i8 
January 13 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
SEEDING A SWAMP TO GRASS. 
I have about 30 acres of land which I wish to seed down 
for pasture. Four years ago it was a dense spruce and 
huckleberry swamp. In 1897 the timber was all killed by 
lire, and soon blew down. In 1898 the fire made a clean 
job of everything; also about six inches of the ground. 
It seems hard to get a catch of Timothy. The land is 
never covered with water only around the edge; the soil 
is a deep muck. Will some one advise me from experience 
what seeds to sow on this land to bring a good catch and 
make good lasting pasture? f. f. h. 
Decker, Mich. 
If the soil is composed of coarse more or less fibrous 
peat to a depth of two or three feet, sufficiently pure 
so that it burns readily when dry, as is suggested uy 
the statement tnat about six inches of the ground 
burned, it may be that the land will nave to be work 
ed for two or three years without getting very much 
crop from it until the soil has become more com¬ 
pacted, and in better condition to utilize the ground 
water. One of the most serious difficulties with soils 
of this character after they have been drained is their 
tendency to suffer for lack of water in the surface 
three or four inches, and plants with small roots 
which develop slowly, as is the case with grass seed 
and clover, are liable to die out purely on account of 
lack of moisture. Such ground has to be treated, and 
.crops grown upon it which root deeply in a compara¬ 
tively short time until it is more decayed. If this is 
the condition of his soil, P. F. H. would better try to 
grow either oats for hay or else corn for a year or 
two. If he tries to grow oats it would be well to try 
seeding at the same time, but to cut the oats as soon 
as they begin to lodge badly, so as to be liable to 
smother out the grass, in case the grass shows signs 
of making a fair success. It frequently happens that 
after such pieces of land have been burned over to 
the depth stated, that grass seed, like Timothy^ Red- 
top or Blue grass will do well upon it for one or two 
years, and sometimes permanently, the burning ren¬ 
dering available sufficient potash, and changing the 
texture sufficiently to put the soil in much better con¬ 
dition. If the soil is a fairly-decomposed type of muck 
or black soil, the probabilities are that before F. F. 
H. can succeed in growing remunerative crops of any 
kind upon it it will need to be given a dressing of 
farmyard manure, or else a treatment of some potash 
salt. The farmyard manure is apparently preferable 
to the potash salts, at least so far as our studies indi¬ 
cate. An application of 15 to 20 lohds per acre would 
probably put the soil in good condition for corn, o • 
for seeding to grass with oats or some similar crop. 
If he wish permanent pasture I would recommend the 
seeding with a mixture of Timothy, Blue grass and 
Red-top. It would be necessary, if seeded with oats 
to watch the conditions, and if the oats became too 
heavy and are falling badly they should be cut for 
hay rather than be allowed to mature, and it will 
probably be better to cut for hay in any case rather 
than risk the drying out of the soil which they are 
likely to produce if they come to maturity. The oats 
should be sown thin on the ground, so as to avoid too 
much shading, and the tendency to lodge. 
[Prof.] F. U. KING. 
ASPARAGUS GROWING IN THE SOUTH. 
How io Insure a Good Crop 
THE FIRST YEAR.—^We select high dry sandy 
land; asparagus does not do well in this section on 
moist, or clay lands. We first plow the land, turn¬ 
ing it as deep as possible without turning up the sand. 
We then harrow it thoroughly, lay it up with a bull- 
tongue plow in rows six feet apart. We then throw 
the land up into large beds with a turn plow, leaving 
in the V-shape shown at Fig. 8. We then take a 
long-handled shovel and clean the alley down to the 
sand subsoil; after this is done we set out the one- 
year-old roots, 24 inches apart in the alley, divid¬ 
ing the roots lengthwise, and put a large handful of 
earth on the roots on each side of the crown to hold 
the plant in position. When this is finished we bow 
at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre of fertilizer com¬ 
posed as follows: Five per cent ammonia, seven per 
cent potash, five per cent phosphoric acid. When the 
fertilizer is applied we run an Iron Age cultivator 
on each side of the ridge, letting the mule walk up 
on the side of the ridge. This throws about six 
inches of soil on the roots in the alley. The grass 
comes through this covering inside of one month 
When it comes through nicely we sow 1,000 pounds 
more of the same fertilizer in the alley on the roots, 
and keep on cultivating throughout the Summer 
with the cultivator, keeping the land clear of grass 
and weeds. November 10 the grass put in last 
February was now about as high as a man’s shoulder, 
say four feet. This winds up the first year’s cul¬ 
tivation in our section. 
