i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
IOI 
mon millet, German Millet and Hungarian 
Grass. All have merits but personally I 
prefer the German Millet, though it does 
not usually make so rank a growth of for¬ 
age as the Hungarian Grass. In growing 
millet successfully care must be taken to 
have a perfectly fitted seed-bed and the 
seed should not be planted until the ground 
and weather have become hot, say June 
15th. This past season we raised a very 
satisfactory crop of millet on ground from 
which a crop of Timothy hay had been 
taken. The seed was not sown till about 
July 20. When the conditions of the seed¬ 
bed and warmth are secured, millet will 
grow and do well under more severe con¬ 
ditions of heat and drought than any other 
plant with which I am acquainted. 
EXHAUSTION OF UNFERTILIZED MEADOW 
LAND. 
A. P. B., Mendon, N. Y .—Would the an¬ 
nual cropping of land with Timothy and 
the removal of the hay from the land for a 
term of years cause the soil to lose its fer¬ 
tility for other crops if no fertilizer of any 
kind was returned to the land, except the 
growth of the aftermath in the fall ? Land 
which had been used for meadow for several 
years, and to which no fertility had been 
added, gives a larger yield of corn than the 
adjoining land, which has been under a 
four-year rotation; hence the inference 
that meadows do not depreciate in produc¬ 
tive power. 
Ans. —If a ton and a half of hay were re¬ 
moved annually, it would carry with it 
about 01 pounds of potash and 22 pounds of 
phosphuric acid. These are minerals, and 
if they are taken out of the soil, less must 
remain. It is possible, and quite probable, 
on good lands, that these minerals will be 
set free by natural forces in sufficient quan¬ 
tity to sustain plants for many years; but 
the time must come, sooner or later, when 
there will not be enough of them to produce 
a normal crop. We have purposely left out 
nitrogen, because as yet it is a disputed 
question whether or no living organisms in 
the soil are able to gather enough nitrogen 
from the air, under certain conditions, to 
make good that which is removed by the 
crop. Lauds depleted of their fertility show' 
the loss of plant food removed in a very few 
years by diminished production. Landsnat- 
urally good may not show the effects for 
many years. That the meadow produced 
better crops than the land which has been 
in rotation, was probably due to two causes: 
First, the land under rotation had parted 
with far more fertility during the 15 or 20 
years cited than the meadow land. The 
crop of corn spoken of, which was taken 
from the portion which had formerly been 
in meadow, removed more than one and 
one-half times the plant food that the ton 
and a half of hay did. This w’ould partly 
explain the better yield of the meadow-land 
over the land under rotation. Second, 
laud under rotation is often depleted of 
its fertility nearly as much by washing and 
wasting as by the crop which is removed, 
while laud in meadow is subjected to little 
or no loss from these causes. So, it will be 
seen that land devoted to meadow will cer¬ 
tainly grow' poorer under the conditions 
named, but will not do so as rapidly as laud 
under rotation, provided no manures are 
added in either case. 
CROPS FOR AN ORCHARD : KAINIT 
MIXTURE. 
I. R. 0., JValkerton, Va .—Ihaveayouug 
oi chard of about 200 trees—apples and 
peaches in alternate rows—just getting 
iuto bearing. I think of sow'ing the ground 
with grass for mowing, chietly Orchard 
Grass. Would it hurt the trees if the 
grass is kept from immediately around 
them—say, three feet off—and if the land is 
top dressed with manure every year. I 
have heretofore been raising potatoes, 
sugar corn and green rye for soiling be¬ 
tween the rows; but there is an unculti¬ 
vated strip, say, four feet wide, in the tree 
rows, on which some clover grow's volun¬ 
tarily. Would it be advisable to sow the 
grass? 2. If so, what mixture should be 
used with Orchard Grass as the chief in 
gredient and how much to the acre ? 3. 
What is kainit and how is it useful? 
A mixture of one-half ground bone, one- 
quarter kainit, and one-quarter South 
Carolina rock, is esteemed very highly by 
some of my neighbors: 500 pounds of the 
mixture are used to the acre and it is espec¬ 
ially good for clover. What does the 
R. N.-Y. think of it ? 
Ans.— 1. It is better to let a strip of 
grass, six or eight feet wide, grow in the 
row’s, and keep the rest of the laud, be¬ 
tween the rows, manured and cultivated. 
