1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
2l7 
Clairgeau  is  not  of  the  best  quality,  but  is  productive, 
of  fairly  good  quality,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  fruits  to  the  eye.  Louise  Bonne  might  be  added 
to  the  list.  For  a  list  of  100  trees,  we  would  suggest 
(to  be  modified  by  your  observation  of  local  well-doing) 
the  following  list :  25  Bartlett,  10  Seckel,  10  Louise 
Bonne,  15  Anjou  and  40  Clairgeau.  The  black  scab  on 
your  Lawrence  Pears  may  be  eradicated  by  spraying 
with  the  copper  solutions,  and  it  is  too  good  a  pear  to 
lose.  Set  out  your  apple  orchard  in  a  new  place,  leav¬ 
ing  the  old  one  to  do  the  best  it  can  until  the  new  one 
is  in  bearing.  It  is  an  extremely  difficult  task  to  name 
varieties  for  any  given  section,  especially  when  the 
list  of  good  varieties  is  so  long.  As  a  rule,  you  will 
not  find  the  growing  of  the  early  summer  apples  profit¬ 
able,  and  we  would  recommend  only  enough  for  your 
own  use.  Among  fall  varieties  the  Gravenstein  stands 
very  high.  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  though  not  of  so 
high  quality,  is  a  good  market  sort,  fine  for  culinary 
purposes  and  of  great  beauty.  Fameuse,  Fall  Pippin, 
Twenty  Ounce,  Maiden’s  Blush  and  Porter  furnish  a 
good  list  to  complete  the  fall  apples  from.  When  it 
comes  to  winter  fruit,  the  list  is  bewilderingly  large. 
Among  sweet  apples,  Ladies’  Sweeting,  Bailey  Sweet 
and  Talman  will  do  to  select  from.  Baldwin,  Ben 
Davis,  (rather  poor  in  quality)  Northern  Spy,  Hub- 
bardston  Nonsuch,  Jonathan,  King,  Wealthy,  Wag- 
ener,  Westfield  Seek-No-Further,  Sutton  Beauty, 
Golden  Russet,  Peck’s  Peasant,  Red  Russet,  Rhode 
Island  Greening  and  Belleflower.  We  do  not  mean  that 
we  would  plant  all  these  ;  select  such  as  you  learn  are 
apt  to  do  best,  plant  few  varieties  and  plenty  of  each. 
We  would  prefer  planting  quinces  by  themselves 
rather  than  between  pear  trees. 
Comparative  Value  of  Basic  Slag:. 
Subscriber,  Penn. — What  is  the  value  of  basic  slag  or 
“the  odorless  phosphate?”  Is  it  as  good,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  as  the  Mapes  complete  fertilizer  ?  The  oil  men 
use  bone  black  for  refining  their  oil.  When  one  re¬ 
finer  is  clogged  with  oil  it  is  burned  out  and  used 
again  and  so  on  until  the  bone  is  too  fine  to  act. 
What  is  the  fertilizing  value  of  this  burned  over  bone, 
and  will  it  do  to  mix  with  the  slag  ? 
Ans. — From  analysis  of  the  odorless  phosphate  it 
appears  that  21  %  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid  and  45  M 
per  cent  of  lime  are  about  all  that  we  need  consider  as 
fertility.  It  has  no  potash  or  nitrogen.  A  compari¬ 
son  with  the  fertilizer  results  as  follows  in  a  ton  of 
each. 
Odorless  Phosphate.  Mapes  Potato  Fertilizer. 
