22 
TIIK RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 12. 
VALUE OF “SLATY" SOIL 
I iim a clly man thinking of buylnK « 
farm, and know vary 11111** aland I In* differ¬ 
ent klnda of mo I Ik, Mow dorm a Minty mill 
one whore the nlnte rock cropn out and the 
hoII la filled with nmall particles of slate 
compare In fertility with average of other 
moIIh found In New Vork and New ICnglnnd 
HtateM? Are miicIi hoIIh difficult to work? 
What cropa are IicmI Mulled to tliCMC alaty 
mo|Im? Are they good urn hm hoIIm? Do they 
hold manure well? Are they good for pota- 
toea and fruit? Im It ndvlwnhle to buy a 
farm with atich aoll for dairying and fruit, 
na the prlnclpnl IlneH? hkadku. 
I have never cultivaterl any slate trap 
.soil myself. Where I have seen such 
soil under cultivation ii has usually ap¬ 
peared to give very excellent results. It 
seems to he especially adapted to the 
growth of fruit trees- perhaps better 
adapted to apples than almost anything 
else. It appears to he fertile, easy to 
work, and otherwise satisfactory. 
v. A. WAUGH. 
Massachusetts Agr. College. 
The laminated shales resembling slate 
which have come under the writer’s ob¬ 
servation have been almost impervious to 
water, and the soils formed from them 
have been heavy, wet and cold, requiring 
drainage before they could be profitably 
cultivated. These soils, moreover, are 
liable to be deficient in lime, and if they 
have been pastured for a considerable 
period they are practically certain to be 
short of phosphorus. They are better 
adapted to fruit and grazing than to the 
production of cereals or potatoes. 
(HAS. 1C. THOKNE. 
Ohio Experiment Station. 
Slaty soils are usually considered de¬ 
sirable, but there is great difference be¬ 
tween different soils bearing this designa¬ 
tion, as there is between other soils. Slaty 
soils usually are well drained and are well 
adapted to such crops as corn, potatoes 
and garden vegetables, and not usually 
quite so well adapted to wheat, oats and 
grasses, although with good management 
they will produce excellent crops of these. 
They arc usually much easier to work 
than finer and more tenacious soils, and al 
though not generally of the highest nut 
ttral fertility they arc usually ranked as 
good. G. L, STONE. 
Cornell University, 
If I were a city man and intended buy¬ 
ing a farm I should certainly engage a 
good, practical, intelligent farmer to go 
with me and make an examination of the 
particular soil upon the farm or farms 
under consideration. Some of the slaty 
soils mentioned are very difficult to work, 
particularly if there arc frequent out 
crops of the slate rock. On the other 
hand, some of the best farming lands in 
New England are underlaid with a parti 
ally decomposed slate or shale which 
affords excellent drainage, and the soils 
themselves, while not hard to work yield 
excellent returns. In no ease, let me re 
peat, is it advisable to buy a farm on 
general principles or simply with ad¬ 
vice that may be obtained in answer to this 
very general question, w. m. munson. 
Maine. 
I he red shale and slate soils of New 
Jersey compare favorably in their crop 
producing power with similar soils in 
other eastern Stales. It is at times diffi¬ 
cult to keep these soils in proper tilth, 
hall plowing, periodical liming, and the 
incorporation of large quantities of or¬ 
ganic matter (animal manures or green 
manures) are successfully resorted to in 
the cultivation of these soils. Large areas 
of such soils arc given over to general 
farming and dairying. They are good 
grass soils, provided the hills are not too 
sleep. They hold manure well, but are 
apt to become acid, hence they should he 
limed from time to lime, and tile-drained 
where the natural drainage is not ade¬ 
quate. They are not ideal potato soils, 
but when properly cared for will produce 
both fruit and potatoes to advantage. 
New Jersey, JACOB 0. I.II’MAN. 
