1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3i9 
"CHEMICALS AND CLOVER” UP- 
TO-DATE. 
Development of a Fertilizer Farm. 
Part IV. 
We have followed the rotation through 
and now come to perhaps the most im¬ 
portant crop—corn. This is not the 
money crop of the farm and yet Mr. 
Lewis regards it an essential part of his 
farming. The income from this crop tor 
the past five years is stated as follows: 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
Sales of grain 
.$251.76 
. 185.90 
. 242.17 
. 308.54 
. 252.57 
Milk Calves 
and Cows 
$750.21 
652.90 
747.14 
741.04 
531.02 
When asked why the corn crop is given 
credit for what the cows earned it will be 
necessary to give a little more of the larm 
history. When I first began to visit the 
farm but little account was taken of the 
cornstalks. Corn was grown largely be¬ 
cause Mr. Lewis considered it then, as 
now, the best farm crop to utilize a clover 
sod and the farm manure and prepare 
them for potatoes. The grain was sold, 
but the stalks were handled in a waste¬ 
ful manner. They were fed in bundles, 
the cows and horses nibbling off the 
blades and leaving the stalks practically 
untouched. Quantities of the stalks were 
thrown into the barnyard to be trampled 
down by the cattle into the mud and ma¬ 
nure. These long stalks were hauled out 
on the sod and plowed under to feed the 
next corn crop. This was a wasteful prac¬ 
tice because the feeding value of the stalks 
was lost while the manure was less valua¬ 
ble. The low prices obtained for potatoes 
and wheat for a term of years compelled 
Mr. Lewis to study out some way of sav¬ 
ing wastes. A creamery was located in 
the town and the small herd of cows was 
slowly increased. A silo was built and 
instead of husking the corn crop a good 
share ; f it was cut into silage. The dry 
stalks from the husked corn are run 
through a shredder so that the entire crop 
is now cut up for feed. It is safe to say 
that this change from feeding whole stalks 
to silage and shredded fodder means a 
gain of at least $500 in the cash income 
from the farm. That represents the feed¬ 
ing value of the stalks which was for¬ 
merly wasted. The manure also is in far 
better condition for handling or for use as 
plant food. We must remember that both 
wheat and corn have increased in price 
during the past few years, and there is 
no present indication that they will soon 
go back to old figures. Where the stalks 
can be utilized in this way corn is one of 
the most profitable crops for any farm 
where a rotation including a sod is fol¬ 
lowed. 
For it must be remembered that corn is 
the best possible crop to follow a meadow 
or old pasture. It is the hog or farm 
scavenger among ordinary crops, because 
of its habits of growth and its vigorous 
feeding power. We can easily see why 
corn is best adapted to utilizing sod and 
coarse manure. The plant food in the 
sod is largely in the organic form, of little 
value to most crops until it has been de¬ 
composed or thoroughly broken up. As 
is well known heat and moisture are re¬ 
quired to bring about this change in or¬ 
ganic matter, and the change occurs most 
rapidly during the latter part of Summer, 
when the soil is warm and moist. Of all 
farm crops corn makes its best growth at 
this time. It is the latest crop of the ro¬ 
tation to be planted, grows slowly through 
the cooler weather of May, but as the soil 
grows warmer it jumps up with tremen¬ 
dous strides. Just at the time when nitri¬ 
fication is most active in the sod, that is, 
when the organic matter is being changed 
to available plant food, the corn is making 
its best growth and perfecting the ear. 
The potatoes would be past their best at 
that time and the grass or wheat would 
have been harvested, while corn fits in 
exactly as a cleaning and manufacturing 
crop. 
As has been stated, two crops of grass 
are cut. After the second cutting manure 
is hauled from the barnyard at any time 
and spread On the sod. As the land is 
level there is little, if any, loss of plant 
food through this method. Generally the 
barnyard is cleaned out twice a year, at 
this time after harvest and again in the 
Spring, all the manure on the farm being 
put on the second year’s sod and plowed 
under in the Spring for corn. All this is 
done not only with a view to securing a 
good corn crop, but also with the idea of 
filling the soil with humus for the potato 
crop, which follows the corn. The corn 
intended for the silo is planted in hills 
much the same as the other except that 
where the corn is to be cut and husked 
about three stalks are left in the hill, 
while with that intended for the silo five 
stalks are left. This gives more stalk 
and leaf for the latter and still a fair 
amount of ear and grain. Of course the 
crop is thoroughly cultivated and kept 
clean. Formerly there was at this point 
what we considered a weak link in the 
rotation. After the corn was cut the 
ground was left bare. Here there was 
likely to be a loss in soluble nitrogen, 
for the process of “breaking up” or de¬ 
composing the sod went on even after the 
corn was ripe. Of late years Mr. Lewis 
has adopted the plan of sowing Crimson 
clover at the last working of the corn in 
August. In most seasons this clover 
makes a good growth during the late 
Summer and Fall, and this living crop 
prevents loss of plant food by taking it 
for its own use. Thus when the Crimson 
clover thrives there is practically no time 
in this rotation when the soil is not occu¬ 
pied with a living crop. This is true 
farming and if Crimson clover would not 
grow it would pay well to sow rye or tur¬ 
nips in the corn. 
