MANURE AND FERTILIZERS. 35 



Four crops of green manure can be turned down in 

 seventeen months, by seeding rye in October, corn in 

 April, a second crop of corn in July, and rye again in 

 October, to be plowed under in April. This rotation 

 will surprise the experimenter, who will see his soil 

 made fertile, friable, and in general vigor far beyond its 

 previous condition, all due to the valuable component 

 parts of the vegetable matter plowed under, and to the 

 absorption and retention of nitrogen by the soil conse- 

 quent upon the extended covering of the surface. From 

 the earliest agricultural records green manuring has 

 been practiced, and whole districts of country in Europe 

 have been rendered fertile by such practice. A large 

 district in Germany, once a barren, is now most fertile, 

 all due to the use of the lupine, which plant, howeyer, 

 does not offer such good results under the hot sun of the 

 American climate. 



CHAPTER V. 



Stable Manure, Compost and Commercial 

 Fertilizers. 



Stable manure of good quality cannot be obtained 

 in every locality, and it may be practical to consider, 

 first, how poor stable manure can be improved, and, 

 secondly, how a poor grade may be mixed with other 

 materials to form a compost. Stable manure, in its gen- 

 eral designation, indicates all the refuse from the stall 

 and barnyard, and. consequently, includes good, bad 

 and indifferent. Of course, the prominent material in 

 stable manure is straw of wheat, rye, oats or barley, 

 with smaller proportions of hay or fodder— these mixed 

 with the droppings and urine of cattle. The quality 



