«12a 
-THEE; RURAb NE\^-YORKER 
August 3, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[ Every query must be accompanied by th9 
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Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
Treatment of Swamp Muck. 
E. M. K.j Maplewood, Pa.-— Could you 
tell me how to handle swamp muck and its 
treatment after taking from swamp? 
Ans.—W e have in former issues had 
much to say about the black soil of 
swamps known as “muck.” Remember 
three things about this soil. It is usual¬ 
ly very sour. It contains but little phos¬ 
phoric acid and less potash. It often 
contains two or three times as much 
nitrogen as stable manure hut is so sour 
that the nitrogen is unavailable as plant 
food. Thus two things are necessary to 
make the muck over into a suitable fer¬ 
tilizer. It must be dried and “sweet¬ 
ened” and ,'iome form of potash and 
phosphoric acid added. It is not the 
best plan to haul the muck and spread 
directly on the soil. That is easiest, but 
not best. A compost with lime is bet¬ 
ter. Haul the muck and dump it in 
piles about eight feet wide and as high 
and long as convenient. Drive on the 
pile and dump the load and scatter over 
it 100 pounds of air-slaked lime. This 
quickly starts fermentation. The muck 
is “sweetened” and takes a fine crumbly 
•condition which spieads well. Muck 
fermented in this way for five months 
will give about as good results, ton for 
ton, as stable manure. Acid phosphate 
and muriate of potash can be scattered 
through the muck like the lime or used 
in the soil with it. 
Alfalfa After Rye. 
I .have a plot of ground where I have 
just harvested a crop of rye. Can I plow 
it the lirst of August and seed it with 
Alfalfa and stand a good chance for a crop 
next year? a. h. s. 
Middleburgh, N. Y. 
Yes, but unless you give it first-class 
treatment the Alfalfa will not succeed. By 
"first-class treatment” we mean the most 
thorough culture, the use of lime and a 
good seeding. Plow and work the soil as 
line as possible. Use at least one ton per 
acre of lime well harrowed in. Sow about 
30 pounds of good seed per acre and if pos¬ 
sible inoculate by using soil from some 
good Alfalfa field or one of the commercial 
cultures on the seed. Unless this is good 
strong soil, natural clover land, you will 
not get good Alfalfa by simply plowing rye 
stubble with ordinary culture. 
BLASTING IN FROZEN GROUND. 
Your correspondent, T. C. A., writing on 
page 759, suggests that blasting for planting 
apple trees be done while the ground is 
frozen, and as this method has not proven 
satisfactory witli me I write to give some sug¬ 
gestions. It is best to blast the holes just 
ahead of the planting, so the loose earth 
may be shoveled out and the tree planted at 
once with the least expense. If one does 
not plant the trees at once heavy rains may 
greatly increase the labor and delay the 
planting also, for the blasted holes will not 
dry out readily after rains. Blasting when 
the ground is frozen prevents the charge 
from throwing out so much earth and more 
shoveling has to be done. It is also likely 
to form a pocket deep into the subsoil, 
which is quite objectionable. It is not 
likely the trees could be planted immedi¬ 
ately under such weather conditions which 
would be a detriment. 
I seriously question the advisability of 
using dynamite for this purpose except 
under special conditions, largely on account 
of the cost. Subsoiling the land before 
planting, or if this is not possible, sub¬ 
soiling a strip about seven or eight feet 
wide, where the tree row is to stand, will 
loosen the soil deeply and at far less ex¬ 
pense than blasting. This will benefit the 
entire soil where the blasting would only 
affect the small area immediate]' around 
the tree. Of course, subsoiling and blast¬ 
ing should both be done when the soil is 
not too wet, just as any other work in the 
soil. It should also be done in the Fall 
of the year, or early Winter, when there 
is opportunity for plenty of rain to saturate 
the soil before Summer—either may do 
harm instead of good if not followed by 
heavy rains before the droughts of Summer. 
Virginia. John lloyd fhii.lips. 
