T>he  RURAL  N  fc.  »V- Y  ORKER 
Live-stock  and  Maintenance  of  the  Soil 
Uses  of  Organic  Matter  in  the  Soil  and  the  Plant 
I“a«t  VII. 
VALUE  OF  MANURE. — Under  farm  conditions 
the  maintenance  in  the  soil  of  a  reasonable  sup¬ 
ply  of  active  organic  matter  is  essential  to  satis¬ 
factory  yields.  It  is  true  that  in  the  laboratory  it 
is  possible  to  grow  a  good  plant  in  an  artificial 
Everbearing  Strawberry  “Superb.”  Fig.  374.  See  page  976 
soil  without  any  organic  matter.  But  in  the  field  a 
generous  supply  of  decaying  plant  and  animal  ma¬ 
terial  is  'generally  associated  with  high  productive¬ 
ness.  The  truck  gardener  in  particular  realizes  the 
value  of  having  his  soil  loaded  down  with  fresh 
manure.  Ilia  crop  owes  it  t  value  to  its  rapid 
growth,  which  gives  a  mild  flavor  and  crisp  flesh. 
Radishes  and  lettuce  in  particular  illustrate  this 
point.  Anything  that  checks  or  interferes  with  the 
radish  makes  it  strong.  Lettuce  takes  on  a  bitter 
quality  and  loses  its  crisp  body.  It  is  fair  to  as¬ 
sume  that  the  same  principle  applies  to  general 
farm  crops  in  less  degree,  since  the  seed  of  a  plant 
is  not  as  readily  influenced  as  is  the  tissues  of  the 
leaves.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  common  exper- 
ience  that  crops  do  respond  to  additions  of  manure, 
green  crops  and  stubble  turned  under. 
EFFECTS  OF  ORGANIC  MATTER. — Tt  has  been 
the  custom  to  account  -'or  this  benefit  from  the  effect 
of  the  decaying  organic  matter  on  the  tilth,  moist¬ 
ure  capacity  and  warmth  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  by 
the  plant  food  supplied  and  that  made  available 
from  the  stores,  particularly  of  mineral  elements — 
phosphorus,  potassium  and  lime — already  locked  up 
in  every  normal  soil.  One  point  here  should  be 
noted;  namely,  that  nitrogen  as  n  plant  nutrient 
is  stored  almost,  exclusively  in  the  organic  matter, 
and  if  the  soil  is  deficient  in  organic  matter  it  is 
also  deficient  in  available  nitrogen.  In  a  rough  way 
there  is  a  correlation  here  between  the  need  for 
available  nitrogen  fertilizers  and  the  appearance  of 
the  soil.  A  light-colored  soil  that  packs  readily  due 
to  lack  of  organic  matter  is  very  certain  to  respond 
largely  to  a  nitrogen  fertilizer.  On  the  other  hand 
in  muck  soils,  which  are  naturally  rich  in  total  ni¬ 
trogen.  carrying  one  and  a  half  to  three  per  cent, 
available  nitrogen,  fertilizers  may  still  he  bene¬ 
ficial  because  the  nitrogen  present  appears  to  be 
held  in  rather  stable.  Inert  forms,  especially  in  the 
peaty  material  before  decay  has  progressed. 
II I (IIILT  ORGANIZED  PLANT  MATERIAL.— 
The  new  view  is  that  growing  plants  take  up  or¬ 
ganic  compounds — the  more  complex  substances  of 
which  plants  are  composed — directly  from  the  soil 
and  build  these  compounds  into  their  new  struc¬ 
ture.  It  is  not  necessary  that  manure  and  crop  re¬ 
sidues  he  entirely  decayed  before  their  value  can 
he  realized.  They  do  not  need  to  he  entirely  torn 
to  simple,  ultimate  molecules  by  decay  to  be  of 
service  in  the  soil.  Plants  do  not  necessarily  take 
up  their  food  in  the  simplest  compounds  of  am¬ 
monia.  nitric  acid,  mineral  salts  and  the  carbon, 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  from  the  air  and  water  in 
their  simplest  forms.  This  has  been  the  idea  of 
investigations  during  all  these  years,  and  it  is 
reflected  in  the  common  terms  used  in  chemistry 
and  in  stating  the  composition  of  fertilizers,  name¬ 
ly  as  ammonia,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  It  is 
known  that  the  young  plant  may  take  up  the  first 
products  of  decay  and  build  them  bodily  into  its 
new  tissues.  Instead  of  a  plant  manufacturing  all 
its  starch  and  sugar  and  cellulose  (fiber)  anew  di¬ 
rect  from  the  carbon  of  the  air,  it  may  use  the 
sugar  and  the  organic  acids  and  other  materials  that 
come  into  it  from  the  soil  from  decaying  manure 
and  other  sources.  It  is  as  if  the  young  plant  built 
up  its  tissues  from  made-up  sections  instead  of 
using  the  boards  and  nails  or  the  mortar  and  brick 
— speaking  figuratively — .that  would  he  used  to  build 
a  plant  in  a  soil  lacking  in  organic  matter. 
