25b 
April 6 
Killing Grass on Gravel Walks. 
A., Massachusetts .—What would be a cheap 
and effectual application to a gravel walk 
to kill and prevent return of grass? 
Ans. —Experiments at the Vermont 
Experiment Station show that dry salt 
will kill most weeds and grass. It must 
be used heavily, and is slow in its ac¬ 
tion. A better remedy was found in 
crude carbolic acid dissolved in water. 
One quart of the acid in eight gallons of 
water makes a dose for a square rod. It 
can be sprinkled out of a watering pot. 
It makes quick work of the weeds and 
grass, but does not completely kill out 
the roots. It has a strong smell which 
many object to. The acid does not mix 
well with water, and must be stirred fre¬ 
quently. Arsenate of soda, one pound 
dissolved in eight gallons of water, de¬ 
stroyed all weeds, but is a dangerous 
poison. 
Growing Cabbage After Cabbage. 
J., Boston. Mass.—Ti have for the past three 
years raised quite a quantity of cabbages 
to feed to my poultry during Winter, but 
am told I cannot continue this crop on 
same land with any success. If this is 
true, can it be because the crop takes 
from soil some known element which, by 
replacing, will remedy the difficulty, and if 
so, what application would you advise? 
Ans.— It is true that cabbage follow¬ 
ing cabbage is not usually successful. 
This is because soil on which cabbage 
is grown is likely to be infested with 
the fungus which produces club-root. 
This bad disease will ruin the crop. Like 
the scab on potatoes, the germs or spores 
of this disease remain in the soil and at¬ 
tack the succeeding crop. For this rea¬ 
son cabbage should not follow cabbage, 
turnips or rape. In some cases the use 
of lime has prevented or reduced the 
trouble from club-root, but it is safer to 
plant on new ground. Cabbage is a 
heavy feeder, and uses up the soluble 
nitrogen in the soil rapidly, but if this 
is supplied other crops can be grown ex¬ 
cept for this disease. 
What Summer Green Crops? 
C. F. S., Cockburn, N. Y .—I have been 
lately interested in the legumes for re¬ 
storing exhausted land; have been reading 
about cow peas, Soy beans. Velvet beans, 
etc. I have a few acres lately purchased 
that w'ere planted last season with corn 
that yielded quite a good stand of stalks 
and a fair yield of grain, for the dry sea¬ 
son. I wish this year to plant it to some 
green crop to plow down. I would like to 
seed down next Fall with wheat. Which, 
in your opinion, would be the best of the 
above legumes for my purpose? I have 
just been reading an article highly prais¬ 
ing the Florida Velvet bean as making a 
very large growth for this purpose. 
Ans. —From our experience we would 
advise either Early Black or Whippoor¬ 
will cow peas—though they may not 
satisfy you. With us the Soy bean re¬ 
quires good soil—good enough to yield 
a fair crop of corn. It grows upright 
and is not so easy to plow under as the 
cow pea. The latter makes a fair growth 
oi poor soil, although it may not prove 
all you desire as far north as you are. 
The Velvet bean is useful in the far 
South only. We have grown it several 
years, and last season it produced a 
small crop of seeds—but the vines were 
small, and not satisfactory. 
Cement Wall for Bank Barn. 
E. IF. M., Randolph, Mass.—I wish to build 
house, barn, henhouse, 300 feet, and 
brooder house 80 feet. I have round stone 
gravel and sand on the place; also, after 
caring for my hens, I have five or six 
hours per day. Can I build the founda¬ 
tions for my buildings of cement? What 
should be the thickness of a cement wall 
for a bank barn, 22x30 wall for one side and 
both ends? 
Ans. —In a case of this kind you must 
contend against the immense pressure 
of the dirt piled against the wall for the 
driveway, and one cannot be over-cau¬ 
tious regarding this point. Such a wall 
should be two feet thick for the side 
wall at bottom and 15 inches at top, and 
it would be well to put all the slope on 
the inside. Twenty inches at bottom 
and 12 at top will do for the ends. I 
would put against the side wall about 
three feet of dirt as soon as wall was 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
completed, and then no more dirt until 
the barn was completed. I always pre¬ 
fer avoiding all possibilities of mishaps 
that I can, and so I would put heavy 
braces against the side wall before com¬ 
pleting the fill for the roadway. This 
wall, though, would stand as much pres¬ 
sure as one bUiit of stone or brick. Every 
particle of the cement and gravel, after 
being thoroughly mixed, should be 
wetted. It can then be moved with a 
common shovel. The watery part of 
grout contains more than its share of 
cement, and therefore none of it should 
be allowed to waste. Any size of stone 
can be used in this wall, only using 
enough grout to bind them together, but 
they should not come within a half-inch 
of the boards or plank that holds the 
grouting. Plaster as fast as built, and 
at the stopping place in plastering take 
a straight edge and cut it off square, so 
that you will not have to overlap one 
coat of plaster with the next coat. 
