1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
269 
ternate  the  rows  and  varieties  and  cut  off  all  the  tas¬ 
sels  of  every  other  row.  In  this  way  crosses  will  be 
secured  both  ways;  that  is  either  variety  will  be  on 
one  row  the  female,  on  another  the  male. — Eds] 
The  topping  of  the  tassels  to  increase  the  yield  has 
been  practicably  illustrated;  but  whether  the  addi¬ 
tional  results  will  pay  for  the  work  has  not  been  defin¬ 
itely  proved.  If  the  tops  are  cut  off  above  the  ears  as 
soon  as  the  pollen  has  fallen  on  the  silk,  the  ripening 
of  those  ears  will  be  hastened.  This  I  discovered  by 
accident,  and  have  since  practiced  the  plan.  A  new 
sweet  corn,  Nelson’s  Hybrid,  promises  well.  s.  m. 
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About  Some  Potatoes. 
S.,  New  Milford,  Pa.—  1.  Are  the  Early  Market  and 
American  Wonder  potatoes  new  seedlings?  2.  What 
about  their  quality  and  productiveness?  3.  Who  was 
their  originator?  4.  How  long  from  the  seed  ball  will 
a  potato  generally  yield  well  ?  5.  Can  the  number  of 
years  a  potato  has  been  grown  from  the  seed  ball  be 
told  by  the  looks  of  the  eyes?  If  so,  how?  6.  Are  Le 
Clare  &  Manning,  seed  potato  growers,  Brighton, 
N.  Y.,  a  reliable  firm?  7.  What  is  the  address  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Experiment  Station  ? 
Ans. — The  Early  Market  is  as  early  as  Beauty  of 
Hebron  and  as  good— no  better.  It  may  be  a  few  days 
earlier.  We  do  not  know  of  the  other.  We  do  not 
know  who  the  originator  is.  4.  The  second  year.  5. 
No.  G.  We  are  not  acquainted  with  them.  7.  State 
College,  Center  Co.,  Pa. 
Potatoes  for  Steers. 
W.  H.  M.,  Strathsay,  Ont.—I  have  22  four-year-old 
steers  now  in  good  order  to  be  sold  in  May.  I  have  400 
or  500  bushels  of  potatoes  which  are  worth  only  25  cents 
a  bag,  would  it  pay  better  to  feed  them  to  the  steers? 
Ans. — We  assume  that  the  “  bag  ”  means  100  pounds. 
In  that  case  we  certainly  believe  it  will  pay  better  to 
feed  them.  We  consider  potatoes  worth  at  least  one- 
third  as  much  as  corn,  for  feeding.  It  is  not  fair  to 
compare  the  dry  matter  in  the  two  foods,  as  the  pota¬ 
toes  contain  “  succulency  ” — that  quality  that  the 
chemist  can  only  class  as  “  water,”  but  which  aids  di¬ 
gestion  and  appetite  as  all  know  who  eat  fruit  or  veg¬ 
etables.  The  cattle  will  eat  at  least  half  a  bushel 
each  per  day  of  raw  potatoes.  There  is  danger  of 
choking  in  feeding  the  large  ones  unless  a  bar  is 
placed  on  the  stanchions  so  the  cattle  cannot  raise 
their  heads  to  swallow.  If  you  have  facilities  for 
roasting  or  cooking  the  potatoes  you  can  feed  more  of 
them.  Give  up  the  flax  meal  if  you  feed  raw  potatoes. 
Wood  Ashes  for  a  Vineyard. 
F.  M.  S.,  Fredonia,  N.  Y— What  amount  of  wood 
ashes  per  acre  should  be  applied  to  a  vineyard,  and  at 
what  time  ?  Would  it  be  advisable  to  apply  the  same 
amount  to  a  vineyard  that  had  received  a  good  dress¬ 
ing  of  barnyard  manure  in  the  fall  before  plowing  ? 
