How TO USE MANURE. 17 



Q. About what quantity of such a compost would you consider a 

 good top dressing per acre ? 



A. About twenty two-horse wagon loads. 



Q. How much stable manure would you advise for a dressing on 

 such land ? 



A. About ten wagon loads. I would say, however, that stable 

 manure should not be put on unless over a year old or composted and 

 worked up fine, as coarse manure is not suitable for permanent grass 

 lands. 



Q. What season of the year do you consider the best for putting 

 on top dressing for permanent grass lands? 



A. I think the fall is the best time. If put on in the fall it pro- 

 tects the roots of the grass from freezing and thawing, acting as a 

 mulch, and also by freezing it is made fine for the harrow in the 

 spring to work it into the roots of the grasses. 



Q. AYhat harrow do you use for such a purpose ? 



A. I use the square iron-tooth harrow or diamond chain harrow, 

 which latter is now coming into use among some of our best farmers 

 in this country. The common sloping tooth harrow does this work 

 very well, and so does that useful new implement, the Acme harrow. 



Q. On sandy loam lands, what do you consider the most profitable 

 way to apply barn-yard manure for general crops? 



A. I have found in my experience that the best way is to plow the 

 land, spread the manure broadcast, harrow it, and plow again two or 

 three inches deep. The nearer the top of the ground we keep the 

 manure, so long as it is covered, the more benefit the crops will re- 

 ceive from it, and the manure* of course will always work downwards, 

 from the rains. The general practice of farmers in the United States 

 is to spread the manure, and then plow it under. 



(Mr. H.) Your practice in this respect is certainly good and is en- 

 tirely new to me ; it shows the benefit of a personal interchange of 

 ideas on these subjects. I am satisfied that your plan of harrowing 

 the manure on the surface before plowing it in lightly, as just described, 

 must be of great benefit, although in my thirty-five years' expe- 

 rience as a market gardener, and living in a section where there are 

 scores of others, many of whom have had a practice as extended as 

 mine, I have never yet seen it done. It is obvious that no matter 

 how well manure may be rotted, still when spread on the land it will 

 form hard lumps, less or more, unless broken up by the harrow as you 

 describe, while the disintegration of other particles by the harrow 

 will leave it just in the condition necessary for the food of 

 plants. 



