Marrh 14 
i86 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
neat and clean. This is the experience and conclu¬ 
sion. Now to apply to a particular case 1 have 20 
acres from which the timber will be cut in 1905, good 
strong land, naturally drained, what we consider here 
a good location for an apple orchard, but too stony 
to cultivate if the stumps were off. Before the dis¬ 
cussion began 1 had decided to set to seedling trees 
large enough to be easily protected from sheep by 
stakiiig, to cultivate by hand, apply dissolveil rock 
and potash for a few years; top-graft two or three 
years after setting to late-keeping red apples, ann 
keep the ground clean from sprouts and briers with 
sheep. This with visions of 1,000-barrel crops, and 
$100 per acre orchard laud from $15 per acre land and 
small outlay for fertilizer and work. Susquehanna 
County is undeveloped apple country, though the ship¬ 
ments from the five stations on the 1)., L. & W. K. R. 
last Fall must have been in the neighborhood of 
500,000 barrels. There is much rough land here, noi 
all new land but old pasture, etc., that would produce 
fine apples if they could be cheaply and profitably set 
and cared for. Am 1 off the track? e. l. w. 
Brooklyn, Pa. 
IN A DAIRY COUNTRY.—Although not a horticul¬ 
turist or even a fruit grower I have been much inter¬ 
ested in the discussion of the mulch method in Tail.' 
R. N.-Y. One point to which 1 would like to call at¬ 
tention is that this method, if practical, opens the 
way for fruit on hundreds of farms where it would 
not be possible to practice clean cultivation. Take 
my own case for instance. All of my cultivated fields 
lie on a gentle slope, not enough to interfere much 
with farm operation, but enough so that if left hare 
during the Spring and Summer they will wash badly. 
A very few seasons of clean cultivation would ruin 
the farm. Again, in this dairy section it would he al¬ 
most impossible to secure the necessary help at the 
right time. After reading the articles on mulching, 1 
said: “That looks practical and I will have some fruit 
for home use at least.” Will Prof. Waugh and others 
deny me this, because I cannot practice their method, 
or shall 1 accept the solid facts offered by Mr. Hitch- 
ings and others who have used his methods? 
Preston, N. Y. R, w. i>. 
BRIEF TALKS ABOUT FERTILIZERS. 
Coal Ashes and Hen Manure. 
Would sifted coal ashe.s mixed with hen manure de¬ 
stroy any of the fertilizing properties of the latter? We 
sprinkle a thin covering of finely-sifted coal ashes on the 
dropping board every day or two; about twice a week we 
pulverize or mix the two thoroughly and clean the board. 
Horseheads, N. Y. o. w. 
No; coal ashes will not act the same as wood ashes 
on the dropping board. The reason is that the coal 
ashes contain little or no lime, while the wood ashes 
have nearly one-third of that substance. The lime 
makes a chemical combination with the ammonia 
and sets it free to pass off as a gas. Coal ashes, dry 
dirt or plaster will hold the ammonia either by ab¬ 
sorbing it or making a fixed combination with it. 
A Mixture for All Crops. 
I have been spending some of my spare time on ferti¬ 
lizer. I wish to submit what 1 have made up and ask 
whether any change would bi=; desirable. It will be used 
on potatoes, corn and onions; 500 pounds nitrate of soda, 
750 pounds dried blood, 3,000 pounds dissolved rock, u.sing 
iOO pounds per acre, and wish to know how to aipply ami 
mix it, and I wish to see whether it pays or not. E. 
Connecticut. 
You might perhaps use 500 pounds of fine ground 
hone and 2,500 pounds dissolved rock in place of your 
3,000 pounds of the latter. This will give you one 
more source of nitrogen (and more of it) and also an¬ 
other form of phosphoric acid. This would make the 
mixture more expensive and might not show better 
results the first year. Your mixture ought to make 
things grow and w^e would like to know the result. 
What Fertilizer With Clover? 
After mowing last harvest we turned down a clover 
sod, which we seeded to Crimson clover. We now have a. 
fine set of clover. This we shall turn down for corn. We 
mix our own fertilizers, and we would like to have your 
formula of the best commercial fertilizers for producing 
a large crop of corn. tYe also turned down a clover sod 
which we seeded to buckwheat and Crimson clover. We 
had a large crop of buckwheat and have an excellent set 
of clover. Will the same fertilizers do for this piece a.s 
for the other? If not give formula for this piece also. 
Whiteford, Md. t. j. b. 
