1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
681 
with a simple furnace and brick and terra cotta flue 
for heating. Of course there must be a water supply, 
either a tank on the premises supplied by a windmill 
or other means, or, for a small house, a cistern and 
pump under one of the benches into which the rain¬ 
water from the roof is run, will answer fairly well. 
The space inside should be divided into four benches, 
the two outside ones each three feet wide, the middle 
about five feet, with three walks through the house. 
The heating pipes can be put under the outside 
benches, leaving the space under the middle ones for 
mushrooms if desired. Good soil, say five parts earth 
and one part well-rotted manure, that from the sheep 
yard is preferable—should be put on the benches the 
full depth of the sides, six inches, and then we are 
ready for the plants. If they are not already procured, 
a good plan for a beginner is to run the house the 
first season with some vegetable crop, such as lettuce, 
radishes, beets, tomatoes, etc., as markets and circum¬ 
stances indicate, thus becoming familiar with the 
management of the firing, ventilating, watering, and 
many other points, and getting the experience—and 
he will learn more that way than in any other—with 
ci’ops which can be easily duplicated in case of mis¬ 
takes, rather than with the more expensive carnation 
plants. Then during the winter or spring, he should 
buy 1,500 or 2,000 l-ooted cuttings of such varieties as 
are desired, plant them 2x2 inches in boxes holding 
three inches of soil, and care for them until settled 
weather in spring, when they should be planted in 
the open gi’ound, 8 x 12 inches apart, and kept well 
cultivated. Flowering shoots should be pinched off 
until early August, after which they will need noth¬ 
ing but stirring the soil, until ready to put into the 
house. A good time for this operation, according to 
genei’al practice, is fx-om September 10 to 25 in this 
latitude. The treatment after this is such in a general 
way, as would be given a crop of lettuce, etc., under 
the same circumstances, a temperature of 50 to 55 de¬ 
grees at night, with 15 or 20 higher in the day time, 
with plenty of ventilation in bright weather, due care 
given to watering, etc. 
The standard varieties in this section are Lizzie 
McGowan (white), Portia (scarlet), Anna Webb (crim¬ 
son), Thos. Cartledge (carmine), Wm. Scott (delicate 
flesh pink), Buttercup (yellow, striped with crimson); 
the last we all would like to grow, but few can 
susceed. 
There are, doubtless, many locations in this country 
where a person can easily build up a nice business in, 
supplying the local trade, aside from entering the 
general wholesale mai’kets in the large cities, where 
competition is greater, and 1 would be very glad if 
this rough sketch of carnation culture might act as a 
suggestion of a pleasant business, especially to those 
in parts of the country as yet unoccupied with any¬ 
thing in this line. c. P. barnard. 
Chester County, Pa. 
(Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of 
the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question please 
see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.l ^ 
Peaches and Plums for Virginia. 
A. F. A., Claremont, Va. —Can The R. N.-Y. give me a list of 
peaches that will ripen here, in Tidewater, Va., in September, 
and the first half of October—good eating peaches, freestone pre¬ 
ferred ? Which of the Japan plums ripen before good peaches, 
like the Early Crawford ? 
Ans. —A list of peaches that will ripen in eastern 
Vii’ginia in September and the first half of October— 
good eating peaches, freestones—is somewhat on the 
order of an “ iridescent dream.” Such varieties as 
are of the “Smock” type — Hold On, Wonderful, 
Beers’ Smock, Salway, etc.—would ripen there in Sep¬ 
tember, but the qualification of good eating peaches 
being imposed, rules them out at once as ineligible to 
the list. McCollister, a fairly good, yellow free peach, 
would ripen there in the first half of September ; so, 
also, Fox’s Seedling and Shipley—two white-fleshed 
freestones ; while for the first half of October, the 
“ Bilyen ” is about the only variety that would come 
near to meeting the wishes of A. F. A. Henrietta, a 
yellow-fleshed cling, and one of the very best for 
family canning, would ripen there during the last 
half of September. There are many late ripening 
freestone varieties of peaches, but very few, indeed, 
of the real late kinds can take rank as good eating 
peaches. I have tried several kinds of such as are 
denominated in some parts of the South as October 
peaches, claimed, too, to be good; but I invariably 
found them to have been judged by a very low stand- 
ax-d of quality. As to Japan plums, Yosebe, Red 
Nagate, Willard, Eugre, Long Fruited, Ogon, Abund¬ 
ance, Sweet Botan or Berckmans, all ripen befoi*e the 
peach named. Yosebe is not large, but ripens first 
among the Japans with me, is as fx’ee from rot as any 
of them, if not more so, and is marvelously productive. 
Abundance and Berckmans i*ipen at the same time ; 
both are large and very productive, the latter averag¬ 
ing a ti’ifle larger in size than the former, j. w. KERR. 
When to Transplant Fruit Trees. 
W.J. T., Spring Lake, Mich .—Is it just as safe to transplant 
plums, pears, peaches and cherries in the fall as it is in the 
spring ? Is it generally done ? 
