The Elements of Agriculture

Evaporation removes from manure—

Carbon, in the form of carbonic acid.

Hydrogen and oxygen, in the form of water.

Nitrogen, in the form of ammonia.

Leaching removes from manure—

The soluble and most valuable parts of the ash in solution in water, besides carrying away some of the named above forms of organic matter.

CHAPTER IV

ABSORBENTS

What substances are called absorbents?

What is the most important of these?

What substances are called charcoal in agriculture?

How is vegetable matter rendered useful as charcoal?

Before considering farther the subject of animal excrement, it is necessary to examine a class of manures known as absorbents. These comprise all matters which have the power of absorbing, or soaking up, as it were, the gases which arise from the evaporation of solid and liquid manures, and retaining them until required by plants.

The most important of these is undoubtedly carbon or charcoal.

CHARCOAL

Charcoal, in an agricultural sense, means all forms of carbon, whether as peat, muck, charcoal dust from the spark-catchers of locomotives, charcoal hearths, river and swamp deposits, leaf mould, decomposed spent tanbark or sawdust, etc. In short, if any vegetable matter is decomposed with the partial exclusion of air (so that there shall not be oxygen enough supplied to unite with all of the carbon), a portion of its carbon remains in the exact condition to serve the purposes of charcoal.

What is the first-named effect of charcoal? The second? Third? Fourth?

Explain the first action.

The offices performed in the soil by carbonaceous matter were fully explained in a former section (p. 79, Sect. 2), and we will now examine merely its action with regard to manures. When properly applied to manures, in compost, it has the following effects:

1. It absorbs and retains the fertilizing gases evaporating from decomposing matters.

2. It acts as a divisor, thereby reducing the strength (or intensity) of powerful manures—thus rendering them less likely to injure the roots of plants; and also increases their bulk, so as to prevent fire fanging in composts.

3. It in part prevents the leaching out of the soluble parts of the ash.

4. It keeps the compost moist.

The first-named office of charcoal, i. e., absorbing and retaining gases, is one of the utmost importance. It is this quality that gives to it so high a position in the opinion of all who have used it. As was stated in the section on soils, carbonaceous matter seems to be capable of absorbing every thing which may be of use to vegetation. It is a grand purifier, and while it prevents offensive odors from escaping, it is at the same time storing its pores with food for the nourishment of plants.

Explain its action as a divisor.

How does charcoal protect composts against injurious action of rains?

How does it keep them moist?

2d. In its capacity as a divisor for manures, charcoal should be considered as excellent in all cases, especially to use with strongly concentrated (or heating) animal manures. These, when applied in their natural state to the soil, are very apt to injure young roots by the violence of their action. When mixed with a divisor, such manures are diluted, made less active, and consequently less injurious. In composts, manures are liable, as has been before stated, to become burned by the resultant heat of decomposition; this is called fire fanging, and is prevented by the liberal use of divisors, because, by increasing the bulk, the heat being diffused through a larger mass, becomes less intense. The same principle is exhibited in the fact that it takes more fire to boil a cauldron of water than a tea-kettle full.

3d. Charcoal has much power to arrest the passage of mineral matters in solution; so much so, that compost heaps, well supplied with muck, are less affected by rains than those not so supplied. All composts, however, should be kept under cover.

4th. Charcoal keeps the compost moist from the ease with which it absorbs water, and its ability to withstand drought.

What source of carbon is within the reach of most farmers?

What do we mean by muck?

Of what does it consist?

How does it differ in quality?

With these advantages before us, we must see the importance of an understanding of the modes for obtaining charcoal. Many farmers are so situated that they can obtain sufficient quantities of charcoal dust. Others have not equal facilities. Nearly all, however, can obtain muck, and to this we will now turn our attention.

MUCK, AND THE LIME AND SALT MIXTURE

What is the first step in preparing muck for decomposition?

With what proportion of the lime and salt mixture should it be composted?

Why should this compost be made under cover?

What is this called after decomposition?

Why should we not use muck immediately after taking it from the swamp?

By muck, we mean the vegetable deposits of swamps and rivers. It consists of decayed organic substances, mixed with more or less earth. Its principal constituent is carbon, in different degrees of development, which has remained after the decomposition of vegetable matter. Muck varies largely in its quality, according to the amount of carbon which it contains, and the perfection of its decomposition. The best muck is usually found in comparatively dry locations, where the water which once caused the deposit has been removed. Muck which has been long in this condition, is usually better decomposed than that which is saturated with water. The muck from swamps, however, may soon be brought to the best condition. It should be thrown out, if possible, at least one year before it is required for use (a less time may suffice, except in very cold climates) and left, in small heaps or ridges, to the action of the weather, which will assist in pulverizing it, while, from having its water removed, its decomposition goes on more rapidly.

