ALTHOUGH farming in Prince

Edward Island has become high- ly mechanized, scenes like the

above are not uncommon. Horses are still used by some who pre-

iferxto feed hay rather than buy ‘gasoline. (National Film Board).

Tons Of Manure Going To Waste In Ontario

By E. H. GARRARD Professor of Bacteriology

Each year in Ontario tons of

straw, leaves, or plant residues are burned or wasted when they could be turned into excellent artificial manures or composts by a relatively simple DI'0C9SS- It 15 possible for the general farmer, market or city gardener to fur- nish himself with such material at little cost. The production of artificial manure from straw or leaves is particularly‘ important at ‘the present time‘ in view of the increasing scarcity of stable manure, especially in urban areas, and when there is a defi- nite lack of organic matter in certain soils. ’ The manufacture of artificial manure is dependent upon the action of various micro-on ganisms, such as bacteria, molds and actinomycetes. These micro- organisms normally are present in large numbers on straw, leaves and other vegetable mat- ter. Under suitable conditions they rapidly multiply and are able to break down complex plant tissues by a process of fermenta- tion and decay. Chief among the conditions necessary for their ac- tion are moisture, oxygen and food. Therefore, the production of artificial manure is simply a matter of arranging the material In such a fashion that the micro- organisms are assured of these conditions, and thus in turn are able to break down the vegetable refuse into manurialform.

A type of artificial manure re- sembling stable manure, may be made from any form of straw,

depending upon “the materials available and the method pre- ferred. Beds can be composed of alternate layers of sod and ma- nure, or if manure‘ is not avail- able, layers can be built up of rank refuse and soil, peat or muck. Also, satisfactory beds can be made without soil or manure. Whichever method is adopted the fundamental principles of supply- ing the microorganisms with food, moisture and oxygen must be adhered to.

For the garden where manure is not available, the following method has been found to he sat- isfactory. A pit, varying in size from 6-8 feet wide, and 10 to 12 feet in length is dug down to the sub-soil. A layer of leaves, sod, Weeds or other vegetable matter is built up in the p‘ to a height of approximately si inches and is packed lightly. The layer is thoroughly watered after which a light application of good fertili- zer mixture with lime is added. The addition of wood ashes is also advantageous. This is fol- lowed by a layer of good top- soil an inch or two in depth. Suc- ceeding layers are built up in the same way until a pile four to five feet in height is formed. The pile should taper toward the top and the top should be dished to prevent run off of water.

In case the pile has been packed too tightly, several holes should be made with a ‘crow bar

to allow the entrance of air into the centre of the heap. If the pile is situated in an exposed area, it should be covered with a_mulch of straw or other material to pre- vent drying out.

The pile must be kept moist but not soggy. After three weeks or a month, the pile should be forked or turned in such a way that the outside portions are in- corporated in the centre. The pile can be turned several times to advantage. Best results are obtained if two piles in rotation are constructed, one completed and undergoing fermentation and the other in the process of being constructed as refuse is collected.

It is not wise to include weeds that have gone to seed, or dis- eased plant refuse in the pile. Temperatures in the centre are presumed to be high enough to kill seeds and plant pathogens, but hhless the pile is systemati- cally forked or turned, it is doubtful whether temperatures toward the outside of the head are sufficiently high enough for that purpose.

Compost beds that have ben properly constructed and fre- quently watered may be read in three to four months, especially if the weather has been warm. Where cool temperatures prevail and watering infrequent, it may be several months longer before the compost is ready to apply to the land.

Claim Energy Of Water

Unfortunately s o m e insect pests of field crops are in out- break form each year. There will be some sporadic attacks in 1958 but it is hoped none to equal the armyworm attack of 1954 or the aphid outbreak on turnips in 1949. What can be predicted and how can crop loss be reduced if an insect ‘outbreak occurs? The white grub, the larva of the June Ibettle, can be predicted reasonably accurately. In areas where there was severe damage in 1957 little or no damage will occur. The large, full - grown gru-bs will be present in the soil in May and June thi: year but they feed very little, if at all, in the third year of their cycle. In these areas no control is ad- vised for.1958. In heavy land, poorly drained soil, or in muck, white grubs are only rarely im- portant nt any time.

