TABLE II.—MANURES AND PRODUCE; 2ND SEASON, 1845. MANURES AND SEED (OLD RED LAMMAS) SOWN MARCH 1845.

1. The silicate of potass was manufactured at a glass-house, by fusing equal parts of pearl-ash and sand. The product was a transparent glass, slightly deliquescent in the air; it was ground to powder under edge-stones.

2. The manures termed superphosphate of lime and phosphate of potass, were made by acting upon bone-ash by means of sulphuric acid, and in the case of the potass salt neutralizing the compound thus obtained, by means of pearl-ash. For the superphosphate of lime, the 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 considerably 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 5b); 5¹ consisting of 2 alternate one-fourth lengths across both lands, and 5² of the 2 remaining one-fourth lengths.

5. Top-dressed at once.

6. Top-dressed at 4 intervals.

7. Peruvian.

8. Ichaboe.

“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 lbs. of straw per acre. The guano at $60 per ton, would cost $9.00 per acre. This will not pay.”

This is an unusually small increase. The reason, probably, is to be found in the fact that the manure and seed were not sown until March, instead of in the autumn. The salts of ammonia are quite soluble and act quickly; while the Peruvian guano has to decompose 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.”

TABLE III.—MANURES AND PRODUCE; 3RD SEASON, 1845-6. MANURES AND SEED (OLD RED LAMMAS), SOWN AUTUMN, 1845.

1. Top-dressed in the Spring.

TABLE IV.—MANURES AND PRODUCE; 4TH SEASON, 1846-7. MANURES AND SEED (OLD RED LAMMAS), SOWN END OF OCTOBER, 1846.

When tobacco is grown for wrappers, it is desirable to get a large, strong leaf. The richest land is selected for the crop, and large quantities of the richest and most stimulating manures are used.

Like cabbages, this crop requires a large amount of plant-food per acre; and, like them, it can only be grown by constant and high manuring. More manure must be used than the plants can take up out of the soil, and hence it is, that land which has been used for growing tobacco for some years, will be in high condition for other crops without further manuring.

Farm-yard or stable-manure, must be the mainstay of the tobacco-planter. With this, he can use artificial fertilizers to advantage—such as fish-scrap, woollen-rags, Peruvian guano, dried blood, slaughter-house offal, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, etc.

For choice, high-flavored smoking-tobacco, the grower aims to get quality rather than quantity. This seems to depend more on the land and the climate than on the manures used. Superphosphate of lime would be likely to prove advantageous in favoring the early growth and maturity of the crop. And in raising tobacco-plants in the seed-bed, I should expect good results from the use of superphosphate, raked into the soil at the rate of three or four lbs. per square rod.

MANURES FOR INDIAN CORN.

We know less about the manurial requirements of Indian corn, than of almost any other crop we cultivate. We know that wheat, barley, oats, and grasses, require for their maximum growth a liberal supply of available nitrogen in the soil. And such facts and experiments as we have, seem to indicate that the same is also true of Indian corn. It is, at any rate, reasonable to suppose that, as Indian corn belongs to the same botanical order as wheat, barley, oats, rye, timothy, and other grasses, the general manurial requirements would be the same. Such, I presume, is the case; and yet there seem to be some facts that would incline us to place Indian corn with the leguminous plants, such as clover, peas, and beans, rather than with the cereals, wheat, barley, oats, etc.

“Why so,” asked the Deacon, “Indian corn does not have much in common with beans, peas, and clover?”

Some years ago, I made some careful experiments with artificial manures on Indian corn.

“The superphosphate of lime was made on purpose for these experiments, and was a pure mineral manure of superior quality, made from calcined bones; it cost about 2½ cents per pound. The sulphate of ammonia was a good, commercial article, obtained from London, at a cost of about seven cents per pound. The ashes were made from beech and hard maple (Acer saccharinum) wood, and were sifted through a fine sieve before being weighed. The guano was the best Peruvian, costing about three cents per pound. It was crushed and sifted before using. In sowing the ashes on plot 7, an error occurred in their application, and for the purpose of checking the result, it was deemed advisable to repeat the experiment on plot 10.

“In addition to the experiments given above, I also made the same season, on an adjoining field, another set of experiments on Indian corn, the results of which are given below.

