1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
573 
[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.] 
Sowing: Clover In a Western Orchard. 
H. R., Kansas City, Mo, —I am going 1 to divide my 
orchard (from two to six years old) into two parts, 
containing 20 acres each, for rotation, clover two 
years, hoed crops two years. How should 1 treat the 
clover so as to keep up the fertility of the soil for 
trees and crops ? Can I take off a crop of clover hay 
the first year and also the second, and plow under the 
second crop the second fall, or should I mow and let 
the hay lie as a mulch ; or should I hoe around the 
trees for three feet and mow the rest? Mine is strong 
hill land (loess) which has heretofore produced good 
crops for 20 years without rest or fertilizing. The 
only fertilizer I shall add to the orchard (apple) is 
wood ashes. 
A ns —The fact that the true plan is to take nothing 
at all off such land now, must not be lost sight of. It 
must be so treated that it will grow better rather 
than poorer. Crops cannot be taken from such land 
except at the expense of the future yield of fruit. 
With this plan in mind the solution is easy, it seems 
to me. Wood ashes may be used in an almost un¬ 
limited quantity to the benefit of the trees and the 
fruit. Close proximity to the Kansas City great pack¬ 
ing houses insures cheap bone meal, dried blood, etc. 
These may be used each year to advant; ge and profit. 
As to the use of clover : do not take the crop off the 
ground, and never leave it two years in succession. 
Sow the seed early, on the last snow ; in June run the 
mower over the land and let the hay lie on it. Plow 
under the seed crop as soon as the seed is ripe ; culti¬ 
vate the land the next year without any crop. Re¬ 
peat the clover the third year and plow up in the 
winter or early spring of the fourth year, and let it 
seed itself ; then plow under the crop of clover and 
seed again in the fall and repeat. Keep the ground 
clear for four feet around the trees, i, a. Goodman. 
Fine Bone and Ashes. 
A. G , East Hartford, Conn. —In The Rural, page 
527, we are told that unleached ashes and fine ground 
bone make a good fertilizer. Would that mixture be 
good for rye sowed on black slate land ? Would the 
Bradley fertilizer do to mix with ashes in the same 
proportion as bone ? Where can I get ground bone, 
and what is the cost per 100 pounds ? 
Ans —We should not care to mix unleached ashes 
even witn bone flour. Decomposition would cause an 
escape of ammonia from the bone. Why mix ashes 
with Bradley or any other fertilizer ? Isn’t it as much 
trouble to mix the powdery, dusty ashes with the fer¬ 
tilizer as it would be to sow each separately ? Yes, 
bone and unleached ashes would be good for rye or 
any other c*op whatever. We know not what is 
meant by “Bradley fertilizer.” This firm puts up all 
sons of fertilizers—all sorts of combinations of plant 
food. We should not care to buy a complete Bradley 
and use unleached ashes besides, unless the potash in 
the fertilizer were a low per cent or the land stood in 
need of potash especially. E/ery fertilizer firm can 
supply bone. A fine article is worth $40 a ton. 
Whole Bones for Fertilizer. 
J. P. D., Havana Cuba .—What would be the results— 
immediate or remote—from using entire raw bones or 
bone-black refuse as a fertilizer, without being burned 
or treated with sulphuric acid ? 
Ans. —This would not be a satisfactory way of fertil¬ 
izing at least for crops that needed immediately 
available phosphoric acid. W~ole bones are very 
slowly available. Bury one near the roots of a tree 
and notice how the roots slowly etch into the bone. 
They would not be able to feed even so well as this on 
the crude bone-black. The latter would be best broad¬ 
casted on grass or grain. The raw bones should be 
broken as fine as possible with a heavy hammer or ax 
unless a mill or stamp is available. These broken 
bones may be buried around fruit trees. It will pay 
better to burn them to ashes rather than use them in 
large pieces. 
Simple Home-Mixed Fertilizers. 
H. G. W., Greenbu8h, N. Y. —On August 5 The R. 
N.-Y. published a formula for fertilizers consisting of 
ground bone and unleached ashes. How much to 
the acre ? How much soda as a starter ? How 
much odorless phosphate, unleached wood ashes and 
nitrate of soda to make a ton, and the quantity of each ? 
Ans. —The quantity depends upon the crop. For 
grain or grass 400 pounds per acre up to 1,200 for 
vegetables. Use two parts ashes to one of bone. 
As explained elsewhere on this page, it will not pay to 
mix the ashes and bone. Broadcast them separately. 
