1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
849 
meet the wants of different plants creeps in, and 
finally stands up before us a full-grown elephant, a 
question we haven’t studied and know little about It 
seems strange to most of us that chemistry fails to tell 
exactly what to put on the ground for a crop that 
requires such and such food. Shouldn’t it show the 
constituents of the soil, how much is “ available” as 
plant food and reckon from this basis, as well as the 
best means to change the non-available to available ? 
Illinois. BENJAMIN BUCKMAN. 
Too Much Manure Impossible. 
Black raspberries require rich soil to attain the 
highest success, and I do not think that 25 or 30 loads 
of manure per acre are any too much on land that is in 
fair condition to start with. The land should be thor¬ 
oughly tilled by all means. I often pat the land in 
good order before planting, and after tbe bushes have 
borne a couple of good crops, I give them another 
dressing of manure, applying it when there is snow on 
the ground by means of a narrow sled drawn between 
the rows by one horse, or with a narrow cart that I 
built for the purpose. I have also adopted the same 
plan on red raspberries with excellent results. 
I do not believe I ever injured my fruit trees, vines 
or plants with too much manure, except one field of 
four acres of blackberries. In this case the ground 
was fertile to start with, and was well manured. The 
result was a heavy growth of Snyder and Taylor black¬ 
berry canes, but not much fruit for five or six years, 
until I finally seeded to clover for one year to check 
the growth and induce fruiting. Had I omitted the 
m mure until after a couple of good crops had been 
produced and then applied it, all would have been 
well, as subsequent experience on adjoining fields has 
fully proved. 
I doubt whether we can easily apply enough manure 
to injure the strawberry, providing the manure be 
well rotted, and the plants kept from matting too 
thickly. I do not consider excessive manuring neces¬ 
sary, however. A proper mechanical condition is, per¬ 
haps, as neces : ary as fertility. I have grown over 600 
bushels of strawberries on four acres of new ground of 
only moderate fertility that had never had a pound of 
fertilizer of any kind. The nearer we can restore our 
soils to the lively, meliow condition in which the break¬ 
ing plow first found them, the better crops we may 
expect. Underdrainage, clover and manure do this as 
well as add fertility. I would not apply fertilizers at 
a season to induce a growth so late in fall as not to 
ripen the wood. We usually apply before planting 
and in winter or early spring. w. w. Farnsworth. 
Ohio. 
Can’t Be Made Too Rich. 
From my own experience, having frequently applied 
30 to 40 loads of good barnyard manure to the acre, I 
would answer, no. I have never yet seen land made 
too rich with ordinary manure for small fruits, espe¬ 
cially when it is well drained and thoroughly cultivated. 
I am satisfied that a thousand bushels are lost by hav¬ 
ing too little fertilizer where one is lost by too much. 
We cannot easily make our land too rich or give too 
much cultivation. m. a. thayeb. 
Wisconsin. 
Hand vs. Machine in Potato Planting:. 
M. O., Kingston, Pa. —A statement was made in my 
presence a few days ago by a farmer near here, so 
diametrically opposed to my preconceived ideas on the 
subject that I wish to ask The R. N.-Y. for more light. 
As I understand the matter, it is generally conceded 
to be a fact that the use of the Aspinwall potato 
planter, from an economic point of view, is indispen¬ 
sable, its value as a labor saver often making the dif¬ 
ference between success and failure. But the state¬ 
ment made by this man was, that he had used the 
machine in question for some time, and, after making 
comparative test3, had decided to abandon its further 
use, and plant his eight or 10 acres of potatoes by 
hand. He claimed to obtain a much greater yield by 
so doing. His method is to strike out furrows both 
ways, using the Planet Jr., with marking attachment, 
and three-inch plate for making the marks, bearing 
well on the handles to obtain greater depth of furrow 
with a large proportion of loose earth directly beneath 
the row; the rows are 30 inches apart each way. He 
prefers large tubers cut to two or three eyes to the 
piece, with fertilizer distributed broadcast before 
planting. He claims to have been able to secure better 
results than when the planter was used. His objection 
to the latter was that the pieces had to be cut too 
small to suit him, and for some unexplained reason 
the results, so far as yield is concerned, have not been 
as satisfactory as those received by the other method. 
Ans.—T here is the same economy in the use of a 
planter that there is in the use of a plow, viz., an 
ability to work faster and save manual labor. There 
is no doubt that a stout man with a spade or fork can 
do better work in preparing the soil for a crop than 
any plowman. He will do better work as far as he 
goes, bnt while he is digging rods the plowman will 
cover acres. In all agricultural implements the high¬ 
est standard of thorough work is set by the hand tool 
when used with skill and judgment. A machine moved 
by horse power cannot see or think, but it does so 
much more work than the hand tool that in large areas 
it is more economical. In the ease of the potato 
planter the economy comes in the fact that a man can 
plant eight acres or more in one day with the machine, 
while to do it by hand would mean a large force of 
hands or several days of hard work. The question is, 
will the saving in manual labor at planting equal the 
increased value of the crop due to hand planting? 
