94 KEEPING ONE COW. 



generally have a few cabbage plants started to set where the corn 

 misses, or the beets or turnips fail to come up, or in any corner or 

 by-place where there is room for a cabbage to grow. Sometimes 

 we reserve a few rods for cabbages late in the season, as we find 

 them excellent for a change of feed either winter or summer. We 

 advise, in all cases, the use of the earliest varieties of grass, grain, 

 or vegetables, as we cannot afford the time and ground occupied 

 by some of the larger and taller grow ing varieties, being convinced, 

 from actual experience, that two and three crops of early varieties, 

 although small, are more profitable than one crop of the larger 

 late varieties. 



THE STABLE AND THE MANURE CELLAR 



The stable for our cow is a shed nine by sixteen, built on the 

 south side of our carriage and wagon house. One-half of the shed 

 is partitioned off and enclosed for winter use or stormy weather ; 

 the other half of the shed is open on the south side, and our yard 

 is about sixteen by thirty, including the shed. We think it would 

 be better to have it larger, but we get along with it nicely. We 

 find the best way to dispose of her manure is to have a small cel- 

 lar underneath the stable, with cemented bottom and sides, so as 

 to be water tight, the stable to have a tight floor with a gutter 

 behind the cow to receive the droppings and urine, with a scut- 

 tle or trap door in the gutter to let it all go into the cellar. For 

 bedding, we use forest leaves, and use them liberally. Where for- 

 est leaves cannot be obtained, any refuse hay or straw will ans- 

 wer, but the cow as well as the horse should have plenty of good 

 dry bedding. To mix with the urine and droppings of the cow, 

 we put into the cellar, sea-weed, muck, turf, slops from the house, 

 and soap suds, or anything we think will make good compost. We 

 gather up the droppings from the yard and throw them into the 

 cellar. We keep our yard well laid with forest leaves. If those 

 are not available, we use the next best thing we can get. In the 

 fall, when we cart the manure out of the cellar, we gather up what 

 has accumulated in the yard and put it into the cellar. In this 

 way we save all of the manure, and in excellent condition. Now, 

 to make it better and save the labor of pitching it over, we keep a 

 pig where he can have access to the cellar, and if not disposed to 

 work, we keep him on short feed and scatter corn in the cellar, so 

 that in order to get it, he will have to root the whole mass over in 

 good shape. 



We cart our manure out in the fall, distributing it over our land 



