THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the Southern “booming.” There are fewer 
of the pioneers who laid the foundation of 
Western greatness. Labor is ©heap and a 
poor man does not. stand as ho would in Dako¬ 
ta or Kansas. Farming implements are need¬ 
ed sadly, hut the farmers who need them most 
are too poor to buy them. The great tracts 
of land which, in the Gulf States particularly, 
now produce barely enough to pay for the 
labor spent Upon them, must in time be broken 
up. The trouble is that they are being 
secured by largo corporations or speculators, 
who propose to farm them at a distance, or 
hold them fill their' value is greatly enhanced 
by the settlement of the surrounding country. 
The result of this extensive fanning, where 
much of the work is done by tenants, is that 
the demand for first-cl ass implements is slow, 
except among the larger planters, who will be 
apt to deal at headquarters if they can. A 
man with capital enough to establish himself 
in business and to conduct a farm where his 
implements could be seen iu operation would, 
doubtless, do fairly well. Without consider¬ 
able capital he would be ul a disadvantage. % 
It would be uo easy matter for an unknown 
person, without special experience, to secure 
an agency from any large manufacturer, for 
a cash business would be impracticable, aud 
the risks of making “bad debts” by a man 
new to the country would be too great, to say 
nothing of the risks of embezzlement or defal¬ 
cation. Moreover, all the manufacturers who 
do u Southern trade have already traveliug 
agents or drummers iu that section, and these 
cover much more country at much less ex¬ 
pense, while usually calling upon all desirable 
customers. 
SEEDING AND FERTILIZING KOK A I’EltMANENT 
MEADOW. 
S. W. It., Harttand, Me.—On au eight-acre 
Held that was in oats last year 1 propose to sow 
oats again this year, and seed for a permanent 
meadow; would Timothy and Ked-top be as 
good as any kind of grass seed. 1 sell my hay 
and wish to grow all i can on this field. It is 
a natural grass Held, inclined to he wet, but 
sloping to the south enough to drain itself. I 
have four tons of Bradley‘s superphosphate, 
would it be well to sow only one-half this 
spring aud the rest the following spring? 
Can I afford to pay $3t5 Jper ton for super¬ 
phosphate to produce hay which sells at $10 
to $12 per ton? 
Ans. —To grow oats again after outs last 
year is a poor preparation for a permanent 
meadow, which really needs the very best 
treatment before sowing. The fertilizer will 
bo of great benefit under the circumstances, 
aud if one half of the quautity mentioned is 
applied broadcast as soon as the oats aud grass 
seed are sown, aud the other half when the 
oats are taken off, it is likely that a good 
stand of grass and clover could be secured. 
The heaviest hay is from Timothy and clover 
and it would, we think, be more judicious to 
seed with those, 10 pounds of each per acre, 
rather than with Timothy and Red-top. Red- 
top makes interior and light hay and is the 
best ouly.upon low, wet meadows where other 
grasses would not succeed. The mauure made 
from Timothy hay, saving all the liquids aud 
losing nothing, is estimated at nine dollars per 
ten of hay fed. There is little margin for a 
farmer to get rich by selling hay at $10 per 
ton; but just now farmers cannot hope to get 
rich,and if they can live comfortably aud keep 
their farms improving they should be satis 
fled, Throe hundred pounds of fertilizer at 
$1.80 per 100 pounds, or $5.40 per acre, might 
be used with profit, witli hay at the price 
mentioned, if two tons per acre an* produced, 
but it. would be more satisfactory if some way 
were found to feed the hay on the farm with 
better profit. 
SCARLET CLOVER; COTTON SEED MEAL AS 
FEED. 
P. W.y Milford , Del .—In this section we 
always sow Scarlet Clover m August and 
then cut it next spring, getting only one crop; 
can it lie sown iu spring for cutting for hay, 
or soiling? If so, about how long will it take 
from the time of sowing to the time of cutting 
for hay? We have a mill for grinding cot¬ 
ton-seed and separating the hull from the 
meal; will the product do to feed to cows as 
well as what we buy in the market ? 