There are times when two or three days saved in plant¬ 
ing a large field of potatoes would be worth hundreds 
of c ollars, as a later rain would so delay hand planting 
that it could not be finished in time. 
That it is possible to do more thorough work by hand 
than by machine, no one can deny. Take an acre of 
corn for example. If it could be worked with a hoe 
entirely—never letting a cultivator into it—we have 
no doubt a better yield could be obtained than by the 
use of any horse tool. But would not the smaller crop 
show the more profit—after estimating the cost of 
hand labor? The same with potatoes. Most of the 
great yields on record have been produced by a plan 
very much like that described—viz., wide, deep fur¬ 
rows, large seed pieces and broadcasted fertilizer. We 
do not know that these large yields have been the 
most profitable ones, in fact we think the most money 
is made in potato growing by those who cultivate 
many acres and use machinery for planting, digging 
and working. The Aspinwall planter has no brains, 
neither has it eyes nor muscles. It has the best mechan¬ 
ical imitation of the finger and thumb joint that has 
been made out of metal. It cannot possibly work as 
accurately as a good human hand, but it does the work 
of four or five ordinary hands without resting. As to 
whether the more expensive hand work of furrowing 
and dropping is more economical can only be deter¬ 
mined by experiment. One farmer told us this season 
that after trying two or three different diggers be 
came back to hand digging, as least expensive of the 
lot. 
Look Oat for Tuberculosis. 
E. A , Big Bend, Pa. —I have a registered Short-horn 
bull three years old, which is out of condition. As 
near as I can describe his condition it is as follows : 
He is not in good flesh, in fact thin. His feed has 
been good hay and corn fodder', with four quarts per 
day of corn meal and wheat bran mixed, equal parts 
by weight, with good spring water. When he attempts 
to drink water, usually after the first few swallows 
he opens his mouth and the water runs from it as 
though it pained him. Sometimes he will go for two, 
three or four days without drinking and then driuk as 
though it pained him, but extreme thirst compelled 
him to drink. His hair is dry, staring, in fact a starved, 
shaggy appearance. I have fed him the following 
condition powder with no apparent effect: Sulphate 
of iron, 4 ounces; powdered gentian, 8 ounces ; ginger, 
8 ounces ; niter, 8 ounces ; aloes, 4 ounces. He has a 
slight cough, usually worse after drinking. What is 
the disease and the treatment ? 
Ans. —The bull is suffering either from tuberculosis 
with tubercular deposits in the region of the throat, 
or some local disease of the throat. Owing to the 
probability of its being tuberculosis, I would advise 
having the animal examined at once by a competent 
veterinarian. f. l, k. 
Hen Manure and Kainit. 
R. F. J., Fenwick Island, S. C. —I am keeping about 
60 hens, and would like to know the best way to save 
the droppings for manure. About what proportion of 
kamit should I use ? Is it best to sprinkle kainit on 
the droppings in the fowl house, or to mix and bar¬ 
rel ? Would 1,500 pounds of the mixture of droppings 
and kainit be good manuring for potatoes ? 
Ans. —You can use kainit or ordinary plaster sprink¬ 
led under the perches. Use enough to thoroughly 
whiten the droppings. Clean out at least once a week 
and keep the droppings in a sheltered place using as 
much more of the kainit or plaster as was used under 
the perches. This mixture would be better for corn 
than for potatoes. The kainit is not a good form of 
potash to use on potatoes. 
A Heifer with the Dropsy. 
C. R. S., Clyrner, N. Y. —I have a heifer coming two 
years old next spring, and due to calve in February. 
Her legs are quite badly swelled and have been for 
four or five weeks. Her hind legs are swelled the 
worst. They are swollen clear up to and including 
the gambrel joint. They do not seem sore, and if I 
press my thumb on for some time, it leaves a dent. 
There is a swelling in front of her bag also. She has 
a good appetite, and chews her cud ; but she does not 
seem to be doing so well as the others. What ails her ? 
What should be the treatment ? She has been running 
in pasture all summer. 
