1009. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
436 
TESTING THE SEED CORN. 
The importance of making a germi¬ 
nation test of our corn before planting 
has been so well and forcibly put be¬ 
fore us through the efforts of our ex¬ 
periment stations and our leading au¬ 
thorities on corn growing that it seems 
every corn grower in Indiana ought 
now to realize the value of the germi¬ 
nation test, and apply it in his own 
work. There is, however, one feature 
of a reliable test that has not been given 
much stress by these authorities, and 
that is to give the corn as nearly as pos¬ 
sible normal conditions in making the 
test; otherwise it will be worse than 
useless, for it is possible to make the 
conditions for germination so good that 
almost anything but rotten corn will 
sprout nicely. Such a test may induce 
us to plant corn that our good sense 
ought to teach us is not fit to plant, and 
in this way the germination test made 
under peculiarly favorable conditions is 
worse than none. To demonstrate this 
matter before our Farmers’ Club last 
Spring I took an ear each of white and 
yellow corn. The grains of white corn 
were shriveled and blistered, brown to¬ 
wards the small end of the grain, with 
a very small heart and generally un¬ 
favorable appearance. No one would 
have considered this ear as fit to plant. 
The yellow ear was mouldy and al¬ 
most rotten on one side. I took 10 
grains from each ear, placed them in a 
shallow pan, into which I had first 
placed about one-fourth inch of sand 
and covered this over with a cloth, and 
the corn in this pan was set in the bot¬ 
tom of an incubator under the egg tray 
where the temperature was about 90 de¬ 
grees. The sand and cloth were kept 
moist and in four days I had 10 as nice 
sprouts as you could wish from the 10 
grains of white corn, and eight good 
strong sprouts from the yellow corn. 
One of the other grains of yellow was 
beginning to sprout and would proba¬ 
bly have made a weak sprout in an¬ 
other day, the tenth grain that did not 
sprout came from the part of the ear 
that was almost rotten. This experi¬ 
ment convinced me that we need to put 
more emphasis on the proper condi¬ 
tions for our test and not simply put 
our faith in the fact that our seed has 
been tested, without knowing that the 
conditions have been somewhat near 
normal. 
If the testing box is placed under a 
kitchen stove the conditions will usu¬ 
ally be somewhere near right. The tem¬ 
perature will not be uniform, but it 
will usually be warm enough to heat 
the moist sand up to perhaps 80 to 90 
degrees at some time during each day, 
and we shall be safe in relying to a 
considerable extent upon such a test, 
but even then we ought to use our good 
judgment along with it. I have on one 
or two occasions used individual ears 
of corn that I would not have used but 
for the fact that they gave good strong 
-prouts in the testing box, and I have 
found that these ears did not give the 
results under field conditions that they 
did in the test, so it seems that we 
need to combine our judgment with the 
tester and even then we cannot always 
know just what an ear of corn will do 
under field conditions. I do not write 
tin's to discourage anyone from the use 
of a germination test, but rather to 
caution those who might be led to be¬ 
lieve that securing a good stand of corn 
depends altogether upon this test, and 
so to allow themselves to become care¬ 
less about using their eyes in selecting 
the seed ears. If we are to get a 
good stand of corn we must combine 
all of our known means of determining 
the vitality of our seed and then give 
as near ideal conditions for germina¬ 
tion in the field as it is possible for us 
to give. 
After the vitality of the seed, ger¬ 
mination depends next upon heat and 
moisture; fertility has nothing to do 
with it. If we can so place the grains 
that they will have plenty of moisture 
and then have our soil in such a con¬ 
dition that its particles, which come in 
contact with the grain, shall take up 
and hold the warmth from the sun’s 
rays and impart this warmth to the 
grain, then we have done about all that 
it is possible for us to do to secure 
good germination in the field. But 
there are many things that have a*bear¬ 
ing upon these two conditions, such as 
drainage, time, depth and manner of 
preparing the ground, amount of hu¬ 
mus in the soil, depth of planting, etc., 
and if we work with all of these means, 
having in mind the conditions neces¬ 
sary for best results, and make our¬ 
selves as sure as possible of the vital¬ 
ity of our seed, we will usually be 
pleased with the results, and well paid 
for our extra time and trouble. 