Pounds  Pounds 
Phosphoric  Acid .  427  Phosphoric  Acid . ItiO 
Potash . 120 
Nitrogen .  74 
As  a  source  of  phosphoric  acid  alone  this  phosphate, 
according  to  Prof.  Frear,  “  ranks  second  in  importance 
only  to  superphosphates  ”  as  a  cheap  and  economical 
material.  It  does  better  on  moist  than  on  dry  soils, 
and  is  better  for  pasture,  grass,  corn  and  fall  grain 
than  for  spring  crops  and  vegetables.  There  is  no 
fair  method  of  comparing  it  with  a  complete  fer¬ 
tilizer,  because,  as  we  have  said,  it  contains  no  potash 
or  nitrogen.  One  might  as  well  compare  butter  to 
bread,  butter  and  meat.  The  latter  is  a  complete 
meal.  The  former  is  all  right  if  one  has  the  other  two 
in  the  pantry  to  put  with  the  butter.  If  the  bread 
and  meat  are  not  on  hand,  the  butter  will  make  very 
greasy  eating.  Let  phosphoric  acid  represent  the  but¬ 
ter,  potash  the  bread,  and  nitrogen  the  meat.  Now  if 
your  land  has  plenty  of  bread  and  meat  and  orly  needs 
butter  to  make  a  complete  sandwich,  the  phosphate 
may  answer,  but  not  if  it  needs  the  other  element  too. 
We  have  no  analysis  of  the  oil  bone  black,  and  do  not 
know  to  what  extent  the  oil  in  it  would  affect  the  soil 
injuriously,  In  any  event  it  will  add  nothing  but 
phosphoric  acid  to  the  “odorless  phosphate.”  Re¬ 
garding  the  latter,  the  report  of  the  Connecticut  Sta¬ 
tion,  just  at  hand,  states  that  it  will  hardly  come  into 
use  at  $25  per  ton — the  price  asked — as  phosphoric  acid 
can  be  bought  cheaper  in  other  forms. 
Value  of  Ammonia  in  Tankage. 
A.  W.  S.,  Americas,  Oa. — A  perusal  of  The  Rural  of 
February  27  causes  me  to  ask  why  should  phosphoric 
acid  in  finely  ground  tankage  be  worth  less  than  that 
in  finely  ground  bone  ?  Why  should  nitrogen  from 
finely  ground  tankage  be  worth  less  than  half  as  much 
as  that  in  sulphate  of  ammonia  ?  I  have  just  bought 
a  car-load  of  finely  ground  tankage  which,  according 
to  analysis,  contains  ammonia  6%  to  7  per  cent,  and 
phosphate  of  lime  42  to  45  per  cent.  It  is  ground  finer 
than  any  ground  bone  I  have  been  able  to  purchase, 
indeed  it  is  as  fine  as  the  guanos  sold  here,  and  it  is  in 
splendid  condition  to  apply  to  crops,  and  as  it  is  com¬ 
posed  of  fine  bone,  blood  and  animal  matter,  I  cannot 
but  believe  it  is  equal  in  its  fertilizing  power  practi¬ 
cally  to  any  form  of  fertilizer  containing  equal  pro¬ 
portions  of  ammonia  and  phosphoric  acid  derived  from 
other  sources.  Certainly  the  matter  containing  the 
ammonia  is  so  very  finely  ground  that  it  can  be  much 
more  equally  distributed  than  nitrate  of  soda  (which  I 
like),  unless  the  latter  is  first  run  through  a  mill  and 
ground.  The  bone  is  equally  fine  and  can  be  dis¬ 
tributed  better  than  any  ground  bone  that  I  have 
bought  in  New  York  city,  though  I  have  paid  as  high 
as  $40  per  ton  for  it  there.  Why,  then,  should  this 
tankage  ground  as  fine  as  any  one  can  desire,  com¬ 
posed  of  pure  bone,  animal  matter  and  blood,  contain 
ammonia  and  phosphoric  acid  less  than  half  as  valuable 
as  the  same  elements  obtained  from  any  other  source  ? 
What  would  the  article  described  with  the  analysis 
given  be  worth  per  ton  ?  Would  ammonia  from  cotton¬ 
seed  meal  be  more  valuable  and  desirable  ?  I  never 
expect  to  use  another  pound  of  cotton-seed  meal  as  a 
fertilizer,  though  chemistry  may  say  it  is  ever  so  desir¬ 
able.  What  is  the  comparative  value  of  ammonia  in 
ground  blood  and  nitrate  of  soda  ? 
