Manure Tub

This is a tub for delivering manure comprised of compost, excrement, urine, ashes, rice bran, boiled crop, rotten grass, etc. to the field. A manure tub was used to carry solid manure and had a variety of forms and sizes. First, a long, rimmed barrel made by connecting pieces of wood usually has a round body and a spout or hole in the middle like a urine barrel. The hole or spout was stuffed with straw when carried on the user’s back on an A-frame carrier. Another type resembles a bucket made of wooden planks joined using strings framed around the circular body, often used in a pair, which were carried by hanging the tub’s handles on an A-frame carrier’s hooks. Some were made of thinly sliced pieces of wood that were rolled up like a treadwheel and fixed by sewing. In mountainous areas, the tub was made by hollowing out a linden log and hanging it with a loop made with Siberian gooseberry runners, which comprised of five planks of wood. In some cases, a circular shape was made with wood pieces and joined by tying it up with a string before attaching wood blocks to both sides of the tub to use as handles. This type of manure tub was usually carried by women on their head, and widely used in the southern region. Some manure tubs were made by patching up wooden boards, with an iron wire affixed as a handle.