1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
85 
manure. No need to mix them. You might harrow 
or plow in the sheep manure, and scatter the ashes 
over the rows to be worked in by the cultivator. The 
ashes are just the thing for the peach orchards. 
Best Celery and Cabbage. 
E. G. S., Manchester, N. Y. —1. What are the best kinds of celery 
to grow for market—late winter and early ? Is the Giant Pascal 
good for winter? 2. What is the best cabbage to grow for ship¬ 
ping to the New York market ? Is the Red Drumhead good ? 
Would it pay to grow the Danish cabbage ? 
Ans. —1. The best early celeries are the White and 
Pink Plume. Of the later kinds, we would choose, 
for market, Golden Self-blanching. But it is of 
inferior quality. The best keeping kinds are Giant 
Pascal and Schumacher. 2. We would choose for 
early, Early Jersey Wakefield. For later, Improved 
Early Summer and All-Seasons ; for latest, Large 
Late Drumhead. The best early red is the Red 
Winnigstadt and for later Red Stonehead. 
What Cold Kills an Egg ? 
0. W. P., York, Neb. —How cold may an egg become before it is 
injured for hatching? 
Ans. —An egg does not freeze until exposed to a tem¬ 
perature of about 25 degrees, which is lower than for 
water; but there is more or less expansion of its 
particles when it gets down to 32 degrees, as it is 
composed mostly of water. The reason that it does 
not freeze at 32 degrees, is that its water is a solution 
of salts. An egg will hatch if exposed to a tempera¬ 
ture of 34 degrees, but should the temperature be 
lower, it becomes a risk. 
Using Bran for Manure. 
It. T., Goshen, Ind.— F. W. Sempers, in his treatise on manures, 
says that bran contains: Nitrogen, 2.88 per cent; potash, 1.62 per 
cent; and phosphoric acid, 2.87 per cent. We can buy bran here 
at $10 per ton. At this rate, would not this be one of the cheapest 
sources of obtaining nitrogen and phosphoric acid ? We can get 
unleached wood ashes for almost nothing to furnish potash. 
Are the nitrogen and phosphoric acid in readily available forms 
as contained in bran, or what preliminary preparation should it 
undergo before applying to the soil for use in vegetable growing ? 
Our soil is a dark, sandy loam, naturally well underdrained. 
Ans. —That is a fair statement of the composition 
of bran. Its manurial value is estimated at from $11 
to $13 per ton. Before giving a decided answer, we 
would want to know the price of blood and bone 
from the western slaughter-houses. Possibly nitrogen 
and phosphoric acid would be cheaper in the blood 
and bone. Bran has been used as a fertilizer, though 
we are always sorry to see it done, as by so doing, the 
farmer loses all its feeding value. At $10 a ton, 
though, it is a cheap fertilizer, and used in connection 
with good ashes will produce crops. The clear bran 
is not so available for plant food, as manure. We 
would prefer to compost it with manure or muck— 
keep it reasonably moist and ferment it before using. 
What Sort of Lime to Use. 
L. 8., Hooker, Ind.—I have read the articles ou treatment of 
sour soils, and notice that some claim that wood ashes have 
sufficient lime to cure the sourness in soils. I think that I saw a 
statement byT. B. Terry, that if land plaster (sulphate of lime) 
is sprinkled on the manure, sufficient lime for all practical pur¬ 
poses will be applied. Are these things true? And would not the 
application of phosphate of lime answer just as well—some of 
the South Carolina, Tennessee, or Florida rock, or some prepara¬ 
tion of it ? If it will not answer to cure the sourness of soil, 
why not ? 
Ans. —This is the very poiut we have tried to make 
as to the different combinations of lime and the dif¬ 
ference between lime as plant food and as a “sweet¬ 
ener,” or neutralizing agent. The wood ashes con¬ 
tain lime in the form of a carbonate or caustic lime. 
When used in sufficient quantities, the ashes will cure 
a sour soil. The great value of land plaster is not so 
much the effect of the lime it contains, as its power 
to fix or retain the ammonia in the manure. When 
plaster or sulphate of lime is put in the manure, it 
“breaks up”—that is, the sulphur separates from 
the lime, and unites with the ammonia, thus putting 
it into a form that will be retained. That is the chief 
reason for using plaster. As a rule we do not use 
enough of it to correct the acid condition of the soil, 
for the use of plain, air-slaked lime for that purpose 
would be cheaper. 
