1672 



Canadian Forcstri) Journal, Maij, J»iS 



10. Nearness to a market or ship- 

 ping point is of great importance in 

 the profitable production of truck 

 crops. 



The intensive crops of vegetables 

 require an enormous amount of labor, 

 and hence on that ground alone will 

 have to be ruled out. Moreover, the 

 market is only limited, even if it were 

 near enough. 



Difference in Labor 



An interesting table shows that, 

 while hay, oats, rye, wheat can be 

 grown with less than five labor days 

 per acre, potatoes require nearly 

 double and other vegetables up to six 

 and eight times the labor. While 

 one man may tend as much as 75 

 acres of the first mentioned crops 

 he may not handle more than five of 

 celery and onions. The farmer who 

 has to depend largely on his own 

 labor will almost invariably make 

 better labor income from the exten- 

 sive crops, so that, while the average 

 per acre production of 100 farms 

 showed somewhat over $18 for ex- 

 tensive crops, and nearly $102 for 

 intensive crops, the result per day of 

 man labor was $8.73 for the former 

 and only $5.54 for the latter. 



Clearing muck-land of a growth 

 of tamarack, black ash or elm is found 

 to cost SI 5 to $30 per acre, but in 

 some cases going up to $75 and $100. 



All muck-land must, of course, be 

 drained The rapid settling of new 

 muck-land necessitates the laying of 

 tile drains deeper than usual (3.5 to 

 4 feet). If placed nearer the surface, 

 uneven settling of the soil will fre- 

 quently throw the tile out of line, 

 thus ruining the drain. Open ditches 

 may, of course, answer for a tem- 

 porary measure. 



Next to drainage, fertilizing or 

 manuring is the most important 

 factor in determining crop production 

 on muck-land, even on the mild 

 hardwood muck to which this study 

 refers. 



"Many muck soils have produced 

 fairly good crops for a year or two, 

 after which production diminishes 

 rapidly unless fertilizers or manures 

 are applied." The deficiency is 

 mainly in potash and phosphates. 

 "The most experienced muck farmers 



use fertilizers from the very start 

 without waiting to see if a crop can 

 be produced without it." From 1(H) 

 to 200 pounds of muriate of potash 

 per acre are needed for small grain 

 crop every two or three years. This 

 expenditure is, howevei", reflected in 

 the increased yield; without potash, 

 muck soils usually produce very light 

 crops. 



Compacting the muck by means of 

 heavy rollers does not only produce 

 a better seedbed, but is claimed to 

 reduce danger from frost. 



Details of soil management are 

 given which every muck soil farmer 

 ought to study. While the conditions 

 in the clay belt may differ, there is 

 much suggestive advice found in this 

 bulletin. 



B. E. FERNOW. 



BRITISH FORESTS IN WAR-TIME 



A wholesale destruction of woods 

 was going on in the country, said 

 Major Couthope, M.P., at the annual 

 meeting of the Royal Society for the 

 Protection of Birds. "Tens of thou- 

 sands of acres of w^oods have been 

 destroyed, but in many cases the de- 

 struction is hidden by means of leav- 

 ing narrow belts of trees. By this 

 time next year there will be com- 

 paratively little soft-wood timber left 

 in the country, and hardwood timber 

 will have very much decreased. The 

 stumps of the recently felled trees 

 provide breeding grounds for in- 

 sects." 





BRITAIN'S 4 PER CENT. 



The inadequate provision of 

 the forests of the United King- 

 dom for national needs is shown 

 by the fact that only Portugal 

 of all European countries ranks 

 lower than Britain in percentage 

 of total area under forest. Great 

 Britain has just 4 per cent, in 

 woods, Sweden 47 per cent., 

 Russia in Europe 37, Germany, 

 25, Norway 21, France 18. 





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