1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
in  the  shape  of  the  essential  plant-food  elements — 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  potash  and  lime.  They  de¬ 
rive  all  their  nitrogen  through  their  roots  from  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  nitrates,  and,  being  in  a  sense  sur¬ 
face  feeders,  do  not  draw  the  mineral  elements  of  their 
growth  from  the  lower  layers  of  soil  and  from  the  sub¬ 
soil  and  deposit  them  in  the  surface  soil.  The  im¬ 
provement  of  the  soil  by  this  method  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  organic  matter  or  humus-forming  material  is  in¬ 
creased,  which  enables  the  soil  in  greater  degree  to 
retain  and  give  up  to  plants  the  added  or  contained 
plant  food,  and,  further,  the  decay  of  this  vegetable 
organic  matter  aids  in  rendering  available  to  the  plants 
the  otherwise  insoluble  food.  From  your  description 
of  the  soil,  i.  e.,  sandy  with  clay  subsoil,  and  from  the 
prices  of  manure,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  improvement 
would  be  quite  as  great  and  secured  quite  as  quickly 
by  the  use  of  manure  and  fertilizers  on  a  money  crop, 
which  may  be  followed  by  a  clover  crop  used  as 
a  green  manure.  The  latter  crop  would  add  quite 
as  much  to  the  physical  properties  of  the  soil  as 
rye  or  buckwheat,  and  would  not  only  grow  bet¬ 
ter  than  these  without  the  use  of  nitrogen,  but 
also  increase  the  soil  nitrogen  by  securing  a 
large  part  necessary  for  its  growth  from  the  atmos¬ 
phere.  Its  habits  of  growth  also  enable  it  to  mater¬ 
ially  improve  the  surface  soil  by  the  addition  in  its 
roots  of  mineral  matter  drawn  from  the  lower  layers 
of  the  surface  soil  and  from  the  subsoil.  The  sug¬ 
gestion  that  I  would  make  therefore  would  be  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  Apply  now  10  tons  of  Philadelphia  manure,  one- 
half  ton  of  kainit,  500  pounds  of  Peter  Cooper's  bone 
per  acre.  In  the  early  spring  plow  the  land,  thor¬ 
oughly  prepare  it  and  plant  potatoes,  applying  a  light 
dressing  of  a  high-grade  commercial  fertilizer  in  the  hill 
at  the  time  of  planting.  The  application  made  would 
certainly  furnish  sufficient  plant  food  for  a  fair  crop. 
With  manure  at  $1.35  per  ton,  kainit  at  $11  and  Peter 
Cooper’s  bone  at  $23,  the  cost  per  acre  would  be  less 
than  $30.  To  grow  a  crop  of  rye  or  buckwheat  well 
would  require  an  expenditure  of  at  least  one-half  of 
this  amount.  The  crop  of  potatoes  would  have  to  be 
very  poor  not  to  pay  for  the  extra  fertilizer,  labor  and 
seed.  Sow  immediately  after  the  potatoes  about  12 
pounds  per  acre  of  Scarlet  clover  seed,  and  fertilize 
again  in  the  fall  with  the  same  amount  of  kainit  and 
Peter  Cooper's  bone  and  also  give  a  good  dressing  of 
lime.  From  the  experience  already  gained  with  this 
variety  of  clover  in  this  State,  you  could  expect  con¬ 
siderable  growth  of  the  clover  before  winter  and  a 
fully  developed  crop  to  turn  under  for  green  manure 
by  the  15th  of  May  following.  If  the  crop  is  fair  it 
will  furnish  quite  as  much  vegetable  organic  matter 
or  humus  forming  mateiial  as  10  tons  of  Philadelphia 
manure  besides  adding  to  the  soil  from  the  atmos¬ 
phere  from  60  to  80  pounds  of  nitrogen.  This  green 
manure  in  connection  with  the  mineral  elements  added 
from  the  cheap  sources  mentioned  would  put  the  soil 
in  excellent  condition  in  reference  to  plant  food, 
which  would  under  favorable  circumstances  of  season 
bring  a  good  crop  of  sweet  or  white  potatoes,  corn  or 
other  crops  ;  these  to  be  followed  in  the  fall  either  by 
Red  clover  for  hay  or  Scarlet  clover  for  green  manure, 
and  so  on,  thus  dispensing  with  the  use  of  yard  man¬ 
ure,  and  stopping  the  necessity  of  buying  the  expen¬ 
sive  element  nitrogen.  The  main  point  here  is  of 
course  to  get  the  desired  improvement  while  at  the 
same  time  securing  salable  crops.  In  the  former 
method  no  money  is  returned  until  one  or  two  green 
crops  have  been  grown  which  also  cost  money  to  pro¬ 
duce  and  which  add  nothing  but  the  atmospheric  ele¬ 
ments  to  the  soil.  The  method  here  proposed  is  of 
course  applicable  in  maintaining  and  improving  fer¬ 
tility  on  any  soil,  and  does  possess  advantages  in  that 
it  permits  the  use  of  the  relatively  cheap  raw  mater¬ 
ials.  E.  B.  VOORHEES. 
