i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5i3 
while the Greening planted at the same time has been a 
financial failure, and many other varieties in small lots 
have done but little if any better than it has done, showing 
conclusively that the variety must be suited to the soil, 
climate, etc. In view of the facts that the scab from some 
cause not the work of man, is disappearing, though not 
destroyed: that orchards are looking well and that there is 
a fair prospect of future crops, better prices and better 
fruit, there is encouragement sufficient to warrant the 
planting of trees in moderate quantities by every man who 
has suitable land, and where the parties can afford such 
losses in the years of failure as have heretofore occasionally 
occurred, and will occur again, tree planting is a safe and 
almost sure investment if the right varieties are planted 
and the trees are well taken care of. I. J. BLACKWELL. 
Mercer Co., N. J. 
CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND STABLE 
MANURES. 
THEIR RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE SYSTEM OF 
IMPROVED AGRICULTURE, ETC. 
W. F. TABOR. 
We Must Raise Larger Crops.— Perhaps it were best 
to reverse the order of the title and ask ourselves the 
question: What do we mean by the system of improved 
agriculture ? I would be understood as meaning systematic 
culture; working to produce certain results by certain 
means, or rather to grow crops by methods which our 
experience or that of others has proved to be the best. We 
have no longer the virgin soil that our forefathers culti¬ 
vated. It has changed by long-continued cultivation and 
climatic influences under a system of continued subtrac¬ 
tion with but little addition until much of it is exhausted, 
so that it will not give paying returns. Now, what are 
we going to do about it ? Most of us who own land find 
ourselves in the position of immovable fixtures. If we can¬ 
not sell we must stay and we must make a living in some 
way. It has been written : “ There comes a time in the 
affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to for¬ 
tune;” so may we not hope that the necessities of the 
present may lead us to pursue such a system of agricul¬ 
ture that in the near future we may raise such crops 
that we may be not only well repaid for the labor but 
secure a good profit besides. 
How Shall We Do It ?—Let us take a look at the aver¬ 
age crops of the country and their value according to the 
report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1888. With 
the largest corn crop ever raised and the largest yield per 
acre by three bushels, the average was but 26.3 bushels per 
acre, while in 1887 it was but 20.10. Corn can be bought in 
this, market, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., after having been trans¬ 
ported more than 1,000 miles, for less than 50 cents per 
bushel. The average crop then represents a money value 
of less than $13 per acre. Contrast this with the crops 
raised in the contest for the prizes lately offered by some 
agricultural papers and you have a measure of the possi¬ 
bilities that result from this very system of improved agri¬ 
culture. Aside from these contests, we often hear of 100 
bushels to the acre being raised, and, my brother farmers, 
we ought not to be satisfied with less, because we must 
raise about that average to make the crop pay, and we can 
do it if we will. Then let us will to do it. In its luscious 
stalk and gulden grain lie the very back bone of the 
Dutchess County, N. Y., farmers’ success. May its influ¬ 
ence extend and its shadow never grow less ! ’Tis, indeed, 
the golden grain, and fills the bill in more senses than one, 
from roasting ears to hot corn-bread. 
Take Potatoes. —In the prize competitions already 
spoken of, the prize winners raised an average of 500 bush¬ 
els per acre, the largest yield being 738 bushels. The aver¬ 
age of 100 contestants was 371 bushels per acre. In con¬ 
trast with this we find the average yield for 1889 was 76 
bushels. The price in this market in November last was 
60 cents per bushel, making the cash value of the average 
crop $45.60. The value of the average crop of these 100 con¬ 
testants at the same price would have been $222.60, about 
five times as much. That such crops can be raised here in 
Dutchess County I know, and will tell you before I get 
through when, where, and how it was done. 
