1906. 
5o5 
HOW TO USE COW PEAS. 
F. G , Mentone, Ain .—We are told that we 
can raise on one acre one ton of cow-pea hay 
if we use superphosphate and potash. If we 
had 10 acres of such hay we should have 
humus, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash 
enough to make one acre rich enough to grow 
money crops on which to live. Shall we pile 
this 10 tons t>f hay upon one acre, and cut 
It up aud plow it under with disk plow? 
Shall we put in the barn, feed to stock, save 
manure and apply that to the one acre? 
Shall we fence one acre, scatter the hay there 
daily and feed stock there? Shall we silage 
the cow peas aud feed in this form? It will 
cost us $50 in fertilizers to raise the cow peas 
to start with. Now, instead of putting that 
amount of value iu cow peas on one acre of 
land, it seems to us we might in some way 
feed it on the land, and get hack at least $50 
worth of meat, so that our fertilizing will 
only cost our labor; Are we on the right 
track? We can buy steers (feeders) at about 
two cents per pound, and can sell them when 
fat for three cents. We can raise pigs and 
sell them alive, at say, four cents per pound 
live weight, and if we kill and cure the meat 
we can get considerably more. We understand 
that a pig will show more gain in weight for 
100 pounds of food consumed than a! steer. 
Therefore we favor feeding our crop of 
cow peas to pigs. Are we right? We fear 
that pigs would not consume very much of 
cow pea hay (although there will be a good 
many ripe peas among it), and this suggested 
the idea of silaglng it. What do you think? 
How many pigs should an acre of such silage 
raise up to 200 pounds live weight? We will 
probably finish the pigs on corn. 
Sow the peas in the Spring, and one 
acre will afford feed enough for 10 hogs. 
For fertilizer we sow wheat; after the 
wheat is off we sow peas. We cut over a 
ton to the acre, and when the peas are off 
we again sow wheat, and after the wheat 
is off we sow peas again, which makes 
two crops on the same land for two 
years. Then turn the land deep in the 
Fall, and in the Spring we plant it in corn. 
We do not use any fertilizer at all for this. 
Alabama. h. b. 
The way for F. G. to realize most good 
from his cow peas is to sow at once. Cut 
the hay in Fall and house it, and feed it 
as roughage, or in combination with cot- 
ton-seed hulls and meal to steer cattle, 
carefully saving all droppings as dry as 
possible, and apply to land in early 
Spring, plowing under immediately. He 
will get as much benefit from pea-vine 
roots as a subsoiler as he would get from 
vines. His pig proposition is imprac¬ 
ticable, as they will not eat the hay, and 
too small amount of peas on vines to.pay 
in this way; I speak from experience. 
Mississippi. d. a. saunders. 
Through our section cow peas, when 
they are not grown for the seed alone, are 
sown, and the hay, a mixture of crab 
grass, weeds and pea vines, cut and cured, 
and the stubble turned for wheat. This 
gives better results than trying to plow 
under the vines. On our rolling lands we 
find that the pea vines or the late plowing 
(they are usually sown in June or July) 
cause the land to wash if not followed im¬ 
mediately by a crop that will sod the land; 
such a crop is wheat or rye. F. G. can 
get six or eight weeks good pasture for 
several hogs, and improve the land if he 
will sow the peas and pasture them off. 
They will not make much hay if land is 
poor. For immediate results he can do 
better to use his fertilizer on an acre or 
two of melons or sweet potatoes if he is 
near market. Ten acres of land such as 
he probably has would not be enough to 
make a silo practical, as silage must be 
put up in considerable quantities, and 
fed rapidly and, is of value in milk pro¬ 
duction, but not in making three-cent beef. 
Georgia. j. e. list. 
I have taken The R. N.-V. many years, 
and appreciate it very much. From it 1 
learned the value of cow peas for feed 
and for the renovation of depleted soils. 
Three years ago I bought this farm cheap 
l^ecause old, worn thin and unproductive, 
planning to bring it up growing peas and 
keeping stock. T am hampered by lack of 
means, but am making some progress. 
My first peas were poor, and root nodules 
few. Next year they were much better, 
and the bacterial habitations abundant. 
The influence of the crop upon the soil is 
very marked. Oats this season without 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
fertilizer or manure where peas were last 
year are fine—best in the neighborhood, 
and other crops show remarkable benefit. 
A slope from which the soil was mostly 
washed, the red clay subsoil so exceed¬ 
ingly hard and tough the plow could pene¬ 
trate only two or three inches, now plows 
easily six inches deep. I can raise hogs 
to better advantage than other stock, and 
want a bulky balanced ration for breeding 
stock and shotes. Reading of Alfalfa meal 
it seems the meal from pea hay should 
be almost as good. I plan a number of 
small fields for a succession of green crops 
for hog pasture; will then grow pork 
cheaply, and get the benefit of the manure. 