Hardwood  Ashes;  An  Unfavorable  Report. 
J,  W.  B.,  Orleans  County,  N.  Y. — It  would  seem  that 
unleached  ashes  would  be  excellent  to  restore  to  fer¬ 
tility  land  that  had  originally  been  covered  with  heavy 
hard  and  soft  wood  forest  trees,  now  exhausted  by 
many  years  of  cropping.  One  would  naturally  sup¬ 
pose  that  ashes  would  be  Nature’s  own  fertilizer  for 
restoring  to  the  soil  what  had  been  taken  from  it  in 
the  growth  of  forest  trees. 
For  several  years  I  have  been  using  so-called  hard¬ 
wood  Canada  ashes  whose  good  quality  has  stood  the 
test  of  analyses  by  our  State  Agricultural  Chemist  and 
of  making  soap.  I  have  drilled  in  from  300  to  1,000 
pounds  per  acre  with  barley  and  wheat,  always  miss¬ 
ing  many  places  through  the  field,  but  have  never  been 
able  to  discover  any  benefit  in  the  growth  of  the  grain 
or  of  the  following  grass  crop.  This  spring,  believing 
that  potash  was  good  for  potatoes,  on  an  acre  of 
plowed  Timothy  and  clover  sod  I  evenly  spread  two 
tons  of  ashes  and  thoroughly  harrowed  them  in  before 
planting,  but  with  no  apparent  benefit  to  the  crop 
while  growing  or  when  harvested.  The  soil  is  a  heavy 
loam  with  a  clay  subsoil  inclined  to  be  wet  unless 
thoroughly  surface-drained,  and  the  past  was  a  wet 
season.  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  heavy  rains  hurt  the 
crop,  but  on  the  very  driest  parts  I  could  see  no  benefit 
from  the  ashes,  and  this  fall  on  plowing  I  found  the 
ground  harder  where  they  had  been  applied. 
The  only  crop  which  they  have  benefited  by  an 
application  has  been  corn  ;  a  liberal  dressing  on  the 
hill  just  after  planting  has  always  insured  good  re¬ 
sults.  I  have  a  20-year-old  apple  orchard  on  warm, 
dry,  gravelly  soil  that  needs  fertilizing  and  as  manure 
is  out  of  the  question,  I  am  at  a  loss  what  to  do  ;  for 
while  ashes  coming  from  trees  ought  naturally  to  pro¬ 
duce  excellent  tree  growth,  my  experience  has  been 
unsatisfactory  with  them  on  other  crops. 
By  the  car-load  I  can  purchase  those  of  the  best 
quality  for  $9  per  ton  delivered  here,  and  my  object  in 
writing  this  is  to  obtain  the  experience  and  advice  of 
brother  tillers  of  the  soil  who  know  whereof  they 
write. 
