1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
649 
are almost unsalable. Hay and dairy products are as 
fifood as ever they were, taking one year with another. 
But the receipts have decreased to some extent. The 
average farmer is a somewhat conservative mortal, 
and doesn’t change his methods readily. Less wheat 
is grown, though, partly on account of uncertain 
crops, partly owing to low prices. Rather less barley 
is grown and what is grown is fed to hogs and cattle 
and doesn’t go directly into the pocket. Oats are the 
principal grain crop ; one can always sell them. Some 
of our best farmers grow no other grain. Roots are 
still grown largely. Hogs are the fad at present, and 
cattle are considered dangerous to handle The cost 
is much the same. Cheap grain makes cheap meat, 
but if meat is cheap, profits fail to materialize. Our 
people are looking across the line for a revival of 
trade. The new tariff, though still higher than we 
could wish, is not prohibitory, and although we have 
not as large a surplus as in former years, because of 
the long-continued drought, the very scarcity will 
tend to send up prices. These are the days of small 
profits and the by-products of the farm are worth 
looking after. c G. 
Alma, Ont. 
' A Pennsylvanian Full of Hope. 
I am interested in the questions in Thk R N.-Y. of 
September 22. My receipts are more than they were 
10 years ago. I changed from growing tobacco, to 
more potatoes, hay and eggs, feeding wheat to hogs 
and chickens. I also feed a few steers every year, to 
help eat the surplus corn. My farm contains 55 acres; 
44 acres are under cultivation, the rest a natural grass 
meadow. I have no fences except boundary and those 
around the meadows. The cost of production is less, 
because I have more improved machinery than form¬ 
erly, and the use of commercial fertilizers, en¬ 
ables me to keep less stock, and gives me more hay 
to sell, and larger crops of potatoes from fewer acres. 
The prospects for the future do not look better than 
now, and I have no change in view except to set out 
more fruit trees. l. b. h. 
Landis Valley, Pa. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before askinx a question please see if it is 
not answered in our advertlslnK columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
White or Yellow Raspberries. 
D. D. M., Alpena, Mich. —A neighbor has whits rasp- 
berries. He claims that they are superior to the red 
or black. Please give me your experience. 
Ans.—W hite or yellow raspberries are usually softer 
than the reds or blacks and bring lover prices in mar¬ 
ket. Brinckle’s Orange, Caroline and Golden Queen 
are the best of the yellows, but with the exception 
of the first, they are not superior in any way to the 
reds. Golden Queen is a yellow Cuthbert. 
Marks of the Marlboro Raspberry. 
T. S., Woodstock, Vt. —1. What distinguishing marks 
does the Marlboro raspberry bush have ? I obtained 
one from a neighbor, that has bright, dark-red bark; 
I also have some that I bought that have a reddish 
bark with quite a bloom. 2. How soon can I cut off 
the tops and clean up the asparagus bed ? 
Ans. —1. We discarded the Marlboro several years 
ago. Our remembrance is that the bark is of a dark, 
reddish color. 2. At any time now. The plants will 
otherwise be killed by frost. 
Crimson Clover Sown With Rye. 
J. W. C., Sparrow Lake, Ont. —What I have read in 
The R. N. Y. about Crimson clover has greatly inter¬ 
ested me, and I would like to experiment a little with 
it. My farm is small, and I would like to grow pota¬ 
toes on half of it every year, alternately, and food for 
my two cows on the other half. After reading about 
the Crimson clover, it struck me that it would be the 
very thing. My plan is to sow fall rye after the pota¬ 
toes are out, and in the spring early, sow Crimson 
clover seed. I would cut the rye for hay when in 
bloom, and by that time I expect there would be quite 
a good growth of clover in the bottom of it. After the 
rye was off, would not the clover make a sufficient 
growth to make a crop of hay later in the summer or 
early fall ? I sowed a half pound of Crimson clover 
seed the last of June ; it came up good and although 
the weather was so dry, is now (September 24) 18 
inches high, and coming into bloom in spots. Does 
The R. N.-Y. consider rye a suitable crop to sow 
Crimson clover in ? Would you expect the clover to 
make a good second growth after the rye was cut for 
hay ? 
