1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
much oftener. For dressing purposes, your carbolic 
solution is too strong. It should be reduced at least 
one-half, or one part of acid to 40 of water. The 
trouble will, probably, not affect the colt in any way. 
F. L. K. 
Improving Worn Land in Texas. 
F. W. S., Hackberry , Tex .—I have a piece of land containing 
about 40 acres, sandy with red clay subsoil and very shallow. I 
can plow up clay at a depth of from four to seven inches; it has 
been in cultivation with corn and cotton about 35 years, and has 
not received manure or fertilizers. In its wild state (I am told), 
It was heavily covered with Post oak and some scattered Live 
oak. At present, it makes about 500 pounds of seed cotton, or 10 
barrels of corn, per acre. I have it worked by negro tenants on 
shares. It is about three miles distant from where I live. I wish 
to improve this land and bring it to a good state of fertility. 
What Is the best and cheapest way for me to do so ? 
Ans.—T he best F. W. S. can do toward improving 
this land is by resorting extensively to our great 
Southern soil renovator, the cow pea. The ground 
now in corn should be thickly planted with some 
strong grower, either the Black or little clay-colored 
Conch pea, at the last plowing of the corn. Ground 
in cotton should be sown to oats next fall. The 
cotton can be picked ahead, oats sown, and a culti¬ 
vator behind can cover just like a plowing of the 
cotton. The stalks are not to be plowed up, but re¬ 
main standing to give the new crop some protection 
in cold weather. When the ground is not too wet, 
stock should be allowed to graze the oats during 
winter. While this crop, as a rule, is hard on land, 
such shallow soil as this is often very materially 
injured by our frequent, heavy rains washing from a 
bare surface. Thousands of our farms all over the 
South are ruined just from this cause alone. If oats 
pass through the winter all right, the cotton stalks 
should be broken down towards spring on a dry day 
with a drag or log, when the most of them can be 
raked together and burned. Passing a harrow over 
the land across the cotton beds will prove of benefit. 
As soon as the oats are off, the land should be turned 
over at once and planted to cow peas. It is best to 
plant them in rows and cultivate shallow. By Aug¬ 
ust 1, the vines might be cut for hay, which, for 
nearly all classes of stock, is very valuable. The 
stumps will sprout again at once, begin to bloom in 
a few days, and will really make more of a crop of 
peas than would have been the case had the vines not 
been cut. Often in Texas, a fine lot of wood ashes 
may be had at the cotton gin houses for the mere 
hauling. Spreading them over the land at the rate 
of even a ton to the acre will greatly stimulate a 
growth of peas, which, plowed under after decaying 
will furnish the vegetable matter so very essential to 
land in this climate which has grown cotton for so 
long a time. I have not found it profitable to buy 
commercial fertilizers for general farm operations. 
Enough live stock should be kept to consume all the 
land produces in the way of feed, the manure should 
be carefully saved and applied to corn in either hill 
or drill. Planting but lightly to cotton and more of 
peas and other feed stuff and keeping enough good 
stock cattle to feed to, will, before many years, 
show decided improvements in F. W. S.’s farm, as 
well as his pocketbook. By deep plowing and sub¬ 
soiling, the depth of soil is easily increased. 
Texas. j. w. stubknbauch. 
The Use of Ice for Cooling. 
G. E. C., Stephenson, Fa.—My old ice house Is a hole in the 
ground surrounded by a stone wall. The wall has fallen in, and 
I purpose rebuilding it and placing a new frame ice house over 
it, using the old ice house, or basement, for a cold storage room. 
The Ice house part is to be 16 feet square and 12 feet to the top of 
the square, with eight inches space for sawdust between parti¬ 
tions or double walls. I purpose having the drainings from the 
ice conveyed to a trough in the cold storage room. Are my plans 
desirable ? 
