CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 53 



shape. Fork over occasionally, and when the time 

 comes to haul the manure onto the field it will be well 

 rotted and in the very best possible condition for 

 application. There will be little loss of the elements 

 of fertility during the rotting process, and as a result 

 the full benefit of the manure will be retained for the 

 use of the crop. The advantages of this system are 

 that it conserves the plant food in the manure, pre- 

 pares the manure for spreading and keeps it ready for 

 use until it can be taken to the fields. 



Use of Manure Spreader — In spreading, it is a 

 great advantage to use an improved manure spreader, 

 as manure will be scattered more evenly over the field. 

 Such a spreader will pay for itself many times on an 

 average sized farm. The best time to apply manure, 

 other things being equal, is in the latter part of winter. 

 If the manure is particularly well rotted, the applica- 

 tion can wait until a short time before plowing. How- 

 ever, late winter is the most general time for spreading 

 manure. Then little injury is done the fields by the 

 passage of wagons, and the farmer usually has the 

 most leisure for this kind of work. The manure, if not 

 thoroughly rotted when spread over the field, will have 

 time to decompose before it is turned under. 



A common practice is to haul the manure out 

 onto the field and pile in small regular heaps. This 

 entails double labor, and the fertility in the manure is 

 washed down into one spot to a great extent, where it 

 will do more damage than good. The plants growing 

 on the excessively fertile spot are likely to develop an 

 exceptionally large growth of stem and comparatively 

 little seed. One of the best places to apply manure is 

 on a pasture. Here, where the animals feed on the 

 grass and drop the manure directly back upon the 

 ground, thus abstracting very little plant food from 

 the soil, the extra fertility is gradually stored up in the 



