1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
but filing was slow and hard work. I took them off 
and carried them to the blacksmith shop, and for 25 
cents I had the teeth sharpened as good as new. The 
draught was very much less for the horse, and it made 
my man smile to see the nice work it did. Do not 
expect the hired man to do good work with a dull 
cultivator; it tears up sods, and will not run so steadily 
as it will do when sharp. l. d. GALE. 
Chautauqua County, N. Y. 
WHAT SAY? 
Oats in Strawberries. —Have the readers of The 
R. N.-Y. had any experience in sowing oats in straw¬ 
berries, say, at the last hoeing in the fall, to protect 
them through the winter ? If the oats should grow 
10 or 12 inches high, the first freeze would kill them, 
and they would fall over the plants and save the ex¬ 
pense of covering them with litter. I have an idea 
that it would work. I would like to know whether 
any person has tried it, and if so, with what result ? 
Oneco, Conn. h. s. h. 
To Kill Bulrushes. —I have a piece of valuable 
bottom land into which a great many bulrushes are 
coming, doubtless caused by its being too wet. The 
land is drained by several open ditches which my pred¬ 
ecessor allowed to fill up somewhat. I have cleaned 
them out, and hope to dry the land to some extent. I 
do not wish to plow the land, as it would be very dif¬ 
ficult to seed it to grass. I have thought of mowing 
them as near the ground as I can, and then sow salt 
on them heavily, stock the land with sheep and not 
salt them ; or let the bulrushes lie on the ground till 
they dry, and burn them. Would it do to sow Crimson 
clover in southwest Virginia in corn about June 25. 
Rural Retreat, Va. s. s. c. 
R. N.-Y.—We say yes as to Crimson clover. Who 
can help kill the bulrushes—by advice ? 
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Some Fruits for Mississippi. 
W. 0. P., Columbus, Miss. —I wish to set out this fall, 50 budded 
chestnut trees, 50 thin shell pecans, 25 earliest to latest peaches, 
25 earliest to latest apples, 25 plums, 10 apricots, 30 earliest to 
latest pears, 12 cherries (if they do anything here), 20 earliest to 
latest grapes, 1,000 earliest to latest strawberry plants, 6 figs. All 
the above, except the nuts, are for home use and home market. 
Ans.— I suggest for the pecans : Stewart, Colum¬ 
bian, Van Deman. Peaches : Five each of St. John, 
Mountain Rose, Elberta, Heath, Oldmixon Free. 
Apples: Two each of Red June and Horse ; three 
each of Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, Family, Rox- 
bury Russet, Ben Davis, Hall’s Seedling, Stephen¬ 
son’s Winter. Plums: Two Wild Goose, three 
Marianna, five each of Burbank, Ogon, Botan (Abun¬ 
dance), Botankio. Pears: Five each of Leconte, 
Bartlett, Seckel, Duchess, Keiffer, Jefferson. Grapes: 
Two each of Green Mountain, Moyer, Delaware, Per¬ 
kins, Jefferson, Ilerbemont, Letorey, Niagara, Carman, 
Empire State. Strawberries: Michel’s Early, West- 
lawn, Gandy, Crescent. Figs : Celeste. Apricots and 
cherries cannot be recommended for planting here. 
I have seen only a few young trees of the improved 
chestnuts, and cannot say what varieties may succeed. 
Mississippi Exp. Sta. s. m. tracy. 
Gases to Preserve California Fruit. 
G. W. C., Belvidere, N. J. —1. What gases have been used to sur¬ 
round fruit for its preservation ? 2. What success has been 
attained ? 
Ans. — 1 . Prof. Wickson, of the California Experi¬ 
ment Station, informs us that the chief experiments 
have been made with carbonic acid gas and compressed 
air. 2. The carbonic acid gas has not succeeded thus 
far. Compressed air, by virtue of cooling, gives prom¬ 
ise of very good results, and is now the subject of 
much invention and experiment. 
