834 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 14 
SOME FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS. 
PART V. 
As was said last week, the effect of 
lime on the potato crop is complicated. 
As a general rule, it may be said that 
liming in an acid soil hastens the 
maturity of the potato, and tends to 
increase the size of the tubers. On a 
sour soil, generally speaking, there will 
be a greater proportion of merchantable 
tubers where lime is used. On newly 
cleared woodlands, where stumps and 
brush have been burned off and fresh 
wood ashes left in the ground, the finest 
potatoes are often grown. Many farm¬ 
ers know this, hence they can hardly 
believe the statements often made that 
wood ashes produce scabby potatoes. 
Yet the statement is true as applied to 
many soils and, singular as it may 
appear, it is the lime that helps make 
the fine and fair potato, in the new soil, 
and also is responsible for much of the 
scab on the older soil. That is not hard 
to understand when we know more 
about potato scab and how it develops. 
It is only a few years since scientists 
really began to study this disease. It is 
a disease; as much so as smallpox or 
measles in humans. It is a fungous 
growth, and is spread among potatoes 
about as smallpox is “ taken ” by human 
beings. The “germs” of the disease 
may be left in the soil from a previous 
crop, or may be on the seed that is used. 
In either event, if the conditions in the 
soil are favorable , the scab will spread 
along the rows, and the crop will be 
more or less blemished. If the con¬ 
ditions in the soil are not favorable to 
the growth of this fungus, of course, it 
will not spread so rapidly. This idea 
has not been so much considered by the 
scientists who have studied this disease. 
They have mostly tried preventive 
measures—soaking the seed in corrosive 
sublimate to kill the disease that might 
be planted with it. 
Some years ago, The R. N.-Y. found 
that sulphur used in the hill or drill 
would largely prevent the spread of 
scab, and now the New Jersey Experi¬ 
ment Station is advocating its use mixed 
with the seed. It has been known, too, 
that on many soils, wood ashes and 
stable manure largely increased scab, 
while fertilizers—especially those con¬ 
taining considerable acid—reduced the 
scab. Why these different results were 
obtained, nobody knew exactly ; but 
now people begin to recognize the fact 
that the condition of the soil, whether 
acid or alkaline, has much to do with 
the spread of the disease. 
In treating smallpox, most doctors 
advocate vaccination as a preventive 
remedy ; yet some of our ablest scien¬ 
tists are opposed to it, and say that, if 
the public authorities would only take 
the proper sanitary precautions, small¬ 
pox would die out and never be danger¬ 
ous. They mean that the conditions 
favorable to the development of the dis¬ 
ease, should be destroyed, and in the 
same way, in dealing with potato scab, 
the soil should be left in such condition 
that the active principle of the disease 
will not have its best chance to work. 
Now lime and stable manure are both 
alkaline. When they are used freely on 
an acid soil, the sourness is more or less 
neutralized, and the action of bacteria 
and minute forms of life, is quickened 
because they have a better chance to 
grow. We have seen how this change 
from acid to alkaline gives the bacteria 
of clover a chance to start, and the 
theory is that, in much the same way, 
the fungous growth of the potato scab 
disease finds its best chance for develop¬ 
ment in an alkaline soil. So that, when 
we add lime, wood ashes or stable ma¬ 
nure to a soil in which the germs of this 
disease are found, we neutralize the 
acid, and give those germs just the con¬ 
dition they need for their best develop¬ 
ment. 
That is the most sensible explanation 
of the matter we have yet heard. The 
potato itself is benefited by lime and, 
like clover, will thrive best in an alka¬ 
line soil ; but so will this scab disease, 
and so, unless measures are taken to 
keep the germs out of the soil, lime, 
wood ashes or manure would better be 
used on some other crop. By soaking 
the seed in corrosive sublimate, we may 
keep the disease out of the soil, and by 
taking a new field each year for pota¬ 
toes, we can. in time, get rid of the 
germs now in the soil. Possibly the use 
of sulphur in the hill or drill, and also 
soaking the seed, may. in time, enable 
us to use lime on the potato crop with¬ 
out injury. It will be a profitable thing 
to do, if we can control the spread of 
the scab. 
Suppose we have a rotation of corn, 
potatoes, wheat, clover an I grass; where 
should the lime be used supposing it to 
be needed? We would, of course, first 
try that litmus paper test, and if the soil 
made the blue paper turn red, we would 
conclude that lime is needed, and our 
plan would be to use it in the fall after 
the potato crop. We would follow the 
potatoes with wheat or rye, with Timo¬ 
thy seed in the fall, and clover in the 
spring. We know that wheat, Timothy 
and clover, are all helped by lime—the 
Timothy and clover particularly so. By 
working the lime in with the wheat, we 
would bring it close to the plants that 
need it most, and as far as possible from 
the potatoes. After two or three years 
in sod, we would plow the meadows and 
plant corn, using all the stable manure 
on the sod. The corn crop is the one 
best suited to make use of the sod and 
manure. We would follow the corn 
with potatoes, soaking the seed in cor¬ 
rosive sublimate and using sulphur—in 
the hopper if planted with a machine, 
or scattered in the hill or drill if planted 
by hand. We would also put all the 
fertilizers used in the rotation on the 
potato crop and, as we have stated, 
apply the lime after the potato crop is 
taken off. Of course, all this applies to 
soils on which lime is evidently needed. 
