it in a rough state as long as is admis- sible, in order that 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, and these, in the course of time, into nitrates, which I am strongly inclined to think is the form in which EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 159 nitrogen is assimilated, par excellence by cereal crops,and in which, at all events, it is more efficacious than in any other state of com- bination wherein it may be used as a fertilizer. " When the clover-lay is plowed up early, the decay of the clover is sufficiently advanced by the time the young wheat-plant stands in need of readily available nitrogenous food, and this being uni- formly distributed through the whole of the cultivated soil, is ready to benefit every single plant. This equal and abundant dis- tribution of food, peculiarly valuable to cereals, 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 produce as good an effect as in others. In very dry springs, the rainfall is not sufficient to wash it properly into the soil and to distribute it equally, and in very wet seasons it is apt to be washed either into the drains or into a stratum of the soil not accessible to the roots of the young wheat. As, therefore, the character of the approaching season can not usually be predicted, the application of nitrate of soda to wheat is always attended with more or less uncertainty. " The case is different, when a good crop of clover-hay has been obtained from the land on which wheat is intended 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 colder 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 of the chief points of interest which I have endeavored fully to develope in the preceding pages : " 1. A good crop of clover removes from the soil more potash, 1GO TALKS ON MANURES. phosphoric acid, lime, and other mineral matters, which enter into the composition of the ashes of our cultivated crops, than any other crop usually grown in this country. " 2. Tuere is fully three times as much nitrogen in a crop of clover as in the average produce of the grain and straw of wheat per acre. " 3. Notwithstanding the large amount of nitrogenous matter and of ash-constituents of plants, in the produce of an acre, clover is an excellent preparatory crop for wheat. " 4. During the growth of clover, a large amount of nitrogenous matter accumulates in the soil. " 5. This accumulation, which is greatest in the surface soil, is due to decaying leaves dropped during the growth of clover, and to an abundance 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 yield- ing a better crop after clover-seed than after hay. " 7. The development of roots being checked, when the produce, in a green condition, is fed off by sheep, in all probability, 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 stronger, and yields better, after clover mown for hay, than when the clover is fed off green by sheep. " 8. The nitrogenous matters in the clover remains, on their gradual decay, are finally transformed into nitrates, thus affording a continuous source of food on which cereal crops specially delight to grow. " 9. There is strong presumptive evidence that the nitrogen which 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 cloveF-crop. This crop causes a large accumulation of nitrogenous matters, which are gradually changed in the soil into nitrates. The atmosphere thus furnishes nitrogenous food to the succeeding wheat indirectly, and, so to say, gratis. " 10. Clover not only provides abundance of nitrogenous food, but delivers this food in a readily available form (as nitrates), more gradually and continuously, and, consequently, with more cer- EXPERIMENTS ON CLOVER-SOILS. 161 tainty of a good result, than such food can be applied to the land in the shape of nitrogenous spring top-dressings." " Thank you Charley," s-rid the Doctor, " that is tlie most re- markable paper I ever listened to. I do not quite know what to think of it. We shall have to examine it carefully." " The first three propositions in the Summary," said I, " are un- questionably true. Proposition No. 4, is equally true, but we must be careful what meaning we attach ton he word ' accumulate.' The idea is, that clover gathers up the nitrogen in the soil. It does not increase the absolute amount of nitrogen. It accumulates it brings it together." " Proposition Ho. 5, will not be disputed ; and I think we may accept No. 6, also, though we can not be sure that allowing clover to go to seed, had anything to do with the increased quantity of clover-roots." " Proposition No. 7, may or may not be true. We have no proof, only a * probability ; ' and the same may be said in regard to propositions Nos. 8, 9, and 10." The Deacon seemed uneasy. He did not like these remarks. He had got the impression, while Charley was reading, that much more was proved than Dr. Vcelcker claims in his Summary. " I thought," said he, 4< that on the part of the field where the clover was allowed to go to seed, Dr. Yrelcker 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 the quantity of nitro- gen and phosphoric acid found in the soil. The facts given by Dr. Vcelcker, are exceedingly interesting. Let us look at them : " "A field of 11 acres was sown to winter- wheat, and seeded down in the spring, w r ith 12 Ibs. 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 part of the field yielded three tons (6,720 Ibs.) of clover-hay per acre; the whole field averaging 2 tons (5,600 Ibs.) 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 Ibs. 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 divided into two parts : one part was mown again for hay, August 21st, and yielded about 162 TALKS ON MANURES. 30 cwt. (3,300 Ibs.) 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 5^ 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. Ycelcker then analyzed tiie soil. That from the part of the fijld mown twice for hay, contained per acre: Fir.J six Second six Third six Total, 13. inches inches. inches. inches deep. Phosphoric acid 4,950 2,725 3,575 11,250 Nitrogen 3,350 1,875 1,3:35 6,550 "The soil from the part mown once for hay, and tfien for seed, contained per acre : first s'.x Second six Third six Total, 18 inches. inches. inches. inches deep. Phosphoric acid 3,975 4,150 3,500 11,025 Nitrogen 4,725 3,350 2/J25 10,300 " Dr.Vcelcker also ascertained the amount Sind composition of the clovcr-r0 p Farmyard Manure. Silicate of Potass. 1 Potass.'* s I ti rplcosphte 'S| of Lime* g,^ Bone-ash. ; Muria'ic I ^dd. 1=5 I Sulphate of o 5 I Ammonta. =f =i I Muriate of * 7> Ammonia. g Carbonate of Ammonia. -ffa^e (7afce. g* I Tapioca. oo OT oo Co w w oo oo o w b ao co w o u> oo ao w ." I Bushel. 6>^a^ Corn. ? 2Wa/ Cbrn.: -Sifrow t*. - - > (Tzfa^ <70m to 10J Corn V> jtj Straw. EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. 175 The season of 1845 was more favorable for wheat, than that of 1844, and the crops on all the plots were better. On plot No. 3, which had no manure last year, or this, the yield is 23 bushels per acre, against 15 bushels last year. Last year, the 14 tons of barn-yard manure gave an increase of only 5J 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 tons of manure again in 1845 ? " " Precisely that, Deacon," said 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 Rothamsted." " It is poor farming," said the Deacon, ''and I should think the land would get too rich to grow wheat." "It is not so," said I, "and the fact is an interesting one, and teaches a most important lesson, of whicn, more hereafter." Plot 5, last year, received 700 Ibs. of superphosphate per acre. This year, this plot was divided ; one half was left without ma nure, and the other dressed with 252 Ibs. of pure carbonate of ammonia per acre. The half without manure, (5#), 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 Ib. more per bushel than 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, which contains no mineral matter at all, gives an increase of nearly 4 bushels of grain per acre, and an increase of 887 Ibs. of straw. " Wait a moment," said the Deacon, " is not 887 Ibs. of straw to 3 The manures termed superphosphate of lime and phosnhate of potass, wore made by acting upon bone-ash by means of sulphuric acid, and in the ca-e of the potass salt neutralizing the compound thus obtained, by means of pearl-ash. For the su^erphoshate of lime, tlie proportions were, 5 parts bone-ash. 3 parts water, and 3 parts sulphuric acid of sp. gr. 1.84 : and for the phosphate of potass, 4 parts bone ash. water as needed, 3 parts sulphuric acid of sp. gr. 1.84; and an equivalent amount of pearl-ash. The mixtures, 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- dressed. 4 Plot 5. was 2 lands wide (in after years, respectively, 5a and 5ft) : 5 1 con ist- ing of 2 alternate one-fourth lengths across both lands, and 5 2 of the 2 remain- ing one-fourth lengths. 6 Top-dressed at once. 8 Top-dressed at 4 intervale. T Peruvian. 8 Ichaboe. 176 TALKS OX MANURES. 4 bushels of grain an unusually large proportion of straw to grain ? I have heard you say that 100 Ibs. of straw to each bushel of wheat is about the.average. And according to this experiment, the carbonate of ;.nimoni;i produced over 200 Ibs. 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 Ibs. of straw to a bushel of dressed grain. Taking this as the standard, you will find that 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 Ibs. 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 produce 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 the 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 Ibs. 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 are 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 application of 14 tons of farmyard-manure per acre, every year for over thirty years, 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. 17? rich for wheat. But on a clayey soil, such is evidently not the case. And tue fact is a very important one. When we apply manure, our object should be to make it as available as possible. Nature preserves or conserves 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 definite," said the Deacon, " for I must confess I do not 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 land, and do not sow any crop, the manure will not be wasted. The 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 available plant-food." " I think I understand," said the Deacon ; " but if what you say is true, it upsets many of our old notions. We have thought it de- sirable to plow under manure, in order to prevent the ammonia from escaping. 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 best 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 OX MANURES. EXPEIUMSNTS AT KOTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF TABLE III. MANURES AND PRODUCE; 3RD SEASON, 1845-6. 1 MANURES PER ACRE. Farmyard Ma- nure. Ash from 3 toads (3, 888 16s.) wheat-straw. Liebifs Wheat- manure. i $ fiji 150 i.'o 96 '* 150 150 Ifa .] 150 150 106 .. 150 150 lla 100 100 ICQ 150 116 fm 100 100 .*' 150 ICO ,. 12^ 100 100 ICO 150 116 100 1'jQ ]' 150 13g 21) 22 f Mixture of the residue of most of the other manures. EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. WHEAT, YEAR AFTER TEAB, ON THE SAME LAKD. MANURES AND 8BBD (OLD BED LAMMAS), SOWN END OF OCTOBER, 1846. 183 PRODUCE PER ACRE, &c. INCREASE $ ACRI BY MANURE. I Dressed Corn. ^ ^ t" -^ fcj s 1 t I j j |f 5 j i I $| fe K s 25 Bush.P'cks. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. 33 f 61.1 156 2031 3277 5308 908 1375 2583 8.2 6^.9 1 32 1 61.2 147 2119 3735 5854 996 1833 28x9 7 2 C0.7 2 23 3f G2.3 117 1931 3628 5G03 858 1726 2584 e'.2 54.6 3 16 3* 61.0 95 1123 1902 3025 8.9 59.0 4 27 If 61.9 82 1780 2948 4728 657 1046 1703 4.7 60.3 (to 23 61.8 130 1921 3412 5333 798 1510 2309 7.1 56.3 56 32 2 61.4 136 2132 3721 5833 1003 1819 2827 6.6 5i'.2 63 24 3} 62.1 122 1663 2786 4449 540 884 1424 7.8 50.6 21 If 61.6 127 1632 2303 509 901 1410 8.2 58.2 7a 27 3* 61.7 118 1*34 3151 4985 711 1249 6.8 58.3 76 25 If 61.5 125 1682 2953 4635 559 1051 1610 7.9 56.9 8a 32 If 62.1 102 2115 3683 5798 992 1781 2773 5.5 57.4 G3 33 3 61.7 123 2020 3720 I 5743 897 1818 2715 6.3 54.3 22 3 62.5 ff 1477 2506 3983 228 004 <> 53.9 i 2 23 2 61.0 1755 3052 4807 632 1153 57.5 Oft 26 61.3 123 1717 2838 4575 534 956 15-JO 60.1 103 25 3 61.5 118 1702 2891 4593 579 983 1GG8 7.3 58.8 103 25 2f 61.2 133 1705 2874 4579 582 972 15:4 8.2 59.3 113 30 3* 61.6 142 2044 3517 5561 921 1615 2536 6.3 59.5 113 23 If 61.8 123 1941 3203 5141 818 1301 2119 6.7 60.6 12? 23 2 62.0 124 1953 3452 5405 830 1550 2380 6.6 57.1 l'2i 2T 0* 61.8 121 1796 3124 4920 673 1222 1895 7.1 574 13* 2) 21 02.5 108 1959 3306 52f;5 836 1404 2240 5.5 57.3 133 27 if 63.3 96 1801 3171 4972 678 1269 1947 5.3 56.7 1 ' "l 23 Of 32.8 175 1944 3362 5306 821 1460 2281 9.7 59.5 113 28 Sf 62.8 166 1856 3006 4862 733 1104 1837 9.8 61.7 153 32 3 63.0 151 2214 3876 6090 1091 1974 3065 7.2 57.1 1.53 32 62.6 137 2140 3017 5757 1017 1715 2732 6.6 59.1 15a 29 If 62.3 133 1959 3417 5376 8^6 ir>15 2351 6.9 573 133 34 2f 62.6 119 22&3 4012 6295 11GO 2110 3270 5.2 [56.9 173 33 3 52.3 119 2222 4027 6249 109 21 n 5 3224 5.6 55.1 173 35 If 62.0 117 2314 4261 6575 1191 2M-9 35-.0 6.4 54.3 133 32 Of 62.7 142 2160 3852 6012 1037 19'0 69 56.0 136 29 ij 62.9 181 2029 4164 61!)3 906 2262 3168 9.7 48.7 19 32 3 62.8 140 2195 4202 6397 1072 2300 3372 6.7 52.2 20 20 Cf 62.5 70 13:32 2074 3496 209 172 381 4.9 r,4.2 21 f 22 f 184 TALKS OX MANURES. Here again, I want the Deacon to look at plot 0, where 500 Ibs. Peruvian guano, sown in October, gives an increase of nearly 7 14 bushels of dressed wheat and 1,375 Ibs. of straw per acre. On plot 2, where 14 tons of barn 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 Ibs. of guano. " But will the guano," said the Deacon, " be as lasting as the manure ? " " Not for wheat," said I. " But if you ssed the wheat down 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 is a matter of fact that there would be a considerable proportion of the guano left in the soil. The wheat cannot take it up. But the clover can. And we all know that if we can grow good crops 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 thus be enabled to raise good crops of wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and corn, and in this sense guano is a 'lasting' manure." " Barnyard-manure," said -the Doctor, " is altogether too c 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 Ibs. of guano produces just as good a crop. The manure contains far more plant-food, of all kinds, than the guano, but it is so * lasting ' that it does not do half as much good as its composition would lead us to expect. Its * lasting ' properties are a decided objection, rather than an ad- vantage. If we could make it less lasting in other words, if we could make it act quicker, it would procluco a greater effect, and possess a greater value. In proportion to its constituents, the barn-yard manure is far cheaper than the guano, but it has a less beneficial effect, because these constituents are not more com- pletely decomposed and rendered available." "That," said I, " opens up a very important question. We have more real value in manure than most of us are as yet able to brin ? out and turn to good account. The sandy-land farmer has an ad- vantage over the clay-land farmer in this respect. The latter has a naturally richer soil, but it costs him more to work it, and manure does not act so rapidly. The clay-land farmer should 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 lart 156 .. 300 200 100 200 - 200 300 I6a 300 200 100 200 150 150 150 5CO 10ft 300 200 100 \\ 230 150 150 150 500 17a 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 17ft 303 200 100 \\ 200 150 . 200 200 18a 300 200 100 200 150 150 150 186 03 200 100 .. 203 150 150 150 19 200 203 300 E03 20 ETnTnftniirod- 21 22 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. WHEAT, YEAH AFTER TEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. XAXUREB AND SEED (OLD RED LAMMAS) SOWN AUTUMN, 1847. 187 PRODUCE PEB ACRE, ETC. ^K^MAiS;^ * 11 | 1 Dressed Corn. fe R 9 1 s ~? | ll ^ Ifc 153 | a s P 1 | i 8 =8 1 i f i 1 CM I R | 1 i 1 i Bu?h. Pka. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. o 19 Of 53.4 138 1259 2074 3333 307 362 609 13.4 60.7 1 16 0} 5J.6 160 1124 1735 2859 172 3 195 16.3 64.7 2 23 2* 58.2 210 1705 3041 4746 753 1329 2082 13.8 56.0 14 3 57.3 106 952 1712 2664 19.1 KK A 4 24 OJ 58.5 172 1583 2713 4296 631 1001 1632 12.0 58.3 5a 29 3i 59.2 144 1911 3266 5177 959 1554 2513 7.0 58.5 56 6a 33 3* 59.1 24 3i ;53.8 107 214 1932 1672 3533 2878 54G5 4550 983 720 1821 1168 2801 j 5.8J57.5 1886 i 1^1580 66 28 3 ,56.9 216 1737 2938 47C5 7Q5 1256 2041 !14.0|585 7a SO 3} 59.4 106 1936 3038 5024 934 1370 23CO j 5.7(62.6 76 29 3J 59.6 187 1963 3413 5376 1011 1701 2712 10.3 57.5 8a 19 3 56.2 154 f 1263 2317 3580 311 605 916 13.6 54.5 19 Of '59.4 127 1237 2148 3115 315 436 751 11.1 58.8 9a 18 84- 56.7 125 1181 19-15 3123 229 233 462 11.0 60.7 96 ICa 25 CJ S53.3 19 1 53.1 208 215 1609 2918 1334 2367 4:87 3701 717 3S2 1206 1923 655 1037 13.9,57.1 19.0 56.3 106 25 OJ 57.8 155 1004 2926 4530 652 1214 1866 10.G 54.8 lla 29 H 53.6 233 1984 3274 5258 1032 1562 i 2594 13.1 60.6 116 24 3 57.9 207 1641 28;)8 4539 689 1186 1875 14.1 5G.4 12a 29 3 53.3 174 1938 5-328 986 1G78 2604 93 57.2 126 26 Of 59.2 167 1717 2330 4597 765 1168 1933 10.7 59.6 29 1* 57.9 253 1955 3293 5245 1003 1578 2581 14.7 50.4 136 25 3i 53.4 224 1730 3072 4832 778 1300 2138 14.6 56.3 Ma 28 OJ 58.8 184 1834 3217 5091 882 1545 2427 11.1 56.3 146 25 8* 58.5 227 1726 2897 4023 774 1185 1959 15.1 59.5 153 f2 ?i 58.1 242 1571 2937 4503 619 1225 1844 18.1 53.4 156 24 2f 55.9 202 1607 3016 4623 655 1304 1959 14.1 53.2 ISa 29 Si 60.0 184 1973 3115 5088 1021 1403 2424 10.2 63.3 165 30 If 58.4 171 1948 3380 6358 906 16C58 2(164 9.4 57.6 17a 27 fj 59.7 285 1933 3296 5:129 981 1581 8566 1 7.0 i 58.6 176 28 Si 59.7 222 1946 3324 5270 994 1612 2606 12.6 58.5 ISa 26 3 59.2 150 1734 2035 4C.69 782 1223 2005 9.2( 59.0 186 26 2f 59.6 215 1804 3056 4860 852 1344 2196 13.3, 58.7 19 29 If 56.2 185 1838 32^5 6133 886 1583 2469 10.4' 55.7 20 16 Of 58.3 111 1050 1721 2771 98 9 107 11.8 61.0 21 \ 22 f 188 TALKS ON MANURES. This season was considered unfavorable for wheat. The con- tinuously unmanured plot proJacjd 14| bushels, and the plot receiving 14 tons of barn yard manure, 2o bushels per acre nearly. 300 Ibs. of ammonia-salts alone on plot 10a, gave 19 bushels per acre, while the same quantity of ammonia, with superphos- phate in addition, gave, on plot 95, 25 bushels per acre. The addition to the above manures of 800 Ibs. of potash, 200 Us. soda, and 100 Ibs. sulphate of magnesia, on plot 10, gave pre- cisely the same yield per acre as the ammonia and the superphos- phate alone. The potash, soda, and magnesia, therefore, did no good. 400 Ibs. of ammonia-salts, with superphosphate, potash, etc., gave> on plot 176, nearly 29 bushels per acre, or 3 bushels more than the plot which has now received 70 tons of barn-yard manure in five successive years. " I see that, on plot 0," said the Deacon, " one ton of superphos- phate was used per acre, and it gave only half a bushel per acre more than 350 Ibs. on 9a." " This proves," said I, " that an excessive dose of superphos- phate will do no harm. I am not sure that 100 Ibs. of a good superphosphate drilled in with the seed, would not have done as much good as a ton 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 the inferior quality of the grain. The ' dressed corn ' on the no- manure plot this year only weighed 57 Ibs. per bushel, while last year it weighed 6i Ibs. per bushel." "By the way," said the Doctor, " what do Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert mean by * dressed corn' ? " " By ' corn,' " said I, " they mean wheat ; and by * dressed corn ' they mean wheat that has been run through a fanning-mill until all the light 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 ' cffal corn ' this year than last. This also indicates an unfavorable season." "It would have been very interesting," said the Doctor, "if Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert had analyzed the wheat produced by the different manures, so that we might have known something in re- EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. 189 gard to the quality of the flour as influenced by the use of different fertilizers." "They did that very thing," said I, "and not only that, but they made the wheat grown on different plots, into flour, and as- certained the yield of flour from a given weight of wheat, and the amount of bran, middlings, etc., etc. They obtained some very interesting and important results. I was there at the time. But this is not the placj to discuss the question. I am often amused, however, at the remarks we often hear in regard to the inferior quality of our wheat as compared to what it was when the country was new. Many seem to think that ' there is something lacking in the soil' some say potash, and some phosphates, and some this, and 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 strength of the flour, than the chemical composition of the manures applied to the land." "At any rate," said the Doctor, " we may be satisfied that any- thing that will produce a vigorous, healthy growth of wheat is favorable to quality. We may use 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 batter than our farming. It may not always be so. We may fi:id 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. We have more grain of inferior quality from lack of fertility than from an excess of plant-food." " That may be true," said I, tv 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 hear more said about thorough cultiva- tion, and the destruction of weeds, and less about soil exhaustion." The following table shows the results of the experiments the tlxtU year, 1848-9. 190 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF TABLE VI. MANURES AND PRODUCE; 6TH SEASON, 1848-9. MANURES PER ACRE. , Superphosphate oj Ltme. | o s !3 1 *j s 1 2 J . '15 1 Se s I s j 1 jl 1 |j 1 I 1 ! 1 1 1 1 1 f~ 1 ^ 1 i Tons. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. fiOO 450 1 600 400 200 2 14 3 Unma nured. 4 .. .. 200 200 300 5a " 300 200 100 200 150 2fO 250 56 300 208 ICO 200 150 \\ 2CO 2(iO 500 6a " 300 200 \ 100 200 150 200 200 66 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 7a 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 76 .'. 300 2CO 100 200 150 200 200 8a Unma lured. 86 2COO 2CO) iba Unma nured. 200 SCO 106 200 200 llo 200 150 200 200 116 ]\ [] I) 200 150 \ 200 200 12a 300 200 150 200 200 126 [\ SOO [\ ' t ' t 200 150 \ 200 200 130 ( " 300 " 200 150 200 200 136 300 \[ 150 2^0 200 300 SOO 150 200 200 146 .. 300 .. .. 200 150 . 200 200 I5a 300 2^0 100 200 2 A 300 156 300 200 100 200 200 300 5:0 Ifia " 300 200 100 2 n O 150 SsOO 200 166 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 " 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 176 300 200 100 200 150 \ 20(> 200 I8a 300 2CO 100 200 150 200 200 186 . 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 .. 19 200 200 300 500 20 Unmanured 2?.) Mixture of the residue of most of the other manures. EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. WHEAT, TEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. MANURES AND SEED (RED CLUSTER), SOWN AUTUMN, 1848. 191 PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. INCREASE ^ ACRE BY MANURE. 1 Dressed Corn * I- 1 . 1 -2 BushTpks. C.-4 v 8 1 ^J ^ > (^j ?} .0 ^Q si j^. 1 | 1 |i 1 1 * g s ii ? g $1 | 5 *$ ir 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 Ibs. IbsT lb. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Jbs. o 1 2 31 6 63*. 8 107 2M8 3029 E097 839 liis 2254 4.7 68*.3 3 19 1 61.4 47 1229 1614 2843 39 76.1 4 30 63.0 110 2063 2645 4708 834 1031 1865 5.6 78.0 5a 37 1} 63.1 89 2446 3589 6C35 1217 1S75 3192 3.7 68.1 6 39 a t 63.4 97 2651 8824 6475 1422 2*10 3(582 5.0 69.3 60 36 1^ 63.0 117 2410 3072 5482 1181 K58 2639 5.1 78.4 66 37 3 63.0 94 2484 3516 6(CO IS 55 1102 3157 3.9 70.6 la 38 & 631 137 2576 3584 6110 1147 1970 3317 15.6 71.9 76 37 3j 62.9 141 2531 3386 5927 13C2 1782 3084 5.9 74.5 8a 22 3 61.7 76 1481 1815 3*96 252 201 453 5.3 81.6 86 31 2^ 63.0 85 2C80 31GG 5246 851 15L2 2403 4.3 i 65.7 9a 30 2J 62.8 111 2C35 2688 4718 806 10C9 1875 5.8 75.8 96 22 i; 62.3 80 1475 1810 3285 246 186 432 i5.7 81.5 10 'i 32 2; 62.3 112 2141 2851 4992 912 1237 2149 5.5 75.1 106 32 li 63.3 110 2157 2860 5117 928 1346 2274 5.3 72.9 lla 35 W 62.6 121 2317 2892 5209 1088 1278 2366 5.6 80.1 32 1; 63.0 112 2149 $942 5091 920 1328 2248 5.5 73.0 12a 35 3; 64.3 93 2398 3371 5767 1167 1757 2924 4.1 71.1 126 34 1: 64.3 71 2277 3300 5577 1048 1687 2735 3.2 fii'.O 13o 34 a 64.1 101 2340 32S6 5576 1111 1622 2733 4.5;7?.3 136 34 2 64.1 129 2346 3246 5592 1117 1682 2749 5.8 12.3 14a 34 1 64.3 56 2266 3211 5477 1C37 1597 2634 2.5 70.6 146 31 1- t 64.3 112 2123 3218 5341 894 1604 2498 j5.5 6G.O 15a 31 a* 64.2 65 2109 3038 5147 880 1424 2304 3.2 694 156 30 Of 64.1 68 2005 32G2 5267 776 1648 2424 '3.5 61.5 167 33 If 64.5 101 2254 33R4 5638 1025 1770 2795 4.7 66.6 166 3:? 3^ 1 64.6 75 2268 3559 5S27 1039 1945 2<84 3.4 63.7 17a 34 1 64.3 111 2316 3891 6207 1087 2277 3364 5.1 59.4 176 as ii t 64.4 112 2259 3858 6117 1030 2244 3274 5.2 5 .5 ISa 32 1* Ir 64.0 93 2163 3592 5755 P34 1978 2912 4.5 60.2 186 33 2i 64.0 95 2243 3779 6022 1014 2165 3179 4.4 59.3 19 29 2i 63.9 102 1994 3270 5264 765 1656 2421 5.4 61.0 20 21 I 22 f 183 TALKS OX MANURES. " This was my last year at Rothamsted," said I, " and I feel a peculiar interest in looking over the results after such a lapse of time. When this crop was growing, my father, a good practical farmer, but with little faith in chemical manures, paid me a visit. We went to the experimental wheat-field. The first two plots, and 1, had been dressed, the one with superphosphate, the other with potash, soda, and magnesia. My father did not seem much impressed with this kind of chemical manuring. Stepping to the next plot, where 14 tons of barn-yard manure had been used, he remarked, " this 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 sulphate of ammonia." "Well, it is a good crop, and the straw is bright and stiff." It turned out 30 bushels per acre, 63 Ibs. to the bushel. The next six plots had received very heavy dressings of ammo- nia-salts, with superphosphate, potash, soda, and magnesia. He examined them with the greatest interest. " What have you here?" he asked, while he was examining 5a, which afterwards turned out 37J bushels per acre. " Potash, soda, epsom-salts, superphosphate, and ammonia but it is the ammonia that does the good." He passed to the next plot, and was very enthusiastic over it, " What have you here?" "Raps-cake and ammonia," said I. "It is a grand crop," said he, and after examining it with great interest, he passed to the next, 6a. " What have you here?" " Ammonia," said I ; and at 63 he asked the same qaestion, and I re- plied " ammonia." At 7, the same question and the same answer. Standing between 76 and 8a, he was of course struck with the difference in the crop ; 8a was left this year without any manure, and though it had received a liberal supply of mineral manures the year before, and minerals and ammonia-salts, and rape-cake, the year previous, it only produced this year, 3 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 other, and 1,581 Ibs. more straw. Passing to the next plot, he exclaimed " this is better, but not so good as some that we have passed." "It has had a heavy dressing of rape-cake," said I, "equal to about 100 Ibs. of ammonia per acre, and the next plot was manured this year in the same \vay> Th3 only difference being that one had superphosphate and potash, EXPERIMENTS OX WHEAT. 193 soda, and magnesia, the year before, while the other had super- phosphate alone." It turned out, as you see from the table, that the potash, etc., only gave half a bushel more wheat per acre the year it was used, and this year, with 2,000 Ibs. of rape-cake on each plot, there is only a bushel per acre in favor of the potash, soda, and magnesia. The next plot, 95, "was also unmanured and was passed by my father without comment. " Ah," said he, on coming to the two next plots, 10 z and 10&, " this is better, what have you here ? " ''Nothing bat ammonia" said I, "and I wish you would tell me which is the best of the two ? Last year 106 had a heavy dressing of minerals and superphosphate with ammonia, and 10a the same quantity of ammonia alone, without superphosphate or other mineral manures. And this year both plots have had a dressing of 400 Ibs. each of ammonia-salts. Now, which is the best the plot that had s iperphosphate and minerals last year, or the one with- out?" " Well," said- he, " I can't see any difference. Both are good crops." You will see from the table, that the plot which had the super- phosphate, potash, etc., the year before, gives a peck less wheat this year than the other plot which had none. Practically, the yield is the same. There is an increase of 13 bushels of wheat per acre and this increase is clearly due to the ammonia-salts alone. The next plot was also a splcndil crop. " What have you lierc ? " "Superphosphate and ammonia." This plot (lla), turned out 35 bushels per acre. The next plot, with phosphates and ammonia, was nearly as good. The next plot, with potash, phosphates, and ammonia, equally good, but no better than lla. There was little or no benefit from the potash, except a little more straw. The next plot was good and I did not wait for the question, but simply said, "ammonia," and the next "ammo- nia," and the next " ammonia." Standing still and looking at the wheat, my father asked, " Joe, where can I get this ammonia ?" He bad previously 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 tnijht be some good in it." At any rate, he wanted to know where he could get ammonia. And, now, as then, every good farmer asks the same question: "Where 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 seventh year, 1849--50. 9 194 TALKS ON MA NUKES. EXPSBIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH O3 1 TABLE VII. MANURES AND PRODUCE ; 7TH SEASON. 1849-50. AFTER THE 2 TO 3 FEET DEEP. MANURES AND SEED MANURES PER ACRE. Superplwsphate of Lime | | X i t "S? 2 g ^ 1 It | 1 ^ & =: 1 Ji H 1 t s i i, | 1^ 1 i 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 S s 3 1 1 Tons. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. 600 450 1 600 400 200 2 ii 3 Uiimanured. 4 .. .. .. 200 200 SOO .. .. 5l 300 200 100 200 150 250 250 56 300 200 100 200 150 2:.o 250 to tf 300 200 ICO 200 150 \\ 200 200 II 66 CO 2"0 ICO 200 150 200 200 7a mm 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 500 76 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 500 Sa 200 200 86 200 200 200 200 95 200 200 10a 200 200 106 .. 300 200 100 200 150 .. lid 200 150 200 200 116 200 150 200 200 ISa || 300 || 2:0 150 200 200 125 300 200 150 200 200 180 |.| 300 || 1* 200 150 \\ 200 200 . . 136 300 200 150 200 200 14a 300 t | II 200 150 200 200 .. 146 .. 300 200 150 .. 200 200 .. 15a " 300 200 100 200 200 300 156 300 200 10J 200 200 300 500 16i 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 1()6 300 200 100 200 150 \\ 200 200 M 300 200 103 200 150 200 200 176 300 200 100 2^0 150 \\ 200 200 tf Ifta || 300 203 100 200 ir-0 200 200 .. 186 300 200 100 200 150 200 200 19 200 200 300 .. 500 20 Uninanured. , .. 211 22f Mixture of the residue of most of the other manures. .. .. EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. WHEAT, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. 195 HARVEST OF 1849 THE FIELD WAS TILE-DRAINED IN EVERT ALTERNATE FURROW, (R.BD CLUSTER), SOWN IN AUTUMN, 1849. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. INCREASE $ ACRE BY MANURE. i Dressed Corn. c s * SQ CM ^> 25 CM ?* Bush. Pks.llhs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. 