8i6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 8 
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.] 
SEEDING GRASS WITH WHEAT OR RYE 
“Highland,” Pennsylvania .—Is it a fact that 
you can get a surer and better set of Tim¬ 
othy when sown with wheat than rye? 
Will it start when sown with rye in the 
Fall as well as with wheat, and then die 
or smother out in Summer, due to the rye 
being harvested later than wheat? 
We believe that Timothy seed would 
take as well sown in the Fall with rye 
as it would sown with wheat, and would 
live as well through the harvest season. 
Rye is always harvested with us before 
wheat, so that reason of your inquirer 
would not hold good with us. Rye is not 
a strong feeder, and in growing this crop 
it is not fed as high as we would if 
growing wheat, and we would not ex¬ 
pect as good a yield of Timothy or other 
grasses as if grown with wheat. 
Middlesex Co., N. J. d. c. lewis. 
There is scarcely any rye grown in 
this neighborhood. I have been farm¬ 
ing 44 years, and never sowed grass with 
rye, and it is not done by others unless 
it gets so late in the season that wheat 
might be a failure; then I have known 
rye to be sown instead. There is no rea¬ 
son why Timothy or other grass should 
not do well with rye as with wheat; in 
fact, it ought to do better, for rye has a 
narrower leaf and does not shade the 
ground so much, provided it is sown no 
thicker. I have heard in my younger 
days when rye was grown more than 
now, that old farmers considered it bet¬ 
ter than wheat to seed with grass. Sev¬ 
eral years ago I raised rye to cut for the 
cows early in the Spring, before grass 
was ready for pasture, but of late years 
silage has taken its place. 
Chester Co., Pa. benj. sharpless. 
My grass seeding seems more success¬ 
ful with Spring wheat than wim Winter 
rye. I think the reason may be that the 
latter being the more vigorous growing 
plant is not only more inclined to smoth¬ 
er out the grass, but also to rob it of 
necessary food and moisture. 
Greene Co., N. Y. e. a. hill. 
It is the common custom in this sec¬ 
tion to sow Timothy seed in the Fall on 
either rye or wheat seeding, and as far 
as my experience goes, it does as well 
with one kind of grain as the other. 
With favorable weather, seed sown as 
late as October 1 will be all right. What 
I mean by favorable is a wet, warm 
Fall. Some do not sow Timothy until 
Spring, then sow both Timothy and 
clover together, after the ground ^as 
ceased to freeze, for the freezing and 
thawing of the soil throws the roots of 
the plants out of the ground, and the 
cold, dry winds of April and May often 
kill Fall seeding. For this reason I do 
not sow any of the grain seeds until 
Spring. geo. w. higgins. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
No wheat is grown in this section, and 
so we have never seeded with a. Rye 
seeding here is not a success. Rye 
seems to be a rank feeder, and stools 
so that the grass seems to smother; be¬ 
sides, we are unable to make clover 
grow if seeded in the Fall, as .t almost 
always winterkills. It is our custom to 
seed down with oats, and our new seeded 
land for several seasons has been a suc¬ 
cess, decidedly so the past season, as we 
had a heavy crop on the new fields, and 
most meadows, contrary to expectation, 
gave a light crop. After the oats are cut 
we give the land a good topdressing of 
manure or commercial fertilizer. This 
gives the new grass a good start in the 
Fall, and it gets right down to business 
in the Spring. h. g. Manchester. 
Connecticut. 
In our locality the best stand of grass 
follows seeding with wheat. I think this 
is due in part to the better fertilizing of 
wheat lands. Rye is usually sown on 
the lighter soils. If the same amount of 
help is given the soil at the time of 
grain-sowing I doubt whether there is 
any material difference. Less grain seed 
per acre on highly-fertilized land will 
give a better stand of grass. On sandy 
soil clover and Timothy should be sown 
with the grain, provided the sowing is 
done before October 1. If later, do not 
sow clover; wait, and harrow the ground 
in the Spring, sow the clover and roll 
well. The loss of a clover catch can 
hardly be estimated; hence, the necessity 
of giving it the best possible attention. 
We have better results from seeding to 
grass alone, provided it is none prior to 
September 20. J. h. denise. 
New Jersey. 
