THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 18 
1 84 
ter, and let the latter stand 10 or 15 minutes, then put 
it on the worker, work and pack. We do not work 
it a second time. 5. I grow my own hay, straw and 
corn fodder, and usually buy some kind of concen¬ 
trated feed ; the kind depends on the price each year. 
I have used with good results in connection with cut 
corn fodder, cotton seed meal, ground linseed oil cake, 
wheat bran and wheat shorts. This year, wheat bran 
and shorts, with a small quantity of linseed-oil cake, 
are the cheapest. I buy by the car-load. Clover hay, 
with dry cut corn fodder (grain included) makes a 
good ration without the addition of other foods. 6. 
Unless some method can be devised to prevent oleo¬ 
margarine and butterine from being sold for butter, I 
do not think the outlook very rosy for the dairymen. 
-X Chadwick, Ill. vena m. beede. 
Stays By The Gravity Process. 
1. Grade Guernseys. 1. I feed mornings corn meal, 
ground cob and all ; evenings, shocked corn cut while 
quite green, and a liberal allowance of bay—clover 
and Timothy mixed. 3. I use the gravity process for 
raising cream without ice, having a splendid well of 
cool water, pumped by a windmill; a separator is too 
expensive for a small farm. 5. I churn in a barrel 
churn until the granules are just large enough to draw 
off the buttermilk. After this has been drawn I wash 
with strong brine, giving the churn a few turns slowly, 
and continue washing until the water runs clear, then 
salt in the churn, one ounce to one pound of butter. 
As soon as the latter has taken salt I work it lightly 
and pack immediately. 6. I aim to grow all my grain 
and fodder. Ensilage and closer are all right for 
large dairies, but for small dairies ensilage is not very 
practicable. 7. The greatest drawback to dairying is 
the fact that the creameries and commission men are 
combined to defeat the private dairying and conse¬ 
quently dairying in the West at least is uphill work. 
I t’s the old story of whales against the small fry. 
Paw Paw, Ill. J. N. PRENTICE. 
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not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
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SHALL WE BROADCAST OR DRILL. 
WHERE TO PUT THE FERTILIZER. 
The Target. 
1. Are the best results got from fertilizers by drilling or broadcast¬ 
ing? For potatoes would It not be just as well to broadcast all the 
fertilizer? What Is the advantage of using fertilizer In the hill or 
drill? 2. What machine have you found most effective for distributing 
fertilizers? 3 . If you had just the right machine, when would you 
apply fertilizers- as soon after plowing as possible? 4. Does It pay to 
moisten fertilizers or mix with earth or loam before spreading? 
Shots At It. 
1. In case of all crops that send their feeders a good 
distance from the plants we recommend broadcasting. 
Potatoes being a quick-growing crop, and a searcher 
for plant-food within quite a limited area, must have 
quick access to food to yield the best results; hence 
we largely drill. 2. As yet we have not used any. 
3 . Just before planting. 4. We have never had any 
experience in this line. w. l. & s. t. mkrwiN. 
Connecticut. 
1. I broadcast and drill; on grass, wheat, small 
fruits, etc., I broadcast, and on potatoes and vege¬ 
tables use the fertilizer in the drill. A less quantity 
is, 1 think, required for quick-growing crops ; potato 
ground is manured broadcast with stable manure. 
2. I have not broadcasted any fertilizer as yet, but 
have drilled some. 3. I try to have the ground in as 
fine a condition as possible, which is not always ob¬ 
tainable directly after plowing, particularly for corn. 
4. I think it does not pay to mix earth with the fer¬ 
tilizer, or moisten it before using. 
Camden, N. J. l. w. nicholson. 
1. I have tried both ways, and on the whole 1 think 
drilling is the better. If I wanted to make a very 
heavy application I should broadcast a part. I do not 
think potatoes get the benefit of the fertilizers as 
soon, if broadcasted. The advantage of having it in 
the hill or drill is that the young plants get the ad¬ 
vantage of the quickly acting nitrogen in the earlier 
stages of their growth—and then some might be lost 
if broadcasted—and thus they gather strength to 
secure the organic nitrogen later on, which helps to 
maintain a steady growth, and to mature the crop 
earlier in the season. 2. I have never used any machine 
for distributing fertilizers, having done so by hand. 
3. In any event, just prior to planting, especially if 
the fertilizer contained nitrate of soda or sulphate of 
ammonia. 4. “Never.” The tendency of fertilizers is 
to absorb moisture and I do not see any advantage in 
making weight. I should prefer to add plaster to 
prevent any loss of nitrogen which might occur. 
