Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-12-16
Manure Cellars and Sheds.

M1NorE being siI Indispensable Il dssp;enssabI for TIE
3&! asg sssssE gga @snse :,
can not be soEeEkept in any other way
as IN ceilafsor covered yards. A cellar is
the more Convenient cf the two, becassel
much harding sofs the maAurejsl
saved, Much prejudice has been
caused against manure cellars by
Ine costly failure made by those
VINO nave spent money for show rather
tnan for uSe,s and swho have been badly
ADVISED bypersons>th that have taken adj
vantage Of their willingness to spend
money tor pretentious and snowy build
mss. There Nare cellars which, have
cost thousands Of dollars that are walled
c9bble stones bedded in cement. Some
otthfse cellars have been arranged with
aFleW ts make them tributary to irriga-
asi yet. our methods of agriculture are
not prepared for.
There is mo need. to blame the cellar
itself for these failures, for it may be built
cheaplyi and made very useful for the
saving and preparation of manure. The
wan apd the excavation alone are need
ed, and every barn should stand upon
some kind OF wall for foundation. If
bufit upon a hillside, the. excavation
should not cost much, and in fact may
BE- made to- pay its cost by the improve
ment of the ground below it, as the earth
may be used to- grade up around the
building, and q level yard may be made
where formerly an inconvenient slope
existed. The cost of the walls
Will asabe a. very small sum
as. compared ! with . the 'advan!-
tages gained. 4 would, choose ma.
nure cellar for its own special purpose
alone, and not for b shelter forsswine or
for-any other contingent uses, and
would guarantee that it would pay
handsome interest s6n. its cost. 1t need
hare no cemensed floor, or be made a
RECEPTACLE for the mass of liquid slush,
for the liquids. which, naturally escape
from the stables can be easily absorbed
blythe solid contents neither need it be
made offensive to sight or smell.
Up keep the manure in a neat and in
odorous condition is easy enough. The
floor should fTbe made, slightly hollow
and, need not be cemented. The soil it
self, although it be sandy or gravely,
will soon be able to retain even the
liquid part Of the contents, and if few
loads of absorbent material are spread
when the cellar is emptied no loss will
occur. If swamp muck, or leaves can
be procured, a foot or two in depth of
these.s Will be sufficient to retain the
liquid, and ii not, a few loads of earth
make excellent fine top ressing-a load
of which, will 20 a long way. All dis,
agreeable odor may be prevented BY
sprfnklinga thes stable floors daily with
plaster, or even scattering quantity
over the manure below. The cutters in
the stable. should, be provided with two
or three tight rap-doors, through which
the manure and litter may be drawn
with a broad fhdA or dung hook.
GEate dsfeors are rarely to be recon-
4 mended for camnaon use. Manure
tshe,ad eonsist n1arge part of litter of
some kind, by which it is made looser
and easier to spread; its more open tex
ture, too, assists the decomposition, and
with litter grated floors are useless.
Their purpose is solely to pass the un-
mixed droppings through into the cel-.
lar, where these accumulate in the shape
OF Tsa,ft slash, I'd ifheultrtor handle or. use
Fin any ,iwayl With sufficient litterithe
heaps of manure which fall from the
trap-doors may be spread and mixed
with stiH more. materials for compost.
ing, at intervals of few days. The
fact Is if cellar. is made and kept for
the.sing1e pprla9se 9f sasing manure, if
will he found Al nxenient and erlsefuls
.bs96if 1t is made teoserve other purposes
as well, it will be apt'te fail in all. =
1T IS question If COVERED yards can
be made TO pay their cost'as yet. They
are doubtless very convenient, land
where cattle are kept In yards a consid-
cradle portion of the time they may. be
found desirable; but for mere protection
for manure they will be found too costly,
and at the present time the existing ar
rangements of yards and buildings
would seldom admit OF their use. In
some cases where there is not sufficient
arranged, sheds may be proftably used
under which to- store manure. A num-
Der of cattle sheds forming a hollow
square may open into, a central yard,
over the middle of which an open shed
NAV be built. The roof of this and the
! other sheds would gather large guam
tity of water. Every square foot of area
covered would supply 26 gallons yearly,
with fall of AZ inches. With an area
of 10 by 10 feet for each COW, a supply
of Z gallons day would be provided
from this source alone, which is entirely
adequate if green food is used a portion
of the season. The manure from the
cattle sheds would be wheeled out to the
covered portion of the yard, j where it
would be trodden by the cattle, and
worked up into excellent condition. The
cost of such an arrangement is very
reasonable. A sufficiently good shed for
cattle may be put up at a cost of about
S15 per head. and a.covered yard would
cost about 1-2 cents square foot.
This Is estimated for serviceable sheds;
if ornamental work or paint is required,
these would add to the cost mentioned.
It sometimes happens that the more
costly the buildings, the more labor Is
involved in the use of them, and the So
!. called modern Improvements may not
he always economical, while the cheaper
kinds of buildings may turn out to- be the
more seryiceable. = Agricultural Engs-
peer, in Country Gentlemen.