VoL. LX. No. 2690 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 17, 1901 
81 PER YEAR. 
RYE IN EASTERN NEW YORK. 
The Need of Potash. 
The farmers of CJolumbia Co., N. Y., grow rye in 
the following manner: The first crop to be taken 
from the soil is either corn or potatoes. The follow¬ 
ing Spring oats are sown, and as soon as the oats are 
harvested tthe soil is prepared for rye, which is sown 
either the last of August, or the first of September. 
It is grown only once on the same piece of land In 
this rotation. Most of us drill it in, using some of 
the fertilizers at the same time. In this way it gets 
right with the grain roots at the start, giving it a 
quick start and a better growth. A fair crop of grain 
per acre is 20 bushels, and one ton of straw. It is a 
good crop to seed after sowing Timothy in the Fall, 
and clover the following Spring. The usual amount 
of seed per acre is IV 2 to two bushels; it depends 
largely on the strength of the soil. I think the rea¬ 
son the straw is so weak and flimsy is the lack of 
potash in the soil. 
I>ast Fall I drew a number of loads of weeds, briars, 
bushes and old hay, spread it thin on the land, burned 
it before sowing the rye. This year, wherever this 
refuse was burned, a very large growth 
of stiff straw was grown, and this was 
on land where there would have been 
nothing, scarcely, only for the ashes 
from this refuse. This straw stood 
right up, and wherever there are ashes 
clover will grow a heavy crop. The 
heads of the rye were much larger and 
better filled on these pieces. I put this 
refuse in different places on purpose to 
see whether any good resulted from it, 
and I found it paid well for the labor 
expended. o. w. h. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
The Story of Rye Culture. 
Rye in Columbia Co., N. Y., has for 
many years been a most important crop. 
It began to supersede wheat early in the 
nineiteenth century. The abundance of 
rye straw in this section made a pio¬ 
neer local industry, manufacturing 
straw paper, a success. The ready mar¬ 
ket found for the farmers’ straw in 
those days was doubtless their main 
reason for growing rye so extensively 
at an early date in this county, and it 
became really the monied crop of the 
times. Here rye comes into our rotation 
every three, four or five years, depending upon cir¬ 
cumstances, corn on well-manured sod ground follow¬ 
ing the next year with oats, then rye with seeding 
of one or two succeeding years to clover and Timothy 
proving most satisfactory. Some seasons, when the 
grass seeding fails to catch well, rye follows one or 
two seasons of pasture, or it may follow Timothy 
after mowing for hay by plowing the sod under after 
harvest; when this is done two crops of rye are usual¬ 
ly taken off the land before reseeding to grass again. 
Best results as a whole, however, have been obtained 
where the rotation stated above was adhered to, and 
such farming seems to keep the land in prime condi¬ 
tion. If possible, all knolls, or places whei'e the soil 
is thin, should be topdressed with barnyard manure 
before harrowing. In addition, at times, the whole 
field is treated with from 100 to 200 pounds of com¬ 
mercial fertilizer. The amount of straw and grain 
produced per acre varies from 1,200 pounds of straw 
and 11 or 12 bushels of grain to 3,500 pounds of straw 
and 30 bushels of rye. 
We pronounce it a poor crop when we cannot ob¬ 
tain an average of 2,000 pounds of straw and 18 or 20 
bushels of grain per acre for a season’s product. 
Where followed in the regular rotation after corn and 
oats, the corn having been well manured, rye is an 
excellent crop with which to seed both clover and 
Timothy, the latter being seeded with rye in the Fall 
and clover the following Spring. For many years we 
have tried to select our seed rye as carefully as our 
corn, endeavoring to secure a large, plump, white 
kernel. Desiring to improve either straw or grain, 
we should aim at perfecting the grain, as the 
straw will grow to ,a great length and stand up 
well where the land is just right and suited to the 
crop, if the grain be not too thickly sown. Rye grow¬ 
ing to a height of six or seven feet is apt to be in¬ 
jured and tangled by high winds and rainstorms, 
often causing great loss with much added labor in 
harvesting. This crop as a whole stands up best 
when sown thinly on a fairly good soil, or on mod¬ 
erately poor land well fertilized. We have seen 32 
spears of rye grow from one seed. Rye stools out 
best, other things being equal, when sown early in 
the Fall. We prefer to have all of our rye sown in 
September, and by the 15th or 16th of the month at 
the latest. The amount sown per acre varies; on 
some grounds, rich and in good order, 1% bushel of 
A FIELD OF IMPROVED RYE. Pig. 245. 
seed proves sufficient if drilled in, while land that is 
poor requires one bushel and three pecks. Some farm¬ 
ers use more, and we have done so, but topdressing 
the land, best results were obtained with the amount 
named. It never pays to pasture rye in the Fall un¬ 
less it is early sown, and not then unless the ground 
is frozen, when it may be pastured with safety to a 
moderate extent. joim d. tompkins. 