“The land on which these experiments were made, is of a somewhat firmer texture than that on which the other set of experiments was made. It is situated about a mile from the barn-yard, and on this account, has seldom, if ever been manured. It has been cultivated for many years with ordinary farm crops. It was plowed early in the spring, and it was harrowed until quite mellow. The corn was planted May 30, 1857. Each experiment occupied one-tenth of an acre, consisting of 4 rows 3½ feet apart, and the same distance between the hills in the rows, with one row without manure between each experimental plot.

“The manure was applied in the hill, in the same manner as in the first set of experiments.

“The barnyard-manure was well-rotted, and consisted principally of cow-dung with a little horse-dung. Twenty two-horse wagon loads of this was applied per acre, and each load would probably weigh about one ton. It was put in the hill and covered with soil, and the seed then planted on the top.

“The following table gives the results of the experiments:

TABLE SHOWING THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS ON INDIAN CORN, MADE NEAR ROCHESTER, N.Y., IN THE YEAR 1857.

To raise a large crop of turnips, especially of ruta-bagas, there is nothing better than a liberal application of rich, well-rotted farm-yard-manure, and 250 to 300 lbs. of good superphosphate of lime per acre, drilled in with the seed.

When sugar-beets are grown for feeding to stock, there is probably little or no difference in the manurial requirements of sugar-beets and mangel-wurzel. Our object is to get as large a growth as possible consistent with quality.

“Large roots,” said the Deacon, “have been proved to contain less nutriment than small roots.”

True, but it does not follow from this that rich land, or heavy manuring is the chief cause of this difference. It is much more likely to be due to the variety selected. The seed-growers have been breeding solely for size and shape. They have succeeded to such an extent that 84 gross tons of roots have been grown on an acre. This is equal to over 94 of our tons per acre. “That is an enormous crop,” said the Deacon; “and it would require some labor to put 10 acres of them in a cellar.”

Mr. Lawes has made some most thorough experiments with different manures on sugar-beets, and in 1876 he commenced a series of experiments with mangel-wurzel.

The land is a rather stiff clay loam, similar to that on which the wheat and barley experiments were made. It is better suited to the growth of beets than of turnips.

“Why so,” asked the Deacon, “I thought that black, bottom land was best for mangels.”

“Not so, Deacon,” said I, “we can, it is true, grow large crops of mangels on well-drained and well-manured swampy or bottom land, but the best soil for mangels, especially in regard to quality, is a good, stiff, well-worked, and well-manured loam.”

“And yet,” said the Deacon, “you had a better crop last year on the lower and blacker portions of the field than on the heavy, clayey land.”

In one sense, this is true. We had dry weather in the spring, and the mangel seed on the dry, clayey land did not come up as well as on the cooler and moister bottom-land. We had more plants to the acre, but the roots on the clayey land, when they once got fair hold of the soil and the manure, grew larger and better than on the lighter and moister land. The great point is to get this heavy land into a fine, mellow condition.

I class these plants together, because, though differing widely in many respects, they have one feature in common. They are all artificial productions.

A distinguished amateur horticulturist once said to me, “I do not see why it is I have so much trouble with lettuce. My land is rich, and the lettuce grow well, but do not head. They have a tendency to run up to seed, and soon get tough and bitter.”

We want exceedingly rich land for cabbage, especially for an early crop. This is not merely because a large crop of cabbage takes a large amount of plant-food out of the soil, but because the cultivated cabbage is an artificial plant, that requires its food in a concentrated shape. In popular language, the plants have to be “forced.”

According to the analyses of Dr. Anderson, the outside leaves of cabbage, contain, in round numbers, 91 per cent of water; and the heart leaves, 94½ per cent. In other words, the green leaves contain 3½ per cent more dry matter than the heart leaves.

Dr. Voelcker, who analyzed more recently some “cattle-cabbage,” found 89½ per cent of water in the green leaves, and 83¾ per cent in the heart and inner leaves—thus confirming previous analyses, and showing also that the composition of cabbages varies considerably.

Dr. Voelcker found much less water in the cabbage than Dr. Anderson.

Henderson, in “Gardening for Profit,” advises the application of 75 tons of stable or barn-yard manure per acre, for early cabbage. For late cabbage, after peas or early potatoes, he says about 10 tons per acre are used.

