THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
697 
cotton seed or cotton-seed meal except on the crops 
named. For years, I have discarded cotton seed and 
bought bone, tankage, dried blood, and nitrate of 
soda. Tankage containing so large a percentage of 
phosphoric acid and nitrogen, and being in such dry, 
fine powder, I prefer to any other form. I believe it 
the cheapest, unless nitrate of soda at reduced prices 
may become so. A. w. smith. 
Americus, Ga. 
Composting is a "‘Back Number.” 
The man here who would propose to compost whole 
cotton seed, would be considered little short of a 
lunatic. Cotton planters do not compost seed now, 
but sell it to the oil mills and buy the meal and hulls 
back for feed or manure. I could never see enough 
in compost making to warrant the great labor in¬ 
volved in the practice. I always preferred to get out 
what manure I had as fast as possible, then supple¬ 
ment it with the cheaper forms of mineral fertilizers, 
and grow my composting material in the shape of 
clover or pea vines already spread over the land. 
Cotton growers who do not already know, should be 
taught that the oil in cotton is of no value to them as 
manure, and the meal is far more available as a ferti¬ 
lizer than the whole seed. Jf 1 were growing cotton 
where I could not sell the seed, I would crush it and 
spread at once on the land. In this way, there would 
be less loss of nitrogen than in any other way of 
which I know. w. F. massey. 
North Carolina Experiment Station. 
Crusher Ahead of Compost. 
In composting cotton seed, the usual process is to 
mix it in alternating layers with acid phosphate and 
kainit, and sometimes stable or “lot” manure is 
added. A very common proportion is, acic^hosphate, 
1,000 pounds, cotton seed (green), 2,000, stable ma¬ 
nure, 2,000, kainit, 500. It is essential that the cotton 
seed be thoroughly wet with water, as well as the 
stable manure ; otherwise the fermentation will be 
too violent, and fire-fanging and loss will result. It 
is usual to cover the mass when compactly heaped, 
with several inches of rich soil. In our own practice 
at the station, we use a simple cotton-seed power 
crusher which mashes the seed sufficiently to prevent 
germination. The crushed seed is then distributed 
directly in the bedding furrows, the other ingredients 
strewn along in the same furrows, and immediately 
covered by the bedding plow. The direct application 
of cotton seed as a fertilizer, is rapidly falling into 
disuse and disrepute, for the reason that the cotton¬ 
seed oil mills readily exchange cotton-seed meal for 
seed on terms that justify the farmer in making the 
exchange. For instance, the usual rate of exchange 
is 1,000 pounds of meal for 2,000 pounds of seed. Now 
the equivalent (as a fertilizer) of 2,000 pounds of 
whole seed, is only 700 pounds of cotton-seed meal. 
Therefore, in the terms above given, the farmer re¬ 
ceives 300 pounds of meal in excess of the value of 
the seed, which will justify him in hauling the seed 
and the return load of meal several miles. 
Georgia Experiment Station. r. j. redding. 
A Compost that Gives Satisfaction. 
As soon in the spidng as the manure is hauled out, I 
cover the surface of yards, sheds and stables, from 
four to six inches deep with muck, top-soil from the 
woods or alluvial soil, and, if nothing better can be 
obtained, with sawdust. On this, I put about a foot 
of pine sti’aw, and add more pine straw from time to 
time as may be needed to keep the surface dry and 
clean. By November, this is thoroughly pulverized 
except, perhaps, some of the pine straw, which is put 
to one side for future use. All of this in yard and cow 
sheds is raked up, a pen is started, and a foot of this 
mixture is put on the bottom, then six inches of cotton 
seed, which is thoroughly wet; on this are six inches 
of stable manure also wet, then a foot of the mixture 
from the yard and so on until the materials are ex¬ 
hausted. On top of the pen, I put two feet of saw¬ 
dust. The top of the pen is left flat, or with a depres¬ 
sion in the center as with the covering of sawdust on 
top not enough water will penetrate to do any harm, 
and the moisture and gases from below will not 
escape. I do not let either cotton seed or stable 
manure come to the outer edges of the pen, but fill it 
with lot manure or sawdust. The cotton seed and 
stable manure are surrounded with an absorbent. 
The pile gets pretty hot, but if the cotton seed and 
stable manure have been thoroughly wet, no harm 
will be done. One of the first and best effects of this 
heating is to extract the oil from the cotton seed, and 
diffuse it through the mass. In 90 days, the mass 
should be thrown out of the pen , worked over with a 
hoe, and then put back, and a cover put over it. If, 
when this mass is being worked over, land plaster at 
the rate of from 200 to 400 pounds to the ton can be 
sprinkled over it, gases that might escape will be re¬ 
tained. Some of our gins have crushers attached, and 
the cotton seed is crushed free of charge, and applied 
directly to the crop ; but I have had best results from 
composting. Instead of the land plaster many use 
phosphate, and claim better results. c. c. L. died. 
