1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
69 
2. No, in the ordinary sense, clover cannot be said to 
take nitrogen from the air. The little galls which 
form on the roots have been found by the use of the 
microscope to be filled with minute organisms, and it 
is these that in some way, not as yet understood, have 
the power of appropriating free nitrogen from the air, 
while their presence upon the roots seems in no way to 
harm the plant. We have no specific information as 
to the other questions under No. 2. 3. Yes, necessarily. 
Yes, they make a new set of roots every spring. There 
is a reciprocal action and dependence between the 
roots and leaves of all plants, as is well known. If 
we destroy this balance, the plant must suffer It 
would be a very easy matter to weaken clover by cut¬ 
ting it too often and to kill it outright by cutting still 
oftener. The roots must be supported as well as the 
leaves, and the leaves support the roots just as much 
as the roots support the leaves. 
Swelling of the Sheath in Horses. 
M. C. M., Newberry, Pa. —What is the matter with 
my horse ? He is six years old and I don’t work him 
very much in winter and when he stands in the stable 
a week his sheath becomes very much swollen, and 
when he is worked a short time the swelling leaves 
and he seems to sweat very easily. He appears to be 
all right in every other way. 
Ans.— This condition of swelling of the sheath, or 
“stocking” of the limbs, is not uncommon among 
horses standing idle. It is usually due to a lymphatic 
constitution which predisposes to the swelling or 
stocking whenever the animal is idle, and especially if 
kept on full rations. It may also be due to an 
unhealthy condition of the blood or to general debil¬ 
ity. Swelling of the sheath alone frequently occurs 
from local causes-a foul sheath, following castration, 
or an injury about the region of the sheath or of the 
hind limbs. Examine the interior of the sheath with 
the well-soaped hand, and if found foul, it should be 
carefully washed out, using tepid water and Castile 
soap with a soft sponge, taking care not to scratch or 
bruise its inner surface. Common soap, which is likely 
to prove irritating, should not be used if Castile can be 
obtained. After cleaning, simply rinse with clean 
water, and do not apply any oil or other greasy sub¬ 
stance, as is frequently done by horsemen Such oily 
substances only favor the accumulation of the filthy 
deposits within the sheath, and are also likely to cause 
more or less irritation by becoming rancid or decom¬ 
posing. The yard or penis should also be carefully 
drawn down and sponged off, and any accumulation 
of small, hard, rounded masses in the cavity in the 
head of the penis (commonly known as “beans” among 
horsemen) shoull be removed. When the swellings 
are due to general debility, improving the tone of the 
system by a careful attention to the general care and 
diet of the animal, and a course of tonics. For this 
purpose the following powders will prove useful: 
Powdered gentian one pound, Jamaica ginger and 
nitrate of potash of each one-half pound, sulphate of 
iron one-fourth pound ; mix. Give two tablespoonfuls 
in the feed night and morning for a week, then omit 
the powders for a few days, after which repeat as 
before. The bowels should be kept open by an occa¬ 
sional bran mash, feeding ground flax-seed, or if 
necessary, by pint doses of raw linseed oil given once 
or twice a week. With cases in which the swelling is 
constitutional, daily exercise and attention to the diet 
will afford the necessary relief. Corn or other heat¬ 
ing foods should be fed sparingly ; and whenever the 
animal is necessarily idle, reduce the rations one-third 
or one-half. F - L - kilborke. 
Can He Double His Income? 
L. C., Odell, 111.—I have been very much interested 
in the articles in The Rural about intensive farming 
near New York, chemicals and clover, etc. I want to 
increase the income of my 200 acres of prairie, 80 
miles southwest of Chicago, with no large towns with¬ 
in driving distance; so that I cannot raise truck. 
Soil black prairie loam ; subsoil clay, wet land tile- 
drained, sufficiently fertile to raise 00 bushels of 
shelled corn per acre in a good year and with good 
care. It does not leach or wash. The present system 
of farming is as follows : About 75 acres are in corn , 
50 in oats (wheat is not a sure crop); five to twenty in 
potatoes, and the rest is meadow and pasture. The 
manure is all put on the meadow. The straw is stacked 
in the open yard and the stock are allowed to run to 
it. There are six to eight horses, mostly brood mares, 
which raise three to five heavy draft colts, which are 
sold when three to four years old, well broken. I 
feed on corn in the ear a car-load of three-year steers, 
bought of my neighbors when two years old ; 25 to 40 
hogs follow to save waste. There are also several 
Holstein and Jersey cows, and a few mutton and wool 
sheep combined. Can I raise potatoes on clover sod 
by the trench system, or had I better put them on old 
ground? How much high-grade fertilizer can I profit¬ 
ably use on potatoes, when the average price is 40 to 
50 cents per bushel? If I use it in the trench, how can 
I scatter it and cover or mix it before dropping the 
seed ? Would a small amount of fertilizer broadcasted 
be as profitable as in the trench ? Now I want to 
double my income over and above all expenses, my 
present income being about six per cent on a valua¬ 
tion of $65 per acre, above expenses and taxes, llow 
can I do it? I seed 25 to 30 acres to clover and Timothy 
each year, and break up the same amount of old 
meadow or pasture. Would it pay me to sow a small 
amount of fertilizer on the new seeding to insure a 
good catch and full crop the first year, when Timothy 
hay is worth $6 to $8 per ton, and clover 20 per cent 
less? 
