1894 
THE RURAT. NEW-YORKER. 
5 
sod during the winter has a mechanical effect on the 
soil that helps it in after cultivation. “ Pride of the 
North” corn was drilled in June 1. The rows were 
three feet apart with 20 kernels to the rod of row. 
A few days after drilling, the smoothing harrow was 
used and the surface kept fine and mellow. It was 
cultivated five times, care being taken not to disturb 
the roots of the corn. There was a severe drought in 
July, and most of the corn in this vicinity suffered 
severely, but the corn on this field kept on growing 
and gave a full crop, well matured. A few rows of 
potatoes were planted along the sides of the field 
which yielded at the rate of 200 bushels of fine tubers 
to the acre, showing that the whole field might have 
raised a very profitable crop of potatoes. My best 
crops of potatoes have been raised after corn with 10 
or 12 loads of partly rotted manure spread on the sur¬ 
face after plowing and thoroughly incorporated with 
the soil. 
Practice similar to tbe method by which success was 
secured on the above five-acre field will result in good 
crops of corn and potatoes without the use of pur¬ 
chased fertilizers. On a dairy farm with the right 
kind of cows the best way to increase fertility is by 
purchasing and feeding bran and cotton-seed meal in 
connection with the crops indicated in the rotation 
previously given. c. s. kick. 
Lowville, N. Y. 
An Overflowed Farm; Fertilizers. 
J. O. JL., Tunhhannock, Fa .—I have been running a 
store for 18 years, but have just traded it for a good 
farm near this town. The best feature of the place is 
about .50 acres of river flats, a large part of which is 
covered nearly every winter or spring with water 
which is said to fertilize the land. At any rate, it has 
been under the plow, without seeding for many years 
and yet yields good crops, especially of potatoes, 
What element of plant food does muddy water leave 
on the land? What kind of fertilizer would be best 
for potatoes and corn ? We are right in the best 
buckwheat belt; what plant food is best for it ? I am 
told that acid phosphate with a little nitrogen added 
is as good for the crop as the high priced complete 
manures. Is that so ? Where can I get a sample of 
wood ashes analyzed ? 
A.\s.—We cannot answer about the mud. The aver¬ 
age of several analyses of such mud gives a little over 
one per cent of nitrogen and about one-fourth of one 
per cent each of potash and phosphoric acid. Of 
course we have no idea how much of this is deposited 
each spring. Unless we knew by experiment that the 
Itnd is rich enpugh in potash we would always use a 
complete high-grade fertilizer on potatoes and corn. 
We would also use some potash wich the acid phos¬ 
phate for the buckwheat. In fact, this is a case where 
careful experiment will pay good returns. Send your 
sample of ashes to Director Pennsylvania Experiment 
Station, .State College, Center County, Pa. 
Cattine Potato Seed; Maximum Yields. 
W. C, M., Woonsocket, R. 1. —1. Is there any differ¬ 
ence in yield between hand-cut and machine-cut 
potato seed ? 2. Would one be likely to obtain a 
maximum yield of potatoes on land seeded alternate 
years to clover and grass ? 
Ans.— 1. Certainly. It is always possible to cut 
seed to better advantage when the work is done by 
hand. The same rule applies as in the case of hand 
vs. machine planting which was discussed last week. 
The machine cannot possibly tell whether there is an 
eye on the piece or not. 2. No. Grass and clover 
alone will not give a perfect manure for potatoes; 
something else must be added either in the form of 
manure or fertilizers. It is true -that some farmers 
follow something very much like this plan, but they 
first make the soil very rich and give the most careful 
culture. 
Are Peas Good for Horses? 
O. H. W., Farwell, Mich. —1. Are peas good feed for 
horses? I have a scanty supply of oats, but plenty of 
pease. I have been told that oats and pease ground to¬ 
gether make a good feed, but have had no experience 
and don’t wish to injure my team by experiments. 2. 
Is pea meal a stronger food than oats? 3, Is it good 
for cows giving milk if mixed with corn meal? 
Ans, —1. In order to answer the above questions at 
all satisfactorily concerning the food mentioned for 
horses, it would be necessary to know more fully the 
conditions to which these animals are subjected, and 
to what uses they are put. I can see no reason why 
he should not feed the oats and pease providing con¬ 
siderable judgment is used. As pease are highly nitro- 
g nous they cannot be fed at all times and under all 
conditions with the safety that accompanies the feed¬ 
ing of oats. It has been the custom of the English 
farmer for a long time to feed the so-called horse bean 
to work horses, and we know also that the Canadian 
farmer when he sends his teams into the woods for the 
winter, feeds a ration consisting largely of oats and 
pease. In both cases the food is quite highly nitro¬ 
genous, just the kind needed to sustain violent exer¬ 
cise. 
