The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-06-12
MAKE MANURE,

There is probably no country On
the face of the earth where so great a
proportion of the elements of fertility
in m anure are destroyed as in the
West. The inherent richness of the
virgin soil, the ease with which it
may be cultivated, the scarcity and
high price of farm labor, the large
acres cultivated by individual farm
ers, and the comparatively low price
of the principal crops on the farm,
have all tended to this. Neverthe-
less, We have constantly reiterated
that it will pay to save manure in the
the West, and the time Is not far dis
tant. when manure will become an
absolute necessity. The following
| by correspondent of the american
Farmer of Baltimore, Md, although
written from an eastern stand point,
where manure is absolutely the life
| of the soil, will, nevertheless, COM
mend itself to every thinking farmer
of the West:
eff the farmer wishes TO make a
good crop of hay, he must manure
his land thoroughly. Two or three
tons of timothy hay per acre is a
good crop. If the farmer wishes to
make good crop of corn, he must
manure his land well. Good land
well cultivated, in good seasons,
ought to make from forty to one hun
dred and thirty bushels Of corn to the
acre. If the farmer wishes to make
twenty, thirty, forty bushels to the
acre, he must have his land in good
condition. Large crops of wheat are
not grown on poor, badly cultivated
land. If the farmer wishes to make
large crops of potatoes, sweet or
Irish, or fine cabbage or turnips, he
must make his land rich. Poor land
wont yield large crops of potatoes or
cabbage.
The first, most pressing, most in.
dispensible want of farming is man
ure. fthe farmer can make or buy
plenty of manure, he can have fine
crops of hay, corn, wheat, potatoes,
etc. Farming without manure is a
discouraging, proftless avocation.
To make manure then, is the lead
ing aim of a farmers life. All farm
stock, horses, beef cattle, hogs and
sheep, should be stabbed or enclosed
Certainly at night in yards well lit
tered with straw or weeds Every
animal, all poultry, should contribute
its quota to the manure bank. All
weeds, litter, loose dit, should e
placed on the manure bank.
Wet straw, wet cornstalks, etc are
not manure. Manure is a compost
Is vegetable matter animalized by
well-ted animals. The barn ought
to be on sloping hillside, so that
the stalls for horses and cattle might
be in the foundation-the hay, grain,
etc., be secured above. In this way
grain and hay can be secured in the
barn and made into manure in the
barn yarn. Every horse and COW
ought to manufacture manure. Swine
and sheep make the best of manure.
Hen manure is probably the richest
of all manures, containing 8.4 per
cent. of ammonia.
If the farmer were to make four or
five four. horse loads Of manure in
one year, for every horse, COW and
hog on his farm. his farm would i'm
prove rapidly. This he may do by
using straw litter, etc., freely in the
stables.
But in addition to the manure from
the barn-yard, hog-pen and poultry
house, the farmer should SOW clover
freely, let it attain its full growth,
and see that one growth, at least, is
left on the ground. The good farm
er improves his land from clover
the poor and thoughtless farm may
sow clover and impoverish his soil
by iDjudicious grazing. Some farm
ers use lime, others buy ground
bones, others buy phosphates, Il e
various alkalies, etc. All are good
ifproperIy made and properly used.
But if the farmer wants good crops.
his land must be we'll manureG-
rich.
The barn.yard is the farmers
main dependence for manure. The
yard should be freely Uttered, the
stalls cleaned out regularly 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 to re-
ain in the yard when not stabbed.
A little hay or fodder will make them
fond of the yard. The yard ought
to be securely enclosed, and a els.
tern at the end of the barn, of suita-
BILE size, will furnish large quantity
of water for stock.