Ans. — Tankage  is  a  somewhat  indefinite  expression, 
as  it  is  often  applied  to  mixtures  that  are  largely  com¬ 
posed  of  bone.  We  have  analyses  before  us  that  vary 
from  four  to  eight  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  from  8  to 
20  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  value  of  our 
friend’s  tankage  can  be  known  only  by  an  analysis. 
There  is  no  reason  why  these  constituents  should  be 
less  valuable  in  tankage  than  in  bone  if  equally  fine. 
The  nitrogen  of  the  tankage  is  worth  16  cents  a 
pound,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  about  seven  cents, 
which  is  the  price  for  phosphoric  acid  in  fine  bone. 
Ammonia,  17  parts,  contains  14  of  nitrogen.  We 
should  not  consider  ammonia  from  cotton-seed  less 
valuable  except  that  it  is  somewhat  less  soluble,  mak¬ 
ing  it  worth  in  the  market  a  trifle  less  per  pound. 
There  is  no  difference  in  the  value  of  ammonia  in  blood 
and  nitrate  of  soda.  It  is  simply  somewhat  slower  to 
dissolve.  What  we  referred  to  was  coarse  ground 
tankage.  The  mechanical  condition  of  the  substance 
has  much  to  do  with  its  value,  as  the  nitrogen  in 
coarse  bone  is  considered  worth  but  8X  cents  a  pound, 
while  the  same  in  finely  ground  bone  is  worth  16 
cents. 
Melons,  Potatoes,  Hot-beds. 
C.  M.  P.,  Essex  County,  Ont. — 1.  What  is  a  good  hardy 
and  early  melon?  2.  What  potato  is  good,  early  and 
dry,  and  when  should  it  be  planted?  3.  For  putting  in 
a  hot-bed,  in  what  state  should  the  manure  be?  Should 
that  in  the  center  be  rotten,  with  long,  rank  manure  on 
top  and  round  the  sides?  Should  the  manure  be  ever 
changed  while  raising  young  plants?  I  intend  to 
start  lettuce,  tomatoes  and  other  vegetables,  with  a 
few  different  flowers,  in  hot-beds;  should  the  flowers 
be  started  in  this  way? 
Ans. — 1.  Watermelons:  Phinney,  Black  Spanish, 
Vick’s  Early,  White-seeded  Ice  Cream,  Van  Cluse,  Red- 
seeded.  Muskmelons:  Golden  Netted  Gem,  Surprise, 
Hackensack,  Christina,  Emerald  Gem.  2.  At  present 
we  would  choose  the  Freeman;  but  the  seed  is  as  yet 
high.  Try  Early  Sunrise.  We  would  plant  as  early 
as  the  land  can  be  thoroughly  prepared.  Cut  to  three 
strong  eyes.  Plant  in  trenches  about  four  inches  deep. 
Use  potash  fertilizer  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  1,000 
pounds  to  the  acre.  3.  Use  horse  manure  which  has 
been  in  a  heap  until  it  has  become  generally  warm 
from  fermentation.  Then  mix  it  thoroughly  and  put 
it  in  the  bed,  packing  it  down  solidly,  a  little  harder 
in  the  center  than  on  the  outside.  No  other  manure 
is  needed  and  no  changes  need  be  made  until  another 
season,  when  a  fresh  supply  of  heating  manure  is  put 
in  to  replace  the  old.  You  should  have  your  beds  di¬ 
vided  in  sections  so  that  you  can  have  different  tem¬ 
peratures  for  hardy  and  tender  plants.  Lettuce  and 
tomatoes  represent  the  two  types.  Flowers  may  be 
grown  in  with  the  vegetables  if  desired. 
The  Use  of  Nitrate  of  Soda. 
I.  S.,  Silver  Creek,  N.  Y. — 1.  What  effect  would  100 
pounds  per  acre  of  nitrate  of  soda  have  on  spring  wheat 
and  oats?  2.  Should  it  be  put  in  with  the  grain,  mixed 
with  other  fertilizer  or  used  as  a  top-dressing  as  the 
grain  is  coming  up?  I  wish  the  clover  seed  to  have 
all  possible  benefit  from  it.  3.  What  is  the  price  of 
nitrate  of  soda  per  ton,  and  where  can  it  be  obtained  ? 