R. N.-\ r .—This was submitted to an ex¬ 
pert on dynamite who says : 
“I agree with .T. L. P. as to the disadvan¬ 
tages of blasting in frozen ground, but dis¬ 
agree with him as to his comparison of cost 
between subsoiling and planting with dyna¬ 
mite, as they are not by any means the same 
thing. Further, in considering cost of plant¬ 
ing with dynamite it is obviously incorrect 
to think only of the actual cost of putting 
the tree into the ground, although I believe 
that in the majority of soils it will cost 
less to plant a tree with dynamite than to 
plant it with a spade, provided the spade 
work is done to the best advantage. 
“I agree with Mr. Phillips about the dis¬ 
advantage of planting in blasted holes at a 
time when a good rain is not likely to fol¬ 
low soon, as light rains are apt to go down 
so far into the newly opened subsoil that 
the tree will wilt and die before it can get 
enough moisture to live. That is why Fall 
planting is preferred by me over Spring 
, planting.” 
DESTROYING THISTLE AND MUSTARD. 
My farm has three small spots troubled 
with Canada thistle. These are not large, 
but have to date resisted my efforts to kill 
it out. The experiment station says culti¬ 
vate, which I have done; have stopped ro¬ 
tating these spots so as to cultivate. I 
have also dug it out as best I could, but 
while this seems to help, it still is there 
quite thick. I have used salt, but it does 
not seem to help. I have made some gain 
on this pest, but at the rate I have gained 
1 fear that I shall not live long enough to 
see its end. Have you any knowledge of a 
better way than I have pursued? I have 
also some trouble with wild mustard, which 
1 have made quite some headway against 
by planting uo Spring grain, and keeping 
tile corn clean. We are thus compelled to 
plant wheat after corn, and I find that 
most of the time 1 omit the oat crop, plow 
the corn stubble in the Summer for wheat, 
leave the ground in furrows until just be¬ 
fore planting time, which gives the mus¬ 
tard a chance to sprout, then harrow well 
which kills the mustard near the surface 
of the ground. The mustard which sprouts 
after wheat planting rarely survives the 
Winter. l)o you know any better way to 
fight this pest? w. e. c. 
Itingoes, N. J. 
I have about one-third of an acre where 
Canada thistle is settled. I have worked at 
it for years, one way and another, but have 
not been able to eradicate it entirely; I 
have succeeded in confining it to this small 
tract. 1 was advised by Prof. E. Ii. Voor- 
hees not to allow it to go to seed, but dur¬ 
ing the month of August to cut it and use 
salt or kerosene after cutting off with the 
hoe. I have not used salt or oil, but have 
largely reduced it in area, and over the 
space it has occupied, and shall continue to 
fight it in this way, as I believe I can by 
persisting in cutting it off during the month 
of August as fast as it appears, say four 
or five times in about five or six weeks of 
August and September, ultimately eradicate 
the pest. As to the mustard, whenever it 
appears I pull it up and do not allow it to 
go to seed. In this way I kept it off the 
farm. d. c. lewis. 
New Jersey. 
I never had thistles but what I could kill 
in one year with a hoed crop, beans prefer¬ 
ably. Either plow the ground early and 
work as often as thistles or weeds show, 
and at planting time, about June 10. give 
a thorough cultivation (don't leave a 
thistle), or leave the ground until June 1, 
then plow and plant beans and follow in 
either case with close cultivation and hoe¬ 
ing, twice if necessary or oftener, but get 
the thistles, every one. In September early go 
over the ground and if there should be 'any 
pull them up. The next year there may be 
a few, but pulling when budded will finish 
them. I know, for I have done it. but now 
when care is relaxed we have thistles by 
the acre. It is simply carelessness. 
New York. clakk allis. 
I well recollect that in the distant past 
when a much younger man on the farm on 
which I have ever resided the Canada 
thistle had a strong hold in our growing 
crops, and more especially wheat, notwith¬ 
standing the fact that Summer fallowing 
was largely practiced in growing this crop, 
supposing this to be the ideal method for 
suppression of all foul growth. It was 
learned that it required even more heroic 
treatment to exterminate the Canada thistle. 