S. E. IJAHNEY. 
CHESTNUT CULTURE IN ALABAMA. 
The land is a high sandy pomt that is 
part of an old-time chestnut ridge; a 
few big chestnut stumps still remain in 
among the cotton stalks. At the pres¬ 
ent time there are not a dozen live na¬ 
tive chestnut trees within two miles of 
the hill, though chestnut posts and 
chestnut rails are found at odd places 
throughout the county. Thirty-six trees 
of the McFarland variety were supplied 
from Fort Valley, Ga., and also 100 
American seedlings. Thirty-six Alpha, 
two Paragon trees, 100 Parry Giant 
seedlings and two Cordiformis and two 
Sieboldii walnuts were brought from 
New Jersey. All the trees were received 
in good condition in December, 1899, and 
were promptly heeled in. The ground 
was quite moist, and the trees were care¬ 
fully set, soon after their arrival, in 
rows 30 feet apart—trees 30 feet in the 
row. Parry Giant seedlings were also 
planted in the same rows just half way 
between the larger chestnut trees. The 
remainder of the seedlings were set four 
inches apart, as in a nursery row. All 
the trees, with the exception of one Al¬ 
pha, started to grow in the Spring. Cul¬ 
tivation was begun early, and continued 
up to October 4. Early in April each 
large tree was given two pounds of acid 
phosphate and three pounds of cotton¬ 
seed meal. The fertilizer was scattered 
about the tree inside a circle with a two 
to three-foot radius, and then well hoed 
into the surface soil. The seedling trees 
received smaller doses of fertilizer. 
Up to the present time there have died 
no Paragons, six McFarland, 19 Alpha, 
69 Parry Giant, 17 American seedlings, 
and one Sieboldii walnut. The latter, 
however, was set in a raw, hard spot, 
and did not have a fair chance. I am 
not quite satisfied in my own mind as to 
why so many died, but am inclined to 
think that there were two causes. In 
May the cultivation was neglected for a 
time, because there was so much rain 
that it was neither necessary nor pos¬ 
sible to maintain a dust mulch. Then 
a short drought came, and before we 
realized it the soil dried out so that the 
young grass looked wilted during the 
middle of the day. Sweeps and hoes 
were immediately put to work, but I 
think this accounts for the great mor¬ 
tality among the short-rooted Japan 
seedlings. Some of the Alphas may have 
been hurt by this short neglect, but I 
am inclined to think that the excessively 
wet season worked the cotton-seed meal 
down so that it damaged the roots, as 
some of the leaves took on a sort of 
scorched look along in June or July. 
There is one more point that seems 
worthy of mention. The Alpha trees 
were from three to four feet tall, and 
were all set with only a little trimming 
up of the head. The McFarland trees 
were much larger—six to eight feet— 
and were mostly cut back, some very 
severely. Four of them were set with¬ 
out any pruning, and two of these died. 
One of these four, however, was planted 
in an unfavorable spot, and should hard¬ 
ly be taken into account in considering 
the effect of cutting back the tops at 
planting time. The growth of the trees 
is quite variable, but the more vigorous 
ones have new limbs over four feet long. 
Next month the vacant spots are to be 
reset with pruned trees having the cut 
limbs carefully waxed. Cotton seed 
will be used instead of meal, with a light 
dressing of nitrate of soda in the Spring 
Cultivation will be continued with all 
the rows except one, which is to be heav¬ 
ily mulched with peavines. Some of the 
trees bloomed quite freely, but no burrs 
were set. a. m. t. 
Calhoun, Ala. 
