512 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 28 
Farmers’ Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure atten* 
tion. Before asking a question, please see 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
A GRASS AND A WEED. 
The following information is furnish¬ 
ed by L. H. Dewey, Assistant Botanist 
of the National Department of Agricul¬ 
ture: 
Reed Canary Grass. 
What kind of grass is the enclosed? It 
grows near our house on low ground, 
where it flourishes exceedingly, growing 
four to five feet high. It has grown just 
the same for the past 11 years. We cut 
and feed it to the horse in the green state, 
beginning about May 20, and feeding until 
it gets too old, about the last of June. It 
is naturalized in about one-eighth of an 
acre. I have never fed it to other animals 
than the horses. Where can seed be pro¬ 
cured? Is it grown anywhere in this 
county, and if so, for what purpose? 
Crosswick, N. J. j. z. h. 
The grass sent for identification is 
Reed canary-grass, Phalaris arundin- 
acea. It is native in moist land from 
New England across the continent to 
Washington and Oregon, extending 
southward as far as Tennessee and Mis¬ 
souri. It is also found in Europe and 
northern Asia. Although native in moist 
soil, it withstands drought well when 
once established, and it is injured very 
little by severe cold weather. It is a 
nutritious grass, and is generally refliish- 
ed by all kinds of stock, although there 
are some instances recorded where stock 
seem to dislike it. At the experiment 
stations at St. Anthony Park, Minn., 
and Brookings, S. D., it has been found 
to be one of the most valuable grasses, 
and where it can be grown successfully 
it is undoubtedly a better grass than 
Timothy. It is propagated abundantly 
by seeds and also by strong creeping 
rootstocks. It does not attain its full 
size until the second year. When grown 
for hay, it should be cut before the 
flowers are fully developed, as the stalks 
will be dry and woody if allowed to be¬ 
come overripe. Seed of Reed canary- 
grass is advertised by J. M. Thorburn & 
Co., New York, and it can doubtless be 
obtained from other seedsmen. 
Field Pepper Grass. 
Inclosed find plant that I find in my 
meadow; it is new to me. What is the 
name, and is it a troublesome weed? 
Venango Co., Pa. w. p. h. 
The plant is Field pepper-grass, Le- 
pidium campestre. It is also called Field 
cress, Cow cress, crowdweed, and Mith- 
ridate mustard. It grows as an annual, 
or more frequently as a biennial plant, 
in fields and waste places from New 
England to Virginia, and also on the 
Pacific coast. It has been introduced 
from Europe, where it has long been 
known as a weed in cultivated fields and 
meadowis. In many localities in this 
country where it has been allowed to go 
to seed year after year, it has become 
very troublesome as a weed, springing 
up in meadows and pastures, and grow¬ 
ing in dense patches to the exclusion of 
other vegetation. This habit has given 
it the name crowdweed. Its seeds, which 
are produced in great abundance, are in¬ 
termediate in size between those of Red 
clover and Crimson clover, and as its 
period of seed production extends 
throughout the greater part of the sea¬ 
son, its seeds may be found as an im¬ 
purity in either of these clover seeds. 
They are also likely to be found in poor¬ 
ly cleaned wheat. By means of impure 
seeds and stable manure obtained where 
hay from infested meadows has been 
fed, its seeds are introduced into new 
localities. It may be destroyed by rota¬ 
tion of crops with thorough cultivation. 
Repeated cultivation will induce the ger¬ 
mination and consequent destruction of 
seed in the soil, and will prevent further 
seed production. In meadows and pas¬ 
tures where cultivation is impracticable, 
the plants may be destroyed by frequent 
mowing and burning over the infested 
areas, and they may doubtless be crowd¬ 
ed out to some extent by reseeding with 
clover and grass seed. Field pepper- 
grass promises by its growth and habit 
to be a more troublesome weed than our 
common pepper-grass, Lepidium virgin- 
icum, to which it is closely related, and 
it would, therefore, be well to destroy it 
wherever possible, before it becomes 
well established. 