It is sometimes found desirable to use a 
quantity of chemical fertilizer on the com 
in addition to the sod and manure. This 
fertilizer contains nitrogen enough to give 
the corn an early start and a fair propor¬ 
tion of both potash and phosphoric acid. 
These would be especially necessary on a 
very rich sod or where an abundance of 
manure was used, as in such cases there 
would be too much nitrogen which might 
produce more stalk than ear. Thus it 
will be seen that under this system of 
farming the idea is to feed the fresh, or¬ 
ganic forms of plant food to the corn and 
the more soluble forms to potatoes. In 
this connection we may speak of the plan 
advocated by some of plowing old mead¬ 
ows or pastures and planting corn. At a 
time when western corn was so cheap that 
it was burned as fuel there was little in¬ 
ducement for an eastern farmer to in¬ 
crease the acreage of this crop. The mar¬ 
ket price for the grain is now nearly twice 
what it was 12 years ago, and Mr. Lewis’s 
figures will show the great feeding value 
of the stalks when cut and fed with grain. 
It will rarely pay to break into the regu¬ 
lar rotation to increase the corn area, but 
on many farms there are old pastures or 
meadows or fields grown up to weeds and 
trash. Corn is just the crop to tame 
these fields and either fit them for other 
crops or by sowing “catch” crops in the 
Fall, to continue in corn year after year. 
In plowing such fields we must remem¬ 
ber that they are not like Mr. Lewis’s sod 
and manure. The growth in these old 
fields is hard and tough and the organic 
matter will become available slowly. We 
cannot expect a full crop of corn from 
such fields the first year unless we use a 
fair dressing of fertilizer. They are 
usually in such a position that manure 
cannot be hauled to them. By the aid of 
fertilizers such fields can be made pro¬ 
ductive from the start and kept in profit¬ 
able use for years. h. w. c. 
Harrows $ 5.80 Up 
Cut this out and send to us 
with the price as printed. We 
will at once ship you this well 
knownKalamazoo manufactured 
high grade Spring Tooth Harrow. 
Price 16 T 00 th Not L!n«l, * 5.80 
** 18 “ “ 6.30 
“ 20 “ “ 6.80 
“ 24 « “ 8.75 
Price, Lined 
44 41 
U »4 
it l» 
. t 6.10 
. 7.00 
. 7.60 
. 10.75 
Extra Harrow Teeth, each, 20c; Channel Steel Clips, 
2c each, or 22c per dozen. 
Lined Harrows are used on stony land In 17. Y., Pa., 
W.Va., and all through New England. Ours are lined 
full length and tooth boltB are protected by Channel 
Steel Clips. Every Harrow has stump guard. Full 
length oil-tempered spring teeth. Oak frames. A 
better Harrow cannot be bought at any price. 
Can ship an 18-tooth Harrow to Portland, Maine, or 
Baltimore, Md.,for *1.00. Points at a less distance 
proportionately less. Send now; have the harrow 
on hand ready for spring work. At this low price you 
can’t afford to bother with the old one. We have man¬ 
ufactured Spring Tooth Harrows for 25 years. It was 
originally Invented by a Kalamazoo mun. We are 
headquarters. Also get a copy of our big catalogue 
No. 86, showing everything used on the farm, It's 
free, GASH SUPPLY & MFG. CO. 
408 Lawrence Sqr. Kalamazoo, Mich. 
Agents 
quick 
in 
wAWtec 
STAND BY 
18 TOOLS in one 
Hammer 
Hatchet 
Screw Driver 
Staple Puller 
Nall Claw 
Wire Cutter 
Leather Punch 
Pinchers 
oEvery Parmer Wants One at Sight 
P On# of our agent, says he willmako *1600next year. Wobe- 
l!e»ctioc»n. Thlil, the beat loUor we er.r ,»w. Write ft* 
OO Si-.-T.i.Orm »nd plan t„ Aonrra. Make money now 
J. B. Foote (Dept. 14) Fdry. Co., Tredericktown.Q. 
The Great Agents Supply House. 
