54o 
July 13, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
| Every query must l>e accompanied by 
the name and address of lhe writer to in¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a question, 
please sec whether it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
questions at one time. But questions on a 
separate piece of paper.! 
HOW CLOSE TO SET ASPARAGUS. 
The distance apart to set asparagus 
crowns is an unsettled question among 
growers of that crop. In southern New 
Jersey (Gloucester County) the growers 
claim that by making rows five and a 
half feet apart and setting plants two or 
two and a half feet distant in the row, 
they secure more prime grass than by 
any other methods. 
Here in Monmouth County our best 
growers are setting closer than they did 
years ago, claiming that by this method 
they get more money from an acre than 
formerly. Personally I am not an old 
grower of asnaragus, but I am of the be¬ 
lief that close planting, intensive cultiva¬ 
tion and high feeding will give us larger 
returns than any other method. Years 
ago asparagus was planted six feet by 
three, and the bed cut for fifteen or more 
years, and the last five or more years of 
its life but little more than culls of to¬ 
day was gathered from the beds. To¬ 
day all beds are set five and a half or six 
feet in between the rows and about eigh¬ 
teen inches distant in the row; this is a 
universal practice here at present, and 
more money is being received per acre 
than formerly. It is true that a bed set 
this close cannot be cut as long as one 
set farther apart, but why plant for the 
benefit of the last three or more years of 
the life of the crop and get only partial 
crops the first three years? By setting 
as stated above and having good strong 
one-year-old plants (I would set no other 
at a gift) ihe crop will yield quite some 
returns one year from setting the crowns, 
and when two years old will cut at least 
two-thirds of a full crop. As I said be¬ 
fore, grass set this close must have lib¬ 
eral treatment, and where the grower is 
so located that he cannot manure and fer¬ 
tilize heavily perhaps it would be advisa¬ 
ble to plant wider apart. I believe, how¬ 
ever, that close planting, and high feed¬ 
ing, with weekly cultivations give us 
most liberal returns. I have a bed of 
asparagus six years set that is now at its 
best. This bed had quite some plants die 
early the first season on a few rows on 
one side of the field. This is scattered 
evenly over a given area, and was never 
reset for want of plants at proper time. 
This naturally L /es many crowns with 
twice the distance to grow in that the 
full rows have adjoining. I fail to see 
any general advantage as to size and 
yield of crop where many of these crowns 
have double the room that others have. 
It is true we get an occasional spear 
larger than we do elsewhere, but nothing 
to warrant planting at double the dis¬ 
tance. C. C. HULSART. 
New Jersey._ 
Buckwheat and Turnips for G een Manure. 
J.'D. G., Petersburg, N. J. —I have a piece 
of ground which is very hard and bakes 
quickly. Will buckwheat loosen it up and 
make it easier to work? I thought of sowing 
buckwheat at last cultivation of corn. 
Ans. —A crop of buckwheat, worked 
into that soil will help loosen it up. We 
should add at least one pound of Cow- 
horn turnip seed per acre—sow with the 
buckwheat. This turnip roots deep in the 
ground and will help break it up. Time 
also helps soils like this which bake hard. 
Killing Weeds With Chemicals. 
H. P. N., Conn. —Can Canada thistles be 
killed by spraying them with some chemical 
that will not injure the grass? 
Ans. —Experiments were conducted at 
the Wisconsin Experiment Station. Prof. 
A. L. Stone sends us the following re¬ 
port : “A year ago experiments for the 
eradication of weeds from grain fields 
were begun at this Station, and carried 
out successfully 50 far as ivild mustard. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ox-eye daisies and several other weeds 
were concerned. The spray was tried 
several times on 'Canada thistles, but so 
late in the season that no definite knowl¬ 
edge of the effect of the spray was 
gained. The experiments are being con¬ 
tinued this year, but until the spraying 
season is over we will be unable, to state 
with certainty whether or not we can 
kill the Canada thistles. The solution we 
are using for this purpose is a 20-per 
cent solution of iron sulphate. We be¬ 
lieve that if the thistles are taken when 
young and tender, that the spray will kill 
them, and successive spraying as needed 
during the season will so keep down the 
plants that they will eventually be 
killed.” The solution was made by emp¬ 
tying 300 pounds of iron sulphate into a 
52-gallon barrel of water and stirring un¬ 
til all was dissolved. It was sprayed from 
a broadcast sprayer, such as is used in 
spraying large fields of potatoes. 
