1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 129 



bung-hole perhaps two or three inches in diameter. I have 

 a contrivance inside of the hogshead by which I regulate 

 the discharge. As the liquid goes down, I open the bung- 

 hole wider. There is no stopping ; everything that will 

 run distributes all right. 



Secretary Sessions. Shall we hear a word from Sec- 

 retary Bachekler of New Hampshire, on this point? 



Secretary Bachelder. I agree with the previous speakers, 

 that, if a sufficient amount of absorbents be used in the 

 stable, we shall save practically all of the liquid manure. 

 I practice hauling soil into the cellars after they have been 

 cleaned out, both in the spring and in the fall ; and that, 

 with the other absorbents, I think saves nearly all the 

 liquid. 



Secretary Sessions. I have a cellar, and practice the 

 method that all these gentlemen, with the exception of Mr. 

 Marsh, have suggested ; but I believe, if I were to build a 

 barn again, I should build it so that I could drive a team 

 through behind my cows every morning, and take the 

 manure to the fields every day throughout the year, and 

 distribute it where I wanted it. In this way I should save 

 a great amount of labor in handling the absorbents. My 

 observation has led me to the conclusion that, although we 

 may have a barn cellar and all the fixtures, we do not get 

 the full value of our manure. 



Question. I would like to ask Mr. Marsh the expense 

 of the tank he uses for holding the urine. 



Mr. Marsh. I did not keep an exact account. I esti- 

 mated it at about $150. It is built of stone and brick, 

 nineteen feet in diameter, and eleven feet deep. 



The Chairman. The subject for the afternoon lecture is 

 " Law, or Nature's Modes of Action," by Prof. I. P. Roberts 

 of Ithaca, N. Y. 



LAW, OR NATURE'S MODES OF ACTION. 



BY PROF. I. P. ROBERTS, DIRECTOR CORNELL UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 



8TATION. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen: — I speak from the 

 sincerity of my heart, when I say that it gives me great 

 pleasure to come down to New England. There are two 



