i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
23 
up the pores and compacting it, the soil 
water is made to rise more readily in it 
from the subsoil bringing plant food with 
it and preventing drought. 
Besides this action of ashes, which is in 
large part at least mechanical, they also 
tend to correct “sourness” of the soil. In 
most cases this is not due to free acid but 
to the presence of soluble iron salts which 
in undue quantity are poisonous to plants, 
and in smaller quantity show that the soil 
is stagnant, and needs aeration. Ashes 
precipitate these salts and open the soil 
that contains them to the air, by making it 
looser in texture. 
When potash salts have been used in 
large quantities and the potash has been 
largely taken up by a rapidly growing crop 
as tobacco, leaving most of the acid with 
which the potash was combined in the soil, 
ashes or lime may profitably be used to 
neutralize it. Our best tobacco growers 
use stone lime or cotton hull ashes largely 
on their tobacco land with excellent re¬ 
sults. 
A third wav in which ashes benefit land 
is in promoting nitrification—that process by 
which the more or less inert nitrogenous 
matters in the soil, are made to yield ni¬ 
trates from which our field crops obtain 
most if not all their nitrogen supply. This 
process is in some way connected with the 
life of low organisms, which are invariably 
present in fertile soils. Nitric acid can 
only be produced, however, when carbonate 
of lime is present to supply a base with 
which the acid may combine, and a soil 
mildly alkaline is the one most favorable 
to the growth of these organisms and the 
formation of nitrates. 
Such is, in brief, our present knowledge 
regarding the action of ashes. It is clear 
that the quantities of potash and phosphor¬ 
ic acid present do not wholly measure the 
value of ashes, nor does it pay to buy them 
simply to supply a deficiency of these two 
things in the manure. The quantities of 
potash and phosphoric acid in a ton of 
ashes costing §12 to §15, can be bought in 
the form of muriate ot potash and super¬ 
phosphate of lime for §8 or §9. But ashes 
temper certain soils making them easier 
to work, moister, and more retentive of 
manure, correcting “ sourness ,” promot¬ 
ing the solution of plant food in them and 
so preparing the way for the use of fertil¬ 
izers which directly applied might be 
wasted. To accomplish these ends ashes 
have to be used in considerable quantity 
and probably a single heavy dose would 
help more than the same qua ntity applied 
in fractions through tli ree or four succes¬ 
sive years if the object is to change the me¬ 
chanical condition of the soil strikingly.. 
We find that the R. N.-Y. has readers 
that do not know that certain seedsmen 
offer seeds of all the fruits (apple, plum, 
cherry, pear, quince, raspberry, strawberry 
etc., etc.); seeds of all sorts of evergreen 
trees and shrubs, seeds of deciduous trees 
and shrubs in great variety. 
Ten years ago the average reader did not 
know that potatoes could be raised from 
seeds without the aid of glass or artificial 
heat. Potato seedlings, it was usually as¬ 
sumed, could be raised only by experts 
possessed of peculiar appliances and skill 
not within the reach of farmers in general. 
The R. N.-Y. was the first journal to upset- 
all this and to show its readers that potato 
plants can be raised from seed as well as 
tomatoes can be so raised. So, too, it has 
shown that many shrubs and trees which 
would cost 50 cents each from nurseries at 
retail can just as well be raised from seeds 
at a cost too small to be considered. 
Again, people without number assume 
when they set out to plant new home- 
grounds that the thing to do is to order 
evergreens from the catalogues, which cost 
all the way from 50 cents to §2 each for 
sizable plants, ignorant of the fact that lit¬ 
tle specimens from six to 10 inches high may 
be secured for 10 cents each. And these little 
plants may be forwarded by mail, and they 
will grow just as surely as the larger speci¬ 
mens and will in the end make more sym¬ 
metrical trees and shrubs in fewer years... 
