The Red Cloud chief., 1880-02-12

4 compost heap Is an advanced kies
and belongs so the order II farming
known 81 successful. II win be sus
ges;ive. and lead the farmer 20 save
what would otherwise be allowed 10 b.
come scattered. Many complain tbs,
they can no, afford 10 buy fertilizer for
n root; patch. while at the same time
they N allowing enough material for
the purpose Ia be lost. A part II the
shed will answer for the compos; heap.
or IL would pay 10 construct n she'd on
purpose. In summer time haul in sew
erai load. Of muck a. = foundation for
the compost; this will absorb the liquid
portions and by the next spring IL will
be - thoroughly saturated that il will
be nearly equal 10 the rest in value. On
this foundation pile every thing Ia be
got nd Of. ChAmber-slops and soap
suds are valuable 10 add to IL. When
b~utchering time comes mix the ofsl
with the heap. Let the contents ii the
priyics, from time to time, mingled with
dry earth and plaster, be taken 10 the
compost. By a little effort a rich fer
tilizing material may be collected, worth
more than any commercial manure, be-
cause il will contain not only elements
To stimulate crops, but tn permanently
enrich the soil. The hen-house is q
good place wherein to start a
small compost heap, and if earth or
plaster is frequently spread over il there
will be no escape Of the gases, or smells
to make the place unhealthy. A. long
as the pile is kept dry. there will lie but
little danger Of such an active putrefac-
ton as To cause n loss of ammonia, and If
this occurs, il can be checked at ono by
throwing on plenty Of plaster. IL here
should be too much heat, it may be ar
rested by wetiing the mass. and forking
it over. The compost may be used to
manure crops in the hill, where it gives
plants n fine start aud afterwards keeps
up a vigorous growth. Such n compost
will often be manure enough la produce
a fine crop Of corn. For roots there n
nothing better Ia scatter in the burrows,
As il contains such a variety Of constitu-
ents exactly suited la the wants Of the
plants. A small compost heap collected
and managed in this way will 60 over a
good deal Of ground. The farmer who
J neglects to have a compost heap does
not make the best use he may of the
means at hand to produce bountiful
crops, and the one who does may save a
ton or two Of fertilizer which will fit as
many acres for 4 profitable return for
his labor.-F. ID. Curtis, IN New York
Tribune.
PRESERVING BUTTER.
II has become a question worthy of
serious consideration, by those con-
cerned, whether the old-fashioned meth
cd OF packing May and June butter for
winter sale will be any longer profitable,
in view Of the competition of the fresh
creamery butter, and tina, Of private
diaries, in which winter is the most
active season. IL is known that butter
of the very first quality can be made As
well in the depth of winter as in June,
so that /" June butter" no more attracts
the dealer or the purchaser, rs hereto
fore. The past winter | have been
packing butter In small oak pals, rom
tanning five to ten pounds, for my Gus
toners, who have gladly paid ~ cents
per pound for il, without any help from
puffs and newspaper notoriety, the but
ter going solely on its merits. am
thus packing all my product, and l
think if dairymen were TO do more Of
disappearing and using tight, neat,
sweet white oak packages they might
find profitable sale for butter the year
round. The size Of the package is con
venient, as five To ten pounds will sup
ply a small or large family two weeks,
and the butter can then be had always
fresh. But when il is desirable to pack
for winter use, extra care must be exer-
cised as to the mode of packing and the
package. l have found a four-gallon
crock, or the very neat "return
butter pail" equally good and safe
for packing, the advantage resting with
one or the other depending upon the
size and weight of the contents. The
package, providing always it is air-tight
method of packing and the place of stor-
age. The manner of packing l have
been used to practice is as follows: The
butter, taken from the churn, is worked
for a short time with pure cold water
from a deep well. Where the water is
not cold, ice-water should be used when
the weather is warm enough to make
the butter work soft. The grain car not
be preserved if the butter is worked too
soft, and il should be kept as hard as it
can be worked easily. The lump is then
gashed with the ladle, and salt at the
rate of one ounce to the pound is
sprinkled over it and worked in lightly.
The butter is then put away for "a hours
in a cool cellar or dairy-house. The last
working is thorough, to get the color
even and the salt well mixed in. As a
little salt will have melted and drained
off during the standing, the liberal dose
given will not be excessive. The butter
is then packed down into the crock or
pail, taking care to leave no vacant
spaces. Brine is poured over the butter,
and the package is covered with a cloth
and the cover, and set away, until the
next churning, in the usual place. The
next churning is packed in the same
manner, the brine being poured off and
thrown away, and a little fine salt
being sprinkled on the first layer
before the next is packed down.
In this way the package is filled. The
top is then covered with a piece of fine,
white muslin, stepped in brine, and cut
to fit exactly; this is covered witha thin
layer of salt, and a strip Of wooden felt
ing is fitted around the edge of the
package and under the cover, which is
then fastened down tightly. A strip of
resin paper, used for covering roofs, will
make \ good packing for the cover.
The place of storage is very important.
This should be cool, airy, moist, but not
wet, and entirely free from mold or
mustiness. A cave in a bank, or a deep
cellar, furnishes an excellent store for
butter. The former may be made very
easily, as follows: Dig GU q founda-
ton 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and 3 deep;
throw the earth out on each side. Build
up on each side with peeled logs, slabs,
planks or rails, and make q steep roof
over the whole, mailing the tops to a
ridge board and resting the bottom
against a log staked fast on each side.
The roof then can not spread. The sides
are covered with the strips of bark that
have been peeled off from the timbers,
slabs, ETC., and the earth thrown out is
heaped over the roof, packed down and
x->ll 1911 n