56 



(:^LEANJN(;S L^' BEE Cl'LTURE. 



Jan. 



very soon had the grain scattered through 

 the coarse manure. Why, it just made a 

 "picnic'' among the Brahmas that had been 

 standing idle, tirst on one foot and then on 

 the other; and this morning I heard a cho- 

 rus of cackles that pretty surely indicates 

 that eggs are not far in the future, even if it 

 is only the tirst week in January. Now, 

 friends, instead of being annoyed by the 

 scratching of the poultry, can we not turn 

 this scratching into a useful channel, so that 

 the more scratching they do the more we 

 feel happy ? Terry tried to arrange his 

 work, you remember, so that he felt liappy 

 when it rained on his potatoes ; but if it did 

 not rain, he felt happy because it gave him 

 a chance to get in his clover. There may be 

 other domestic animals that can be employed 

 to break up, fine, turn over, and prevent 

 from heating, our accumulations of manure- 

 heaps, but I have not discovered them. 

 While on the subject, I might add, that, if 

 the manure from the poultry-house is placed 

 on the manure-heap, and worked over in the 

 way I have suggested. I think it will be the 

 easiest method of applyiu'? it to our ground, 

 and I think it will also do the most good. 

 Now, although you may keep a very large 

 flock of fowls, it is hardly probable that they 

 can work all your manure up that is to be 

 used on your grounds. Is there any thing 

 in the way of machinery to do this work ? 

 In my former chapters I have several times 

 alluded to the manure-spreader, but I have 

 only now got ready to consider the machine 

 fully. We give a picture of the hitest im- 

 provements in this line, so fai- ;)s 1 know, 

 below. 



up the manure by revolving so rapidly that 

 it breaks and tears manure of any descrip- 

 tion, as the machine moves along. Instead 

 of having a man to throw it otf in lorksful. 

 without breaking it up. the machine throws 

 it oft', scatters it more evenly ttian could 

 possibly be done liy hand, and at the same 

 time tears it to pieces and breaks it up line, 

 in away that no sort of handwoik could 

 possibly do. The great objection to these 

 machines has been their cost, which used to 

 be from $125 to .^loU. They are now. how- 

 ever, reduced to al)out an even hundred, 

 and that for the very best machines made. 

 so far as I know. Notwithstiinding the large 

 price, the manufacturers who produce the 

 machine shown above had, in 1884. sold 

 nearly 1000 machines in different parts of 

 the United States. They furnish a list of 

 parties using them, so those wlio wnnt to 

 buy can ordinarily see the machines at work, 

 without going a very great distance from 

 home. Of course, it would iiot pay one to 

 invest in such a machine unless he has a 

 good many loads of manure to spread. Let 

 us figure it this way: The interest on the 

 money would ordinarily be 3^6.00 a year. If 

 the machine is carefully housed and inoper- 

 ly used, it would probably last fifteen or 

 twenty years, so you might say that the 

 wear and tear of the machine would be j)er- 

 haps as much more as the interest; there- 

 fore, unless the machine can be made to be 

 worth ten or fifteen dollars a year, it would 

 hardly pay to buy one. In view, however, 

 of the fact that it puts all the manure on 

 the ground in so much better shape than 

 can be done without it, as well ;is in saving 



-MANrRE-Sl'KKADEU AT WORK, BKOADCASTING. 



Vou will notice the cylinder, with spikes 

 in its circumference, something like the cyl- 

 inder of a thrashing-machine. This tears 



of time, it might be best to make the i)ur~ 

 chase, even if the time saved does not 

 amount to more than ten or twelve dollars 



