Talks on Manures Part 6

I have heard people say a farmer could not make manure unless he kept animals. We might with as much truth say a farmer cannot make ashes unless he keeps stoves; and it would be just as sensible to take a lot of stoves into the woods to make ashes, as it is to keep a lot of animals merely to make manure. You can make the ashes by throwing the wood into a pile, and burning it; and you can make the manure by throwing the material out of which the manure is to be made into a pile, and letting it ferment. On a farm where neither food nor manure of any kind is purchased, the only way to make manure is to _get it out of the land_.

"From the land and from the atmosphere," remarked the Doctor. "Plants get a large portion of the material of which they are composed from the atmosphere."

"Yes," I replied, "but it is princ.i.p.ally carbonaceous matter, which is of little or no value as manure. A small amount of ammonia and nitric acid are also brought to the soil by rains and dews, and a freshly-stirred soil may also sometimes absorb more or less ammonia from the atmosphere; but while this is true, so far as making manure is concerned, we must look to the plant-food existing in the soil itself.

"Take such a farm as Mr. Dewey's, that we have already referred to. No manure or food has been purchased; or at any rate, not one-tenth as much as has been sold, and yet the farm is more productive to-day than when it was first cleared of the forest. He has developed the manure from the stores of latent plant-food previously existing in the soil and this is the way farmers generally make manure."

CHAPTER XI.

THE VALUE OF MANURE DEPENDS ON THE FOOD--NOT ON THE ANIMAL.

"If," said I, "you should put a ton of cut straw in a heap, wet it, and let it rot down into manure; and should place in another heap a ton of cut corn-fodder, and in another heap a ton of cut clover-hay, wet them, and let them also rot down into manure; and in another heap a ton of pulped-turnips, and in another heap a ton of corn-meal, and in another heap a ton of bran, and in another a ton of malt-sprouts, and let them be mixed with water, and so treated that they will ferment without loss of ammonia or other valuable plant-food, I think no one will say that all these different heaps of manure will have the same value. And if not, why not?"

"Because," said Charley, "the ton of straw does not contain as much valuable plant-food as the ton of corn-fodder, nor the ton of corn-fodder as much as the ton of clover-hay."

"Now then," said I, "instead of putting a ton of straw in one heap to rot, and a ton of corn-fodder in another heap, and a ton of clover in another heap, we feed the ton of straw to a cow, and the ton of corn-fodder to another cow, and the ton of clover to another cow, and save _all_ the solid and liquid excrements, will the manure made from the ton of straw be worth as much as the manure made from the ton of corn-fodder or clover-hay?"

"No," said Charley. --"Certainly not," said the Doctor. --"I am not so sure about it," said the Deacon; "I think you will get more manure from the corn-fodder than from the straw or clover-hay."

"We are not talking about bulk," said the Doctor, "but value." "Suppose, Deacon," said he, "you were to shut up a lot of your Brahma hens, and feed them a ton of corn-meal, and should also feed a ton of corn-meal made into slops to a lot of pigs, and should save _all_ the liquid and solid excrements from the pigs, and all the manure from the hens, which would be worth the most?" --"The hen-manure, of course," said the Deacon, who has great faith in this kind of "guano," as he calls it.

"And yet," said the Doctor, "you would probably not get more than half a ton of manure from the hens, while the liquid and solid excrements from the pigs, if the corn-meal was made into a thin slop, would weigh two or three tons."

"More, too," said the Deacon, "the way you feed your store pigs."

"Very well; and yet you say that the half ton of hen-manure made from a ton of corn is worth more than the two or three tons of pig-manure made from a ton of corn. You do not seem to think, after all, that mere bulk or weight adds anything to the value of the manure. Why then should you say that the manure from a ton of corn-fodder is worth more than from a ton of straw, because it is more bulky?"

"You, yourself," said the Deacon, "also say the manure from the ton of corn-fodder is worth more than from the ton of straw." --"True," said I "but _not_ because it is more bulky. It is worth more because the ton of corn-fodder contains a greater quant.i.ty of valuable plant-food than the ton of straw. The clover is still richer in this valuable plant-food, and the manure is much more valuable; in fact, the manure from the ton of clover is worth as much as the manure from the ton of straw and the ton of corn-fodder together."

"I would like to see you prove that," said the Deacon, "for if it is true, I will sell no more clover-hay. I can't get as much for clover-hay in the market as I can for rye-straw."

"I will not attempt to _prove_ it at present," said the Doctor; "but the evidence is so strong and so conclusive that no rational man, who will study the subject, can fail to be thoroughly convinced of its truth."

"The value of manure," said I, "does not depend on the quant.i.ty of water which it contains, or on the quant.i.ty of sand, or silica, or on the amount of woody fibre or carbonaceous matter. These things add little or nothing to its fertilizing value, except in rare cases; and the sulphuric acid and lime are worth no more than the same quant.i.ty of sulphate of lime or gypsum, and the chlorine and soda are probably worth no more than so much common salt. The real chemical value of the manure, other things being equal, is in proportion to the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, that the manure contains.