What Apples for Grafting ? 
F. B., Penn Tan, N. 7.—What variety of 
apples would be best to graft into a row 
of 26 Northern Spy, set three years? I 
think some other variety will be more 
profitable. How would Black Gilliflower, 
Esopus or perhaps Fameuse, as I see the 
price for the latter is high now. I have 
bearing Northern Spy, Baldwin, R. I. 
Greening and a few trees of Ben Davis. I 
also have a young orchard that has not yet 
come into bearing, mostly Baldwin, Fa¬ 
meuse and Ben Davis. 
Ans. —Rome Beauty would be about 
as good to top-work on to your Spy 
trees as any that might be chosen. It is 
very profitable and good, too, in western 
New York. Sutton is another good one. 
Esopus is good in quality and very sal¬ 
able in most markets if well grown. 
While Black Gilliflower is often profit¬ 
able it is often rejected by buyers, who 
are apt to know what is most salable. 
Fameuse is not a late keeper, but a late 
Fall variety in western New York, and 
very subject to scab. I would not plant 
or top-graft it there. I believe York 
Imperial will do well there, but am not 
ready more than to advise a trial ot it. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
A Corn Breeders' Association. 
Several Readers .—The papers speak of an 
association formed in Illinois for “breeding 
corn.” What is it all about? 
Ans. —This Association was organized 
June 30, 1900. A few men of undoubted 
integrity noted the urgent need of the 
improvement in corn, also from the re¬ 
sult of experiments made at the agri¬ 
cultural department of our State Uni¬ 
versity. It was found that the chemical 
composition of the corn kernel could be 
increased or diminished in certain of its 
contents; also that for several years past 
a large number of our farmers have been 
buying seed corn from dealers who fur¬ 
nished it shelled only. In this case the 
farmer could not determine anything as 
to the characteristics of the corn, and 
further usually the product of such seed 
was mixed and unprofitable to propagate 
for seed. This led to further investiga¬ 
tion into the matter, and the forming of 
this Association. It aims to teach the 
farmer properly to breed his own corn 
for seed, and know each standard variety 
when he sees it, and if he does not 
choose to breed the seed corn for him¬ 
self, then, if he desire, he can obtain it 
shipped to him on the ear by a member 
of this Association. The constitution 
provides for all information gratis to 
any farmer who will breed his own seed, 
by inclosing stamp to the secretary, and 
if he wishes to buy thoroughbred, reli¬ 
able seed the name of the nearest mem¬ 
ber is given. The Association members 
will not have very much thoroughbred 
seed to dispose of this season. We will 
assist in all good legislation for the 
benefit of the farmer and cooperate with 
the agricultural colleges in their work. 
No officer receives any salary. Inspec¬ 
tion of the product is the only expense. 
Sibley, Ill. f. a. warner. 
Wood Ashes for Fruit 
Reader, Ross Co., O .—What is the value of 
hard-wood ashes? I have bought from a 
sawmill where they burn sawdust as fuel 
at 50 cents a load of a single bed holding 
22 bushels of ear corn, and have to haul 
four miles. The load, when dry, weighs 
from 2,400 to 2,600 pounds. The present mill 
makes 1% load a week, and I have a chance 
to get ashes from another mill at same 
price. Is it cheaper than commercial fer¬ 
tilizer? 
Ans. —Such ashes would sell in this 
part of the country for about $9 per ton. 
This value would be based on the cost 
of potash, phosphoric acid and lime 
when bought in other materials. At the 
price you mention you have a bonanza in 
the fertilizer line. Wood ashes are ex¬ 
cellent for all fruits. For orchards there 
is nothing better, provided you use some 
nitrogen in addition. By growing clover 
or cow peas after using the ashes, and 
plowing these crops in you would have 
a very cheap fertilizer for all fruit. The 
action of the ashes on strawberries is 
not always satisfactory. When the soil 
is sown the lime in the ashes will sweet¬ 
en it and help the crop. When the land 
is not sown too large an application of 
ashes might hurt it. 
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Does a College Education Pay ? 
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Former President of the United States 
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Poverty Mo Bar to a Public Career 
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Former United States Senator from Kansas 
Getting and Keeping a Business Position 
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