684 
Che  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
filly  careful  observers  failed  to  discover  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  any  clover.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was 
here  and  there  a  small,  feeble,  yellowish  White  clo¬ 
ver  plant.  In  early  Spring  the  pasture  surface  was 
literally,  as  viewed  from  a  distance,  as  white  as  the 
driven  snow,  being  thickly  studded  with  bluets, 
(Houstonia  coerulea ).  in  .Tune,  when  the  bluets  had 
disappeared,  the  bright  yellow  flowers  of  five-finger 
tPotentilla)  gave  the  pasture  turf  a  golden  hue. 
Close  examination  at  any  time  showed  the  presence 
of  a  good  deal  of  low,  greenish  moss.  The  presence 
of  the  plants  just  referred  to  clearly  indicated  an 
acid  soil.  It  is  needless  perhaps  to  add  that  this 
pasture  afforded  relatively  little  food.  M.v  judgment 
is  that  it  would  have  required  from  four  to  five  acres 
to  support  a  cow. 
EFFECT  OF  TOP-DRESSING,— The  top-dressing 
referred  to  effected  a  marvelous  change  within  two 
years,  a  change,  however,  which  began  to  be  appar¬ 
ent  long  before  the  end  of  the  first  season.  The  top- 
dressing  referred  to  was  at  the  rate  of  500  pounds 
per  acre  of  t.ln*  basic  slag  meal  and  300  pounds  of 
low  grade  sulphate  of  potasli.  It  was  applied  in  the 
early  Spring.  During  the  progress  of  the  experi¬ 
ment  tiie  cows  were  never  excluded  from  the  plots 
and  it  was  soon  noticed  that  they  spent  a  very  dis¬ 
proportionate  share  of  their  time  on  the  plots  and 
that  they  were  grassing  them  very  close  indeed.  In 
spite  of  these  facts  White  clover  steadily  made  its 
way,  while  the  grasses  showed  greatly  increased 
vigor.  Within  two  or  three  years,  the  top-dressing 
being  annually  repeated,  the  following  changes  took- 
place:  Bluets  and  five-finger  were  almost  entirely 
driven  out.  The  moss  disappeared.  In  place  of  the 
weak  turf  a  strong,  rich  turf  made  up  of  White  clo¬ 
ver  and  good  pasture  grasses  developed,  and  it  was 
almost  the  literal  truth  that  it  would  have  been  im¬ 
possible  to  touch  tbe  point  of  a  finger  to  any  part  of 
the  turf  of  the  plots  without  coming  into  contact 
with  White  clover  leaves.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
renovated  pasture  will  easily  support  a  cow  to  the 
acre.  [pkof.]wm.  p.  brooks. 
The  Facts  About  Sweet  Clover 
THE  discussion  about  Sweet  clover  now  going  on 
brings  out  some  curious  and  contradictory  state¬ 
ments.  There  are  many  farmers  of  good  reputation 
and  long  experience  who  think  this  Sweet  clover  is 
to  prove  the  most  useful  crop  to  be  considered  in 
many  parts  of  the  Eastern  States.  They  claim  that 
as  a  pasture  plant  the  Sweet  clover  has  no  superior; 
that  it  will  grow  under  harder  conditions  than  Al¬ 
falfa  can  endure  and  that  it  will  prepare  the  land 
for  Alfalfa  in  many  loeultiies  where  the  latter  crop 
never  could  make  a  living.  As  a  cover  crop  in  or¬ 
chards  it  is  highly  recommended  by  some  good  fruit 
growers,  who  cut  it  early  and  pile  the  crop  around 
the  trees.  Unquestionably  its  ability  to  endure 
rather  hard  treatment,  and  tbe  fact  that  it  obtains 
nitrogen  from  the  air,  will  give  the  Sweet  clover  a 
place  on  many  an  Eastern  farm.  On  ihe  other  hand, 
many  farmers  claim  that  the  plant  is  a  weed,  and 
that  it,  will  make  more  trouble  and  do  more  barm 
than  almost  anything  a  farmer  can  put  into  bis  land. 
We  wrote  a  prominent  seedsman  recently  asking  if 
be  could  supply  the  seed.  He  wrote  back  that  he 
could,  but  that  lie  felt  be  ought  to  say  that 
personally  he  would  not  permit  a  seed  of  tbe  Sweet 
clover  ever  to  sprout  on  bis  own  land,  as  he  re¬ 
garded  it  as  a  weed  and  not  desirable  anywhere 
that.  Alfalfa  or  Alsike  or  Bed  clover  would  grow. 
We  all  must  consider  both  sides  of  this  matter  be¬ 
fore  using  Sweet  clover  on  our  land. 
