204 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MARCH 14 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
| Every query must be accompanied by the name and address 
of the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question, please 
see if it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate piece 
of paper.] 
Manurlal Value of a Clover Crop. 
A. L. B., Schochoh, Ky.—l. What 1 b the manurlal 
value, (give chemical analysis) of a crop of clover “plowed 
under” just before it begins to ripen? At what stage 
should it be plowed under here in southern Kentucky to 
obtain the best results ? 2. What is the manurlal value 
(give chemical analysis) of a crop of pea-vines plowed 
under after having been “ hogged ” down, including the 
droppings from the hogs ? When is the proper time for 
sowing peas here ? How long before they are ready for the 
hog ? Could I “ plow under ” clover in May or June, sow 
a crop of peas, “ hog ” down and get the piece of land ready 
for wheat seeding in time for a crop ? 
Ans.—1. The manorial value of a crop of clover aver¬ 
aging, say, 15,000 pounds of green matter, has been esti¬ 
mated as follows: 
102 pounds of nitrogen.worth * 15 80 
87J4 “ potash. “ 5 22 
86 “ lime. “ . 
25 “ phosphoric acid. “ 2 50 
Total value . *28 02 
This, however, refers only to that part of the clover 
above ground. The roots in the soil may be estimated as 
worth one-fourth as much in addition. There is no great 
difference between the manurlal value of green clover and 
that of the hay which might have been made from it; and 
Dr. Lawes estimates a ton of clover hay to be worth at 
least $11 for the manure left after feeding it. But it de¬ 
pends very much on how the hay is fed. If fed to cows, 
which extract more nitrogen and phosphates from it to 
make milk, the manure value would be less than that of 
the green crop. Considering the whole evidence as given 
by Dr. Lawes and Dr. Voelcker, of England, and Dr. Col¬ 
lier and Prof. Atwater, the best American authorities, it 
is reasonable to believe that the money value, as based on 
the prices of artificial fertilizers,of an average crop of green 
clover is at least $30 per acre when it is in full bloom, 
and at its full growth. The best stage for plowing under 
this crop anywhere and everywhere is when It is in its 
most luxuriant condition, which is when in full bloom 
and in its best state for making a crop of hay. It is not 
easy to state precisely the value of a crop of pea vines 
(not cow peas, as we understand) plowed under after having 
been pastured by hogs. But as the manure represents that 
portion of the crop that has been consumed, the whole of 
the growth may b9 estimated at not more than two thirds 
of the value of an equivalent clover crop. The peas have 
no large tap roots as the clover has, and of course would 
not furnish so much substance, nor are they as rich in ni¬ 
trogen, as thus shown : Composition of 
Per 1,000 pounds. Nitrogen. Potash. Phosphoric Acid. 
Green clover. 6 7 5 6 1.6 
Green peas. 4.8 5.8 1.8 
So that the peas will be deficient in the quantity of sub¬ 
stance and in the nitrogen contained as well.and.to estimate 
the manurial value at two-thirds of that of the clover 
would perhaps be verging towards liberality. It would 
depend somewhat, too, whether the hogs were young 
and growing or merely fattening, as the consumption of 
nitrogen for growth would ba much greater with grow¬ 
ing animals than fattening ones. This would affect the 
value of the peas as manure considerably in the former 
case. 2. Peas should be sown as early as possible, as they 
require cool weather. In Kentucky, peas sown in May 
would be almost sure to mildew and the clover would 
hardly be in the best condition for turning under so soon 
as that. Nothing would be gained by growing the two 
crops. Another difference to be noted is the kind of clover. 
Pea-vine Clover will easily make one-half more substance 
than the smaller Red Clover, and has fully one-third more 
value for turning under. If cow peas are referred to, and 
not the common field pea, another difference arises as re¬ 
gards the time for turning under, as this crop may be sown 
later than the ordinary pea without danger of injury from 
mildew. But still it would not have time to make a large 
growth after the clover is turned under, which should be 
in July. 
Manure Making in Mild Missouri. 
