SUPPLYING THEIR XEEDS. 29 



and that invaluable invention,, the earth closet, but for 

 preparing absorbents and litter for stables and pigpens. 

 The best farmers use dry earth for all their animals, not 

 only for the cleanliness and health of the stock, but to 

 lighten the labor of attendance, substitute a cheap litter 

 for straw, and save every particle of manure. 



The spot of ground set apart for the dry earth harvest 

 should be kept free from weeds and turf, and harrowed 

 as shallow as possible, using a harrow with numerous 

 very short teeth, or, what is the very best for the pur- 

 pose, the barbed wire drag, previously described. The 

 ground should not have been plowed for a year, the 

 object being to pulverize it only at the surface, for in 



FIG. 4. SCRAPER FOR DRY EARTH. 



this way the top soil can be better kept from, absorb- 

 ing moisture from below. There is seldom a summer 

 without a spell of several weeks when, the soil for a 

 couple of inches at the top is almost dry. Select such a 

 dry spell for the work. 



The implements used are a light scraper, Fig. 4, 5 ft. 

 long and 10 in. wide, and a shovel, Fig. 5, 2 ft. 3 in. 

 long and 2 ft. wide. They are made lighter than simi- 

 lar ones designed to work among stones and gravel, and 

 both are intended to be always used in a nearly perpen- 

 dicular position, and, therefore, the backs need not be 

 shod for wear, as is usual with team shovels and scrapers. 