Ans. — We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  others  respect¬ 
ing  this  matter.  To  us,  this  experiment  with  ashes 
indicates  that  the  soil  needs  nitrogen  and  more  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  than  the  ashes  supply.  Our  friend  must 
remember  that  when  he  applies  ashes  he  does  not 
give  back  to  the  trees  all  the  former  wood  contained. 
All  the  nitrogen  the  wood  contained  was  driven  away 
in  the  burning.  If  that  land  were  ours  we  should 
conclude  that  the  story  told  by  the  ashes  is  that  ni¬ 
trogen  and  phosphoric  acid  are  needed  rather  than 
potash.  To  know  about  it  we  should  do  this :  After 
using  the  ashes  on  wheat  and  barley  in  the  fall,  we 
should  the  following  spring  use  at  the  rate  of  150 
pounds  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre  on  part  of  the  grain. 
On  another  part  we  should  use  the  nitrate  of  soda,  and 
also  200  pounds  of  a  good  superphosphate.  The  differ¬ 
ence  would  show  whether  the  ashes  supplied  all  the 
phosphoric  acid  needed.  In  addition  to  this  experi¬ 
ment,  we  should  use  on  potatoes  at  least  800  pounds 
per  acre  of  a  complete  high-grade  fertilizer.  The  ob¬ 
ject  of  using  this  is  to  provide  a  standard  for  compari¬ 
son.  The  complete  fertilizer  is  supposed  to  contain 
just  the  right  proportions  of  potash,  nitrogen  and 
phosphoric  acid  to  produce  a  good  crop  on  average 
soil.  Remembering  that  the  ashes  contain  no  nitro¬ 
gen,  you  can,  with  the  nitrate  and  superphosphate, 
make  up  combinations  with  more  or  less  nitrogen, 
until  you  get  an  idea  of  how  much  you  can  use  with 
profit.  We  should  follow  the  same  plan  with  the  or¬ 
chard — using  a  complete  fertilizer  or  part  of  it,  and 
combinations  of  ashes,  nitrate  and  phosphates  on 
others  for  comparison. 
Two  Fertilizer  Questions. 
C.  W.  M.,  Hartford,  Cann.—l.  Last  spring  I  broke  up 
about  two-thirds  of  an  acre  of  pasture  land  and 
planted  corn  and  potatoes.  I  put  on  no  manure,  but 
used  a  small  quantity  of  fertilizer.  After  harvesting 
the  corn  and  potatoes  this  fall,  I  had  the  piece  plowed 
and  left  it  for  the  frost  and  sun  to  work  on  it.  I 
intend  next  spring  to  plant  the  whole  with  potatoes, 
using  a  fertilizer  only.  How  shall  I  prepare  the  land  ? 
My  idea  is  this  :  Plow  it  again,  scatter  the  fertilizer 
broadcast,  then  harrow  it  in  and  open  the  furrows. 
Flow  much  fertilizer  should  I  use  on  two-thirds  of  an 
acre?  2.  My  gx-ass  land  is  getting  poor.  I  do  not  wish  to 
plow  it  up  and  re-seed,  as  it  is  mostly  in  the  orchard. 
This  fall  I  spread  all  the  manure  I  had,  but  it  didn’t  go 
very  far.  I  was  going  to  put  on  some  fertilizer,  but 
when  I  went  to  purchase  it,  the  dealer  advised  me  not 
to  put  it  on  now,  as  I  would  not  get  any  benefit  from 
it ;  his  advice  was  to  put  it  on  in  the  spring.  Is  he 
right  ?  What  kind  will  increase  the  yield  of  hay  ? 
Ans. — 1.  Your  plan  is  all  right.  On  the  two-thirds 
of  an  acre  use  five  bags  or  1,000  pounds.  Broadcast 
three  bags  and  use  two  in  the  drills.  2.  The  dealer  is 
right.  You  will  obtain  more  benefit  from  spring  tcp- 
dressing.  We  should  use  about  400  pounds  per  acre  of 
the  special  brands  for  top-dressing. 
