Do not mix sawdust and shavings with lawn clippings and street sweepings, because of the great difference in susceptibility to decay.  The lawn clippings and street sweepings, which would contain considerable horse manure, would be readily transformed into a good fertilizer by composting.  Such treatment, however, would have no appreciable effect upon sawdust or shavings for a considerable period of time, and they would still be too coarse in their character to be of any value unless you have to deal with heavy clay soil, and in that case the sawdust and fine shavings might be dug in at once and trusted to decay slowly in the soil, at the same time improving its friability by their coarser particles.  If, however, you are dealing with light sandy loam, such coarse material would cause too rapid drying out and injure the plant, which might be benefited by lawn clippings and street sweepings.  The best way to get rid of the sawdust and shavings is to set up an altar, such as we have in our own backyard — a piece of an old boiler about two feet in diameter and two and a half feet high, in which we currently burn all rubbish which is not available for quick composting into a fertilizer.

Lime on Sandy Soil.

Do you think 500 pounds of lime per acre would help a sandy soil which has not been enriched by pasturing or legumes?  Of course, we would not apply the lime until next fall before plowing.

Lime is not usually called for in a sandy soil, which probably requires direct fertilizing with stable or commercial fertilizers.

Lime on Alfalfa.

What effect does putting lime on land have in holding moisture?  Also, will it pay to put it on a large field of alfalfa?  The land is adobe.  I can get slaked lime for the hauling, distance being about five miles.

The lime will make the land more friable and, therefore, less disposed to bake and lose moisture by evaporation.  Alfalfa is hungry for lime and is generally advanced by the application of it.

Fertilizing Alfalfa.

Can new cow manure be put on alfalfa?  Is not the best way to use the above as a fertilizer in form of liquid being run from barn via pipes to a settling-tank and from there via irrigation ditches to the land to be irrigated?  What is the best way to get rid of cow manure so as to keep a barn sanitary and the place free from stench?

Cow manure can be used to advantage on alfalfa.  Corrals can be cleaned up and the manure spread at the beginning of the rainy season.  During the winter the manure can be spread as it is produced and very good results will be noticed in the growth during the following summer.  It is perfectly rational for you to use the liquid fertilizer as you propose in connection with irrigation water, but this is not generally done because of the cost of the outfit and the labor of handling the material in that way.  The best way to keep a barn sanitary is to keep it clean, removing all the waste matter to a considerable distance daily, allowing nothing to accumulate, and have the stable drainage arranged so that the stable can be frequently flushed out into good drainage outlets, carrying the water to grass or alfalfa land if possible.