414 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JULY 4, IS38- 



AND gardener's JOURNAL. 



Boston, Wednesday, July 4, 1838. 



MANURE— CONSTRUCTION OF BARN CELLAR. 

 We liave already remarked on the value of manure 

 to the farmrr. In our old Innds it is idle to think of 

 suecpss in agriculture without some artifj^-ial means of 

 enriching the land. We have spoken of the extiaordi- 

 nary prices paid for manure hy farmers in the viciniiy 

 of our large towns. We Know the (act that six dollars 

 have been soineiiuies paid in the city for a cord of rna- 

 nure- and at a country town several miles in the inte- 

 rior s'evt-n dollars and a half per cord were paid the last 

 season for all that could be obtained. Manure it is true 

 must be had ; but what shall we say of the good judg- 

 ment or managnment of farmers who pay such prices, 

 when the means in abundance of supplying their wanls 

 at half this expense are or might be had upon their own 

 premises. We kn<.w a I'lrmer, who annually expends 

 Eve hundred dolbrs for manure in a city ; and then is 

 obli-ed to tr^^nsport it a distance of ihree or four miles 

 Yet^the same farmer has resources within himselt where 

 for the same expense he might obtain twice the amount 

 of manure, and of equal value, lie has no barn cellar ; 

 he has no compost heap ; his cattle are not yarded ex- 

 ceptincr in winter ; he collects no hog mud ; he takes 

 no piiinsto save the contents of his sink and privy ; he 

 fets no cattle; he keeps but a single pig; he sells his 

 hay • he sells hit milk ; he sells his potatoes ; he rais.'S 

 no esculent vegetables Ibr his stock; and this perpetual 

 purchase and carting of manure, to say nothing of the 

 money paid out, is an occasion of excessive toil, fati.ruH, 

 and vexation. True he " makes money " even in this 

 way and finds a reasonable compensation for his labor 

 It would be difEcult to turn him from his accustomed 

 track ; but will any reflecting mind pretend that " he 

 works it right." 



But we will proceed to say what may be done ; and 

 then leave it to the farmers to say what ought to be 



done. , ,j , 1 



In the first place, then, manure should be as much a 

 epecific object of labor and pursuit with the farmer as 

 any of his crops, simply because he cannot have any 

 crops without it. His first business should be to provide 

 a place for ils deposit, its accumulation and us security. 

 Manure is money. It costs money, ll produces money. 

 Pretis.'ly tl-.en as he would take care of his money, let 

 him lake earn of his manure. For his use there is no 

 difTerenca 'j'etween them save that the returns of ma- 

 nure skilfu-'ly and faithfully ap|ilied are usually more 

 certain and proportionately more liberal than the returns 

 of money. He wants tlierefore a place for its deposit 

 and its accumulation. It should he near at hand, where 

 it will be easy to transfer to it all that will conlribute to 

 its increase. It should be near tiie barn, where it may 

 receive all the deposits of the cattle; and should be so 

 situated that the liquid as well as the solid manure may 

 be secured. It should be in the neighborhood of the 

 liogs uen, Ihat their manure may go into the common 

 heap.' If possible the privy should be near to it, that 

 ihe powerful manure furnished from ih.it source r.::iy be 

 mixed with the r.ollecfe.ns ; and the sink should be so 

 contrived as to empty its rich contents into the com- 

 mon receptacle to moisten it, and increase its efficacy. 

 It should be the great object of the farmer in the next 

 place to secure it from the sun, the rain, and th'; air. 

 Manure thus protected and housed in the opinion of 

 Booie of the best farmers in the state, is far more pow- 

 ' orful, and, to use their own phrase, it is worth fifly per 

 cent, more than that, which is left exposed in the usual 

 mode, ll is muie active, and more powerful. A barn 

 cellar built expressly for the purpose of thus securing 

 the manure, is the proper receptacle for the compost 

 heap : and to form a general deposit of whatever may 

 he thrown into it. 