19 H 60.8 42 1220 2037 3257 218 318 536 3.5 59 9 1 2 28 2 61.9 98 1861 3245 5106 859 1526 2335 5.4 57 3 3 15 3J 60.6 44 1002 1719 2721 4.5 58.2 4 27 3 61.2 87 1785 3312 5097 783 1593 2376 5.1 53.9 5a 29 3* 60.4 171 1974 4504 6478 972 2785 3757 .5 43.8 56 30 3 60.4 160 2018 4379 6397 1016 2GO 3676 .6 6.1 30 fj 61.1 119 19aO 3:>27 5887 958 2208 3166 .3 49.9 66 29 3* 61.3 148 1930 3959 5939 978 2240 3218 .0 50.0 7a 32 1 61.0 167 2134 4485 6619 1132 27<>6 3893 .4 J47.9 76 32 Ci 61.2 150 2112 4230 6392 1110 2561 3671 .6 49.4 fel 23 3 61.1 101 1856 3407 5263 854 16S8 2512 .5 54.5 86 30 1 61.0 103 1948 3591 5539 946 1872 i 2318 5.6 54.2 9a 30 H 60.4 118 1951 3550 5501 919 1831 : 2780 6 3 55 96 27 2} 60.8 80 1762 3165 4927 760 1446 2206 4.7 55.7 lOa 26 3f 60.2 100 1721 3039 4810 719 1370 2089 fi.l 55.7 106 17 8t 61.1 76 1171 1949 3120 169 230 399 6.8 60.1 lla 30 3i 61.0 121 9001 3306 5807 999 2087 3086 6.4 52.6 116 29 H 61.1 145 1940 3T41 5681 938 2022 29BO 8.0 51.9 12 - 29 8f 61.5 94 1935 3921 5856 933 2202 3135 5.1 49.4 12'; 30 3f 61.4 115 2013 3905 5918 1011 2186 3197 5.9 51.5 13 < 31 3* 60.2 105 2027 4025 6153 1025 2307 3332 5.4 50.3 136 30 ]J 61.0 111 1964 4008 5972 962 2289 3251 S.O 49.0 1-la 31 If 61.1 102 2023 4052 6075 1021 2333 3354 5.3 49.9 146 31 1| 61.5 65 1995 4015 6010 9.)3 2296 3289 3.2 49.7 15a 26 0} 61.5 90 1693 3321 5014 691 1602 2293 5.7 51.0 156 30 | 61.0 59 1942 3i)23 5368 910 2207 3147 3.0 49.5 16a 33 2* 60.3 108 2134 5103 7237 1132 334 4516 5.3 41.8 166 33 3 60.4i 122 2159 4615 6774 1157 281)6 4053 6.0 46.8 17a 31 1 61.2 73 1985 4126 6111 983 2407 3390 3.8 48 1 176 29" 2f 61.5 139 19'il 4034 5995 959 2315 3274 7.7 48.6 18,7 29 8i 61.2 110 1934 3927 5% I 932 2208 S140 6.1 49.3 186 23 , 2 60.9 103 1845 3844 5689 843 2125 2968 5.7 48.0 19 29 60.8 88 1850 3527 5377 848 1808 2056 4.9 52.4 20 14 59.1 40 863 1639 2507 134 80 -214 4.5 53.0 21 1 22 f .. .. | .. - 196 TALKS ON MANURES. The summer of 1850 was unusually cool and unfavorable for wheat. It will be seen that on all the plots the yield 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, 82 bushels, this year, with superphosphate, potash, soda, and sulphate of magnesia, gives less than 18 bushels, while the adjoining plot, dressed with ammonia, gives nearly 27 bushels. la other words, the ammonia alone gives 9 bushels per acre more than this large dressing of superphosphate, potash, etc. On the three plots, 8a, 8b and 9a, a dressing of ammonia- salts alone gives in each case, a larger yield, both of grain and straw, then 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," said the Doctor, " is certainly a very remarkable fact." " It is so," said the Deacon. "But what of it ? " asked the Squire, " even the Professor, here, does not advise the use of ammonia-salts for wheat." * 4 That is so," said 1, "but perhaps I am mistaken. Such facts as those just given, though I have been acquainted with them for many years, sometimes incline me to doubt the soundness of my conclusions. Still, on the whole, I think I am right." " 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. We need ammonia for wheat. But though ammonia-salts and nitrate of soda can often be used with decided profit, yet I feel sure that we can get ammo- nia or nitrogen at a less cost per Ib. by buying bran, malt roots, cotton-seed cake, and other foods, and using them for the double purpose of feeding stock and making manura." u I admit that such is the case, " said the Doctor, " but here is a plot of land that has now hnd 14 tons of manure every year for s?ven 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." " That," 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 immediately avail- able. It is one of the most important questions which agricultural science is called upon to answer. Until we get more light, I fee] EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 197 sure in saying that one of the best methods is, to feed our animals on richer and more easily digested food." The following table gives the results of the eighth season of 1850-51. 198 TALKS OX MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OP TABLE VIII. MANURES AND PEODUCB ; 8TH SEASON. 1850-51. 1 2 3 4 57 55 66 7.1 76 8a 9!) 106 lla 13 1 14i 116 16 1 17a 176 18? 13$ 2)) 21 V j MANURES PER ACRE. 1 s Toa-j. 14 U.inu Cut Wheat-straw and Chujf. Common, Salt. i j Sulphate of Mag- nesta. S'iperptiosphate oj Lime. i Ji I . 5: \ Muriate of Ammo- P \ nia. Ibs. Bone-ash. ft I* 1 Ibs. rarjd. Ibs. Ibs. 600 Ibs. 430 Ibs. 230 Ibs. 530 Ibs. 453 Ibs. Ibs. 230 200 2)3 200 233 230 203 150 150 150 150 150 150 230 400 300 330 230 200 200 203 00 30 30 30 30 30 1033 10 JO 5030 303 333 3)0 303 330 3 JO 233 230 2)0 233 230 233 103 100 100 100 100 103 333 203 100 233 150 - 100 200 200 200 200 200 203 200 233 230 203 230 200 400 330 300 300 230 230 230 233 300 00 30 33 30 200 ! 233 230 230 230 200 230 230 300 333 200 200 200 200 5^0 500 230 230 230 230 200 200 200 200 200 200 230 200 230 200 150 150 150 150 150 153 153 153 153 150 150 150 200 230 835' e< 233 230 330 300 200 200 200 200 200 230 233 230 103 103 100 103 100 103 100 103 103 133 100 100 100 100 100 100 200 .. 200 Unnnnurcd. < .. .. Top-dressed in March, 1851. EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 199 WHEAT, YEAR AFTER TEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. MANURES AND SEED (BED CLUSTER), SOWN AUTUMN, 1850. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. INCREASE $ ACRI BY MANURE. ! Dressed Corn. | cj ^s 1 1? I | <3 i !L | - II i I s f ^^ ^ 53 f^"53 sj Q .g "ss a 3 3 a S "e f-3 . I gflq 1 g S 1 I i S 1 Bush. P'ks. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ihs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. 18 3* 61.9 125 1296 1862 3158 213 235 448 10.769.6 1 18 1J 61.7 124 1251 1845 3096 218 386 11.067.8 2 29 21 63.6 166 2049 3094 5143 966 1467 2433 8.866.2 3 15 3J 61.1 114 1033 1627 2710 4 28 01 62.6 159 1919 2949 4868 836 1322 .. 2158 9.0 65.1 5a 36 63.3 194 2473 4131 6604 1390 2504 3894 8.6 59.9 56 37 3* 63.3 213 2611 4294 6905 1528 2667 4195 8.9 00.8 6(1 33 11 63.3 154 2271 3624 5895 1188 1997 3185 7.2 62.6 66 31 Ot 02.3 189 2119 3507 5626 1036 1880 2916 9.8 00.4 7a 36 31 63.0 201 2524 4587 7111 1441 2960 4401 8.7 55.0 76 37 11 63.0 178 2532 4302 6834 1449 2675 4124 7.6 58.8 8a 26 Of 02.8 141 1785 2769 4554 702 1142 1844 8.6 64.5 86 27 2t 52.0 137 1863 2830 4693 780 1203 1983 7.9 65.8 31 11 52.4 182 2142 3252 5394 1059 1625 2084 9.3 65.9 96 29 Ot 52.0 170 1970 2942 4912 887 1315 2202 9.5 67.0 lOa 23 31 51.9 179 1966 3070 5036 883 1443 2320 10.0 64.0 106 28 21 62.5 149 1937 3048 4985 854 1421 2275 8.3 63.5 lla 32 2f 62.3 181 2216 3386 5M2 1133 1759 2892 8.9 65.4 116 31 2} 62.5 181 2103 ,3302 5465 1030 1675 2755 9.1 65.5 12(2 32 3 63.1 165 2234 3000 5834 1151 1973 3124 8.062.0 126 32 2t 62.5 166 2203 &581 5784 1120 i 1954 3074 8.2 fil.5 13a 30 2f 52.6 180 2102 3544 5646 1019 i 1917 2936 9.4 59.3 136 30 3t 62.3 160 2083 3440 5523 1000 1813 2813 8.3 60.5 14a 31 Ot 62.9 108 2120 3605 5725 1037 1978 3015 8.658.8 146 31 01 62.8 165 2121 3537 5658 1038 1910 2948 8.4 59.9 151 27 01 62.7 138 1839 3041 4880 756 1414 2170 8.1 W.5 156 30 21 62.9 148 2077 3432 509 994 , 1805 2799 7.6 50.5 16a 36 3t 63.5 161 2499 4234 6733 1416 2607 4023 6.9 59.0 166 36 2| (53.4 176 2501 4332 6833 1418 2705 4123 7.657.7 17a 31 .?! 63.3 131 2149 35.77 5746 1006 1970 3036 6.559.7 176 30 2t 03.1 152 2079 3406 5485 <'9S 17:9 2775 7.961.0 30 3t 63.0 139 2083 3390 5473 10' >0 1733 27*53 7.264.1 186 31 Of 62.4 143 2090 3586 5676 i 1007 1959 2966 7.358.3 19 30 1 (52.4 144 2031 3348 5379 948 1721 2069 7.760.7 14 1 60.8 89 956 1609 2505 -127 , 18 -145 10.2 59.4 21 | 17 31 61.9 127 1232 1763 2995 149 136 285 11.5 69.8 200 TALKS ON MANURES. The plot continuously unmanured, gives about 16 bushels of wheat per acre. The plot with barn-yard manure, nearly 30 bushels per acre. 400 Ibs. o-f ammonia-salts alone, on plot 9#, 31 bushels ; on 95, 29 bushels ; on IQa and 106, nearly 29 bushels each. This is remark- able uniformity. 400 Ibs. ammonia-salts and a large quantity of mineral manures in addition, on twelve different plots, average not quite 32 bushels per acre. "The superphosphate and minerals," said the Deacon, "do not seem to do much good, that is a fact." You will notice that 336 Ibs. of common salt was sown on plot IQa. It does not seem to have done the slightest good. Where the salt was used, there is 2 Ibs. less grain and 98 Ibs. less straw than on the adjoining plot 166, where no salt was used, but otherwise manured alike. It would seem, however, that the quality of the grain was slightly improved by the salt. The salt was sown in March as a top-dressing. "It would have been better," said the Deacon. " t o have sown it *n autumn with the other manures." " The Deacon is right," said I, " but it so happens that the next year and the year after, the salt was applied at the same time as the other manures. It gave an increase of 94 Ibs. of grain and 61 Ibs. of straw in 1851, but the following year the same quantity of salt used on the same plot clid more harm than good." Before we leave the results of this year, it should be observed that on 82, 5,000 Ibs. of cut straw and chaff were used per acre. I do not recollect seeing anything in regard to it. And yet the result was very remarkable so much so indeed, that it is a matter of regret that the experiment was not repeated. This 5,000 Ibs. of straw and chaff gave an increase of more than 10 bushels per acre over the continuously unmanured plot. " Good," said the Deacon, " I have always told you that you under-estimated the value of straw, especially in regard to its mechanical action." I did not reply to this remark of the good Deacon. I have never doubted the good effects of anything that lightens up a clay soil and renders it warmer and more porous. I suppose the great benefit derived from this application of straw must be attributed to its ameliorating action on the soil. The 5,000 Ibs. of straw and chaff produced a crop within nearly 3 bushels per acre of the plot ma- nured every year with 14 tons of barn-yard manure. "lam surprised," said the Doctor, " that salt did no good. I EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 201 have seen many instances in which it has had a wonderful effect on wheat." " Yes," sail I, " and our experienced friend, John Johnston, is very decidedly of the opinion that its use is highly profitable. He sows a barrel of salt per acre broadcast on the land at the time he sows his wheat, and I have myself seen it produce 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 same manures were used year after year on the same plot. The results are given in the accompanying tables for the follow- ing twelve years harvests for 1852-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60- 61-62 and 1863. Such another set of experiments are not to be found in the world, and they deserve and will receive the careful study -of every intelligent 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 experiments as these we are examining command the respect of every intelligent farmer. I may not fully understand them, but I can see clearly enough that they are of great value." 202 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, TBAR AFTER TEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE IX. MANURES per Acre per Annum (with the exceptions explained in the Notes on p. 203), for 12 Years in succession namely, for the 9th, 10th, llth, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17t.., 18th, 19th, and 20th Seasons; that is, for the crops of Harvests 1852-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60-61-62 and 1863.* ' Manures per Acre per Annum for 12 Years, 1851-2 to 1862-3 inclusive, except in the cases explained in the Notes on p, 203. Farmyard Ma- nure. 5 K el P Sulphate of Soda.* o> 1 V f* Superphosphate of Lime. g ^ V| "e f Ibs. g ^ V| -2 1 ** 1 Nitrate of Soda. 1 1 is~' S3? 3 Muriatic Acid. 1 2 3 4 5a 56 6a 66 7a 76 8a 86 9a" 96 3 lOa 106 lla 116 12a 126 13a 136 14a 146 15a 156 16a 166 J17a *1l76 J18a 6 1l86 19 20 21 22 Tons. 14 Unmai Unina Ibs. Ibs. 600 Ibs. 400 Ibs. 200 Ibs. 600 Ibs. 450 Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. - in red lured iso 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 ' ioo 100 200 200 300 300 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 400 300 400 400 200 200 ioo 100 200 200 300 300 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 400 400 200 200 550 550 500 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 iso 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 200 200 336 4 300 300 300 300 300 300 550 550 200 200 200 200 420 420 100 100 100 100 Uuma Hired 300 300 200 200 ioo 100 200 300 ioo 500 300 300 200 200 100 100 ioo * For the particulars of the produce of each separate season, see TabJea X.-XXI. inclusive. EXPEKIMENTS ON WHEAT. 203 NOTES TO TABLE IX. (p. 203.) * For the \Qth and succeeding seasons -the sulphate of potass was reduced from 600 to 400 Ibs. per acre per annum on Plot 1, and from 300 to 200 Ibs. on all the other Plots where it was used ; the sulphate of soda from 400 to 200 Ibs. on Plot 1, to 100 Ibs. on all the Plots on which 200 Ibs. had previously been applied, and from 550 to 336| Ibs. (two-thirds the amount) on Plots 12a and 125 ; and the sulphate of magnesia from 420 to 280 Ibs. (two-thirds the amount) on Plots 14# and 145. a Plot Qa the sulphates 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 llth ; and the amount of nitrate of soda was for the 9th season only 475 Ibs. per acre, and for the 10th and llth seasons only 275 Ibs. 3 "Plot 95 in the 9th season only 475 Ibs. of nitrate of soda were applied. 4 Common salt not applied after the 10th season. 8 Plots 17a and 175, and ISa and 185 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 llth; the sulphates of potass, soda, and magnesia, and superphosphate of lime, again in the 12th, and so on. Plots 18, on the other hand, had the sulphates of potass, soda, and magne- sia, and superphosphate of lime, in the 9th season ; ammonia-salta in the 10th, and so on, alternately. 204 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OP WHEAT, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE X. PHODUCE of the 9rn SEASON, |;TABI.E XI. PRODUCE of the IOTH SEA- 1851-2. SEED(lle< Cluster) sown No- PON. 1853. SEED (Hod Rostock) sown vember 7, 1851 ; Crop cut August 24, 1852. March 16; Crop cut September 10, and carted September 20, 1853. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. PRODUCE PER ACRE. ETC. (For the Manures see pp. 202 (For tiie Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) and 203). | Dressed Corn. J ll i * Diessed Corn. i* n *^ 1 Iff I ?^ I lljfc 1 |1 If e^l i i|| ||| I EC i g^ I K) i CM Bush. Pks. 11)3. Ibs. 11)9. Bush. Pks. Ibs. 11)9. Ibs. 15 OX 55.8 919 2625 9 0% 49.^1 599 2406 1 13 1 56.9 825 2322 1 6 IX 46.1 404 2036 2 27 2\4 58.2 1716 5173 2 19 0% 51.1 1120 4492 3 13 3V4 56.6 860 2457 3 5 3 '4 45.1 359 1772 4 13 IjJ 57.3 870 2441 4 7 1 46.1 446 2116 5a 16 3 57.5 1033 2941 5a 10 48.9 587 2538 56 17 0^4 57.3 1065 3097 56 10 1 48 9 611 2741 6a 20 3 57.6 1283 333J 6a 16 3}4 51.8 978 3755 66 20 3# 57.5 1300 3331 66 19 1 51.8 1072 3870 26 2}/ 5 56.0 1615 54 J5 7a 23 2 y z 52.2 13G9 5110 76 26 3?i 55.8 1613 5415 76 23 214 51.1 1357 5091 8a 27 3^ 55.9 1609 5505 Sa 22 Ik 51.1 1346 5312 86 27 0# 55.9 1651 5423 86 24 2J4 51.1 1425 5352 9a 25 2 55.6 1591 5305 9a 11 1 47.7 C91 3090 96 24 IX 55.3 1509 4833 96 10 1? 46.1 649 2902 lOa 21 3K 55 9 1320 4107 lOa 9 3?4 48.9 642 2691 106 22 014 57 3 1313 4162 106 15 2 49.8 896 3578 lla 24 OX 55.6 1472 4553 lla 17 2 50.1 1015 3539 116 55 9 1387 4239 116 18 2% 51.1 1073 3780 24 1?| 57.4 1503 4760 12a 22 52.0 1283 4948 126 24 1^ 57 3 1492 4721 126 23 3J4 51.1 1375 5079 13a 24 57.5 1480 4702 I3a 22 1J4 52.1 1341 5045 136 23 3%. 57.1 1476 4755 136 23 2# 51.1 1396 5308 14a 21 1% 56.9 1507 5054 14rz 21 2 51.2 1322 4793 146 25 0^4 56.7 1530 5137 146 23 OX 52.6 1347 5108 15o 23 P4 57.4 1451 4663 VM 19 51.1 1143 4504 156 25 0^ 56.8 1520 4941 156 23 2^ 51.1 1351 5107 16a 23 3^ 55.0 1794 6471 lOa 24 1^ 52.5 1496 6400 166 23 54.5 1700 6316 106 25 3J4 52.5 1537 6556 17a 25 2 56.5 1577 5311 17a 8 l?i 49.8 520 2516 176 24 IK 56 9 1570 4986 176 8 3% 48.9 539 2551 18a 13 3 57.0 809 2556 187 17 314 52.9 1111 4496 186 1 4 ^ 3/ 56.7 921 2685 186 20 3 52.1 1256 5052 19 24 SX 56 1 1582 4979 19 19 1J4 52.6 1160 j 4373 20 14 0? 56.6 875 2452 20 5 3',' 47.8 425 2084 21 19 1% 56.9 1177 3285 21 12 SX 50.4 753 2934 22 19 2}4 55.9 1176 3355 22 10 1 49.4 \ 592 2452 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 205 EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OP WHEAT, TEAB AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE All. rUODUCK OI 1116 11TH SEASON. 1S53-4 SEED (Red Rostock) sown Novi-iuber 12, 1853 ; Crop cut August 21, and carted August 31, 1854. 1AUL.K ALII. .ruUUUUlS III Mie 1TM SEASON, 1854-5. SEED (Red Rostock) sown November 9, 1854; Crwp cut Aii'nist 26, and carted September 2, 1855. PKODUCK PEU ACRE. ETC. PUODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. For the Manures see pp. 202 (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203). and 20:J). 4 Dressed Corn. ijh 2 Dressed Corn. !! * ? <0 Is? s jft ?* 1 l s ^ i 11 1 ill I |1 I 111 >< Bush. Pks. Ibs. IDS. Ibs. Bush. Pks. Ibs. !bs. Ibs. o 26 I2i 61.0 1672 3786 17 60.7 1096 2822 i 24 IX 60.2 1529 4060 1 18 2 60.5 1179 3069 2 41 OX 62.5 2675 7125 2 34 2X 62.0 2237 6082 3 21 OJ4 60.6 1359 3496 3 17 59.2 1072 2859 4 23 3X 61.1 1521 3859 4 18 2X 59.5 1168 3000 5a 24 IX 61.0 1578 4098 5a 18 2 59.9 1157 2976 56 24 61.6 1532 4035 56 18 O 1 /, 60.1 1143 2943 6a 33 2?4 61 8 2186 6031 6a 27 3 60.3 1753 4590 34 2*4 61.8 2289 6294 66 28 1 60.9 1811 4848 7a 45 2 1 4 61-9 2050 85C3 7a 32 2M 59.4 208-4 5995 76 45 IX 61.8 2944 8440 76 33 1*4 59.5 2138 6296 8a 47 1% 61.4 30C5 9200 8a 29 3 58.8 1909 5747 86 49 2X 61.8 3208 9325 86 33 03S 58.7 2153 6495 9a 38 3 60.7 2456 C5C8 9a 29 2X 58.3 1932 5078 96 38 3X 60.7 2480 6723 96 25 IX 57.3 1605 4817 lOa 34 IX 60.5 2211 5808 lOa 19 5% 57.1 1285 3797 106 39 0% 61.6 25o5 70G3 106 28 OX 58.91 1805 5073 lla 44 2 61.1 2859 8006 lla 18 3 55.3 1210 3694 116 43 OX 61.2 2756 7776 116 24 2X 50.3 1530 47-33 12a 45 3 U' 62.2 29G6 8469 12f{ 30 ' 0*4 59.5 1940 5178 126 45 IX 62.2 2033 8412 126 33 2 60.2 2172 i 6182 13a 45 OX 62 2 2913 8311 29 59.9 1924 : 5427 136 43 3X 62.2 2858 8403 136 32 2 60.4 2110 j 5980 14a 45 IK 62.2 2946 8498 29 3 60.0 1954 5531 146 44 OX 62.2 2863 8281 146 33 1% 60.0 2158 5161 15a 43 1 '4' 62.1 2801 7(500 &1 31 3H 60.0 2030 i 5855 156 43 1 62.4 2810 8083 156 33 3 60.6 2193 6415 16a 49 214 61.7 3230 99^2 Wa 33 114 58.2 2100 6634 166 50 0% 61 7 3293 9928 166 32 2 58.2 2115 7106 17a 45 3 62.1 2948 8218 17a 18 3& 60.8 1227 3203 176 42 214 62.2 2732 7629 176 17 OX 60 3 1110 2914 18a 24 61.2 1526 3944 18a 32 3=K 60 9 2127 6144 186 23 2% 61.0 1511 3888 186 33 1-54 60.8 2170 6385 19 41 0% 61.7 2666 7343 19 30 OX 58 7 1967 5818 20 22 3 60.8 1445 3662 20 17 2X 61.1 1155 2986 21 32 O'i 61.2 2030 5470 21 24 1M 60.8 1533 3952 22 31 3 61.0 1994 5334 22 24 2X 60.1 1553 4010 206 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE AlV. PRODUCE Ot I lie I3TH SEASON, 1855-6. SEED (Red Rostock) 1 ABLE A. V . JTRODUCE OF THE 14TH SEASON. 1856-7. SEED (Red Rostock) sown November 13, 1855 ; Crop cut sown November 6, 1856; Crop cut August 26, and carted September 3, August 13, and carted August 22, 1856. 1857. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. (For the Manures see pp. 202 (For the Manures pee pp. 202 and 203.) and 203.) i Dressed Corn. ! | Dressed Corn. . ll 1 $ ^ | p ss^ * jf *^ 1 ! II 3 i jli I || |I1 3ti c h. Pks. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Bush. Pks. Ibs. llm Ibe. o 18 IX 56.8 1179 3148 18 214 59.0 1181 2726 i 17 OK 56.3 1102 3035 1 17 2% 59.0 1118 2650 2 36 1J4 58.6 2277 6594 2 41 0% 60.4 2587 5910 3 14 2 54 3 892 2450 3 19 3X 58.3 1236 2813 4 16 IX 55.5 1026 2757 4 22 1% 58.8 1386 2958 6a 18 3*4 56.5 1167 3179 5a 22 3% 59.0 1409 3026 56 20 1J4 56.2 1247 3369 56 24 214 58.8 1512 3247 Ga 27 11.4 58.2 1717 4767 6a 35 IX 59 9 2211 4968 66 28 OX 58.5 1755 4848 66 35 1*4 59 8 2193 4950 7a 37 1 58.0 2312 6872 7a 43 1J4 60 5 2782 6402 76 36 2^ 57.6 2244 6642 76 46 IX 60.3 2902 6793 8a 40 OX 56.8 2507 7689 8a 47 3 60.8 3058 7355 86 37 3M 57.1 2400 7489 86 48 3J4 60.6 3129 7579 9a 32 IX 57.2 2019 5894 9a 43 3 60.1 2767 6634 96 26 56.3 1679 4831 96 36 OK 58.0 2220 5203 lOa 24 OK 55 6 1505 4323 lOa 29 OX 58.0 1816 4208 106 27 2% 57.2 1727 4895 106 34 2 58.6 2185 5060 lla 31 3tf 57 3 2001 5518 lla 39 58.5 2432 5375 116 30 2X 57.5 1946 5389 116 39 0% 58.0 2S97 5317 12a qq Ql/ OO 6 l /2 58.7. 2102 5949 12a 43 3X 60 4 2747 6394 126 32 3X 58.8 2079 5804 126 43 2 60.4 2729 6312 13a 32 IK 58 6 2036 5779 I3a 42 3 60.6 2714 6421 136 30 3 1 4 58.9 2008 5659 136 43 2 605 2739 6386 14a 35 0^ 58.6 2195 6397 14a 43 3 60.5 2181 6439 146 34 OK 59.0 2162 6279 146 42 3Y 2 60.3 2699 6351 15a 30 OX 59.1 1923 5444 160 42 1J4 60.4 2681 6368 156 32 59.4 2045 5797 156 44 1% 60.0 2765 6543 16a 38 OX 58.5 2426 7955 16a 48 3J4 60.5 3131 7814 166 37 3 58.7 2450 7917 106 50 60.5 3194 7897 lln 31 2X 59.0 19&3 5541 fla 26 2% 59.1 1642 3700 176 30 IX 59.1 1935 5400 176 25 3K 58.8 1583 3523 17 3X 57 8 1140 3152 41 014 59.7 2566 6009 186 18 57.7 1131 3069 186 40 OJ4 59.8 2519 5884 19 32 1 58.9 2059 5621 19 41 2X 59.5 2600 5793 20 17 0% 57.7 1075 29(53 20 19 2X 58.4 1213' 2777 21 22 IX 58.0 1398 3927 21 24 00 6 lf.38 3353 22 21 IM 57.8 1351 3849 22 23 OX 60.6 1491 3298 EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 20 7 EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE XVI. PRODUCE of the 15TH TABLE XVIL PRODUCE of the 16TH SEASON, 1857-8. SEKD (Red Rostovk) sown November 3 and 11,1857; Crop SEASON. 1858-9. SEED (Ri-d Rostock) sown November 4, 1858: Crop cut cut August 9, and carted August 20, August 4, and cart-id August 20, 1859. 1858. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. (For the Manures see pp. 202 (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) and 203.) i Dressed Corn. ll j Dressed Corn. . Is I fl CM jlf s 1 i CM |{ Bush. Pks. ibc. Ihs. lb* Bush. Pk*. lbs. 11)3. Ibs. 20 3 61.2 1332 3234 21 214 54.6 1254 3564 1 16 1^4 60.7 1055 2685 1 19 3 55.0 1189 3189 2 38 3J4 62.6 2512 6349 2 36 0% 56.5 2263 7073 3 18 60.4 1141 2S11 3 18 1J4 52.5 1051 322G 4 19 OX 61.1 1206 2879 4 19 OK 55.0 1188 3418 5a 18 2 61.5 1187 2719 5a 20 Stf 56.0 1277 3600 56 19 1 61.4 1227 2870 56 20 2X 56.0 1273 3666 da 28 2tf 62.1 1818 4395 6fl 29 2 >4 56.5 1808 5555 66 29 OX 62.1 1850 4563 66 30 OX 56.5 1855 5708 7a 38 2}4 61.9 2450 6415 7a 34 2% 55.9 2097 6774 76 39 214 62.3 2530 6622 76 34 2tf 55.9 2089 6892 Sa 41 3% 61.8 2680 7347 fri 34 3 '4 54 2068 7421 86 41 3)4 61.7 2675 7342 86 34 OK 53.4 2007 7604 9a 37 2^ 60.8 2384 6701 9a 30 54.5 1806 7076 96 23 2 588. 1470 4158 96 24 2 1 4 ' 50.5 1412 5002 lOa 22 3X 59.6 1439 3569 I0a 18 3K 51.5 1207 3937 106 27 3 ' 61.4 1775 4390 106 25 2 52.5 1500 4920 lla 30 3X 60.5 1977 4774 lla 26 34 51.4 1628 5155 116 33 0^ 60.4 2099 5117 116 27 314 51.3 1C98 5275 12a 37 3^ 62.1 2437 6100 12a 34 2X 54.5 2060 6610 126 37 02 62.1 2-387 6060 126 34 3X 54.8 2115 6858 13a 37 0% 62.1 2381 6077 13a 34 0%, 55.0 2037 6774 136 37 OK 62.7 2397 0074 136 34 3X 55.0 2087 6F34 37 3% 62.1 2413 6150 14a 34 IK 54.5 2054 6817 146 38 1% 62.0 2436 6146 146 34 2J4 54.5 2074 6774 15a 35 IX 62.6 2285 5300 ISa 34 OK 55.0 2053 6P26 156 37 2 62.8 243G 6134 156 35 0% 55 2095 7088 16a 41 3 62.1 2702 7499 16a 34 3% 52.6 2026 7953 166 42 Oft 62.1 2717 7530 166 34 IK 52.6 2005 7798 17a as 1*4 62.5 2150 5353 17a 21 1 *4 55.0 1247 3730 176 33 3 ' 4 ' 62.5 2181 5455 176 19 3 54.5 1K.S 3541 18a 22 3% 62.3 1472 3480 18a 32 W 55.5 1973 6508 186 23 2% 62.4 1338 3305 186 32 2 56.0 1980 GG30 19 33 1^4 62.5 1 2177 5362 19 30 2 55.5 1903 5926 20 17 ' 60.3 1089 2819 20 17 B\i 52.5 1039 3256 21 24 1% 61 5 1574 3947 21 26 1 ' j 54.0 1 f>"8 22 22 61.5 1412 3592 22 24 0% C5.0 14GO 4440 208 TALKS OX MANURES. EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, YEAB AFTER YEAB, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE XVIII. PRODUCE of the HTH.. TABLE XIX. PUODUCE of the IS-rn SEASON. 1859-60. SEBO (Red Rostov) SEASON. 1860-1. ISEKU (lied II stock) sown November 17, 1859; Crop cut sown November 5, 1860; Crop cut September 17 and 19, and carted Octo- August 20, siud caned August 27, ber 5, 1860. 1861. | PIIODUCK PEU AGUE, ETC. PIIODUCE rsn ACHE, ETC. (For the Manures see pp. 202 (For the Manures see pp. 202 Ud 203.) and 203.) jj Dressed Corn. - I 1 ! j Dressed Corn. . 1-3 * $ ?1 1 [iff * f ?1 | Ift s Wg "3 "e -J5 "a "fc-"^ * "!I-*ls i |? 1 "o ^-^Q i gfq i g^ Bush. Pks. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. , Bush. Pka. Ibs. Ibs. Ihs. 14 1J4 53.5 826 2271 15 IK 57.6 1001 2769 1 12 1-K 52.8 717 2097 1 12 3?< 57.6 8-28 2215 2 32 1 '*' 55.5 1861 5304 2 34 3 l /j 60.5 2202 5303 3 12 3X 52 6 738 2197 3 11 1 ! & 15 I'.i 51.5 929 2649 18a 32 IX 59.6 2050 5144 1C6 16 Itf 54.6 963 2706 186 33 IK 59.5 2122 5446 19 24 OK 53.0 1435 4178 19 32 2 58.8 2107 5345 20 12 OK 51.5 722 2155 20 13 OX 57 9 872 2340 21 13 2 52 5 803 21 16 1* 58.2 1109 2749 22 13 8.'i 53.8 8-47 2114 22 19 25 53.5 1306 32(3 EXPERIMENTS ON AVI1EAT. 209 EXPERIMENTS AT RDTUAMSTED ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, YEAH AFTER YEAK, ON THE SAME LAND. TABLE XX. PRODUCE of the 19TH TABLE XXI. PRODUCE of tl e 20TH SEASON, 1861-2. SEED (Red Rostock) SEASON, 1862-3. SELD (Red Rostock) sown October 25, 1861 ; Crop cut sown November 17, 1862; Crop cut August 29, and carted September 12, August 10, and carted August 18, 1862. 1863. PRODUCE PER ACRE, ETC. PRODUCE rr ACRE. ETC. (For the Manures see pp. 20J (For the Mnmm-s see pp. 202 uud 203.) and 203.) i Dressed Corn. 1-2 1 Dressed Cwn. 1"? . 9 E 1 8^ . & . K p Sx. % $ i ill 1 $ 3 ill Bush. Pks. 19 3X Ibs. 58.5 1228 Ibs. Bush. Pks. 22 O;/, Ibs. 62.6 1429 Ibs. 3,254 1 16 2% 58.0 1024 2712 1 20 3 62.8 1334 3.079 2 38 IX 61.0 2447 6642 2 44 63.1 2886 7.165 3 16 57.8 996 2709 3 17 1 62.7 1127 2,727 4 16 2X 58.5 1049 2711 4 20 1 62.3 1303 2,957 5a 17 83 59.0 1119 2959 5a 19 2'i 63.0 1283 2.970 56 17 2X 59.0 1101 29<;i 56 19 3 63.0 1296 3.064 6a 27 2 59.5 1715 4551 30 IX 62.3 2522 6.236 66 23 3 tf 59.8 1797 4897 66 39 3 62.3! 2534 6/J50 7a 35 2*4 59.3 2200 6106 53 1J4 62. 6 | 3477 9.3.'!0 76 3 f > 0*4 59.5 22(55 6178 76 54 62.5 3507 9.385 8a 39 3 59.2 2477 7200 56 2^ 62.3 36G8 10.883 86 39 OVi 59.0 2452 7087 86 54 3J4 62.3 3559 10.048 9a 43 IK 59.5 2G88 8738 9a 55 214 62.1 3576 9.888 96 25 3X 56.3 1641 4897 96 41 1% 62.5 27x3 6,920 lOa 23 OU 56.5 1457 4050 lOa 33 OX 62.6 2587 6,068 106 24 3^ 57.5 1600 4443 106 43 2J4 62.8; 2858 6.914 Ha 58.0 1706 4543 Ha 45 62.5! 2979 7,212 116 27 014 58.0 1734 4607 116 46 2 02.1 3060 7,519 ]-V{ 34 li| 58.0 2096 5745 12a 5t 291 62.1 3533 8,976 126 33 0% 58.0 2025 5634 !!> f)3 1 62.2 3454 8,819 13a 31 3% 5S.O . 1953 5543 i|a 3 1 62.6 3453 9,192 136 32 2% &8.o 2019 6891 62.5 3439 9,238 144 30 1 3i 58.0 18S6 5283 lla 51 l4 62.5 3527 8.! 86 146 32 0;4 58.1 2008 5558 146 53 li 62.5 3450 8,749 loa 30 1% 58.3 1872 5203 13a 48 1'i ! C2.5 3114 8.276 156 32 2% 58.3 2023 5787 155 43 62.9 3127 8.240 10a 36 l?i 58.0 2225 6752 IGa 56 2% 62.4 3710 10.717 166 36 OX 57.5 2233 6730 166 55 0,'i 02. 3 3607 10,332 1 17a 27 3X 58.1 1747 4827 Via 21 OVi 1 62.8 1370 3,288 176 27 2^i 58.1 1685 4762 176 21 IX 62.8 1389 3,292 ISa 18 IX 58.5 11G8 3161 18a 46 IX 62.6 3006 7,889 186 18 2% 58 5 1195 3335 m 46 0% 62.8 3009 7,737 19 23 IX 57.2 1479 4132 19 46 2% 62.9 3054 7,577 20 12 ijOQ " u " ). " " " 10 " (400 " " " ), " " " 20 " (600 " " " ), " * " " 23 " (800 " lt u ), " " " " 23 " 100 130 " 200 " "It takes ' said the Deacon, " about 5 Ibs. of ammonia to pro- duce a bush 1 of wheat And according to this, 500 Ibs. 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 interesting 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 interesting and instructive they become." The sixteenth season (1858-9), gives us a little over 18J bushels on the unmanured plot On the plot manured with 14 tons farm- yard manure, 86 bushels ; and this is the highest yield this season in the wheat-field. Mixed mineral manures alone, (mean of plot 5a and 55), give 20A- bushels. 25 Ibs. ammonia (100 Ibs. ammonia-salts), and mixed minerals, give 25^ bushels, or an increase over minerals alone of 4| bushels. 50 Jbs. ammonia, an increase of 9i bushels. 100 " " " " 14 15 u u u u 14. 41 200 " " " " " Hi " The season was an unfavorable one for excessive manuring. It was too wet and the crops of wheat when highly manured were much laid. The quality of the grain was inferior, as will be seen from the light weight per bushel. The seventeenth season (1859-60,) gives less than 13 bushels per acre on the unmanured plot ; and o2 bushels on the plot ma- nured with 14 tons farm-yard manure. This season (1860), was a miserable year for wheat in England. It was both cold and wet. 3Iixed mineral manures, on plots 5a and 55, gave nearly 16 bushels per acre. 25 Ibs. ammonia, in addition to the above, gave less than 15 bushels. In other words it gave no increase at all. 50 Ibs. ammonia, gave an increase of 6 bushels. 100 " 44 u *' " " 11} " 150 " " " " " " 154 " 200 u * " " " " 161 " It was a poor year for the wheat-grower, and that, whether he manured excessively, liberally, moderately, or not at all. EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 213 " I do not quite see that, 1 ' said the Deacon, " the farm-yard ma- nure gave an increase of nearly 20 bushels per acre. And the quality of the grain must have been much better, as it weighed 3 Ibs. per bushel more than the plot urimanureJ. If the wneat doubled in price, as it ought to do in such a poor year, I do not see but that the good farmer who had in previous years made his land rich, would come out ahead." " Gooil for the Deacon," said I. " ' Is Saul also among the prophets ? ' " If the Deacon continues to study these experiments much longer, we shall have him advocating chemical manures and high farming ! The eighteenth season (1860-1,) gave less than \\\ bushels per acre on the unmanured plot ; and nearly 35 bushels on the ma- nured plot. The mixed mineral manures, gave nearly 15? bushels. " " " and 25 Ibs. ammonia ..13^ " i< II tl U 5Q U U 27'f " " " " 100 " " 35 " " 150 " " 35 " a tt 300 a tt 37 The nineteenth season (1861-2,) gave 16 bushels per acre on the unmanured plot, and over 38 bushels on the plot manured with farm-yard manure. Mixed mineral manures, gave nearly 18 bushels per acre. " and 25 Ibs. ammonia.. 20? " " " 100 " " 36* " " " " 150 " " 33? " " " " 200 " " 86i " " The twentieth season (1862-3), gave 17i bushels on the unma- nured plot, and 44 bushels per acre on the manured plot. M'xed mineral manures alone gave 10$ bushels per acre. " arid 25 Ibs. ammonia.. 2 f " " " " 50 " " 3C* " " " " 100 " " 5C? " " u u 150 n 5 r ; | " '* 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 ia 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 17 bushels per acre. Many of our fanners 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 adapted for wheat-growing than West- era JS'ew York." "I do not think," said I, " that Mr. Lawes' land is any better than yours or mine; and I do not think the climate of England is any more favorable for growing wheat without manure tnan our climate. If there is any difference it is in our favor." " Why, then," asked the Doctor, " do we not grow as much wheat per acre as Mr. Lawes gets i'rom his continuously unmanured plot?" This is a question net difficult to answer. 1st. We grow too many weeds. Mr. Lawes plowed the land twice every year; and the crop was hoed once or twice in the spring to kill the weeJs. 2J. We do not half work our heavy land. We do not plow it enough do not cultivate, harrow 7 , and roll enough. I have put wheat in on my own farm, and have seen others do the same thing, when the drill on the clay-spots could not deposit the seed an inch deep. There is "plant-food" enough in these ' clay-spots" to give 17 bushels of wheat per acre or perhaps 40 bushels but we shall not get ten bushels. The wheat will not come up until late in the autumn the plants will be weak and thin on the ground ; and if they escape the winter they will not get a fair hold of the ground until April or May. You know the result. The straw is full of sap, and is almost sure to rust; the grain shrinks up, and we harvest the crop, not because it is worth the labor, but because we cannot cut the 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 field below the average of Mr. Liwes' well-worked but unmanured land. 3d. Much of our wheat is seriously irjured by stagnant water in the so'l, a-id standing water on the surface. I think we may safely siy that one-third the wheat-crop of this county (Monroe Co., N. Y.), is lost for want of bettor tillage and better draining and yet we think we have s good wheat-land and are as good farmers as can be found in this country or any other! Unless wo drain land, where drainnge is needed, and unless we work land thoroughly that needs working, and unless we kill the weeds or check their excessive growth, it is poor economy to sow expensive manures on our wheat-crops. But I do not think there is much danger 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 manure LIME A3 A MANURE. 