Next week, we hope to give some hints 
about testing soils to learn what ele¬ 
ments are lacking. 
Live Stock Matters. 
FORKFULS OF FACTS. 
Some Illinois Chickens. —During the 
past 12 months, my 42 hens, mostly 
White Leghorns, with a few Plymouth 
Rocks for sitting, have laid 4,445 eggs, 
and hatched 351 chicks. The eggs have 
been sold for $43.58, and the chickens 
eaten or sold have brought $48.03, mak¬ 
ing the receipts from 42 hens$91.01. The 
cost of feed, oats, wheat, corn and meal 
was $21.90, leaving a clear gain of $69.71. 
Besides, I have now on hand about 40 
lull-grown young fowls, and nearly 100 
half-grown. Many of the chicks were 
hatched early in March and brought a 
high price. There have been no cases 
of gapes and cholera. The hens are con¬ 
fined most of the time in a large yard 
with a warm henhouse. k. l. c. 
Pana, 111. 
Feeding Twice a Day. —A progressive 
farmer told me that, being obliged to be 
away one winter's day, his cows had no 
noon feed ; he was surprised to find a 
larger supply of milk the next morning. 
He kept a careful record of his product 
for a week, feeding three times daily, 
then tried a week feeding twice, giving 
slightly less than a bushel of ensilage 
and a small feed of hay night and morn¬ 
ing, with the result of an increase of 
5 to 10 per cent in the flow of milk. He 
never feeds but twice daily now, and ac¬ 
counts for this increase by the fact that 
it’s the natural habit of the cow to fill 
up in the morning, lie down and rest 
during the middle of the day, and feed 
again after 3 o’clock. He believes that 
the noon feed disarranges this habit, 
and is a positive loss. Have any of The 
R. N.-Y. readers every tried this ? 
Suncook, N. H. F. E. B. 
Nasty Food for Cows. —My horse 
manure and bedding are thrown out into 
the barn yard. My milch cows eat them 
greedily. Will this be likely to have 
any bad effect on the milk? j. e. 
Caribou, Me. 
R. N.-Y.—Yes, that is bad stuff for 
milch cows to eat. They should be 
fenced away from it. There is some¬ 
thing the matter with these cows, or 
they would not show such a depraved 
taste. If the cows have plenty to eat in 
the stable, the trouble may be due to 
indigestion, or to lack of phosphate in 
the feed. If we could not feed roots or 
ensilage, we would want to give these 
cows linseed oil meal for a time. 
“The Guernsey for Me.” —In reply 
to A. J. S., page 803, I would say Guern¬ 
seys. My principal reason is that they 
are much more uniform than the Jerseys, 
there being less culls among them. We 
have had 30 full-blood cows, and the 
poorest one gave, in 285 days, 4,735.6 
pounds of milk, containing 221.9 pounds 
of fat. She failed to have a calf till 
four years old, and she acquired so much 
flesh that it impaired her work in the 
dairy. The most conclusive argument 
might be the fact that nearly every 
Guernsey breeder had Jerseys to com¬ 
mence with, and I think that it would 
be impossible to find a man that had 
changed the other way. The Guernseys 
have shown themselves to be the most 
economical butter producers in every test 
in which it has been possible for them, 
on account of numoers, to make any 
showing at all. At the Columbian Ex¬ 
position they pi’oduced butter at the 
lowest cost per pound. At the New 
York and New Jersey Stations, the 
Guernseys produced more butter and at 
a greater profit. The Guernseys if given 
proper feed and sunlight, will color their 
own butter. The grade Guernsey is, 
with the butter dairyman in Wisconsin, 
liked better than the Jersey by all who 
are acquainted with them. 
Let me close with the record of a grade 
Guernsey herd in Wisconsin. There 
were, in 1893, 20 cows in the herd, five 
two-year-olds, eight three-year-olds, and 
seven mature cows. The creamery state¬ 
ments showed that the owner delivered 
at the creamery 7,120 pounds of milk, 
and 283.99 pounds of fat from each one 
of the 20 cows. The average test was 
four per cent. The receipts were $69.54 
per cow, besides skim-milk. This was 
only five years after he purchased his 
first Guernsey bull. The Guernsey is 
the business man’s butter cow. 
Wisconsin. Charles l. hill. 
(Continued on next page.) 
In writing to advertisers, please always mention 
The Rural New-Youkkh. 
