When to Fertilize.—The land is a good bank in which to deposit money in the form of manure; but there are certain portions of the year when the land bank declares no dividends. It is safe to put manure upon an unfrozen soil at any time, but the best, the quickest, and the largest results are obtained by manuring during the growing season, preferably just before planting the crop. Small applications, often repeated, are preferable to large, though rare, applications. Plants, like animals, consume small amounts of food each day, and cannot take a year's food at a single meal.
Humus.—Humus, often referred to by agricultural writers, is a name for decaying organic matter in the soil. Green crops turned under, grass roots, stubble, leaves, long manure, etc., form humus. The term is a comprehensive one. Humus is a dark-colored substance, abundant in all rich ground. A lump of manure that has been lying in the ground for a year or two has become, practically, a mass of humus.
Minute Soil Workers.—In all good soils there are myriads of small organisms, whose duty is to destroy organic matter and convert it into soil, or into humus, or into plant food.
This explains the superiority of good, moist soil as compared to coal ashes for making compost heaps. Coal ashes are worth sifting, if the work can be done automatically; that is, by simply pouring the ashes upon a sloping wire screen. The coarse portion of the ashes, if not worth reburning, will at least make good walks, drives or road beds, while the fine portions make excellent absorbents to put under hen roosts.
Some of the many Forms of Bacteria. (Magnified).
Hen manure and the product of the outhouse, whether containing sifted ashes or not, should go speedily into a heap of moist earth, for this earth will furnish the organisms to quickly convert the excreta into valuable soil. Sifted coal ashes usually contain some fertility on account of wood, garbage, etc., burned in the kitchen stove, but have value mainly as absorbents. Moist loam, on the other hand, teems with life, and has the wonderful ability not merely to hide organic matter, but to actually change its character, converting it into soil that retains none of its original characteristics. What was malodorous manure, offensive to smell and touch, is changed into an odorless, dark-colored material that leaves no stain upon the hands, and which is plant food of the best and most available character.
Economy in Manuring.—True economy in manuring demands a comprehension of these simple matters. The methods are inexpensive, and are within the reach of every tiller of the soil.
The whole matter may be summed up in a few words, as follows: Waste nothing, permit no fermentation or leaching, use preservatives, and learn the true art of making composts, including the functions of the minute organisms just described.