Cornell  University.  k  o  fippin 
A  Handy  Watering  System 
MANY  truckers  and  market  gardeners  are  very 
exacting  when  constructing  their  hotbeds. 
Then  during  the  early  growth  of  their  seedlings  in 
March  or  early  April  they  are  very  careful  to  ven¬ 
tilate  when  the  sun  gets  warm,  or  to  cover  the  sash 
with  mats  during  the  colder  night.  However,  after 
a  few  weeks,  the  hotbeds  get  to  be  an  old  story;  the 
rush  of  Spring  work  begins  and  the  hotbeds  are 
frequently  neglected.  During  the  last  part  of  April 
the  sash  may  he  left  off  entirely,  because  the  weath¬ 
er  is  warm,  but  the  large  plants  growing  close  to¬ 
gether  need  lots  of  water. 
The  accompanying  picture,  Fig.  375,  shows  one 
of  the  many  hotbeds  used  on  the  farm  of  Bert  Keen, 
between  Vineland  and  Millville,  N.  J.,  for  the  grow¬ 
ing  of  plants  such  as  lettuce,  peppers,  sweet  pota¬ 
toes,  eggplants  and  tomatoes.  Each  frame  is  12 
feet  wide  and  00  feet  long,  and  therefore  holds  40 
sash.  The  2xl0-inch  plank  in  the  middle  is  sup¬ 
ported  on  posts,  and  carries  the  Skinner  pipe,  with 
room  for  the  ends  of  the  sash  to  rest  on  either  side 
of  the  pipe.  The  nozzles  in  this  one-inch  galvan¬ 
ized  pipe  are  a  foot  apart  and  throw  a  tiny  stream 
about  eight  feet  high.  The  water  comes  down  in  a 
dense  mist,  gently  and  thoroughly  soaking  a  strip 
three  feet  wide  the  entire  length  of  the  bed  in  a 
little  while,  after  which  a  slight  turn  of  the  Skin¬ 
ner  pipe  will  cause  the  water  to  fall  onto  another 
strip.  The  pipes  on  each  hotbed  are  ail  connected 
to  the  water  supply  with  hose.  Everything  is  ar¬ 
ranged  so  conveniently  that  a  child  could  water  the 
Irrigation  System  on  Hotbeds.  Fig.  375 
entire  “frame  yard”  in  one  hour.  Thus,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  plants  should  be  neglected  just  when 
they  need  much  water. 
This  Skinner  system  of  irrigation,  originated  by 
a  New  Jersey  man,  is  being  used  in  hotbeds,  green¬ 
houses  and  on  lawns,  in  home  gardens  and  on  large 
commercial  fields.  The  various  companies  who 
furnish  the  irrigation  equipment  will  make  the  dis¬ 
tributing  system  to  order  complete  for  any  sized  or 
shaped  garden  patch,  or  for  other  purposes.  Those 
farmers  or  suburbanites  who  have  a  water  system 
in  their  houses  should  not  miss  this  opportunity  to 
take  advantage  of  it.  The  saving  in  one  year  will 
often  pay  for  the  entire  cost  of  the  pipe  system  and 
the  running  expenses  of  the  house  supply  for  the 
year.  r.  w.  de  baun. 
Dodge  the  Express  Company  by  Location 
I  HAVE  read  with  some  interest  the  article 
“Ruined  by  Careless  Express  Handling,”  page 
hOO,  and  as  I  have  had  years  of  experience  in  send¬ 
ing  fruit,  berries,  etc.,  by  express,  perhaps  I  may 
offer  some  advice.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  The 
it.  N.-Y.  in  the  long  run  would  do  far  more  good  in 
advising  producers  always  to  locate  near  their  mar¬ 
ket  in  driving  or  motor  truck  distance,  than  to 
locate  far  away  and  depend  on  the  express  compan¬ 
ies.  To  supply  the  home  or  near-by  market  is  the 
proper  tiling,  and  if  one  wishes  to  grow  and  sell 
perishable  produce  like  fruit,  truck,  etc.,  if  he  is 
not  properly  located  near  good  markets  sell  out  and 
locate  near  one,  or  give  up  the  business,  for  to  de¬ 
pend  on  express  companies  is  vexation  of  spirit, 
and  to  make  them  perfect  or  half-way  so  is  im¬ 
possible.  Shipping  early  fruit  from  Southern  points 
where  all  are  served  alike  may  work  fairly  well, 
but  to  depend  on  express  shipment  of  produce  to 
markets  in  the  same  latitude  in  competition  with 
near-by  growers  may  sometimes  seem  alluring,  but 
here  distance  certainly  lends  enchantment. 
