172 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



pipes to a settling-tank and from there via irrigation ditches to the land 

 to be irrigated? What is the best way to get rid of cozu manure so as 

 to keep a barn sanitary and the place free from stench? 



Cow manure can be used to advantage on alfalfa. Corrals can 

 be cleaned up and the manure spread at the beginning of the rainy 

 season. During the winter the manure can be spread as it is pro- 

 duced and very good results will be noticed in the growth during 

 the following summer. It is perfectly rational for you to use the 

 liquid fertilizer as you propose in connection with irrigation water, 

 but this is not generally done because of the cost of the outfit and 

 the labor of handling the material in that way. The best way to 

 keep a barn sanitary is to keep it clean, removing all the waste 

 matter to a considerable distance daily, allowing nothing to ac- 

 cumulate, and have the stable drainage arranged so that the stable 

 can be frequently flushed out into good drainage outlets, carrying 

 the water to grass or alfalfa land if possible. 



Fertilizing Corn. 



We are going to plant about 20 acres to corn on a sidehill and 

 intend to put some fertili::cr on, but ivant to give it to the corn only: 

 Would it be a good plan, after zve have marked out our rows, to scatter 

 some fertiliser in these marks and put the corn right on top of it? 



We take it you ask about the use of a readily soluble commercial 

 fertilizer. If so, you can do as you propose, being careful not to use 

 too much. The operation of planting will distribute the fertilizer 

 through enough soil if the application is not too heavy. The effect 

 will depend something upon what showers you get after planting. 



Scrap Iron as a Fertilizer. 



Is cast or other iron in small pieces plowed into the land of any 

 benefit to trees as a fertilizer? If so, what would be the value as such 

 per 100 pounds? Junk dealers sometimes offer 25 cents per 100 pounds. 

 If it has any value as a fertiliser, I am satisfied it must be worth four 

 times that price. We pay three cents a pound for sulphate of iron as a 

 fertiliser. Of course, it is a salt and dissolves quickly, therefore, I believe 

 cast iron, even if it works slozvly, has some value, and at the same time 

 farmers can clean up and get rid of a lot of rubbish. 



In most cases the California soils are sufficiently supplied with 

 iron by nature. Iron scraps have a little and remote value because 

 they are so slowly available by the process of rust disintegration. It 

 might, therefore, be worth while for farmers to bury such scrap iron 

 as accumulates on the place below the reach of the cultivating tools. 

 But it would not be profitable to buy iron scraps at junk dealers' 

 price, nor would it be profitable to haul this material any long dis- 

 tance, even if it could be had for nothing. 



Kelp as a Fertilizer. 



Are there ill effects from using sea kelp as a fertiliser for orange 

 trees? 