Any combination of chemicals for a crop or locality 
will depend on the price charged for the chemicals. 
For example, in some places near the sea dried fish 
scrap can be bought at a low figure. It would not 
pay to buy tankage or dried blood where this fish is 
cheap, or where cotton-seed meal can be bought at a 
reasonable figure. Corn requires a large amount of 
phosphoric acid and potash. The Crimson clover sod 
ought to supply all needed organic nitrogen for a 
good corn crop. The cheapest source of phosphoric 
acid is acid phosphate, and muriate of potash will go 
well with it. We should use four parts by weight of 
the phosphate to one of muriate—the amount per 
acre to be detormiiicd l)y the owner's judgment. As 
to the use of nitrogen in addition to ftie, rdnver—that 
is also a malter of opinion. Wc have never tliought 
it wise to attempt to grow a large crop of corn with¬ 
out adding some nitrogen in manure or fertilizers. In 
theory a good growth of clover with a fair dressing 
of phosphate and potash ought to give a fair crop of 
corn, but from our experience it would pay to add 
nitrogen enough to the mixture to make two per cent. 
On our own farm we would use 250 pounds of nitrate 
of soda with 1,750 pounds of the other mixture— 
about 500 pounds per acre, but on lighter soil and in 
r . ' — 
I 
POWER SPRAYER IN THE PARK. Fig. 72. 
another location some other form of nitrogen might 
be cheaper. We would fertilize both fields alike. 
Nitrate of Potash for Fertilizer. 
la there a very large quantity of nitrate of potash pro¬ 
duced a.nd where does it come from? The analysis claims 
95 per cent nitrate and 45 per cent actual potash. Where 
one is mixing his own goods, why would it not be cheaper 
than either the sulphate or muriate of potash? I have 
not noticed that any of the experts advocate the use of 
nitrate of potash. I am quoted as follows, f. o. b. New 
York: Nitrate of potash, per ton, $07; muriate of potash, 
$39; sulphate of potash, $46; nitrate of soda, $42.50. 
Marietta, O. J. m. t. 
In one ton of these different chemicals you should 
find the following plant food: 
Nitrogen. Potash. 
Nitrate of potash. 2.50 900 
Muriate of potash. 1,000 
Sulphate of potash. 1,000 
Nitrate of soda. 320 . 
At the prices named a pound of potash costs 4.G 
cents in the sulphate and 3.9 cents in muriate, while a 
pound of nitrogen costs 13.6 cents in nitrate of soda. 
It will cost you $34 to buy the 250 pounds of nitrogen 
in a ton of nitrate of potash, while the cost of the 900 
pounds of potash will be $41.40 or $35.10, depending 
on whether you buy muriate or sulphate. Thus the 
equivalent of the ton which costs you $67 will cost 
you $69.10 or $75.40 when bought in the other chemi¬ 
cals. It is generally thought that when nitrate of 
potash can be bought for less than $70 per ton it will 
pay to use it in small quantities as a fertilizer. We 
would not use more of it in a mixture than we would 
of nitrate of soda. It is about as soluble as sugar. 
There is not a large quantity imported. It comes 
mostly from India though small quantities are pro¬ 
duced in this country. It is formed in rich soil or in 
old manure beds. Ordinary gunpowder is made of 
nitrate of potash, charcoal and sulphur, and most of 
the nitrate of potash on the market is used for powder 
making. It is only now and then that an extra 
POWER SPRAYER FOR ASPARAGUS. Fig. 73. 
amount accumulates so that it can be sold low' enough 
to be used as a fertilizer. Some manufacturers use 
small quantities of it in high-grade goods, especially 
for growing the best grades of tobacco or for green¬ 
house work. 
Fertilizing an Orchard in Clover. 
My orchard h.as been well cultivated for some year.s, 
but last Summer I .seeded to clover with a view to mowing 
this season and let it remain on the land. I would like 
to apply acid phosphate 4fi0 pounds and mui'iate of potash 
100 pounds per acre, and wish to know how to apply and 
also whether it will benefit the trees when they are in 
clover. B. 
Batavia. N. Y. 
Y'ou can mix the acid phosphate and muriate and 
broadcast by nand evenly over the acre, or you can 
broadcast the phosphate and then scatter the potash 
around the trees. We would not put the fertilizer close 
to the trees—not nearer than five feet from the trunk. 
The best feeding roots are out as far as the branches 
extend. We would put on this fertilizer just after 
the snow melts and the ground dries out properly. 
