326 
Vbt RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
March 4, 1922 
Profitable Farming 
Your farm is worth to you just 
what it will produce in crops. 
Whether you market your grain 
and hay, or feed 
it to live stock, 
your profits are 
determined by 
your yield. 
Every bushel of 
corn or ton of 
hay you get 
above the cost of 
production means profit. 
Fertilizers reduce the cost of pro¬ 
duction because they increase the 
yield with the same amount of 
labor. 
You not only will get more 
bushels of corn, more tons of silage 
per acre, but each bushel or ton 
will have greater feeding value. 
USE Y-C FERTILIZERS and in¬ 
sure interest on 
your investment 
in land, labor and 
equipment, by 
large yields of 
high quality 
crops. 
Write our Agri¬ 
cultural Service 
Bureau for suggestions on how 
to use fertilizers most profitably. 
Ask for our V-C Crop Book on 
Corn Growing. Address any V-C 
office. 
V-C 
Fertilizers 
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL COMPANY 
INCORPORATED 
Cincinnati, Ohio 
Fort Wayne, Ind, 
Now York City 
Baltimore, Md. 
Richmond, Va. 
Norfolk, Va. 
V-C Sales Offices 
Alexandria, Va. Columbia. S. C. Columbus, Ga. 
Durham, N. C. Atlanta, Ga. Gainesville, Fla. 
Winston-Salem, N. C. Athens, Ga. Jacksonville, Fla. 
Charleston, S. C. Savannah, Ga. Sanford, Fla. 
Memphis, Tenn. 
Mt. Pleasant,Tenn 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Mobile, Ala. 
Montgomery. Ala. 
Shreveport, La. 
BATAVIA TIRES and TUBES 
Direct to you 
Users say: **GREATEST TIRES EVER BUILT” 
The Batavia Rubber Company is the only standard tire 
manufacturer now selling tires with a mileage guarantee. 
In Batavia Tires you buy guaranteed mileage. 
Our prices are lower than for any other standard tire, yet we 
absolutely guarantee our tires, as heretofore, 5,000 miles on our 
Red Seal Fabrics and 12,000 miles on Cords. 
Send check, express or money order, or we will ship C. 0. D. 
Shipping Charges collect on Cords. 
Shipping Charges prepaid on Fabrics up to and including the third 
postal zone. 
SIZE 
Style 
BEAD 
PRICE 
SIZE 
Style 
Bead 
PRICE 
FABRIC 
CORD 
• 
FABRIC 
CORD 
28 x 3 
Clin 
$ 7.50 
36 x 4 
Clin 
SS 
$20 00 
30 x 3 
«« 
— 
8.00 
32 x 4 V z 
ss 
23.00 
34.00 
30 x VA 
«• 
— 
9.50 
15.00 
33 x 4'A 
ss 
25.00 
36.00 
32 x 3>/ 2 
« 
ss 
12.50 
20.00 
34 x 4>/ 2 
— 
ss 
27.50 
38.00 
34 x 3 T /2 
it 
ss 
13.50 
35 x 4>/ 2 
— 
ss 
28.50 
31 x4 
— 
14 50 
36 x 4'/ 2 
ss 
29.00 
32 x 4 
ss 
15 50 
27 00 
37 x 4>/ 2 
QD 
29.50 
33 x 4 
Clin 
ss 
16.50 
28.00 
33 x 5 
ss 
40.00 
34 x 4 
ss 
17.50 
29.00 
35 x 5 
QD 
ss 
30.00 
45.00 
35 x 4 
ss 
18.50 
37x5 
QD 
ss 
34.50 
We also make 30x3'/ 2 Straight Side Cords. 
THE BATAVIA RUBBER COMPANY 
Batavia, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
Fertilizers and Fruits 
Color in Fruit as Influenced by 
Fertilizers 
A certain relation exists between the 
degree of; maturity of fruit and color. 
