1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
53 
and more, they will thrive better if allowed all the 
exercise they will take. 
In buying pigs at six weeks old, N. A. will have 
the best time in their lives to make a profit on the 
food consumed. As to how many can be profitably 
fed for 3% months, it depends on the experience of 
the feeder, and the facilities to care for them. The 
smaller the number kept together, the_^better they 
will thrive ; but the larger the number kept, the less 
the cost of caring for them, proportionately. Particu¬ 
larly is this true as regards the cooking of the pota¬ 
toes. In my management of pigs, so far, I have had 
the best success with lots numbering from 30 to 40. 
In this case, great care should be exercised to prevent 
overfeeding; always have them come to their feed 
with a hearty good will, but not as starvelings. 
Ross County, Ohio. 
Will it Pay to Steam Fodder? 
A. S. S., St. Charles, (No State).— Wliat is the value of steamed 
corn fodder compared witli dry ? Will cattle eat it any better ? I 
have a plenty of it, and can buy it for 15 cents a shock 1(5 hills 
square. I have facilities for cutting it, but not for steaming. I 
am using a four-horse sweep power, but I don’t like it as it takes 
too much of my time from the farm. I feed in the barn all the 
time, nearly, aud cut everything the cattle eat. The question is, 
Will it pay me to get an engine and use it for cutting aud steam¬ 
ing, also to steam milk cans and bottles? I can get a second¬ 
hand 10-horse-power very cheap. What would be the difference 
in fuel required between a 10-horse-power and a four-horse-power 
engine, all other things being equal ? A four-horse-power would 
do the work. 
ANSWERED BY PROF. I. P. ROBERTS. 
So far as the experience of many intelligent feed¬ 
ers goes, it is found unprofitable to steam the ordinary 
coarse fodders fed to cattle. It might pay you to 
buy the engine you speak of, and a shredder for re¬ 
ducing this dry corn fodder, although I am somewhat 
doubtful of the economy of this method of treatment. 
1 would say, cut it as you have heretofore, dampen it 
with warm water and mix the grain feed aud some 
roots with it; that is, make a pile in one corner of the 
barn where it will not freeze, and let it x-emain fx’orn 
12 to 24 hours to soften and become digestible. A 
little experience will show how long it is best to let 
it remain before feeding. 
I think that an improvement might be made by 
ensiloing these stalks when they are green ; they are 
then palatable and easily masticated. It is bad 
economy to handle them over two or three times, 
allowing the water to dry out and then cut them at 
an expense two or thi-ee times greater than would be 
incurred if they were cut green (dry corn stalks ai'e 
far more difficult to cut than green ones) and also have 
the trouble of l’eplacing water which has dried out. 
Steam power is far more satisfactory than lioi’se- 
power in every way, and the chances are that you 
would make an advanced economical step by buying 
the steam power referred to, although it is larger 
than necessary, and by using steam for bringing 
the drinking water of the cattle up to 1)0 degrees, 
and for steaming and cleansing the milk utensils. 
With a 10-horse-power engine and an enlarged cutter, 
the chaffing of the green stalks could be done vei’y 
quickly. 
Another Chapter on Lime. 
C. TV. !>., Dufflelil, Pa. -Being interested in The R. N.-Y.’h 
articles on curing a sour soil, I wisli to say that I sowed a phos- 
phate containing25 per cent of carbonate of lime, on wheat. Bo far 
as the wheat is concerned, it does not show, at present, as well as 
that where I sowed acid phosphate. Will this carbonate of lime 
(said to be from animal matter), have the effect of curing too 
much acidity in the soil ? 
1). J. li., JIarborton, N. J. Although I have been using lime on 
land for some 50 years, at different times, I have been much 
pleased with The It. N.-Y.’s articles, in regard to lime fer sour 
soils. In this connection I would like to have you tell me about 
using lime on land where commercial fertilizers are used. I have 
seen statements that lime would, sooner or later, cause the active 
principles in superphosphates to revert, and become of no benefit. 