Sea Mud and Apple Pomace. 
W. C. G., Homewood, B. C. —What is the value of sea mud con¬ 
taining dead and live clams, sea weed, young lobsters, crabs, etc.? 
What would be the best way to handle it ? What is the value of 
apple pomace as a fertilizer ? What is the best way to handle it ? 
I can get it for the hauling. 
Ans. —Of course, it is impossible to give any exact 
estimate as to the value of such mud. Similar samples 
taken near the Atlantic coast, contained in one ton, 
when dry, about 14 pounds of nitrogen, 7 of phos¬ 
phoric acid, and 450 of lime. There is no potash to 
speak of in such mud. In a general way, a ton of 
such mud, well dried, is worth a little less than a ton 
of average stable manure. The best way to utilize 
it would be to make it into a compost. Work it over 
several times, and let it thoroughly dry and crumble. 
During this working, we would add wood ashes or 
muriate of potash to supply needed potash, and also 
fine ground bone. There is not enough fertility in 
the apple pomace to give it much rank as a manure. 
We would broadcast it on light soils, and plow in. ; or 
scatter over grass lands. 
Terrible Tales of a “ Worm .” 
F. C. C., Newfoundland, N. J. —I send several worms which I 
would like to have named, and also to know how to destroy them. 
The house is over 100 years old, is decaying, some of the timbers 
being rotten. I find the worms in the rotten wood and under 
stones. They crawl up the side walls to the ceiling, and I occa¬ 
sionally find them in the bed. If pinched by accident, they bite 
and double up in a hard knot. The bite appears to be very pois¬ 
onous, and occasions severe stinging pains a few moments after 
the bite, when the parts begin to swell and turn purple. I was 
bitten myself in picking up stove wood; I pinched one accident¬ 
ally, when the above symptoms occurred. I used a remedy for 
snake bite, so that it did not result seriously. In another case, a 
lady was talking to her friends in the house, when one fell from 
the ceiling, striking her on the cheek; she brushed it off quickly, 
and thought no more about it; but a few minutes after, her cheek 
began to burn, sting and swell. Several doctors were in attend¬ 
ance on her, but she died a few hours after the bite. 
Ans. —There seems to be no hitch in the startling 
evidence given in the correspondent’s letter, but a 
glance at the specimens themselves shows that there 
is a screw loose somewhere. The “ worms ” were the 
common, small, dark-grayish-colored millepeds or 
thousand-legged worms so often found under bark 
and stones in moist places. They are as harmless as 
new-born babes ! We have here in the North no true 
insects that inflict serious wounds. There is one kind 
of spider quite common in little-used buildings that 
may inflict a serious bite. There is also a centiped 
or hundred-legged worm that has a bad reputation as 
a biter, but I do not know whether there is sufficient 
evidence to prove that it ever inflicts serious wounds. 
As all know, much depends upon the individual, his 
temperament, condition of health, etc., in regard to 
the seriousness of even a bee sting ; people have died 
from bee stings. It would seem that T. C. C. must 
have made a mistake in the identification of the 
harmless millepeds as the authors of the serious bites 
he describes. I have turned the case over to the 
United States Entomologist for investigation. He has 
been collecting and sifting the data on insect bites 
and stings for several years, and will be glad to know 
if one of our common thousand-legged worms is 
capable of inflicting serious wounds. I know of no 
way to rid the house of the creatures. m. v. s. 
What Forage Crops After Strawberries ? 
B. T. W., Rochester, Mass .—I have a sandy, warm soil on a part 
of my place now planted with early peas, sweet corn, beans, etc. 