Ans. —We do not think the plan of sowing Crimson 
clover on the rye will answer. The general opinion 
seems to be that this clover does best when sown 
alone. Used as you suggest, we would not expect a 
good crop of clover hay. Why not sow the clover 
alone after the rye is harvested ? 
Which Horse Has the Easier Job P 
O. D. T., Town Hill, Pa. —Where two horses are 
hitched to an even doubletree, and one of them hangs 
back, which horse pulls most of th*e load ? 
Ans. —When you are in doubt, revert to the principle, 
is a universal rule that applies to everything in the 
world. Then let us revert to the principle in this 
question, which is a constant source of discussion and 
general trouble to all concerned with it. Fig. 172 ex¬ 
plains the whole thing. As it is well-known that the 
longer arm of a lever is the easier to move, and this 
question is one of leverage between the two horses, it 
follows that the horse that is ahead, has the easier 
pull, with the common shape of the doubletree ; that 
is when the middle hole is near the front of the bar 
and the draft holes for the clevises are at the back of 
Diagram Showing Work op Horses. Pig. 172. 
it. But when the three holes are all in line, then 
there is no difference at all in the draft, whether the 
horses are pulling evenly, or one or the other may be 
ahead. The drawing is, of course, exaggerated to 
show the principle more plainly, but it is the same, 
always in proportion to the difference between the 
lines of the three holes. When the two horses are 
drawing the load, they are pulling against each other. 
The draft pin is the fulcrum on which the lever of the 
doubletree works. The two parts of the doubletree 
on each side of the draft pin, are two levers, and as 
one is a little longer than the other when the double- 
tree is not level, the forward horse is pulling with the 
longer, and ^ the hinder horse is pulling with the 
shorter lever; to the extent of the difference, added 
to the gain of the other horse, the latter does more of 
the work. Thus, as in everything else in the world, 
the fellow that is behind, has the hardest work to get 
along. There is an interesting moral in this little dis¬ 
quisition. 
A Talk About Plows and Pasture. 
E. L. S , Truro, Mass.. —Q.—Might horses be al¬ 
lowed to pasture on rye heads, or would they neglect 
the rye to get the clover ? 
A.—It is probable that they would feed largely upon 
the clover, if abundant, since the rye in its early 
stages of growth has little nutriment in it, and in the 
latter stages becomes unpalatable on account of its 
toughness. The animals would be likely to tramp 
the rye down so that but few heads would appear. 
Q.—Is there any swivel plow that will turn a fiat 
furrow on level land, or a little up hill ? I prefer al¬ 
ways to plow from the open ditches ; and all our best 
land borders such. 
A.—It is impossible to make a swivel plow that will 
do as good work as one that is formed to turn a fur¬ 
row but one way. Where double plows are carried, 
permitting the use of one plow in passing one way, 
and the other in passing the opposite way, the work 
can be most admirably done. There is not the slight- 
Diagram of Plowed Field. Fig. 173. 
est use of a swivel plow in order to turn the furrows 
from the open ditches, since by striking the ridge in 
the center of the field, or if it is desired to plow in 
lands a few paces from the border of the ditch, and 
then “ geeing ” around—which really is the right way 
to do most plowing—the furrow may be thrown in the 
direction desired. See Fig. 173, which may be taken 
to represent a land or an entire field. 
Q.—We have a reclaimed sand bar below high water 
level. Twice daily, for a portion of each fortnight, it 
is sub-irrigated, or flowed in its lowest parts. The 
plow coulter tears the earth up in blankets instead of 
cutting it. In some spots the turf floats. Would a 
rolling coulter manage it ? Is any swivel plow fitted 
with one ? 
A.—The rolling coulter is just the implement that 
is wanted, and may be attached to almost any plow. 
It is manufactured by Western plow makers in large 
numbers, and to some extent in the East. 
Q.—Would a Syracuse or National reversible sulky 
do good work on this land ? 
A.—Without doubt such a plow, with a rolling coul¬ 
ter, would do the work in a very satisfactory manner. 
I. P. ROBERTS. 
Draining: a Swamp For the Muck. 
