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l^HE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



stbbk, says he prefers bos feeding to any other method ; 

 and better still with a small yard for exercise. He says 

 such are the best for feeding prize animals, but he re- 

 commends only two beasts being together when not tied 

 up. Stevens, in his " Book of the Farm," says : " Mr. 

 Boswell's testimony in favour of hammols (that is, small 

 sheds and yards) is most conclusive, and it is this : 

 ' From the result of my own experiments, as well as the 

 unanimous opinion of every agriculturist with v,'hom I 

 have conversed on the subject, I feel convinced that 

 there is no point more clearly established than that 

 cattle improve quicker, or, in Other words, thrive better 

 in open hammels than in close byres.' " Mr. Steven- 

 son, in his essay on the farming of East Lothian, in the 

 "Royal Agricultural Society's Journal," says: "The 

 cattle, while being fattened, are usually kept in open 

 courts; when these are comfortable, and the cattle of a 

 quiet disposition, they are found to make nearly as great 

 progress as those fed in stalls or boxes. During fine 

 weather the rate of progress is found to be equal." And, 

 in another place, he says : " Mr. Brodie, by experiment, 

 satisfied himself that feeding in open courts is preferable 

 to boxes." The opinions above are those ofNorth- 

 cOuntrymen and Scotchmen. I have already mentioned 

 Mi-. Huxtable, of Hampshire, having recourse to sheds 

 and yards, after proving the injurious effects of constant 

 confinement upon the constitution of his stock. Mr. E!l- 

 inan, of Sussex, recommends sheds and yards for young 

 stock, as nothing contributes more to their health and 

 strength than giving them their liberty and sufifering 

 them to range while young. I think these opinions are 

 sufficient to prove that as regards the health, &c., of 

 the stock, and the economy of food, sheds and yards 

 are preferable to boxes. Then, as regards the ma- 

 nure made in them. In " Morton's Cyclopaedia," 

 I find them thus objected to ; " lii the sys- 

 tem of shed and yard feeding, there is the ob- 

 jection that the more valuable parts of the manure 

 are exhausted into the atmosphere, or washed away by 

 every shower." Now, to this I contend that it is not 

 at all necessarily the case that either of these results 

 should follow. All that is required is to litter the sheds, 

 which may even be slightly sunk, as in the box system ; 

 and keep your yards clean, which when but slightly lit- 

 tered I know is not very difficult. I do not see any ob- 

 jection to putting the scrapings from the yards under 

 the sheds, and covering it with straw, so as to maintain 

 a nice comfortable layer for the cattle. And I know 

 that the manure thiis made under the shed will be very 

 similar to box-made manure. Stevens, in his " Book of 

 the Farm," who advocates sheds and yards in preference 

 to boxes, says ; " The manure would be equally as well 

 compressed and good in sheds as in boxes. I observe 

 sometimes the directly contrary management to that I 

 am advocating, viz., the practice of cleaning out the 

 sheds frequently, and exposing the manure to the action 

 of the rain, &c. I am sure this is wrong. But I shall 

 be met with an objection to this, by those farmers who 

 have more straw than they know what to do with ; 

 whose great trouble, in fact, is to get their straw rotted. 

 I have previously combated this argument, and pointed 



out the necessity for the more extensive use of straw as 

 food for our stock ; but I shall again be met with the 

 objection that the straw grown in our southern climate 

 is by no means so good as that in the North of Eng- 

 land and Scotland ; but if Sir. Bond is able to feed aiia 

 do his sheep well on straw, surely we may expect it will 

 prove good food for cattle also. Let me now draw yovir 

 attention to some remarks of Marshall's, who, in 

 writing on the farming of Gloucestershire in 1789, thus 

 highly speaks of the sheds, and yards peculiar to it : 

 " What characterizes the bullock sheds of this district, 

 and distinguishes them from those of every other I have 

 observed, is the circumstance of each bullock having a 

 house and yard to himself, in which he goes loose, occu- 

 pying them by turns, as appetite or amusement directs 

 him ; having a manger and a drinking trough to go to 

 at pleasure. He, of course, eats when he is hungry and 

 drinks when he is thirsty. He is also at liberty to rub 

 or to lick himself, as well as to keep his body in a 

 degree of temperature as to heat or cold. Theory coiild 

 not readily suggest more rational principles." Slarshall 

 goes on to describe the dimensions, &c., of the sheds, 

 and then adds ; " The partitions of the pens are gates, 

 reaching from the pillars to the boundary wall, and like- 

 wise from pillar to pillar ; when they are fixed in that 

 position each bullock has his stall and his little yard. 

 When in this, each is shut up in his stall; the yards 

 forming a lane, or driftway, for taking in or turning 

 out any individual." A modification of this old Glou- 

 cestershire system may be seen at Colonel Kingscote's 

 home farm. The alteration is, I think, very important : 

 the manger and drinking trough at Kingscote are in the 

 yard, protected by a small roof, leaving the shed 

 simply as the bed for the animal and a manure fac - 

 tory. In conclusion I beg to suggest the following 

 propositions for your discussion: 1st, That for the 

 benefit of the land, the health of the stock, the 

 economy of food, and preservation of the manure, 

 it is desirable that all the stock of a farm 

 should be housed during winter. 2. That on small 

 farms such accommodation as is required should be 

 provided at the homestead or on large farms at a few 

 well-selected spots, so as to economize labour and ensure 

 efficient supervision. 3. That although yards are de- 

 sirable for admitting the animals to the enjoyment of 

 tlie fresh air and sunshine, and even occasionally of a 

 good shower of rain, as well as for exercise, yet that, as 

 a rule, they should not be made the receptacles for, or 

 the place of, manufacture of the manure, in consequence 

 of its exposure in them to the deteriorating eflects of 

 rain, &c. 4. That, when it is necessary to remove 

 manure to the fields, it should be either applied imme- 

 diately to the land, or be so stacked as to expose the 

 least surface to the action of the rain ; and should be 

 further protected by a covering of road-drift or earth, 

 sloping like the roof of a house, so as to throw off the 

 rain, the earthy covering interrupting the ammoniacal 

 and other gases arising from the decomposition of the 

 manure. 5. That the old Gloucestershire system of 

 small yards and sheds, with the covered feeding-trough 

 in the yard, holding one full-grown animal, or the 



