628 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 27, 
Hope Farm Not es 
AN ASPARAGUS EXPERIMENT. 
Part II. 
Taking his place at one end of the field, 
with the crowd gathered around him, Mr. 
Prescott gave a brief history of the land. 
It had been plowed and seeded to buck¬ 
wheat. This made a good crop and was 
plowed under. A ton of lime to the acre 
was spread, and thoroughly harrowed in, 
and the soil well fitted. Then broad fur¬ 
rows were made seven inches deep and 
four feet apart by going back and forth. 
In order to show how this was done Mr. 
Prescott here took off his coat and took the 
handles of a big plow. A team of big, 
steady horses was hitched to it and a 
careful man took the lines. Guided by 
stakes this team was driven slowly across 
the field, turning a straight, deep furrow. 
They came back in the same furrow, leav¬ 
ing it like a wide ditch. It was a great 
demonstration of accurate plowing. A lec¬ 
turer in a hall could not have made the 
thing so clear in a whole course of lec¬ 
tures. These furrows made, Mr. Prescott 
showed how the roots are started. These 
roots had been grown on the farm from 
selected seed. They are a part of the ex¬ 
periment. One man went ahead dropping 
the roots about 18 inches apart in the fuy- 
row. Another followed on his knees, shook 
out the roots and left them with the bud 
pointing up and the roots spread length¬ 
wise—both ways—in the bottom of the 
furrow. Two or three inches of soil were 
scraped over the root and patted down and 
then it was left. The furrow is slowly 
filled by the cultivators during the season, 
so that by Fall the surface should be level 
and the asparagus plants about up to your 
shoulder. The men then followed with the 
fertilizer mixture, scattering it all over 
the furrow both at the bottom and up and 
over the sides. In this way the cultivat¬ 
ing will work in the fertilizer so that it 
will be about the same as if broadcast. 
This deep planting and narrow rows means 
white asparagus, which is the kind they 
want in Boston. Mr. Prescott and all the 
others who talked made a strong point of 
the necessity of planting big strong roots. 
There were some puny roots on exhibition 
which would be worse than useless for 
planting, for the field in which they were 
put would be doomed to failure from the 
start. Mr. Prescott writes me that three 
days after this planting shoots from these 
roots were an inch above the ground. That 
is all that need be said for the soil and its 
preparation. That is the way this aspara¬ 
gus is started. It comes up through its 
shallow covering and the furrow is slowly 
filled up around it, so that in the end the 
crown is six or seven inches below the sur¬ 
face. The tops are not cut off and bu .nod 
as some experts advise in order to lessen 
the danger from rust. There is no such 
desire here. As Prof. Norton said, their 
object is to get just as much rust as they 
possibly can. Farmers sometimes come 
and laugh at them, saying, "I thought you 
were showing us how to cure rust. You 
have got twice as much here as 1 have and 
I never tried to cure it.” The fact is, they 
are not trying to cure rust at all, hut hunt¬ 
ing everywhere for plants or varieties 
which will not be rusted. With over 150,- 
000 seedlings on trial they make them all 
run the gauntlet by getting the farm as 
full of the disease as possible. Then any 
plant that will stand up and fight off tne 
disease is worth considering. The tops 
are left standing all Winter; they act as 
a mulch and hold the snow. When I saw 
the smooth fields waiting for this year’s 
sprouts to start 1 wondered what had be¬ 
come of these old tops. They were all 
worked under with a disk harrow. We 
must remember that those crowns are down 
some seven inches under ground. The disk 
harrow can work in four to five inches, 
smash down the tops and work them under 
without hurting the shoots. Another dose 
of 2,050 pounds of the fertilizer is broad¬ 
cast and worked under, and after smooth¬ 
ing with a weeder the job is done. 
At Fig. 220 is shown a sample stalk 
of Reading Giant, the variety or strain 
which has proved most resistant to rust 
thus far. This stalk is cut from a field set 
out in 1909. I saw the field, it is across 
the road from the old farm which was de¬ 
scribed last week, being practically the 
same kind of soil. The work of planting 
was the same as given above. One year 
old roots properly grown' from approved 
seed were used. No stable manure has 
been used on this field since 1885—or 20 
years! Last year—only one season from 
planting—this field was cut five times on 
account of frost. The bunch from which 
this stalk was taken contained nine of mar¬ 
ket length and weighed one pound, 11 
ounces, an average of three ounces per 
stalk. For a young bed and first cutting 
this is remarkable. The result is due to 
the thorough preparation and culture, and 
also to the high quality of the roots. No 
doubt but that these large, strong roots of 
resistant strains gave the “grass” a quicker 
and stronger start. When we come to dis¬ 
cuss the rust disease and see how it af¬ 
fects the plant we can understand how 
these strong roots give a superior crop, 
and also why these Concord growers are 
so sanguine of success. It was not until 
June, 1905, that Mr. Prescott called the 
asparagus growers to his house to consider 
the rust trouble. As a result the Massa¬ 
chusetts Experiment Station became inter¬ 
ested and Dr. Galloway of the United States 
Department came to Concord and arranged 
to help. Mr. Prescott was sent all through 
the asparagus sections, hunting for. the 
best types of resistant asparagus. Dr. 
