March 10. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
463 
formed a sort of protection to the Carrot, which grows 
pretty well under such treatment. A. similar plan was 
in practice, about the same time, of mixing Carrots and 
Onions together; but the latter were speedily overgrown 
if the latter did anything like well. Still, it was remark¬ 
able to notice the hue, healthy Carrots on an Onion-bod, 
while scarce ono was to be seen on the plot allotted to 
themselves alone ; but it is needless to say, that when 
sown in an Onion-bed they greatly mar that crop, and 
not unfrequently all but destroy it. 
It would be as well hero to caution the inexperienced 
against allowing his Carrot-bed to remain too long 
untliinned, for the roots penetrating deeply leave long 
conical holes in the earth, which the enemies to the 
crop find a convenient lurking place; in addition to 
which, allowing a superfluous plant to remain beside the 
permanent one, depriving or robbing it of much of that 
food so necessary to its existence, cannot be otherwise 
than hurtful; and we all know that vegetation of all 
kinds has a much greater dislike to follow in the imme¬ 
diate footsteps of itself, or its next of kin, than to that 
of a stranger. It is, therefore, imperative on the cul¬ 
tivator to have the crop freed from all incumbrance as 
early in the season as possible, and though they need 
not at first be thinnod-out to the full extent, they ought 
uever to remain so thick as to elongate their leaf-stalks in 
such a way as to cause them to fall down when the 
thinning day does come. I may add, that for garden 
purposes, drills, fifteen inches apart, will do for the 
Early Horn, but the larger kinds may be a little wider, 
if necessary. Weeding, surface earth-stirring, and the 
like, I regard as such generally well-known maxims, 
that I do not repeat them in every instance, but in this, 
as well as in all others, it is an imperative duty where a 
successful result is anticipated. J. Hobson. 
ECONOMY OE THE FARM-YARD. 
(Continued from pay c 436.) 
Whilst I am treating of the appropriation of old 
Farm-buildings, and their better adaptation to improved 
management of the manure, &c., the accommodation 
for Farm-IIorses must not be overlooked. Even at the 
present day, in different parts of the country, may be 
seen the cart-horse stables so constructed that the urine 
which flows from the stalls passes away into the open 
yard, and only contributes in a slight degree towards 
the value of the manure therein. To remedy this waste, 
I propose that a tank be sunk at one end of the stable, 
the dimension of which should be four feet wide, four 
feet deep, and eight feet long; this will be sufficient for j 
a stable of six to eight horses, and may be made with ( 
bricks faced with cement, and with lifting coverlids, ! 
and the drain from the stalls should be constructed with 
fall sufficient to take the urine away quickly. The tank 
should be occasionally supplied with ashes, or other 
loose earthy materials, which, as fast as they become 
saturated, may be removed, and held in reserve as 
manure for ordinary purposes, or, in case it is desired, 
the contents of the tank may be used as liquid-manure 
for grass and meadow land. 
There is yet another mode of accommodation for 
Farm-Horses, which I have adopted in my own stables 
for several years, and which I continue up to this time, 
finding, as I do, that it answers well, both in securing 
manure, and preserving the health of the Horses. When 
I commenced the experiment, I had the old stone floors ; 
of the stalls taken up and rolaid at a depth of fourteen ! 
inches below the level of the passage behind the stalls; 
the depth of fourteen inches across the stalls being 
gradually diminished until it met the old level of the ' 
floor in front, but the depth being continued, with little 
diminution, until it reached the footway behind the 
stalls. I then filled the stalls up to the level of the 
passage with loose loamy earth, and kept it well covered 
with straw, which was removed daily, and fresh Jitter j 
supplied as cleanliness required, in the same manner 
as is usual in stalls with pitched floors. The earth is 
allowed to remain until it becomes saturated with urine, 
and begins to throw off the ammoniacal vapour. In 
the summer months, when the Horses eat green food, 
the earth requires to be changed about every six weeks, 
but in the winter, when the animals live on dry food, it 
may remain from eight to ten weeks. The advantages 
of this plan are, that the most valuable and volatile 
portion of the urine is completely absorbed and deo¬ 
dorised by the earth, and preserved for the purpose of 
manure; and this, at the samo time, greatly purifies 
the atmosphere of the stables, and effectually removes 
the obnoxious vapours always existing, in a greater or 
less degree, in stables having pitched or paved floors, 
and which is found so prejudicial to the health of the 
animals. The out-door portion of the pens for Cattle, 
Pigs, &c., alluded to previously, should be made to 
incline towards the centre, or that part of the yard 
where the manure is kept, as it were, in store, in order 
that the drainage may circulate amongst and improve 
the general mass. When the manure is removed to 
the field, either from the yard or from the heap, it is 
desirable that the earth should be equally mixed with 
the straw portion of the dung, in order that the effect 
upon crops should be equal throughout the field: for 
I hold the opinion that a cart-load of earth which has 
been saturated during the accumulation of dung upon 
it in the cattle pens, will be found to contain more than 
double the amount of ammonia than the like quantity 
of straw-made dung. 
The whole of the foregoing part of this paper has 
relation entirely to the making of old and ill-shaped 
yards and buildings as advantageous as possible, in 
cases where circumstances preclude any rearrangement, 
which would incur a considerable expenditure of monoy. 
I now propose to consider the comparative advantages 
of some of the most modern and best constructed Farm- 
steadings. Within the past seven or eight years a great 
number of modern homesteads liavo been erected in 
different parts of the country, and although most of 
them differ in design and arrangement of buildings, &c., 
yet one great feature prevails in all, and that is the desire 
to adapt the buildings, yard, &c. to the requirements con¬ 
sequent upon the general improvement in farm practice, 
in relation to the feeding of animals, preserving and 
preparing corn, and the manufacture of manure. The 
immense improvement exhibited by some of these recent 
structures over the old farm buildings is very striking, 
and one of the chief and most advantageous arrange- 
