The Red Cloud chief., 1896-07-03
Save the Fertilizers.

Save the Fertilizers.
IL was the boast of many early set
tiers OF Kansas that the soil was so
rich that manure was an actual in
jury to it. making crops grow too
rank, writes Professor :. G. Mason
in the lndustrialist. If we may
judge by the care which some farm
ers take to keep manure from their
land, that opinion must still prevail
in tho state. Not only do we soc
manure left in the yards to leach
n waste, often for several years,
before any attempt is made to haul
1T on the fields, but the location of
the yard Is often on the bank Of some
ravinc or stream so that the drainage
and wash from the stables and ma
nure piles is at One carried away bv
rains and the land deprived Of even
this chance Of getting back a part Of
what has been taken from il.
In feed lots where large numbers
OF cattle and hogs are fattencd,
manure Of the most valuable quality
is produced, because of the highly
concentrated nature of the food con-
sumcd yet these yards, for owen
fence in keeping them clean and be-
cause OF the botter shelter afforded,
are oftcnest located on IA bank where
all OF the valuable fertilizing mate
rial produced is swept away. II we
d to such waste the burning over
OF stubble fields that q furrow NAV
be turned for the next wheat crop
and the burning Of straw-stacks as
soon as tho thrasher is clear Of them,
We will only make a beginning at
summing up the sins which the
average farmer Is guilty of against
the soil he believes to be proof
against exhaustion.
One great source of waste occurs
in nearly every town in the state
from the hauling of manure from
public and private stables to some
common dumping ground either on
the river bank where the next high
water washes IL away or to some va
cant tract where Il either remains to
become Il nuisance or is occasionally
burned. The sandy soil of the bot
tom lands near the rivers, when
heavily MANFRED. affords the very
best truckers soil, ana . few market
gardeners are taking advantage Of
such opportunities. So far there is
still II great opportunity to utilize
what is wasted. While the supply of
vegetables is usually equal to the de-
mand, small fruits as Il rule are
scarce. except in the very Eastern
counties, and much greater area
might bc grown with profit. Large
quantities of vegetables might be
raised and canned to the exclusion Of
canned goods from other states. Can
ming establishments conducted on bus
mess principles and not Us n "boom"
have proved u success in a num-
Der OF localities. and have contrib
uted greatly to the prosperity of
their communities. With the estab-
iishmcnt of many more, the industry
OF vegetable and small-fruit garden
ing could be greatly extended, and
/ the waste of stable manure from our
towns become a thing of the past.
Seed farming, or the raising Of veg
etable seeds under contract with
large seed houses in the East, has
proved Il source OF profit 10 a num-
Der OF growers, and is a business that
is capable OF great extension. Where
land can DO rented at reasonable
rates and plenty of manure secured
for the hauling, II business of this
kind might be built up that would
give a handsome return.
II farmers and gardeners alike
will earn in advance the lessons
which are the very elements of agri-
culture in tho Eastern states, tho
fertility of Kansas soils may be pro-
served from exhaustion, At present
much OF Il farming is hut drawing
upon the capital which should be tho
inheritance of future generations.