Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-11-27
9Qritultural
Is NY Agricultural Eit,f
The Wastes Of the Farm.

Of the paper, that Chas. L. Flint Est. the Ell
fcicnt Secretary Of the Massachusetts state
Board Of Agriculture had delivered an al
dress Of some two hours length before one Of
the County societies Of that State on he
.ras,es etfhe farm.
We have not seen the address nor even an
abstract of it, but the title is ro'eiy ''gse7
tive that We have Thought 1t worthy the con-
siderauon of our readers
We often hear the remark -"at Che waste
about some certain iirm is enough TO support
family, bat we are constrained 20 0eiie'e'
much as we may d'Ireeate Is condition oil
thing, that II is rather" general rule 'Aan an
exception, as the style OF tie expression ana
the manner %. iJ7 enumeration ''ai' seem 10
Indicate
The wastes oil the iirH are Al'l'-lir'''-7'
many times more So than any at The hisi
We" are Wiling TO admit fe'"aIs Tie most
e11ayagln1 WASTES oil Vermont farms i III
the elements oi iertillty 1000 Tor every
thing that grows. HE manure '' me s'a-
bles Is washed and dried and beaten ana iF'-
zen until DC Is m many instances reiac'a one
ball IN oalk and three louF'as ~ glaiiiF'
Any want OF facilities ior saving the SOLID
and liquid ezcrements 'l all the ANIMALS ola
the farm IN a manner Co nc them without i'r-
i5r plant food is un" ara"ied waste
The COW stable. the sheep told, tie ii--zty
and the poultry house should each contribute
it, proportion toward keeping up the lertiii-
ty Of the soil from which the food is drawn
for their inmates. Any arrangement Of
vaults. sewers and drains, that does MT pro-
vide for the absorption Of the leeal portion Of
the matter passing through them Is properly
ranked among the wasteful arrangements Of
the farm. There are upon every farm abslr-
bents that will answer good purpose, if they
are not just the best adapted to the purpose.
The waste Of summer manures is enormous.
We crossed a large sheep pasture lately at
one side of whibh is a knoll upon which tue
sheep have lain until the manure is several
inches deep-so deep that every sign of yege-
tation has disappeared and all down the sides
Of the knoll the vegetation was 50 rank that
the most starved animal would hardly eat of
it. In the same pasture is a tract Of several
acres Of sandy loan SO poor that an acre
would hardly feed a single sheep, while just
over the fence not more than forty rods from
this manure heap, in the meadow, is tract
Of some two acres on which the grass is con-
sidered not worth moving. Another portion
Of the pasture is so oyer-grown with rank
weeks and elders that it affords no feed, and
in the adjoining wood lot, full of cattle and
sheep paths and animal droppings. all the
younger trees are broken down or otherwise
SO injured that there Is practically no growth
Of wood
Another great waste upon very many Of
our farms Is the system of interior fences all
hedged up with weeds and bushes. We keep
upmany more Of these than are desirable but
for that other wa-teful habit Of pasturing
every field during some part of the year. No
field that may be TILED, with the possible ex-
ception of a sandy plain. can ever be pastur
ed for a single day without waste. In some
parts Of the country much ado is made about
pastures Of cultivated grass Every field
that Is susceptible Of cultivation viii pay
twice the net profit under a judieious system
of cropping that it will as pasture. provided
always, that the crop is feed out upon the
place ard the manure returned to the soil
from which the crop was taken. But there
is very great waste in growing the crors
and in feeding them after they are grown.
To begin with. there is waste Of power in
hauling saturated manure over soft fields and
in piling it in heaps to be aiterward spread
with another waste Of force. The ploughing
is frequently done when the soil is IN con-
dition to require an eztra-power-more fire. .
quently, indeed We should say generally. with .
such implements as require the expenditure
ofvery much more power than would be re-
quired to do the same or better work with an .
implement precisely adapted to the work; and .
the work is not unirequently SO lily done as
to render the next step in the process of TT 4,
ting the soil for the crops doubly expensive. /
The use Of imperlectly adapted harrows, cul /
tiyators, seed drills, or planters is wasteful of
horse power, of manual force and Of seed, and /
not unfrequentlv results in imperfect or par