350 TALKS ON MANURES. 



LETTER FROM PROF. E. M. SHELTON, PROF. OF AGRICULTURE, KANSAS 

 STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 



MANHATTAN, Kansas, May 5 3 1876. 



DEAR SIR. In reply to your first question, I would scy that stable- 

 manure in this vicinity, is held in very light estimation. Indeed, by the 

 householders of this city, and quite generally by the farmers, manure is re- 

 garded as one of those things like drouth and grasshoppers with which 

 a mysterious Providence sees fit to clog the operations of the husband- 

 man. The great bulk of the stable-manure made in this city is, every 

 spring, carted into ravines and vacant lots wherever, in short, with 

 least expense it can be put out of reach of the senses. 



It must not be understood by this that manure has little influence on 

 the growing crops in Kansas. Nowhere have I seen such excellent 

 results from application of home-made fertilizers, as in Kansas. For 

 those sterile wastes known as "Alkali lands," and "Buffalo wallows," 

 manure is a speedy and certain cure. During two years of severe drouth, 

 I have noticed that wherever manure had been supplied, the crop with- 

 stood the effects of dry weather much better than where no application 

 had been made. Four years ago, a strip across one of our fields was 

 heavily manured ; this year this field is into wheat, and a dark band that 

 may be seen half a mile shows where this application was made. 



These facts the better class of our farmers are beginning to appreciate. 

 A few days ago, a neighbor, a very intelligent farmer, assured me that 

 from manuring eight to ten acres every year, his farm was now in better 

 condition than when be broke up the prairie fifteen years ago. 



I know of no analysis of stable or farmyard-manure made in 

 Kansas. Concerning the weight of manures, I can give you a few facts, 

 having had occasion during the past winter to weigh several loads used 

 for experimental purposes. This manure was wheeled into the barnyard, 

 chiefly from the cattle stalls, during the winter of 1874r-5. It lay in the 

 open yard until February last, when it was weighed and hauled to the 

 fields. I found that a wagon-box, li x3 x9 feet, into which the manure 

 was pitched, without treading, held with slight variations, when level 

 full, one ton. At this rate a cord would weigh very close to three tons. 



The greatest difficulty that we have to encounter in the management 

 of manure grows out of our dry summers. During our summer months, 

 unless sufficient moisture is obtained, the manure dries out rapidly, be- 

 comes fire-fanged and practically worthless. My practice upon the Col- 

 tei^e farm has been to give the bottom of the barn-yard a " dishing " 

 form, so that it holds all the water that falls upon it. The manure I 

 keep as flat as possible, taking pains to place it wb,ere the animals will 

 keep it trod down solid. I have adopted this plan after having tried 

 composting and piling the manure in the yards, and am satisfied that it 

 is the only practical way to manage manures in this climate. 



There is no particular crop to which manure is generally applied 