The early peas will be off the ground probably by June 20, while 
the beans and corn will not be off until about August 1. 1. Will it 
do to sow Crimson clover with millet or barley, the last two to be 
cut green for fodder ? 2. What is the best crop to sow during 
July and August, to be used for fodder—mostly for horses ? X 
have used considerable millet, but am not entirely satisfied with 
it. Some of my neighbors recommend barley. I am located about 
40 miles south of Boston, engaged in market gardening, and am 
at a loss to know the best fodder crop to follow strawberries, 
peas, etc. 3. If, as far north as I am, Crimson clover is likely to 
winterkill, would it not be well to sow it the last of June, as soon 
as early peas are off, and plow in late in the fall ? 
Ans. —1. We are not yet prepared to give anything 
more than an opinion as to such uses of Crimson clover 
as are here proposed. We think the barley and clover 
could be used together—the former cut for hay and 
the latter used for a green soiling crop. Still we do 
not advise it except as an experiment—though we are 
quite sure it will succeed. 2. Millet is about the most 
popular crop for the purpose named. In our own ex¬ 
perience, sweet corn sowed in drills for fodder, has 
given better satisfaction as a late forage crop. We 
have used this fodder for both cattle and horses with 
excellent results. When it is well cured, we would as 
soon have it as Timothy hay for horses. We still find 
farmers who sow such corn broadcast after straw¬ 
berries—or after early-cut grass. We do not consider 
this good practice. We would rather sow it in drills, 
say, three feet apart, and after the corn is up, sow 
Crimson clover between the rows. Unless the season 
is too dry, we would expect two crops on the same 
ground—one of corn for fodder, and another of closer 
for plowing under. 3. We think this the safest plan 
for Northern gardeners to try. Sow the clover early 
and, with a favorable season, it will attain a large 
growth before frost. Then plow it under all ready 
for the earliest spring crops. 
Sawdust for Manure. 
J. W. II., Hartford City, Ind .—Is sawdust that has laid in a 
bank or heap for 8 to 10 years, injurious to a garden ? 
Ans.—W e think not. By that time, it should be 
well rotted, and not acid enough to be injurious. A 
friend reports trouble with fresh sawdust in the green¬ 
house. He thinks it induced fungous diseases in some 
way. Another friend in Massachusetts writes as fol¬ 
lows : “My experience and observation, extending 
over many years, satisfy me that The R. N.-Y., page 
393, is right. I think there is very little fertilizing 
value to any sawdust, hard or soft-wood ; that, used on 
land while green, it is positively injurious, but, when 
441 
used dry or seasoned, it is the best and cleanest bed¬ 
ding for horses or cattle, and very valuable as an ab¬ 
sorbent. I am in doubt whether it is injurious when 
used green in the stable and allowed to ‘ season ’ 
in the manure.” 
More About Rye Hay. 
J. B. W., Avening, Canada. —What is the best time to cut winter 
rye for hay ? What is its relative value, cut at its best stage, as 
compared with Timothy or clover ? Will it Help the Timothy and 
clover with which it is seeded, to cut it green ? Hay is a short 
crop here this year, and I will be in need of winter feed for the 
cows. I have about 12 acres of rye that I was thinking of cutting 
green, and it is in blossom now, so I suppose it should soon be cut. 
Ans. —As stated elsewhere, we do not believe in rye 
hay. Yours is now too old to cut for fodder. The 
hay shows a fair analysis, but is too hard and woody 
VVe advise you to cut it for grain, plow the sod, and 
sow fodder corn in drills to supply the extra food. 
Rye for Hay and Pasture. 
II. V. T., Harwinton, Conti.—In The R. N.-Y. of June 15, the 
statement is made that Mr. Bancroft does not consider rye good 
food for stock. I have just put in my barn about four tons of rye 
hay with the idea that I had so much good hay for horses and 
cows. Am I mistaken ? 
