Vie RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
555 
THE MAILBAG 
Use of Litmus Paper 
I received some litmus paper with my 
lime. It was blue when it came, and the 
dealers stated that when packed in soil 
from a field, upon turning pink it indicated 
a need of lime. I put it away in its 
envelope, opened, and today, when I went 
to use it, it was pink. When put into the 
earth it immediately changed to blue 
again, a deeper blue than originally, I 
think. Is this an indication of sufficient 
alkalinity in the soil? E. b. 
Michigan. 
Litmus paper often acts in that way. 
It is quite sensitive to any acid, and we 
have known it to change color when ex¬ 
posed to the air in certain localities. The 
fact that it turned back to blue when put 
into the soil would certainly indicate that 
the land is reasonably alkaline, and not 
particularly in need of lime. This test, 
of course, is not entirely accurate, as 
often the litmus paper is affected by other 
influences than those in the soil. In this 
case, however, there seems no doubt that 
the land is alkaline, and not greatly in 
need of an application of lime. 
Some Notes on Kudzu 
There have been numerous inquiries in 
the farm papers about kudzu vine. We 
liv,e in Northeastern Ohio, a little north 
of the. latitude of New York City. I have 
grown kud7.ii as an ornamental vine for 
years, raising from seed. The seed grew 
readily, and made strong plants by Fall, 
hut usually the plants are killed back 
some inches hehnv the surface of the 
ground the first Winter. The Spring 
growth starts slowly, as new adventitious 
buds must come out from below the frozen 
part. The next. Fall the stems have be¬ 
come woody, and are not killed hack to 
the ground. 
We have a vine of kudzu growing ou 
our windmill tower. It reached the top, 
35 ft., two years ago, and last year it 
took complete possession of the tower, 
making a solid muss of foliage that was 
very ornamental. In August we found 
chocolate-coloned, pea-shaped flowers ly¬ 
ing on the ground around the tower. We 
did not think of their being kudzu flowers 
at. first, hat later it dawned upon us that 
they could he nothing else, and one of the 
hoys climbed up about 20 ft. and threw 
down some of the fresh flower stems. 
They looked much like Wistaria, but were 
smaller. The flowers all dropped off 
without forming seed. F. ,t. tyler. 
Ohio. 
Honeycombed Soil 
Will you advise me in regard to over¬ 
coming honeycomb condition in farm 
land? It looks to me as though the water 
which seeps out along the edge of the 
hill and runs down oyer the ground is 
solely the cause. It is killing the clover 
hv this honeycombing every time it 
freezes hard. The ground slopes to north 
and west, and lies so it would he an easy 
matter to drain. Do you think tiling 
would overcome the trouble? If so. how 
deep should 4-in. tile be placed to give 
the desired results? M. F. P. 
Great Valley, N. Y. 
I should say that, other conditions be¬ 
ing normal, excessive moisture was the 
cause of the honeycombed condition of 
that land. I have seen fields of Alfalfa 
and clover in which there were sags or 
low spots where the frost action lifted 
out and destroyed these deep-rooted 
plants, while all other parts of the field 
failed to record any such condition. It 
would appear wise to run a tile drain 
along the upper side of this lot. and note 
the results, and this would tell you just 
how far apart the drains should be (o 
remove the excess of water. This drain 
should he at least P.0 in. deep over the 
tile,' and without there is an unusual 
amount of water in evidence. 3-in. tile 
would answer just as well, and the ex¬ 
pense would he much less. 
Some muck laud, even after drainage, 
still continues to show the honeycombing 
condition, although this does not matter 
where vegetable crops are raised. I 
should also try a rather heavy applica¬ 
tion of hard coal ashes on a strip of that 
soil and note results. There will doubt¬ 
less he an improvement in conditions, 
even if it does not control the condition 
described. n. E. COX. 
Destroying Quack Grass 
I have read with interest the article 
on how to get rid of quack grass by 
T. C. G.. page 176, and while his method 
may have been successful, it was rather 
expensive, as he says. A much more et" 
fieient way, which i have seen tried, and 
one that t know is successful, is to disk 
and fit the land thoroughly the latter part 
of May, and sow broadcast a thick sowing 
of buckwheat. As soon as that is about 
12 in. high, around July 1. plow it. under, 
sowing at once another crop of the same 
grain, which will mature and pay for the 
extra crop which was turned under, and 
will at the same time free the land of all 
quack roots. To he sure that all of the 
grow th is well covered, hook a log chain 
to the plow beam, letting it drag with the 
other end attached to the evener. 
