58 BULLETIN 355^ U. S, DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTTJEE. 



of the farm on crops which, requhe the nitrogen as well as the other 

 elements, and so increase the fertility of the whole farm. Manure 

 applied to meadow land should be well composted, so that its ferti- 

 lizing constituents are largely soluble and will be leached down into 

 the soil at once, and the straw used as bedding will be rotted and will 

 not be raked up with the hay. 



As a rule it is better to plow manure under when applied on such 

 crops as corn, cabbage, sugar beets, etc., because then it causes no 

 difficulty in cultivating these crops, as it often does when applied 

 as a top-dressing after the land is plowed. But on heavy clay soils 

 the manure is more effective when applied as a top-dressing and culti- 

 vated into the soil, because then it is more readily oxidized than when 

 plowed under. It can be used as a top-dressing in this way if well 

 rotted. 



The rate at which the manure should be applied will, of course, be 

 determined in part by the supply produced on the farm. But it is 

 much better to use small quantities frequently than large quantities 

 seldom. Four or five tons to the acre every three years is better than 

 12 or 15 tons every nine years. The even distribution of manure, 

 such as can be accomplished with the manure spreader, is also a matter 

 of great importance. 



GREEN MANURES. 



(Ref. No. 7, pp. 348-362; or No. 6, pp. 342-348.) 



Decaying vegetable matter in some form is indispensable for keep- 

 ing a soil in the best physical condition and in the highest state of 

 fertility. If the system of farming is such that not much live stock is 

 fed upon the farm, the manure will not be sufficient to supply the 

 needed amount of vegetable matter to the soil, and some other means 

 should be adopted as a substitute. In such a case, the most practical 

 method is to grow crops to turn back to the soil. Such crops are 

 called green manures. 



There are two ways of furnishing green manures: (1) A crop is pro- 

 duced during the regular growing season, but instead of being har- 

 vested, it is returned to the soil. This method may be necessary in 

 the North where the growing seasons are short; (2) a crop to return to 

 the soil is grown with the regular harvested crop and left on the ground 

 from the harvest; or a crop is sown after the regular crop is removed 

 and gets its growth during the fall and winter months, in which case 

 it is called a cover crop. This method of green manuring is now much 

 used in the Southern States. 



In addition to the value to the soil of vegetable matter supphed, 

 the following benefits come from the green-manure crops: (1) Where 

 a cultivated crop has been grown and harvested, considerable avail- 

 able plant food is left in the soil which may be taken up in the growth 



