1913. 
THE R IJ HAL. N E W-YORKER 
©£i6 
HANDLING MANURE IN TEXAS. 
What do you consider the ideal method of disposal of 
manure from a large herd of cows? We propose to 
flush the gutters into a shallow cistern, pump into an 
elevated tank, from which we would haul the manure 
in a wagon direct to the field where it would be dis¬ 
tributed by opening a valve in the rear end. Have 
you any suggestions to make as to the methods or ways 
of doing the work? I have been told that a four-inch 
centrifugal pump would be the proper thing to handle 
this material. I would also like an expression from you 
with regard to the advisability of putting the manure 
direct on the field. < >ne of our people has the idea 
that it should be rotted first. w. s. 
San Antonio, Texas. 
The “ideal” will depend upon climate, condition 
of the soil, the lay of the land, the supply of labor, 
and half a dozen other things which should be con¬ 
sidered. On fairly level land there is probably no 
better way than to haul the manure from the stable 
day by day, and spread it evenly over the land 
where needed. This saves a double handling of the 
manure, and there is little loss where the land is not 
steep or rolling, and where the water does not flow 
over the land in a stream or sheet. In a dry climate 
like Texas, this plan would work well. Experi¬ 
ments in Colorado have shown that manure spread 
in a dry climate loses practically -one of its plant 
food. In fact drying manure is a way of preserving 
it, for fermentation will not take place when the 
manure is thoroughly dried. The most economical 
way of getting the manure out of the stable is by 
means of carriers. These run on steel tracks, placed 
over the gutter behind the cows. The manure is 
shoveled into these carriers, which, when filled, are 
pushed along the steel tracks out into the yard, 
and dumped either into the wagon direct, on to a 
compost heap, or into a pit. This daily hauling, es¬ 
pecially in a dry climate where labor is cheap, 
would probably be the most economical way of dis¬ 
posing of the manure. In this method an effort is 
made to hold as much of the liquid manure as pos¬ 
sible by means of absorbents. For this purpose 
straw, coarse hay, sawdust, dry muck or any sub¬ 
stance that will absorb the liquid is used, and in 
connection with this matter fair quantities of land 
plaster or ground phosphate rock may be used. This 
will help save the ammonia in the manure, and also 
add to its value. In case it is not economical to 
use large quantities of litter, or where the liquid 
is excessive, as would be the case with feeding 
silage, soiling crops, or cactus, the liquids may be 
nin into a cistern. In this case a pit is dug into 
the ground and lined firmly with concrete. The 
floors of the stables are also made of concrete, prop¬ 
erly sloped so that water will drain away through 
the gutters. Pipes run from these gutters to the 
1 °ocrete pit or cistern, so that when these gutters 
sre flushed out with water, the drainage runs to 
diis pit. The pit is covered so as to avoid surface 
drainage into it. As this liquid accumulates, it is 
usually handled in two ways. In one case the liquid 
is pumped directly into tanks. These are set on. 
wheels somewhat after the plan of the watering 
tanks used for wetting down the city streets. These 
tanks when filled are hauled direct to the field, and 
i he liquid sprinkled over some quick-growing crop 
like grass, or young grain. Such liquids contain 
soluble nitrogen, and are best applied to a rapid 
growing crop on which they show remarkable re¬ 
sults. In other cases a pile of manure containing 
large quantities of litter is built up near this manure 
pit or directly over it, and at intervals the liquid 
is pumped from this pit upon this manure pile, and 
permitted to soak into and through it. Such a pile 
will absorb large quantities of this liquid and hold 
it well so that when the manure is finally hauled to 
the field the plant food in the liquids will go along 
with it. In the dry climate of Texas our .judgment 
would be that the best plan would be to use litter free¬ 
ly behind the cows, take the manure out in carriers, 
dump it into wagons and distribute it daily. The 
water used in flushing the gutters, and the balance 
of the liquid may be drained into a pit and taken 
out when needed by pumping it into a tank. 
PERMANENT MEADOWS FOR NEW YORK. 
From my own experience and by observation of 
the methods of dairymen throughout a large part 
of the territory supplying the metropolitan district 
of the East with dairy products, I find that large 
amounts of money are both wasted and lost by im¬ 
proper management of meadows, and I have been 
trying to approach in some degree the permanency 
of a good sod, as we occasionally hear spoken of in. 