THE TOWNSEND 
WIRE STRETCHER 
is the most easily attached or de¬ 
tached of any implement made. 
Stretches to the last post as well as 
to any. Steel grips that never slip. 
Can be got at any Hardwaro store. 
Write for circulars. Satisfaction 
guaranteed. 
F. G. TOWNSKND, 
Painted Post, New York. 
THE NICKEL PLATE ROAD BETWEEN NEW 
YORK AND BOSTON AND CLEVELAND, FT. 
WAYNE AND CHICAGO. 
Lowest rates and elegant equipment make this a 
favorite route between the above points. Very low 
Colonist rates to the Pacific Coast and the far West 
until May 15tli. Famous dining car service. Indi¬ 
vidual Club Meals, 35 cents to $1.00. Also a la Carte. 
A. W. ECCLESTONE, D. P. A., 
385 Broadway. New York City. 
for 
this 
I.awn Mower. 
SOU Page Catalogue FREE 
describing & illustra¬ 
ting 20,000 articles at 
extraordinary prices. 
Hardware, Tool s, 
Agricultural Imple¬ 
ments, Housefurmsh- 
ings, Cutlery, Guns, 
Sporting Goods, 
Watches. Clocks, etc. 
The most complete 
volume of the Kind 
ever issued—000 pp. 
f DEC Wo make this 
iriLL special ofTer: If 
your letter reaches us be¬ 
fore April 30, we will 
send you our great cata¬ 
logue No. 89, and Supple¬ 
ment of Useful Informa¬ 
tion FREE, and pay all 
the postage, providing 
the edition is not ex¬ 
hausted. Write to-day 
and avoid disappoint¬ 
ment. 
Buy in New York from the 
oldest mail order house in 
the United States. (Est’d 
1816). 90 years in business. 
Save money. Wo sell only 
standard, popular goods, and 
at the lowest prices in this 
country. Lower froight rates from New 
York than from points near your home. 
Save on freight charges. Everything 
you want for less money than you would 
pay anywhere else in the world. You can 
buy single pieces from us for less than 
your dealer lias to pay for the same thing 
in quantities. Buy at wholesale. You 
can get our Great Catalogue Free 
by writing to-day to Dept. P. 
Only t| 7 C for 150 ft. 
roll, 36 In. 
wide Poultry Netting. 
Family Scale,. 
Welgha up to 
rr$L8o 
Only 40 C 
for this 
Steel Shovel. 
///ft} 
Chatham Square, New York, N. Y. 
Est’d 1816. Oldest Mail Order House in America. 
PRESS HAY 
Profitably for yourself and your neighbors 
with the Double Stroke, Full Circle 
RED RIPPER HAY PRESS. 
One and two horse sizes. Large capacity. 
Simple in construction. 
Half (he Weight, Half the Price, 
of others of same capacity. Bales all kinds of 
hay and straw. Send for catalogue. 
Harder Mfg. Co.. Box 11, Cobleskill, N.Y. 
Hollow Cement Stone 
The cheapest and best building material known. One- 
half the price of brick. Cheaper than wood. Can be 
made anywhere, by any one on Bunn’s Machine. 
Big demand at 100 per cent, profit. Price of machine 
so low that it will pay to buy one for an ordinary 
building. Write for catalog and particulars to 
Dunn & Co., 350 W. Fullerton Ave„ Chicago, III. 
UNITED STATES 
Importing Canadian 
WHEAT 
la Now a Fuct. Get a 
HOMESTEAD 
WESTERN 
CANADA 
or buy some of the best wheat lands on 
the continent, and become a producer. 
This is the era of $1.00 wheat. 
The average yield of wheat this year 
will be about 20 bushels to the acre. 
The oat and barley crop will also yield 
abundantly. Splendid climute good, 
schools and ohurches, excellent market¬ 
ing facilities. 
Apply for Information to Superinten¬ 
dent of Immigration, Ottuwu, Cun., or to 
THOS. DUNCAN, 
Canadian Government Agent, Syracuse, N.Y. 
Mention this puper. 