Calloway sent all over the world for similar 
plants and seeds. Of the lot it was found 
that plants of Reading Giant proved most 
resistant, with Giant Argenteuil next. The 
Department sent to Europe and obtained 
two pounds each of seed of these varieties. 
From this seed nearly 100,000 roots were 
obtained, which gave in all about 200,000 
plants for the test. You can imagine what 
it meant to examine and compare such a 
multitude, but out of the lot Prof. Norton 
found one male plant of Reading Giant 
which is practically immune—standing 
green and fresh through the season while 
others die. This is the foundation upon 
STALK OF READING GIANT ASPARA¬ 
GUS. Fig. 220. 
•which thhis valuable work is based. The 
pollen from this male plant is used upon 
female plants which are also more or less 
resistant. Seed from this crossing is 
planted, and as the plants develop they 
can be picked out without trouble in Sum¬ 
mer as they are more or less green, while 
all around them other plants are dead. A 
man who knows anything about cattle can 
go from herd to herd and pick out the cows 
which carry Jersey blood. Such grade 
cows carry the color or shape or butter 
qualities of the Jersey breed. In much the 
same manner the strength or ability of this 
one male plant to resist rust is so strongly 
impressed upon its seedlings that they are 
as easily detected in an asparagus field as 
are the Jersey grades Thus you will see 
the remarkable work which the asparagus 
breeder has been doing. Next week 1 want 
to describe the asparagus rust and tell 
what may be expected from this work. 
h. w. c. 
FARMERS INSIST UPON 
MACHINE CUT DITCHES 
F ARMERS everywhere are insisting 
upon Buckeye machine cut ditches, 
because: 
They save twenty-five to fifty per cent 
in cost. 
1 hey save backaches and worry. 
They are truer and of perfect level. 
They place tiling within the reach of 
the most humble pocket-book. 
It is not necessary to board several men 
for weeks while they are cutting the ditches, 
as is the case when hand labor is used. 
The Buckeye 
Traction Ditcher 
is a machine that is operated by two men, 
for steam power, and only one man is needed 
for the gasoline ditcher. There is no trouble 
keeping the machine busy in your neighbor¬ 
hood, as the tiling demand is greater than ever 
before. The Buckeye cuts from 100 to 
I 50 rods a day and earns from $ 15 to $ 18 a 
day. The machine pays for itself in a short 
time. The work is pleasant and agreeable. 
Be a man ol great earning power. Buy a 
Buckeye Traction Ditcher and carry a 
bank account in figures that will make you 
independent. For further information write 
at once for our catalogue No. 3. 
The Buckeye Traction Ditcher Co., 
Findlay, Ohio. 
LARK’S "CUTAWAY 
are the results of 
George M. Clark’s 
20 years’experience 
with grass growing and hay-tool making. 
The original “Cutaways” are great labor 
savers as well as big crop makers. Send 
today for our new booklet “Intensive 
Cultivation.” It’s free. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
839 Main St. Eieganum, Conn. 
’»/ 
BINDER TWINE, 6^C lb. 
made. Fanner agents wanted. Sample 
fogueGco' THEO. BURT & SONS, Melrose,Ohio 
Manufacturers of all 
kinds of fruit baskets 
and crates. Write for 
Catalogue and Price 
List. 
WEBSTER BASKET COMPANY, 
Box 431. Webster, Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Why Rent a Farm 
and be compelled to pay to your landlord most of 
your hard-earned profits? Own your own 
farm. Secure a Free Homestead in 
Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Al- 
| borta, or purchase land in one 
| of these districts and bank n 
profit of $10.00 or $12.00 
Ian aero every year. 
I Land purchased three years 
jagoatSlO.OO an acre has recently 
I changed hunds at $25.00 un acre. 
1 The crops grown on these lnnds 
jwurrant the advance. You can 
Become Rich 
by cattle raising, dairying, mixed farm¬ 
ing and grain growing in the prov¬ 
inces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan 
and Alberta in Western Canada. 
Free homestead and pre-emption 
areas, as well as land held by railway 
and land companies, will provide 
homes for millions. 