After the muck has remained in this condition a sufficient length of time, it may be removed to the barn-yard and composted with the lime and salt mixture (described on page 115) in the proportion of one cord of muck to four bushels of the mixture. This compost ought to be made under cover, lest the rain leach out the constituents of the mixture, and thus occasion loss; at the end of a month or more, the muck in the compost will have been reduced to a fine pulverulent mass, nearly equal to charcoal dust for application to animal excrement. When in this condition it is called prepared muck, by which name it will be designated in the following pages.

Muck should not be used immediately after being taken from the swamp, as it is then almost always sour, and is liable to produce sorrel. Its sourness is due to acids which it contains, and these must be rectified by the application of an alkali, or by long exposure to the weather, before the muck is suitable for use.

LIME AND SALT MIXTURE

What proportions of lime and salt are required for the decomposing mixture?

Explain the process of making it.

Why should it be made under cover?

The lime and salt mixture, used in the decomposition of muck, is made in the following manner:

Recipe.—Take three bushels of shell lime, hot from the kiln, or as fresh as possible, and slake it with water in which one bushel of salt has been dissolved.

Care must be taken to use only so much water as is necessary to dissolve the salt, as it is difficult to induce the lime to absorb a larger quantity.

In dissolving the salt, it is well to hang it in a basket in the upper part of the water, as the salt water will immediately settle towards the bottom (being heavier), and allow the freshest water to be nearest to the salt. In this way, the salt may be all dissolved, and thus make the brine used to slake the lime. It may be necessary to apply the brine at intervals of a day or two, and to stir the mass often, as the amount of water is too great to be readily absorbed.

This mixture should be made under cover, as, if exposed, it would obtain moisture from rain or dew, which would prevent the use of all the brine. Another objection to its exposure to the weather is its great liability to be washed away by rains. It should be at least ten days old before being used, and would probably be improved by an age of three or four months, as the chemical changes it undergoes will require some time to be completed.

Explain the character of this mixture as represented in the diagram. (Black board.)

The character of this mixture may be best described by the following diagram:—

We have originally—

[Y] There is, undoubtedly, some of this lime which does not unite with the chlorine; this, however, is still as valuable as any lime.

The lime unites with the chlorine of the salt and forms chloride of lime.

The sodium, after being freed from the chlorine, unites with the oxygen of the air and forms soda, which, combining with the carbonic acid of the atmosphere, forms carbonate of soda.

Chloride of lime and carbonate of soda are better agents in the decomposition of muck than pure salt and lime; and, as these compounds are the result of the mixture, much benefit ensues from the operation.

When shell lime cannot be obtained, Thomaston, or any other very pure lime, will answer, though care must be taken that it do not contain much magnesia.

LIME

What effect has lime on muck?

On what does the energy of this effect depend?

Why should a compost of muck and lime be protected from rain?

Muck may be decomposed by the aid of other materials. Lime is very efficient, though not as much so as when combined with salt. The action of lime, when applied to the muck, depends very much on its condition. Air-slaked lime (carbonate of lime), and hydrate of lime, slaked with water, have but a limited effect compared with lime freshly burned and applied in a caustic (or pure) form. When so used, however, the compost should not be exposed to rains, as this would have a tendency to make mortar which would harden it.

POTASH

Is potash valuable for this use?

From what sources may potash be obtained?

In what proportion should ashes be applied to muck? Sparlings?

Potash is a very active agent in decomposing vegetable matter, and may be used with great advantage, especially where an analysis of the soil which is to be manured shows a deficiency of potash.

Unleached wood ashes are generally the best source from which to obtain this, and from five to twenty-five bushels of these mixed with one cord of muck will produce the desired result.25

The sparlings (or refuse) of potash warehouses may often be purchased at sufficiently low rates to be used for this purpose, and answer an excellent end. They may be applied at the rate of from twenty to one hundred pounds to each cord of muck.

By any of the foregoing methods, muck may be prepared for use in composting.

CHAPTER V

COMPOSTING STABLE MANURE

What principles should regulate us in composting?

In what condition is solid dung of value as a fertilizer?

What do we aim to do in composting?

In composting stable manure in the most economical manner, the evaporation of the organic parts and the leaching of the ashy (and other) portions must be avoided, while the condition of the mass is such as to admit of the perfect decomposition of the manure.