Conditions, whether they are attached to 
variety, soil or season, that favor matur¬ 
ity. also favor the development of color 
in fruit. On the contrary, anything that 
would) tend to delay maturity would also 
delay the development of a satisfactory 
color. Thus, an excess of nitrogen in the 
soil, whether it. he derived from manure 
or commercial fertilizers, or whether it he 
developed in the soil itself through the 
stimulation of the activities of bacteria, 
would serve to retard color development. 
The effect would he both direct in the 
sense that vegetation growth would be 
stimulated, and indirect in that the dense 
foliage would reduce the intensity of the 
sunlight. Indeed, an excess of nitrogen 
is not the only plant food factor that 
would tend to delay the development of a 
satisfactory color. Lime and phosphoric 
acid may also he used so as to delay ma¬ 
turity. Available phosphoric acid is 
known to encourage the activities of fungi 
and bacteria which produce ammonia in 
the soil. Lime favors the activities of 
bacteria which produce ammonia as well 
as nitrates in the soil. In other words, 
lime and soluble phosphates may he in¬ 
directly equivalent to applications of ni¬ 
trogenous fertilizer's in so fur as color de¬ 
velopment in fruit is concerned. 
Much lias been written by botanists 
and soil investigators on the effect of pot¬ 
ash iu plant production. We are told, for 
instance, that potash is necessary for the 
normal production of carbohydrates, such 
as starches and sugars. Crops rich in 
starches or sugars, such as potatoes, sweet 
potatoes, or sugar beets, etc., would nat¬ 
urally respond to applications of potassic 
fertilizers. We are told, likewise, that 
potash favors the activities of nitrogen¬ 
fixing bacteria: hence, favors the growth 
of legumes and the accumulation of nitro¬ 
gen from the air. Where potash is not 
supplied in sufficient amounts, certain 
plant diseases may be more prominent. But 
after all, the investigations on the use of 
potash in connection with the growing 
of fruit are valuable on their negative 
rather than positive side. We know that 
trees will not grow vigorously where pot¬ 
ash is not available in sufficient quanti¬ 
ties. We know that, under such circum¬ 
stances disease problems will become more 
important. The facts in the case are that 
apple trees growing on medium or heavy 
land do not. in most instances, softer for 
lack of potash, even though no manure 
or potash, fertilizer is employed. Rather 
satisfactory evidence on this point is 
found in the investigations of the New 
York (Geneva), the Pennsylvania, the 
West Virginia, the New Hampshire, and 
Ohio Experiment Stations. Prof. Hed¬ 
rick is quite definite in stating, on" the 
basis of experimental results covering a 
period of 15 years, that: “The trees in 
this experiment would have been prac¬ 
tically as well off had not an ounce of 
fertilizer been applied to them. One 
must conclude that, if fertilizers have no 
value in this orchard, they have no value 
in many other orchards in New York." 
To this he adds: “The day soil in this 
orchard is a very favorable one upon 
which to try to influence color, since it Is 
common knowledge that apples take ou 
bright colors on sandy soil and run to 
dull or greeu lines on clays. The annual 
notes on color for these geveu crops of 
apples can he summed up with the ex¬ 
pression for each crop: ‘No difference in 
color can be noted.'” In another place 
lie tells us that “Color in fruit in New 
York is usually an indication of vigor in 
a tree. Other things being equal, the 
more vigorous the tree, with the red apple 
like the Rome, the more green is the fruit. 
The fact that the fruits of the several 
plots of this experiment are all colored 
alike is another proof that the fertilizers 
have not affected the growth of trees,” 
In Bulletin 153 of the Pennsylvania 
Experiment Station, Prof. Stewart re¬ 
ports experiments covering a number of 
years, nud carried on with 1,172 trees, 
of all ages up to 30 years. Eight differ¬ 
ent locations and seven soil types were 
involved in these experiments. In a num¬ 
ber of tests fertilizer applications gave 
positive and profitable returns. Applica¬ 
tions of nitrogen iu one form or other 
have usually returned a profit, and ad¬ 
ditions of phosphoric acid and potash to 
the nitrogen have still further increased 
the returns. The results obtained by him 
show, therefore, the danger of assuming 
that thei use of fertilizers would Hot pay 
under any circumstances. Indeed, I’rof. 
