THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



85 



clodding. Keep the surface soil fine and 

 mellow and the evaporation will be hin- 

 dered while the capillary action will be 

 promoted below. 



The Cheapest and Best Fertilizer. 



A German authority finds the weight of 

 the stubble and roots of a heavy crop of 

 red clover to weigh about three tons and to 

 contain 180 pounds of nitrogen, 7 pounds 

 of phosphoric acid and 77 pounds of 

 potash. The first was gathered from the 

 air and the other two brought up from 

 the subsoil. These were worth at the 

 market price of these fertilizers about $30. 

 The stubble and roots of an alfalfa field 

 are much heavier and proportionately 

 more valuable. A good crop of alfalfa 

 turned under when in its best condition 

 and making most rapid growth, or just 

 completing it, is the cheapest method of 

 adding these fertilizers to the soil, and at 

 the same time puts the soil in the best 

 mechanical condition. 



A New Fruit rest. The sanitary in- 

 spector of British Columbia has seized a 

 quantity of Tasmanian apples, arriving by 

 an Australian liner. They were infected 

 by an insect about the size of a flea, which 

 burrows into the apple and deposits its 

 larvoe. It threatens to be a more offensive 

 and worse pest than the San Jose scale, 

 and a united effort will be made by the 

 authorities at all importing points to pre- 

 vent its introduction into the Pacific coast 

 states and British Columbia. 



Milk Tests. The introduction of relia- 

 ble milk tests by which it is made practi- 

 cable to buy milk according to the butter 

 fat it contains will eventually lead to the 

 more just and sensible practice of pur- 

 chasing it with reference to quality rather 

 than quantity. Recent experiments have 

 shown a range of between three and five 

 per cent, of fat. In one case three hun- 

 dred pounds of the best would bring as 

 much as five hundred pounds of the lean 

 milk. 



Fertilizer in the Water. The muddy 

 water of the early spring in nearly all the 

 irrigated countries carries more or less 

 fertilizing substance which has been dis- 

 solved from the soil, or is gathered by the 

 rush of waters, and it is a wise farmer who 

 schemes to save as much of such value as 



is practicable. If the watershed is forest- 

 covered it is all the more important to 

 save the vegetable mold which is so read- 

 ily carried in the quick- moving current. 



Topping and Stripping Corn. Tests 

 at the Mississippi experimental station 

 during three seasons have uniformly 

 shown a marked decrease in the yield of 

 corn and deterioration in quality which is 

 not compensated by the feeding value of 

 the crops. The records of seven other 

 stations where similar tests have been 

 made show a loss of sixteen per cent, upon 

 topping. Stripping causes even greater 

 loss. 



Road Making. USQ f re8 h soil for the 

 repair of roads. That which has been 

 ground into an impalpable powder and 

 washes into the ditch is not fit to put 

 back again ; it is worn out. Remember 

 this in repairing chock holes. The pulver- 

 ized stuff, mixed as it is with animal 

 droppings, may be an excellent dressing 

 for the gardens, or a good absorbent for 

 the cattle-yards, but it is not good road- 

 making material. 



Cool the Fruit If fruit is taken from 

 the trees when warmed by the sunshine, it 

 is in an undesirable condition for packing. 

 If practicable to spread it under a shed on 

 straw or leaves to lie over night, it will be 

 thoroughly cooled and in much better con- 

 dition for shipping. This is particularly 

 the case as to pears, quinces or apples. 



Danger from Spraying. From sev- 

 eral localities come reports of injury and 

 death to bees resulting from the feeding 

 on the poisoned blossoms of vines and 

 trees that had been sprayed. Mr. Stroud, 

 of McCook, Neb., found so many dead 

 bees in his hives that he thought it neces- 

 sary to destroy honey, bees and hives. 

 They had been poisoned by Paris green 

 and London purple mixture. 



Don't Waste Manure. No matter how 

 good your soil may be, never permit the 

 waste of any manure or fertilizing 1 material 

 that may be made or found on the farm. The 

 best of soil may be made more productive; 

 in fact, the best of soils will generally pay 

 best for the fertilizers used on them, if 

 care be taken in providing the particular 

 elements that the soil may be deficient in. 