Our soils especially need nitrogen and 
phosphorus. I plan a short rotation of 
oats or speltz. followed by cow peas 
the same season, and corn or Kaffir the 
next, giving the first crop fertilizer rich 
in phosphorus, and plowing in corn or 
Kaffir stalks to help make humus. 
Sylvania, Mo. f. e. h. 
SUB-IRRIGATION FROM THE ROOF. 
In building most modern country or 
suburban homes, the rainfall is conducted 
from the house to a cistern or cesspool sep¬ 
arate from that used for sewage. Would 
it be practical to conduct this rainfall to 
drains which would furnish sub-irrigation 
for garden or asparagus bed? The rain 
water Is not utilized in any way under ordi¬ 
nary conditions. 
Such a method would be practicable and 
of undoubted benefit in a dry season, but 
unless under perfect control would in 
some seasons and soils be very undesira¬ 
ble. even for asparagus beds. 
Pennsylvania. jesse robbins. 
Sub-irrigation of the garden might 
prove occasionally useful and beneficial, 
but it is doubtful if such a plan as that 
proposed would be satisfactory. Such a 
system of drains would necessarily be 
placed but a few inches below the surface 
of the ground, and would be liable to in¬ 
jury from frost in Winter, and also to 
disarrangement due to digging or plowing 
the ground in readiness for the crops. On 
the whole, it seems to the writer to be of 
doubtful utility. w. H. taplin. 
Pennsylvania. 
I have had no experience in the use of 
water from roof for sub-irrigation, but 
can see no reason why it should not be 
practical. In many causes the plots to be 
irrigated are so situated with reference to 
house that the whole thing can be oper¬ 
ated on gravity system, and the increase 
in such crops as asparagus and straw¬ 
berries would soon repay many times the 
slight cost of piping required. The sub¬ 
ject of garden irrigation is one of the 
most important relating to the fullest de¬ 
velopment of the fruit and vegetable gar- 
gen as an adjunct to the country hoine, 
and has never been given the attention it 
deserves. I hope that we may have in 
The R. N.-Y. through the present year 
a full discussion of the whole subject, 
with plans of such simple schemes for 
both surface and sub-irrigation as are in 
use by readers. merritt m. clark. 
New York. 
I have had but little experience in us¬ 
ing rain water for sub-irrigation or 
otherwise. I am of the opinion, however, 
that on a large and expensive plant, 
where a number of buildings are in use, 
rain water can be used to greater ad¬ 
vantage for growing vegetables. The 
rainfall that would be conducted to a 
cistern from an ordinary country home 
would hardly be sufficient for practical 
use, except for a small garden. Some 
years ago I had an opportunity to visit 
an old gentleman who was at that time 
the most successful lettuce grower in 
the State. About two acres of his gar¬ 
den was covered with large greenhouses. 
Each of these houses was provided with 
gutters at the eaves; from these gutters 
the rainfall was conducted to a large ce¬ 
ment cistern, covered by a large building. 
This rain water was used altogether for 
growing and forcing lettuce. During the 
Winter it was forced directly in the 
houses by the use of a small engine. For 
Spring and Summer use it was forced in 
a large tank with considerable elevation, 
and used for irrigation in dry weather. 
I was surprised when he informed me 
that he attributed his success to the use 
of this water. t. m. white. 
Concrefe for Greenhouse. 
• A. G. B., Erie, Pa .—Can you give me any 
information about the construction of green¬ 
houses? Can the side wails be made from 
concrete? How thick should the walls be 
made, aud what proportion of cement should 
be used? 
Ans. —Concrete has been used for 
greenhouse walls, and probably will be 
used much more extensively for that pur¬ 
pose in future, owing to its comparative 
indestructibility, and the rapid increase 
in the price of lumber. A wall eight 
inches thick is preferable, and it is a 
good plan to give the wall a smooth 
finish with either pure cement or one part 
cement to one of sand, after removing 
the form. This finishing not only makes 
a good-looking job, but what is more 
important, makes the wall so nearly 
watertight that the frost will have less 
effect upon it. The 1-2-3 formula, that 
is, one part of cement to two of sand, and 
three of broken stone, makes an excellent 
concrete for such a wall, though a 1-3-5 
mixture is fairly good if well mixed and 
rammed. w. H. taplin. 
IT SAVES TROUBLE 
and annoyance many times to have 
ABSORB INE 
handy in case of a Bruise or 
Strain. This remedy is rapid 
to cure, pleasant to use, and 
you can work the horse. No 
blister, no hair gone. 
ABSORBINE cures 
Lameness, allays pain, re¬ 
moves any soft bunch quick¬ 
ly. $2.00 per bottle de¬ 
livered or of regular deal¬ 
ers. Book 6-B Free. 