Hedrick himself admits that under cer¬ 
tain soil conditions the use of fertilizer 
for fruit-growing would he justifiable. 
The main point, however,is not whether 
fertilizers may or may uot produce in¬ 
creased yields of fruit, hut whether they 
could he so used as to encourage the pro¬ 
duction of fruit with a high color. On 
this point the evidence offered by Prof. 
Stewart is much in line with that given 
by I’rof. Hedrick. Ho says: “The red 
colors in apples cannot be increased ma¬ 
terially by any kind of fertilization, al¬ 
though potash, and possibly phosphorus, 
may sometimes assist very slightly. These 
colors are directly dependent on sunlight 
and maturity, with the latter occurring 
preferably on tlm tree. Hence, such in¬ 
fluences as normal development, late 
picking, light soils, open pruning and 
mildly injurious or defoliating sprays are 
the chief practical means of increasing 
the reds in fruits, wh : l > opposite con¬ 
ditions tend to decrease them.’’ 
In Bulletin 174 of the West Virginia 
Experiment Station, Professors Aldermen 
and Crane review the work done hy oth¬ 
ers and contribute observations of their 
own on the fertilization of apple orchards. 
In their summary they bring out certain 
poiiils which serve to strengthen the con¬ 
clusions of the New York, Pennsylvania, 
and New Hampshire Stations. They say, 
among other things, that: “The average 
cultivated young orchard in West Vir¬ 
ginia is not likely to respond to applica¬ 
tions of commercial fertilizers sufficiently 
to justify their use. There are many 
cultivated hearing orchards in West Vir¬ 
ginia that will not respond to the use of 
commercial fertilizers. Late-hearing trees 
on soil of low fertility, even though culti¬ 
vated annually and cover crops used, may 
respond profitably to liberal applications 
of a desirable nitrogen-carrying fertilizer. 
No notable benefits have been derived 
from the use of potassium in the orchards 
under observation. . . . Phosphorus 
and potassium have had no effect on the 
color of the fruit, nitrogen lias do’nycd 
maturity of fruit, and. therefore, has in¬ 
directly inhibited color development.” 
Without attempting to offer any ad¬ 
ditional evidence, one would be justified 
in stating that, with a reasonably satis¬ 
factory supply of potash assured from 
soil sources, as seems to bo the case in 
most, orchards, additional applications of 
potash would he of no particular benefit 
and would surely not serve as a means of 
developing more satisfactory color in 
fruit. The accomplishment, of this pur¬ 
pose lies in Other measures, and partic¬ 
ularly those which may effect the supply 
of nitrogen in the soil and the intensity 
of sunlight, to which the fruit is exposed. 
The supply of nitrogen directly iu fertil¬ 
izers, manures, cover crops, etc., as well 
as the supply of nitrogen indirectly 
through the activities of soil bacteria and 
the content, of soil moisture may he con¬ 
trolled. and through this control the de¬ 
velopment. of color regulated. 
j. G. LIPMAN. 
Land Plaster and Plaster of Paris 
I gave an order for one or two barrels 
of plaster (Nova Scotia). It did not 
arrive, and I called at the office, where 
they said the mason had a carload, and 
also the lumber company. I said: “Oh. 
that is plaster of Paris.” This manager 
told me they were the same. I hold they 
are very different, as plaster of Paris is 
n refined land plaster. 8. A. N. 
Gypsum, or land plaster, is a sulphate 
of lime; so is plaster of Paris, the chief 
difference being in the amount of water 
they contain. When finely ground plaster 
or sulphate of lime is heated the water 
is drawn off and it becomes plaster of 
Paris. When water is added to it this 
"sets” or hardens, as most of us have 
seen it do when making casts. When this 
hard mass is crushed and ground once 
more it becomes plaster. Heating and 
grinding finely would turn it again into 
plaster of Paris. 
