23o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 28 
at least one-half Dorset blood. If anyone fondly im¬ 
agines that he is going to buy such animals he is 
likely to be disappointed, for the Dorset is not popular 
with the general farmer, and very few are bred ex- 
cept by men who are raising “hothouse” lambs or 
cxi)ect to raise them. Most flocks in this section are 
Shropshire, and while they produce a lamb of nice 
quality they cannot compete as to earliness. Some 
men seem to succeed fairly well with them, but from 
what I have seen I would say that one-third of their 
lambs is a liberal estimate of the number they get in 
on the high prices, and usually the fraction is much 
lower than this. And to go further, even with Dor- 
sets, the idea that a man can begin with two-year-old 
ewes and get them to drop their lambs early in Win¬ 
ter and continue to do so is a myth. As a general 
thing you cannot place much dependence on a ewe 
until she is four years old. In spite of these difficul¬ 
ties I believe there will be enough men who succeed 
to bring prices to a decidedly lower level before many 
years. When that time comes the margin in favor of 
the man who can produce really fancy lambs and do 
so earliest in the season will be even greater than it 
is now. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. 
BRIEF TALKS ABOUT FERTILIZERS. 
What Fertilizers to Buy. 
What fertilizer should I use for corn, where stable 
manure is plowed under on sod (gravelly loam underlaid 
with clay)? How much should I use to the acre? What 
should I use for ])otKtoes, but no manure plowed under? 
Which is best for corn or potatoes of these three; Nitro¬ 
gen two per cent, phosphoric acid eiglit per cent, potasli 
two per cent, price $23 per ton; nitrogen one i)er cent, 
phosphoric acid eight per cent, potash four per cent, 
price $22 per ton; nitrogen four per cent, phosphoric acid 
eight per cent, potash seven per cent, price $30? Should 
I mix the last with plaster, half and half? u. 
Otsego Co., N. Y. 
Where manure in fair quantity is plowed under for 
corn we would not use nitrogen in the fertilizer. A 
good mixtttre would be 400 pounds muriate of potash 
and 1,600 pounds acid rock. We should use 400 pounds 
or more per acre. It will be fair to figure the nitiogen 
in the fertilizers at 15 cents a pound and the phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash at ^Vz cents each. Thus fig¬ 
ured you will have; 
No 1, value $IR.00, cost $23; per cent of cost..(W 
No. 2. value 13.80, cost 22; per cent of cost.03 
No. 3. value 25.50, cost 30; per cent of cost.85 
These figures easily show that No. 3 is the cheapest 
fertilizer. You obtain more plant food for a dollar in 
it. As nitrogen is the most expensive element that we 
buy in fertilizers it is usually safe to select the one 
containing the highest per cent. You not only obtain 
a high value in this way, but are also most likely to 
obtain nitrogen in several different forms. It will do 
no harm to mix plaster with the fertilizer. 
Fertilizers for Strawberries. 
Arc fertilizers that contain South Carolina rock, muri¬ 
ate of potash and acidulated ground bone as good for 
strawberries as fertilizers that contain raw ground botie 
and sulphate of potash? Will fertilizers that contain 
muriate of potash if used on strawberries make them 
taste salty or bad in flavor? 
Hollis, N. H. 
We consider dissolved rock very suitable for straw- 
berrics. Fine ground bone is excellent to use with the 
rock, but we would not use it as the only source of 
phosphoric acid for this fruit. Sulphate of potash 
will give a higher quality than the muriate. It can¬ 
not be said that the m.uriate will give a bad flavor to 
strawberries, ^^here the fruit is to be sold on the 
general wholesale market we doubt whether it would 
be profitable to pay the extra price for the sulphate. 
For a special market the sulphate will pay. A good 
mixture for strawberries is 250 pounds nitrate of soda, 
350 pounds fine ground bone, 300 pounds sulphate of 
potash, 1,100 pounds acid phosphate. On poor land 
some growers prefer to use dried blood in the place 
of the bone. 
Wood Ashes and “Dissolved Bone.” 
1 can get hard-wood ashes (unleached) for 15 cents per 
bushel, or about $6.25 per ton; dissolved bone at 90 cents 
per 100. How shall I mix it for putting on a clover field? 
1 took off about two tons of hay per acre last year, and 
last Fall I used 167 pounds of the bone to about 1 .<hK) 
pounds of the ashes. Ought I to put on anything this 
Spring? 
Northville, N. Y. 