ABSORBINE,JR 
,for 
mankind, $1.00 Bottle. Cures Badly'Strained 
Joints or Ligaments. Kills Fain. 
W. F.Y0UNG, P.D.F. 88 Monmouth St, Sorlngfield.Mass. 
RELIEF IS SURE. 
Spavin, Ringbone, 
Curb.Splint.all Lame¬ 
ness and Bony En¬ 
largements cured 
quickly and perma¬ 
nently with 
Kendall’s 
Spavin Cure. 
Spavin Cura a Wonder. Ooldemss, If. 
DR. B. J. KENDALL CO., 
Gentlomen;—Enoloiod find a two cent stamp for which please send 
me your valuable horse book. I havo used KENDALL'S SPAVIN 
CURE and i t is a wonder. CQAS. A. IIASKELL. 
Prlco SI; 6forS6. Greatest known liniment for family 
use. All druggists* Accept no substitute. The great book, 
‘‘Treatise on the Horse* 1 free from druggists or 
Dr. B. J KENDALL CO., Enosburg Falla, Vt. 
Flies Cost You Money 
Spray your horses anti cows 
occasionally with FLY-FUMA, the 
liquid disinfectant. Positively 
rids them of Flies and other in¬ 
sects. Cows Kive more milk. 
Horses work better. Saves shoes 
and harness. Prevents disease. 
Perfect Sprayer Free with F.very 
i.’ulIon. Price $1.00 per gallon. 
On 10-gallon order 75c. per gallon, prepaid. Liberal terms to 
agents. PKAIRIK MFG. CO„ 1905 Shelby St., Indianapolis, Ind. 
SILOS 
The kind that "Uncle Sam * ’ uses. Contin¬ 
uous opening Front, Air-tight Doors, Per¬ 
manent Iron Ladder. Also Silo Filling 
Machinery, Manure Spreaders, Horse and 
Dog Powers, Threshers. 
HARDER MFG. CO., 
Box I I, Cobleskill, N. Y. 
No Grcon Mountain Silo on this Farm 
Many a farmer has tailed and many a farm gone to rack and ruin 
and been abandoned for lack of a 
GREEN MOUNTAIN SILO 
Under the old and wasteful system of hay and grain feeding in 
winter the cost of keeping cows was doubled, proper nutrition lacking 
and the milk-yield one-fourth less than it should be. 
But now fresh, green, Juicy and nutritious ensilage, properly stored 
at small expense in the Green Mountain—the best of all silos—keeps 
the stock in the pink of condition through frozen winter and pasture- 
parching drought of summer and leaves a handsome cash balance to 
your credit besides. 
Agents wanted in ur.assigned territory. Write for Booklet ” 
STODDARD MFC. CO., Rutland, Yt. 
Economic Ensilage Cutting 
appeals to you. We have the Blower that requires 
the least power and the Engine that gives the most 
power on the smallest fuel consumption. 
Abenaque Gasoline Engines 
and Papec Blowers 
will suit you in price 
and capacity. Note 
the feed table at¬ 
tached to mountings 
on the Blower. This 
outfit warranted su-1 
perior to all others 
Write for Catalogue 
O to 
Abenaque Machine Works 
Westminster Station, Vt. 
New England Agents for the Papec Machine Co. 
abe naq ue 
Climax Ensilage Cutter 
Simplest, cheapest and most perfect working of all ensilage 
machines. Cuts and elevates at one operation^ with no litter 
or waste. No other style of cutter compares with the 
Inward Shearing Cut 
of knives and the Climax is the only entter that has 
it. Don't be caught by bare claims of superiority 
without proof. Read the record of the Fair and 
other Competitive Tests. We are always anxious to 
let the Climax work side by side with any other machine, 
the buyer to take the best. It you want to be sure of the best, ask 
for the competitive test. Send for free catalog. 
WARSAW-WILKINSON CO., SO Highland Aye., Warsaw, N. Y. . 
The Complete 
Machine 
Cuts and Elevates 
7 to 25 Tons an Houp 
SMALLEY s7o ,lcrn 
is guaranteed the strongest, lightest running, most economical built. The 
New Special No. 18 (shown here) is made of extra heavy material, buill excep¬ 
tionally strong—hence, the name ‘‘Special.” 
The fodder is in rapid motion ffom the time 
it is deposited on the traveling table till it 
enters the silo, thus requiring less power 
to operate than other similar machines. 
Handles bundles of any size. Capacity is 
limited only by the amount of fodder you 
can feed it. Patented safety devices make 
accidents impossible. 
Write to-day for our Free Catulocue, which 
gives full information concerning our 17 sizes of silo 
fillers; also shredders, buskers, sweep and tread 
powers, feed mills arid root cutters. 
SMALLEY MFG. CO., Box 227 Manitowoc, Wis.\ 