Ans. —The swellings are of an anasarcous or dropsi¬ 
cal nature, and due to the heifer being out of condi¬ 
tion from some cause. Try to improve her general 
health and condition, by careful attention to her com¬ 
fort and diet. Feed a moderate grain ration, to consist 
of ground oats and corn, two parts of oats to one part 
of corn; or wheat bran, middlings and corn meal, 
equal parts of each. Give at least two or three quarts 
twice daily. The following powders may be given in 
the feed : Sulphate of soda and powdered gentian, of 
each one pound ; nitrate of potash, one-half pound ; 
sulphate of iron and chlorate of potash, of each one- 
fourth pound ; mix, and give two tablespoonfuls twice 
daily. f. L. kii.bobne. 
Where to Dissolve Bones. 
O. H. H., Yellow Creek, Pa.— Can I dissolve properly 
ground bones in a wooden trough 3x14 feet, without 
any kind of metal lining ? If necessary to line it, 
would sheet zinc answer the purpose ? Can I dis¬ 
solve them with sulphuric acid, in a cavity dug in the 
ground and cemented with common cement ? What 
is the price of sulphuric acid ? 
Ans —By adding the acid slowly and using consid¬ 
erable water you might succeed for a time with a 
heavy wooden trough, but the best thing for the pur¬ 
pose is a lining of lead. Sulphuric acid sells in New 
York at about 1 cents per pound in 10 carboy lots. 
The Reason for the Surprise. 
F. H , Michigan. —On page 079 The R. N.-Y., says: 
“ But the most remarkable outcome of the strike is 
the demand by the Socialists and Radicals that the 
coal fields should pass into the hands of the State in 
order to prevent combinations for high prices or low 
wages. It is surprising to see how, in one form or 
another, that proposition is favored by good people.” 
Will you kindly explain why it is surprising ? 
Ans. —It seems to us surprising because it is a radi¬ 
cal change from what people have been taught for 
generations to believe. There have always been those 
who questioned the wisdom of any human law that 
secured to any man or body of men a monopoly in the 
handling and sale of coal oil and other natural pro¬ 
ducts that were evidently put into the soil to provide 
warmth and heat for the human race just as water 
was put there to provide drink; but for the most part 
people have believed that such laws of property were 
sacred. It is surprising that within a few years so 
many intelligent people have come to agree that no 
property right should stand that enables a man to 
regulate and force up the price of a public necessity 
like coal. 
Keep Blackberries Out of the Wet. 
A. L. S., Spo'iane, Wash. —1. I have a piece of up¬ 
land, of strong black soil, but too wet for cabbages or 
garden crops. Timothy thrives upon it. Would black¬ 
berries do well there ? 2. What variety of blackberry 
would you recommend for fancy market ? 
Ans. —1. No, such land is entirely unsuited for black¬ 
berries, unless it be drained. Blackberries will not 
stand wet feet. 2. Try Erie, Lawton, Minnewaski, 
Dorchester and Kittatinny. 
“ Quack *' Milk from Wet Brewers’ Grains. 
0. O. K., Macada, Pa. —I am a milkman selling in 
the boroughs of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem. 
This is a business that is run down very far in these 
towns by quacks who sell a very inferior quality of 
milk. The majority of our milkmen handle malt milk 
of which most consumers know very little or nothing. 
I have been told quite frequently that this and that 
man’s milk has the odor of cow manure connected 
with it. What I am anxious to know is, what the full 
effects are of feeding “brewers’ malt” to cattle, and 
how milk from cows so fed may be detected with or 
without the use of apparatus, f should also like to 
know the advantages of bottling milk, and the best 
apparatus wherewith to do it. 
Ans. —We presume you mean what is known as 
brewers’ “ grains.” When these grains are dried be¬ 
fore they can ferment, they make a clean and sweet 
cow food. When fed in a wet and sloppy condition, 
they soon become sour and fermented with a worse 
odor than that from any manure pile. The effect of 
feeding this awful mess was set forth in the articles 
on “Certified Milk,” page 570 of The R. N -Y. The 
effect on the cow is to impair her digestion and render 
her an easier prey to consumption. The milk is uni¬ 
formly thin and of poor keeping qualities. The putre¬ 
factive change will often occur in it before it really 
“sours.” Such milk has killed thousands of little 
children, and should be prohibited by law. You can¬ 
not prove that the milk is impure without a chemical 
analysis. Your best way to secure good trade is to 
advertise in your local paper that you do not use 
brewers’ grains, and also state how they affect milk. 
That is the way Mr. Francisco started. He made the 
people read and talk about his milk. The advantage 
of bottling milk is that the buyer is able to see at once 
what he is getting. He can look right into the bottle 
and, if it is marked at the top, he can see the propor¬ 
tion of cream. The bottles are easy to handle, clean 
and carry about. A bottling apparatus is made by the 
Vermont Farm Machine Co., of Bellows Falls, Vt. 
