74 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



fertilizing elements would be likely to be leached out by the rains and melting snows, and 

 lost before the time of planting. 



In plowing them under, care should be taken not to bury them too deep in the soil, where 

 their fertilizing elements will be beyond the reach of the roots of the young plants. 



Manuring with Green Crops is, in the opinion of many farmers, one of the most 

 economical and, to certain lands, one of the surest and most speedy means of improving the 

 mechanical condition or texture and fertilizing properties of the soil that are known in 

 agriculture. 



Besides fertilizing the soil by the use of green manures (as most plants have all the ele 

 ments of fertility in a good proportion), the soil is rendered more mellow and thus better 

 fitted for the production of other crops. The land is also cleared of troublesome weeds by 

 plowing before the seed ripens. Soils are also improved by changing the combination of cer 

 tain elements in them, which may be done by the simple process of plowing in the crop. If 

 plants derived all their nourishment or fertilizing properties from the soil alone, simply plow 

 ing in again what the soil had produced would not prove of so much advantage as far as 

 adding fertility; but the plant obtains its constituent elements not from the soil alone, but 

 from the soil and atmosphere combined ; many plants also draw a portion of their food from 

 the subsoil, and these elements combine to form compounds in the plant, some of which are 

 found in the leaves, others in the roots, sap, and stems, etc. Nitrogen is contained in some 

 of these compounds, which is a promoter of decomposition. By the decomposition of these, 

 other elements become involved, and new combinations are formed, which we call decay, but 

 which is, in fact, only a change in the elements forming the plant. By this means, the aver 

 age farmer may derive great benefit to his lands with but slight expense, and we think it a 

 great error in farmers generally that they do not resort to the use of vegetable manures more 

 frequently in obtaining a supply of plant-food for their crops. 



The time when the crop is plowed under, and the depth to which it is covered by the 

 furrow, are both very important considerations in this system. With regard to the former, 

 there is a difference of opinion among farmers, some regarding the best time to be when the 

 crop clover or buckwheat, for instance is in full bloom; others prefer the period just 

 before blossoming. In no case should it be deferred until the blossoms fall and the seed 

 begins to form. The harder the fiber of the stems, the longer the time required to make 

 them available for plant-food. When green vegetation is allowed to decay in the open air, 

 much of the fertilizing material is evaporated by the atmosphere, and hence lost to the soil. 

 In the other extreme, if the crop is buried too deeply in the soil, it decays more slowly, and 

 also much of the fertility designed for plant-food will be buried too far from the reach of the 

 roots of many plants; hence it is very essential that the vegetable manure be covered by the 

 soil just enough to prevent the fertilizing elements from passing off into the air, and suffi 

 ciently for the soil to absorb all these properties. It should be turned down only enough to 

 be simply well covered; in this way the strength of its fertilizing properties lies near the sur 

 face, and the heat and light rains will also aid in the decomposition, and if plowed under in 

 the proper stage of its growth, this will be very rapid. 



Vegetable manures are especially adapted to such soils as have a large proportion of lime, 

 but when lime does not exist in a fair proportion in the soil, it will be well to apply it. This 

 corrects any sourness in the soil, and aids decomposition. Gypsum and ashes are recom 

 mended by some as good substitutes when lime or marl are not easily procured. 



Some writers recommend vegetable manures for all soils except low, peaty lands. They 

 are beneficial often to a surprising extent, to the two extremes of clay and sandy soils, giving 

 a peculiar mellowness to the one, and a retentive character to the other, improving their 

 texture and color by the necessary humus supplied ; also improving their capacity for moist- 

 ure, especially to the sandy soil. 



