I IO 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
February 13 
well-known fact that barns are struck oftener than 
other buildings, and this is explained by the fact that 
during the season of thunder storms barns are usual¬ 
ly filled with freshly-gathered hay or grain in a state 
of more or less ferment and heat. The current of 
warm air arising is the line of least resistance to the 
surplus electricity of the clouds, and it takes that 
course to the earth. If this is the case, and it seems 
very plausible, it would seem that the only protection 
to the building would be the metallic points directly 
above the roof to gather the electric fluid and conduct 
it to the moist subsoil or underlying water. Dry earth 
and wood are poor conductors, and resist the passage 
of the current and that is what causes the trouble. I 
have no lightning rods on my buildings, and consider 
them safer than some that have imperfect rods. If I 
wanted any I would put it up myself, and think I 
would prefer to put it directly to the building fasten¬ 
ing it with wooden blocks. There is no danger of'the 
lightning leaving a good conductor and going into a 
bad, but the rod must not stop in the surface soil. II 
must go down into a well, or deep enough to be per¬ 
manently in moist earth. grant Davis. 
BRIEF FERTILIZER TALKS. 
Hauling Firefanged Manure. 
Is horse manure any good when it is all firefanged? 
T had about 20 tons of straw manure given to me if I 
will draw it from the city, but people tell me that it is 
not worth going after. What per cent does ft lose by 
being firefanged? I always ralce good crops where I put 
our stable manure. As I can draw two tons to the load 
and one trip a'day, would you advise me to draw it? 
Dalton, Pa. h. k. 
We would haul that manure provided there was 
no other work for the team that would earn a full 
day’s work in cash. “Firefang” is the result of fer¬ 
menting or heating in the pile. The heating drives 
off most of the moisture and leaves the manure white 
and dry. The heat also drives off part of the nitro¬ 
gen, in some cases at least 50 per cent of it. Still, in 
spite of this loss a ton of the firefanged manure may 
contain more nitrogen than a ton of fresh manure, 
since the water driven away leaves more solid mat¬ 
ter in the ton. 
Lime or Plaster with Manure. 
Will lime, applied in connection with a commercial fer¬ 
tilizer at the time of seeding to oats and clover, destroy 
the nitrogen of the fertilizer the same way as in ma¬ 
nure? If both cannot be used, which would be preferable 
for assisting the clover? Will land plaster be harmful 
to the nitrogen if used with a commercial fertilizer? 
Kutztown, Pa. F - s - K - 
Lime will not destroy anything. When mixed with 
manure or fertilizers containing such substances as 
blood, tankage or fish, the lime will act to set free a 
part of the ammonia. This would not matter very 
much if both were worked into the ground so that 
the chemical change took place there. The great ob¬ 
jection to use of lime with such forms of nitrogen is 
where they are mixed above ground, so that the am¬ 
monia escapes into the air. We should be willing to 
use the lime and the fertilizer together, although we 
believe that it is better to use lime in the Fall and a 
fertilizer containing nitrogen in the Spring. Land 
plaster does not act like lime when mixed with ma¬ 
nure. It is a sulphate of lime and unites with the am¬ 
monia to form a sulphate—which is a solid. The 
lime forms a carbonate of ammonia—a gas. On the 
other hand, land plaster will not give the soil the 
“sweetening” effect which the lime does. 
Action of Salt; Fertilizer for Corn. 
What effect would common salt have on very thin 
ground? Does it pay to use it? I have a 10-acre field 
that was in corn last year, nearly every stalk had a 
shoot on, but no car of corn. What fertilizer would you 
use? I sowed cow peas in this corn and they were very 
yellow all the time. I let them rot on the ground. 
Would it be best to raise cow peas on this field for a 
few years? c - p - 
Wocdbury, Ill. 
As a rule the best results from salt are on strong 
ground. Where grain or grass are inclined to “lodge” 
(this seldom happens on thin soil), salt makes a 
stiffer stem, so that the crop stands up better. There 
are probably two main reasons for this. The salt pre¬ 
vents too rapid growth by holding back nitrification, 
which is the process of changing nitrogen from an 
insoluble to a soluble form, as the plant grows slower 
it is not so likely to be weak and brittle. The salt 
also probably enables such crops to obtain silica, 
an element which gives strength and firmness to the 
stalk. Salt absorbs and holds moisture, but we doubt 
if it would pay to use much of it on thin land. Last 
season was unfavorable for the corn and cow-pea 
crop. When corn fails to ear in a favorable season 
phosphoric acid and potash are lacking. We should 
experiment with wood ashes or muriate of potash for 
potash, and either ground bone or acid phosphate for 
phosphoric acid. The chances are that both are need¬ 
ed, though the element most likely to be lacking is 
phosphoric acid. A mixture of 300 pounds acid phos¬ 
phate and 75 pounds muriate of potash per acre 
would give a good test, and to make sure you should 
use the potash and also the phosphate alone on strips 
through the field and observe the results. If you can 
spare the field it will pay to turn under two crops of 
cow peas before planting corn. The Illinois Experi¬ 
ment Station finds that phosphoric acid is the ele¬ 
ment most needed on soils in that State. We should, 
however, try potash on the lighter soils. 