Sandstone for a Stable Floor. 
C. E. B., Crossville, Tenn. —I am building a small barn. For a 
foundation, I have a solid, smooth sandstone, which underlies the 
entire site at a depth of from one to two feet. Will this stone 
make a good floor for horses and cattle to stand on ? I intend, 
some time in the near future, to put a silo in the barn ; will the 
stone make a good floor for that also ? Or does a silo need to be 
uuderdrained ? The stone is a soft sandstone of unknown thick¬ 
ness, but I suppose it to be from six inches to two feet thick, 
judging from the stone that crops out on other parts of the farm. 
Ans. —The stone will not make a good floor for ani¬ 
mals to stand upon, unless it be kept heavily bedded. 
Usually the precautions will not be taken to keep the 
floor covered with dry litter ; therefore, it is advisable 
to lay 2x4-inch scantling flatwise on the stone, fill the 
interstices between them with a cheap mortar com 
posed of one part of water lime which can be pur¬ 
chased at about $1 per barrel, and six to eight parts 
of sand. This, in time, will become very dry and 
fairly hard, and will arrest the passage of the cold 
and moisture. Upon these “ribs” of 2x4, and on the 
mortar, lay the planks. Wherever the animals do not 
stand, in the alleys, etc., the stone floor would be 
admirable, were it not for the power that cold sur¬ 
faces have of condensing the moisture in the warmer 
air which is above them. If some chaff or dry saw¬ 
dust to the depth of one-fourth inch or less, can be 
kept scattered over the stone alleys, the stables will 
be entirely comfortable. This natural sandstone 
bottom will be most excellent for the floor of a silo. 
I. P. ROBERTS. 
A Question of Cream in Milk. 
F. H. L., Northampton, Mass.- What is the matter with my milk 
or cows ? I have been selling milk to one man for 20 years or 
more, and have had no complaint until now. To-day he came to 
me and said, “ I can’t take your milk any longer unless it is bet¬ 
ter. There is not any cream ou it! Why,” said he, “Irun 854 
quarts through a separator, and there was only one-half pint of 
cream.” My cows are common ones with some Holstein blood 
and a little Jersey. I feed, in the morning, right after milking 
one bushel of ensilage, with a small handful of salt scattered over 
it, and also four quarts of bran, one pint of cotton-seed meal, 1 >4 
quart of corn-and-cob meal. I water in the middle of the forenoon, 
and then feed corn fodder cut about one foot long. We milk right 
after dinner, and then give ensilage, salt and grain the same as 
in the morning. About 3:30 r. M., we water, and then feed corn 
stalks again. They get no hay, and salt twice a day. My ensi¬ 
lage is Evergreen sweet corn, and it was put in when the ears 
were in the milk. We do not warm the water for the cows, but it is 
just as it comes from the spring. Our cows never leave the stable 
all winter, for the water runs into the stable. 
Ans. —The difficulty seems to be a question of fact 
between F. H. L. and the milkman, that should be 
settled by simply testing the milk in question. Fur¬ 
ther, the amount of cream delivered from the cream 
spout of a separator, is entirely independent of the rich¬ 
ness of the milk in fat. It is wholly controlled by the 
rate at which the milk flows into the bowl, and the 
speed at which the bowl revolves. It is entirely possible 
to run rich milk through a separator so that nothing 
will run from the cream spout, and equally possible 
to run water through a separator so that a large part 
of it will escape by the cream spout. I would expect 
fairly good results from the way in which the cows 
were fed and treated. H. H. wing. 
Fresh and Reliable. From Crowerto 
Planter. I Rive you middleman’s 
profits. Seeds that grow. Presents with 
every order. Beautiru 1 and Instructive 
Seed and Plant Book sent FREE if you 
write before they are al 1 gone. Address 
H. W. BUCKBEE, 
Boekford Seed Tams. Box 545 Boekford, Ills. 
