The Southern herald., 1886-03-13
EERTILIZATIoN.
How Western Farmers Can Make ManuTa
without Much Expense.

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without Much Expense.
AS a rule the farmers Of Illinois. and
probably of the entire West, have paid
but little attention to either making.
saving or using manure. Heretofore
the deep, rich, black soil has not seemed
to require manuring, but the time has
evidently now come when this must be
attended to. 1 have just met friend
from my old home in Western New
York, who says that the farmers there
now use prepared fertilizer made Of
bones (ground to apowder) and blood,
which is drilled into the wheat land
in the spring, at cost of one dollar
and twenty-five cents per acre. West
ern farmers would hardly think they
could afford to spend one dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre in manuring
their crops. The price of crops would
not Justify the outlay, even if enough
could be obtained to go over even a
portion of the land. We must therefore
try and make and save all the manure
we can to use on our lands. If we could
put good portion of our tillable land
in wheat and oats, we could use the
straw for bedding in the horse stables
and then cover the barn-yards, SO as to
make large amount of manure. This
is done at the East, where all stock ID
kept either in barn or close yards pro-
tected by sheds. and the straw is spread
over the whole surface so as to make iG
dry and comfortable at the same time
make large amount of manure. But
we in Illinois can not raise wheat, and
our only supply is the oat straw. In
about four cases out Of six our farmers
thrash their oats in the field where
they grow; the straw is stacked there,
and some little part is drawn to the
barn and used for bedding horses, butI
have never seen case where any at
tempt was made to cover the barn.
yard. know of one small farm whera
five straw stacks are standing on thirty
acres, and yet these stacks are
within sixty rods of the barn.yard.
They are left to settle and decay
by time, and long time it takes, too.
1t is also quite common to stack the
hay in the meadow at some distances
from the barn, and almost always quite
an amount is left at the stacks, and
some of the stacks are frequently left TO
rot down by time and the elements.
Now this is all wrong. All the hay.
oats and wheat, when raised, should DO
brought to the barn; the oats to be SO
stacked as to stack the straw in part
of the barn-yard, and the hay close by,
if not put in the barn. Then, as tho
winter advances, the straw can, if not
fed and used in the barn, be spread in
the baln-yard, and by spring larger
body of manure will have been made.
This can be done even if the stock are
allowed to run at large over the pasture
and stalk-felds when the ground is 50
frozen as to admit of it, and there 10
generally large portion of the winter
season when they must be kept off the
fields. Then the straw and hay can be
used. 1t is my opinion that the time 10
not far distant when stock in the West
will be confined to barn-yards and win
tered, as in the East and in colder
northern countries. Then all tho
manure made by the farmers stock can
be saved and used where needed most
Eastern farmers buy steers to winter,
stabbed in barns, for the purpose Of
making manure. There every thing
raised on the farm is brought to the
barn-wheat, oats, clover, hay for
seed) and beans-and when thrashed
is all saved andf fed out to stock, besides
the corn-stalks and hay. When spring
comes the barn-yard is covered two
feet deep 1t may be said the Western
farmer can't do this; perhaps not fully,
but he can certainly make use of all he
has. If this be followed up for few
years, the farmer will be surprised in
two ways; first, by the amount Of
manure he has made, and second, BY
the increase in his crops-both corr
and hay.-Cor. Chicago Times.