732 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 4 
that five tons in one case may contain as much plant 
food as 10 tons in at other. Fifteen loads of rich ma¬ 
nure to the acre once in four years, with good tillage 
and plenty of clover seed, will insure good crops and 
rapid improvement of the soil. c. s. rick. 
New York. 
The Heavy Feeding Pays. 
One must study the crop to he grown in order to he 
able to use manures judiciously ; about 15 tons per acre 
would he my limit for corn. For potatoes, or any line 
of vegetable growing, I would use double that amount 
or its equivalent in plant food drawn from some other 
source. Thin manuring is unprofitable in our locality. 
Labor is too costly. We must manure heavily to have 
any margin. I would not put too much on wheat as 
it is liable to cause it to lodge and kill the grass, thus 
failing to get a good stand. This is the only crop that 
I have known to be overfed. Farmers, as a rule, use 
too little manure on a given area. I notice that in our 
locality, the man using the most manure has the 
greatest success. There are 20-acre fields of potatoes 
yielding 75 barrels per acre this dry year and fields 
that were not fed much yield about 30 barrels. 
New Jersey. .r. n. denise. 
A Fertilizer Farmer Talks. 
As to the quantity of yard manure which it is de¬ 
sirable to apply, per acre, I think it depends largely 
on the quality and its decomposition. If the manure 
he well rotted, a less quantity per acre vould answer 
the same purpose. With us, in our system of farming 
and rotation, our yard manure is necessarily not well 
rotted, and hence a larger tonnage per acre is applied. 
If we apply 10 to 15 tons per acre, we consider it a 
fair application, but would be glad to apply even 20 
tons per acre if we could make it on the farm. Even 
then we would add, say, 300 pounds of a good super¬ 
phosphate per acre, and would expect to see the corn 
crop luxuriate under this treatment. After it had 
produced a maximum crop, the soil would he in fine 
condition for any succeeding crop. Oh, no; we can’t 
apply too large a quantity of manure to the corn crop, 
hut I would not buy it at $3 per ton ; I could not 
afford to do so, but would rather apply 10 tons per 
acre, and make up the deficiency in the supply of plant 
food by substituting chemicals. Of course, manure in 
its coarse condition is not all available to the first 
crop after its application, hut it will be found stored 
ready for future use. There is only one place of which 
I know where one may apply too much yard manure, 
and that would be on a wheat or other grain crop. 
New Jersey. d. c. lewis. 
Where too Much Manure Was Used. 
I believe that thousands of loads of manure are in a 
manner wasted every year by spreading too thickly, 
especially where it is to be plowed under. A large 
amount of it is carried below the soil so that plant 
roots never reach it. This is my experience here on 
land with a gravelly subsoil. I have made the mistake 
twice in the past four years, once on a crop of pota¬ 
toes and once on a piece of wheat. The manure on 
the potato ground was plowed under s^on after spread¬ 
ing. I put about 12 two-horse loads on three-quarters 
of an acre of wheat stubble and turned the whole 
under in the fall. We had a dry and very cold winter 
and in the spring, at planting time, the manure was 
not rotten enough to mix thoroughly with the soil, 
there being so much of it. The result was that I got 
a great growth of vines, but a small crop of potatoes. 
The soil appeared to have so much manure in it that 
it dried out on top and down to the plant roots so that 
there were no potatoes except at the bottoms of the 
main stems. If the season had been different the 
result might have been different, hut I think there 
was tooimuch manure applied. 
The wheat I lost was top-dressed, or, rather, the 
land was before seeding, and harrowed in immmedi- 
ately. In this case we used 60 loads on about 3% 
acres. The wheat fell down from over-growth, and 
did not more than half fill. Besides, it lay so thick on 
the young clover as to kill it in many places. After a 
number of trials I am fully convinced that manure 
should not be plowed under for several month's after 
spreading, let it be rough or fine. It should be put on 
top and the rain and frost allowed to get it down into 
the ground. 
The exact number of loads to be used per acre is 
hard to determine. A man must he guided by the 
kind of goods he is using. We can’t analyze our ma¬ 
nure, to be sure, but I know how and of what all our 
manure is made, and its condition when applied to the 
land, from which I make up my judgment as to quality 
or strength, and I am governed accordingly. As a rule, 
I don’t think Prof. Roberts’s plan would do so well, 
because there is very little farmyard manure made 
that is in shape to get five loads on one acre so as to 
benefit the crop a great deal. We now use about 15 
loads per acre, top-dressing for wheat on the clay 
spots ; on the black land 10 loads is enough. It doesn’t 
look, then, as if we were putting on enough to do any 
good, but we get the most grain by following this plan, 
and the effects of the manure are to be seen through 
the entire rotation, which is two crops of corn and two 
of wheat, and the fourth year each field gets a coat of 
clover and has all the thin spots covered with manure. 