Indiana. f. j. heacock. 
TOOLS FOR A 45-ACRE FARM. 
In advising a full outfit of implements it 
would depend somewhat upon the kind of 
farming followed. My farm consists of 45 
acres, and as I have purchased all of my 
tools, etc., in the last six or seven years, I 
will give a list of them, with their cost 
to me as near as possible: 
1 farm wagon, wagon box, spring 
seat and patent brake. 
1 Eureka hay rack, tits above 
wagon, 14 feet long. 
1 14-inch wood beam breaking plow 
1 wood frame (50-tooth harrow. 
1 Detroit tongueless disk harrow 
with truck . 
1 three-section steel land roller 
(second hand) . 
1 one-horse corn drill (second hand) 
1 American pivot axle riding culti¬ 
vator . 
1 one-horse double shovel cultivator 
1 one-horse 14-tooth harrow and 
cultivator . 
1 McCormick vertical lift mower.. 
1 McCormick hay rake. 
1 Iloosier grain drill (second hand) 
1 Toledo one-horse plow. 
1 American handy box manure 
spreader . 
1 Auto No. 3 spraying outfit. 
1 Economy cream separator, 400- 
pound capacity . 
1 Cyphers incubator and brooder 
(second hand) . 
1 churn, standard bent wood. 
1 Burr steel safety lift. 
1 blacksmith outfit, for home re¬ 
pairs . 
1 one-horse spring wagon (second 
hand) . 
Small tools, hoes, rakes, shovels, 
forks, etc. 
Carpenter tools, etc. 
Harness . 
1 buggy . 
1 cutting box . 
$61.S0 
12.00 
10.00 
tJ.OO 
23.50 
1(5.50 
3.00 
25.50 
2.50 
3.00 
45.00 
22.00 
.25 
3.50 
50.00 
9.00 
25.00 
13.00 
6.50 
4.50 
14.00 
40.00 
10.00 
5.00 
70.10 
60.00 
3.00 
$544.65 
Now, for a 100-acre farm I should add: 
1 McCormick binder .$125.00 
1 two-horse corn planter. 25.00 
1 sulky plow . 30.00 
Extra harness . 15.00 
1 wagon, gears only, for manure 
spreader . 35.00 
Extra carpenter tools, etc. 10.00 
1 feed grinder. 25.00 
1 wagon scales . 35.00 
Total.$844.65 
Of course one could get along with much 
less, but I would consider $1,000 a fair 
estimate for equipment, aside from horses 
and live stock, and I believe that with 
proper use and proper care (I might say 
scientific) they will pay a good rate of 
interest on the amount invested. We ex¬ 
pect to add several yet for our 45-acre 
farm. As I previously stated, the selection 
of implements will depend greatly upon the 
kind of farming followed. The dairy farm 
would need a silage cutter and gasoline 
engine to till the silo, and with a wood lot 
on the farm the engine with a power saw 
could be used to cut the supply of wood 
and then the “Lucille Beverlys" would not 
need worry about burning green wood. With 
a few acres of potatoes a potato planter 
and digger might be very profitable, and 
so on. You will note that I have omitted 
the hay tedder from my list. Undoubtedly 
it is a good implement but as yet our 
hay crop is not heavy enough to need one. 
I am nnicli interested in this discussion, 
and the different merits of the various Im¬ 
plements would be well worth discussing 
also, especially for prospective purchasers. 
Is there an attachment for a riding culti¬ 
vator which will broadcast fertilizers suc¬ 
cessfully while cultivating coim, etc.? I 
should like such an addition to my culti¬ 
vator. W. F. KENNEDY. 
Hamilton Co.. Ohio. 
SULPHUR FOR INSECTS AND DISEASE. 
The California Experiment Station ex¬ 
pended thousands of dollars and much val¬ 
uable time in trying to destroy the rust 
fungi on the asparagus with Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture and other ingredients, and failed. In 
the meantime, some blundering experiment¬ 
ing asparagus grower tried flour of sulphur 
and found that it killed the rust. The ex¬ 
periment station took up the sulphur, and 
with great care tested it and wrote a bul¬ 
letin descriptive of its value. When all 
known sprays were tried on the San Jos6 
scale and proved ineffective, sulphur with 
lime (lime-sulplmr wash) was tried and 
proved a success. The doctors tried blow¬ 
ing flour of sulphur into the throat of a 
diphtheria patient with a quill and found 
it an effective remedy. 
