Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1912 — Gathering and Using Waste Fertility [ARTICLE]

Gathering and Using Waste Fertility

Today the subject of procuring a supply of manure is concerning the minds of a great many farmers. This has given me much worry at times and is only mastered by hard labor and study. Perhaps, however, I have not secured my manure all in the same way as most gardeners do. True, alt farmers and gardeners cannot secure a great amount of their manure as I have secured much of mine. In the first place 1 have tried to make as much manure on my farm as possible, and also tried to save as near all of it as possible. Also I have made a practice of always having some green growth to turn under at different times and derived much benefit from It. But much of my farm fertility has come from a 25 acre wood land, which I several years ago purchased from a neighbor. This land is rough and stony. The. timber is worth very little except. to keep the land shaded and shed foliage to rot. The rock on the land is of a gravelly nature and when it rains seems to dissolve somewhat and when mixed with the rich dirt and my farm eoil, seems to make an ideal soil. Here in my country there is much land that is of this type and fit for nothing practically, or at least cannot .be cultivated. I bought this piece of land ten years ago and I have hauled a great number of loaded rich dirt and sand mixed every year and 1 still have, it seems, as much to haul as when 1 first bought it I gave |ICO for the 25 acres at first and I have received that much back every year in fertility. However, I do not try to cover my entire and have some green crop to turn under and. apply about 20 loads of this fertility per acre, with only a few loads of barn-yard manure, say abffirt sow or five This is not done to the

By R. B. RUSHING.

land every year, that is to the same land. I select say about five acres each year to give a renovation, apply about 100 loads of this woods' dirt and about 15 or 20 loads of barnyard manure, thoroughly Incorporated with the soil and it produces good crops. Some land of course will not infeed quite so much of this, but some of my land is of clay loam and in former years has not been very rich and thus~it requires heavy applications to bring it up to a high producing state. Not only in my country is it possible to have such supplies, but in mapy places, such sourcesare available. The trouble is that these sources are overlooked. I knoV a few farmers tn my neighborhood who have bought a few cars of manure and had it shipped from Chicago, and on their farms there are waste places that they can get about all the fertility they heed to mix with their soil. -.S Five years ago 1 bought one car myself and I must say that I have had far better results from the land that received the wood leaf mould and dirt than from the Chicago manuib. In fact, I have never used anything that gave better Immediate results than does this, i have had to buy a little lime occasionally, but never bad to buy nitrogen and I never expect to. In using this in my cold frames, all the special treatment that it receives is to thoroughly work it into, a good soil, or fairly good soil. As to my hot beds, I use the fire beds and apply. the rich dirt for planting the seed. While I am a great believer in buying the proper elements of plant food when it is necessary. yet I also believe in looking around and trying to find some source near home from . which to supply needs and save money. . I think there should be just as economy practiced tn feeding the soil as in feeding the animals. The cost pf production must be considered.