Low crops, such as beaus and dwarf peas, 
;k> very well for planting there, $pd do npt 
injure the growth of the trees. Both deep¬ 
rooting and tall-growing crops are objec¬ 
tionable for such ground. 2. June Grass 
will naturally come in ; and is the best for 
the purpose. Mow it early, and it makes 
a dense covering of leaves, which is a nice 
bed for the dropping fruit. 3. Kainit is 
the cheapest form of the German potash 
salts,containing 10 to 12 percent, of potash, 
the remainder being mostly common salt. 
It answers very well as a manure for slow- 
growing crops, when mixed as stated. It 
would also be beneficial for clover, but is 
rather slow for garden crop- 5 . It would do 
as well without the South Carolina rock, 
as that contains nothing w'hfch is not suf¬ 
ficiently furnished by the ground bone. 
LEACHED MANURE AGAIN. 
A R. S., Lacona, N. Y.— I have seen 
the R. N.-Y.’s device for leaching manure 
and the comments thereon. I have behind 
my cows a gutter 18x8 inches, in which the 
manure from four to six horses is put every 
other day. The manure from my 25 cows 
is dropped on top of that and all is spread 
on the field once in two days. This way of 
disposing of the manure certainly causes 
the least work. Is there a “ better way ? ” 
Ans. —Is the gutter of wood or of con¬ 
crete ? Horse manure is an excellent ab¬ 
sorbent ; with an absolutely tight floor, we 
doubt if you can improve much on your 
system of saving manure. Whether it 
would pay better to store the manure in a 
covered shed or a cellar instead of hauling 
it out at once is an open question. In New 
Jersey the weather has been such that most 
of the time we have been unable to haul 
manure on our fields. In connection with 
this subject, the R. N.-Y. would like to re¬ 
fer the following letter to some of our man¬ 
ure farmers. “ What is your opinion ? ” 
“On account of the wet season last fall I 
was unable to cart out all our manure to 
plow it under, but I am drawing it out 
now on sleighs and spreading it on the 
laud, there being not more than a few inches 
of snow on the fields. My neighbors think 
that I am wasting the manure, that it will 
leach and that I will lose most of it in the 
ditches. The soil is a sandy loam all un¬ 
derdrained. What is the R. N.-Y.’s opinion 
on'he matter ?” R. B. 
Montreal, Canada. 
“FANCY MARKETS” FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS. 
Several Subscribers. —How are so-called 
“fancy” markets for dairy products se¬ 
cured ? 
ANS.— Different dairymen seem to have 
different methods. They all aim to produce 
goods of uniform excellence and then to ad¬ 
vertise them well. Every good customer 
secured helps to advertise. Neat little 
cards and circulars are sometimes printed 
and sent with every package of butter and 
every can of milk. Here are some extracts 
from such a circular issued by the Bloom¬ 
ing Grove Dairy of Orange County, N. Y. 
The circular is neatly printed and gives a 
list of parties who now buy this milk. The 
circular also offers fresh eggs, butter and 
vinegar: 
“ We ask the attention of those who have 
not favored us with their orders, to the fol¬ 
lowing facts : The Blooming Grove Dairy 
is composed of registered and grade Ay rshire 
cows, which have been raised upon the 
farm, are young and healthy, are fed upon 
the fine, natural grasses and hay which 
have made Orange County famed for milk 
and butter, and upon corn and wheat feed. 
No fermented food is ever used. Ayrshire 
milk shows a fair average of ‘fats,’ and 
much more than an average of ‘solids—not 
fat,’ which are the muscle-forming, life- 
sustaining, growth-makine properties of 
milk. It is easily digested, bears shipment 
well, is sweet and pleasant to drink, and par¬ 
ticularly adapted to children and invalids. 
Milk from oue or two carefully selected 
cows is kept by itself and sent in marked 
bottles for those desiring ‘one cow’s’ milk. 
The bottles are thoroughly washed and the 
milk bottled on the farm and securely 
closed against auy foreign matter and from 
the air, and is delivered every morning by 
our own wagons.” 
MOST VALUABLE HAY FROM RICH BOTTOM 
LANDS. 
L. IF. P., Cornwall, Vermont.— For a 
farmer who sells hay largely grown on 
low, damp, rich bottom land, what combin¬ 
ation of grasses would lie likely to prove 
most profitable ? 
