Our Plants. 19 



food, and which amount of fertilizing material will 

 cost nearly double that price in the form of com- 

 mercial fertilizer. 



Dr. Hamlin says: "When we compare it (rye) 

 with barnyard manure, its greatest value as a green 

 dressing becomes apparent. I have seen fifteen 

 tons per acre growing on the 8th of May, and this 

 was ascertained by careful measurement. " 



This makes indeed a very cheap fertilizer, viz. : 

 seed, $2, and interest on the value of the land 

 from October until May (eight months), $4, or a 

 total cost of only $6 for fifteen tons of green 

 manure. The same amount of barnyard manure 

 could not be bought, drawn to the field, and spread 

 for less than $20. The great advantage of rye is 

 that it occupies the ground late in the fall and early 

 in the spring, so that little time is lost by using it 

 to plow under, but of this point I will speak later 

 under the subject of soiling crops. Oats and peas 

 make one of the very best green crops for manure. 



Hungarian millet grows quickly, and is without 

 doubt one of the very best quick-growing green 

 manure crops for the Northern States. It is worth, 

 green, to plow under, $4.78 per ton. Twelve to fif- 

 teen tons to the acre is a fair crop on good soil. 



The value of clover as a crop to turn under is well 

 known, but a crop of millet is quite as good, and can 

 be grown quicker and at less expense. 



The great economical feature of green manuring 

 is that it is delivered on the spot, evenly spread, at 

 such a trifling cost. Sixty pounds of seed should 