PICTURE FOR. 1958

Is the picture for 1958 as’ bright concerning the arm-yworms? Un- fortunately we cannot predict this pest. If any outbreak is re- ported, warnings will be issued to all growers. The usual time of a.tta-ck is‘ July. While the army- wonm is always a potential threat, do we have any other insect that is so well controlled most of the time by natural factors such as parasites and predators? If the armywonmjattackis, there is a choice of materials such as al- drin, dieldrin, chlordane, hepta- chlor, and toxaphene. that may be_ used as sprays or dusts or in poison bran bait as well as paris green in poison bran bait. Wireworm-infested soil is usu- ally known from the injury that has occurred the preceding year, Damage often follows long estab- hshed hay or pasture, particu- larly if the grasses predominate. Wirewmms may be controlled very effectively and economical- 1y by an insecticide such as 31.

Predicts Sporadic Attack By Insects This Year

drin, dieldrin, heptachlor, or lin- dane. With cereal crops, corn, and sugar beets, any of_ these insecticides may be applied 35 a seed dressing. Treat all of the soil with aldrin, dieldrin or hep- tachlor to prevent wireworm in- jury to potaotes. An overall soil treatment will be effective for several years.

SPORADIC ATTACKS

Aphids attack very sporadical- ly. They can develop with ex- treme rapidity, thus fields should be watched during the growing season. The turnip aphid is one of the most destructive species on field crops. The last major attack was in 1949, thus, since this aphid may occur in a rather long cycle, we may be due for another attack soon. Materials such as malathion, tepp, and parathion are effective against aphids if applied when the weather is warm.

Note that special safety pre- cautions during applicat-ion of the insecticide must be taken if you -use tepp or parathion. Several other new materials are also available for aphid control. SERIOUS PEST- _

The garden slug has been a serious pest in home gardens for a number of years. The first complaints concerning this pest on field crops were received in 1957, when a nuirnaber of corn fields in Wellington and Huron counties were attacked. one tim- othy field was severely injured in Huron county. Ready-«prepared methaldehyde slug baits may be used in home gardens. It is doubtful if any control is prac- tical on field crops.

The usual pests are likely to occur on potatoes and turnips un- less controlled. Growers of these crops are familiar with the fight to avoid crop loss from insects.

Detailed control of insects and diseases of been, ceneal crops,

russv ??

Yes, we’re fussy about the grade of potatoes we ship. We moving potatoes daily— seed and table—-to Canadian, U. S. and other export markets. Business in all of these I markets can be built up only if the quality

of our pack is maintained at a high level.

corn forage and hay, potatoes, soybeans, sugar beets, and to- bacco are found in an up—to-date series of circulars of the Ontario Department of Agriculture. It is hoped that there will be very little crop loss from insects in 1958.

Tranquilizers Can Help Calves

The Canadian Veterinary Med- i(—41 Association says that recent experiments in the United States have shown the value of having a veterinarian sometimes use tranquilizing drugs on calves im- mediately after they are weaned. The Association points out that beef calves from western ranges usually are removed from their native pastures, weaned shipped and placed in strange feedlots within a few days. '

These--events coming in rapid order--can cause anxiety and physiological reactions which low- er the resistance of the animals and make them more suscept-

Old Trees Oiten Problem In Woodlot

Continual removal of the best trees from woodlots over many decades has often left 3. great number of “PI'0b_19m tre?5° These trees are either of in- ferior, unmarketable SPECIES» 0}; malform, large-limbed “Wolf trees of the more valuable Spe- cies. They are a detrimeil-t Of the woodlot, for they occupy valuable space where better trees Should

ible to shipping fever. Calves left on the ranch of farm often refuse feed and water for sever- al days after weaning and lose weight.

The experiments showed that where the veterinarian gave the calves tranquilizers they made much better gains than untreated calves during the week after weaning.

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stand. They hold back the young reproduction, frequently deform- ing it.

Such trees should be removed even if there is no direct profit to the owner, forest experts say. The removal will be repaid in future production. Usually such trees do not produce logs, but may be cut up for fuelwood. This year a fairly brisk demand for fuelwood exists near the large centres of population. If the fuel- wood cannot be used, or if the trees are too difficult to work up, girdling offers a cheap and ef- fective way of removing these undesirable trees.

Girdling consists of notching the tree with an axe, completely around the circumference of the trunk. It must completely sever the vertical strands of canibium (active growth layer just inside

Page 24B,31€§£*>:..l¥a¥_?°»

1958 — Guardian P I -- ‘ atria,

ﬁne inner bark of t ‘ \- Special care must be ta. rem. there are frost seams’ ;.erll\'.".l3,;:1 or other cavities, for thee. _‘

tissue is often cur,-ed ,;~ ward. The time require}: a tree varies from ago; I seconds for a (pinch t“ W i seconds for a 25 _ .n;°_!n s Girdled trees die gpadﬁ s fall down piecemea1so “yd age to advanc _ 3 :’ negligible. ed r°"°"“?‘I°n More rapid, c _“ , with less SPI'0l.lI:i:Ignp 11:; t‘ ‘ tained by using poism M son may be applied to It or to a series of no ‘ the base of the more than 4 inclré diuun arsenite is uﬁdoﬂ, of the most effective is dangerous to the I’