Another Steam Horse. —My experi¬ 
ence with a traction engine has been 
very successful. I have done my own 
harvesting and similar work for several 
of my neighbors each year. It is cheap, 
and the best way I know to harvest in 
this State. In a 45-days’ run I have 
made an average of 65 acres per day, at 
the cost of $31.50 per day for help, fuel, 
etc. I have plowed from 1,000 to 1,600 
acres each season with my engine, pull¬ 
ing 18 eight-inch plows, making an aver¬ 
age of 40 acres per day at a cost of $18 
per day. I harrow from 180 to 200 acres 
per day, at a cost of $16. My engine is 
50 horse-power, and I pull 64 feet of har¬ 
row. i don’t know of one engine and 
harvester in this State to be laid aside. 
Engines are not much used m this coun¬ 
try on the farm for hauling loads to the 
market. They are used for logging and 
hauling lumber, also for hauling salt. 
Chico, Cal. w. t. 
The London Fruit Grower say.s that a 
new apple called Armorel is very fine as a 
late dessert fruit. It Is small, with a russet 
color, and follows Cox’s Orange Pippin. 
That Note Book.—I would rwo more think 
of leaving a small note book out of my 
vest pocket than I would to leave my knife 
or my watch at home, and not carry them 
for the convenience they are to me. The 
horticulturist loses many valuable thoughts 
that leave the mind never to return again 
if he does not note them down at the time. 
Of course, he thinks he will hold the “new 
idea” in mind, but often, when he wishes 
to recall It, other thoughts have crowded 
it out. Notes as to varieties of fruits and 
vegetables, the dates of planting, the 
methods used, the results obtained by fol¬ 
lowing different methods, drop In very 
nicely to help out in making a better plan 
for the following year. A note book prop¬ 
erly used means advancement and progress 
to the horticulturist. c. c. n. 
Three Rivers, Mich. 
Si?' 
BEAUTIFY YOUR CARDEN 
and Orounds by onr practical help and ad¬ 
vice in Garden Flans. Yours for the ask¬ 
ing. Largest, most complete and varied 
f stock of every known hardy tree, $hrub,a.ni 
hardy plant. Lowest Rates. Highest 
qvalxty. We strive to keep in touch 
with all garden lovers, and help them. 
» Send for our catalogue and then 
write us about your needs. 
102 State St., BOSTON, MASS. 
WHY BUY 
an old-style,ont-of-date 
Hay Carrier, when you 
can get the latest 
ImproTed Londen, 
worth twice the money? 
Let ns send Catalogue of every 
thing in Hay Tools, and circular 
of Door Hangers—Best on Earth 
—also, How to Build Hay Barns, 
etc* 
LOUDEN MACHINERY CO. Div.J, Fairfield, Jowh 
GOLD 
MEDAL 
OMaHA 
1898 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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“a square deal.” See our guarantee 
If you have soft 
ground get a set of 
These Shoes 
for your horses. You 
cannot afford to be 
without them. All 
iron. Thousands in 
use. Write to-day 
for prices to 
M. GATES, Decatur, Mich. 
C arman No. 3 and Sir Walter Kalelgh Potatoes; bii . 
80c.; bbl. $2.25. Choice IF. Wyan and W.P. Rock 
Eggs, $1 per 15. C. WBCKE8SBK, Marshallville. O. 
NORTHERN GROWN SEED POTATOES 
Sir Walter Raleigh and Carman No. 3; bu. 80 cents; 
bbl.. $2.25; 5 bbls., $10. Buy direct from grower of 15 
years experience and get seed true to name. 
J. H. ARBOGAST, Coral. Montcalm Co.. Mich 
CARMAN No. 3 $3.00 
Sir Walter Raleigh and Early Bovee $4.00 per bbl. 
all bbls. 4 bu. Dewey, the great cropper. Wholesale 
llst/ree. GEO. A. BONNELL. Waterloo, N. Y. 
A O TV/T'R'T? Q— 30 choice standard varieties. 
^ Raleighs. Giant, E. Harvest, 
E. Cobblers. Commercial. Tuber free (remit only 
postage), White Star Oats tested with 10 varieties: 
sample and descriptive list free, and 5c., packet seed 
free. Save $1 per bbl. 4 varieties of fowls. SMITH 
POTATO FARM. Box C, Manchester, N. Y. 
SEED POTATOES 
Bovee, S. W.Raleigh, Carman’s and other standard 
varieties at very reasonable prices. Price-list. F. 11. 
THOMSON, FalrvlewFarm, Holland Patent, N. Y. 
