THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



235 



REJOINDER UPON THE SUBJECT OF MA- 

 KURES, &C. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Sandy Point, May 15, 1S42. 

 Please to afford ir.e a small space on your pages 

 to reply lo the remarks of the Rev. Mr. Turner, 

 on my strictures on his anonymous essay on ma- 

 nures, &c., which appeared in your January num- 

 ber. From the general tenor and train ol'ridicuie 

 in his remarks, he doubtless intended that they 

 should act as an extinguisher, and sweep all such 

 ephemera from his path in future, even when he 

 chooses to write anonymously. I have not failed, 

 Mt. Editor, to appreciate the agricultural writings 

 of Mr. Turner, and lo pay to his known and sub- 

 scribed opinions a respectllil deference. 



In his remarks on my strictures relative lo his 

 mode of managing stable manures, he says, " By 

 what management can manure be most rapidly 

 increased'? Is it by daily throwing it out in small 

 quantiiies, fee.?" In reply to which I here repeat, 

 as the result of my own experience, and that of 

 the majority of the most intelligent and expe- 

 rienced farmers and horse owners, that, from a due 

 and prudent regard to the comfort and health of 

 the horse, manure ought never to be allo',ved lo 

 accumulate in the stable beyond 24 hours, and i( 

 oftener cleaned out the better; and I do assert 

 that, by cleaning out the stable daily, a greater 

 amount of manure, and that of a better quality, 

 can be made, than by allowing it to accumulate 

 in the stable. Were I asked " what would be the 

 surest mode of ohiammg fire- fan ged manure ?" ! 

 would unhesitatingly reply, " allow it to accumu- 

 late in the stable";" and foul stables are well 

 fenown to excite and aggravate many of the dis- 

 eases to which the horse in his domestic state is 

 liable. It is rather a singular doctrine for the re- 

 verend gentleman to advocate and recommend— 

 the permitting of a known evil, that (doubtful) 

 good may result. "An ounce of prevention is 

 .worth a pound of cure." 



In the printed report of the " Proceedings of 

 the Henrico Agricultural Society, for October, 

 1841," I see it stated by Mr. Turner that, from 21 

 head ol horses, mulee, cattle, and a considerable 

 number of hogs, he had manured the preceding? 

 season 10 acres of land, at the rate of 25 cart loads 

 per acre, (as gathered from a preceding portion of 

 that report.) Now I can tell him that, on this 

 estate, with an equal number of mixed stock and 

 the mode of management here pursued, not less 

 than one-third jwore'than that quantity of land has 

 this season been manured ; and that from all 

 sources, and these none other than domestic, since 

 the month of November last, not less than ISO 

 acres of land have been heavily top-dressed. 

 ■ The stables for the horses and oxen occupy 

 each one side of a large square, in the middle of 

 which is a place of deposite for the manure, deep- 

 ened in the centre, having a stiff and retentive 

 clay bottom, gradually rising to its outer edges, 

 around which there is a sufficient bank raised, and 

 so formed as at all times to afford a dry and com- 

 fortable footpath all around the square. Both 

 slablee are thoroughly cleaned and swept out 

 every day, and the floors plentifully sprinkled with 

 ground gypsum, the probable benefit likely to re- 

 sult from the daily application and consequent 

 aaixfure of which with the manure need not be 



here described. A regular and large supply of 

 fresh litter in the shape of clean and dry wheat 

 straw, and none other is used, is also daily applied. 

 Amongst this manure no hogs are permitted to 

 root, nor is the manure allowed to accumulate to 

 any injurious extent, being hauled out as fre- 

 quently as opportunity offers, and applied as a 

 top-dressing to clover, at any period of the year, 

 and always with decided advantages; and it ia 

 indeed a very rare circumstance to find amongst 

 the manure any degree of fire-fanging. 



Mr. Turner very pointedly refers to " the v&fy 

 large quantities of marl and burnt shells" used on 

 this estate, but I think with an incorrect inference. 

 The proprietor of this estate, his manager and 

 many others in this neighborhood, entertain the 

 perhaps singular belief; that putrescent manures 

 can only be applied with permanent advantage on 

 soils that are either naturally or artificially render- 

 ed calcareous. If there is error or fault in this be- 

 lief; Mr. Editor, you have here, amongst your 

 other little peccadilloes, a heavy account to an- 

 swer for. I will here, however, aid you with one 

 oi' many proofs of the correctness of the positions 

 which you laid down as to the true operation of 

 calcareous matters when applied to the soil. In 

 the spring of 1840, a portion of land on this es- 

 tate had a heavy application of putrescent ma- 

 nure. About 200 hhds. of shells were applied to 

 one side of this manured land, the remainder then 

 and now remaining unlimed. On the whole, corn 

 was planted, followed by wheat and clover, to 

 both of which crops the benefits from the lime 

 were very obvious. This spring that portion not 

 limed was again heavily top-dressed, and none 

 applied to that which had been limed. The 

 whole was grazed partially by sheep until the be- 

 ginning of this month. From the limed portion 

 we are now daily cutting a very good growth of 

 clover, for the purpose of soiling, [feeding green,] 

 while on that which had not been limed, but 

 which had the benefit of an extra dressing of pu- 

 trescent manures, there are only a few straggling 

 plants of red clover to be found, with a tolerably 

 close and low growth of white clover and natural 

 grasses. Were a person to pass over these por- 

 tions of land blindfolded, he could from the differ- 

 ence of growth tell when he came to the dividing 

 line between the limed and unlimed land. 



In reply to Mr. Turner's "set-off," to my ob- 

 jection to pen-leeding cattle, I will take the 

 liberty of statins, that if he has "never been able 

 to secure health and cleanliness by any other 

 mode, " than by pen feeding, he has never pro- 

 perly practised stall feeding. And the case 

 which he instances in his effort to fatten one of 

 his steers ig a proof of it ; lor no animal that is 

 properly stalled and taken care of can by any 

 possibility other than carelessness become cover-, 

 ed by his own filth. Both modes I have seen fully 

 tested, and under circumstances as favorable for 

 pen feeding as Mr. Turner has adduced. The 

 benefits of s'tall over pen feeding, for all animals 

 which are required to labor daily, are I think very 

 obvious. On this estate, all of the working oxen 

 have been stalled when out of yoke, since the be- 

 ginning of March last, when their stables were 

 ready for their accommodation. And I am fully 

 warranted in saying, that from their improved 

 condition and efficiency for labor since that time, 

 one fourth is added to their value, and of a 