Under this system, our average yield of wheat has 
steadily increased. I have been on this farm eight 
years; the first year our wheat made 18 bushels per 
acre, this year 25 bushels, while the growth of clover 
and corn has increased fully one-fourth. I f there is 
another man living that has as much faith in clover 
and manure as T. B. Terry has, I am that one. 
Ohio. DARIUS ROSS. 
A TRIO OF FEED BINS. 
GROUPING THE FEEDS AND THE FED. 
[EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.] 
As stated in the article about the Ilicks farm last 
week, the barns are old, and were also originally very 
inconvenient for modern methods of handling and 
storing produce, and for the stabling and feeding of 
cattle. They have been rearranged, however, so as 
to make them answer the desired purposes very well, 
indeed. The barn containing the cow stables is, like 
most of the old-time barns, very low. The stables are 
on the same level as the ground outside, and origin¬ 
ally many posts obstructed the free passage of feeders 
and milkers ; but these have been largely removed, so 
that one can move about freely. The ceiling is low, 
there being little headway for a tall man. There is a 
double row of stanchions, w'ith a wide feeding alley 
between. On one side the stanchions extend the 
whole length of the barn, but on the other, the space 
at one end is occupied by the meal bin shown at Fig. 
235, the bran chute, shown at Big. 236, and the starch- 
feed pit shown at Fig. 237. 
Fig. 235 shows a cross-section of the manger with 
one of the stanchions, amd a tub of the Buckley water¬ 
ing device, besides the meal bin. The Smith’s swing 
stanchion is used. The cows stand upon board floors, 
just long enough so that the droppings fall into the 
cement gutter behind them. These gutters are con. 
nected by a drain with a cistern outside into which 
the liquid manure flows, and from which it is pumped 
into a cart for its distribution on the meadows. This 
cart will be illustrated and described later. There are 
short partitions between each two cows, as they are 
better kept in place by this means. The Buckley 
watering device gives good satisfaction, but needs 
frequent cleaning, as the cows scatter more or less of 
their feed into it. The manger is of cement, divided 
from the feeding alley by a wide board bedded into 
the cement. 
The meal bin on the right is a model of convenience 
and neatness. The old-time feed bin, filled from the 
top and emptied in the same way, and covered with a 
heavy lid, was a terror to the hoy on the farm. It did 
passably well when full, but when nearly empty, the 
task of getting the rations for the horses from its 
cavernous depths was a difficult one, and often fraught 
with danger of serious physical injury. All this is 
dispensed with in the hin illustrated in B'ig. 235. The 
cut shows its manner of construction. It may be of 
any desired size, and constructed of any available 
materials. The bottom of it is imbedded in cement to 
circumvent the rats, which always seem to abound in 
old buildings. The two ends and the back are boarded 
up tightly. The trap door at the top extends the 
whole length, allowing the filling of any of the com¬ 
partments. The number of the latter is simply a 
matter of choice according to the number of different 
feeds which it is desired to use. The one shown has 
three parts. The front has a jog like a broad letter 
V, the lower part having a lid, shown raised and 
fastened up with a wooden button. The lower per¬ 
pendicular part is of a convenient height for easily 
taking out the feed. Whether the bin is full cr nearly 
empty makes no difference. It is one of the handiest, 
neatest, cleanest, most economical arrangements for 
the purpose intended, I have ever seen. 
Separated by a passageway from this bin is the 
chute shown in Bfig. 236, leading from the bran bin on 
the second floor. This needs little description, as the 
cut shows perfectly the manner of construction. The 
lower part, from which the bran is taken, is so con¬ 
structed as to be always full so long as there is any 
bran in the bin, and yet it never overflows. The bin 
is supposed to be rat-proof. It, as well as the other 
bin, is filled by a small outlay of manual labor. The 
wagon to be unloaded is driven up to the end of the 
barn. By means of a tackle hung on a track like a 
hay-carrier, the bags are elevated, run to the desired 
place and dumped. There is little lifting. The bran 
is purchased by the car-load when prices are most 
favorable. 
At the end of the passage between the bins just 
described is the starch-feed bin shown at Fig. 237. 
