1010 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
a political institution—the Railroad Labor Board— 
and tlius they are sure. The farmer feels that he 
is placed in a position where lie must pay the cost 
of transportation both ways, lie surely pays it 
when he ships goods on commission to city dealers, 
and whenever he buys transported goods the cost of 
freight or express is in some way worked into the 
price he must pay. 
It is no wonder therefore that he demands a re¬ 
duction in freight rates. With his small net labor 
earnings 
lie km vs that he 
runs a risk 
of being 
Year 
Gross Value 
of All Agricul¬ 
tural Proiluets In 
the Unlleil States 
Total Aggre¬ 
gate Compen¬ 
sation of RuH- 
way Employees 
Average 
Com¬ 
pensation 
)’t*r Year 
• a Railway 
Employees 
1911. 
. . . $8,819,000,000 
$1,108,000,000 
.$730 
1912. 
. . . 9.545.000.000 
1.210.(100,000 
737 
1913. 
... 9.850.000,000 
1,339,000,000 
7(51 
1914. 
... 9.895.000,000 
1.337.000,000 
815 
1915. 
... 10.775.000,000 
1,230,000,000 
829 
1910. 
... 15.400.000.000 
1.4(5! 1.000. OOO 
85)2 
1917. 
... 19.331.000,000 
1,739,000,000 
1,004 
1918. 
... 22,480.000,000 
2.611,000.00(1 
1.419 
1919. 
... 23,783,000,000 
2,845,000,000 
1.4 86 
1920. 
... 18,2(53,000,000 
3.6(53,000,000 
1.820 
1921. 
... 12.3(50.000,000 
2,800 000.000 
1 J58G 
1922. 
. . .*13.000,000.000 
2.(500.000.000 
1.540 
* Estimated. 
“transported" out of business unless the transporta¬ 
tion charges on his goods are reduced. The value 
of his gross product has declined $ll,000.000.ooo in 
three years, while the wage income of railroad men 
has been kept practically at war figures. Since he 
lias been forced to “deflate” his own wage income 
the farmer can see no reason why the railroad 
worker should not do the same. It looks to the 
farmer as if freight rate reduction under the cir¬ 
cumstances must mean wage reduction. He has 
done more than his share, and he loyaJly accepted 
the Government's arbitrary demands during the war. 
Now he wants to know why railroad labor should not 
dc the same without kicking or striking. 
A Watermelon Expert 
T HE picture on first page shows John Huber of 
Norwalk. Ohio, and a few of his watermelons. 
Some men excel at writing poetry, others can knock 
a man out of a prize ring, others can take a watch 
apart and put it together better than ever, and so 
on. John Huber is a melon grower and thus ranks 
with great men. And he makes a short story of 
telling about it: 
Sandy soil is the best. The ground should be plowed 
about !> in. deep and harrowed both ways. Make rows 
!• ft. apart. Dig hides 10 in. in diameter and (i in. deep. 
I put about three ipiarts of manure and phosphate mix¬ 
ture in each hole, then cover with 2 in. of soil, packed 
down firmly. Then put seeds ill and cover with 1% 
in. of soil. At the second hoeing thin plants to two in 
the hill. Cultivate about once a week until vines covet 
ground. If striped hugs bother 1 use arsenate of lead 
spray at the rate of 1 % ounces to the gallon of water. 
The manure mixture is composed of 400 lbs. acid phos* 
phate to each ton of barnyard manure, joiix iiuber. 
Short Talk About Cover Crops 
In one of your recent numbers 1 notice that you 
advise sowing buckwheat and rye together in corn at 
the last working. Isu't that too early to sow rye which 
is to be turned under in the Spring? I am trying to 
get humus into my soil, and am turning under as much 
a> I can manage. Just at present I am sowing rape 
during the last working. Last year I put in rye, but 
it was sown too la'e lo attain much growth. As I 
bought this place last year, and find it pretty well run 
down, I am sowing green stuff to turn under at every 
opportunity, and am then fertilizing the crop. 
Chester. Pa. n. k. t. 
HERE is some misunderstanding about this. 