Ans.— Scarlet. Clover Trifolium iuearna- 
tnm—is an annual and may be sown in your 
locality early in the spring uud cut iu August 
or September for hay,or from .1 uuo for soiling. 
On very rich soil it may be cut. three times, or 
twice aud then pastured. Your question re¬ 
garding cotton-seed is not quite clear as to 
whether the meal or the hull is referred to as 
i ln*ing fit for cows. The meal separated from 
the husk is a very nutritious food for Vows, 
should be added (mixed) to make a complete 
fertilizer? I have applied ashes to my ground 
for some years, but. have been able to see lit¬ 
tle if any effect, except thut the soil is har¬ 
dened il' the application is at all liberal. Most 
ffti mers'hero think ashes of no value, or a dam- 
ugo. Still it would seem t.lmt the potash iu 
them must be valuable, (at. five cents a bushel) 
aud so T use them. Boil a day loam on a mag¬ 
nesian limestone formation, Mine is more 
heavily fertilized with stable manure than 
usual; but it doesn’t answer all the purpose for 
potatoes which I grow for market. Com¬ 
mercial fertilizers seem a very uncertain quan¬ 
tity, aud much too expensive if a profit is 
looked for, even if the fertilizer is what is 
claimed. Some experiments of mine with su¬ 
pears to be no limit to the demand in China, 
the amount available for export might be 
largely increased by more carefully collect¬ 
ing the wild plants. By this means profitable 
employment would be afforded to a large 
number of persons, including women and 
children,and a considerable addition would be 
made to the agricultural wealth of the sec¬ 
tions where the plants most abound. 
PRESERVING WOOD WITH CHLORIDE OF ZINC 
SOLUTION. 
Several Subscribers. Last year, under 
“Discussion,” the Rural gave a short account 
of wood preservation with chloride of zinc iu 
solution. The account was not entirely clear. 
Please answer these questions: How anil when 
should the timber lx* cut? 2. What is done 
(Continued from page 255.) 
fruit. Well, it. was beautiful, glossy and sat¬ 
isfactory both to me and the market, to which 
it was shipped. From that acre 1 picked 
0,800 quarts, or 212.^ bushels, so that I got a 
very satisfactory yield from the second sea¬ 
son’s picking. But l am ambitious and expect 
to do better in the future. To do this will re¬ 
quire thorough and deep preparation of the 
soil, liberal manuring, great care in the selec¬ 
tion of the varieties, and intelligent cultiva¬ 
tion ami treatment of the plants during the 
season of growth. L. d. fox. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. 
Not a “Poleless System.”— It 'is* hardly 
fair to call the system of raising Lima beans, 
described by me in a recent Rural, a poleless 
one. True, only about one-fourth of the poles 
employed iu the usual system ure required, 
but. these are quite essential. Unless the end 
ones are made of pretty stout material, the 
novice, in the midst of Ids admiration for his 
beautiful crop of beans, will find his trellis flat 
on the ground, especially after a good stiff 
breeze. I speak from experience. 
Mercer Co., N. J. wm. hkvvitt. 
ClvdjUalmc 
BARN BUILDINGS. 
The barn shown at Figs. 108 and 109 is what 
I call about right for a farm of 50 acres. The 
building covers an area of 00x70 feet. The 
amount of space given to the various depart¬ 
ments can be seen at Fig. 109. The grain barn 
has an eight-foot basement arranged for sheep 
pens, feed racks aud water. Twenty-six feet 
of the barn can be filled with hay. The straw, 
while thrashing, can be run out ou to the roof 
of the covered yard, and, when the machine 
has gone, put back into the barn again. The 
stables for cat tle are under t.lie grunary. The 
loft over the horse stables contains five tons 
of hoy and an oat bin to hold 250 bushels. 
This hin is connected by spout with a smaller 
bin in front of the horses. F. h. rood. 
Wyoming Co., N. Y. 
