493 
1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
BUCKWHEAT CULTURE. 
Varieties and Treatment in New York. 
Owing to the great demand for buck¬ 
wheat to export to Italy, the price for the 
part two years has been very high, and 
the acreage devoted to this crop in this 
section has more than doubled. The yield 
of this plant is determined largely by the 
weather at the time the blossoms are set¬ 
ting; long continued, extremely hot 
weather causes it to “blast” and there 
are a great many false heads. For the 
above reason the time of sowing varies 
very much in different parts of the coun¬ 
try, according to the sower’s idea of 
when he can best strike favorable weather. 
In this section they have been sowing 
earlier than formerly,- and they get it in 
as soon as possible after finishing the 
planting of corn and potatoes. July 4 is 
about as late as this crop is sown, as there 
is danger of the early Fall frosts killing 
it before the crop is ripe, if the sowing is 
delayed after that date. As a rule a bet¬ 
ter crop of buckwheat is obtained if the 
plowing can be done early and the field 
be allowed to settle, and several harrow- 
ings be given in the two weeks after 
plowing before sowing. Buckwheat is a 
gross feeder, grows luxuriantly on good 
ground, and is considered a good crop to 
subdue weeds, and leaves the ground mel¬ 
low and in good condition for future 
workings. For this reason it used to be 
sown on Summer fallows, rough ground 
plowed for the first time, and any spot not 
suitable for anything else. Under those 
circumstances the field was not in a suit¬ 
able condition for seeding and but very 
little effort was ever made to start a 
meadow with this crop. 
This crop responds more readily and to 
a greater degree to an application of 
commercial fertilizers than any other of 
the farm crops and 100 to 200 pounds of 
low-grade fertilizer is considered plenty 
on the poorer fields, while none is re¬ 
quired on ground of fair fertility. I 
would advocate the use of a fertilizer con¬ 
taining large quantities of phosphoric 
acid, a little potash and no nitrogen ex¬ 
cept on the very poorest land. The plant 
will stool out wonderfully on good 
ground, and there is danger of putting on 
too much seed. From eight to 16 quarts 
per acre is enough, according to the qual¬ 
ity of the land and the thoroughness of 
preparation. I would always sow it with 
a grain drill, if possible, so as to get an 
even distribution over the entire area, and 
insure its all being covered. Where the 
ground is rough and it is sown by hand 
more seed should be used, as it will not 
all be covered. The seed is usually sure 
to grow under almost any circumstance 
except in cases where heavy rains follow 
the sowing and beat down clay land so 
that it is hard and baked,«or where wa¬ 
ter stands in the hollows. I would har¬ 
row the hard ground before it dried too 
much with a smoothing harrow if hard 
rains followed the sowing, and on swampy 
ground we usually plow it in small lands 
by back furrowing so that the surface 
water will be carried off in the dead fur¬ 
rows. The Japanese buckwheat produces 
an enormous kernel and in some places 
large yields. The Little Gray, so called, 
is only about half the size, but has a 
great many kernels to the plant, and fre¬ 
quently gives much better yields, besides, 
I think, being less likely to be injured by 
the frost. Many farmers mix the two 
kinds together, half and half, claiming 
that they get better yields by so doing, on 
the principle, T suppose, of the two kinds 
growing, one above the other. They grind 
well together for flour. 
Where the land is in condition for seed¬ 
ing, as for example—where the grass is 
run out and poor, now, on one of your 
meadows, and you wish to get it reseeded 
as quickly as possible, it is quite practica¬ 
ble to plow it at once, cultivate it thor¬ 
oughly for a couple of weeks and then 
seed it with Timothy and clover with the 
buckwheat at the time of sowing. I have 
known of a very early crop of grass being 
taken off for hay and then after plowing 
the field sowing to buckwheat and reseed¬ 
ing at once. I think the principle cause of 
failure in seeding to grass with buck¬ 
wheat has been the avariciousness of the 
farmer in trying to get a full yield of 
buckwheat and reseeding at the same 
time. Such farmers sow too much of the 
buckwheat and give too little preparation 
to the ground, and as a result the buck¬ 
wheat smothers the grass, robs it of all 
moisture and the lumpy ground is not 
favorable for the growth of the grass. I 
should advise the sowing of the smaller 
quantity of buckwheat, the use of more 
and better fertilizer with as much work 
and preparation as could be given up to 
seeding time. I would use 10 quarts of 
good Timothy and five quarts of clover 
per acre, well covered with a weeder 
or smoothing harrow after the buckwheat 
was sown. If the farmer will think all 
the time how to improve his chances of 
getting a good seeding without caring 
very much about the buckwheat, lie prob¬ 
ably will get both. This crop should be 
cut before it is very ripe, to prevent shell¬ 
ing, and, in that case a binder can be 
used without loss. It is usually allowed 
to stand in the field until it dries and then 
drawn directly to the machine for thrash¬ 
ing. C. E. CHAPMAN. 