Ans. —This is, in our opinion, mei’ely a question of 
climate. In severer climates than that of New Yox’k 
City, we would prefer to transplant in the spring. In 
milder climates, we would prefer the fall. 
Cutting Evergreen Sweet Corn in Barn. 
C. M. 6'., Fly Creek , N. T. —Will Evergreen sweet corn cut while 
in the milk stage and cured in the field, the ears remaining soft, 
spoil, if drawn to the barn and cut in three-quarter inch lengths ) 
if placed in a large pile as hay ? 
Ans. —We would be afraid to put a vex*y large quan¬ 
tity of such corn in a pile. Some years ago, we asked 
some such question of our readers, and found that 
several of them were cutting and storing as much as 
two weeks’ supply in this way. They used the hai’d 
field varieties for this purpose, and some of them cut 
directly into the hay mow. We do not believe that 
sweet corn stalks would keep so well ; they will heat 
much quicker than field corn stalks, even when appar¬ 
ently thoroughly cured without any ears. This is a 
case where experience is wanted. Who will give it ? 
Two Fertilizers Compared. 
“ Subscriber ,” Callaways, Va.— I am contemplating using one of 
the following mixtures on wheat : No. 1. Available phosphoric 
acid, 8 to 8*4 per cent; insoluble phosphoric acid, 6 to 6*4 j equiva¬ 
lent to bone phosphate, 30 to 31 ; potash O, 2*4 to '2% ; equiva¬ 
lent to sulphate potash, 5 to 5*4. No. 2. Ammonia, 2 to 2M per 
cent; available phosphoric acid, 8 to 854 ; insoluble phosphoric 
acid, 1 to 154 j equivalent to bone potash, 1954 to 21 ; potash Kv* O, 
1M to 1.30 ; equivalent to sulphate potash, 254 to 2.60. You will 
notice that No. 1 has no ammonia. For this, I am asked $18 per 
ton at my nearest depot. For No. 2, I am asked $25 per ton. 
Which will be the cheaper and better for rather poor, red clay 
land ? What do they mean by equivalent to sulphate of potash ? 
Ans. —Reduced to the simplest statement, these fer¬ 
tilizers contain about the following amounts of plant 
food: 
No. 1. 
Phosphoric acid, 160 pounds at 5*4 cents.$8.80 
Potash, 50 pounds at 4(4 cents. 2.25 
Total.$11.05 
No. 2. 
Ammonia, 40 pounds at 15 cents.$6.00 
Phosphoric acid, 160 pounds at 554 cents. 8.80 
Potash, 25 pounds at 4(4 cents. 1.12(4 
Total.$15.92 
The prices given are fair for comparison. As between 
the two we would prefer No. 2 for wheat, though 
neither of them is high enough in potash or ammonia 
to give satisfaction on poor land. The term “equiva¬ 
lent to sulphate of potash” has often been explained 
in The R. N.-Y. The “sulphate” is on e form in which 
potash occurs in combination with sulphur. This 
sulphate contains about half by weight of potash. The 
manufacturers undertake to show that if all the pot¬ 
ash in the fei’tilizer wei’e in the form of sulphate there 
would be twice as much weight. We regard this as a 
useless and confusing statement and we can’t see why 
the manufactux-ex-s continue to do it. 
Ammoniacal Liquor for Fertilizer. 
C., Langley, B. C. —I can get, without charge, the ammoniacal 
liquor from gas works which is said to contain 13 ounces per gal¬ 
lon sulphate of ammonia. The cost of transportation from the 
works to the farm, will be about $1 per 40-gallon barrel, or 2(4 
cents per gallon. Will it pay to haul this liquor on land low in 
nitrogen ? How should it be applied to the land, and at what sea¬ 
son of the year ? 
Ans. —Inasmuch as the ammonia in gas-liquor is 
essentially a mixture of carbonate and acetate of 
ammonia, I presume that the statement that the 
liquor contains 13 ounces of sulphate of ammonia per 
gallon, means that it contains ammonia equivalent to 
13 ounces of sulphate of ammonia. On this basis, a 
ton of the liquor would contain about 200 pounds of 
sulphate of ammonia, which is practically equivalent 
to 50 pounds of ammonia (N. Hs). Assuming that the 
liquor weighs eight pounds per gallon, it woixld cost 
$0.20 per ton to transport it to the fai’m—not includ¬ 
ing the cost of barrels—or at the rate of 12.4 cents per 
pound of ammonia. I am not aware that ammonia in 
this form has ever been used directly as a fertilizer in 
this counti-y, though we have records of such use 
in foreign countries, particularly in England, and 
recommendations and suggestions in reference to its 
use are stated as follows in Gritfith’s Treatise on 
Manures : 
“ As a rule, ammoniacal liquor should be diluted 
with four or five times its bulk of water. For grass 
lands the liquor can be applied by a water-cart, and 
will generally give an increased yield. In very dry 
weather, gas-liquor ‘ burns up the grass,’ but on the 
first appearance of rain the herbage will again spring 
up with increased luxuriance. Ammoniacal liquor 
has also proved a valuable fertilizer (applied by a 
water-cart) for cereal crops growing on clayey soils. 