And  would  it  be  advisable  to  mix  the  ashes  with  any¬ 
thing  else  for  a  clay  or  gravel  soil  ? 
Ans. — Does  your  land  need  potash  chiefly  ?  We  would 
want  to  know  that  ere  questions  could  be  trustworthily 
answered.  You  may  use  all  the  way  from  25  to  50 
bushels  of  unleached  ashes.  They  will  have  about 
one  per  cent  phosphoric  acid  and  five  per  cent  potash.  To 
these  you  might  well  add  bone  dust  at  the  rate  of  from 
400  to  800  pounds  to  the  acre.  This  would  give  all  the 
phosphate  needed  and  two  or  three  per  cent  more  of 
nitrogen.  You  might  add  a  small  amount  of  each  to 
the  manured  part.  But  a  “  good  dressing  ”  ought  to 
suffice. 
Mexican  Blackbirds  and  Cut-worms. 
C.  M.  H. ,  Tampico,  Mexico. — 1.  My  farm  is  in  the  Tierra 
caliente  (hot  climate)  of  Mexico,  and  the  blackbirds 
are  very  destructive.  We  have  to  build  scaffolding 
through  our  corn  fields  and  hire  boys  to  remain  on 
them  and  scare  the  birds  off  by  throwing  at  them.  Is 
there  any  cheaper  way  to  get  rid  of  them  ?  Stones 
are  scarce  for  ammunition,  but  lemons  and  limes  are 
plentiful,  so  the  boys  go  daily  with  a  peck  or  two  to 
throw  at  the  birds  ?  2.  Is  there  any  remedy  for  the 
cut-worm  ? 
Ans. — 1.  You  ought  to  be  pretty  well  satisfied  with 
double  crops  and  double  prices  ;  most  of  our  farmers 
could  afford  to  feed  blackbirds  and  cut-worms  on  such 
terms.  Give  the  boys  old  guns  with  fine  shot,  and  let 
them  kill  a  few  birds.  Hang  the  dead  birds  up  on 
strings  all  over  the  field.  Pieces  of  tin  or  glass  hung 
about  so  that  the  sun  will  shine  on  them  sometimes 
frighten  the  birds.  Leave  messes  of  meal  mixed  with 
Paris-green  about  the  field  and  scatter  poisoned  grain 
along  the  rows.  Dip  the  seed  corn  in  the  tar  before 
planting.  We  don’t  know  the  price  of  labor  or  of 
lemons  in  your  country,  but  should  consider  one 
charge  of  fine  shot  well  aimed  worth  a  bushel  of  lemons 
thrown  by  a  boy.  2.  We  do  not  know  of  any  sure 
remedy  for  cut-worms.  Salt,  kainit  or  wood  ashes 
well  harrowed  into  the  soil  have  been  proposed,  but 
neither  has  proved  sure.  A  good  drove  of  skunks 
would  prove  as  effective  as  anything  we  know  of  ! 
Injured  Mares  for  Breeding-. 
The  R.  N.-Y<  is  frequently  asked  if  it  is  safe  to  use 
“  sore  ”  mares  or  those  that  have  been  injured  on  the 
street  cars  or  wagons,  for  breeding  purposes.  Reports 
from  farmers  who  have  tried  such  mares  are  contra¬ 
dictory.  Some  claim  to  have  cured  the  mares  and 
secured  good  colts  from  them,  while  others  found  the 
mares  so  badly  strained  as  to  be  of  little  use.  Not 
long  since  the  Wisconsin  Farmer  described  a  “  pine 
stump”  farm  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Crosby,  of  Greenfield,  Mich. 
Among  other  statements  was  this  one  : 
‘ 4  About  30  head  of  young  horses  may  be  seen  running 
and  thriving  among  the  stumps.  They  are  mostly 
big,  grade  draft  colts,  which  have  for  their  mothers, 
grade  Canadian  mares  that  have  been  bunged  up  in  the 
woods.  Mr.  Crosby  keeps  six  imported  stallions,  Shires 
Clydesdales  and  one  Cleveland  Bay.  The  colts  that  we 
saw  in  the  pasture  seem  to  do  as  well  as  the  sheep  on 
the  pine  stump  land.” 