It is well known that the wastes of musjles in the 
animal occasioned by use are supplied entirely by nitro¬ 
gen compounds (protein) in the food, and that the fat 
and carbohydrates, or, as the chemist will report in 
his analyses, the fiber, nitrogen free extract and fat, 
all go to sustain the temperature of the body and the 
production of fat. From the following table, which 
gives the fodder analyses of pease and a few of our com¬ 
mon foods, it will be seen that pease contain a much 
larger proportion of protein, or muscle-forming ele¬ 
ments than either corn or oats, but not nearly so large 
as cotton seed meal: 
NttroKen 
Water. Ash. I’rotetn. Fiber, free e.xt. Fat. 
Corn. 10.8!) 1.5Z 10.4!) Z.O.'j )!).70 5.S5 
Cotton-seed meal. 8.17 7.17 42.81 ti.52 23.05 13.08 
Pen meal. 11.40 3.50 23.70 4..50 54..50 3.50 
Oats. ]0.!)8 2.98 11.80 !).54 .50.74 4.!)t! 
Wheat straw. i)..55 4.18 3.42 38.00 43.4!) 1.30 
It will also be noticed that corn meal has the largest 
proportion of fat, or heat-producing elements, which, 
when fed, would enable the animal to withstand much 
greater cold. It must also be borne in mind that if 
the stables are warm and the horses working, the 
grourd pease and oats will make a much better ration 
than if the horses a^e idle and in a cold stable. As a 
matter of economy and safety, it would be well to feed 
straw with this nitrogenous food—by so doing use 
would be made of a coarse fodder that otherwise 
might go to waste, and, at the same time, the straw 
would increase the proportion of heat-forming ele¬ 
ments without greatly increasing the amount of 
nitrogen. 
2. I’ea meal is a much stronger food than oats, as 
the foregoing table will show. 
3. l*ea meal mixed with corn meal makes a gool ra¬ 
tion for cows in milk, if not fed in too large quanti¬ 
ties. A large flow of milk makes a great demand on 
the system for nitrogen, which must be supplied in the 
food if the animal is to maintain its condition, or, in 
other words, if a maintenance ration be fed. Pea meal 
has been fed in some of the great cow tests where the 
object was to make a record, with fairly satisfactory 
results. In general, however, cows do not seem to rel¬ 
ish pea meal as well as they do corn and oats or bran. 
Cornell University. geo. c. watson. 
Man’s Duty to the Dewberry. 
W. A. S., (y.r.ford. Miss .—What about the culture of 
dewherries ? I consider them the finest of the black¬ 
berry family, but so far as I know they are very 
unsatisfactory to manage. Some say they should be 
planted and cultivated like strawberries ; I have tried 
this method, but it is almost impossible to keep down 
grass and weeds. Others say, train like grape vines. 
That is almost impossible, as they do not like to climb, 
but on the other hand try to run on the ground like a 
watermelon vine. To tie them up every morning is 
not profitable. How would it do to mulch them with 
leaves, etc., so as to keep down grass and weeds, and 
then pile grape vines, raspberry cuttings and ocher 
rubbish between them and let the vines run on them, 
each yesr piling more refuse from the garden on them? 
Ans —By the plan proposed above it would be diffi¬ 
cult to gather the berries, as the vines would be very 
liable to take complete possession of the ground and 
it would be impossible to get through between the 
rows. Several parties in Delaware are having excel¬ 
lent success in growing dewberries for market. They 
plant them in rows seven feet apart and from three to 
four feet apart in the row. A strong stake from three 
to four feet long is placed at each plant and the plants 
are tied to these stakes to prevent, as much as possible, 
their trailing upon the ground. The plants are cut 
back early in the spring and the ground is cultivated 
and kept free from weeds with very little trouble. 
One grower stakes the plants and stretches two wires 
upon the stakes in the row, the top wire about 30 
inches from the ground. The plants are trained and 
tied upon these wires and the soil is cultivated and the 
fruit picked without difficulty. m. u. keckwith, 
Delaware College Agr’l Expt. Station. 
The Need of Eneadlng a Cow’s Udder. 
F. M. U., Holland, Mich .—I have a grade Jersey cow 
that gave me considerable trouble last March, after 
calving, to reduce her udder to working condition. 
The udder was much inflamed, and the cow twice re¬ 
fused to eat. As she is a valuable cow I would like to 
know if there is any process by which a recurrence of 
the trouble can be prevented except by starvation. 
Ans. —It will not be necessary to starve the cow, but 
her ration should be restricted to a light, laxative diet, 
to consist in part of roots or sloppy mashes sufficient 
to keep the bowels well open, for at least two weeks 
before parturition. Little or no grain should be given. 