If you can buy pure unleached wood ashes at $6.25 
per ton you have a very cheap source of potash and 
lime. We would use ashes freely at that price. What 
is this “dissolved bone”? What per cent of nitrogen 
does it contain? If it guarantees nothing but phos¬ 
phoric acid it is not bone at all. A fair dissolved bone 
should contain 2i^ per cent nitrogen and about 18 
per cent of phosphoric acid. The chances are that 
what you speak of is merely dissolved rock with a 
little fish or tankage added to it. A true dissolved 
bone will make a good partner for the ashes, but we 
would not mix them. If you do so the lime in the 
ashes will make a chemical combination which will 
make the bone less soluble. Use 400 pounds of tbe 
bone to a ton of the ashes—spreading them separate¬ 
ly. You must remember that nitrogen in some form 
must be used if you expect a crop of hay. If this 
“bone” does not contain at least 2^^ per cent of nitro¬ 
gen we would not buy it at the price, but would buy 
acid phosphate and some form of nitrogen, such as 
tankage or dried blood. Be sure that nitrogen is 
guaranteed in this “bone.” You need that element. 
We would not use more ashes this Spring, but 250 
])ouiuis per acre of this “bone” or some other form 
of nitrogen. 
Fertilizers on Black Prairie Soil. 
Have any of your subscribers ever tried commercial 
fertilizers on our black prairie soil of central Illinois, 
clay subsoil? How applied, how much and with what 
results? n. A. L. 
Odell, 111. 
We would like to hear from readers about this. We 
have found very few farmers on such soils who have 
BIG STEM JERSEY YELLOW SWEET POTATO. Fio. 86. 
even thought they needed fertilizers. In some cases 
ground bone or acid phosphate have been used with 
fair results. Such soils appear to need phosphoric 
acid rather than nitrogen or potash. This would most 
likely be the case where live stock is fed and sold. 
The soils were originally very rich in nitrogen and 
most of the potash is retained in the droppings of the 
animals and in the straw and stalks of small grain 
and corn. Every live animal that leaves the farm 
carries phosphoric acid in its bones and tissues, so 
that even after years of pasturing the soluble phos¬ 
phates may be so exhausted that an application of 
acid phosphate will give surprising results. 
Nitrate of Soda on Berries. 
I enclose you a price list and guaranteed analysis of 
the only fertilizers I know. Would you look over them 
and select the one most suitable for my raspberries? I 
am too inexperienced tc) buy the different ingredients 
and mix them myself, liaving never seen nor used any¬ 
thing of that kind. We bad a protracted drought here 
last year which was extremely hard on the canes. I want 
something tliat will force the canes to bear as much as 
po.ssible this yeai'. I intend to sell the ranch next Fall, 
A HOMEMADE POTATO SPR.-VYER. Fig. 87. 
and for that reason I want the quickest acting fertilizer 
and also the one that will do the most for canes that 
were hurt by drought. kuader. 
Loveland, Col. 
The fertilizers mentioned are evidently made from 
slaughterhouse refuse (blood, bone and tankage), with 
a small amount of potash added. We would always 
buy the brand which guarantees the highest per cent 
of nitrogen in such mixtures. It will prove cheapest 
in the end. To whip up those raspberries and get 
all you possibly can out of the soil this year you need 
soluble nitrogen and not phosphoric acid or potash. 
About 300 pounds per acre of nitrate of soda alone 
will be better for such a purpose than a complete fer¬ 
tilizer. Tenants on the last year of their lease, after 
having made the soil rich, sometimes use nitrate of 
soda alone. This forces a heavy crop which often 
leaves the soil exhausted of available fertility. It is 
like using the whip on a horse to get the last ounce 
of speed or power out of him. 
THE CULTURE OF SWEET POTATOES. 
Hotbeds for Bedding and Sprouting: Varieties. 
In growing sweet potatoes the first consideration 
after .selection of seed is the preparation of hotbeds. 