“That is rather an interesting table,” said the Doctor. “In the case of lime, the crop takes about all that this heavy dressing of manure supplies—but I suppose the soil is usually capable of furnishing a considerable quantity.”

“That may be so,” said the Deacon, “but all the authorities on market gardening speak of the importance of either growing cabbage on land containing lime, or else of applying lime as a manure. Quinn, who writes like a sensible man, says in his book, ‘Money in the Garden,’ ‘A top-dressing of lime every third year, thirty or forty bushels per acre, spread broadcast, and harrowed in, just before planting, pays handsomely.’”

Henderson thinks cabbage can only be grown successfully on land containing abundance of lime. He has used heavy dressings of lime on land which did not contain shells, and the result was satisfactory for a time, but he found it too expensive.

Experience seems to show that to grow large crops of perfect cabbage, the soil must be liberally furnished with manures rich in nitrogen and phosphoric acid.

In saying this, I do not overlook the fact that cabbage require a large quantity of potash. I think, however, that when large quantities of stable or barn-yard manure is used, it will rarely be found that the soil lacks potash.

In growing garden and vegetable seeds, much labor is necessarily employed per acre, and consequently it is of great importance to produce a good yield. The best and cleanest land is necessary to start with, and then manures must be appropriately and freely used.

“But not too freely,” said the Doctor, “for I am told it is quite possible to have land too rich for seed-growing.”

It is not often that the land is too rich. Still, it may well be that for some crops too much stable-manure is used. But in nine cases out of ten, when such manure gives too much growth and too little or too poor seed, the trouble is in the quality of the manure. It contains too much carbonaceous matter. In other words, it is so poor in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, that an excessive quantity has to be used.

The remedy consists in making richer manures and using a less quantity, or use half the quantity of stable-manure, and apply the rectified or prepared Peruvian guano, at the rate of 300 lbs. or 400 lbs. per acre, or say 200 lbs. superphosphate and 200 lbs. nitrate of soda per acre.

Where it is very important to have the seeds ripen early, a liberal dressing, say 400 lbs. per acre, of superphosphate of lime, will be likely to prove beneficial.

MANURE FOR PRIVATE GARDENS.

I once had a small garden in the city, and having no manure, I depended entirely on thorough cultivation and artificial fertilizers, such as superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia. It was cultivated not for profit, but for pleasure, but I never saw a more productive piece of land. I had in almost every case two crops a year on the same land, and on some plots three crops. No manure was used, except the superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia, and coal and wood ashes from the house.

About 5 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia was sown broadcast to the square rod, or worked into the soil very thoroughly in the rows where the seed was to be sown. Superphosphate was applied at the same rate, but instead of sowing it broadcast, I aimed to get it as near the seed or the roots of plants as possible.

The best manure for hot-beds is horse or sheep-dung that has been used as bedding for pigs.

When fresh stable-manure is used, great pains should be taken to save all the urine. In other words, you want the horse-dung thoroughly saturated with urine.

The heat is produced principally from the carbon in the manure and straw, but you need active nitrogenous matter to start the fire. And the richer the manure is in nitrogenous matter, and the more thoroughly this is distributed through the manure, the more readily will it ferment. There is also another advantage in having rich manure, or manure well saturated with urine. You can make the heap more compact. Poor manure has to be made in a loose heap, or it will not ferment; but such manure as we are talking about can be trodden down quite firm, and still ferment rapid enough to give out the necessary heat, and this compact heap will continue to ferment longer and give out a steadier heat, than the loose heap of poor manure.

MANURE FOR NURSERYMEN.

Our successful nurserymen purchase large quantities of stable and other manures from the cities, drawing it as fast as it is made, and putting it in piles until wanted. They usually turn the piles once or twice, and often three times. This favors fermentation, greatly reducing it in bulk, and rendering the manure much more soluble and active. It also makes the manure in the heap more uniform in quality.

Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry tell me that they often ferment the manure that they draw from the stables in the city, and make it so fine and rich, that they get but one load of rotted manure from three loads as drawn from the stables. For some crops, they use at least 20 loads of this rotted manure per acre, and they estimate that each load of this rotted manure costs at least $5.00.

H. E. Hooker places the cost of manure equally high, but seems willing to use all he can get, and does not think we can profitably employ artificial manures as a substitute.