The Use of Phosphate in Fertilizing. 
~N. IV. D., Randolph, O. —I understand Dr. 
Fisher to say, in his article on raw ground 
phosphate as fertilizer, page 399, that tri- 
basic phosphate of lime is “the only com¬ 
bination of phosphoric acid and lime that 
is acceptable to plants.” Also, “When the 
lime which has been removed from the 
phosphate by the sulphuitc acid is restored, 
then it becomes food for the plants.” As 
I understand it, it then becomes a tri- 
basic phosphate of lime. Thompson says 
in his Science in Farming that tricalcic 
phosphate is “insoluble, and only avail¬ 
able as plant food as it undergoes decom¬ 
position in the soil.” “Bicalcic phosphate 
is slowly soluble, and can be used as food 
by plants.” “Monocalcic phosphate is 
readily soluble and immediately available 
as plant food.” Does this agree with Dr. 
Fisher? Again, Prof. Wheeler states in 
his bulletin on liming of soils, that “sol¬ 
uble phosphates applied to soils deficient in 
lime and magnesia the phosphoric acid 
combines with the iron and alumina of 
the soil to form compounds which are not 
readily utilized by plants. If, however, 
the soil is fairly supplied with lime and 
magnesia, this transformation is retarded, 
so that the plant is afforded an oppor¬ 
tunity to utilize much of the phosphoric 
acid before it becomes unassimilable.” 
The Doctor says that soluble acid is of no 
value, if not injurious, until reverted in 
the soil. It seems that all the above 
statements do not agree, and I would like 
a little more light on them. Do rock 
superphosphates behave the same in the 
soil as animal superphosphates? Are the 
phosphates in fine ground bone more avail¬ 
able for the plant than those in fine ground 
raw rock? 
I thought that I would like to try raw 
rock last Spring, so I ordered 400 pounds. 
The company billed it "Ground rock ni¬ 
trated”; what do they mean by "nitrated?” 
The goods were a reddish brown in color. 
Will not the sulphuric acid in superphos¬ 
phates cut the soil and make it hard and 
more compact? Will not the gypsum in 
superphosphates make sour land sourer? 
I put my raw rock on corn, and I cannot 
see that it is doing any good, but where 
I applied bone black and potash the corn 
is growing nicely. 
Ans.—I t always gives me pleasure to 
“stir up thought,” because when the agi¬ 
tation subsides, it leaves the subject 
clearer in consequence. Every agricul¬ 
tural plant demands, and must have in 
its composition, a proportion of what is 
known as phosphate of lime; that is, a 
combination of phosphoric acid and lime 
known as the tribasic phosphate, in 
which the acid is completely neutralized 
by the base. Now the question is, will 
a plant be put off with any other sub¬ 
stance as a substitute? There is no evi¬ 
dence that such is the case. There is 
ample demonstration that if we offer 
to the plant all the elements of the com¬ 
pound, it can combine them to suit its 
needs. Hence we must furnish the 
phosphoric acid in some form, and lime 
in some form, in sufficient quantity to 
saturate the acid, such producing the 
tribasic phosphate of lime. If we offer 
to a plant a soluble monobasic or a bi- 
basic phosphate of lime, both of which 
are soluble in water, and we might 
think more readily available to the plant 
for that reason, I think we shall find it 
entirely unacceptable. That is not what 
the plant calls for, but, if we add suffi¬ 
cient caustic or carbonated lime to con¬ 
vert the monobasic and the bibasic phos¬ 
phate into a tribasic form, we shall find 
that although insoluble under ordinary 
conditions, the plant’s wants are at once 
satisfied. 
In order to meet this demand on ‘the 
part of plants we are to furnish alll the 
elements of the compound that they are 
asking for. If we offer them soluble 
phosphate of lime only they will not 
accept it. If it be in a limestone soil 
they can manufacture what they need. 
