THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XII 623 



animal to be slaughtered, much will be done to keep down living expenses. 

 Manufacturers work on co-operative principles. They realize that a man 

 can accomplish more and do it at a cheaper rate when working in con- 

 nection with other men. In the making of an article, each man employed 

 makes only one part and as a result becomes more efficient than if he 

 made the whole article. 



Another item which should receive more attention is that of making 

 use of waste pieces of land. Many farmers have a swampy piece of land 

 which could easily be cultivated by laying a few tile, or else have a corner 

 cut off of a field by a ditch, which could be used for a truck patch instead 

 of growing up in weeds. 



One of the biggest losses of fertility on the farm is in the manner of 

 disposing of manure. Some men think that by letting the manure pile 

 rot down, it will save hauling out that much and that what they do haul 

 out will be enough richer in fertilizing elements to make up for the loss 

 in quantity. This is a mistake for v/henever you see smoke going up from 

 a manure pile, you may know that fertility is going up into the air. As 

 much as 30 to 80 per cent of the nitrogen in manure is lost by fire fang- 

 ing. 



Cornell Experiment Station conducted experiments with exposing ma- 

 nure to the elements. Piles of m.anure were stored outside for five months 

 and the following results were obtained: 



Average weight of piles at beginning of test 4,000 pounds 



Average weight of piles at end of test 1,770 pounds 



Value before exposing to the weather $5.48 



Value at the end of test 2.03 



Value per ton at beginning of test 2.74 



Value per ton at end of test 2.34 



To prevent this loss by leaching and fermentation, the manure should 

 either be stored in a pit or else hauled out as fast as made and spread 

 with a spreader. By the use of a spreader, manure can be scattered on 

 a pasture, if no other field is available. A loss of fertility as shown by 

 the above figures surely shows lack of good business methods. How much 

 profit would a packing house realize if they did not utilize the waste? It 

 has been said that the squeal is the only part not used in the slaughtering 

 process. Now if it pays the packing houses to use these otherwise waste 

 products to such a degree, why will it not pay the farmer to be more 

 careful of waste? 



Most every farm has about one acre more for dry lots than any use is 

 found for. It isn't necessary to crowd the buildings but there isn't 

 much profit in letting $125 land lay idle, so watch that the buildings and 

 lots do not get spread out too much. 



Now in summing up these business principles the question is, "How is 

 the farmer going to know exactly how his efforts are paying?" The an- 

 swer is, "Keep some definite system of farm accounts and records." It 

 doesn't matter so much what system he has, just so that it covers his 

 business and is plain enough for him to tell at a glance how his financial 

 interests are prospering. Most farmers' farm accounts and records con- 

 sist of a bank book and trust to their memory for information on how each 



