38 
muriate of potash 400 pounds. Bone may be substi¬ 
tuted for tankage if more desirable. The main object 
of either tankage or bone is to get a mixture dry 
enough to drill. In discussing fertilizers for this crop 
I do not wish to be understood as advocating a com¬ 
plete fertilizer. In my own practice I use acid phos¬ 
phate and potash, three parts of the former to one of 
the latter; mix thoroughly and apply broadcast very 
early in Spring or late Winter, and work in the soil 
with future cultivations. The further down near the 
roots this is left when feeding time begins the better. 
The nitrogenous part of my fertilizer—usually nitrate 
of soda—I apply broadcast when cutting season 
is over. I fully endorse the mixing of fertilizers at 
home, for this or many other crops, in preference to 
paying a greater price for an unknown article, and 
further than that, the grower who knows his soil and 
its requirements can feed more intelligently by apply¬ 
ing that which is deficient in larger quantity and with¬ 
holding that which is not needed. 
Growing asparagus without manure depends largely 
on that particular field. The asparagus crop is one 
that occupies the soil when planted for many years, 
and with constant cultivation, and nothing returned to 
supply the lost humus constantly breaking down, would 
soon bring about results unsatisfactory. The water- 
holding capacity of the soil would become greatly im¬ 
paired, and unsatisfactory results would follow. The 
asparagus crop requires a good supply of moisture for 
best results. A half ton of shoots as cut for market 
contains 933 pounds of water, hence any method that 
will destroy the water-holding capacity of the soil is 
detrimental. Where the grower can use cover crops 
late in the season—Crimson clover is best—and secure 
a good stand to plow under the following Spring, and 
do this annually, then growing asparagus with fer¬ 
tilizers only is practical, but where the rows have to 
be ridged for white or blanched grass the clover sod 
is badly in the way of cutting for a time, but where 
green grass is the object and no ridging needed, I see 
nothing to hinder growing cover crops and eliminat¬ 
ing the manure or a part of it at least. Aside from 
the supply of humus and keeping up the moisture sup¬ 
ply of the soil I see no reason why this crop cannot 
be grown just as successfully with plant food obtained 
from fertilizers as elsewhere. Another point in favor 
of Crimson clover is that it furnishes nitrogen and 
lessens the amount to be purchased. The amount of 
fertilizer per acre for asparagus should be from 1,000 
to 1,600 pounds, according to strength of soil and 
amount of cutting done, also age of plants. The 
longer the bed has been established the more shoots 
will appear; hence to get these to marketable size lib¬ 
eral feeding must be resorted to. Salt is of no manu- 
rial value; it is beneficial only so far as it helps to kill 
weeds and assists in holding moisture, c. c. hulsart. 
A MARKER AND SHOVEL PLOW. 
When making my plans last Winter for the follow¬ 
ing season’s work, I found that I needed a land 
roller, but wanted one, if to be had, with a fertilizer 
attachment. I would like to roll and fertilize my 
meadows at one and the same time. Accordingly, I 
asked for a catalogue of every implement manufac¬ 
turer whose advertisement I found in The R. N.-Y. 
It was but a short time until I was literally deluged 
with catalogues illustrating many kinds and shapes 
of rollers, but none with a fertilizer attachment. I 
do not see why such a combination is not placed on the 
market. However, I came across some tools, the ex¬ 
istence of which I was ignorant, and purchased them. 
One is a three-row marker, Fig. 21, and the ether a 
shovel hoe, Fig. 18. Those implements proved of such 
value that I illustrate them, and describe some uses I 
put them to. I know they have paid for themselves 
over and over again, and I would not try to farm 
without them. The marker, shown in Fig. 21, has a 
solid oak frame, well painted; the runners and fur- 
rowers are of metal. The marker that marks the next 
row works on a pivot, and is easily changed from one 
side to the other. When turning around it stands up¬ 
right out of the way; a small slide holds it there 
firmly. The marker is so constructed that it may be 
set to mark several distances apart, wide or close. 