In later years, and down to the present 
time, the system of rotation of crops has 
been substituted with better success, 
namely, corn and potatoes are largely fol¬ 
lowed the next season by oats and barley, 
and soon as possible after crops are har¬ 
vested the ground is plowed and fitted for 
wheat, the bean ground also, which has 
been found to be an ideal crop for wheat 
to follow. The next Spring clover sod 
and the land that produced hay the pre¬ 
vious year is plowed and planted to corn, 
potatoes, beans, etc. This process of cul¬ 
tivation results in a more continuous agita¬ 
tion of the soil, and if thoroughly done 
seems to check and destroy the growth of 
the Canada thistle more effectually than 
Summer following. At best it has been 
found to be slow and discouraging work 
to eradicate this pest, for I realize that it 
has been many years in arriving at a point 
where we can handle our grain crops at 
harvest time without having our hands pro¬ 
tected with gloves. Accordingly it seems 
that W. E. C., with the success already at¬ 
taint'd. should be encouraged to keep on 
the job for all he is worth, for no plant 
can grow and thrive that is deprived of 
air and sunlight for any great length of 
time. Having no experience or trouble with 
wild mustard, I will leave it for others to 
tell how to eradicate it. ikving d. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
Fortunately we have had no experience 
with Canada thistle and mustard. Cultiva¬ 
tion, to kill weeds of any kind, must be 
very thorough, such as one would give a 
crop of onions or truck with a wheel hoe. 
If these thistle patches are small, covering 
with cheap roofing felt or paper during 
Summer would be likely- to prove an effi¬ 
cient and practical remedy. Sulphate of 
iron in solution sprayed on the plants will 
kill the leaves, and if repeated often enough 
will kill the plant, root and all. Cultiva¬ 
tion as for the Clark grass culture, fol¬ 
lowed by a heavy crop of grass or clover, 
would probably give good results. Cultiva¬ 
tion must be so thorough that not a leaf 
shall be allowed to exist any time during 
the Summer. Mustard is a very common 
pest in the Spring wheat regions of the 
Northwest, where the sulphate of iron treat¬ 
ment is in great favor. The plan W. E. C. 
mentions seems all right, though it would 
be better to harrow the ground and sow 
wheat just after the corn is cut. In a 
corn-wheat-clover rotation an annual weed 
like mustard does not have much show; 
even the perennial horse nettle has but 
little show. The writer killed out a half¬ 
acre patch of Ailanthus some time ago by 
cutting three times a year at the surface 
of the ground, and not cultivating the 
patch. It took three or four years, but re¬ 
sults were worth the time and labor. To 
kill weeds and grubs one must prevent 
ripening of seed, kill all young seedlings 
possible, prevent all leaf growth if possible 
and to avoid cultivation if there is danger 
of dividing up the roots and spreading the 
plants. For some weeds close pasturing in 
connection with repeated cuttings of the in¬ 
fested areas will work miracles. 
Ohio. w. e. ore re wall. 
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FRUIT TREES 
NONE BETTER 
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. _ CATA LOGUE FREE 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO. 
HIGHTSTOWN. N. J. 
KINGS’ FRUIT TREES 
are purchased by the best orchardists. Send for 
free catalog now. Big discounts for Fall Delivery. 
KING BROS. NURSERIES, Dansville, N.Y. 
"It's Cheapest to Buy the Best" 
Wlieat to Sow 
10 Big Yielders—Smooth and Bearded- 
Hardy and Reliable—Clean and Pure— 
Sold Right from Farm—Close Prices. 
If You Don’t Like It WE TAKE IT RACK, 
RETURN YOUR MONEY & PAY FREIGHT 
Write for Wheat Catalog No. 33—IT IS FREE. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Bamford, Lancaster Co., Pa. 
C ABBAGE and CELERY PLANTS—Best variety. $1 per 1000, 
$7.50,10.000 Tomato, Sweet Potato and Peppers.$1.50 per 
1000; Cauliflower, $2.50 per 1000. J. C. Schmidt, Bristol, Pa. 
For Sale 
Cow Peas, $2.00 to $2.50 bushel: 
Crimson Clover Seed. $6.00 to 
$7.00 bushel; Red Clover Seed. $12.00 bushel. 
JOSEPH E. HOLLAND_ Milkord, Delaware 
STRAWBERRY P I. A N T S 
Earliest, latest, largest, most productive varieties 
$1.00 hundred, prepaid. Low thousand prices. Rasp 
berry, blackberry, asparagus plants, fruit trees 
Catalogue free. HARRY L. SQUIRE, Good Ground, N. Y 
Now The FALL BEARING Strawberries. 
