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 TEXT

* * * * * 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. Author of “Walks and Talks on the Farm,” “Harris on the Pig,” etc. NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION, Including a Chapter Specially Written for It by Sir John Bennet Lawes, of Rothamsted, England. [Illustration: Publisher’s Logo] New York: Orange Judd Company, 1919 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by the ORANGE JUDD COMPANY In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Printed in U. S. A. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Farming as a Business.-- High Farming and Good Farming.-- Summer-fallowing and Plowing under Clover.-- We must raise larger Crops per Acre.-- Destruction of Weeds.-- Farming is Slow Work.-- It requires Personal Attention. 9 CHAPTER II. What is Manure?-- The definitions given by the Deacon and the Doctor. 19 CHAPTER III. Something about Plant-food.-- All soils on which plants grow contain it.-- The Season.-- Water, Shade, Light, and Mulch, not Manures.-- Several Definitions of Manure. 21 CHAPTER IV. Natural Manure.-- Accumulated Plant-food in the Soil.-- Exhaustion of the Soil.-- Why our Crops are so 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 VI. What is Potential Ammonia. 31 CHAPTER VII. Tillage is Manure.-- The Doctor’s Lecture on Manure. 32 CHAPTER VIII. Summer-fallowing.-- Mr. Lawes’ crop every other year.-- Wheat after Barley.-- 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 XI. The Value of the Manure depends upon the Food--not upon the Animal. 43 CHAPTER XII. Foods which Make Rich Manure.-- Table giving the composition of 31 kinds of Food and the value of the 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 CHAPTER XIII. Horse-manure and Farm-yard Manure.-- Why the one is richer than the other.-- Amount of Manure from a Horse.-- Composition of Farm-yard Manure.-- We draw and spread a ton to get 33 lbs. 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 showing the composition of Manure at different stages.-- Fermenting makes Manure more Soluble. 52 CHAPTER XV. Keeping Manure under Cover.-- Dr. Vœlcker’s Experiments.-- Manure Fermented Outside and Under Cover.-- Loss from keeping Manure spread in the Barn-yard.-- Keeping well-rotted Manure in a Heap.-- Conclusions from Dr. Vœlcker’s Experiments. 59 CHAPTER XVI. An English Plan of Keeping Manure.-- Box feeding of Cattle.-- Spreading Manure at once.-- Piling in Heaps in the Field.-- Old Sods and Ashes from Charred Sods. 69 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 XVIII. 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 Bedding Pigs.-- To Prevent Freezing.-- Liquid Manure from Pigs.-- Bedding Sheep.-- Piling in the Field.-- Where the Piles should be Made.-- Manure in a Basin.-- Reasons for Piling.-- What we Gain by Fermenting Manure. 83 CHAPTER XXI. Management Continued.-- Why We Ferment Manure.-- Dr. Vœlcker’s Experiments showing the Loss when Manure is spread in Yards.-- Fermenting adds Nothing to Manure, but makes it more available.-- Mr. Lawes’ Experiments on Wheat and Barley.-- Dr. Vœlcker’s Results.-- Ellwander & Barry’s Experience.-- Loss of Ammonia by Fermenting.-- Waste from Leaching.-- How to Save the Liquid Manure from Cows. 94 CHAPTER XXII. Manure on Dairy Farms.-- Wheat removes much more Nitrogen than Cheese.-- Manures for Dairy Farms.-- Letter from Hon. Harris Lewis.-- How to make more and better Manure on Dairy Farms.-- How to save and apply it.-- Letter from T. L. Harison, Esq. 101 CHAPTER XXIII. Management of Manures on Grain Farms.-- Letter from Hon. Geo. Geddes.-- Grain on Dairy Farms.-- Sheep on Grain Farms.-- Visit to John Johnston.-- Mr. Lawes’ Wheat-field.-- Mr. Geddes and Clover.-- Gypsum and Clover as Manures. 111 CHAPTER XXIV. The Cheapest Manure a Farmer can use.-- Clover vs. Tillage.-- As Plant-Food.-- Constituents of a Crop of Clover, as compared with one of Wheat.-- Making a Farm Rich by Growing Clover. 127 CHAPTER XXV. Dr. Vœlcker’s Experiments on Clover.-- Lawes and Gilbert’s on Wheat.-- Clover Roots per Acre.-- Manures for Wheat.-- Liebig’s Manure Theory.-- Peruvian Guano on Wheat.-- Manures and the Quality of Wheat.-- Ammonia.-- Over 50 Bushels of Wheat to the Acre. 135 CHAPTER XXVI. Experiments on Clover Soils from Burcott Lodge Farm, Leighton 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 different Crops.-- Manures for Wheat. 149 CHAPTER XXVII. Lawes and Gilbert’s Experiments on Wheat.-- Most Valuable and Instructive Tables now first made accessible to the American Farmer.