Ans.—A sure plan for doubling your income is 
beyond us. We do not know how much profit there 
is in your cattle feeding. Judging from reports we 
have from other sections, there cannot be much money 
in it now. Suppose by a wise use of fertilizers you 
obtain heavier yields of grain and grass ; would you 
keep more stock to consume them on the farm or sell 
them? What is done with your corn stalks ? We do 
not believe you can double your income by letting 
steers market an increased hay and grain yield. Good 
dairy cows can probably do it, especially if the corn 
stalks or a good part of them are saved for fodder or 
ensilage. Two plans for maintaining and increasing 
the fertility of the farm are open to you. One is to 
stop feeding steers and go to dairying, either alone or 
uniting with neighbors to form a creamery, lhis 
would give you more manure and a more salable pro¬ 
duct, but will involve quite an expense in fitting^ up 
with dairy appliances and breeding dairy stock. 1 lie 
other plan is to sell off all your stock and sell all hay 
and grain straight from the farm, using annual 
dressings of fertilizers to keep up the fertility, about 
on the plan followed by Mr. McAllister—see page 67. 
The weakness of his plan is that he uses no potash on 
his soil. The dried blood and ground bone may give 
him enough nitrogen and phosphoric acid, but sooner 
or later he must use potash in some form. Another 
plan, and perhaps the best under the circumstances, 
is to increase the acreage of potatoes and use fertilizer 
on them. Take the best potato ground on the farm— 
that which is light, loamy and well drained, and run 
it in a short rotation of corn, potatoes, grain and 
grass, plowing the sod for corn and using some of the 
manure on the corn. In this rotation we think rye 
and its straw will prove more profitable than the oats. 
In this rotation you could use 800 pounds of a high- 
grade fertilizer per acre on the potatoes. If, however, 
you propose to plant the potatoes on a clover sod, 400 
pounds per acre should answer. With over 10 acres of 
potatoes you should have a planter and digger. The 
planter will drop the fertilizer just where it is needed. 
Mr. Terry and other good potato growers plant pota¬ 
toes on a clover sod, but they fit and fine the soil 
perfectly with plow and harrow. You will find that 
the fertilizer on the potatoes will make itself felt in 
every crop of the rotation. We believe it will always 
pay to insure a good catch of grass seed. 
Fertilizer and Soil Questions. 
E. T., New Berlin, N. Y.—l. In making tests of soil, 
what forms of potash, phosphoric acid and ammonia 
should I use, and about what quantities per acre ? 2. 
Are coal ashes of value on gravel to make the soil more 
retentive of moisture ? Will it pay to draw them one 
mile for that purpose ? Would they be best on soil to 
be seeded with oats in the spring or on meadow ? 3. 
I have found but little damage done to corn by the 
gray grubs and cut-worms. Wherever ashes with a 
little salt in it were put on the hill, our corn was 
good. Would it be advisable to use kainit for that 
purpose ? 
Ans.—1. Four forms of potash may be used, viz, the 
sulphate, the muriate, kainit and “ double-manure 
salt.” This last is a double sulphate containing about 
half as much potash as the sulphate. For phosphoric 
acid, ground bone, bone black superphosphate or rock 
superphosphate will answer, and for nitrogen, nitrate 
of soda, sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, bone and 
tankage may be used. A standard fertilizer for gen¬ 
eral use on ordinary soils will contain about these 
quantities of plant-food in a ton : nitrogen 80 pounds, 
phosphoric acid 170, potash 130. The following table 
gives the amounts of plant food found in 100 pounds, 
average sample, of these different forms of chemicals : 
Phosphoric 
Nitrogen 
Nitrate of soda. 
Sulphate of ammonia. 
Dried blood. 
Ground bone. 
Tankage. .. 
Bone black superphosphate.., 
Rock superphosphate. 
Muriate of potash . 
Sulphate of potash. 
Double sulphate. 
Kainit. 