I woidd not wish to give definite ad 
vice with reference to the management 
of soil without having more informaton 
about the soil than is contained in the 
question. Conditions woidd be affected 
by various things not mentioned in the 
question. Nothing is said as to the depth 
of the soil, and from the fact the slate 
rock crops out, it is possible that the 
whole soil is underlaid by slate rock. 
This would make the soil shallow, limited 
in feeding area for farm crops, and not 
of the type which would usually be 
selected for high fertility. Slate soils are 
not necessarily difficult to work, neither 
are they as a rule best suited for the 
growth of grass. There is no reason so 
far as I know, why good potatoes could 
not he grown on this soil, and if it has 
sufficient depth fruit of various kinds 
should be grown with no trouble. 
Connecticut. l. a. Clinton, 
Chemicals with Manure. 
A. HI. K., Vienna, N. Y. Next Hprlng I am 
going to cover my corn ground with n light 
coat of immure, and wish lo put on phoNphnte 
with the manure. What should I use? 
A ns. —We should plow the manure 
under and use as fertilizer one part by 
weight of muriate of potash and three 
parts of acid phosphate. The question of 
how much .fertilizer to use will depend 
upon the price of corn, the quality of the 
ground and the amount of money you can 
afford to put into the crop. We should 
use on our ground 400 pounds per acre 
of the mixture. After plowing and mark 
ing we would scatter the fertilizer along 
the rows and cultivate it in. 
Spent Hops for Manure. 
W. At., Chicopee, Mann. I can KomolIrnCH 
get for the hauling the spent hops from a 
brewery two miles distant. What Im the 
value of this refuse for manure, and how can 
It. be used to the best advantage? 
Ans. The best analysis for hop refuse 
that we can find shows that a ton will 
contain 12 pounds of nitrogen, two of 
phosphoric acid and about the same of 
potash. Thus they are worth in actual 
plant food value about 85 per cent of or¬ 
dinary stable manure. They are probably 
worth less than that, since less of the 
nitrogen will he available than in the ma 
mire. We have never used any of this 
refuse. If any of our readers have done 
so we would like to have them tell the 
best way to handle it. 
Shavings In Manure. 
A. At. It., riiUuthliiiiin, /*«, Wliiit Injury 
(If imy) Is there In imlng manure of wood 
shavings for top dresHlng, or for plowing 
under, or why Im there n preference for 
nl niw man tiro over Hint of shavings horse 
manure? 
Ans,- The only injury we have heard 
of was when these shavings were used 
nearly fresh on light soil. The shavings, 
like sawdust or other fresh wood contain 
an acid which sours some classes of soils, 
Generally, when the shavings are used to 
soak up the stable liquids, or mixed with 
fermenting manure, this acid is neutralized 
and no harm is done. There would be 
less damage on moist heavy soils. We 
think the preference for straw is largely 
habit. The shavings are much liked in 
cow stables, as they are sterile, and do not 
harbor many germs. 
Applying Hen Manure. 
SOURCES OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 
The various State Experiment Stations 
throughout the country have been taking 
a commendable interest in testing various 
fertilizer materials as Sources of Phos¬ 
phoric Acid. One of the materials that 
lias been under consideration is BASIC 
SLAG IMIOSI IIA'IE (Thomas I’hos 
phate Powder), with which it is to be 
feared many farmers are not well ac¬ 
quainted. 
This is an especially valuable material 
lor use in the fertilization of Fruit Trees, 
Clovers, Alfalfa, Beets, Cabbages and all 
crops which rejoice in an abundance of 
Phosphoric Acid and Lime. The con¬ 
siderable amount of Iron contained in 
BASIC SLAG PHOSPHATE makes it 
an extremely valuable fertilizer for Fruit 
'Frees, as the Iron insures very high col¬ 
ored fruit and vigorous and healthy foli- 
ag<\ 
A recent Bulletin of the Rhode Island 
Experiment Station gives some very in¬ 
teresting results of an extended test of 
various Phosphates, and the following ta¬ 
bles taken from this Bulletin arc espe¬ 
cially instructive: 
Tabi.k Hiiowinu tiik Yikldh ok Oath, Out 
anii Wbioiikp Gkkhn (Pouniih). 