Then I would also get the benefit of the phosphoric 
acid contained in it rather than eliminate any. Very 
fine ground bone or pulverized tankage might be 
moistened, but not enough to produce heat. 
Connecticut. dennis fenn. 
1. It has been my practice to broadcast half my fer¬ 
tilizers and drill the other half. I think it better to 
use some in the drill to give the crop an early start 
and push it ahead as vigorously as possible before the 
insects, etc., appear. 2. I always apply my fertilizer 
by hand. 3. I would apply the fertilizer and plant 
the crop, after plowing, as soon as the soil was in suit¬ 
able condition. 4. I do not think it would pay to 
either moisten the fertilizer or to mix it with loam be¬ 
fore using it. N. D. PLATT. 
Connecticut. 
1. I would decidedly drill for wheat, the advantages 
being, so far as my experience goes, as two to one in 
its favor. As to potatoes. I have not had sufficient 
experience to give a well-grounded opinion as to 
whether it would be well to drill or not. My plan has 
been to use about 500 pounds of high-grade fertilizer 
in the furrow I plant in per acre, and this has given 
satisfactory results; my experience for corn is that 
60 pounds of fertilizer applied in the hill always give 
the plants a good send-off, making after cultivation 
much more convenient and increasing the crop; but on 
poor land much more fertilizer will be needed and it 
should be applied broadcast in addition to what has 
been drilled in. 2. Randolph’s for applying to the 
hill. I have never used a machine for applying fer¬ 
tilizers to potatoes. 3. No—a few days before I had 
planted the crop. 4. The mechanical condition may 
require it—otherwise no. woodnutt pettit. 
Salem, N. J. 
1. I have never used a fertilizer broadcast for 
potatoes. I do not think it would be the better plan. 
It takes less fertilizer to get the same results from use 
in the drill, and in a wet season one would lose nearly 
all the soluble nitrogen in broadcasted fertilizers be¬ 
fore the plant could use it. 2. I have never used a 
machine for broadcasting. 3. Yes. 4. I have never 
tried it, but do not think the plan suggested would 
pay. I plant my potatoes with an Aspinwall planter, 
using about 500 pounds of fertilizer to the acre. As 
soon as they are plowed from the hill I put on 500 
pounds more. I have a machine which puts it in the 
furrow on each side of the row. bunyon field. 
New Jersey. 
1. I have always obtained the best results from drill¬ 
ing or sowing the fertilizer in the row. For potatoes 
I would not think it advisable to broadcast all the fer¬ 
tilizer. The advantages of using it in the hill or drill 
are, first, economy of the fertilizer, and, second, the 
benefit derived by the plant from its close and direct 
use. 2. I have never used a machine expressly for 
fertilizers, excepting the wheat drill. 3. I would not 
apply the fertilizers to plowed ground until ready to 
put in the crop. 4. I have never had occasion to 
moisten any fertilizer. When a fertilizer becomes too 
moist owing to an excess of salt in its composition, I 
have known it to be advisable to mix some dry earth 
with it so that it could be handled more easily. 
J. c. GRISCOM. 
1. I have practiced both plans on the same crop: I have 
broadcasted entirely and have applied all in the row 
at the time of planting. In consequence of the blight 
striking the potato crop, I now apply about half the 
fertilizer at the time of planting, and the other half as 
soon as the potatoes are large enough to be cultivated. 
I believe this plan gives the crop a better start and 
enables me to cultivate sooner, and hence induces a 
quicker growth. 2. In this locality we have three dif¬ 
ferent machines for applying fertilizers, and all do 
good work. Mine is distributed at the time of planting 
by the Aspinwall planter. 3. If I applied the fertilizer 
broadcast, I would do so at the time when preparing 
the ground for planting and apply all before planting 
4. I prefer that fertilizers should be dry at all times 
and under all circumstances. n. c. lewis. 
New Jersey. 
1. I prefer drilling. The best results, however, are 
obtained by applying half the fertilizer in the drill and 
broadcasting the other ha 1 !. By using the fertilizer 
in the drill the young roots obtain their food sooner, 
and the plants get a better start. 2. I put on by hand. 
3. For fertilizers rich in nitrates, I would wait until 
near seeding time ; otherwise I would apply when most 
convenient. 4. I have used only land plaster. Where 
a high-grade fertilizer is used, I have found it an ad¬ 
vantage to increase the bulk and lessen the risk of 
getting it on too strong. Plaster answers this pur¬ 
pose and is of itself of sufficient value to pay for the 
extra cost and work. m. s. crane. 
New Jersey. 