SECOND YEAR’S CULTIVATION.—In December 
we cut down the asparagus tops, and either haul 
them into the lot as bedding for the mules, or burn 
them in the field; we then commence in the center of 
the asparagus alley with a single-horse plow, and 
plow the soil away from the roots, taking care not 
to run too deep, and apply 2,000 pounds of fertilizer 
of the same grade per acre, 1,000 pounds on each side 
of the asparagus roots. After the fertilizer is applied 
we run a diamond-tooth single-horse harrow twice 
in between the rows of asparagus to level the land 
and make it fine; then we take the single-horse plow 
and throw the earib back to the asparagus, bedding 
the earth up over the crowns of the asparagus about 
10 inches, using a solid 18-inch sweep to finish up the 
alley between the asparagus as shown in the lower 
picture. Fig. 8. We cut only the finest stalks of 
asparagus the second Spring, and do not cut very 
long usually. We get enough asparagus the second 
Spring to pay for the fertilizer used the second year. 
The third Spring we get a full crop of grass; there¬ 
after we always use one ton of fertilizer every Spring 
on the asparagus beds. Sometimes after we are 
PLANTING ASPARAGUS IN THE SOUTH. Fig. 8. 
Upper figure shows bow the roots are planted; the lower figure 
shows them at end of second year. 
through cutting in May we apply 1,000 pounds of 
kainit per acre, but have never seen any result from 
it. We commence cutting sometimes as early as the 
latter part of February; the usual time is from March 
1 to 10. We cut until May 10. As soon as Norfolk 
comes in we have to stop. Some years we change the 
fertilizer and apply 1,000 pounds of the regular mix¬ 
ture, and 1,000 pounds of cotton-seed meal. I imagine 
a change of fertilizer does good; much depends on 
the weather. So far the rust has not troubled this 
section to any extent. I do not notice any rust in the 
.\rgenteuil asparagus. One of my neighbors has 
Palmetto planted, I think I noticed some rust on it. 
We try to get our grass in as deeply as possible. 
When we get the bed worked down on the roots the 
first year the roots are about 15 inches below the BOil. 
Life of the plant in this section is eight to nine years, 
after that it loses size, and we plow it up and plant 
j'oung roots again. When I select a piece of land for 
asparagus, usually one year before planting, I break 
up the land, apply about 30 one-horse loads of home¬ 
made stable manure per acre before breaking, sow 
two bushels of cow peas broadcast per acre, and let 
them grow all Summer on the land. Just before they 
r ipen I turn the whole mass into the soil. By doing 
this I get my land clear of weeds and grass, and put 
it in fine condition for the asparagus roots. 1 have 
been using cow peas for 30 years. I am a great be¬ 
liever in them; they are grand for renovating land. 
South Carolina. wm. c. geeaty. 
EVERY FARMER CAN HAVE ICE. 
At very little expense an ice house can be con¬ 
structed that will hold and keep well all the ice needed 
for any farmer’s family. We are using a small cheap 
FRAME OT ICE HOUSE—ROOF BOARD. Fi(i. 9. 
building that keeps the ice as well as one we built 
20 years ago, that cost four times as much. Some 
farmers have an idea that they must forego this 
luxury, when almost any kind of a shed will preserve 
the ice very well, provided it is properly packed. Our 
present ice house is built as cheaply as possible, and 
took less than a day’s work in construction. Fig. 9 
shows the plan of the framework. We used white- 
oak poles set into the ground about two feet. Some 
cheap hard-wood bill stuff of 2x4 and 2x6 pieces 
were used for plates, nail ties, braces and rafters. 
A fair grade of pine stock boards, 12 inches wide, 
were used for siding. The siding was nailed on the 
inside of the poles, horizontally, better to resist 
lateral pressure from the packed ice and sawdust. A 
better grade of stock boards, one foot wide, furnished 
a good roof. Such a board roof should be made quite 
steep, to shed water, and, with kerfs cut on each 
edge, makes almost a perfect roof. 
Fig. 9 shows how the kerfs are cut, one-half inch 
wide and three-eighths of an inch deep. The roof 
boards should be dressed on their upper surface, and 
the kerfs should be cut at least three-fourths of an 
inch from each edge. The mill operator sets the 
buzz saw out of line on the mandrell shaft just right 
to make a half-inch “wabble.” Nail the roof boards 
on each edge, outside the kerfs, and drive one nail 
in the center of the lioard, as shown in Fig. 9. Our 
ice house cost us less than $15, and will last as long, 
and keep ice just as well, as one costing $100 or more 
J. H. BROWN. 
THE WOOLLY APHIS ON APPLE ROOTS. 