Are always 
My catalogue of 
Seeds direct 
from the Farm 
willexplain what 
that means. Sent 
FREE. It con¬ 
tains Rare Col- 
lections of 
Seeds nt 1-2 
Price. Earliest 
Tomato grown, 
etc., etc. 
Address 
HEMAN GLASS, Seed Grower, Rochester, N. Y. 
We Advertise 
to Make New 
customers for our “ Blooded Seeds”—our old ones buy all their 
farm seeds from us anyhow. To make new customers for 
our seed potatoes, we will send $2.50 worth of the best 
five varieties on earth for One Dollar, viz : 
Honeoye Rose. Early. 
Record 8,000 bushels from 24 acres. 
well begun Is half done. Begin 
well by getting Ferry’s Seeds. 
Don’t let chance determine 
your crop, but plant Ferry's 
Seeds. Known and sold 
everywhere. 
Before you plant, get 
Ferry’s Seed Annual 
for 1896. Contains more prac¬ 
tical Information for farmers 
and gardeners than many high 
priced text books. Mailed free. 
D. M. FERRY A CO., DETROIT, MICH. 
BRIDGEMAN’S 
New Catalogue of 
GARDEN SEEDS 
BOOK ever Printed. 
SEED 
ONE CENT 
PACKAGE, and 
up. Cheap by oz. find lb A 
lotof extra packages with 
every order. Send for catalogue. 
R. H. SHUMWAY, - Rockford, III. 
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It is not Sweet Potato Vines 
You want—but 
Sweet Potatoes I 
Our Vineless "Cold Coin” Prolific Sweet 
Potatoes are Marvelous in Yield and 
cheapness of production, and superior in qual¬ 
ity. The Indiana Farmer, our home farm 
paper editorially highly endorses them. 
600 BUSHELS PER ACRE 
Is a Small Yield for them. 
We tell you all about them in our handsome 
new catalogue which we will mail rure 
if sent for at once. * 
No garden will be complete without them. 
Have them to sell to your neighbors next year. 
THE HUNTINGTON SEED CO. 
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 
fc: 
£ 
£ 
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fc 
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Peerless Jr. Early. 
Record 1,300% pounds from 1 pound seed. 
Money Maker. Late. 
Record 157 bush, and % pound from 1 peck seed. 
Rose No. 9. Late. 
Record 553 bushels per acre. 
Carman No. 3. Late. 
Record 630 bushels per acre. 
And with each order will send a 50 cent coupon which we 
will accept as so much cash in part payment for any barrel 
of seed potatoes ordered from us. 
Don’t forget to send for our Catalogue. It is worth money 
to you even if you don’t want to buy Farm Seeds this year. 
EDWARD F. DIBBLE SEED CO., 
Honeoye Falls, New York. 
Now Ready. Send for It. 
37 East 19th Street, New York. 
ESTABLISHED 1824. 
l)o you plant Flower Seeds? 
Do you Grow Flowers? 
FRESH 
Flower Seeds 
(The Best in America 
(and we’ve got to make it known in some way—a < 
(good many people know it well already—but now( 
(for 1896 , to get our "GARDENING ILLUS'i ..ATED’ 
(into the hands of every single Flower Buyer— 
We're Going to Give Away 
Six Best 
Novelties 
1 Pkt. Giant Japan Morning-glory 
1 Pkt. New Red Pansy 
1 Pkt. New Yellow Aster 
1 Pkt. Double Sweet Peas 
1 Pkt. Yellow Sweet Peas 
I Pkt. Verbena—fiery scarlet 
(These six and the 120 -page 
[ Book for cost of book 
, We’re in CHICAGO and 
f SEW YORK—can’t miss us. Send to- 
(day seven 2 -cent stamps and ask for 
. the “Flower Giri. Collection’ 1 
) and the book. Mention The li. N.- 
}S0 ltarelay-»t Vaughan’s Seed Store 84-80 Randolph.st( 
NEW SWEET PEA 
“A MERIC A"..15 els. 
Now White, with 
wide carmine blotch 
... Splendid for 
Houquets... 
T. 
-N , 
One packet RED Hubbard Squasb, rare and valuable, 
FREE, with every order, if you mention this paper. 
Our 116 page catalogue for 1896 (a mirror of American 
Horticulture) free with every order. 
