LECTURES AND ESSAYS. 41$ 



GREEN MANURING. 



BY MR. JOSEPH SMITH. 



Read at the Big Rapids Institute. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



When the pioneers of this county first settled here they found a heavy 

 growth of timber upon the land, yearly adding fertility to the soil in shed- 

 ding its foliage. As the timber had little commercial value, it was disposed 

 of in the most wholesale method known, viz : By throwing it into huge 

 windrows, and, when suitably dry and seasoned, setting fire to the fallow. 

 After which the sturdy pioneer scattered the ashes to the four winds of 

 heaten ; if, perchance, he did not make potash, and thus commence a system 

 of wholesale robbery of his land, which has been a prominent trait of the 

 farmers of this part of Michigan. 



In a majority of cases, all that became necessary to a successful crop, after 

 clearing off the timber, was to sow the seed and drag it in, with anything 

 that would cover up the seed. At harvest time a bountiful harvest was 

 threshed and a large share of it hauled to the lumber camps. Then followed 

 several crops of hay. These, too, followed the first crops to the camps. No 

 wonder that in time the farm seemed to lack vigor and a stimulant became 

 necessary to successful crops. 



Now, as we very well know that merely placing back upon the soil, in the 

 shape of barn-yard, manure, what has been taken off in the sale of beef, but- 

 ter, milk, mutton, wool and grain, will not maintain the fertility of our soil, 

 we find the question staring us in the face : What are we going to do to keep 

 on talking terms with our farms? 



My early education inclined me to the belief that it was necessary to keep 

 a large amount of stock in order to maintain the fertility of the soil, and 

 that to raise largely of grain or potatoes would soon impoverish the soil. 

 My own practical experience, coupled with observation, has thoroughly con- 

 vinced me that farming can be carried on continuously and successfully 

 without necessarily keeping more stock than will be useful in using up the 

 unsalable products of the farm, such as small potatoes, corn fodder, etc., 

 and at a greater profit and with less actual outlay in time and money, mak- 

 ing the farmer less of a slave to his business, and allowing him to have a day 

 to himself once in a while. This can be done by green manuring. Manure 

 is that which has in it the elements of fertility, in an available condition, 

 for plant food. Green manure is anything that can be grown upon the soil, 

 and by being plowed under, in a green state, add fertility to the soil. 



With the high prices we have been able to obtain for hay, and the corre- 

 spondingly low prices offered for beef, butter, pork, mutton and wool, we 

 cannot afford to raise those latter articles, expecting the manure to make 

 good the losses that are sure to accrue on the manufactured products of the 

 farm. 



A man coming upon a farm too poor to raise clover, can sow to fall rye, and 

 secure on very poor soil a large body of rye to turn down the following June, 

 to be followed by flat turnips or spring rye and oats, — or, if the soil is strong 

 enough, millet, — this again to be plowed under, and the land again sown to 

 rye, and if needs be, again plowed down, until your land is rich enough to 