975 
Tf  TJ.  P.  L.  would  have  located  near  some  one  of 
the  numerous  splendid  markets  in  New  Jersey  or 
Pennsylvania  no  doubt  he  would  have  been  highly 
successful.  His  failure  was  certainly  due  to  lack 
of  proper  judgment  in  locating,  and  no  use  blaming 
the  express  company,  but  as  it  is  let  this  and  all 
other  such  examples  he  a  warning  to  others  not  to 
locate  so  as  to  be  necessary  to  depend  entirely  on 
that  kind  of  transportation.  I  have  tried  it  out, 
and  am  through  with  it,  I  think,  for  the  selling  end 
of  a  business  is  as  important  as,  or  more  so,  than 
the  producing.  The  development  of  the  gasoline 
truck  and  the  improved  roads  in  nearly  every  sec¬ 
tion  now  brings  a  wide  radius  of  land  around  nearly 
all  good  markets  that  can  and  should  be  occupied 
in  supplying  the  home  markets,  while  the  far  dis¬ 
tant  and  cheap  lands  can  be  occupied  with  grain, 
grazing,  etc. 
The  higher  first  cost  of  the  land  is  but  little  com¬ 
pared  with  years  or  a  lifetime  of  paying  express 
charges  with  the  resultant  damage  and  lower  prices, 
com  mission  and  other  troubles.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has 
taken  up  and  pushed  some  fine  ideas,  and  now  why 
not  start  the  “grow-your-products-near-the-market” 
idea,  and  help  prevent  so  many  distant  location 
failures?  Charles  l.  todd. 
Otsego  Co..  N.  Y". 
Pennsylvania  Wants  the  Rabbits 
AS  an  orchardist  (I  have  30  acres,  peaches  and 
apples,  in  Bucks  County.  Pa.)  a  city  man,  a 
gunner,  a  wild  bird  crank  and  a  member  of  the 
Game  Commission  of  Pennsylvania,  I  have  been  in¬ 
terested  in  all  angles  of  your  articles  on  “Fruit 
Growers  vs.  Rabbits.”  As  usual  there  are  two  sides 
to  it — maybe  more.  Four  or  five  years  ago  I  had 
several  young  apple  trees  girdled  and  chewed  by 
both  rabbits  and  mice;  I  purchased  500  cheap  ven¬ 
eer  protectors  (for  about  $3,  I  think)  and  tied  them 
around  the  trunks  of  the  apples  every  Fall, 
taking  them  off  in  Spring,  after  the  snow  is  gone, 
immediately  giving  the  trunks  a  coat  of  whitewash 
mixed  with  strong  lime  sulphur  and  arsenate  of 
lead.  The  rabbits  will  not  touch  this,  and  I  have 
had  no  trouble  with  them  since,  but  this  Spring  I 
found  one  tree  girdled,  below  the  ground  line,  by 
mice.  The  mice  do  more  damage,  as  a  rule,  than 
rabbits — hut  the  fruit  grower  has  no  particular 
howl  against  city  gunners  because  of  mice!  Yet 
the  same  efficient  method  of  protection  that  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  guard  against  mice  will  absolutely  head  off 
the  rabbits. 
Anyhow,  if  you  have  too  many  rabbits  and  don’t 
"'ant  gunners — who  are  trespassers,  by  the  way,  if 
they  do  not  first  get  permission  to  go  on  a  place — 
why  not  trap  the  bunnies  and  send  them  over  to  us? 
If  it  is  not  against  your  State  laws,  set  out  box- 
traps  in  the  orchards,  gather  up  the  long-ears  and 
send  'em  over.  The  Secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Game  Commission,  Dr.  Jos.  Kalbfus,  Harrisburg, 
l’a..  will  pay  SO  cents  each  for  them.  We  put  them 
Indian  Fruit  Pickers  in  Canada.  Fig.  376.  See  page  976 
out  in  places  where  game  is  scarce  and  thereby  give 
someone  a  chance  for  a  day  in  the  open  with  his 
dogs  and  gun.  geo.  d.  gideon. 
Pennsylvania. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  cockerels,  except 
those  good  enough  for  breeding,  should  be  kept  through 
the  Summer.  Sell  or  eat  them. 