At a Boston farmers’ meeting, as re¬ 
ported in the Ploughman, Mr. Bowker was 
asked: If a person usesagood quality of un¬ 
leached ashes aud bone, will it amount to 
about the »ame thing as the fertilizers us¬ 
ually sold by manufacturers? He replied 
that he thought that bone and ashes were 
pretty good for fruit trees because they re¬ 
main a long time in the soil, and trees do 
not grow in a month or a season, but are 
growing all the time, except perhaps in the 
winter months; so we may use for fruit 
trees less soluble forms of plant food such 
as hpue . . 
Again he was asked if his fertilizer was 
kept over from this year to next would it 
lose anything ? He replied “ No ; not if the 
fertilizer is properly kept from exposure 
to the weather.”. 
Some favor the application of fertilizers 
one-half at first, and then, 30 days later, 
the use of the other half; would that be 
beneficial or would you favor applying it 
all at one time, asked another. The great 
crop of potatoes of which so much has been 
said in the papers was raised in Northern 
Maine. On this crop 1,100 pounds were put 
in at planting time and the remaining 900 
pounds of the fertilizer at the last hoeiqg. 
Probably this plan of sowing a portion 
(the main portion) of the fertilizer before 
the crop is seeded originated with the R. 
N. -Y. It will be remembered that its great 
crop of corn (on five acres) was raised in 
this way, a fact that has been widely pub¬ 
lished in fertilizer catalogues and periodi¬ 
cals. 
The pure-bred two-year-old Sussex bul¬ 
lock George, winner of the Breeder’s Ga¬ 
zette gold shield at the fat-stock show of 
1889, was fed corn, oats, and barley equal 
parts ground fine, mixed with cut Timo¬ 
thy and clover, with a handful of roots in 
winter ; bran and oil-meal to suit the con¬ 
dition of pastures. The last six weeks he 
had three-quarters of a pound of sugar daily, 
with a few roots and crushed wheat to put 
on the finishing touches. 
The “Geneva ” (white) Grape from R. G. 
Chase & Co., of Geneva, N. Y., fruited at 
the Rural Grounds the past season for the 
first. We cannot yet tell much about it as 
the vine bore several bunches only, which 
were injured by rose beetles while in 
bloom. It seems to be very early. The 
berry is of medium size, a trifle oblong, 
pulp tender, separating readily from the 
seeds. Skin thin but firm. Neither mil¬ 
dew nor rot was noticed. Vine fairly vigor¬ 
ous. Ripe September 1. 
In learning to read and write, says Mr. 
Druce before a farmers’ club in England, 
children must read and write about some¬ 
thing, and he wants to know why children 
in elementary schools should not read and 
write about the animals, plants, insects 
and other subjects with which they are 
daily brought into contact instead of about 
boa constrictors and hippopotami?. 
On how many farms do the sons take an 
active part in buying and selling and plan 
ning the work, so long as the father is able 
to do so? asks the Breeder’s Gazette. Be¬ 
cause his son was once small and helpless 
the stupid, blind parent seems to hold him 
always so aud often only awakens to the 
truth when it is too late, and with a strong 
sense of wrong done him rankling in his 
heart the young man leaves the old farm 
forever, so far as interest is concerned. 
There is many a farmer’s son, that has 
the natural ability at 18 to take the home 
place and run it better than his father, 
who has never yet been allowed to sell a 
wagon-load of produce, a fat steer, or a 
horse, no matter how many are raised, and 
who is forced to ask “ pa ” for a dollar if he 
is “permitted” to go to the fair. A boy 
with any intellect must have a heart as big 
as an ox’s not to run away from a farm 
when treated in that way!. 
Although Axtell has been beaten one and 
a-half second by the great Sunol, Wallace’s 
Monthly is still of the opinion that Axtell 
is the greatest three year-old the world has 
yet produced. With his stud-services of 
26 mares iu the spring, and then his con¬ 
stant campaigning up to the date of his 
great achievement at Terre Haute, Ind., it 
cannot understand how he could be any¬ 
thing but the greatest of all three-year-olds. 