J. C. K., La Crosse, Wis. —I think winter rye has been highly 
recommended by several of The R. N.-Y.’s correspondents, for 
pasture. At any rate, I got the idea from The R. N.-Y., and last 
fall I seeded about 30 acres, partly on stubble and partly on sandy 
portions of an old pasture, without plowing. The drought last 
season had killed nearly all the grass, leaving little growing but 
sheep sorrel and other weeds. The rye made a good growth last 
fall, and fine late pasture. This spring it came forward, and 
made a good early growth. My colts and milch cows have done 
remarkably well on it, until lately, when a considerable amount 
has headed out, and the stock do not eat it readily. I think enough 
of the grain will ripen to seed the land thoroughly for the next 
year’s crop. Several of my neighbors, who have tried the same 
thing, complain that the rye pasture gave their milk a strong 
peculiar flavor early in the spring. They also complain that the 
rye has made some of their colts and cows sick. One of our cow 
doctors claims that the rye is all right before it heads out, but 
will not do for stock after it is in the blossom. 
Ans. —What Mr. Bancroft said was that rye gave 
the poorest stock food of any of the grains. The rye 
stems are very stiff and hard, and when cut after 
blooming, we find that stock do not eat it as readily 
as they will hay of wheat or oats. Rye is useful as a 
pasture. It grows readily on poor ground, and makes 
a quick, heavy growth which affords a good bite early 
in spring. When the cows first go on it, the milk 
sometimes has a “strong” taste and smell, but we 
have not detected this after several days’ pasturing. 
We have not had any trouble with stock being made 
sick by eating the rye. As the rye becomes old 
enough to head, it is tough and woody, and stock will 
not care for it any more than they will for dried up 
grass in the summer pasture. From our own experi¬ 
ence, we would not advise the use of early-cut rye for 
hay—as wheat or oats make much better fodder. 
Wherever winter oats will thrive, they are much pref¬ 
erable to rye for hay. As a stock food, we would 
limit rye to pasture—feeding it off closely in the 
spring, and plowing the pastured rye for corn or some 
similar crop. 
Crimson Clover and Cutworms. 
FI. L., Dubuque, la .—I am thinking of sowing some Crimson 
clover in my corn ground, where I intend putting early cabbage 
next year. Will the Crimson clover act as a harbor for the propa¬ 
gation of cutworms ? I wish to use the clover only as a green 
manure. 
Ans. —You need have no fear. I have repeatedly 
turned under this clover for tomatoes, without any 
trouble from cutworms. In fact, I have never had 
trouble from these insects when turning under the 
ordinary Red clover. It is the Timothy sod that har¬ 
bors them. I well remember growing corn on a clover 
sod without injury, while corn growing in an adjoin¬ 
ing field on Timothy sod, was nearly all destroyed by 
cutworms. m. ii. beckwith. 
Delaware Experiment Station. 
Treatment of Night Soil. 
S. II., Newport News, Va .—I have used night soil with a mixture 
of marl for fixing the ammonia, and then drying it by natural 
air, adding kainit afterwards. Were I to add the kainit in com¬ 
post, it would prevent it drying almost indefinitely by natural 
air. If I mix, say, 8,000 pounds of fecal matter when green, and 
500 pounds of kainit, and dry the mixture at 280 degrees of steam 
heat, would I lose the larger portion of ammonia, phosphoric acid 
and potash ? If so, can you suggest a plan of drying ? I have had 
good results from the use of night soil treated as described with 
marl and kainit; but since reading the article, applying the kainit 
with the green matter for retaining the ammonia, seems good, 
and I would like to adopt it if I can dry it under a quick process 
(so that it would go through a drill) without losing the plant food. 
Ans. —You would lose neither phosphoric acid nor 
potash in the process described. It is not possi¬ 
ble to say whether kainit in the proportion sug¬ 
gested would entirely prevent the fermentative by 
which ammonia is formed from urea, or retain the 
ammonia already formed ; probably it would not. An 
experiment alone could determine this. Marl, which 
contains a considerable amount of carbonate of lime, 
will not “ fix,” but rather help to liberate ammonia 
from night soil when dried with it. VVe apprehend 
that no process of drying night soil by artificial heat, 
can be devised which will not create a public nuisance, 
or which will furnish a product valuable enough to 
make the process pay. 
