88 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 



manure. If this is worth only $1.50 per load the spreader 

 has resulted in a saving of $75.00 per year on manure. In 

 addition to this there will be a saving of fully $25.00 in labor. 

 A spreader that is kept oiled when in use and shedded when 

 not should last from ten to fifteen years. The average life 

 of our own spreaders is from eight to ten years, but in 

 hauling manure from town they are subjected to harder 

 usage than would be the case if used only on the farm. 



A good time to spread manure is on clover sod just before 

 planting corn, but a better time is to apply the manure to 

 the clover plants the fall before. This causes a decided in- 

 crease in the growth of the clover and if the last crop is 

 turned under the additional growth will be of greater benefit 

 to the succeeding corn crops than would be the case if the 

 manure was applied direct to the corn. Again, manure can 

 be spread on clover fields in wet weather when the team 

 and wagon would pack and injure plowed ground. 



For several years we practiced the top dressing of wheat 

 after the ground became frozen, but now we are convinced 

 that manure is worth more when applied to clover or pasture 

 land. 



The greatest objection that we have to manure is that 

 it does not go far enough and this is the strongest reason for 

 carefully preserving and applying all that is produced on the 

 farm. It may be necessary, in time, for the Corn Belt farmer 

 to use commercial fertilizers, but the longer he can hold this 

 day off the better it will be for him. 



By carefully returning to the soils all the manures, corn 

 stalks and other trash and in some cases applying rock 

 phosphate or limestone, the prairie farmer, with the help of 

 frequent leguminous crops, should be able to maintain the 

 productivity of his land indefinitely. 



