The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1879-07-05
FARMERS COLUMN.
Mating our own FcrIiIizers.

Having studied the subject Of fertilizing
lands when il is impossible to manure with
stable and watched the effects on diff
ferent kinds of land, have come to the con-
clusion that when commercial fertilizers are
honestly made 1t pays, even at the low price
of grain, to buy and use them on grain lands,
especially when being seeded down to grass,
aud when the land is too thin to make set
ofgrass certainty. My experience has been
that the money will be returned out Of the
grain. The set Of grass will be always i'm
proved the benefit will be felt while the
land is in grass, and there will be a much
heavier sod TO turn under when the land is
broken up. Now if it pays to purchase
at from twenty-five dolors to ninety dollars
ton, beside paying freight on them and
hauling them from the depot, how much
better it would be for us if we could manu-
facture our fertilizers at home at one-fourth
the cost heard gentleman, who had
had years of experience in this line, say that
pure Pesuvan guano, even at ninety dol
bars TO one hundred dollars per ton, is the
cheapest of all fertilizers. Now, unless
an mistaken, Peruvian guano is simply
rottcd bird manure, and must have lost some
Of its strength by being exposed to the all
and sun. suppose the bird that made this
giano fed on bugs, fish, wild seeds, &c St
do our chickens feed on worms, grain, bugs
&c We thus have one ingredient at leas
equal to the best fertilizers known right OF
our FERNS, and one that can be vastly in
creused with very small additional expense
tits certainly Of vast importance to the farm
er TO see that not one ounce of manure il
wasted. Another thing is the hog manure
This is certainly splendid fertilizer. anC
should be saved with the utmost care.
bave known farmers TO build their hog pen
on hillside leading to a branch to let tn
hogs get water, and thereby lose nearly al
their manure. 1t may not be equal to Pc
ruvian guano,b it is certainly half as good
Another valuable fertilizer is wasted oi
nne-tents of all the farms in the country
This is the night soil, and everything tina
comes from the house the liquid manure
are as strong as the solids. My plan is t
save all these things pulveriaing, and max
ing them into real genuine fertilizer tina
can be drilled, handled or used as are com
mercial fertilizers. Sink in your back yar
vat that will hold say two hundred bush
els. IF one is not enough you can sim
another one.) 1t should be well made out c
two-inch oak planks, and have a light Ii
with good handle, so the washerwoma
can lift the lid and pour her soap suds int
it as easy as pouring it elsewhere, and wher
the chanbermaid should be required alway
to put into it everything in her line. Nov
add all the hen manure you can get a
the night soil and n load or two of the be!
hog manure. Then add muck, loom or pla.
ter enough to absorb all gases and stop a
smell, so as to make it perfectly noflensiv
When the box is nearly full, add Gfthere
aot enough already enough liquid to mol
the mass mix easily, and with long po
thoroughly mix, aud keep stirring for SCI
eral days, so as TO reduce all Jumps. Yc
cau then remove all sticks, cObs, &c, tn
may have found their way into it with
coarse sieve fastened on long pole. Whe
thoroughly mixed and sifted, allow it to dl
out, and If not dry enough when you Wal
to use, spread it on boards and dry thorough
". This fertilizer can be made at a sma
cost per ton, and will be found good.-W
r. in the Country Gentleman.