6 
THB RURAb NEW-YORKER 
January G, 
FERTILITY IN WASTES. 
PART I. 
From now on during tbe season we re¬ 
ceive many questions about the value of 
various waste substances. Some farmers 
close to town find that they can obtain 
such wastes free or for very little money. 
This is usually because there is so little of 
the waste that no commercial value has 
been placed on it. For a time it may be 
possible to operate a small gold mine in 
gathering and using such material. We in¬ 
tend to mention a few things of this char¬ 
acter. If anv of our readers have used 
them we would like to have their experi¬ 
ence, or if they have used substances not 
named here, will they please describe them 
for usT 
Gas Refuse. —Acetylene gas is now 
largely used for lighting. A refuse forms 
in the tanks and some of our people seem to 
think it must be very valuable. It has 
nothing of value except lime—usually about 
40 per cent. This lime is about as valu¬ 
able, pound for pound, as ground limestone 
and can be used whenever lime is needed. 
Do not expect any other value from this 
refuse. 
Coal Ashes.— Every year we have dozens 
of people who come asking if coal ashes 
are not as valuable as those from wood. 
No—the coal ashes contain but little plant 
food except when wood is burned with 
them. Yet they certainly give good re¬ 
sults. This is usually due to a mechanical 
effect upon the soil. We value coal ashes 
for mulch or “carrier.” When piled around 
vines or trees such ashes prevent weed 
growth and certainly keep the soil moist 
and cool. As “carriers” they will absorb 
and hold liquid manures. For example, 
chamber slops can be poured over a cov¬ 
ered pile of coal ashes. When the ashes 
are spread in Spring they “carry” this 
plant food. While wood ashes should not 
be mixed with hen manure, sifted coal 
ashes make a good and safe absorbent. 
We would not pay for coal ashes, but 
would gladly haul them for spreading 
around trees. 
Tannery Wastes. —Some of our readers 
are located near tanneries where wastes 
are thrown away or held at a low value. 
Here are average analyses of these wastes: 
Founds in One Ton. 
Nitro- Pot- Phos. 
gen ash acid Lime 
Ashes—spent tan bark. .. 36 26 600 
Ashes—tan bark. 10 15 500 
Tannery lime waste.... 13 .. .. 1,100 
Tannery vat refuse.... 12 6 2 32 
Tannery filter bed refuse 18 2 16 400 
Here we strike the first thing to remem¬ 
ber. Whenever a substance is burned to 
ashes the nitrogen is driven away in the 
burning. There cannot be any nitrogen in 
any waste that is completely burned. Thus 
the ashes of tan-bark like any other ashes 
are useful for the lime, potash and phos¬ 
phoric add they contain. The unburned 
wastes from the tannery contain nitrogen 
with more or less of the other elements. 
In figuring values on such wastes you may 
estimate that when you buy fertilizers a 
pound of nitrogen will average you about 
18 cents while potash and phosp'horlc acid 
will cost about five cents. The price of 
lime varies too much to give anv general 
price. 
Brickyard Ashes. —Some farmers are lo¬ 
cated near big brickyards where they can 
make money digging out the ashes. When 
wood is used ns fuel the ashes are mixed 
with more or less sand and will average 
about 70 pounds of potash, 30 pounds of 
phosphoric acid and 500 of lime to the ton. 
There is' usually a great bargain in such 
stuff. Limekiln ashes contain refuse lime 
mixed with the ash from the fuel. Here are 
records of some 
waste ashes 
for reference. 
Pounds to 
the Ton 
of 
Ashes. 
Potash 
Phos. Acid 
Lime 
Brickyard . 
. . . 70 
30 
500 
Limekiln . 
. . . 88 
14 
900 
Garbage . 
160 
400 
Hay and straw. 
. . . 30 
20 
100 
Railroad ties . . . 
. . . 18 
12 
60 
Refuse sawdust . 
. . . 70 
160 
700 
Leather scrap . . 
. . . 40 
60 
140 
Corncobs . 
. . . 500 
90 
140 
Wool waRte . . . 
... 540 
50 
50 
These are average samples—some contain 
more, some less, depending on the amount 
of sand or dirt mixed in and whether the 
ashes have been exposed to the weather. 