215 from the animals kept on the farm. They know what manures cost and what they are worth. As a rule, too, such men are good farm- ers, and endeavor to work their land thoroughly and keep it clean. When this is the case, there can be little doubt that we can often use artificial manures to great advantage. " You say," said the Deacon, who had been looking over the tables while I was talking, " that mixed mineral manures and 50 Ibs. of ammonia give 39 bushels per acre. Now these mixed mineral manures contain potash, soda, magnesia, and super- phosphate. And I see where superphosphate was used without any potash, soda, and magnesia, but with the same amount of ammonia, the yield is nearly 46 bushels per acre. This docs not say much in favor of potash, soda, and magnesia, as manures, for wheat. Again, I see, on plot 10$, 50 Ibs. of ammonia, alone, gives over43| bushels per acre. On plot 115, 50 Ibs. ammonia and superphosphate, give 46| bushels. Like your father, I am inclined to ask, * Where can I get this ammonia ? ' " CHAPTER XXVIII. LIME AS A MANURE. These careful, systematic, and long-continued experiments of Lawes and Gilbert seem to prove that if you have a piece of land 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 bushels of wheat per acre, without directly or indirectly furnishing the soil with a liberal supply of available nitrogen or ammonia. " What do you mean by directly or indirectly ? " asked the Dec con. " What I had in my mind," said I, " was the fact that I have seen a good dressing of lirne double the yield of wheat. In such a case I suppose the lime decomposes the organic matter in the soil, or in some other 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(3 TALKS ON MANURES. My father used great quantities of lime as manure. He drew it a distance of 13 miles, and usually applied it on land intended for wheat, spreading it broad-cast, after the land had received its last plowing, and harrowing it in, a few days or weeks before sow- ing the wheat. He rarely applied less than 100 bushels of stone- litne to the acre generally 150 bushels. He used to say that a small dose of lime did little or no good. He wanted to use enough to change the general character of the land to make the light land firmer and the heavy land lighter. While I was with Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert at Rothamsted, I went home on a visit. My father had a four-horse team drawing lime every day, and putting it in large heaps in the field to slake, beforo spreading it on the land for wheat. " I do not believe it pays you to draw so much lime," said I, with the confidence which a young man who has learned a little of agri- cultural chemistry, is apt to feel in his newly acquired knowledge. " Perhaps not, 1 ' said my father, " but we have got to do some- thing for the land, or the crops will be poor, and poor crops do not pay these times. What wouLl you use instead of lime ? " "Lime is not a manure, strictly speaking," sai.l I; "a bushel to the acre would furnish all the lime the crops require, even if there was not an abundant supply 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 containing ammonia or the elements of ammonia, 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 guano." 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 difference in the crop. "Oh, yes," I replied, "the barley on the right-hand is far better than on the left hand. The straw is stiffer and brighter, and the heads larger and heavier. I should think the right half of the field will be ten bushels per acre better than the other." "So I think," he said, "and now can you tell me why?" "Probably you manured one half the field for turnips, and not the other half." " No." " You may have drawn off the turnips from half the field, and fed them off by sheep on the other half." " No, both sides were treated precisely alike." I gave it up " Well," said he, " this half the field on the right-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 LlilE AS A MANURE. 217 rotation adopted was, 1st clover, 3d wheat, 3d turnips, 4th barley, seeded with clover. Now, you put on, say 150 bushels of lime for wheat After the wheat the land is manured and sown with turnips. The turnips are eaten off on the land by sheep ; and it is reasonable to suppose that on the half of the field dressed with lime there would be a much heavier crop of turnips. These turnips being eaten off by the sheep would furnish more manure for this half than the other half. Then again, when the land was in grass or clover, tae limed half would afford more and sweeter grass and clover than the other half, and the sheep would remain on it longer. They would eat it close into the ground, going only on to the other half when they could not get enough to eat on the limed half. More of their droppings would be left on the limed half of the field. The lime, too, would continue to act for several years ; but even after all direct 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 do. So far as I have seen, it does just as much good here in Western New York, as it did on my father's farm. I should use it very freely if we could get it cheap enough but we are charged from 25 to 30 cts. a bushel for it, and I do not think at these rates it will pay to use it. Even gold may be bought to dear. "You should burn your own lime," said the Deacon, " you have plenty of limestone on the farm, and could use up your down wood." I believe it would pay me to do so, but one man cannot do everything. I think if farmers would use more lime for manure we should get it cheaper. The demand would increase with com- petition, and we should soon get it at its real value. At 10 to 15 cents a bushel, I feel sure that we could use lime as a manure with very great benefit. " I was much interested some years ago," said the Doctor, " in 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 agricultural chemistry. They afforded some new suggestions in regard to how lime may benefit land. Prof. Way found that ordinary soils possessed the power of sep- arating, 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 bed of dry soil, five or six inches deep, arranged in a dower-pot, or other suitable vessel, it was observed that the liquid which ran through, no longer contained any of the ammonia or other salt employed. The soil had, in some form or 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, lor instance, sulphate of ammonia were the compound used in the experiments, the ammonia would be removed from solution, but the filtered liquid would contain sulphuric acid in abundance not hi the free or uncombined form, but united to lime ; instead of sulphate of ammonia we should find sulphate of lime in the solu- tion; and this result was obtained, whatever the acid of the salt experimented upon might be. It was found, moreover, that the process of filtration was by no means necessary; by the mere mixing of an akaline 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 combination between the soil and the alkaline substance was rapid, if not instantaneous, partaking of the nature of the ordinary union between an acid and an alkali. In the course of these experiments, several different 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, di:l not possess this property. The organic matter of the soil, it was proved, had nothing to do with it. The addition of carbonato 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 clzy 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 was 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 LIME AS A MANURE. 219 whole, toeing the cause of the absorptive property, was inconsis- tent with all the asceitained laws of chemical combination." " After a series of experiments, Prof. Way came to the conclusion that there is in clays a peculiar class of double silicates to which the absorptive properties of soil are due. He found that the double silicate of alumina and lime, or soda, whether found naturally in soils or produced artificially, would be decomposed when a salt of ammonia, or potash, etc., was mixed with it, the ammonia, or pot- ash, taking the place of the lime or soia. Prof. Way's discovery, then, is not that soils have " absorptive properties" that has been long 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 of 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 particle of tin 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, socla, or potash silicate is capable of removing the ammonia from solution, the lime silicate alone has ths 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 silt 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, 1 ' 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 th3 decomposition of inert organic matters, and therefore 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 OX MANURES. These explanations are no doubt good as far as they go, but experience furnishes many facts which cannot be explained by any one, or all, of these suppositions. Lime, we all know, does much" good on soils abounding in organic matter, and so it frequently does on soils almost destitute of it. It may liberate potash, soda, silica, etc., from clay soils, but the application of potash, soda, and silica has little beneficial 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, etc., of the soil available to plants. Further- more, lime effects great good on soils abounding in salts of lime, and therefore it cannot be that it operates as a source of lime for the structure of the plant. None of the existing theories, therefore, satisfactorily account for the action of lime. Prof. Way's views are most consistent with the facts of practical experience ; but they are confessedly hypo- thetical ; and his more recent investigations do not confirm the idea that lime acts beneficially by converting the soda silicate into the lime silicate. Thus, six soils were treated with lime water until they had ab- sorbed from one and a half to two per cent of their weight of lime. This, supposing the soil to be six inches deep, would be at the rate of about 300 bushels of lime per acre. The amount of ammonia in the soil was determined before liming, after liming, and then after being exposed to the fumes of carbonate ammonia until it had ab- sorbed as much as it would. The following table exhibits the results: No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Ammonia in 1,030 prains of natural soil 293 181 035 109 127 033 Ammonia in 1,OOJ grains of soil after liming Ammonia in 1.000 grains of soil after liming and exposure to the vapor of ammonia 0.169 2 226 0.102 2 06G 0.040 3 297 0.050 1.07G 3.265 0.051 1.827 Ammonia in 1,0)0 grains of soil after exposure to ammonia without liming. 1.S06 2.557 3.286 1.097 2.G15 2.023 No. 1. Surface soil of London clay. No. 2. Same soil from 1^ to 2 feet below the surface. No. 3. Same soil $ feet below the surface. No. 4. Loam of tertiary drift 4 feet below the surface. No. 5. Gau'tclay surface soil. No. 6. Graltclay 4 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, docs 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 LIME AS A MANURE. 221 which the natural soils absorbed ammonia equal, in No. 3. to about 7,000 Ibs. of ammonia per acre, equivalent to the quantity contained in 700 tons of barn-yard manure shows this to have been the case. The lime liberated one-Mlf the ammonia contained in the soil. " This resu t," says Prof. Way, " is so nearly the same in all cases, that we are justified in believing it to be due to some special cause, and probably it arises from the existence of some compound silicates containing ammonia, of which lime under the circum- stances can replace one-half forming, for instance, a double sili- cate of alumina, with half lime and half ammonia such com- pounds are not unusual or new to the chemist." This loss of ammonia from a heavy dressing of lime is very great. A soil five inches deep, weighs, in round numbers, 500 tons, or 1,000,000 Ibs. The soil, No. 1, contained .0293 per cent of am- monia, or in an acre, five inches deep, 293 Ibs. After liming, it contained .0169 per cent, or in an acre, five inches deep, 169 Ibs. The loss by liming is 124 Ibs. of ammonia per acre. This is equal to the quantity contained in 1200 Ibs. of good Peruvian guano, or 12 tons of barn-yard manure. In commenting on this great loss of ammonia from liming, Prof. Way observes : " Is it not possible, that for tho profitable agricultural use, the ammonia of the soil is too tightly locked up in it ? Can we sup- pose that the very powers of tho soil to unite with and preserve the elements of manure arc, however excellent a provision of nature, yet in somo degree opposed to the growth of the abnormal crops which it is the business of the farmer to cultivate ? There is no absolute reason why such should not be tho case. A provision of nature must relate to natural circumstances ; for instance, con* pounds of ammonia may be found in the soil, capable of giving out to the agencies of water and air quite enough of ammonia for the growth of ordinary plants and the preservation of their species ; but this supply may be totally inadequate to the necessities of man. * * - Now it is not impossible that the laws which preserve the supply of vegetable 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:ic farmer his means of rendering immediately available stores of wealth, which can otherwise only slowly be brought into uso. " In this view, lime would well deserve the somewhat vague 222 TALKS OX MANURES. name that has been given it, namely, that of a ' stimulant ' ; for its application would be in some sort an application of ammonia, \vhile its excessive application, by driving off ammonia, would lead to all the disastrous effects which are so justly attributed to it. "I do not wish to push this assumption too far," says Prof. Way, in conclusion, " but if there be any truth in it, it points out the importance of employi ^g lime in small quantities 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 the kila, and mixed it with his ma- nure. It made a powerful smell, and not an agreeable one, to the passers by. He put the mixture on a twenty-acre field of wheat, and he said he was going to beat you." " Yes," said I, " so I understood but he did not do it. If he had 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 with good, rich farm-yard ma- nure; but with long, coarsa, strawy manure, there would be less injury, and possibly some advantage." "The Squire," said the Deacon, "got one advantage. He bad 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 preservs vegetable 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 have frequently seen limed wheat in the spring look worse than 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 case even with buck- LIME AS A MANURE. 223 wheat, which- becomes sooner ripe, though it yields no larger a return wheii liine is applied to the land on which it is grown." In districts where the midge affects the wheat, it is exceedingly important to get a variety of wheat that ripens early; and if lime will favor early maturity, without checking the growth, it will be of great value. A correspondent in Delaware writes : "I have used lime as a manure in various ways. For low land, the best way is, to sow it broadcast while the vegetation is in a green state, at the rate of 40 or 50 bushels to the acre ; but if I can not use it before the frost kills the vegetation, I wait until the land is plowed in the spring, when I spread it on the plowed ground in about the same quantity as before. Last year, I tried it both ways, and the result was, my crop was increased at least fourfold in each instance, but that used on the vegetation was best. The soil is a low, black sand." A farmer writes from New Jersey, that he has used over 6,000 bushels of Jime on his farm, and also considerable guano and phosphates, but considers that the lime has paid the best. His farm has more than doubled in real value, and he attributes this principally to the use of lime. " We lime," he says, " whenever it is convenient, but prefer to put it on at least one year before plowing the land. We spread from 25 to 40 bushels of lime on the sod in the fall ; plant with corn the following summer ; next spring, sow with oats and clover; and the next summer, plow under the clover, and sow with wheat and timothy. We have a variety of soils, from a sanely 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 County com- menced liming when the lime cost 25 cts. a bushel, and their farms are ahead yet, more in value, I judge, than the lime cost. The man who first commences using lime, will get so far ahead, while his neighbors are looking on, that they will never catch up." Another correspondent in Hunterdon Co., N. J., writes: "Ex- perience has taught me that the best and most profitable mode of applying lime is on grass land. If the grass seed is sown in the fall with the wheat or rye, which is the common practice with us in New Jersey, as soon as the harvest comes off the next year, we apply the lime with the least delay, and while fresh slacked and in a dry nnd mealy state. It can be spread more evenly on the ground, and is in a state to be more readily taken up by the fine roots of the plants, than if allowed to get wet and clammy. It is found most beneficial to keep it as near the surface of the ground 224 TALKS ON MANURES. 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 fibrous roots of plants to derive the greatest possible benefit from its use. With this method of application are connected sev- eral advantages. The lime can be hauled in the fall, after the busy 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 difference 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 newly- seeded grass or clover. He puts on 100 bushels of slaked lime per acre, either in the fall or in the 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- ly to our interest to give our land an occasional dressing of lime. The value of qcick-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 sufficient. Its value consists in changing the chem- ical au r \ 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 atmosphere. It may be that w r e can purchase this am- monia and other plant- food cheaper than 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 than to develop them out of the soil by the use of lime. A judicious combination of the two systems will probably be found the most profitable. Making composts with old sods, lime, and barn-yard manure, is LIME AS A MANURE. 225 a time-honored practice in Europe. I have seen excellent results from the application of such a compost on meadow-land. The usual plan is, to select an old hedge-row or headland, which has lain waste for many years. Plow it up, and cart the soil, sods, etc., into a long, narrow heap. Mix 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 the land. I have assisted at making many a heap of this kind, but do not recollect the proportion of lime used; in fact, I question if we had any definite rule. If we wanted to use lime on the land, we put more in the heap ; if not, less. The manure was usually put in when th heap was turned. Dr. Voelcker analyzed the dry earth used m the closets at the prison in Wakefield, England. He found that : Nitro- Phosphor- gen. Ic Acid. 10 tons of dry earth before using contained 62 -Ibs. 36 Ibs. 10 tons of dry earth after being used once contained... 74 " 50 " 10 tons of dry earth after being used twice contained. . 84 u 88 " 10 tons of dry earth after being used thrice contained. 102 " 102 " After looking at the above figures, the Deacon remarked : "You say 10 tons of dry earth before being used in the closet contained 63 Ibs. of nitrogen. How much nitrogen does 10 tons of barn- yard manure contain ? " "That depends a good deal on what food the animals eat. Ten tons of average fresh manure would contain about 80 Ibs. 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 most valuable thing in manure. What shall we be told next ? " " You will be told, Deacon, that the nitrogen in the soil is in such a form that the plants can take up only a small portion of it. But if you will plow such land in the fall, and expose it to the disintegrating effects of the frost, and plow it again in the spring, 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 soluble. 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. Vcelcker analyzed appeared, he says, " to be ordinary garden soil, containing a considerable 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 passed through the closet, produced 2 tons 7 cwt. of hay per acre. We are not told how much hay the land produced without any dress- 226 TALKS ON 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 only 1 Ib. more nitrogen and lt}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 matter and other plant-food in the earth, caused by the working over and sifting and exposure to the air, and to the action of the night-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 earth itself rather 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 such a top-dressing. The young grass in the spring assumed a rich, dark green color. I have observed the same effect where ccal-ashcs were spread on grass-land; and I have thought that the apparent benefit was duo 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, ashes, or manure in this countiy. But I feel sure that those of us having rich clay land containing, in an inert form, as much nitrogen and phosphoric aci:l as Dr. Vceloker found in the soil to be used in the earth-closet at Wakefiekl, 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 Ibs. of nitrogen, and 3,600 Ibs. of phosphoric acid. In other words, it contains to tho depth of only six inches ns much nitrogen as would be 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 their bncl more thoroughly? I do not know thnt 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 FOR BARLEY. 227 CHAPTER XXIX. MANURES FOR BARLEY. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have published the results of experi- ments with different manures on barley grown annually on the same land for twenty years in succession. The experiments com- menced in 1852. The soil is of the same general character as that in the field on the 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 spots." These spots vary in size from two acres down to the tenth of an acre. They rarely pro- duced even a fair crop of corn or potatoes, and the barley was sel- dom worth harvesting. Since I have drained the land and taken special pains to bestow extra care in plowing and working these hard and intractable portions of the fields, the "clay spots" 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-wurzels. 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 heavy 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 field 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 sheop compresses the soil, and makes even a lirrht, sandy one firmer in texture. In this country, our best wheat laud 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 give the composition of a wheat-crop of 30 bushels per acre, 1,800 Ibs. of grain, and 8,000 Ibs. of straw; and of a crop of barley, 40 bushels per acre, 2,080 Ibs. grain, and 2,500 Ibs. of straw, as follows : In Grain. In Straw. In Total Produce. Wheat. Barley. Wheat. -Bar/ei/. Wheat. Barley. Nitrogen Ibs. 32. 16. 9.5 1. 3.5 0.5 Ibs. 33. 17. 11.5 1.5 4. 12. Ibs. 13. 7. 20.5 9. 3. 99.5 Ibs. 12. 5. 18.5 10.5 2.5 6:5. Ibs. 45. 23. 30. 10. 6.5 100. Ibs. 45. 22. 30. 12. 6.5 75. Phosphoric acid. Potash . Lime .... Magnesia Silica A few years ago, when the midge destroyed our wheat, many farmers in Western New York raised "winter barlej'," instead of *' v'inter wheat," and I have seen remarkably heavy crops of this 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 barley, 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 length of time the 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 considerable extent. I have several times sown barley as soon as the surface-soil was thawed out five or six 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 BARLEY. 29 4th. We sow our barley usually in May, and harvest it in July, The barley, therefore, has to take up its food rapidly. If we 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 other words, the land must be not only rich, but it must be so well worked that the roots can spread out easily and rapidly in search of food and water. In this country, you will find ten good wheat-growers to one good barley grower. " That is so," said the Deacon ; "but tell us about Mr. Lawes' experiments. I have more confidence in them than in your spec- ulations. And first of all what kind of land was the barley grown on ? " " It is," said I, "rather heavy land as heavy as what the men call ' clay-spots,' oa rny farm." "And on those clay-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 bc-st barley I have this year (1878) is on these clay-spots. And the reason is, that we gave them an extra plowing last fall with a three-liorso plow. That extra plowing has probably given me an extra 80 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 the clay-spots, 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." " You ought," said the Doctor, " to have top-dressed these poor, sandy parts of the field with a little superphosphate and nitrate of soda." " It would liave 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 to our best land, and let the poor land take care of itself. But where the poor land 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 right 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 OX MANURES. used, are in many respects the same as were adopted in the wheat experiments already given. The mineral or ash constituents were supplied as follows : Potash as sulphate of potash. Soda as sulphate of soda. Magnesia as sulphate of magnesia. Lime as sulphate, phosphate, and superphosphate. PJwsphoric add as bone-ash, mixed with sufficient sulphuric acid to convert most of the insoluble earthy phosphate of lime into sulphate and soluble superphosphate of lime. Sulphuric acid in the phosphatic 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 organic matter, yielding by decomposition, car- bonic acid, and other products in yard manure, in rape-cake. The artificial manure or mixture for each plot was ground up, or otherwise mixed, with a sufficient quantity of soil and turf-ashes to make it up to a convenient measure for equal distribution over the land. The mixtures so prepared were, with proper precautions, 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 be best accomplished ia that way. The same manures were used on the same plot cacli year. Any exceptions to this rulo are mentioned in foot-notes. MANURES FOR BAKLEY. 231 EXPERIMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF BARLEY, TEAR AFTER TEAR, ON THE SAME LAND, WITHOUT MANURE, AND WITH DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF MANURE. Hoos FIELD, ROTUAMSTED, ENGLAND. TABLE i. SHOWING, taken together with the foot-note*, TJIE DESCRIPTION AND QUANTITIES OF THS MANURES APPLIED PER ACKS ON EACH PLOT, IX EACH YEAR OF THE TWENTY, 1852-1871 INCLUSIVE. Plots. [N. B. This table has reference to all the succeeding Tables]. MANUBESPEB ACHE, PEP. ANNUM (unlens otherwise stated in the foot-notes} . Plots. 1 O. Unmanured continuously 1 O. 2 O. 3>4 cvrts. Superphosphate of Lime * 2 O. 3 o. 3JO Ibs. t Sulphate of Potass, 100 Ibs. i Sulpl ate Soda, 100 Ibs. Sulphate Magnesia 3 O. 4 O. 209 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass. 100 Ibs. i Sulphate Soda, 100 Ibs. i Sulphate Magnesia, 3;^ cwts. Superpho-p^ate ! 4 O. 1 A. 200 Ibs. Ammonia-salts ! 1 A. 2 A. 20.) Ibs. Ammonia-salts, 3 V* cwts. Superphosphate ! 2 A. 3 A. 200 Ibs. Ammonia-salts, 200 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, 100 Ibs. % Sulphate Soda. 100 Ibs. Sulphate Magnesia 3 A, 4 A. 200 Ibs. Ammonia salts, 200 IDS. t Sulphate Potass, 100 Ibs. % Sulphate Soda, l(K) Ibs. Sulphate Magnesia, 3>< cwts. Su perphospha' e 4 A. {1 A\. <75 Ibs. Nitrate Soda 1 AA. 2 AA. 275 Ibs. Nitrate Soda, 3'^ cwts. Superphosphate < 2 AA. 3 AA. 275 Ibs. Nitrate Soda, 2JO Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, li;0 Ibs. t Sulphate Soda, 100 Iba. Sulphate Magnesia 3 AA. 4 AA. 275 Ibs. Nitrate Soda, 200 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, 100 Ibs. t Sulphate Soda, 100 Ibs. Sulphate Magnesia, S% cwts. Su- | perphosphate 4 AA.j fl AAS. 275 log. Nitrate Soda, 400 Iba. t Silicate Soda 1 AAS.l 2 AAS. 27.3 Ibs. Nitrate Soda, 400 Ibs. IT Silicate Soda, V/. cwts. Su- i pe.-phosphate 12 AAS. I \ 3 AAS. 275 Ibs. Nitrate Soda, 40J Ibs. *F Silicate Soun. 2-30 Ibs. t Sul-l phate Potass, 100 Ibs. % Sulphate Socta, 100 Ibs. Sulphate | Ma,'!ie.ila 3 AAS. 1 4 AAS. 275 Ibs. Xirr ito Soda. 400 ib.s. *[f Silicate Soda, 200 Ibs. t Sul- phate Poi;!ss, 100 !b.-;. t Sulphate toda, 100 IDS. Sulphate Ma, r nc Li, UK 'cwta. Superphosphate 4 AAS. fl C. 1000 IDS. Kapc-cako ' l C.l 2 C. ;100J)bs r;;toe-ea:-:c, 3 V~ cwts. Superphosphate i 2 C. \ 3 C. 1000 Ibs. Rape-cake, ,00 IDS. t Sulphate Puta*. 100 Iba. $ Sul- phate Soda, 1!JO Ibs. >ni phate iJagaesia 3 C. (4 C. 1000 Ibs. Kape-ca ce, 200 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, 100 Ibs. i Sul- phate Soda, 100 Ibs Sulphate Magnesia, 3% cwta. Super- phosphate 4 C. +J.51N. 5 Ibs. Nitrate Soda IN.) " i 2 N. 275 Ibs. Nitrate Soda (550 Ibs. Nitrate for 5 years, 1853, 4, 5, 6, [ 1t and 7) 2 N.) M. 10J Ibs. Jt Sulphate Sod*, 100 Ibs. Sulphate Magnesia, Zy^ cwts. Superphosphate (.commencing 1855; 1852, 3, and 4, uninanured) I M. 5 0. 200 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, 3% cwts. Superphosphate 1 2CO Ibs. Ammonia-salts also, for the first year, 1852, only) 5 O. 5 A. 200 Ibs. t Sulphate Potass, 3> cv, r ts. Superphosphate, 200 Ibs. Ammonia-salts 5 A. e (l Omnanured continuously 1) R 6 J2 Ashes burnt-.oii and turf) 2J 7 11 Tons Farmyard-Manure I 7 NOTSS TO TABI/K I. * "3V r.wts. Superphosphate of Lime' In all cases, made from 200 Ibs. Bone*- ash, 15J Ibs. Sulphuric acid sp. gr. 1.7 'and water 1 . t Sulphate Potass 300 Ibs. per annum for the first 6 years, 1852-7. i Sulphate Soda -200 Ibs. per annum for the first 6 years, 1852-7. The " Ammonia-salts "in all cases equal parts of Sulphate and Muriate of Am monia of Commerce. II Plou "AA" aud "AAS" first 6 years. 1852-7, instead of Nitrate of Soda, 400 Ibs. Ammonia-salts per annum; next 10 years, 1858-67,200 Ibs. Ammonia-Balta per annum ; 18GS, and since, 275 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda per annum. 275 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda is reckoned to c mtaia the same Amount of Nitrogen as 200 IDS. " Ammonia-salts." IT Plots "AAS" the application of Silicates did not commence until 1864; in 'frl-5-6, and 7, 200 Ibs. Silicate of Soda raid 200 Ibs. Silicate of Lime wen; applied per acre, but in 1303, and since, 400 Ibs. Silicate of Soda, tmd no Silicate of Lirne. These plots comprise, respectively, one half of the original " AA " plots, and, excepting the addition of the Silicates, have been, and are, in other respects, manured in the same way as the " AA " plots. ** 2000 Ibs. Rape-cake per annum for the first 6 years, and 1000 Ibs. only, each year since, ft 300 Ibs. Sulphate Potass, and 3Hj cwts. Superphosphate of Lime, without Nitrate <>f Soda, the first year dS52); Nitrate alone eaca year since, ft Sulphate Soda-200 Ibs. per annum 1S55, C, aud 7. 232 TALKS ON MANUIIES. EXPERIMENTS ON THE GROWTH OP BARLEY, YEAR AFTER YEAR, ON TIOXS OF MANUKE, Hoos TABLE II. DRESSED [N.B. The double vertical lines show that there was a change in the descrip- Table I., and foot-notes 1 O. 2 O. 3 O. 4 O. Means 1 A. 2 A. 3 A. 4 A. Means 1 AA. 2 AA. 3 AA. 4 AA. Means 1 AAS. 2 AAS. 3 AAS. 4 AAS. Means. 1 0. 2 G. 3 C. 4 C. Means 1 N. 2 N. M. 6 O. 6 A. HARVESTS. 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 bushels. 