1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
3 
tie  were  started  on  corn-and-cob  meal  mixed  with 
bran.  By  degrees  the  meal  was  increased  and  the  bran 
withdrawn  till  the  present  ration  was  reached,  viz : 
19  pounds  of  corn-and-cob  meal  (a  struck  half  bushel)  costing....  ?0.11 
3%  pounds  of  ground  oil  cake,  costing . 04 
30  pounds  of  ensilage,  costing . .  .03 
Labor  (outside of  manure  hauling)  fuel,  oil,  salt,  etc.,  per  head..:  .04 
Total  cost  per  day  per  head .  $0.22 
Corn  costs  me  40  cents  per  bushel ;  oil  meal,  when 
bought,  $21  per  ton  ;  ensilage,  from  fodder  corn,  is 
valued  at  $2  per  ton.  The  steers  have  just  four  ways 
for  paying  back  the  22  cents  each  per  day:  out  of  the 
added  weight,  added  value  to  the  original  weight,  out  of 
the  manure  or  out  of  the  attendant  hogs.  Can  they 
do  it  ?  A  little  later  the  meal  will  be  increased  to  all 
they  will  eat.  “  Following  ”  these  cattle  are  half  as 
many  hogs.  Whenever  it  becomes  evident  that  they 
will  ‘  *  carry  ”  more  hogs,  more  will  be  put  in. 
“  I  Crave  the  Facts,  my  Masters  !  ” 
Permit  me  to  make  an  inquiry  or  two:  counting  tur¬ 
nips  in  the  field  at  three  cents  per  bushel,  and  allow¬ 
ing  the  actual  cost  to  be  four  cents  per  bushel,  for 
pulling,  topping,  hauling  and  pulping,  did  it  pay  to 
feed  them  with  corn  at  40  cents  per  bushel  ?  Comparing 
bran  at  $12  per  ton  with  corn  at  40  cents  per  bushel  how 
much  bran  can  one  afford  to  feed  to 
fattening  steers — any?  With  ground  oil 
cake  at  $21  per  ton  and  corn  at  the  price 
named,  how  much  oil  meal  will  profit¬ 
ably  go  into  a  mixed  ration  of  the  two, 
for  feeders?  Suppose  a  1,000-pound  steer 
has  all  the  ensilage  he  will  eat,  will 
he  then  make  a  better  return  for  the 
corn  given  him  if  full  fed,  or  short  fed  ? 
If  short  fed,  how  much  corn  short  of 
all  he  will  eat  should  he  receive?  All  the 
other  conditions  being  the  same,  how 
many  more  pounds  of  beef  will  an  acre 
of  corn  make  if  fed  out  of  a  silo  than  if 
fed  out  of  the  shock  ?  Does  it  really  pay 
to  grind  corn  for  cattle  where  hogs  fol¬ 
low?  If  yes,  should  it  be  ground  fine, 
or  coarse?  Should  it  be  fed  wet,  or  di-y  ? 
Some  of  the  first-named  of  these  con¬ 
siderations  may  appear  to  be  easily  dis¬ 
posed  of  by  a  reference  to  the  well- 
worn  tables  of  albuminoids,  carbo¬ 
hydrates,  fats,  etc.,  in  feeding  stuffs; 
they  all  seem  to  me,  however,  to  have  a 
bearing  beyond  and  above  the  chem¬ 
istry  of  food;  they  reach  to  the  tastes  of  each  animal, 
his  capacity  to  assimilate,  the  hygienic  conditions  in¬ 
volved,  in  short,  to  what  may  be  called  the  personal 
equation  of  the  steer. 
The  manure  made  from  bran  and  oil  cake  is  rated 
as  richer  in  the  elements  of  fertility  than  that  made 
from  corn — does  anybody  know  whether  this  decision 
of  tne  chemist  has  been  sustained  by  that  higher  tri¬ 
bunal,  the  crop?  I  am  hauling  the  fertilizer  turned  out 
by  this  factory  and  spreading  it  on  the  ground,  as 
made;  is  there  a  better  way?  John  Johnston  used  to 
insist  upon  the  importance  of  composting  manure. 
Joseph  Harris  contends  for  it,  in  a  recent  article,  on  the 
ground  that  composting  renders  soluble  the  insoluble 
salts.  Would  the  salts  pay  for  the  labor? 
“  The  Patient,  Mild-Eyed  Steer.” 
