142 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March * 
Rye as Green Manure for Potatoes. 
B. C. L.. Charlevoix County, Mich .—Two years 
ago, I sowed 10 acres to rye, which I turned under 
last spring and planted to potatoes. On account 
of the drought, I got only 53 bushels per acre. I 
now have the second 10 acres in rye to turn under 
next spring. At what stage of growth shall I 
turn it under ? I wish to plant one field to pota¬ 
toes, the other to beans. Which shall I plant to 
potatoes ? How shall I plant ? What is the best 
method of cutting the seed, the number of pieces 
to the hill, distance apart, and after culture ? 
Axs.—We have never found much 
benefit in green manuring with rye ex¬ 
cept when manure or fertilizers were 
added. The rye gives a coarse, rank 
growth which provides vegetable matter 
in plenty, but does not yield much avail¬ 
able fertility. Unless we could add fer¬ 
tilizer of some kind to the rye, we would 
prefer corn on the green manuring, and 
let potatoes follow the corn. From 
choice, we would use last year’s potato 
ground again this year. On our own 
farm, we would plow under this year’s 
rye crop just before the heads form, 
harrow in wood ashes or bone and pot¬ 
ash if obtainable, and plant corn. The 
R. N.-Y. trench system for field culture, 
is about as follows : The land is care¬ 
fully plowed and then deeply furrowed 
three feet apart—-the object being to get 
a wide furrow with mellow soil at the 
bottom This may be done with an 
ordinary plow by going both ways in 
each furrow. We have used a shovel 
plow for this purpose. Darnell’s fur- 
rower, made by H. W. Doughten, Moores- 
town, N. J., does this work well—espe¬ 
cially on sod. Potatoes are cut to two- 
eye pieces—medium-sized ones cut once 
through from end to end. These pieces 
are dropped in the furrows about 15 
inches apart and covered, say, two inches 
deep by harrowing along the rows or 
working with a cultivator with the 
shovels attached. The furrows are 
gradually filled as the potatoes grow 
through the soil. Level culture is fol¬ 
lowed—aiming to keep the surface soil 
thoroughly stirred all through the grow¬ 
ing season. Our potatoes usually follow 
corn, and we use at least 1,200 pounds of 
fertilizer per acre. We prefer to broad¬ 
cast at least half of this, and spx*ead the 
remainder in a space two feet wide over 
the furrows after the seed pieces are 
covered. 
Hen Manure and Ashes; Muck, Crimson Clover. 
R. R., Bangor, N. Y.—l. I keep 200 bens, and we 
use the droppings to grow potatoes. I wish to 
mix something with the droppings that contains 
potash. I can get wood ashes, but am told that if 
I mix the droppings and ashes, that the ashes 
liberate the ammonia, which is lost. Would there 
be any loss if the mixture were dropped in the 
furrow and covered the day it is mixed ? Ashes 
cost 15 to 18 cents per bushel. 2. Would any other 
form of potash be any better or cheaper? 3. Would 
kainit be an absorber of ammonia like plaster, 
instead of a liberator like ashes ? 4. I raise 
clover, all of which I feed. The soil is not very 
rich, and I need to apply all the manure I have 
when I sow the seed, to insure a good catch. I 
would like to top-dress the clover again after the 
grain is cut, but have no manure. Would it pay 
to haul muck two miles, buy ashes and, perhaps, 
some raw ground bone to mix with it, and spread 
on the clover sod soon after the grain is cut ? I 
have a Kemp manure spreader to spread it with. 
If so, would it be best to mix the muck, ashes and 
bone, and let the mixture stand a while before 
spreading, or spread it as soon as mixed? 5. I 
read considerable now about Crimson clover If 
sowed in the corn field at the last cultivation, the 
last of July or first of August, would it furnish 
feed enough in October to pay for seed and 
sowing ? 
Ans.— 1. You will find, on another 
page, something about hen manure. The 
ashes and droppings may safely be used 
as you suggest—mixed in the furrow and 
covered at once. The ashes liberate the 
ammonia, but small loss occurs if this is 
done in the soil, for that is where you 
wish it loose. 2-3. Kainit is excellent to 
use under the roosts or to mix with the 
droppings. It acts like plaster to fix or 
retain ammonia. One objection to its 
use in the henhouse is that it contains 
salt, of which the hens might eat too 
much. 4. Yes, we think that it will pay 
you to haul the muck. Make it into a 
compost—first a layer of muck, say, a 
foot thick, and then the ashes and bone ; 
then more muck and so on. You may 
safely use 200 pounds of wood ashes and 
50 pounds of fine bone to each ton of 
muck. If possible, work it all over once 
before putting on the clover. Handled 
in this way with the heap standing at 
least three months, the muck will be 
worth as much, ton for ton, as stable 
manure. 5. Yes, if it gets a fair start. 