In the latter case "leaching” occurs—that 
is, water soaks through and carries away 
more or less of the potash. If there is a 
large amount of this ash waste and you 
are expected to pay for it our advice is to 
have a fair sample analyzed by some good 
chemist and see what the stuff contains. 
Just observe how high in potash the ash of 
corncobs is. In one case this cob ash gave 
over 42 per cent of potash—higher than 
anything else we have record of except some 
samples of ragweed ash. Wool waste ash 
is high in potash, but there is comparative¬ 
ly little of that material to be had. 
Lime Products. —The hunt for lime has 
become in many localities almost as impor¬ 
tant as the hunt for food. We do not dis¬ 
cuss here the regular commercial forms of 
lime on the market, but tbe waste products 
which may often be picked up at a bar¬ 
gain. 
Pounds to the Ton. 
Nitro- Pot- Phos. 
gen 
ash 
acid 
Lime 
Acetylene gas refuse. 
. , 
, , 
800 
Bleaching refuse .... 
. « 
15 
700 
Boiler cleanings .... 
50 
80 
20 
400 
Gashouse lime . 
, , 
500 
Tannery lime waste.. 
12 
, , 
1,000 
Sugar factory lime 
waste . 
4 
40 
500 
Lime from glue factory 
12 
3 
400 
Plastering . 
, , 
4 
240 
Soot . 
12 
12 
16 
70 
Some samples of soot will contain a little 
more nitrogen and some plastering contains 
a small quantity of nitrogen from the ni¬ 
trate of lime formed in damp and dirty 
rooms. Gas lime should not be used straight 
from the works, but exposed for a few 
months where it can “weather.” 
McIntosh as Filler Tree. 
In “Hope Farm Notes” you refer to Mc¬ 
Intosh apples planted 20 feet apart. As I 
understand 30 feet is close planting for a 
few and 40 feet for most, I would like to 
have further explanation, as I am going to 
set out a small orchard and would like 
some information about this apple, h. b. 
Middle Valley, N. J. 
We stated, later, that the object was to 
plant the McIntosh trees 20 feet apart and 
later cut out so as to have a permanent 
orchard 40 feet each way. We have now 
about decided to use Wealthy instead of 
McIntosh as “fillers,” as this variety 
grows a smaller head and will not inter¬ 
fere so much with the permanent trees. 
Lime in the Apple Orchard. 
Would you recommend using lime in the 
apple orchard? Apparently it seems to me 
the most famous apple regions are where 
limestone most abounds. Which do you 
think the adding of lime would help the 
most, wood or fruit, applying to an old 
or newly set orchard? A. D. B. 
Eden, N. Y. 
Lime has given fair results in orchard 
use. One reason for the excellent results 
from basic slag is the fact that it contains 
lime. Naturally the apple appears to thrive 
in a soil too sour to grow good clover or 
Alfalfa. The lime would be most useful in 
promoting wood growth rather than fruit. 
If the plan of cultivation and cover crops 
is used the lime would be of greatest bene¬ 
fit to such crops. 
Foreign Crops. 
The International Institute of Agricul¬ 
ture makes the following statement of 
crops: 
Wheat—Germany, 149.412.000 bushels; 
Austria, 58.880.000; Bulgaria, 72.005.000; 
Spain, 148,497,000; Hungary, including 
Croatia and Slavonia, 190.241.000; Russia, 
509,494,000; Japan, 24.821,000; Algeria, 
36,596.000; Egypt, 37.933,000; Tunis, 
8,635,000; Switzerland, 3,515,000. Total 
production, all countries, 3,132.267,000 
bushels; equivalent to 98.6 per cent of the 
total production in 1910. 
Rye—Germany, 427,780.000 bushels of 56 
pounds; Austria, 104.124,000; Bulgaria, 
14,768,000; Spain, 28,898,000; Hungary, In¬ 
cluding Croatia and Slavonia, 54,172.000; 
Russia, 762.056.000; Switzerland. 1,828,000. 
Total production, 1,550.000.000 bushels, 
which is 94.8 per cent of the production 
of 1910. 
Barley—Germany, 145,133.000 bushels of 
48 pounds; Austria, 81.415,000; Bulgaria. 
