THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
2©1 
1908. 
MORE ABOUT MANURE SPREADERS. 
The Spreader in Winter. 
I note the adverse report of the trial 
of a manure spreader by T. E. R., of 
New York, and The R. N.-Y.’s query 
regarding the use of the spreader in 
snow and the practice of composting. 
In the first place, there is nothing in the 
experiment to prove that applying the 
manure with the spreader increased or 
decreased its value, since the value of 
the manure and the amount applied per 
acre differed. While I have no figures 
to substantiate my contention, I believe 
that the finer manure is made and the 
more evenly it is scattered the more 
benefit the crop will secure from it, and 
the spreader will certainly do the work 
much better than it can be done with a 
fork. As for working the spreader in 
the snow, it can be done in a reasonable 
amount of snow if one has the horse 
power. We have had the hardest Win¬ 
ter for years, yet there was not a week 
at a time up to February that we could 
not use the spreader, and we have used 
it to haul the manure from 50 horses 
and cattle besides our own, also about 
two loads of wood ashes each week from 
a saw mill. In ordinary Winters like 
the two preceding ones there would 
hardly be a week at a time when the 
spreader could not be used. We put 
traction bands on the rear wheels when 
the ground freezes. It will work all 
right in three or four inches of snow 
or even six if the snow is light with 
two horses but this makes the draft too 
heavy for steady work. It is not neces¬ 
sary to let manure lie in the yards sim¬ 
ply because conditions are not right for 
the spreader. We use the wagon or sled, 
just as we used to do, and generally put 
the manure on side hills, about trees, 
or in other places where the spreader 
does not work to advantage; then when 
conditions are right we use the spreader 
again. We will remodel our barn in the 
Spring and put in a litter carrier to 
dump manure into spreader, or shed 
when weather is not suitable, from 
where we can haul it at convenience and 
without sustaining loss. In regard to 
composting, it may be necessary for the 
truck grower to resort to this method to 
get well-rotted manure suited to his 
needs, but I believe the average farmer 
will do well to put his manure on sod or 
meadow during the Winter as soon as 
made. We grow fruit in connection with 
general farming, but can get enough well 
rotted manure from town for top-dress¬ 
ing small fruits, and so haul most of 
that from our own yards to the field to 
be plowed for corn early next Spring. 
Michigan. S. B. H. 
TREATMENT OF POTATO SCAB. 
There is lots of Potato scab here in south¬ 
ern Michigan. Would you advise us how to 
treat seed potatoes to subdue and prevent 
this trouble. u. c p. 
Birmingham, Mich. 
The true Potato scab is a skin disease, 
and develops from a germ. A picture 
of scabby seed is shown at Fig. 125, 
taken from a Maine bulletin. There 
will be no scab on the crop unless these 
germs are either in the soil when the 
crop is planted or on the seed. Preven¬ 
tion therefore depends upon two things. 
We should avoid planting in soil where 
the germs are found. If this is impos¬ 
sible we should handle the soil so that 
the germs will not be active. It seems 
to be settled that sulphur acts to de¬ 
stroy the germs. Some potato growers 
in places where scab is bad put sulphur 
in the hill or drill. When potato planters 
are used the sulphur is mixed in the 
hopper and dropped with the seed into 
the furrow. It helps destroy the scab 
and prevents the seed pieces from rot¬ 
ting, especially in a damp season. The 
scab germs develop best in an alkaline 
soil. Limd, wood ashes and manure are 
all alkaline, and will usually cause trou¬ 
ble when the soil is known to be well 
supplied with the germs. When a green 
crop is plowed under the soil is soured 
more or less, and this condition is best 
for scabby ground or seed. We have 
known farms where a five-year rotation 
is followed to show some curious re¬ 
sults. One field would show far more 
scab than another and some seasons 
seem to favor the growth of scab. On 
those farms potatoes follow corn, and 
we think there is less scab when Crimson 
clover is seeded in the corn and plowed 
under in Spring. This seems to show 
that the theory about a sour soil is sound. 
There are three methods of treating 
the seed—dusting with sulphur, soaking 
with some chemical to destroy the 
germs, and fumigation. The dusting is 
easiest, but not always effective. We 
cut the seed into peach baskets and 
scatter three handfuls of sulphur over 
the seed as it is put in. The basket is 
shaken down at intervals. As it stands 
on a paper the sulphur which falls 
through can be saved. For soaking for¬ 
malin is now generally used. This liquid 
chemical, also called formaldehyde, can 
be bought at drug stores. The propor¬ 
tion is one pint of formalin to 30 gallons 
of water. It can be put in a barrel or 
large tank, depending on the amount of 
seed to be soaked. We use two barrels, 
one with the soaking liquid and the other 
containing clear water. The potatoes 
are first rinsed in the water. They are 
put in a coarse sack and soused up and 
down in the barrel. An easy way to do 
this is to have a pulley fastened over 
the barrel so that the bags can be easily 
raised or lowered. After rinsing the 
bag is lowered into the solution and 
kept there two hours. Then the potatoes 
are taken out, dried and cut. The rins¬ 
ing takes off the dust, thus making the 
solution cleaner. Farmers have differ¬ 
ent methods of doing this soaking. The 
principle is to keep the seed in long 
SCABBY POTATOES. Fig. 125. 
enough to kill the scab germs without 
hurting the sprouts. 