It is a question witli our farmers whether they should lime where 
commercial fertilizers are used. Our farmers are not well in¬ 
formed as to agricultural chemistry. 
Ans. —Yes, the carbonate of lime contained in that 
“ phosphate," will tend to cure sourness in the soil ; 
but it will not act so quickly as aii-slaked lime or lime 
prepared with water as described on page 21. The 
fact that the acid phosphate gave a better yield, does 
not prove that the soil is not sour. We would say 
that this land evidently needs phosphoric acid in a 
soluble form. The acid phosphate supplied it, while 
the other did not. On poor land, you cannot expect 
to obtain good results f rom the use of time alone. What 
the lime does is to put the soil in better condition to 
give up to the plants the potash, phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen which are supplied in manure or fertilizers. 
Take two men in zero weather, and set them to pick¬ 
ing up stones. Give one a warm pair of mittens and 
no food, and give the other a big dinner but make 
him work with bare hands ! Neither one could earn 
his salt; but give them both mittens and dinner and 
they will do good work. You might say that in the 
sour soil, lime represents the mittens and complete 
plant food x-epresents the dinner. 
We went all through this matter of the changes 
that take place in phosphoric acid last spring. Y r ou 
will find it on page 212 of last year’s volume. In a 
few words, this is the story : A “superphosphate” is a 
“ phosphate” that has been acted on by acids so that 
the phosphoric acid in it is soluble in water. The 
action of the acid is to bx’eak up the combination be¬ 
tween the phosphoric acid and lime. When soluble , 
there is but one part of lime in the combination, and 
in this form it will dissolve in water like sugar or 
salt. Rut when placed in the soil near lime, this one 
part mixture at once makes a chemical combination 
with another part of lime, in which form it is reverted 
or not soluble in water. So that when you use lime 
in connection with the swperphos yhate, you may ex¬ 
pect that it will be quickly changed to this reverted 
or non-soluble form. 
Is this a bad thing? Yes, and no. When this 
soluble phosphoric acid is put into the soil, it is 
absolutely sure to revert. That cannot be prevented. 
If lime is present, it will form most of its combina¬ 
tions with that substance ; but if lime is absent, much 
of the phosphoric acid will unite with iron or alumina, 
and thus take a form that is not nearly so soluble as 
the lime combination. You might, for the sake of 
illustration, say that soluble phosphoric acid rep¬ 
resents sugar which will readily dissolve in the 
mouth. When reverted with lime, it is like rock 
candy, and when reverted with the iron or alumina in 
the soil, it is like a tough gum drop. Which will you 
take for your coffee ? 
To our mind, the chief advantages in using a supex’- 
phosphate, ai’e that phosphoric acid is cheaper in this 
form, and that by reason of its solubility, it is soaked 
and distx-ibuted all through the soil. It is sure to re¬ 
vert, however, and it is simply a question whether 
the lime combination is not better than the other. 
In our own case, with an application of lime, we 
would prefer to use most of the phosphoric acid in 
the form of bone—which would not be affected by 
the lime. At the same time, if the soil were evidently 
sour, we would not fear to use the lime and take the 
chances on a superphosphate. 
The Five Varieties of Crimson Clover. 