Aside  from  all  considerations  of  gain  or  loss,  this  is 
to  me  a  most  interesting  experiment.  Its  outcome  I 
am  watching  with  more  interest  than  any  election  re¬ 
turns  I  ever  sat  up  for.  If  it  pays  to  have  these  patient, 
mild-eyed  creatures  chained  to  their  task,  so  to  speak, 
while  in  their  quiet,  ruminating  way  they  work  over, 
like  so  many  mute  machines,  corn  meal  into  beef,  then 
a  new  feature  is  added  to  the  agricultural  calling  as  it 
is  known  among  us.  If  it  fails,  why  then,  merely,  the 
big  crops  of  potatoes  must  be  secured  over  some  other 
road.  It  is  the  intention  to  sell  this  lot  of  cattle  about 
the  middle  of  January  and  put  in  another  as  soon  as 
they  can  be  bought.  edwin  taylor. 
It.  N.-Y. — We  shall  do  our  best  to  obtain  answers  to 
these  questions — which  are  of  great  practical  import¬ 
ance  to  feeders.  Searching  for  a  place  to  learn  “  why’ 
has  wearied  many  a  good  man.  The  article  by  Joseph 
Harris  in  this  issue  states  the  best  arguments  in  favor 
of  fermenting  manure.  It  might  be  difficult  to  fer¬ 
ment  the  steer  manure  without  working  it  over  so 
much  that  the  cost  would  be  excessive.  From  our  own 
experience  we  should  prefer  to  apply  the  manure  after 
the  potato  crop  is  taken  off  and  plow  it  in  for  the  ensilage 
corn  and  other  fodder  crops.  These  would  work  it 
over  and  prepare  it  for  the  potatoes  in  the  following 
spring.  On  such  soil  as  we  understand  Mr.  Taylor’s  to 
be  we  do  not  think  cattle  manure  fresh  from  the 
stables  will  prove  satisfactory  in  the  long  run.  Such 
manure  is  in  every  way  better  fitted  for  corn.  We  do 
not  krujw,  but  we  believe  that  Mr.  Taylor  would  obtain 
cheaper  potato  manure  by  sowing  rye,  millet,  buck¬ 
wheat  or  Crimson  Clover  after  the  potatoes  and  plow¬ 
ing  the  whole  crop  in,  using,  in  addition,  from  800  to 
1,000  pounds  of  high-grade  potato  fertilizer  per  acre. 
We  do  not  mean  a  superphosphate  or  a  potash  salt,  but 
a  complete  manure  containing  a  high  percentage  of 
nitrogen,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  in  readily  avail¬ 
able  forms.  We  think  the  cost  of  this  fertilizer  will  be 
less  than  the  cost  of  the  steer  manure  after  deducting 
from  the  sales  of  beef  fair  prices  for  labor,  feed  and 
cattle.  We  would  like  to  have  Mr.  Taylor  try  this 
plan  thoroughly — not  for  one  season,  but  for  three  or 
four  consecutive  ones.  He  will  find  the  experiment 
even  more  interesting  than  that  of  his  steer  feeding. 
STEAM  HEATERS  FOR  THE  MANURE  PILE. 
FERMENTING  MANURE  IN  WINTER. 
John  Johnston's  plan  indorsed  by  Sir  J.  B.  Lawes  ;  is  am¬ 
monia  lost  ?  Not  if  properly  piled  ;  little  value  in  straw 
or  stalk  manure  ;  why  horse  manure  is  better  than  that 
of  cows  ;  startiny  a  fire  of  ‘  *  microbes  ;”  hen  manure 
makes  good  kindling  ;  building  the  piles  ;  stopping  the 
“ chimneys .” 
“Manure,”  said  Theory  “when  spread  on  the  land 
should  be  plowed  under  at  once  or  the  ammonia  will 
evaporate  and  will  be  lost.”  John  Johnston,  one  of 
the  best  farmers  in  New  York  State,  fattened  hundreds 
Old  and  New  Plans  for  Feeding  Sheds.  Fig.  3. 