Sowing Alfalfa Seed on Stubble. 
J. E. G., Catskill Station, N. Y. —I bought 
Alfalfa seed this Spring purposing to harrow 
some of my pastures and sow it on them; 
using phosphate freely and not allowing stock 
to run on it till it had a good stand, but 
did not get the time to do it. I would like 
your opinion of the practicability of sowing 
after haying. Would the seed take root in 
the Fall and survive the Winter, and grow 
for next year’s feed? 
Ans. —In our opinion, this is just the 
way not to do it. We do not believe you 
can get a good start with Alfalfa that 
way. You must give the soil good prep¬ 
aration and make it fine before you can 
hope to have a stand of Alfalfa. 
Difficulty With Garden Vegetables. 
G. II. M., Norwich, N. Y. —Why is it, or 
what is there lacking in my soil, that I 
cannot raise these four vegetables, beets, 
spinach, lettuce and rhubarb? All other 
vegetables, succulents and fruits do well. 
My land consists of 30 acres upland, gravelly 
loam, with considerable stone. Seeds of the 
above mentioned vegetables will germinate 
ail right when sown, but soon after getting 
above ground fail to make any satisfactory 
growth. I grow good corn, potatoes, cabbage, 
peas, tomatoes, asparagus, strawberries and 
bush fruits. Is the soil too acid for these 
other vegetables, or what do you think is 
the trouble? 
Ans. —This is a question for the soil 
doctors. We hope they will help us. We 
have known cases where the soil was too 
sour or where some poisonous principle 
injured vegetation. We can only suggest 
a good application of lime or wood ashes. 
Pears Dropping Bloom. 
J. E., Ellensburp, Wash .-—What do you 
think caused about all of the bloom to drop 
from my nine-year-old, dwarf Duchess pear 
trees? They have ever made a strong, vig¬ 
orous growth, were just as full of bloom as 
they could stick, but set scarcely any fruit; 
no frost, nor other cause that I know of. In 
When I visited Ellensburg and other 
places in the arid part of Washington, I 
was favorably impressed with the rich soil 
and delightful climate for fruit growing 
and I have seen and tested much of the 
latter at the exposition and elsewhere, and 
I can bear testimony to its beauty, size 
and good quality, when properly grown. 
H. C. VAN DEMAN. 
Splitting Cabbage. —I have never had my 
crop of Winter cabbage crack open enough 
to annoy me. What few do crack I use for 
kraut. If your readers have trouble along 
tills line I can only suggest they are plant¬ 
ing the wrong variety for their section, or 
else they are planting the seed too soon for 
growing a Winter crop. A cabbage that has 
headed hard by the first week in September, 
for example, would be useless to try to keep 
for Winter sale; it would certainly burst 
open or else rot. My Winter cabbages are 
grown on well-manured land that has been re¬ 
cently in a crop of grass or clover. The 
seed (Danish Ball Head) is planted in hills 
where the crop is to grow, the very last of 
May or the first of .Tune. They are gathered 
the first week in November, and stored in a 
root cellar. If the soil is very rich perhaps 
it would be well to plant a week or 10 days 
later. Look out for club root. I was told 
lime was a remedy, and so it is in theory, but 
not in practice. Nothing can be done for 
club root save a new location free from the 
germs of the disease—and remember that soil 
adhering to plow or harrow can carry the 
germs from one field to another. 
New York. i. m. brainard. 
Pat : “The next wan o’ they chauffeurs 
as runs over me’Il be sorry for ut.” 
Thomas: “And why’s that?” Pat: “I’ve 
got a tin o’ nitro-glycerine in me pocket!” 
—Punch. 