This is necessary in this latitude to get the sprouts 
started early, so they will be ready to set out in the 
field after May 10. Hotbeds are prepared here about 
the first of April. They are made with fire heat, and 
also v/ith manure heat, some preferring one and some 
the other. We use both, but not in the same bed. In 
the manure beds we do not use so great a depth of 
manure as is frequently used for hotbeds. The usual 
rule is to put about one foot of wet leaves in the bot¬ 
tom of the bed, then place on them about 10 inches 
of good heating manure, over which spread three 
inches of sand or sandy soil. The small seed sweet 
potatoes are laid evenly on the sand, just'allowing 
the width of the finger between them at the nearest 
point. Two or three inches of the same sandy soil is 
then placed over them. To get this on evenly the soil 
should be carefully leveled off before placing the seed; 
then by laying a piece of scantling IVz inches thick 
and four inches wide on the seed, across the bed, the 
sand can be leveled off even with the scantling. If 
care is taken in laying the seed, pushing the larger 
ones down even with the top of the smaller ones, they 
will be of very even depth. These beds are often cov¬ 
ered with muslin, either tacked on frames or stretch¬ 
ed the whole length and breadth of the bed. We have 
several beds made in the latter way, and find them 
very satisfactory. The best way we have found to 
fasten these sheets on is to have a small rope (about 
one-fourth inch) run into a hem around the edge, then 
by cutting a small hole in the cloth the cloth and rope 
can be hooked on to nails driven two feet apart 
around the hotbed frame. The sheet when finished 
should be three or four inches wider than the frame. 
When the manure heats well these cloth covers are 
less trouble than sash. There is no danger of plants 
being scalded as they are sometimes under giass un¬ 
less closely watched. To prevent the sheets from sag¬ 
ging we drive small stakes into the bed a little higher 
than the frame, and nail light poles on them, thus 
making a tent of the sheet. We have beds 10x60 feet, 
but these sheets are made wider and raised about 
three feet in tbe center. 
If everything works well the plants will begin to 
break through in 10 days or two weeks. They should 
then be kept well watered and aired on all warm 
days. Water is very important, and plenty of it. If 
it rains we take off the covers. If not, we put water 
on by the pailful to every two feet in length for a bed 
six feet wide, and in very dry weather such an ap¬ 
plication every other evening will make a wonderful 
difference in the plants. 
Sometimes plants get too tall before we are ready to 
use them, in that case we have practiced cutting them 
ofi with a sharp sickle or scythe, leaving stubs only 
one or two inches high. In a few days these start 
new leaves and make much tougher and better-rooted 
plants. In pulling plants the left hand is.thrust into 
the soil to hold the potatoes in place, while the 
sprouts are pulled off with the right hand. In this 
way several “pullings” can be taken from the same 
beds. We have Iried cutting them just above the 
potatoes with an old case knife, and if carefully done 
it is a very good way, especially where all the plants 
are ready to be pulled, but if some are not well rooted 
it is wasteful. 
The Big Stean Jersey Yellow. Fig. 86, is now largely 
grown in this neighborhood, superseding the old Jer¬ 
sey Yellow on account of its stronger growth and 
greater productiveness. When grown on light sandy 
soil it is smooth, of good shape and of bright yellow 
color. Its tendency to grow too large is checked by 
close planting. It often produces 100 barrels per acre. 
We had a four-acre field that produced 360 barrels. 
A part of it ran over 100 barrels per acre. One mag¬ 
nificent hill of 12 tubers weighed 14 pounds. The Big 
Stem is not only productive but it is also a very heavy 
sweet potato, a barrel weighing from 10 to 15 pounds 
more than others. It is also of excellent table quality, 
being sweeter than the old Jersey Yellow. The Vine- 
land Bush still holds its place of being the best of all 
bush or vineless sweet potatoes. It makes no running 
vines whatever, only short stubby stems with a lux¬ 
uriant growth of dark green leaves. It is as easy to 
cultivate and tend as a bush bean. With us it is about 
as productive as the Jersey Yellow, which the tuber 
resembles closely, and is of much the same quality. 
The old Jersey Yellow is still largely grown by many 
farmers and where the soil is well adapted to it, it 
is an excellent cropper. It is a better keeper in stor¬ 
age than the Big Stem, and the Vineland Fancy strain 
is still very popular in market. Jersey Red, also call¬ 
ed Red Nansemond, is a deservedly popular sweet 
potato, being very fine-grained and of high table 
quality. When they are fresh dug their bright red 
skin makes them very attractive. On account of their 
healthy, vigorous growth, hardiness and earliness 
they are one of the best varieties for the North. We 
have seen them quite successfully grown on sandy 
soil in the neighborhood of Rochester, N. Y. There 
are many other varieties of sweet potatoes in the 
South: nearly every place has its local favorite. The 
Red Bermuda (Red Yam), General Grant, Brazilian, 
Hayman, Pierson and Vineless Gold Coin are classed 
as yams by some, but it is difficult to draw the line 
between yams and sweet potatoes. I believe they are 
all included under the general term sweet potatoes. 
But few of these last kinds are grown for market in 
the East. f. s. n. 
Vineland. N. J. 
