2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 5 
on hand; attend to the Tel lows first. Feeding, as 
growth or lack of it seems to demand; fruit thinning, 
picking, packing and marketing and perhaps at times 
spraying when the trees are dormant, all require close 
attention, yet the points I have touched are the foun¬ 
dation to build a successful peach orchard upon. 
Connecticut. j. h. haxe. 
FEEDING MUSCLE-MAKERS INTO PLANTS. 
FERTILIZER NITROGEN VS. GROP NITROGEN. 
An Increased Value of Hay. 
Part II. 
INCREASING FEEDING VALUE.—In the experi¬ 
ments with mixed grasses, the nitrogen in the fer¬ 
tilizer increased very considerably the yields of hay, 
and, also, to a marked degree, the proportion of pro¬ 
tein in the crop. The feeding value of the crop, where 
the largest quantities of nitrogen were used, was, 
therefore, much greater than on plots where little or 
no nitrogen has been used. On the whole, the most 
economical returns in yields were obtained from plots 
where nitrate of soda was used at the rate of 320 
pounds per acre ('iqual to 50 pounds of nitrogen). The 
increase in yields due to the nitrogen is shown by the 
following table. The mineral fertilizers were uni 
form on all the plots except the one where no fertil¬ 
izer was used, and the results on the separate plots are 
the average of three years’ experiments. On the plots 
to which nitrogen was added the results are the aver¬ 
ages from the use of nitrate of soda and sulphate of 
ammonia, on plots supplied with uniform quantities 
of nitrogen. Similar experiments to these were made 
with distinct kinds of grasses, and the effects of the 
nitrogen in increasing the protein of the crop was 
even more striking than in the case of the mixed 
grasses; 
Nitrogen 
per acre. 
No fertilizer . 
No nitrogen. 
Nitrogen, 25 pounds. 
Nitrogen, 50 pounds 
Nitrogen, 75 pounds 
Relative yield 
of hay per acre. 
.1,881 pounds 
.2,664 pounds 
.3,645 pounds 
.4,727 pounds 
.5,016 pounds 
DIFFERING RESULTS WITH CORN.—In the ex¬ 
periments with corn the effects of the nitrogen in in¬ 
creasing the yield of the crop, especially where the 
larger quantities of nitrogen were used, were not so 
marked as in the experiments with mixed grasses. As 
was pointed out in the first part of this article, solu¬ 
ble nitrogen compounds like nitrate of soda and sul¬ 
phate of ammonia are readily leached out of the soil 
in seasons of heavy rainfall. When these materials 
are used in large quantities for corn, much of the ni¬ 
trogen may be lost before the crop can make use of 
it. At any rate, a large series of experiments made 
by the Storrs Station indicates that there is little 
economy in using nitrate of soda or sulphate of am¬ 
monia in amounts sufficient to supply over 40 to 50 
pounds of nitrogen per acre when the yields alone are 
considered. When the proportion of protein, in both 
the seed and the stover are taken into account, how¬ 
ever, even larger amounts of nitrogen than these may 
prove profitable. On the whole, it seems more desir¬ 
able to use about 200 pounds of nitrate of soda or its 
equivalent of sulphate of ammonia (160 pounds) in 
connection with stable manure or green manuring. 
The following table makes clear the fact that the 
larger quantities of nitrogen have caused relatively 
little increase in the yields : 
Nitrogen 
per acre. 
No fertilizer . 
No nitrogen . 
Nitrogen, 25 pounds 
Nitrogen, 50 pounds. 
Nitrogen, 75 pounds 
Relative yield 
of corn (grain) 
per acre. 
....1,197 pounds 
—1,778 pounds 
....2,399 pounds 
...2,937 pounds 
—3,004 pounds 
As will be seen farther on in this article the larger 
quantities of nitrogen did increase the yields per acre 
of protein to quite a marked degree. While the total 
yield of grain was increased only 67 pounds where 75 
pounds of nitrogen were used over that obtained 
where 50 pounds were used, the actual protein in the - 
crop was 60 pounds greater where the larger quanti¬ 
ties of nitrogen were applied. 
NITROGEN ON LEGUMES.—When we come to the 
consideration of the effects of nitrogen on the le¬ 
gumes, such as cow peas and Soy beans, the experi¬ 
ments tell a very different story. On these two crops 
there was a decided contrast in the effects of the ni¬ 
trogen in the fertilizer upon both the yield and the 
percentages of protein as compared with those ob¬ 
tained with corn and with grasses. In experiments 
covering a period of five years with cow-pea fodder 
the yields obtained on plots where only mineral fer¬ 
tilizers (phosphoric acid, potash and lime) have been 
used, have been very nearly as great as on any of the 
plots to which nitrogen was added with the mineral 
fertilizers. The following table shows the poor re¬ 
sult obtained from nitrogen: 
Nitrogen 
No fertilizer . 
