360 SOILS 



WHEN TO APPLY MANURES 



No advice can be given that is generally ap- 

 plicable, but a few suggestions will snow the great 

 diversity of practice. In general the sooner ma- 

 nure is spread upon the soil after it is made, the 

 more will the soil be benefited. But other con- 

 siderations affect this point. The state of decay 

 and the kind of crop must be considered. Rotted 

 manure that which has partially decayed may 

 be applied to better advantage in the spring than 

 fresh or "green" manure. Rotted manure is 

 commonly preferred for the lighter soils and fresh 

 manure for the heavier sons. Market-garden 

 crops, especially, prefer rotted manure, chiefly 

 because its plant food is somewhat more quickly 

 available than that in fresh manure, and these 

 crops need this to make a quick start and a very 

 rapid growth. Gardeners often make manure 

 into a compost with leaves and vegetable and 

 animal refuse of all sorts. The material is put 

 into a long, low, flat- topped pile which is turned 

 over and mixed several times. Ordinarily it is 

 allowed to rot for two years. 



One of the most common practices on American 

 farms is to broadcast fresh manure on grass land 

 that is to be plowed after the next crop of 

 hay. Another is to manure heavily for corn, 

 which does not object to large amounts of coarse 

 fresh manure, and to follow corn with a crop that 

 prefers to have the manure quite well rotted, as it 

 will be after having lain in the soil a year. 



Spreading Manure in Winter. On a majority 

 of farms most of the manure that is available is 

 produced during the winter months when the 

 animals are housed. Farm work is usually light 



