1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
729 
able bush for planting in soils of moderate fertility. 
This is propagated easily from seed. We have still 
another plant that may be grown on dry land that is 
quite distinct in character from any of the others, 
viz : Polygonum cuspidatum. This is a rank-growing, 
herbaceous perennial. It grows in large clumps that 
are often six or eight feet high. It seems to be per¬ 
fectly hardy, and is useful in some places. 
Rhode Island Ex. Station. i„ f. kinney. 
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see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
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piece of paper.l 
Chicory as a Farm Crop. 
Subscriber , Toronto , Canada .— What is the method of cultivating 
chicory, and of preparing it for market ? What is the probable 
yield per acre ? What is the cost of a kiln, for drying it for mar¬ 
ket and how should it be erected ? In short, I want to know the 
modus operandi from sowing the seed to delivering it to the coffee 
roaster. In the last issue of The R. N.-Y. a subscriber was seek¬ 
ing information for getting rid of it, and it struck me that per¬ 
haps, when once sown, it is almost impossible to eradicate it. I 
farm 70 acres near Toronto for health and recreation, and started 
three years ago to follow the rotation of clover, grain and pota¬ 
toes ; but the price of the last is so low, 25 cents per bushel, that 
after drawing them eight miles, I am naturally tired of it. It 
occurred to me that chicory might be profitable. I suppose that 
it is cultivated in a manner similar to carrots. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. I. P. ROBERTS. 
Chicory or succory (Cichorium intybus) is a perennial 
plant found wild in many parts of Europe, and natur¬ 
alized in the United States. There are many varie¬ 
ties ; the most common one bears a blue flower. It 
has a long, carrot-like root, and leaves that resemble 
dandelion. It has escaped from cultivation, and is 
now one of the most troublesome weeds in some parts 
of the L nited States, notably in Wisconsin where it is 
said to be more difficult to eradicate than the wild 
carrot. The following table shows the average com¬ 
position of both cultivated carrots and chicory : 
Albu- Phosphoric 
Water. Nitrogen, minoids. Potash. acid. 
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 
Carrots. 85 . 22 equal to 1.37 . 28 .1 
Chicory. 80 .25 equal to 1.56 .26 .08 
The seeds are sown in the spring in drills, and culti¬ 
vated like mangels. The roots are ready to dig in 
about 18 months. They may be dried in a contrivance 
similar to that for evaporating apples—see Cornell 
L niversity Bulletin No. 100 for portable evaporators. 
As to the moral side of the question, no turpitude 
or blame can be attached to the one who raises chicory 
and sells the tops (used for greens) or the roots, so 
long as they are sold under their correct name ; yet 
one should hesitate to raise and sell chicory to a coffee- 
roasting establishment, being morally certain that it 
is to be put to bad and unlawful use. It is claimed 
that “chicory coffee” injures digestion, and is 
unwholesome in other ways. American travelers in 
Switzerland and Sweden report injury from coffee 
which is, too frequently, mixed with this root, which 
appears to have little use except to aid dishonest per¬ 
sons to commit fraud. One can forgive a man (when 
under extreme stress), for securing money by forgery; 
but what kind of a conscience must a man have who 
will deliberately mix chicory with coffee, and then 
forge the honorable name of that berry, which cheers 
without inebriating, the brave soldier od his night 
watch, and revives the weary traveler, gives new hope 
and courage and prolongs the life and smooths the 
path to the grave of the honored, gray-haired sire ? 
Then he who mixes chicory with coffee and sells it as 
coffee , not only commits forgery, but cheats his cus¬ 
tomers and destroys their health. And this he does, 
not under stress of great temptation, because an 
honorable living can be secured by selling pure coffee 
in an honest way, but for the mere love of pelf. 
Planting Black Walnut for Next Century’s Timber. 
E. T. J., Middletown, Conn. —My place has four or five miles of 
fence outside. I also have several black walnut trees which bear 
a plentiful supply of nuts. As black walnut timber is getting 
scarce, and, I understand, more valuable all the time, why would 
it not be a wise plan to take a crowbar, and bag of nuts, and 
plant one every 75 feet right around the place just inside the 
fence line ? The foliage of a black walnut tree is thin and I do 
not think that they would shade the fields too much. When ready 
to cut, they might average, at present prices, say, $20 apiece, 
which would yield per mile, if planted 75 feet apart, about $1,400. 
How long will it take a tree to reach a marketable size ? I have 
one tree that was a sapling in 1830 and will now square 18 
inches, say, for 20 feet. 
