Applying Manure Broadcast,

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 223, 8 October 1887, Page 3

Applying Manure Broadcast,

Good sense and practical experience is Bhown 8 hown in the observations by a practical farmer on the subject of applying farmyard manure broadcast instead of in the drill. New manure, spread on the ground, does not loso anj'thing, but rather gains, or the land does, by the shade it imparts and the moisture it retains. The valuable qualities of manure can never be lost by broadcasting, as it begins its action from the time it is applied till ploughed under ; and, no matter how coarse, it prevents wasting, lightens the ground, and decays in warm weather as fast as the average growing plant can take it up. Not only that, but if the manure has been applied long enough, some of the most valuable parts of the manure have dissolved and entered the land, ready for plants to assimilate them. In the oldfashioned plan of using manure in the drill or hill, it was a downright necessity to have fine rotted manure, because green manuie applied in the hill would do well enough for a time, or all time, if the season proved moist, but look out if a drought struck your crop. This plan is about generally abandoned (oxcept in locations where the broadcasting experiment has not been tried), as it is found that the manure placed all through the land causes the plants to throw out stronger feeding roots than if the manure ?s piled right under them ; consequently we have a better crop, and one that is able to stand the storm or drought and come out in good condition.