1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
321 
MULCH IN PLACE OF CULTIVATION. 
8TBAW OB MANURE VS. CULTIVATOR TEETH. 
A subscriber wishes to know whether he can 
use a mulch of straw or manure around his musk- 
melon vines, and make this serve the place of 
cultivating. Will this mulch give as good results 
as a constant stirring of the soil ? 
Cultivation Better —My practice has 
always been to cultivate thoroughly as 
long as possible without injury to the 
vines. It is far better, conserves as much 
moisture, and the ground is not so cold 
and clammy. It would be all right to 
mulch between the rows and under the 
vines as soon as cultivation ceased and 
the melons had set. All melon vines 
should be pinched back when they are 
from four to five feet in length ; this 
makes the melons larger and better- 
flavored, and will give just as many in 
bulk. The same thing is true with 
grapes. jerry dutter. 
Indiana. 
Put It on Late —While we have been 
very successful in mulching potatoes and 
some other crops with straw and strawy 
manure, we have never tried it on melons. 
Very likely it will do nicely, but I would 
recommend tilling the surface, and giv¬ 
ing good cultivation in the ordinary way 
until the vines commence to run, then 
put on the mulch. This is the way we 
manage with potatoes. We give extra 
care in the way of cultivation until just 
before the tops begin to lop over a little, 
then put on a mulch heavy enough to 
keep down all weeds. This plan is all 
right during an ordinary season, but 
when we have as much wet weather as 
we did in our State last Fall, the mulch 
may be detrimental instead of beneficial, 
making the potatoes rot, and keeping 
other stuff too wet. a. i. root. 
Ohio. 
Keep Roots Down. —Mulching musk- 
melons with straw or strawy manure to 
hold the moisture and save the labor of 
cultivation, I think, will not give best 
results. Deep cultivation early in the 
season sends the feeding roots down, and 
the stirring of the soil improves the 
quality of the melons. Later, the culti¬ 
vation should be shallow, and the dust 
mulch is a better and a cheaper con- 
server of moisture than a mulch of the 
material referred to. When cultivation 
should stop, because of injury to the 
plants, the foliage should sufficiently 
shade the ground. If the mulch is ap¬ 
plied, weeds will constantly appear, and 
the roots of the plants will be drawn 
close to the surface where they mutt 
suffer during the dry, hot months of July 
and August. h. p. e. 
Michigan. 
Advantage of Cultivation. —During 
a period of severe drought, a straw mulch 
will serve better to retain moisture in 
the soil than an earth mulch obtained 
by frequent shallow cultivation. The 
roots of melon plants run very close to 
the surface, and in very dry weather, it 
is impossible to retain sufficient water 
in the surface layers of the soil by culti¬ 
vation, to keep them from drying up ; in 
this case, a straw mulch would, undoubt¬ 
edly, be better than shallow cultivation, 
if it could be applied without disturbing 
the vines. I would not, however, apply 
a heavy straw mulch unless drought 
were prevailing, for it certainly does 
not, as a rule, prevent weeds from grow¬ 
ing. Most of the strong-growing weeds 
will push up through the straw, and 
make frequent hand-weeding necessary. 
Again, cultivation serves to unlock plant 
food in the soil by admitting air and 
heat, two factors that we quite effectu¬ 
ally shut out by straw mulching. 
Wisconsin. Frederic cranefield. 
Favorable Experience. —My experi¬ 
ence in using mulch to dispense with 
cultivation is quite limited, but so far as 
it goes, it was satisfactory. Last Sum¬ 
mer, my wife’s flower garden, in mid¬ 
summer, after thorough working, was 
well mulched with lawn clippings. It 
was completely satisfactory. No weeds 
troubled, and the plants did unusually 
well. My raspberry patch of about 30 
square rods has had no cultivation for 
about 10 years. All the trimmings of 
canes have been tramped down between 
the rows, and much other coarse litter— 
leaves, weeds and old straw—has been 
spread between the rows. Witch grass 
and weeds, and June grass, also, grow 
to such an extent that they have to be 
cut down about twice each season to 
make gathering the fruit practicable. 
For tidiness, the patch is not an agree¬ 
able sight, but for vigor of growth, and 
quality and quantity of fruit, I have 
never seen a better one. The plants 
were set 16 years ago. As long as I 
practiced cultivation, Summer drought 
was very injurious to the crop, Since I 
have depended upon^ mulch, the vigor of 
growth has increased until now the vines 
are almost too rank. The fruit suffers 
less in dry weather than when cultivated. 
It is a lazy, slovenly way to grow rasp¬ 
berries, but with me, it has been cheap 
and successful. m. morse. 
Massachusetts. 
Something About Lima Beans. 
