SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 425 



to the field. This method is followed on many of the large dairy 

 farms. If there is no sod on which to haul manure in wet weather, 

 it is well to have a cemented pit under cover, in which to place the 

 manure until it can be hauled to the field. When the ground is 

 frozen in winter, manure can be spread on almost any field. Gen- 

 erally speaking, it should be spread on the field next to be plowed. 

 The above method of handling manure gets both liquids and solids 

 on the land. If any leaching occurs, let it be into the soil where 

 the teachings will do the most good. Recent investigations indicate 

 that when liquid manure is applied to the soil, the plant food in 

 the manure is absorbed and held in the soil, and is not immediately 

 washed out if not made use of by the plants. 



The first step to be taken in the care of manure so as to prevent 

 the losses mentioned above is to provide sufficient bedding or litter 

 in the stable to absorb and save all the liquid parts. The losses due 

 to fermentation can be greatly checked by mixing horse manure 

 with the cooler cow manure, by making the piles compact so as to 

 exclude the air and by moistening the pile so as to assist in exclud- 

 ing the air and also to lower the temperature. The use of chemical 

 or mechanical absorbents such as plaster, kainit, phosphate rock, 

 etc., in the stable and sprinkled over the manure assists in preserv- 

 ing the manure and preventing loss. Losses from washing or leach- 

 ing by rain may be prevented by piling under cover or in favorable 

 basin-like places, or still better by hauling it directly to the field 

 and spreading it as soon as produced. 



In order to reduce the loss in manure to a minimum, and also 

 to economize in handling it, the general aim and practice should be 

 to haul it directly from the stable to the field and spread it at once. 

 On the average farm the following of this practice all through the 

 year would result in less loss than any method that could be pur- 

 sued. The use of rotted manure rather than fresh manure is desir- 

 able in connection with many market garden or vegetable crops, as 

 it gives quicker results and with root crops will give a smoother 

 and nicer product. 



Manure should be spread as soon as it is hauled to the field. 

 The practice of putting it in piles is objectionable because of the loss 

 that is likely to occur. The placing in piles also involves additional 

 labor. The manner of spreading will depend upon local condi- 

 tions, but where the distance to haul is relatively short and it is de- 

 eired to have it evenly spread the manure spreaders will be found 

 serviceable machines. From 10 to 20 tons of manure per acre is 

 usually considered a fair application; but considerable more is fre- 

 quently applied for market garden crops. Experiments have shown 

 that generally it would be far more profitable to use about one-half 

 the usual quantities and to supplement it with commercial fer- 

 tilizers. 



The true fertilizing value of barnyard manure and the best 

 and most economical methods of managing it have claimed much 

 attention recently from a number of the foremost agricultural sci- 

 entists of the world, and the conclusions they have reached are of 