L. P. O., Cape Girardeau, Mo.—l. I fancy that Mr. 
Stewart’s answer to E. R. M , recommending him to fork 
over his manure rick once and sometimes twice, will not 
be very acceptable to Western farmers, as it involves too 
much labor. This winter has been so mild that there has 
been no freeze severe enough to allow one to haul manure 
directly upon the wheat fields, so that I am obliged to rick 
it up to be applied next fall. I built the rick broad and flat 
on top, about four feet high. In building the second rick I 
alternated layers of fresh manure from the stalls, with wet 
scrapings from the lots and around the stable. Is this 
method an improvement? Is the first rick sure to fire-fang, 
and if so, what would be the probable percentage of loss ? 
Both ricks are smoking somewhat. 2. My feed lots are on 
a moderately sloping hill-side. How can I best preserve 
the manure? How would it do to scrape dirt at the lower 
side, and bank it against the fence in order to catch the 
washings? 
Ans.— 1. It is about 12 or 15 years since 1 was called an 
idiot, a fool, and by some other endearing epithets for 
advising Western farmers to save and use their manures. 
The inoshaustible West would never need to use manure, 
and a Western farmer would never stoop to such manual 
labor. But manure is cared for and used now on Western 
farms as it is in the East. Time brings all things even, 
and the necessities of mankind are the level to which all 
of us must come. My remarks referred to may not be ac¬ 
ceptable at present, but they must be accepted before long, 
for a Western farmer who has saved his manure and 
labored over it to put in heaps must go a little further 
to save it from spoiling. Fire-fanging or dry rot causes a 
loss of nearly all the nitrogen in the manure and much of 
Black rot fungus, enlarged, o, branching filament; b, spore-bearing 
branch ; c, a second form of tip ; d, oblong spores ; e, oval 
dark spores; /, a mtdwav form or spore. 
the carbon, reducing as it does the organic matter to in¬ 
organic by slow combustion, the effect of which in the 
end will be much the same as burning. The process of 
composting is valuable as effecting the decomposition of 
the coarse matter and diluting the more active matter and 
• Fig. 73. 
Portion of black rot tissue, showing the spore conceptacles. a • a tip of 
neck, with spores In glutinous mass. 
so avoiding danger of fire fanging. To keep the heaps 
moist and prevent drying out, even by pouring a few bar¬ 
rels of water over them, would check the fermentation and 
cool them. It would be advisable to fork down into the 
heap and examine its condition, and if it Is drying danger- 
Blaek Rot. An enlarged view of spore-body at a; neck more enlarged 
at b, spores escaping; spores and their formation at c, 
much magnified. 
ously to get to work and turn it over. It will be money 
made. 2. I have no idea that it would be worth the time 
and labor to bank the lower side of the lots to prevent the 
wasting away of the manure. Unless the wash is heavy 
no loss will occur, and it would not mend the matter to 
have all the wash gathered in a bank at the foot of the hill. 
It would help to plow a few deep furrows turned down 
the slope on the face of the sloping ground, from 100 feet 
from the top at intervals of 50 feet, to catch any wash and 
8 ave it from going off the land. These furrows should be 
plowed only a little from the level, so as not to make a 
flow or yet to hold the water, but to carry it off gently 
and cause most of it to be absorbed. The furrows may 
be carried in this way completely around a slope and may 
be made permanent. This is a method of draining and ir¬ 
rigation combined. henry stewart. 
Black Rot of the Sweet Potato. 
D. K., Blackbird, Delaware — The R. N.-Y. would con¬ 
fer a great favor on many of its readers by thoroughly 
ventilating the subject of black rot on sweet potatoes 
while in storage in winter ? 
Ans. —The black rot of the sweet potato is caused by a 
fungus that grows within the substance of the root and 
produces decay. The fungus consists of brown much 
branched threads that penetrate all parts of the affected 
sweet potato. One of the ends of a branching filament is 
shown at a in Fig 72. It is seen that there are two kinds 
of tips. Those at b Fig. 72, taper to the end and are nearly 
colorless. From these are given off long, colorless spores, 
as shown at d. These quickly germinate and continue the 
spread of the rot. Other tips end in brown enlargements, 
as shown at c, and, more highly magnified, at e. There 
are two shown at f, which seem to be in a midway state 
between the two kinds above mentioned. Let the reader 
distinctly understand, then, that the black rot is of vege¬ 
table origin ; that it is, in fact, a minute plant that grows 
within the sweet potato, as the sweet potato grows within 
the soil; that, instead of flowers and seeds, the sweet 
potato rot-fungus has spores which are, like seeds, able to 
pass to some other root and there institute a new place of 
decay. 