Take the Oat Crop.— Statistics for 1SS8 show the aver¬ 
age yield to have been about 26 bushels per acre, and as the 
price in this market was 30 cents per bushel, the average 
cost represents a cash value of $7.S0 per acre. Contrast 
this with the premium crop raised in Orleans County in 
this State, amounting to 135 bushels, representing a cash 
value of over $40 per acre ! While we can scarcely hope to 
obtain such a yield, yet I know of 300 bushels being raised 
on five acres in this county without extra fertilization. It 
seems unnecessary to pursue this subject further. “ He 
who runs may read.” The hand-writing on the wall de¬ 
clares that “ unless we raise better average crops we are 
doomed ; the iron heel of poverty will grind us into dust, 
and we will become but little better than serfs, borne down 
by this constant struggle for a bare existence. Crowded to 
the wall, brought face to face with the inevitable, the 
masses of the Old World ready to crowd us out, what can 
we do ?” We have the experience of others, the results of 
individual experiment and of experiment stations proving 
what can be done and how to do it. 
What Must be Done— We need to be impressed with 
the certain and absolute truth governing all plant food, that 
it has to be put into a soluble state before it can afford 
nourishment to plant growth or living organisms; that 
water is the universal solvent and must be brought in 
direct contact with the fertilizer to render it available for 
such growth ; that in proportion as the soil is pulverized, 
water is aborbed and the soil’s fertility is increased ; and 
that pulverization of the soil will bring out all the fertil¬ 
ity there is in it. Good crops of wheat were raised on the 
same ground for 12 successive years in Western New York 
by good tillage without any manure. What is the secret 
of the good crops on the prairie soil of the West without 
manure ? Simply the fineness of the surface soil making 
it retentive of moisture and the fertilizers so soluble as 
to give all the plant food needed. But our soils from long 
cropping and poor cultivation, do not give all the plant 
food necessary to make a paying crop ; therefore we must 
supply it. 
Formerly our only sources of supply were the farm barn¬ 
yard and stable, supplemented by the pig-pen and poultry- 
house and the ashes from the wood fires. Now these are 
supplemented by the manure from our city stables and 
from the great cattle yards of New York, Albany, and 
othpr places, and, last but not least, by hundreds of thous¬ 
ands of tons of chemical fertilizers used separately or com¬ 
pounded into what are known as special manures, sup¬ 
posed to be adapted to the growth of special crops. As¬ 
suming that we all realize it to be a fact that our soils, 
unaided by manures, do not give profitable crops, the 
question naturally arises in our minds what manures shall 
we buy to enable us to grow such crops. I say buy, be¬ 
cause I assume that my readers have heretofore saved and 
used all the manures available on their farms; but if this 
is not the case I would say let them do that first and save 
all they can before they begin to buy. Next, let each take 
into consideration the needs of the special crops he intends 
to raise. 
(To he continued.) 
The Farmers Club. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address 
of the writer to insure attention. Before asking a question, please 
see if it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only 
a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate piece 
of paper.] 
Phosphoric Acid in Bone and S. C. Rock. 
O. W. K., Fisherville, Va. —What is the difference be¬ 
tween dissolved animal bone and dissolved South Carolina 
rock as a permanent improver of the soil ? Is the quality 
of the phosphoric acid the same in both ? What is the 
weight of the phosphoric acid in one ton of each ? 
AN8.—The phosphate of bone is gradually soluble in the 
soil. That of mineral becomes soluble very slowly, but 
when both are dissolved by means of sulphuric acid the 
phosphoric acid is equally available as plant-food in both 
cases. Bone contains two to four per cent, of nitrogen- 
mineral none. As a permanent improver of the soil it is 
not known but that the phosphate of minerals is just as 
good as phosphate in bone. The quality of phosphoric 
acid is always the same. South Carolina rock contains 25 
per cent., raw bone about 20 per cent., bone-black super¬ 
phosphate contains about 17 per cent, available, the min¬ 
eral superphosphate about 13 per cent, available and three 
per cent, insoluble. Dissolved bone contains 11 per cent, 
available and about two per cent, insoluble. 
Heavy Feeding May Spoil a Cow. 
