VOLLX
INDIANAPOLIS,   DEC.  30, 1-905.
NO  62
CAKE AND CONSERVATION OF
BARNYARD MANURE.
Editors Insliana  Farmer
It is nothing unusual to see water from
the eaves of liarns and other farm buildings, fall directly upou- the manure pile
and by percolation saturate aud leach it
and puss out again, carrying with it the
most valuable soluble fertilizing agents
and depositing them iu places whence
small benefits accrue.
In these days when farming is of necessity becoming more intensive everything of
fertilizing possibility should be carefully
conserved and utilized. The wise farmer
naturally looks to barnyard manure for
the maintenance of the soils' fertility, and
if he but knows it, he ean almost double
its efficiency by a little extra effort and
financial outlay. To get the maximum
returns from manure care must be taken
in  its  production  and  preservation.
It is generally accepted that good stable
manure is produced by allowing the excreta of animals to remain underneath
them in the stalls, and let them tread it
down compactly along with the bedding
for several days before removing. In
this way the liquid and solids will become
thoroughly mixed with and absorbed by
the litter, be it straw or other similar material. If the manure is removed dlrrct
from stable to Beld and spead upon the
land vey little of its fertilizing property is
lost. This is one method of conserving
tlie fertility of manure.
However, it is not always convenient nor
practicable to haul manure from the stall
to the land. In that ease Jt must be
kept somewhere to await the pleasure and
time of the farmer. It can be kept under
cover suitably provided, or out in the open
yard. Usually thore is no protection for
it. hence the rain and snow have free
range to drain away the soluble portions.
Fertilizer experts from the TJ. S. De
partment of Agriculture commend an over
protection constructed from lumber. This
it seems wonld be impractical in many
cases, because of the space generally covered by barnyards generally, aud from
lack of funds and time on the part of the
average farmer.
The most practical and least expensive
way of caring for the manure is to keep
it in a paved barnyard so arranged that all
the escaping liquids can- he collected and
be distributed  over the land.
The barnyard before paving should be
graded so that the sides are at least IS
inches higher than the bottom, the height
of the sides depending of course upon
the area of the yard and quantity of mannre to be contained. Arrangements must
be made ss> that all liquids coming from
the heap shall drain to oue point, either
at one corner or side. Here a tank or
cistern constructed from bricks or concrete should be placed to retain the liquids.
Xow. as to the paving of the barnyard.
First pave the entire area of the yard with
cobble stones gathered from the fields and
then cover tliese with a three or six inch
layer of common clay tamped down solidly.
This will make a cheap and Impervious
pavement, for clay is almost entirely im-
pi netratable to water. If the farmer ean
affonl i'. a brick or cement pavement can
be used, but it will not be much better.
Bor will it be necessary.
The capacity of the tank or cistern constructed will depend upon tho size of the
manure heap and the time the fanner has
at his disposal, A pump in this receptacle will be esmvenient to remove the liquid
therefrom into barrels or portable tanks
ler  distribution-    over the    land.       This
't#olltr*g Ot
CIRCULAR BARN FOR FORTY TO AC]   FARM.
Owing to a growing demand for barns of
medium size and reduced cost, for the
smaller farms, and more especially the general farmer, I submit the accompanying
plan which has been duplicated many
timea ai I cost ranging all the way from
1460 to £<!00, depending altogether upon
local conditions, availability of materials,
prices, etc.        This ban  is planned to be
■ ,~0 feet in diameter, and is actually capable
of housing more stock and furnishing a
greater amount of storage spare than any
ordinary 40x00 rectangular barn, planned
and built the lod styled way. The old
style rectangular 40x00 barn costs in this
locality from $750 to $1,000 owing, as be-
! fore stated, to circumstances.
There is nothing at all to hinder the circular barn from being increased or di-
miuished to suit any and all cases where in
the old style barn a few feet more in
width or a few feet less, would ruin the
plan er what few real conveniences are afforded.