He: “That handsome girl over there 
made a fool of me two years ago.” She: 
“I felt sure that something happened in 
your past life that you had never got 
over.—Tit-Bits.”_ 
For the land’s sake use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers.—They enrich the earth — Adv. 
Great Binder Twine Offer. 
If you have any use for binder twine this 
season, don’t fail to write us and get our great 
binder twine offer before buying elsewhere. 
We have binder twine stored in warehouses in 
various parts of the country, so we can get the 
twine to you in just a day or two after we receive 
your order. We have a special price and a most 
extraordinary binder twine offer we want you to 
be sure to receive before you buy a pound of 
twine, , . 
Write us a postal card or letter and simply 
say, “Mail me your binder twine offer,” and our 
great twine offer will be sent you by mail, post¬ 
paid, at once, together with a price quotation 
that will mean a great saving, protection and 
assurance to you, _ . 
Address, SEARS. ROEBUCK & CO.. Chicago. 
■% MM ■ | Save and bind the 
DllA I hrachore Straw in neat bun- 
IS W C 1 IllCOIId W dies and clean the 
m grain perfectly. 
400 bu. a day. Small power required. Also Manure 
Spreaders, Silos, Horse and Dog Powers, Cutters. Catalogfree 
HARDER MFC. CO., Box I 1 , COBLESKILL, N. Y.. 
PORTO RICAN STRAW HATS 
‘[$ 3.00 
Equal Panamas usually sold for $5 , 
and $10. May be fashioned in any , 
shape. No duty or extra charge. 
Send P. O. Money Order, with size wanted to 
P. R. STRAW HAT CO., POKTO Vucb. 
References—Mayor and Postmaster of Mayaguez. 
66 
FUMA 
■ ■ kills Prairie Dogs, 
7 
Woodchucks,Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of the 
gods grind slow but 
exceedingly small.” So the weevil, but you can stop 
t n r i g th lnd “Fuma Carbon Bisulphide^SS 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
P OTTED STRAWBERRIES. 
A full list of kinds @ $2.00 per 100 for 
August delivery provided the order is 
sent before August 1st with cash. Address 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., 
Hightitown, N. J. 
CABBAGE PLANTSTmY.SK:* 11 ” r 
E. M. PATTINGTON, 8clpioville, New York. 
I n fin nnn Cabbage and Celery Plants. 
■ UUUlUUU Send for Price List. 
CALEB BOGGS & S ON, Cheswold, Delaware 
I nnn nnn celery and cabbage 
■ UUUlUUU PLANTS only *5.00 for 5,000. 
List Free. SLAYMAK ER & SON, Dover. Delaware. 
CELERY ^ CABBAGE 
PLANTS, $1 per 1,000 ; 500, 70c.—Four million stalky 
plants. Fine large roots. Plants taken up with forks 
to preserve all the roots on each plant. A customer 
who ordered 40,000 plants last year wrote: The 
plants you sent me were the finest I ever saw come 
into this place.” Celery—Golden Self-Bleaching 
(French Seed), White Plume, Winter Queen, Giant 
Pascal, and Golden Heart. Cabbage-Danish Bullhead. 
Surehead, Flat Dutch. F. W Rochelle, Chester, N. J• 
Clll I PROD 1908 FROM OUR MID-SUMMER 
FULL UltUr STRAWBERRY PLANTS. Send 
for List. Kevitt’s Plant Farm, Athenia, N. J. 
rnn Oil C- 2 * 000 bushels Crimson Clover 
rUtl wAkC Seed, *4.50 bushel. Address 
JOSEPH E. HOLLAND, Milford, Delaware. 
m m mm m ■ w ■ —Best seed for sale. Write 
Ml k HI bM forsamples, prices, and FKKK 
Mini Mb I M directions “23” on growing. 
J, E. Wing & Bros,, Box 23, ■•ST.r.VV- 
QUAKER CITY 
GRINDING MILLS. 
For Corn and Coin, Feed and Table Meal. 
Send for all mills advertised, keep the best and return 
all others. We pay the freight and send mills on 
10 days’ free trial. 39th Annual Catalogue FREE. 
THE A. W. STRAU B CO.. Philadelphia, Pa. 