27 '4 23% 23% 23% 33% 30 40% bush. 25% 3$ 35% 30%_ 38% 36 jf 33 1 4 bush, bus bus bush. bush. 33 31 13% j 26% 40 c, jg 30# J34%16% 33 ~ I 24% 42 J37%|19% 3i)%| 30% 33* 33% 43* 41% 45 * 33 36% 40% 42^4 41 '4 44% 33^ 17 47% |44#'25 00% 47% 29% 50 44^ 28% 60% 43% 31% '40% 28^ 56% 48 '8614 63 '4 50% 31^ 51 y, 47^25% 63^ !49% 37% 42% 58% 48% 32% 35 '< 40% _l_C 60-i |48%36% 60% 53 '.{ 37H 56 / ! 48% 32% 60-4 ;51% ; 35% 59% j- (25 X) 32^ 26^4 42% 57_%_ 48% 66!^ 49% 64,% 51% 34 ' 4 - bus bus bus bus bus ^13% 16 14 16^22% ^8 15% 25 i21%32% % 1514 18% 19% 27% 19%; 18% 29% 25% 33 i!l5%22% 57 % 02 'i 60^i 62J4 62 '4 15% 26% 30^ 31% 42% 43% 55 |48% 61% 16% 28 32% 35% 48% 34% 43^ 54% 47% 55% 42% 25% 35% ,43% 40% 52% 39% 21)^ 25% 35 31% 49 50 '4 35% 43 V4 55% 51 |60# 40% 20% 30% 36% 30% 54 66 ^ 35% 46% 55% 48% 59.% 48% 28% 30% 45% 41% 55% 38% 31% OTXS . ;41 30% 56% '45 2" 34% 35 ' 4 51% '36 157% 53% 55 35 ;40% 53% 45X 54% 37%36%54i/t41% 53% 29 5* 83 27% 89% 49% 50 2S> 6354 49% 42 S-iPg 19% 47% 33% 85% 37K1KH a^W ;S(il.-; IKlf! * 15% 1* 24^ 81 V& 51,% 34% 81% 60% 82^ SI % 87% 43% 25% 25% 48% 25% 55 47s 27% 384 35% 51% [>,^ 29% 41% 38^ 53% 33^ 17V fi 14% 40 1()V 8 28% 17% 2 49% 46% 51# 39 12% 16% 18^ 27% 17% 19 28% 54 % 49% 59% ( l ) Averages of 4 years, 4 years, and 8 years. ( 3 ) Averages of 9 years, last 10 years, and total 17 years. ( 4 ) Averages MANURE FOR BARLEY. 233 THE SAME LAND, WITHOUT MANUEE, AND WITH DIFFEEENT DESCBIP- FlELD, ROTHAMSTED, ENGLAND. CORN PER ACRE bushels. tion, or quantity, of Manure, at the period indicated, for particulars of which see thereto, p. 231.] HARVESTS. AVERAGE ANNUAL. 1 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 187Q 1871 1* |rf 1 bush. 24 30* 26* 33* L 28% bus 18 P* 24% bush. 15% 22% 19% 24 bus 17% 3 s 20% bush. 17^ bus 18% 22* bus 18 16% bus 16% 23 } 3 ' 25 /8 bushels. 22% 27% 24% bush. 173^ 23 '4 20* 24% bushels. 20 25^ 22% 27'/ 2 1 O. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. Means 1 A. 2 A. 3 A. 4 A. Means 1 AA. 2 AA. 3 AA. 4 AA. Means 1 AAS. 2 AAS. 3 AAS. 4 AAS. Means 1 C. 2 C. 30. 4 C. Means 1 N. 2N. M. 5 0. 5 A. 2f 6 7 21% 20% 19% 16# 5TT% 48 34% 49* 16% 30% 38 21% 30% 45 l s ' 38* 40^ 26% 21% 23% 43 ll 55% 29% 48% 33 -4 46^ 5S S* 30% 44 33 43,% 20% 37% 25 33% 45% 35 46% 48% 35 46% 35 40* 49% 39X 38% 37,% 29% 39% 34i/2 41% 40% 40* 40% 41% 56,% 44% 56% 33% * 7 1/ 2 43% 29}/ 8 50% 29% 50% 29% 4-1 'i 32,% 45 27 44 27^ 45% 32% 4814 29* 39* 46* 463^ 32% 30% 44^40 89% 48,% 38% 49,% 84* 49% 36* 37 49 tf 37% 49% 49% 41% 40* J38. 36 41 38% 42 35~4S% 44% 49# 42% 48% 47* 48% 44i.i 42% ~30~%~ 47* 42 48% 43% 54% 50 59% 34% 41 v* 43% 37% 32X 51 % 44 41 % 39>J ~45%~40* 29% 4 *? 46% 39% 34% 49% 40^ 51% ' j 43* 37 ] 48* 1 (i) 42% f ( ' 50 J 52 48i/ 8 51% 49%' 53 44*'42# 48% 4514 43% 441/2 45 1 45% 38% 40%' 47'/ 2 45> 48%: 43% 38% 48 % 48% 42% 37 35* 42i/2 41% 48 '4 41% 43% 38 1 /, 52% 43% 44 41% 45% 47H 47 47% 46j* 43% 45% 43 U 47* 45V 46% 43% 47% 50^ 40% 46% 25% 26^ 50% 25% 25% 62 47 463 41% 35% 46% 41>rf 44% 48* 45% 22* 20 44i4 18% 24* 54* 45 45% 37 39,% 48* 21 19* 52% 34% 41 19 22V 43% 53% 33 203*T 19# 34% 16% 19% 45%' 25% 25% 14% 15 36% 15 \ 15% 43% 35* 34% 33% 40* 16% 16 * 23% 14% 49% 41% 14% 15 \H 15% 15% 46% 47* V ) ( 43,^1 25 23% 45 37% 403 20% 44% 18,% 20 513* 22%) (<) 44% 22 21% 48* (18&3-'61), last 10 years, and total 19 years. () Averages of 7 years (1855-'61), of 9 years (1853-'61), last 10 years, and total 19 years. 234 TALKS ON MANUBES. EXPERIMENTS OH THE GBOWTH OF BABLEY, TEAR AFTER YEAR, ON THB MANURE. Hoos TABLE III. WEIGHT PEB (N.B. The doutle vertical lines show that there was a change in the description, TaLle L, and foot notes, 1 HARVESTS. 1852." 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 18G3 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 O. Means 1 A. 2 A. 3 A. 4 A. Means 1 AA. 2 AA. 3 AA. 4 AA. Ibs. 52.1 52.6 52.5 51.5 Iba. 51.4 52.6 51.9 52.1 Ibs. 53.6 51.0 53.6 54.0 Ibs. 52.4 52.5 52.9 63.1 Ibs. 49.1 46.5 48.5 47.0 Ibs. 52.0 52.8 52.5 53.7 Ibs. 53.0 54.0 53.5 54.0 Ibs. 49.0 52.0 49.5 52.5 Ibs. 50.8 50.5 60.3 51.3 Ibs libs. 52.3 50.3 53.3 52.0 52.8 51.8 54.0 52.0 Ibs. 53.6 54.2 54.5 54.8 52.2 52.0 53.8 52.7 47.8 48.5 40.3 49.1 40.4 52.8 53.6 53.0 53.8 54.0 54.0 50.8 50.7 47.5 50.8 51.0 61.0 47.5 50.8 51.0 51.1 53.1 51.5 53.5 51.5 54.0 51.5 49.4 53.5 50.5 54.0 54.3 50.7 50.5 50.9 51.4 52.4 52.5 52.6 53.1 53.6 543 54.0 54.3 54.1 52.8 52.4 53.1 52.1 51.8 51.3 52.2 52.0 51.8 50.6 50.1 50.2 48.9 51.9 54.3 52.1 54.8 53.6 55.3 54.3 56.5 50.9 49.1 40.5 50.6 50.6 52.7 51.3 51.7 51.3 51.4 47.6 48.3 46.1 47.3 43.4 53.3 53.7 49.3 47.5 50.7 47.5 50.5 50.9 50.7 51.3 50.4 51.0 52.6 51.9 50.0 54.4 61.5 54.0 54.9 53.9 55.7 51.5 56.4 5-2.0 53.5 52.1 63.9 51.8 53.5 51.5 53.5 Means 1 AAS. 2 AAS. 3 AAS. 4-AAS. Means 1 C. 2 C. 8 C. 4 C. Means 50.0 51.4 52.6 50.0 46.8 52.9 53.6 49.1 50.9 52.6 52.5 55.1 51.7 51.8 51.3 51.4 51.3 51.6 51.5 50.4 52.9 52.8 52.6 52.8 50.5 46.1 50.0147.3 50.0! 40. 6 49.5 40.3 53.2 63.8 54.11 54.11 53.5 52.8 53.5 53.1 52.0 62.0 51.5 61.5 51.7 51.8 51.0 51.1 54.0 54.5 54. 1 ! 55.3 53.5 53.5 54.3 54.0 50.3 60.4 50.8 56.7 51.6 51.2 52.8 50.2 46.0 63.8 53.2 51.6:51.6 54.0 54.3 56.6 1 N. 2 N. } (51-7) \ 51.8 49.7 53.3 53.1 52.0 50.1 500 48.4 52.9 63.0| 53.5 64.0 48.0 51.0 48.5 61.1 62.0 51.5 51.8 51.3 53.4 53.9 M. 5 O. 6 A. (51.0) \ 51.0 51.8 62.3 \ 152.6 53.1 52.6 53.8 51.5 49.3 47.5 40.0 r,2.8 63.4 64.5 63.6 54.0 64.0 49.5 51.0 51.0M.O 51.0 51.2 53.8 52.8 53.8 53.3 51.5)54.1 53.0 52.0 55.6 {k : 5-2.0 53.0 50.3 50.9 52.8 62.5 53.6 52.6 BO.O 60.0 52.3 62.3 63.1 53.1 48.5 51.3 47.5 51.0 52.0 51.8 54.0 52.0 52.0 54.1 7 52.8 51.6 53.9 62.9 47.1 54.2 84.5 52.5 52.1 54.8 54.8 572 (*) Averages of 4 years, 4 years, and 8 years, ( a ) Averages of 9 years last 10 years, and total 17 years. ( 4 ) Averages MANURE FOB BARLEY. 235 SAME LAND, WITHOUT MANURE, AND WITH DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF FIELD, ROTHAMSTED. BU3HEL OP DRESSED CORN IbS. or quantity, of Manure, at the period indicated, for particulars of which see taereto, p. 231.] HARVESTS. AVERAGE ANNUAL. 1851 1865 1836 1837 18G8 1869 1870 1871 5 . || "3 ^ . Total Period go Years, 1852- '71. k,N <%t-ii~ IDS. Ibs. Ibs. 55.7 53.9 51.1 5H.8 53.8 53.2 5J/J 51.5 52.3 57.3 54.0 ; 52.7 Ibs. 51.8 53.9 52.9 53.6 Ibs. 54.3 55.8 55.7 55.3 Ibs. 52.4 54.3 54.7 54.6 Ibs. 52.9 53.6 54.3 55.6 Ibs. 55.0 6.0 55.4 55.6 Ibs. 51.6 52.0 51.8 52.3 Ibs. 53.1 ' 54.4 54.3 1 54.6 Its. 52.3 53.2 5:10 53.4 56.7 54.1(52.3 53.8 '50.9 2.7 51.4 54.7 52.1 53.5,54.7 53.1 55.3 54.0 54.1 | 55.5 62.0 54. 1 53.0 52l~ 53.5 52.8 4.0 55.4 57.0 56.4 57.6 51.3 53.3 54. ij 54.6 51.9 54.8 54.3 55.6 52.4 -57.0 54.6 57.4 54.6 57.2 55.4 57.1 55.6 55.0 56.1 56.5 tl.2 C3.0 fcl.8 5.1 tl.5 1 54.1 1-2.2 55.7 56.6 55.5 57.2 56.5 57.6 lie/: 56.1 57.2 57.2 57.0 "569 53.7 530 52.9 52.4 51.1 51.9 54.6 53.3 51.6 53.7 55.6 55.1 56.0 55.1 55.4 56.1 55.8 61.6 54.5 53.1 53.5 50.9 52.3 55.0 54.8 51.4 53.3,55.4 53.1 57.2 53.7 57.1 545 56.9 51.6 57.1 54.1 5.9 54.3 56.3 DO.S 1.2 to.s 51.1 3.2 ; 5.4 53.8 55.8 ~54.6~ 1 54.6 56.7 55.5 56.8 ~55~9 52.0 53.8 52.3 53.4 52~S~ 54.81 t4 (i > 55.8 J 53.5 53.2 55.3 55.8 55.2 61.0 51.2 51.8 52.4 55.6 54.8 52.5 53.1 55.3 53.5 55.1 53.0 54.1 542 56.2 55.5 56.2 54.8 57.4 56.6 57.8 55.0 57.4 55.9 57.8 54.6 55.6 53.8 55.4 f3.9 ml 55.1 < '154.4 [54.9 E4.G 53.6 53.8 53.9 55.5 5G.7 56.5 54.9 55.2 57.1 '538 55.1 57 53.3 55.7 57.3 53.3 55.3 57.2 53.5,55.6 51.4 55.0 54.7 51.8 5<>.2 5S.1 55.8 55.4 56.7 57.1 57.1 57.4 57.5 57.8 57.6 58.0 E6.3 56.4 5G.3 56.4 51.7 51.7 51.7 51.4 55.8 50.0 55.8 55.9 53.8 5.3.9 53.7 53.6 57.1 53.5 56.0 51.1 56,5 5J.S 58.3 514 67.15 51.5 57.554.1 58.058.9 5.5.3 53.9 57.4 54.4 55.4 54.7 55.9 ~52.8 53.5 51.0 51.4 57.5 53.5 53.3 57.1 57.1 57.3 54.8 540 55.6 57.5 52.8 52.9 564 57.7 56.4 51.6 55.9 53.8 510 52.8 52.9 53.4 54.8 51.3 51.8 54.9 53.9 5.2.7 53.9 51.0 55.2 520 52.5 54.8 55.6 55.8 55.3 55.9 57.3 54.0 54.6 57.1 54.6 54.6 55.0 55.1 55.5 55.4 54.9 56.6 vj51.6 ( ']51.1 () (51.8 (*) (52.0 51.9 61.fi 51.6 52.6 58.7 54 2 54.2 54.8 55.7 53.5 58.6 5n.O S?f 53.2) () '3-4> ( 4 ), 53.8 52.5 52.6 54.3 (1853-'6D, last 10 years, and tr ta] 19 years. ( s ) Averages of 7 years (1855-'C1X of 9 years (1853-'61), last 10 years, and total 19 years. 236 TALKS OX MANURES. i:aENTs ON THE GROWTH OF BARLEY, YEAB AFTER TEAR, ON TUB MANURE. Hoos TABLE IT. OFFAL [N.IX The double vertical lines show that there \vas a change in the description, Table /., and foot-notes HARVESTS. 1 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1. 0. 2. O. Ibs. 104 100 Ibs. 225 101 Ibs. 84 101 Ibs. 144 G9 Ibs. 131 58 Ibs. 93 106 Ibs. 86 103 Ibs. 110 15!) Ibs. 78 84 Ibs. 88 78 Ibs. 64 114 Ibs. 49 58 3. 0. 183 151 64 76 129 61 96 85 78 83 73 54 4. 0. 1$5 160 105 94 88 53 108 1GO 74 58 117 57 Means 146 159 89 96 102 78 93 129 78 78 92 55 1. A. 218 253 01 138 219 113 98 184 150 170 ! 269 1lf> 2. A. 260 244 150 184 121 88 114 274 159 130 1 191 99 3. A. 252 336 197 177 180 91 96 175 115 109 261) 108 4. A. 273 274 138 142 125 70 117 253 150 110 150 81 Means 231 277 172 160 161 91 106 222 143 ISO 220 101 1. AA. 2fi9 303 326 20 1 310 135 88 215 109 173 206 110 2. AA. 315 251 329 181 233 133 134 320 118 190 133 143 3. A A. S18 236 334 212 2!)0 103 118 2G5 122 138 ?.64 95 4. AA. 210 SOI 273 150 176 183 113 85 141 179 191 66 Means 231 273 316 187 252 140 121 271 123 170 246 103 1 A AS. 2 AAS. 3 AAS 4 AAS. Means 1 C. 170 2G8 173 219 17.*] 135 103 225 120 154 154 85 2 C. 1(5-1 370 238 195 Nil 169 148 171 15G ir,o 12H 10!) 3 C. 190 296 2-18 183 189 15G | 105 236 115 204 190 71 4C. 144 277 227 222 205 103 | 125 330 153 204 174 66 Means 1G7 204 223 05 183 157 120 246 136 178 161 63 1 N. 2 N. } (94)] 2831 223 1 109 286 123 224 2-15 193 99 151 | 119 110 205 235 146 179 225 190 245 216 120 114 AI | .T> 94 00 84 85 75 78 108 46 5 0. 5 A. (173) | 173 G8 210 113 170 CO 123 9G 151 101 63 71 154 110 163 73 193 73 188 1'Jc! 210 41 81 f ( 1 120 200 144 110 152 73 84 121 fi8 73 75 51 6 U 113 161 119 73 1-25 103 81 127 95 G7 194 G5 7 101 S60 C6 100 141 131 121 263 147 190 208 GO (M Averages of 4 years, 4 years, and 8 years. (-) Avcrajrs o' 9 years last 10 years, and total 17 years. ( 4 ) Averages MANURE FOR BARLEY. 237 LAND, WITHOUT MANURE, AND WITH DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF FIELD, ROTHAMSTED. CORN PBU ACRE Ibs. or quantity, of Manure, at tlie period indicated, for particulars of which, see thereto, p. 231.] HARVESTS. AVERAGE ANNUAL. J \> Ou IT 1 1864 1865 1868 1867 18G8 1869 1870 1871 if Ils is iS Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. TbsT "ibsi Ib7 Ibs. Ibs. Ibs" Ibs. ib~s7 42 47 41 90 21 44 31 48 120 48 84 1 O. 69 38 21 f.3 20 80 18 33 86 52 74 2 0. 43 38 33 G4 27 70 18 35 101 46 74 3 O. 41 28 55 60 25 69 26 48 104 53 78 40. 49 38 39 67 25 63 23 41 105 50 78 Means 99 53 94 115 40 139 2:) If 5 174 107 141 1 A. 63 8t 76 33 113 2(5 169 172 S4 188 2 A. 83 51 106 94 34 95 24 89 173 95 134 3 A. 110 CO 63 71 50 21 27 146 1C5 78 122 4 A. 89 63 82 89 43 92 25 132 171 94 * 1G3 Means 110 64 143 110 46 64 33 ia3 216 111 164 1 AA. 50 111 09 4(5 89 24 1G3 220 95 153 2 AA. 76 48 103 10 9 111 ?6 133 214 113 164 3 AA. 46 76 133 ^19 43 78 30 90 2C8 67 148 4 AA. 71 75 124 101 48 86 31 131 215 102 159 Means 94 55 F8 85 4!) 121 33 94 f 81 I 74 77 ~j 1 AAS. 53 sr> 9fi G'i 64 60 23 15:5 I 7'"> 75 2 AAS. 70 50 141 79 9 130 2-) 1f.O (1) 1 85 84 85 1 ^ 3 AAS. 93 70 80 93 48 125 20 175 93 89 J 4 AAS. 77 65 101 81 50 111 28 1S8 81 82 IS Means 78 83 104 109 43 C9 25 78 175 83 129 1 C. 92 44 R9 89 6t 111 24 88 113 84 133 2 C. 90 66 04 91 3.) 91 37 141 102 91 112 3 U. 123 69 128 72 42 67 28 124 | 03 89 1-19 4 C. 96 66 104 90 47 85 28 103 192 67 1E9 Means 74 S3 93 84 194 104 119 83 61 35 150 98 33 33 9') 171 H&- 112 104 18 } 1 N. 2N. RS GO 44 5f> 20 61 25 58 ( 3 ) (77 64 60) (3) M. 78 as 48 5(5 20 75 23 41 () (81 61 72) C* 5 0. 91 94 53 74 63 30 M4 100 87 124 5 A. 51 45 72 103 27 71 26 50 117 57 87 ] 1 54 47 51 83 21 57 23 41 107 64 85 2[ 6 117 r>6 148 111 48 100 23 171 156 105 ro 7 (1853-61), last 10 ypars, and total 19 years. ( 3 ) Averages of 7 years (1855-'C1), of U years (1S53-'61), last 10 years, and total 19 years. 238 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF BARLEY, YEAR AFTER TEAR, ON THB MANURE. Hoos TABLE V. STRAW N.B. The double vertical lines show that there was a change in the descrip- Table 2., and foot notes 1 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. Means 1 A. 2 A. 3 A. 4 A. HARVESTS. 1852 1853 cwts. 18 17% 17 '4 20 Yt 1854 1855 1856 1857 cwts. i7\ 8 ! 1858 1859 cwt U% 1860 cwt 7 ^ 9% 1861 cwt 11 13* 15% 12% 30J/2 1862 cwt 9% 10% 13^ 8 20% **) .'- 31% 1S63 Cwts. 16% cwts. 23 v; 20% 23% cwt cwt 17% i 8% 17% 1 8% IS 9% 17% ~9~ cwts. 10% cwt 15% 13% 15% 17J4 mi 15% 18Mi 28% 17% 29% 10% 13% 34''" 20 ^ 32 22% 26 23% 27% 23% !-# 26% 30 % 40% 24% 17% 29% 21* 27^ 17% 31 21 \.i 2"^ 27% 24% 27 "4 14% Means 23% 2o>4 36% 23 |19* 23j<< 22% 19, 1 4 20% 25% 26% 23% 1 AA. 2 AA. 3 AA. 4 AA. 28% 28% 28% 25% 28% 27ki 31% 37% 34''* -2(5% 49 39% 33 23 '/ ? 36 14 '22% 35% Sf/i! 21 4 16% 18 % 30% 29 22 21 M 25% 31% 31 '2 3^X 24% 24 ?i 27% 33% 33H 34% Means 1 AAS. 2 AAS. S AAS. 4. AAS. Means 1 C. 2 C. 3 C. 4 C. Moans 1 N. 2 N. 23% 42 '-4 36% 28% 29% 27^ 21% 21 14 27,% 21 % SO 24% f\y 24% 36% 35% 37% 28 31* 26 }f? 30% co?J 33 26% 2-^ 30% 31 26 2734 23-ii 28Jb 28% lr* 30% 26% 25% 44j| 30% 3^3 17% 20% 20^ 2-2% J- (15, '4)] 26 '4 42% 36* 28% j 32% 28% 82 /8 | 32% 2794 20% 30 26^ 24* 21% 29% 29% 33% 27 38 '4 33 J4 20% 23% 18% 16% 21 18% 27 14 29% M. 6 0. 5 A. (25%) \ 25% 24* 20 '4 14-'' 83& 31 !| 10% 1314 27% 11 26% 25* 15% 31% 10 v 31% 15* 3-i U 14% 15% 25^ 18% 8 14% 11% 11 ^ 10 7% 9% 10 11% 13 Y z 14% 7 18M" 225Y ST 1 * 27>< 2:") s x.< 31 ?;! Sl^ :>}% C 1 ) Averages of 4 years, 4 years, and 8 years. last 10 years, and total i 2 ) Averages of 9 years 17 years. ( 4 ) Averages MANUEE FOE BAELEY. 239 SAME LAND, WITHOUT MANUKB, AND WITH DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF FIELD, ROTHAMSTED. (AND CHAFF) PER ACRE cwts. tion, or quantity, of Manure, at the period indicated, for particulars of which see thereto, p. 231.] HARVESTS. AVERAGE ANNUAL. i S -S | * 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 I s , "2^ |fe Cr~i r i few 1^? ej cwts. cwt cwts cwt cwts. cwt cwt cwt cwts. cwts. cwts. 18X 8* 9/4 11% 11 6% 11 13% 1014 11% 1 O. 15% 9 2 12% 12% 9% 10% 8 |12Js 14% n 13% 2 O. 13 10^ 10% 8% 11 8% 111^ 13% 10% 3 0. 16% 10 12% 12 10% 12% 9% 14 16% 12% 14% 4 O. 14% 9K 11% 11% 9% 11* ?X 12% 14% 11% 12% Means 20% 13 15% 17 tf 12^ 18* 12% 23% 19% 17% 18/2 1 A. 32 X 21% 28k? 28 < 19 % 32 |17% ; 28% 27% 27% 2 A. 16 16% 14% fcO%il5 '25% 21% 20% 3 A. 34% 22% 27% 25% 20% 34% 18% 28% 23 28% 4 A. 26% 18% 21% 22% 16% 26% 16 27f4 24i /2 23% 23% Means 88* 16 17% 17* 141/2 21% 17% 26% 24 20% 22% 1 AA. 33* 26% 23 17 28% 18 V 8 30.% 203. f 16-|' 34% 23% 32 Si 22% 1 20% 25% 31% 25* 22^ SO/ 2 24 2 AA. 3 AA. 37% 24% 28% 28?* 25% 38% 18* 32 ? 6 34% 30% 32% 4 AA. 30>- 8 20% 23% 24V 4 19% 29* 20% 2914 29 25% 27i/4 Means |26% 33 '/ 2 bo* |40% 22% 23*4 20% 20% ^ 29/2 29 /; 23% 2814 P 26% 23% 87H 30% 17 20% 20% 29% 301/s 8* 131 * 21% 29% 21%] 1 AAS. 2 AAS. 3 AAS. 4 AAS. 32% 22% 26% 24% 22% 33% 19% 33% 26%' 27% 27 Means 26% 21% 24% 25 y ? 19% 27 17* 27H 29% 241/4 26% 1 C. 31% 21% 2414 25 3 R 19% 183 * 17% 27% 30% 26 28% 2 C. 31 22 24% 22^" 10% 30% 18% 30% 28% 25'^ 27% 3 C. 34% 22 27% 24% 21% 35% 20% 32 3114 27% 29% 4 C. 31 121% 25%. 24 % 19% 31% 18/2 29% 30% 25% 28 Means 24 % !l8/ 2 27% 21% 21% 23% 21% 21% 18% 24 17% 27% 13* 29K 19% 31 y a I (2) J23% 84V4 Sxh 1 N. 2N. 13% 1 9% 12% 12 10% 11 y -8% 14% f 3 ) (11% 12% 12%) ( 3 ) M. 14% 105^ 10% 10% 8/2 15/ 2 4% 13 l ,a (*) (13% 11% 12%) (<) 50. 33% 24% 28 22% 20% 36% 21% 29% 27% 28>* 28 5 A, 13% 13% 8% 8% 10 ' 9/3 9% 10% 10% 9% 10% 7% 13 7% 13% 14 13 10% 1114 12% 12% *} I 37% 25% 31% 27^ 24% 28% 19% 37H 26% 297^ 2SJ4 7 (1853-61), last 10 years, and total 19 yeara. ( 3 ) Averages of 7 years (1855-'61). of 9 years (ISSS-'ei), last 10 years, and total 19 years. 240 TALKS ON MANUIiES. The produce of barley the first season (1852), was, per acre: On the unmanured plot 27$ With superphosphate of lime potash, soda, and magnesia 5.6 j " and superphosphate..'. ','. 321 14 tons barn-yard manure 33 200 Ibs. ammonia-salts alone .'.'.'.'.'.'." 36 and superphosphate '.'.'.I \ \ s* and potash, soda, and magnesia 36 and superphosphate, potash ,. .... soda, and magnesia 401 1 400 Ibs. ammonia-salts alone 44$ The 200 Ibs. of ammonia-salts contain 50 Ibs. of ammonia=41 Ibs. nitrogen. It will be seen that this 50 Ibs. of ammonia alone, on plot la, gives an increase of nearly 10 bushels per acre, or to be more accu- rate, it gives an increase over the unmanured plot of 503 Ibs. of grain, and 32S) Ibs. 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 Ibs. of grain, and 1,144 Ibs. 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 Ibs. of ammonia gives an increase of 503 Ibs. 704 Ibs. 1207 Ibs 100 " " " " " .... Ml " 1144 " 2045 The first 50 Ibs. of ammonia gives an in- crease of 503 " 704 " 1207 ' The second 50 Ibs. of ammonia gives an in- crease of COS " 510 " 738 " " That shows," said the Deacon, " that a dressing of 50 Ibs. per acre pays better than a dressing of 100 Ibs. per acre. I wish Mr. Lawes had sown 75 Ibs. on one plot." I wish so, too, but it is quite probable that in our climate, 50 Ibs. of available ammonia per acre is all that it will usually be profitable to apply per acre, to the bailey crop. It is equal to a dressing of 500 Ibs. guaranteed Peruvian guano, or 275 Ibs. nitrate 4 of soda. " Or to how much manure ? " asked the Deacon. f To about 5 tons of average stable-manure, or say three tons of good, well-rotted manure from grain-fed r.nimals. " And yet," said the Deacon, " Mr. Lawcs put on 14 tons of yard manure per acre, and the } 7 ield of barley was not as much as from the 50 Ibs. 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 the form of undigested straw and hay. The nitro- genous matter of the food which has been digested by the animal MANURE FOR BARLEY. 241 and thrown off in the liquid excrements, Is in such a form that it will readily ferment and produce ammonia, while the nitrogenous matter in the undigested food and in the straw used for bedding, decomposes slowly even under the most favorable conditions; and if buried while fresh in a clay soil, it probably would not all de- compose in many years. But we will not discuss this at present. " Tne superphosphate does not seem to have done much good," said the Deacon ; " 3 cwt. per acre gives an increase of less than two bushels per acre. And I suppose it was good superphosphate." 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 bones. 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 25| bushels per acre. Potash, soda, and magnesia, (or what the Deacon calls "ashes,") 27f bushels ; superphosphate 331, and " ashes " and superphos- phate, nearly 36 bushels per acre. 50 Ibs. of ammonia, alone, gives nearly 39 bushels, and ammonia and superphosphate together, 40 bushels. The superphosphate 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 letter 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 Ibs. of ammonia alone, still gives a better yield than this heavy dress- ing of manure. The third season (1854), 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 Ibs. per bushel. The total weight of grain, was 1,963 Ibs. This is over 40 bushels per acre, of 48ibs. per bushel, which Is the standard with tis. 11 24:2 TALKS ON MANURES. The 14 tons of farm-yard manure produce nearly 56 bushels per acre. 50 Ibs. of ammonia, on plot la 471 bushels per acre. 100 " " " " " la.a 564 " " You will see, that though the plot which has received 42 tons of manure per acre, produced a splendid crop ; the plot having nothing except 100 Ibs. of ammonia per acre, produced a crop equally good. "How much increase do you get from 50 Ibs. of ammonia," asked the Deacon, " and how much from 100 Ibs. ? " Equal Anier. Grain. titraw. jiwshels. 50 Ibs of ammonia, gives an increase of 800 Ibs. 952 Ibs. 16f bush. 100 il " ' " " " " 1,350 u 2,100 u 28 " If you buy nitrate of soda at 3f cents a lb., the ammonia will cost 20 cents a lb. In the above experiment, 50 Ibs. of ammonia, costing $10, gives an increase of 16g- bushels of barley, and nearly half a ton of straw. If the straw is worth $4.00 per ton, the barley will cost 48 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 2a., 50 Ibs. of ammonia and 3| cwt. of superphosphate, give 8,437 Ibs. of grain, equal to 71| of our bushels per acre. On plot %a.a. 100 Ibs. of ammonia and 3 cwt. of superphosphate, give 3,643 Ibs. of grain, which lacks only 5 Ibs. of 76 bushels per acre, and nearly 2 tons of straw. "That will do," said the Dea-on, " but I see that in 1857, this same plot, with the same manure, produced 66 bushels of dressed grain per acre, weighing 53^ Ibs. to the bushel, or a total weight of 3,696 Ibs., equal to just 77 of our bushels 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 Ibs. of grain, or less than 61 of our bushels of barley per acre." The Squire happened in at this time, and heard the last remark. " What are you saying," he remarked, " about only 61 bushels of barley per acre. I should like to see such a crop. Last year, in this neighborhood, there were hundreds of acres of barley that did not yield 20 bushels per acre, and very little of it would weigh 44 Ibs. to the bushel." This is true. And the maltsters find it almost impossible to get six-rowed barley weighing 48 Ibs. per bushel. They told me, that they would pay $1.10 per bushel for good bright barley weighing 48 Ibs. per bushel, and for each pound it weighed less than this, they deducted 10 cents a bushel from the price. In other words, MANURE FOR BARLEY. 243 they would pay $1.00 a bushel for barley weighing 47 Ibs. to the bushel ; 90 cents for barley weighing 46 Ibs ; 80 cents for barley weighing 45 Ibs., and 70 cunts for barley weighing 44 Ibs. and at these figures they much preferred the heaviest barley. It is certainly well worth our while, if we raise barley at all, to see if we cannot manage not only to raise larger crops per acre, but to produce barley of better quality. And these wonderful experi- ments of Mr. Lawes are well worth careful examination and study. The Squire put on his spectacles and looked at the tables of figures. "Like everybody 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 I860, there are three different crops of only 12 , 12f, 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." u 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 1860, seems to have been an unfavorable one, and yet your pet manure, superphosphate, only gives an increase of 148 Ibs. of barley or three bushels and 4 Ibs. Yet this plot has had a tre- mendous dressing of 3-^ cwt. of superphosphate yearly since 1852. I always told you you lost money in buying superphosphate." " 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, barley, oats, Indian corn, 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.i.., dressed with superphosphate and 275 Ibs. of nitrate of soda, produced 2,338 Ibs. of barley, or 48| bushels per acre. This is an increase over the unmanured plots of 33 bushels per acre, and an increase of 1,872 Ibs. of straw. And the plot dressed with superphosphate and 200 Ibs. of salts of ammonia, gave equally as good results." And this, mark yon, 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,' 4 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 are almost certain to have prices below the average cost of production. But when we have an unfavorable season, such crops as barley, potatoes, and beans, often advance to extravagantly high prices, and the farmer who has good crops in such a season, gets 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 artificial manures ? " I do not wish to wander too much from the point, but would like to remark before I answer that question, that I am not a special advocate of artificial manures. I think we can often make manures on our farms far ch; aper than we can buy them. But as the Squire has asked the question, and as he has selected from Mr. Lawes' results, the year 1860, I will meet him on his own ground. He has selected a season specially unfavorable for the growth of barley. Now, in such an unfavorable year in this country, barley would be likely to bring, at least, $1.25 per bushel, and in a favor- able season not over 75 cents a bushel. Mr. Lawes keeps his land clean, which is more than can be said of many barley-growers. And in this unfavorable season of 1860, b.3 gets on his three unrnanured plots an average of 730 Ibs. of barley, equal to 15 bushels per acre, and not quite 800 Ibs. 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 pains would be taken to get all the barley that grew on the land. With 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 crop 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-tootU 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 bushels per acre. And so, instead of having 15 bushels per acre, as Mr. Lawes had, we should only harvest 134 bushels. Of all our ordinary farm crops, barley is attended with the least labor and expense. We usually sow it after corn or potatoes. On such strong land as that of Mr. Lawes, we ought to plow the land MAXUKE FOB BARLEY. 245 in the autumn and again in the spring, or at least stir up the land thoroughly with a two or three-horse cultivator or gang-plow. Let us say that the cost of plowing, harrowing, drilling, and rolling, is $5.00 per acre. Seed, $2.00. Harvesting, $2.00. Thresh- ing, 6 cents a bushel. iieceipts : 13i bushels barley @ 1.25 ...... ........ $16.57 SOU Ibs. of straw (& $4. per ton .......... 1.60 18.17 Putting in and harvesting the crop $9.00 Threshing 13i bushels (a} 6 c ....... 809.80 Rent and profit per acre .............. $ b.b7 ** That is a better showing than I expected," said the Squire, * and as barley occupies the land only a few months, and ac we sow wheat after it, we cannot expect large profits." " Very well," said I, " Now let us take the crop, this same un- favorable year, on plot 20. a., 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 bushels per acre for scatterings though there is nothing like as much barley left on the ground when we have a good crop, as when we have a poor crop. But I want to be liberal. The yield on plot 2a.a., was 48 bushels per acre, and 2,715 Ibs. of straw. Receipts : 46* bushels $1.25 ........................ $58.43 2,715 Ibs. straw @ $4. per ton .............. . 5.43 Putting in the crop and harvesting. . . $11.00 Threshing: 40* bushels @ 6 c .......... 2.80 275 Ibs. nitrate of soda @ 4 c ......... 11.00 392 Ibs. superphosphate @ 2 c ....... 7.84 833.64 Rent and profit ..................................... $31.23 In ordinary farm practice, I feel sure we can do better than this, Growing barley year after year on the same land, is not the most economical way of getting the 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 the clover. 46 TALKS ON MANURES. MANURE AND ROTATION OF CROPS. The old notion that there is any real 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 different crops at different seasons. " So we could," broke in the Deacon, " if we sowed wheat after wheat, barley after barley, ana corn after corn." True, but if we sowed winter- wheat after whiter- 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 are supposed to have cleaned the land 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 corn 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 we need artificial manures." "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 1 cent perlb., and nitrate of soda for 3 or 4 cents per lb., and the German pot- ash-salts for f cent per lb., and could get on the average $1.25 per bushel for barley, and $1.75 for good white wheat, we could use these manures to great 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 or 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 produce as great an effect a"s 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 artificial fertilizers or farm-yard manure, we shall not get the full effect 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 effect of the manures used. Mr. Lawes' experiments afford conclusive evidence on this point. You will recollect that in 1846, one of the plots of wheat (105), 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 unmanured. In other words, the ammonia which was left in the soil from the previous 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. 243 TALKS ON MANURES. (C t-l Hi 1~ t- rj< J2 4) O O> O CD S ms?? O = SSS = ill rr^SOOiO fC'BTS'O'd q O fl a P a; cs cs a as as H 2 2 22 1 a a a n3 ^. o3 cj e3 ej s^sss| Oi C t- CO S S TH 00 CO t- $**%* CSg JJl 11 II II I 22^ ||1^ 2-2.2^^^ ?5S i I IB as, Illgla 2 "5 ^ |o Soj 1! <^; aj o3 1 5 3l a a 11 5 a- **> MANURE FOR BARLEY. 249 It is not necessary to make any comments on this table. It speaks for itself; but it does not tell "half the story. For instance, in the case of wheat and barley, it gives the average result for 20 years. It shows that when 100 Ibs. of nitrogen in a soluble and available form, are applied to wheat, about 68 Ibs. are left in tlie soil. But you must recollect that 100 Ibs. was applied again the next year, and no account is taken of the 68 Ibs. left in the soil and so on for 20 years. In other words, on plot 8, for instance, 2,460 Ibs. of nitrogen have been applied, and only 776 Ibs. have been recovered in the total produce of grain, straw, and chaff, and 1,685 Ibs. 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 3,995 Ibs. of nitrogen, of which 583 Ibs. were recovered in the produce, and 3,411f Ibs. were left in the soil. In the case of barley, 3,995 Ibs. of nitrogen was applied dur- ing the 20 years to the plot dressed with farm-yard manure, of which 427| Ibs. were recovered in the crop, and 3,567 Ibs. left in the soil. " I see," said 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 suppose, because the manure for wheat was applied in the autumn, and the rains of winter and spring dissolved more of the plant-food than would be the case if the manure was applied in the spring. If the manure had been applied on the surface, in- stead of plowing it under, I believe the effect would have been still 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 the wheat nor the barley can get at and take up half what is applied, and this, notwithstanding the fact that a heavy dew or a slight rain furnishes water enough on an acre to dissolve a liberal dressing 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. uble ammonia-salts or nitrate of socla, a considerable amount of the nitrogen is left in the soil an.lyet this nitrogen is of compara- tively jittla benefit 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 bar! ay, we do not get half the benefit from the manure which it is theoretically capable of producing. Now, the question is, whether by a judicious rotation of crops, we can avoid this great loss of manure ? There was a time when it was thought that the growth of tur- nips enriched the soil. I have heard it said, again and again, that the reason English farmers grow larger crops of wheat and bailey than we do, is because they grow so many acres of turnips. " So I have often heard," said the Deacon, "and I supposed the broad turnip leaves absorbed nitrogen from the atmosphere." There is no evidence that leaves have any such power ; while there are many facts which point in an opposite direction. The following experiments of Lawes and Gilbert seem to show that the mere growth of turnips does not enrich land for grain crops. Turnips were grown on the same land, year after year, for ten years. Ths land was then plowed and sown to barley for three years. The following table gives the results : THREE YEARS OF BARLEY- AFTER TEN TEARS OF TURNIPS. PARTICULARS OP MANURES, ETC. 1 1 I 1 Hoos-Field Barley, without manure, after 3 corn-crops bush. 26 hush. 35Y 3 bush. bush, 31ft B-irn-Field Biirlev. after 10 yrs. Turnips manured as under 1. Mineral manures (last 8 years) 20'* 19W 20 20 1 2. Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Ammonia-salts (6 yrs.). 3. Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Rape-cake (6 yrs.) 4. Mineral manures (8 yrs.); Ammonia-salts and 23 $ 21 J4 24ft 21 K 2? 29*6 23% 23% 25ft 5. Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Ammonia-salts, for Bar- lev 1351 52% 26ft 6. Mineral manures (8 yrs.) ; Nitrate Soda, for Bar- ley, '54 and '55 (20 JO 54% 40% 47ft Produce of Barley per Acre. The yield of barley after turnips is less than it is after grain crops, and it is evident that this is due to a lack of available nitro- MANURE FOR BARLEY. 