CHAPTER X.
The Products of Vegetation—Importance of Chemical quality as well as quantity of Produce—Influence of different Manures on the quantity and quality of the Crop—Influence of the time of Cutting—Absolute quantity of Food yielded by different Crops—Principles on which the Feeding of Animals depends—Theoretical and experimental value of different kinds of Food for Feeding Stock—Concluding Observations.
The first object of the practical farmer is, to reap from his land the largest possible return of the most valuable crops, without permanently exhausting the soil. With this view he adopts one or other of the methods of treatment above adverted to, by which either the physical condition or the chemical constitution of the soil is altered for the better. It may be useful to shew how very much both the quantity and the quality of a crop is dependent upon the mode in which it is cultivated and reaped, and how much control, therefore, the skilful agriculturist really possesses over the ordinary productions of nature.
SECTION I.—OF THE INFLUENCE OF MANURE
ON THE QUANTITY OF THE WHEAT
AND OTHER CORN CROPS.
Every one knows that some soils naturally produce much larger returns of wheat, oats, and barley than others do, and that the same soil will produce more or less according to the mode in which the land has been prepared by manure, or otherwise, for the reception of the seed. The following table shews the effect produced upon the quantity of the crop by equal quantities of different manures applied to the same soil, sown with an equal quantity of the same seed.
| Manure applied. | Return in bushels from each bushel of seed. | |||
| Wheat. | Barley. | Oats. | Rye. | |
| Blood, | 14 | 16 | 12½ | 14 |
| Night-soil, | — | 13 | 14½ | 13½ |
| Sheep’s dung, | 12 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
| Horse dung, | 10 | 13 | 14 | 11 |
| Pigeon’s dung, | — | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| Cow dung, | 7 | 11 | 16 | 9 |
| Vegetable matter, | 3 | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| Without manure, | — | 4 | 5 | 4 |
It is probable that on different soils the returns obtained by the use of these several manures may not be always in the same order, yet, generally speaking, it will always be found that blood, night-soil, and sheep, horse, and pigeon’s dung, are among the most enriching manures that can be employed.
We have already seen a theoretical reason for believing that night-soil should be among the most enriching manures, and the result of actual trial here shews that it is one of the most practically valuable which the farmer can employ.
Two other facts will strike the practical man on looking at the above table.