Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-05-28

The answer to this question is full of in
struclion in divers ways. The food Of
fowls while at large (and also when con-
fined, if they are to continue healthy.
consists of seeds and animal substances.
They catch vast numbers of insects and
insect Larvae. Indeed, for this purpose one
chicken is worth Il hundred robins or spar
rows, and they seem particularly to like
the very insects that are most harmful TO
crops-puting them into M.ir crops upon
the homeopathic principle, perhaps. This
rich, concentrated dict makes the rich,
concentrated manure-whch is the first
lesson worth any farmers while to ponder
upon. Rich food judiciously given, not
only keeps our stock in good order and in
Il thrifty state, but it makes rich manure.
This is an object to be kept in mind in
choosing bet Yeen different feeding mate
rials. Oar farmers do not use enough of
such feeding stull'S rs are very rich i'll
plant us well as animal food. Wheat bran
and oil-cake are made extensively, and fed
out but little, in America. The English
buy the latter, freight it three thousand
miles, and feed it TO profit for The produc.
ton Of staples that must be sold in Il free
market in competition with our own.
They get the most of their profit in the
manure. How many of our farmers give
this point due consideration?
Then again, fowls are SO organized that
the evacuation from their Kidneys, in Il
semi-solid state, mixes with the dung be-
fore it is dropped and is thus wholly saved
for fertilization. Chemistry assures us
that more than half (aud the best hllO, of
the plant food in the eXcrement of all
domestic animals is to be found in the
urine. Now, if our COWS and horses were
like our hens IN this respect OF passing off
their renal secrclionS rs semi. solid in
connection with their dung, our stable
manure would be found vastly superior to
what it proves to be us we usually see it.
Most of our farmers make hardly any
effort to save the liquid manure, and OF
those who do the success is not always
what it should be, by lack of proper
knowledge, or proper convenicnces.
Col. John B. Mead, the state superin-
tendent of agriculture in Vermont, recent
y stated at a public meeting that in five
years after he had made suitable provision
for saving the urine of his stables and APP
plying it to the land. the crops of his farm
were doubled. A doubled crop means Il
doubled power of carrying stock, and with
Il doubled herd comes again double
quantity of fertilizing material. What n
vista of progress is here opened to the
ambitious farmer!
These two lessons. then-the value of
high feeding for the production of rich
manure, and the necessity Of saving the
liquid as sedulously us we save the solid
manure-are pressed home to us by what
we know of the value of hen manure and
of the "whyn of it. There can be no
mistake about it. Every thoughtful farmer
must see the profit there is in these les
sons, if he will only reduce them to prac-
tice. They shine like beacon lights on the
path of agricultural progress.-RuraL NeV
Yorker.
What particular connection there is be-
tween hen manure and robins we don't
exactly see, nor can we understand how
the editor of the Rur1} cuu SO positively
set the comparative value OF robins and
hens, but we are glad to learn that hens
are hankering SO especially for the insects
injurious to crops. We shall look with
interest to see our hens fcasting themselves
on the potato bugs and black squash
bugs, which just about this time are - the
most harmful to crops" Aside from this
stone slang at the robins, and the over
estimate of the value of hens in The field
and garden, we can endorse considerable
of that article very heartily. But in roam.
ing about over the state we find lots of
farmers who use absorbent5 and have
good barn cellars.