124 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 15, 
Figures of Fertilizer Farming. 
TF. II. S., Pine Grove , Pa .—I am about to 
change my system of farming from truck¬ 
ing, small fruits and marketing, because of 
the want of good help, and personal disabil¬ 
ity, the worry and constant annoyances, 
and the expense of paying good money for 
indifferent help, when obtainable at all, 
which lias become monotonous and almost 
unendurable. With nearly 100 acres of 
land under cultivation I am puzzling over 
the problem of changing to general crops, 
trying to calculate in an approximate way 
what might be realized from an average 
yield. Dividing into four equal parts as a 
basis to work upon I would take 25 
acres to produce 50 tons hay at $15, $750; 
25 acres producing 500 bushels wheat at 
80 cents, $400; 15 tons straw at $8, $120; 
25 acres producing 1,250 bushels corn at 60 
cents, $750; 37% tons stover at $8, $300; 
2,500 bushels potatoes at 50 cents, $1,250; 
total, $3,570. The land under consideration 
is not of the self-supporting kind, and I 
calculate that in disposing of the estimated 
crops there is removed in nitrogen, phos¬ 
phoric acid and potash the value of $900, 
or the equivalent of 30 tons; fertilizer 
analyzing 3-8-6, costing $30 per ton on the 
place. Here is where I do not have full 
confidence in my calculation, so wish you 
would submit the problem to some of the 
experts associated with agricultural schools 
and experiment stations. Give the replies in 
The R. N.-Y. for the benefit of your read¬ 
ers in general and that of the writer in par¬ 
ticular. Against the estimated income of 
$3,570 I charge fertilizers, $900; interest on 
investment, $250; taxes, $70; insurance, 
$25, leaving a balance of $2325 to perform 
the work and support one person. Inas¬ 
much as we pay our county officials from 
$2,000 to $6,000 a year salaries many times 
possessing very ordinary qualifications, these 
obtain more than the entire product of a 
100-acre farm, and then we wonder what is 
the matter with the labor problem. 
Ans.—F iguring the average analyses 
of farm crops we calculate that the fol¬ 
lowing amounts of plant food will be 
removed: 
Nitrogei 
50 tons hay.1,550 
500 bushels wheat. 625 
15 tons straw. 140 
1.250 bushels corn. 1,260 
37% tons stalks.. 780 
2,500 bus. potatoes 315 
Phosphoric 
Potash Acid 
1,600 450 
160 240 
190 66 
280 490 
1.050 217 
10 435 
Tota l .4,670 3,290 1,898 
\ ou will see by following the articles 
on fertilizers that you would need, in 
order to supply this plant food, the fol¬ 
lowing chemicals, figured at the prices 
quoted us: 14.6 tons nitrate of soda at 
$58, $846.80; 3.3 tons muriate of potash 
at $43, $141.90; 6.7 tons acid phosphate 
at $13, $87.10; total, $1,075.80. You can 
see that your fertilizer containing three 
per cent of nitrogen will not supply 
al! of that element which your crops 
remove. Older readers will remember 
the articles in former years describing 
the fertilizer farm of D. C. Lewis, in 
Middlesex county, N. J. From this 
farm, with some 70 acres in cultivation, 
Mr. Lewis has sold about $3,000 worth 
of farm products, with a yearly cost of 
chemical fertilizers of about $450. These 
figures are approximate. This farm is 
growing all the time more productive, 
though the actual amount of plant food 
added in chemicals will probably not 
equal what is removed in the crops. The 
difference is made up by the liberal use 
of clover, thorough tillage and keeping 
the straw and stalks on the farm. In 
the statement given above the 37 y 2 tons 
of stalks are to be sold at $300. They 
contain about $200 worth of plant food, 
$140 of which is nitrogen. Mr. Lewis 
would feed them to his cows with grain, 
and probably realize nearly $200 from 
their feeding value, while the manure 
would benefit the farm. 
Mr. Lewis follows a five-year-rota¬ 
tion. At least 75 per cent of all the 
fertilizer used is put on the potato crop. 
An early variety is planted, and the 
crop is dug in time to sow wheat and 
Timothy after digging. If the potato 
crop has been very heavy some fertilizer 
is used at wheat seeding. In the Spring 
Red clover is seeded on the wheat. 
After the wheat, grass is cut two years. 
Then all the manure on the farm is put 
on the sod, which is plowed in the 
following Spring for corn, and such fer¬ 
tilizer as is needed used with it. By- 
sowing Crimson clover in the corn at 
the last cultivation and using clover on 
the wheat ground a large supply of 
nitrogen is added to the soil. By using 
clover in this way we think our Penn¬ 
sylvania friend can cut down the cost 
of nitrogen by 25 per cent, and make 
a further reduction if he can find some 
way of utilizing the cornstalks at home. 
