1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
i9 
HOe MANURE AND CABBAGE. 
Does It Mean Club Root? 
Regarding club-root in cabbage, my experience has 
been that the question of soil has more to do with 
the matter than the manure. If you have a piece of 
strong loamy soil, inclining to clay, with good 
natural drainage, you have a soil that with proper 
care in the details of preparation, fertilizing, etc., 
can be safely counted on for a good crop of late cab¬ 
bage, if the right varieties are planted. But in that 
field there may be, here and there, places or spots 
that sag below the general level of the rest of the 
field. Now, if during the growing season of this crop 
there come a few downpours of rain, a large pro¬ 
portion of the cabbage in those spots will have “big- 
root,” as it is called here, hog manure or no hog 
m.anure. Several years ago a prominent butcher of 
our neighborhood occupied a back corner of the farm 
we were living on at that time. Of course we had the 
manure. He had a trade that called for large 
quantities of pork; he bought cattle and pigs by the 
carload, the pigs worked up the offal and we drew 
the manure on the cabbage ground. The blood from 
the slaughterhouse was led to a large trough in the 
pigyard adjoining. Owing to this latter fact we dis¬ 
covered that the proportion of nitrogen was too great 
even for cabbage. We then began to mix it with the 
coarser product of the barnyard by hauling out al¬ 
ternate loads of each to a pile in the field where it 
was to be used. A couple of turnings now and then 
greatly improved the mechanical condition while in¬ 
creasing the availability of the coarse matter. If 
afraid to use the hog manure alone, why not adopt 
some modifications of this plan? I never saw any 
more danger from the use of hog 
manure than any other kind; the 
t rouble has been that I never could get 
enough of it. I recall also that when 
I came into possession of my larger 
farm there had been quite a number 
of hogs fattened the Autumn previous, 
and there was a pile of about two good 
wagon loads of clear hog manure 
lying outside the pen. Besides this, 
we tore down the old pen that had 
been built on the ground about 50 
years before, and it seemed at the time 
that everything was hog manure for 
about two feet down. At all events we 
drew out 12 good loads altogether from 
that old pen and applied the whole lot, 
with a half ton of fertilizer, to an acre 
of ground for late cabbage. The crop 
was sold in the field for considerably 
more than I paid for the ground. 1 
wish we had a dozen or two of such 
things to clean up now; I should be 
willing to take the chances on “big- 
roof by using it. 
I have heard this talk concerning the 
danger of using hog manure for cab¬ 
bage as long as 1 can remember, but 
in every instance that has come under my personal 
observation it has proceeded from a class of men 
who always sow their cabbage seed when the “signs is 
in the head,” and kill their pork when the moon is 
nearing the full, “so the meat will swell in the pot.” 
'J'o recapitulate: If 1 wished to grow a crop of late 
cabbage, and the ground was bare—no sod—I shou'.d 
draw all the coarse manure i could get, or 
pay for, not less than 20 loads per acre, plow it under 
as soon as I could in the Spring, topdress with a few 
loads of fine stuff and about one-half ton of goo 1 
cabbage fertilizer analyzing four per cent of nitrogen, 
eight per cent of phosphoric acid, and 10 per cent of 
potash applied broadcast, then thoroughly cultivate 
not too deep, once a week till planting time. This on 
a soil naturally or artificially well drained; plant 2% 
by 2% feet; one ought to get $125 an acre from that 
crop. But a good crop of cabbage would not be the 
sole object of this thorough treatment; it is a well- 
known fact that there is no crop grown that is better 
calculated to clean up a weed-infested piece of ground 
than late cabbage, because to get a crop, even on well- 
manured ground the cultivator must be kept con¬ 
stantly going, and this at a season of year when 
showers are less frequent and weed growth less active. 
August is a better month to subdue weeds than June 
usually. But again, the next season I should like to 
plant that field with corn with 200 pounds of muriate 
of potash, and 600 pounds acid phosphate per acre, 
applied broadcast. I should plant it to be worked 
both ways, then work it ail Summer perfectly level, 
and just before cultivating it the last way for the 
last time sow 10 quarts Mammoth clover of un¬ 
doubted purity (not less than 97 per cent), then run 
the cultivator over lightly, and the year following 
just keep the top cut back. The next year you can 
grow cabbage, potatoes, or almost anything. 