Columbia Co.. N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—The picture at Fig. 245 shows a field of 
rye grown by B. L. Clarkson, of Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Mr. Clarkson has for several years been trying to im¬ 
prove a variety or strain of rye by careful selection. 
As a result he has developed a grain which seems to 
be a distinct improvement. It gives a heavy yield of 
grain and produces a long stiff straw which stands up 
well and gives a heavy yield per acre. The straw of 
rye is usually more valuable than the grain, especial¬ 
ly where it can be handled and sold in bundles with¬ 
out baling. In northern New Jersey rye is the fa¬ 
vorite small grain, for while it gives a smaller aver¬ 
age yield than wheat, the straw can be sold from the 
wagon to the stablemen in the larger cities, and fre¬ 
quently brings ?20 per ton. The old Dutch farmers 
believed that rye heads would clean the bots from 
the stomach of a horse. The heads were chopped, 
mixed with the ground feed and moistened. The be¬ 
lief was that the thick spines or “horns” on the rye 
heads scratched away the bots as they clung to the 
stomach wall. Many farmers still believe this and 
feed these heads in February or March. The grain 
of rye is not considered equal to wheat for stock feed¬ 
ing. While poultry will eat the whole grain they do 
not thrive on it. In New Jersey the grain is usually 
ground with corn in about equal proportions and fed 
to horses or hogs. Some dairymen believe that rye 
meal makes a poor quality of butter. It is, however, 
excellent for hog feed. The chief value of the crop 
lies in the straw. Formerly thrashing was done by 
hand, so as to keep the straw straight and unbroken. 
Now the thrashing machines have a special attach¬ 
ment for handling rye, so that the straw is held 
straight and can be bound into bundles the same as 
when it is thrashed by hand. The invention of this 
machine did much to stimulate the production of rye 
in the East. Wheat dropped in price, while rye straw 
was quoted at high figures. As a result many farm¬ 
ers in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, N. J., 
dropped wheat out of their rotation and 
substituted rye. Most of them have now 
gone back to wheat, but they find their 
farms well seeded to rye, so that the 
wheat is quite badly mixed. Most farm¬ 
ers who have tried both grains say that 
rye is the better crop for seeding to 
grass and clover. 'There may not be 
much difference in regard to this, but 
popular belief favors rye. The rye is 
less likely to be injured by insects, and 
will make a fair growth on poor land, 
being hardier and more of a hustler 
than wheat. It can also be seeded quite 
late in the season, and still make a fair 
crop. We sowed rye in early November 
last year, which produced good crops of 
straw and grain this year. It is often a 
great convenience to delay grain sow¬ 
ing until late in the Fall in order to 
take care of other crops first. It is 
often difficult, in a season like the pres¬ 
ent one, to get the potatoes out of the 
ground in time for wheat, but it is 
usually possible to fit potato ground for 
rye. This crop is often suggested for 
green manuring. It answers quite well 
for this purpose when plowed under 
while quite green. If we wait until the 
heads are well formed, the stalks usually become so 
tough and woody that they decay very slowly in the 
ground, and are not of much value to the season’s 
crop. Some melon and tomato growers use rye in 
preference to clover, as they believe that cutworms 
and other insects which do much damage in a clover 
sod will not trouble the rye. Dairymen who follow 
the soiling system of feeding cut green fodder to their 
cows depend on rye to give them the first green food 
of the year. This early green feed comes in ahead of 
wheat, and while the rye is tender supplies the cows 
With a profitable “bite.” This early rye grows very 
fast, and soon becomes hard and tough, so that the 
stock will refuse it. We have for several years cut 
considerable rye for hay, but it does not make very 
acceptable fodder. The horses eat it quite well, but 
it is best fed when run through the cutter or shred¬ 
der in connection with cornstalks. Wheat makes a 
much better hay than does rye, yet, if the latter is 
cut early and well cured, it may be used as a Win¬ 
ter feed for horses in order to save Timothy. 
Thekk seems to be a complete upset in the laws of 
supply and demand when with the biggest wheat crop 
on record wheat bran mounts up In price. 
