Middletown transcript., 1917-10-27


PROPER WAY TO
(From the United States Department OF
| AGriculture.)
Farmers are urged in statement
recently issued by Assistant Secretary
Carl Vrooman to make every effort to
save the vast amount Of valuable ma
nure now allowed to go to waste in
this country. Assistant Secretary Vroos
man estimates that one-half the ma
nure produced in the United States is
not used as fertilizer, there being an
annual loss of material worth 81 ,20O,-
OOO,OO0-cnce and half the value Of
the country's 1916 wheat crop.
'This is not wild guess" he contin-
ues, "but a very shrewd and coRserva-
tive estimate based on reliable statis-
tics. It has been found that each
horse or mule produces annually $27
worth Of manure (as compared with
commercial fertilizers), each head Of
cattle 500 worth, each hog So worth.
Calculating from the 1910 census fig
ures for number Of animals on farms
-62,OOO.OOO cattle, 24OO0,OOO horses
and mules, 100000 swine, and 54,-
100000 sheep and goats-the total
value of manure produced is found to
be about $2,461, 100000. Recent inves-
legations by the United States depart
ment of agriculture indicate that at
least half Of this great wealth of fer
tilizfng material is wasted. In some
good general farming sections not
more than Is per cent of the manure
produced is used. Even in the most
intensive dairy regions, where cows
are largely stall fed and comparative
ly great care taken with the manure,
the less seems to be approximately 25
per cent.
Job for American Farmer.
"Here, then, is job for the Ameri-
can farmer, worthy of his utmost ef-
fort and in keeping with the spirit of
this great hour in American history.
To save a billion dollars worth Of ma
nure is herculean task-a veritable
latter-day Augean-stable job, for it
means the handling Of literally mill
lions Of tons Of dung and litter. It
means the construction Of concrete
manure pits, of paved feeding pens or
sheds, and greatly increased care in
the conservation and use of bedding
materials. It means a lot of work.
but it is work that can be done at odd
hours and moments, and work that
will pay tremendous dividends, not
only as a war measure, but conceiv-
ably for all time, for If we once get
the habit of making full use Of our
available manure supply we are not
likely to lapse into the old, wasteful
ways again.
"The cheapest and best way to ham
die manure, when convenient, is to
haul it to the field and spread 1t
daily, or at least every two or three
days. In this way, If plenty of bedding
be used, practically alf the valuable
constituents of the manure are saved,
since teaching after the manure is on
arabic land merely serves to put the
fertilizing materials where they ought
to be. In this way, too, loss through
heating, or fre-fanging,' is avoided.
ideal Manure Pits.
"Many farmers, however, are not so
situated as to make it profitable for
them to handle manure in this way.
For such farmers the concrete manure |
pit offers an ideal way Of saving ma
nure. Such pit need not entail great |
expense. A pit three feet deep, II |
feet long and six feet wide, with walls |
and floors five inches thick, will |
serve the needs Of the average farm.
In ground that does not cave in, only |
an inside form will be needed for such
pit, except where the concrete ex-
tends a few inches above the ground +
to prevent flooding by surface wa
ter. The floor should be REINFORCED
with woven-wire fencing, put in after
about two inches Of cement has been
laid, the sections of fencing being cut
long enough to bend up few inches
at either end into tbs side walls. When
the reinforcing has been put in the
remaining three inches Of the floor is
laid, and the forms for the side walls
set up and used Immediately. Use one
part cement, two Of sand, and four of
screened gravel. A pit Of this kind is
large enough to hold the accumula-
ton of manure on the average farm
until such time as it can be hauled
conveniently to the field and spread.
Another Good Way
"Another good way to save manure,
in the case of hogs or Of
beef cattle, is to have a concrete paved
feed lot, preferably under a shed roof.
Where the farmer cannot afford a
paved floor, cheap open fencing shed
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Make Horse Raisind Paw