164 



SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



199. Coarse Manure May Be Injurious. — The ap- 

 plication of coarse leached manure may cause the soil 

 to be so open and porous as to affect the water supply 

 of the crop, by introducing, below the surface soil, a 

 layer of straw, which breaks the capillary connection 

 with the subsoil. Coarse manure and shallow spring 

 plowing are frequently injurious, when fine or well- 

 composted manure and fall plowing are beneficial. 

 The injury resulting from the use of coarse manure is 

 frequently due to its being allowed to leach before it is 

 used, so that it does not properly ferment in the soil. 



200. Manuring Pasture Land. — In semiarid 

 regions, where manure decomposes slowly, it is some- 

 times advisable to spread it upon the pasture land as 



Fig. 27. Manured land. 



a top dressing. The manure encourages the growth 

 of grass, which appropriates plant food otherwise lost, 

 and it also acts as a mulch preventing excessive evapo- 

 ration. Then when the pasture land is plowed and pre- 

 pared for a grain crop it contains a better store of both 



