HOW FARMERS CAN IMPROVE. 71 



by far too small, and that farmers would be greatly benefited 

 if this amount could be increased without too great expense. 

 And I now submit that this amount can be greatly increased, 

 probably doubled, by means over which farmers have com- 

 plete and absolute control. Of course all the manure from 

 the ftirm-yard should be saved. But what is the fact? In 

 many cases there is drainage from the yards, even at the 

 present day, and so a large part of the value of the manure is 

 washed away by the rains. When this is not the case, the 

 manures are too often entirely exposed to wind and weather, 

 and the riches which the farmer might gain are borne away 

 by the passing winds. It is not enough even for farmers to 

 save so much of their farm-yard manure as is not washed 

 away and is not carried away by the winds, but if they would 

 use all the means they have at hand to increase their hay- 

 crop, they must, by the aid of cellars and sheds, save not 

 only the entire bulk of the barn-manures, but also the full 

 strength of these valuable fertilizers. 



But it is not enough to save all the fertilizers that come 

 from the barn. Everything from the sinks and drains from 

 the house should be carefully saved, mixed with earth, and 

 added to or composted with the materials from the barn. It 

 is not too much to say, that the materials from the sinks and 

 other sources connected with the houses, and which in many 

 cases are now destructive to health and comfort, would, if 

 properly utilized, not only secure greater neatness on the 

 premises, but would add hundreds of dollars to the yearly in- 

 come from the hay-fields of a single farm. The true farmer 

 will see to it that not a particle of fertilizing material lies un- 

 used around the house or other buildings of the farm-yard, and 

 that not a particle is washed uselessly away by the rains, or 

 borne away by the winds. 



Again, can farmers increase their hay-crop, and other crops 

 also, by herding all their cattle and sheep at night, and thus 

 securing a vast amount of manure that is not needed on the 

 pasture-lands, or if needed, would be far better expended on 

 the grounds which are to be mown ? I believe this a subject 

 to which farmers need to give far more attention. It is not 

 necessary to drive the flocks and herds home to the farm-yard 

 nightly, but yards and shelters may be constructed in the pas- 



