386 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Dec. 
“ Manure is Money.” 
There is no maxim in reference to agriculture, the 
soundness of which is more obvious than this, and 
none, perhaps, which is more disregarded in prac¬ 
tice. It is often argued by farmers who are 
located on new and fertile soils, that there is no 
necessity for manuring—that the soil is already rich 
enough, or that the little benefit of manures would 
not compensate for the labor of applying them. It 
is not to be denied that there are particular cases 
to which this reasoning will apply - that is, there 
are soils which, for a while, contain all or nearly 
all the elements necessary for the support of crops; 
but the inevitable tendency of the growth and remo¬ 
val of plants, without any return, is the exhaustion 
of the soil, and this result must sooner or later be 
made manifest under all circumstances. 
Besides, the idea of the inexpediency of manuring 
is, in many instances, carried to a pernicious ex¬ 
treme. A farmer chances to locate on a soil, which, 
when first subjected to the plow, yields bountiful re¬ 
turns; and flattered, or perhaps made indolent and 
careless, by the easy living he gets, he continues the 
course with which he began, till utter barrenness is 
the consequence. The country abounds with exam¬ 
ples of this system of devastation; it has spread 
from the Eastern to the Western States, and is still 
progressing in the same direction. Everywhere its 
ultimate effects are the same,—the difference on dif¬ 
ferent soils, beingone of time only. Even in the new 
State of Ohio, the fertility of which, was, a few years 
since, vaunted the world over, there are many 
worn-out acres, which have been sold at low prices 
by their former owners, who have removed still fur¬ 
ther west, to run over and lay waste more new land. 
The same operations are in progress, more or less, 
in Indiana, Illinois, and other western States. 
These effects would always be avoided by a pro¬ 
per course of management. It should be the first 
endeavor of the farmer to save and apply, to the 
greatest advantage, those fertilizing substances 
which he can most readily obtain. The excrement 
of animals, all animal offal—as entrails, flesh, skin, 
bones, horns, hoofs, &c.,—vegetable matter, in the 
form of straw, coarse grass, refuse hay,—wood- 
ashes, &c., should be carefully saved. The waste 
of these articles, in many parts of the country is 
really a subject of astonishment. On farms where 
the soil has already been much exhausted, and is 
every year growing poorer, it is not uncommon to 
find much of the manure of the barn-yard and hog¬ 
pen washed into the highway, or carried off by some 
neighboring stream. Inattention to the saving of 
urine, and the waste of that valuable fertilizer, is 
still more common, and a cause of still greater loss. 
The means to be adopted by the farmer for saving 
the manure of his domestic animals, must be some¬ 
what varied to suit particular circumstances. In 
the northern part of the country, stock is generally 
sheltered in winter—horses and cattle being com¬ 
monly kept at night in stalls. Perhaps there is no 
plan which better answers the purpose of saving 
the liquid and solid excrements, than that of a cellar 
under the barn or stable where the animals are kept. 
This receives all, and if the bottom of the cellar has 
been made tight with clay or cement, there can be 
no waste. The temperature is not high enough to 
produce rapid fermentation, leaving the manure to 
gradually decompose, and its gases to combine with 
the litter, muck, or other absorbent matters, which 
should always be mixed with it to such an extent as 
to make it sufficiently dry to be readily loaded and 
carted. No situation can be more convenient for 
mixing these substances, or forming any kind of 
compost, as by keeping the manure level, and spread¬ 
ing over the materials to be added, at proper inter¬ 
vals, the whole will become in ,: tely combined. 
It here undergoes no loss by 1 . ~g, but may be 
used whenever required. 
In mild weather, cattle are kept more or less in 
yards and sheds adjoining the barn, and sheep are 
kept in sheds connected with yards. These sheds 
and yards should be well coated with muck or litter, 
before the stock is brought up in the fall. The yards 
should be in the form of a basin, so tight that no¬ 
thing will soak through, and muck, potato vines, 
refuse corn-stalks, and other rubbish should be 
thrown in to absorb the liquid. The dung of sheep 
is dry, and from its containing a large proportion of 
nitrogen, is inclined to heat violently, by which 
much of its value is dissipated. To prevent this, it 
would be an advantage to spread a coat of muck, an 
inch or two thick, through the sheds, once a week, 
or if litter is more convenient it may be used, and 
kept sufficiently moist by being watered from a 
pump or aqueduct, by a spout or hose-pipe. Care 
should be taken that too much water is not applied 
—the manure should simply be moistened ,—if made 
wet the sheep will be injured by being kept on it. 
We saw, lately, on the farm of Mr. Henry Keel¬ 
er, of South Salem, Westchester county, N. Y., 
some good arrangements in regard to saving ma¬ 
nures. His barns and sheds are so placed as to oc¬ 
cupy three sides of a square, the opening being to 
the south. The basement of the main barn is used 
for stabling cattle and horses—the storage of hay, 
&c., being on the floor above, which is nearly on a 
level with the ground on one side. The horses are 
ranged on one side of the barn and the cattle on the 
other. The animals stand on ground considerably 
higher than the centre of the area—the centre hav¬ 
ing been excavated for the purpose of forming a re¬ 
ceptacle for the manure. Into this, the manure from 
the cattle and horses is thrown, it being mixed to¬ 
gether, and also mixed with litter. The urine from 
both sides is conducted into a tank, from which it is 
raised by a chain pump and turned over the manure- 
heap, in such quantities and as often as is necessary 
to keep it sufficiently moist. From the large quan¬ 
tity of absorbent matters mixed with the manure, 
no effluvium or gas is perceived to arise from it. 
Mr. K. has, however, adopted another plan, which 
he likes better, and which we think preferable to the 
above, in another building, where most of his neat 
cattle are kept. The cattle stand on flag-stones, 
nicely laid, and which are kept at all times well 
covered with litter. Under the floor, between this 
flagging and the outside of the building is a cellar; 
but the cellar does not extend under where the cat¬ 
tle stand. The dung and urine all go into this 
cellar. All the appurtenances in reference to this 
place are not yet completed. The cellar is to form 
part of a yard—a firm stone-wall to be made round 
it. A shed roof is to be attached to the barn, in 
order to protect the manure from being too much 
drenched by rains, or dried by the sun and air. An 
apartment for hogs is made under one end of the 
building, with an opening connecting with this yard, 
and here they are to work at composting—The ma¬ 
nure from the stock, and such other materials as 
may be gathered for the purpose, being thrown to¬ 
gether to be mixed by them. 
Mr. K. has plenty of good water brought in pipes 
to his stables and yards. This is of great import¬ 
ance, both as to the saving of manure and the well¬ 
doing of the animals, yet it is most strangely 
neglected by many farmers. Where cattle are 