HOW LIME AND SULPHUR KILLS. 
Substitute fob Lime and Sulphur. —Bul¬ 
letin 101 of the Bureau of Chemistry, U.S. De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, discusses “The Liine- 
Sulphur Wash and Its Substitutes.” Among 
other things a substitute is suggested—10 
pounds sulphur, 10 pounds caustic soda and 
50 gallons of water. We asked Mr. F. II. 
Pough, a high authority on the chemistry of 
sulphur, to tell us what he thought of this 
substitution of soda for lime. His answer 
follows: 
Action of the Sulphur. —In the usual 
15 :15:50 formula, which I think Is the one 
most largely used, there Is twice as much 
lime (assuming the lime to be pure) as 
would be required to combine with the sul¬ 
phur. In preparing the wash by this for¬ 
mula, we use the lime for two purposes. 
About one-half of the lime used is caused 
to combine with all of the sulphur to form 
calcium penta-sulphide, while the remainder 
of the lime serves simply as a medium 
for holding the active agent on the tree. I 
think we can therefore get the best idea 
as to the nature and action of the wash by 
considering separately each function that the 
lime performs. Now, we can substitute for 
lime some other chemical which will com¬ 
bine with sulphur and form a compound sim¬ 
ilar In character to calcium penta-sulphide. 
Either caustic soda or caustic potash can be 
used for this purpose, and Instead of calcium 
penta-sulphide we would then have sodium or 
potassium penta-sulphide as the chief In¬ 
gredient and active principal of the wash. 
It Is evident - that If the wash were pre¬ 
pared by using only a sufficient quantity of 
the lime, or caustic soda, or caustic potash 
to combine with the sulphur, we would have 
a clear, dark reddish or brownish yellow 
liquid which would be free from any sedi¬ 
ment, If exactly the right proportions of the 
chemicals were used and they were free 
from Impurities. If any of these liquids 
were applied In this State to the trees It 
Is doubtful If we would get any beneficial 
result, for the reason that we know that the 
action of the sulphur wash Is not Immediate, 
but, on the contrary, rather slow, though 
persisting In its action for some months. The 
compounds which are formed by the decom¬ 
position of sodium and potassium penta-sul- 
phkle are readily soluble In water and would 
therefore be rapidly washed away by rains, 
carrying with them the sulphur (which I be¬ 
lieve to be the real active Ingredient In the 
wash), which Is set free upon the decom¬ 
position of the penta-sulphide. In the case 
of calcium penta-sulphide the products of de¬ 
composition are not so soluble and would 
not be so readily washed away. As a matter 
of fact, the general consensus of opinion Is 
that the wash has no action for the first 
two or three days, and experiments which I 
have made show conclusively that the penta- 
sulphide present In the w'asli when first made 
and applied decomposes completely within 
two or three days. The amount of Insolu¬ 
ble products, however, would be compara¬ 
tively small and probably Insufficient to re¬ 
tain upon the trees for months, as seems to 
be necessary, the finely divided sulphur re¬ 
sulting from the decomposition of the penta- 
sulphide. which, as I have stated above, I 
believe Is the active agent in the killing of 
the scale. The action of the sulphur which 
Is in a state of infinitely fine division, Is to be 
explained by its persistent and continuous, 
though slow, oxidation to form the gas sul¬ 
phur dioxide, which Is so universally recog¬ 
nized and used as an Insecticide and germi¬ 
cide. This is the gas which is formed when 
sulphur is burned and is frequently de¬ 
scribed as the odor of burning matches. As 
everybody knows, it Is universally used for 
the disinfection of sick rooms and the killing 
of Insect parasites. 
