326 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 14, 
time he cooked the wash certainly would not make it 
ineffective. 
Steam is rather deceptive as a cooking agent for the 
lime-sulphur wash, especially if the material is spread 
over a large surface rather thinly. In this case, espe¬ 
cially if the steam is allowed to escape from one large 
opening instead of from numerous small openings, it 
A METHOD OF TOr-GRAFTING. Fig. 129. 
will make the wash to appear to boil, while a thermom¬ 
eter would indicate that the temperature is far below 
the boiling point. The ideal method of steam cooking is 
to have a barrel-shaped vat, and allow the steam to 
escape from small openings in a cross-arm of piping, 
which is placed very near the bottom. A good plan is 
to procure a Beaume acid spindle and test the wash 
after it is made. If it tests as high as six degrees, it 
is strong enough to kill the insects, and even weak so¬ 
lutions often give good results. j. l. Phillips. 
Virginia State Entomologist. 
DO WE NEED ACID PHOSPHATE? 
I enclose clippings of part of an address on “Soil Fertility 
in Relation to Permanent Agriculture,” read before the As¬ 
sociation of American Agricultural Colleges in convention at 
Washington in November last, by Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins of 
Illinois. I would like to ask you if facts bear out this 
theory? Can raw phosphate rock be made available by 
using with farm manure, or green crops? According to this 
article we are to get our nitrogen from growing crops. 
Our potash is in the soil; all we want is phosphorus, and 
that we can get by applying one ton of the raw rock per 
acre every four years at cost of about $2 per acre, ap¬ 
plying same with green crops or farm manure. (We pre¬ 
sume this would be essential). Would this raw phosphate 
rock be sufficiently available the year it was applied? Our 
soil is a gravelly loam, to sandy loam, and some parts clay. 
Our fertilizer (one-half ton complete per acre), is costing us 
$20 yearly per acre. If tifts article is near correct we can 
see some saving. We can buy packing nouse tankage for 
$20 a ton, dried and ground. Ammonia 10 per cent; per¬ 
haps tlie raw rock could be used for that. Crops grown are 
principally potatoes, some few acres grain for feeding, corn 
and small fruits. a. w. s. 
Ontario, Canada. 
In the address referred to Dr. Hopkins repeats argu¬ 
ments which have been made in bulletins of the Illinois 
Experiment Station at Urbana. He claims that the 
ground phosphate rock will, if used with stable manure 
or green crops, take the place of acid phosphate. All 
may not understand what this means. In some of 
the Southern States and in Canada there are deposits 
of “phosphate rock.” This rock represents the fossil 
remains of animals that lived many years ago. When 
used to supply phosphoric acid in fertilizers it is dug 
out and ground to a line powder. In this condition 
it is known as raw phosphate or floats. In this 
condition it is much like very fine soil, and up 
to within a few years few scientific men have been will¬ 
ing to claim that it was available enough to provide 
phosphoric acid for plants. About 20 years ago there 
was a discussion about this in The R. N.-Y. Some writ¬ 
ers claimed that by using the “floats” in the stable as 
an absorbent and then composting it with the manure 
part of the phosphoric acid would be made available. 
Very little came of it at that time. What is often 
spoken of as the turning point in scientific farming was 
the discovery by the chemist Liebig of a cheap process 
of treating the raw phosphate or “floats” with sulphuric 
acid. This powerful acid “cut” or dissolved the ground 
rock so that instead of being like fine soil the phos¬ 
phoric acid in it became soluble in water. This supplied 
the world with phosphoric acid available for plants, 
and it became a part of general belief that it is nec¬ 
essary to “cut” the rock with acid before it is profitable 
for use as a fertilizer. 
