172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of bay, " Now, you are in my possession ; you have two values ; you 

 have come to my barn to fulfill your full mission ; I shall not allow you 

 to pass through my hands until I have taken all there is of value 

 from you ; I distinctly see the value j'ou have to supply my stock 

 with food that shall enable them to grow, take on flesh, or fill the 

 pail ; and I as plainly see the value you have to return to my land 

 to aid me in growing more crops, and thus help maintain or renew 

 the natural productiveness of my farm, and keep intact the 

 inheritance of m}' fathers, which came to me as a trust, and which I 

 am bound to transmit unimpaired to mj- posterity," we fail to realize 

 its full value. Let us look for a moment at figures that tell the 

 story : 



The money value of a ton of English hay to return to the farm 

 in actual fertilizing material is $5.86 ; clover, $7.60 ; wheat straw, 

 $2.61; oat straw, $2.46; rye straw, $2.77; corn, $5.55; barley, 

 $5.95; wheat bran, $11.37; cotton seed meal, $16.18. Now if 

 the ton of hay, or other fodder, is sold off the farm, just that amount 

 of fertilizer must be supplied from some other source in order to 

 prevent an actual loss of fertility, which lessens the amount of 

 capital invested in the farm. For it must be remembered that the 

 amount of capital in a farm is in proportion to the amount of 

 available fertility it contains, not in proportion to its size. A 

 farmer may own acres enough for an earldom, and still have no 

 available capital. The loss is identical if the same amount of 

 fertility is allowed to run to waste and pollute streams and wells, 

 while the evil effects are far more serious to contemplate. Now, 

 to avoid all this, it is necessary to have things so arranged that all 

 the waste from the animals may be secured. Just what the 

 arrangement may be, each farmer must study out for himself. 

 But we will name the first necessary condition to be a good supply 

 of absorbents of some kind. The locality must determine what 

 this shall be. Something that has some actual fertility in its com- 

 position is much to be preferred, but is not indispensable. Muck 

 being composed of waste vegetable matter, is very valuable if 

 judiciously handled, but it must go on to the land through the pig-pens 

 and stable. Sand has been used by some of our farmers, and 

 when placed upon a clay loam soil, its effects are good. Road 

 dust, sods, shavings, sawdust, leaves, cobs, etc., ma}^ be used to 

 advantage, if . obtainable. ,If mu.ch sand is iised there will be 