F.arlvtllc, N. Y. w. h. N, 
The first guncotton-nitroglycerin 
dynamite without a headache 
D UMORITE is the first guncotton-nitroglycerin dynamite 
put on the market that can be used with a certainty that 
no headache will result. 
If you have ever suffered from “dynamite headache,” you can 
appreciate what a boon this new Du Pont explosive is to the 
farmers of this country—in this one particular alone. 
Couple with this feature its extreme economy—135 to 140 sticks 
at the price of 100 sticks of 40% dynamite with approximately 
equal strength to the latter, stick for stick. Then add its non- 
freezing feature. These advantages make it certain that 
Dumorite will be the choice of most farmers for all farm 
purposes—whether blasting stumps or boulders, or planting 
trees or ditching in dry soil. 
See your local hardware or general store merchant regarding your 
season’s supply of Dumorite. Write us for descriptive booklet 
“Farmers’ Handbook of Explosives.” 
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., Inc. 
EQUITABLE BUILDING FULTON BUILDING 
NEW YORK PITTSBURGH, PA. 
Ask your County Agent 
how the Federal Farm 
Loan System will help 
you clear your land. 
PAINT 
$ 1.25 
PER 
Gallon 
ORDER DIRECT FROM FACTORY 
We will send you as many gallons as you 
want of good quality red or brown 
BARN PAINT 
npmi receiptor remittance. We are paint special¬ 
ists mu) ran supply you 'vltli paint forum pur¬ 
pose. Tell us yonr want* and let ng quote you 
low prices. We can s.tvp Yell motley l>v snipping 
direct from our factory, Sni isfacl lonttimrantcea. 
Oil order* for thirty Ration,over we wjll impay the 
freight wtthfti u mliiM or thro* hundred mile* 
AMALGAMATED PAINT CO. 
Factory: 372 WAYNE ST.. JERSEY CITY. N. J. 
FARMS 
In Sunny Southern 
New Jersey 
Send for our free, lllustiato.l catalogue, mop end photos do- 
raK. &J3 BEAUTIFUL VINELAND 
counties, also near Cossr • cloau to Atlantic I'lty. the play, 
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the world s best umikot ; xopcinliitriR In frull and poultry 
[atm*. »K> uram. dairy trunk end reuorul farm,, a; owners' 
mweat prices. Not eonnectod with nay Ctly farm wenelca. 
We personally Inspect each and ovary farm we niTcr. Prices 
range from ,*1.000 up. Many with oulv $600 rush, stocked 
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VINELAND FARM AGENCV. 549-K Lanilii Ave., Vim-liml. N. J. 
More Power 
Engine Prices Lower 
2 H-P. Pulls 2.75 —Now $ 39.95 
4 H-P. Pulls 5.8 —Now 79.50 
12 H-P. Pulls 14.6 —Now 229.50 
30 H-P. Pulls 35.0 —Now 625.00 
All other sizes—3. 6, 8,16 and 22, cut in pro¬ 
portion—Stationary. Portable and Saw-Rig 
styles. WITTE Log Saws $50 less than others 
ask for outfits as good. I sell on Lifetime 
Guarantee against defect—9<SDay Test- 
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1898 Oakland Ave.. KANSAS CITY, MO. 
1898 Empire Bldj.. PITTSBURGH. PA. 
The Child! 
is a charming story of a child taken i 
from the poorhouse and reared and ! 
loved in a lonely farm home. The ? 
story was written by the "Hope Farm j 
Man." It is a book of 192 pages, in | 
clear readable type, on book paper 
and handsomely bound in cloth. Simi- j 
lar books sell now for from $1.00 ! 
to $1.50 each. We have a stock on 
hand and wish to close them out. We j 
will mail them, as long as they last, j 
postpaid for 25 cents. The stock must j 
be closed out. and we prefer to let jj 
any of our people who would like to S 
have Mr. Collingwood’s story have 
them. Send order to 
The Rural New-Yorker f 
333 West 30th Si., New York City j 
mmmmmmmammmmmmmm w 
When you zvrite advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you'll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