He must, however, remember that these 
figures are largely theoretical, and that 
it is always safer to use more plant food 
than is needed rather than not enough. 
WANT TO KNOW. 
What About the Tile? — I am about 
to order a car of drain tile and would like 
the experience of some of your readers. 
One firm sends me a sample of an unglazed 
soft tile, claiming that water will soak 
through it, thereby increasing its efficiency- 
over the hard-burned tile through which 
water cannot soak. Another (firm sends me 
a sample of hard-burned salt-glazed tile, 
claiming that the unglazed tile will soon go 
to pieces, while the glazed will last Indefi¬ 
nitely. Roth these tile are about 13 inches 
long, and would have the same capacity at 
the joints. Still another firm sends sam¬ 
ple of tile 18 inches long with square holes, 
which the round tile men say will not flush 
out as readily and will become clogged. Tile 
once laid ought to be permanent, and prac¬ 
tical experience might be of value to other 
readers who are contemplating tile draining. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. a. ii. p. 
SAVE ONE-HALF 
Your Paint Bills. 
Ingersoll Paints Proved Best by 66 Years’ Use. Only Paint 
Officially Endorsed by the Grange. From the Mill 
Direct to You at Factory Prices. Delivered Free. 
Ingersoll Paint Rook tells the whole story 
about Paint and Painting for Durability, free to 
You, with Beautiful Sample Cards. If yon want 
Paint, write me. Do it now. 1 can save you 
money. Satisfaction auaranteed. 
O. W. Ingersoll, 246 Plymouth St., Brooklyn,NT. 
FENCE 
Strongest 
Made --*■’ 
Made of High Carbon Double Strength 
[Colled Wire. Heavily Galvanized to 
'prevent rust. Have no agents. Bell at 
factory prices on 30 days’ free trial. 
Wo pay all freight. 37 height# of farm 
and poultry fence. Catalog Free. 
COILED SPRING PENCE CO. 
x {63 Winchester, Indiana 
The Best | 
Fencing 
for farmers’needs, the I 
most satisfactory and sub-1 
r stantial—and the ohea pest, are I 
FKOMT heavy weight! 
KNOCKED DOW N and WOVEN 
WIRE FENCES. Catalogue free. 
WE PAY FREIGHT. 
The Frost Wire Fence Co., 
Cleveland, Ohio 
THE 
CYCLONE 
Catalogue, 32 pages, 
sbu wl n g Ornamental 
Fences, Gates, Arches, 
Vines, Trellis, Lawn 
* Border, etc., will inter¬ 
est you. Write for it today. Address 
The CyclomWomi Wire Fence Co.. Ctofiltnd, Ohio. 
ttX±.±Xi.±±i.±X±,±±J: 
m 
III MIIIII/iM 
Wl\fl 
/Ml/ll 
Ornamental Fence 
Cheaper than wood. Artistic. 
Strong. For lawns, charchct, 
cemeteries Send for free Catn- 
■■ i —..I —* joe C. Address The Ward 
Fence Co., Box 600 Iterator, Ind., 
also manufacturer* of Steel Picket Fenco 
and Don’t-Hust Farm and Poultry Fence. 
29 ° 
WIRE FENCE 
48-ln. stock fence 
per rod only _ _ 
Best high carbon coiled steel 
spring wire. Catalogue of 
fences, tools and supplies 
FREE. Buy direct at whole¬ 
sale. Write to-day. 
MASON FENCE CO., 
Box 07, Leesburg, O. 
BEST WIRE—BEST LOCK 
Snprrlor Fence made ol 
High Carbon Colled 
Spring Wire with oar heavy 
at.iyB amt locking device are liko 
avails of hI eel. Don’t order until 
you get lull particular* of the Superi¬ 
or. Low Prices. Easy Terms. 
Write tor Free Catalog. 
THE SCFEUIOK FENCE CO. 
Dept. 1, Cleveland. Ohio 
COIL SPRING FE 
Made of high carbon Steel Wire 
Horse-high, Bull-strong, Chick¬ 
en-tight. Sold direct to the 
Parmer at lowest manufac¬ 
turers prices on 30 Days Free 
Trial, freight prepaid. 100 page 
Catalogue and price-list free. 
KITSELMAN BROS., 
Box 230 MUNCIE, IND. 
LOOK AT IT 
This Knot shows the weave and 
strength of 
Empire Fence 
All 
Wire 
We 
Pay 
Freight 
The fence of sense. Steel vires, 
stays and laterals all 
same size, biggest 
w i re used for f enci ug. 