M. (;.\1{HAII.V.\. 
GREEN AND DRY CORN IN THE SILO. 
I have a small place, 42 acres, on which I keep 25 
cows, and each Winter have had to buy hay. So, from 
what I have read in The R. N.-Y. and Hoard’s Dairy¬ 
man, I concluded to build a silo, which I did this past 
Summer at a cost of $123.95, exclusive of my own 
work and board of carpenters. The silo is 17 feet in 
diameter inside, and 29 feet 4 inches high to the top 
of top circle. We put in four acres of corn last Spring, 
which I knew would not fill it, so after we mowed 
about the middle of June we manured five acres, 
plowed it and drilled in corn on July 3. When we 
filled the silo on September 28 to October 1, the early 
corn was a little drier than the farmers in this 
neighborhood like for their silos, but the late corn 
was in the milk. The teams were loaded first with a 
load of green and then a load of dry, and by the time 
it was leveled in the silo it was pretty well mixed. 
It has kept well with almost no sour smell and a 
nice green color. Would not this be a better way for 
farmers to do than to let the corn get too dry, and 
then pour water on it, as I have seen some do? Right 
here I would like to ask why you advocate not such 
heavy eared corn, but more fodder and leaves for the 
silage, as I saw in the Brevities of a week ago. Yours 
Is the kind I have, as we put in the corn four to six 
inches in the row and rows three feet eight inches 
apart. w. e. o. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
R. N.-Y. We think well of that plan, though on 
our lower soil frost would cut such fodder about one 
year in five. It will often pay to plow up an old 
pasture or meadow about July 1, and drill in corn. 
About September 1 a heavy seeding of Winter oats 
and Canada peas can be made. After the corn is cut 
off the oats and peas will give good Fall pasture. 
There are several reasons why we prefer a fodder 
variety of corn for silage. You get more leaf growth 
—consequently better feed—and it is less liable to 
sour. You get more bulk to the acre, especially in 
fodder corn late planted. Where silage contains a 
large proportion of grain the cows are likely to get 
too much corn in their ration. 
GROWING LETTUCE IN A FORCING HOUSE 
Fig 10 is a good representation of some Winter 
lettuce taken from a photograph I made recently in 
one of the forcing-houses at the Michigan Agricul¬ 
tural College. The modern forcing-house has made 
it possible to enjoy vegetables the year round, and 
is one of the factors that have done much towards 
pushing gardening to the front as an industrial a t. 
The growth shown in Fig. 10 is very rank and thrifty, 
and yet perfectly tender and edible. A two-foot ru’e 
partly folded is shown in the foregi’ound, which will 
give a fair idea of its thriftiness. The lettuce as 
grown in this forcing-house is first started from the 
seed in small flats a foot or more square. The length 
of germination depends largely on the sun. In 
ordinary weather it commonly takes in the neighbor¬ 
hood of three weeks or a little more before the seed 
which has been sown in these flats, has produced a 
plant large enough for the second planting. When 
the lettuce plant stands from 1% to two inches high, 
it is removed and transplanted into a larger flat. 
This time the surface is carefully checked into two- 
inch squares, and the plants set out. They remain in 
this flat until they have produced sufficient leaf and 
are far enough developed again to transplant into the 
regular forcing-house beds. Time is rather indefinite, 
requiring anywhere from three to five weeks. In this 
case more depends on the space for transplanting than 
on the age of the plant up to certain limits. 