The  R.  N.-Y.  wrote  Mr.  Crosby  for  his  experience 
with  breeding  these  crippled  mares  and  received  the 
following  answer  : 
“  In  my  lumbering  operations  in  this  State  I  find  it 
quite  difficult  to  get  such  draft  horses  as  I  need.  We 
imported  from  Canada  and  sent  directly  to  the  woods 
about  40  head  of  grade  mares,  Shires  and  Clydes.  They 
had  been  bred  in  Canada,  and  were  half,  three-quarter 
and  seven-eighth  bloods,  etc.  All  purchased  and 
brought  here  were  as  good  specimens  as  we  could  find 
in  Canada,  and  cost  from  $175  to  $240  per  head  there. 
We  put  them  in  the  woods  at  work  at  the  heavy  busi¬ 
ness  of  lumbering.  When  we  have  used  them  two  or 
three  years,  if  they  become  injured  or  debilitated  we 
send  them  to  our  farm  and  put  them  on  grass  until 
they  are  in  perfect  health,  although  not  sufficiently 
strong  for  the  heavy  work  in  the  woods.  They  are 
then  bred  to  the  stallion  and  used  about  the  farm  for 
light  work  until  about  four  months  before  foaling 
time,  when  they  are  again  turned  loose  and  allowed  to 
run  imtil  they  drop  their  foals.  They  require  no  treat¬ 
ment  except  a  run  at  the  grass  and  a  little  condition 
powder  as  a  tonic.  We  have  found  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  get  a  mare  with  the  heaves  in  foal.  We 
would  not  advise  using  mares  that  have  the  heaves  for 
breeding  purposes.  If  a  mare  is  injured  in  the  legs  or 
if  she  has  flesh  wounds  or  other  injuries  that  prevent 
her  from  doing  hard  work,  she  may  be  in  just  as  good 
a  shape  to  breed  as  though  she  did  not  have  these 
wounds  or  injuries.  It  is  our  experience  that  one 
seldom  sees  on  the  colts  from  perfectly  sound  and 
strongly  bred  stallions  from  the  Shire  or  Clyde  breeds, 
any  blemishes  like  side-bones,  spavins,  or  other 
troubles  that  cause  lameness.  We  have  never  had  any 
unsatisfactory  colts  from  the  above  mentioned  treat¬ 
ment  of  the  breeding  question.  One  is  perfectly  safe 
in  breeding  mares  to  perfectly  sound  stallions  with 
properly  shaped  feet  and  leg  bones.  Of  course  the 
mares  must  not  have  blemishes  from  such  causes  as 
ringbone,  sidebone,  spavins  or  other  like  blemishes 
and  we  would  never  advise  breeding  a  mare  that  has 
the  heaves.” 
Simple  Corn  Planting-  Points. 
W.  B.  P.,  New  York. — 1.  When  should  field  corn  be 
planted  in  southern  New  Jersey  ?  2.  When  should 
cultivation  begin  and  cease  and  should  it  be  continued 
after  the  tassels  are  formed  ?  3.  When  should  it  be 
harvested  ?  4.  How  many  kernels  should  be  planted 
in  a  hill,  and  to  what  number  should  they  be  thinned? 
When  should  the  thinning  be  done  ? 
Ans. — 1.  Just  as  soon  as  there  is  no  longer  any  prob¬ 
ability  of  frost.  The  R.  N.-Y  is  in  favor  of  getting  in 
the  corn — whether  sweet  or  field — early.  2.  It  should 
begin  as  soon  as  the  rows  are  easily  distinguishable. 
