The Use Of Stable Manure
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Controlling Factors
The farm supply of stable manure is a carrier of plant-food, returning to the soil four fifths of all the fertility removed in the crops fed, but it is much more than this. Land which receives only plant-food, as may be the case when fertility is supp... Direct Use For Corn
The practice of spreading manure on grass land for corn is based upon much good experience. The custom is nearly universal in regions where corn is an important part of a four, five, or six years' rotation, and all of the corn and hay is fed on the fa... Effect Upon Moisture
Coarse manures should not be plowed down late in the spring, as they increase the ill effects of drouth. Decayed vegetation, well mixed with the soil, increases the soil's water-holding capacity, but undecayed material in the bottom of the furrow is ... Heavy Applications
When the farm supply of manure is small, applications should be light. The manure should not be the dependence for plant-food on a part of a field, or a single field of the farm, under such circumstances. It is more profitable to give a light dressin... Manure On Grass
When the crop-rotation embraces two or more years of grass, or one of clover followed by only one of grass, it is better practice to use the manure to thicken the sod. The object in view is the largest possible amount of crops, and the maximum amount ... Manure On Potatoes
There are excellent cash crops that may get more than their fair share of the farm supply of fertility, and against the interest of fields in the farm not adapted to cash crops. The justification is found in the farm ledger. In some regions potatoes a... Poultry Manure
The value of poultry manure often is overestimated. Its content of plant-food is one half greater than that of horse manure, ton for ton. The availability of the nitrogen is so great that returns from applications are immediate, and give the impressio... Reenforcement With Minerals
A ton of mixed manure in the stable contains about ten pounds of nitrogen, five pounds of phosphoric acid, and ten pounds of potash. This makes the percentage of nitrogen and potash the same, while the percentage of phosphoric acid is only half as hi... When To Plow Down
Excellent farmers differ regarding the relative efficiencies of manure plowed down and that mixed with the top soil. Both classes may be right for their individual instances. The plowing down of manure helps to deepen the soil, and that always is desi...