Ans. — 1.  If  the  land  has  plenty  of  potash  and 
phosphate  and  lacks  nitrogen,  the  nitrate  of  soda  will 
unquestionably  increase  the  yield  both  of  straw  and 
grain.  If  deficient  in  potash  and  phosphate,  the  nitrate 
will  merely  deepen  the  color  of  the  growing  grain 
without  increasing  the  yield.  2.  No,  broadcast.  Use 
it  as  a  top-dressing  and  harrow  in.  3.  About  $50.  The 
Mapes  Fertilizer  Co.,  New  York. 
Sheep  Manure  and  Commercial  Fertilizers  ;  Ensilage. 
R.  M.  B.,  Washington,  D.  C. — 1.  How  will  sheep 
manure  take  the  place  of  commercial  fertilizers  ?  2. 
How  much  of  a  saving  is  ensilage  over  the  same  ma¬ 
terial  dried  and  fed  in  the  old  way  ? 
Ans. — The  sheep  manure  which  has  been  analyzed 
at  the  station  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  contains  one  per  cent  of 
nitrogen.  If  we  compare  this  with  the  analyses  of  the 
manure  of  horses  and  cows,  we  find  that  the  nitrogen 
in  sheep  manure  is  comparatively  very  high,  or  about 
twice  as  much  nitrogen  is  found  in  a  ton  of  such 
manure  as  in  a  ton  of  horse  or  cow  manure.  The 
sheep  manure  also  contains  a  large  per  cent  of  potash. 
It  is  evident  that  it  will  not  take  the  place  of  commer¬ 
cial  fertilizers  so  far  as  the  phosphoric  acid  is  con¬ 
cerned.  I  think  it  will  be  safe,  and  likely  to  be  profit¬ 
able,  if  one  applies  during  the  fall  and  winter  all  farm 
manures  to  the  land  which  will  be  devoted  the  coming 
year  to  the  raising  of  corn.  When  the  land  is  used 
for  raising  potatoes,  wheat,  oats,  barley  or  rye,  apply 
commercial  fertilizers  containing  little  or  no  nitrogen, 
a  moderate  amount  of  potash  and  a  large  per  cent  of 
soluble  phosphoric  acid.  2.  Just  how  much  saving  is 
secured  by  ensilaging  corn  over  the  old  method  of  dry¬ 
ing  it,  no  one  can  tell.  The  economy  of  ensilaging 
over  the  other  method  may  come  in  several  ways : 
first,  it  may  cost  less  to  put  corn  in  the  silo  than  to  cut 
and  husk  it ;  second,  the  material  which  is  ensilaged 
may  be  more  palatable ;  third,  it  may,  in  some  cases, 
contain  more  nutriment  than  the  dry  material ; 
fourth, lit  may  be  economical  because  it  furnishes  a  suc¬ 
culent  winter  food.  Ensilage  as  well  as  dry  material 
varies  greatly  in  value  and  quality.  In  R.  M.  B’s. 
southern  climate  with  rainy  winters  and  large  varie¬ 
ties  of  corn,  he  had  better  ensilage  this  crop  than  try 
to  dry  it.  Prof.  Sanborn  thinks  that  in  the  dry  cli¬ 
mate  of  Utah  there  is  nothing  gained  by  ensilaging 
Corn.  I.  P.  ROBERTS. 
Oats  Sown  in  the  Mud. 
W.  H.  Kiruj,  (No  address). — How  are  oats  sown  very 
early  in  the  mud,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  before  the 
land  can  be  worked  in  the  usual  way,  and  what  are 
the  advantages  ? 
Ans. — In  practice  it  is  found  that  if  oats  are  sowed 
late,  or  rather,  if  they  ripen  late,  they  are  almost  cer¬ 
tain  to  be  seriously  affected  by  rust,  which  not  only 
greatly  injures  the  straw,  but  also  reduces  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  grain ;  so  every  observing  farmer 
endeavors  to  sow  them  as  early  as  possible.  If  the 
land  is  fall-plowed,  and  left  rough  so  that  it  will  not 
run  together,  then  the  sowing  can  be  done  early  in  the 
spring,  sometimes  with  a  slight  harrowing,  but  oftener 
without  any  culture  whatever.  The  land  is  rolled 
afterwards  when  dry  enough.  The  only  object  gained 
is  early  ripening  which  is  likely  to  be  accompanied  by 
an  abundant  yield.  This  method  of  sowing  oats  is  not 
at  all  common.  r.  p.  Roberts. 
