The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-02-10
manurinr in Winter

the D~uSiutSos bh0
Tribune. bis views on manurlng IN
winter. They are worth considering,
although they do not settle the ques-
ton as to the waste Of manure by
evaporation, during the witer months.
We know that there ere macy dry,
windy days, every winter, in which
the water will evaporate from ma
nure, exposed upon the surface viii
not the volatile portions Of the ma
nure-the ammonia especially, As
cends with the vspor? Mr. q.
says:
Mr.. a. Corbin, Jr., asks: rs 1t
desirable 20 draw anu to the
fields daily and if so, to leave 1t 10
heaps. or spread itg" The least
possible amount Of labor that Fan be
given barn-yard and stable manure,
and use it at all, is TO draw it as
made. and spread it at once from the
sled. or wagon on the ground. Tn
less there Is some good reason for
treating our ward manure otherwise.
this is the best way but it can not
ALWAYS be done. 10 yards the snow
Of winter IS generally so great that
il is no. practicable to handle the
straw aud corn stalks that on
grain farms get under the feet Of the
cows. etc, that are principally 10 the
Yards. at least during the day time.
So much manure as is made ia stables
and under the sheds can be carried
TO the field about as made.
was very much pleased at view
ing The barn Of tie Hon. Harris
Lewis. now President Of the New
York State Agricu tural Society.
The arrangements for feeding his
cows. and for taking away tue ma
nure, appeared to involve tbe least
possible amount Of labor. Some
Gfty cows stood 10 a high basement
that opened on thee sides above the
surrounding ground. There was
room enough behind each row Of
COWS TO drive a sled, on which each
davis manure could be cast at single
movement Of a dung fork. This sled
is driven out at the end Of the base
ment stable directly to the field, if
desired, and by another hauling is
spread, and already to begin its
work.
As to leaving manure in heaps in
the field, | can see but one good
reason. and that is to have il heat
and thus destroy the seeds or weeds.
This we have the past season done,
and we are now (Nov. % spread
ing these piles by using q sled, hav-
ing TO give the manure an extra
handling and losing all use Of it
since it fwas drawn from our cow
yard last spring. But we have kill
ed many seeds Of foul weeds, and
will have this manure on top Of the
ground, teaching into it all winter
In the spring, a brush drawn over
this manure, in various directions
and many times, will reduce it and
spread it, so that next years pasture
viii get great benefit from it; and If
the land should be plowed in August
and well pulverized, and sown to
wheat in September, the prospect for
a wheat crop, as large as grown here,
would be frst-rate.
On a part Of this same field, which
has 20 acres In it, we last winter
drew manure fresh from the sheep
sheds. The great growth Of grass
that came Of this sheep manure last
summer enabled US to make this both
pasture aud meadow. Five or six
acres were mown, thereby making
some hay, and producing a fresh
growth Of grass that he cattle would
eat better than they would the too
rank growth that some way got the
start Of them earlier in the season.
To-day this sueep-manure part Of
the Geld has a strong growth of thick
grass that farm stock would like 10
dig u Of the snow, vcn if it is SIX
inches deep. The crop of wheat
that probably will be harvested in
1876 will tell those who may then be
here to see, something Of the compar-
alive benefits of the different ways of
applying the n
The next question asked by Mr.
Corbin is, with the disappearance
Of snow in spring, will we not lose
very much Of the value Of our
manure by it washing away, before
the surface ice thaws sufficient 10 adj
nit Of the land absorbing it p On
some steep side hill this might be so,
or if the land is so seFerely frozen
before snow falls that it does not
thaw out under the snow, and the
snow is carried Off by some running
water, it might carry the manure
with it. But / never saw just this
state Of things anywhere | wished to
spread manure in the winter. Gen
orally, any dark, open substances
thrown on even a deep SNOW will
soon find its way to the surface Of
the ground, and only in very rare
cases viii the snow thaw away
without having first given way
under the dark substance flung on II
and allowed their falling on top of
OF Tue ground while there isyet snow
covering the rest Of the surface. We
do not often spread manure
where streams Of water run even in
thaws, or where water in winter
up. We seek the high lands,
the breaks Of hillsides and other
places hat require aid, and spread
the manure rather above the line
that divides the good from the poor
er land, thinking that in the natural
course Of things the fertilizing mat
tor viii work down rather than up
bin. 4 little thought aud care in
applying manure in winter will avoid
any loss from its washing away
when winter breaks mp.
A Nevada sIiner-MeaRS 10 Set Rich.
Ten to twelve years ago there was
q miner WORKING in the unppr levels 4