If the bowels cannot be kept quite loose by the diet 
give one-fourth pound epsom salts daily until they 
move freely. On the appearance of the congestion 
give one pound of the epsom salts, and repeat on the 
third or fourth day if the induration continue trouble¬ 
some. Allow the calf to suck the cow three or four 
times daily until the udder ‘‘breaks up,” first milking 
out a good portion of the milk so that the calf will 
have to work and knead the udder for some time to 
satisfy his hunger. If the calf cannot be put on the 
cow the udder will require vigorous kneading with 
the hands. After each milking the udder may be well 
rubbed with camphorated ointment Occasionally in 
heavy milkers, it is necessary to begin milking two or 
three days before calving in order to keep down the 
undue congestion, and this course may be necessary 
in this case. f. g. k. 
Rust On the Blackberry. 
L. M., Eureka Springs, Ark. —Is there any cure or 
preventive for rust in blackberries ? I have tried 
them several years on different soils, but the rust 
always takes them. Also what varieties are best ? 
Ans. —There are reports that the Bordeaux Mixture 
prevents it. We know of no other cure except to burn 
the affected canes as soon as the rust is discovered. 
As rust-resisting varieties we would mention Minne- 
waski, Taylor, Snyder, Agawam and, perhaps, Lovett’s 
Best. 
Chemicals and Tools for Potatoes. 
O. S , La Flume, Fenn. —1. Where cm I buy a good 
article of nitrate of soda for $53.25 per 100 pounds. 2. 
In Tiik R. N.-Y. of December 10 you say German 
potash salts are a more economical form of potash 
than ashes. Where can such salts be bought? What 
is the price and method of using? 3. Is it practicable 
to use an Aspinwall potato planter on a clay soil with 
more or less stones of all sizes? Would a llallock 
digger work well on such a soil? 
Ans. —1-2. You can probably buy these chemicals of 
I. T. Thomas & Co., Philadelphia, or through the 
agents of other fertilizer firms near you. Probably 
you will have to pay more than .$2.2.5 for nitrate of 
soda in small lots. As a rule the potash salts are 
used in connection with other substances like fine 
ground bone. When used alone they may be broad¬ 
casted either in fall or spring and harrowed into the 
soil. As they supply only potash they should not be 
used alone unless you know your soil needs only that 
element. 3. The Aspinwall planter is not built to 
work among stones, but we have used it on a stony 
field with good results. It makes no difference how 
well the soil is prepared. The planter does its best 
work in a very fine and loose soil. As to the digger, 
we do not know, but we would expect it to work well 
on level stony ground. 
Chemicals Help Green Manarlng:. 
A. B. S., Coolvtlle, O. —I have 15 acres of thin upland 
that is nearly covered with what we call sage grass. 
I purpose summerfallTwing, seeding it in August to 
rye, and in May turning the rye under, again reseed¬ 
ing in August to rye, and turning the rye under in 
May; then seed in the ^all to wheat and Timothy. 
Shall I have as much or more fertility in the soil for 
the wheat and future meadow as I would if I summer- 
fallowed and seeded with 200 pounds of a good bone 
meal the first year ? 
Ans. —Improving land by turning in rye alone is 
very slow business. You could do better by plowing 
in the rye in May and seeding to buckwheat or millet, 
this to be again plowed in for another seeding to rye, 
and so on. Even this is very slow and unsatisfactory 
work. It has been tried on Eastern farms with the 
usual verdict that it does not pay to try to bring up 
land on green crops alone. With 200 pounds of bone 
meal and 75 pounds of muriate of potash per acre, you 
can gain a year’s time and have a much better crop. 
What About Early Tomatoes ? 
A. A. H., Bellows Falls, Vt .—1. What is the best 
method for growing early tomatoes ? 2. What fertil¬ 
izers are best and how applied ? 3 Which is the most 
desirable color red or purple, and why ? 
Ans. —1. We know of no better way than to sow the 
seeds early in hot-beds ; transplant twice before final 
setting out-of-doors. Keep the plants stocky. Do nob 
plant too close together in the beds. Set in the open 
ground not until the weather has become so settled 
that they will go on growing and not be checked by 
cold nights. In transplanting preserve a ball of soil 
about every plant. 2. We prefer a complete fertilizer 
containing : potash eight per cent, phosphoric acid six 
per cent, nitrogen five per cent. Muriate of potash 
will answer. Nitrate of soda and dried blood for 
nitrogen. Use 1,000 pounds to the acre. 3 The old 
red color—that of Trophy or Ignotum—is growing in 
favor. Tomatoes of this color rot less than those of a 
purplish or crimson color, like the Acme. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
G. G. B., Fort Huron, Mich .—We have neve^" raised 
the Willits peach. 
Crimson Clover in Canada. —G. 8. C., Essex County, 
Ont.—We do not believe Crimson clover will survive 
the winter in your latitude. 
The Iona Grape. —G. R. A., Los Gatos, Cal.—The 
reason why Iona is not more generally cultivated is 
that it succeeds only under high cultivation in favored 
localities. 