Ans. —I have no doubt that black walnut timber 
will be scarce, always bring a good price, and might 
be grown so as to yield to the next generation a good 
sum per acre, if the trees were properly cared for. I 
question, however, the advisability of starting and 
growing the trees as E. T. J. proposes. I would con¬ 
sider it a better way to plant the nuts in some good 
rich ground in rows 3% feet apart, four inches apart 
in the rows, and cultivate them in this seed bed for 
two years, at least. This would raise the plants to 
average four feet in height. Then take them up and 
set by the fence as proposed, and the trees would all 
stand regularly and do much better than if the nuts 
were planted by the fence where they might get eaten 
off or choked up with weeds and perhaps neglected. 
I would prefer to set these same plants when two 
years old in a good piece of ground well plowed and 
fertilized, setting them in rows 12 feet apart, and six 
feet in the rows, planting (500 trees to the acre. Cul¬ 
tivate the ground four or five years as often as neces¬ 
sary, to keep weeds down and the growth the trees 
will make will be surprising. Trees thus planted 
will run up with less side limbs, and would make 
long, clean bodies, while if set singly 75 feet apart, 
they would spread out large tops and short bodies 
yielding but little timber. In 20 years or so, one-half 
of the trees set in this acre could be cut out, leaving 
the rest to stand, which would leave them 12 feet 
apart each way. Those cut out should be one foot or 
more through, and make quite a saw log and con¬ 
siderable timber. The remaining 300 would, in 20 
years more, make large saw logs and yield a good 
deal of timber. If I were to plant the black walnut 
for an investment, I would set them as above, and 
give good care with some fertilizer for a few years, to 
give the trees a healthy and thrifty start. A little 
pruning, of course, for the first few years, would be 
necessary in order to work the tops up and make the 
bodies clear from limbs until the ground was suffic¬ 
iently shaded, when Nature would do the rest of the 
trimming necessary. edwin iioyt. 
Irrigation by Steam Pump. 
G. B., Narrowsburg, N. Y. — I am thinking of pumping water for 
irrigation. I thought of pumping through a two-inch pipe, and 
forcing the water through sprinklers. How much water is needed 
for irrigation ? What sort of a pump should I get and how should 
I fix my pipes ? 
Ans. —It is only a question of the distance and 
amount of water required when calculating the size 
PIPE ATTACHMENT FOR IRRIGATING PUMP. Fig. 229. 
of pump required. Not knowing the exact condi¬ 
tions, the answer must be given in a general way. 
The amount of water falling on one acre of land to 
the inch of rain fall, is 27,155 gallons ; from this you 
can decide about how much water per acre you 
require. There are two classes of pumps for this pur¬ 
pose, the rotary pump, requiring a boiler and engine 
to drive it; and the direct acting steam pump which 
takes steam direct from the boiler. The rotary pump 
does not act well under pressure, or very much suction, 
some makes requiring the pump to be set below the sur¬ 
face of the water to be pumped. The piston or direct 
steam pump works under any pressure, and the greatest 
amount of suction. In setting the pump, make the 
suction as short as possible ; be sure that this piping 
is air-tight, otherwise you will pump air as well as 
water. All piping should be water-tight, and should 
have Y-joints with bends of long radii so as to over¬ 
come the friction at the joints, see Fig. 229. When 
cutting threading and screwing lengths together, see 
that any burr left by the tool is removed so that the 
pipe is smooth and not half closed by obstructions. 
You speak of running a two-inch main ; your pump 
should have at least a two-inch discharge, which, if 
run at its highest speed, 125 strokes per minute, will 
deliver 49 gallons in that time, or 2,940 gallons per 
hour. The loss due to friction in the pipes can be 
made up by a little increase in pump pressure. Four 
one-inch sprinkler pipes can be run at once from the 
two-inch main. 
Winter Overcoat for Strawberries. 
J. W. G., Boston, Mass. —Should strawberry beds be covered for 
the winter ? If so, to what depth, and what is the best material 
to use ? 
Ans. —The main object in covering a strawberry 
bed is to keep the frost in the ground, and prevent 
the heaving and thawing of the soil that takes place 
in late winter and spring. The plan is to wait until 
the ground is frozen hard, and then cover the plants 
with four inches or more of some material that will 
pack well over them and keep in place. Strawy horse 
manure is generally used. This is excellent except 
that it fills the soil full of weed seeds. Straw, coarse 
hay, leaves are all good. We shall use the stalks of 
sweet corn and vines of Lima beans as far as they 
will go. 
What Food for Strawberries ? 
J. J. M. G., Americus, Ga. —What per cent of nitrogen, phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash should be used for fertilizing strawberry 
plants ? 