Personally  we  have  become  convinced  that  the 
Sweet  clover  is  well  worth  trying  in  northern  New 
Jersey,  and  we  are  planning  this  year  to  seed  it 
under  a  number  of  varying  conditions  so  as  to  give 
it  a  thorough  try-out.  As  for  the  question  whether 
the  Sweet  clover  is  a  weed,  we  think  the  following 
statement  from  the  North  Dakota  Agricultural  Col¬ 
lege  is  very  fair: 
Is  Sweet  clover  a  weed  or  a  farm  crop?  In  some 
cases  it  may  be  a  weed,  but  in  other  eases  it  is  a 
farm  crop  and  a  valuable  one.  From  the  standpoint  of 
a  weed,  Sweet  clover  is  not  hard  to  gel  rid  « . I'.  It  pro¬ 
duces  seed  the  second  year  after  sowing.  That  is.  the 
plant  has  t>>  be  h*ft  undisturbed  two  Summers  before 
it  can  produce  seed.  Even  along  roadsides  thick  with 
Sweet,  clover,  it  does  not  spread  into  grain  fields.  It 
will  work  into  a  meadow  that  is  left  a  good  many  years. 
As  a  farm  crop  Sweet  clover  has  many  advantages.  Its 
vigorous  growth  under  severe  conditions  makes  il  es¬ 
pecially  valuable  on  poor  land  for  adding  nitrogen  and 
humus,  as  well  as  for  hay  and  pasture. 
While  most  of  the  conditions  on  the  Atlantic  slope 
are  different,  we  believe  that  the  Sweet  clover  is 
one  of  those  crops  which  should  be  thoroughly  tried 
out.  We  have  never  recommended  plunging  into 
it,  or  seeding  the  whole  farm  with  this  crop  to  start 
off,  as  we  consider  till  such  advice  dangerous,  un¬ 
less  a  man  is  a  crop  gambler  and  perfectly  willing 
to  take  chances,  and  find  no  complaint  if  they  go 
wrong.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  many  other  crops, 
like  Sudan  grass  for  example.  Most  of  us  have  ob¬ 
tained  satisfactory  results  from  the  old-time  crops 
such  as  oats  and  peas,  Japanese  millet.  Soy  beans 
and  other  old  favorites.  It  would  he  a  foolish  tiling 
to  discard  all  these  tested  crops  and  plunge  heavily 
upon  some  untried  novelty.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  a  wise  thing  to  try  the  new  ones  out,  and  give 
them  conservative  experiment. 
Potato  Soils  and  their  Preparation 
The  Story  Thoroughly  Told 
Part  III. 
FFEOT  ON  FOLLOWING  CROPS.— It  is  not  fair 
to  charge  t lie  potatoes  with  more  than  part  of 
the  cost  of  the  fertilizer  used.  1  have  found  that 
the  oats  and  hay  following  are  helped  also.  For  a 
number  of  years  I  made  careful  experiments  with 
fertilizers  on  potatoes,  using  different  combinations 
of  elements.  Very  striking  results  showed  in  the 
hay  crop  two  years  later.  The  unfertilized  spaces 
where  the  check  rows  of  the  experiment  had  been 
showed  only  Timothy  and  Bed-top  with  a  little  Al¬ 
sike  clover.  Tbe  rows  fertilized  with  nitrate  of  soda 
were  the  same,  its  that  is  all  used  up  the  first  year. 
The  rows  fertilized  with  acid  phosphate  and  potash 
could  be  seen  from  a  long  distance  by  tbe  stand  of 
Bed  clover  and  Timothy.  Some  Alfalfa  seed  that. 
Was  in  the  mixture  grew  on  these  rows  too.  In 
England  their  long  experience  with  fertilizers  lias 
resulted  in  laws  by  which  a  tenant  leaving  a  rented 
larm  must  be  paid  by  the  owner  or  the  succeeding 
tenant  for  definite  fractions  of  tbe  value  of  the  fer¬ 
tilizer  be  has  applied  during  bis  term  of  occupation, 
'l'bis  proportion  varies  with  different  materials,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  part  which  experience  lias  shown  that 
each  will  have  left  in  the  soil  unused. 
FERTILIZER  MATERIALS.— We  buy  fertilizers 
to  get  three  plant  food  elements  in  more  available 
form  than  they  are  found  in  tbe  soil.  These  are 
nitrogen,  often  spoken  of  as  ammonia,  phosphorus 
in  the  form  of  phosphoric  aeid  and  potassium  in  tbe 
form  of  potash.  Nitrogen  is  tbe  element  which  gives 
large  size  and  dark  green  color  to  plants.  I’hos- 
1  horns  is  essential  to  the  proper  ripening  of  crops. 
It  is  the  element,  most  often  lacking  in  our  soils. 
Potash  helps  in  the  formation  of  starch.  It  is  much 
more  plentiful  in  tin*  soil  than  the  other  two.  These 
cannot  be  bought  in  chemically  pure  form.  Instead 
we  buy  in  the  market  the  materials  from  various 
Sources  in  which  they  are  found  in  combination. 