Chemicals,  Clover  and  Fish. 
E.  L.  S.,  North  Truro,  Mass. — I  have  been  much  in¬ 
terested  in  chemicals  and  clover  since  I  first  saw  the 
title.  Milk  has  always  been  a  drawing  card  with  me, 
but  my  buildings  are  small,  old,  inconvenient  and 
wasteful.  I  can  get  raw  fish  as  a  cheap  source  of 
nitrogen.  I  have  no  silo  nor  can  I  hire  help  expert 
with  corn.  I  have  a  good  market  for  squashes  and 
cabbages.  Will  The  Rural  criticise  the  following 
three-years  rotation :  Squash  and  cabbage  ;  early 
potatoes ;  buckwheat  plowed  down,  followed  by  win¬ 
ter  rye  for  hay  or  green  manure  in  May.  This  season 
I  raised  about  four  tons  of  Hubbard  and  Bay  State 
squash. 
Ans. — It  is  good  farming  to  grow  what  you  can  sell 
to  best  advantage  and  grow  it  as  cheaply  as  possible. 
We  do  not  know  how  much  area  you  propose  to  put 
into  cabbage  and  squash.  As  a  question  of  manuring 
)  only  we  should  use  the  fish  on  the  squash  and  cab- 
>  bage.  You  might  compost  the  fish  over  winter  using 
a  good  quantity  of  plaster  through  it.  You  could  work 
nto  this  compost  all  the  stable  manure,  waste  straw 
86 1 
e 
or  stalks  or  whatever  else  will  make  manure.  Us 
with  the  fish  250  or  300  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash 
per  acre.  The  following  year,  on  potatoes  use,  say, 
800  pounds  of  the  best  complete  fertilizers.  Use  the 
rye  for  hay  or  green  manuring  as  seems  preferable. 
The  Baby  Separator. 
E.  L.  S.,  North  Tniro,  Mass. — My  milk  set  in  10-quart 
cans  will,  as  a  rule,  give  three  pints  to  the  can  of  cream 
that  retails  for  30  cents  per  quart.  What  quantity  of 
cream  could  I  get  from  the  same  amount  of  milk  by 
using  the  Baby  separator?  The  cream  is  now  dipped 
off  with  a  ladle  and  contains  some  milk,  while  in  the 
skim-milk  there  is  a  deal  of  ci’eam.  If  The  Rural 
were  to  receive  samples  of  the  cream  and  the  skim- 
milk,  could  it  tell  what  the  result  would  have  been  if 
run  through  the  Baby? 
Ans. — With  samples  of  the  whole  milk,  the  cream 
and  the  skim-milk  we  could  tell  you,  1,  how  much 
actual  fat  there  is  in  the  milk  ;  2,  how  much  skim- 
milk  you  sell  in  the  “cream”  and,  3,  how  much  fat  you 
lose  in  the  skim-milk.  The  third  is  the  most  impor¬ 
tant  to  know.  The  “  Baby  ”  separator  will  get  prac¬ 
tically  all  the  fat  out  of  the  milk.  Its  woi*k  is  very 
uniform.  In  Dr.  Babcock’s  trials  the  loss  of  actual 
fat  was  only  l-10th  of  a  pound  for  100  pounds  of  milk 
when  run  throtxgh  the  separator — less  than  half  that 
found  in  the  skim-milk  from  the  best  possible  cold  deep 
setting.  What  is  sold  as  “  cream  ”  has  no  uniform 
composition — the  amount  of  water  in  it  varies  consid¬ 
erably.  Prof.  Farrington  of  the  Illinois  Experiment 
Station,  says  that  the  average  cream  as  churned  into 
butter  in  this  country  has  about  this  composition  ; 
Per  cent. 
Water . H8.82 
“Cheese,”  casein .  8-7(5 
“Butter,”  fat . 22. (if! 
