34o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 22, 
Ruralisms 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Profits of Asparagus. — I have a piece of 
land, about two acres, in the edge of the city 
of Springfield. The soil is light and sandy. 
Could I raise asparagus on it to any advan¬ 
tage? What should be the income per acre 
after commencing to cut? i. n\ b. 
Springfield. Mass. 
Considerable asparagus is grown near 
the Rural Grounds in Monmouth Co., 
N. J., and under competent management 
the crop returns a fair profit. Success¬ 
ful growers, having suitable land, are in¬ 
creasing their beds. One of the largest 
growers, who already has 18 acres, is 
planting 10 acres additional; others are 
extending their beds in like proportion. 
1 he first cost of planting an acre aver¬ 
ages, locally, about $15. Some market¬ 
able shoots may be cut the second year 
after planting, but it needs three or four 
years for the roots to reach maturity. 
They continue to produce freely for 10 
to 12 years, after which they rapidly de¬ 
cline and cease to be profitable unless 
replanted anew. The cost of maintain¬ 
ing the beds from year to year, including 
fertilizers, averages about $35 an acre. 
The average yield of beds in their prime 
in ordinary years is about $300 an acre, 
exclusive of the expenses of cutting, 
packing and shipping the crop. Aspara¬ 
gus culture in the right locality, on the 
right soil and conducted by the.right man, 
is a satisfactory industry. There are 
plenty of would-be growers, however, 
who find no difficulty in making failures 
with this crop. 
About Water Glass. —The absolute 
success attending almost every well-con¬ 
ducted experiment in preserving eggs 
with water glass or silicate of soda has 
excited much interest in this chemical, 
and many correspondents seek informa¬ 
tion concerning it. Directions for the 
use of this preservative have been fre¬ 
quently published in these columns dur¬ 
ing the last three years. There seems to 
be little information concerning soluble 
glass available in current literature, and 
most reference books on chemistry treat 
the subject very briefly. Water, or solu¬ 
ble, glass is a direct combination of silica 
or ordinary glass sand with soda or pot¬ 
ash, and is made by melting the ingredi¬ 
ents together in a crucible at a high tem¬ 
perature. The resulting compound, when 
cooled, resembles ordinary glass, but is 
to a great extent soluble in water. It is 
extensively used as a cement in the man¬ 
ufacture of artificial stone, and especially 
in making emery or corundum wheels 
and other abrasives, in fresco painting, 
for fire-proofing fabrics, and as an in¬ 
gredient in scouring or silicate soap. In 
medicine it has been used without much 
success as an antiseptic, but is really val¬ 
uable in making bandage splints for frac¬ 
tures in place of starch or plaster of 
Paris, as it is easily applied with a brush, 
does not irritate, hardens quite promptly, 
and can be removed when wanted by the 
application of hot water. 
Sodium Silicate Mostly Used.— The 
silicates of soda and potash are quite 
similar in appearance and properties, but 
the sodium silicate is the cheaper and 
for that . .ason most commonly used. The 
standard solution kept by most dealers re¬ 
tails in pound or pint bottles for about 
25 cents, in gallon to five-gallon lots at 
five cents a pound, exclusive of cost of 
container, and in barrels as low as 1$4 
cent a pound, not including barrel. This 
standard solution contains about 30 per 
cent dry or crystal water glass, and 70 
per cent water. It is a clear or slightly 
yellowish liquid of about the consistency 
of glycerine, somewhat caustic in its ac¬ 
tion on the hands, but not poisonous. 
When diluted with nine or 10 times its 
bulk of water it forms the best egg pre¬ 
servative yet tested. This solution does 
not penetrate the shell, but apparently 
seals the pores, and by its antiseptic ac¬ 
tion prevents the development of all 
germs that may be present. A fresh egg 
is aseptic inside, and if organisms of de¬ 
cay can be kept from growing through 
the shell and attacking the albumen and 
yolk it will keep indefinitely without 
change. Eggs immersed in the solution 
one year have the appearance and char¬ 
acter of fresh eggs. For about all culin¬ 
ary purposes these water-glassed eggs 
are equal to any but the absolutely new- 
laid article, and are vastly superior to 
cold storage and “fresh” grocery eggs. 