There  are  many  such  materials,  but  the  great  bulk 
of  our  fertilizers,  both  mixed  and  umnixed,  comes 
from  few  sources.  Nitrate  of  soda  from  Chili  is  the 
most  soluble  form  of  nitrogen,  sometimes  going  into 
solution  for  the  plants  in  a  few  hours.  It  is  the  best 
form  of  nitrogen  for  garden  use.  and  to  start  bay 
curly  in  the  Spring,  and  is  good  to  supply  part  of 
tbe  nitrogen  for  potatoes.  Sulphate  of  ammonia, 
a  bv-prodnet  of  coke  and  gas  manufacture,  is  next 
quickest  available.  Most  of  tbe  nitrogen  in  mixed 
fertilizers  comes  from  organic  sources.  Cottonseed 
meal  is  used  in  the  South.  Dried  blood,  dried  fish, 
tankage,  animal  bone  and  leather,  etc.,  have  their 
nitrogen  available  to  plants  in  about  that  order.  As 
a  rule  the  higher  the  price  per  ton  of  mixed  fertil¬ 
izers  Ihe  higher  is  the  grade  of  the  nitrogen  con¬ 
tained  and  tbe  cheaper  per  pound  of  actual  value. 
Acid  phosphate,  made  by  treating  tbe  fossil  bones 
from  tbe  mines  in  the  South  with  sulphuric  acid,  is 
tbe  best  and  quickest  soluble  form  of  phosphoric 
acid.  Tbe  word  acid  and  the  use  of  too  small  quan¬ 
tities  has  created  a  prejudice  against  its  use  which 
is  unfounded.  The  phosphoric  acid  in  animal  mat¬ 
ter  is  slower  acting,  until  in  animal  bone  it  is  too 
slow  for  use  on  potatoes  unless  treated  with  acid. 
Potash  sails  come  from  Germany  and  are  now  out 
of  the  question  for  use  as  fertilizers  on  account  of 
the  high  price  for  use  in  making  explosives. 
STABLE  MANE  RE.— Potatoes  can  use  stable  ma¬ 
nure  with  profit  on  most  farms  because  of  (lie 
value  of  the  increased  yield  secured.  There  is  some 
danger  of  increasing  scab  by  too  large  quantities. 
Stable  manure  is  very  high  in  nitrogen,  so  some 
acid  phosphate  should  be  used  with  it  to  balance  and 
(liable  the  potato  plants  to  mature  tubers  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  large  tops  which  the  manure  causes. 
It  should  be  used  in  Fall  and  Winter  before  plant¬ 
ing.  Even  better  where  possible  is  the  use  on  the 
meadow  previous,  securing  an  increased  yield  of 
bay  and  a  heavier  sod  for  humus. 
APPLYING  FERTILIZERS.— Two  general  meth¬ 
ods  are  in  use  in  applying  fertilizer,  based  on  dif¬ 
ferent  ideas.  One  is  to  place  a  small  quantity  in 
the  soil  close  to  the  seed  with  the  idea  that  it  is 
to  act  as  tt  starter,  supplying  quickly  available  nour¬ 
ishment  to  the  young  plant  just  as  soon  as  the  feed¬ 
April  29,  1916. 
ing  roots  start.  In  this  way  the  plant  develops 
quickly  at.  this  time  and  gets  established  in  the  soil 
sooner.  Old  potato  growers  used  to  place  a  small 
handful  of  fertilizer  near  each  hill.  Now  machine 
planters  place  it  in  the  drill  furrow  in  a  strip  a  few 
inches  wide.  Two  dangers  are  found  in  this  prac¬ 
tice.  One  is  that  the  quickly  soluble  parts  of  the 
fertilizer,  particularly  potash,  may  make  such  a 
strong  solution  in  the  soil  water  that  the  roots  may 
be  burned  in  dry  times.  The  other  is  that  the  young 
plant  that  is  thus  born  with  a  silver  spoon  in  its 
mouth  may  get  lazy.  Its  roots  may  prefer  to  stay 
where  they  have  found  such  good  feeding  and  fail 
to  spread  out  through  the  soil  as  they  should. 
New  York.  daniel  dean. 
