The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-10-27

strikes me common carpenter and
blacksmith can make it very well.
Respecting my manure cellar, I
cannot see how any loss of liquid could
happen. Although the Kemp dis.
tributor-an extra large one-is driven
into the cellar by heavy pair of horses,
the six inches of beaten clay stand the
strain thoroughly. The wheels sink al
most three inches. When the whole
cellar has been cleaned out, we
have only TO scrape the top of the
clay about one-half inch (outside
of whecl-tracks to get at the clean, slaty
blue of fresh, plastic (weD clay; show
ing, it strikes me, evidently, that the
manure did not even get in that far. But,
once more, / expect you some day to
investigate this and other subjects here,
with scrupulous care, for l am search
ing for the right ,ody, and no mistake.
For many years past, l have fed no
roots to my mich COWS. / cannot afford
to grow them here at a profit as stock
food-moreover with cow-hay Glover
and mixed grasses) at IS ton, and
straw at about $3.50 q am satisfied
with prepared food that is cut fine),
mixed with bran and crushed grains,
the whole heated by steam after sailing
and thorough wetting. Mr.. Jenner
Fust, in the English Journal, objects
to cooking food for cows. Well, am,
with all due respect, still in favor of
producing heat in the cows with refuse
farm fuel, sooner than with costly
crushed peas and oats mixed with oil
meal. Our principal, if not only, aim,
is in the production of excellent butter,
and the more winter butter, the better.
There is no doubt that the manure
produced in winter is considerably
drier on our prepared food, than that
from grass. AS our cows sleep in the
stables all the year round, we have now
large excess of urine in the cellar, the
more so that the pile is not yet three
feet deep. In the spring our pile
averages about seven feet. 1t is then
spongeous mass from which the liquid
does not drop. But it may be different
this next spring, as we shall now feed
forty-fve pounds of ensilage to each
animal through the winter.
"Our dairy-remember, ,ce get the
top price in our local markets. close
upon the stables, Dutch fashion, and
within fourteen feet of the manure Gel
lar. Would you believe there is posi-
lively not the least smell in this dairy?
Here, again, l expect your careful
scrutiny.
g My aim, all through this, is to obtain
the greatest amount of work on the
smallest expenditure of time and
money. With our situation, as above,
the steam engine works the Laval
Centrifugal, the churn, pump, ETC., and
also drives, in the barn, the straw-cut-
ter, thresher, ETC., ETC., the attendant
being close to all his machines.
'On the whole, my barn is some
what of curiosity, with deep cellar
and yet not single foundation stone.
We have the lumber and timber on the
farm; our farm hands make all ordi-
nary repairs and additions such as silos,
butter factory, ETC., without need of
extra skilled labor. This barn and
cellar / built some twenty-five years
ago. The cellar was, until two years
ago, used first for roots and. when
there were no more roots grown, for
general purposes, but posts, starting
from the cellar bottom to the peak of
the barn, were repaired last year for
the first time. All they needed was a
splicing at the bottom of about five
feet.
"This letter is already too long.
Later on, l may describe my calf pens
and give fuller details, if agreeable.
l.. A. BARNARD"
We are happy to announce that Mr..
Barnard promises us series of articles
on subjects connected with dairying,
and other important farm topics, which
will appear under the title of "Quebec
Papers" He is a keenly intelligent
and energetic dairy-farmer, and we con-
slider ourselves fortunate in his willing
ness thus to contribute to our depart
ment of the paper. Mr.. Barnard says
of his seed-drill mentioned above), in
another letter:
"It works splendidly, sowing broad
cast, or in drills, grain as well as beet
seed and corn, and also small Glover
or other grass) seeds, all separately, of
course, but in one operation. 1t is
simply two-horse roller and seed-drill
combined"