Vol. LXIL No. 2780. 
NEW YORK, MAY 9, 1903. 
•1 PER YEAR.a 
/V£1V HAMPSHIRE FODDER CROPS. 
ABANDONED FARMS BACK IN THE HARNESS 
Oafs and Alfalfa Seeding. 
For five years we have been working at an aban¬ 
doned hill farm in southern New Hampshire. The first 
Winter I carried through eight head of stock and 
three horses, and had to buy roughage in the latter 
part of March. I have steadily Increased my stock 
of cattle until this past Winter I carried 65 head of 
cattle and five horses. I have had every season to 
purchase roughage the latter part of March, and this 
year was no exception. One of my cherished wishes 
is to grow all the roughage we need. The picture of 
an oat field at Fig. 127 shows the possibilities of an 
abandoned farm. They were raised on a worn-out 
mowing the second season’s cultivation. They mea¬ 
sured in height from five to six feet five inches, and 
the average height was fully five feet six inches. The 
field contained 2% acres. We cut the oats for fodder 
and after curing we secured from the 2% acres 12 
very large two-horse loads. That you may know that 
they were good-sized loads will say that 
from November 15 until past the middle 
of January this oat fodder was all the 
roughage that 30 milch cows had in addi¬ 
tion to their silage. We feed 40 pounds 
silage per day, night and morning, dry 
fodder at noon. 
Two years ago this Spring we started 
work on this old mowing, applying 10 
spreader loads of manure to the acre on 
top of the old sod. This we plowed under 
and harrowed the field thoroughly, and 
planted to field corn, using 300 pounds 
corn fertilizer to the acre. In return 
therefor we received a crop of corn far 
beyond my expectations. Last Spring we 
got right after the old field, spent nearly 
two weeks digging out and carting off the 
stone, and a good stiff job it was; but we 
finally conquered every stone in sight ex¬ 
cept three big fellows that defied our most 
strenuous effort, these we intendeu blast¬ 
ing out, but the season advanced so fast 
and other work so pressed that they are 
there yet. We then put on 10 loads ma¬ 
nure per acre, plowed and harrowed, first 
with wheel harrow and then with Acme 
until the ground was thoroughly fined and 
as soft as an ashpit. We seeded the Al¬ 
falfa with the oats at the rate of one 
bushel oats and 20 pounds Alfalfa 
seed per acre; put the seed In with a 
weeder and rolled the piece thoroughly. The result¬ 
ant oat crop Fig. 127 shows. About a month after 
securing the oat fodder we ran a mower over the field, 
clipping the Alfalfa in order to stack it up. Late in 
the Fall we top-dressed the entire piece with stable 
manure at the rate of 10 loads per acre, excepting a 
narrow strip through the center. This we fertilized 
at the same rate with what wood ashes we had saved 
to discover, if possible, whether the ashes or ma¬ 
nure gave the better results as a top-dressing, and 
think I have already learned something regarding the 
Alfalfa, and I am confident for at least such a season 
as last that I made a mistake in sowing the Alfalfa 
with a nurse crop for this reason. Our herd of cows 
require more feed than they can secure from the pas¬ 
tures, so we have to depend partly upon soiling. Ow¬ 
ing to the extremely cold wet weather, our millet was 
very backward, and made a very poor growth; in con¬ 
sequence we met with a shortage in our soiling ma¬ 
terial, and in order to fill the gap v^^ere forced to cut 
a narrow strip from the side of this oat piece. This 
cutting was made about two weeks before the rest of 
the piece was cut and it Is wonderful the difference In 
the stand, size, vigor and stockiness of the Alfalfa on 
this narrow strip when compared with the rest of the 
field. If the results of this piece of Alfalfa are such 
as warrant further sowing it will be without a nurse 
crop. I attribute the satisfactory crops that I am get¬ 
ting from the old farm to three things. First and 
foremost, I am convinced that there is a mine of fer¬ 
tility yet locked up In the soil of these old farms that 
needs aerating and exposing to the sun. Secondly the 
fact that I am a firm believer in thorough cultiva¬ 
tion and fining of the soil, and thirdly to the quality 
of the manure which I have to apply, as when pos¬ 
sible I govern my grain feed for my cows with the 
regard to the manurial value of their excrements. 
This is a matter of great financial importance to all 
stock farmers, particularly dairy farmers, but unfor¬ 
tunately it is a matter that receives too little thought 
and attention. a. f. peirce. 
