MANURE AS FERTILIZER 57 



incorporated in the top soil before plowing. Doing so aids 

 in settling the furrow slice firmly against the subsoil. 



65. Applying Manure to Grass Land. A better practice 

 than the one just mentioned is to apply manure to the grass 

 land a year or more before the land is to be plowed for corn. 

 Manure applied to pasture land greatly stimulates the growth 

 of grass. By trampling and by natural decomposition, it 

 becomes somewhat mixed with the surface soil and incor- 

 porated with it; then, when the land is plowed, it does not 

 act as a coarse mulch to separate the plowed portion from the 

 subsoil. This method of applying manure has the additional 

 advantage of disposing of most of the weed seeds w^hich are 

 commonly present in it. Weed seeds in manure thus applied 

 are induced to germinate, but the plants are unable to make 

 much growth and have httle opportunity to produce seeds in 

 either meadow or pasture. 



66. Applying Manure as a Top-Dressing. Another very 

 good practice that is being followed more and more by corn 

 growers is to apply the manure to corn land as a top-dressing. 

 This practice makes it possible to plow the land in the fall. 

 Manure accumulated about the yards and produced in the 

 stables during the winter is spread on top of the fall plowing 

 and is disked into the soil in the spring before the corn is 

 planted. In this way the coarse manure which is applied 

 does not in any way tend to separate the surface soil from the 

 subsoil. It helps to form a surface mulch to retard the 

 evaporation of moisture from the soil, and it is near the sur- 

 face where many of the weed seeds in it may be germinated 

 and the plants easily killed by subsequent cultivation. It is 

 above the roots of the plants, so that leaching from the 

 manure carries the fertility down to the plant roots, instead 

 of carrying it below and out of their reach as may be the 

 case if manure is plowed under. 



From ten to fifteen loads of manure to the acre, which is 

 as much as it is generally advisable to apply at one time, may 