Kinds of Phosphate. 
J’lal 
No. 
1,lined. 
Plat 
No. 
TJn- 
1 lined. 
Dissolved bone blsck . 
r,t 
7<t 
52 
49 
Dissolved IrOlie. 
n;i 
H2 
54 
50 
Acid phosphate. 
r.r. 
or. 
5<t 
14 
Klne ground bone... 
r.7 
71 
5H 
07 
hash; hi,ah mkal, 
r.n 
7 H 
<10 
70 
Floats . 
in 
r.o 
<12 
55 
Kedonlle (raw). 
63 
:ih 
04 
57 
Kedonlte (rousted).. 
70 
<10 
no 
No phosphate. 
<17 
•17 
<18 
to 
Double superphos¬ 
phate . 
<10 
74 
70 
38 
Concerning this test, Hr. Wheeler, the 
author of the Bulletin, comments in part 
as follows: ‘‘The great superiority of 
thcBASlC SLAG MEAL and fine ground 
bone in the unlimed series is readily at¬ 
tributable in part to their having lessened 
the acidity of the soil. The floats doubt¬ 
less acted in the same manner, but per¬ 
haps not so efficiently, and the plants 
probably also failed to thrive as well with 
the floats as with certain of the other 
phosphates, by reason of the lesser assim- 
ilability of the phosphoric acid in the for- 
_ ft 
Tabi.k Hiiowinu tiik Yik.i.hh ok Knoi.ikii on 
Flat TmtNir (Pounuh ok IIooth). 
Kinds of Phosphate. 
Pint No. 
Dimed 
I MhkoI veil bone litnek . . 
51 
163 
53 
177 
Ae|d phosphnle. 
• • • • 
55 
115 
Klne ground bone. 
* * f t 
57 
1H7 
HAMID HLAO MKAL 
50 
109 
Mon Is . 
1)1 
121 
Kedonlle (rnw t. 
03 
15 
Kedonlte (roasted t , . . 
<15 
125 
No oliosplinte. 
0 
1 )ooide MliperphoMpliii le 
.... 
<(» 
140 
Tabi.k, Hiiowinu tiik 
YinLDH OK 
Kclu’hb 
Taiii.k Rkkth (Pouniih ok Roots). 
Pint 
Mnl Uti 
Kinds of Phosphate. 
No. 
1 ,lined. 
No. limed. 
1 Unsolved bone Idnek . 
51 
134 
52 
1 
Dissolved bone. 
5.3 
tail 
54 
62 
Aeld phosphnle. 
55 
20 
5(1 
4 
Klne ground bone... 
57 
14(1 
58 
5(1 
HAHIC NI.AO MKAL, 
511 
IHD 
r,o 
<11 
Floats . 
111 
7 
(12 
0 
Kedonlte (raw). 
113 
1 
01 
0 
Kedonlle ( rousted ) . . 
(IS 
2(1 
ISO 
0 
(17 
2 
OH 
0 
Double KiiperphoM- 
pintle . 
(10 
8(1 
70 
0 
Concerning Ibis lent Dr. Wheeler says 
in part a,s follows: 
"In Ibis 
particular 
connection, the inferior 
results 
secured 
willi acid phosphate 
and double 
super- 
phosphate in the limed 
series 
may have 
been dm- lo an increase 
in the 
ac 
itlity of 
these plats as compared with those 
where the probably less highly acidulated 
bone black and bone were employed, and 
it would readily account also for the very 
much better results secured with fine 
ground bone and BASIC SLAG MEAL, 
which lend to counteract soil acidity ." 
Taiii.k Hiiowinu tiik Vibi.i»h ok (‘aiiiiaob 
tvsr. “Am, Hkahonh"). Pouniih ok 
Tiummkd IIkaiih. 