J. 11. JB., Vienna, 0. —Will a young clover sod 
be a proper place for Lima beans ? What kind 
of fertilizer or rotten compost should I use ? How 
should it be applied, in hill or broadcast? If 
commercial, should potash and phosphoric acid 
predominate ? How far apart do you plant ? 
How long are the poles ? Do you cultivate like 
corn ? Do you keep up cultivation until the crop 
is matured ? How many beans may be expected 
from a pole under favorable conditions ? 
Ans. —A young clover sod plowed in 
the Spring and thoroughly pulverized, 
would make a good seed-bed for Lima 
beans. The soil should be deeply plowed 
and worked as fine as possible. Farmers 
in Bergen County, N. J., where Lima 
beans are an important crop, use stable 
manure chiefly. They mostly prefer to 
use chemical fertilizers on their pota¬ 
toes, believing that manure is better for 
the corn and the beans We have, how¬ 
ever, raised fair crops of Limas with a 
fertilizer high in potash and phosphoric 
acid, in connection with a small amount 
of manure. The manure is usually 
broadcasted and worked thoroughly into 
the soil. As a rule, the plant f^od is 
not placed in the hill. 
The pole Limas are usually planted 
3% or 4 feet apart, the poles are about 
10 feet long, set firmly in the ground. 
After the poles are set, a small hill is 
made around the base of each pole, and 
packed down reasonably firm. Five or 
six beans are then planted by pushing 
them down into the ground, taking pains 
to have the eye down. The best farmers 
leave about three vines to the pole. Cul¬ 
tivation is continued as long as possible, 
but after the vines begin to run rapidly, 
it is not profitable to use the horse, as a 
careless man would tear out or break 
down too many of the vines. The culti¬ 
vation is much the same as for corn, and 
the hills are kept rounded up. Cultiva¬ 
tion is kept up as long as possible, but 
the vines make a vigorous growth, and 
considerable hand work is necessary. 
Great labor is required in tying up the 
vines. This must be done just at the 
right time, and sometimes two or three 
different tyiDgs will be necessary. When 
the vine reaches the top of the pole, the 
best growers usually nip it off. An av¬ 
erage of one quart of shelled beans to 
the pole would be a very large crop. In 
many cases, the yield falls below a pint 
to the pole. The great profit is in very 
early Limas. The difference of a few 
days early in the season may make a 
difference of $2 a bag. Some growers 
take the risk of planting early, and a 
few days later, making a second plant¬ 
ing around the pole. They reason that, 
if the first crop should come up and be 
nipped by the frost, the second planting 
will follow on, and thus gain a little 
time for the grower. 
As a rule, Lima bean growing is prof¬ 
itable only where one can obtain plenty 
of cheap help, as an immense amount of 
hand work is required. In a family con¬ 
taining a large number of stout children, 
Lima beans can often be successfully 
grown. The bush Limas are mostly 
used in small gardens, the market grow¬ 
ers not using them extensively. They 
produce fair crops of beans, but market 
gardeners object to them because the 
vines fall on the ground, and the beans 
are likely to become moldy and dirty, 
thus injuring their sale. Beans are sent 
to the New York market in the pod, but 
local markets, like Paterson, N. J., de¬ 
mand the shelled beans. 
Hybrid Wichuraiana Roses. 
C. C. P, New York. —Do the new hybrids of the 
Wichuraiana rose, bloom through July and Au¬ 
gust, or as late as the parent rose ? I want some 
roses for a seashore place, which will bloom 
through July and August. 
Ans —The hybrid Wichuraiana roses 
bloom in June and July, but not in Au¬ 
gust. Their season begins a little before 
that of the Wichuraiana type. Efforts 
are now being directed to the establish 
ment of a variety of this type which 
will be a perpetual bloomer. Try Clo- 
thilde Soupert, or any of the Everbloom- 
ing varieties advised in The R. N -Y. of 
April 15, page 279. 
Fertilizer Seed for a Lawn. 
,/. P. K , Puckerbrush, Ind. —What is a good fer¬ 
tilizer to use on ground I am preparing for a 
lawn? The soil is a mixture of clay and loam. 
During the Winter, I gave it a good coat of barn¬ 
yard manure, and just as soon as the ground is 
dry enough to work, I shall cultivate it thor¬ 
oughly with the Cutaway and other harrows, 
drags, roller, etc. ? Do you recommend a mixture 
of Blue grass and White clover for a sunny lawn ? 
Ans. —The fertilizer mixture will de¬ 
pend a good deal upon the cost of the 
materials in your market; if you can 
obtain unleaehed wood ashes at a fair 
price, we would advise you to use them 
heavily on this lawn. With us, a good 
mixture would be one part of muriate of 
potash, two parts of fine ground bone, 
and one part of nitrate of soda ; but 
possibly, the wood ashes will be cheaper 
than the muriate. We have found the best 
results from the use of half Blue grass 
and half Red-top grass seed. This makes 
a thick, velvety lawn. 
