464 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 2 
after, in the wettest season, potatoes can be gro\% n 
there. The potato crop is as good as any to test the 
drainage in a wet season. On one onion field, Mr. 
Garrahan had tried an experiment with manures and 
fertilizers to see which was most objectionable to the 
onion maggot. It is a fact that, in this case, the 
maggots were much worse where the fertilizers were 
used. 
Nkw Kerosene Emulsion. —The experiment stations 
are issuing now a number of pamphlets discussing the 
diseases of farm animals, and methods of handling 
them. The Arkansas Station (Fayetteville), mentions 
a somewhat new wash for insects that accumulate 
on the bodies of animals. They infuse \ % pound of 
pyrethrum in one gallon of kerosene, and after 24 
hours, pour off the fluid ; then dissolve one pound of 
soap in a gallon of boiling water, remove the soap and 
water, add the kerosene extract at once, and mix 
thoroughly by means of a large syringe or force pump. 
This makes a kerosene emulsion with the active prin¬ 
ciple of pyrethrum added. For use on live stock, one 
part of this emulsion is mixed with four parts of 
water, which ought to be sure death to flies and other 
insects. 
Haymaking in Wyoming. —A reader in Wyoming 
says that he usually begins cutting Alfalfa from June 
20 to July 1. It does not take long to make hay in 
that sunny climate. In fact, he says, with ordinary 
care, it is almost impossible to spoil hay. tSleds for 
hauling hay in the field have given good satisfaction. 
These sleds are really platforms 8 x 16 feet, lying flat 
on the ground on two planks. He says it is surprising 
how quickly two men can put a ton of hay on to one 
of these rigs, and they run with great ease over the 
grass. 
Loss from Poor Seed. —We frequently meet men 
who complain of the loss occasioned by imperfect 
seed. Last week, a farmer showed us a field of onions 
which promised at that time to lose $1,000 for him. He 
bought 100 pounds of onion seed of a firm with whom 
he had dealt for years. He had such confidence in the 
firm's integrity that the seed was not even tested. He 
himself sowed the onion seeds, and knew that the 
work was properly done. Not 10 per cent of the seed 
started, thus causing great loss and disappointment. 
In our own case this year, we planted 1 % bushel of Ever¬ 
green sweet corn, bought of a reliable house. Not 15 
per cent of this corn ever sprouted. There is a dis¬ 
tinct line through two fields showing where this seed 
was used by the side of other corn. This is not quite 
so discouraging as it is to buy fertilizer at a high 
price, and find after the crops are knee-high, that it is 
worthless; but it is bad enough, and there ought to 
be some remedy for it. 
A Sulky Weeiier. —We don’t mean a boy in the 
onion patch while his thoughts are off fishing. Mr. /. 
breed, of New Hampshire, the original inventor of the 
weeder, now tells us that he has invented a weeder on 
wheels, which may be operated “ by an old man of 75 
or a boy of 10.” The history of Mr. Hreed’s old in¬ 
vention has often been told. We know how he stuck 
small sticks into a plank, hitched it to the old mare, 
and went scratching through the garden, little think¬ 
ing at that time, that he had started an entirely new 
system of cultivating crops. Being an old man, and 
unable to chase after a weeder like younger men, he 
has long seen the probable value of a sulky weeder, 
and now he has it. He says : “I used it in my garden 
to-day, on cucumbers, beans, squashes and tomatoes. 
The blood bounced in my old heart as I sat on my 
seat and saw what it would do and what it would not 
do.” All who have seen a light boy or woman work¬ 
ing with a two-wheeled cultivator will readily see the 
possibilities for cheap labor that are opened by a good 
sulky weeder. We hope to have more to say about 
this machine later. 
COW PEAS IN PLACE OF STABLE MANURE. 
FOR CONTINUOUS STRAW KERRY CULTURE. 
I have been raising strawberries for several years ; 
I have been planting two acres each Spring, and after 
picking two crops, I plow them under and plant the 
following Spring, so all the ground I have suitable 
for strawberries (six acres) is growing strawberries 
all the time. The ground is a sandy loam, and is 
extra well drained. I have been fertilizing with 50 
cubic cords of stable manure per acre each time be¬ 
fore planting, and mulching with wheat straw each 
Fall. After picking, I mow the vines off and burn. 