Solid manures in their fresh state are of but very little use to plants. It is only as they are decomposed, and have their nitrogen turned into ammonia, and their other ingredients resolved into the condition required by plants, that they are of much value as fertilizers. We have seen that, if this decomposition takes place without proper precautions being made, the most valuable parts of the manure would be lost. Nor would it be prudent to keep manures from decomposing until they are applied to the soil, for then they are not immediately ready for use, and time is lost. By composting, we aim to save every thing while we prepare the manures for immediate use.

SHELTER

What is the first consideration for composts?

Describe the arrangement of floor.

The first consideration in preparing for composting, is to provide proper shelter. This may be done either by means of a shed or by arranging a cellar under the stables, or in any other manner that may be dictated by circumstances. It is no doubt better to have the manure shed enclosed so as to make it an effectual protection; this however is not absolutely necessary if the roof project far enough over the compost to shelter it from the sun's rays and from driving rains.

The importance of some protection of this kind, is evident from what has already been said, and indeed it is impossible to make an economical use of manures without it. The trifling cost of building a shed, or preparing a cellar, is amply repaid in the benefit resulting from their uses.

THE FLOOR

The floor or foundation on which to build the compost deserves some consideration. It may be of plank tightly fitted, a hard bed of clay, or better, a cemented surface. Whatever material is used in its construction (and stiff clay mixed with water and beaten compactly down answers an excellent purpose), the floor must have such an inclination as will cause it to discharge water only at one point. That is, one part of the edge must be lower than the rest of the floor, which must be so shaped that water will run towards this point from every part of it; then—the floor being water-tight—all of the liquids of the compost may be collected in a

TANK

How should the tank be attached?

This tank used to collect the liquids of the manure may be made by sinking a barrel or hogshead (according to the size of the heap) in the ground at the point where it is required, or in any other convenient manner.

In the tank a pump of cheap construction may be placed, to raise the liquid to a sufficient height to be conveyed by a trough to the centre of the heap, and there distributed by means of a perforated board with raised edges, and long enough to reach across the heap in any direction. By altering the position of this board, the liquid may be carried evenly over the whole mass.

The appearance of the apparatus required for composting, and the compost laid up, may be better shown by the following figure.

Fig. 2.

a, tank; b, pump; c & g, perforated board; d, muck; e, manure; f, floor.

How is the compost made?

The compost is made by laying on the floor ten or twelve inches of muck, and on that a few inches of manure, then another heavy layer of muck, and another of manure, continuing in this manner until the heap is raised to the required height, always having a thick layer of muck at the top.

What liquids are best for moistening the compost?

How should they be applied?

What are the advantages of this moistening?

How does it compare with forking over?

After laying up the heap, the tank should be filled with liquid manure from the stables, slops from the house, soap-suds, or other water containing fertilizing matter, to be pumped over the mass. There should be enough of the liquid to saturate the heap and filter through to fill the tank twice a week, at which intervals it should be again pumped up, thus continually being passed through the manure. This liquid should not be changed, as it contains much soluble manure. Should the liquid manures named above not be sufficient, the quantity may be increased by the use of rain-water. That falling during the first ten minutes of a shower is the best, as it contains much ammonia.

The effects produced by frequently watering the compost is one of the greatest advantages of this system.

The soluble portions of the manure are equally diffused through every part of the heap.

Should the heat of fermentation be too great, the watering will reduce it.

When the compost is saturated with water, the air is driven out; and, as the water subsides, fresh air enters and takes its place. This fresh air contains oxygen, which assists in the decomposition of the manure.

In short, the watering does all the work of forking over by hand much better and much more cheaply.

Why will the ammonia of manure thus made, not escape if it be used as a top dressing?

What are the advantages of preparing manures in this manner?

What is the profit attending it?

At the end of a month or more, this compost will be ready for use. The layers in the manure will have disappeared, the whole mass having become of a uniform character, highly fertilizing, and ready to be immediately used by plants.

It may be applied to the soil, either as a top-dressing, or otherwise, without fear of loss, as the muck will retain all of the gases which would otherwise evaporate.

The cost and trouble of the foregoing system of composting are trifling compared with its advantages. The quantity of the manure is much increased, and its quality improved. The health of the animals is secured by the retention of those gases, which, when allowed to escape, render impure the air which they have to breathe.

The cleanliness of the stable and yard is much advanced as the effete matters, which would otherwise litter them, are carefully removed to the compost.

As an instance of the profit of composting, it may be stated that Prof. Mapes has decomposed ninety-two cords of swamp muck, with four hundred bushels of the lime and salt mixture, and then composted it with eight cords of fresh horse dung, making one hundred cords of manure fully equal to the same amount of stable-manure alone, which has lain one year exposed to the weather. Indeed one cord of muck well decomposed, and containing the chlorine lime and soda of four bushels of the mixture, is of itself equal in value to the same amount of manure which has lain in an open barn-yard during the heat and rain of one season, and is then applied to the land in a raw or undecomposed state.

