268 Talks on manures. 



you liaw put on 8 tons of manure, lialf an inch of rain would fur- 

 nisli .1 gillon of water to cacli pound of manure. It is notditticult 

 to understand, therefore, how manure applied on tlic surface, or 

 near the surface, can he taken up hy the younji roots." 



" Tliat puts the matter in a new light to me," said the Deacon. 

 " If tlie manure was plowed under, five or six inches deep, it 

 would require an abundant rain to reach the manure. And it is 

 not one j'ear. in five tluit we get rain enough to tlioroughly soak 

 tiie soil for several weeks after sowing the wlieat in August or 

 September. And when it does come, the season is so far advanced 

 that the wheat plants make little growth." 



.My own opinion is, that on clayey land, manure will act much 

 quicker if aiiplicd on, or near the surface, than if plowed under. 

 Cliy mixed with manure arrests or checks decomposition. Sand 

 has no such elTi-ct. If anything, it favors a more active decompo- 

 sition, and hence, manure acts much more rapidly on .sandy 

 land than on clay land. And I think, as a nde, where a farmer 

 advocates the application of manure on the surface, it will be 

 found that he occupies clay land or a heavy loam ; while those 

 who oppose the practice, and think manure should be plowed 

 under, occupy sandy land or .sandy loam. 



" J. J. Thomas," said I, "once gave me a new idea." 



"Is that anything strange," remarked tlie Deacon. "Are ideas 

 so scarce among you agricultural writers, that you can recollect 

 who first suggested them ? " 



"Be that as it may," said I, "this idea Ikls had a decided influ- 

 enci' on my farm practice. I will not sj»y that the idea originated 

 with Mr. Thomas, but at any rate, it was new to me. I had alwa3'3 

 been in the habit, when spading in manure in the garden, of putting 

 the manure in the trench and covering it up ; and in plowing it in, 

 I thought it was desirable to put it at the bottom of the furrow 

 where the next furrow w(»ul(l cover it up." 



" Well," said the Deacon, " and what objection is there to the 

 practice V " 



" I am not objoctiuir to the practice. I do not say tliat it is not a 

 good plan. It may often be the only practicable method of a])ply- 

 ing manure. Bu« it is well to know that there is aometimex a better 

 plan. The idea that Mr. Thomas gave me, was, that it was very 

 desiralde to break up the manure fine, spread it eveidy, and thor- 

 oughly mix it with the soil. 



" After the manure is spread on the soil," said Mr. Thoma.s, " and 

 before plowing it in, great benefit is derived by thoroughly harrow- 

 ing the top-soil, thus breaking finely both the manure and the soil, 