Now I wish to make a change, as 1 find it impossible 
to have my patches clean at picking time. We do not 
allow anything to grow in the patch from the time 
we plant in April until the ground is frozen (except 
strawberries), and we cover it with straw, and then 
our patch is not only weedy but it is ragged with 
wheat. I have come to the conclusion that just as 
long as I haul manure filled with all kinds of weed 
seeds, on my ground, and cover with straw filled with 
wheat and more weed seeds, I cannot keep my straw¬ 
berries clean. I finish picking about June 28 to July 
1. Can’t I plow up immediately and sow or drill 
(whichever is the best) with cow peas, raise them 
large enough to plow under before Winter, and use 
commercial fertilizer, say about one-half ton per acre 
at planting time, and get my ground as rich without 
hauling in any manure and weed seeds ? b. n. 
Indiana. 
Relieve the Monotony with Potatoes. 
It would seem to me that B. N. has a very good idea 
about adding both fertility and humus to the soil 
without resorting to the use of stable manure. The 
early varieties of the cow pea will, in my judgment, 
if sown as early as July 1, in Indiana, mature before 
frost, or nearly so. They will be greatly helped in their 
growth by liberal applications of potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid. These manures will materially increase 
the ability of the peas to add humus to the soil when 
plowed under the next Spring, and they will be in 
more available condition for the following growth of 
strawberry plants than if applied directly to that 
crop. I can think of no other crop that could be grown 
so advantageously for the desired purpose as the cow 
pea. It is so quick to grow and mature, that it is not 
necessary to lose a single season’s strawberry crop. 
It will draw large quantities of nitrogen from the air, 
and make the purchase of that costly element un¬ 
necessary. However, I think it would be well to grow 
a crop of late potatoes or some other Fall crop on the 
land occasionally to change the monotony of continu¬ 
ous strawberry crops. u. e. van deman. 
Nothing Better Than Cow Peas. 
Very little strawberry land has ever seen stable 
manure. We don’t have it, and if we did, it causes 
weeds and clover to grow too much. On very poor 
land, I use it, but do not advise it. I don’t know how 
long such a practice as you describe may be kept up at 
a profit, but certainly, by the use of cow peas and fer¬ 
tilizer, for some time. If you sow peas, and turn 
under before the peas mature, you can still seed rye 
to protect the land during Winter, and if this is likely 
to be too much green matter, you can use lime to pre¬ 
vent the land from becoming sour. I would also apply 
either rock and potash or bone and potash before 
planting broadcast, and harrow in, say 500 pounds 
per acre; then use ground fish or tankage with a 
small proportion of nitrate of soda, say of both 300 to 
400 pounds per acre, on top of the rows when the 
plants begin to grow. If the land is rich in nitrogen, 
don't be too lavish, or you may get more plants than 
fruit. But if you have the land to spare, I would pre¬ 
fer to sandwich a crop or so of potatoes between the 
berries, if I could, or the same land year after year 
may get sick of them. ciias. wright. 
Delaware. 
Great Value of the Cow Pea. 
In Delaware, nothing in the fertilizing line would 
be easier than to fit a strawberry patch cropped this 
year to receive strawberry plants the next Spring, 
and probably, profitably to continue the practice a 
series of years. 1 have fertilized land to grow straw¬ 
berries by the use of cow peas, with good success, but 
having plenty of land to rotate the crop, Ido not prac¬ 
tice succession of strawberries, but would not hesitate 
to do it on the question of fertility. If I wished to use 
land that way, my method, borne out by use of cow 
peas, would be to fit the land for cow peas just as soon 
as possible after the removal of the berries. Use 
Black peas grown as far north as possible to get them; 
drill in two to three inches deep at the rate of one 
bushel to the acre. One-half, at least, or more of the 
fertilizer intended to be used on the berries, should 
be applied when the peas are sown, excluding any 
nitrogen. From the lavish use of manure previously, 
nitrogen is, probably, very abundant, and the peas do 
not need it. 
From the character of the land and fertilizer used, 
the land is likely to be deficient in potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid, deficient at least comparatively. In Dela¬ 
ware, dissolved phosphate rock and muriate of potash 
would be used, as they are our cheapest sources of 
those elements. Other points being equal, use the 
cheapest sources, as cow peas are gross feeders, and 
can, undoubtedly, use forms of fertilizers unavailable 
for many other plants. Farmers’ experience here is 
that dissolved rock gives better results at onee than 
most of the other sources of phosphoric acid. It is 
fair, then, to suppose it the most readily available. 
Muriate and sulphate of potash and kainit are the 
cheapest sources here for potash, and are readily used 
by the legumes. Looking to the effect on quality of 
fruit, sulphate of potash would be, perhaps, preferable. 
