Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-09-13
aaAssAoEsgssT or MANURE.


MANAGEMENT OF MANURE.
Csansa-ss.,, MeeAods As.lnss AigAr
= oounahg Thooeoe1sa1 Rlnns.
There ars' numerous theories which
read well, sound well whom presented
In club-room or " institute" sre per.
haps applicable in exceptional cases.
and yet have NO economical value In
any general sense But many men
catch at such things as eagerly - .
trout at fly, and often with quite -
disastrous result One Of these Is that
Of continuously stabling animals on
their droppings and litter. I prac-
ticed the method q great many
years with calves and swine. and for
merly to some extent with sheep. I
have tied up calf at two days old
and kept it on the same spot in the
barn until there was an accumulation
Of . cord and half Of manure under
its feet. trodden Is completely solid as
if it had been run through the most
powerful compress in any cOttOn-ship-
ping port. There was in that heap all
the manurial elements of . ton of litter.
mostly dry straw, though some green
weeds and some refuse fodder went into
it; more than 700 gallons of milk. moro
than 1900 pounds of dry mill-ieed.
cottonseed meal and cornmeal and all
tho dry hay and water the animal
chose to take. 1t was practically inn
possible to supply litter enough to hold
all the liquid, and it became necessary
to employ dry earth to absorb leakage
from the heap. have fed several
other "baby beeves." but 1 never un-
dertook to keep another upon the heap
from beginning to the end. prefer
placing them in q stall where the sur
plus liquids can run off into trench
and thence into the general manure
heap, and to clean out the accumula-
ton quite often.
Perhaps in large breeding establish
ments where cows are kept in box
stalls and men are always in attend
ance to keep the droppings carefully
covered. and movable feed-boxes and
racks are used. the method may BE-
employed to some advantage. but it is
inapplicable to common dairy practice.
Where animals are kept loose in yards
and sheds, or loose calves are wintered
in stables. its usefulness is unquestiOn-
able. But in the more exclusively
dairy sections one insuperable objec-
ton to any such system is the scarcity
of straw and other cheap litter. In q
wcll-arranged stable, with suitable
drop behind the animals to let the
manure fall out of their reach while
lying upon the floor. much smaller
quantity of litter answers every pur-
pose. and it requires only infrequent
renewal. The waste of manure, If any,
under this system results from made
quate protection after its removal from
the stable. That there is any saving
by the treading-dOwn system has never
been shown. though often asserted.
The long and short of it is. the treading-
down system is only lazy mans de-
vice to avoid labor. and in practice it
confirms the old adage that lazy men
in the end take most pains. Neatness
and economy IN stable management go
hand in hand. The best place for any
thing which may cOntaminate the air
of the stable is in a compact heap in a
separate apartment and we'll protected
from the weather. lido not quite be-
lieve that any man who has once thor
Oughly tried the treading-dOwn method
in the stable will stake his reputation
by advocating its economy in any par
ticular, except in cases have named
or in others quite akin to them--O. S.