How to keep up the fertility of our apple-orchards, is becoming an important question, and is attracting considerable attention.

There are two methods generally recommended—I dare not say generally practised. The one, is to keep the orchard in bare-fallow; the other, to keep it in grass, and top-dress with manure, and either eat the grass off on the land with sheep and pigs, or else mow it frequently, and let the grass rot on the surface, for mulch and manure.

A bushel of corn fed to a hen would give no more nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, in the shape of manure, than a bushel of corn fed to a pig. The manure from the pig, however, taking the urine and solid excrement together, contain 82 per cent of water, while that from the hen contains only 56 per cent of water. Moreover, hens pick up worms and insects, and their food in such case would contain more nitrogen than the usual food of pigs, and the manure would be correspondingly richer in nitrogen. Hence it happens that 100 lbs. of dry hen-manure would usually be richer in nitrogen than 100 lbs. of dry pig-manure. But feed pigs on peas, and hens on corn, and the dry pig-manure would be much richer in nitrogen than the dry hen-manure. The value of the manure, other things being equal, depends on the food and not on the animal.

“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 producer. 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 details will be modified by circumstances, but the principles are the same wherever agri-culture is practised.

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

“Before you go any farther,” said the Deacon, “let me understand what these figures mean? Do you mean that a ton of manure contains only 12¾ lbs. of nitrogen, and 111 lbs. of ash, and that all the rest is carbonaceous matter and water, of little or no value?” —“That is it precisely, Deacon,” said I, “and furthermore, a large part of the ash has very little fertilizing value, as seen from the following:

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

“It will be remarked,” says Dr. Voelcker, “that in the first experimental 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 was inconsiderable when compared with the enormous waste to which it was subject in the subsequent warmer and more rainy seasons of the year. Thus we find at the end of April very nearly the same amount of nitrogen which is contained in the fresh; whereas, at the end of August, 27.9 per cent of the total nitrogen, or nearly one-third of the nitrogen in the manure, has been wasted in one way or the other.

“A comparison of these different analyses,” says Dr. Voelcker, “points out clearly the changes which fresh farm-yard manure undergoes 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 percentage 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.

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 of 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 lbs.) of dry organic matter has been slowly burnt up in the heap; giving 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 64.3 lbs. of nitrogen when put up, and 63.9 lbs. after fermenting six 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 lbs. of nitrogen in a soluble condition in the fresh manure, and 21.4 lbs. in the fermented manure. And what is equally important, you will notice that there is 154 lbs. of soluble ash in the heap of fresh manure, and 204 lbs. in the heap of fermented manure. In other words, 50 lbs. of the insoluble mineral matter had, by the fermentation of the manure, been rendered soluble, and consequently immediately available as plant-food. This is a very important fact.”

The five tons (10,000 lbs.,) of fresh manure placed in a heap on the 3d of November, are reduced to 7,138 lbs. by the 30th of April. Of this 4,707 lbs. is water. By the 23d of August, the heap is reduced to 7,025 lbs., of which 5,304 lbs. is water. There is nearly 600 lbs. more water in the heap in August than in April.

Of total nitrogen in the heap, there is 64.3 lbs. in the fresh manure, 63.9 lbs. in April, and only 46.3 lbs. in August. This is a great loss, and there is no compensating gain.

We have seen that, when five tons of manure is fermented for six months, in winter, the nitrogen in the soluble organic matter is increased from 14.9 lbs. to 21.4 lbs. This is a decided advantage. But when the manure is kept for another six months, this soluble nitrogen is decreased from 21.4 lbs. to 13.2 lbs. We lose over 8 lbs. 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 lbs. of soluble mineral matter. By fermenting the heap six months, we get 204 lbs., but by keeping the manure six months longer, the soluble mineral matter is reduced to 138 lbs. We lose 66 lbs. of valuable soluble mineral matter.

By fermenting manure for six months in winter, we greatly improve its condition; by keeping it six months longer, we lose largely of the very best and most active parts of the manure.

The following table gives the results of the experiments the fifth year, 1847-8.

TABLE V.—MANURES AND PRODUCE; 5TH SEASON, 1847-8. MANURES AND SEED (OLD RED LAMMAS) SOWN AUTUMN, 1847.