Upper  cut,  shows  old  plan  :  A,  engine;  B,  pump;  C,  grinder;  D,  tank;  E,  com  crib;  F,  meal  bln; 
PP,  railroad;  G  G,  Btables;  H,  fodder  cutter.  Lower  cut  showB  new  plan:  D,  tank;  A,  engine; 
B,  pump;  C,  grinder;  E,  corn  crib;  F,  meal  bln;  PP,  railroad;  G  G,  stables;  K  K,  mangers;  It, 
bridge  over  driveway;  H,  turnip  pulper;  I,  mixing  box;  T,  turn-table;  8  8,  hydrants;  M  M, 
manure  cisterns;  L  L,  manure  chutes— silo  at  left. 
of  sheep  in  his  yards  every  winter,  and  in  the  spring 
made  the  manure  into  piles  where  it  fermented,  and  in 
August  or  September  spread  it  on  grass  land  intended 
for  corn  next  spring.  It  made  the  grass  grow,  and  the 
grass  and  manure  were  plowed  under  in  the  spring. 
One  load  of  such  manure  he  declared  was  worth  three 
of  unfermented  manure  plowed  under  in  the  spring.  I 
once  went  to  Sir  John  B.  Lawes,  telling  him  what  Mr. 
Johnston  said.  “  I  think  it  quite  probable,”  he  said, 
“  that  Mr.  Johnston  is  right.”  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  since  then  there  has  been  a  disposition  to  regard 
farm  manure  as  refuse  to  be  got  rid  of  in  the  sim¬ 
plest  and  most  convenient  way  possible.  Labor  is  high 
and  fertilizers  are  cheap  and  many  think  it  does  not 
pay  to  pile  the  manure.  “  Better  draw  it  out,”  they 
say,  ‘  ‘  as  fast  as  it  is  made,  and  spread  it  on  the  land  or 
Machine  and  Water  Boxes.  Fig.  4. 
A,  engine;  B,  well  and  pump;  C.  grinder;  E,  corn-crib;  F,  meal 
bln;  H,  turnip  pulper;  I,  mixing  box;  O  O,  flues;  U  U,  manure 
gutters;  P,  track;  Z,  manger;  V,  water  box;  8  8,  hydrants. 
on  the  snow.”  There  may  be  and  probably  there  is 
some  truth  in  all  this,  but,  nevertheless,  I  think  there 
is  much  to  be  gained  by  properly  fermenting  manure. 
“  But  Do  We  Not  Lose  Ammonia  ?” 
If  the  heap  is  properly  made,  no.  “  Do  not  the  solu¬ 
ble  and  most  valuable  ingredients  leak  out  of  the 
manure  ?  ”  If  the  work  is  carelessly  done,  yes ;  if  the 
pile  is  properly  made  and  receives  a  little  attention, 
no.  In  saying  this  I  am  not  ignoring  the  experiments 
of  Prof.  Roberts  and  others  which  show  a  very  great 
loss  from  exposing  and  fermenting  manure.  To  my 
mind,  however,  these  experiments  confirm  those  of  the 
late  Dr.  Voelcker,  showing  that  fermented  manure 
makes  the  insoluble  plant-food  more  soluble  and  conse¬ 
quently  more  active  and  valuable.  If  the  insoluble 
nitrogenous  matter  is  converted  into  ammonia  and 
escapes,  or  if  it  is  converted  into  soluble  nitrates  and 
these  are  washed  away,  what  do  these  facts  prove  ?  It 
is  very  desirable  to  convert  the  inert  nitrogenous  mat¬ 
ter  into  ammonia  and  thus  into  nitrates  and  also  to 
convert  insoluble  phosphates  into  soluble  phosphates, 
and  the  only  question  we  need  ask  is  whether  there  is 
any  necessity  for  the  ammonia  escaping  or  the  soluble 
matter  leaking  out  of  the  pile. 
I  feel  confident  that  there  is  no  such  necessity;  that 
we  can  pile  manure  out-of-doors  and  allow  it  to  fer¬ 
ment  all  winter  without  any  loss  worth  talking  about. 
I  will  briefly  describe  a  method  of  piling  manure  that 
I  have  practiced  for  many  years  with  satisfactory 
results. 
Little  Nitrogen,  Little  Fermentation. 