The palatable life of an egg in Summer 
weather scarcely exceeds 10 days, unless 
kept in a very cool place. After three 
years’ trial we are convinced there is 
less change during one year’s packing in 
sodium silicate solution than in a week’s 
exposure to the air at 70 degrees, as there 
is no drying-out or shrinking of the con¬ 
tents. The R. N.-Y. has always advo¬ 
cated the home use of these preserved 
eggs—the farmer to pack for Winter use 
in April and May when abundant and 
cheap. The high-priced Fall and Winter 
eggs are then available for market where 
they are always eagerly sought, but we 
find there is likely to be a local demand 
for water-glassed eggs at somewhat lower 
prices, for kitchen uses, wherever their 
excellent quality becomes known. Water- 
glassed eggs consigned in some quanti'y 
by a R. N.-Y. reader to a first-class New 
York commission house last December 
brought 30 cents a dozen, while guaran¬ 
teed fresh eggs were quoted at 36 cents, 
wholesale. These eggs when packed in 
April did not average in value more than 
18 cents a dozen, the water-glass cost 50 
a gahon, sufficient to cover about 75 doz¬ 
ens of eggs. Adding cost of container 
and transportation of water glass from 
the dealer, we find the cost of the ma¬ 
terial for preserving eggs by this proc¬ 
ess, when bought in gallon lots, does not 
greatly exceed one cent a dozen, and 
would be much decreased by operating on 
a larger scale. 
Preserve Only New-laid Eggs.—W e 
have emphasized this point before, and 
feel justified in repeating it. No pre¬ 
serving process can improve a stale egg— 
at most it can only stave off further un¬ 
pleasant changes. The egg is at its best 
as supplied by the hen, and should only 
be allowed to cool before placing in the 
solution. We would not care to pack 
eggs more than 24 hours old, and do not 
think the process will prove satisfactory 
for mixed lots of eggs of varying ages, 
as collected by hucksters and dealers. 
All eggs should be fresh and perfect 
when they go in the solution, that they 
may come out in like satisfactory condi¬ 
tion. Wooden or stoneware vessels are 
recommended in which to pack the eggs. 
Silicate of soda solution is alkaline, and 
does not attack metal, but there is sup¬ 
posed to be danger of rust and discolora¬ 
tion from long use of metal vessels. Put 
in the eggs from day to day as collected, 
using a wooden spoon to avoid breakage. 
See that the eggs are always covered with 
the solution, and keep the vessels covered, 
and in as cool a place in cellar or store¬ 
room as convenient. When taken out the 
eggs should be rins°d in lukewarm water 
to remove the water-glass, which other¬ 
wise would crystallize on the shell in 
drying. We find the eggs keep about as 
long when taken from the solution as per¬ 
fectly fresh eggs, and are rather improved 
for some culinary purposes by drying for 
a few days. w. v. f. 
Spray Potevtoe^ 
C. C. Brown Co. 
6 rows at a time, any 
width, with 
Rrnu/n’e traction 
Drown S COMPRESSED 
AIR SPRAYER. 
Constant pressure up to 150 lbs • 
Power costs nothing. 100 gal¬ 
lon cypress tank, all brass 
pump. Perfectly adapted also to or¬ 
chard work. We are the largest man¬ 
ufacturers of tpray pumps In the 
world, hand and power,including the 
famous “Auto-Spray.’* 
Bend far Catalogue. 
208 State St., Rochester, N.Y. 
Potato Crop Insurance 
is practically -what you get through spraying 
the vines with 
THE SPRAMOTOR 
Insures a full crop, 
upwards of 400 bush- 
i els per acre against 
nothing in a bad 
year. The Spratno- 
tor pays for itself 
many times over. 
