THEIR CAUSES, NATURE, AND PREVENTION. 185 



For all practical purposes, the best manures for the farmer are 

 organic manures, if they can be got in sufficient quantity and if 

 'put on the land before undergoing decomijosition. A man may 

 delight in watching his labourers cut through the manure 

 heap as they would through a mass of butter, but it must be 

 remembered that such material has lost much of its most valu- 

 able constituents ; its gases have been dissipated in the form of 

 stench and its salts washed out by rain. 



I will give one practical illustration of the difference between 

 natural and artificial manures on sheep. During his lifetime 

 my father never purchased, to my knowledge, an ounce of arti- 

 ficial manure other than Peruvian guano and occasionally lime 

 and salt, and no man ever profited more by his sheep ; but after 

 his death the modern bailitf went in largely for artificials in the 

 proper acceptation of the term and, figuratively speaking, the 

 land became covered with the carcasses of sheep which had 

 been " struck," i.e., that died from black leg or similar affections. 



In reference to supplementary foods, putting aside hay, I 

 think there is nothing better than oats — crushed in preference — 

 bran, crushed linseed and ground malt ; and in reference to the 

 latter it must be borne in mind that, independently of its 

 nutrient properties, it assists very largely the digestive pro- 

 cesses and its dust contains a fair percentage of potash. Of 

 late half-malted barley has grown in the favour of some feeders, 

 and particular attention has been recently directed to its value 

 by Mr J. Shaw, of Walkington Towers Farm, Beverley, in the 

 Leeds Mercury: — 



" Since the malt duty was removed every former can make malt for him- 

 self, free from all restrictions, and the cost to him of making it is a nominal 

 one. 



" Formerly, very much was thought of malt as a feed for all stock, and it 

 is especially good for cows, as they will upon it, with bran and other food, 

 produce plenty of rich sweet milk all the winter through. Sheep, beasts, 

 and horses all thrive and fatten upon a mixture of it and other foods, but of 

 kite years it has not been much used, as its cost has been higher than other 

 feeders. 



" Malt is termed green when the roots and stem of the barley, from which 

 it is made, are sulRciently growu for it to be put upon the kiln to be dried. 

 It is also at this stage of its growth that it is of the most value as a feeder, 

 it being found that the green malt gives better feeding results than dried 

 malt, and, as I will show later on, every farmer can easily make this sort of 

 malt himself almost without any manufacturing cost. 



" As I have already said, the general use of green malt has been curtailed 

 by its comparative expensiveness, but this objection does not exist at the 

 present. There is no better barley for making this malt from than that 

 imported from Russia, being less liable to mould; and, singular to say, this 

 sort of barley has never before been so plentiful nor so cheap as it is at the 

 present time — in fact, it can be got at the chief ports at 6d. per stone, or £A 

 per ton, which is below the price of hay, undecorticated cotton cakes, and 

 bran — in fact, feeding barley is at present more than Ijd. to l^d, per stone, 



