Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-07-03

CARL vRooMAN URGES
| FARM Frs 70 PREVENT
HUGE MANURE WASTE
Farmers are urged in a statements
| sued by Assistant Secretary Carl vroo-
man to make every effort to save tht
vast amount of valuable manure nov
allowed to 60 to waste in this country
| Assistant Secretary Vrooman estimates
| that one-half the manure produced II
| the United States is not used as fer
| tilizer, there being an annual loss Of
material worth twelve hundred millior
doiiars-oiioe and half the value o!
| the country's 1915 wheat crop.
This is not wild guess he con.
| tinues, but a very shrewd and con
sentative estimate based, on reliable
statistics. 1t has been found that each
horse or mule produces annually vi
worth of manure Gas compared with
commercial fertilizer); each head OF
cattle $40 worth; each hog IS worth
Calculating from the 1910 census fig
ures for number of animals on farms
100000 cattle, 100000 horses arIc
mules, 5s.000,000 swine, and 54500,OO(
sheep and goats.-the total value OF
manure produced is found to be about
81, 461, 100000 Recent Investigations by
the department indicate that at least
half of this great wealth Of fertilizine
material is sheer waste. In some gooo
general farming sections not more
than Is per cent Of the manure pro-
duced is used. Even in the most in
tensive dairy regions. where COWS arc
largely stall fed and comparatively
great care taken with the manure. the
loss seems to be approximately IS pei
cent.
Here, then. Is Job for the American
farmer, worthy of his utmost effort
and in keeping with the spirit OF this
great hour in American history. TIC
save billion dollars worth Of manure
is a Herculean taxa veritable lat
ter day Augean stable job.-for 1t
means the handling of literally millions
Of tons of dung and litter 1t means
the construction Of concrete manure
pits, of paved feeding pens or sheds,
and greatly increased care in the con-
servation and use Of bedding materials
1t means a lot of work. but it is work
that can be done at odd hours and mo-
ments. and work that will pay tre-
mendous dividends, not only as a war
measure, but conceiyably 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 han
die manure. where convenient. is to
haul it to the field and spread II
daily, or at least every two or three
days In this way. If plenty OF bed
ding be used. practically all the valu-
able constituents Of the manure are
saved, since teaching after the manure
Is on arabic land merely serves to put
the fertilizng materials where they
ought to be. In this. way too. loss
thru heating. or fire fanging. is
avoided. @
Many farmers. however. are not 81
situated as to make it profitable foi
them to handle manure in this way.
For such farmers the concrete manure
pit offers an, ideal. way Of saving
manure. Such a pit need not entail
great expense A pit three feet deep,
twelve 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
a pit. except where the concrete ex-
tends a few inches above the ground
to prevent flooding by surface water
The floor should be reinforced with
woven wire fencing, put in after about
two inches Of cement has been laid, the
section OF fencing being cut long
enough to bend up few inches at
either end into the 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
large enough to hold the accumulation
Of manure on the average farm until
such a time as it can be hauled con-
veniently to the field and spread.
Another good way to save manure,
especially in the case of hogs or OF
beef cattle, is to have concrete
paved feed lot, preferably under shed
roof. Where the farmer can not afford
a paved floor, cheap open feeding
shed may be made to serve the pur-
pose very well. II abundant bedding If
used to absorb the valuable liquid
manure. In such a feeding lot or shed
the manure ia allowed to gather under
the feet OF the animals. each days
bedding being strewn over the we'll
tramped accumulation below. Some
farmers using this system arrange
their feed racks so that they can be
raised from time to time. making II
possible to feed till several feet OF
solidly packed manure has accumulat-
ed under the shed. It has been shown
that manure suffers little from heat
ing and teaching when handled in this
way.
THE feeding shed serves the pur-
pose Of giving the general farm, or the
beef cattle farm, something Of the ad-
vantage in the matter Of manure saw.
ing held by the intensive dairy farm.
It has been shown by Farm Manage
ment surveys that the manure saved
on the American farm under present
conditions is almost exactly proper
tional to the number Of animals stall
fed on the farm, and that the manure
Of animals not stabbed has very little
effect on yields except in cases where
field crops are 'hogged-oT or other
wise pastured down or where pasture
+ Is used in q rotation.
"This great war has brought home
to us Americans, as it has never been
emphasized before, the fact that we are
the worlds champion MASTERS. With
out making any comparisons. and sub