New Hampshire. 
s 
CREAM SEPARATORS.—Several devices are ad¬ 
vertised which are no more separators than an ordi¬ 
nary milkpan or a Cherry creamer, or what was 
formerly called a shot-gun can. I know tests that 
I have seen and I know of very many which show that 
the results are no better, if as good, as from the 
ordinary deep setting or cabinet creamers. A large 
percentage of our farmers do not know what a cream 
separator is, nor do they know the principles upon 
which it does its work. I met a school teacher at one 
of our farmers’ institute meetings last Winter who 
asked me to explain the chemical changes in milk 
going through a cream separator. This young man 
was boarding where a separator was in use. I told 
him there were no chemical changes whatever, that 
all there was about it was centrifugal force, and would 
you believe it, he did not know the principles of cen¬ 
trifugal force? If a school teacher does not know the 
principles, and c.annot and is not capable of explain¬ 
ing this to his scholars, how can you expect a farmer 
to understand the working and principles of a cream 
separator? or. s. p. 
R. N.-Y.—The little article by H. E. Cook, on page 
306, covers the practical point that perplexes so many. 
It is a thing very often misunderstood. 
BRIEF TALKS ABOUT FERTILIZER. 
What Feriilizers for Alfalfa? 
What fertilizers can be used with profit on Alfalfa? 
Does the crop need anything on ordinary western soil? 
Illinois. o. H. J. 
You should read Bulletin No. 76 of the Illinois Ex¬ 
periment Station at Urbana. Briefly stated these ex¬ 
periments show that lime and phosphoric acid were 
profitable. Stable manure gives good returns when 
put on Alfalfa. On most Illinois soils 400 to 800 
pounds of lime per acre will pay on the Alfalfa crop. 
This Is what we might expect when we consider the 
nature of Alfalfa and the general condition of most 
western soils. The Alfalfa does best In an alkaline 
soil, or at least one not strongly acid. One reason for 
this Is that it depends for much of its good work on 
the tiny bacteria which live on the roots and take 
nitrogen out of the air. These bacteria thrive best 
in alkaline soil. Soils in the West are likely to be 
well filled with vegetable matter and thus inclined to 
be sour. The lime not only neutralizes them, but 
makes plant food available. We should 
expect phosphoric acid in the form of acid 
phosphate or bone to help the Alfalfa for 
two chief reasons. The phosphates stim¬ 
ulate the work of the bacteria, and thus 
make them more active. As we have 
stated before, western soils are most like¬ 
ly to be lacking in available phosphoric 
acid, because where live stock have been 
the chief products sent from the farm 
this element represents the principal loss. 
The potash is mostly left on the farm in 
the liquid manures, while clover gains 
more nitrogen than the animals carry 
away. This would not be true of grain 
farming, but represents the inao jn stock 
keeping. It has also been found that on 
most Illinois soils the special bacteria 
which work on the Alfalfa roots must be 
“in the soil’’ before the crop can do its 
best. It has paid to “inoculate’’ the soil 
—that is, to bring soil from some field 
where these bacteria are found and scat¬ 
ter it over the new seeded field. This is 
not by any means a mere theory, but its 
value has been demonstrated hundreds of 
times, in actual practice. To show what 
a good crop of Alfalfa will do for the 
farm experiments were made to learn how 
much nitrogen is gained on one acre. 
Where no fertilizer was used there was 
a gain of 40.23 pounds of nitrogen as the 
result of these bacteria. Where lime was used the 
gain was 41.82 pounds, and where lime and acid phos¬ 
phate were used together the gain was 53.65 pounds. 
This represented only one crop. With several crops, 
which are easily grown, and the growth of the roots 
it Is safe to say that where the bacteria are present 
a single acre of Alfalfa will take at least 160 pounds 
of nitrogen out of the air! This is equal to 16 tons 
of good stable manure or half a ton of nitrate of soda, 
or the nitrogren in two tons of the four-per-cent ferti¬ 
lizer. Thus we can see that Alfalfa Is a crop to be 
fed—not starved. Think what it would mean to an 
eastern farmer to have five acres of such Alfalfa 
close to the barn! 
Nitrate of Soda for Corn. 
I have a few acres of heavy sod (Timothy) which I 
desire to pasture until May 25. Can you tell me whether, 
if I plow and plant to corn by June 1, nitrate of soda 
dropped in hill and then applied on top two weeks after 
coming up will hasten the growth sufficiently to ripen 
ears before frost, September 10 to 15? How much nitrate 
of soda should be used at application? Our natural 
planting time is April 20 to May 10. d. d. a. 
Waynesboro, Va. 
We are not familiar with local needs of the corn 
NARCISSUS GLORY OF LEYDEN. Fio. 13.5. See Ruradisms, Page 356, 