The Texas cattle breeder found that giv¬ 
ing each animal a tablespoon fill of sulphur 
once a week destroyed the Texas tick; also 
that where the water was impregnated with 
sulphur, as at Falfurrias, there were no 
ticks on even the Jersey cattle. Then an 
Ohio man found that by dusting his sheep 
with it, it destroyed the ticks of sheep. 
Later, a member of the Greene County 
(Missouri) Horticultural Society, Mr. Her¬ 
ring, discovered that by sprinkling sulphur 
on seed potatoes, even though they were 
very scabby, before planting them, it would 
destroy the scab and the new potatoes 
would be free and clean of the disease. 
Another member of the society, H. H. Park, 
tried hydrated lime and flour of sulphur on 
his currant bushes, killing the currant 
worms when sulphate of copper and arsen¬ 
ate of lpad had failed. Encouraged by 
this, he tried it on Potato beetles and 
Squash bugs and destroyed them also. And 
now I am told that to dust seed oats or 
wheat with flour of sulphur will kill the 
smut disease. 
The writer made a very important test of 
the hydrated lime and flour of sulphur on 
grapes to destroy the “black rot,” and 
found it not only stopped the progress of 
the rot, but healed up the half rotten 
grapes. And in the next year, 1906, be 
tried the same on the “bitter rot” on the 
apple and it destroyed the spores and 
stopped the spread of the disease in the 
orchard. 
These, with many other instances of its 
power as an insecticide, fungicide and 
parasite destroyer, prove it to be one of 
the best, if not the best, article for the 
horticulturist, agriculturist, gardener and 
housewife, known. No doubt it would have 
been used more generally as a spray mate¬ 
rial, but it is difficult to use it in any other 
form than dust, for it clogs the liquid 
spray nozzle unless transformed into liquid 
by boiling, which is very difficult. But if 
mixed with hydrated lime, it makes a light, 
fluffy dust which can be blown with ease 
and. not being poison, there is no danger 
in its use. j. a. haldeman. 
Missouri. 
R. N.-Y.—The action of finely pow¬ 
dered sulphur at ordinary temperatures 
is slowly to give off vapor. This has 
a restraining effect on many disease 
germs. Without doubt the sulphur has 
limited use for many diseases which 
Mr. Haldeman mentions. As a rule, 
however, except under most favorable 
local conditions it is not an entirely sat¬ 
isfactory remedy. The reason for its 
great success in California in fighting 
the Asparagus rust is largely due to the 
climate in that State. The dry air and 
the fierce sun heat rising to 110 degrees 
or more in some cases cause a rapid 
volatilization of the sulphur, and thus 
its work is done. In the East in our 
moister and cooler climate the sulphur 
has not done nearly as well as a rem¬ 
edy for the rust, as the soil and plants 
rarely warm up above 100 degrees. 
Regarding the use of sulphur on po¬ 
tato seed. Dr. Halstead of New Jersey 
Experiment Station worked this matter 
out very carefully some years ago, and 
it has been tried quite thoroughly. The 
sulphur is not as good for preventing 
scab as soaking in either formalin or 
corrosive sublimate solutions. It helps, 
however, not only to destroy the 
germs on the seed but to check the ac¬ 
tion of those in the soil. It also pre¬ 
serves the seed and prevents its rot¬ 
ting in a wet soil. 
Don’t Buy Nitrates 
Fertilize With 
FARMOGERM 
High-Bred 
Nitrogen- 
Gathdring 
Bacteria 
Why buy expensive nitrate 
fertilisers when you can save most 
of the money and all of the time and 
work of spreading, and get much better 
results! 
Put the bacteria In your 
soil that will draw nitrogen 
from the air and convert It into 
1 all the nitrates the crop can use and V 
store still more i n the soil for future 1 
crops of any kind. Farmogerm eon- * 
tains the right bacteria In the 
right condition. That's why it 
will produce a bumper «rop of 
any legume, and— 
Makes Poor Soil, Good Soil 
Price, $2.00 an Acre 
Garden Size, 50c 
Comes In specially sealed bot¬ 
tles. Roady for uso. Just mix 
with water, moisten seed or 
spray. Bacteria guaranteed to 
be right. Put up for use with 
Alfalfa, Peas Beans, all garden 
and field varieties, all the Clo¬ 
vers, Vetch, Sweet Peas and all 
legumes. Gives better results 
than nitrate of soda at fraction 
of cost and labor. 