The first use I put it to, was in my early potato 
patch, one and three-fourths acre. I marked out the 
rows 30 inches apart, three rows at a time, as straight 
as a string. With my seed and fertilizer drill I 
sowed all the fertilizer the drill would put on, which 
was a little over 1,800 pounds per acre. I then went 
over it again with the marker in the same marks; 
the result was a nice furrow about four inches deep, 
just right to drop potatoes in, at the same time thor¬ 
oughly mixing the fertilizer with the soil. The shovel 
hoe with which I covered the potatoes I adjusted 
so that it made a large ridge over two feet wide at 
the base, and fully 16 inches high, tapering like a 
steep roof. 
The shovel hoe in the potato field is of value both 
r in a wet or dry season. In a dry time you may ad- 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
' ' I . ' I ’ : .• : : 
just it so that it will throw just a little soil around 
the plant, enough to cover potatoes to prevent them 
becoming sunburnt, and at the same time cover up 
and smother any small weeds that may have started in 
the row, thus saving a possible hand hoeing, should 
the season be wet like this one; you may adjust it wide 
in front and narrow in back and thus gather up some 
of the loose rich top soil and ridge it high around the 
plants, and yet not dig down deep and destroy any 
root growth, as you would if you used the old-fash¬ 
ioned shovel plow. 
We harvested from this one and three-fourths acre 
162 bushels of marketable potatoes. Not much to 
brag about it, is it? The average price was $1.31, but 
when you consider that such scientific farmers as Dr. 
W. I. Chamberlain, on his tile-drained, fertile farm 
reports but 75 bushels harvested from five acres 
planted, you will admit that my yield on untiled clay 
soil was fairly good. I am satisfied that the intelli¬ 
gent use of those tools, together with the liberal use 
of a soluble fertilizer, stood between me and loss, giv¬ 
ing me a fair profit. Many acres of ground in this 
section were planted, but never came up, the seed 
rotting in the wet, cold ground, and where they did 
come up the growth was so slow and late that the 
blight which struck us here in August caught most of 
them with no potatoes developed, killing the vines 
inside of 10 days. Many farmers around here will 
have to buy or do without potatoes this Winter. This 
FLAN OK HOMEMADE GREENHOUSE. Fig. 19. 
condition, however, does not seem general all over 
the State. 
But not in the potato lot alone did the shovel 
hoe prove invaluable. In the tomato lot, after setting 
plants and fertilizing around them, with nitrate of 
soda and other ingredients, we threw up and covered 
fertilizer with small ridges of loose soil. When the 
plants were large enough and about to lodge we again 
fertilized. This time we threw up a large ridge by 
gathering up from between the rows some of the loose 
soil, but did not dig down deep enough to disturb any 
root growth. Never before have we had such vines 
and tomatoes. My plot of Maule’s Enormous, noted 
as shy bearers, produced over half a bushel of ripe, 
very large, fine smooth tomatoes on most of the vines. 
In the cabbage field, after marking and drilling in fer¬ 
tilizer, we threw up large ridges, and with a light 
roller (a homemade affair) flattened them down a 
little, and on these ridges we set our plants. This 
year’s experience indicates this to be an ideal method 
of growing cabbages. 
We used this shovel hoe on corn, beans and cucum¬ 
bers with equal success. Before closing this imple¬ 
ment talk I must mention a tool I call the dry weather 
cultivator ( a homemade contrivance). I made it of 
plank, like the old plank drag, in the shape of the 
letter V, with plow handles attached. In a dry sea- 
Jannary IS, 
son I go about oncq a week in between the rows of 
my cultivated crops, fining and compacting the soil, 
thus creating the ideal dust mulch. In spite of the 
severe drought following the wet Spring last Summer 
my hoed crop never seemed to suffer in the least. 
Ohio. _ J. H. BOLLINGER. 
THE VALUE OF A MANURE SPREADER. 