Alabama. 
What They Do in Mississippi. • 
Our plan for composting cotton seed is to put it in 
heaps with fresh stable manure, putting alternate 
layers of each. If the manure is very wet, fermenta¬ 
tion will soon begin ; but if it does n t contain suffi¬ 
cient water to moisten the seed, more is added when 
the heap is completed. When the heap has become 
thoroughly warmed, it is turned over, so that the seed 
and manure are well mixed, and is then allowed to 
heat a second time, after which it is immediately 
hauled to the field. If the heap is watched closely, 
and turned as soon as it becomes thoroughly heated, 
the loss of nitrogen is so small as to be of no moment. 
When the compost has been prepared some time in ad¬ 
vance of using, we have sometimes covered the heap 
with a few inches of earth, after turning it the first 
time ; but the saving effected in this way has been 
hardly worth the labor. 
The common practice throughout the South, is to use 
the seed without composting. If used early in the season 
it soon begins to decay in the cold soil, and so becomes 
available for plant food by the time the growing crops 
need assistance. If it is to be used later in the season, 
after the soil has become sufficiently warm to induce 
germination, it is usually killed by steaming, or by 
placing in piles and wetting so as to induce heating, 
three days being sufficient to kill the germs. I must 
admit that our methods are slightly wasteful, but the 
loss of nitrogen is very small, and as the seed is now 
worth only $7.50 per ton, it is less expensive to bear 
this loss than to hire the labor necessary for closer 
saving. 8 . m. tracy. 
Mississippi Experiment Station. 
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Farming From the Town. 
Mechanic,'' Dover, N. H .—Is it pos.sibIe (or prob¬ 
able) that a fair income could be made by farming 
without residing on the land ? I own a large house 
and barn on the outskirts of the city, but inside the 
city limits (population 13,000). I have all the city 
privileges, such as water, gas, electric cars, schools, 
etc. I am called a good gardener by friends and 
neighbors, who see my one-acre garden. Suppose I 
buy a piece of land two or more miles out, and plant 
30 acres of potatoes or beans, plant 10 or more acres of 
apple ti-ees and travel to and from my home to work 
the farm, as I now do to my work as a mechanic in the 
city. Is there any need of living on the farm all the 
year ’round when there are only six working months 
when growing only one or two crops ? Is not some 
such plan adopted in some of the Western wheat 
growing States ? 
Ans. —Some such plan is followed by some of the 
wheat farmers out West. They live in a village with 
the farm some distance away. Usually there is a 
small house on the farm in which the owner lives dur¬ 
ing the busy seasons of plowing, seeding or thra.shing. 
In Colorado, some farmers follow this plan with grain 
and potatoes. In your case, we think it would be 
better to move out to the farm during the working 
sea.son, or at least remain there week days. There are 
so many things about farm work that demand constant 
oversight, that unless you can get hired help that will 
take as much interest in the farm as you do, you 
should be on hand until the crops are sold. If you use 
fertilizers and do not keep live stock for manure, you 
can have the winters free for work in town if you 
like. You cannot do this if you keep stock, for they 
will require even more attention than the crops. 
Onions and Timothy Hay. 
H. S., Woodlawn, Pa. —1. In growing onion sets, how 
are the weeds kept out of them ? 2. How are they 
taken from the ground when ripe ? Is there any 
machinery in use for this work ? 3. lias The R. N.-Y. 
ever tried Timothy, for bringing up a poor soil where 
clover will not catch ? 4. How can a farmer living 20 
miles from a large city, who must ship by rail, arrange 
to deal direct with consumers ? 
Ans. —1. By using a wheel hoe between the rows 
and by hand weeding in the rows. 2. Pull by hand, 
or use a small trowel, throwing the sets into baskets 
or crates. 3. Timothy is a nitrogen consumer, clover 
a nitrogen getter. Timothy roots and stubble take 
just as much nitrogen from the soil as they add to it 
when turned under. The Timothy cut and removed 
is just so much loss. 4. By advertising for customers 
or by personally canvassing for orders. If he get a 
few customers, and please them, they will bring 
others. 
Two Fertilizers Sold in Indiana. 
A. W. W., Swanville, Ind .—I send cards showing the 
analyses of two kinds of fertilizer, with the price 
marked on each one. I would like to know whether 
it is too much to pay. 
No. 1. 
Per ct. 
Soluble phosphoric acid .. 13.27 
Reverted phosphoric acid. 2.01 
Insoluble phosphoric acid. 