20,326,000; Spain, 86,793.000; Hungary, in¬ 
cluding Croatia and Slavonia, 75,612.000; 
Roumanla, 2.784,000; Russia, 411,264.000; 
Japan, 95,534,000; Algeria, 47,765.000; 
Egypt, 11.711.000; Tunis, 9,415,000; Swit¬ 
zerland, 453.000. Total production, 1,363,- 
000,000 bushels, being 99.9 per cent of 
the production of 1910. 
Corn—Austria, 11,934.000 bushels of 56 
pounds; Bulgaria, 57,778,000; Spain, 28,- 
730.000 bushels; Hungary, including Croatia 
and Slavonia. 161,074.000; Roumania, 123,- 
134.000- Russia, 82.290,000; Switzerland, 
122,000; Algeria, 336,000; Egypt, 67,904,- 
000. Total production, 3,180,000,000 bush¬ 
els, being 89.5 per cent of production of 
1910. 
Oats—Germany, 530,768.000 bushels of 32 
pounds; Austria, 156,387,000; Belgium, 
41,352.000; Bulgaria, 20,447.000; Spain, 
33,859,000: Hungarv, Including Croatia and 
Slavonia, 95.708.000; Roumania, 27,671,- 
000; Russia, 858,410,000; Switzerland, 4,- 
851,000; Algeria. 12,092.000. Total pro¬ 
duction, 3.741,500,000 bushels, being 90.9 
per cent of the production of last year. 
A VALUABLE 
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Cox 8. Yalc8ville, Conn. 
STRAWBERRIES 
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back of every sale. Ti 
W. F. ALLEN 
72 Market Street, Salisbury, Md. 
Fruit Trees 
Now is the time to’make your selec¬ 
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the Nurseries have a full stock to select 
from, and while you have time to attend 
to it. Call’s Nurseries, Perry, O., have 
a large stock of the best quality at reason¬ 
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farmers. Write them for Price Lfst. 
“Black’s Quality” Fruit Trees S, 
None give better returns -when they fruit. 
Buy Direct From the Nursery 
and save agent's discounts and middleman’s profits. 
When you buy our trees you get a 
Dollar’s Worth of Trees 
for every one hundred cents you remit to us. 
PEACH and APPLE TREES 
a specialty. Catalogue Free. 
JOS. H. BLACK. SON & CO., HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 
Peach and Apple Trees 
For fall or spring planting, Prices right; stock 
right. MYEH & SON. Bridge ville, Delaware 
Two Valuable 
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Gardeners Sent FREE 
Shrewd people buy merchandise 
from established houses—houses that 
will be in business when they need 
service. Why should not a planter buy 
his Trees, Shrubs. Vines. Roses. Bulbs 
and Seeds with the same precaution? 
How disappointing it is when your 
trees or shrubs have leaved out to find 
something you did not order—some¬ 
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direct of the 
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58 Years 
of Square 
Dealing 
We have 
been in busi¬ 
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nitely. You always know where to find us. 
47 Greenhouses, 1.200 Acres. Write today 
for General Catalog No. 2, 168 pages, and 
for Ornamental Tree Catalog No. 1, 112 
pages. They’re interesting and valuable. 
The Storrs 4 Harrison Co. 
Box 682, Painesville, Ohio 
COW PEAS AND SOY BEANS 
Produce big yields; make soil fertile. Have no 
peer as feed; yield heavily; make following crops 
larger. Extra quality seed. Write for booklet. 
HICKORY SEED CO.,124Trade St., Hickory, N. C. 
• WRITE TO US ABOUT 
Fruit Trees 
Iviiifj; Bros., Nurseries, Dansvllle, N.Y. 
TRIM YOUR TREES FROM THE GROUND 
- — —— . - •• ; 
No climbing. Groat labor saver. Thousands in use. 
Leading orchardists use them, 8-foot handle, SI.to. 
Write for circular. Agents wanted. THE IDEAL 
PRUNING SAW CO., W. Webster. N.Y.. Monroe Co. 
WEEDLESS FIELD SEED 
is what we aro trying to furnish our customers. 
FREE samples will convince yon that we come 
pretty near doing it. Red, Mammoth, Alsike, 
Alfalfa, Timothy, Vetch, Rape, etc. Write today. 
O. M. SCOTT & SON, 10 Main St., Marysville, O. 
DIRECT FROM GROWERS— S»ve agents 1 profltn. Noscale. Truotonamc. 