P. At. /'., Bolpioullle, N. On wIih l farm 
crop run one iim,* hen manure to Imst iidvan- 
togo, mikI how he»,t to apply It? Our farmers 
are keeping from r,0 to 1,000 laying liens In 
well kept housed where large ipumtllleM of 
the heller kiii I iim lire uaed, Instead of ii dozen 
or I wo fowls as of old, wlileh used lo he 
lefl lo rood I In any old place, generally on 
apple trees or some place of maehlnery. 
Ans.- Hen manure gives good results 
on all crops, but probably best on such 
plants as make most of their growth above 
ground like cabbage, corn or grass. 
Some great results, however, are reported 
will) lieu manure on potatoes, We gen¬ 
erally use it on garden crops and straw¬ 
berries. The most effective use of this 
manure is, as we have often described, 
to crush it fine and mix with chemicals, 
such as muriate of jxdasli and acid phos 
phate. Ibis makes a fair mixture for 
many crops. The hen manure is richer in 
nitrogen than in potash and phosphoric 
acid, and these chemicals give il a good 
“balance." _ 
For the land’s sake use Bowkcr’s Fer¬ 
tilizers, They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
Kinds <>f I’liosiiliiile. 
I Unsolved hone hfuek. 
I Unsolved Itone. 
Acid phosphate. 
Pine ground hone. 
HAHIL) HI.Ad JVIKA I,, ,., 
PI on i $ . 
Itedonllo (raw). 
Itedon 11 e (roasted). 
No nlioHphil le. 
I lonl.le superphosphate... 
Pint No. 
Dimed. 
51 
115 
53 
153 
55 
5<l 
57 
173 
no 
2i:> 
<11 
107 
63 
4 
<15 
80 
<17 
8 
<10 
118 
Tin- superiority of BASIC SLAG 
I’l lOSI'l I ATE for crops belonging lo the 
Cabbage family is dearly evident from 
the above. 
Taiii.k Hiiowinu tiik Yiklph ok tiik Mhiiium 
(Jiihkn Hov I lie a n, Put ani> Wkioiikd Cukkn 
(I’ounuh). 
Kinds of Phosphnle. 
I Unsolved I sine I,lack. 
Dissolved bone. 
Aeld phosphate. 
Pine ground hone... 
ItAHIG HI.All MICA I,, 
Plod Id . 
Kedonlte (raw). 
Kedonlle (roasted).. 
No phosphnle. 
Double Miiperphos 
phate . 
1 ‘la 1 
Plat 
Tln- 
No. 
Dimed. 
No. 
II med 
51 
1 70 
52 
122 
53 
D10 
54 
126 
55 
DIO 
50 
120 
57 
1(11 
58 
120 
50 
I7K 
<10 
152 
<11 
HI 
<12 
148 
<13 
00 
<14 
1 lo 
<15 
140 
Oil 
100 
<17 
102 
<18 
75 
<10 
113 
70 
102 
The special adaptability of BASIC 
SLAG I’lTOSI’11 ATE for use upon legu¬ 
minous plants is clearly brought out in 
I this table. In summarizing the results of 
the experiments Dr. Wheeler speaks as 
follows of the BASIC SLAG: “BASIC 
SLAG MEAL has proved throughout to 
be a highly efficient phosphalic manure. 
Its relative efficiency has been particularly 
high where those plants have been grown 
which are helped by liming. This is doubt¬ 
less due in part to the fact that it con¬ 
tains far more lime than bone meal or 
lbi.it 
BASIC SLAG PHOSPHATE may he 
used with splendid results as a basis for 
grass top dressing by mixing with it Ni¬ 
trate of Soda and lligli Grade Sulphate 
of I’otash. The results from an intelli¬ 
gent use of Ibis mixture have proved most 
gratifying. Farmers who are not fa¬ 
miliar witli this material are advised to 
write- to the COE MORTIMER COM¬ 
PANY, of 135-137 Front Street, New 
York City, who are Special Importers of 
BASIC SLAG PHOSPHATE for this 
country, and who will send their booklet, 
“A Remarkable Fertilizer; Basie Slag and 
Its Uses," free of charge if you mention 
The Rural New-Yorker. Adv. 