From these figures you can make up different com¬ 
binations on measured plots of ground. What you 
want to ask your soil is this : does it need the standard 
fertilizer, or can you obtain good results with less 
nitrogen, potash or phosphoric acid. You can only 
answer this by using varying quantities of these ele¬ 
ments. 2. Yes, to a certain extent, though their action 
is more beneficial on soils the exact opposite of gravel, 
viz., stiff, heavy clays. Coal ashes have given good 
results on light, open lands when spread on the grass. 
For this reason we should use them on the meadows. 
3. Yes, kainit has often proved effective for this pur¬ 
pose. Prof. Smith, of New Jersey, has found it useful 
as an insecticide. 
Potato Scab and Peach Tree Washes. 
C. E., Selin’s Grove, Pa. —I have been raising potatoes 
on a certain lot of land for six or seven years in suc¬ 
cession. They turn out reasonably well in size and 
numbers, but are badly eaten on the outside, lhe 
skin looks very rough. When paring them, a good 
part of each must be cut away. I notice a good many 
hard, yellowish worms, known here as wire-worms, 
and also some black bugs in the soil. It may be some 
of these that cut the potatoes, but I am not cer¬ 
tain. What does it, and what is the remedy ? 2. If 
the egg of the peach tree borer is laid and the grub 
hatched out in July and August, would not a wash 
made of water, carbolic acid and soft soap or lime, 
applied to the trees several times during that period, 
destroy both the egg and grub ? If not, what would 
that would not injure the trees ? 
A ns. — 1. It is in dispute whether the wire-worm 
causes scab or whether it merely attacks the portions 
of the skin first attacked by a fungus, or whether scab 
may not be caused by both the wire-worm and a fun¬ 
gus. One remedy against the wire-worm is to raise 
potatoes in land not infested and to avoid farm 
manure. The use of sulphur has also been found effec¬ 
tive in the Rural New-Yorker experiments. An ex¬ 
haustive illustrated article on scab on potatoes and a 
preventive thereof will appear in 1 he Rural in a few 
weeks. 2. Such washes may prove a partial or full 
protection, if applied just before the female deposits 
her eggs. The trunk is, so to say, disguised by the 
wash, and the insect deposits elsewhere. 
Crimson Clover Among Strawberries. 
S. F. D., Vineland, N. J.—l am trying Crimson 
clover this year for the first time. I sowed some in 
corn in the latter part of July and some in open ground, 
and more in the latter in September. How would it 
do to sow early in the spring between the rows of 
strawberries, which I intend to plow up when the 
crop is off? Some of my neighbors think it will not 
thrive sowed in the spring. What is the experience 
of some who have tried it ? 
Ans.— I have never known of Crimson clover being 
sown between the rows of strawberries in the spring 
as here suggested, and do not think it would be a suc¬ 
cess. The probability is that it would make so much 
growth that it would cause the fruit to mold and 
decay on the plants, especially if the season should 
prove to be moist at the time of the ripening of the 
berries. It is not the practice here to sow the seed in 
the spring. One season a small plot was sown with it 
during May, at the Delaware College Experiment Sta¬ 
tion; the plants made a good growth but produced no 
blossoms that season. Seed sown in April will produce 
a good crop of thjs clover during the same season. 
Delaware E. S. M * beckwith. 
acid. Botash. 
lti 
20 
14 
20 
7 
10 
16 
12 
50 
50 
26 
12'A 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
“Duplicate” Oats.— G. N. D., Shelbyville, Mich.—We 
fancy that the White Bonanza oat is much the same 
as the White Australian, Clydesdale, etc. 
Mulchiny Raspberries.—0. C., New Madison, O.—As 
to mulching berries, currants, etc., with three or four 
inches of leaves, it would be better to wait until 
spring, and then cultivate thoroughly before mulching. 
Growth of Currants.—A. M. C., Bunker Hill, Ill.—It 
is the nature of currants to grow straight out from the 
stock, usually lying flat on the ground and easily 
breaking off if knocked against. Gutting them off 
will cure the habit. 
Celeriac. —H. S., Marlboro, Ohio.—This vegetable can 
be successfully grown with chemical fertilizers. If 
started in a cold-frame, it will be early enough. There 
is profit in it at 2 M cents each under ordinary circum¬ 
stances, unless the land or the labor is too high-priced. 
A VILLAGE STORE CAMPAIGN. 
When I received The R. N.-Y.’s circular on Satur¬ 
day, January 14, that not half of its “special pre¬ 
miums had been taken, I thought I would see what I 
could do, so I made it my business to present the mat¬ 
ter to different parties who came to the village store. 
I succeeded in getting 12 subscribers in the afternoon. 
They all took it on my recommendation, and several 
men subscribed whom I did not expect to when I asked 
them. “ You cannot always sometimes tell.” The 
roads are drifted full, but I expect to see several 
other parties yet. I inclose names and check for a 
Club Of 20. A. JUDSON SMITH. 
Clearfield County, Pa. 
