iwt. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
83 
THAT SOIL UNDER THE STACK. 
On page 944 is an article “Sour Soil 
Under a Stack.” The matter was referred 
to Prof. J. G. Lipman. In my opinion he 
has not hit the nail upon the head. He 
says “A comparatively large amount of 
organic substances had been leached out 
of the straw and washed into the soil 
Your readers will see his premise is 
wrong, and if he starts wrong it is not 
easy to get right. Rain does not leach 
through the stack. A stack will stand for 
years and still remain dry inside, and of 
course soil is dry under it, as if covered 
by a roof. If the leach theory is to be 
taken, there should be a ring or circle of 
poor corn, and good corn inside of it; 
was that the case? If so, we will accept 
the professor’s theory, but not otherwise. 
I have stacked hay and straw for the last 
40 years, and sometimes let it remain in 
stack for several years, and after culti¬ 
vated the field, but never saw anything to 
note about it. Probably many others have 
done the same, and if so I should like to 
have a report. G. w. Humphrey. 
Massachusetts. 
Not being acquainted with all the facts 
in the case, I may have given an explana¬ 
tion of the phenomenon under considera¬ 
tion, which is not the right one after all. 
None the less, the objections contained in 
the letter which you sent to me do not in¬ 
validate that explanation. Mr. Hum¬ 
phrey’s claim that there should be only a 
very narrow ring of unproductive soil 
corresponding with the edge of the stack, 
overlooks the fact that soluble Substances 
diffuse in the soil. If that were not so 
our purchase of such valuable fertilizer 
salts as nitrate of soda, sulphate of am¬ 
monia, muriate of potash, sulphate of pot¬ 
ash, etc., would be a sad waste of money. 
The soluble materials distribute them¬ 
selves over considerable areas, and influ¬ 
ence the character of the soil. I venture 
to state that the unproductive spots were 
larger than the area covered by the stacks 
themselves. In other words, the sub¬ 
stances leached from the hay affected the 
soil at a slight distance from the stack. 
Thus far, therefore, I have no reason to 
change the opinion expressed; namely, 
that the yellow color and backward 
growth of the plants on the spots in ques¬ 
tion were due to the untavorable changes 
in the character of the soil bacteria in 
those particular places, caused probably 
be substances washed from the upper por¬ 
tions of the haystack into the adjoining 
soil. JACOB G. LIPMAN. 
Soil Chemist. 
MAKING A LILY POND. 
Tell E. W. D., Beatrice, Neb., in reply 
to his inquiry printed on page 20, to se¬ 
lect a level plot near a stream rather 
than dam the water course, so the pond 
will not fill with sediment, diverting 
water from the stream by pipe or ditch 
under control. Excavate one foot wider, 
one foot longer and three inches or more 
deeper than the dimensions of the pond 
desired, taking care to have the bottom 
quite level, that it may not overflow at 
the wrong point, and sides and ends per¬ 
pendicular, that the concrete wall may 
be of the same thickness. Around the 
sides of this excavation and six inches 
distant therefrom erect a temporary wall 
of inch boards, which should be firmly 
braced into the space between boards and 
side of excavation; tamp firmly the con¬ 
crete, made of one part cement, two of 
sand and four of gravel or broken stone 
(my own is made of one of cement and 
five of sand). Remove the forms when 
concrete has set and to the bottom of 
excavation apply an inch or more of con¬ 
crete on two or three inches of gravel or 
stone. Finally to sides and bottom apply 
a thin coat (a half inch) of cement mixed 
with an equal amount of sand. Insert a 
pipe that the depth of water may be reg¬ 
ulated, as while in Nebraska it may be 
necessary to have three or four feet of 
water to prevent freezing, water lilies 
should have not more than 18 inches of 
water in the growing season, else the 
heat will not sufficiently penetrate to the 
roots. Flood and empty pond before 
putting in the earth. W. P. BLAIR. 
Pennyslvani a. 
Destroying Blackberries. 
W. P. /., Sistersville, TV. Va .—When is the 
best time to cut briers, blackberry runners? 
I have cut them different times without much 
effect. 
Ans. —We have had best success when 
cutting the vines in August. They have 
then finished their growth, and the roots 
are exhausted. Let alone they will stand 
still and recuperate. IT cut they will 
make a poor growth, and if this is kept 
cut the roots are kept feeble. 
Irish Cobbler Potato. —Regarding your 
remarks about the Irish Cobbler potato, page 
780, my experience is as follows: I bought 
a small quantity of Cobblers for seed last 
March, and found their eating qualities so 
good that we used part of them for the 
table until .Tune, in preference to any wo 
could buy at the local stores. The potatoes 
became shriveled toward the last, but their 
flavor remained excellent. I find that the 
flavor of this' year’s crop is improving with 
age. The earliest growth was somewhat 
tasteless, but now we consider the Irish 
Cobbler superior for home use to Carmans 
grown in the same soil. Perhaps the nature 
of the soil has something to do with this 
result. The yield of the Cobbler was about 
16 bushels to one on soil for the most part 
not fertilized or manured. F. d. 
Pleasant Valley, N. Y. 
Polling Trees. —Your paper has been be¬ 
fore me for several years, and it is with sat¬ 
isfaction that I note your efforts to keep it 
clean from worthless advertisements. I note 
the article on the peach tree swindle. About 
10 years ago the same company did a large busi¬ 
ness in this section, many buying 1,000 trees. 
While I had no confidence in the representa¬ 
tions made I was induced by others to invest 
to the extent of 250 trees. Among them 
were the same old varieties named in the 
article mentioned. They proved a mixed 
lot, some yellow, some white, some cling and 
some free. They grew to good-sized trees 
and remained with us until a year ago last 
Spring. We pulled them out, using one dou¬ 
ble and a single tackle, hitching to the foot 
of one and the crotch of another, the double 
block at the crotch. Two horses pulled them 
out. I have known some to use an engine, 
but the breakage was so great I think the 
tackle the best. a. f. 
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