The beds in which the lettuce is grown are about 
four feet wide or less, and something between eight 
inches and a foot deep. The soil used is a black sand 
loam well mixed with good fertilizer from the barn¬ 
yard. In some forcing-houses they use fully one-half 
compost, but I do not believe they use quite so large 
a proportion in these beds. The lettuce is transplanted 
into these beds in squares six inches apart. If the 
plants are very far developed a portion of the leaves 
is removed. This is to give the roots a better chance 
to secure a new foothold, and hold the foliage in check 
during this period. I was informed that this lettuce 
which is illustrated had been in the forcing beds 
about six weeks. Owing to less than a week’s good 
sunshine during this time it had not developed as it 
ought. In taking this picture I simply located my 
camera on a place where lettuce has just been re¬ 
moved for market, and made no effort to secure an 
exaggerated illustration. In the foreground will be 
noted some coarse stems on the surface. These are 
tobacco fibers from a cigar factory, used in prevent¬ 
ing insects, and do the work successfully. 
Shiawassee Co., iviich. c. p. Reynolds. 
A TALK ABOUT THE GRANGE. 
What It Is; How Formed. 
I notice in a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. a question 
in regard to the Grange, asking whether it would be 
a good antidote to rumshops in country places. The 
official name of this farmers’ organization is Patrons 
of Husbandry, and the different local lodges are called 
Subordinate Granges, which are generally four miles 
or more apart in New York State. Each 
Grange can manage its own affairs, 
provided it makes no by-laws in con¬ 
flict with the laws of State and Na¬ 
tional Granges. Then there are Po¬ 
mona or County Granges in most coun 
ties, having a large membership. The 
fourth degree is the great working de¬ 
gree of the order, and is the highest 
degree in Subordinate Granges. Coun¬ 
ty and State Granges are fifth-degree 
Granges; the National Grange is a 
sixth-degree Grange. All fourth-de¬ 
gree members in good standing are 
eligible to the Pomona Granges. For 
instance, Monroe Co., N. Y., has about 
3,000 fourth-degree members, of whom 
about 500 are enrolled in the Pomona, 
which elects the delegates each year to 
the State Grange. The local Granges 
are the real foundation and heart of 
the order, but the higher Granges are 
necessary to tie the order firmly to¬ 
gether so that its influence can be 
thrown together, as in the case of the 
Grout bill and many other cases. The 
best way, I think, to begin in getting 
up a Grange where it is not understood 
very well is to write to Brother W. N. Giles, Skane- 
ateles, N. Y., secretary of New York State Grange, foi 
some copies of the declaration of purposes, constitu 
tion and by-laws of the National and State Granges, 
which explains all that is necessary for outsiders to 
know of the working of the order. Hand these to 
your most intelligent, progressive farmers, give them 
time to study up the subject, then get them to sign 
an application for a Grange and send it to Secretary 
Giles, who will see that some proper person is sent to 
organize it. Each Grange chooses its name, and the 
number of the Grange will be given by the secretary 
of the National Grange. In the election of officers in 
the Grange there is no nominating allowed, as the 
election is always by secret ballot, so each and every 
member can vote as he or she pleases without fear 
of offending any other member. This feature is 
worthy the attention of our political friends. Perhaps 
a few extracts from the declaration of purposes pub¬ 
lished by the National Grange will explain the objects 
of the Grange better than anything else. 
“We shall endeavor to advance our cause by labor¬ 
ing to accomplish the following objects: To develop 
a better and higher manhood and womanhood among 
ourselves. To enhance the comforts and attractions 
of our homes, and strengthen our attachments to our 
pursuits. To reduce our expenses both individual and 
corporate. To buy less and produce more in order 
to make our farms self-sustaining. To diversify our 
crops, and crop no more than we can cultivate. To 
discountenance the credit system, the mortgage sys¬ 
tem, the fashion system and every other system 
tending to prodigality and bankruptcy. We propose 
meeting together, talking together, working together, 
buying together, selling together and in general, act¬ 
ing together for our mutual protection. Ours being 
peculiarly a farmers’ institution, we cannot admit all 
to our ranks.” 
Surely, brother farmers, these are good principles 
of action. The cost of joining the Grange is a mere 
trifle compared with the benefits: $3 for men, $1 for 
women, 50 cents for girls from 14 to 21, and $1 for 
boys from 14 to 21. s. w. cox. 
