1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
4i5 
SOME NEW WAYS WITH OLD CROPS. 
From All Over the Country. 
Asparagus in the Dark —J. E. Morse, of Detroit, 
sent May 4, a bunch of asparagus, from roots placed 
in a dark cellar Saturday p. m., April 22, temperature 
45 to 50 degrees. Tuesday, April 25, heat was started 
(just a lamp) and the temperature was raised to 65 to 
70 degrees. Mr. Morse says that he is trying two 
methods to see which proves better, lie says : “I have 
just now cut the stalks, but think they would have 
been even better cut early this morning or last night. 
However, it is pretty quick work. The roots were 
old and neglected, overrun with grass and weeds, 
and had received no care or manure for three years, 
to my certain knowledge, and how much longer ‘ de¬ 
ponent sayeth not’. I purposely selected these to see 
if these things could be done in the dry tree, what 
could be done in the green. I think asparagus could 
be grown with profit, and I believe there are great 
possibilities in the dark cellar, and a great future for 
it.” 
We showed this asparagus to some of the handlers 
of hothouse products, and they said that, if it came in 
good condition in the Winter, it would, probably, 
meet a good demand. Its chief 
competitor then would be the 
hothouse asparagus, and as this 
is often unprofitably low in price, 
it is simply a question whether 
the dark-grown asparagus can 
be produced more cheaply. We 
cooked the small package re¬ 
ceived, but it had been kept too 
long, and had dried out too much, 
hence was not a fair sample. 
A Real Smother Crop. —In 
The R. N.-Y. of April 29, appeared 
two short paragraphs on t he value 
of turnips, millet and peas, as 
smother crops for Quack grass. 
As the writers say, these crops 
are not suited for this purpose. 
The crop best suited for this pur¬ 
pose in the West is rape, and I 
see no reason why it should not 
be equally successful in the East. 
The soil, if not naturally ri.h, 
should be given a liberal coating 
of farmyard manure in order to 
insure a rank growth. This 
should be plowed in to consider¬ 
able depth, and the surface well 
worked down by means of a har¬ 
row or cultivator. Before sow¬ 
ing the rape, which may be done 
in May or June, make sure that 
there are no signs of the enemy 
above ground. The crop may be 
put in on the flat or in drills 24 
inches apart at the rate of two 
pounds of seed per acre. During 
the first three or four weeks, the 
rape should receive some atten¬ 
tion, the horse and hand hoe 
being used freely. If a sharp 
outlook be kept for the intruder 
at this time, there will be little 
danger of it appearing later. 
If this attention be given, and 
the rape crop thrive properly, it 
will be found at the end of the 
season that the entire root sys¬ 
tem of the Quack grass is in a 
state of decay. This cannot be 
accomplished on poor land, but if the soil is rich, 
this pest may be eradicated, and at the same time, 
a valuable crop may be grown. jas. Atkinson. 
Iowa Experiment Station. 
Wheat Growing in the South.— In this locality, 
about 34 degrees 20" north latitude, there has been 
quite a revival in wheat growing in the past two 
years, and last Fall, an increased acreage was put in. 
The average yield last year, as far as I have heard, 
was about 35 bushels to the acre on lands in the 
Ouachita and Saline River bottoms, and about 25 
bushels on the uplands. Oats have always been a 
regular crop, and in favorable seasons, the yield has 
been from 30 to 45 bushels to the acre, though not 
many oats are thrashed here—they are mostly fed to 
stock in the straw. The wheat generally sown is a 
bearded wheat; it makes a very good, but rather dark 
flour. 
About 15 to 20 years ago, quite a large quantity of 
wheat was grown in this part of the State, but smut 
and rust attacked the plant, and caused the farmers 
to become discouraged, so much so that no wheat was 
grown until three years ago, and I doubt whether any 
would have been sown but for the very low price of 
cotton, which is surely one of the greatest blessings 
that could have come to our people ; they are going in 
more and more for diversified crops and raising stock. 
I am hopeful that this movement will spread, as the 
one-money-crop day has surely passed. Two years 
ago, 25 acres of cantaloupes were raised near here; 
this year there are over 350 acres in, and looking well. 
Malvern, Ark. L. M. 
Sorghum for Horse Feed. —I have found sorghum 
an excellent and economical food for horses. I sow in 
drills about 3% feet apart. May 1, and cultivate the 
same as corn. It is very necessary that the seed 
should be soaked a few days before planting, as it 
comes much quicker ; as the plant is very small when 
it first comes up, unless hurried in this way, the 
weeds interfere greatly with its cultivation. I have 
planted it with sprouts one-half inch long, and it 
would show through the ground in a couple of days. 
In case of a severe dry spell in August, it makes a 
fine substitute for grass, cut and hauled to pasture, 
and scattered so that stock can eat it from the sod. 
