254 
TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 26 
How Much Nitrate of Soda? 
Mow much nitrate of soda should be put on grass land 
to give beneficial results? A fertilizer agent tells me 75 
to 100 pounds per acre. Is not that a low estimate. 
Chester Co., Pa. H. d. l. 
We would not use less than 250 pounds per acre. 
A ton of mixed hay will contain nearly 30 pounds of 
nitrogen, while 75 pounds of nitrate will add only 12 
pounds of nitrogen. The object in using the nitrate 
is to quicken the early growth of grass. Of course 
the profit obtained from its use will depend on the 
character of the soil, but if needed at all we should 
use at least 250 pounds. 
The “ Bite " in Wood Ashes. 
Will wood ashes that are under cover, but open to the 
action of the air., lose their fertilizing qualities? I ask 
because I have noticed under the above conditions they 
sometimes have no “bite” to them, when touched with 
the tongue. Does the “bite” or lack of it indicate the 
strength of the ashes’ c. w. r. 
Perry, N. Y. 
The ashes will lose little if any fertilizing value 
through exposure to the air. The loss comes through 
leaching or soaking water through the ashes. This 
loss is chiefly one of potash, which is soluble, and can 
be washed cut. The “bite” of the ashes is due in large 
part to the action of the lime which they contain. 
About one-third the weight of wood ashes is lime. 
When we slake burned lime we know what a fierce 
heat is set up. This gives us an idea of what happens 
when we touch the moist tongue to fresh wood ashes. 
After exposure to the air for some time this lime be¬ 
comes air-slaked and thus loses much of its “biting” 
BADLY FROZEN TREE CUT BACK. Fig. 103. 
power. The potash will not be taken out of the ashes 
by the air. 
Nitrate of Soda on Strawberries. 
T expect to use nitrate of soda on my strawberries this 
Spring. The berries are now mulched with straw. Shall 
I take this straw off so as to cultivate the nitrate in, or 
how shall it be used? reader. 
Kansas. 
I rarely find it necessary to apply nitrate of soda to 
my strawberries in the Spring, as I mulch mainly 
with stable manure and the foliage is generally rank 
enough without it. When I do use it, however, I ap¬ 
ply it at the time the Winter mulch is loosened, scat¬ 
tering the nitrate directly on the rows. If the plants 
were mulched with loose straw, it might b# scattered 
right on the straw, and being heavy and in coarse 
grains most of it would go directly through to the 
ground. What did not go through would dissolve and 
go into the ground with the next rain. It is not neces¬ 
sary to cultivate it in. It should be applied before 
the plants have made any growth, and then will not 
injure the foliage. thomas b. hunt. 
NEW THEORIES OF PLANT FOOD. 
The advanced theory in agriculture is that the phy¬ 
sical condition of the soil is absolutely essential for 
securing good* crops, i. e., that the ground should be 
thoroughly pulverized and well watered. Accepting 
this fact it appears to me that the process of vegeta¬ 
tion was, and now is, the method by which the 
original quality of matter was organized into the vari¬ 
ous forms and qualities that now exist in the earth. 
According to this theory, the original matter was 
composed of infinitely small corpuscles of a globular, 
elastic, inert character. By virtue of the process of 
vegetation a series of these corpuscles were drawn to¬ 
gether and compressed into electrons; the electrons 
vegetated into atoms; the atoms into molecules, and 
the molecules into physical structures from which by 
differential compounds evoluted all the forms of vege¬ 
table matter and the mineral compounds. It will thus 
be seen that vegetation feeds on corpuscles, electrons, 
atoms and molecules, and as there are 48,000,000 cor¬ 
puscles in a single molecule of water, the plant food 
suitable for vegetation must be very fine indeed. 
We thus reason that all forms and qualities of mat¬ 
ter that now exist are primarily results of vegetation, 
therefore what we call the essentials of plant food 
such as phosphorus, potash and nitrogen, were and 
are now formed, from corpuscles, electrons, atoms 
and molecules by the process of vegetation, and if 
the ground is well disintegrated and continuously 
moist, vegetation will compound and produce its own 
food, though there be nothing in the ground but cor¬ 
puscles. But the process of compounding and vegetat- 
NEW GROWTH OF ONE SEASON. Fig. 104. 
ing will be slow, and to aid the process of vegetation 
in a more rapid production it is well to fertilize the 
ground with plant food which is finely pulverized, 
and by mellowing the soil in the best manner and 
keeping it continuously moist, the process of vegeta¬ 
tion is aided in producing large crops. 
