COVERED YARDS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2110, 16 January 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

COVERED YARDS.

A paper has recently been read before the London Farmers' Club on "Covered Yards," by Mr J. Coleman, of Riccol Hall, York, in which the following statements were made :— l. That the manure should be so made that the foecal matters are preserved as nearly as possible in the same condition in which they are voided by the animals, viz., in a fresh, unfermented state. 2. That the best manure ii that which consists of a mixture of the solid and liquid excrements, with just so much litter as will cause the liquid portions to be absorbed by the cellular structure of he absorbing material, and thus ofFeriug the most resistance to the fermenting action of the oxygen in the soil, scv that the ingredients are gradually rendered soluble and available as plant food. 3. That the manure should be applied either to growing crop 3 whose rootlets are spread like a network under the surface, or immediately before the sowing of the crops for which it is intended. Mr Coleman said he believed that the production of manure made under cover cannot exceed one ton per month, as against one and a half tons in an open yard. Professor Stockhart calculates the weight of a cow' 3 excreta daily at 221b of urine and 551b of solid, and if we add 101b of straw, this w ill give S7lb a day, equal to 22cwt per month ; but our mixed cattle would not evacuate nearly so much, and 7olh would probably fully represent the average weight of straw and excreta, which gives close upon a ton a month. If these figures are correct, and assuming a period of eight months' feeding, we haye —

Some Wel3h cattle have been bought

for the United States, and the breed is beginning to look up a little. There were over seventy cows com pet ing for the milking prize at the London Dairy Show, and the milk yielded bj each cow was weighed and sampled for testing by the chemist ; and the awards were made nccording to the number of points made for quantity, for percent igr of cream, of butter fit, and allowance for time since the date of onl\ ing. The competition was in four sections — the first for pure bred slioi thorn*, the second foi shot thorns not eligible for Held Hook entry, the third for .Ttispy* and fJ-nci rseys, and the fourth for other pure breeds and cross- hreds. At the sale of the herd of pure-bred nhorthorns, the property by Mr T Welsted, of B.illywater, County Cork, the highest pi ice was Sogs : the bulls averaged (.'37 3s Bd, and the cows and heifera jC*2."j Ils7d. Last year's draft of bulls averaged £61 10s The held of Ayisliirc cattle bred by the Duke of Buccleuch, at Drumlanrig, has recently been dispersed and good prices were realised. There were 164 cattle brought into the ting, and the following averages were obtained: — 4S aged cows, £20 3s; 30 two-year-old heifer, £22 8s ; 30 yearling heifeYs, £'20 7s ; 30 heifer calves, £14 5s : 4 aged bulls, t'3s 3s ; 5 yearling bulls, £67 4s ; and 13 bull calves, £40. At the recent sale of Jersey cattle, the property of Mrs Shoemaker, of Burnside Park Baltimore, U.S.A., some long prices were realised. One cow made £C) 0, another £220, and another £200, other prices ranging from £S0 down to £33, whilst £300 was given for a bull and £GOO for a bull calf.

Xt P. 11. ! tons of coveredjyard manure at 7s 21G 0 12 tons of open yard manure at 3s 5d 1 2 0 Total gain in manure per head 0110 \.dd savings of carting, heaping, and turning 0 4 0 Saving of manure per head ... 0 13 0