J. H., Autumn Leaves, Pa —We have a swamp of five 
or six acres, covered with willows, alders, etc The 
surface soil is, perhaps, a foot deep, and rich-looking; 
then comes a stratum of what seems to be solid blue 
clay, from a foot to two feet in depth, and underneath 
that is a deposit some five or six feet deep of black 
muck which appears to be composed of decayed leaves, 
sticks and other vegetation. Would it be profitable to 
drain the swamp? Is there any use to which such 
clay could be put, to pay for taking it off? What 
crops could be raised to advantage, if any, with such 
a layer of clay so near the surface, if the swamp were 
drained ? 
Ans —It is doubtful if this land will pay for drain¬ 
ing. It will not only cost more than the land is worth 
to lay tiles, but the expense of clearing the land of the 
present vegetation, will be considerable. The muck, 
a sample of which is before me, is probably not valu¬ 
able enough to pay for draining this land thoroughly 
with tile. Perhaps the best thing is to dig an open 
drain through the piece of land and allow it to settle 
for a few years. This would give opportunity to dig 
some of the muck, or that thrown from the ditch could 
be used, in order that a practical application could be 
made to the land adjoining to see if it would pay for 
transportation. In order to economize labor, the 
muck should be thrown up into piles in the fall, and 
allowed to freeze and dry during the coming summer. 
During the fall when it is light, it might be spread 
upon grass land, or that intended for wheat or rye. 
This would test the value of the muck. An under¬ 
drain might be substituted for the open ditch at any 
time, if it were difficult to keep it cleaned out. In a 
few years, the swamp would so settle and dry that 
something might be done towards pulling up the 
willows and alders which is most economically per¬ 
formed with a chain and grapples, and a yoke of cattle. 
In time, it would probably pay to tile this land, since 
the stratum of clay near the surface would lead one to 
believe that it would produce Timothy hay most 
abundantly when fully reclaimed. 
[prof j I P. ROBERTS. 
Some Fertilizer Experiments For Illinois. 
J. P. W., Prairie Center, 111 —1. Waich is better for 
potatoes, fall or spring plowing of the land ? 2. How 
will it do to plow oat-stubble land four inches deep 
this fall, and then replow seven inches deep j ast be¬ 
fore planting; then plant the potatoes fi7e inches 
deep ? 3. My soil is a deep black loam; land low but 
well drained; raises good crops of corn and oats. What 
artificial fertilizer would be the best for me to experi¬ 
ment with ? How much ? 
Ans. —1. Spring plowing fonpotatoes is always pref¬ 
erable. It is always a good rule to plant this crop as 
soon after working the land as possible. 2. This plan 
will be excellent provided your land is level. We 
would cross-plow in the spring. 3. Very likely the 
land will produce a good crop of potatoes without fer¬ 
tilizers. To learn what element is most needed we 
would select strips, say, 20 feet wide, through the 
field, and sow on one dried blood at the rate of 500 
pounds per acre, on another fine ground bone at the 
rate of 1,000 pounds, on another muriate of potash at 
the rate of 200 pounds, on another blood and bone 
mixed, and on another blood, bone and potash. The 
blood supplies nitrogen, the bone phosphoric acid, and 
the muriate, potash. We suggest blood and bone be¬ 
cause you should be able to buy these substances 
cheaper than nitrate of soda or other forms of phos¬ 
phoric acid. By studying the growth and yield on 
these strips, you will be able to see what element is 
needed in your soil. It is quite likely that bone and 
potash alone will supply what you need on such black 
soil, as bone contains three to four per cent of nitrogen. 
How Much Fertilizer May Be Used P 
O. B., Covington, Va .— Is there any limit in the 
quantity of commercial fertilizer that may be used 
with profit ? 
Ans. —Certainly there is. Some years ago. The R. 
N.-Y. made careful experiments with different amounts 
of fertilizer on potatoes—using all the way from 220 
to 2,200 pounds per acre. The soil was very poor, 
needing a “ comp.ete ” fertilizer, or one containing all 
the elements of fertility. It was found that more 
than 1,800 pounds per acre on that soil did not pay for 
that season’s crop—that is, there was not enough of 
an increase in the crop to pay for the increased cost of 
the fertilizer. Of course this margin of profitable ap¬ 
plication will vary with different crops and soils. One 
of the most important and necessary fertilizer experi¬ 
ments is this one of determining how much may be 
profitably used. 