A Good Use for Tobacco. 
1 saw an article on the use of bisulphide of carbon In 
the treatment of trees and plants in your issue of Sep¬ 
tember 15, 1900. I have an apple orchard of 1,000 trees, 
quite a pear orchard; also large peach orchard, cherries, 
plums, etc. A number of my trees are dying and I am 
unable to determine the cause. Will you describe the 
different stages of the work of the Woolly aphis, partic¬ 
ularly the condition of the bark of the apple tree? What 
Is the expense of treating trees with bisulphide of carbon, 
what kind of machinery or implements are used, and 
what is the cost of them? w. a. ruggles. 
Tecumseh, O. T. 
The Woolly aphis is quite a serious orchard pest 
in south Missouri and adjoining regions. It may be 
the cause of the trouble with the orchard mentioned. 
One may easily determine whether or not the aphis 
is at work by removing the earth from around the 
roots of some of the injured trees, and looking for the 
insects. The aphis is a small plant louse, covered 
with a bluish-white wool. It usually works below 
ground on the roots of the trees, but sometimes, 
especially when the soil is wet, or when it can find 
abundant shade, it comes above ground and sucks 
the sap from the trunk and limbs of the tree. If it is 
sufficiently abundant to injure the trees there will be 
no difficulty in finding many of the insects on the 
roots. Usually a good many of their skins, cast in 
moulting, may also be found close to the roots. When 
badly infested, the trees begin to lose vigor, do not 
grow with normal rapidity, have fewer leaves than 
usual and the foliage looks somewhat yellow and 
sickly, until the tree finally dies, or perhaps blows 
over in some windstorm. Carbon bisulphide is some¬ 
times used as a remedy, but it is expensive, and un¬ 
less used with great caution it is liable to kill the 
tiees. If used it should be injected into the soil near 
the tree, where it will not come in contact with the 
main roots. The fumes permeate the soil and kill 
the insects. On account of the danger of killing the 
trees with bisulphide of carbon and on account of 
its being quite expensive, it is perhaps safer to re¬ 
commend the use of finely-powdered tobacco, or 
tobacco dust from the tobacco factories. The earth 
should be removed from above the roots of the trees, 
the tobacco dust sprinkled thinly about them, and 
the earth replaced. The amount of tobacco used 
should depend upon the size of the tree, but a small 
quantity is sufficient to kill the insects. If they re¬ 
appear after the tobacco has lost its strength, which 
may be in a year or two, more should be applied 
The tobacco will also injure the trees if it is applied 
in large quantities, and should be used sparingly. 
All things considered it is the best remedy for the 
insect that we know at this Station. Used in very 
small quantities, once in two or three years, it will 
keep the trees free from aphis and will not injure 
them; in fact it is a good fertilizer. 
There are two other diseases of fruit trees that are 
prevalent in southwest Missouri, either of which may 
be causing this trouble. One is root rot, a fungous 
disease, which attacks the roots of the trees, causing 
them to fall over, revealing the fact that the roots 
have been entirely destroyed by this white, moldy- 
looking fungus. There is no known remedy for it, 
but it does not usually occur over large areas. The 
other is the root gall, which appears as large, 
wrinkled knots, at the crown of the tree or on the 
main branches. This root gall or crown gall is 
caused by a slime mold, and has been described and 
worked upon by Prof. Turney, of the Arizona Ex¬ 
periment Station. He has found that copper sulphate 
and lime tend to check the disease. An account of 
his results may be obtained in a bulletin recently 
published from Tucson, Arizona. Whichever of these 
troubles, if either, is the cause of loss in the orchards 
may easily be determined by an examination of the 
roots of the trees. It should be remembered that the 
Woolly aphis also causes knots to form on the roots, 
hut they are very small and well distributed over the 
root system wherever the insects are found, while the 
crown gall is very large, and usually occurs near the 
crown of the tree. J. c. whitten. 
Missouri Experiment Station. 
Our wheat made an immense growth last Fall, and 
cattle are being brought in by the thousands to graze It 
at 50 cents a head a month, or $6 a day for 1,000 animals. 
We had five good crops in succession here. a. d. 
Plackwell, O. T. 
