1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
5 
Caich Crops in Corn. 
O. n. M., Bradenville, Pa.—Will the sowing 
of Crimson clover, oats and rye or cow 
peas in the corn at the last cultivation in 
June have any ill effect on the yield of the 
corn? Will they not act as weeds, use up 
the moisture and reduce the crop of corn? 
Ans.—I n some very dry seasons they 
will. We have known a crop of late 
sweet corn to be injured by the Crimson 
clover that was seeded in early August. 
Generally when there is moisture enough 
at seeding time to start the clover well 
both crops will get through. This year 
we waited until later and sowed oats 
and rye together. The corn made a good 
crop, and the smaller grains produced 
good pasture and Winter covering. 
SUBSOILING ON NEW ENGLAND'S 
HILLS. 
One of our readers wishes to know 
whether it will pay to suhsoll-plow the 
gravelly soils of the average New England 
hills. Our own judgment would be that 
this would not pay except possibly for some 
such crop as Alfalfa, but we would like to 
know what good farmers have to say about 
it. 
No; I do not think that it would pay 
to subsoil-plow the gravelly soils of 
average New England hills, unless there 
is a large quantity of stable manure to 
be applied. Of course, if the soil is made 
rich, it can be worked deeply with best 
results. G. M. GOWELL. 
Maine Agl. College. 
I have carried out an experiment in 
subsoiling on a level field of alluvial 
formation where the subsoil consists of 
a rather compact clay, so tenacious that 
in opening ditches for tile drains the 
workmen when digging by the rod pre¬ 
ferred to use a pick. I had thought that 
subsoiling on land of this character must 
prove beneficial. The experiment was 
carried out upon a large scale. Two 
broad strips running through a field of 
fairly even quality, which was about 
1,200 feet in length, were subsoiled, 
while similar strips adjoining on either 
hand were left without subsoiling. Ma¬ 
nuring and all other treatment were the 
same for both subsoiled and unsub 
soiled strips. There was no appreciable 
gain as a result of the subsoiling. Of 
course our so-called gravelly New Eng¬ 
land hills vary widely in tenacity and 
texture of soil, but I think that most of 
them would stand less in supposed need 
of subsoiling than the field which was 
the scene of my experiment. I accord¬ 
ingly conclude that the probabilities are 
that it would not pay to subsoil such 
soils unless perhaps it should be for 
fruit trees. wm. p. brooks. 
Mass. Agl. College. 
I once made some practical investi¬ 
gations of subsoiling while connected 
with the Missouri State College, and 
with deep plowing both there and in 
Utah. The results were not favorable 
to subsoiling. An investigation of the 
results of other trials at other stations 
showed a balance against subsoiling. I 
found an increase of moisture in the 
subsoiled area, especially so in a wet 
year, it appearing that the compact 
subsoil of the Missouri land held it. It 
also appeared that in such seasons less 
water ran off subsoiled land, and that 
too much was retained. In any event, 
in a wet year the crops were decreased, 
and slightly more decreased than in¬ 
creased in a dry year. On the New Eng¬ 
land hills subsoiling among the rocks 
would be costly, and I judge from ob¬ 
servation uneconomical. What is to be 
gained? When such soil is dug up (that 
is subsoil) and thrown back into hole 
made it will not fill it; in other words, 
it occupies less space than before. The 
action of frosts, earthworms and decaying 
roots loosens soils, and when the frost- 
expanded soils, perforated by roots and 
worms, are broken up and allowed to 
settle together less space is occupied. It 
is an error to suppose that roots cannot 
penetrate such subsoils. It is an error 
also to suppose that the roots of most 
of our crops care to go deeply. I have 
found that the bulk of roots are with¬ 
in the first four inches, where fermen¬ 
tation and decomposition are by far the 
most active. As agriculture in New Eng¬ 
land rests on the food from these pro¬ 
cesses and from artificial supply I hold 
that subsoiling will not be likely to be 
an economical and perhaps not even a 
helpful process in New England. 