./. W. 0.. Hillsboro, III.— Is there auy difference in the hardiness 
and size of Crimson clover grown from imported seed, and that 
grown from American seed ? Our Crimson clover seems to stand 
the cold all right in this climate, but it does not grow large 
enough, and seems to be of rather dwarf nature. I have reason 
to believe that the seed used about here is imported seed. Are 
there different varieties as some claim V 
Ans. —There are five varieties of Crimson clover, 
Trifolium incarnatum. They differ in regard to the 
size of the plants, and in hardiness. Four varieties 
produce crimson blossoms. The fifth diffei’s in the 
color of the llowex’S, which are white. The cause of 
the small growth of the clover referi-ed to, may be 
due either to the variety, or it may be caused by the 
poverty of the soil upon which it was grown. Some 
imported seed produces plants which are as vigorous 
growers, and as hardy as those grown from American 
seed; but it cannot be depended upon to do so. I 
have seen in fields of Crimson clover which were sown 
with domestic seed, plants that, when mature, were 
only from six to twelve inches in height; but it was 
due to the lack of plant food in the soil. Other fields 
that contained abundant plant food, aud wei-e sown 
with some of the same lot of seed, yielded a heavy 
growth of the clover, with plants fi-om two to three 
feet in height. A libei’al application of potash to the 
soil pi-oduces a gx’eat increase in the growth of Crim¬ 
son clovei’. The imported seed cannot be relied upon 
to give a satisfactory growth, and farmers in this 
State will not xxse it. Vei’y much of it is mixed with 
a variety of Egyptian clover seed, which yields a 
heavy seed crop in a suitable climate, but it does not 
withstand our wintei’s. m. u. bkokwitu. 
Delawax-e Experiment Station. 
Best Crops for Swamps. 
.[. \V., New York. -Will you gel the opinions of some of your 
readers, as to the best crop to plaut on a piece of swamp land, 
cleared, tiled, plowed and harrowed last fail? The land is in corn, 
aud consists of about four acres. 
I would suggest that it be sown to buckwheat after 
thorough and repeated harrowings. buckwheat l’oots 
are well-known loosenei’s of bogs or humps. 
Oneonta, N. Y. d. m. c. 
Most of our muck farms were once timbered, tama¬ 
rack, elm, and underbrush growing pi’ofusely. With¬ 
in the last few years, special attention has been given 
to the working of muck soil, or swamp farms. I as¬ 
sume that the land is cleared from bogs and sticks, 
and properly drained with the largest tile, or an open 
ditch. When land is drained, the action of sun and 
frost will soon convert the soil into productiveness, 
and about the only drawbacks will be early frosts. 
You cannot work this land with the same tools you 
have worked hard land, and if you tx’y, you will get dis¬ 
couraged and make a failure. You must have a plow 
with a long moldboard, with a share to cut the 
whole width of the furrow, and a sharp coulter. Then 
turn the furi-ow clear over, roll, and work with a disc 
harrow until you get a good seed bed, and finish with 
a 60-tooth spike harrow. My fix-st crop is Hungarian 
or buckwheat, which subdues or breaks up the old 
sod. If your land is not too rough, potatoes may be 
planted with success. After the first crop, I work the 
land a little deeper, and plant to celery, cabbage, or 
onions in the order named. Experience is necessai’y 
in selecting varieties specially adapted to the soil. 
Jackson, Mich. A. w. J. 
A Ration for Fattening Lambs. 
A. J. B., Youngstown , N. Y. —I am feeding 05 lambs this winter 
for spring market. Wliat should be the feed ration ? I have 
corn, oats and peas, whole wheat, oil meal, bran, and some clover, 
but depend mostly on thrashed corn fodder for rough feed.’ 
Ans. —Corn meal should form, in connection with 
the other foods mentioned, one-third of the grain ra- 
tion. Corn meal, 100 poxxnds; wheat bran, 100 pounds; 
oil meal, 20 pounds; peas, 30 pounds; oats, 50 pounds. 
Mix and feed from one-half to one pound per day per 
lamb. This will do when shredded corn stalks ai’e 
used, but when clover is fed, there should be a greater 
proportion of corn, and less of oats aud peas. If one 
feed is of shredded corn and one of clover each day, 
then the corn should not be increased and the oats 
and peas diminished as much as when clover is fed 
exclusively. Sheep do not relish wheat as well as 
the other grains, either whole or gx’ound. better feed 
the wheat to the chickens. The gx-ain alone would 
give a nutritive l'atio of 1 to 5.5. The shredded corn 
fodder would widen it possibly, to 1 to 6 or 1 to 6.5. 