251 gen in the soil. In other words, the turnips leave less available nitrogen in the soil than grain crops. After alluding to the facts given in the foregoing table, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert say : " There is evidence of another kind that may be cited as show- ing that it was of available nitrogen that the turnips had rendered the soil so deficient for the after-growth of barley. It may be as- sumed that, on the average, between 25 and 30 Ibs. of nitrogen would be annually removed from the Rothamsted soil by wheat or barley grown year after year without nitrogenous manure. But it is estimated that from the mineral-manured turnip-plots there were, over the 10 years, more than 50 Ibs. of nitrogen per acre per annum removed. As, however, on some of the plots, small quan- tities of ammonia-salts or rape-cake were applied in the first two years of the ten of turnips, it is, perhaps, more to the purpose to take the average over the last 8 years of turnips only ; and this would show about 45 Ibs. of nitrogen removed per acre per annum. An immaterial proportion of this might be due to the small amounts of nitrogenous manures applied in the first two years. Still, it may be assumed ttat about 1-J- 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, than was obtained in an- other field after a less number of corn-crops. "The results 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 results obtained under such very different conditions in the two fields are, in fact, strikingly mutually con* firmatory." 252 TALKS OX MAXURES. CHAPTER XXX. MANURES FOR OATS. " What is the use of talking about manure for oats," said the Deacon, " if land is not rich enough to produce oats without ma- nure, it certainly will not pay to manure them. We can use our manure on some crop that will pay better." " That is precisely what we want to know," said I. " Very likely you are right, but have you any evidence ? " " Evidence of what ? " "Have you any facts that show, for instance, that it will pay better to use manure for wheat or barley than for oats ? " " Can't say that I have, but I think manure will pay better on wheat than on oats." Mr. Lawes is making a series of experiments on oats. Let us lake a hasty glance at the results of the first two seasons : EXPERIMENTS ON OATS AT ROTHAMSTED. MANURES PER ACRE. Grai bum 1869. n, in lels. Straw, cwls. Weight per bushel, Ibs. 1870. 1869. 1870. 1869. 1870. 1. No manure 36% 45 56% 7514 62i| 69% 16% 19% 37X 50% 36^ 50 * 24X 36% 54 42X 49% 9J6 9% 17* 28% 23 28M 362 383* 37# 89* 38^ 884 35 35H 34)4 30 35 * 853C 2. Mixed Alkalies and Superphosphate of Lime 3. 400 Ibs. Ammonia-salts 4. Mixed Alkalies and Superphosphate, and 400 Ibs. Ammonia-salts 5. 550 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda 6. Mixed Alkalies, Superphosphate, and 550 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda It seems clear that, for oats, as for barley and wheat, what we most need in manure, is available nitrogen. The first year, the no-manure plot produced 36 bushels of oats per acre, weighing 36f Ibs. per bushel, and plot 3, with ammonia- salts alone, 56 bushels, and with nitrate of soda alone, on plot 5, 62 bushels per acre, both weighing 38 Ibs. per bushel. In other words, 82 Ibs. of available nitrogen ia 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 oats. The no-manure plot produced less than 17 bushels per acre ; and the " ashes" and superphosphate on plot 2, give an increase of less than 8 bushels per acre. But it will be seen that on plot 3 the ainmoiiia-salts do as much good in this un- favorable season as in the favorable 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 you are right in contending that it is in the un- favorable saasons, when prices are sure to be high in this country, that a good farmer stands the best chance to make money." " Where mixed alkalies and superphosphate," said the Doctor, ** are added to the ammonia, the increase from the ammonia is far greater than where 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 1869, and 31| bushels in 1870." The truth of the matter probably is this : 100 Ibs. of available ammonia per acre is an excessive supply, when used alone. And in fact Mr. Lawes himself only recommends about half this quantity. Whether it will pay us to use artificial manures on oats depends on the price we are likely to get for the oats. When the price of oats per lb. an:l oat-straw is as high as barley and barley-straw per $.,then it will pay a little better to use manure on oat-s than on barley. As a rule in this country, however, good barley is worth more per lb. than good oats ; and it will usually pay better to use artificial manures on barley than on oats. Some years ago Mr. Bath, of Virginia, made some experiments on oats with the following results : Bushels of oats per acre. No. 1200 Ibs. Superphosphate 23 No. 2200 Ibs. Peruvian guano 481 No. 3100 Ibs. Peruvian guano 32 The oats were sown March 13, and the crop harvested July 4. In 1860, 1 made some experiments with gypsum, superphosphate, and sulphate of ammonia as a top-dressing on oats. The land was a clover-sod, plowed 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, w here the oats were sown two weeks earlier, the crop was decidedly better. The oats were cut August 28. The following is the result : 254 TALKS ON MANURES. EXPERIMENTS ON OATS AT MOKBTON FABM, ROCHESTER, N. Y. Plots. MANURES PliU ACRE. Buxfols o, Oats per acre. Weight per Bushel tn Ibs. Straw per acre in Lbs. No. 1 2 1 No manure 600 los. Gypsum (Sulphate of Lime)... . 31)0 Ibs. Superphosphate of Lime 300 Ibs. Sulphate of Ammonia 300 Ibs. Superphosphate of Lime, and 300 11)-. Sulphate of Ammonia 36 47 50 50 51 22 26 21 22 22^ 1,958 2,475 2,475 2,750 2,575 These experiments were made when my land was not as clean as it is now. I presume the weeds got more benefit from the am- monia than the oats. To top-dress foul land with expensive arti- ficial manures is money thrown away. If the land had been plowed in the autumn, and the seed and manures could have been put in early in the spring, I presume we should have had more favorable results. " Are you not ashamed to acknowledge," said the Deacon, " that you have ever raised oats weighing only 22 Ibs. per bushel." No. I have raised even worse crops than this and so has the Deacon. But I made up my mind that such farming did not pay, and I have been trying hard since then to clean my land and get it into better condition. And until this is done, ic is useless to talk much of artificial manures. The most striking result is the effect of the gypsum. It not only gave an increased yield of 11 bushels 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. MANURES FOR POTATOES. 255 CHAPTER XXXI. MANURES FOR POTATOES. Some time ago, a farmer in Pennsylvania wrote me that he wanted " to raise a first-rate crop of potatoes." I answered him as follows through the American Agriculturist : "There are many ways of doing this. But as you only enter on the farm this spring, you will work to disadvantage. To obtain the best results, it is necessary to prepare for the crop two or three years beforehand. All that you can do this year is to select the best land on the farm, put on 400 Ibs. of Peruvian guano, culti- vate thoroughly, and suffer not a weed to grow. A two or three- year-old clover-sod, on warm, rich, sandy loam, gives a good chance for potatoes. Do not plow until you are ready to plant. Sow the guano broadcast after plowing, and harrow it in, or apply a tablespoonful in each hill, and mix it with the soil. Mark out the rows, both ways, three feet apart, and drop a fair-sized potato in each hill. Start the cultivator as soon as the rows can be dis- tinguished, and repeat every week or ten days until there is danger of disturbing the roots. We usually hill up a little, making a broad, flat hill. A tablespoonful of plaster, dusted on the young plants soon after they 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 written 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 must 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 expect considerable benefit from an application of ashes." " Ashes, plaster, and hen-dung," said the Judge, " will at any rate 236 TALKS ON MANTJRES. 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 possibly in the plaster, but on my land, ashes do not seem to be specially beneficial on potatoes, while I have rarely used Peruvian guano without good effect; and sometimes it has proved wonderfully profit- 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 beans, potatoes, wheat, and apples. I feed out all my corn, oats, stalks, straw, and hay on the farm, and draw into the barn-yard the potato- vines and everything else that will rot into manure. I make a big pile of it. But the point with me is to find out what is the best stock to feed this straw, stalks, hay, oats, and corn to, so as to make the best manure and return the largest profit. Last year I, bought a lot of steers to feed in winter, and lost money. This fall I bought 68 head of cows to winter, intending to sell them in the spring." "What did they cost you ? " " I went into Wyoming and Cattarangus Counties, and picked them up among the dairy farmers, and selected a very fair lot of cows at an average of $22 per head. I expect to sell them as new milch cows in the spring. Such cows last bpring would have been worth $60 to $70 each." " That will pay. But it is not often the grain-grower gets such a chance to feed out his straw, stalks, and other fodder to advantage. It cannot be adopted as a permanent system. It is bad for the dairyman, and no real help to the grain-grower. The manure is not rich enough. Straw and stalks aloae 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 would 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 eight hundred loads of manure in the spring." " You had 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 85 tons of straw. Your 20 acres of corn produced 40 bushels of shelled com per acre ; say the stalks weigh 30 tons. And you have 60 tons of MANURES FOB POTATOES. 257 hay, half clover and half timothy. Let us see what your manure from this amount of grain and fodder is worth. Manures from 50 tons wheat-straw, $2.63 ............. $ 134.00 35 tons oat-straw, (a) $2.90 ................ 101.50 30 tons corn-stalks, (a) $3.58 ............... 107.40 30 tons timothy-hay, (a) 16.43 ............. 192.90 30 tons clover-hay, (a) $9.64 ............... 289.20 14 tons oats (1,5UU bush.), @ $7.70 ........ 107.80 _2t tons corn (bOO bushels), (o> $6.65 ....... 159.60 Total . ."213 tons $1,OJ2.40 " This is the value of the manure on the land. Assuming that there are 600 loads, and that the labor of cleaning out the stables, piling, carting, and spreading the manure is worth 30 cents per load, or $180, we have $912.40 as the net value of the manure. " Now, your 250-acre farm might be so managed that this amount of manure annually applied 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 good 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 double the value of the manure. 50 tons of bran or mill-feed would give manure worth ........ $ 729.50 21 tons decorticated cotton-seed cake ......................... 585.06 " Buy and feed out this amount of bran and cake, and you would have 800 loads of manure, worth on the land $2,226.96, 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 enriching 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 half-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 TALKS OX MANURES. 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- wormed, and free from weeds. If he crops heavily he must manure heavily, and to do this he must feed liberally and he can not afford to feed liberally unless he has good stock. " I have, myself, no doubt but you are right on this point," said the Doctor, " but all this takes time. Suppose a farmer becomes satisfied that the manure he makes is not rich enough. To tell him, when he is anxious to raise a good crop of potatoes next year, that he must go to work and improve his stock of cattle, sheep, and swine, and then buy bran and oil-cake to make richer manure, is somewhat tantalizing." This is true, and in such a case, instead of adding nitrogen and phosphoric acid to his manure in the shape of bran, oil -cake, etc., he can buy nitrogen and phosphoric acid in guano or in nitrate of soda and super] >hosph ate. This gives him richer manure ; which is precisely what he wants for his potatoes. His poor manure is not so much deficient in potash as in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and consequently it is nitrogen and phosphoric 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 potatoes, and almost always with good effect. My first experience with it in this country, was in 1852. Four acres of potatoes were planted on a two-year-old clover-sod, plowed in the spring. On two acres, Peruvian guano was sown broadcast at the rate of 300 Ibs. 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. . . 119 bushels per acre. 300 Ibs. Peruvian guano 205 The guano cost, here, about 3 cents a lb., and consequently nine dollars'worth of guano gave 84 bushels of potatoes. The potatoes were all sound and good, but where the guano was used, they were larger, with scarcely a small one amongst them. In 1857, 1 made the following experiments on potatoes, in the same field on which the preceding experiment was made in 1852. In this case, as before, the land was a two-year-old clover-sod. It was plowed about the first of May, nnd harrowed until it was in a good mellow condition. The potatoes were planted in hills 3i MANURES FOE POTATOES. 259 feet apart each way. The following table shows the manures used and the yield of potatoes per acre. EXPERIMENTS ON POTATOES AT MOKETON FAEM. DESCRIPTION or MANURES USED, AND QUANTITIES \>tatoesper bushels. fls c? APPLIED PER ACRE. *) 8 ^ ** } *5 111 I R* 111 1 95 2. 140 45 3 303 Ibs superphosphate of lime 132 37 4. 150 Ibs. sulphate of ammonia, and 300 Ibs. superphos- phate of lime 179 84 5 40J Ibs of unleached wood-ashes. 100 5 6. 100 Ibs. plaster, (gypsum, or sulphate of lime,) 101 6 7 400 Ibs unleached wood-ashes an 11 100 Ibs. plaster. 110 15 8. 400 Ibs. unleached wood-ashes, 150 Ibs. sulphate of am- monia and 100 Ibs. plaster 109 14 9. j 300 Ibs. superphosphate of lime, 159 Ibs. sulphate of am- monia and 400 Ibs. unleacbed wood-ashes. . 138 43 The superphosphate of lime was made expressly for experimen- tal purposes, from calcined bones, ground fine, and mixed with sulphuric acid in the proper proportions to convert all the phos- pnate of lime of the bones into the soluble superphosphate. It was a purely mineral article, free from ammonia and other organic matter. It cost about two and a half cents per pound. The manures were deposited in the hill, covered with an inch or two of soil, and the seed then planted on the top. Where super- phosphate of lime or sulphate of ammonia was used in conjunction with ashes, the ashes were first 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. Notwithstanding this precaution, the ram washed the sulphate of ammonia into the ashes, and decomposition, with loss of ammonia, was the result. This will account for the less yield on plot 8 than on plot 2. It would have been better to have sown the ashes broadcast, but some previous experiments with Peruvian guano on potatoes indicated that it was best to apply guano in the hill, carefully covering 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 hill. The ash of potatoes consists of about 50 per cent of potash, 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 MA.NUEES. least, they have very little effect, 400 Ibs. giving an increase of only five bushels per acre. One hundred pounds of plaster per acre gave an increase 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, deficient in potash. Had such been the case, the sulphate of ammonia and superphosphate of lime manures which contain no potash would not have given an increase of 84 bushels of potatoes per acre. There was sufficient potash in the soil, in an available condition, for 179 bushels of potatoes per acre ; and the reason why the soil without manure produced only 95 bushels per acre, was owing to a deficiency of ammonia and phosphates. Since these experiments were made, Dr. Voelcker and others have made similar ones in England. The results on the whole all point in one direction. They show that the manures most valuable for potatoes are those 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. " Admitting that nitrogen and phosphoric acid and potash are the most important elements of plant-food, how many bushels of po- tatoes should we be likely to get from a judicious application of these manures ? " "There is no way," said I, " of getting at this with any degree of certainty. The numerous experiments that have been made in England seem to show that 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 this crop, even without 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 experiments that have been made in England : In the 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 farm of William Lawson, in Cumberland. Mr. Hun- ter " was charged with the manuring of the farm and the purchas- ing of chemical manures to the annual value of 2,000," or say $10,000. MANURES FOR POTATOES. 261 "Potatoes," says Mr. Hunter, "were largely grown on the farm, and in the absence of a sufficiency of farm-yard manure, potash naturally suggested itself as 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." The first series of experiments was made in 1867. The follow- ing are some of the results : Bushels per acre. No manure 221 4 cwt. mineral superphosphate 225 4 cwt. mineral superphosphate and ) 9Af} 4 cwt. of muriate of potash \ * 15s tons farm-yard manure 293 " That does not say much for potash r.nd superphosphate," said the Deacon. " The superphosphate only produced four bushels more than the no manure, and the potash 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 frequently stand for 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 : Bushels per acre. 1. No manure 232 {4 cwt. superphosphate ) 2 " muriate of potash V 340 2 " sulohate of ammonia ) 8 . 20 tons farm-yard manure 342 , j 4 cwt. superphosphate I O7 ,i 4 -|4 " muriate of potash \~' "Here again," said the Doctor, "superphosphate and potash alone give an increase of only forty-two bushels per acre, while on plot 2, where two hundred weight of muriate of potash is substi- tuted by two hundred weight of sulphate of ammonia, the increase is 108 bushels per acre. It certainly looks as though a manure for potatoes, 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 manure 1V6 (4 cwt. superphosphate "1 f " sulphate of magnesia l qnft 2 " muriate of potash (' 2 " sulphate of ammonia J 3. 4 cwt. superphosphate 189 A j 4 cwt. superphosphate j rn1 * | 2 " sulphate of ammonia p ul ( 4 cwt. superphosphate j 5.-J2 " muriate of potash V340 (2 " sulphate of ammonia ) fi { 4 cwt. superphosphate [ OJO b -12 " muriate of potash f 5 * "This is a very interesting experiment," said the Doctor. "Superphosphate alone gives an increase of thirteen bushels. Superphosphate and potash an increase of seventy-three bushels. The potash, therefore, gives an increase of sixty bushels. Super- phosphate and ammonia give twelve bushels more than superphos- phate 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 above experiments were repeated on the same land, with the same general results. In 1871 some experiments were made on a sharp, gravelly soil, which had been over-cropped, and was in poor condition. The fol- lowing are the results : Bushels per acre. 1 ( 9 cwt. superphosphate \-\QR 10 1 8 " sulphate of ammonia J ic ( 9 cwt. superphosphate . !.-< 3i " muriate of i 2. -j 3i " muriate of potash V-204 ( 3 " sulphate of ammonia ) 3. No manure 70 {9 cwt. superphosphate ) 3i " muriate of potash 1 J-205 3 " sulphate of ammonia ) 5. 20 tons farm-yard manure 197 " On this poor soil," said the Doctor, " tbe ammonia and super- phosphate gave an increase of 116 bushels per acre; and 3 hun- dred weight of muriate of potash an increase, on one plot, of eighteen bushels, and on the other nineteen bushels per acre." In the same year, 1871, another set of experiments was made on a better and more loamy soil, which had bsen in grass for several years. In 1369 it was sown for hay, and in 1870 was broken up and sown to oats, and the next spring planted with potatoes. The some of the results: ( 6i cwt. .4 dl " ( 2i " MANLKES FOE POTATOES. 263 Bushels per acre. superphosphate .................... ) muriate ot potash .................. [-321 sulphate of ammonia .............. ) j 6i cwt. superphosphate .................... (_ 90 1 2* " sulphate 01 ammonia ............. J 3. No manure ......................... -. ...... 252 4 ( 6? cwt. superphosphate .................... ) 01 -. *'|-84 " muriate of potash ................. J 5. 2i cwt. sulphate ot ammonia .............. 238 6. 15 tons farin-yaid manure .................. 365 " It is curious," said the Doctor, " that the plot with sulphate of ammonia alone should produce less than the no-manure plot." "The sulphate of ammonia," said I, "may have injured the seed, or it may have produced too luxuriant a growth of vine." Another series of experiments was made on another portion of the same field in 1871. The "no-manure" plot produced 337 bushels per acre. Manures of various kinds were used, but the largest yield, 351 bushels per acre, was from superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia; fourteen tons barn-yard manure prod ce 340 buslicls per acre; and Mr. Hunter remarks: "It is evident that, when the produce of the unmanured soil reaches nine tons [336 bushels] per acre, there is but little scope for manure of any kind." "I do not see," said 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 wbeat, and the same is prob- ably true of oats, barley, corn, etc." I have long been of the opinion that artificial manures csn be applied to potatoes with more profit than to any other ordinary farm-crop, for the simple reason 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 $25, will double the crop, we have, in the one case, an increase of: 15 bushels of wheat at $1.50 ................ $22.50 15 cwt. of straw ............................ . 3.50 $26.00 Cost of manure ......................... . 25.00 Profit from uing manure ................... 7 61.00 And in the o'her: 100 bushels of potatoes at SO cents ...... . ..... ?50.00 Cost of manure ............................. 25.00 Profit from using manure ................ $25.00 204 TALKS ON MAXURES. 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 both 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 bushels of wheat per acre, there is no difficulty in making 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 be no difficulty 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 the 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 rich, 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 better 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 the manure in the fall or win- ter, and plow it under in the spring. WHAT CROPS SHOULD MANURE BE APPLIED TO. 265 CHAPTER XXXII. WHAT CROPS SHOULD MANURE BE APPLIED r 14 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 who uses it on potatoes." My own rule is to apply manure to those crops which require the most labor per acre. But I am well aware that this rule will have many exceptions. For instance, it will often pay well to uss manure on barley, and yet barley requires far less labor than com or potatoes. People who let out, and those who work farms "on shares" seldom understand this matter clearly. I knew a farmer, who last year let out a field of good land, that had been in corn the previous year, to a man to sow to barley, and afterwards to wheat on "the halves." Another part of the farm was taken by 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 barley-crop ; while, after the barley was off, the land was plowed once, harrowed, and sowed to winter wheat ; and nothing more has to be done to it until 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 and 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^>f them require much more labor than others, and should never be grown unless the land is 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 are those which require the least labor per acre. Farmers are afraid to expend much money for labor. They are wise in this, unless all the con- ditions are favorable. But when they have land in a high state of cultivation drained, 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 afford to keep sheep that shear two pounds of wool a year ; or cows that make 75 Ibs. 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-crop of 50 bushels. But it cannot be done with labor costing from $1.00 to $1.25 per day. 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, clover, 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 fourth 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 the climate is capable of doing it, of raising 100 bushels per acre every fourth year. Theoretically this can be 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 plant-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 the 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 SHOULD MANURE BE APPLIED TO. 267 most interesting and important elds for scientific investigation and practical experiment. We know enough, however, to be sure that there is a great advantage in waiting until there is a sufficient ac- cumulation of available plant-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 MANURE 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 barley harvests; and I should make the theory bend a little to my convenience. The meadows would have to wait until we had 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, the most leisure season of the year, except the winter, is immediately after wheat harvest. And, as already stated, it is at this time that John Johnston 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-seeds, many of our best farm- ers, if they 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 harrow it, and if the harrow pulls the manure into heaps, spread them and harrow again. It is of the greatest importance to spread manure evenly and mix it thor- oughly with the soil. If this 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. u You must recollect," said the 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 263 TALKS ON MANURES. you have put on 8 tons of manure, half an inch of rain would fur- nish a g.illon of water to each pound of manure. It is not difficult to understand, therefore, how manure applied on the surface, or near the surface, can be taken up by the young roots." " That puts the matter in a new light to me," said the Deacon. " If the manure was plowed under, five or six inches deep, it would require an abundant rain to reach the manure. And it is not one year in five that we get rain enough to thoroughly soak the soil for several weeks after sowing the wheat in August or September. And when it does conie, 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 applied on, or near the surface, than if plowed under. Clay mixed with manure arrests or checks decomposition. Sand has no such effect. 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 rule, 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 the 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 has had a decided influ- ence on my farm practice. I will not say that the idea originated with Mr. Thomas, but at any rate, it was new to me. I had always 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 would cover it up." " Well," said the Deacon, " and what objection is there to the practice ? " " I am not objecting to the practice. I do not say that it is not a good plan. It. may often be the only practicable method of apply- in * manure. But it is well to know that there is sometimes a better plan. The idea that Mr. Thomas gave me, was, that it was very desirable to break up the manure fine, spread it evenly, and thor- oughly mix it with the soil. " After the manure is spread on the soil," said Mr. Thomas, " 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 CROPS SHOULD MANURE BE APPLIED TO. 239 an:l mixing them well together. Another way for the perfect dif- fusion of the manure among the particles of earth, is, to spread the manure in autumn, so that all the rains of this season may dis- solve the soluble portions and carry them down among the parti- cles, where they are absorbed and retained for the growing crop. "In experiments," continues Mr. Thomas, "when the manure for corn was thus applied in autumn, has afforded a yield of about 70 bushels per 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 stronger growth it has caused, as well as by the protection it has afforded to the surface, it has not unfrequently saved the crop from partial or total winter-killing. " In cases where it is necessary to apply coarse manures 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 harrow. We have known this treatment to effect a thorough intermixture, and to more than double the 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 on the surface. If we sow ni- trate of soda, or guano, on 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 top-dressing. *' If the gypsum was sown broadcast on the 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 seldom ad opted, 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. w'neat, but if we neglect to do so, then top-dressing is a commend- able practice. Dr. Voelcker reports the result of some experiments in top-dress- ing winter-wheat on the farm of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, England. The manures were finely sifted and mixed with about ten times their weight of fine soil, and sown broadcast on the growing wheat, March 22. A fine rain occurred the follow- ing day, and washed the manure into the soil. The following is the yield per acre : No manure 27 bushels and 1984 Ibs. of straw. 280 Ibs. Peruvian guano 40 2576 195" nitrate of soda 38 2695 180 " nitrate of soda, and 168 Ibs. of common salt 40s 2736 443 Ibs. Proctor's wheat-manure 39* 2668 67^ " " " " 44i 3032 4 tons chalk-marl 27 1872 The manures in each case cost $7.80 per acre, except the large dose of Proctor's wheat-manure, which cost $11.70 per acre. The wheat was worth $1.26 per bushel. Leaving the value of the straw out of the question, the profit from the use of the top dressing was : With guano $8.70 per acre. " nitrate of soda 6.00 " nitrate of soda and common salt 9.33 " 443 Ibs. wheat-manure 7.94 " 672 " " " 10.16 The marl did no good. The nitrate of soda and common salt contained no phosphoric acid, and yet produced an excellent effect. The guano and the wheat-manure contained phosphoric acid as well as nitrogen, and the following crop of clover would be likely to get some benefit from it. John Johnston wrote in 1868, " I have used manure only as a top-dressing for the last 26 years, and I do think one load, used in that way, is worth far more than two loads plowed under on our stLTland." MANURES ON PERMANENT MEADOWS. 271 CHAPTER XXXIII. MANURES ON PERMANENT MEADOWS AND PASTURES. In this country, where labor is comparatively high, and hay often commands a good price, a good, permanent meadow fre- quently affords as much real profit as any other portion of the farm. Now that we have good mowing-machines, tedders, rakes, and loading and unloading apparatus, the labor of hay-making is greatly lessened. The only difficulty is to keep up and increase the annual growth of good grass, Numerous experiments on top-dressing meadows are reported from year to year. The results, of course, differ considerably, being influenced by the soil and season. The profit of the practice de- pends very much on the price of hay. In the Eastern States, hay generally commands a higher relative price than grain, and it not unfrequently happens that we can use manure on grass to decided advantage. The celebrated experiments of Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert with " Manures on Permanent Meadow-land " were commenced in 1856, and have been continued on the same plots every year since that time. " You need not be afraid, Deacon," said I, as the old gentleman commenced to button up his coat, " I am not going in to the details of these wonderful experiments ; but I am sure you will be inter- ested in the results of the first six or seven years. The following table explains itself: 272 TALKS ON MANURES. Is" I s (M s s: t- o tr : 00 OS O T-H CJCO 11 I would, myself, far rather have 100 Ibs. 