ANS.— F. Williams & Co., hay dealers of 
this city, write as follows concerning this 
matter: “There is no real profit in send¬ 
ing anythiug but Timothy, mixed with 
Red-top, to this market, although there 
are markets in the country, for instance, 
the New England markets—by which we 
mean the principal cities throughout the 
Eastern States—that are not so critical as 
ours, and a moderate sprinkling of clover 
in Timothy, meets with just as good favor 
as dear Timothy ip this market. We 
should advise the growing of Timothy and 
Red-top in the usual proportions, on land 
such as is described ; for, as a rule, Timothy 
cannot stand a severe drought. Should 
the Timothy be inclined to grow in 
bunches, as it is apt to, in too rich a soil, 
the Red-top will act as an aid in making a 
good turf. As to the value of Red-top, it 
cannot be taken into very favorable consid¬ 
eration as a market hay, and we only sug¬ 
gest its being sown to make a better sod. 
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF SOFT AND HARD¬ 
WOOD ASHES. 
A. E.. Middletown, Pa .—What is the 
value of pine and hemlock ashes as compar¬ 
ed with that of hard-wood ashes? 
ANS.—Soft-wood ashes contain about the 
same amount of potash as those from hard¬ 
wood, but a little less phosphoric acid; 
hence on soils deficient in potash, but hav¬ 
ing plenty of phosphoric acid, they would 
be equally valuable. On soils deficient in 
phosphoric acid, hard-wood ashes would be 
worth the most. 
Miscellaneous. 
IF. D., Potentate, Pa —The American 
Manufacturing Co., of Waynesboro, Pa., 
makes a good evaporator. For poultry 
books address the Ferris Publishing Co., 
Albany, N. Y. 
R. II., North Kingville, Ohio.— Who 
makes a press for baling straw? 
Ans.—P. K. Dederick & Co., Albany, N. 
Y. make such a press. You will find it il 
lustrated on pages 38 and 39 of their cata¬ 
logue. 
F. L. B., Sauquoit, N. Y.—l. How far 
apart should raspberries be planted, and 
which is the best variety for the home mar¬ 
ket? 2. Should blackberries be planted in 
hills or rows? 
Ans. —1. Five by four feet would be close 
enough. We know of nothing better than 
Cuthbert. 2. Rows. 
A. F. B., Catsklll, N. Y. —A cow slinks 
her calf; she is served six or eight weeks 
later; the same bull afterwards serves sev¬ 
eral other cows; are these last-mentioned 
cows more liable to slink their calves than 
if the first-mentioned cow had not been 
served? 
Ans.—W e should not consider the danger 
very probable. 
A. D. S., Coe's Station, Ohio.—I wish to 
spray my apple and pear trees in the 
spring. I need the orchard for early pas¬ 
ture. How soon after the trees are sprayed 
with Paris-green will it be safe to pasture? 
2. Who manufactures a pump especially 
adapted to spraying fruit trees? 
Ans. —1. Three days. Sooner if there is 
a rain after spraying. 2. The Field Force 
Pump Co., Lockport, N. Y. 
M. C. S. B., Hillsboro, Ohio. Has the 
plan of a cooperative laundry ever been 
tried ? Has it been successful or otherwise? 
Ans. —We are informed that such laun¬ 
dries have been tried in connection with 
large apartment buildings in cities, but so 
far i s our information goes they have not 
proven successful. We do not know of any 
effort that has been made to introduce 
the system in country neighborhoods. 
C. G.. Ridgeville, HI.—1. What are the 
inclosed seeds ? 2. Will it do to plant straw¬ 
berries next spring on meadow land broken 
up last fall ? 3. Is it advisable to feed 
much milk to brood sows ? 
Ans.—1. We can not determine the varie¬ 
ty from the seeds. 2. We should prefer land 
that had been cultivated at least one year. 
3. Not until after the pigs are dropped. 
Then feed plenty of milk. The sow needs 
it then to provide milk for the pigs. Brood 
sows should not be kept fat. Read what 
was said under “Oats for Pigs,” on page 34. 
G. IF., Canmore, Alberta, Canada.— 
What is the best churn for three or more 
cows? What is the best system of cream 
setting ? 
ANS. —Get oue of the churns without in¬ 
side fixtures. The R. N.-Y. uses the Rec¬ 
tangular churn and is well pleased with it. 
The Davis Swing churn is an excellent one, 
so are the O. Iv. and Stoddard. At present 
our cream is raised in open pans; when our 
dairy is larger we shall probably buy a 
Cooley creamer. 
F. M., Naples, N. Y.—l. Who makes 
the Yermorel Spraying Machine? 2. Where 
can I buy pyrethrum powder, and how much 
will be the cost of a pound, and of 50 or 100 
pounds ? 