"And the quant.i.ty of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash found in the manure is determined, other things being equal, by the quant.i.ty of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash contained in the food consumed by the animals making the manure."

CHAPTER XII.

FOODS WHICH MAKE RICH MANURE.

The amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, contained in different foods, has been accurately determined by many able and reliable chemists.

The following table was prepared by Dr. J. B. Lawes, of Rothamsted, England, and was first published in this country in the "Genesee Farmer," for May, 1860. Since then, it has been repeatedly published in nearly all the leading agricultural journals of the world, and has given rise to much discussion. The following is the table, with some recent additions:

TD: Total dry matter.

TM: Total mineral matter (ash).

Ph: Phosphoric acid reckoned as phosphate of lime.

P: Potash.

N: Nitrogen.

V: Value of manure in dollars and cents from 1 ton (2,000 lbs.) of food.

-----------------------+----------------------------------+------- Per Cent. +------+------+------+------+------+ TD TM Ph P N V -----------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------- 1. Linseed cake 88.0 7.00 4.92 1.65 4.75 19.72 2. Cotton-seed cake* 89.0 8.00 7.00 3.12 6.50 27.86 3. Rape-cake 89.0 8.00 5.75 1.76 5.00 21.01 4. Linseed 90.0 4.00 3.38 1.37 3.80 15.65 5. Beans 84.0 3.00 2.20 1.27 4.00 15.75 6. Peas 84.5 2.40 1.84 0.96 3.40 13.38 7. Tares 84.0 2.00 1.63 0.66 4.20 16.75 8. Lentils 88.0 3.00 1.89 0.96 4.30 16.51 9. Malt-dust 94.0 8.50 5.23 2.12 4.20 18.21 10. Locust beans 85.0 1.75 .... .... 1.25 4.81 11. Indian-meal 88.0 1.30 1.13 0.35 1.80 6.65 12. Wheat 85.0 1.70 1.87 0.50 1.80 7.08 13. Barley 84.0 2.20 1.35 0.55 1.65 6.32 14. Malt 95.0 2.60 1.60 0.65 1.70 6.65 15. Oats 86.0 2.85 1.17 0.50 2.00 7.70 16. Fine pollard 86.0 5.60 6.44 1.46 2.00 13.53 17. Coa.r.s.e pollard 86.0 6.20 7.52 1.49 2.58 14.36 18. Wheat-bran 86.0 6.60 7.95 1.45 2.55 14.59 19. Clover-hay 84.0 7.50 1.25 1.30 2.50 9.64 20. Meadow-hay 84.0 6.00 0.88 1.50 1.50 6.43 21. Bean-straw 82.5 5.55 0.90 1.11 0.90 3.87 22. Pea-straw 82.0 5.95 0.85 0.89 .... 3.74 23. Wheat-straw 84.0 5.00 0.55 0.65 0.60 2.68 24. Barley-straw 85.0 4.50 0.37 0.63 0.50 2.25 25. Oat-straw 83.0 5.50 0.48 0.93 0.60 2.90 26. Mangel-wurzel 12.5 1.00 0.09 0.25 0.25 1.07 27. Swedish turnips 11.0 0.68 0.13 0.18 0.22 0.91 28. Common turnips 8.0 0.68 0.11 0.29 0.18 0.86 29. Potatoes 24.0 1.00 0.32 0.43 0.35 1.50 30. Carrots 13.5 0.70 0.13 0.23 0.20 0.80 31. Parsnips 15.0 1.00 0.42 0.36 0.22 1.14 -----------------------+------+------+------+------+------+-------

* The manure from a ton of undecorticated cotton-seed cake is worth $15.74; that from a ton of cotton-seed, after being ground and sifted, is worth $13.25. The grinding and sifting in Mr. Lawes' experiments, removed about 8 per cent of husk and cotton. Cotton-seed, so treated, proved to be a very rich and economical food.

Middlings, Canielle.

s.h.i.+pstuff.

Of all vegetable substances used for food, it will be seen that decorticated cotton-seed cake is the richest in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, and consequently makes the richest and most valuable manure. According to Mr. Lawes' estimate, the manure from a ton of decorticated cotton-seed cake is worth $27.86 in gold.

Rape-cake comes next. Twenty-five to thirty years ago, rape-cake, ground as fine as corn-meal, was used quite extensively on many of the light-land farms of England as a manure for turnips, and not unfrequently as a manure for wheat. Mr. Lawes used it for many years in his experiments on turnips and on wheat.