In what other manners may muck be used in the preservation of manures?

How may liquid manure be made most useful?

The foregoing system of composting is the best that has yet been suggested for making use of solid manures. Many other methods may be adopted when circumstances will not admit of so much attention. It is a common and excellent practice to throw prepared muck into the cellar under the stables, to be mixed and turned over with the manure by swine. In other cases the manures are kept in the yard, and are covered with a thin layer of muck every morning. The principle which renders these systems beneficial is the absorbent power of charcoal.

LIQUID MANURE

Liquid manure from animals may, also, be made useful by the assistance of prepared muck. Where a tank is used in composting, the liquids from the stable may all be employed to supply moisture to the heap; but where any system is adopted, not requiring liquids, the urine may be applied to muck heaps, and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation is necessary in urine as well as in solid dung, before it is very active as a manure. Urine, as will be recollected, contains nitrogen and forms ammonia on fermentation.

Describe the manner of digging out the bottoms of stalls.

It is a very good plan to dig out the bottoms of the stalls in a circular or gutter-like form, three or four feet deep in the middle, cement the ground, or make it nearly water-tight, by a plastering of stiff clay, and fill them up with prepared muck. The appearance of a cross section of the floor thus arranged would be as follows:

Fig. 3.

The prepared muck in the bottom of the stalls would absorb the urine as soon as voided, while yet warm with the animal heat, and receive heat from the animal's body while lying down at night. This heat will hasten the decomposition of the urea,26 and if the muck be renewed twice a month, and that which is removed composted under cover, it will be found a most prolific source of good manure. In Flanders, the liquid manure of a cow is considered worth $10 per year, and it is not less valuable here. As was stated in the early part of this section, the inorganic (or mineral) matter contained in urine, is soluble, and consequently is immediately useful as food for plants.

By referring to the analysis of liquid and solid manure, in section V., their relative value may be seen.

CHAPTER VI

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT

The manures of different animals are, of course, of different value, as fertilizers, varying according to the food, the age of the animals, etc.

STABLE MANURE

By stable manure we mean, usually, that of the horse, and that of horned cattle. The case described in chap. 2 (of this section), was one where the animal was not increasing in any of its parts, but returned, in the form of manure, and otherwise, the equivalent of every thing eaten. This case is one of the most simple kind, and is subject to many modifications.

Is the manure of full-grown animals of the same quality as that of other animals?

Why does that of the growing animal differ?

Why does not the formation of fat reduce the quality of manure?

What does milk remove from the food?

The growing animal is increasing in size, and as he derives his increase from his food, he does not return in the form of manure as much as he eats. If his bones are growing, he is taking from his food phosphate of lime and nitrogenous matter; consequently, the manure will be poorer in these ingredients. The same may be said of the formation of the muscles, in relation to nitrogen.

The fatting animal, if full grown, makes manure which is as good as that from animals that are not increasing in size, because the fat is taken from those parts of the food which is obtained by plants from the atmosphere, and from nature, (i. e. from the 1st class of proximates). Fat contains no nitrogen, and, consequently, does not lessen the amount of this ingredient in the manure.

Milch Cows turn a part of their food to the formation of milk, and consequently, they produce manure of reduced value.

How do the solid and liquid manure of the horse and ox compare?

What occasions these differences?

The solid manure of the horse is better than that of the ox, while the liquid manure of the ox is comparatively better than that of the horse. The cause of this is that the horse has poorer digestive organs than the ox, and consequently passes more of the valuable parts of his food, in an undigested form, as dung, while the ox, from chewing the cud and having more perfect organs, turns more of his food into urine than the horse.

RECAPITULATION

Full Grown animals not producing milk, and full grown animals fattening make the best manure.

Growing Animals reduce the value of their manure, taking portions of their food to form their bodies.

Milch Cows reduce the value of their manure by changing a part of their food into milk.

The Ox makes poor dung and rich urine.

The Horse makes rich dung and poor urine.27

NIGHT SOIL

What is the most valuable manure accessible to the farmer?

What is the probable value of the night soil yearly lost in the United States?

Of what does the manure of man consist?

The best manure within the reach of the farmer is night soil, or human excrement. There has always been a false delicacy about mentioning this fertilizer, which has caused much waste, and great loss of health, from the impure and offensive odors which it is allowed to send forth to taint the air.

The value of the night soil yearly lost in the United States is, probably, about fifty millions of dollars (50,000,000); an amount nearly equal to the entire expenses of our National Government. Much of the ill health of our people is undoubtedly occasioned by neglecting the proper treatment of night soil.