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ETERIARY SERVIE

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leaves or other refuse. The ma- terial is built into a pile in layers, each layer is well watered and I is then sprinkled with e. fertilizer A or chemical mixture. Different mixtures have been advocated slightly in composition. Such a

Greater Than Steam Roller

How often have you heard a farmer say after a rain that his field of oats looked as though a

H. B. WILLIS INC.

Charlottetown .0’Leary

does not protect the soil from a pounding rain. When the corn, as cob or ensilage, has been remov- ed a thorough discing leaves the

mixture is composed of 69 pounds of ammonium sulfate, 60 pounds of lime and 30 pounds of super- phosphate applied to each ton of air dried material. If not avail- able, a high grade fertilizer with the addition of lime can be ap- plied instead, at the rate of 250 pounds per ton of material. The process is repeated with each lay- or until the pile is from four to six feet in height. When finished the top should be dished to catch the rainfall. The pile should be reforked and turned in approximately one month’: time and if possible, several, times thereafter. Also, frequent watering is essential. Under such conditions, a suitable manure may be produced in three to four months’ time. When conditions are such that frequent watering is not possible, or the rainfall has not been sufficient, the process will take considerably longer. and it may be necessary to leave the pile for 10 or more months. Water has a tendency to run off fresh straw, but is readily absorbed as the pile decomposes. Artificial menures produced un- der ideal conditions have been

shown to benefit crop growth

equally as well as stable manure. Whereas many tons of artifi-

cial manures can be produced from straw and leaves, almost

any form of plant refuse can be composted on a smaller scale in-

to valuable organic matter. Such materials as leaves, weeds, ‘vege-

tables grass clippings, sod, peel-

ings, rind and other garbage or refuse can be broken down by

microorganisms. Every gardener can utilize such waste products with a minimum of labor and ex- pense, thus supplying himself with a rich source of artificial manure.

There are many different ways of making compost beds or heaps,

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steam roller had gone over his field. '

By a little figuring you could show him that the energy of that rainfall was much greater than*a steam roller. I$t works out like this: Imagine an inch of rainfall spread over one acre and that the rainfall was composed of medium sized drops (8 drops would be one inch wide) falling with a vel- ocity of 17 mph. That volume of water has about the same energy as a nine-ton truck travelling 60 mph.

LOSS CAN, BE GREAT

Unless the soilhas some pro- tective covering, the loss of soil by erosion is going to be tremen- dous. Furthermore, the water will not enter the soil to be available for succeeding crops. Since it is not always possible to have the soil protected by a crop, then the importance of good tilth, or good structure becomes evident.

A soil with a good structure is open, spongy, will not smear with a little rain or, in other words. the water soaks in rather than runs off and carries away topsoil. A good soil structure will stand up; the granules will not collapse under impacts equal to the nine- ton truck at 60 mph. Such a soil is easier to work, is well ventilat- ed and if the plant food and weather are right, will produce a worthy crop.

PLANNED CONSTRUCTION

Soils have to be prepared in a structural way to withstand the raindrops. A good structure just does not happen, it is planned for. The better farmers use a soil building crop rotation to be assur- ed of good soil structure and a productive soil; it is able to withstand heavy rainfalls.

It is ‘advisable to grow corn after a sod crop and take advan- tage of a good soil structure to control erosion. The corn crop

Control

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soil’ open and in a condition to permit the water to soak in. Since a crop of corn damages soil struc- ture more than a grain crop, it is recommended, that the land he returned to grain, then hay or pasture for another rebuilding period. Thus the cycle of crops is repeated assuring good soil struc- ture, .a sound way to control soil erosion.

Shipping Care Means Profits

Careful handling of livestock being shipped to market can pay big dividends to both the farmer and ‘consumer. T-“* ﬁanadian Veterinary Medical .-.aeoclation says careless handling results in big losses because animals cripp- led, bruised or killed on the way to market return less to their owner and reduce the meat supp- ly available to the consumer. The ‘--V-M-A- Says much of the loss can be prevented by the use of humane gadgets in loading and 1l11'1(_>atiiug animals. The As- sociation also suggests that loss- es can be_prevented or reduced by Protecting animals from bad weather, and eliminating broken b°a1‘dS. protruding nails and sharp objects on buildings, fences °r 0“ the ground in feed lots.

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