England. Much of my land, as on many other farms, 
contains many stones, a crop of which must be re- 
moved every time it is plowed, and expense is in¬ 
creased because of the scarcity, high price and 
inefficiency of labor and the cost of grass seed, to¬ 
gether with the difficulty in getting good clean seed 
of high germination. In trying to gain this end I 
have studied and experimented to pi'eserve sod 
rather than to rotate. I have just finished cutting 
the sixth consecutive annual crop of Timothy, get¬ 
ting a little over two tons to the acre from a field 
which was seeded in the Fall after the removal 
of a potato crop, without rye or any other nurse 
crop, and has since had an annual application after 
haying of 150 pounds to the acre of a 2-S-10 ferti¬ 
lizer, or a light application of barnyard manure; 
in that time it has had three applications of ultimate 
of soda when started in the Spring. The sod is now 
neai'ly as clean as when the seeding was first made, 
and considering that the crop is generally light this 
year in this district, the production is up to the 
standard. 
Nearly all dairymen turn their stock on their 
meadows some time after haying and pasture them 
more or less until Winter. I tried turning stock on 
a part of this meadow last Fall, to see what effect 
it would have on the crop this year, and find that 
very moderate pasturing cut down this year’s crop 
approximately 30 per cent. The average dairyman 
does not get over three good crops of hay before he 
has to plow and reseed, and I believe that this rapid 
failure of new seedings is caused much more largely 
by pasturing than by anything else. I tried the 
same experiment of pasturing a meadow which was 
seeded with Orchard grass, Red-top and Alsike 
clover on rich, moist ground, where the first crop 
lodged badly before maturity, and where I always 
got a good second crop. Pasturing one part of this 
field last year left a crop just cut of not over three- 
quarters of the amount cut from a part of the field 
not pastured. 
My soil is heavy clay loam, and except where 
tile-drained, is rather wet. I have been unable to 
get a good seeding of Red elovei’, as it is ordinarily 
sown in this country just as the ground is thawing 
and bi’eaking up in the Spring, I think largely be¬ 
cause the germinating power of the seed Is killed 
by soaking for days in ice water. During the last 
three years I have sown Alsike clover just befoi’e 
good rainstorms in late April or early May in 
wheat or rye, and have secured a crop of clover 
which excited comment from all who saw it. I find 
this is because the seed of Alsike, being so small, 
is much moi’e l’eadily covered, and finds many more 
lodging places than the larger seed of Red clover. 
As the soil has been well limed in both cases I do 
not think the difference is caused by acidity which 
Alsike will stand rather better than Red clover. 
As the result of my experiments I have discarded 
Timothy for the mixture mentioned, as I find the 
mixture very much superior, due either to the in¬ 
herent superior qualities of the component parts or 
to the benefit derived from a change of meadows 
which have been in Timothy for 25 years. Perhaps 
rotation in grass is of as much importance as in 
grain or other crops. 
There is no reason why a meadow cannot produce 
good crops of hay suitable for dairy cattle or local 
markets, during 10 years or more, if it is started 
with deep and thorough plowing for corn or pota¬ 
toes and clean cultivation pf these crops, prompt 
harvesting, plowing again, an application of 1,500 
pounds of lime. All manure to be applied to sod 
before plowing, not after, in connection with lime 
just before seeding, as frequently practiced. Thor¬ 
ough disk harrowing is demanded, and a heavy 
seeding of the best gi-ass seed you can buy, using 
three pecks of Orchard grass and eight pounds ot 
Red-top in the Fall, alone or with rye or wheat, 
and six pounds of Alsike clover in the Spiang, when 
we get the usual gi*eat land-settling rain in April. 
If the rye or wheat tends to lodge, cut it for hay 
or it will kill spots of grass and let in a lot of 
weeds. I have had good seedings where the seed 
barely started before Winter, and fair crops of rye 
under the same conditions, but get the best results 
when seeded in September for New York State. 
Treat your meadows as you do your coim. Give 
it something to live on, but the best thing to preserve 
it is to keep off every hoof except those of the 
hoi’ses used in haying. Stock pulls up and tramples 
far more than it eats. You have seen a new Tim¬ 
othy seeding with literally thousands of roots pulled 
up. Always the best is eaten and every weed is left. 
Every extra can of milk which pasturing your mea¬ 
dows produces will cost you more than it brings by 
reduction of next year’s crop. 
A heavy coat of aftermath or second growth Is 
the best of Winter cover and it is never too heavy 
unless large enough to cut a good swath the last 
week in August or the first of September. If such 
is the case cut it. This will not leave the undesir¬ 
able and remove the desirable, but at least give all 
kinds an equal chance. Do not cut it so late or so 
close that thei'e is not a good cover six or moi*e 
inches high, which will not only protect from ex¬ 
cessive freezing and thawing but will hold moisture 
and act as a fertilizer next Spring. It will help 
also to protect the roots froxu burning sun after the 
shock and sudden change of conditions caused by 
the reiuoval of a large crop. p. m. many. 