Imes’ 
Blight - Proof 
Seed Potatoes 
1901 Catalogue, Free, 
gives particulars. 
SIESiESXDISt. 
The best Held and garden seeds 
at Wholesale Prices. The hbst 
90-day corn known. Seed Po¬ 
tatoes that are unequated. 
The W. E. Imps Seed Co., 
Smith, Mich. 
p*OR SALE—200 lbs. of Giant Argenteull Asparagus 
^ Seed. This variety of asparagus is the earliest, 
largest and most prolific asparagus grown on the 
American continent. Price. $1 per lb. Address 
WM. C. GERATY, Youngs Island, S. C. 
Clover Seed @ $6 to 17 per 
I or wflIlO hn.; 500 bn. Crimson Clover Seed @ 
$6 per bu.: 2,000 bu. Cow Peas @ $1.25 to $1.75 per bu. 
J. K. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
Packard’s Ensilage Seed Corn 
write to-day for circular and sample. My seed 
corn AT.WAYS GROWS. If you own a silo, you need 
my Early Mastodon corn. .Makes one-third heavier 
crop than Learning. Other varieties. 
PACKARD, Seed Grower, Dover. Del. 
no aUTO —Strawberry, cabbage, tomato, pep- 
I*Lilli I VI per, sweet potato, cauliflower, celery 
and egg plant. Asparagus roots. Catalogue free. 
CALEB BOGGS & SON, Cheswold, Del. 
Cabbage Plants. 
Large transplanted plants, well hard¬ 
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Jersey Wakefield, Charleston Wakefield 
and Henderson’s Ea. Summer, ready now. 
Price, per 100, 40c.; 1,(K)0, $3, Write for 
catalog of transplanted vegetable plant.s. 
J. E. HUTTON & SON, Gonyngham, Pa. 
■pEACH TREES, Kleffer Pears, and Japan 
^ Plums. R. S. JOHNSTON, Box 4, Stockley, Del. 
FINE NURSERY STOCK-SiI.d”iS 
Boots. Special prices on one-year-old Kieffer. 
Dover Nphserv, E. H. Atkinson, Prop., Dover, Del. 
j|nnjr c-FBOM BEARING TREES. 
A* M M Rome Beauty. Sutton Beauty, On- 
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M ^9 .1.8. Woodward, Lockport. N Y. 
OUR FRUIT TREES BROW. 
We have thousands of all the best varieties of 
TREES and PLANTS. APPLES 8c., PEAKS 9c., 
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some illustrated catalogue FREE. Send for it to-day. 
Highland Nursery Co.. Dept. D.Rochester, N.Y'. 
American Gardening. 
Ten Sample Copies, separate issues. 10 cents. 
Published at 136 Liberty Street, New York. 
TREES, PLANTS and SEEDS. 
Catalogue Free. 
T. C. FDRNAS & CO.. Sheridan, Ind. 
Thirty-four varieties of choice A No. 1 
A*5PTRT4''RT? V Flants C.C. NASH, 
Catalogues for flve years to come, free. 
90,000 
Glen Mary Strawberry plants at $1.25 
per 1,000. T.C.KEVlTT,Athenla, N.J. 
Otrawberrry, largest and best. Try the New Auto, 
^ 8,000 qts. to the acre; 1 doz. plants for $2. Other 
good kinds as low as $1.50 per 1,000. Catalogue free 
SLAYMAKBB & SON, Dover, Dela. 
The Minute Man Stiawberry. 
Best Northern-grown Strawberry Plants and Aspar¬ 
agus Roots. All sorts of Small Fruit Plants and 
Nursery Stock, grown and for sale by 
GEORGE M. WHEELER, Concord, Mass. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS THAT CROW. 
9> 
LUTHER—Most promising Extra Early, $3.50 per M. ROUGH BIDER-Best late, $2.25 pe^OO- 
other Strawberries. Also, Raspberry and Blackberry, Currant and Grape Plants. CATALOGUE 
CULTURAL INSTRUCTIONS FREE. C. K. WHITTKN, Bridgman. Mlcti. 
Grass Seed 
CHOICE RE-CLEANED SEED FDR ALL PURPOSES 
Dreer’s Permanent Pasture Mixture cannot be excelled 
for producing abundant hay crops, and luxurious after- 
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mixtures for Lawns, Golf Links, etc. Circular and mlces 
on application HENRY A. DREER, Phlla., Pa. 