JACOB BEEStEi. 
CUTTING BACK PEACH TREES. 
The pictures show on this page are engraved from 
photographs taken in the orchards of Barnes Bros., 
Yalesville, Conn. They are printed here to show 
what may be done with trees that are thought to be 
severely injured by freezing. On page 156 Mx*. Barnes 
CUT BACK TO LOWER HEAD. Fig. 105. 
referred to some trees that were badly injured during 
the cold of December, 1902. The pictures show what 
was done to some of these trees, and how they re¬ 
sponded. Mr. Barnes thus describes the trees: 
“Fig. 103 represents a tree badly frozen—the bark 
on the body was split open and separated from the 
wood. The branches were cut back severely and the 
new top represents last season’s growth. The little 
boy is the youngest peach man of the family, making 
observations of the work in hand. Fig. 104 shows 
another tree split open on trunk, and Fig. 105 a tree 
not damaged by freezing, cut back to lower the bear¬ 
ing wood and make easier the spraying and other 
orchard work, not so severely headed back at Figs. 
103 and 104. Fig. 106 shows a section of trees not 
headed back, above trees being seven and eight years 
old. Note the wood made in last season’s growth, as 
shown by the pictures. The wood of the trees in all 
sections of the orchard is more or less discolored, 
showing the effects of the severe cold of the Winter 
one year ago, and the owners feel that this orchard 
is working cut for them the whole problem of how to 
handle and treat an orchard damaged Tiy severe cold, 
whether it can be done successfully.” 
J. NOBBIS BARNES. 
MICE IN THE HOTBED. 
What can be done in order to keep mice out of the hot¬ 
bed? I have my hotbed heated with horse manure and 
ready for seeding. I have heard about keeping a lamp 
lighted; is there any truth in this? I am thinking of 
moving my hotbed next Fall, and think I shall put a 
cement wall of concrete about three or four inches thick 
down to the hard earth all around my hot and cold 
frames. J. n. g. 
Guyencourt, Del. 
I think it impossible to keep the mice out, even 
though the frames were made of brick, stone or con¬ 
crete. I have handled hotbeds made with horse ma¬ 
nure for over 25 years, and have always had my 
frames near a wood for protection against cold north 
winds; consequently mice are plentiful, and always 
get in my seed and transplant beds, but of late years 
or since I studied their habits, I have had very little 
trouble with them. My frames are made of one-inch 
boards nailed to stakes driven in the ground, and no 
thought given to keeping the mice out. Suppose we 
had a frame absolutely mouse-proof, made our bed, 
put on our sash, sowed our seed, and were compelled 
to raise our sash to admit air in one or more days 
TREES NOT HEADED BACK. Fig. 106. 
thereafter. In would rush the mouse, go down into 
the manure and be there ready for operations as soon 
as all was quiet and dark. We are not able to keep 
the pests from our dwellings; how are we to keep 
them from our hotbeds? If I were J. N. G. I would 
r.ot think of making frames of concrete as he sug¬ 
gests. I would rather build a permanent greenhouse, 
and I do not think it would cost much more either; 
certainly not if the advantages of a greenhouse over 
that of the ordinary hotbed are to be considered. 
Mice that give trouble in the manure hotbed are of 
three kinds; the house mice, wood mice, and shrew 
mice. The last two T have found give the most trou¬ 
ble. I would imagine, however, that where beds are 
located near buildings the house or barn mice might 
be very troublesome. The house and wood mice are 
the ones that root up the seed and destroy them. To 
handle these I have found nothing better than corn- 
meal and “Rough-on-rats” mixed together, say 30 or 
40 parts cornmeal to one part poison. Mix this thor¬ 
oughly and place about as much as will lie on a 
nickel in several places in the bed on top of the soil. 
I have also found a little trap that is sold here for 
five cents very useful. It is a stout spring wire on a 
board. I have never failed to rid my beds of these 
pests if taken in time. Sowing the seed broadcast, 
where it is practical so to .do, also gives the grower 
an opportunity to see what is going on in his beds 
before much damage is done. Shrew mice do far 
more damage for me than either of the other two. I 
have had them make a raid on a bed of almost full- 
grown plants and mow down dozens in one night. 
This, however, need not be. if one is posted; they 
will always show themselves by holes or some trifling 
damage before this. When this is discovered take an 
insect bellows and blow some Rougli-on-rats on some 
fresh plants and place them near where the mice 
enter or come up from below. T have yet to see the 
second attack where this was done, and good fresh 
succulent plants used for bait. c. c. huslsart. 
