Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-06-27

There is probably no country on the face
Of the esrth where 80 great proportion Of
the elements Of fertility in the manure are
destroyed by careless handling as in the
West. The inherent richness of the virgin
soil, the ease with which il may be culti-
tivated, the scarcity and the high price If
farm labor, the large areas cultivated by in
dividusl farmers, and the comparatively low
price of the principal crops ON the farm,
have ali tended TO this. Nevertheless, we
have constantly reiterated that it will pay
to we manure in the West, ard the time
is not far distant when manure will become
an absolute necessity. The following by S
correspondent of the American Farmer, of
Baltimore, Md, although written from an
Eastern standpoint, where manure ia alb
solutely thssslife Of the sol, win nevertheless
commend itself 10 every thinking farmer of
the West:
''If the farmer wishes TO make a good
crop of hay, ne must manure bis land thor
oughly. Two or three tons OF timothy hay
per acre is good crop. If the farmer
wishes to make q good crop of corn, he
must manure his land well. Good land,
well cultivated, in good seasons, ought to
make from forty TO one hundred and thirty
bushels Of corn TO the acre. If the farmer
wishes TO make twenty, thirty, forty bushels
of wheat to the acre, be must have his land
in good condition. Large crops of wheat
are not grown on poor, badly cultivated
land. IL the farmer wishes to make large
crops OF potatoes, sweet or Irish, or fine
cabbage or turnips, he must make his land
lich. Poor land won't yield large crops Of
potatoes or cabbage. FL
"The first, most pressing, most indispen.
sable want Of the farmer is manure. If
farmer can make or buy plenty of good
manure, be can have fine crops of hay,
corn, wheat, potatoes, etc. Farming with
out manure is discouraging, prontless
aVocstion. l
'To make manure, then, is the leading
idea of farmers life. All farm stock,
horses, beef cattle, hogs, sheep, should be
stables or enclosed Certainly at mighty in
yards well Uttered with straw or weeds.
Every animal, all poultry, should contribute
its quota to TIE manure bank. All weeds,
litter, loose dirt, should be placed in the
manure bank.
"Wet straw, wet cornstalks, ETC., are not |
manure. Manure is comIost--is Veget =
bic matter animalized by well fed animals.
The barn ought to be on sloping hillside, |
SO that the stalls for horses and cattle might |
be N the foundation-the hay, grain, ETC.,
be secured above. In this way grain and !!
hay may be secured in TIE barn aud made |
into manure in the barn-ysrd. Every horse |
aud cow ought to manufacture manure. |
Swine and sheep make the best manure. |
Hen manure is probably the richest of all |
manure, containing S.4 per cent. of ammo |
mia.
"If the farmer were TO make four or five |
or six four horse loads Of manure in one |
year for every horse, COW, and Log on his |
farm, his farm would improve rapidly. |
This he may do by using straw liter, ETC.,
freely in stables.
"But in addition to the manure from the |
barn yard and hog-pen and poultry-house,
the farmer should SOW clover freely, let it |
attain its full growth, and see that one crop |
at least is left on the soil. The good farmer
improves his land from clover; the poor and |
thoughtless farmer may sow clover and i'm
poverish his soil by injudicous grazing. |
Some farmers use lime, others buy ground |
bones, others buy phosphates, the various
alkalies, etc. An are good, ifproperly made
and properly used. But if the farmer wants
good crops, his land must be well MANFRED
rich.
"The barn-yard is the farmers main de-
peDdence for manure. The yard should be |
freely Uttered, the stalls cleaned out regu-
larry and their contents distributed evenly /
over the yard. Plaster should be scattered |
over the yard every week or two. All |
stock ought TO be induced 10 renal u in the /
yard when not stabbed. A little hay or fod-
der will make them fond of the ward. The |
yard ought to be securely enclosed, and
cistern at the end Of the barn, of suitable |
size, will furnish large quantity of water
for stock"