We shall know more about Crimson 
clover when this snow goes away. 
Corn-Cob Ashes Valuable. 
B. F., Utica, Ill.—I can get several wagon 
loads of corn-cob ashes, some of them so thor¬ 
oughly burned as to be a gray, pasty mass, which 
1 would like to apply to small fruits if not injuri¬ 
ous. Cobs are being used quite extensively as 
fuel in grain elevators in this country, hence the 
ashes are becoming quite plentiful. 
Ans. —Corn-cob ashes are rich in pot¬ 
ash, averaging about two per cent more 
of this substance than ordinary ashes. 
They also contain more phosphoric acid. 
This is an excellent fertilizer for small 
fruits—used with ground bone. Get all 
you can of it before an increased demand 
sends up the price. 
What to Do with Hen Manure. 
B. P. i if., South Bound Brook, N. J.—l have 
about two tons of hen manure and plaster. What 
would The R. N.-Y. advise me to do with it—mix 
and make such a fertilizer as Mr. Johnson does, 
or use in its present state ? I do general farming, 
but desire to get as much from the land as pos¬ 
sible. 
Ans. —The hen manure will be more 
effective if mixed. It is for you to de¬ 
cide whether your time is worth more at 
other work. In our own case, we gen¬ 
erally apply the hen manure to sweet 
corn without mixing. Mr. Johnson makes 
a good fertilizer by mixing 400 pounds of 
crushed and sifted manure, 300 of dis¬ 
solved boneblack, 100 of muriate of pot¬ 
ash and 150 of plaster. This gives him 
excellent results on potatoes; but his 
land is naturally very rich, and is heavily 
manured for strawberries. On ordinary 
land, we would add 200 pounds of nitrate 
of soda to that mixture ; or, better, 100 
pounds of nitrate and 400 of good ground 
bone. 
How to Handle Night Soil. 
J. L. 0., Silver Hill, Md .—Will it pay to hauj 
night soil for manure ? I can get it in barrels 
just from the vaults. What would be the best to 
mix with it to get it dry—tankage, plaster or 
kainit? I wish to use it on early spring cabbage 
sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, tomatoes, Lima 
beans, and to topdress strawberries. Will the 
same mixture do for all, or can I use it by mixing 
some earth with it for tomatoes, cantaloupes, 
beans and potatoes ? Is it as strong as it was be¬ 
fore they used disinfectants? Do the latter 
cause the ammonia to escape, or do they retain it? 
Ans. —This answer will serve for 
several questions about night soil. This 
substance is popularly supposed to be 
very valuable as compared with barn¬ 
yard manure. As a matter of fact, it 
will not average so valuable, ton for ton, 
as either horse or cow manure. As com¬ 
pared with average horse manure, night 
soil would make about this showing. 
POUNDS PEK TON. 
Phos. 
Nitrogen, acid. Potash. 
Horse manure.10 5 12 
Night soil. 7 5 4 
Average night soil is nearly 95 per cent 
water, and contains but little organic 
matter—like the straw in horse manure. 
The value of the night soil lies in the 
fact that its nitrogen is in a very soluble 
and available form. It is as much a forc¬ 
ing manure as is nitrate of soda. It 
needs both potash and phosphoric acid 
to “ balance” it. Kainit is a good sub¬ 
stance to use with night soil, as it not 
only adds potash, but acts to fix or re¬ 
tain the ammonia almost as well as 
plaster. An excellent way to use night 
soil is to put it in a compost heap made 
up of manure, old sods or other vegetable 
matter, and black soil or muck. Pour 
the night soil over these materials as the 
heap is built up, and use enough kainit 
to keep the top thoroughly white. Some 
melon growers in Bergen County, N. J., 
pour the night soil thickly on the ground 
just before plowing, and use a fertilizer 
in the hill. We think that it would be 
better to mix the night soil during the 
winter with the earth and add kainit, 
fine bone, or tankage. In the spring, 
this would be a good mixture to harrow 
in or use in the hill. Used in this way, 
(Continued on next page.) 
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