Horticultural Clippings.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 455, 19 March 1890, Page 3

Horticultural Clippings.

Poultry Manure for the Garden. — The following is in strong confirmation of what we' have persistedbly-.;urged in these columns with regard bo the special value of poultry manure for the garden and orchard. A writer in the Fruit Fctrvi licview sa y S : It is astonishing what crop 3 can be secured from the use of poultry manure. A short time ago we went over an allotment at Canterbury, and were surprised to see the vast difference in one patch of potatoes that had received a liberal dressing of this manure. We have since found that the yield was over 25 per cent, more than that of the adjoining plots., which had received very scant attention in this direction. It is a low estimate to say that 1001 b of poultry manure is equal to 2001 b of guano. From one poultry house lately a man cleared out twenty bushels of dry manure, worth to any grower £5 at least. Thus poultry on the fruit farm becomes almost a matter of necessity. At the same time it should be borne in mind that this fertiliser should bo diluted with four parts of earth to one of manure. When this is done no better plant-food can be found. Keeping Manure in Good Condition. — A bulletin from the New Hampshire Experimental Station says : —lf manure is to be stored and all applied at one time, e'bher in the spring or fall, it should be kept under cover, the heaps well, levelled down and hogs kept on it. In this way it is packed solid and the air largely excluded; this prevents fermentation to. a large extent, and thus preserves the nitrogen. It is well known that sheep manure, so long as it lies in the pen, is packed so solid that no fermentation takes place, but as soon as thrown into a pile it quickly “heats” and throws off strong gases. This is caused by the access of air, and the same is true of all manures. A liberal use of absorbents is always to be recommended, and when available there is nothing better than sawdust; not that the sawdust iu itself contains much that is useful, but it really takes up the liquids and makes the