When to Use Phosphate and Potash. 
1 have a quantity of acid phosphate and muriate of 
potash on hand, which I shall use for corn on a thin 
sod field which I am now' covering thinly with stable 
manure. The soil is a sandy loam, underlaid with tw r o 
feet of yellow gritty clay, rather porous. Shall I get as 
good results from the potash and phosphate if sown 
A WISCONSIN MANURE PIT. Fig. 46. 
now on the sod and plowed at the usual time, as I would 
if I waited and spread on the freshly-plowed ground 
next Spring? Will they revert into less available rorms 
if sown now? n. i. d. 
East Quogue, N. Y. 
There will be little difference in results whether 
the fertilizer is broadcast now or put on later. Some 
farmers like to put muriate of potash on level soil in 
Winter, as they think the salt is washed out of it. In 
our own practice we often use phosphate and potash 
in Winter on sod ground, but when the ground is to 
be plowed we prefer to broadcast the fertilizers on 
the rough furrows and harrow them in. These ferti¬ 
lizers are heavy and -will work down through the soil 
anyway. We prefer not to plow them under. We 
must remember that soluble forms of potash and 
phosphate change in the soil into other forms which 
are not soluble. If this were not so this valuable 
plant food would be washed out of the soil through 
drains and lost. We cannot expect to keep them in 
the soil in as soluble forms as we find them in acid 
phosphate or muriate of potash. They may remain 
in the soil in such a form that the plants can use 
them and yet not soluble enough for the water to 
wash them away. Acid phosphate in some soils does 
enter into new forms which are insoluble. That is 
one reason why it is necessary to use more phos¬ 
phoric acid than of the other elements. 
Manure on a Leased Farm. 
I have leased a farm for three years, commencing April 
1 I shall have only a limited quantity of manure to use 
this year. I wish to plow two acres of sod ground for 
corn, and shall plant two acres or more to vegetables 
on land planted to corn and potatoes last year. Where 
would the manure do most good, on corn or vegetables? 
I would have to use some fertilizer in addition to ma¬ 
nure. Can I get good result^ from a fertilizer using acid 
phosphate as a base, or should I use some ground bone’ 
Give a formula of a fertilizer to use on potatoes. 
Enfield, Mass. H - L - R - 
If we owned the farm we would put all the manure 
on the sod for the corn, and follow with potatoes and 
vegetables in a rotation. On a rented farm we would 
put the manure on the open ground, as we should ex¬ 
pect quicker results where some manure is used with 
fertilizer. It makes considerable difference whether 
a farmer can plan to improve his soil permanently or 
whether he wants to get all the plant food out of it 
in a short time. On general principles we prefer a 
mixture of ground bone and phosphate. On heavy 
soils the acid phosphate alone will answer, but on 
lighter soils the bone is more satisfactory. A general 
mixture for all vegetables may be made as follow’s: 
Two hundred and fifty pounds nitrate ol soda, 350 
pounds dried blood, 400 pounds muriate of potash, 300 
pounds ground bone and 700 pounds acid phosphate. 
How to Handle Old Meadows. 
I have a piece of meadow land that has been in grass 
four years, and the grass is getting shorter each year. 
This ground is a heavy clay, and is low, with just slope 
enough to drain. The grass is thick in bottom, but what 
grows tall enough to mow is thin. I would like to have 
your opinion as to the best way to renew this meadow 
by plowing and reseeding or top-dressing the grass. 
Give best fertilizers to use on this kind of land in either 
case, including some barn manure. a. b. 
Newtonburg, Pa. 
