Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-05-02
MANURE BASINS.
An Excellent Method Of Saving Fert1ll1ln4
Materials.

MANURE BASINS.
An Excelont Method Of Saving Fertillzsne
Materials.
There is q practical difficulty in the
methods Of saving manure which arc
generally advocated in the agri-
cultural papers. This is especially
true of horse manure. which IS more
liable to ferment and heat than any
other kind. The difficulty is in avoid
ing the two extremes of fire and
water. in saving the manure from de-
terioration and loss from tire-fanging
on the one hand and from loaching,
washing and evaporation on the
other A manure cistern intended
only for the reception of liquid man.
ure is radically wrong, because the
liquid and solid parts are better kept
together; they are not only more
easily handled when combined, but
they present to the growing crops, in
combin alton, BETTER moro SYM
motrical union of nil clements needed
for plant growth. Even if it were bet
ter to save and apply tho urine by
itself (Which high authorities.
such as Sir John Lawes, Henry
Stewart and others agree in stating
that it is noD not five farmers in a
hundred could DO induced to adopt
tho manure cistern, for this system of
saving and hauling it out, with tanks
on wheels, sprinklers, ETC., is too COM
plicated and elaborate. is ''too much
tinkering," as Yankee would say.
l.have seen liquid manure applied to
pastures along tho river Main. noar
Frankfort Germany. with sprink-
ling-cart about like that used to water
the streets of town; hut the same
farmers were using plows and harrows
OF the most clumsy and awkward con-
struction imaginable, showing that
there was no science in their system.
Such q plow would condemn such a
III anure-sprinkler at sight.
Bat where five farmers in a hundred
could be persuaded to accept the ma
nure tank. twenty could be persuaded
to save this Invaluable element by
means Of absorbents. bedding, etc.
And tho point of over-shadowing i'm
portance is to get farmers to save their
manure somehow, anyhow, any way
that is practicable.
1never had or saw rooted barn.
yard. but have had plenty of expe-
rience in storing manure under cover.
1t is better to haul out and spread on
the ground at once, all kinds of ma.
nure than to store it in dry place.
especially for horse manure. This
saves the handling of it once. and
when applied fresh on tho ground ali
matter leacbed ont of it by the rain is
retained exactly where it is wanted.
For six months of the year, the colder
half. manure will lose nothing appre-
ciablc if scattered over the ground
where it is to be plowed under
hold that the best possible disposition
to make of raw manure is to haul il
out at once any time during those six
months But this is not always con-
venient OF practicable. The farmer
forgets it and it is troublesome to get
up tie team for two or three hours
hauling week. The manure pile &C.
cumulatcs day by day; the first thing
one knows it is steaming like char
coal pit, and an examination reveals
the whole interior of it white with fer
mentation and hot enough to cook an
egg: 1t is spoiled. Now the grea,
desideratum is handy place for stor-
ing away manure where it will not
heat, and where it can easily be got at
when it IS to be hauled out. Dry
storage makes heat, and heat ruins the
manure, for not one farmer in hun
dred will stir it or pour water over it.
If the hog pen is close at hand. thu
hogs may be turned in to do the STIR
ring. but they must be turned out
every day or they will sleep in the
manure pile and receive injury.
Wet storage. however. is what we
want. The natural rainfall is Just
about sufficient in Quantity to put out
the fire in the manure and keep it out,
if only we can find some means OF
preventing tho water from carrying
away the valuable part of the manure.
This suggests the idea of a manure
basin. broad shallow excavation,
situated centrally between the various
stables and rendered watcr-tight.
with a lining of clay. or still better
of brick or stone and cement. One
of my neighbors has one in OHIO, and
there is another in this neighborhood
in Florida, both lined with clay. Each
of them has q capacity of 400 or 500
wagon loads. The one in Ohio is re-
filled every week or so with dry straw
as deep as cow can wallow through.
This one in Florida is filled with pine
straw. weeds. refuse hay, stubbles.
etc. An abundance of these materials
is used for bedding in the stables,
which are arranged on three sides of a
square. All the manure and every
thing which will make manure is cast
into the basin and trampled down.
cornstalks and other such coarse stuff
excepted. The one IN Florida is
emptied once year. The team is
driven into and across it whcaever