FARM NOTES FROM SOUTHERN OHIO. 
SOME NEW THINGS IN FARMING. 
Some Good Old Things Too. 
Crimson Clover. —Last summer and fall were too 
dry for any kind of seeding, Crimson clover being no 
exception. I sowed plots from August till October, 
and 2)4 acres of the earliest sown, where there was 
sufficient moisture to make the seed germinate, did 
some growing in the dry fall, and now appear prom¬ 
ising. The clover endured some extremely severe 
weather, and seems to say this spring that it has 
come to southern Ohio to stay, if only it be given half 
a chance. The chief difficulty about the growing of 
this clover, is the summer seeding—yet that is its 
virtue too. If we can get a catch, all is well. Ordi¬ 
nary winters here are not too severe, contrary to our 
expectations a few years ago, and we can seed the 
land from which early potatoes are dug, and have the 
soil growing richer instead of poorer. I have not 
tried sowing the seed in the cow pea ground, and as 
the pea land is for early potatoes, and winter plowing 
is practiced, there would be 
little or no gain therefrom. 
But where the pea land is 
intended for corn, I see no 
reason why such practice 
would not pay. The peas 
do not cover the land too 
densely to permit sprout¬ 
ing of the seed, and as the 
vines die, the clover would 
spring up. 
Value of Cow Peas.— 
Last year, I grew 18 acres 
of cow peas for fertilizing 
purposes, and am better 
pleased than ever with this 
plant. Land that is un¬ 
favorable to clover will 
grow peas, and as I precede 
the peas with a heavy coat 
of rye, the soil is filled with 
organic matter that adds 
fertility, increases the 
capacity of the soil to hold 
moisture, and improves its 
mechanical condition. The 
last is most important in 
the growing of potatoes in 
clayey loams. Potatoes 
must have loose earth 
around them when grow¬ 
ing, and that follows from 
the free use of vegetable 
manures. Last year I hand-picked 45 bushels of peas 
for seed—partly by proxy, of course. The cost of 
picking and thrashing was about 50 cents a bushel, 
and as seed from the South costs me, usually, $1.25 a 
bushel delivered on the farm, I am ahead of the game. 
If one were prepared to harvest the peas with hogs, I 
doubt whether there would be much profit in picking 
one’s own seed, as the feeding and fertilizing value of 
a bushel of peas is greater than that of a bushel of 
wheat. Peas are a great cleansing crop, and here, 
where a wild vine is a bad pest, the rye followed by 
peas is killing it out. The June plowing has much to 
do with this. 
Second-Crop Potatoes. —The use of the Southern 
second-crop potato seed for early planting, grows 
more popular, and that is good proof of its value. 
All who planted it here last spring, are ordering 
again, one man ordering 50 barrels for himself and a 
few friends. Dealers have awakened to the differ¬ 
ence between the true second crop and only a late 
crop for seed purposes, and 1 think we shall be able to 
get what we order this year. We can grow a late 
crop ourselves, and there is no use of paying freight 
upon such from the South. My effort to grow a 
second crop from first crop seed was a failure last 
summer. It might have been due to any one of thi-ee 
causes: 1, the excessive drought and heat in August 
and September; 2, the use of corrosive sublimate 
mixture for 90 minutes on the tender seed (Prof. W. 
J. Creen assures me that this mixture, when used for 
such a long time, tends to retard sprouting.); 3, the 
climate. I shall test the matter again, as I believe a 
second crop from seed of first crop, can be grown in 
Ohio. Last year’s experience indicates that this South" 
ern seed is not safe for a main, late crop. At the be¬ 
ginning of the railroad strike last summer, I still had 
five acres of early potatoes on hand, and by the time 
the railroads were ready to go to work, I could not 
ship with a safe chance of profit. I left the potatoes 
undug until the main crop was taken out, with the 
result that about 30 bushels an acre rotted. This has 
occurred before with a crop from this seed, and the 
indications are that it should be used here only for 
growing an early market crop. A grower a few miles 
away will plant, it is said, 20 acres with this seed. 