C. R., Tonawanda, N. Y. —I have run a milk dairy of 
about 16 cows for three years. I feed cut hay and straw in 
the winter, and grass cut green, with oats and peas, and, 
later, green corn in the summer. My regular ration of 
winter feed for 16 cows is 10 bushels of cut feed, five scoop¬ 
fuls of gluten meal from the starch works, one bushel of 
coarse bran, one bushel of ground oats, and a quarter of a 
bushel of corn-meal, fed quite wet. This much is given 
them three times a day, and, in addition, twice a day 
(morning and evening) a pailful of gluten meal slop, and 
at noon a pailful of slop from a vinegar factory. At the 
present time I cut green clover and feed 10 bushels of that 
with five shovelfuls of starch meal, one-half a bushel of 
coarse bran and one-fourth bushel of corn-meal. Twice 
a week I add a peck of oil-meal to their feed. This mix¬ 
ture is fed three times a day, and morning and evening 
one pailful of starch slop is given to each cow, and at noon 
each gets a pailful of vinegar slop. The cows eat this up 
pretty clean. They are turned out in the morning into a 
wood pasture (four acres), where they lie in the shade till 
noon, when they come to the stable for their feed. They 
are let out into the yard at night for fresh air and water, 
although, owing to the continual wet feeding, they never 
drink much. The milking is done from 5 to 6:30 A. M. and 
3:30 to 5 p. M. Now the trouble is that upon this feed al¬ 
most all of the new milch cows I buy will, after about four 
to six weeks’ milking, give thick milk out of one teat, some¬ 
times out of one of the front ones, but more generally out 
of one of the rear teats. That portion of the udder is fev¬ 
erish, and the cow loses her appetite and falls off in one or 
two days from 16 or 20 quarts per day to four or five. On 
the first symptoms I get powders for her and oil to rub into 
her bag and on her back and bead, and she gets better in a 
week; but she rarely comes back to her former yield of 
milk. Often one teat dries up; sometimes hard bunches 
appear in the affected part of the udder; sometimes the 
cow continues to give thick milk out of one particular teat 
all the time. Generally quite young cows are not thus 
affected. I have talked with other parties who feed the 
same feed, and give their cows all they want of the slops, 
and they claim to have no trouble ; but unless I can find a 
remedy I shall have to quit the business. One excellent 
cow which has been here since last December never showed 
any symptoms of the ailment until this week, but another 
new one showed signs of the affection to-day after five 
weeks’ milking. Our doctors here will not tell the cause or 
a preventive, for they prefer to cure the ailing animals and 
keep business going; but I can’t afford their bills and so 
appeal to The Rural. 
ANSWERED BY H. STEWART. 
The trouble is unquestionably caused by too heavy feed¬ 
ing of nitrogenous substances, which are altogether out of 
proportion for healthful food. All the foods mentioned 
are rich in albuminoids. The gluten meal contains 3% per 
cent, of nitrogenous matter; the bran, 13 per cent.; the 
oats, 12 percent.; the corn-meal 10 per cent., and green 
clover per cent. The quantity of food given to the 
cows will thus contain 54 pounds of nitrogenous sub¬ 
stances, equal to nearly 3 %pounds per cow. The average 
ration for a cow in full milk is 2)4 pounds of nitrogenous 
matter per day for a 1,000 pound animal. The excess is 
thus 40 per cent. The result of this overfeeding is always 
inflammation, and this disease is most apt to attack the 
milk organs of a cow first. This causes engorgement of 
the udder, and indigestion, reciting in loss of appetite and 
disease of the udder, which causes loss of milk and such 
an excessive production of fibrin to be thrown off in the 
milk as to make the latter thick or stringy. I suppose the 
scoop mentioned is a grain scoop, which will hold at least 
16 pounds of the gluten meal, and I have calculated the 
nitrogenous matters ou that basis. But one of these large 
scoops may hold more than 16 pounds, and, if so, the quan¬ 
tity of the nitrogen in the food will be still more injurious. 