No nitrogen . 
Nitrogen, 25 pounds 
Nitrogen, 50 pounds 
Nitrogen, 75 pounds 
Relative yield 
of cow peas 
(green fodder) 
per acre. 
.. 9,660 pounds 
..18,486 pounds 
..19,265 pounds 
..18,4® pounds 
..18,100 pounds 
What is still more interesting, the effect of the 
nitrogen on the percentages of protein in the crop is 
much less on the cow-pea fodder than upon the 
grasses or corn. The value of the nitrogen to im¬ 
prove the feeding value of the crop is shown in the 
table which follows, which gives the percentages and 
the yields per acre of the protein. It may be seen 
that the yields of protein for the cow-pea fodder are 
essentially the same on all the plots irrespective of 
the amount of nitrogen used in the fertilizer. In the 
case of the Soy-bean seed there was a slight increase 
in protein corresponding somewhat with the amount 
of nitrogen used. However, the increase in protein 
for this crop as effected by the nitrogen was much 
lesr than with the grasses and corn. 
Per cent in the dry substance of protein. 
Soy 
Mixed Corn. Cow-pea bean 
Fertilizers grasses, per ct. fodder, seeds, 
per acre. per ct. (in grain), per ct. per ct. 
Mineral fertilizer . 7.83 10.13 18.37 39.30 
Minerals & nitrogen, 25 lbs. 7.73 10.54 18.04 39.93 
Minerals & nitrogen, 50 lbs. 8.46 11.05 17.69 40.71 
Minerals & nitrogen, 75 lbs. 9.39 11.88 19.14 41.47 
VALUE OP COW-PEA FODDER.—One point of in 
terest to which 1 would like to call attention here is 
the large yields of protein per acre obtained with cow 
pea fodder as compared with the total yields from 
mixed grasses and from corn including the stover. 
The average yield of the mixed grasses, on the most 
heavily fertilized plots, was 2 ^^ tons per acre of thor¬ 
oughly dried hay, which gave 4,458 pounds of dry 
matter and 432 pounds of protein. The average yield 
of cow-pea fodder from the plots with mineral fer¬ 
tilizers only was a little over nine tons of green crop. 
A DOMESTIC SCIENCE MAN. Fig. 3 . 
equal to 3,850 pounds of dry matter and 666 pounds of 
protein. The total yield of protein per acre from the 
corn and stover was 486 pounds on the most heavily- 
fertilized plot. These experiments lead to the con¬ 
clusion that the farmer who considers only the total 
yields of fodder obtained from his crops is leaving out 
of account one of the most important phases in the 
management of the farm, especially if it be a dairy 
farm. The farmer needs to study the feeding value 
of the crops he raises as well as of those which he 
buys. Only in this way can he realize the full benefits 
derived from the fertilizer or manure which he uses. 
As yet the markets do not recognize any difference 
in the feeding value of the hay due to differences in 
composition, but the farmer who feeds the hay from 
his most heavily-fertilized meadows and sells that 
from the poorly-fertilized fields would certainly be 
practicing a shrewd bit of economy. 
[Prof.] G, 8. PHXLPS, 
TALKS ABOUT DRAINAGE. 
How to Lay the Tile. 
W'e have a piece of land with a wet strip from two to 
four rods wide running through It. I would like to know 
how to tile It. Would one row through the center be 
sufficient, or would It require more? How many and how 
deep should the tiles be laid? j. k. 
Cresco, Iowa. 
First see that you have a good outlet for the water. 
Second, dig a narrow ditch along the center of the 
wet strip deep enough to drain the land, say three to 
four feet, according to the nature of the soil. If it 
is liable to settle down much after the water is drawn 
off it should be deeper than it would otherwise. Trim 
the bottom of the ditch carefully to a true grade. A 
string stretched over the center of the ditch is a very 
efficient help in getting both line and grade. See Pig 
2. The line of the tile should be as straight as the 
circumstances will permit, and the tile laid to a true 
grade, which may be ascertained exactly by measur¬ 
ing down from the string. A sag in the tile is sure 
to be filled with silt sooner or later, destroying its 
usefulness. A single line of tile through this tract 
ought to drain it of surface water, the size of the tile 
depending on the extent of the tract and the amount 
of water coming into it. In any case I would not use 
smaller than four-inch tile. If there are springs they 
must be provided for. When the bottom of the ditch 
is very truly and carefully brought to grade the tile 
may be laid end to end along the bottom, the joints 
covered with an inverted sod or its equivalent to keep 
loose dirt out, and the ditch filled up. If the grading 
string is used to measure down the tiling may be laid 
and covered as fast as the ditch is dug, commencing 
at the outlet. f. hodgman. 