This is particularly necessary on potatoes, as ashes in 
the hill or drill will cause scab. About 100 pounds of 
nitrate will answer. The “ odorless phosphate” may 
contain 20 per cent phosphoric acid. With ordinary 
wood ashes the following mixture would answer: One 
ton of good ashes, 800 pounds of odorless phosphate 
and 400 pounds nitrate of soda. This mixture of 3,200 
pounds would give the analysis of one ton of a fair 
complete fertilizer. The question arises whether the 
quantity of ashes, phosphate and nitrate would be 
cheaper than other forms of potash and phosphoric 
acid. 
Ice Factory Liquor for Fertilizer. 
W. W., Old Albuquerque, N. M. —Can ammonia li¬ 
quor, about 12 per cent strong, as obtained from ice 
factories, be in any way utilized as a fertilizer ? 
Would it be of any value if sprinkled on a compost 
heap ? 
Ans —If put on a compost heap without some acid 
to fix it, and large quantities of gypsum to absorb it, 
it would be mostly lost. It can best be utilized as a 
top-dressing on grass. For that purpose it should be 
largely diluted with water, and some trials would be 
necessary to find out what strength could safely be 
used. Begin, perhaps, with a strength of half of one 
per cent. If that injures the grass, dilute still more. 
If it does not injure it, try one per cent. Or if waste 
oil of vitriol can be had, pour enough of that into the 
ammonia liquor, carefully, with constant s'.irrlny, till 
the mixture smells of ammonia only very slightly. 
This can be used directly as a top-dressing without 
dilution. It should be a powerful fertilizer. 
[DR ] E. H. JENKINS. 
Ashes or a Superphosphate ? 
J. B., Hopewell, N. Y. —What is the value of Canada 
hard-wood unleached ashes ? Th°y sell here for $15 
per ton and superphosphate for $25 per ton. How will 
they compare in value ? Soil, gravelly loam. 
Ans —Of course the value depends upon the analysis 
which varies quite a little with different samples. As 
a rule, the Canada ashes are not worth over $13 per 
ton—that is the potash and phosphoric acid in them 
can be bought in other forms for less than that. One 
can hardly compare ashes and a superphosphate. The 
ashes are bought chiefiy for the potash they contain, 
while the superphosphate contains chiefly phosphoric 
acid, with perhaps a little nitrogen and potash added. 
If your soil needs potash it would be very expensive 
to buy it in ti.e form of a superphosphate. 
How to Study Chemistry. 
H. W. S., Youngstown, O. —I contemplate taking up 
the study of chemistry for practical use on the farm. 
What books are necessary and what is their cost ? In 
analyzing soil or fertilizers is it necessary to have a 
chemical apparatus and wl.at would such apparatus 
cost ? Can such a course of study be taken at a college 
and would it be in any way preferable to home study? 
Is there any standard work which gives in detail the 
foods needed by the different cereals and vegetables 
raised in this locality ? What is its price and where 
can it be procured ? 
Ans —It is very evident that our friend does not 
understand the task he has set for himself. Chemistry 
is a very complicated and difficult science. It is 
impossible to master it in any of its details by home 
study. A longer or shorter course at college is abso¬ 
lutely necessary. lie might get Remsen’s Briefer 
Course in Chemistry for a starter. Storer’s “ Agricul¬ 
ture” is excellent for those who have had previous 
study. He might take the short winter course at one 
of the agricultural colleges. Write to the President 
of the Ohio State University and tell him just what 
you want. 
Crimson Clover In Canada. 
M. J. D , Middlesex County, Canada .—Would Crim¬ 
son clover make good fall feeding for cows if sown 
with barley or oats in the spring, and would it grow 
as far north as Middlesex County, Ontario, and stand 
the winter ? 
Ans —Crimson clover would make excellent feed 
for cows. That sown at the Rural Grounds on May 
10 is now a thick mat 18 inches high and would make 
fine food for cows. We do not know that it will 
thrive sown with spring crops like oats or barley. 
We should say not. At any rate it will not stand the 
winter in Canada. Its great value is for a late-sown 
crop, in the corn or with buckwheat. Thus sown, it 
will not bloom before winter, but will make a good 
growth early the next spring for green manure or hay. 
Lincoln Plum and Peach Wash. 
R. D. F., New York. —1. Where can I get Lincoln 
plum trees? 2. What is a recipe for a wash for the 
trunks of peach trees to prevent injury from borers ? 
Ans. —1. Of J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, N. J. 2. 
The thing is to disguise the tree so that the female 
will prefer to deposit her eggs on other trees. Almost 
any durable wash will serve this purpose, having lime 
for a base. Crude petroleum added to the lime is as 
effective as anything probably. 