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 Ibs. 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, being obtained from richer and more digestible food, is in a much more active and available condition than the nitrogen in the cow-dung. " If you go on," said the Deacon, " I tliink you will prove that I am right." " I have never doubted," said I, " the great value of hen-dung, as compared with barnyard-manure. And all I wish to show is, that, notwithstanding its acknowledged value, the 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 than if fed to a pig." I want those farmers who find so much benefit from an applica- tion of hen-manure, ashes, and plaster, to their corn and potatoes, to feel that if they would keop better cows, sheep, and pigs, and feed them 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- phoiic 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." L^t us compare the composition of 1,000 Ibs. air-dried hen-dung with 1,000 Ibs. of air-dried wheat and rye, and also with bran, malt-combs, etc. MANURES FOR GARDENS AND OUCIIARDS. 301 Wheat Nitrogen. 20.8 Potash. 5.o Phosphoric Acid. 7.9 Wheat Bran 22.4 14.3 27.3 Rye 17 6 5 6 84 Rye Brau 23.2 19.3 34.3 Buckwheat .. .. 14.4 2.7 5.7 Buckwheat Bran 27.2 11.2 12.5 Malt-roots 36.8 20.6 18.0 Air-dry Hen-dune:. . . 32.6 17.0 30.8 *' That table," said the Doctor, " is well worth studying. You see, 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 product (bran), richer in phosphoric acid, potash, aud nitrogen, than you gave him." " And the same is true," continued the Doctor, " 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 bones, that she picks up, and she takes out all the starch and fat, and nitiogen, 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 32.6 grains of nitro- gen, 17.0 grains of potash, and 30.8 grains of phosphoric 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 the Deacon to understand why 1,000 Ibs. of hen-dung is worth more for manure than 1,000 Ibs. 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 the starch and fat, and leave the manure richer in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash." " Exactly," said I, " Mr. Lawes found by actual experiment, that if you feed 500 Ibs. of barley-meal to a pig, containing 420 Ibs. of dry substance, you get only 70 Ibs. of dry substance in the manure. Of the 420 Ibs. of dry substance, 276.2 Ibs. are used to support res- piration, etc. ; 73.8 Ibs. are found in the increase of the pig, and 70 Ibs in the manure." The food contains 5.3 Ibs. of nitrogenous matter ; the increase of pig contains 7 Ibs., and consequently, if there is no loss, the ma- 302 TALKS ON MANURES. nure shou!:l contain 45 Ibs of nitrogenous substance = to 7.14 Ibs. of nitrogen. " In other words," said the Doctor, " the 70 Ibs. of dry liquid and solid pig-manure contains 7.14 Ibs. of nitrogen, or 100 Ibs. would contain 10.2 Ibs. of nitrogen, which is more nitrogen than we now get in the very best samples of Peruvian guano." " And thus it will be seen," said 1, " that though corn-fed pigs, leaving out the bedding and 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 342-3. CHAPTER XXXVI. DIFFERENT KINDS OF MANURE. COW-MANURE, AND HOW TO USE IT. " It will do more good if fermented," said a German farmer in the neighborhood, who is noted for raising good crops of cabbage, ''but I like hog-manure better than cow-dung. The right way is to mix the hog-manure, cow-dung, and horse-manure together." "No doubt about that," said I, "but when you have a good many cows, and few other animals, how would you manage the manure ? " " I would gather leaves and swamp-muck, and use them for bed- ding the cows and pigs. Leaves make splendid bedding, and they make rich manure, and the cow-dung and leaves, when made into a pile, will ferment readily, and make grand manure for any- thing. I only wish I had all I could use." There is no question but what cow-manure is better 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 offers. " 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 case when there is a predisposition to the disease, but our German friend says he has never found any ill- effects from its use. DIFFERENT KINDS OF MANURE. 303 "Cows," said the Doctor, "when giving a lurjc quantity of milk, make rather poor manure. The manure loses what the milk takes from the food." " We have shown what that loss is," said I. " It amounts to less than I think is generally suppose!. And in the winter, when the cows are dry, the manure would be as rich as from oxen, provided both were fel alike. Sae Appendix, page 342. It will there be seen that oxen take out only 4.1 Ibs. of nitrogen from 100 Ibs. of nitrogen consumed in the food. In other words, provided there is no loss, we should get in the liquid and solid excrements of the ox and dry cow 95.9 per cent, of the nitrogen furnished in the food, and a still higher per cent of the mineral matter. SHEEP-MANURE. According to Prof. Wolff's table of analyses, sheep-manure, both solid and liquid, contain less water than the manure from horses, cows, or swine. With the exception of swine, the solid dung is also the richest in nitrogen, while the urine of sheep is pre- eminently rich in nitrogen and potash. These facts are in accordance with the general opinions of 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- shcep will afford a quantity of manure containing anymore plant- food than the same kind and amount of food fed to a lot of fat- tening-cattle. The experiments of Lawes & Gilbert indicate that if there is any difference it is in favor of the ox. See Appendix, page 343. But it may w 11 be that it is much easier to save the manure from the sheep than from the cattle. And so, practically, Blieep 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, the dung differs but little in appearance from that of cows. Ordinarily, however, sheep- dung is light and dry, and, like horse-dung, will ferment much more rapidly than cow or pig-dung. In piling manure in the win- ter or spring, special pains should be used to mix the sheep and horse-manure with the cow and pig-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 MAN CUES. MANURE FROM SWINE. The dry matter of hog-manure, especially the urine, is rich in nitrogen, but it is mixe.l 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 sheep-manure, aud 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 ia a basement-cellar, and bed them with horse and sheep-manure. I have this winter over 50 sows under the horse-stable, and the manure from 8 horses keeps them dry and comfortable, and we are not specially lavish wit j straw in bedding the horses. During the summer we aim to keep the hogs out in the pastures and orchards as much as possible. This is not only good for the health of the pigs, but saves labor and straw in the management of the manure. It goes directly to the land. The pigs are good grazers and distribute the manure as evenly over the land as sheep in fact, during hot weather, slieep 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 arc often man- aged, this is the real difficulty. 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 the 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 absorbing 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 aro: 1, To have the pens under cover; 2, 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 th3 floor of the sleeping apartment, and on top of the manure in the feeding apartment." " You f cd 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 ItfAKURS. 305 seems to me 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 iiigut, and as soon as they hear you putting the food in the troughs outside, they come to the door of tho pen, and there discharge the liquid and solid excre- ments on the mass of manure left tiiero 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 tliis. A little care and thought will save nearly the whole of it. BUYING MANURE BY MEASURE 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 PEP. BUSHEL, AND PEU LOAD OF 50 BUSHELS. No. KIND AND CONDITION OP MANURES. tl-s * 1 1 Fresh horse-manure free from straw Ibs. Ihs. 18*5 2 >' kt " * " " pressed.. 55 2750 3 Fresh horee-nriiiiirc as used for beddin fr pi acid phosphate -! 5 Water j ) 3 Sulphuric acid ) (160 Ibs. Lime }- sulphate of lime -{112 Water | ( 3G Organic matter, ash, etc., of the bones* 335 Total dry superphosphate b'<7 Moisture, or loss 45 Total mixture 9^ Ibs. * Containing nitrogen, 23j Ibs. " There is a small quantity of carbonate of lime in the bones," said I, " which would take up a little of the acid, and you will have a remarkably good article if you calculate that the 620 Ibs. of bone-dust furnish you half a ton (1,000 Ibs.) of superphosphate. It will be a better article than it is practically possible to make." " Assuming that it made half a ton," said the Doctor, " it would contain 14 per cent of soluble phosphoric acid, and 2>V per cent of nitrogen." "With nitrogen at 20 cents per lb., and soluble phosphoric acid at 12|c. per lb., this half ton of superphosphate, made from 620 Ibs. of good bono-clust, 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, u would a ton of the bone-dust be considered worth before it was converted into superphosphate ? " "A ton of bone-dust," replied the Doctor, " contains 76 Ibs. of nitrogen, worth, at 18 cents per ib., $13.68, and 464 Ibs. phosphoric acid, worth 7 cents per lb., $32.48. In other words, a ton of bone- dust, at the usual estimate, is worth $46.16." 320 TALKS ON MANURES. " And," 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 phosphoric acid in a ton of bones soluble. Is'nt 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 steame.d or boiled bones, can be used with more economy in its natural state than in the form of superphosphate." Superphosphate 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 the ammoniacal, or nitro- genous manure separately, and do my own mixing unless the mixture could be bought at a less 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 superphosphates 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, much was said in regard to spe- cial manures. Fertilizers were prepared 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 plants 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 provided. Others contained a largo proportion of potash, and these were called ' potash crops,' and the manure prescribed for them was rich in potash. And so with the other ingredients of plants." " 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 taken out by the Musgraves, 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 by 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. Vcelcker says: * The ash-analyses of plants do not afford a sufficiently trustworthy guide to the practical farmer in selecting the kind of manure which is best applied to each crop.' " " Never mind the authorities," said the Deacon ; " what we want are facts." " Well," replied the Doctor, u 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 Ibs. each of the ash of these two crops contain : Wheat crop. Turnip crop. Phosphoric acid 11.44 7.33 Potash 15.44 32.75 Sulphuric acid 2.44 11.25 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 Ibs., 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 FOB WHEAT AND TURNIPS. Wheat manure. Turnip manure. Phosphoric acid 42i Ibs. 18* Ibs. Potash 57* " 811 " 100 Ibs. 100 Ibs. "Exactly," said the Doctor, " and yet the experiments of Lawea 322 TALKS ON MANURES. and Gilbert clearly prove that a soil needs to be richer m available phosphoric 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 tnat where one farmer applies potash to turnips, or superphosphate to wheat, a hundred farmers use superphosphate as a special manure for the turnip crop." "And we are certainly warranted in saying," continued the Doc- tor, " that the composition of a plant affords, in practical agriculture, and on ordinary cultivated soils, no sort of indication as to the com- position of the manure it is best to apply 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 the most nitrogen in the manure. Beans, peas, and clover would require a soil or a manure richer in available ni- trogen than wheat, barley, or oats. We know that the very reverse is true know it from actual, and repeated, and long-continued ex- periments like those of Lawes and Gilbert, and from the common experience of farmers 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 confess I cannot see why it is not reasonable to suppose that a plant which contains a large amount of nitrogen should not want a manure specially rich in nitrogen; or why turnips which contain so 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 lime, 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 feeding range of the roots of turnips, as compared to wheat. * The roots of wheat,' says Prof. Vcelcker, * as is well known, penetrate the soil to a much greater depth than the more delicate feeding fibres of the roots of turnips. Wheat, remaining on the ground two or three months longer than SPECIAL MANTJKES. 323 turnips, can avail itself for a longer period of the resources of the soil ; therefore in most cases the phosphoric acid disseminated through the soil is amply sufficient to meet the requirements of the wheat crop ; whilst turnips, depending on a thinner depth of soil during their shorter period of growth, cannot assimilate sufficient phosphoric acid, to come to perfection. This is, I believe, the main reason why the direct supply of readily available phosphates >is so beneficial to root-crops, and not to wheat." "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 amount of potash ? " It is probable that the turnip, containing such a large relative amount of potash 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, 1 ' said the Doc- tor. " You must recollect that, if turnips and wheat were grow- ing in the same field, both plants get their food from the same so- lution. And instead of supposing that the wheat-plant has the power of taking up more phosphoric 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 potash than the wheat-plant, but it takes less 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 should be applied to the soil for thcss 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 to be benefited by its artificial application ; and the crops containing the most phosphoric acid, are the crops to which, in ordinary practical agriculture, it will bo 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 raise 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, which^ without manure, would produce 16 tons of cabbage, does any one mean to tell me that if I put the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric 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 believe 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." CHAPTER 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 Ib. Phosphoric acid, insoluble in water 4i " *' " " " soluble " " ....12i " " " Nitrogen 17 " " " Analyses of many of the leading commercial fertilizers at that time showed that, when judged by this standard, the price charged was far above their actual value. In some cases, manures selling for $00 per ton, contained nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, worth only from $30 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 1853," 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 IDS. At the same time, superphosphate of lime made from Coprolites, was selling in England for $24 per ton of 2,240 Ibs. 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 superphosphate 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 superphos- phate manures, until within the last few years. Notwithstanding the comparatively high price, and the uncer- tain quality of these commercial manures, the demand lias been steadily on the increase. We have now m-iny honorable and in- VALUE OF FERTILIZERS. 325 telligent men engaged in the manufacture and sale of thess 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 askecl for them. " A correct analysis," said I, " furnishes the only sure test of value. * Testimonials' from farmers and others are pre-eminently unreliable. 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 1377, Prof. S. W. Johnson gives the following 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 pour.d, Nitrogen in ammonia and nitrates fci " in Peruvian Guano, fine steamed bone, dried aud fine ground blood, meat, and fish in fine ground bone, horn, and wool-dust 15 " in coarse bone, horn-shavings, and fish-scrap 15 Phosphoric acid soluble in water ls " " 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 hio-h-grade sulphate in kainit, as sulphate ti " in muriate, or potassium chloride G " These { estimated values,' " says Prof. Johnson, " aro 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 the 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 adrling 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 reasonable. 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 selling prices of a number of fertilizers will generally indicate fairly wliich is the best for the money. But the ' estimated value ' is not to be too literally construed, for analysis cannot always decide accurately what is the form of nitrogen, etc., while the mechanical condition of a fertilizer 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, superphosphates, fish-scraps, dried blood, potash salts, plaster, etc., have a high agricultural value which is related 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 be expected to fix or even to indicate the agricultural value. Fertilizing effect 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 makes 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, which could not find purchasers, although the price did not exceed 12 or 13 per ton.' " " He evidently thinks," said the Doctor, " that available nitro- gen is cheaper now than it will be in years to come." "Nitrate of soda," said I, " at the prices named, is only 2 to 2| 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 VALUE OF FERTILIZERS. 327 Doctor, " at a price per ton, to be determined by its composition, at the following rates : Value per pound. Nitrogen (ammonia, 17lc. ) ^lic. Soluble phosphoric acid 10 c. Reverted u " 8 c. Insoluble " " : 2 c. Potash, as sulphate and phosphate 7c. "The first cargo of Peruvian guano, sold under this guarantee, contained : Value per ton. Ammonia 6.8 per cent $28.80 Soluble phosphoric acid.. 3.8 " " 7.60 Reverted " " ..11.5 " " 18.40 Insoluble " .. 3.0 " " 1.20 Potash 3.7 " " 5.55 Estimated retail price per ton of 2,000 Ibs $56.;;5 Marked on bags for sale $50.00 The second cargo, sold under this guarantee, contained : Value per ton, Ammonia 11.5 per cent $40.50 Soluble phosphoric acid.. 5.4 " " J0.80 Reverted " " ..10.0 " " 16.00 Insoluble " " .. 1.7 " " 68 Potash 2.3 " " 3.45 $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 1G per cent of ammonia, and 10 per cent of phosphoric acid. Price, 9 5s. per ton of 2,240 Ibs. say $40 per ton of 2,000 Ibs. 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 per cent reverted, and that there was 2 Ibs. of potash in the alkaline salts, this guano would be worth : 328 TALKS ON MANURES. Value per ton of 2,000 Ibs. Ammonia 17.41 per cent $60.93 Soluble phosphoric acid.. 500 " u 10.00 Reverted " " .. 4.00 " " G.40 Insoluble " " .. 75 " " 30 Potash 2.00 " " 3.00 $80. 63 Selling price per ton of 2,000 Ibs $40.00 Ichaboe guano, which was largely imported into England in 1844-5, and used extensively as a manure for turnips, contained, on the average, 74 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 Reverted " " 10 " 16.00 $50.25 Selling price per ton of 2,000 Ibs $21.80 The potash is not given, or this would probably add four or five dollars to its estimated value. " All of which goes to show," said the Deacon, " that the Peru- vian Government is asking, in proportion to value, from two to two an i 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 less than $22 per ton ! " And furthermore," continued the Deacon, " from all that I can learn, the guano of the present day is not only far poorer in nitro- gen than it was formerly, but the nitrogen is not as soluble, and consequently not so valuable, pound for pound. Much of the guano of the present day bears about the same relation to genuine olcl-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 toe unleached guano. An this fact ought to be understood." "One thing," said I, "seems clear. The Peruvian Government is charging a considerably higher price for guano, in proportion to its actual value, than was charged 20 or 25 years ago. It may VALUE OF FERTILIZERS. 329 be, that the gano is still the cheapest manure in the market, but at any rate the price is higher than formerly while there has been no corresponding advance in the price of produce in the markets of the world." POTASH AS A MANURE. On land where fish, fish-scrap, or guano, has been used free, for some years, and the crops exported from the farm, we may ex- pect a relative deficiency of potash in the soil. In such a case, an application of unieached ashes or potash-salts will be likely to produce 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 guano, 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 may 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. Lawcs at a late meeting in London, stated 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 the use of potash they had produced practically no better result. This year (1877), for the first 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 43 bushels without it. Of course, 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 sony, because then they would have the knowledge they wero seeking for." Dr. Yoelcker, at the same meeting remarked : " Many soils con- tained from 1-J to 2 per cent of available 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. Therefore, if a soil contained only 0.1 per cent of potash, a ton of potash might be carried off from a 330 TALKS Cfa MANURES. depth of 6 inches. But you had not only 0.1 per cent, but some- thing like 1 per cent and upwards in many soils. It is quite true there were many soils from which you could not continuously take crops without 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 is not deficient in our soil." " That," said I, " can be ascertained only by actual experiment. Put a little hen-manure on a row of corn, and on another row a little hen-manure and ashes, and on another row, ashes alone, and leave one row without anything. On my farm I am satisfied that we need not buy potash-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 deficiencjr, 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 from 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 gpeedily impoverished of potash." " But suppose," said the Deacon, u that you grow potatoes on the VALUE OF FERTILIZERS. 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 it to produce a good crop of potatoes, I should net 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 clayey or loamy land that is usually relatively rich in potash, and will apply his common manure to the sandy parts of the farm^ tie will rarely need to purchase manures containing potash. 332 TALKS ON MA.NUEES. CHAPTEE XL. RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. BY SIR J. B. LAWES, BART., LL.D., F.K.S., ROTHAMSTED, ENG. A relation of mine, who already possessed a very consider- able estate, consisting of light land, about twenty years ago purchased a large property adjoining it at a very high price. These were days when farmers were nourishing, 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 relation 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 thousand four hundred acres. Fortunately for the owner, he possesses town property 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 surprising 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-blanche to spend as much 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. RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. 333 Upon land of this description meat-making is the backbone of the system, which must be adopted, and a large breeding flock of sheep the first essential towards success. Science can make very little improvement upon the four- course rotation roots, barley, 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 good 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 grow anything that came up, undisturbed by the plow. To a practised eye, the character of the natural vegetation is a sure indication of the fertility of the soil. Where herds of buffaloes are to be seen their sides shaking with fat it is quite evident that the pastures upon 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. This ground was covered with vegetation, but of the most impoverished description, even the "Quack" or " Couch-grass" could not form a regular carpet, but grew in small, detached bunches j everything, in fact, bore evidence of poverty. Possibly, the first idea which might occur to any one, on seeing land in this state, might be : Why 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 pounds of mineral matter, and rather less than one pound of nitrogen, which the plant takes from the soil, will enable it to obtain ninety-four pounds of other substances from the at- mosphere. To grow a crop of twenty bushels of gram 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 ON MANURES. The actual cost of the ingredients, therefore, in the crop of twenty bushels of wheat, would be about ten to twelve dollars. But as this manure would furnish the ingredients for the growth of both straw and grain, and it is customary to return the straw to the land, after the first crop, fully one-third of the cost of the manure might, in consequence, be deducted, which would make the ingredients of the twenty bushels amount to six dollars. Twenty bushels of wheat in England would sell for twenty-eight dollars ; therefore, there would be twenty-two dollars left for the cost of cultivation and profit. A French writer on scientific agriculture has employed figures very similar to the above, to show how French farmers may grow wheat at less than one dollar per bushel. At this price they might certainly defy the competition of the United States. It is one thing, however, to grow crops in a lecture room, and quite another to grow them in a field. In dealing with artificial manures, furnishing phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen, we have substances which act upon the soil in very differents ways. Phosphate of lime is a very insoluble substance, and requires an enormous amount of water to dis- solve it. Salts of potash, on the other hand, are very soluble in water, but form very insoluble compounds with the soil. Salts of ammonia and nitrate of soda are perfectly soluble in water. When applied to the land, the ammonia of the former sub' stance forms an insoluble compound with the soil, but in a very short time is converted into nitrate of lime ; and with this salt 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 parts of the soil. Very favorable seasons are therefore those in which the soil is neither too dry nor too wet; as in one case the solution of nitrate becomes dried up in the soil, in the other it is either washed away, or the soil remains so wet that the plant cannot evaporate the water sufficiently to draw up the nitrates which it contains. The amount of potash and phosphoric acid dissolved in the water is far too small to supply the requirements of the plant, and it ia probable that what is required for this purpose is dis- solved by some direct action of the roots of the plant on com- ing in contact with the Insoluble phosphoric acid and potash i-a the soil. RESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. 335 In support of this view, I may mention that we have clear evidence in some of our experiments of the wheat crop taking up both phosphates and potash that were applied to the land thirty years ago. To suppose, therefore, that, if the ingredients which exist in twenty bushels of wheat and its straw, are simply applied to a barren soil, the crop will be able to come in contact with, and take up these substances, is to assume what certainly will not take place. I have often expressed an opinion that arable land, could Dot be cultivated profitably by means of artificial manures, unless the soil was capable of producing, from its own resources, a considerable amount of produce ; still the question had never up to this time come before me in a distinct form as one upon which I had to decide one way or the other. I had, however, no hesitation in coming to the conclusion, that grain crops could never be grown at a profit upon my relation's land, and that consequently, for some years, it would be better to give up the attempt, and try to improve the pasture. After what I have said about the insolubility of potash and phosphoric acid, it may possibly be asked why not give a good dose of these substances at once, as they do not wash out of the soil say enough to grow sixty crops of grain, and apply the nitrate, or ammonia every year in just sufficient amounts to supply the wants of the crop ? The objections to this plan are as fellows: assuming the most favorable conditions of climate, and the largest possible pro- duce, the wheat could certainly not take up the whole of the thirty-two pounds of nitrogen applied, and the crop which re- quires nearly one pound of nitrogen in eveiy one hundred pounds of gross produce, would be certainly less than three thousand two hundred pounds, if supplied with only thirty-two pounds of nitrogen. If we take the total produce of the best and worst wheat crop, grown during the forty years of our ex- periments, we shall arrive at a better understanding in the matter. The following are the figures : WEIGHT OF DRY PRODUCE OF WHEAT PER ACRE. Straw and Grain. 1863 ---- 9330 Ibs. 1879 3859 " In order to ascertain the increase due to the nitrogen of the salts of ammonia or nitrate of soda, we must deduct from the 336 TALKS ON MANURES. crop the produce obtained, wliera mineral manures without nitrogen were used. In 1853 this amount was three thousand pounds, and in 1879 it was ons thousand two hu.idred pounds. Deducting thsse amounts from the gross produce in each cass, leaves si^: thousand three hundred and thirty as the produce due to the nitrogen in the season of 1833, and two thousand six hundred and fifty-nine as the produce due to the nitrogen in 1879. But in each case we applied 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 than one per cent, of nitrogen, it is evident that if all that was contained in the manure had been taken up by the plant, the increased crop should have weighed ei^lib thousand seven hundred pounds in- stead of six thousand thi\33 hundred and thirty. Thus even in our best year, some of tho nitrogen applied failed to produce growth ; and when we come to the bad year we find that only twenty-six and a halt' 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 occasionally either very bad or very good. What we call an average season does not differ very much from the mean of the best and worst years, which in this caia would be represented by a crop of four thousand four hundred and ninety-four pounds, containing nearly forty-five pounds of nitrogen. I may say that, although I have employed one per cent, to avoid fractions in my calculations, strictly speaking three-quarters 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 evidant 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 twenoy-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 think that the very great difference BESTORING FERTILITY TO THE SOIL. 337 in the size of the Indian corn crops, as compared with the wheat crops in the States, is partly accounted for by their greater freedom from weeds, which are large consumers of nitric acid, and, in the case of the wheat crop, frequently re- duce the yield by several bushels per acre. It must, however, be borne in mind that, though the wheat is robbed of its food where there are weeds, still if there were no weeds, the amount of nitric acid which the crop could not get hold of, would, in all probabilty, be washed out of the soil during the ensuing winter. I come to the conclusion, therefore, that the nitro- gen alone, which would be required 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 land, about which I was consulted, had not been plowed for several years, and that although nature had 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 plaintain, which I believe is sometimes sown in these districts for. food, has a very deep root ; here the plants were abundant, but the leaves were very small and lay so close to the ground, that, as the manager informed me, " the sheep were often injured from the amount of sand which they swallowed with the leaves when feeding." At Rothamsted, 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 ou^ 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 ihe produce is now, in proportion, considerably lower than ihafc growD ou the con- tinuously unman ured land. 