1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



129 



LEGISLATIVE AGKICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 



[Reported for the N. E. Fabmer, by Thomas Bradley.] 



The fourth meeting of the Legislative Agricul- 

 tural Society was held in the Representatives' 

 Hall, on Monday evening, and was fully attend- 

 ed. In the absence of Prof. Clark, of Amherst, 

 Dr. Geo. B. LoRlNG.'of Salem, was called on to 

 preside. 



On taking the chair, Dr. LoKiNG stated that 

 the subject for discussion was, "3Iamires, and 

 their application to iJie various crops and soils." 

 He then addressed the meeting as follows : 



At the last meeting, I expressed an opinion 

 that the application of manures was fully as im- 

 portant as their manufacture. I think it is more 

 so, inasmuch as it bears more immediately upon 

 o'lr crops. And yet the two processes are so 

 closely connected that it is difficult to deal with 

 one, without dealing with the other. 



I stated here last winter that I thought well 

 composted and properly disintegrated or decayed 

 manures should be applied to all crops, so far as 

 possible. I have seen no reason to change my 

 ground. I have been compelled from necessity 

 to use green manures in some cases, since that 

 time — but I have done it, fully av/are of the ex- 

 travagance of the operation, and of the difficul- 

 ties to which I was subjecting my plants in their 

 search for food among the fertilizing materials 

 with which I had supplied them. 



In speaking of manures, I mean farm-yard ma- 

 nure, the only universal manure, the only man- 

 ure which contains all the constituents which our 

 cultivated crops require, and for which every ar- 

 tificial fertilizer is merely a substitute — the only 

 manure which comes within the reach of all our 

 farmers. Now in comparing what is called green 

 manure with that which is well rotted, it will be 

 found that the latter contains, in much higher 

 degree, those constituents which all plants require 

 in their growth. In nitrogen it is far richer — 

 containing 2.47 per cent to 1.90 per cent, in the 

 former. The insoluble mineral matters are large- 

 ly increased in well-rotted manures, such as sili- 

 ca, lime and potash. The soluble organic mat- 

 ter, containing nitrogen, is more than double that 

 in green manure. It is proved to be richer in all 

 soluble fertilizing constituents. 



It has been distinctly shown that the acids 

 which are required to combine with potash, soda 

 and ammonia in the formation of soluble com- 

 pounds are generated by the fermentation of 

 manure — that ammonia is produced and fixed by 

 the same process — that the whole mass becomes 

 more easily available to plants — and that the 

 constituents lost by fermentation, being carbona- 

 ceous and non-nitrogenized, are of but little in- 

 trinsic value in agriculture. 



It seems, therefore, that green manure must go 

 through certain chemical changes before it can 

 become of service to the plants ; and these 

 changes must be brought about before the man- 

 ure is applied to the crops, in order to hasten its 

 operation. It is a well composted, well ferment- 

 ed, thoroughly disintegrated manure heap which 

 contains the proper food for plants — a manure 

 heap in which the various soluble salts are fully 

 developed, in which ammonia is held fixed as far 

 as possible, and in Avhich, by the use of muck or 

 some form of decayed vegetable mold, the con- 

 stituents of manure and uiine are properly dif- 

 fused. 



For this purpose there can be no doubt that a 

 sufficient supply of muck, or loam if muck cannot 

 be obtained, mixed with the manure, in such a 

 manner as to avoid the heat of the sun and the 

 washings of rain, will produce the most valuable 

 fertilizer for the farmer. The most convenient 

 place for this process is a barn-cellar, which can 

 easily be constructed so as to avoid exposing the 

 hay and animals, in the barn above, to any injury 

 from the escape of noxious gases. 



In applying manure, reference should be had 

 to the soil with which it is to be mixed, and to 

 the crop which is to be raised. On retentive, 

 clayey lands, manure should undoubtedly be ap- 

 plied to the surface and harrowed in lightly — or 

 used as a top-dressing to grass, for Avhich such 

 lands are peculiarly adapted. On such soils the 

 manure may properly be applied for some time 

 before planting. On sandy soils, however, man- 

 ure should be applied shortly before the seed is 

 planted, and covered more deeply. I suppose it 

 is useless to expect such soils to be continued 

 profitably in grass for a long time, simply by 

 top-dressing. 



The use of marine manures is necessarily con- 

 fined to so small a portion of our commonwealth 

 that it hardly demands discussing. 



In some portions of our commonwealth, soil 

 may be "progressed," or made available to grow- 

 ing crops, by means of artificial fertilizers, such 

 as guano and the phosphates. This may be done 

 profitably on fai'ms used for supplying the mar- 

 kets with vegetables, in which case the stock of 

 cattle kept is small. It may also be done as an 

 aid to a short supply of farmyard manure, on 

 farms which are incapable of furnishing sufficient 

 materials to bring them up from a low condition. 

 It is very doubtful, however, whether they can 

 be advantageously employed, in most of the 

 farming to which our State is adapted. 



I think all manure should be applied in such a 

 manner as not to deprive it of atmospheric influ- 

 ence. A mass of manure buried in the earth, or 

 hermetically sealed up, would remain in an in- 

 soluble condition for an indefinite period of time. 