The Effect of Tile Drainage. 
I have been told that In parts of Illinois the tile drains 
have been taken up, because they took off more water 
than was necessary, and were the ruination of Illinois 
bottom lands. I am Interested because I have 40 acres of 
land which. In a fairly dry season, has raised as high 
as 85 bushels of corn per acre, but ordinarily it is too 
wet, and my only resource has been to ditch it. I have 
just been putting another ditch through it this week 
(couldn’t do this in December every year), but find that 
the ditches take up too much land. As we list all of our 
corn in this section of Nebraska it necessitates running 
the rows the same way every year. Not only this, if the 
land was tiled it seems to me that all of the rich soil 
which washes down from the upland would remain upon 
the bottom land, while if ditched, would pass on down 
depriving the land of this cream of soils. What Is the 
truth? r V D 
Nebraska. 
We have been quite fully informed for 20 years 
with the progress of land drainage in Illinois, having 
attended the drainage conventions for 20 years past; 
have corresponded with hundreds of persons inter¬ 
ested in land drainage; have viewed several of the 
large drainage districts; have visited many of the 
large farms where systems of under-drainage were 
being constructed; have observed carefully the effects 
and have never heard it claimed by anyone before, 
that tile drains ‘‘took more water than necessary”. 
Neither have we heard it asserted at any time, by 
anyone, or through the press, or otherwise, that ‘‘tile 
drainage was the ruination of Illinois bottom lands”. 
To the contrary, we know of thousands of acres of 
low-lying bottom lands that have been reclaimed bv 
under-drainage and have been yielding magnificem 
crops for many years. Besides, there are great en¬ 
terprises being carried forward, and others being 
planned, looking forward to the reclamation of large 
areas of bottom lands in Illinois and other States. If 
tile drainage has the injurious effect claimed by C. V. 
D., the wideawake, energetic capitalist would soon 
find it out and discontinue the work. 
In the pioneer work of under-drainage in Illinois 
and other States, many of the tile drains were poorly 
constructed, were too shallow, and the tile was not 
laid true to the grade, which after a few years did 
not work well for the reason that the silt settled in 
the depressions, almost filling the tile until the drains 
were practically worthless. In many such cases the 
drains have been taken up and replaced with larger 
tile, laid, in many instances, two or three times the 
depth of the first tile. In other cases the first lines of 
tile drains were ignored altogether, and a new system 
of drains put in at a greater depth, using larger tile 
and all requisite care as to grade, joints and connec¬ 
tions. The necessary information as to the why and 
how to under-drain has been so widely diffused in 
the past 20 years that there are now few mistakes 
made, comparatively speaking, in the work of tile 
drainage. To illustrate more fully the progress which 
has been made, it was common in the pioneer work 
to use two or three-inch tile in the construction of 
lateral drains, but it was soon found that larger tile 
did better work, so that at this time very few if any 
two-inch tile are used, only a few threes, and most of 
the leading men in the work of land drainage will 
not use a tile less than four inches. If there was any 
trouble arising from the tendency to carry away too 
much water, as claimed by C. V. D., the change in 
sizes of tile used would be to smaller sizes, so as to 
lessen rather than to increase the capacity of the 
drains. Referring again to bottom lands, there are 
some that are naturally under-drained by underlying 
strata of sand and gravel, that do not need to be tile 
drained. Again, there are bottom lands, thousands of 
acres, where the water level in the soil is so near the 
surface in the early part of the season, that under 
or tile drainage is the only means by which these 
large areas of rich land can be made available for 
agricultural purposes. 
In the early settlement of the State the prevailing 
opinion as to the future of the low-lying acres of bot¬ 
tom land was that they would never be available for 
agricultural uses, but the beneficial effects of under- 
drainage have worked a change in the crops grown, 
and the betterment of the sanitary conditions of the 
country has been so marked that land values have 
gone up to very high marks. In many instances $100 
per acre and even higher figures are paid for them; 
lands which before being tile-drained were held at $5 
per acre and even less. Such are the facts as we find 
them to-day, notwithstanding the sayings of others 
to the contrary. .t. .t. w. r. 
Indianapolis. Tnd. 