12 Apple Tree., $1—2 each Duchess, Baldwin, Ben Davis, N. Spy, Green¬ 
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Richmond, Dyehouse, Blaok Tartarian, Lambert, Bing. All One two-year. 
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REILLY BROS. NURSERIES, 1055 Reilly Rd., Danavllle, N. Y. 
at ONE-HALF — 
City Seedsmen Prices! 
I.et us send you our catalog of seeds—It’s different. 
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SQUAlUi DEAL. Just drop a postal today and see the difference in buying your 
seeds in country or city. FORREST SEKI> CO., Box 3a, Cortland. N. Y. 
Buckwheat and Berries. —On page 1193 
is reference to buckwheat straw for mulch 
on a berry patch. I spread it across my 
patch last year in four places with disas¬ 
trous results: berries small, knotty and 
scarce, so advise your correspondent to try 
it in a very small way at first. It seemed 
to poison tlie plants in some way. j. ii. b. 
Chester Co.. Pa. 
Furnace on First Floor.— On page 1155, 
W. I’., of Bedford City, Va., asks regarding 
the location of a hot air furnace on the 
first floor of the house. I know of a case 
where this was tried, but it wouldn’t even 
heat the room next to the furnace, although 
they connected a cold air exhaust from the 
room to the furnace. a. g. m. 
Ohio. 
Cement Watering Trough.— Very likely 
when J. S. K., page 1192. built his trough 
he thought as soou as the concrete hard¬ 
ened lie could lift the inner form out easily, 
but such forms are generally made of dry 
lumber, and when the concrete is in place 
the hoards absorb the moisture very fast 
and of course swell, and it is nearly im¬ 
possible to get the form out without in¬ 
juring to some" extent the work. If K. 
had sawed the sides of the form into the 
center, then put a brace in place to hold 
the ends in place where sawed, he could 
have removed the brace when the concrete 
had set and by letting these middle ends 
slip past and draw on one side, the ends 
would loosen with but little trouble. 
Delaware Co., N. Y. a. e. s. 
StrawKerrv Planfc ° VBr Forty Varieties, at 
lYirdWDeri} * $ 2.50 per 1,000. Descriptive 
Catalog Free. BASIL PERRY, D-18, Cool Sprino, Del. 
GRASS SEED T„Tiir 
Recleaned, Best and Cheapest Seeding 
Alsike, Clover and Timothy mixed. Fully one-third Al- 
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A. A. BERRY SEED CO., Box 550 OLARINDA, IOWA. 
WHOLESALE PRICES 
On Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Gooseberry. 
Currant, Asparaflus and Grape Plants, Heavy Rooted, 
High Grade Stock. 20th Annual Catalogue Free. 
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Our new cat¬ 
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FREIGHT RAID! All orders 
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Don’t buy till you’ve read it! 
RICH LAND NURSERIES, Box 119, Rochester, N. Y. 
Rochester is the tree center of the world. 
BIG RED APPLES 
are selling' at 
10 cents each 
There is money in fruit growing right where you are. 
Apples are wortli twice as much as oranges, but if you can¬ 
not raise apples, there are other fruits equally profitable. 
Start an orchard. Those who have planted orchards 
as advised by Green’s Fruit Grower are getting their 
reward in big profits. You can pay for the orchard by 
growing small fruit in it. 
GREEN’S FRUIT GROWER 
will tell you how and where to plant, how to prune and 
spray, and how to make your trees productive, how to 
plant a fruit garden. 
It is the oldest and most popular fruit grower’s magazine. January is our 
Big 31st Home-Beautifying, Home Planting Number. 
Special offer to readers of The Rural New Yorker : We will mail new subscribers Green’s 
Fruit Grower one year on trial, at half former price, 25 cents. 
_ MAIL US THIS OFFER_ 
Send uk tills coupon and 25 eentx and we will begin your Bulwcriptlou with the Big Home-Beautifying, Home 
Planting Number. Or send $1.00 for 5 years. Or send $1.10 for our Magazine and Tin; ISdual New Youkeu, 
both lor one year. 
Name......-.. 
Post Office---------- State. 
BOX A. 
GREEN’S FRUIT GROWER CO., 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