It must be admitted on all hands that the 
colt had too much to do to reach the high¬ 
est flight of speed for a mile, in his three- 
year-old form. If he had been nursed for 
the year through, as Sunol was nursed by 
the most skillful of all traiuers, it is im¬ 
possible to even guess what his record 
might have been. The news that he had 
been sold for §105,(XX) was a stunner ; but 
after all, he was about as cheap a horse as 
has been sold in a twelvemonth. 
Let us know, good farmers, if there is 
one of you that values Lucerne or Alfalfa 
above clover provided your farm is capable 
of giving you good crops of clover. Lucerne 
may be said to be a clover that will thrive 
in some climates where clover will uot_ 
If you desire Alfalfa or Lucerne seed, re¬ 
member that the purest seed is offered by 
responsible seedsmen for 20 ceuts'a pound. 
Irresponsible parties are pressing it upon 
farmers who are slow to keep posted upon 
current farm literature for.from 50 cents to 
§1.00 per pound. 
WORD FOR WORD 
-Harper’s Weekly : “ It may safely be 
said that if politics get into the World’s 
Fair, politics will bedevil it.” 
-Mr. Taylor: “The devil is credited 
with a great deal of mischief that the stom¬ 
ach is guilty of.” 
-London Agricultural Gazette : “It 
is plain that the day of big old beasts is 
over in England : and the preference for 
smaller, and less fat mutton was hardly 
less conspicuous this season at the shows.” 
-Orange County Farmer : “ Tests 
made under the most favorable circum¬ 
stances have demonstrated to us in the 
most satisfactory manner that carp are an 
abomination.” 
Pi-i'ccUaneciujs Advertising. 
Ease, Comfort and Thrift! 
THE BEST CATTLE FASTENING 
Smith’s Self-Adjusting Swing Stanchion! 
The onlv practical SWING 3TANCHION invented. 
Thousands In use. Illustrated Circular free. 
F O. PARSONS * OO.. Addison. Sfeuhen Co., N. V 
HfiyF STUDY. Book keeping, Business Forms, Pen 
numb manship. Arithmetic, Shorthand, etc., tho¬ 
roughly taught by MAIL Circulars free 
BRYANT & STRATTON’S. 415 Main St., Buffalo, N Y. 
EPPS’S 
GRATEFUL-COMFORTING. 
COCOA 
Rheumatism 
We doubt if there is, or can be, a specific 
remedy for rheumatism; but thousands who 
have suffered its pains have been greatly ben¬ 
efited by Hood’s Sarsaparilla. If you have failed 
to find relief, try this great remedy. It correct: 
the acidity of the blood which is the cause of the 
disease, and builds up the whole system. 
“ I was afflicted with rheumatism twenty years. 
Previous to 1883 I found no relief, hut grew worse, 
until I was almost helpless. Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
did me more good than all the other medicine 
I ever had.” H. T. Balcom, Shirley Village, Mass. 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. Si; six for $5. Made 
only by C. L, HOOD & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
IOO Doses One Dollar 
•HtwSlI* 
- —_CONDITION POWDER 
Highly concentrated. Dose small. In quantity costs 
less than one-tenth cent a day per hen. Prevents and 
cures all diseases. If you can’t get it, we send by mail 
post-paid. One pack. 25c. Five $1. 2 1-ilb. can $1.20; 
6 cans $5. Express paid. Testimonials free. Send stamps or 
cash. Farmers’ Poultry Guide (price 25c.) free with $1.00 
orders or more. L S. JOHNSON <& CO.. Boston, Mass. 
YOUR CLOVER AND TIMOTHY 
WITH THE 
Cheaper than Paint. 
CREOSOTE WOOD STAINS. 
For Outbuildings, Shingles, Fences, etc. Durable 
Strong Preservatives of ibe Wood. Can be applied 
with a Whttewash Brush by any boy. In all colors. 