Of late years, however, it has been fed to sheep and cattle. In other words, it has been used, not as formerly, for manure alone, but for food first, and manure afterwards. The oil and other carbonaceous matter which the cake contains is of little value for manure, while it is of great value as food. The animals take out this carbonaceous matter, and leave nearly all the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash in the manure. Farmers who had found it profitable to use on wheat and turnips for manure alone, found it still more profitable to use it first for food, and then for manure afterwards. Mr. Lawes, it will be seen, estimates the manure produced from the consumption of a ton of rape-cake at $21.01.

Linseed-oil cake comes next. Pure linseed-cake is exceedingly valuable, both for food and manure. It is a favorite food with all cattle and sheep breeders and feeders. It has a wonderful effect in improving the appearance of cattle and sheep. An English farmer thinks he cannot get along without "cake" for his calves, lambs, cattle, and sheep. In this country, it is not so extensively used, except by the breeders of improved stock. It is so popular in England that the price is fully up to its intrinsic value, and not unfrequently other foods, in proportion to the nutritive and manurial value, can be bought cheaper. This fact shows the value of a good reputation. Linseed-cake, however, is often adulterated, and farmers need to be cautious who they deal with. When pure, it will be seen that the manure made by the consumption of a ton of linseed-cake is worth $19.72.

Malt-dust stands next on the list. This article is known by different names. In England, it is often called "malt-combs;" here it is known as "malt-_sprouts_," or "malt-_roots_." In making barley into malt, the barley is soaked in water, and afterwards kept in a warm room until it germinates, and throws out sprouts and roots. It is then dried, and before the malt is used, these dried sprouts and roots are sifted out, and are sold for cattle-food. They weigh from 22 to 25 lbs. per bushel of 40 quarts. They are frequently mixed at the breweries with the "grains," and are sold to milkmen at the same price--from 12 to 15 cents per bushel. Where their value is not known, they can, doubtless, be sometimes obtained at a mere nominal price. Milkmen, I believe, prefer the "grains" to the malt-dust. The latter, however, is a good food for sheep. It has one advantage over brewer's "grains." The latter contain 76 per cent of water, while the malt-dust contains only 6 per cent of water. We can afford, therefore, to transport malt-dust to a greater distance than the grains. We do not want to carry _water_ many miles.

There is another advantage: brewer's grains soon ferment, and become sour; while the malt-dust, being dry, will keep for any length of time.

It will be seen that Mr. Lawes estimates the value of the manure left from the consumption of a ton of malt-dust at $18.21.

Tares or vetches, lentils, linseed or flaxseed, beans, wheat, bran, middlings, fine mill-feed, undecorticated cotton-seed cake, peas, and cotton-seed, stand next on the list. The value of these for manure ranging from $13.25 to $16.75 per ton.

Then comes clover-hay. Mr. Lawes estimates the value of the manure from the consumption of a ton of clover-hay at $9.64. This is from early cut clover-hay.

When clover is allowed to grow until it is nearly out of flower, the hay would not contain so much nitrogen, and would not be worth quite so much per ton for manure. When mixed with timothy or other gra.s.ses, or with weeds, it would not be so valuable. The above estimate is for the average quality of good pure English clover-hay. Our best farmers raise clover equally as good; but I have seen much clover-hay that certainly would not come up to this standard. Still, even our common clover-hay makes rich manure. In Wolff's Table, given in the appendix, it will be seen that clover-hay contains only 1.97 per cent of nitrogen and 5.7 per cent of ash. Mr. Lawes' clover contains more nitrogen and ash. This means richer land and a less mature condition of the crop.

The cereal grains, wheat, barley, oats, and Indian corn, stand next on the list, being worth from $6.32 to $7.70 per ton for manure.

"Meadow-hay," which in the table is estimated as worth $6.43 per ton for manure, is the hay from permanent meadows. It is a quite different article from the "English Meadow-hay" of New England. It is, in fact, the perfection of hay. The meadows are frequently top-dressed with composted manure or artificial fertilizers, and the hay is composed of a number of the best gra.s.ses, cut early and carefully cured. It will be noticed, however, that even this choice meadow-hay is not as valuable for manure as clover-hay.

English bean-straw is estimated as worth $3.87 per ton for manure. The English "horse bean," which is the kind here alluded to, has a very stiff, coa.r.s.e long straw, and looks as though it was much inferior as fodder, to the straw of our ordinary white beans. See Wolff's table in the appendix.

Pea-straw is estimated at $3.74 per ton. When the peas are not allowed to grow until dead ripe, and when the straw is carefully cured, it makes capital food for sheep. Taking the grain and straw together, it will be seen that peas are an unusually valuable crop to grow for the purpose of making rich manure.

The straw of oats, wheat, and barley, is worth from $2.25 to $2.90 per ton. Barley straw being the poorest for manure, and oat straw the richest.

Potatoes are worth $1.50 per ton, or nearly 5 cents a bushel for manure.