In reply to W. G. B., page 912, I can say that in 
my opinion $130 spent in the purchase of a manure 
spreader would be a good investment. I consider 
these machines one of the greatest time and labor sav¬ 
ing devices about the farm. The following is my 
experience: I live on a truck farm of 135 acres, and 
have about 400 tons of manure per year to handle. 
This is obtained direct from Philadelphia dealers by 
boat via Delaware River, and is landed during the 
Fall in large heaps on the shore. In the Winter this 
is carted and placed in smaller heaps at each end of 
the field on which it is to be used. In the early Spring 
these heaps have to be thoroughly mixed and pul¬ 
verized to facilitate spreading from the cart directly 
into the furrows. There is very little broadcasting 
done on the truck farms in this section. This spread¬ 
ing from the cart is not easy work by any means, as 
anyone who has tried it for a whole day under a 
warm April or May sun can well testify. Having 
had my own share of this work, I decided to lighten 
it if possible, and so after examination purchased a 
30-bushel spreader of a standard make. At first I 
tried three horses to the machine, but later used four 
and obtained much better results. Now, with four 
horses and two men about half as much more ma¬ 
nure may be spread in the same time two horses and 
the same two men did it formerly. Not only is time 
saved, but the laborious mixing of the heap is entirely 
clone away with, the spreader pulverizing the roughest 
manure as fine as possible. I would advise anyone 
having even a small amount of manure to spread to 
purchase one of these machines. The increased yield 
on all crops due to a more even distribution and 
thorough pulverization than can be obtained by other 
methods will pay the first cost of the machine. I 
would use a larger spreader if it were not for the 
sandy character of most of my ground. In light soil 
the machine will sometimes slip sidewise, causing the 
funnels to throw the manure on the side of the fur¬ 
rows. But taken all together it is certainly a safe 
investment. R. j. s. 
Burlington, N. J. 
CORN GROWING ON POOR LAND. 
Would you give some information concerning raising corn 
on gray sandy land, and also the kind of fertilizers that 
pay best? R. p. f. 
Earl, N. C. 
What you need more than fertilizers in North Caro¬ 
lina is systematic farming in a rotation planned for 
the increased development of your main money crop. 
In your section, where you have thin uplands and fer¬ 
tile bottom lands, your upland soil demands different 
treatment and a different rotation of crops. There 
has been a tendency to . use the. low grounds exclu¬ 
sively for corn and the uplands for cotton, and neither 
is doing its best. I assume that in Cleveland County 
there is hardly any sandy land where there is not a 
clay subsoil in reach of a good plow, and what your 
uplands need, both the gray and the red land, is deeper 
breaking and subsoiling. There is a vast amount of 
fertility in that red clay subsoil if you get it loosened 
so that pea roots can get down into it. I have seen 
sandy land in your section that would have been 
vastly improved by simply putting a big plow down 
into the red clay below and turning up some of the 
clay to mix with the sand. Scratch plowing and lack 
of any system of rotation have done more harm in 
the South than anything else. No amount of ferti¬ 
lizer on a soil that has had all the humus burnt out of it 
will ever accomplish much. Land that has got thin 
by long bad treatment cannot be made suddenly rich 
by putting commercial fertilizers on it. The humus 
or organic decay that made it fertile in the first place 
must be gradually restored. You can get the land 
to make some more corn by applying a complete fer¬ 
tilizer mixture, but the increased crop will seldom pay 
for the fertilizer. Adopt a three-year rotation of corn, 
Fall oats followed by peas, cotton with Crimson clover 
sown among it at last working, and this plowed under 
in Spring for corn, after putting all the homemade 
manure on it during the Winter. Mow and cure and 
feed the peas. Then the only fertilizer you will need 
will be 30.0 pounds per acre of a mixture of acid 
phosphate and potash, six parts acid phosphate to one 
part muriate of potash, on the peas that follow the 
oats. Go over into Lincoln County and see what 
J. W. Warlick has done with similar land on a little 
farm that was as poor as land ever gets to be in that 
county. The system of starving the land by depriv¬ 
ing it of humus is at the root of many cultural 
problems. w. f. massey. 
