60 THE FA MM. 



tip that bare spot of ground. Throw it wherever the manure is thin, and the 

 cattle will tramp it more, making better manure of the straw, while it helps 

 the quality of what is already there. Take a horse and sled every week or 

 so, and move that pile of horse manure and that pile of com-stalks. Put 

 them around in thin spots in your yard, like you did that straw, and then see 

 what a difference it makes in your yard. Above that cow manure pile just 

 have a few stock hogs where they can get at it, and I dare say it will be taken 

 care of. Two or three hogs are the best aids you can find to assist about the 

 yards, but in justice to the hogs I will say that it is not the best thing for 

 them. But every farmer has a few stock hogs that he is carrying over 

 winter, and I am sure he cannot keep them cheaper than in his barnyard, 

 where they get most of their living out of the cattle droppings and what is 

 left after feeding. If your cattle are fed on corn in the stable, the hogs will 

 thoroughly scatter the manure pile to secure the com. 



But now let us look a little to the bedding of our cows and horses. You 

 read of A.'s or B.'s plan of securing liquid manure by troughs and pits, but 

 you say you cannot do that way. I Avill tell you what you can do. Go to 

 that straw stack and take largely of straw to bed your stock with. Don't be 

 afraid of it, but make their bedding deep, especially behind them, where it 

 •will catch all the droppings. Then in cleaning your stables don't sort the 

 straw too close, but throw out all that is dirty and fill up again with clean 

 straw. The result will be that you are saving nearly all the hquid manure 

 as well as brother A. or B. does it, and you have not had any of the trouble 

 you were so afraid of. Moreover, your cows have had the benefit of a nice 

 bed to sleep on, and they come out of the stable looking clean, instead of 

 reminding you of a walking manure pile, as we often see cattle that are 

 poorly bedded. There are some who have not got this extra amount of straw 

 to lavish on their stock. To all such I say, go to your nearest saw-mill and 

 get sawdust, and use freely for bedding, as this is as nearly as good an 

 absorbent as straw, and makes good bedding. 



Now, my brother farmers, such of you as wiU not give heed to the subject 

 of foreign fertiUzers and articles pertaining thereto, just try my plan for 

 your own home-made fertilizers, and see how much you can increase them, 

 and just that much will you increase your profits of the farm. Let us keep 

 our eyes open through the winter, and at every opportunity turn a hand 

 toward the barnyard, and manage carefully until we turn our stock out in 

 the spiing, and then we will counsel together again as to how we will handle 

 what we have already saved, so as to improve the quality, and reduce the 

 quantity, thus lessening the expense of removing to the field. 



Sometliing in Regard to Fertilizers. — ^Different SOils and different 

 crops require very much different treatment and different elements of plant 

 food. A judicious cultivation of the soil adds to its i^roducing capacity. The 

 elements of plant growth contained in soils arc unlocked and made available 

 to some extent by proper working of the soil. It was formerly boUeved that 

 it was necessary to add all the constituents of plant growth to the soil b«fore 

 plants could be produced. That if we -Nvished to raise wheat we must add 

 the constituents of wheat. If wo wished to raise potatoes add the constitu- 

 ents of potatoes. This is not now considered absolutely necessary. If we 

 use a fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, with judicious 

 rotation of crops, we may not only raise good crops indefinitely, but bring 

 the land up to a higher state of productiveness every year. 



On some soila we could safely leave out the potaeh, enough being jielded 



