Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-06-19
Make Manure.

There is probably no country on the
face of the earth where so great proper
ton of the elements Of fertility in the ma
nure are destroyed by careless handling 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 areas cultivated by
individual farmers, and the comparatively
low price of the principal crops on the
farm, have all tended to this Neverthe-
less, says the Western Rural, we have con-
stantly reiterated that it will pay to save
manure in the West, and the time is not
far distant when manure will become an
absolute necessity. The following by
correspondent Of the american Farmer of
Baltimore, Md, although written from an
Eastern standpoint, where manure is alb
solutely the life Of the soil, will neverthe-
less commend itself to every thinking
farmer of the West:
If 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 good crop. If the farmer
wishes to make good crop of corn, he
must manure his land well. Good land,
we'll 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 bush
els OF wheat to the acre, he must have his
land IN good condition. Large crops of
wheat are not grown on poor, badly-culti-
| waited 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 won't Weld large
| crops of potatoes or cabbage
The first, most pressing, most indispen-
sable want OF the farmer is manure. 1.-THE
| farmer can make or buy plenty of good
| manure, he can have fine crops of hay,
| corn, wheat potatoes, ETC. Farming
without manure is discouraging, profit
| less avecatiOn.
| TO make manure, then, is the leading
| idea Of a farmers life All farm stock,
horses, beef cattle, hogs, sheep, should be
stabbed or inclosed certainly at night in
yards we'll Uttered with straw or weeds
Every animal, all poultry, should contri
butte its quota to the manure bank. All
weeds, litter, loose dirt, should be placed
on the manure bank
Wet straw, wet cornstalks, etc, are no
manure Manure is a compost-is vegc.
| table matter animalized by well-fed ami
mails. The barn ought to be on a slopine
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 may be secured in the barn
| and made into manure in the BARNARD.
Every horse and COW ought to manufac-
ture manure. Swine and sheep make the
best of manure. Hen manure is probably
the richest Of all manure, containing 81
| per cent. of ammonia
If the farmer were to make four or five
| or six fourth loads of manure in one
| year, for every horse, COW and hog on his
farm, his farm would improve rapidly.
| This he may do by using straw litter, 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 CT, :,
at least is left on the soil The good far
mer improves.his land from clover-the
poor and thoughtless farmer may SOW
clover and impoverish his soil by injudi-
| ciOus grazing Some farmers use lime,
others buy ground bones, others buy phos-
pilates, the various alkalies, etc All are
good if properly made and properly used
| But if the farmer waits good crops his
| land must be well manured-rich.
| The barn-yard is the farmers main de
| pendenoe 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 remain in
the yard when not stabbed. A little hay
or fodder will make them fond of the yard
The yard ought to be securely inclosed,
and cistern at the end of the barn, of
suitable size, will furnish a large quantity
of water for stock.
SEE, in another column, the advertisement
headed 81 1DiU he2D ann man"