THE ADVANTAGES OF MANURING IN WINTER.
♦ James T. Van Wyck writes as follows to tbe Tribune from " Ledgeside Farm :" — In these days of high prices of labor, tbe farmer must take advantage of every saving to make his special calling a success. Upon slight consideration the advantages o£ manuring in winter instead^ of leaving it till tbe following season must be apparent to everyone. First of these is the saving of time and labor. This ia distinct and obvious. In winter farmers and tbeir teamk have scarcely enough to do to give them sufficient exercise. Should they hitch up their teams every day, or at least once a week, and haul and spread their manure on their corn or grass land, instead of being a drain on tbeir resources, tbe time so spent would improve both the health of themselves and teams. Second : All waste is avoided. I bave seen back yards where, during every rain, the juices ofthe manure were washed into the brooks or neighboring highway, or perhaps fertilised an adjoining acre too much to the detriment of the rest of tlie farm. Again, I bave seen barn- yards uncleaned for years, simply because in the growing season the proprietors were too much driven to attend to it. I utterly deny tbe assumption of those who claim that manure wastes by being spread in winter, for its juices are immediately locked up by tbe cold to be washed into the surface soil by every thaw or rain. On tbe contrary, where heaps are under cover or in yards, there is a constant waste going on by fermentation or fire tanging. Third. If ploughed under in the spring the whole mechanical action is retained in tbe soil, which is lost in rotting down. For heavy lands this is a very great advantage. It is better far to put the manure in a fresh state upon a gross Seeding stock, like corn, to be followed by a more delicate feeder, than to first rot and apply it to tbe latter crop. The corn will exhaust it no m< -re than tbe process of rotting, leaving the increase of corn as well as tbe better condition of the land as a distinct advantage. Fourth. Fields would be fed which would otherwise be starved. In thtt hurry of' the growing season farmers are apt to put their manure upon their fields near by, leaviag the more distant ones to care lor themselves. Fifth. Crops would be planted in better season without that worry and friction which is always incidental to being behind witb their worif. Many farmers, wishing to put their manure upon tbeir corn ground, and waiting till spring to do it, being prevented by bad weather, are late in commencing, hurry it out, or do nothault it at all, and half plough the ground, hurry in their crops, and, feeling behind in their work, so continue through the whole season, attributing their failure to bad luck. Six. Barnyards would not be a constant mire-hole, and by their foul odors a constant source of disease. Of course I take it for granted that the old fogy and wasteful system of feeding cattle in the open yard and on the ground, thus mixing the manure with ten times its bulk of litter, has passed away. The Tribune readers feed their cattle in warm stables and on clean floors, keeping the Jong litter and manure separate. Tbe best way to use the straw is to mulcb wheat while the ground is frozen. I ■remember oae season my father had four times as much wheat where so mulched, over that not mulched. Perhaps in those wasteful days of feeding cattle, it was necessary to allow straw and manure to rot, bub emca wft have adopted better methods of feeding our stocks, let us also adopt better methods of feeding our land. Leo, Baltimore, Md. : Two years ago my grass set failed — the season was bad and the land out of heart. It was then worked in corn, followed witb rye, timothy, and clover. The rye waa well top-dressed with fresh manure from the cow stable, hauled in winter and early spring. The winter was very hard, and last spring there seemed to be very little rye living, then followed the severest drought on record with us. Besult : — A fine crop of rye was cut last, summer, and the grass set now is the best I ever saw on the land. A small piece was left unnfanured ; here tbe rye was thin, and the grass set is poor. On a better piece of land, not top-dressed,' tfie wheat was not worth cutting, but the grass set is pretty good. On another piece of land, in fine condition, not top-dressed, the rye was good, but the grass set a
complete failure. This is conclusive as to top-dressing in winter to get a grass set. I have top-dressed in winter very heavily old sets of grass without any apparent benefit, because, I suppose, there was not rain enough to carry tbe manure through tha thick sod to tbe roots.
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Southland Times, Issue 1729, 18 April 1873, Page 2 (Supplement)
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852THE ADVANTAGES OF MANURING IN WINTER. Southland Times, Issue 1729, 18 April 1873, Page 2 (Supplement)
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