Fumigation is now used by some large 
growers. At first experiments were 
tried with sulphur fumes, as they are 
used for fumigating houses, but this did 
not succeed. Now the gas from formal¬ 
dehyde is used with success. Instead of 
soaking the seed in a solution of this 
chemical it is turned into a gas and held 
in a close room with the seed. The pic¬ 
ture, Fig. 123, page 286, is taken from 
Bulletin 149 of the Maine Experiment 
Station, Orono. It shows the room in 
which the seed of potatoes are fumi¬ 
gated. The process is described as fol¬ 
lows : 
For a generator a small galvanized wash- 
tub about 15 inches in diameter at the 
bottom was placed in the center of the 
room, about a foot from the floor, midway 
between the two lines of crates filled with 
potatoes. When ready to use 31 Mi ounces 
of potassium permanganate was spread 
evenly over the bottom of the tub, then 
four pints and one ounce of 40 per cent 
formaldehyde poured over this. The tub 
was given one rapid tilt to entirely wet 
the potassium permanganate with the for¬ 
malin and then the door was quickly and 
tightly closed from without. The almost 
entire absence of the odor of escaping gas 
while the treatment was in progress indi¬ 
cated that the room was practically air 
tight. The door remained closed for 24 
hours, and when opened the gas was still 
so strong that it was impossible to work in 
the room for from 20 to 30 minutes. In 
fact three weeks after the disinfection was 
finished a distinct odor of formaldehyde 
could be detected in the room. The seed 
for the entire 20 acres was treated in this 
way, care being taken to place the treated 
seed in barrels which had never been used 
for potatoes before. This is to avoid con¬ 
tamination in taking to the field after 
treatment. 
This amount of the chemicals was fig¬ 
ured for the size of the room. The rule is 
to use 23 ounces of potassium permanga¬ 
nate and three pints of formalin to each 
1,000 cubic feet. Under this treatment 
the seed potatoes gave about as good re¬ 
sults as when soaked. The room should 
be arranged so that none of the potatoes 
are put directly over the rising gas. It 
is better to fumigate before the sprouts 
start. Do not wet the potatoes before 
fumigating, but pour a small quantity of 
boiling water on the floor just before 
starting. 
Hard Work Ei 
Make Piowin 
g“-The 
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Plow 
Trucks 
Attach to 
any walking 
plow —one 
or two-horse, right 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 
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Greatest money-maker for agents ever put 
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profits and good territory still open. We give 
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Retail price only 15.00. Write at once for 
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WONDER PLOW COMPANY, 
327 Factory St. T St. Clair, Mich. 
EUREKA 
Line of Potato Planters 
is the largest and best, No. 8 being a one 
Horse, one Row. 
PLANT and FERTILIZE 
AT ONE TRIP 
No. 10. Two 
horse. One 
lever controls 
and operates 
the discs and 
plow and 
throws ma¬ 
chine in and ont 
of gear. Sold 
with or without 
fertilizer at¬ 
tachment ; ca¬ 
pacity 260 to 
2200 lbs. 
Our No. 12 is a two row planter. 
Enreka Flat 
Tooth Sulky Cul- 
made In 
, 10 
A Weeder 
A Seeder 
A Cultiva¬ 
tor 
Sows all kinds of grass, also all kinds of grain. 
Every fanner should have one: so says the 
noted writer, T. B. Terry, of Hudson, O. 
EUREKA MOWER CO., Utica, N. Y. 
Peas, etc., 
deposited in 
hills or drills 
and ferti¬ 
lized at 
one pas¬ 
sage 
Eclipse Corn Planter 
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Improved row marker. Wide range for hill 
spacing 6 to 46 Inches. Handles any kind of fer¬ 
tilizer, In any condition, 60 to 460 lbs. per acre. 
We make a special gear which sows 600 lbs. ner 
acre. Plants all seeds accurately. Light draft, 
easily handled, quick and positive adjustments. 
We also make the 
Eclipse Two-Horse Two-Row Planter 
Write us. 
Belcher &. Taylor A. T. Co. 
Box 75, Chioopee Falls, Mass. 
Oet 15 to 20 Moro Bushels to 
Aero From Accuracy of tho 
NEW 
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Box 525. Traverse City, Mich. 
Let this 
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