Will the Asparagus Whiten With Age? 
E. A., New Brunswick, N. J. —What is the habit or 
characteristic of the Columbus asparagus? We bought 
seed of it last spring of a reliable (?) seed firm. Plants 
came up and thus far resemble in all particulars 
Conover’s Colossal sown at the same time. I have 
written to the firm of which I purchased the seed and 
they write me that it is all right, that it does not grow 
white the first year, etc. This reminds me of the tree 
agent who sold to a customer Bartlett pear trees 
which, when they bore, proved to be Choke pears and 
when he was upbraided for doing so by his customer, 
he replied, “ My dear sir, a man of your intelligence 
ought to know that Bartlett trees do not produce 
Bartletts the first year.” 
Ans. —The reminder is natural enough. We bought 
plants, some of which showed the whitish color. It 
would not surprise us if the white color showed itself 
later as the seedsman claims. 
Color of Young Pear Bark. 
Subscriber. —Address mislaid.—Is the wood or rather 
the bark of the vigorous young growth of the Duchesse 
d’Angoulcme pear of a reddish or purple color ? I 
have a lot of young trees bought for that variety, 
which are quite different in color of bark from young 
growth on old trees, but I think it may be because the 
growth is much more vigorous ? 
Ans. —That is right. We send The Rural by this 
same mail, three terminal sticks cut from a vigorous 
young tree in our orchard, and you will find them 
about as described. ellwanger & barry. 
R. N.-Y.—This color on the stick sent was very ap¬ 
parent. 
Some New Varieties of Wheat. 
T, K. M., Tophet, W. Va. —Since I commenced read¬ 
ing The R. N.-Y., I have placed my entire confidence 
in it. I have gained a vast amount of information 
from its various departments. I clip and inclose two 
pages of advertisements of wheat of F. C. Huntington, 
and one of J. A. Everitt, Indianapolis, Ind., and wish 
to ask if The Rural knows anything of the different 
varieties of wheat which I have marked. Are they 
some old sorts with new names ? Of whom can I get 
good seed wheat at reasonable prices ? Considering 
the present low price of wheat—60 cents per bushel— 
the prices named for these sorts are enormous. 
Ans. —The first three varieties marked we hear of 
for the first; the others we have either raised or 
heard about through those who have raised tbem. 
The first are Kentucky Giant, White Leader and Early 
Ripe. We know nothing of their origin. The Giant 
is a foreign variety and therefore open to suspicion as 
having been tried here and found to be inferior. The 
others mentioned are Early Genesee Giant, Jones’s 
Winter Fife, New Red Clawbon and Win‘er Fife. 
These are all good wheats in so far as we have heard 
or have tried them. We do not consider the prices 
too high, Write to Edward F. Dibble, Honeoye Falls, 
N. Y., for wheat prices. 
Where to Sell Apple Wood. 
O. R. W., Madison, Ind. —I have about a hundred 
live apple trees from a foot to 18 inches in diameter, 
which I wish to cut down and get off of the ground. 
By cutting close to the ground I can get logs from 
four to seven feet long. Are they worth anything for 
the timber that is in them, and is there any concern 
that buys such tmterial ? If so, who and where ? 
Ans—T he Gage Tool Co., of Vineland, N. J., use 
apple wood for tool handles and plane stocks. We do 
not know of other parties handling the wood though 
there probably are such. 
To Make the Old New. 
N. S., Plaitsburg, N. Y. —What is the cheapest and 
best way to make an old pasture as good as the best ? 
Could I broadcast Timothy and clover in October and 
get good results the coming spring ? 
Ans. —The old pasture is not good because it has been 
starved and stifled. The good grasses have not been 
fed properly and the whole thing is probably sod-bound 
—that is, so tough and filled with weeds and their 
roots that good grass will not grow. The only way to 
make the pasture “ as good as the best ” would be to 
plow and harrow it as for a wheat crop and sow a 
combination of grasses such as The R. N.-Y. has often 
suggested. For a permanent pasture, don’t depend on 
Timothy and clover alone. You will also have to use 
more or less fertilizer or manure in order to obtain 
good results. The plan of scattering grass seed over 
the pasture without any fertilizer or preparation of 
the soil will surely disappoint you. 
White-Top Onion. —G. E. K., Carey, Ohio.—The seed 
crop of this variety failed last yenr, and it may be a 
failure this year ; it is too early yet to determine. If 
it is not, the seed can be procured of Peter Henderson 
& Co. Write them about February 1 next. 
