THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



35 



great majority of our Agricultural Society reside. 

 In some portions ol our slate, large and even inex- 

 haustible quantities of marl and lime may he 

 commanded at comparatively little expense. Here 

 ~ then the very best manure is at otice i'urnished to 

 ihe industrious husbandman. JBut as compara- 

 tively little ol these articles has as yet been lound 

 in our county, I shall say nothing as to their pre- 

 paration or application. Indeed the subject, as 

 presented, was intended to embrace, not the calca- 

 reous, but the putrescent manures. 



I would observe, then, that the great basis of 

 this article is vegetable matter. This matter, when 

 reduced to a stale of decay, is manure, bul the 

 quality may be greatly improved, and the quantily 

 greatly increased, by a proper mixture of animal 

 excrement. Stock then, of some kind, if not es- 

 sential, is highly necessary to the making of 

 manures. The whole subject then resolves itself 

 into this one thing — how are we to employ our 

 stock, so as to make them most available in 'his 

 important particular? Of animals, there are 

 three classes in coiimion use among us — the horse 

 or mule, the cow, and the hog. As to the first, I 

 suppose there is but one opinion among us, and 

 that is, that when not employed, he ought to be 

 confined to his stable, and there plentifully supplied 

 with litter of some kind. How long this litter 

 ought to accumulate before it is removed, is a 

 matter of some doubt. Some are in the habit of 

 removing it every morning ; but after paying con- 

 siderable aueniion to the subject, 1 am of the opi- 

 nion that it ought to remain, until by its great heat 

 it endangers the health of the animal. It is a laci 

 well ascertained, that decomposition goes on much 

 more rapidly in large than in small masses. The 

 best plan, iherelbre, is to keep the stable clean, 

 not by throwing out the old mass, but by putting 

 in frequent supplies; of fresh litter. That which is 

 already undergoing decay, will greatly expedite 

 the decomposition of the fresh supplies. But as 

 during this process not only great heat is evolved, 

 but also a large amount of gases is thrown off, 

 there is great danger of allowing this thing lo pro- 

 ceed too far. Every farmer ought therefore to 

 pay special attention to the condition of his stable, 

 and when the heat becomes excessive, or when on 

 opening the doors the slightest degree of offensive 

 effluvia salutes him. he ought forthwith to remove 

 the whole. My plan has heretofore been (and I 

 am more and more pleased with ii) not to throw 

 it out in a mass, and there allow it to fire-fang, or 

 to be lorn to pieces by the hogs, but to carry it di- 

 rectly lo the field, where it is spread, or to deposite 

 it in small quantities, ready for future use. Fresh 

 litter then is put into the stable to a large amount, 

 and thus a foundation is laid for another supply. 



Two methods have been successfully practised 

 to make cattle useful in supplying manure. The 

 first is to confine them to their stalls, in which 

 case the same process is to be employed as wiih 

 the horse or mule; or, 2dly, to let them have the 

 general use of the farm pen, restricting them to 

 their stalls only in bad weather. The latter, espe- 

 cially where the fiarm pen is kept well littered, I 

 think the preferable mode : for on this plan, much 

 time is saved in feeding, it being much easier to 

 scalier the food over the farm pen, from which 

 each one takes his portion promiscuously, than to 

 place it in each separate stall. After taking their 

 food they either remain in the farm pen, where their 



■ droppings are left, or if the weather be bad, they 

 reiire to their shelter and deposite them there. 

 [ Here also great cleanliness ought to be observed, 

 i which can easily be secured by frequent supplies 

 i of fresh liner. Nor let any one grudge the time 

 I and care of this apparentiy troublesome process ; 

 I lor the more litter he furnishes, the more manure 

 ' he will have for his exhausted fields. 



There is also a third method of employing cattle 

 in ihe enriching of land, of which I think very 

 favorably, and that is by confining them to a 

 small portion of land, until this is properly enrich- 

 ed, and then removing them to another portion. 

 This is done with considerable convenience, by 

 means of what are commonly called moveable 

 pens. The size of the enclosure will of course de- 

 pend upon the number of the cattle, and the length 

 of lime it is intended to keep them on one spot. 

 By this expedient, especially where the number of 

 caitle is great, a large quantity of land maybe 

 greatly improved every year. And it is done with 

 this great convenience also, that all the labor of 

 carting out the manure to the field, and then of 

 spreading it, is saved. But it ought to be ob- 

 served, that on this plan the land ought to be 

 ploughed before, and some say after, it is ma- 

 nured. In the latter, however, 1 do not agree 

 with ihem. 



But there is another animal, the value of which 

 has been heretofore greatly overlooked, and there- 

 lore greatly neglected, which, if properly treated, 

 will show himself not inferior to any other in the 

 great busintss of manufacturing manure, and that 

 is the hog. In England, where this great con- 

 cern is attended to with an economy and success, 

 altogether unknown among us, each hog is taxed 

 with ten loads of manure every year ; and when 

 he is treated properly, and is furnished with suita- 

 ble materials in sufficient quantities, he invariably 

 acquits himself as a clever fellow. But on this 

 point I must be a little more particular, I would, 

 then, confine my hogs in small pens, say 10 feet by 

 8, with a floor sloping considerably to the front. 

 In rear of this should be another pen, say 8 by 6, 

 well sheltered, to which the hogs might have free 

 access in bad weather, as also for sleeping. This 

 will afl'ord accommodations (or five or six hogs. 

 In the Iront or larger pen, besides the trough for 

 water, I would put large quantiiies of litter. In 

 addition to this, I would furnish regular supplies 

 of din, taken from the scrapings ofroads, ditches, 

 &c., or of rich deposites of mud collected from 

 marshes and oiher low places, and, as still better 

 than this, all ihe ashes I could command, and over 

 the whole strew corn as food for the creatures. 

 And now would commence their work in good 

 earnest. That snout of theirs, which to my fields 

 and diich banks is such an annoyance, would here 

 display itself lo my immense advantage. In a 

 very short time, they would thoroughly mix and 

 incorporate this whole mass, so that new acces- 

 sions of similar materials would be necessary. 

 When this is the case, put in fresh supplies, and 

 thus continue till the mass becomes inconveniently 

 great, then remove the whole, and begin the pro- 

 cess anew. Ifi upon cleaning out, the litter is suf- 

 ficiently rotted, carry it directly to the field ; if not, 

 (and this is frequently the case,) let it be heaped 

 up, in which state it undergoes a slow decomposi- 

 tion, and in time will be fit for removal. In this 

 way the 5 or 6 hogs will make from 50 to 60 loads 