Then again the salt in kainit as an insecticide might 
make it worth the extra freight charges on the in¬ 
creased bulk to get the amount of actual potash. The 
item of freight might make it economical to buy land 
salt and sulphate. Our own practice has been to use 
muriate of potash for strawberries, and whenever we 
used potash. From the practice of previous years, I 
take it that the land is already full of vegetable mat¬ 
ter ; if so, I would mow the peas in the Fall, and al¬ 
low them to remain on the land as a mulch over 
Winter, then remove them just before plowing in the 
Spring. If plowed under and the land is already 
spongy with vegetable matter, repeated rollings will 
be needed to solidify the soil for plant setting. If the 
cow peas are cut high, the stubble will hold the vines 
from blowing away. If the cow peas can be utilized 
for feed, I would feed them, not use them for fertilizer. 
The various uses of the peas as a soil improver are 
as follows : 1. They use nitrogen from the air, and 
accumulate it in every part of the plant. 2. Their 
roots penetrate below the feeding ground of most 
plants, and unlock and bring to the upper soil phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash unavailable to surface feeders. 
3. They subsoil the land. 4. They fill the soil with 
vegetable matter. 5. They smother nearly all weeds. 
6. The greatest use for the purpose above is to take 
up and use, then by the rotting of the plant, dis¬ 
tribute in better form and finer division, the fertil¬ 
izers used to create their growth. This last use has 
been indicated by field tests. Then feed the berry 
plants by feeding the cow peas. 
The first point is proved practically by the increased 
growth of nitrogen crops, grown after cow peas, the 
soil supply of nitrogen increased, yet none applied. 
Clover always responds in growth to applications of 
potash and phosphoric acid. Then if the growth of 
clover following cow peas is increased, these fertil¬ 
izers not having been applied to either of these crops, 
the second point is established. All these points have 
been proved in the farm laboratory. Commercial fer¬ 
tilizers often injure the foliage and roots of plants. 
The German potash salts, especially, do it. That is 
prevented if the cow peas first use the fertilizers. 
Delaware. s. n. derby. 
A FARM BOUNDED BY WATER. 
FEATHERS AND FUR ON FAMED FISHER’S ISLAND. 
[KDITOHIAL COHRK8PONDENCK. | 
Part IV. 
The Smaller Stock. —Besides the fowls, Fisher’s 
Island Farm does quite a business in breeding pheas¬ 
ants, squabs, wild ducks, wild geese and Belgian hares. 
Large numbers of the last are running wild all over 
the Island, and furnish excellent sport for gunners in 
certain seasons. The pheasants are kept for the eggs, 
for which there is a good demand, also for the birds 
for hatching. Mr. Crangle says that they are not able 
to supply the demand for these, as many people wish 
them for stocking their game preserves, parks, etc. The 
squabs are raised for market, and there is always a 
good demand for them at remunerative prices. 
Pheasants for Breeders. —The Bing Neck and 
Mongolian pheasants are bred. The breeding stock 
of these is kept in yards inclosed and covered by wire 
netting. It is necessary to keep them in families, as 
the cocks are great fighters. About four or five females 
are kept with one male. A good house is provided for 
them on this farm, but this seems a needless luxury, 
for Mr. Crangle says that they never go into it except 
in the most severe Winter storms, probably not occupy¬ 
ing it a week in the course of a year. Some slight 
protection in the yard would seem to be all that is 
necessary for them. They make their nests in the 
sand, hollowing it out to suit themselves. By taking 
the eggs as fast as they are laid, 50 or 00 can be secured 
before a female shows a disposition to sit. Both the 
e g£ s an d the birds bring high prices, the eggs selling 
at $5 per sitting. The feed of the old birds is very 
much the same as that given the poultry, except that 
barley is given instead of oats. 
Raising Young Pheasants. —Most of the young 
pheasants are hatched and raised by hens. To secure 
hens for this purpose, a cross is made of a Game Ban¬ 
tam on a Cochin Bantam. The Game Bantam insures 
a pugnacious disposition on the part of the progeny, 
and hens of this cross will fight almost anything for 
their young. The Cochin Bantam gives the motherly 
qualities that are desired. Mr. Crangle says that, 
when they began raising pheasants, they succeeded in 
raising about five per cent of what they hatched ; now, 
they raise about !)0 per cent, and these better results 
are secured because of a knowledge of what to feed 
and just how to care for them. The young pheasants 
are put in coops with board floors to keep them from 
the ground at first, and the feed consists of Spratt’s 
Pheasant meal. With good care, a plentiful supply of 
pure water, and everything kept absolutely clean, 
there is little difficulty in raising almost all birds that 
are hatched. 
Raising SquABs.—The stock used for breeding these 
is a cross of the Homer and the Dragoon. Quite a 
flock of pigeons can be kept together, but they pair 
off in mating time. Like pheasants, they are kept in 
covered yards so they cannot fly at large. It is not 
