Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 253, 23 April 1910, Page 3

Farm and Garden

THE VALUE OF FOWL MANURE. Droppings from domestic fowls are often undervalued, but properly treated they are of considerable importance to all those having a garden. They are generally gathered in small quantities hence they are not much thought of, but they constitute a manure rich in soluble constituents, corresponding somewhat to the guano of the second grades. In former times, says a writer in the "Gardener's Chronicle," when fowl rearing was more common than at present, the value of their dung was better appreciated. The ancient Romans particularly praised their pigeon dung; they gathered it in large quantities, and utilised it, especially for fruit trees. As is the case in respect to other domestic animals, the richness of poultry manures as a plant stimulant depends largely upon the character of the food the fowls consume. When they eat many insects and worms, or are fed with bonemeal and meat refuse, their voidings are much richer than if fed on grain or vegetable matter exclusively; Likewise, if pigeons are fed largely with peas, lentils, or vetches, their manure will be correspondingly rich in nitrogenous.plant food. Dr Groff, who has experimented with domestic fowls, advises feeding them with all the fresh ground bone they will eat. The result will be that their droppings will not only be richer for manuri?.l purposes, but the value and number of eggs will be largely increased. An analysis shows that the dung from bone fed fowls was about three times richer in phosphoric acid and six times richer in nitrogen than the dung from the ordinary fed fowls. Poultry manure is an exceedingly valuable fertiliser. The richest manure is from hens and pigeons. Geese eat grass, and both ducks and geese drink large quantiteis of water. Remarks have been made that poultry manure poisons plants M which it has been applied. This is simply because used in excess. It should be applied in moderate quantities only at a time, and for preference used in the spring, and not dug too deeply into the soil. It must be remembered that young and delicate plants are more often injured in the spring months by too much stimulating manure than by too little. Small doses frequently repeated should be the rule for early crops. This also prevents waste of plant food. Plants growing in pots are frequently starved to death for want of sufficient food, owing to their limited soil area, and to the frequent watprings rendered necessary; hence the value of an occasional sprinkling on the surface of the soil of dried and pulverised manure. The dung may also be employed in making soil composts for potting purposes. COW STALLS. The subject of cow stalls is one of the most important dairy studies. Poor miserable sheds, cold and damp in winter and.not necessarily cool in summer, are too frequently in evidence. It may be a little easier to use some old tumble-down shed built 20 or 30 years ago than to pull the place down and reconstruct it on intelligent lines, but such, a proceeding bespeaks laziness. That feature in one department will make itseK manifest in all others. Any dairyman worthy of : the name is a man of vitality without a lazy bone in his body; he will manage in some way or other to keep his cows in a clean, sanitary condition and make no fuss over the daily task of making their surroundings in complete accord. Such a man has a horror of seeing his cows standing on a dilapidated old floor without bedding enough to make, a decent hen's nest, and their hindfeet an inch or two deep in filth. Clean, sanitary milk under such conditions is an impossibility. Good work done by good men is too often discounted _by the miserably lazy folk who conduct their business in such a slovenly manner as to bring discredit upon the whole dairy fraternity.