68 THE FARM. 



we must also deposit, or there will soon be nothing in the bank to draw 

 from. 



Making Oiir Own Fertilizers. — A Virginia fanner writes: Having 

 studied the subject of fertilizing our lands when it is impossible to manure 

 with stable manure, and watched the effects on different kinds of land, I 

 have come to the conclusion that when commercial fertiUzers are honestly 

 made it pays, even at the low price of grain, to buy and use them on grain 

 lands, especially when being seeded down to grass, and when the land is 

 too thin to make a set of grass a certainty. My experience has been that the 

 money Avill be returned out of the gain. The set of grass will be always im- 

 proved; the benefit will be felt while the land is in grass, and there will bo 

 a much heavier sod to turn under when the land is broken up. Now if it 

 pays to purchase these fertihzers at from $25 to $90 per ton, besides paying 

 freight on them and hauling them from the depot, how much better it would 

 be jpr us if we could manufacture our fertilizers at home at one-fourth the 

 cost! I once heard a gentleman, who had had years of experience in this 

 Mne, say that pure Pei-uvian guano, even at $90 to $100 per ton, is the cheap- 

 est of all fertilizers. Now, unless I am mistaken, Peruvian giiano is simply 

 rotted bird manure, and must have lost some of its strength by being exposed 

 to the air and sun. I suppose the birds that made this guano fed on bugs, 

 fish, wild seeds, etc. We thus have one ingredient at least equal t« the best 

 fertilizer known, right on our farms, and one that can be vastly increased 

 with very small additional expense. It is certainly of vast importance to the 

 farmer to see that the flock of fowls is kept up, and see that not one ounce of 

 manure is wasted. 



Another thing is the hog manure. This is certainly a splendid fertilizer, 

 and should be saved wdth the utmost care. I have known farmers to build 

 their hog pens on a hillside loading to a branch to let the hogs get water, 

 and thereby lose nearly all their manure. It may not be equal to Peruvian 

 guano, but it is certainly half as good. Another valuable fertilizer is wasted 

 on nine-tenths of all the farms in the country. This is the night soil, and 

 everything that comes from the house — the li(xuid manures are as strong as 

 the solids. My plan is to save all these things; pulverizing and making 

 them into a real genuine fertilizer that can be drilled, handled, or used aa 

 are commercial fertilizers. Sink in yoiir yard a vat that will hold two hundred 

 bushels. (If one is not enough, you can sink another.) It should be well 

 made out of two-inch oak planks, and have a hd with a good handle, so the 

 wash-woman can lift the lid and pour her soap suds into it as easy as 

 pouring it elsewhere, and Avhero the chamber-maid should be required 

 always to put into it everything in her line. Now add all the hen manure 

 you can get; all the night soil, and a load or two of the best hog manure. 

 Then add muck, loam or plaster enough to absorb all gases and stop all 

 smell, so as to make it perfectly inoffensive. When the box is nearly 

 full, add (if there is not enough already) enough liquid to make the 

 mass mix easily, and with a long pole thorouglily mix, and keep 

 stirring for several days, so as to reduce all lumps. You can theu 

 remove all sticks, cobs, etc., that may have foiind their way intc 

 it, with a coaree sieve fastened on a long polo. When thoroughlj 

 mixed and sifted, allow it to dry out, and if not dry enough whej 

 >-ou want to use, spread it on boards and dry thoroughly. This fer- 

 tilizer can be made at a small cost per ton, and will be fotmd to do 

 good wprk, 