Wiiat the Lime Does.— If the above ex¬ 
planation is correct, the first essential Is 
how to retain this sulphur on the trees, and 
we are now ready to consider the function 
of the excess of lime which is called for in 
all of the lime-sulphur formulas now In use. 
It acts as a whitewash, which serves to 
hold upon the tree the products of decom¬ 
position of tbe penta-sulphide, formed on 
boiling the sulphur with the lime or other 
ingredients as above. As its function is 
practically that of a whitewash its action is 
similar; that is to say, the caustic lime is 
rapidly converted, by the action of the car¬ 
bonic acid gas present in the air, into the 
carbonate of lime—a comparatively Insolu¬ 
ble substance, which serves well its func¬ 
tion of holding the sulphur, which I have 
reierred to above as the active agent, upon 
the tree, in close contact with tbe scale. In 
addition to this. I think there is a second 
function performed by the lime, the Impor¬ 
tance of which is possibly recognized, but 
which I do not remember ever having seen 
referred to directly; that is, if we apply to 
the tree a wash which is simply a clear 
liquid. It Is well nigh impossible to tell 
when the tree has been thoroughly drenched. 
In addition to this, when we consider the 
fact that the wash does not act Immediately, 
one can readily see that it might run off 
so rapidly, in certain places, as to leave 
tittle or none of the wash adhering, and the 
result would be the same as comes 
from Imperfect or careless spraying, that is, 
the scale would survive upon these parts of 
the tree and rapidly spread from, these cen¬ 
ters. Where an excess of lime Is used it Is 
easy to tell when the tree Is properly 
drenched, and in the course of two or three 
days any spots that have been overlooked will 
stand out prominently and can readily be 
treated again. In addition to this, I believe 
that a fair excess of lime is desirable, for 
if too small a quantity be used the tendency 
will be to continue spraying until a coat¬ 
ing has been built up sufficiently thick to be 
readily noticeable to the eye. It seems to 
me that this must lead to a very great waste 
of the wash for a tree might be thoroughly 
drenched long before a sufficient coating of 
lime had been built up to Indicate this, if 
only a small excess of lime is used. 
The Questions of Caustic Soda.— Possi¬ 
bly some of this discussion is rather foreign 
to your question, as you say that caustic 
soda is recommended for dry climates. It 
might serve Its purpose very well in such 
cases, of course, as there would be no rain 
to wash off the soluble products, and the free 
sulphur formed on the decompotdtlon of 
the penta-sulphide as explained above, but 
It seems to me there Is a serious question 
as to this. I presume that the reason for 
suggesting caustic soda as a substitute for 
the straight lime-sulphur compound is that it 
Is somewhat easier to prepare. It seems to 
me, however, that there can be no doubt 
but what in any case when It comes to the 
question, how large an excess of lime Is to 
be used, that the answer is about the same 
exce.8H of lime should be used, whether the 
wash is prepared by combining sulphur with 
lime, with caustic soda, or with caustic pot¬ 
ash for the function of the excess of lime, 
as I have tried to point out, is one entirely 
apart from the function of the lime that Is 
used to combine with the sulphur. 
A Question for Orciiardists. —This let¬ 
ter gives me an opportunity of raising a 
question with your readers, which I would 
like to learn more about. Although I have 
had considerable correspondence with the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington 
and also with a number of the various State 
experimental stations. I have not yet been 
able to convince them that my explanation 
as to the way in which the wash acts Is 
correct. That they have practically conceded 
what they first disputed, that it. is calcium 
penta-sulphide. Instead of calcium sulphide, 
w-.ich is the chief ingredient of the freshlv 
prepared wash, but none of them so far 
has been willing to admit that it Is sul¬ 
phur dioxide, formed by the oxidation of the 
very fine sulphur set free when the penta- 
sulphide decomposes, which is the active 
agent in killing the scale. The point I would 
like to raise with your readers is: Have 
they at any time noticed a more or less 
strong odor of sulphur dioxide in and about 
their orchards? I have had one or two re¬ 
ports from different parties saying that at 
times this odor of sulphur dioxide is very 
strong, but I would like to get a wider and 
more general confirmation of this. , 
F. H. POUGH. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 409 Pearl St., NEW YORK. 
