LIBERAL OUTLAY FOR MANURE. 117 



poultry have made yearly at least two hundred dollars' 

 worth more. 



This, on market-gardens near cities, would be considered 

 moderate manuring ; but I am situated more than forty 

 miles from my principal market, and that makes quite a 

 diiference. 



I will here mention one fact that shows my faith in farm- 

 ing. Some five years ago, after all my bills for that year 

 were paid, I found at its close but three hundred dollars left. 

 Instead of investing it as in other years, I used it in purchas- 

 ing additional quantities of manure, making, for the follow- 

 ing year, an amount paid out for that purpose of a thousand 

 dollars instead of the usual seven hundred. 



I will add, that, for two or three years, I have been purchas- 

 ing stable-manure of Mr. W. H. Dole of Boston, and taking 

 it in cars to my place. As long as he continues to send me 

 that which is of good quality, I consider it the cheapest 

 plant-food I can buy ; that is to say, for my own land and 

 for my own crops : I cannot, of course, speak for others. 

 I have used nearly sixty cords the fall just past, and have 

 contracted for fifty cords more for the coming year. I shall 

 probably use but little else at present, except some special 

 fertilizer for certain crops, and something to stimulate an 

 early growth in others. 



The cost of carting manure and fertilizers from the rail- 

 road station and elsewhere, and applying the same, is in all 

 cases additional to the amounts above stated. 



I should say (and I am induced to say it from the discus- 

 sion yesterday afternoon) that I apply my manure as some 

 others do, and not as still others do. I put on the larger 

 portion of the purchases in the fall of the year. I like to 

 harrow it into my soil, or plough it in very shallow. In 

 ploughing it, I want to hold the plough-handles myself. If 

 the ground is hard, I am very careful to have a sharp-pointed 

 plough, because I can plough much shallower with a sharp- 

 pointed plough than I can with a dull point. Every farmer^ 

 knows that he must plough deep with a dull-pointed plough, \ 

 or not at all. I wish just barely to cover the manure. In 

 some cases, if the ground be level, or nearly smooth, I can 

 manage to plough not more than two inches and a half or 

 tliree inches deep, just to cover the manure from the wash 