There are other forms of spores, so that the fungus under 
consideration is well provided with methods of propaga¬ 
tion and dissemination. Fig. 73 shows the appearance of 
the surface of a crack in the center of a black rot potato 
that has become old and broken down. There are many 
long necked flasks projecting from the decaying substance, 
in each of which a multitude of spores are borne and pass 
out through the end of the neck by means of a long canal 
in its center, that reaches down to the flask itself. At a— 
Fig. 73—is shown a mass of these spores as they have 
accumulated upon the end of the neck. In Fig. 74, at a is 
shown one of these flasks still more highly magnified, and 
the tip of the neck still more enlarged at b. Upon the 
sides of this are several of the brown spores, previously 
mentioned as borne like knob3 upon the ends of threads. 
The three figures thus presented serve to show something 
of the microscopic nature of the fungus that by growing 
in the sweet potato, produces the rot. 
It now remains to be shown how the disease first starts 
in the young plant. This is frequently from the use of 
diseased “ seed.” If the root placed in the hot-bed for the 
making of sprouts is decayed only slightly—possibly so 
little as to be unnoticed—the disease may be communicated 
to the sprout. It may be that only the interior of the root 
is diseased, and when the sprouts start out they become 
spotted from the presence of the fungus in the stem. The 
sprout that is badly infested is known by its pale jellow 
color, but more particularly by the black spots or blotches 
upon its colorless base. The lower leaf may also wither, 
turn black and die, as also the tops of the sprout in the 
worst cases. 
The grower of sweet potatoes should be very careful, in 
selecting bis seed, to use none that shows any signs of the 
black rot, and after the sprouts are formed, all should be 
rejected that indicate, by lack of color or presence of 
blotches, that they are infected with the disease. 
It is possible that some remedy can be applied to the 
“ seed ” in the hot-bed, that will check the development of 
the rot; but this is a matter for experimentation and it is 
hoped that in the near future some information will be 
obtained upon this point. 
It is very true that the decay spreads in the bln and 
barrel as well as in the hot-bed and the field. There seems 
to be no time when the black rot fungus will not grow so 
long as there remains any place for it to spread. The 
decay is so deeply seated that in the bin the only remedy 
seems to be in preventing the spread of it from one potato 
to another. For this it is possible to use some fungicide 
as a spray upon the roots, and if this will kill all spores 
exposed some good must result. Here again is an oppor¬ 
tunity for experimentation. The field experiments to 
determine what will check the ravages of the rot in the 
field have not resulted favorably. The tests all point to¬ 
ward the use of an abundance but not an overdose of plant 
food. But a careful selection of sprouts and a judicious 
rotation of crops seem among the wisest means of secur¬ 
ing immunity from the black rot. 
N. J. Experiment Station. [dr.] byron d. halsted. 
Canadian Reciprocity. 
I. W., Winger, Out— The Reform Party told me that 
the United States would give free trade to Canada if 
Canada would give free trade to the United States in re¬ 
turn. Is this true ? 
Ans.— During the Canadian campaign which closed on 
March 5, the Conservatives, knowing that a majority of 
the people of the Dominion demanded more favorable 
terms of trade with this country, claimed that they would 
be able to negotiate a treaty for “ restricted reciprocity; ” 
that is, that the United States would agree to permit the 
importation of certain specified agricultural and manu¬ 
factured products from the Dominion either altogether 
free of duty or at a greatly reduced rate of import tax, in 
return for similar concessions made by Canada with re¬ 
gard to certain specified commodities produced in the 
United States. This would, in effect, be a revival of the 
treaty of 1854, which the United States declined to renew 
on its lapse by limitation in 1868. Since then the Wash¬ 
ington Government has persistently refused to negotiate 
another treaty on a similar basis. There is little doubt 