If in a soil that is already acid, as many 
soils are, and of course free from lime, 
they cannot supply themselves with 
what they are demanding, and hence fail 
to advance 'in development. The prac¬ 
tical application of this idea is this: We 
should furnish tribasic phosphate of 
lime (bone phosphate), in the best con¬ 
dition for assimilation. This is attained 
by making it as fine as possible by me¬ 
chanical means. The finer the sub¬ 
stance the greater the amount of surface 
upon which tbe rootlets can act. Bones 
cannot be ground fine profitably with¬ 
out burning. South Carolina rock 
phosphate, as also that from Florida, is 
probably a form of fossil bone from 
which all the animal matter has been 
eliminated in the processes of decay, and 
this condition permits very fine com¬ 
minution, as in “floats.” So far as the 
source of the phosphate of lime is con¬ 
cerned, I am inclined to the opinion that 
the plant knows no difference. A plant 
can be built up entirely from inorganic 
materials. In fact, it is the office of 
vegetation to convert inorganic elements 
into organic structure. This is beyond 
the power of animal life. Animal life 
can only be carried on by food materials 
which have first been organized by 
plants. If the foregoing is admitted, 
then it follows that the preferable way 
of supplying bone phosphate of lime is 
to get that which is in the finest possible 
condition, as in floats, and thoroughly 
mix it with the soil. If for any reason 
we desire to use soluble phosphate, we 
should be sure that there is present in 
the soil some form of lime which will 
combine with the excess of acid, and 
thus restore the condition that existed 
before the acid had transformed the tri- 
bajsic phosphate into other forms. 
“Ground rock nitrated,” perhaps, means 
something to sell, like the lad’s “hot 
corn” which was not hot. but it bore 
that name. Gypsum is lime saturated 
with sulphuric acid, and is a neutral 
body having no influence in souring 
land. Raw rock might be fairly com¬ 
pared with raw bone black, but if pot¬ 
ash is to be added in one case it should 
be in the other to render the experiment 
of any value. jabez fisher. 
Plowing an Old Orchard. 
IV. F. C., Auburn, Me .—I bought an orchard 
set seven years ago that was seeded down 
when set and not plowed since. The land 
slopes to the northwest. The soil is strong, 
gravelly loam. Is there danger of winter- 
killing if the land Is plowed at once? If 
so, would Hungarian sown as soon as 
plowed be any protection? 
Ans. —Plowing under the sod at once 
is what I would do, and then harrow it 
repeatedly to pulverize the land and 
keep down weeds until time to seed to 
rye. This will cover the ground during 
the coming Winter, if sown early, and 
take up the free nitrogen 'in the soil. 
Early next Spring I would plow it under 
and plant the land to potatoes. When 
this crop is off I would seed to rye again, 
and let it stand over the following Win¬ 
ter, and plow under again. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Summer Pruning. 
O. O. G., Aylett, Vo.—What shall I do 
about cutting back grapevines, after the 
grapes have set? I noticed that there was 
very little vine to the grapes along Lake 
Seneca, but only saw them from the car 
windows. 
Ans. —The Summer pruning of bearing 
grape vines should be limited to pinch¬ 
ing a 'few of the strongest shoots and 
cutting away enough rank growth and 
foliage fairly to expose the bunches of 
fruit to the sun. Many experienced 
growers are beginning to think that the 
less the vines are meddled with during 
the growing season the better, but it 
seems allowable to 'remove such surplus 
growth as may interfere with the de¬ 
velopment and ripening of the fruit. 
Beautiful Strawberries in 1901 
We can furnish you with 
pot-grown Strawberry Plants 
that will bear a full crop of 
fruit next year. Celery and 
Cabbage Plants. Full line of 
Fruit and Ornamental Stock. 
Write at once for ourSmnmer 
and Autumn catalogue. It 
explains all. Fruit packages 
of all kinds for sale at low 
prices. T. J. DWYER A SON, 
Orange County Nurseries. Box 1. Cornwall, N. Y. 
School of Practical 
Agriculture and Horticulture. 
THE SMALL FARM WELL TILLED. 