Ans. —In these days of enforced economy, it will 
not do to waste ice in the way described ; besides, the 
dampness in such a cold storage cellar would be dis¬ 
astrous. It will be better to use the cellar for some 
other purpose, and make the ice house on the present 
improved principles. This idea of using the drainage 
from an ice house for cooling is quite out of date, and 
altogether too wasteful of the cold of the ice. It should 
be thought that, in melting, ice loses nearly the whole 
of its ability to make cold, for in the mere melting, 
it absorbs 142 units of heat, which may be utilized in 
cooling the milk or whatever other material is to be 
cooled. The principle involved in this is a simple 
one, and when understood, explains at once why the 
way suggested will not do. The latent heat absoroed 
by the ice alone is sufficient to cool 142 pounds of 
milk, for one pound of the ice melted, one degree ; or 
14 pounds, 10 degrees. Then the water is at the same 
temperature of the ice, that is, 32 degrees, so that, by 
permitting the ice to melt into water, this cooling 
power is lost for no use at all. Consequently, the 
ice itself is to be used, thus gaining the whoW re¬ 
frigerating power of it. Of course, less ice is-roeded 
for the cooling, and this saving will go far to repay 
the cost of putting up the ice. It would never do to 
buy ice to use in this way. The method of construct¬ 
ing the ice house is very good. But in addition to the 
inside lining of it, the ice should be protected by a 
few inches of dry sawdust around it. This dryness 
is important, for dry sawdust is a good non-conductor 
of heat, but wet stuff is quite the contrary. So 
that it is best to have the ice house adjacent to the 
cooling house, and have a chamber in the upper part 
of it with a galvanized iron floor, and put the ice in 
this as it may be needed ; then the whole cooling 
power of the ice will be utilized. Of course, some 
means of drainage from the ice chamber will be 
needed, and the cold water, if desired, may be taken 
into a cooling tank below to get the benefit of it as well. 
This water will, however, only cool milk in the pro¬ 
portion of one pound of water for one pound of milk 
for each degree, or 1 142 part as much as the solid ice 
will. Thus it is a question whether it is worth the 
using for this purpose even, counting the trouble of 
removing it. There should be very little drainage 
from a well-constructed ice house. h. s. 
How to Soak Potato Seed. 
Several Subscribers .—How do potato growers soak their seed In 
the corrosive sublimate solution? What tools do they use, and 
how do they operate ? 
ANSWERED BY L. I). GALE. 
I have tried several different plans for treating 
seed potatoes. A wheat sack containing two or three 
bushels of potatoes, is not pleasant to handle; it also 
sticks in the top of a barrel if a little too large. Put¬ 
ting the potatoes in loose, putting on a head, tying a 
rope, putting in a twist, calling a hired man from the 
field, both of us lifting all we can on the barrel, 
potatoes and water, the latter running down the side 
and making a mud hole, is the meanest and hardest 
way I ever tried. Soaking in a vat or tank and 
shoveling them out is a good way if a large number 
are to be treated ; but the first cost of the tank and 
its liability to leak from year to year are objection- 
SOAKING SEED POTATOES IN CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE. 
Fig. 142. 
able on small farms. The plan I am using now has 
been found most satisfactory. I procure a good barrel, 
an oil barrel, and put a faucet or plug in close to the 
bottom. Then I make a box 19 inches wide outside 
(or three inches narrower than the chines of the bar¬ 
rel) by three feet long, put cleats in the inside cor¬ 
ners to strengthen it ; it is open top and bottom, and 
as high as the tub I draw the liquid into. I hollow 
out one end a little so the barrel will not roll when 
turned down on its side ; the swell in the barrel just 
hits the end, making it just about balance. 
I place the barrel on one end of the box, faucet 
over the tub, fill with the solution and potatoes, let 
stand one hour, and open faucet. When the solution 
has all run off, with one hand the barrel can be 
turned in the opposite direction and the potatoes run 
into crates. Without any lifting, lugging or getting 
wet, a person that can lift a half bushel of potatoes 
can do all the work. I am using the same barrels 
and tubs I commenced with four or five years ago, 
and I see no reason why they are not good for several 
years yet. A platform will not do, as the barrel is 
hard to tip, rolls around, and when it passes the 
center comes down too hard and all the potatoes 
want to get out at the same time. I am using the 
box for the first time this season, and think now that 
I want nothing better. See Fig. 142 for a picture of 
the whole thing. 
Late-Crop Southern Potatoes. 
B. F. If., Aiken, S. G .—How can I get Irish potatoes to come up 
Xjlanted from July 20 to August 1 ? The crop planted in February, 
and harvested in June, nearly all rots before that time, and the 
sound ones left and planted will not come to one-fourth of a 
stand. The ones left over from the February planting, will all rot. 
Ans.—S tart by getting from some trucker on the 
coast some of the last-year’s second-crop potatoes. 
Keep these in a cool, dark place till they show indi¬ 
cations of sprouting. Then spread them in single 
layers in shallow boxes, and expose them to full light. 