New Hampshire j. w. sanborn. 
PLAIN TALKS ON PLAIN TOPICS. 
New Cure-All” for Trees. 
I want your advice about a new tree 
protector. 
All right—it won’t cost you a cent, 
and you may not like it after you get it. 
I have discovered a new way of pro¬ 
tecting trees from diseases—like blights 
or rots. 
Is it a spray? 
No, it is much cheaper and easier 
than spraying. 
Do you bore a hole in the tree or put 
your “medicine” at the roots? 
That’s my business! It has cost me 
time and money to perfect my plan. It 
belongs to me just as much as a me¬ 
chanical invention belongs to an inven¬ 
tor. I have tried it until I know it will 
work. 
What do you want advice about? 
I want to know how to sell my secret, 
so I can get some needed money out of 
it. If you will advertise it and talk 
about it I will pay you a commission on 
sales. 
That is an old story—older than the 
hills; of course we will not do anything 
of the sort. 
Do you mean to say that people offer 
such secrets for sale? 
Plenty of them. During the past year 
at least five men have told your tale 
with variations. One proposed to uncover 
a root of the tree and stick the end in 
a bottle containing his “medicine”. The 
other bored holes in the tree and put in 
sulphur and other substances. Another 
had a secret plan for making straw¬ 
berries fruit at any month of the Sum¬ 
mer. Still another wanted us to join a 
company for propagating a microbe, 
which is to be bottled and sold to farm¬ 
ers. When put into any old trash like 
weeds or straw this microbe will manu¬ 
facture the finest of manure. You are 
not alone by any means. 
Don’t you believe this remedy cured 
my trees? 
You say so—what else do we know 
about it? 
Are you open to conviction? 
Certainly—as wide as a church door. 
What will convince you? 
Send your remedy to half a dozen 
leading experiment stations and ask the 
workers there to test it. If they O. K. 
it we ask nothing more. 
But they are jealous of practical men. 
They will either condemn it because it 
is not scientific, or else steal it, and I 
shall get nothing out of it. 
Nonsense! You will be dealing with 
honest, honorable men. If your remedy 
won’t stand scientific investigation it 
won’t stand common sense. After years 
of patient study the scientists have 
given us the Bordeaux Mixture as the 
most reliable “cure-all” for plant dis¬ 
eases. It is a good remedy, but not per 
feet. 
That’s just it. They don’t want a com¬ 
mon farmer to come in with a new thing 
and show that he is smarter than they 
are. 
Why do you talk in this childish way? 
People are tired of pumping and spray¬ 
ing, and would gladly welcome an easier 
method of treating disease. You can¬ 
not keep your process a secret anyway. 
You cannot have perfected a system of 
treatment, for you do not pretend to 
understand the laws of plant life. Even 
if you have by accident discovered some 
general principle of treating plant dis¬ 
eases, it will have to be overhauled, 
tested and proved before it can come in¬ 
to general use. 
Do you pretend that the scientists at 
the experiment stations know every¬ 
thing? 
Not by a good deal. They have much 
to learn. They haven’t been able to tell 
us half they know so that we can under¬ 
stand it. It is only now and then that 
they can lay down fixed and definite 
rules for us, but they can apply the fixed 
and unchangeable rules of natural law 
to such claims as yours, and tell us 
whether it is worth talking about or not. 
Don’t be so foolish as to think Nature 
has reached over the heads of her hard¬ 
est students to give you a prize! 
But do not men who never received 
a doctor’s diploma discover remedies 
for human diseases? 
They make pills or decoctions which 
overcome constipation. That is about 
all! Most of their patients would be 
“cured” if they would exercise with a 
buck-saw, quit eating so much fat meat 
and eat half a dozen apples every day. 
A man who values his orchard or his 
own organs will go for medicine to those 
who know why they give medicine—not 
those who simply know that they give it. 
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