The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1917-08-02

cattle, 24,000,0OO horses and mules,
5s,OOO,OOO swine, and 54,OOO,OOO sheep
and goats-the total value of manure
production is found to be about $2,4Di-,
100000. Recent Investigations by the
United States Department of Agri-
culture indicate that at least ha!t of
this great wealth of fertilizing materi-
al 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 re-
gions, where cows are largely stall
, fed and comparatively great care TAX
en- with manure, there seems to
be approximately 25 per cent.
Here then, is job for the Ameri-
can farmer, worthy OF his upmost eff
fort and in keeping with the spirit of
this great hour in American history.
To save billion dollars worth of man
ure is a herculean task-a veritable
latter-day Augean-stable job, for it
means the handling of literally mil
lions 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 conservation and use of bedding
materials. 1t 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 on
ly as war measure, but conceivably
for all time, for if we once get the ha-
bit 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 hand
lie manure, where convenient, is to
haul it to the field and spread it daily,
or at least every two or three days
In this way, if plenty of bedding is
used, practically all the valuable con-
stituents of the manure are saved,
since teaching after the manure is on
urable land merely serves to put the
fertilizing materials where they ought
to be. in this way, too, loss through
heating, or 'fire-fanging,' is avoided.
"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
pits offer an ideal way of saving man
ure. Such pit need not entail great
expense. A pit 3 feet deep, IL feet
long and feet wide, with walls and
floors inches thick, will serve the
needs of the average farm. In ground
hof inc Ia
form will be needed for such pit, ex-
cept where the concrete extends a
few inches above the ground to pre-
manure. In such feeding lot or shed
floor should be reinforced with woven
wire fencing put in after about in
ches of cement has been laid, the sec
tions of fencing being cut long en-
ough to bend few inches at either
end into the side walls. When the re-
inforcing has been put in the remain
ing inches of the floor is laid, and
the forms for the side walls set up and
used Immediately. Use one part ce-
ment, two of sand, and four of screen
gravel. A pit of this kind is large en-
ough to hold the accumulation of man
ure on the average farm until such a
time as it can be hauled conveniently
to the field and spread.
"Another good way to save manure.
espescally in the case of hogs or of
beef cattle, is to have concrete paw
ed feed lot. preferably under shed
roof. Where the farmer cannot af-
ford paved floor, cheap open feed
ing shed may be made to serve the
purpose very well if abundant bedding
is used to absorb the valuable liquid
manure. In such feeding lot or shed
the manure is allowed to gather under
the feet of the animals, each days bed
ding being strewn over the well tramp
ed accumulation below. Some farm
ers using this system arrange their
feed racks so that they can be raised
from time to time, making it possible
to feed till several feet of solidly pack
ed manure has accumulated under the
shed. 1t has been shown that manure
suffers little from heating and leach
off" or otherwise pastured down, or
"The feeding shed serves the pur-
pose Of giving the general farm, or