HANDIEST FOR 
Perfect Broiling. 
“a 
Poor 
Shrvt It 
not 
Cheap 
at Any 
Price. 
Our Lift Top Plate not only *avc» limr and I 
fuel, became il permit* an even lire feeding, I , 
but you i an b'-ir •.<•«■ how admirable ii become* I 
for broiling. It doc* not » wing out Into apace, 1 
l,ut in lifted I y one hand and held by an auto¬ 
matic Caleb, while the other band bold* the I 
broiler. I 111* I* only onr of twenty exduiivc I 
feature* Incorporated in the 
Sterling-’ Range 
which make* It lm|>o*sibte for any other range 
to ri|iiul it. Any broiler i an hr lined, but our 
New 1’atenicd Broiler,which in »old aeparatcly, 
bold* ihcnte.ik level over ihr coal*,and open* 
In front, not backward*. We repent. the nmuir- 
panned cooking qualitlc* of the S'IT.KDING 
come from iiumrioti* patented leainre* which 
cannot be lined In any other tangr, and It I* 
al»o lo your liitermi to know that »olld <ant 
Iron radiate* more heal than Merl or nhrri Iron 
ever, an. We have the detailed »i lentiflc inven- 
tlgatlon of (.'ornell Unlvernlty on thin vital nidi- 
jn I to neud you, an well ar.ou, booklet K le|||ug 
why it in only ponntble for the S’J'KK 1,1 N< 1 to 
“bakea barrel of (lour with u bod of coal." 
It will pay you to wiite II* about the range 
folk* wonder bow they eve, got along without. 
SILL MOVE WORKS, RIM IIKHTKK, N. V. 
Hkqak’c 
( 
larden 
Book 
Is more l loin a catalogue. 
It's a trustworthy guide 
to the selection of do 
pendahle varieties of 
farm and garden seeds 
(lowers. tiM). 
Four Superb Color Flat cm 
besides cover It) colors, reproducing 
special varieties of vegetables and 
(towers. 
Whatever Is worth growing on farm. 
In truck patch, nr flower garden, you will 
find described In Lite 224 profusely lllus 
l I'Utcd pages of Drier'* burden llonk lor 1907. 
Mailed tonin/Diie llirntioin nil linn ;mil 
lioatlon on rrrriut of 10 eon In, whirl) 
t nay hr ilrtt/urlra from Urol, nrilrr. 
HENRY A. DREER, Philadelphia 
FINE PEACHES 
NAV LEADS THEM ALL. 
haii.tn.iine, 1 imiirmn t>«Ar*rj 
Art.-Iptril to all . llmntei 
Superb tree, nt>a Ik af 
Crlwfnrdu, etc. 
It I* free. 
Ilnirimon’n Nurnrrlrn, 
Box 29, Berlin. Maryland. 
D KWIIEKKV IM.ANTH and Ward III,tekImrry 
1’huit.H and Hwnut. Potato Mund for sain; send for 
prim. MIOIIAICL N. HOICtiO, Vlnoliinil. N. .1. 
F OIL HAI.K ('rlinson Clovor Knud, 1*4.50 hitshnl. 
Ibid Olovnr Hood, 1*7.50 and 1*H.OO biishni. 
Dnlon sots, >9.00 and M2.5O htmhol 
.lOHKI'll K. HOLLAND, Milford. I>«ll*wi*r«. 
AT WIIAT PRICE. 
TIiomo of our readers who wish to know 
the, cost of strictly Unit-closs, hardy, 
healthy fruit IrecH, should Mend to Oall’H 
NurnerleH, Perry, ()., for prion lint. Call 
on joys tlm well-earned reputation of 
Heading IiIh euHtomern the, finest fruit 
treoH that are grown. He deals direct 
with tins fruit growers, and guarantees 
satisfaction. Now price-list now rcudy. 
