Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-06-20
The Greatest Waste OF the Farm.

The greatest waste of tho farm con-
sists in the unnecessary loss of manure,
and chiefly the liquid portion of it. OF
the food consumed by an animal ninety
five to ninety-six per cent. of the nitro
genous part of il is elected as waste i'm
the eXcrement, only about four per
cent. being utilized in repairing the
waste of the system; and about seventy
three to seyenty-nine per cent. out of
this ninety-iive or ninetysix per cent.
exists in the urine. And yet on a very
large proportion of farms probably
ninety out of every hundred-no pro-
vision at all is made for saving this
liquid manure. To save and utilize it is
quite easy. There is no necessity for
tanks and pumps and barrel-carts for
spreading it upon fields; very simple
provision for gathering it where it NAV
be absorbed by fine dry litter is all that
is needed. There is even no necessity
for manure cellar, although this is a
great convenience. A tight gutter, a
drain, and cemented waterproof basin
in the yard, protected from the wash from
the roofs, are all that are required,
and in this basin the finer drv mat
ter may be made to absorb all the
liquid portion. There was once a man
named BONNER. who has been called
crank, becan.e he made hobby of this
very matter of saving the valuable
liquid manure, but who was wiser than
many who cast aspersions upon his
good sense. He reduced his theory to
Il method or system, aud published a
valuable tile pamphlet descriptive of
it. 1t is remarkably simple and en-
ceedingly valuable, and perfectly prac-
ticable. de made n pit at the center
of a sloping basin of suitable size.
made it water-tight, placed some logs
across the pit and covered these with
rails. Upon the rails he placed the
manure mixed with everything useful
for manure that could be raked and
scraped together; sods, 1eaf-mold,
weeds, without their seeds) swamp
muck, etc. A simple wooden pump
was fitted into the pit at The side of she
heap and the liquid brought from the
stables and pens in drains to the pit
was pumped up and spread over the
heap until it was saturated, and this
was repeated as might be necessary to
dispose of the liquid, or keep the solid
matter in n good condition and moist
enough to heat and decompose rapidly.
Every farmer can see the value of this
method which is known as Bommor's
method and deserves TO be rescued
from neglect and oblivion.
The most valuable point of il is that
the manure, is equalized in value, and
Peter is not robbed to pay Paul in any
part of the farm. Some farmers known
TO us have taken great pains to save
and use the liquid manure in a way we
consider unwise. The liquid is saved
in a tank. pumped into a barrel cart,
and carried and spread upon the fields.
This is well as far as it goes, but it does
not 60 far enough, and it goes too far.
There are the pit and the pump, but
there is the barrel cart. and this last il
an unnecessary expense. But this is
the least objection to it. The urine con-
tains five-sixths of the nitrogen of the
food which has been used and nearly
all of the potash. BY spreading the
urine alone portion of the land is up-
duly, and yet insufficieDtly. enriched;
it gets nearly all the nitrogen, all the
potash, and none of the phosphoric acid;
while the remainder of the field gets
the impoverished solid manure which
contains chiefly the phosphoric
acid of the food. This is exceedingly
wasteful, because however much nitro
gen and potash we may apply to a field.
if phosphoric acid is wanting, no useful
effect results; and however much. phos-.
phoric acid we may furnish it will be
unavailing if it is not accompanied by
a necessary supply of the other ele-
ments. 1t is as great q mistake as
hunter might make who carried with
him his gun and his shot-bag and sent
his companion of in another direction
with the powder-fask, aud would ex-
pect between them 20 come home load
ed down with game. One alone could
do nothing, however well supplied ne
might be with his ineffective materials,
totally useless. however, unless in eff
fective combination. And therefore il
Is that it win not pay any farmer to take
pains to save the liquid manure unless
he makes suitable provision for min
CLING it usefuliy with the solids.-N. Y.
TiRssS.