

Farm, Manure. 



135 



soil mainly occupied by the roots. For this reason it appears 



best, when possible, to apply the fertilizers to the surface as a 

 i top dressing, in order that the soluble plant food as it descends 

 I may come in contact with the plant roots. The manure to be 

 ! used this way must be fine or well rotted, but even fresh manure 

 j can be so utilized where cut straw or other fine material has been 



used for bedding. The practice of applying the manure directly 

 ! after plowing and thoroughly incorporating it with the soil by 



the use of the harrow or cultivator is a good one. 



Spreading the manure and allowing it to lie on the surface 



A poor way of using good manure. 



should be practiced only on level fields where there is no danger 

 from surface washing. It has been claimed that when manure 

 is spread broadcast and allowed to lie on the surface, there may 

 be serious loss of ammonia into the air, but experiments have 

 shown that loss from this cause must be very small. Manure 

 made during the winter and hauled directly to the field and 

 spread on areas that are fairly level, whether fall plowed or on 

 sod to be turned under in the spring, is most economical of labor 

 and conserves most efficiently the valuable fertilizing materials. 

 It may even be spread on the snow, where it is not too deep, with- 

 out serious loss. The loss is certainly less than when thrown in 

 the open barn yard. 



Manure should be spread. The very common practice of 

 hauling manure to the field, there to be thrown into heaps, has 

 several serious objections. In the first place it increases the 

 work entailed in spreading, as it must be handled twice. When 