Send for T. C. KEVITT’S Catalogue, Atlienia, N. J. 
rill Bearing Strawberry Plants. Best varieties. 
IHLL Catalogue Free. BASIL PERRY, Cool Spring, Del. 
ALFALFA SOIL FOR INOCULATION 
Send for Circular 
E. T. Gill, Haddon Farms, Haddonfield,N.J. 
APPLE BARRELS—Car Lots or Less 
ROBT. GILLES MEDINA. N. Y. 
Calendar and CDCC 
Directions fllLL 
Am I We make Bucket, Barrel, 
llfl * Knapsack, 4-ltow Potato 
fa ■ ■ Sprayers, Power Orchard Rigs — 
Sprayers of all kinds for all purposes. 
Automatic liquid agitators and strainer cleaners— 
up-to-date sprayer line. Ask for free spraying book. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP CO., 2 11th St., Elmira, N. Y. 
! When you write advertisers mention The 
I R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
I '‘square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
This Baler is Automatic 
Other Balers are not real self-feeders. 
They need a man on the feed-table, 
doing hard, slow, unsatisfactory work. 
Now, Here is a Complete Machine. 
Rumely Automatic Baler. 
This Baler is as different from other Balers as a self- 
binder is different from an old-fashioned reaper. 
11 cuts out the man on the feed-table, just as the 
self-binder cuts out the man in the field who 
bound the sheaves by hand. 
No other Baler is automatic. 
No other Baler can operate 
without a man on the feed- 
table. 
We are able to sell this Baler at 
a very reasonable price. Write 
today tor our Baler Book and 
other i mportant information. 
RUMELY PRODUCTS CO., Inc. 
11781 Main St., La Porte, Ind. 
ALFALFA 
All Northern grown, guaranteed to be 99 percent 
pure and free from dodder. Write for free sample 
on which we Invite you to get Government testa. 
This seed should produce hay at $60 per acre] an* 
nually. Free instructions on growing. 
CRAIN AND GRASS SEED 
Northern grown and of .strongest vitality. We 
handle export grade only and can furnish grase 
mixture suitable for any soils. Write for catalog. 
WING SEED CO., Box 323 Mechanicsburg, O. 
Soil Transfer is Costly and Dangerous. You 
Can Grow ALFALFA in Your Own Soil With 
Better Results by the Culture Inoculation of 
_FARMOGERM__ 
and save 75# in fertilizer. Furnished for all 
other legume crops, adding greatly to the fertil¬ 
ity of the soil for any crops. Cost is but $2 an 
acre, with practically no extra work. Results 
guaranteed. EARF-THOMAS JTARMO- 
GERM CO., Dept. D3, Bloomfield, N. J. 
Profits From Wlieat and Other Cereals 
FOLLOW THE USE OF 
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QUALITY™^™ ECONOMY 
Every farmer should study efficiency and economy in the use 
of fertilizers. This does not mean the use of smaller quanti¬ 
ties of fertilizer; but it does mean the use of the correct 
amount of the right kind of fertilizer for each particular crop 
T^ROM many of the eastern wheat growing sections, such as 
A Central and Western New York, are coming reports of a poor 
wheat harvest. With the abundance of spring rains this ought 
not to be so. 
What is the reason ? Growers have used too little fertilizer, 
and that little has often been poor in quality. 
Why not do it right this time? 
Beware of those fertilizers whose only commendation is a “cut” 
in price. This is an admission of one of two things : either they 
have been too high-priced in the past, or they are now being made 
of cheap, inferior materials. 
Said the late Prof. Voorhees, when Director of the New 
Jersey Experiment Station:—“The Value of a fertilizer to 
the farmer depends not so much upon what is paid for it, as 
upon the character of the materials used to make it.” 
The superior character of the materials used in E. FRANK 
COE’S FERTILIZERS has been proven during over fifty years’ 
use by the best farmers and vegetable growers. 
Insist upon getting GENUINE E. FRANK COE BRANDS, 
not something said to be “just as good.” 
You will get seme helpful suggestions frem eur literature, which is sent free if you mention 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
THE COE-MORTIMER CO. 
51 CHAMBERS STREET NEW YORK CITY 