The  Nurseryman’s  Side  of  Tree  Insurance 
OMETIME  ago  (on  page  1470,  Dec.  IS,  1915) 
Prof.  F.  C.  Sears  had  an  article  favoring  the 
practice  of  those  nurserymen  who  undertake  to 
guarantee  to  reimburse  fruit  growers  who  have  been 
injured  by  receiving  trees  which  were  untrue  to 
name.  Tt  is  my  belief  as  well  as  that  of  many  other 
nurserymen  that  there  are  two  sides  to  this  ques¬ 
tion.  Personally  I  feel  that  efforts  are  being  made 
to  grow  trees  true  to  name  and  first-class  in  every 
respect,  and  to  sell  a  good  article  til  a  fair  price, 
and  during  the  last  few  years  at  a  low  price,  not  an 
adequate  price,  for  few  nurserymen  paid  expenses 
during  the  last  two  or  three  years  on  fruit  trees 
grown  by  themselves.  The  trees  have  not  been  paid 
fur.  They  have  been  sold  below  cost.  It  is  my  be¬ 
lief,  therefore,  that,  it  is  all  tin*  nurseryman  can  do 
to  look  after  bis  own  business  and  that  insurance 
especially  at  present  prices,  is  a  separate  business, 
and  in  addition  it  would  require  a  firm  to  have  an 
enormous  output:  to  warrant  them  embarking  in  the 
insurance  business.  Few  corporations  undertake 
such  a  tiling,  and  practically  no  individuals,  unless 
they  ore  in  a  most  extensive  enterprise. 
We  have  guarantee  and  insurance  companies  who 
make  a  careful  study  of  all  risks  and  devise  pre¬ 
mium  lists  which  are  adequate  to  cover  the  risks 
and  losses  and  leave  a  profit.  If  one  gives  a  guar¬ 
antee  of  this  nature  be  is  removing  the  risk  of  error, 
and  in  the  minds  of  every  other  business  man  this 
risk  of  error,  if  removed,  must  lie  paid  for. 
The  price  of  trees  as  they  have  been  sold  recently 
lias  not  been  adequate  to  pay  for  the  trees,  much 
less  for  insurance.  I,  in  common  with  many  others, 
am  perfectly  willing  to  insure  trees  if  insurance  is 
paid,  but  not  to  insure  trees  when  tbe  trees  are  not 
paid  for,  and  I  know  that  many  men  are  perfectly 
willing  so  to  arrange  their  methods  that  if  the  in¬ 
surance  companies  make  classes,  class  A  being  tbe 
(  ne  in  which  the  lowest  premium  Is  required,  they 
will  try  to  get  into  class  A.  In  other  words,  guar¬ 
antee  companies  would  soon  devise  a  score  card,  and 
if  a  nurseryman  and  bis  record  and  bis  ways  of  do¬ 
ing  business  put  him  in  class  A.  the  premium  which 
would  be  additional  to  the  price  of  the  trees  would 
be  tbe  lowest,  and  in  that  way  the  man  doing  bis 
work  carefully  would  have  an  incentive  to  main¬ 
tain  it  at  its  highest  plane,  and  the  man  who  was  in 
class  B  would  aim  to  get  into  class  A,  but  tbe  fruit 
grower  needs  to  know  that  he  cannot  buy  something 
lor  nothing,  and  when  be  undertakes  to  deal  round 
from  A  to  B  and  B  to  C  and  eventually  find  one 
from  whom  be  can  buy  tbe  trees  at  two  or  three 
cents  per  tree  or  six  or  eight  cents  lower,  and  buys 
from  an  irresponsible  party  or  from  a  dealer,  lie 
must  naturally  expect  to  run  more  risks  than  be 
would  bad  lie  paid  a  living  price  to  a  man  who 
was  trying  to  do  conscientious  work. 
1  know  of  fruit  growers  who  come  to  me  com¬ 
plaining  about  trees  being  untrue  to  name,  who 
shopped  round  until  they  found  some  jobbers  who 
could  sell  them  trees,  which  they  had  picked  up 
from  everywhere,  at  half  the  price  at  which  a  fair 
tree  should  have  been  sold.  In  other  words,  char¬ 
acter  in  a  tree  and  the  record  back  of  the  tree  are 
of  just  as  much  importance  as  they  are  in  the  busi¬ 
ness  world  back  of  a  man:  they  cost  time  and  appli¬ 
cation  and  skill  to  acquire  and  all  of  them  have  to  be 
paid  for.  1  have  waited  to  see  if  anyone  would  re¬ 
ply  to  tbe  article  of  l’rof.  Rears,  and  1  wish  to  re¬ 
iterate  that  a  nurseryman's  business  is  selling  trees 
and  a  guarantee  company’s  business  is  guaranteeing 
business  risks,  and  Ihe  fruit  grower  can  have  them 
both  if  he  wants  to  buy  both  and  pay  for  both,  but 
be  cannot  huve  two  things  for  the  price  of  one. 
•'When  somebody  offers  to  give  you  something  for 
nothing  (even  if  it  is  a  guarantee  on  trees)  yell  for 
a  policeman."  samuel  eraser. 
New  York. 
England  and  Germany  are  brought  together  over  one 
thing  at  least — tbe  birthday  of  Shakespeare.  The  three 
hundredth  anniversary  will  be  celebrated  all  over  Ger¬ 
many. 
