Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-11-10
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
now Successful Farmers Operate This
Department OF tho Farm "A Few
Hints Al TO the Care of Live STOCK
and Poultry
strset swoopInra ID Mnnure.

oH9ob 9Woopiugb hb manure
Tho United States Department Of
Agriculture has been conducting some
Investigations on the manurlal value
of street sweeping. The report says
In part:
The fertllizlng value OF street sweep
ings varies greatly with the nature
OF the pavements, being practically
nothing in the case of the material
taken from macadamized roads, and
approaching that of good stable ma
nure in the case of that collected on
the hand-swept and well-paved streets
OF crowded cities. The regulations In
different cities governing tho nature
OF substances which may DO thrown
Into the alleys and streets, and thus
ind their way into the material col
lected by the sweepers, vary 30 greatly
that there is consequently corre-
spending difference In the cost of sort
Ing and preparing the material for
spreading on the land. II is believed
that the rapidly increasing sentiment
In favor of the careful separation and
systematic utilization Of all forms OF
city wastes will tend to remove this
difficulty and thus increase tho value
Of sweepings, particularly of those
collected In alleys, where the percent
age Of miscellaneous rubbish Ii now
often very great. In autumn the guam
lily and, in many cases, the quality Of
The street cleaners product is greatly
Increased by the falling leaves.
Without knowledge Of the results
Of a large number of carefully con-
Quoted experiments, 1t would DO hard
10 determine from the results OF an
analysis just what price per ton farm
ers can afford to pay for street sweep
lngs In addition to the cost of hauling
and spreading them on the land. Us
Ing the very conservative estimate OF
10 cents per pound for the nitrogen,
and disregardlng the phosphoric acid
and potash, the poorest sample anal
Yzed would be worth "a cents per ton;
while the richest sample would BIO
worth STAG per ton. The material has
considerable value for many soils In
addition to the value of the plant food
1t contains, Gardeners declare that II
Is very useful for improving the me-
chanical condition of stlff and badly
nerated soils, It would also improve
the condition Of very light soils which
are deficient In moisture ca
pacity because Of the low percentage
Of organic matter which they contain.
The nitrogen OF street sweeplngs 10
not as readily available as the nitro
gen Of ordinary stable manure, be-
cause Of the smaller proportion Of
urine contained In the sweeplngs. 1t
Is a well established fact that the nj
trogen In the urine of animals Is much
more readily available than that con-
tanned in their solid excrement. 1t Is,
therefore, very difficult to make an es-
Innate Of the money value Of street
sweepings because Of the great varla-
ton In their composition, which Is de-
pendent upon the nature OF the pave
ments, the season of the year during
which they are collected, the manner
Of collection, ETC., and because many
accurate field tests must be made be-
fore we can determine their exact val
ue as a source of plant food. Sixteen
cities reported the prices at which
street sweepings are sold to farmers
by their street-cleaning departments
or contractors. These prices vary from
it cents to So per ton. The city of
Atlanta reports a contract for the sale
Of the sweepings Of their streets for
500 per year and an arrangement
which gives the STRENGTHENING de-
partment the advantage Of a short
haul. This seems to be an excellent
arrangement for both parties concern
ed, as the average quality Of the en-
tire product of city for "a whole
year ought not to vary greatly from
year to year. Moreover, the price can
be adjusted equltably from year to
year as the true value Of the material
becomes apparent.