Ans.— 1. Yermorel is a modification of 
Prof. Riley’s Cyclone. Write to Dr. C. Y. 
Riley, U. S. Entomologist Washington, D. 
C. The Climax is a first rate nozzle. Write 
for pamphlet to the Nixon Nozzle Co. Day- 
ton, O. 2. Of druggists and seedsmen. The 
price is from 75 cents to 80 cents a pound. 
The demand for the California product is 
somewhat greater than the supply. 
H. V. T., Harwinton, Conn.— 1. How 
young can a mare be bred without injury 
to herself or foal ? 2. Is there such a dis¬ 
ease among hogs as black teeth or do 
black teeth in pigs cause them not to do 
well? 
Ans.— 1. We should hesitate to breed 
her before she was three years old, though 
some breed at an earlier age. Reproduction 
from immature animals or plants must re¬ 
sult in deterioration ultimately. 2. What 
is called “ black teeth” in hogs is a symp¬ 
tom or result of indigestion. Correct the 
trouble and the “ black teeth ” will disap¬ 
pear. 
Discussion. 
THE TAX ON TOBACCO FROM A GROWER’S 
STANDPOINT. 
A. W. S., Nepaug, Conn.— The R. N.-Y. 
of January 18, on page 40, asks some ques¬ 
tions with regard to the taxation of to¬ 
bacco which deserve some notice from a 
grower’s standpoint. The last clause of Sec¬ 
tion 2 of the Act of March 3d, 1883, reads : 
“ Retail dealers in leaf tobacco shall pay 
$250, and 30 cents'for each^dollar on the 
amount of their monthly sales in excess of 
the rate of $500 per annum : Provided, that 
farmers and producers of tobacco may sell, 
at the place of production, tobacco of their 
own growth and raising at retail directly 
to consumers to an amount not exceeding 
$100 annually. By this provision, a grower 
of tobacco is entitled, without paying any 
tax under the Internal Revenue Law, to 
retail his leaf tobacco to his hired hands 
and his neighbors, and to all other con¬ 
sumers, provided he sells it only on the 
land where it was produced. A grower of 
tobacco is also permitted, without the pay¬ 
ment of any internal revenue tax, to sell his 
leaf tobacco anywhere, and in any quanti¬ 
ties, large or small, provided he sells it to 
dealers in leaf tobacco who have paid a spec¬ 
ial tax ; to manufacturers of tobacco, snuff 
and cigars who have paid a special tax, 
and to persons buyiug leaf tobacco for ex¬ 
port. He cannot sell it to any other per¬ 
sons whatever, without subjecting him¬ 
self to a special tax as a retail dealer in 
leaf tobacco. Why did Congress stop there ? 
Why has it not imposed a tax on every 
bushel of corn and rye when used for mak¬ 
ing whisky, also on each bushel of apples 
for brandy ? Whatever necessity may have 
once existed for imposing the tax, there is 
none now. Under our form of government 
the question should be considered first in 
the interest of the majority, and, second in 
that of the minority so as to give it fair 
play. While the consumers come first 
as the most numerous, those interested in 
the production of this crop are numbered 
by seven figures. No one can dispute the 
right of Congress to impose a tax to sup¬ 
port an economical govern ment: but can it 
constitutionally prevent a farmer from sell¬ 
ing his crop in the open market to any 
person who wishes to buy ? This is a ques¬ 
tion many wish to have answered. Before 
the imposition of the present tax, any one 
could buy who had the money, and tobacco 
brought the producer a good price, -while 
the consumer received more and better 
goods for his money than now. With the 
advent of the present tax, thousands of 
small buyers were forced to close up; the 
business was monopolized by a few large 
factories, and the prices to the grower went 
down. The article, it is true, was put into 
a more attractive form for the consumer, 
though possibly he received what was less 
in amount and inferior In quality. Now 
the producer must keep his crop on his 
farm until a licensed buyer comes around 
and makes him an offer, often below the 
cost of production, as he knows that there 
are few other buyers. Still the farmer 
must take what is offered or abide by the 
consequences. This is often the cause of 
great hardship. Instances are known w'here 
the farmer after selling his crop has had to 
sell his winter’s pork to pay up his debts. 
Remove the tax and the grower can sell to 
any person who may want to buy, or make 
up his own crop. The change will work no 
hardship to the large factories. They should 
have no advantage over any one else, as 
they deserve none. If the tax were removed 
thousands of cigar-makers would work 
for |-,hemselves and supply a good article 