325 
This will keep the sprouts short and green till plant¬ 
ing time, when they can be cut and planted as the 
spring crop, and will certainly come up. This is the 
plan to grow mature potatoes for the table. For a 
crop to give the seed for next year, take the earliest 
mature potatoes of the crop of the present summer 
Spread them out in a light place for a few days to 
green somewhat. Cut off ever so small a piece from 
the eye end, merely to break the skin, as they sprout 
more readily thus. Now bed the clipped potatoes in 
a single layer on any convenient spot outdoors, and 
cover them a foot with pine straw. Dampen this and 
see that it never gets dust-dry. Prepare the land and 
plant the potatoes that sprout and no others. Keep 
planting as they sprout up to the middle of August. 
Plant in a deep furrow, but cover very lightly till 
they appear above the ground, and then fiLl in the 
soil as they grow. There is very little difficulty in 
getting a stand in this way, but if the potatoes are 
planted at once when dug, there will be a scattering 
stand, for some of them will not sprout at all. 
Raleigh, N. C. w. F. massky. 
What Grasses for California ? 
A. A. M.. Watsonville, Gal. —What grass is good for a hillside of 
rich, sandy soil for a hog pasture? No freezing, light frosts 
only. It rains in November up to April. Cool nights, heavy fogs 
during the summer months, only three hot days at a time, say 
from 85 to 90 degrees. We raise fine potatoes, hay, corn, etc. 
Ans —The grasses which make best winter growth 
with such conditions as are described, are Tall Oat 
grass, Australian Rye grass and Awnless Brome 
grass. They will start early in the fall, grow all 
winter, and hold more summer verdure without irri¬ 
gation than any other plant so far tried in California. 
Alfalfa would give a rich pasturage from March to 
June or July, but it does not make much winter 
growth, and without irrigation, it would make very 
little growth from July until the first fall rains, 
unless the ground is moist underneath by seepage. 
Probably A. A. M. knows all about Alfalfa already. 
If so, I cannot do better than advise him to try the 
grasses first mentioned. e. j. wickson. 
Starting Asparagus Roots. 
G. W. S., Clive, Iowa. —We have a bed of yearling asparagus 
roots. How shall I prepare the permauent ground for next sea¬ 
son’s setting? Is It absolutely necessary to dig trenches three 
to four feet deep, aud dll with manure? Is there not a better 
way ? Can’t the ground be made rich enough by repeated plow¬ 
ing and top-dressing ? 
Ans. —The old method, and it is a good method, is 
to dig deep trenches and manure them heavily ; but 
we do not regard it as the most economical way. 
Our way would be to plow the land a foot deep and 
then harrow. We would then broadcast manure, 
more or less in quantity as desired, and plow a trench 
by running the plow both ways. Now set the aspara¬ 
gus roots not less than two feet by four feet apart. 
After this, annual dressings of manure or fertilizer 
will serve every purpose, and the yield will be as 
large as if deep trenches were, according to the old 
way, filled with manure. 
Propagating the Smoke Tree. 
J. S., Springbrook, Ore.—How can I propagate the Smoke tree ? 
Ans. —The best way is to layer the branches in 
early spring, and the next spring transplant. They 
may, also, be propagated by suckers or cuttings of 
green or nearly ripe wood. 
Late Planting of Raspberries. 
J). M. G., Riverside, Pa .— 1. How late in the spring will it do to 
plant raspberries? 2. By planting next fall, how much of a crop 
of berries, If any, will I obtain next summer ? 
Ans. —1. Raspberries would better be transplanted 
while the buds are yet dormant for the best results. 
They may, however, be transplanted at any time, if 
cut back. In midsummer, the young suckers may be 
transplanted, giving them plenty of water and shade. 
2. They would not bear the first year. 
One Hundred Hens in One House. 
F. W. S., Vermont— Would it be practicable to keep a flock of, 
say 100 hens, in a house divided into live apartments, and allow 
them to occupy a yard of one acre in common ? Would they re¬ 
turn to the proper place to lay and roost ? This seems the only 
arrangement that can be made without sacriflcing a southern 
exposure, as one end of the house only can join the yard space on 
the southeast corner. Would it be better to run a house north 
and south, and divide the yard ? 
Ans. —The hens will be likely to mix up to some ex¬ 
tent; especially if some part of the house is preferable 
to other parts, they will be likely to flock there. We 
would prefer to have the house face the southeast. 
This might be done and the house divided into two 
compartments instead of five, and each have an outlet 
to the yard. 
Duck Eggs Under Hens. 
A. W. B., Warren, Ale .— How can we hatch duck eggs with hens ? 
Is it necessary to wet the eggs ? If so, how often and how much ? 
Ans. —It is not necessary or advisable to wet the 
eggs, and it will do more harm than good, except, 
possibiy, about the twenty-fifth day. Only in rare in¬ 
stances is it advisable, even then. 