I have fed it every Winter and FalL to horses for 
about 20 years, and have been unable to find anything 
so suitable or economical. My aim is to cut it in the 
Fall just in time to avoid frost, and shock it in the 
field in good-s ; zed shocks, where it can rema'n and 
be hauled to barn or feed-lot as required. For the 
past few years, I have cut and bound my sorghum 
with a corn harvester, which binds it in bundles of 
suitable size to handle, and when well shocked in the 
field, it will keep till March. During the Winter, I 
generally run it through a feed cutter, and with a 
little sheaf oats cut with it, and some bran mixed with 
the sorghum and oats, I know of nothing better for 
horses or cattle. It is said to be hard on the ground, 
but it makes such a large amount of feed that very 
few acres are required, and I have observed that 
wheat and clover grow as luxuriantly after it as after 
corn. The only bad effects I have ever had was in 
feeding it after being frozen and sour. 
Anchorage, Ky. L. l dobsey. 
Planer Shavings in Manure —We still use large 
quantities of planer shaviDgs for bedding, and observe 
no deleterious effects on the land. On the other hand, 
we believe that the use of shavings on heavy soil, at 
least, has a very beneficial effect. We are now seed¬ 
ing down a piece of about 60 acres, that has been in 
corn for six consecutive years, and has been heavily 
treated with shaving manure every year. Our men 
say that it never worked down so fine as this year. 
Our neighbors, too, who have watched this piece of 
land, remark how much easier it is put in condition 
than formerly. ciias. h. koyce. 
Ellerslie Farm, N. Y. 
A HEADER IN WESTERN GRAIN. 
The illustration, Fig. 165, on our first page shows a 
scene in a great Nebraska wheat field at harvest time. 
The photograph was taken just after the surrender of 
Santiago, and the American flag is very much in 
evidence. In many parts of the West, the self-binder 
is too slow to get over the ground. When the condi¬ 
tions are right, the farmers use a header. At the right 
of the picture, is shown the carrier of this machine. 
To the left of the carrier, will be seen a great reel 
which revolves and brings the grain heads down to 
the cutter knife, where they are sliced off and carried 
up the carrier, and tdrown into the rack, which is 
shown at the left of the picture. It will be seen that 
the horses w ilk behind the header in hauling it. The 
heads are thrown into the rack, and carried to the 
stack, where they are thrown out like hay. Several 
of these wagon racks are required so that, while one 
is unloading, another is driven along with the carrier 
so as to keep the header constantly at work. The 
header leaves a long stubble, and covers many acres 
during the day. It is said to 
shell out the wheat worse than 
the binder, but in the rush of 
harvest on these great western 
farms, it is necessary to get over 
the ground as rapidly as possible. 
COW PEAS AND CRIMSON 
CLOVER. 
WILL THEY WOIiK TOGETHER ? 
Clover in the Peas —Two 
years ago, early in August, we 
sowed Crimson clover seed among 
the cow-pea vines. The cow peas 
had been broadcasted on poor 
ground, and had made a fair 
growth. The variety was the 
EarlyBlack,and we observed that 
the leaves dropped from the vine 
before frost killed them down, 
end in this way the clover ob¬ 
tained a fair start. It has seemed 
possible to us to drill this cow 
pea after digging early potatoes, 
keep the drills well cultivated, 
and at the last cultivation, sow 
Crimson clover so that when the 
cow peas died down from the frost, 
the clover would continue to 
grow, thus securing two legumi¬ 
nous C'ops. 
A Delaware Report —Mr. 
A. W. Slaymaktr, of Delaware, 
says that, several years ago, he 
drilled a field to cow peas with 
tae rows 30 inches apart. This 
was done on June 15. They were 
cultivated regularly until Au¬ 
gust 1, at which time Crimson 
clover was sown and cultivated 
in. The clover came up and looked 
well for about two weeks, until 
late in August, when the rank 
growth of peas covered the 
ground so as to smother out the 
clover. There were only two 
places where the clover lived. 
One vasa part of the field where 
a few rows of the Early Black cow 
pea had been sown ; these peas matured, and began to 
shed leaves before the clover was too far gone to sur¬ 
vive. The other case was along one £ide of the field 
next to an apple orchard. Mr. Slaymaker found that, 
where the vines were within 20 or 30 feet of an apple 
tree, the growth of peas was comparatively small, and 
the stand of clover very fine. From repeated observa¬ 
tions, he says that, on good ground, the ordinary cow 
pea will smother out clover, also most weeds. When, 
however, the growth of the peas is kept back by the 
shade of the trees, clover will grow well in the favor¬ 
able weather of late Summer and early Fall. 
Use in Orchards —It seems to us that this ex¬ 
perience suggests an experiment for fruit growers. 
Just now, all are agreed that constant surface cultiva¬ 
tion is the proper treatment to give a fruit orchard; 
in fact, this idea has in some places so interfered with 
the growing of clover in orchards, as to make quite a 
little difference in the amount of purchased nitrogen. 
By drilling con peas 30 inches or three feet apart 
about the middle of June, and keeping the cultivator 
constantly running until the vines are too large, the 
fruit grower can secure two results : He will have the 
constant surface cultivation, also produce an excellent 
humus crop, which will not interfere with Spring 
cultivation. We also think that, in many cases, 
Crimson clover can be sown among the cow peas so as 
to secure a fair crop through the Winter. We would 
always use the Early Black variety for this purpose, 
as its peculiar habit of growth fits it best for this work. 
JAPAN UMBRELLA PINE IN RURAL GROUNDS. Fig. 167. 
See Ruralisms, Page 118. 