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 means by which the loss of nitric acid is prevented. The more completely the land is cov- ered with vegetation, and the more growth there is, the greater will ba the evaporation of water, and the less will be the loss of nitric acid by drainage. I was not at all surprised 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 years, though during the whole period, the crop of hay had been removed every year from the land. The wood to which I refer is covered with oak, centuries old, and the foliage is so dense that but little underwood or other vegetation can grow beneath it. If both the wood and the pasture were put into arable cultivation, I have no doubt that the pasture would prove much more fertile than the wood land. In our experiments on permanent pasture, it has been ob- served that the character of the herbage is mainly dependent on the food supplied. Weeds, and inferior grasses, can hold their own as long as poverty exists, but with a liberal 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 bsen laid down to perma- nent pasture, and much money has been spent in cleaning the land preparatory to sowing the grass-seeds. I 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. While 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 so 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 pecu- liar green 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 the vegetation gave unmistakable signs of the poverty of the soil ; but in the midst of the dingy yellowish-green of the herbage, I came upon one square of bright green grass. In answer to my enquiry I was told that, a " lambing-f old had baen there last year," and my informant added his opinion, " that the manure would be so strong that it would kill anything !" It had certainly killed the weeds, but in their place, some good grasses had taken possession of the soil. 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 quantity of the best seeds. I further suggested that a flock of sheep should be 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 the 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, daily, and the hurdles were arranged to enclose a space of twenty-five by 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 increase of one pound of live weight in sheep. The cake has certainly a higher feeding value, than either hay or roots, but I will here give it only the same value, and consider that one hundred and ten pounds of increase of the animal was ob- tained by the consumption of the one thousand pounds of cake. The value of the increase of the live weight would be in Eng- land fully eleven dollars, leaving five dollars as the cost of the manure. 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 by 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. 340 TALKS OX MANURES. Labor would be saved by not cultivating the land. Manure would be saved by substituting vegetation waicli grows under or above ground, almost all th 3 yeat- roand. And, by feeding the Suock with cake, tiu necessary fertility would be obtained at the lowest possible cost. It is probable that the land would require this treatment to be rep3afced for several >ears, before there would be a fair growth of gr ss. The land might then bo 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 largo stores of fertility, though they may be very unequally distribu- ted. By analysis of the soil we can measure the total amount of fertility which it contains, but we are left hi 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 Rothamsbed, among my experiments on the growth of cou- 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 impossible to avoid the conclusion that my soil has a large available bal- ance; of mineral substances which the crop could not make uso 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 aftar 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- iio_i with carbon ; it is very insoluble in water, and until it be- c olios separated from the carbon, and enters into combination with oxygen, does not appear to be of any use to the crop. The combination of nitrogen with oxyg:n, is known as ni- tric acid. The nitric acid enters into combination with the lime of the soil, and in this form becomes the food of plants. From its great importance in regard to the growth of plants, nitric a3id might be called the main spring of agriculture, but EESTOEING 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 alono we estimate that, of the amount of nitric acid liberated er.ch year, not much more than one-half is taken up by the crop. The wheat is ripe in July, 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 en:l 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 minute 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 manures. One farmer applies lime, or even ground limestone to a soil, and obtains an increase in his crops ; probably he has supplied the very 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 docs 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 increaie 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 fbkb. APPENDIX. LETTER FROM EDWARD JESSOP, YORK, PA. YORK, PA., March 16, 1876. Joseph Harris, Esq., Moreton Farm, Rochester, N. Y. : DEAR SIR Tour favor of the 2'2d of last month came safely to hand, and I am truly obliged to you for the reply to my question. You ask, can I help you with facts 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 got new light on a subject second to none in importance to the farmer. I have done a little at composting for some years, and am now having a pile of about forty cords, made up of stable-manure and earth taken from the wash of higher lauds, turned and fined. The labor of digging and hauling the earth, composting in thin layers with manure, turning, and fining, is so great, I doubt whether it pays for most farm crops this to be used for mangel-wurzel and market-garden. The usual plan in this county is to keep 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, are, that the best manure I have ever applied was prepared in a covered pit on which cattle were allowed to run, and so kept well tramped some drainage into a well, secured by pouring water upon it, when necessary, and the drainage pumped and distributed over the surface, at short intervals, particularly 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 high, turned as often as convenient, and kept moist enough to secure fermentation. Or, to throw all the manure as made into a covered pit, 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, apply it as a top- dressing on grass-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 any violent fermentation, tho 342 APPENDIX. loss of weight, I think, would not be very great, nor the bulk lessened over one-half. Many years ago an old and successful farmer said to me, " if you want to get the full benefit of manure, spread it as a top-dressing on some growing crop," 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 quantity of manure applied to a given space, as so many l>ads, as altogether too indefinite. The bushel or cord is a definite quan- tity, which all can understand. The average price of good livery stable horse-manure at this place has 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 produce the needed manure more cheaply. Respectfully yours, EDWARD JESSOP. P. & You ask for the average weight of a cord of manure, such as we pay four dollars for. 1 had a cord of horse-stable manure from a livery stable in York which had been all the time under cover, with sevaral pigs running upon it, and was moist, without any excess of wet, loaded into a wagon-box holding an entire cord, or 123 cubic feet, tramped by the wagoner three times while loading. The wagon was weighed at our hay-scales before loading, and then the wagon and load together, with a net result for the manure of 4,400 Ibs. I considered this manure rather better than the average. J had another load, from a different place, which weighed over 5,000 Ibs., 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 1* 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 Husbandry," page 201, says, ha 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 Ibs. The load I had weighed, weighing 4,400 Ibs., 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 hia " Muck Manual," says a cord of green cow-dung, pure, as dropped, weighs 9,289 Ibs. 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 ren- erally make two loads of a coi-d each, a day's work. From the barn-yard, 344 TALKS ON MANURES. a very variable number, per day. In my own case, two men with three horses have been hauling; six and seven loads of sixty bushels, fine com- post, a distance of from one-half to three-fourths of a mile, up a long and rather steep hill, 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 field ; the driver slips off one of the side-boards, and with his dung-hook draws off piles at nearly equal distances, to be spre .d as convenient. EDWARD JESSOP. LETTER FROM DR. E. L. STJRTEVANT, SOUTH FRAMINGHAM, MASS. SOUTH FRAMINGHAM, MASS., April 2, 1376. 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 to 12.00 per cord, according to season, and various accidental circum- stances. During the past winter, manure has been given away in Boston. Handling, hauling to the railroad, and freight costing $4 per cord for carrying 30 miles out. Market-gardeners usually haul manure as a re- turn freight on their journeys to and from market. About South Fra- mingham, price stiff at $8 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 TORE, Nov. 9, 1876. MY DEAR HARRIS 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 unleached, 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. Habirshaw's guano is good enough. So much for my creed. Truly yours, M. C. WELD. LETTER FROM PETER HENDERSON. NEW YORK, Oct. C6, 1876. Mr. Jbreph Harris: 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 advise that whenever a ton (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 S3, it is cheaper than commercial fertilizers of any kind at their usual market rates. This $3 per ton, I APPENDIX. 345 think, would be about the average cost in New York, Boston, or Phila- delphia. We never haul it on the ground until we are ready to plow it in. If it has to be taken from the hog or cattle yards, we draw it out into large heaps, convenient to where it is to be put on the land, turning it, to keep it from burning or "fire-fanging," if necessary. None of our farmers or market-gardeners here keep it under cover. The expense of such covering and the greater difficulties in getting at it, for the immense quantities we use, would be greater than the benefits to be derived from keeping it under cover benefits, in fact, which, I think, may be greatly overrated. Very truly yours, PETER HENDERSON. LETTER FROM J. M. B. ANDERSON, ED. "CANADA FARMER," TORONTO. " CANADA FARMER " OFFICE, TORONTO, March 29, 1870. J. Harris, Esq. : DEAR SIR Tours of the 25th fnst. is to hand, and I shall be most h".ppy to render you any assistance in my power. The work you under- take is in able hands, and I have every confidence that, when completed, it will form an invaluable acquisition to the agricultural literature of the day. Manure in this city is usually sold by the two-horse load about H tons at the rate of $1 per load, or 63 cents per ton. The load contains just about a cord of manure, consequently a cord will weigh about li tons. With reference to the general management of manure in Canada, I may say that the system followed differs in no material respect from that of New York and the other Eastern States. It is usually kept over winter in the open barn yard (rarely under cover, I am sorry to say), laid out on the land about the time of disappearance of last snow, and plowed in. In some cases it is not carted out until the land is ready for immediate plowing. With some of our more advanced farmers, the system hr.s lately been adopted of keeping manure under cover and sprinkling it thoroughly at intervals with plaster and other substances. Tanks are 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. You ask, how the manure is managed at Bow Park, Brantford. That made during fall and winter is carefully kept in as small bulk as possible, to prevent exposure 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- scape of ammonia. In spring, as soon as practicable, it is spread, and plowed 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 Fanner. MANURE STATISTICS OF LONG ISLAND. THE MANURE TRADE OF LONG ISLAND LETTER FROM J. H. RUSIIMORE. OLD WESTEURY, Long Island, April 6, 1876. Jb^c-nh Harris, E^q. : DEAR SIR The great number of dealers in manure in New York pro- 346 TALKS OK MAN-TIRES. cJudes accuracy, yet Mr. Skidmore (who has been testifying volumi- nously before the New York Board of Health in relation to manure and street dirt), assures me that the accompanying figures are nearly correct. 1 enclose statement, from two roads, taken from their books, and the amount shipped over the other road I obtained verbally from the General Freight Agent, and embody it in the sheet of statistics. The Ash report I know 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 places and marketing crops. I have noticed that one of the shrewdest gardeners invariably composts horn-shavings and bone-meal with horse- manure several months before expecting to use it. A safe average of manure used per acre by gardeners, may be stated at ninety (90) tubs, and from two hundred to twenty hundred pounds of fertilizer in addi- tion, according to its strength, and the kind of crop. The following railroad manure statistics will give a gen er-.lly correct idea of the age of manure, when used : STATEMENT OP MANURE SENT FROM JAIT. 1 TO Di:C. Cl, 1875. Over F. N. S. & C. 7?. 11. Over Southern R. R. January 1,531 tubs. 5,815 tubs. February ' 4,357 March 740 12,217 April 12,122 7,055 May 7,383 3,049 June 5,725 1,365 July 6,4734 685 August 6,370i 2,911 September 8,19 / 14,702 October 880 660 November 512 840 December 1,406 4,0:3 46,340 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 thirty thousand tons. Estimated number of horses in New York city, 100,000. Estimated product of manure per horse. Four cords. Estimated proportion of straw to pure excrement. One-half. Amount shipped direct from stables. Nearly all. Amount 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 shipped via L. I. R. R. 60,000 tubs. Price of manure per tub delivered on cars or vessel. 80 cents. Average amount put on car. 40 tubs. STATISTICS OF ASH TRADE. Time when ashes are delivered. From middle of June to middle of October. Places from which they are mostly shipped. Montreal, Belleville, and Toronto (Canada). Method of transportation. Canal boats. Average load per boat. About 8,000 bushels. Average amount annually sold. 360,000 bushels. Average cost delivered to farmers. 20i cents per bushel. Per Acre, about. Amount used by farmers for potatoes 60 tubs. " " 4k " " cabbage (late).... 50 " " " " " corn 12 " Amount of guano used on Long Island, as represented by fhe books of Chapman & Yauwyck, and their estimate of sales by other firms, 5,000 tons. The fertilizers used on the Island are bought 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 application. Most market gardeners keep so little stock that the 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 wheat, 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 crops of grass, when it is again plowed and cultivated in rotation with, first, corn, second, potatoes or oats, and is reseeded in autumn of the same year. Fish and fish guano are largely used on land bordering the water, and adjacent to the oil-works. The average price for guano in bulk at oil- works is $12 per ton. The average price for fish en wharf is $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 corn when spread thickly on the land previous to plowing. Very respectfully, J. H. RUSHMORE. LETTER FROM JOHN E. BACKUS. NEWTOWN, Long Island, N. Y., March 2nd, 1876. Mr. G. H. Rushmore: 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-loaus 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 MANURES. Guano, as a fertilizer, phosphate of bone and blood are 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. LETTER FROM JOSEPH HEACOCK. JENKINTOWN, Montgomery Co., Pa., April 18th, 1876. MY DEAR FRIEND HARRIS. Stable-manure in Philadelphia, costs by the single four-horse-load, about $9 or $10. Mostly, the farmers who haul much of it\ have it engaged by the year, and then it can be had for from 67 to 88 per load. Mostly, four horses are used, though we fre- quently see two and three-horse teams, and 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 2t to Lit or 4 tons for four horses, according to the dryii^ss of the manure. The wagons are made very strong, and weigh from 1,GCO Ibs. to 2,800 or 2,iCO Ibs., 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 different now, many of the farmers using artificial manures, as it costs so much Jess ; 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 they have their load of hay off on Tuesday, they load their manure and drive out five or six miles and put up for the night. Next morning they start about 3 o'clock, arriving home before noou, 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. 349 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., 1? 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 llth, 1876. Joseph Harris, E.q. : 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 corn 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. 350 TALKS ON MANURES. LETTER FROM PROF. E. M. SHELTON, PROF. OF AGRICULTURE, KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, MANHATTAN, Kansas, May 5 3 1876. DEAR SIR. In reply to your first question, I would scy that stable- manure in this vicinity, is held in very light 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. The 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 manure has little influence on the growing crops 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. I know of no analysis of stable or farmyard-manure made in Kansas. Concerning the weight 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 1874r-5. It lay in the open yard until February last, when it was weighed and hauled to the fields. I found that a wagon-box, li x3 x9 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 upon the Col- tei^e farm has been to give the bottom of the barn-yard a " dishing " form, so that it holds all the water that falls upon it. The manure I keep as flat as possible, taking pains to place it wb,ere 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 practice of applying manure as a top-dressing to winter-wheat, is rapidly gaining ground here. It is found that the manure thus applied, acting as a mulch, mitigates the effects of drouth, besides improving the quality of the grain. Very Respectfully Yours, E. M. SHELTON. LETTBB FROM PROF. W. H. BREWER, PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE IN SHEFFIELD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF YALE COLLEGE. SHEFFIELD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF YALE COLLEGE, NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 14th, 1876. Joseph Harris, Esq., Rochester, 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 ton, 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 says, he sells per horse. " I get, this year, 813 per horse, they to haul 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 Westficld, etc., where it is often hauled several miles from the railroad or river. Much manure is sent by boat from New York to the Connecticut Valley tobacco lands. Boats (" barges ") 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 pressing it, to send by R. R. (stable manure). I never heard anything more about it and he was confident and enthusiastic aboiit it. Tours truly, WM. H. BREWER. 352 TALKS ON MANURES. FOOD, INCREASE, MANURE, ETC., OF FATTENING ANIMALS. The following table is given by Mr. J. B. Lawes, of Rothamsted, Eng- land, showing the relation of the increase, manure, and loss by respira- tion, to the food consumed by different animals: Nitrogenous substance. Noil-Nitrogenous sub- stance Mineral Matter Total dry substance. .. . 250 Ids. Oil-cake turnips and supply. Ibs. 218 808 Ibs. 9.0 58.0 83 I 1.6 1109 68.6 Ibs. 320.0 81.4 404.4 ! 636 Ibs. 636-^ 100 Total Dry Sub- stance of food supply. 0.8 j 52' 0.2 6.2 7.4 36.5 57 3 - 57.3 : Nitrogenous substance. Non-Nitrogenous sub- stance Mineral matter Total dry substance 250 Rut. Oil-cake} turnips and supply. \ & * 177 671 04 912 Ibs. 7.5) I } 229-] 63.0 ( 2.0 (52 72.5 ' 2)1 Ibs. Ibs. 54! ) 543.5 100 Total Dry Sub- of , ' supply. ll 0.8)1 ( 4.2 ! 25.1 eo.i-i 7. of I 9.4 0.2 6.8 ! .. j S.I 8.0 31.9 00.1 I ... 590 lb*. Barley meal produce 100 Ibs. increase, and supply. 100 Total hru -6>>- stance of Food supply. it] j Ii 1 Is 1 ft^ ii ! il i i * w o hH 1 V Nitrogenous substance. Non -Nitrogenous sub- stance Ibs. 52 357 Ibs. 7.0, 66.0) Ibs. 59.8-^ Ibs. 276.2J Ml 15.71 14.3 65.7-^ 13.5 18.5 Mineral matter 11 0.8 10 2 0.2 2.4 7.3 Total dry substance 421 73.8 70.0 270.2 17. (i 1G.7 05.7 ' APPENDIX. 333 In the last edition of bis hook on Manure, " Pralitischc Dungerlehre," Dr. Emil Wollf, gives the following tables : Of 100 Ibs. of dry substance in the food, there is found in the excre- ments : DRY SUBSTANCE. Cow. Ox. Sheep. Horse. Mean. In the Dun" 38.0 Ibs. 4.j.o ILM. 9.1 >l 1 5.8 " 47.1 " 151.4 " 46.9 Ibs. 4-.0 ibb. 6.6 " 1 a.G k> 53.5 ' W5, '.' 4:.. A ibs. 6.3 " -19 A " In the Urine Total dry substance in the Manure... Of 100 Ibs. of organic substance in the food, there is found in the ex- crements : ORGANIC SUBSTANCE. Cow. Ox. Sheep. \ Horse. Mean. In the Dun^ 36.5 Ibs. 48.9 Ibs. 6.0 " i 3.2 " 42.5 " 147.1 " 45.6 Ibs. 3.9 " 49.5 " 88.3 Ibs. 2.5 " 140.7 " 41.0 Ibs. 3.9 lt 144.9 ** In the Urine Total organic Bubstancc in Manure. Of 100 Ibs. of nitrogen in the food, there is found in the excrements : NITROGEN. Cow. Ox. Sheep. Horse. Mean. In tlie Dun" 45.5 Ibs. 10.3 u G3.8 " 51 Ibs. 43.7 Ibs. 38.6 " 151.8 ' 89.6 " '95.5 " 5(i.l Ibs. 49. libs. 27.3 iv 31.0 " 83.4 " 83.1 " In tlie Urine Total Nitrogen in Manure Of 100 Ibs. mineral matter in the food, there is found in the excrements : MINERAL MATTER. Cow. Ox. Sheep. Horse. Mean. In the Dung 53.9 lbs. 70.8 Ibs. 03.2 Ibs. 85.6 Ibs. 6^.4 Ibs. In the Urine 43.1 " 46.7 " 40.3 " 16.3 " 35.1 " Total mineral matter in Ma- nure 97.0 " 117.5 " 103.5 " 101.9 " 103.5 " The excess of mineral matter is due to the mineral matter in the water drank by the animals. The following tables of analyses are copied in full from the last edition (1875), of Dr. Emil Wolffs PraMsche Dungerlehre. The figures differ materially in many cases from those previously published. They 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 will be well to consult actual analyses of tho articles to be used. 354 TALKS ON MANU1IES. I. TABLES FOR CALCULATING THE EXHAUSTION AND EN- RICHING OF SOILS. A. HARVEST PRODUCTS AND VARIOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. Average quantity of water, nitrogen, and total ash, and the different ingredi- ents of the ash in 1000 Ibs. of fresh or air-dried substance. SUBSTANCE. 1 Nitrogen. if ^ Potash. e I I | Is |^ Sulphuric Acid. } I. HAT. Meadow Hay Rye Grass 143 1-T1 15.5 1(5 3 51.5 582 13.2 202 2.3 2 8.6 4 3 3.3 1 3 4.1 6 2 2.4 2 3 13.9 18 5 Timothy 14'i 15 5 62 1 20 4 1 5 4 5 1 9 7 2 1 8 22 1 Moharhay 134 17 b 58 4 21 2 1 2 6 1 5 4 q A 2 1 16 3 Red Clover .... KiO 19 7 56 9 18 3 12 20 6 1 5 6 1 7 1 4 Rod Clover, ripe White Clover . . . 150 1^ 12.5 23 2 44.0 59 8 9.8 10 1 1.4 4 5 15.6 19 3 6.8 6 4.3 8 4 1.3 4 9 3.0 2 5 Alsike Clover 160 24 39 7 11 1 2 1? 5 5 4 1 6 1 6 Crimson Olover 107 19 5 50 7 11 7 4 3 l(i 3 1 3 6 1 3 8 2 ICO 23 62 1 15 3 1 3 26 2 3 3 K K 3 7 38 Esparsette Yellow Clover 167 167 21.3 22 1 45.8 5 7 13.0 11 9 1.5 1 3 16.8 826 3.0 2 1 4.6 4 3 1.4 1 3.7 1 5 Green Vetch Hay Groen Pea Hay . . 167 167 22.7 22.9 83.7 62.4 28.3 23 2 5.6 ? ^ 22.8 15 6 5.4 6 3 10.7 6 8 2.8 5 1 4.9 09 167 19 2 5G 8 1<) 9 4 6 10 9 6 9 8 4 2 08 IT. GREEN FODDEI:. Meadow Grass in bloom Young Grass Rye Grass 700 800 731 5.4 5.6 5 7 18.1 20.7 20.4 4.6 11.6 7 2 0.8 0.4 7 3.0 2.2 1 5 1.1 0.6 04 1.5 2.2 22 0.8 0.8 08 4.9 2.1 (i 5 Timothy Grass Rye-Fodder ",00 7''iO 5.4 53 21.6 16.3 7.4 6 3 0.5 1 1.6 1.2 0.7 5 2.5 24 0.6 0^ 7.7 5?, Green Oats HO 3.7 18.8 7.5 06 1.2 06 1.7 06 57 Green Corn-Fodder Sorghum 822 773 1.9 4.0 12.0 13.0 4.3 3.6 0.5 1 8 1.6 1.2 1.4 05 1.3 08 0.4 04 1.7 37 59 13.9 5 S 1.4 1 3 08 5 3 9 Red (Jlover in hlo.-som " before " Whito Clover 7SO 830 8T> 5.1 5.3 5.6 13.7 14.5 13.6 4.4 5.3 2.3 0.3 0.3 1 48 4.2 4.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.9 0.4 0.3 1.1 0.3 0.4 0.6 Alsike Clover Crimson Clover 80 815 5.3 4.3 8.8 12.2 2.4 2.8 0.3 1 3.0 3.8 1.1 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.3 0.4 2.0 Lucern . . .. ... 740 7.2 18.7 4.6 04 7.9 1 1 6 1.1 1.1 Esparsette f-m 5 1 12.1 3.4 04 4.4 08 1 9 04 10 Yellow Clover S30 4.5 14.7 3.2 03 8.6 0,6 1,1 0.3 0.4 Green Vetch 820 5.6 18.1 6.1 1,2 4.9 1.2 2.3 0.6 1.1 Green Peas 815 5.1 13.9 5.1 05 S.5 1 4 1.5 1.1 0.2 Green Rape 470 4.6 12.2 4.0 04 2.7 05 1 4 1.7 0.6 Spurry ... 800 3.7 122 4.3 1 2.3 1.5 1.8 0.4 0.2 HI. ROOT CROPS. Potatoes 750 34 9.4 57 0? 0.2 04 1 6 0,6 0.2 Jerusalem Artichoke... Mangel-wurzel 800 880 3.2 1.8 9.8 7.5 4.7 4 1 1.0 1 9, 0.3 0.3 0.3 03 1.4 06 0.5 0.2 1.0 0.2 Sn^ar Beets 815 1.6 7.1 3.9 07 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.3 0.1 Turnips 990 1.8 7.3 3.3 07 0.8 03 09 0.8 0.1 Carrots 850 2.2 7.8 2.8 1 7 0.9 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.2 Russia Turnips 870 2.1 11.6 4.7 1 9 1.3 03 1.7 1.5 0.1 Succory Sugar Boet, upper part of root. . . 800 840 2.5 2.0 6.7 9.6 2.6 2.8 1.1 2.3 0.5 0.9 0.3 1.1 0.8 1.8 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.2 APPENDIX. 355 SUBSTANCE. IV. LEAVES & STEMS OF ROOT CROPS. Potato Vines, nearly ripe Potato Vines, unripe. Jerusalem Artichoke. Mangel-wurzel Sugar Beets Tur ,ips Carrots Succory Russia Turnips Cabbage, white Cabbage Stems V. MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS & REFUSE. Wheat Bran Rye Bran Barley Bran Oat Hulls Pea Bran Buckwheat Bran Wheat Flour Rye Flour Barley Meal Corn Meal Green Malt Dry Malt Brewer's Grains Beer Malt sprouts Potato Fibre Potato Slumo Sugar-beet Pomace... Clarifying Refuse... Sugar-beet Molasd,-s. Molasses Slump Rape-cake Linseed Oil-cako Poppy-cake Beech-nut-cake Walnut-cake Cotton-seed-cake Cocoanut-cake Palm-oil-cake VI. STRAW. Winter Whent. . . , Winter Spelt.. Winter Rye Spring Wheat Spring Rye Barley Oats Indian Corn-stalks... Buckwheat Straw ... Pea Straw Field Bean Garden Bean Common Vetch 4.9 6.3 5.3 3.0 3.0 3.0 51 3.5 830 1 4.6 8.4 1.8 131 136 L20 lit) no 140 136 112 14)! 140 i .16.0 22.4 23.2 23.7 27.2 18.9 1(5.8 475 75 766 900 80 850 948 700 918 172 !)>(> 150 116 100 LOO 137 1 !5 127 100 10.4 16.0 7.8 36."8 1.8 1.6 2.9 08 12.8 3.2 48.5 45.3 52.0 38.1 55.3 3!>.0 3T.4 25.9 1.8 1 -1.0 5.6 r,.o 8.4 6.6 4.8 13.0 ItiO 10.4 160! 16.3 160 ... 160' 12.0 19.7 16.5 14.5 14.1 18.1 11.9 26.0 16.5 25.3 16.0 11.6 53.5 71.4 484 34.7 22.7 34.6 7.2 16.9 20.0 5.9 14.6 2<5.6 11.7 6.2 66.7 1.8 5.0 11.4 33 82.3 140 54.6 50.8 7(5.9 43.3 46.2 58.4 551 46.1 50.1 40.5 3S.1 46.6 41.3 40.4 41.9 51.7 44.0 43.9 40.0 I 3. 1 4.1 6.6 8.8 !g 4.8 3.7 6.8 6.1 14.3 193 8.1 49 10.3 11.2 2.6 6.5 5.8 1.7 2.5 4.6 05 2.1 20.6 0.3 22 3.9 0.3 57.5 11.0 12.4 12.4 2.3 6.5 14.3 14.6 22.4 5.0 5.2 7.8 11.0 112 9.4 8.9 9.6 24.2 10.1 18.5 12.8 6.3 0.1 0.8 o.a 1.9 2.7 1.1 6.9 2.9 1.0 i 0.9 I 0.6 0.1 0.6 1.2 0.4 0.9 0.1 10.0 1.5 1.8 0.7 2.3 4.6 . 0.2 0.6 0.8 O'.i 1.0 0.2 1.7 1.0 2.5 0.7 1.8 1.4 4.1 34 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.5 1.0 1.3 0.2 1.9 0.9 0.3 2.6 1.1 4.7 0.2 6.8 4.3 27.0 13.2 8.1 2.7 2.6 3.1 1.7 1.2 6.1 4.0 1 1 9.5 1.8 16.2 1.1 9.8 3.2 11.1 6.9 ;i5.6 3.3 2.4 1.3 1.3 2.7 0.5 0.0 0.4 10 0.0 0.5 1.8 u.S o.'s j o.'s 1.3 | 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.0 2.6 1.4 27.3 31.3 88 11.3 3.0 8.9 1.0 ! 1.6 22 3.1 4.(i 12..-> 0.4 3.7 1.4 i 8.5 2.7 !t.5 0.9 , 2.6 1.2 5.3 18.0 0.1 ! 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.7 0.2 0.:] 7.0 8.1 (,-> 8.6 6.6 K'.l 1.6 4.:. 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.1 19.2 16.1 31.2 9.7 21.2 28.1 o.i 14.9 2.1 11.0 2.2 2.6 2.1 2.0 3.0 1.9 1.9 5.3 6.1 3.5 3.2 3.9 2.7 0..-; 0.9 1.2 3..; (1.5 U.7 O.o 2.9 0!) 16 0.2 U.2 or, 1.4 23.0 23.3 0.9 0.7 4.8 8.8 4.6 0.6 14.7 0.1 0.2 ().'.) 0.7 0.3 23 6.4 4.5 08 0.7 2.3 1.9 O.S 1.1 >1.2 1.2 no 1.1 22.9 1.2 18.2 1.2 2fi.l 1.5 21.5 1.3 19.6 1.2 11.7 2.7 2.9 2.7 3.0 l.U 3.2 1.7 1.9 3.3 3.6 356 TALKS ON MANURES. SUBI'TANCE. 1 160 ieo 160 143 143 143 143 143 143 140 150 143 140 120 140 100 v n 9.4 5.6 7.2 7.5 5.6 5.8 4.8 6.4 2.3 16.8 7.2 6.4 si 41.4 40.8 48.7 92.5 121.4 82.7 84.0 120.0 71.2 4.6 54.5 18.1 73.2 54.7 30.4 7.0 6.8 3S.2 81.4 66.8 40.7 151.0 2.1 13.9 13.0 16.3 36.7 61.2 48.1 19.0 58.5 15.8 41.7 18.4 32.0 19.2 50.7 16.6 13.6 122.3 16.9 18.3 14.2 36.6 17.9 17.0 22.2 27.0 29.8 13.0 i e 2 a H 14.8 11.6 14.7 1.8 4.0 2,0 3.5 12.7 4.0 0.2 6.8 3.6 36.3 15.4 6.8 3.6 3.6 20.3 18.1 11.1 12.6 62.8 0.1 2.9 4.5 5.4 3.3 4.-> 3.6 6.4 2C.4 4.1 20.3 6.1 4.3 2.2 6.2 3.6 2.2 16.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.2 0.6 1.0 0.2 0.3 1 3.6 2.5 3.1 1.2 1.5 2.1 1.2 1.6 1.5 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 3.1 1.4 r.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.t 2.1 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.9 2.0 | tl r_ 3.7 2.4 1.6 4.0 3.1 6.1 5.6 2.4 1.3 0.2 2.7 1.1 3.4 4.5 4.0 0.8 0.7 2.3 7.5 11.2 4.4 4.8 0.4 2.5 1.6 1.3 2.3 4.6 4.3 1.3 2.4 1.9 3.5 1.0 1.4 0.9 4.2 1.1 1.1 3.8 7.9 '8.9 6.0 7.6 8.4 5.6 7.7 6/2 5.9 5.9 5 P T3 IT 2.1 2.6 5.5 75.1 105.3 61.3 69.2 86.6 50.4 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 o.'-i D.a 4.1 20.0 20.3 6.8 3.8 19.7 0.7 12.9 6.3 22.6 55 10.3 4.9 1.3 2.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 17.1 0.4 4.9 6.1 12.0 15.8 0.2 Lupine 8.0 11.1 18.4 8.5 4.8 7.9 5.3 9.4 4.6 2.4 3.13 8.7 11.8 15.4 9.4 0.3 0.3 4.6 20.1 23.0 11.4 30.3 1.3 6.1 4.0 3.9 6.8 17.7 19.0 3.7 2.3 5.4 1.4 1.0 0.6 2.6 JS.O 2.1 4.8 159 5.3 5.5 5.1 5.7 5.6 2.6 4.5 4.4 3.4 3.7 2.6 3.8 O.(i 1.7 1.0 0.2 03 1.2 2.9 0.1 1.3 07 4.4 3.0 2.5 0.2 0.3 0.7 2.8 1.4 1.7 5.1 6.2 1.4 0.2 0.2 4.9 3.1 0.4 0.4 6.3 0.3 0.1 1.6 2.1 1.1 0.3 28.1 0.4 0-4 0-5 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.2 3.0 3.1 2.5 6.7 1.9 0.1 3.7 3.5 0.1 1.2 0.5 7.3 3.4 2.0 0.2 0.:J 0.7 8.7 2.4 1.3 5.8 C.I 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.6 2.3 1.3 (>A 2.1 0.4 1.8 0.4 0.6 1.0 1.8 0.7 0.4 26.3 0.1 0.3 i.'i 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.2 Rape Poppy VH.-CHAFF. Winter Wheat... Spring Wheat Winter Spelt Winter Rye Barley Awns Oats Indian Corn-cobs Field Beans Lupine Rape Flax-seed hulls VIII. COM 31 EFCIAIi PlJLNTS, ETC. Flax Stems Rot ted Flax Stems.... Flax Fibre ... Hemo Stems 1.0 Hops, entire plant.... 