When visiting one of the large<$ milk dairies near New 
York City some time ago, where 300 cows were fed, I studied 
the feed carefully and took note of it, as this dairy was 
very successfully managed and supplied excellent milk, 
without any trouble with the cows. The latter were large 
grade Short-horns, weighing fully 1,500 pounds. Their feed¬ 
ing was green clover, some pasture, green corn fodder or 
green oats; with one bushel of brewers’ grains and one 
peck of corn-meal daily. They were kept fat so that they 
could be turned off to the butcher when the milk became 
less than 10 quarts daily. Some of them were giving 24 
quarts of milk daily, being then not far from fresh. The 
whole herd averaged 16 quarts daily. This feeding was 
ample to supply this large milking and keep the cows 
beef-fat. The grains contained 2% pounds of nitrogenous 
substances and the corn-meal pound, which is, with 
the green food given, not out of proportion for such large 
cows. I have not taken any account of the vinegar slop, 
which—although I have never fed it—I do not think a 
healthful food for cows; It is precisely the same as dis¬ 
tillery slop which is the refuse from alcohol manufacture, 
and alcohol is the basis of the manufacture of vinegar. 
This is probably made from corn-meal and is iD a condition 
of fermentation and consequently exerts an inflammatory 
effect upon the cows. I would suggest a change in the food, 
as follows : give gluten meal and corn meal only, in¬ 
creasing the latter to 12 pounds per head daily and dropping 
the oats and bran, and giving as much green fodder 
as will be eaten clean. The moment the appetite fails, the 
grain ration should be stopped altogether and only green 
fodder be given for a few days and then the grain should 
be restored in part and gradually increased. To aid diges¬ 
tion each cow should have a small handful of salt sprinkled 
over each feed. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
E. P. R., Midland, Mich .—1. What is the best time to 
transplant hemlocks and other evergreens ? 2. A large, 
thrifty, Wild Goose plum, eight years old, has never borne 
fruit; will it bear in this latitude ? 3. Can it be success¬ 
fully budded with a Lombard or other variety ? 4. What 
is the proper time for budding plum trees ? 
ANS.—1. Early spring, by all manner of means. 2. Prob¬ 
ably not until other plum trees are planted near it. The 
blossoms are probably imperfect. 3. Yes, on the new 
shoots, but grafting in early spring would be oetter. 4. 
As soon as the buds to be inserted are mature, generally 
about mid-summer. 
W. K. S, Parkersburq. Pa.— 1. Is the inclosed potato 
top affected by blight ? Will an application of the Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture be of any benefit ? 2. What is the inclosed 
vine ? 
Ans.— 1. This is a clear case of destruction by the flea so 
much talked of in The R. N.- Y. of late years. The Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture has no effect upon it. 2. The vine is Poly¬ 
gonum dumetorum—Hedge Bindweed. It is an annual 
and thorough cultivation will destroy it. 
W. A., {No address ).—1. What will kill a little black 
bug that is bothering my mu^k-melon vines ? 2. My 
apples are all falling off the trees; what is the matter ? 
Ans.—I. We can only guess at what the “ bug ” is. If it 
is the louse (aphis) tobacco water will kill it. The Ker¬ 
osene emulsion is also effective. 2. Probably the coddling 
moth worm is causing the apples to fall. 
IF. A., New York City.—A paragraph in The Rural 
New-Yorker on page 269, entitled, “ A Portable Sprayer.” 
spoke of one made by a Prof. Roland Thaxter, and we 
were told that a description of it was given in Bulletin No. 
102. I wrote for this and was told that that bulletin was 
out of print. Would The R. N.-Y tell me when the bul¬ 
letins are issued and when can I get seeds from the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture at Washington, for I have received 
an answer from that place that they had all been given 
out ? 
ANS.—The station issues its bulletins whenever there is 
anything to report. Judging from our own experience, we 
should say that if you send an application for seeds soon 
you will probably get them in time for planting next 
spring. 
J. B. D., Eldred, Pa.— 1. Would it be right to set out 
raspberries in an orchard between rows of trees r 2. Which 
is the better time for setting them out—fall or spring ? 
3. What is the best time for setting out strawberries, and 
what kinds are the best ? 
Ans. —1. If the orchard is an old one. or the trees cover 
most of the ground, it will not prove a profitable invest¬ 
ment. 2. Spring. 3. Early spring first—late August 
second. Charles Downing, Cumberland, Bubach, Parker 
Earle, Sharplees. 