No fanner therefore should he without a cellar under 

 his whole barn. The cost is comparatively trifling ; 

 the uses and advanlagea most important. It should be 

 well stoned; the bottom made slightly dishing; and 

 paved or made impervious to the water hy being pud- 

 dled with clay. It should have a trap-door or doors in 

 Ihe barn floor and where the cattle are tied, so that all 

 their droppings may be thrown into it ; and that mud, 

 or mould or peat may be easily put into it both lor the 

 sake "f increasing the heap by'these valuable additions ; 

 and that they may act likewise as alnorbents lo g.iilier 

 nnA fix all the liquid manures. It sliould be high 



enough to recive a wagon or cart for the purpose 

 of loading; and it should be complelely enclosed that 

 the contents may he secured from the sun, and rain and 

 air. Tlie proper site for a barn is on a side hill, where 

 the bottom of the cellar may on one side be on a level 

 with the surl'.ice of the ground ; and where three sides 

 being formed hy an excavation into the side hill may be 

 well stoned; and the fourth side protected hy movable 

 wooden doors It should be likewise a place for housing 

 a certain number of store swine, who are lo be employ- 

 ed in turning, di>solving and enriching the contents of 

 Ihe cellar. Such is what a barn cellar ought to be- 

 There are few situ.iiiuns, where such a cellar cannot be 

 formed. We have seen many such cellars, and are happy 

 in perceiving that they are fast coming into use; and 

 that, in regard to barns recently erected or in the pro- 

 cess of erection, a valuable barn is now seldom built wilh- 

 outsuch provision. The cost of such a cellar will in any 

 situation he fully paid for in a short time by the in- 

 creased quantity and increased value of the manure — 

 We often hear'farmers say they would have a barn cel- 

 lar if they could afford it Now we say that if any man 

 calling himself a farmer cannot afford to make a cellar 

 uuder his barn, he hardly deserves the name of a far- 

 mer and certainly has no pretensions to the character of 

 skilful or wise or provident. VVc should add that such 

 a cellar should always if possible open to the South. In 

 the spring thie is desirable in order to facilitate the re- 

 moval of the manure; and in a cellar opening to the 

 South, the contents of the cellar are far less likely to be 

 frozen than il the opening of the cellar were to the North 

 and in the shade. 



We leave this subject for the present and shall en- 

 deavor to resume it in our next. The importance of a 

 barn cellar is so great that we take every occasion to 

 urge its erection on every thrifty farmer, and the sug- 

 gestions here given, though they may be familiar, em- 

 brace the prominent and important points in the con- 

 struction of a barn cellar. 



We might go farther and recommend a separate and 

 water-tight vault for the reception of the liquid manure ; 

 to which, by gutters properly constructed, all the urine 

 of the cattle when tied in the barn, might be at once 

 conveyed, with strainers so fixed that the solid parts 

 might be effectually excluded ; and that from this reser- 

 voi°r it might he pumped out and distributed atpleiisure. 

 This is the universal practice in what may perhaps be 

 considered the best farming district in the world ; Flan- 

 ders ; and here these cisterns are made of some. But 

 this is an advance in impiovement to which it can 

 scarcely be expected that our farmers should proceed 

 until a vastly increased and crowded population shall 

 compel them lo adopt every practicable means of im- 

 provement. We have met with only two cases, where 

 such provision has been made. The advantages in 

 these cases were obviously so great, that though we may 

 not look for any thing li'ke a general introdui tion, we 

 may at least hope to see such provision occasionally, 

 and perhaps frequently made. 



an honest man, who had become utterly bankrupt, yel 

 was not bankrupt in the best of all possessions an inde- 

 pendent spirit and a determination to live within his 

 means, supported himself, wife, and children for six 

 months with no other incimie or resource than the milk 

 of one good cow. We say we have known some such 

 cows ; and we deem them very worthy acquaintance. — 

 If it is not an honor it is certainly a pleasure to have 

 known them ; and we are not surprised at the supersti- 

 tion of the poor Hindoos, who made the cow an object 

 of idolatrous worship, for where could these poor be- 

 nighted children of nature find in a humble and familiar 

 form, a more striking example of the beneficence of a 

 kind providence. With appetites not depraved by 

 luxury they sat down under her flowing udder 

 after the fiitigups of toil and the exhaustion of 

 neat, to regale themselves from this daily flowing 

 fountain, with a zest like that with which the parched 

 Arab approaches a spring among the burning sands; and 

 now in some parts of the world, where rural life exists 

 in all its simplicity, the poor cottager and his children 

 may be seen with their basins at night gathering round 

 this their daily benefactor with the same grateful pleas- 

 ure with which the isiaeliles came round ihe gushing 

 fountains from the rock in the wilderness. Respect and 

 honor the cow ; treat h.^r well; begrudge her no kind- 

 ness ; there is no animal will nioie fully compensate 

 your' liberality ; and when we hear farmers say, as we 

 often do, in a boasting way, how much butter and milk 

 they get from their cows, and then add " but they go in 

 a very poor pasture and we give them nothing, and in 

 winter keep them upon nothing better than fresh mead- 

 ow hay," we are half disposed to say that such owners 

 deserve nothing, and ought to go in the same poor pas- 

 lure with their cows. As we have said on a former oc- 

 casion, it is a false and miserable economy. 