BARN BUILDINGS. Fig. 1G8 
perphosphate, nitrate of soda, ashes and 
ground bone mixed, showed no results, iu oue 
case a severe drought, perhaps, being the 
cause. In auot.hor quite extensive one with 
potatoes, blight killed all the tops, and I ob¬ 
tained no results from my experimenting. I 
scattered nitrate of soda quite liberally on 
two rows of corn, when a foot high, and be¬ 
yond some scorched leaves where the nitrate 
occasionally lodged, I was never able to see 
any difference between those two and other 
adjacent rows. AH were good, the soil being 
well fertilized with stable manure. 
Ana—H ero is evidently a case of a soil so 
rich that, any added plant food does uot in¬ 
crease the crop. “Enough is as good as a 
feast.” In answer to the first question we 
would say that unleached ashes aud line 
after cutting? 3. How should it be prepared 
to receive the solution? 4. How is the pre¬ 
serving material prepared and applied? 5. 
What is done with the treated timber? 6. 
How long before it is ready for use? 7. What 
conditions are most favorable to long preser¬ 
vation ? 
Ans.—M r. H. C. Kreuter, who wrote the 
note above referred to, informs us that the 
process has been patented. Tbe log is placed 
in a tub of metal. A cross-cut is made at. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPQNDENTS, 
[Every query must !>•• accompanied by tie* name 
aud address of the writer lo Insure attention. Before 
asking a questlou, please see If tl Is uot answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
oue time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
ALL ABOUT GINSENG. 
M. H., Wolfe Island, Oh/., Can.—Can 
ginseug be profitably cultivated here, and 
how? What are its use aud value? 
ANS,— Ginseng is a low, perennial herba¬ 
ceous plant found growing generally in rich 
woods or mountainous regions iu different 
parks of the country,though the supply is chief¬ 
ly drawn from Canada, the Eastern States, 
Pennsylvania, 
sota, 
West Virginia, Ohio, Minne- 
Wisconzln aud North Carolina. The 
root is tuberous, tliree or four inches longhand 
usually divided into two or three tap-shaped 
portions. The tubers are generally buried 
several inches in the ground, and grow very 
commonly at the base of trees in rich shaded 
forests. The root has an aromatic bitter¬ 
sweet taste, is somewhat mucilaginous and 
may be considered a mild, stimulant, aromatic 
tonic. Medical men here do not. believe it has 
any active medicinal properties. In China, 
however, from time immemorial It has been 
and still is in great, demand, being regarded 
as a very important drag, and entering into 
the preparation of almost every medicine. Its 
value here is purely commercial, as it is 
worthless except for exportation to China 
where it, alwuys commands a ready market, 
that country appearing to have a monop¬ 
oly of its use. The annual exports from this 
country to that amount to about, 500,000 
H ALLWAY 
BARN BUILDINGS. Fig. 109 
ground raw bone constitute what is known ns 
a “complete” fertilizer. Though “complete,” 
however, the proportion of nitrogen is small. 
AGENTS FDR AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY IN 
THE SOUTH. 
a. It. II. , Penn Van, N. Y —What are the 
chances for ft young man to locate at, the 
Soutli and sell I arm machinery? tine might 
secure the general Stale agency for some ini 
plemeut aud sell to retail dealers. 
Ans. —The South is not being developed as 
the West was. Rich manufacturing corpora¬ 
tions, capitalists aud those who seek to do 
business on a large scale aro doing most of 
The logs should be treated as soon after cut¬ 
ting as practicable. The strength of the solu¬ 
tion varies with the kind of titnlxw. One per 
cent, of chloride of zinc is about the average. 
When logs are treated they should be split up 
at once and the parts should 1)6 allowed to 
season in a dry place, for about six weeks. 
Straight grained timber with large cells aud 
much sap is most, easily preserved iu this way. 
A small apparatus with a capacity of five 
large logs per day is offered for sale. 
A RICH-ENOUGH SOIL. 
W. P. W., Monroe, Wis .—With unleachod 
ashes, aud finely ground raw bone, what 