For turnip and potato ci’ops, it is much better to 
absorb the ammoniacal liquor by means of sawdust, 
peat, or charcoal, and then to add bone dust to the 
mixtui’e. This mixtui*e applied in the drills gives ex¬ 
cellent ci-ops.” 
Storer, on the other hand, in his Agricxxltux’e, Vol. I, 
page 338, says: 
“The ammoniacal liquor cannot well be used by 
itself as a manxxre, becaxxse it is so bulky that the 
small amount of ammonia in it cannot be cheaply 
ti’ansported, and becaxxse it is contaminated with 
several substances that are poisonous to plants. Even 
the cai'bonate of ammonia in it might kill plants 
xxnless the liquor were mixed with some 10 or 12 times 
its bxilk of water before applying it. Cases are on 
record where a mixture of one part of the ammoniacal 
liquor with no more than three parts of brook water 
was foxind to be injurious to a variety of crops.” 
Owing to the conditions, viz., the heavy cost of 
transporting, which makes the cost per pound of 
ammonia 12.4 cents, greater even than the pi'esent 
wholesale quotations for niti’ogen in sulphate of 
ammonia, a substance perfectly safe to use, the added 
cost of dilution and application, and the possible 
danger following its application, its profitable use is 
i-ather doubtful, particularly if other nitrogenous 
materials of known usefxxlness are obtainable at rea- 
sonable prices. k. r. voorhkes. 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 
OH for the Separator. 
A. V. H., Fayette, N. Y.— Is there any way of overcoming the 
strong odor pertaining to the oil eominonly used and sold for 
separators? I contend that It imparts a certain flavor to the 
butter? Having used butter from two different creameries, and 
also in emptying the skim milk, I received distinct evidence of 
its presence. Some separators require such a quantity that it 
cannot fail to destroy the delicate aroma of the butter. 
Ans. —The better grade of oil used for separators 
has no perceptible odor, and very little flavor. It 
would impart neither to the butter, xxnless it actually 
came in contact with the milk or butter. A butter- 
maker who allows a particle of oil from the separator 
to toxxch either milk or butter, is either too dirty or 
too careless to have anything to do with the manu¬ 
facture of good bxxtter. 
Copper Solution for Celery Blight. 
L. E. T., Clinton, Mich.— In a recent It. N.-Y. is a question and 
answer about celery blight. The answer says, Spray with 
the ammoniacal copper carbonate solution. Now, will you please 
tell me in the next issue, What is the proper strength of the solu¬ 
tion for celery ? 
Ans. —The solution was used at the standard 
stx-ength, that is, one ounce of copper carbonate, 
enough ammonia to dissolve the carbonate, and nine 
gallons of water. Try the mixtui’e on a few plants 
first, and dilute it if any injury occui\ M. V. 8. 
What to Do with Old Horses. 
II ../., South Sandisjleld, Mass.— Being able to secure old horses 
at a very moderate price ($2 and less), how should I convert 
them into fertilizer in the most practical way ? I have a bone 
cutter, and intended to cut up the best parts, and dry them in 
the oven for chicken feed. Will the meat keep that way and be 
suitable for chicken feed,? Since I can realize at least $1.35 for 
the hide, I think it a good investment if put to no other use than 
fertilizing. 
Ans. — A good deal depends on the number of horses 
you can secure in a year. Machinery suitable for 
gi’inding bones, is expensive, and yoxx will find your 
greatest difficulty in making the tough leg bones and 
head fine enough to be used for fertilizer. Of coux’se, 
if you had horses enough to provide a constant supply 
of bones, you could buy an engine, stamper and mill, 
and make a px’ofit on the investment. We assume, 
however, that you will not have carcasses enough to 
do that. Don’t expect to use any of the meat for fer¬ 
tilizer. It is worth too much for animal food. The 
bone cxxttcr is excellent for fresh meat, but we doxxbt 
if you will succeed in drying it satisfactorily. We would 
rather keep a supply of hogs on hand to eat it while 
fi’esh. To dry it so it will keep well, you would be 
obliged to burn or char it, which would injui’e its 
value for feeding. Hogs would thi’ive well on this cut 
bone and meat mixed with their grain. The hard 
bones cannot be worked up to the best advantage 
v, ithout powerful machinery. The fertilizer manu¬ 
facturers steam them under a strong pressui’e and then 
crush and grind. You may burn them, or “ reduce” 
with wood ashes. Some people burn the bones in great 
bonfires built up of alternate layers of bones and 
wood. The ashes are scraped up and xxsed as fei’tilizer. 
Others use them for fuel in fires where only wood is 
ever used. By burning the bones, you will lose all 
the nitrogen, or about one-third of the fertilizing 
value they would have after being ground. To “ re¬ 
duce ” the bones, you must smash them up as fine as 
possible with a sledge or maul. Then pack them in 
a box or hogshead with layers of wood ashes, and 
keep the whole thing moist with urine. In about 90 
days, you will find the bones soft, so that they may 
be crushed into a coarse mass with a heavy shovel. 
It is a question as to which process will prove best. 