OSGOODSCALES 
All kinds: Portable, Pit, Pitiess; Steef 
and Cement Construction. Guaran¬ 
is teed accurate, reliable and dura¬ 
ble. Let us send you a scale 
. . on trial. Free catalogue. 
OSGOOD SCALE Co!T " 157 Central St., Binghamton, S. V. 
APPLE TREES 
NOTHINGr BUT A-UPIjES 
ROGERS ON THE HILL, Dausville, N. Y. 
the past I have pruned regularly, but this 
Spring not at ail. My reason for not doing 
so was that they seemed to he making too 
much wood, caused, as I thought, possibly by 
excessive pruning and irrigation. They have 
never produced as much fruit as they should. 
Last year I set two Bartlett buds in each tree, 
and ail grew. There is no other variety of 
pears in the orchard. 
Ans. —What was the real cause of the 
dropping of the bloom from the Angou- 
leme (Duchess) pear tree it is impossible 
for me to know. It might have been ow¬ 
ing to rain or some other unfavorable 
climatic influence that occurred just at 
the critical time. There were some such 
things in Central Washington the past 
Spring, among them a rather late frost, 
and one of these may have been the cause. 
If Pear blight is prevalent in the vicinity 
it may be that it affected the delicate or- I 
gans of the flowers. Angouleme is not 
self-sterile, and it was not from this rea¬ 
son that the fruit failed to set. It might 
be that “excessive pruning and irrigation” 
they have had, especially the latter had 
much to do with it. At the age of nine 
years dwarf Angouleme pear trees ought 
to be bearing well. My suggestion is 
that those trees be allowed to grow 
almost without pruning for a few years, 
and the greatest care be used not to over¬ 
irrigate them. There is much harm done 
to fruit trees and the fruit by this latter 
mistaken practice, as I have peen in many 
of the irrigated regions in the West. 
Dwyer’s Pot Grown Strawberry Plants 
Strong, healthy plants from selected stock of choicest fruiting varieties sure to give 
satisfaction and PRODUCE A FULL CROP IN 1D08. 
We also have a full line of Fruits and Ornamental Trees, Plants, Vines, etc., for 
Fall Planting. We do Landscape Gardening in all its branches. Catalogue Iree. 
T. J. DWYER & CO., P. O. Box I, Cornwall, New York. 
CRIMSON GLOVER 
The great soil Improver. Valuable 
also for early green food, grazing and 
bay crop. Special circular free; also 
sample and price of seed on request. 
HENRY A. DREER, 
714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
A NEVER FAILING WATER SUPPLY 
one of these little PUMPING ENGINES will pump more water in an hour 
than a windmill will all day—costs only 3c. to fill your tank. These pumps last a 
lifetime—nothing to get out of order—a boy can run it. We will ship you one 
of these slightly used pumps for $ 95 —no charge for boxing, etc. Also a com¬ 
plete line of second-hand Gasoline and Steam Engines for farm work at half price. 
Write us what you need—we will gladly give you any information you wish. 
R. W. HERFURTH COMPANY, 39-41 Cortlandt Street, New York. 
Fanners Sit Up and Take Notice. 
Barre, Vt„ Sept. 1, '06 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO. 
Middletown, Conn., 
Gentlemen :—Your letter 
of Aug. 27th. received, and 
in reply would say that you 
may rest assured of my ab¬ 
solute peace of mind, both 
in regard to the goods you 
send me and the courteous 
treatment I have invariably 
received from your office. 
I am getting such results 
from the Hubbard Fertili¬ 
zers that the fanners who 
died with their Grandfa¬ 
thers sit up and take notice. 
Very truly yours, 
A. W. ALLEN. 
Hubbard’s Fertilizers 
FOR BEST RESULTS 
At no time will you be more in need of a depend¬ 
able, enriching, never-failing fertilizer than during 
this cold, backward spring of planting. 
No other fertilizers enrich the soil and mature the 
crops like Hubbard’s. 
Send for 1907 Almanac and prices. ' 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO. 
Fertilizer Manufacturers 
Middletown - - Conn. 
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