84 
CONSTRUCTION OF CATTLE YARDS, ETC. 
our soil which it either wants or has not ? Can we 
answer this question without making a chemical 
analysis ? We possibly can. A knowledge of the 
position of that rock with regard to other rocks, 
will answer the question satisfactorily. This is 
exactly the sort of knowledge that geology 
teaches. 
To know how some soils happen to be of a 
drift origin, while others have remained fixed 
when they were first formed—how rocks are 
produced—of what materials they are made 
up—how many varieties of rocks there are— 
where they are met with in these states—and all 
the intimate connections between stone and soil 
—are so many points of information which the 
intelligent farmer should be acquainted with. 
This information geology affords; and we 
propose, in a series of communications, to lay 
before our agricultural readers, the valuable 
facts of geology in its relation to agriculture; to 
draw upon the numerous State Reports, which con¬ 
tain valuable hints for the farmer, as well as 
upon various other authentic sources of infor¬ 
mation; and, while describing the many rock 
systems of this country, to illustrate the com¬ 
position of the soils derived from them, by 
analyses of such soils as have been made in our 
laboratory, pointing out their peculiarities, de¬ 
fects, and requirements. 
The common query, do stones grow ? has still 
to be answerd to many farmers—the more im¬ 
portant question to them, how did his earth, clay, 
and sand come to be here, and whence did it 
come ? is one they do not busy themselves with. 
We may assert that every clay, earth, or sand, 
implies the existence of a rock from which they 
are derived; the rock is the source of all, and 
according to the nature of this rock, will be the 
nature of the earth produced. 
If the parent rock should happen to be a lime¬ 
stone, the clays will contain lime, and the sand 
will also contain a large quantity—if it had 
been a slate rock, the clay would contain no 
lime, nor would the sand—if it had been a granite, 
the clay would probably contain some lime, and 
the sand, none at all. Thus the mere terms of 
clay and sand, convey little meaning, if we do 
not state the rock from which they are derived. 
Thus granite clays, slaty clays, and calcareous 
clays, furnish three very different soils. 
CONSTRUCTION OF CATTLE YARDS. 
It is surprising to see the slovenly and waste¬ 
ful practice in which many farmers feed their 
cattle, in the field where the sward is broken, and 
the land is trampled down almost as hard as a 
brick, the fodder wasted, and their droppings 
nearly lost. How many farmers do we see, who 
pay little or no attention to making manure on 
their farms. It is very common, in passing 
through the country, at this season of the year, 
to see many farmyards with their gates open or 
bars down, and the cattle strolling along on the 
sunny side of the fence, dropping their manure 
all over the street, instead of in the yard. 
Many farmers have not a sufficiency of racks 
in their cattle yards, but litter their fodder on the 
ground, to be trampled upon and not more than 
half eaten. Many who cart their manure from 
four to six miles, could make double what they 
now do, by taking a little more pains. We also 
frequently see farmyards with a stream of the 
very essence running from them into the high¬ 
way, to be washed away in some river. 
To avoid this, let every farmyard be con¬ 
structed somewhat on this plan: Excavate the 
centre in a concave form, placing the earth 
removed upon the edges, leaving the bor¬ 
ders eight or ten feet broad, and level, to 
feed the stock upon, and from two to four feet, 
higher than the centre. 
When the soil is not compact enough to hold 
water, the bottom should be bedded with five or 
six inches of clay, well beat down, and covered 
with gravel or sand. This is seldom required, 
except where the ground is very porous. There 
should be deposited, in the first place, swamp 
muck, if the farmer has it; if not, then let him 
cart in washings of the highwajq or anything 
in the shape of vegetable mold that he can get; 
then keep his cattle confined in the yard. This 
will soak up the urine, that otherwise would 
be nearly all wasted. To make the manure still 
better, the cleanings of the horse stable may be 
spread about the yard. In this way, from ten 
to twelve loads of good manure may be made 
from each animal per annum. 
If our farmers on Long Island would adopt 
this plan, they would save a great deal of time 
and money. Most of them can cart but two 
loads of manure from the landings in a day. 
The freight there costs them, in this section, 
about 68 cents a load. Allowing that they cart 
four common loads in one day from the landing 
to their farms, it makes the cost to them about 
80 cents more per load, which, for a common 
two-horse load, is $1.60. If, by taking a little 
more pains, and so constructing their cattle 
yards, might they not save half of what they 
now pay out for manure ? 
Instead of feeding cattle in the old way, in 
the yards, where they are continually driving 
each other about, I would recommend a rack 
which I made some 12 or 14 years ago. It 
consists of two hemlock joist, sawed in the 
middle, making four pieces six feet long, con¬ 
nected together by strips of board, six feet 
in length, and supported by diagonal braces, 
extending from the top of one post to the bottom 
of the frame—the whole forming a rack six feet 
square. The slats are sufficiently low to permit 
animals to reach the bottom, over them. It 
admits four cattle to feed at once, and has a 
great advantage over any other rack I have 
seen. The cattle cannot get their fodder under 
their feet; neither will they be driving each 
other about, because their heads all come to¬ 
gether, and they keep continually working their 
feed towards each other. R. 
Huntington, L. I., January, 1850. 
Galls on Horses may be cured by applying 
white lead, rubbed on dry, or diluted with milk 
or grease. A few applications are sufficient. 
This will also prevent white hairs from growing 
over the wound, unless they are the natural color. 