We have not advised seeding rye and buck¬ 
wheat together in the coin. There would be too 
much shade to permit a good growth. If rye and 
buckwheat are to he seeded together if must he in 
some open place, for this can hardly be called a Cover 
crop. Even with the best of care this condition will 
usually disappoint in a dry season. Much moisture 
is needed to develop both grains. Rye and vetch or 
rye and clover may be seeded together in the corn. 
Rape gives a good Fall growth, but does not live 
over until Spring. The object of a cover crop is not 
to obtain such a large growth during the Fall. It 
is usually the quick Spring growth which fills the 
soil with humus. The chief reason for seeding such 
a crop in late Summer is that nitrates are rapidly 
formed in the soil at that time. These are very 
soluble, and as (lie Fall rains are usually heavy the 
nitrates would be washed out of the soil if it were 
left bare. When some young crop can fill the soil 
with its vigorous roots these nitrates will be taken 
up and saved. That is one of the great advantages 
in seeding a cover crop. It is also one of the chief 
reasons for using rye as a part of such a crop. The 
rye will grow under rough conditions, and of course 
we cannot expect any perfect seeding when the seed 
4 is just thrown on the ground and scratched in with 
a cultivator. There are three chief objects in seed¬ 
ing the cover crop. One is to save the nitrates, 
another is to cover the. soil during Fall and Winter, 
and prevent washing, while the other is to start a 
heavy and quick growth in Spring. This sucks con¬ 
siderable moisture from the soil, and makes it. 
quicker to work, while the quick growth produces 
a mass of tender matter which decays rapidly when 
Muck-grown Celery Blanched with Boards. Fig. 
plowed into the ground. Rye may be seeded very 
late in the season and still prove very satisfactory. 
There may he only a small growth above ground, 
but if you dig down into the soil you will find a per¬ 
fect mass of roots. Your plan of plowing green stuff 
under whenever possible is a good one. but remember 
that this green matter alone will not build up the 
soil. You must use chemicals and lime along with 
it The use of lime is necessary whenever green 
manuring is practiced. We never knew a really suc¬ 
cessful case of green manuring without lime. 
Celery Growing on Muck 
1 would like to get a little advice on growing and 
harvesting celery. 1 have about an acre of muck and I 
would like to try this in celery. There is a spring 
located on the grouud. which could be used to irrigate if 
needed. Would it he advisable to put celery on this 
ground? L. I). 
Hudson Falls. N. Y. 
1 ). asks a question which probably comes into 
• the mind of practically every farmer who lias 
swamp land or black dirt. Can celery, onions, lettuce, 
etc., be grown to advantage on that piece of ground? 
Muck or black dirt is formed by the partial decom¬ 
position of vegetable matter, usually trees, bushes 
and ferns, under water. Hence it is very rich in 
liumus or vegetable matter, and usually is very acid 
or “sour.” 
On the large muck areas it is customary to clear 
the land and plant corn and potatoes for the first 
two or three seasons. This is done so that the 
ground can be worked with horses, eliminating the 
unavoidable hand work which comes with the small¬ 
er crops. During these lirst years the soil is stirred 
so the sticks are dragged to the top and can be re- 
A Bunch of Well-grown Strict Bens. Fig. .'/do 
moved, and the weeds seeds germinate and can be 
destroyed. The soil is also pulverized, and at tin* 
end of two or three years is ready for the real muck 
crops. 
Any farmer going into the black dirt business 
should do so with his eyes wide open. This is a 
business all in itself, and one should study markets, 
shipping facilities, the labor problem and the crop 
itself, before going into muck crops on a large scale. 
August 10, 10212 
The average farmer lias neither the time, equipment 
nor help to grow many acres of muck crops. 
To grow an acre of celery, as L. 1>. suggests, one 
should have black dirt at least or 4 ft. deep, pro¬ 
vided that if is well drained. Muck that is 15 to 20 
ft. is better, but 5 to 4 ft. is the minimum require¬ 
ment. Black ash or elm muck lambs arc considered 
best, and are called strong muck lands. A constant 
supply of water is essential, hence the value of muck 
lands with the water level but a few feet below the 
surface. Muck that is shallow, with a quicksand 
subsoil, is not of the best, and should be avoided. 