Adopted and recom¬ 
mended officially by 
Governments and 
Experimental Col¬ 
leges. Write for 
Booklet (B). Full 
particulars free. SPRAMOTOR CO. 
Buffalo, N.Y, London, Canada 
AGENTS WANTED 
Brass Sprayers Last Longest 
And Are The Cheapest To Buy. 
Price $3.50 and upward. Make your labor and invest¬ 
ment earn a good profit by destroying the insect pests and 
plant diseases which cause so much loss. These sprayers 
may also be used for applying whitewash and cold water 
paints, spreading disinfectants, cleaning wagons, curing 
surface diseases on cattle, chickens, and many other 
S urposes. Sprayers may be returned at our expense if 
ley are found defective. Send for catalogue. 
DAYTON SUPPLY CO., Dayton. Ohio. 
I use 
ia BardieL- 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 14. 
HARDIE 
Spray 
Pump 
DO YOU WANT PERFECT FRUIT ? 
Fruit Trees properly sprayed pay bigger 
profits than anything else on the farm. 
Write today for our free Book on Spraying, 
which gives all the newest and best formulas 
and tells how the successful fruit growers 
make big money. 
HOOK-HARDIE CO. 
Ill- Mechanic St. Hudson, Mich. I 
With the 4 
ORCHARD 
Monarch 
SPRAY. 
MHr p ■ Automatic Compressed Air 
Sprayer. No hand labor—h&a agitator and bruahea for 
^oloanlngitrainara. Ourfroobook tollaaboutlt. “No swindled foellng” 
1 If you buy our pumps. We alio make the Empire King, Car* 
■ Mold Knapsack and others. 
■ field FORCE PUMP CO. 2 t 1th St. Elmira, N.Y. 
THE PERFECTION SPRAYER 
combines hand and horse power, and has both cart 
and barrel. It’s simple, reliable, practical and dura¬ 
ble. Sprays everything; trees, potatoes, vines. Cata¬ 
logue, telling howto spray, and containing valuable 
formulas, FKEE. 
THOMAS PKPPLKR, Box 45, Hightstown, N. J. 
FUMA 
■ ■kills Prairie Dogs, 
Woodchucks,Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of the 
gods grind slow but 
exceedingly small.” 8o the weevil, but you can stop 
“W “Fuma Carbon Bisulphide ”£VSSS 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Ian, N. Y. 
Berry Baskets 
AND 
Fruit Packages 
Order Note. Write For New Catalogue and Prices. 
COLES & COMPANY, 109 & 111 Warren St., N.Y. 
Established 1884. 
Largest Manufacturers and Dealers in the East. 
Bowker’s 
Insecticides 
are cheapest 
th e y are all ready to use by adding 
water; they do not waste time in mix¬ 
ing, nor in clearing clogged nozzles; they adhere to the 
foliage in spite of heavy rains, making repeated spray¬ 
ings often unnecessary, except to protect new growth ; 
most important of all, however, they do the work, and 
they work night and day. Many of them are made 
upon government formulas, and all have the unquali¬ 
fied endorsement of practical men and experiment 
station officials. 
Disparene 
is the only insecticide made 
that will destroy both broods 
of the codling-moth (see booklet). Enough for a large 
orchard, $4.25. Smaller quantities, $1 and 50 cents. 
Our large handbook of insect pests and plant diseases is well 
worth 50 cents, but we mail it to all interested parties FREE 
BOWKER. INSECTICIDE COMPANY 
BOSTON NEW YORK CINCINNATI 
Hubbard’s “Black Diamond” Fertilizers 
Have producea the Record Hay Crops for the past fourteen years. Send for our Free Book, 
“HUBBARD’S FERTILIZERS FOR 1905” 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD COMPANY, - - - - Middletown, Conn. 