Adaptable soil, healthful climate, 
splendid schools and churches and 
good railways. 
For settlers* rates, descriptive litera¬ 
ture "Last Beet West.” how to reach 
the country and other particulars, write 
to Sup’t of Immigration. Ottawa, Can¬ 
ada, or to the Canadian Gov’t Agent. 
Supt. of Immigration, Ottawa, Canada, or 
Canadian Government Agent. 30 Syracuse 
Savings Bank Bldg., Syracuse, N. V. 
(53) 
AMERICAN 
Steel Fence Post 
Cheaper Than Wood 
and More Durable 
Many years of experimenting 
with metal fence posts have 
developed this post. It is 
now thoroughly practical, fill¬ 
ing every requirement on the 
farm, in the town, for rail¬ 
roads and wherever fence posts 
are used. 
Made of tough steel, heavily 
zinc coated. Durability 
proven by us—ten years’ ac¬ 
tual use showing good as new. 
Means a big reduction in 
fence cost and maintenance. 
40-pagc catalog sent free, fully 
illustrating and describing. Send 
for it. 
Sold by dealers everywhere. Ask 
dealer to show samples and quote 
prices, or write us direct. 
American Steel S Wire Co. 
Chicago : 
115 Adams Street 
New York: 
30 Church Street 
Denver: 
First Nat. Bank Bldg. 
San Francisco: 
16th and Folsom Sts. 
iROWN FENC 
B ’ 
Strongest, most durable fence 
made. Heaviest, closest wires. Double 
I galvanized. Practically indestructible. Stock 
strong Chicken tight. 14 to 35c per rod. Sample free. Wepiyfrt. 
The Brown Fence & Wire Co., Dept. 59 Cleveland, Ohio. 
rpHE FARMERS’ NATIONAL BANK of Union 
City, .Michigan, located at Union City, in tho 
State of Michigan, is closing its affairs. All note 
holders and other creditors of the association are 
therefore hereby notified to present the notes and 
other claims for payment. 
Dated April 28, 1911. 
D. D. BUELL, Prest. 
INOCULATED ALFALFA SOIL 
75 cents per hundred, $10.00 per ton. F. O. B. Ash- 
ville, Pa. Send for FREE booklet “ How to Grow 
Alfalfa.” Dr. H. SOMERVILLE, Chest Springs, 
Cambria County, Pa. 
66 
FUMA 
55, kills Prairie Dogs, 
Woodchucks, Gophers, 
a n d Grain I nsects. 
“The wheels of the gods 
grind slow but exceed¬ 
ingly small.” So the weevil, but you can stop their 
8 vVith “ Fuma Carbon Bisulphide ’’are SSi£ 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penn Yan, N. Y. 
MARKET GARDENERS’ PIPER 
Weekly Market Growers Journal —only paper 
printed especially for vegetable growers. $1.00 a 
year, 52 issues. For 10 cents and names of three 
market gardeners we will send it ton weeks Send 
for free samples copies—it is the best way to judge. 
Market Growers Journal. 541 Walker Bldg-. Loiiirville, Ky. 
1*T DI 1 DRILLING 
TT Xj 1/1/ MACHINES 
Over 70 sizes and styles, for drilling either ceep or 
shallow wells in any kind of soil or rock. Mounted on 
wheels oron sills. W it h engines or horse powers. Strong, 
simple and durable. Any mechanic can operate them 
easily. Send for catalog. 
WILLIAMS BROS.. Ithaca, N. V. 
TRADE MARK REGISTERED IN U. S. PATENT OFFICE. 
. . . MANUFACTURED ONLY BY . . . 
*The Rogers Hubbard Co., 
Middletown, Conn. 
Send for free Almanac telling all about 
Hubbard’s “ Bone Base” Fertilizers. 
All steel construction— Steel 
pitman and plunger mounted on 
roller bearings—Smooth, silent action— 
No jar or jerk—Speed up to 35 strokes per iuiuute. 
Automatic Block Dropper at right tune- mm.^2 
prevents accidents or injury to operators and avoids 
^loss of time. The -Uhio” is 
The Only Automatic Hay Press SHHHHHHHbI 
n the market. Investigate our non-breakable, automatic relief clutch feeder. Powerful and efficient, 
suring great capacity. Our book explains details of various features. Mailed free, we don t ask you 
buy, simply investigate before investing your money—Remember back of our press stands the “r amous 
do” factory—a positive guarantee of best service and highest quality. Write postal now—address 
HE OHIO CULTIVATOR CO. 105 Ohio St. Bellevue, Ohio 
HAY PR 