Keeping Potatoes. —After trying various ways of 
keeping seed potatoes, the best one, everything con¬ 
sidered, seems to be to put the potatoes in a cool cellar 
until December. When the earth is cold, take them 
out and put in long, narrow ricks, about 100 bushels 
to 00 or 75 feet in length. Cover heavily with straw, 
and then with earth. When the earth is hard frozen, 
again cover the ricks heavily with straw. The second 
covering of straw keeps the sun’s heat off the frozen 
earth underneath. After several days of warm weather 
this week, 1 examined the straw and found ice holding 
it to the earth. The potatoes are thus kept cool late 
in the spring. The second covering of straw was also 
a safeguard this winter against the severe cold. How¬ 
ever, it is a difficult matter to keep seed potatoes in a 
perfect manner in this latitude. alva AGEE. 
Gallia County, O. 
The life of the potato seed lies in its sprouts. Start 
that life right. Don’t fail to leave the tubers spread 
out in a warm Runny place fora few days before plant¬ 
ing, and thus start thick and heavy sprouts. 
A LITTLE FARM IN A BIG STATE. 
MAKING SOIL IN COLORADO. 
Cats to Guard the Crops. 
On page 14(5, The R. N.-Y. referred to a man in 
Colorado who makes a good living for himself and 
family on four acres of land. As usual, people want 
to know more about it, and so we give the farmer’s 
own story as follows : 
I followed the occupation of a miner until four 
years ago. I saved a little money, and bought 15 acres 
of land, on only about 10 acres of which water could 
be got, or could be tilled at all. Only four acres were 
tillable at the start, after I cleared off the stumps and 
brush. The six acres under ditch, but not tillable, 
are bowlders and washed gravel. I rake off the stones 
that are on the surface, and in the winter I put dump 
boards on bobs and haul soil on. In that way, I add 
a little every year. When I set out a patch of straw¬ 
berries, I make the surface of an even grade, if it is 
not already so. I take a scraper and fill up the holes 
and scrape off the high places, make a feed ditch at 
the top and a waste ditch 
at the bottom of the field. 
For fertilizers, I have the 
dumping ground of a min¬ 
ing camp. I haul the ma¬ 
nure 3J4 miles, all down 
hill. I can have all I can 
haul, and tons of it goes to 
waste. If I would go to 
the town a half mile fur¬ 
ther, I could get 50 cents a 
load for hauling it away. I 
have no idle time from 
spring until spring. The 
only drawback I have is a 
J une frost; if I can get 
clear of that, I can get lots 
of berries in the month of 
J uly; that is one month 
later than the crop comes 
off in other parts of the 
State, and gives me a good 
market. I sort all of my 
fruit, and never send any¬ 
thing but good, prime fruit 
to market. I cultivate the 
J ucunda, so far the best for 
this location. I have a 
small plot of Parker Earle 
that I am trying, that will 
bear this coming season. I 
raise my own vegetables, 
but no hay or grain. I 
keep two light horses, one cow, and about 30 hens ; 
also five cats, the latter to keep down the chipmunks. 
I will probably increase the force of cats. 
I run a peddling wagon from October until July to 
sell horse-radish, surplus vegetables, jellies, and 
pickles. The strawberries I sell wholesale. The 
horse-radish I grow in two plots, dig one every other 
year, and then replant. I clean it, grate and put it in 
bottles, seal and label them. I sell it to dealers and 
also peddle it. I grate it upon a machine 1 made my¬ 
self. I can grate about what will fill 10 dozen pint 
bottles in five hours. I try to havedt fresh when it 
reaches my customers. 
1 have seen a number of recipes in Tiie R. N.-Y. of 
how to use dynamite (or as we call it here, giant 
powder) to blow out stumps. I do not think they 
quite cover the ground in these descriptions. It will 
blow out stumps if you use enough of it, but for a 
stump that one stick will blow out, one would better 
take a lever and chain and twist it out with a team. 
For a stump with a big tap root, and in loose soil, it 
would take 10 pounds of powder under it to blow out. 
THE WORKING FORCE OF ONE GEORGIA FARMER. Fig. 00. 