It  should  be  continued  as  long  as  it  can  be  cultivated 
by  horse-power  without  injury  to  the  stalks.  It  is 
usual  to  “  lay  by  ”  corn  before  the  tassels  appear  ex¬ 
cept  in  the  case  of  dwarf  early  sweet.  3.  Just  when 
most  of  the  ears  are  well  glazed.  4.  As  many  as  one 
chooses.  The  more  he  plants,  the  more  thinning  there 
will  be  to  do.  A  definite  answer  cannot  be  given  be¬ 
cause  much  depends  upon  the  variety — whether  it 
grows  six  or  ten  feet  tall ;  whether  it  suckers  much  or 
little.  The  thinning  should  be  done  at  the  first  hoe¬ 
ing,  or,  if  cultivated  wholly  by  horse-power,  when  the 
plants  are  two  inches  tall  and  beyond  the  usual  causes 
of  injury  or  destruction. 
Various  Manure  Questions. 
II.  F.  A.,  Cumberland  Hill,  R.  I. — 1.  I  have  a  cess¬ 
pool  between  the  house  and  barn  which  I  want  to  fill 
up.  By  extending  the  pipe  everything  can  be  carried 
to  the  manure  heap  in  the  barn  cellar.  What  effect 
would  it  have  on  the  manure  and  would  it  be  advisa- 
able  to  extend  the  pipe?  2.  Aside  from  an  absorbent 
is  there  any  fertilizing  value  in  cotton  dust?  3.  Is 
horse  manure  that  has  been  heated  more  valuable  than 
that  which  has  not? 
Ans. — Yes,  the  contents  of  the  cesspool  are  more  or 
less  valuable  as  plant  food.  If  your  cellar  is  tight  so 
that  the  water  will  not  leach  out,  it  will  help  the 
manure  heap  to  keep  it  well  saturated.  2.  Nothing 
worth  mentioning.  In  one  ton  there  are  only  10  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  five  pounds  each  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid.  3.  Heat  is  simply  the  evidence  of  decay.  If  a 
pile  of  manure  is  unprotected,  loss  of  ammonia  will 
follow  the  heating. 
Fertilizers  in  British  Columbia. 
R.  T.  R. ,  Vancouver,  II.  C. — My  land  is  a  deep  veg¬ 
etable  deposit  and  grows  large  crops  of  vegetables 
without  manure.  For  celery,  I  have  put  on  as  much 
stable  manure  as  could  be  plowed  under.  Will  it  be 
necessary  to  use  commercial  fertilizers  also  ?  If  so, 
what  and  how  much  per  acre  ?  Will  fish  scrap  at  $30 
per  ton  be  a  good  manure  ?  What  is  the  best  way  to 
use  tobacco  stems  ?  I  grow  berries,  potatoes  and  corn. 
Ans. — Muck  land  fertilized  as  you  have  fertilized 
yours  should  grow  good  crops  of  celery  without  any 
commercial  fertilizers  being  added.  Fish  scrap,  if  of 
good  quality,  is  worth  $30  per  ton  and  more.  This  sub¬ 
stance,  with  an  analysis  of  over  six  per  cent  of  nitro¬ 
gen  and  5 %  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid  used  to  sell  in 
Connecticut  at  $45  per  ton.  It  contains  no  potash.  As 
to  the  tobacco  stems,  it  depends  upon  how  much  you 
have.  They  are  particularly  rich  in  potash  and  nitro¬ 
gen,  one  ton  of  the  stems  containing  four  times  as 
much  nitrogen  and  15  times  as  much  potash  as  a  ton  of 
average  stable  manure — with  only  twice  as  much 
phosphoric  acid.  The  stems  are  also  very  useful  as 
an  insecticide.  Melon  growers  use  them  around  their 
vines,  where  they  mulch  and  fertilize  the  soil  and  keep 
away  bugs  and  borers.  We  think  it  will  pay  you  best 
to  work  them  into  the  soil  around  your  berries. 
Evaporation  of  Liquid  Impurities. 