* W© will send you a small bottle for 10c, enough to make 
K a box test in your house bofere planting time. Wrlto for 
FREE BOOK No. 09, which gives full particulars. When you 
■ order a bottle, montlon crop you wish to try It on. Oct our 
letters from users and our reports from high authorities. All 
in Book No, lti For salo by leading seed bousos. 
V 
Let Us Prove It 
Earp-Thomas Farmogorm Co., Bloomfield, N.J. 
THE BEST VARIABLE FEED 
SAW MILL 
Made for portable purposes, also larger sizes. 
Kngines, Boilers anti General Machinery, 
NEW and REBUILT at Lowest Prices. 
THE “LEADER” INJECTOR, 
most simple, reliable and efficient. 
Send for circulars, stating your wants. 
‘Pie RANDLE MACHINERY CO., 
1826 Powers St., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
25^ EASE 
YOUR MIND OF 
FENCE TROUBLES 
Wr by erecting a fence that stays ’R 
W put up. 1 
f THE FROST WIRE FENCE 
is the original coiled steel spring 
wire fence. Lasts a lifetime. 
Made of heavy gauge high carbon 
wire. Only fence which provides for 
uniform contraction and expansion, 
i Write for prices and Free catalog 
1 showing Fences and Gates. 
k THE i 
^FROST WIRE FENCE C0.^- 
Cleveland, Ohio 
Ww Dept. H. 
BROWN 
7—7- 
tdb 
For Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, 
Chickens, Lawns— A fence for 
every purpose. Big heavy No. 
9 Coiled Spring Wires thickly 
galvanized. 150 styles at 
15 to 35c per rod— We pay Frt. 
Free sample and catalog. 
The BROWN Fence & Wire Co. 
Dept. 19, Cleveland, Ohio. 
Make 
—The 
Wonder 
Plow 
Trucks 
Attach to 
any walking 
plow —one 
or two-horse, rigfht or left hand, wood or 
steel beam. They regulate depth and width 
of furrow, and lighten the draft on horses at 
least one-third. The furrow wheel acts like 
a pivot, just like wheel of wheelbarrow. You 
do not touch your hands to the plow, except 
in turning: at end of furrow. Your twelve- 
year-old boy can plow with the Trucks as well 
as a man. You don’t need to take our word 
for this —test them yourself at our risk. 
Greatest money-maker for agrents ever put 
on the market. They sell on sigrht. Big: 
profits and grood territory still open. We give 
a sample set of Trucks free to all new agrents. 
Retail price only S5.00. Write at once for 
full particulars. 
WONDER PLOW COMPANY, 
327 Factory St., St. Clair, Mich. 
Plowing Easy 
10 DAYS FREE TRIAL™™ 
prepaid to any place in the United States without a cent deposit in advance , and allow 
‘ ten days free trial from the day you receive it. If it does not suit you in every way and 
is not all or more than we claim for it and a better bicycle than you can get anywhere else 
regardless of price, or if for any reason whatever you do not wish to keep it, ship it back 
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LOW FACTORY PRICED We sell the highest grade bicycles direct from factory 
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i save you $io to >25 middlemen’s profit on every bicycle-^highest grade models with 
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DinCD AftCIITC Uf A UTCn > n each town an<l district to rule and exhibit a sample 
mutn HuLfl I O (lAHICU 1909 Ranger Bicycle furnished by us. You will be 
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DO NOT BUY a bicycle ora pair of tires from anyone at any price until you receive our catalogue 
and learn our low prices and liberal terms. BICYCLE DEALERS: you can sell our bicycles under 
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SECONDHAND BICYCLES— a limited number taken in trade by our Chicago retail stores will 
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VIDEO PflAQTCR RDAIFCC single wheels,inner tubes, lamps, cyclometers, parts, repairs and 
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MEAD CYCLE COMPANY’Deot.B 80,CHICAGO. ILL. 
