190 



THE COBIPLETE FARMER 



care not to let cattle run upon it when wet, and so soft that 

 they would make much impression on it with their feet. 



Manure frovi Swine. Very valuable manure, with a little 

 attention, maybe obtained from swine by n.ethods similar to 

 that described by a writer for the New England Farmer, vol. 

 ii. p. 178, as follows: 



I usually keep and fatten four hogs in a year. These I 

 keep confined in a yard twenty feet square, with a warm and 

 convenient shed attached thereto as a shelter for them during 

 the night time and in cold and stormy weather. Into their 

 yard I put the scrapings of ditches, the dirt which is con- 

 tinually collecting in and about the dwelling-house and other 

 buildings, together with the straw with which they are lit- 

 tered, frequently clearing it out of their house ai.d granting 

 them a fresh supply. During the summer season I often 

 throw in large quantities of weeds, brakes, and other rubbish 

 that may come to hand, which helps to increase both the 

 quantity and quality of the manure. In this way I make 

 from twenty-five to thirty loads of manure in a year, which 

 answers a more valuable purpose than that which I take from 

 the stable or barn-yard. 



The last spring I planted a field containing two acres with 

 corn. One-half of the piece was manured in the hill with 

 ten loads from the hogpen, the other half with the same 

 quantity of the best manure the barn-yard afforded. 



A visible difference was to be seen in the growth of the 

 corn through the season, and at the time of harvest the dif- 

 ference was still more discernible. That part manured from 

 the hogpen produced ears generally much larger than that 

 manured from the barn-yard, a great proportion of the stalks 

 bearing two, and many of them three ears each. 



Having harvested and measured my corn, I found the result 

 to be as follows : the produce of the part manured from the 

 hogpen fifty bushels, while that of the other part was but 

 forty-two bushels, making a difference of eight bushels in fa- 

 vor of the former. 



I have lately taken tAventy-eight loads of strong manure 

 from my hog-yard which has been collected the past year, 

 and Avhich will be a sufficient quantity to manure two and 

 a half acres in the hill ; and should the difference be as great 

 in its favor the next as it has been this year, the extra pro- 

 duce will more than repay the whole expense of making the 

 manure. 



Manures may be divided into two classes. The one is 