To teach the art of Fruit Culture. Gardening, 
Landscape Gardening, Dairying and allied subjects, 
Greenhouses and Poultry. 
Course begins in September, and is open to men 
and women for training in practical and scientific 
work. Address GEO. T. POWELL, Director. 
BrlarclifT Manor. Westchester Co.. N.Y 
The Counter Edition of our 
Garden and Farm Manual 
contains besides the very complete line 
of GARDEN AND FLOWER SEEDS a 
Great Variety of GARDEN AND FARM 
TOOLS and SPRAYING OUTFITS. Send 
for it. Send also for our Poultry Supply 
Catalogue. 
JOHNSON &, STOKES, 2l: 
C'rimson Clover—new crop.- Thos. McKlroy, 
^ Mer. Exchange Building, fi Uarrison St., N. Y., Is 
now receivlngconslgnmentsof the new crop Crimson 
Clover, choice quality, offering to the trade only, in 
quantities to suit. Samples on application. 
C 
RIMSON CLOVE 
Do 
R 
not be deceived in buying 
cheap foreign seed. 
We are Headquarters' for pure Delaware Seed. 
New crop. Write for prices. 
II. L. HOLMES, Seedsman, Harrisburg, Pa. 
C rimson 
Clover. 
Genuine Delaware Seed, also othersceds for Summer 
sowing. Write for our Midsummer Catalogue. We 
send it Free. Henry A. Drecr, Philadelphia. 
m 
STA1 
K TREES SUCCEED WHERE 
Largest Nursery. OTHERS FAIL. 
Fruit Rook Free. Result of 76 years' experience. 
STARK BROS., Louisiana, Mo.; Dansville, N.Y. 
10 
Peach Trees 
10 Apple, Plum or Pear 
80c.; 10 Dwarf Pear tiOc. 
10 Quince 75c.; 10 Grape, 
Gooseberry or Currant 
50c. Write Quickly. C. NURSERY AND ORCHARD 
CO., Charleston. W. Va. 
50c. 
Trees. Plants. 
We have all kinds of Nursery Stock. 
Catalogue Free. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., 
HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 
Tomato, Celery, Cabbage, 
etc. CHEAP IN LARGE 
J. S. L1NTH1CUM, Woodwardvillc, Md 
Pepper, 
LOTS. 
AAA CELERY PLANTS. Strong 
field grown; six varieties. 
$1 perl.OOO.Extra strong selected. $1 50 per 1,000 cash, 
WM. S. HERZOG, Morris Plains, N .1. 
A POTATO BUG 
Is most useful when he is dead. Kill him 
with “BOXAL,” and prevent blight by 
the same operation. $1 buys 10 pounds. 
BOWKER CHEMICAL CO., Boston. 
66 
FUMA 
■ ■kills Prairie Dogs, 
' ' Woodchucks, Gophers 
andGrain Insects."The 
wheels of the Gods 
grind slow but exceed¬ 
ing small.” So the weevil, but you can stop their 
Sr* “ Fuma Carbon Bisulphide 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
with our new patent 
'Kerosene Sprayers 
w is simple indeed. Kerosene emulsion 
made while pumping. 12 varieties 
I sprayers, Bordeaux and Vermorel 
Isozzles, the “World’s Bent.” 
THE DEMING CO., SALEM, 0. 
Western Agents, HeuiOnA Hubbell. 
Chicago. Catalogue and formulas free. 
E 
VAPORATING FRUIT 
Complete rigs for gilt-edge work and big protits. 
AMERICAN MANUFACTURING CO.. 
Box 407, Waynesboro, Pa. 
'DIIIT EVAPORATOR, “THE GRANGER. 
nUII For family use. $3, *5 and $8. Cir. Free 
ASTERN MFG. CO., 257 So. 5th St., PHILA., PA. 
For $i I will send by express or freight, i Alpha, i Paragon 
i Numbo Chestnut Tree grafted, worth $2.20. Full line of 
Nursery StocK. Certificate. Moorestowm^Hington^unty, n. j. 
