Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1845-09-25
a 6 % Z O q d IN U II u o
SoILING OF ClTTLE-COMPOsTNG MlNIRES

These two subjects are so Intimately con
necteC, involve interests so identical. and 6,
deeply concern the well being of the aoricul
tural community, that we shall treat them nm
der the same general head To at,empt +,
cultivate lands, in any of the old settled STATES
| without manuriDg, with the hope of resultin,
proh's, would be to defy the experience o
centuries, and turn deaf ear to the iniunc.
lions OF that philosophy which is based npo,
reason and common sense for the obserya.
ton OF every farmer, who may be in the leas
intelligent, will have forced the convictior
upon his mind, that he who looks to the earn
Tor remnnerating returns, must make il IN,
ann OF ms system TO restore TO il, in the form
oil manure, an equivalent for the product,
which 1t may yield, or exhaustion of its DOW
ers oil production will necessarily follow. nc
matter OF course. These views we hold r.
De SO incontrovertible, as TO require no aruu.
ment TO sustain ;hem, and we shall. therefore
not trouble the reader with one but shall
proceed to recommend to the adoption of far.
mers, generally, the policy Of adopting In,
system OF yarding and selling of their cattle o.
anIgai, as the best of all possible plans which
'ney can devIse,tor accumulalng manure, and
Pacing themselves In q position 10 GertiIiz,
ana improve their lands, and consequently 10
increase their capacity for production.
we are aware that we shall be met, in the
very onset, with that slereotvped objection
that, in this country, labor is too dear to con.
template feeding cattle by solling; but. in
despite of this objection, we shall venture r.
urge, that soiling of stock should he eporaf,ed
upon The system of every farmer OWNING p
nj nor &c
it an object.
Let us suppose that farmer had twenty
mead OF cattle, and that, with the view of feed.
ing them OF night with green meat. from
May until the frosis of fall, in order that he
might make the greatest possible quantity O,
manure, all he would lave to do, would be.
TO provide himself with six acre lot. manure
and ash, or lime il well, SOW t,ro acres of i,
IN lucerne, one in clover, and divide the other
Mree acres between corn, sown broadcast. and
mIlei, say, two acres of the former and one
oil the latter. Such lot, thus cultivated. would
afford an ample supply of green food. for the
number OF cattle named, from the early mar,
OF May Till late in the fall. The green meat
nut once provided, the next thing would be.
TO haul earth into the cattle yard, spread il
some SIX or eight inches deep over the entire
surface, giving it dish-ike form, in order
Mat the centre may be lower Than the sides.
so mat none OF It's riches may be washed
away. The earth being thus spread. busbe)
or two of plaster, and twenty or thirty bushels
OF pulverized charcoal, should be sown there
on, so as TO cover every part of it, then let
mould and leaves from the woods he car,ed
IN, SO as To give an additional LAYER Of four or
tI,a, Il, 4
before The yard being thus prepared, after
"aitihg lew days Tor the earth to settle, the
cattle could be fed therein, each night. with
ProVender cut IN the morning, md exposed
TO The sun TO be wilted. A man in half an
hour each morning would be able. if he nm,
'orlh his strength and skill, TO cut grass. or
corn, or mlliet enough, to serve the twenty
head OF cattle, and each evening with a single
horse cart he could haul in and deposne il in
movable racks, to be provided, in an bou,
more but let us say, that the cutting. baulinc
and deposiiing of the grass, would take two
hours day. From the lst Of Nav to the 18Th
ioi October, would make one hundred and
slXiy-eIghi days, which at two hours per dav
would make, IN the feeding season, twenty.
eight days. Say that the hauling and spread.
ing OF the earth would take two months more
and that the sowing Of charcoal and plaster
would take two days, thus making up three
months i'll all of the services Of one man art
one horse and cart With this data let us Sc,
how would stand the account of cost
Services of one man three months at
sixteen dollars per month, SIS 0C
Services OF horse and cart three months
at twenty dollars per month, 60 OC
| -Four barrels plaster at one dollar and
twenty-five cents, S OC
Thirty bushels Of pulverized charcoal
at twenty cents, 6 90