140 Hope 120 Hop Stems liO Tobacco Loaves Wine and Must Wine-grounds 180 8% (50 550 850 180 '/.: Grape Stems, etc Mulberry Leaves IX. MATERIALS FOB B-DDIKQ. Reed Sedge Grass Rush 140 140 560 150 550 150 475 450 8.0 8"6 5.0 Beech Leaves, August. " '" Autumn. Oak Leaves, August. . " ' Autumn. Fir Needles Pine " Moss ',5) ... Fern Heath 250 ... 200 10.0 250 . . Sea-Weed 150 144 14:5 143 148 143 145 143 143 140 141 14.0 21.8 23.5 22.0 16.0 176 16.0 ' 16.0 19.2 20.3 ie.o X. GRAINS AND SEEDS. Winter Wheat Spring Wheat . Spelt, without husk... Spelt, with husk Winter Rye Winter Barley Spring Barley Oats.. . Millet Indian Corn... APPENDIX. 357 SUBSTANCE. Wafer. ^ Jj j 1 5 Magnesia. ft S-a ST5 fX &5 "5 -y ll I Sorghum Buckwheat 140 1-10 14 4 lfi.0 11 8 3.3 2.7 0.5 0.7 0.2 5 2.4 1 5 ft 02 1.2 1 p as 143 35 8 23 5 9 8 2 1 2 1 9 8 6 8 2 Field Beared Garden Beans Vetch . . .. H5 150 143 40 8 39.0 44 30.7 27.4 26 8 13.1 1?.0 8 1 04 0.4 2 1 1.5 1.8 2 1 2.i fc.O 2 4 11.9 9.7 10 0.8 1.1 1 0.2 0.2 3 Lupiiie 130 56 6 34 i 10 2 1 3 4 14 3 !1 5 2 Ked Clover White Clover Esp. rsette Ruta bagan Sugar-Beet Carrots 150 150 160 140 146 120 30.5 38.3 33.8 38.4 48.8 45.3 74 8 13.5 12.3 11.0 9.1 11.1 14 2 0.4 0.2 1.1 8.5 4.2 3 5 2.5 2.5 12.3 7.6 10.2 29 1 4.9 3.9 2.6 8.6 7 8 5 14.5 11 6 9.2 7.6 7.5 11 8 0.9 1.6 1.2 2.1 2.0 4 2 0.5 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.8 4 Succory 130 54 6 6 5 4 6 17 3 5 9 16 5 2 4 6 Turnips 125 34 6 7 8 4 61 3 1 14 2 5 2 Rape 118 31 2 39 1 9 6 6 55 4 (} 16 5 9 5 Summer-Rape 1*0 34 9 5 2 4 7 14.9 2 3 Mustard.. Poppy Linseed 130 in m 38.0 32 8 3(5.5 52 8 32 6 5.9 7.2 10.0 2.0 0.5 0.7 7.0 18.7 2.6 3.7 5 4 7 14 6 16.6 13.5 1.8 1.0 8 9 1.7 4 Hemp 122 26 1 45 3 9 4 0.4 10 9 2.6 16.9 0.1 5 5 Grape-seeds Horse-chestnuts, fresh Acorns, fresh. XL VAF.TOUS ANIMAL PRODUCTS. Cows 1 Milk Sheep " Cheese no 492 5JO 875 8(50 450 10.2 5 1 5.5 45.3 25.0 12 9.6 6.2 8.4 67.4 7.2 7.1 62 1.5 1.8 2.5 6!i 0.6 0.3 26, fi 8.4 1.4 0.7 1.3 2.5 6.9 2.1 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.2 6.0 2.7 1.4 1.7 3.0 11.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 o'.i 3 3 0.1 6' 2 Ox-blood 700 32.0 7.5 0.6 34 0.1 0.1 4 6.2 0.1 Calf-blood POO 29.0 7.1 0.8 2.9 0.1 1 0.6 0.1 Sheep-blood Swine-blood 790 800 32 29.0 7.5 7.1 0.5 1.5 3.3 2 2 0.1 0.1 1 0.1 0.4 0.9 0.1 0.1 ... Ox-fle^h 770 36.0 12.6 5 2 0.2 4 4.3 4 0.3 Calf flesh 7SO 34 9 12 4.1 1.0 0.2 9, 5.8 1 Swine-flesh Liviii"- Ox 740 507 34.7 26.6 10.4 46.6 3.9 1.7 0.5 1.4 0.8 20.8 0.5 (i 4 6 18.6 6"i Living Calf Living Sheep Living Swine Eggs Wool, washed Wool, unwashed 662 591 528 672 120 150 25.0 22.4 20 21 8 94.4 54.0 38.0 31.7 21 6 61.8 9 7 98.8 24 1.5 1.8 1.5 1.8 74.6 0.6 1.4 0.2 1.4 3 1.9 16.3 13.2 9.2 54.0 2.4 4.2 0.5 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.6 1.6 13.8 12.3 8.8 8.7 0.3 1.1 o'.i 4'6 0.1 0.2 6!i 2.5 3 358 TALKS ON MANURES. B.-AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS MANURES. NAME or FERTILIZER. I || IS 1 s 1 e j Magnesia. H^ 14 L ANIMAL EXCRE- MENTS. (In 1000 parts of Ma- nure.) Fresh Faeces: Horse 757 211 31.6 4.4 3.5 0.6 1.5 1.2 3.5 0.6 19.6 0.2 Cattle Sheop 838 655 145 IT. 5S 314 ai 1 2.9 1.0 5.5 1.5 0.2 1.0 4 6 1.5 3.1 1.4 '7.5 0.3 Swine 820 150 30.0 6.0 2.6 O'K 0.9 i!o 4.1 0.4 15 0^3 Fresh Urine : Hor^e oni 71 28.0 15.5 15 2.5 4 5 2 4 6 0815 Cattle 938 35 27.4 5.8 4 9 64 1 0.4 1.3 3 3.8 She r 'p '872 83 45.2 19.552 5.4 1.6 3.4 6!l 3 0165 Swine i OAT 28 15 ft 4.3 8 a *>'i 0.8 0.7,0 8 2.3 Fresh Dung (with * ! straw:)* Horse .... 71 a 2Kd 32 fi 5.8 5.3 1.0 2.1 1 4 2.8 0.7 17.7 0.4 Cattle 1775 203 21.8 3 4 4.0 14 3.1 1.1 1.6 0.6 8.5 1.0 Sheep .. 646 318 35 6 83 6722 o q 1 8 2.3 1.5 14 7 1.7 Swine 724 250 25.6 4.5 6.0 20 o!s 0.9 1.9! 0.8 10.8 1.7 Common Barn-yard Manure : 1 Fresh 71 n 94fi M. 1 45 5.2 1 5 5.7 1.4 2 1 1.2 12 fi 1 5 Moderately rotted.. 750 192 5o.O 5.0 6.3 l'.9\ 7.0 1.8 2 6 1.6 \16.8 1.9 Thoroughly rotted.. 790 145 65 5.8 5.0 1 3 ( 8.8 1.8 3.0.1.3 17.0 1.6 Drainage from Barn- yard Manure 982 7 10.7 1.5 4.9 1.0 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.7 0.2 1.2 Human Faeces, fresh. 772 198 29.9 10.0 2.5 1.6 6.2 3.6 10.9 0.8 1.9 0.4 Urine, " 963 24 135 6.0 2 4 6 0.2 0.2 1.7 0.4 5.0 Mixed human excre- \ ni'-nts. frosh j 933 51 16 7.0 2 1 3.8 0.9;0.6 2.6 0.5 0.2 4.0 Mixed hunrin excre- 1 mcntp. mosMy liquid 955 30 15 3.5 2.0 4 1.0 0.6 2.8 0.4 0.2 4.3 Dove Manure, fre^b... 519 308 173.0 17.610.0 0.7 16.0 5.0 17 S 3.3 20 2 Hen " " ..560 255 185.0 16.3 8.5 1.0 24.0 7.4 15.4 4.5 35.2 Duck " " .. 566 262 172.0 10.0 6.2 0.5 17.0 3 5 14.013.5 28.0 Geese " " .. 771 134 95.0 5.5 9.5 1.3 8.4 2.0 5.4 1.4 14.0 .. II. COMMERCIAL MA- NURES. (In 100 parts of Fer- tilizer.) Peruvian Guano 14.851.4J 33.8 13.0 2.3 1 4 11.0 1.2 13 1.0 3.7 1.8 Norway Fish-Guano.. 12.653.4 34.0 9.0 0.3 9 15 4 0.6 13.5 3 1.6 1.1 Poudrcttii 24.027.0 49.0 2.0 0.9 1.0.18.6 05 2.1 1.0 5.4 1 5 Pulverized Dead Ani- mals 5 7 58 9 37 4 fi.5 0.3 8 18.2 0.4 13 9 1.0 1.7 0.2 Flesh-Meal ....278566 15.6 9.7 7.0 0.3 6.3 0.1 1.1 Dried Blood 14 079.0 7.0 11.7 6'. 7 0.6 0.7 0.1 1.0 0.4 2.1 OA Horn-Meal and Shav- \ ings 8.568.5 25.0 10.2 6.6 0.3 5.5 0.9 11.0 Bone-Meal 6.0 33. 3 60.7 3.8 6^2 0.3 81. 3' 1 23.2 0.1 3.5 0.3 * It is estimated that in the case of horses, cattle, and swine, one-third of the nrine drains away. The following is the amount of wheat-straw used daily as beddin- for each animal. Horse, 6 Ibs. ; Cattle, Slbs. ; Swine, 4 Ibs., and sheep, 0.6 lbs. APPENDIX. 359 NAME or FERTILIZER. i i 1 | Nitrogen. Potash. I i 1 1 i 1'liosphoric Acid. Sulphuric Acid. i' \ Chlorine \ and Florine. (In 100 parts.) Bone Meal from solid parts . ... 5.0 7.0 6 10.0 6.0 10.0 11.8 6 8.5 2.6 2.6 9 5 31.5 37.3 10 6.0 3.0 9.2 8.2 5'.4 63.5 55.7 84.0 84.0 91.0 81.0 80.0 9l!5 92.0 97.4 97.5 3.5 4.0 1.0 0.5 O'A 0.1 0.1 O.- O.I 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.8 7 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.6 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.4 4 33 29.0 43 37.0 46.0 41.5 39.1 48.1 43.5 37.5 45.1 40 1 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.5 5 0.1 0.6 0.6 0.2 ? 25.2 20.0 32 0.0 35.4 34. S 20.6 37.0 35.0 as. 2 33.0 9 4 1 0.1 0.1 0.4 4 0.4 1.5 18.0 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.3 3.0 3.5 5.0 15.0 6.5 0.8 0.5 9.0 1.0 5.0 5.5 q O 8 0,2 0.2 6'.3 0.2 1.5 0.6 0.1 3.1 1.5 Bone-Meal from soft parts Bone-black, before usod Bon; -black, spent Bone asti Baker Guano Jar vis Guano Estremadura Apatite.. Sombrero Phosphate. Navassa Phosphate. . . Nassau Phosphorite, rich Nassau Phosphorite, medium Westphalian Phos- phorite 6.5 2.0 1.6 3.5 91.8 94.5 95.7 6.3 0.5 0.1 21.8 37.2 15.4 0.5 0.2 1 4 20.5 3.0 1.2 31 0.9 02 1.0 2IK2 20.4 1.0 0.5 8 58 7 23.0 3.3 7.5 3.0 1 5 1.6 1.5 0.1 1.4 1.7 Hanover Phosphorite Coprolites Sulphate of Ammonia. Nitrate of Soda Wool -dust and oflal.. Lime-cake Whale-oil refuse Common Salt .. . 4.0 2.6 10.0 6.5 23.0 5 56*0 47.0 68.4 46^5 8.6 95.0 20.0 15 5 5.2 3.1 5.7 0.3 2.4 0.2 0.2 1 1.3 3.0 2.3 0.5 IA 44.0 12.5 0.3 0.8 0.3 1.7 1.6 l.fl 1.3 8.5 5.0 15.0 28 5 28.5 25.5 19.5 25.5 19.5 21.0 19.5 28.8 29 8.0 3.0 2.0 4.0 3.0 9.1 20.0 4.0 16.0 18.0 18.0 1.5 0.9 5.3 0.6 2 a 3.2 13.5 9.3 2.5 3 0.2 48'. 2 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.1 0.2 0.9 0.4 1.8 1.3 6'. 2 9 Gypsum or Plaster.... Gas-lime 20.0 7.0 34 5 20.0 5.0 5.0 f) i'.s 24.5 5.0 71.8 70 2 *> 80.8 91.7 41.0 75.0 23 2 24 8 90.0 04 1.2 2!5 0.2 0.2 2.5 2.4 0.1 10.0 6.0 1.5 0.5 0.1 2.0 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3 3 6.6 1.3 0.5 2.5 2.0 8 0.4 0.1 1.2 0.8 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 64.5 20.7 24.5 10.0 4.0 30.0 35.0 9.5 25 9 28.2 26 4 17.0 26 5 24.2 25.0 22.4 24.0 1.5 0.3 2.5 1.5 1.5 5.0 6.0 1.5 3.2 3.0 1.0 0.9 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.1 7 0.7 Is 0.4 6.5 4.5 0.6 0.2 0.1 10.5 21.8 22.1 20 2 15 4 19.4 16.6 16.2 16.6 20.5 Sugar-House Scum. . . Leached \vood ashes. . Wood-soot Coal-soot Ashes from Deciduous trees Ashes from Evergreen trees Pr>at a^hes 5.0 5 5.0 90.0 95.0 .. Bituminous coal-ashes Anthracite coal-ashes. III. STTPEBPIIOS- PHATE, from Peruvian Guano. 5.0 5.0 16.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15 5^0 41.9 6.2 2'. 5 95.0 90.0 42.1 78.8 85.0 83.0 82.5 85.0 10.0 0.3 Baker Guano Estremadura Apatite.. Sombrero Phosphate. Navassa Phosphate... Nassau Phosphorite, rich Nassau Phosphorite, medium Bone-black 12.0 ., 15.0 8.0 13.023.8 15 5 13.0 88.0 77.0 63.2 80.3 6*3 2.0 3.3 Bonc-Meal Phosph o-guano (manufactured.) ... 3GO TALKS ON MANURES. 2. TABLE SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF INGREDIENTS IN SOME MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. NAMB OF MATERIAL. . $8 *l i$ 1 1 } 1 e| 1 fe -~ P * Ibs. 7.71 0.168 0.284 0.653 3. 631 0.06-2 1.3-19 0.5J39 1 .63 0.388 0.194 2.212 6.710 1.5*6 0.382 8.618 5.876 .801 2.672 6.005 1.63 OJ35 1.497 7.94 2.862 0.926 4.102 1.735 1.131 0.584 0.780 0.144 0.165 0.38-1 015 O.G'<2 3 990 3.400 0.474 0.126 1. BREWING. 1000 Ibs. Barley, contain Ibs. 855 13 > Ibs. 15.2 Ibs 22 23 1.00 1 23 2.43 18.08 0.54 2.27 3.65 9.43 1.06 0.53 11.02 14.37 5.12 1.23 20.72 12.53 7.67 3.41 16.79 9.43 0.54 8.89 :G.GS 5. no 1 81 9.60 6.10 2.84 3.26 7.10 1.15 1.71 1.20 2.47 0.57 30.36 25.15 4 03 1.2-2 Ibs. 4.48 0.345 0.852 0.749 0.580 0.023 O.C43 1.JW8 5.69 0.184 0.092 5.966 4.501 883 221 5 605 3.941 1 325 1.273 3.9'J3 5.69 0.086 5.604 5.26 1.980 0.r>-<8 2.67* 1.505 0.247 1.258 3.914 o.ase 0.5^5 0.380 1.741 0.872 9.426 9.175 0.171 .0.051 Ibs. 0.58 0.167 0.039 0.0(59 1.474 0.1(50 0.097 0.24 O.C40 020 0.300 0.376 195 0.049 0.620 0.329 0.293 0.19-1 0.430 0.24 0.266 0.57. 0.154 0.050 0.890 1.333 0.687 0.646 0.379 0.108 0.390 8.640 0.141 6.751 4.100 2.052 648 Ibs. 1.92 0.056 0.045 0.066 1.134 0.055 0.185 0.484 0.44 0.088 0.044 0.572 1 648 0.429 0.107 2.184 1 444 0.643 0.367 1.720 0.44 0.042 O.o98 2.02 0.458 0.148 1.394 0.186 0.028 0.158 0.536 0.132 0.105 240 0.009 0.040 1.995 1.850 0.0% 0.054 15 " Hops " Distribution of the Ingredients : Water .. . . Malt-Sprouts 33 1.88 263 8.74 9 Yeast Beer 30 2.94 2.14 3.2 56 0.28 4.04 14.08 2.82 0.71 1, .61 12.32 4.Si3 4.60 11.95 3.20 O.CO 2.60 20.80 14.65 i!c4 4.51 4.80 4.53 0.27 1.60 0.24 0.44 0.60 0.32 2. DISTILLERY. a. 1000 Ibs. Potatoes, contain 40 " K^n-Malt . ... 250 87 18.5 125 681 184 46 443 599 276 45 325 250 75 45 857 664 58 135 125 G5 60 184 19 46 24 25 85 860 215 460 155 20 u Yeas-Malt The Slump contains (b.) Grain Spirits. 800 Ibs Rye contain . 200 " Kiln-Malt, contain 50 " Yeast-Malt " The Slump, " 3. YEAST MANUFACTURE. 700 Ibs. bruised Rye, contain 800 " Barley-Malt, Distribution of the Ingredients : Yeast Grains and Slump . 4. STARCH MANUFACTURE. 1000 Ibs Potatoes contain The remains in the Fibre " " u Water 5. MILLING. 1000 Tb*i Wheat contain Distribution of the Ingredients : Flour i 77 5 per cent) Mill-feed (65 " ) . .. Bran (160 " ) 6. CHEESE-MAKING. 1000 Ibs Milk contain Distribution of the Ingredients : Whey 7. BEET-SUGAR MANUFACTURE. 1000 Ibs Root 1 * cootiin Distribution of the Ingredients: Tops and Tails (12 per cent of roots) Pomace (15 per cent of roots) Skimmings (4 per cent of roots). . Molasses (3 per cent of roots) 8. FLAX DRESSING. 1000 Ibs. Flax-Stalks, contain... Distribution of the Ingredients : In the Water Flax and Tow INDEX. Absorptive Powers of Soils 217 Ammonia Absorbed by Soil from the Atmosphere 219 Ammonia and Superphosphate 212 andWeeds 254 " Converted into Nitric Acid in the Soil 313 forOats 253-254 for Potatoes 261 for Wheat 192-213 " in Fresh Horse-dung % " in Limed and Unlimed Soils 220 " in the Soil Liberated by Lime 221 " Locked Up in the Soil... 221 *' Loss of by Fermenting Manure 98 " on C4rass Land 273 Potential 31 *' Quantity of to Produce One Bushel of Wheat, 211-212 " Required to Produce a Bushel of Barley.. 240-242 " Retained by the Soil 213 " Salts, Composition of... .312 " " How to Apply, 286-312 " " for Private Gar- dens 297 Aiderson, J. M. B., Letter from.. .345 Animals, Composition of Manure from Different 306 " What They Remove from th^Food 391 Apple Trees. Nitrate of Snda for... 314 Artificial Manures, Will They Pay..214 Ash jss, Burnt Earth : . ... 72 " Cjal 72 " for Barley 241 " for Indian Corn 279 " for Oats 2:3 " for Potatoes 239 " of Manure for Wheat 173 " on Long Island 346 " Plaster and Hen-dung for Potatoes 255 " Wood 104 Barley After Ten Crops of Turnips. 250 " a Larcp Yield of 242 " and Clover after a heavily- manured Root-crop 287 " Best Soil for 227 * Cost of Raising With and Without Manure. . . 246 361 , Barley,Lawcs' and Gilbert's Experi- ments ou . 22*< " Potash Increases the Crop of at Itotiiarasted 3^9 " Profits of Raising in Po.r Seasons 243 " Quality and Price of 242 " \ieldPerAcre 11 Barn-yard Manure, Difference in Quality of 246 I Bcitu-etraw for Manure . . 48 Bouts, Sugar, Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments on. . .288 " " imdiiure fur 286 Blood 3-3 Jjouu-dust 314 " Composition of Com- pared with Stable Ma- nure 316 1 Fermented with Manure.31i Prico and Compo- sition of No .7 and30YVsAro.327 Rt-ctifled for Tur- nips.... 286 " " What it i 311 Gypsum J;<4-116-128 forO^ts 2:4 " for Peas 17 " for Potatoes ..255-2.:.! Fnrison, T. L., Letter from 1:5 Lay, Bo.-'t Manure for 24 " Plant-food in ,...1C1 IToacock, Jos-ph, Letter from 348 Henderson, Peter, Letter fro:n 344 lien Manure 43-104-::ol " " for Potatoes o5 High Farming 13 ' k " versus Good Farming 11 Fops, Manure for 274 Horse-manure, Composition of. . . .3C8 Hot-beds. Manure for 277 Human Excrements, Composition of 308 Indian Corn. See Corn Irrigation on Market Gardi ns 295 Jessup, Edward, Letter from 342 Johnson, Prof. S. W., on the Value of Fertilizers 324 Lawes 1 and Gilbert's Experiments on Barley 22Y Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments on Oats 252 Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments on Permanent Meadows 271 INDEX. Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments on the Amount of Excrements Voided by Man 309 Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments oil Sugar beets and Maugel-wur- zels.... 288 Lawes' and Gilbert's Experiments on Wheat 170 Lawes' aiid Gilbert's Experiments, Potash Beneficial for barley 329 Lawes' Table, Showing C. uiposi- tion and Value of Foods 45 Leuuce, Manure for 289 Superphosphate for. . . 290-293 Lewis, Hon. Harris, Letter from 103 Liebig's Special Manures 321 Lime as Manure 215 k Beneficial Effect of for Thirty Years 216 Changes the Chemical and Physical Character of the Soil 224 " Composting with O,d Sods. . .2xM " for Cabbage 29^ " Hastens tiie Maturity of the Crop 222 " Impoverishes the Soil 222 u in Connecticut 224 " in Delaware 223 " in New Jersey 2C3 " in Pennsylvania 224 " llixed with Barn-yard Ma- nure 222 " rn Grass Land 223 " on Lime-stone Land 217 " Quantity per Acre 216 " Sets Free Ammonia in the Soil 221 " Silicate Absorbs Ammonia from Atmosphere 219 " When to Apply 223 " W T hy Beneficial ii20 Liquid Majiure 30(i Lowland, Draining 30 Malt-combs.- 46 Maugcl-wurzels for Manure 48 Manure forlC3-86-28S " Yield per Acre 11 Manure Absorbing Liquid 115 ' Amount from Feed and Bedding 73 " Araount Made by a Horse CO-346 " " Made by Horses, ' Cows, Sheep, and Pigs. . . 51 " Amount Made on a 250-acre Farm 257 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'.'9 " Barn-yard for Barley 240 " Barn-yard vs. Artificial for Indian Corn 284 " Basin for 9,3 Mannre Best for Hay 274 k Bone-dust al-i-316 Brings in Red Clover 82 Buying 306 Buying by Measure or Weight 305 Buying by the Load or Ton.306 Cellar 114 Cheapest a Farmer Can Use.127 Clover as 119-122 Clover-seed as 127 Comes from the Laud 42 Common Salt as ...200 Composition of Fresh Barn- yard ! 51 Composition of from Dif- ferent Animals 306 Composition of Heap at Different Periods 57 Corn-meal lor 1 85 Cost of Hauling 342 Cost of Loading and Draw- ing --,7 Cow 87-110 Dairy-farm, How to Save and Apply 114 Dr. Vcelcker's Experiments on 51 Drawing Oat to the Field.. 89 English Plan of Keeping. . . 6J Equivalent to Water 2W Farm-yard for Potatoes . . . 261 Fermenting in Winter.85-92 93 Fermenting, Shrinkage in.. 116 Fire-fang S-,-,,8 Fish, as, on Long Island. . S.,7 Foods which Make Rich .... 45 for Cabbage, Parsnips, Onions, Carrots, Lettuce, etc S89 for Corn 80 f < r Grass 82 for Hops 274 for Hot-beds 297 for Indian Coin 275 lor Mangel-wuizels and Sugar-beets 87 for Market Gardens 21)4 for Oats -212 for Potatoes 255 for Seed-growing Farms. . .ii96 for Sorghum or Chinese Sugar-cane 283 for Tobacco 2";5 for Turnips i :85-3'22 (or Wheat 167 from Cows 202 from Earth-c.oset 310 from Oxen 303 from Pigs. Mr. Lawes' Ex- periments 301 from Sheep 303 Grain Farms, Management of 117 Guano, Price of Fow and Thirty Years Ago 328 Guano, Rectified Peruvian.319 Gypsum and Clover as 125 lleap, Changes in 67 3G4 J.Ianuro II M^, Fermenting L3 '* in Winter 84 " Piling in Fie!d..83^8iMK) " " Turning 83 " Hen 43-104-S01 Horse 32-8j " Horse and Farm-vard 53 * How and When "it Should be Applied 207 *' How John Johnston M..n- agesit 76 " How Made and Used iu Maryland 349 " How the Deacon Makes it.. 71 " How to Make 41 " How to Make More 25 j " How to Make More and Bet- ter on Dairy Farms 105 " How to Make Poor, Rich, 274-293 " How to Make Richer 25? " How Much it Shrinks by Fermentation 342 " How Much Nitrogen in a Load of 303 " in Kansas 340 4i in Philadelphia, Interest- ing Facts 333 " Keeping Under Cover 5 ) Lime as 215 " Liquid -.. .. 38 " Management of in Canada. 3JJ " Mr. Lawes' Experiments with 95 " Loss from Leaching <)'.) " Management of 91 " Market Value of 104 11 Mixed with Lime 222 " Natural 23 " Night-soilas 303 " Nitrate of Soda as 131 " Not Available 95 " on Dairy Farm 101 " on Permanent Meadows and Pastures 271 u Preserved by the Soil 177 " Pigs' 85 " Piling 116 " Potasn as 329 " Price of in Boston 34 " Maryland 3JJ " " " New Haven 3il " New York 334 " " per Horse in New York 336 " Quantity Made on a Farm.. 12 " Quantity of Used on Long Island. Interesting Sta- tistic-! 336 Reduced bv Fermentation. 2.;7 " Richer in 'Plant-food than the Food from which it is Derived 3"! " Sea-weedas 337 " Sheep 86 ' Should be Broken Up Fine . 2(58 " Soluble Phosphates in 72 " Special 140-320 Manure, Specific Gravity of from Different Animah, ...... 305 Spread in Open Yard ..... 63 Stable, Management ...... Si3 Straw and Cuaff as ......... -)S ...... 343 " to What Crops Should it be Applied .................. 265 " Value of ................... 78 " Value of Depends on the Food, Not on tlie Animal. 43 " Value of Straw as ......... 123 " Waterin ................... 124 " Vfeedsas ...... ... ........ 24 " \7eightof ............. 343-350 " Well-rotted, Composition of ........ ....... .. ....... 65 " Well-rotted, Loss from Leaching ................ 65 " What is it? ............. 19-22 Why Do We Ferment?.... 94 llai'kct Gardens, Irrigation in ...... 295 " Manure for ...... 294 " Pig-manure oil.. 235 Moadows, Manure for ............. 271 Ni-ht soil ..................... 2S5-S08 Nitrate of Potash ................. 312 Nitrate of Soda .................... 134 lk Acts Quicker tiiau Ammonia . ..... S13 " " as a Top-drcssiug for Wheat ........ 270 Composition of ____ 3 2 ior Applo Trees.. ..314 fur Bariey .......... 243 forO.its ........ .. 2.:J f >r Onions... 291 for Sugar-Beets ____ 2~1) for Wheat .......... 159 " How to Apply ..... 312 341 Nitrogen, Amount per Acre in the Soil ................. 28-16'? " as Manure ............... 28 in Soils ...... 106-226-336-341 " Makes Poor Manure Rich ................... "46 Nurseryman. Manure for ......... 207 (,atrf, Experiments on in Virginia.. -53 ' ; Experiments on at Moreton Farm ....................... 254 " Lawes 1 and Gilbert's Experi- ments on ................... 252 " Manures for .................. 252 Oil-cake for Sheep .................. 76 Onions, Manure for ............... 294 Peas for Pigs ....................... 17 Pea-straw for Manure .............. 48 Nitric Acid INDEX. 365 Peat, Composition of 31 Phosphates 27 " Exhaustion of on Dairy Farms 101 " Soluble in Barn-yard Manure 72 Phosphoric Acid in Soils 106-2*6 per Aero in Soils. Ib2 " '* Retained by the Soil 219 " " Hern* ved from the Farm bvHav, and byMiic i CJows.316 Pig Manure..": 43-8o ' Composition of 3UJ " " for Cabbage 802 Pigs as Manure-Makers for Market Gardeners 235 Pigs' Bedding 31 ' for Enriching Pasture-Land. . .391 " How to Save Manure from. . .3>4 " Manure from L01-:D4 Piling Manure _ 57 Plant food 21-105 " Amount of in an Acre.24-3J " " in New and Cultivated Land 9 Plaster for Indian Corn. 277 Plowing in the Fall 17 Potash," Amount of in the Soil 25-329 * as Manure 3.9 " as Manure for Wheat 215 " for Cabbages . . .292 " for Potatoes 255-L6J u for Potatoes and Boot- Crops 330 u now to Ascertain when the Soil Needs 3~0 " in Nitrate of Potash 314 " Not a Special' Manure for Turnips "22 " on Grass Land 2.3 " our Soils not so likely to be Deficient in, as of Nitro- gen and Phosphoric Aciu. 3^0 1 ' Retained by the Soil 219 ' Value of in Artificial Ma- nures 32'i Potatoes, after Root-Crops 2o7 * Ammonia for 2 1 Cost of Raising 10 " Experiments on at More- ton Farm 259 " for Manure 48 " How to Raise a Large Crop 255 " Manures for 255 " Mr. Hunter's Experiments on in England 260 " on Rich Land 263 " Profits of Using Artificial Manures on 263 " Will Manure Injure Qual ityof 264 -cake 46 as Manure for Hops 274 Roots. Amount of Left in Soil by Different Crops 104 Root-crops 17 Rotation* of Crops and Manures 216 I?u3limore, J. II., Letter from 345 Routzahn. 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, Profitable for Good Farmers 213 " and Manure for Oats 253 " Influence of on the Growth of Wheat alO " Profit in Rais.ng Oats n a Poor 253 " Profit in Raising Baric/ in a Poor 243 Season?. Influence on Crops 21 Seed Growers, Manures for 290 Sewage 308 Sheep-Manure 303-333-339 k " Composition of.. ..806 " v&. Oxen as Manure Makers. 303 Shelton, Prof. E. M., Letter from.. &>0 Soil, Composition of 144-150 Exhaustion of 20-27-332 from Earth-closet : 225 Nitrogen and Phosphoric Acid in 220 Plant-food in 105 Weight of per Ac e 2^.1 Soils Absorb Ammonia from Atmos- phere 219 " Absorptive Powers of 217 Sorghum, Manures for 283 Soccial Manures 320 Straw ~6 Amount of Manure from 124 " and Chaff for Manure 200 ' for Manures 48 ' on Grain Farms 118 " Selling 123 f turtevant, Dr. E. L., Letter from 3-14 Superphosphate 116 for Barley 241 for Indian Corn. .27!) for Potatoes ...2L9 " for Private Gar dens ...296 for Turnips. .285-322 for Wheat 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 a:- Com pared vvita Bone- Dust 319 " What Crops Best for 243 of Lime Doctor Made 317 Superphosphate of Lime, When First Made in the United States 324 Surface Application of Manure. .70 268 Swamp-muck ** 11 ' Composi.ion of 31 Swine, see Pigs Superphospate Tehe How it 3G6 INDEX. Thomas, J. J., I^cirmrlis on t>.c A.r>- plication of Manures 2C9 Tillage is Manure 32-121- KJ3-2J3 Tobacco, Manure for 275 Top dressing with Manure 209 Turnips, Do They Absorb Nitrogen from the Atmosphere...25J " Impoverish the Soil More than Grain 250 Manure fcr 285 " and Wheat, Special Ma nures for 321 Urine from Farm Animals Richer than Human 309 " vs. Solid Manure.. 294 Valuation of Fertilizers 324 Water, Amount Given Off" by Plants During Their Growth 131 Water Equivalent to Manure 2 ( .K> Weeds 15-11-189 Weed-seeds in Manure 97 Weld, Col. M. C., Letter from 344 Wheat, Ammonia for 192 " Artificial Manures for Should be Drilled in with ...168-169 Wheat, Common Salt as Manure for 00 " Crop, Composition of.. X6-l*f- 138-340 " Effect of Manure on. in Poor Season 213 " Influence of Season on 10 " is it Deteriorating ? 181) " Larger Crops per Acre 122 " Lawes' and Gilbert's Exper- iments on 140-170-333 " Manures for 1G7 " Mr. Lawes' Experiments on.122 " Nitrogen as Manure for . . .141 k> Plant-food in 1C! " Potash as Manure for 215 " Straw and Cliaff as a Manure for 200 " Summer Fallowing for . . 35-16S " the 20th Crop on Same Land. 213 " Top-dressing for 2"0 " vs. Corn, Comparative Yield of 276 " Well-rotted Manure for 267 " Why Our Crops are so Poor . 214 ik Yield per Acre 11 SENT FREE ON APPLICATION. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE : OF : RURAL BOOKS, Containing 116 8vo pages, profusely illustrated, and giving full descriptions of nearly 600 works on the following subjects: FARM AND GARDEN, FRUITS, FLOWERS, ETC., CATTLE, SHEEP, AND SWINE, DOGS, ETC., HORSES, RIDING, ETC., POULTRY, PIGEONS, AND BEES, ANGLING AND FISHING, BOATING, CANOEING, AND SAILING, FIELD SPORTS AND NATURAL HISTORY, HUNTING, SHOOTING, ETC., ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING, LANDSCAPE GARDENING, HOUSEHOLD AND MISCELLANEOUS. PUBLISHERS AND IMPORTERS. ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 52 & 54 Lafayette Place, New York. 2 STANDARD BOOKS. Mushrooms. How to Grow Them. For home use fresh Mushrooms are a delicious, highly nutritious and wholesome delicacy; and for market they are lees bulky than eggs and, when properly handled, no crop is more remunerative. Anyone who has an ordinary house cellar, woodshed, or barn can grow Mush- rooms. This is the most practical work on the subject ever written and the only book on growing Mushrooms ever published in America The whole subject is treated in detail, minutely and plainly, as only a practical man, actively engaged in Mushroom growing, can handle it. The author describes how he himself grows Mushrooms, and how they are grown for profit by the leading market gsirdeners, and for home use by the most successful private growers. The book is amply and pointedly illustrated, with engravings drawn from nature expressly for this work. By Win. Falconer. Is nicely printed and bound in cloth. Price, post-paid 1.50 Allen's New American Farm Book. The very best work on the subject ; comprising all that can be con- densed into an available volume. Originally by Richard L. Allen. Revised and greatly enlarged by Lewis F. Allen. Cloth, 12mo... 2.50 Henderson's Gardening for Profit. By Peter Henderson. New edition. Entirely rewritten and greatly enlarged. The standard work on Market and Family Gardening. The successful experience of the author for more than thirty years, and his willingness to tell, as he does in this work, the secret of his success for the benefit of others, enables him to give most valuable information. The book is profusely illustrated. Cloth, 12mo..- 2.00 Fuller's Practical Forestry. A Treatise on the Propagation, Planting, and Cultivation, with a de- scription and the botanical and proper~names of all the indigenous trees of the United States, both Evergreen and Deciduous, with Notes on a large number of the most valuable Exotic Species. By Andrew S. Fuller, author of "Grape Culturist " "Small Fruit Culturist," etc. 1.50 The Dairyman's Manual. By Henry Stewart, author of "The Shepherd's Manual," "Irriga- tion," etc. A useful and practical work by a writer who is well known as thoroughly familiar with the subject .of which he writes. Cloth, 12mo 2.00 Truck Farming at the South. A work giving the experience of a successful grower of vegetables or " grain truck" for Northern markets. Essential to any one who con- templates entering this promising field of Agriculture. By A. Oemler, of Georgia. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo_ 1.50 Harris on the Pig. New edition. Revised and enlarged by the author. The points of the various English and American breeds are thoroughly discussed, and the great advantage of using thoroughbred males clearly shown. Tho work is equally valuable to the farmer who keeps but few pigs, and to the breeder on an extensive scale. By Joseph Harris. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 Jones's Peanut Plant Its Cultivation and Uses. A practical Book, instructing the beginner how to raise goc^ crops of Peanuts. By B. W. Jones, Surry Co., Va. Paper Cover, 50 STANDARD BOOKS. 3 Barry's Fruit Garden. By P. Barry. A standard work on fruit and fruit-trees ; the author having had over thirty years' practical experience at the head of one of the largest nurseries in this country. New edition, revised up to date. Invaluable to all fruit-growers. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 2.10 The Propagation of Plants. By Andrew S. Fuller. Illustrated with numerous engravings. An eminently practical .and useful work. Describing the process of hy- btidizing and crossing species and varieties, and also the many differ- ent modes by which cultivated plants may be propagated and multi- plied. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 Stewart's Shepherd's Manual. A Valuable Practical Treatise on the Sheep, for American farmers and sheep growers. It is so plain that a farmer, or a farmer's son, who has never kept a sheep, may learn from its pages how to manage a flock successfully, and yet so complete that even the experienced shepherd may gather many suggestions from it. The results of per- sonal experience of some years with the characters of the various mod- em breeds of sheep, and the sheep-raising capabilities of many portions of our extensive territory and that of Canada and the careful study of the diseases to which our sheep are chiefly subject, with those by which they may eventually be afflicted through unforeseen accidents as well as the methods of management called for under our circumstances, are here gathered. By Henry Stewart. Illustrated. Cloth, 12m o 1.50 Allen's American Cattle. Their History, Breeding, and Management. By Lewis F. Allen. This Book will be considered indispensable by every breeder of live stock. The large experience of the author in improving the character of American herds adds to the weight of his observations, and has enabled him to produce a work which will at once make good his claims as a standard authority on the subject. New and revised edition. Illustrated. Cloth, i'2mo 250 Fuller's Grape Culturist. By. A. S. Fuller. This is one of the very best of works on the culture of the hardy grapes, with full directions for all departments of propa- gation, culture, etc., with 150 excellent engravings, illustrating plant- ing, training, grafting, etc. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 White's Cranberry Culture. CONTENTS : Natural History. History of Cultivation. Choice of Location. Preparing the Ground. Planting the Vines. Management of Meadows. Flooding Enemies and Difficulties Overcome. Pick- ing. Keeping, Profit and Loss. Letters from Practical Growers. Insects Injurious to the Cranberry. By Joseph J. White. A practi- cal grower. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. New and revised edition. 1.26 Herbert's Hints to Horse-Keepers. This is one of the best and most popular works on the Horse in this country. A Complete Manual for Horsemen, embracing : How to Breed a Horse ; How to Buy a Horse ; How to Break a Horse ; How to Use a Horse ; How to Feed a Horse ; How to Physic a Horse (Allo- pathy or Homoepathy) ; How to Groom a Horse ; How to Drive a Horse ; How to Kide a Horse, etc. By the late Henry William Her- bert (Frank Forester). Beautifully Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo... 1.75 A Valuable Periodical for eiery&ody m City, Village, ana Country. (ESTABLISHED 1842.) /'// LEADING INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR THE FARM, GARDEN, AND HOUSEHOLD, A MONTHLY MAGAZINE of from 48 to 64 pages in each number, containing in each volume upward of 700 pages and over 1000 original engravings of typical and prize-winning Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Fowls ; New Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers ; House and Barn Plans ; New Implements and Labor-saving Contrivances ; and many pleasing and instructive pictures for young and old. THE STANDARD AUTHORITY in all matters pertaining to Agriculture, Horticulture, and Rural Arts, and the oldest and most ably edited periodical of its class in the world. BEST RURAL PERIODICAL IN THE WORLD. The thousands of hints and suggestions given in every volume are prepared by practical, intelligent farmers, who know what they write about. The Household Department is valuable to every housekeeper, afford, ing very many useful hints and directions calculated to lighten and facilitate indoor work. The Department for Children and Youth is prepared with special care, to furnish not only amusement, but also to inculcate knowledge and sound moral principles. Subscription Terns : $1.50 a year, postage i:cludei ; uampb copies, IGo, each. 1"3Ef5r IT .A. ITE-aLDFt ! ; 6551 AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 52 & 54 Lafayette Place, New York. VB 16587