Now comes Prof. Hopkins with the statement that 
this expensive acid treatment is not necessary. His plan 
is to use one ton of the raw phosphate per acre every 
four years, making sure to use plenty of stable manure 
with it, and to plow under clover or other green ma¬ 
nures. In all statements of this plan we are told that 
the soil must be well filled with organic matter. Evi¬ 
dently the chemical changes arising from the decay of 
this organic matter are expected to help make the phos¬ 
phate more available. On light soils or where there is 
not a good supply of organic matter we do not under¬ 
stand that good results are claimed. Experiments are 
being tried at the Ohio Station (Wooster) and at Mary¬ 
land (College Park), and there seems to be no doubt 
that fair crops have been grown. From these results, 
however, we do not believe that any farmer would be 
justified in changing his entire practice. We would not 
think of giving up the use of soluble phosphoric acid. 
Too great a risk would be involved, yet we would give 
the new theory a fair trial on a fair-sized field. No one 
can question the great saving to agriculture that would 
result if by stuffing the soil with organic matter we 
could save the cost of preparing acid phosphate. Our 
own experiments are limited, but they do not indicate 
any such outcome. For example, in fruit growing, 
where sod is kept in the orchard, no one will be likely 
to claim that raw phosphate rock will prove equal to 
acid phosphate. In growing potatoes, truck crops, small 
fruits or for top-dressing grass or grain the raw ground 
rock will not answer—at least in our section. On moist, 
naturally rich soil we think it likely that for some years 
clover will thrive on dressings of the raw rock. Where 
clover thrives a rotation of corn and oats or wheat will 
usually do well. We doubt if the experiment has 
gone on long enough yet to prove that the raw rock 
will continue to prove sufficient for the clover. We 
feel quite sure that we can sow ground leather and 
raw phosphate on poor soil with buckwheat and ob¬ 
tain a fair crop. By plowing this under we can obtain 
a fair crop of cow peas, and in time fit the soil to yield 
a good crop of potatoes—yet never using anything but 
leather and raw rock. This would not prove that we 
can afford to give up the more expensive nitrate of 
soda or dried blood. We expect that further experi¬ 
menting will show that this plan of using raw ground 
rock is useful on certain soils and in some rotations, 
but that it is not adapted to all soils or to all crops. 
We should try it carefully in a small way to begin 
with. The tankage referred to in the above question 
will supply part of the nitrogen. Our experience is that 
OLD FIRE ENGINE FOR SPRAY MIXTURE. Fig. 130. 
more soluble forms of nitrogen will also be profitable. 
Unless we were sure that our soil did not need it we 
should always use potash. 
FIERY CHARIOTS IN THE ORCHARDS. 
This novelty which was illustrated in The R. N.-Y. 
on page 19, in the way of a low-down iron wagon, with 
a large box, iron also, with perforated bottom, was 
commented on favorably by some whom I thought ought 
to know better. This contrivance is to burn brush in 
the orchards, as it is driven between the rows. The 
ashes are distributed over the ground; some fire will 
inevitably drop also through the holes. This work is 
usually done in Spring, before the cover crop, weeds 
and leaves are plowed under. If it is at all dry and 
windy there is danger of firing the orchard. With our 
grass mulch system it would burn up the whole thing. 
Furthermore, it takes a hot fire to burn green brush an 
inch or two in diameter, and would scorch the branches 
of the adjoining trees, more especially in orchards of 
some age, when the branches coqie near or entirely to¬ 
gether. The team also would be in danger, unless the 
tongue was 20 or 30 feet long! I saw another arrange¬ 
ment in some paper in the way of a sheet iron drag for 
the same purpose, which is no better. I am very sure 
there is nothing to take the place of the brush drag, 
which I think I have described before. 
Take four 2x4 scantlings 14 feet long; slope up front 
end sled fashion; place them so as to make the drag 
seven feet broad at front, and 10 feet at hind end. 
Spike on top four cross-pieces (better bolt front one, 
as this is to hitch on to). Nail on top four 1 x 6-inch 
boards; a stake may be put on each hind corner but not 
necessary. It is not expensive, a handy man can make 
it in a couple of hours. I believe we haul a ton or 
more at a load. It is best to have a vacancy of one 
tree in every eight or 10 acres of the orchard to burn 
the brush on. The ashes are convenient for use. I have 
always claimed that nothing should be hauled out of the 
orchard except apples. F. p. vergon. 
