FARM MANURES 



231 



Table 53. — Loss of Fertilizing Constituents from Farm 

 Manure in Covered Sheds when Trampled and when 

 Not Trampled 



292. Application of manure to land. — In applying farm 

 manure to the field, it is customary either to throw it from 

 the wagon in small heaps, from which it is distributed later, 

 or to scatter it as evenly as possible immediately on hauling 

 it to the field. The use of the automatic manure-spreader 

 accomplishes the latter procedure in an admirable manner. 

 As between these two methods, the advantage, so far as the 

 conservation of fertility is concerned, is with the practice of 

 spreading immediately. When piled in small heaps, fer- 

 mentation goes on under conditions that cannot be controlled, 

 and that may be very unfavorable. The heaps may dry 

 out, and thus lose much of their nitrogen, or they are likely 

 to leave the field not uniformly fertilized because of the 

 leaching of some of the constituents of the manure into the 

 soil directly under and adjacent to the heap. On the other 

 hand, when spread immediately, little fermentation takes 

 place, as the manure does not heat, and the soluble sub- 

 stances are leached quite uniformly into the soil. Plowing 

 should follow as closely as possible the spreading of the 

 manure, except when it is intended for a top dressing. 



293. Place of farm manure in crop rotation. — When a 

 crop rotation includes grass or clover as one of the courses, 

 the application of farm manure may well be made at that 

 time as a dressing. It can thus be spread at times when 

 cultivated land would not be accessible, and the crop of hay 