-- The growth of Wheat Year after Year on the same Land, unmanured, with Farm-yard Manure, 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 and straw.-- Valuable Tables 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. 227 CHAPTER XXX. Manures for Oats.-- Experiments at Rothamsted.-- Experiments of Mr. Bath of Virginia.-- At Moreton Farm. 252 CHAPTER XXXI. Manures for Potatoes.-- Peruvian Guano for Potatoes.-- Manure from different Foods.-- Experiments 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. Vœlcker’s Experiments. 265 CHAPTER XXXIII. Manures on Permanent Meadows and Pastures.-- Experiments at Rothamsted. 271 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.-- Hen-Manure. 294 CHAPTER XXXVI. Different Kinds of Manures.-- Cow Manure.-- Sheep Manure.-- Buying Manure.-- Liquid Manure.-- Nightsoil and Sewage.-- Peruvian Guano.-- Salts of Ammonia and Nitrate 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 XXXVIII. Special Manures.-- Liebig’s Views.-- Special Manure for Wheat and Turnips.-- Rothamsted Experiments. 320 CHAPTER XXXIX. Value of Fertilizers.-- Cost per pound of the Essential Constituents of Fertilizers.-- 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 the 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. 342 APPENDIX. Letter from Edward Jessop.-- From Dr. E. L. Sturtevant.-- From M. C. Weld.-- From Peter Henderson.-- From J. B. M. anderson.-- Manure Statistics of Long Island.-- Letter from J. H. Rushmore.-- Letter from John E. Backus.-- Manure in Philadelphia.-- Various other Letters. 352 INTRODUCTION TO NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION. Sir John Bennet Lawes kindly consented to write a Chapter for the new edition of this work. The Deacon, the Doctor, the Squire, Charlie and myself all felt flattered and somewhat bashful at finding 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 renewed interest. 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 extended 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 one 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 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. From 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 favorable season. The present year our wheat crop turned out exceedingly poor. Hundreds of acres of wheat were plowed up, and the land resown, and hundreds more would have been plowed up had it not been for the fact that the land was seeded with timothy grass at the time of sowing the wheat, and with clover in the spring. We do not like to lose our grass and clover. Dry weather in the autumn was the real cause of 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 were not able to sow anything in the fields before the first of May, and our wheat ought to have been ready to harvest in July. On the first 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 superphosphate per acre, drilled in with the seed, will always accomplish 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 be 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 dollars, 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 harvesting, 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 of the coal digs it and gets it to market in the best way he can. The farmer’s coal mine consists of plant food, and the object of the farmer is to get this food into such plants, or such parts of plants, as his customers require. It is hardly worth while for the owner of the coal mine to trouble his head about the exhaustion of the supply of coal. His true plan is to dig it as economically 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 convert it into products which man and animals require. 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, phosphoric acid and potash. All these substances are in the soil, but some soils contain much more than others, and their relative 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 large 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 consists 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 especially in regard to how organic nitrogen is converted into nitric acid. It is brought about through the action of a minute fungoid plant. There are several things necessary for the growth of this plant. We must have some nitrogenous substance, 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 suspended. The presence of lime, or of some alkali, is also necessary for the growth of this fungus and the production of nitric acid. The nitric acid unites with the lime, and forms nitrate of lime, or with soda to form nitrate of soda, or with potash to form nitrate of potash, or salt-petre. A water-logged soil, by excluding the oxygen, destroys