Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1884-12-25
SAwoUsT.
ITS Value ~ a Litter for Horses ana Cows
How TO Use It.

1 It's NAlur - LltLEr Iur huEtEt anu LINt
How 10 Use II.
TIE question of litter for horses and
cows IS very important one Litter is
Used for two purposes; one is tOsabsorb
the moisture of the excrements. liquid
and solid and 50 preserve them from
waste, and the other is to keep the ami
mails clean. Straw has heretofore been
chiefly used for litter. but the necessity
for economy which has always pressed.
but now more and more presses upon
the farmer. fOrbids the use for litter OF
anything which can be fed b the cattle
Straw IS valuable food. Every farmer
realizes the value of what IS commonly
called .'roughness. that Is. rough fod.
der. which cattle require TO fill up the
enormous paunch. and without which
digestion Of more concentrated food ia
not possible. so that n ton of straw
with three hundred or four hundred
pounds of cornmeal and bran. worth
about two dollars or three dollars. il
practically made Of equal value as a ton
Of hay worth twelve dollars to twenty
FIVE dollars. This gives slch value C
straw as forbids its Use for litter any
where and everywhere. even in the
West. where il has long been consid-
errd as an incubus and nuisance. In
place OF straw. then. sawdust may be
used very conveniently and profiably.
Hardwood sawdust contains about
one-fourih IS much potash and Phos-
phOric acid as straw, so that its ma-
nurial value alone ) equal 10 one dollar
per ton. II straw is worth forrr dollars
But one brshel OF sawdust viii soak UP
and hold two plilfuls. or six gallons OF
liquid. which Il far more than straw
will and when mixed with COW manure
causes that pasty. wet and inconvenient
mass TO become loose and crlImbly. SO
that il can be spread evenly and with
great ease Four bushels a day viii
lit.er twelve COWS. which j. egual %
thfee-foufths cent for each cow per
dav. and without II mar w0Gld be oc-
cupied full hour every day in cleaning
the cows 80 they could be MIXED de-
Gently. 4 stable floor should have a
standing place for the COWS sve feet
wide. and NJ the rear of this sLould be a
gutter fourteen inches wide and six
incaes deep. The standing floor should
slope one and one-half inches from the
front TO the gutter. 80 that any mo oisture
that falls on the iOOr soo1 drains of
into the gutter. from which il passes
into the ward or the manure cellar be-
low. The sawdnst for littering such .
floor may he used as follows: In the
morning the floor > scraped Of clean
wish broad iron scraper Ike a hoe.
with all the soiled litter and drop
pings of the night that may rot
have fallen into the gutter. The
gutter is then scraped clean and tie
manure drawn through a trap door into
the cellar. or thrown on to the heap in
the yard. Sawdnst IS then spread all
over under the cows and over the gut
tiers. two bushels being used for the
twelve stalls. In the afternoon at five
o'clock the same performances are gone
thrOugh. excepting tho gutter is not
ernptied. but the half-wet sawdust is
left in il to absorb the moisture made in
the night. Cow manure so made from
cows well fed. aud each having some
grain food, heats and ferments very
rapidly, and unless the heaps under the
trap doors in the cellar or in the ward
are spreai at intervals Of a few davs
they VII become dry and firefanged
But when spread evenly over the floor
20 n depth Of three feet the manure fer
ments and rots 50 thoroughly that one
who did not know could not say there
was aly sawdust in it. Il is not ad-
visible 10 use more sawdust than will
soak up the water and prevent it from
living in pools. For horses and PIGS
there Is no bedding so good rs Sawdust,
and the tendency 10 heat may be avoid
Cd b. putting the horse manure in the
pig-yaTis. where the pigs viii keep it
well stirred up and in good condition.
These remarks apply only to hardwood
sawdust Pine sawdust IS of much less
value. and hardly worth the handling.
except 10 burn for the ashes. as il is too
ligh; and dry T. Times.