Ammonia (H;iN). 0.06 
Potassa (K.jO). 
Price, $21 per ton. 
No. 2. 
Per ct. 
Soluble phosphoric add. 
Reverted phosphoric acid. 0.63 
Insoluble phosphoric acid 16.73 
Ammonia (HdN). 4.34 
Potassa (KiO). 
Price, $27 per ton. 
Ans. —Without going into details, we may say that 
No. 1, according to this analysis, contains 305 pounds 
of available phosphoric acid and a little over one 
pound of ammonia. At the prices fixed by the station 
chemists, this would give a trade value of about $17. 
No. 2 contains 133 pounds of available phosphoric acid 
and 87 pounds of ammonia, worth, on the same valu- 
tion, about $30. No. 1 is of value only where phos¬ 
phoric acid is needed. No. 2 lacks potash, and, while 
it may give fair results on soils containing enough of 
that element, it will fail wherever a “ complete ” ma¬ 
nure is needed. 
Succession of Peaches For Michigan. 
E. H. B., Saranac, Mich .—What is a good list of 
peaches for central Michigan, commencing with the 
earliest varieties, and comprising the latest that will 
ripen here ? This market requires a yellow-fleshed, 
freestone peach. The trees must be hardy and good 
growers for a light sandy loam. Give also a list for a 
clay loam. 
Ans. —Alexander, Rivers, Hale, St. John, Early 
Barnard, Early Michigan (or Lewis), Oldmixon Free, 
Chili. This will give a good succession for either 
sandy or clayey soil. Peaches should never be planted 
on either sand or clay unle.ss thoroughly underdrained, 
either naturally or artificially. T. T. EYON. 
Blanching Celery With Sawdust. 
E. R. S., Morgantown, Pa .—Would sawdust be good 
to put around celery to blanch it ? Last season, I put 
charcoal dust ai’ound it, and it kept for awhile and 
then rotted, but was slow to blanch. I want some 
quick way to make it fit for table use. 
Ans. —There would be no advantage in using .saw¬ 
dust instead of sand or earth for blanching celery. It 
certainly would not prevent rotting any more than 
the use of charcoal dust. The celery would be very 
liable to have somewhat of the sawdust flavor. Celery 
will not blanch quickly unle.ss it is growing rapidly. 
Hence the stored celery must be given conditions 
favorable for its growth, in order to secure rapid 
blanching. Heat and moisture cause the rotting. The 
foliage and stalks must be kept as dry as possible. 
Water should be applied only to the roots of the 
plants, and only in sufficient quantity to prevent its 
wilting. M. 11. BECKWITH. 
Edible Nuts for Central New York. 
L. L. W., Berwyn, N. Y .—What is a list of edible 
nuts that may be successfully grown in central New 
York ? 
Ans. —Hard-shell almonds, che.stnuts, filberts, hick- 
orynuts, pecans, walnuts, butternuts. Dwarf English, 
(Preparturien.s), Japan (Sieboldi). 
Fish Scrap for Feeding Stock. 
B. P. H., West Phlladclphui, Pa .—Is dry ground fish 
scrap suitable for feeding cattle to replace cotton¬ 
seed meal ? What are its contents in albuminoids, 
carbohydrates and fats ? Can it be procured in New 
York ? What does it cost per ton ? 
Ans. —Fish .scrap of good quality contains some¬ 
where near 50 per cent of albuminoids, and from 8 to 
14 per cent of fat. It can be bought readily in New 
York for about $40 per ton, but should be more finely 
ground, I think, before using as a cattle food. 1 
know of no accurate experiments in this counti'y on 
its use as a feed. It would be well worth trying, at 
least for fattening sheep. It is more doubtful whether 
it could be used for dairy cows, because it would 
most likely flavor the milk. dr. e. ii. jenkins. 
Best Peaches for Long Island. 
V. L. Y., Oi'lent, L. 1. —1. What are good varieties 
of peaches, a few early, but the most of them ripen¬ 
ing from the middle to the last of September? 1 don’t 
want any clings. 2. Is there a profitable variety of 
white-cored freestones ? 3. Is there more than one 
Abundance plum ? 4. What is the best season to set 
peach trees ? 
Ans. —1. Troth’s Early, Mountain Ro.se, St. Johns, 
Early York, Oldmixon Free, Crawford’s Early, Craw¬ 
ford’s Late, Susquehanna, Elberta, Beer’s Smock, 
Lovett’s White. 2. Ward’s Late, Stump. We have 
all of these in bearing, and have found them good. 
3. There is but one recognized as the Abundance 
plum; see Prof. Bailey’s bulletin. 4. Our experience 
is that peach trees will live and grow best when 
planted in the spring. ISAAC hicks. 
