No. 4.] GRASS AND CLOVER. 127 



AVe do not top-dress our grass lands with stable manure. 

 All of this most valuable material that v/e have is either 

 plowed or harrowed into the soil before one of the cultivated 

 crops, usually the corn in the rotation before spoken of. 

 There are two reasons why we do not top-dress with manure. 



Not the least of value in staljle manure is the strawy ma- 

 terial with which the animal excrement is mixed. We want 

 this in the soil to furnish humus, helping to improve the 

 physical, chemical and water-holding capacity. If it is 

 spread on top of sod land the winds and sun dry it out, and 

 in most cases it is l)lown about and lost. Here let me say 

 that I believe that the greatest loss on our farms to-day in 

 New Eno-land is in the carelessness in caring for the stable 

 manure. Thousands of dollars' worth of this goes to waste 

 each year, and we turn around and buy the same elements 

 in the shape of commercial fertilizers at higher prices. We 

 do not top-dress our grass lands with stable manure, because 

 we feel that by so doing much plant food is lost. This is 

 especially true of the nitrogen, — l)y far the most expensive 

 element to buy. In passing from one stage to another the 

 nitrogen of the manure goes into the ammonia stage, this gas 

 escapes from the manure into the air, and the land fails to 

 receive what it might. If, however, this manure is harrowed 

 or ploAved into the soil, the ammonia is taken up by the soil 

 water, it passes through the various stages of nitrification, 

 and in most cases is taken up by the roots and into the tis- 

 sues of the plants. 



In the o-rowing; of grass and clover we use commercial 

 fertilizers in the following way (and I might say in this con- 

 nection that w^e practice home-mixing of fertilizers entirely) : 

 We use at the time of solving the oats and seeding to grass 

 and clover from 350 to 400 pounds of a mixture that will 

 analyze 3 per cent nitrogen, 7 per cent phosphoric acid 

 (available) and 4 per cent potash. This is enough to give us 

 a crop of 50 bushels of oats to the acre, and to start the grass 

 seed in good shape. 



While we do not top-dress with stal)le manure, we do top- 

 dress with chemicals, and are having the best success. As 

 early in the spring as possible we distribute broadcast on the 