Never a slip or & 
Longest lived fence made, 
ilesale prices from factory. Wo 
like little orders for they are big ad¬ 
vertisers. bend u.-> one. Address 
Bond Steel Post Co., Adrian, Mich, 
Flexible 
Spring ^ 
Pressure on 
Inner Gang 
Gangs Independent— 
Regulated Separately 
Over fifty-six years continuously building farm machinery, to meet all conditions, 
tias taught us what the essentials of good machines are, and how to put them in 
practical shape for the farmer’s use. The result is readily seen in the up-to-date tools 
we are making. The Walter A. Wood Disc Harrow is a splendid example of how a 
good harrow should be built. This Harrow alone possesses the valuable feature of a 
flexible spring; pressure on the inner gang ends, which is controlled by the driver 
by means of a foot lever. This pressure can be regulated to suit soil conditions—by it 
both the machine and the team are saved the strain that is so evident in other harrows. 
The gangs are also independent of each other and may be regulated separately by 
means of the combination disc lever, which is bandy to the driver and easy to operate. 
Large steel ball bearings confined in dust and sand-proof boxes relieve the end thrust 
of the gangs and lighten the load on the team. No other harrow is so well con¬ 
structed to stand up to its work. The name Wood is a guarantee that it will satisfy, 
and the liberal Wood warranty makes it a safe machine to buy. Illustrated catalog 
A describes good features we cannot even mention here, but which you'll want to read 
about. Write today, for catalog and name of nearest dealer. 
WALTER A. WOOD NI0WIN0 AND REAPING MACHINE CO., Hooslck Falls, N. Y. 
OUden Lightens labor 
y 
W You can’t afford to over- 
f look the LOUDEN Hay Car¬ 
rier:—that is if you want a car¬ 
rier that will never break down; 
that you do not aend away for repairs 
every now and then. Years of hard 
usage by thousands of farmers have 
proven this to such an extent 
that they will not buy any 
hay tools, forks, slings, 
tracks without the 
name LOUDEN on 
them. Never ™ 
any bind- v) 
! 
*Hay 
/Carrier! 
Illllrf 
ing on the track; the sim¬ 
plest lock that works per¬ 
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swivel takes kinks out of rope. 
Why not buy a LOUDEN carrier that 
wi 11 be good for life. We are hay tool spec¬ 
ialists— Free catalogue of LOUDEN Lit¬ 
ter Carriers, Flexible Barn Door^ 
Hangers and other labor sav¬ 
ing hardware specialties^ 
will show you why. 
Free Booklet, 
“ Fitting up 
Barns.” 
llllilliiuU 
LOUDEN MACHINERY CO., 601 Broadway, Fairfield, Iowa. 
H OW ARE YOU feeding your cows, Mr. Farmer? 
Is their ration one that has been studied out— tested 
out—carefully formulated and 
balanced to an exact feeding 
standard so that it produces the 
greatest amount of milk and at the 
same time builds up the cow’s physical 
condition? And is it doing this at 
lolvest cost ? 
BADGER DAIRY FEED 
will do it for you in a way that will please you un¬ 
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cow with milk-making properties in a form that not 
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up—makes her feel well, do well—and sabes you 
money in cost of feed. Especially prepared, tested, 
proved. Furnishes variety and succulence. Ask 
your dealer for it. Valuable Feed Booklet FREE. 
CHA8. A. KRAUSE MILLING COMPANY 
Box lOO Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
Freight 
Prepaid 
Let My 50 Years Success Start You 
for Poultry Profits ■ 
Whether you are an expert Poultry Raiser, or a Beginner, it will pay you, 
especially this year, to write me a postal for my New Free 1908 Chatham 
Incubator and Brooder Book on Poultry Science, 
My 50 years of practical experience in building Chatham Incubators and 
Brooders is told fully in this book. 1 tell you how you can start in the poultry 
business with a small amount of money and offer to prove to you on 5 years’ 
guarantee that my machines are the best made. My 1908 book is so full of the 
latest improvements in chicken raising methods and practical information 
that no Expert or Beginner can afford to overlook it. 
BCANRON 
President, 
Tho Manson Campbell 
Company, Lul. 
Take 84 Days Free Trial of 
My Chatham Incubator 
If you are an Expert, set a 
Chatham beside any other incu¬ 
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hatches that Chathams beat the rest. 
If you are a Beginner, just hold off a day or two until 
you get my low factory prices direct to you—freight pre¬ 
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Learn all about our two immense factories—our new 
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our own experimental station. 
When a Chatham Incubator or Brooder leaves our 
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New, Free Chatham Poultry Book 
It tells you how our $500,000 invested in the In¬ 
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Start with Chathams. Write nearest office. 
T1IE MANSON CAMPBELL COMPANY 
163 Wesson Ave., Detroit, Mich. 
1308 West 11th St., Kansas City, Mo. 
83E.3rdSt.,St.Paul,Minn. Dept.2,Portland,Ore 
Direct From 
Factory 
Price 
We h*ve 21 Branch Warehouses, 
ami n like prompt sMj ii cuts. 