The cow to which we have referred above was of 

 native stock, and raised by her present owner. It adds 

 to the many proofs, which are constantly presenting 

 themselves, to establish the great position lliat our pres- 

 ent dairy stock requires only caieful selection and good 

 keeping to furnish as valuable a race of^ milking ani- 

 mals as we can expect to obtain by the importation of 

 the best breeds, wliich have yet been brought inio the 

 country. 



A GOOD COW. 



The value of a good cow can scarcely be over-estima- 

 ted. We have seen a cow the last week, who besides 

 giving milk enough for a calf, which she has suckled 

 the lifst seven weeks, has given sixteen quarts of milk 

 daily for family use and for sale. Her milk likewise is 

 of an excellent quality In ten and half months of the 

 last year, she yielded 3975 quarts of milk, beer meas- 

 ure, and her keeping was not extravagant. She has j 

 now good grass feed and tlirec pints of meal daily; in I 

 winter she has hay and two quarts of Indian meal ; hut 

 no swill or vegetables. The latter might certainly be j 

 added, to advantage. The milk is readily sold in the J 

 neighborhood, where she is kept, at five cents per quart. 

 What dmnestic animal yields a more libeial profit.' Why, 

 she puts to shame three fburllis of the bipeds in the 

 country ; who so far from furnishing any valuabli- con- 

 tribution to the general slock, do not eai n even the iced 

 creams with which they regale themselves ! A good 

 cow is one of the greatest benefactions, which divine 

 Providence ever bestowed upon the huin.in family in the 

 form of a quadruped ; and every friend to irue respec- 

 tiibility and merit, as far as rcspeclabilily and merit de- 

 pend upon usefulness, will be more than half inclined 

 to lake oft' his bat to such a noble animal, who cerlainly 

 does more good in her way than most of the noisy poli- 

 ticuans in the country in any way. We have known a 

 cow, wlio several years made a return to her owner of 

 more than 150 dollars each year by the sale of her milk 

 at five cents a quart; and we know an instance, where 



Slassachnsetts Horticnltnral Society. 



EXHIBITIO.'* OF FLOWERS. 



Saturday, June 23, 1838. 



" RospE, ladtn willt llie brraili of June, 



****** 

 Able In h-ul the sick." 



Our friends have answered our call, and have exceed- 

 ed our expectations hy their liberal contributions^ of 

 choice specimens of some of the finest varieties of the 

 " queen of flowers." 



Marshall P. Wilder, Esq of Dorchester, again placed 

 himself at the head of the competitors, by the quantity 

 and quality of his specimens. 



In the collection of Augustus Aspin wall, Esq. of Brook- 

 line, we noticed some two or three new varieties, and 

 some superb flowers. 



Thomas Lee, Esq of Brookline, presented somespec- 

 imens of the most delicate and lovely varieties. 



The China roses by Samuel R, Johnson, Esq ofChar- 

 lestown, were of the b -st kinds Mr J. also exhibited 

 some choice hardy roses. 



In the stand of Samuel Sweelser, Esq. of Cambridge, 

 we noticed some choice varieties of China and hardy 

 roses, cultivated in the best manner. 



There were also contributions of Roses and other flow- 

 ers from Messrs Winship of Brighton, Hovey & Co. 

 of Cambridge ; Carter of the Botanic Garden ; Hovey 

 ofRoxbury; Meller of Roxbury ; and S. Walker. 



Sccdlintr Roses.— The Messrs Winship of Brighton, 

 presented" some seedling roses, one or two of which we 

 hope lo see other specimens of, as we are under the im- 

 pression one of their seedlings, at least, is superior lo 

 many of the varieties imported. 



By !•; Breed, Esq. o! Charlestown, a fine specimen 

 of Cactus speciosissimus This plant was in a high state 

 of cultivation and does his gardener much credit. 



From the Messrs Winship, Cactus ?— a new variety 

 to us, with a large while flower.-Very beautiful. 



From T Ma-oun, Jr. Esq. of Medford, some fine 

 specimens of Magnolia gla.ica. Mountain Laurel, iind 

 Glvcine frutcsceiis. 



For the Commitee, 



S. WALKICR, Chairman. 



