The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-07-11
Prepare Manure.

There is probably no country on the
face of the earth where so great a pro-
portion 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 it may be cultivated, the scarcity
and the 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. Never
theless, we have constantly reiterated
that 1t 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 a CORES
pOndent of the American Farmer. of
Baltimore, Nd, although written from
an eastern standpoint, where manure is
absolutely the life of the soil, will new
ertheless commend itself to every think
ing 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 is a good crop. If the
farmer wishes to make a good crop of
corn, he must manure his land we'll.
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, 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
won't yield large crops of potatoes or
cabbage.
1.-THE first, most pressing, most in
dlspensable want of the farmer is ma
nure. If 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 o dis,
couraging, proftless avocation.
'TO make manure, then, is the lead
ing idea of a farmers life. All farm
stock, horses, beef cattle, hogs, sheep,
should be stabbed or enclosed Certain
ly at night in yards well Uttered with
straw or weeds. Every animal, all
poultry, should contribute its quota to
TO the manure bank.
"Wet straw, wet cornstalks, etc, are
not manure. Manure is a compost, is a
vegetable matter animalized by we'll
fed animals. The barn ought to be on
slOping hillside, so that the stalls for
horses and cattle might be in the foun-
datIon, 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 barn yard. Every horse
and COW should manufacture manure.
Swine and sheep make the best manure.
Hen manure is probably the richest of
all manure, containing "a per cent of
amonia.
If the farmer were to make four OF
five or six 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 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 land
from clover the poor and thoughtless
farmer may SOW clover and impOverish
his soil by iniudicious grazing. Some
farmers use lime, others buy ground
bones, others buy phosphates, the vari-
GUS alkalies, etc. All are good, if pro-
perly made and properly used. But if
the farmer wants good crops, his land
must be we'll manured-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 Plas.
ter should be scattered over the yard
every week or two. All stock ought tc
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 enclosed, and
a cistern at the end of the barn, o.
suitable size, will furnish a large GUAM
tity of water for stock"