1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
49 
weather is mild, they are suffered to remain out longer, 
but not more than two hours. They are fed in their 
stalls several times during the day, always giving a 
little at a time. In the afternoon, they are again turn¬ 
ed out and watered, and suffered to remain out as long 
as in the morning. The stalls having been again 
cleaned and littered, the cattle are again tied up for 
the night. Great care is taken to make the barn warm. 
When the weather is very cold, the windows and doors 
are closely shut. In this way, the cattle, being more 
comfortable, are kept at much less expense and thrive 
better. 
“My business calls me often to ride through the coun¬ 
ty of York, and it is distressing to see seven-eighths of 
the stock, {working oxen excepted,) exposed to the se¬ 
verity of the weather in cold winter days, from morn¬ 
ing till night, without shelter. Cattle so situated will 
take little exercise, but stand shivering with the cold, 
not being able to lie down comfortably on the cold melt¬ 
ing snow. It is a mistaken notion that cattle and sheep 
should be much exposed to severe cold weather to ren¬ 
der them hardy. Some farmers say they leave their 
cattle out, because their business c&lis them away from 
home. This is a poor excuse. It would be much bet¬ 
ter to turn their cattle out for water only once each 
day, and tie them up immediately after .drinking, than 
to leave them out all day exposed to the open air. 
Then the humane farmer, when gone from home and 
■exposed to the storms of our inclement winter, may 
feel some satisfaction in the reflection that he has dis¬ 
charged his duty to his live stock, by placing them in 
a dry and warm shelter.” 
Manufacture of Manure' —Lands that are in good 
condition, are kept so with comparative easebut those 
that have become exhausted of their vegetable matter 
by a course of skinning , are with much difficulty made 
productive. While in this state, they soon pack down 
into a hard and lifeless condition, after being plowed, 
and of course, are far more susceptible to drouth. It 
is impossile for the roots of cultivated plants to expand 
or find nourishment in them. Compost manure, having 
vegetable matter for its basis, and the necessary salts 
well developed in its combination, being liberally sup¬ 
plied to these infertile soils, renders them more permea¬ 
ble to heat, air and moisture ; it operates as a sponge 
in the soil to attract and retain moisture; and it con¬ 
tains the elements of a robust life for the growing crop. 
We see that nature every where forms a rich vegetable 
mould for tier heavy forests to rear their towering heads, 
or her broad prairies to luxuriate in their variegated 
and exuberant foliage. A main dependance, then, in 
bringing up an exhausted soil to a state of productive¬ 
ness, must ordinarily be upon augmenting the amount 
of vegetable matter in and upon the soil. 
It has been a favorite object with Judge Hayes, to 
turn every thing of this kind to the best account. He 
preserves the vegetable matter of the decomposing sod, 
from the dissipating influence of sun and wind, by one 
careful plowing; leaving it in its inverted position 
through the whole rotation of crops following. All the 
waste vegetable substances that are to be found on the 
farm, are annually gathered up and carried to the barn¬ 
yard and piggery, to be converted into manure for the 
tillage fields. Quantities of leaves are gathered in the 
fall, and even late in the spring, for littering the cattle 
and swine. The bushes, ferns and coarse grasses, left 
by the cattle in the pastures, are annually mowed and 
carted to the yards; and a better herbage coming in, 
the quality of the pastures is improved. The sour, 
coarse grasses of the unreclaimed lowlands are brought 
to the barn and stacked outside, to be used for littering 
the stalls. All the refuse straw is saved for the same 
purpose. 
The large barn is placed upon a side-hill, with yards 
all round it. Spacious apartments are thus afforded for 
the different kinds of stock, and also places of deposit© 
for the various materials to be converted into manure, 
in the different stages of their decomposition or manu¬ 
facture. The yard on the north side of the barn has 
been dug out from the side-hill, and has a bank wall to 
prevent the caving in of the road above it. It is there¬ 
fore a convenient place for the deposite of materials 
that require more than one season to rot them. To this 
place all the potato tops, coarse grass, brakes, bushes 
of one years’ growth, and any and all other coarse ve¬ 
getable substances are brought and tipped off. The in¬ 
dustry and care exhibited in the collection of these ma¬ 
terials is most commendable, and in the course of the 
season their accumulation becomes very important. 
There is a deposite of swamp muck, covering several 
acres, from 8 to 15 feet in depth, within a few rods of 
the barn. The road is a little descending a.l the way 
from tne swamp to the yards, and they are well cover¬ 
ed with it each year, at little expense. A good coat 
is also spread over the bottom of the barn-cellar. This 
cellar was commenced some time after the barn was 
built. It has been enlarged from year to year by 
throwing the soil under the barn, back upon the manure, 
in about equal proportions with it, at suitable intervals 
during the winter. 
The yards are plowed and dug over several times du¬ 
ring the season, and more muck, soil, lime or ashes are 
occasionally added to absorb all the gases, the bad and 
unhealthy odors. From 10 to 30 casks of lime have 
been annually used in the composts. Judge Hayes 
thinks that so far as the uninterrupted health of his fa¬ 
mily may be considered a test in the case, the prudence 
and benefit of the practice, on this score only, are fully 
established. Early in the spring, the contents of the 
cellar are overhauled, from end to end, which is thought 
to promote all the desirable decomposition before cart¬ 
ing on to the soil. 
The horse-barn stands near the out-buildings of the 
house, and the manure is thrown into a yard excavated 
and walled up, excepting at the lowest end. A stoned 
drain, leading from the house to this yard, with a con¬ 
siderable descent, conducts all the wash of the house, 
and the night soil, on the horse manure, keeping it suf¬ 
ficiently moist to prevent too rapid fermentation. Muck, 
soil, &tc. are occasionally added, and three or four hogs 
are busily at work amongst it. Should the drain at any 
time become offensive, there is an abundance of water 
at hand to flood it and remove impurities. The horses 
stand upon several inches of tan-bark which has been 
previously exposed to the atmosphere for several months. 
After becoming well saturated with their urine, it is 
thrown out with the manure, and is thought to be a 
good material for the soil of the lowland meadow. 
Judge Hayes related an interesting example, in the 
case of a neighboring farmer, of the advantage of a 
diligent collection of materials to be converted into ma¬ 
nure. A young man came into possession of a poor, run¬ 
down farm at the death of bis father. Being of an enter¬ 
prising turn, and desirous of bringing up the homestead 
to a more productive state, he applied to the Judge for 
advice as to the kind of husbandry to be adopted. He 
was told to collect materials for increasing his manure. 
To cover the yards ami litter the stables with the best 
material he could command; and if nothing better 
could be procured, to take sand or gravel,—or at any 
rate, something,—to absorb the liquid and gases of the 
manure from the stock. As the farm afforded no muck, 
the young man commenced by carting in turf and soil 
from the road-side. The stables were sprinkled with 
loam, daily, to absorb the urine. When this resource 
failed, he carted turf and soil from the fields. In a few 
years he was enabled to more than double the stock 
and dairy produce of his farm, through the increased 
