The Question Box. 113 



A Farmer. — I think the narrow furrow is the best. 



Another Farmer. — The more quickly we can plow the land 

 the better, if we can do it well. I do not care if the furrow is 

 two feet wide. 



Opinions seemed to differ among the farmers. 



Mr. Smith. — I should want every furrow well turned down. 

 Then I would put on a heavy roller and roll it down closely. This 

 to close up all air space-. Then I should follow with the 

 cut-away or spring-tooth harrow and fine the soil as much as pos- 

 sible before putting in the crop. 



Question. — What ought a farmer's wife to do if her husband 

 will persist in having the pigs run in the dooryard? 



Mr. Lillie. — In that case, if the wife objects, I think she will 

 have good cause for instituting divorce proceedings at once. 



Question. — What soil is best for growing black seed onions, 

 and how early should they be sown? 



Mr. Smith. — Xear Canastota, onions are grown on a black soil. 

 In other places they are grown on other soils, and it is claimed 

 that the quality of the onion is better than that of those grown 

 on the black mucky soils, because the onions are not so strong. I 

 know a man who grew last season 900 bushels of onions on an acre, 

 which he sold for 60 cents per bushel. Sow as early as the 

 ground can be prepared in spring. 



Question. — What shall we do to secure free mail delivery? 



Mr. Smith. — As I understand it, a petition must be forwarded 

 to the Post-office Department at Washington. It must be unani- 

 mous. Then, if all is satisfactory, the Department will send an 

 agent, who will look over the ground, and, if he reports favorably, 

 the system will be adopted on that route. 



Question. — If a soil has plenty of potash, phosphoric acid and 

 nitrogen, will it be fertile? 



Mr. Smith. — No ; unless the plant food is available. If it is 

 locked up in the soil, it is of no benefit. To unlock it, there must 

 be vegetable matter in the soil to hold moisture. This moisture 

 is necessary to dissolve the plant food elements, as plants feed on 

 " soup " — dissolved plant foods mixed with water. 



Mr. Woodward. — If the soil is hard, so that air cannot reach 

 the plant roots, the plants will not grow. They require air just 

 as much as we do. There is another condition under which some 

 plants will not grow ; that is when the soil is sour. Lime or ashes 

 applied broadcast and turned under will correct this acidity. 

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