Milk-sugar . 4.28 
“Salts,”  ash  .  0.53 
100.00 
Tolal  dry  matter . 31.18 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  much  water 
there  is  in  cream  skimmed  in  the  way  you  describe. 
Fruit  Queries. 
J.  E.  F .,  Falls  Church,  Va. — 1.  When  should  one  look 
for  borers  in  the  different  kinds  of  fruit  trees  ?  2. 
What  are  the  best  varieties  of  cherries  for  this  section? 
The  sweet  ones  generally  rot  here.  3.  What  is  the 
best  time  for  pruning  apple,  pear  and  cherry  trees  ? 
4.  Is  the  Snyder  blackberry  in  the  habit  of  bearing 
imperfect  berries,  as  it  has  done  here  th’s  year? 
Ans. — 1.  May  and  September.  2.  In  the  spring  be¬ 
fore  the  buds  start.  3.  The  best  varieties  of  cherries 
do  not  usually  succeed  well  in  the  South  and  West. 
Those  like  the  May  Duke,  Early  Richmond  and  the 
Morellos  are  more  likely  to  flourish.  Cherries  rot 
everywhere  if  the  atmospheric  conditions  are  favor¬ 
able  at  the  time  of  rjpening.  A  trial  in  your  locality 
is  the  only  way  to  determine  exactly  the  best  kinds 
for  you.  If  there  is  a  successful  grower  in  your 
locality,  visit  him.  4.  This  feature  is  not  shown  at 
the  Rural  Grounds. 
Who  can  Can  Cantaloupes? 
J.  C.  S.,  Pendleton,  S.  C. — Has  anybody  ever  tried  to 
put  up  cantaloupes  in  cans?  Can  the  original  flavor  be 
preserved  in  canning?  We  raise  from  15,000  to  nearly 
30,000  per  acre  here,  and  the  flavor  is  the  finest  in  the 
world.  We  can  have  them  on  the  breakfast  table  120 
days  in  the  year,  an  unsurpassable  luxury.  Can  we 
extend  this  luxury  365  days  in  a  year?  Is  it  too  good 
a  thing  to  have  all  the  year  round? 
Ans. — Let  us  hear  from  the  housekeepers  on  this 
point.  It  seems  as  though  120  days  ought  to  satisfy 
almost  anybody,  though  it  may  be  that  the  longer  one 
eats  this  fruit  the  harder  it  is  to  give  it  up. 
Miscellaneous. 
W.  F.,  Kansas. — No;  salsify  grown  from  seed  of 
plants  that  have  stood  over  the  winter  and  have  never 
been  transplanted,  will  not  be  poisonous  like  parsnips. 
The  Orange  Russet  Pear. — J.  F.  P.,  Waukon,  Iowa. — 
We  doubt  if  this  variety  will  stand  your  climate.  It  is 
suitable  only  for  cooking.  It  is  sold  by  William 
Parry,  Parry,  N.  J.  We  do  dot  know  the  price.  Small 
Duchess  pear  trees  that  may  be  sent  by  mail  are  worth 
about  $2  a  dozen.  Large  two  to  three-year-olds  sell 
for  $4  a  dozen. 
Charcoal  for  Fertilizer. — K.  F.,  Peekskill,  N.  Y. — 
Charcoal  dust  has  no  direct  value  as  a  fertilizer.  It  is 
largely  carbon  with  a  mixture  of  sand,  ashes  and  other 
substances.  We  would  not  pay  anything  for  it,  but 
would  haul  a  reasonable  distance  all  we  could  get 
because  of  its  great  value  as  an  absorbent  and  deodor¬ 
izer.  For  use  in  earth  closets  there  is  nothing  better. 
Mixed  in  manure  piles  and  compost  heaps  it  retains 
ammonia  better  than  any  other  absorbent  except 
plaster.  It  can  absorb  90  times  its  bulk  of  ammonia. 
It  is  also  an  excellent  mulch  on  light  soils  or  around 
early  fruits  or  vegetables. 