If we had that meadow we would do one of two 
things to be decided by conditions which every farm¬ 
er must decide for himself. You can put manure on 
that sod, plow it under and plant corn. Sow Crimson 
clover and turnips at the last cultivation, and next 
Spring work it up carefully and seed to oats with 
Timothy and clover. Cut the oats early and give the 
young grass a fair application of fertilizer. In place 
of this you can give the grass another chance. Use 
at least 500 pounds per acre of a fertilizer mixed as 
follows: Four hundred pounds nitrate of soda, 400 
pounds fine ground bone, 400 pounds muriate of pot¬ 
ash and 800 pounds acid phosphate. This fertilizer 
will show you whether the grass is worth cutting any 
longer. We have known such meadows to be brought 
back to profitable yield by this kind of fertilizing. 
If the grass does not respond so as to pay a profit we 
should, after the hay crop was off, break up the mea¬ 
dow and reseed it after following Mr. Clark’s method 
of preparing the ground as closely as possible. A 
farmer must decide for himself, from his own condi¬ 
tions, which plan is best for him. 
Wood Ashes and Nitrate for Potatoes. 
I have an old piece of ground that has not much humus, 
and is quite poor as well; it is well drained. By work¬ 
ing it up well could I raise potatoes on it by the appli¬ 
cation of nitrate of soda and unleached wood ashes, or 
must I get a complete fertilizer? I have great faith in 
ashes; years ago my father ran a potash factory and 
also owned 50 acres of land. Having a large lot of leached 
ashes on hand and only one field to use it on, to ascer¬ 
tain if he could use too much on the land he planted a 
hill of corn in the clear leached ashes; it came up, but 
very yellow. That field of about 10 acres was coated 
with two or three inches of those leached ashes. 1 will 
not state what followed from year to year, but to show 
how it lasted, 14 years after the ashes were applied (and 
no manure or ashes had been applied in the meantime), 
h» raised 63 bushels of barley to the acre. My land on 
which I wish to use ashes and soda is a stiff clay. I can 
buv good unleached ashes at 10 cents per bushel; the 
chemicals outside of nitrate of soda I cannot get so 
handily. H * ’ r ‘ 
Stevensville, Ont. 
On our own farm we should use the complete ferti¬ 
lizer. Where ashes are cheap and the quality is guar¬ 
anteed the nitrate and ashes may answer. The ni¬ 
trate will give a good supply of soluble nitrogen. Wc 
would not put. it all on at once in the Spring, but 
would make three applications of it, dividing into 
three parts, putting the first on at planting time, the 
second when the plants are about two inches high, 
and the third after the blossoms appear on the plants. 
Why? Nitrate is very soluble and is likely to be 
leached out of the soil in case of heavy rains. If you 
put it all on at once a good deal of it will be lost, so 
that when the plant most needs a supply of nitrogen 
there will be nothing for it. By making the separate 
applications you will keep the plant growing right 
through the season. To make this second and third 
application you can scatter it along the rows about 
five inches from the plants, and work it in with cul¬ 
tivator or hoe. As for wood ashes, they supply pot¬ 
ash in the very best form. They have but little phos¬ 
phoric acid, and that would be the element you would 
need largely on such soil. You will have to use a large 
quantity of the ashes in order to supply phosphoric 
acid enough. In our experience, when we have used 
a large quantity of wood ashes on potatoes we have 
generally been troubled with the scab. The lime in 
the ashes seems to give just the conditions that are 
right for the spread of this scab disease, and if there 
is scab on the seed or in the soil from previous crops 
the ashes will bother you. Aside from this your plan 
would probably work, provided you use ashes enough 
to supply the needed phosphoric acid. Our advice 
would be, if you try this plan, to plow the ground 
and broadcast the ashes and harrow them in, and 
then scatter the nitrate of soda on the ground after 
the potatoes are planted. There is no doubt that on 
soils that are naturally strong leached ashes will 
show an effect for a good many years. This effect is 
largely due to the lime which they contain. Most of 
the potash has been leached out of them, but the lime 
and phosphoric acid remain. On poorer soils or those 
inclined to be sandy we do not think you will obtain 
anything like the results from the leached ashes 
alone, but on the heavier soils the lime is able to take 
out a good deal of the natural fertility from the soil 
and thus push the crops along. 
TRAINED ROSES.—I will give you a description of 
how I have our roses trained. I set cedar posts, tak¬ 
ing care to brace the end ones well; then stretch coil 
steel wire above about 5 V 2 feet high, lower wire six 
inches from ground, then put five-foot wire netting 
between and fasten to coil spring with copper wire. 
I tied roses to netting. If you have a better plan let 
me know. Friends say they never saw roses equaled. 
St. Catharine’s, Ont. s. s. P. 
