FEEDING RATIONS. 165 



built, with a capacious manure cellar under, it. A de- 

 scription of the stable has been giyen in a previous 

 chapter. The swamp was drained and a large quantity 

 of the best' of muck was dug out and drawn into the 

 manure cellar and the barnyard, and also stored as litter 

 for the cows and absorbents to take up the liquids in the 

 manure gutter. Everything went into the cellar, and by 

 spring 300 loads of the very best manure was put on 

 fifteen acres of the land. About as many acres of fall 

 rye were sown and manured with 300 pounds per acre of 

 the artificial complete manure. At first milk was sold 

 on a neighboring route at eight cents per quart, which 

 paid a good profit ; but the difficulty of finding a man 

 who could withstand the temptation of handling another 

 person's money caused this business to be abandoned, 

 and butter-making was substituted. There was another 

 reason. Milk contains many valuable elements of plant 

 food. Ten cans of forty quarts (1,000 pounds) of milk 

 carried off from the land three and a half pounds of 

 phosphate of lime, one-half pound of phosphate of mag- 

 nesia, and some other combined phosphoric acid and 

 other mineral matter equivalent in all to about six and a 

 half pounds, and an equal quantity of nitrogen. Every 

 month, then, there is lost to the laud from fifteen fair 

 average cows about seventy-five pounds each of nitrogen 

 and as much essential mineral plant food, and in a year 

 about 900 pounds of each. To replace this would cost 

 about $250. In making and selling butter, nothing but 

 carbon and water are carried off, and these cost very 

 little to replace, and the loss of carbon is so small that it 

 can be safely ignored, although it may be taken from the 

 soil. This saving of, all the valuable elements of the 

 milk is sufficient to throw the balance in favor of butter- 

 making when the improvement of the land is a consider- 

 able object. 



In the spring the manured land was planted with sweet 