Ohio. 
MOVING ICE IN MAY . 
Few farmers this year have enough ice to run the 
risk of moving it in warm weather. The picture at 
Fig. 132 shows how J. E. Beck of Niagara Co., N. Y., 
moved ice from one house to another in May. He says: 
“When the ice was first put in the icehouse, it was 
packed in sawdust and baled shavings, and chinked 
with snow, and it was keeping finely About May 10 
it was moved to the new icehouse, but it was not prop¬ 
erly packed, and it did not keep. It wasted more than 
half, but if it had been packed as it was when it was 
first put in the icehouse it would have kept all right.” 
FIRE ENGINE COOKER FOR LIME-SULPHUR 
A steam boiling outfit does away with much of the 
trouble and delay in preparing lime-sulphur sprays, but 
not every orchardist can afford to equip himself. The 
remedy has been in a dozen cases I know of to combine 
in cooking at some central point from a stationary 
boiler. I think Fig. 130 shows a better plan, in that 
the boiler is hung at the rear of a “cook wagon,” and 
the outfit can be moved from place to place; while sta¬ 
tioned at any point it will deliver as much material as 
six or eight pumps will ordinarily need. The boiler is 
an old fire engine boiler which had been discarded, but 
was picked up by a codperative spraying club, and will 
be made to die fighting rather than rusting out. 
p. L. H. 
MODIFICATION OF TOP-GRAFTING . 
Recent inquiries as to top-working orchards six years 
old or more may receive fuller encouragement by refer¬ 
ence to the method reported at the recent meeting of the 
American Pomological Society in a paper by W. S. Co¬ 
burn of Colorado on “top-grafting.” This referred to 
work on 2,000 trees. Limbs to be top-grafted are sawed 
off and scion used, on stubs up to six inches in diame¬ 
ter. With a fine saw an angular opening is cut in side 
of stub, wider at top, and drawn down to a point. This 
is carefully smoothed with a thin-bladed harnessmaker’s 
knife made in crescent shape. Removing saw marks in 
this manner the scion can make a perfect union with 
cambium of the stock. Grafts larger than usual cleft- 
grafts may be used. The top is cut square across, and 
when perfectly fitted is struck down by a light mallet, 
resulting in a setting from which the scion cannot be 
pulled by hand. The whole is waxed over as by other 
methods; not one graft in 500 was lost. The scion is 
cut to three buds. The stock is not split; no stricture 
on graft; no ferment of sap in split stock; wind will 
not blow graft out; no tying; rapid and substantial 
growth from large stubs, and with grafts held in cold 
storage may be applied through the month of June. 
Illinois State Horticultural Society meeting at Cham¬ 
paign also discussed the method. The “Fruit Grower,” 
through Mr. Irvine, secured cuts of the process. The 
diagram on this page explains it. Saw cut or socket at 
left scion on same stock at right. j. f. g. 
BARN PLANS . 
The accompanying plan for stables is for a basement 
under a barn, 32 x 44; full wall on the east, one-half 
wall on north and south; 1J4 foot on west. What 
change would you offer, if any? G. s. h. 
If I were going to build a barn planned like that de¬ 
scribed by F. B. R. on page 239 I would build it differ- 
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A SUGGESTED BARN PLAN. Fig. 131. 
ent, as the Irishman said. I would put the heads of 
my horses and cows where he has their tails, and do 
away with the “passage.” This would do away with 
two inside doors, give me room for at least one more 
cow, bring horses handier to harness and carriages, and 
run the cow manure outdoors and the horse manure 
behind the cows without going through any inside doors, 
which when a wheelbarrow is used may be trying to tlie 
knuckles. Otherwise I like the arrangement of the 
given space very well. H. R. if. 
Staatsburg, N..Y. 