It would still be too narrow for fattening lambs in 
cold quarters ; if kept in warm quarters, it would be 
wide enough, by substituting a little corn for a part 
of the highly nitrogenous food (peas and oil meal), 
the ration could be easily widened. A few mangels 
or some other succulent food would improve the 
l'ation. I. P. ROBERTS. 
Get Ready to Fight Celery Blight. 
S. IV. F., East Benton, Pa. —Will raising celery on muck soil, 
year after year, Anally cause the crop to blight ? I have 1% acre, 
on which I raised celery for Hve years in succession. I set it in 
beds of from four to Hve rows, six inches apart in the row aud 
nine inehes between the rows. The beds are four feet apart, and 
banked between the iuside rows with a shovel. I used only 
special fertilizer, and did not use any barnyard manure. The 
blight came on the plants set from the greenhouse in June, aud 
ou the plants set from the Held in August. The Hrst that I noticed 
it ou the early celery, was soon after a hard rain the latter part 
of June. What the blight did not destroy, the frost did. I sold 
only $30 worth this year from the same ground from which I sold 
$800 worth last year. 
Ans. —The mere fact of continuous ci’opping with 
celery, will not cause blight, as this trouble is due to 
a specific fungus If practicable, grow your celery on 
other land next yeax-. If not, try spray ing early in 
the season with ammoniacal solution of copper 
carbonate—one ounce of copper carbonate, enough 
ammonia to dissolve it, and nine gallons of watex*. 
Try the mixture on a few plants fix-st, and dilute it if 
any injury occur. w. M. M. 
The Apple Crop and 17-Year Locusts. 
II., fronton, N. ./.—Why does an enormous apple crop always 
come the year after the 17-year locusts? Several of your friends 
have been hoping to read something about this in The R. N.-Y. 
ANSWERED BY M. Y. 8I.INGKRLAND. 
The answer to this question must fix-st involve the 
asking of one or two others. Gan it be demonstrated 
that there is always an enormous apple crop the year 
following the appearance of 17-year cicadas? During 
the past 10 years, the cicadas have appeared some¬ 
where in the United States every year except 1887, 
1890, and 1892 ; and they will appear somewhere evex’y 
year for the next 10 years. Has the general apple 
ci-op of the country been “ enormous ” during seven 
out of the past 10 yeai-s ? If so, we have good x’eason 
to suspect that it will be evei-y year for the next 10 
years. Or, ai’e we to infer from II.’s question, that 
the enormous apple ci’ops occur only in the regions 
where the cicadas appear the pi-evious year ? Let us 
see how this should have affected the New Yoi’k apple 
crop. Five distinct broods of the 17-year cicadas are 
known to occur in the State, brood VIII. appeared 
on Long Island in 1889. It was bi’ood XII. that ap¬ 
peared in the Hudson River Valley in 1894. brood 
XIX., a small one, occxxrs in only a few counties in 
western New \ r ork, and appeared last in 1882. brood 
X X. appears only in the extreme western counties of 
the State, aud was last seen in 1883. brood XXII., 
a large one, appeai-ed on Long Island and near Roch¬ 
ester in 1868 and 1885. Now, was thei’e an enormous 
apple crop on Long Island in 1869, 1886, and 1890 ; in 
the Hudson River Valley in 1895. aud in westei’n New 
York in 1883, 1884,1869, and 1886? If so, apple growers 
in these localities may quite confidently expect an 
enormous crop in 1899, 1900, 1902, 1906, and 1911 ; and 
possibly a good crop during some of the intervening 
years ! 
Having thus pointed out the facts of the case so far 
as the 17-year cicada is concerned, I must leave it for 
those who think that the insect has any connection 
with the apple crop, to demonstrate the relation. I 
do not believe that thei’e is any shadow of a reason 
for supposing that the appeai’ance of the cicadas has 
any effect whatever on the apple crop of the follow¬ 
ing year. It is a mere coincidence if an enormous 
crop does follow a cicada year ; stranger coincidences 
have occxxrred. I fear that H. x-eached the conclusion 
stated in his question, by what one of my friends calls 
the “kangai’oo” (jumped-at) method. 