D.,K, CHAMPION POTATO MACHINERY^ 
’ -- m ", tto.tf to (/>» Wise It Sufficient?' TlU , 
Planter fill* a long-felt want of tba Potato Grower* 
aa it doaa not bruUo or enuh tba tead, and will 
plant mora correctly than any otbar plantar 
Bade. It ia mtdo WITH OR WITHOUT fUTIUZU 
ATTICHMKST, and it opens tba trench, pltats tba 
potatoes any diaUnca eat for, covers them 
and marks for the next row—all with only 
driving the horses steadily and keeping 
r , tba hopper filled with Potatoes. Tba 
* tUTUIZU AT71CHM1IT cm 1>« regulated to 
distribute say 
Any ordinary tesra of horses will dig you* crop of 
I otstces and do it well with the 0. K. Champion Digger 
Itlil WILL TROU THIS. These Diggers are now working 
in 26 States of the Union and are fast displacing the heavy draft machines. Sea 
--potato MACHINERY 
laaklet a* 
Petal* 
Cellar* 
deaUK or write to the CHAMPION ! 
rco. 
machines. See too# 
Himaond, Ii4a 
SPRING TOOTH 
HARROWS 
Frames Lined and Faced, or unltned. 
Teeth Full Weight, Best Made. 
Send to-day for Special Circular and Price List. 
LANSING IMPLEMENT CO., Lansing, Mich 
HENCH’S 
20th 
Century 
Steel Ball Coupling Pivot Axle 
Cultivator Roll D c u 0 b r 'n 
Planter and Fertilizer 
Attach Complete in 
One Machine. 
COLD Wa MEDAL 
at World’* Fair, 8t. 
Louis. A wonderful- 
Improvement in culti¬ 
vators, combining every 
possible movement of 
gangs and wheel* re¬ 
quired. Easily changed 
to different styles. 
Thousand* In use. M’f’r'sof all kind of Ag’r’I Im¬ 
plements. Agents wanted; write for circular. 
The Hench & Dromgold Co., Mfrs., York, Pa. 
b THE FAMOUS < 
Green Mountain 
Adds twenty to twenty-five per 
cent to the productive value of 
every cow. 
Makes it possible to feed your 
present herd at one-half ihe present 
expense, or to mainlain a herd 
twice as large without any addi¬ 
tional expense for feed. Pays for 
itself in two years at most, and in 
many instances in one year. 
Our New Catalogue tells all 
about it. We want you to have a 
copy of it. Write us to-day. 
Agents wanted in unoccupied 
-pomp,,* *. w 
g*jTsiTj£»££w3 territory. 
I Note: We ire manufacturers and dealers in Machinery and 
Supplies for Dairy and Geamery: alio Gasolene Engines. 
I Pleasure Boats, etc., etc. - . —■ --— ^ 
V^TODDARD MFG CO., Rutland, Vt. 
No. 9 
Iron Ag* 
Combined 
Double and 
Blngla 
Wheel 
Hoe, Hill 
and Drill 
Seeder. 
Larger and Better Crops 
Cultivation of growing crops at the time most needed 
is what makes quality and quantity. With Iron Age 
Implements the farmer can speed his work, take 
advantage of every opportunity, and produce 
Id 
crops of larger yield and a better grade. 
IRON AGE Implements 
Save their cost *everal time* during a Season, often taking the place of an 
extra hand. Our new No. 26 Fertilizer Distributor attachment may be ap¬ 
plied to our famous No.6 combined tool, orto our No. 1 Double Wheel Hoe, 
as Is the case with Seed Drill attachment*. This wonderful implement and 
the No. 60 Riding Cultivator are fully described in "Iron Age ’’—a free 
book containing much valuable Information to the progressive farmer. 
It also describes the Iron Age Potato Planters, Horse Hoes, Sprayers 
Fertilizer Distributers and other labor-saving farm implements. 
BATEMAN MFG. CO.. Box 102, Grenloch, N. J. 
No. SO 
Iron Ag* 
lvot Wheel 
Biding Cultt 
r*toa 
NO CHANCE FOR MISTAKE 
WHEN. YOU BUY THIS RAKE 
The cheapest farm Implements are the kind that 
last. Durability in a rake is necessary, especial¬ 
ly in the head, frame and wheels. This is 
where the wear comes and this is where 
n 
The JOHNSTON 
ALL STEEL RAKE 
is particularly strong. There’s no wood to 
shrink, split or get shaky—it’s all steel ex¬ 
cept tongue or shafts. Head and frame are 
atiale steel; wheels are steel with double 
pokes; teetn are long, flat-pointed and clean the ground 
Qing. A well balanced rake that is a pleasure to operate. Our special 
rake folder tells why the Johnston costs less than the ordinary kind of rakes. It’s free. 
Send for our 1905 catalog and see the Johnston line of farm implements that won the St. 
Louis World’s Fair Grand Prize—highest award given. A postal card will bring it. 
THIS JOHNSTON HAKVKSTKK CO., Box O-l , BsUvIa, New York. 
cast hubs and round staggered spokes; teeth are 