E very successful 
farmer who raises fruits, 
vegetables, berries or 
grain, knows by experience 
the importance of having a 
large percentage of 
Potash 
in his fertilizers. If the fer¬ 
tilizer is too low in Potash the 
harvest is sure to be small, and 
of inferior quality. 
Our books tell about the proper fertilizers 
for all crops, and we will gladly send them 
free to any farmer. 
GERHAN KALI WORKS, 
93 Nassau St., New York. 
Crop Failures 
are practically impossible where 
Nitrate of Soda is used as 
a fertilizer. It’s use has made 
an exact science of crop growing. 
You can always rely upon a good 
crop when it is used singly or in 
proper combination with other 
elements of plant food. Send to 
John A. Myers, 12—O John St., 
New York, for free copy of 
book, “Food for Plants.” Nitrate 
for sale by 
BALFOUR, WILLIAMSON & CO., 
27 William St., New York. 
++++++t+*+++* > 
Profits of Farming 
GARDENING AND FRUIT CULTURE. 
depend upon Good Crops and they in 
turn upon Good Fertilizers. The 
uniformly best fertilizer for nil Crops 
and all soils is made by 
Tlie Cleveland Dryer Co., Cleveland, O. 
Materials Supplied for “ Borne Mixing." 
Ornamental Asparagus; Cherries. 
II. W. Z., Brockwayville, Pa. —1. Are ali kinds of 
asparagus good to eat ? 2. Wi'l you give me the 
□ ame of some sweet cherry that should do well 
in this section—the large kind ? 
Ans.— 1. No, there are many kinds cul¬ 
tivated solely for ornament, like Aspara¬ 
gus Sprengerii, A. plumosus, A. tenuis- 
simus. These are delightful, hothouse, 
fern-like plants. 2. Black Tartarian, 
Coe’s Transparent, Napoleon. 
Laugh Out, Oh, 
Murmuring Spring. 
ft 
It is the time to laugh, the year’s fresh 
prime. Sensible people now do the same 
that nature does—aim to be purified, and 
for the same reasons. They use that mar¬ 
vellous blood purifier, Hood’s Sarsaparilla. 
Its work and worth are known world wide. 
N everDisappoin ts 
CANADA UNLEACHED 
HARDWOOD ___ 
For prices address THOS. POTTS, Brantford, Ont. 
STEVENS 
FERTILIZER SOWER. 
A perfect machino for 
sowing all kinds of com¬ 
mercial fertilizer 
in any quantity 
from 200to 
4000 lbs 
per acre. 
Sows broad cast 
or in drills. 
Gives that even 
distribution s o 
necessary to suc¬ 
cess. 
i J 
Being mounted on 
low, broad tired 
■y wheels it is 
easy to load 
and doesnotrut 
the ground, be¬ 
ing light draft. 
Sows 5 ft. 
10 in. wide 
Made witliad- 
justable shafts— 
quickly changed 
to tongue, for 1 
or 8 horses. 
Will save enough fertilizer in one season to pay for it¬ 
self. ltshouldbe onevery farmlmtitis ImIUpi n»ihic 
to the potato grower, the tobacco planter and the 
cotton planter. Circulars, testimonials, etc., free. 
BELCHER Sc TAYLOR A. T. CO., 
Box 75, Chicopee Falls, Mass. 
SAVE MONEY! BUY YOUR FERTILIZERS DIRECT. 
\ou get the benefi t of salesman's expenses and agent’s profit. Our entire production 
goes from factory to farm. Write for free samples and book. 
WALKISR, SXRATMAN & CO., Herr’s Island, Pittsburg, Pa. 
I iLb 
urcttmtiu uanu ductive land, ’ By using tile you get rid ortho 
- ssa. ». . surplus water and admit the air to the soil— 
both necessary to best results in agriculture. My AGRICULTURAL 
C-.! DRAIN TILE meets every requirement. Make also Sewer Pipe Bed 
and Fire Brick, Chimney Tops. Encaustic Side Walk Tile, etc. Wfit’e for 
what you want and prices. JOHN H. J ACKSON, Third Aye. Albany N.Y. 
Vr/rrrrrrwffpiftiiimvnii*irffffr*trf*nrin 
> pfrffFfffffrm*nonrt 
\ 
It will plow, level, fur¬ 
row, sow, cover, rake, 
cultivate, hoe and hill. 
Y'ou can plant more, 
cultivate more, sell 
more at higher prices 
if you use the IRON 
AGE COMBINED 
SEED DRILL AND 
WHEEL HOE. 
Send your name and ad¬ 
dress for the handsome Iron 
Age hook of farm and gar¬ 
den implements for ‘911. 
BATEMAN J1K0. CO., 
Box 109, tlrenloeb, 5. J. 