SAMUEL CABOT, Sole Manufacturer, 
Send for Circular. 70 KILBY ST . BOSTON 
GOLD MEDAL, PARIS, 1878. 
W. BAKEK& CO.’S 
Breakfasi Cocoa 
Is absolutely pure and 
it is soluble. 
No Chemicals 
are used in its preparation. It has more 
than three times the strength of Cocoa 
mixed with Starch, Arrowroot or Sugar, 
and is therefore far more economical, 
costing less than one cent a cup. It is 
delicious, nourishing, strengthening, EA¬ 
SILY Digested, and admirably adapted 
for invalids as well as persons in health. 
Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
W. BAKER & C0„ Dorchester, Mass. 
THE GRIFFIN RUG MACHINE 
Leads All its Competitors. 
It works either rags or 
yarn, is Simple, Durable, 
and EASY TO OPERATE. 
03 
Price, by mail, 
O 
-c 
Plain, Sl.OO. 
3Ioj 
Nickel Plated, $1.50 
o— 
rnf* 
Satisfaction guaranteed 
or money refunded. Send 
? 
for Circulars. 
MICHIGAN WHEELBARROW SEEDER. 
Bend for circular describing latest improvements, 
HOMER ROAD CART & SEEDER CO., Homer, Mich. 
Agents Wanted 
G. W. GRIFFIN & CO.,: 
Franklin Falls. N,H. 
VIRGINIA 
FARMS and MILLS SOLD 
and exchanged. Free Catalogue. 
K. B.CHAFFIN*CO..Richmond,Va 
You can save VAii-p IJ atilt a 
a trip around I U 111 flUi UU 
every time von hitch him. bv using Spangler’s 
HANDY SHAFT HOI.UFK. which buckles to 
any carriage saddle strap, and enables von to 
FINISH HITCHING ON ONE SIDE without 
going on the oilier to enter the opposite shaft. 
DOES NOT TOUCH, HUB AND DEFACE THE 
SHAFTS, or the leather covering, or adhere to 
the same us do leather tugs, which is hard oil the 
saddle and HORSES’ BACKS. Always looks nice, 
no UP AND DOWN MOTION of the sliafls when 
used on ROAD CARTS. Simple, convenient, and 
the very thing for a restless horse. Send lor 
illustrated circular with full particulars. 
(Mention this paper.) Address, 
Spangler, .Tessoj, & .Tones, York, Pa. 
A NEW TREATMENTS 
& Sufferers are not generally aware that 
these diseases are contagious, or that they 
are due to the presence of living para¬ 
sites in the lining membrane of the nose 
and eustachian tubes. Microscopic re¬ 
search, however, has proved this to be a 
fact, and the result of this discoveiy is 
that a simple remedy has been discovered 
which permanently cures the most aggra¬ 
vated cases of these distressing diseases by 
afew simple applications madeltwoweeks 
apart) by the patient at home. A pamph 
let explaining this new treatment is sent 
free by A. H. Dixon & Son, 337 and 339 
West King Street, Toronto, Canada. « 
i 
THE COMING HOG. 
Hot liable to Cholera. 
RAPID GROWTH. SPLENDID 
FOR EXHIBITION. MOST 
PORK FOR FOOD CONSUMED 
2 WEIGHED 2806 LBS 
_L.B.Silver Co. Clev< land,0. 
t'i'hia Company sold 1 1 6 in 1SSS. Send for description oithis 
f itnniift hrphd and mtmtiou this DttDttr.I 
piSO’S REMEDY FOR CATARRH.—Best Easiest 
1 to use. Cheapest. Relief is immediate. A cure is 
certain. For Cold in the Head it has no equal. 
CATARRH 
It is an Ointment, of which 
to the nostrils. Price, 50e. 
by mail. Address* T, 
a small particle is applied 
Sold by dru ggi sts or sent 
JiAZELTLNE, Warren, Pa, 