This starch feed is the refuse from the corn starch 
factories, and makes an excellent ration in connection 
with the other feeds. The bin, which extends below 
ground as shown in the cut, is made of cement. The 
wagon is driven up outside, the cover opened as 
shown, and the feed thrown in without scattering 
or waste. 
The cows are fed a mixture of starch feed, hominy 
chop and bran. Cotton-seed meal is fed according to 
the needs and condition of each individual cow. It is 
not put into the mixture, but is fed to the cows sep¬ 
arately, usually about a pint apiece, once a day in 
winter. The other grain feeds are mixed in a large 
box mounted on low truck wheels, which is wheeled 
down the passage between the cows, which can all be 
fed in five minutes without any lifting. Soft com in 
the ear is fed during the fall while it lasts. 
It will he noticed that the feed bins are all grouped 
together. It is designed to have the pig-pens also 
moved up near the cow stable, so that the stock and 
the feed may all be in close proximity, thus saving 
labor in feeding. 
A very convenient corn-house consists of two cribs 
on either side of a driveway, the whole being roofed 
over. A load of corn may be driven in and unloaded 
at leisure during stormy weather. A box built into 
the bottom part of the crib allows the corn to be taken 
out as wanted, without climbing up to the top. An 
excellent ventilating device consists of two hoards 
kept, perhaps, a foot apart by narrow strips, the open 
sides being covered with wire netting. Several of 
these extending from top to bottom of the crib 
through the corn, admit the air and go far to prevent 
moulding of the corn while curing. f. h. v. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before asking a question please see If It Is 
not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
THE FEEDING OF CUT BONE. 
CHEAP FOOD FOE HENS AND HOGS. 
Tbe Cheapest Poultry Ration. 
The R. N.-Y. has often pointed out the advantage 
of feeding animal food of some sort to poultry. All 
poultrymen know the advantage of feeding bone to 
their fowls. Up to within a few years only dry bones 
were used in this way because of the difficulty in 
smashing green bones into suitable size for feeding. 
Since then machines have been put upon the market 
for cutting or slicing the green hones, and this has in 
many places almost revolutionized poultry feeding. A 
raw or green bone contains considerable meat and 
gristle which, when cut up with the hard bone, makes 
a very nitrogenous food which could hardly he util¬ 
ized in any other way. By running it through one of 
these machines, the bone is changed into a soft, pasty 
mass that may be fed alone or when mixed with grain 
or vegetables. The following questions were sent to 
parties who have used cut bone long enough to know 
its full value. Their answers show that it is consid¬ 
ered excellent for poultry and hogs. It is also evident 
that butchers or others in poultry-raising districts 
might dispose of old bones at considerable profit : 
1. Do you still consider cut bone an economical food for poultry ? 
2. How do you feed It—mixed with other food or alone—and how 
much per 100 hens ? 
3. Have you ever tried steaming or cooking It after cutting ? 
4. Have you ever fed It to other animals besides poultry ? 
5. What do raw bones cost you, and is it possible to develop a trade 
for the sale of this product ? 
6 . What do you consider the cheapest ration you can get up for 
your hens ? 
1. Yes. 2. Both, varied according to other rations. 
3 and 4. Y T es. 5. They cost $10 to $15 p§r ton, delivered 
in 100-pound lots. It depends on the condition and sit¬ 
uation. 6. Fresh cut raw bone, oats, corn meal, wheat 
bran and middlings, whole wheat, corn in ear and 
buckwheat varied for a change. The cheapest ration 
is oats in the bundle cut fine with a straw cutter for 
winter feed. In summer let them go to grass. 
New Y'ork. d. h. folts. 
1. I consider the raw cut bone a more effectual and 
economical food for poultry than the cooked. 2. It 
can be fed either way. I feed it every other day, 
about five pounds per 100 hens. 3. No ; as I do not 
think it would be of any advantage. 4. To ducks with 
good results; not to other animals. 5. About half a 
cent per pound. There might be something done with 
it in cold weather, but not in warm. 6. The main 
feed to my hens when confined m winter is wheat 
bran, mixed with cut clover, green rye and boiled 
turnips. One-third green stuff and two-thirds bran, 
with a little animal meal or beef scrap mixed in. I give 
all they will eat of this in the morning, and at night 
corn, wheat and oats, keeping them a trifle hungry. 
Massachusetts. james rankin. 
1. I consider cut bone one of the most economical 
of poultry foods. It is very necessary for the produc- 