On  the  farm  we  have  nine  horses,  80  large  sheep, 
three  cows,  50  pigs,  over  100  ducks  and  200  chickens 
and  turkeys.  These  are  our  manure  makers.  Man¬ 
ure,  however,  does  not  come-  from  the  animals  but 
from  the  food  which  they  consume.  The 
richer  this  is  in  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid  and  potash,  especially  nitrogen,  the 
better  and  more  valuable  will  be  the 
manure.  A  sheep  or  horse  or  cow  that 
has  nothing  but  straw  or  corn  stalks 
will  give  manure  of  but  little  value.  If 
the  nitrogen  is  not  in  the  food  the  ani¬ 
mal  will  not  create  it,  neither  will  fer¬ 
mentation.  In  fact,  manure  poor  in 
nitrogen  will  ferment  very  slowly  if  at 
all.  Sheep  and  horses  take  very  little 
nitrogen  from  the  food,  say  not  more 
than  five  per  cent,  and  still  less  of 
phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  Bigs  take 
more  because  they  grow  faster  ;  milch 
cows,  because  they  grow  faster  still, 
or  rather  because  they  secrete  a  larger 
quantity  of  milk  extract,  take  three  or 
four  times  as  much  nitrogen  from  the 
food  as  sheep,  horses  or  chickens.  Hence 
milch  cow  manure  is  the  poorest  we 
have  and  ferments  very  slowly.  Horse, 
sheep  and  poultry  manure  will  ferment 
rapidly,  especially  if  the  animals  are 
fed  on  ‘rich  nitrogenous  food. 
Many  farmers  say  they  have  tried  to  ferment  man¬ 
ure  in  winter,  but  that  the  pile  lies  dormant  and  cold, 
and  the  manure  they  throw  on  every  day  from  the 
cow  stalls  freezes  solid.  No  doubt.  Fermentation  or 
decomposition  is  caused  by  the  microbes.  These  mi¬ 
crobes  or  minute  fungus-like  plants,  will  not  grow  at 
a  low  temperature.  They  must  have  food,  heat  and 
air,  like  any  other  plants.  If  the  manure  is  saturated 
with  water  the  air  is  excluded  as  is  sometimes  the  case 
with  cow  dung,  microbes  cannot  grow  and  no  fer¬ 
mentation  or  decomposition  or  combustion  will  take 
place. 
Kindlings  for  the  Manure  Fire. 
If  you  are  going  to  start  a  fire  you  get  some  kind¬ 
ling  that  will  burn  quickly  and  heat  the  wood  or 
coal  until  it  will  itself  burn,  or  you  get  some  live  coals 
from  i  some  other  fire,  and  so  with  the  manure  pile. 
Cow  manure  is  wood  and  needs  plenty  of  kindling  and 
dry  wood  to  make  it  burn.  Horse  or  hen  manure  is 
easily  started  and  ferments  so  rapidly  that  a  heap  of 
it  is  apt  to  fire-fang.  It  is  just  what  is  needed  to  mix 
with  the  cow  and  pig  manure. 
I  have  said  that  we  sometimes  start  a  new  fire  by 
getting  live  coals  from  another  fire.  In  starting  a  pile 
of  manure,  especially  if  it  is  to  contain  much  cow  dung, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  get  a  few  loads  of  fermented  horse, 
sheep  or  hen  manure.  I  formerly  kept  a  dozen  or  more 
cows  and  it  was  convenient  to  make  the  pile  near  the 
cow  stalls.  We  started  the  fire  with  horse  manure  and 
piled  on  anything  we  had  in  the  yards  or  stables  or 
hen  house.  Nothing  comes  amiss.  The  scrapings 
from  the  yards,  especially  if  sandy,  instead  of  putting 
out  the  fire,  will  make  it  burn  more  steadily.  Wet 
straw,  chips,  damaged  hay,  malt  sprouts,  bran,  cotton 
seed,  bone  dust,  dried  blood,  tankage,  hen  manure 
spent  hops,  slaughter-house  refuse,  waste  food,  corn 
shavings  or  anything  containing  considerable  nitrogen 
is  good  to  mix  with  the  cow  manure.  It  will  make  it 
rich  in  nitrogen  and  double  or  treble  its  value  and 
cause  it  to  ferment  rapidly;  and  after  the  fire  or  fer¬ 
mentation  is  well  started,  it  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult 
matter  to  keep  it  going,  In  my  own  case  we  wheeled 
the  manure  up  a  plank  on  the  heap  and  spread  it  every 
day  as  soon  as  it  was  wheeled  on.  In  cold  weather 
this  is  an  important  point.  If  a  barrowful  is  dumped 
on  the  pile  and  left  exposed  it  will  freeze,  and  a  little 
neglect  of  this  kind  will  soon  make  it  impossible  to 
wheel  the  manure  on  to  the  pile,  and  if  long  continued 
the  fermentation  will  cease.  The  fire  will  go  out.  I 