The circular barn has become so firmly
BatabHafaed, and has been illustrated and
sliss-ussed so often through the courtesy of
the Indiana Farmer, that further explanation here is not necessary.
The prices herein given include cement
Boon in a part, and in some cases the entire barn, with solid stone or concrete
Foundations. Benton Steele,
Pendleton. Architect
mstss  and   thus   regulate   the   fermentation
requisite to good barnyard fertilizer.
The land enriching properties of leaehel
liquid    manure depend    upon the potash.
phoapfaata mul allrogen   compounds   con-
taiasd in it. an.l when added to the hunt
along wiih the ss.lisl maiis-r found in barnyard manure it becomes an ideal land slim
ulent. These facts make the saving aint
care of barnyard manun- ws.rth while to
the farmer. II. S. Chamlx-rlain.
.Marion Co.
liquid manure should not be allowed to remain too lo.ig in the cistern, as it -'eterior-
ates after a time by fiarmfi.' rmenta-
tion. It should be delivered to the fields
frequently, or turned back over the manure
heap to aid in the further development of
the fertilizing materials.
The returns from the increase in crops
for the first year, aftor the attempt to
check the losses incident to manure production, will often more than repay the farmer
for his pains.
THE FLORIDA STATE FAIR.
Interesting Account of a Great. Occasion.
It is estimated that from 50 to 70 per
■ eat of fertilizer in the barnyard is practically lost, ly leaching ansl allowing the
liquid to run away unhindered and unused.
Why not profit hy the efforts to care for
manure as it deserves.
After the barnyard is paved to the satisfaction of the owner, the manure should
be scattered evenly over it and occasionally covered with straw and refuse forage
materials, and the cattle allowed to run
occasionally over it, so as to compact the
Editors Indiana Ffcrmer
The Florida State Fair, which closed
here Novemlier ,'iOth after a session of 15
days was certainly an event of great interest—especially to thssse who had never
before visited an exhibition of tropical
products; tlie delightful weather which prevails here at this time of the year being
oue of tbe most enjoyable features.
The general appearance of the grounds
and buildings is of course very much the
same as that of those in tlie north and it
is only when one examined the products
displayed that one found the striking difference.
However, it was particularly noticeable
that woman's work is much the same here
as in the north. In the Woman's building were the usual specimens of handiwork
showing to advantage her wide and varied field of occupation*. Some of the
hand made laces and pieces of art needlework were truly beautiful. Some of the
studies in water color and oil were good,
while a few pieces of hand decorated china
showed the touch of an artist. There
were the usual bits of work executed by
"the olihst wsunan," the youngest child,"
etc., and a pretty piece of needlework was
the result of a very old gentleman's skill
and patience.
In the culinary department tliere was
abundant evidence of the southern wo-
man'l efficiency in this much appreciated
combination of art and science. There were
pies, cakes, bread, etc., galore, and it all
looked   delicious.
In the long array of canned goods there
were a few varieties grown north as well
as south. There was a very pretty pyramid of fine looking fruit in glass jars.
Some of the things contained in these
various cans were: Canned corn, huckleberries, blackberries, loquats and guavas.
Canned and preserved peaches, plums,
pineapples, kiimqunt and fi^s. orange and
grape-fruit  "marmalasle" nnd  guava jelly.
In the woman's building was alss> a collection Of rare and inters-sting rs-!iss.
-Among other things a counterpane fmm
the home of Jefferson Davis. This counterpane was an exquisite design in I
beautifully dark and rich in color. A portrait of Robert E. Lee had, piitne.l to the
frame, a scrap of red cloth taken from tlio
Hag under which he surrendered. There
were several official documents issued hy
the confederate government and a quantity
of confederate money.
Leading from the woman's building to
the horticultural building is a wisle walk
made of shaving* and saw dust. This
walk is not to protest one from the mud
as a northern might suppose, but to keep
the pedestrian from sinking several inches
in the loose sand, which one encounters
everywhere.
The horticultural building is several
hundred feet long and has a wide driveway
running through its entire length. The
space on each side of this driveway is di-