We Tan 
Cattle hides and all sorts 
of skins whole for ROBES 
and RUGS. Soft, light, 
moth-pi-oof. Get our 
tan circular. We make 
frisian, coon and galloway fur coiitu and robe*. If 
your dealer don’t keep them get catalogue from us 
The Obosby Frisian Fub Co.,Box 46 Rochester.N.Y. 
stock with Jackson’s Ear Tags. Always 
bright. Cuts through ear and brads 
with one pressure. Can’t come out. 
For registration a different number for each animal. 
Sent free. Pay If satisfactory. Write for particulars. 
JACKSON, St. Francis, Ark. 
Money in 
Vacuum Leather Oil for your harness 
and shoes. Get a can at a harness- or 
shoe-store, 25c a half-pint to #1.25 a 
gallon; book “How to Take Care of 
Leather,” and swob, both free; use 
enough to find out.; if you don’t like it, 
take the can back and get the whole 
of your money. 
Sold only in cans, to make sure of fair dealing 
everywhere — handy cans. Best oil for farm ma¬ 
chinery also. If you can’t find it, write to 
VACUUM OIL COMPANY, Rochester, N.Y. 
BEFORE 
BUYING 
ANEW 
HARNESS 
Send 2-cent stamp for 80-page Illus¬ 
trated Catalogue of Custom Hand¬ 
made Oak Leather Harness, sold 
direct to consumers at wholesale 
prices. Why not buy from first 
hands and save the middleman’s 
profit. You can buy by mail as 
well as though here In person. 
Making to order a specialty. 
KINO k CO., No. 10( hnrrb 8t., Owogo, N.Y. 
HORSE BLANKETS 
ARE THE STRONCEST, 
Awarded hlglit.t prize at World'* Fair. 
Made in 250 styles. 
Square Blankets for the road. 
Surcingle Blankets for Stable. 
All shapes, sizes and qualities. 
_ The Heal 5/A is the 
5/A BAKER BLANKET. 
Many Have Worn 16 Years. 
Thousands of testimonials. 
Sold by all dealers. 
Write us for 5/A Hook. 
Ui«i • v r> r r u CMlIC DkilaHalnkio 
DIRECT-UM BIT. 
Best Combination Bit made 
Severe or Easy. 
as you want it. 
Sample mailed, XC #1.00. 
Nickel #1.50. 
RACINE MALLEABLE IRON CO., Racine, Wis. 
THE KEYSTONE 
DEHORNER 
* Outs clean on all sides-does not crush. The 
) most humane, rapid and durable knife 
)made, fully warranted. Highest World’s 
\ Fair Award’. Descriptive Circulars F ree. 
i A.C.BROSIUS, Cochranvil'e, Pa. 
COOK Your FEED and SAVE 
Half the Cost—with the 
PROFIT FARM BOILER 
With Dumping Caldron. Emp¬ 
ties its kettle in one minute. The 
simplest and best arrangement for 
cooking food for stock. Also make 
Dairy and Laundry Stoves, 
Water and Steam Jacket Ket¬ 
tles, Hog Sealders, Caldrons* 
etc. Send for Circulars, 
D. R. SPERRY & CO., Batavia, Ill. 
Farmers’ Boilers 
TANK HEATERS, 
AND 
Galvanized Steel Tanks. 
Send for particulars. 
STAR MFG. CO., 
Middlebury, Ind. 
FEED FOR STOCK. 
We have 300 tons of Wheat Screenings, the best of 
feed for Sheep, or, when ground, good for hogs or 
cattle; 200 tons of Rye Feed, good for any stock, and 
all other grades of feed as cheap as the cheapest. 
CUTTER & BAILEY. 143 Washington St., Buffalo,N.Y 
USE 
TAYLOR’S 
FUMA 
CARBON- 
Bisulphide. 
For killlngWoodchucks, Prairie Hogs,Gophers 
and Hats, Insects in Grain, Seeds, etc. Shipped 
In 50-pound cans by the manufacturer. 
KIIYVARD R. TAYLOR. Cleveland, Ohio. 
Farm Cream Separators Send for catalogue 
P. M. SllARPLES . 1 West Chester, Pa., Elgin, Ill. 
CLEANINGS IN 
SEND FOR 
_ Sample copy of 
BEE CULTURE. 
A Handsomely Illustrated nr P CIIDDI ICC 
J Magazine, ana Catalog, of ULI. dull LILO 
FREE. THE A. 1. ROOT CO., Medina*0. 
|\|EW M AMMOTH 
Poultry Guide for I C96 F inest 
book ever published, contain s nearly 100 
pages, all printed in colors, plans for best 
poultry houses, sure remedies and recipes 
for alldiseases, and howto make poultry 
.and gardening pav. Sent post paid for 15c. 
John Bauscher,Jr., box CGfreepor t, Ill, 
Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Swine. 
Geo. W. Curtis, M. S. A. Origin, History, 
Improvement, Description, Characteristics, 
Merits, Objections, Adaptability South, etc. 
of each of the Different Breeds, with Hints on 
Selection, Care and Management. Methods of 
practical breeders of the United States and 
Canada. Superbly illustrated. About 100 full 
page cuts. Cloth, $2. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER New York. 