1. I get the best results by drilling in the fertilizers 
for all kinds of crops. For potatoes I spread the 
manure one year before and get a corn crop, and then 
spread a liberal amount of fertilizers in the drill for 
the potatoes. I use fertilizers in the hill or drill for all 
crops, for they then give the plants an early start, so 
that they can absorb other food ingredients that are 
deeper in the soil, to complete their growth. 2. I have 
had no experience with the fertilizer machines. 3. If 
I had a machine I’d apply the fertilizer, and also get 
the crop in as soon as possible after plowing. 4. The 
fertilizer we use is in a dry state, and we apply it 
without any sort of mixing. r. m treat. 
Connecticut. 
Always Drill on Light Soils. 
1. I prefer drilling for the amount of fertilizer I use. 
My soil is a sandy loam for the most part, often 
showing more sand than loam, and it would require 
a very heavy dressing of a commercial fertilizer to 
give good results if broadcasted, whereas in the drill 
it is in a position to help the potato at once. This I 
consider the advantage of using a fertilizer in the drill 
—if my soil were fuller of grass roots and vegetable 
matter, broadcasting would undoubtedly be better; for 
in such soil I would plant closer, and thus offset in a 
great measure any advantage gained by drilling fer¬ 
tilizer. 2. Very little commercial fertilizer is used 
hereabouts for general farm crops, potatoes excepted, 
and when applied to the latter the farmer’s hand is 
the only machine used. A careful and conscientious 
workman will soon learn to sow with rapidity and 
precision, and by dropping the bags at convenient 
spots in the field, the sowing is soon accomplished. 
The fertilizer is usually sown after the tubers are 
dropped, directly in the drill, a slight covering of soil 
being first put on the potatoes by most growers. 4. I 
think not, except in special cases. The only fertilizer 
I moisten is bone meal or dust, the object being two¬ 
fold—to prevent it from flying in the air and to hasten 
its decay. I would only mix it with soil to prevent 
rapid heating when composted. We sometimes use 
bone dust from such a compost. G. A. macbean. 
New Jersey. 
Satisfaction With a Home-Mixture. 
1. For most crops, if using 1,500 pounds per acre, I 
would broadcast 90 per cent of it. Potatoes are ad¬ 
vanced h little by using, say, 400 pounds in the row; 
thus they get out of the way of beetles to some degree 
and we can also attend to them a little sooner. 2. I 
use a grain drill for applying the fertilizer, drilling it 
into the soil about two inches deep and by working 
the earth it becomes well mixed. In applying it to 
grass land, I keep the tubes in suspension and find 
this a very convenient mode. 3. This would depend 
on the composition of the fertilizer. It is safest to 
use high-grade ammoniates after the growth of the 
plants has begun. I think the potash salts could be 
used to advantage by applying them three or four 
months before putting in the seed. There is much to 
be learnt on this point, and T am experimenting along 
this line. My best results were obtained last year 
from a complete home-mixture of chemicals. In no 
instance did it pay to use any one of the three elements 
of plant food alone. In mixing for grass land I use 
some dry earth to get greater bulk, as I can then dis¬ 
tribute it more evenly and, being put on the surface, I 
think it well to mix in some dry soil. I save the earth 
from the potato cellar and fine it, as it makes a good 
“filler.” J. H. DENISE. 
New Jersey. 
R. N.-Y.—The report of the New Jersey Experiment 
Station gives this account of a home-mixture used by 
Mr. Denise for potatoes. It contained 
100 pounds nitrate of soda. 
200 “ sulphate of ammonia. 
200 “ ground tish. 
400 “ ground bone. 
400 •* bone black superphosphate. 
400 “ S. C. rock. 
200 “ muriate of potash. ra 
100 “ hlgli-grade sulphate of potash. 
2000 
As analyzed by the station, this mixture contained 
434 per cent nitrogen, 11 X phosphoric acid and seven 
per cent potash. The materials cost $30.00 per ton 
and $1 extra for mixing and freight. 
Put the Food Close By. 
1. It would depend on the kind of crop grown. If 
one had a fine young horse growing up and wanted to 
push his growth as much as possible, should he give 
him a mess of oats and set it just far enough away 
from him so that he would have to grow six months 
before he could reach it ? This comparison illustrates 
my own theory in growing crops and the advantages 
of using fertilizers in the hills or drills. I think it best 
to have the plant foods near enough so that the roots 
can reach them from the first start. 2. Fordoing so in 
the drill, I have found the Hudson fertilizer distributor 
the best. I think it rather difficult to make a machine to 
put fertilizers in the hills, as they vary from two to 
five feet apart Not much of the hill system is prac¬ 
ticed on Long Island at the present time, however, as 
almost all drill and broadcast. Any hilliDg is done 
crosswise on drills, which allows cultivation both ways. 