Willi tbe celery, an ounce of seed will produce 
from 7.000 to 10.000 plants. The number of plants 
per acre depends on the distance between the rows. 
With rows 5 ft, apart and plants 0 in. in the row, 
nearly 30,000 plants can be set on an acre. The 
plants are generally set at this distance when 
boards are used for blanching. When blanching 
with soil, lin* rows are generally made 4 ft. apart, 
and about 20.000 plants can be set; 25,000 to 30.000 
ft. of lumber is required to blanch an acre, and 1-in. 
boards that are 10 toli in. wide are generally used 
in this section. These are cleared together and can 
lie used over and over. Composition roofing material 
is used in some sections, but mu* must be sure that it 
is free from tar. as tar flavors tlie stems. The paper 
is cheaper than wood, but does not last as long. 
Manure is almost an essential in growing muck 
crops. The muck is in its present form because of 
the lack of tiny bacteria which change the partly 
decayed vegetable matter so that it is available for 
plant use. These bacteria are present in manure, 
and when added to the black dirt they immediately 
get to work so that much better crops are secured. 
We start our celery in muck in shallow flats in 
the greenhouse. The plants are then set in rows and 
water given whenever possible. Crates must be pre¬ 
pared previous to the harvest, and a visit to a large 
growing section, studying the practices, will be time 
well spent. Over so per cent of the celery grown is 
the Golden Self-blanching variety. Giant Rascal is 
also a good late variety. Fig. 434 shows celery be¬ 
ing blanched with boards on the muck lands outside 
Rome, N. Y. This is a large growing section, and a 
great deal of the crop is sent to the large city mar¬ 
kets. 
Celery requires a great deal of hand labor after 
setting in the field, and unless help is available at 
this period one should not attempt to grow this crop. 
The shuttle hoe pictured occasionally in The It. N.-Y. 
is a convenient tool, and much band weeding can he 
eliminated through its constant use. I should start 
celery growing on a very small scale and increase the 
acreage as I got on to the fine points of the game. 
There are plenty of chances to sink money in muck 
crops, as well as to make the hundreds per acre as 
advertised. t. h. townsend. 
Grass Seeding in the Hudson Valley 
Y OCR render inquiring about cover crops to plow 
under on a clay flat in the Hudson Valley 
should be advised that when the farmers in a given 
locality follow some certain general practice there 
are mighty good reasons for it. It is well to follow 
this practice, and improve on it if possible as experi¬ 
ence indicates, as it will unquestionably take brains 
to improve on it. 
A clay bottom land in the Hudson Valley is nat¬ 
ural hay land. The easiest and cheapest way to 
improve the fertility of this land is to grow a better 
sod of hay, to be plowed under before it is no 
longer a sod. This can be done by fitting a proper 
seed bed, using lime and phosphate, and sowing 
with a small grain crop: rye. wheat or oats. After 
one rotation the land is rebuilt. 
It should Ik* borne in mind that when there is a 
heavy sod all else will follow, and manure and foY- 
tilizers should be put on the sod after it is once 
started, rather than on the grain crops. A good 
grass seed mixture here is 12 lbs. Timothy. 2 lbs. 
Red-top, 5 lbs. Red clover and 2 lbs. Alsike, per 
acre. farmer. 
Removing Bee Stings 
Just a word about bee stings. It seems to me that 
neither my son Ernest nor any other writer in The 
If. N.-Y. has attached sufficient importance to getting 
the sting out as speedily as possible without squeezing 
the poison hack, and thus forcing it down into the 
wound. A pair of tine-pointed tweezers would be the 
thing, hut as these are not always to he had. the blade 
oi a knife or some similar instrument can be used 1" 
crowd the sting out of the wound without forcing the 
poison into the flesh, as one is sure to do if he grasps 
tlie sting with the thumb and linger. If there is no 
time to get any sort of instrument the thumb nail can 
be used to force the sting out without squeezing that 
virulent poison-bag. A. I. root. 
Ohio. 