Ans. —We prefer a mixture giving, say, two per 
cent of nitrogen, nine of phosphoric acid, and 11 of 
potash. On some soils, even more potash would be 
profitable. In a general way, it is safe to advise 
three parts of fine ground bone and one part of muri¬ 
ate of potash for all small fruits. This mixture, when 
used liberally, is sure to give a satisfactory crop. 
Cotton-hull ashes of good quality, contain over five 
per cent of phosphoric acid and 25 of potash. Two 
parts of these ashes to one of bone, would give a fair 
fertilizer, and would, doubtless, be cheaper for you 
than muriate. Do not try to mix the ashes and bone. 
It is always cheaper to plant the strawberries after 
Crimson clover or cow peas, and thus avoid buying 
so much nitrogen. 
What Is Buhach ? 
11. P. N., Elutbush, N. Y. —What is Buhach for hen lice? The 
dictionary and the largest seedsman in New York City don’t 
seem to know it. Is it a good remedy for fleas ? 
Ans.— “ Buhach ” is obtained from the flowers of a 
plant, Pyrethrum cineraraafolium, which is grown ex¬ 
tensively in California. The dried flowers are ground 
into a fine dust or powder, which is death to most in¬ 
sects. It does not poison, but appears to choke or 
paralyze them. It will kill the fleas. 
Half Developed Potatoes for Seed. 
C. N. It., Canton, Pa. —Are potatoes only partly grown and 
killed by frost as good for seed asjully matured stock of the same 
variety ? 
Ans. —We think that if immature potatoes were 
planted year after year, the vines would be less vigor¬ 
ous, the product of tubers less, and more inclined to rot. 
Whether any difference could be observed in the first 
crop from immature seed, is doubtful. 
Alfalfa, Potatoes and Corn for Steers. 
P. C., New Windsor, Col.— With Alfalfa hay at $2.50 per ton, 
small potatoes at $2 per ton, and corn chop at 60 cents per 100 
pounds, what would be the most profitable ration to feed steers 
for six months, by a feeder that lias the hay, but must buy all 
else? Are potatoes worth $2 per ton, with hay and corn at the 
above figures ? 
Ans. —The following table gives a fair comparison 
of the amounts of the different nutrients in these 
three foods : 
POUNDS IN ONE TON DIGESTIBLE. 
Muscle- Fat- Pure 
makers, formers. fat. 
Alfalfa. 185 560 20 
Potatoes. 42 420 2 
Corn chop. 165 1,280 85 
The comparative values of the three foods, as meas¬ 
ured by their chemical analysis, would be about as 
follows : Alfalfa 89 cents, potatoes 29 cents, and corn 
$1.15. i’otatoes are altogether too high in price as 
compared with the Alfalfa. So is the corn chop. Yet, for 
fattening purposes, some food richer in fat is needed 
to go with the Alfalfa. We doubt whether the small 
potatoes will prove satisfactory unless cooked before 
feeding. A small quantity of the raw potatoes is an 
advantage to the animal ; but if fed heavily enough 
to “ balance ” the Alfalfa, we believe that they would 
upset the digestive apparatus, and throw the steers 
“ off their feed.” We would feed all the Alfalfa hay 
the steers would eat up clean, not over half a peck of 
raw potatoes each day, and three pounds or over of 
corn chop. 
Ensilage or Cut Corn Fodder. 
E. P. N., Nichols , Conn. —Does the souring of ensilage affect 
the milk so that city Boards of Health would be liable to object to 
its use as they do to that of brewery grains ? If corn stalks ma¬ 
tured for the ears and the ears picked, be cured in the field, cut 
with a cutter, and put in the mow, will they heat and mold ? If 
so, is there any practical way of preventing it ? 
Ans. —We shall soon begin an account of how that 
“certified milk” is made. This milk is regularly 
examined by doctors and chemists. Ensilage is fed 
to the cows that give it, which is good evidence that 
this food can be made so as to make first-class milk. 
A careless housewife might take good quinces and the 
best of sugar and “ put them up” so that they would 
come out a vile, ill-smelling mess. Just so with ensi¬ 
lage. It may be spoiled in the silo, or it may come 
out the best and cheapest winter food a cow can get. 
We have had quite a little to say about cutting up 
fodder corn in quantity. The weight of testimony is 
against it. 
Shavings for Mulch ; Starch Refuse. 
J. J., Waupaca, Wis. —1. Will shavings from a planing mill do for 
mulching potatoes ? 2. How much fertilizing matter is there in 
the refuse from a potato starch factory ? 
Ans. —1. No, not fresh from the mill. They would 
answer if well rotted, but when fresh they contain 
too much acid, and would be likely to injure the pota¬ 
toes if used heavily. 2. An average sample of this 
refuse will not be worth much more than half as 
much as ordinary stable manure. 
