The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-08-31
How to Save Manure at Home.

How to Save Manure at Home.
Messrs. Editors Banner of the South and
Planters Journal-There is no work that pays
me so well as making manure on my own plan
tation, as make it a business, and attend to it
as we'll as do to chopping out my cotton, and
am at it all the time, and it pays me we'll. See
ing the Dickson Fertilizer company of Angus
ia have offered premiums equal to thousand
dollars in cash, for upland crops made on home
made manure, it may be some young farmer
will care to know good plan for saving and
using all the elements of manure that go to
waste on his own land, and will give my plan,
with the remark that he will do we'll to follow
it till he finds plan that is better. Home
made manure is the best of all kinds, and the
average cost of it need not be over one dollar
per ton, ten tons being more than equal to one
ton of the best guano sold. l do consider,
however, the Dickson Company has done well
to put premium to encourage this branch OF
economy on the plantations, for the more one
makes at home, the more he finds he needs,
and will buy Nine-tenths of our people don't
know what rich land will do, and when they
find it out all sorts of manures will be proper
ly appreciated. But to my plan.
have an old mule and dump cart, and hire
an old darkey every year, whose only labor is
to haul manure and stuff to make it. l never
stop him to send to town for the mail, nor to
chop cotton, nor to pick cotton even. Every
day that old man hauls with his mule, and it
ever have q spare hand from the crop send
him to help in the same business. Leaves an
pine straw to fill my stalls and put under my
COW sheds, and the same mixed with rich dirt
from the woods to cover all my lot foot or two
deep; sweepings from the yard, garbage from
the garden and droppings from stock outside
the lot and in the highways to put on the COM
post heap now and then barrel of lime or
plaster from town to use in composing. All
these the cart gathers in from day to day. My
stables are cleaned out and Uttered as often as
the stalls get little foul, and all the cleanings
20 under the manure shed to rot down thor
oughly, and now and then peck of plaster
thrown over it to save the ammonia. VI, II
the manure shed is full, then / haul to con-
venient spot in the field where it is to be
used, and there make into neat heap and
cover we'll with earth. If it is very damp and
strong, some dry earth mixed in with the pile
occasionally prevents evaporation and ire
fanging.
Ny horse lot or barn-yard is cleaned out but
once year, the litter being put in gradually,
!, so each layer becomes we'll tramped. All my
cattle and hogs are turned in here every night,
, and occasionally little corn thrown to the
} hogs on the litter, to set them to roofing and
turning it over, which makes it all the better.
: In winter I can usually haul as much as 200 to
300 cart loads from this lot alone; but in doing
: this all my teams and hands help, as it is the
J biggest Job of the kind in the year. Any time
: after corn is gathered begin to haul out and
, bank up manure in the field in convenient piles
and cover over with dirt.
My compost heap is made altogether from
about the house and garden and wood pile.
All the rotted chips, cinders, ashes, yard sweep
times little lime to decompose it thoroughly,
and strong soapsuds from the wash pot poured
on. This makes the finest and richest Of all
!; manure heaps; and while it costs least of all,
being built up almost entirely by house ser
; wants in cleaning about the yard and garden,
it will often prove equal to one-third its weight
in Peruvian Guano.
The hog pen, when am fattening my hogs,
is source of the best of all manures. My old
carter throws in load of litter every day or
two, filling the pen foot deep by the time the
hogs are Killed, and find this the most dura-
BILE in its effects of all the manures have ever
used.
1 10 not know how many tons of all sorts OF
manure get every year. think with all my
hauling back and forth, get three cart loads
ION an average every day available for use,
counting, of course, all the help put on the
hauling in the winter and spring. This would
give nine hundred cart loads, equal certainly
to three hundred tons, and worth, at my. calcu,
lation, 81 ,50S at least And all this is, as
may safely say, the yield from one man and
his cart, with only such help as can throw in
: conveniently. / use my manure literally as
20, sometimes putting two hundred cart loads
to an acre, often one hundred, and when once
such liberal dressing is plowed in, that land
and does not suffer from drought so readily
I consider the increased yield in one year.
from the manure saved the year previous, pays
literally the cost of saving and applying it.
and leaves me the increased yield every subse-
quent year as net profits, equal to rs per CEN
tum.
find also, that on land we'll improved with
my homemade manure, very small applica-
ton subsequently of commercial manuress
makes more wonderful yield than thousand
pounds would do on land that has not had my
home composts on it. The richer my lands are
with homemade manure, the better it pays me
to use guano on the same land.
Mr.. Editor, have had such success in the
practice of my plan that want to see every
plantation doing the same way, or better way.
The secret of my success is, that l make ma
nure saving special business, and never put it
aside to do anything else. On my farm, in the
fence corners, and in the woods and branch
bottoms, are millions of bushels of corn and
wheat, now in shape of dead leaves, rich dirt,
&c. I am saving it daily and converting it
into manure. 1t pays we'll. The same is true
on every plantation in Georgia. Let It's not
ignore the fertility that lies at our door, and
reach out to buy to ruinous extent abroad.
Yours tru1y