Both the phosphate and the muriate contain plant 
food .soluble in water. It will be washed down into 
the soil where the tree roots will use it. We would 
always use these soluble fertilizers on sod ground. 
Where bone, tankage or organic fertilizers are left on 
the surface, the grass will receive most of the benefit. 
Such fertilizers should be plow’ed or harrowed in to 
do their best. 
Mixing a Fertilizer. 
Will you look over the formula below and give me the 
analysis of it? If you could suggest a better mixture 
will you do so? Nitrate of soda, 100 pounds; blood, 350 
pounds; tankage. 200 pounds; rock, 1,000 pounds; potash, 
350 pounds. My farm is made up mostly of red shale and 
clay loam. 1 have been mixing my phosphate for several 
years but to a certain extent at random. J. w. y. 
Clover Hill, N. Y'. 
Average samples of these chemicals will give the 
following: 
Phos. 
Nitrogen, acid. Potash. 
100 lbs. nitrate of soda. 16 
350 lbs. dried blood. 35 7 
200 lbs. tankage. 12 28 
1,000 lbs. acid phosphate. 140 
.'150 lbs. muriate of potash..... ... 175 
Total . 63 175 175 
This means three per cent nitrogen and nearly nine 
per cent each of phosphoric acid and potash. We do 
not know what crops you expect to use this for, but 
presume it is a general mixture for all crops. For 
our own soil, which is heavy rather than light, w'e 
would like more of that nitrogen in the form of ni¬ 
trate of soda. We would use 150 pounds each of ni¬ 
trate and tankage in place of amounts you suggest. 
Something About Nitrate of Soda. 
I would like to know more about nitrate of soda. In 
what condition is it, fine or coarse, dry or damp, and 
what is the best way to sow it on meadows? Can it be 
sow,n with a grain drill, and how much to the acre on a 
Clark meaiiow so thickly set with grass that I could 
hardly mow it last year, but it was very short? When 
is the best time to sow? h. j. e. 
Hampden, O. 
Nitrate of soda looks much like coarse salt, and is 
about as damp and sticky. It does not work well 
alone through a drill, and it is best put on broadcast. 
We scatter it on by hand, but care is required to make 
an even distribution—though anyone used to sowing 
grain ought to do a good job. Some farmers do not 
get the best results from nitrate because they throw 
it on unevenly. Sow it as carefully as you would 
grain! We should use 250 pounds per acre on that 
grass—in April just as the grass gets a good start. 
We have many reports of short grass the first season 
after sowing. Our own experience was like that. We 
concluded that we had doubled the number of grass 
plants without increasing the amount of soluble ni¬ 
trogen. By using nitrate we w'ere able to produce a 
heavy second crop. 
SWAZIE POMME ORISE. 
The Swazie Pomme Grise is a great favorite in parts 
of Canada, especially in upper Quebec. It shares the 
hearts of the French habitants along with La Belle 
Fameuse. I like Drummond’s poetry, with its habi¬ 
tant dialect, and its rich aroma of the Canadian 
woods, and a good sample of Swazie Pomme Grise al¬ 
ways seem to me to be a materialized Drummond 
poem. It is one of the richest, crispest and most 
aromatic of apples, but besides this the tree will with¬ 
stand all sorts of neglect and will bear some quantity 
of fruit, and the fruit will keep till the following year 
in May without any better cold storage than that of 
the poorest farm cellar. Fameuse will keep reason¬ 
ably well only till after Christmas, and then for the 
long Winter evenings between that time and the late 
Canadian Spring, Swazie Pomme Grise (or the old 
original Pomme Grise itself) must be depended on. 
Both these varieties are small—quite too small for the 
requirements of the exhibition table or the modern 
commercial trade. Moreover, they are russets, and 
russets are almost debarred from any place in the 
market at all. It would be hard to find an apple more 
thoroughly unfashionable than Pomme Grise, or its 
possible offspring, Swazie Pomme Grise, of which 
samples are shown on first page. Fig. 71. 
Nobody seems to know where the variety came 
from. Downing thought it probably originated on the 
Col. Swazie farm, near Niagara, N. Y., but this is a 
very free-running guess. But, as The R. N.-Y. said 
not long ago, it makes more difference where an apple 
gets to than where it comes from. Swazie Pomme 
Grise will never be popular, but I for one hope that it 
will be a long time before its ceases to be planted in 
some good old home gardens where things are not 
rated altogether according to the money they will 
bring. p. w.viiOH. 