Miscellaneous. 
Slop  for  Shotes. — J.  S. ,  Cavendish,  Mo. — Give  the 
100-pound  shotes  a  slop — if  you  desire  a  slop — made 
of  wheat  bran  and  get  them  on  the  grass  just  as  soon 
as  you  can.  Clover  is  the  best.  You  cannot  grow 
healthy  pork  on  corn  alone.  See  that  they  have  a 
supply  of  pure  water  for  drinking. 
Selling  Pot  Cheese. — D.  C.  S.,  Jasper,  N.  Y. — The 
Standard  Butter  Co.  ship  their  curds  and  pot  cheese  in 
barrels  and  kegs — the  bulk  of  it  simply  as  curds, 
which  is  furnished  for  the  table  by  those  who  buy  it 
in  New  York.  We  cannot  give  the  price  at  which  it 
sells — it  is  not  quoted  and  we  suppose  it  varies  as  do 
those  of  other  commodities. 
Chemicals  for  Strawberries. — E.  L.,  Erie  County,  N. 
Y. — Muriatt  is  cheaper  than  sulphate  and  will  be 
equally  good  for  top-dressing  strawberries.  It  will  not 
burn  the  leaves,  if  properly  applied.  Sow  it  broadcast 
now.  Bone-black  is  just  what  strawberries  and  all 
other  plants  need.  So  too  they  need  nitrate  of  soda  or 
nitrogen  in  some  other  form.  You  will  do  well  to  try 
each  separately.  That  will  perhaps  inform  you 
whether  the  land  needs  one  or  the  other  or  all  three. 
Use  100  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash  to  300  pounds  of 
bone-black  to  100  pounds  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre. 
Stones  in  Cow’ 8  Stomach. — R.  J.  R.,  Livingston  County, 
N.  Y. — The  10  small  stones  “  such  as  are  raked  up  in 
hay,”  that  were  found  in  the  fourth  stomach  of  your 
cow  did  not  cause  her  death.  Such  stones  rarely  cause 
serious  trouble  unless  they  are  sharp  and  puncture  the 
stomach. 
Crowding  Dwarf  Pear  Trees. — J.  S.  S.,  Canton.  Mo. — 
It  will  be  crowding  things  too  much  to  plant  dwarf 
pear  trees  among  the  currants  and  gooseberries  in 
your  fruit  garden  of  three  rows  where  “the  rows  of 
grapes  are  to  be  16  feet  apart  and  one  row  of  goose¬ 
berries  and  one  of  currants  to  be  in  the  middle,  making 
the  rows  eight  fet  apart.”  We  have  planted  the  Red 
Jacket  Strawberry,  but  cannot  report  yet. 
Peas  and  Oats;  Guernseys. — W.  A.  F.,  Homewood,  Pa. 
— Peas  and  oats  sown  together  make  a  good  soiling 
crop.  For  early  the  Canada  Gray  pea  is  used;  for 
later,  the  Black-eyed  Marrowfat.  Any  variety  of  oats 
will  answer.  The  Guernseys,  as  a  breed,  are  heavier 
milkers  than  the  Jerseys,  though,  of  course,  there  are 
individual  animals  in  both  breeds  that  prove  excep¬ 
tions  to  this  rule.  On  stony  ground  the  Acme  is  good, 
as  are  also  the  spring-tooth  harrows,  like  the  Eureka 
or  Stevens. 
Several  Subscribers. — Where  stable  manure  can  be  ob¬ 
tained  “for  the  hauling”  within  a  reasonable  distance 
we  should  certainly  use  all  we  could  get  of  it,  and  not 
buy  fertilizers  except  for  potatoes. 
