[ CHAPTER XX.]
MY OWN PLAN OF MANAGING MANURE.
One of the charms and the advantages of agriculture is that a farmer must think for himself. He should study principles, and apply them in practice, as best suits his circumstances.
My own method of managing manure gives me many of the advantages claimed for the Deacon’s method, and John Johnston’s, also.
“I do not understand what you mean,” said the Deacon; “my method differs essentially from that of John Johnston.”
“True,” I replied, “you use your winter-made manure in the spring; while Mr. Johnston piles his, and gets it thoroughly fermented; but to do this, he has to keep it until the autumn, and it does not benefit his corn-crop before the next summer. He loses the use of his manure for a year.”
I think my method secures both these advantages. I get my winter-made manure fermented and in good condition, and yet have it ready for spring crops.
In the first place, I should remark that my usual plan is to cut up all the fodder for horses, cows, and sheep. For horses, I sometimes use long straw for bedding, but, as a rule, I prefer to run everything through a feed-cutter. We do not steam the food, and we let the cows and sheep have a liberal supply of cut corn-stalks and straw, and what they do not eat is thrown out of the mangers and racks, and used for bedding.
I should state, too, that I keep a good many pigs, seldom having less than 50 breeding sows. My pigs are mostly sold at from two to four months old, but we probably average 150 head the year round. A good deal of my manure, therefore, comes from the pig-pens, and from two basement cellars, where my store hogs sleep in winter.