B.  B.,  Farmingdale,  III. — When  a  liquid  evaporates, 
is  the  vapor  pure  water,  or  may  it  contain  impurities? 
Place  salt  and  indigo  with  water  in  a  tumbler  in  a 
room,  and  a  crust  of  salt,  colored  by  the  indigo  will 
form  on  the  outside  of  the  tumbler  ?  Please  explain. 
Ans. — In  some  solutions,  the  vapor  would  be  pure 
water,  in  others  not.  Specify  the  liquid  for  a  definite 
answer.  Salt  and  indigo  in  solution  are  carried  along 
on  the  surface  of  the  glass  by  the  attraction  of  cohesion 
and  so  form  a  solid  crust. 
Miscellaneous. 
Potato  Seed. — E.  B.  H.,  Providence,  R.  I. — The  true 
potato  seed  is  like  tomato  seed  and  may  be  treated  iu 
the  same  way.  Read  The  New  Potato  Culture.  It  ex¬ 
plains  seedling  culture  from  A  to  Z.  Yes,  seedling 
plants  make  tubers  the  first  season,  from  the  size  of  a 
pea  to  that  of  a  full-sized  tuber. 
Propagate  the  Blackberries. — II.  W.  G.  Palmyra,  O. — 
On  your  two  acres  of  new  land  you  propose  these  two 
ways  of  planting  blackberries:  “  1.  To  turn  under  the 
sod  and  plant  the  root  cuttings  on  it  this  spring.  2. 
To  put  the  cuttings  in  a  propagating  bed  and  plow 
the  ground  again  next  fall  and  then  set  the  plants 
raised  in  the  bed.”  We  consider  that  propagation 
would  be  the  safer  way. 
Prickley  Comfrey. — I.  D.  G.,  Prattsburgh,  N.  Y. — 
The  sets  (roots)  of  comfrey  are  sold  by  seedsmen. 
Comfrey  seeds  sparingly  and  the  seeds  are  not  offered 
for  sale.  Fit  the  land  as  for  corn  and  plant  a  set  in 
every  intersection  made  by  the  markers  four  feet  apart 
each  way.  No,  it  is  not  a  good  forage  plant  for  cows 
simply  because  they  do  not  like  it.  It  is  nutritious, 
however,  and  animals  may  learn  to  like  it  as  The  R. 
N.-Y.  knows  from  experimenting  with  horses. 
Mole  Trap. — J.  C.  G.,  Wilders,  Ind. — The  trap  de¬ 
scribed  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  of  April  2,  is  made  by  George 
Ricardo,  Hackensack,  N.  J.  Send  to  him  for  a  de¬ 
scriptive  circular.  The  Carman  Grape  will  not  be  sent 
out  until  next  fall. 
Cauliflower  Seed. — A.  F.  S.,  Lopez,  Wash. — In  grow¬ 
ing  cauliflower  seeds,  they  are  planted  somewhat  later 
than  if  the  cauliflower  were  to  be  eaten,  as  it  is  not  de¬ 
sired  to  have  them  too  large  or  too  well  matured.  The 
heads  are  carefully  taken  up,  protecting  the  roots  as 
much  as  possible,  and  stored  or  buried  through  the 
winter,  the  roots  carefully  covered  with  earth  and  the 
plant  protected  from  severe  freezing.  In  the  spring, 
they  are  set  out  and  allowed  to  go  to  seed.  These 
seeds  are  successfully  grown  only  in  some  parts  of 
Europe  and  in  Puget  Sound  on  this  continent. 
H.  J.  M.,  Hampton,  Iowa. — A  mixture  of  one  part  of 
hen  manure  and  two  parts  of  earth  will  be  good  for 
any  crop. 
A.  D.  C,,  Oakville. — Mr.  Nevins  explained  his  method 
of  starting  celery  plants  on  page  139.  He  sows  the 
seed  in  flats  or  boxes — picked  out  when  about  1%-inch 
high  and  planted  out  when  about  four  inches. 
