1912. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
©6S 
Rural isms 
Propagating Rose of Sharon. 
W. F., Methuen, Mass .—Can you toll me 
the best way to slip an Althaea tree? 1 
have tried several ways, but do not seem 
to get them to root. Are they started from 
seed? 
Ans. —The Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus 
Syriacus, is propagated by seeds, cut¬ 
tings of green wood under glass, and 
ripe wood in the open ground. The 
ripe wood cuttings should be made in 
Fall, and stored over Winter, where 
they will not freeze. Too much mois¬ 
ture injures them. Plant in the Spring 
like currant cuttings. They should be 
in rather a dry place. It is wise the 
first Autumn to dig them up carefully 
and heel in, either in a cool cellar, or 
in a rather dry, protected place in the 
garden, as they do not always survive 
the first Winter without this. 
Strawberries in Nevada. 
F. R., Melvin, Nev .—I have a tract of 
land at the mouth of a mountain valley 
inside of a canyon ; one side the cliffs are 
limestone, the other granite, making the 
soil a good mixture of both. This tract is 
heavily forested with sycamore and wild 
cherry, mingled with an impenetrable mass 
of wild, climbing roses and raspberries, all 
growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet. I 
intend to partially burn and then grub out 
this land to clear it. Would the ashes from 
the burnt brush hurt the soil for growing 
strawberries? The soil is about 10 or 20 
feet in depth, a mixture of jet black leaf 
mold, granite and limestone gravel, and is 
well drained. Would this kind of soil be 
too rich for the strawberries? I have also 
on the limestone side of the canyon and 
near this tract, a very large cave inhabited 
by bats, containing thousands of tons of 
bat droppings and bones or guano, mixed 
with black lime dust or soot. Would this 
be any good as a fertilizer for strawberries 
and garden truck? It is dried and a jet 
black dust with the exception of the top 
layer of partially decomposed bones of the 
bats. I wish also to set out a small cherry, 
apple and peach orchard on this tract if 
the soil condition is all right. The climatic 
conditions here I know to be perfect. 
Ans. —It would seem to me that the 
soil described is of the most suitable 
character that anyone would want for 
growing strawberries and almost any 
other fruit. , Nevada is the only State 
that I have never been in and examined 
the soil and climatic conditions in a 
general way, but from the description 
of the wild growth of sycamore, rose 
bushes, etc., I would think the soil is 
just right for almost any fruit crop, 
and similar to some that I have seen 
in some of the valleys of California. 
The mixture of decomposed granite and 
limestone has about all the elements of 
plant food and the humus that makes 
the sycamore forest flourish supplies 
what is lacking, besides absorbing and 
holding moisture. Irrigation must be 
needed there, although nothing was 
stated on this point, but Nevada has a 
very dry climate, judging by all re¬ 
ports. That deposit of bat guano is a 
veritable mine of fertility. It is, prob¬ 
ably, worth from $10 to $25 per ton to 
apply to almost any soil in which or¬ 
dinary crops are grown that is not al¬ 
ready rich. Its nitrogen content must 
be very considerable and care would 
have to be used in applying it, lest there 
be damage from the ammonia formed 
when the guano is moistened in the soil. 
It is not likely that the soil mentioned 
needs any of the guano applied to it for 
growing strawberries, but a little might 
be tried. They need very little nitrogen 
compared with some other fruits. For 
vegetables this manure would be the 
very thing.. h. e. van deman. 
Chemical Fertilizers for Carnations. 
IF. M. D., Bound Brook, N. J .—I am in¬ 
terested in growing carnations in green¬ 
houses. Can you tell me of a desirable fer¬ 
tilizer mixture to use jn preference to man¬ 
ures? I should prefer to use the fertilizers 
if it can be done without making the flow¬ 
ers soft and injuring the cuttings. 
Ans. —Leading carnation growers do 
not look very favorably upon chemical 
fertilizers, except, under some restric¬ 
tions, as a tonic or stimulant. Avoid 
sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of soda, 
except in limited quantities; they pro¬ 
duce soft growth and flabby blooms 
that soon “go to sleep.” On light soils 
kainit has proved valuable; on heavy 
soils its value is not apparent. Pure 
bone dust has value - for carnations, as 
well as roses. But none of these will 
take the place of stable manure—prefer¬ 
ably horse manure, though a mixture 
of cow and horse manure is desirable 
if it can be secured. The old custom 
was to stack up a compost heap formed 
of alternate layers of sod and manure; 
this was chopped down and turned over 
at intervals by hand labor and an ex¬ 
cellent friable compost resulted. Under 
modern conditions, where carnations 
are grown extensively this compost 
heap is impracticable, so a whole field 
is turned into compost by horse labor. 
A sod of rye or Timothy is grown; in 
the Fall, when the rye has made a 
growth convenient for plowing under, 
the field receives a heavy top dressing 
of manure, and the whole is turned 
under, and left over Winter in rough 
furrows. In the Spring the land re¬ 
ceives another dressing of manure, 
which is plowed in, and it is then re¬ 
peatedly cultivated with spading har¬ 
row, Cutaway or Acme—anything that 
will break it up thoroughly. It is thus 
worked for a time, destroying weeds, 
aerating the soil, and completing the 
mellowing begun by the frost of the 
previous Winter. A third coat of ma¬ 
nure is then plowed under, the soil 
being ridged up high with the plow, 
and left in these big rough ridges until 
taken into the houses. If heavy rains 
beat down or compact the ridges, they 
are plowed up again, or split open, the 
idea being to “weather” the soil so it 
is free from sourness. If the soil is 
lumpy when taken to the benches it 
is run through a grinder, but it is 
usually mellow and friable. .The car¬ 
nations are all under glass by the end 
of July, unlike the old habit of leaving 
them out till September, and being 
short of flowers when prices are high. 
No chemicals are needed until after 
New Years, when kainit may be ad¬ 
ministered ; on a bench 100 x 5 feet 20 
pounds may be scattered as a top-dress¬ 
ing, then watered in. Bone dust is very 
slowly available, so it is better to mix 
this in the soil when it is placed in 
the bench, before the plants are set, 50 
pounds to bench 100 x 5 feet. It can 
also be used as a top-dressing, in which 
case it should be mixed with soil before 
application. If nitrate of soda is used 
it should be mixed with four times its 
bulk of soil, but we do not advise its 
use. In the ' past, florists depended 
largely upon fresh soil from extensive 
meadows that would supply old sod, 
but nowadays higher real estate values 
restrict space, and the same soil must 
be turned out of the benches, farmed 
for a period, fertilized and treated to 
the action of frost and weather 
changes, so that it may gain new 
“heart,” and be fitted for the green¬ 
house by this renewal. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
A FOOD CONVERT 
Good Food the True Road to Health. 
The pernicious habit some persons 
still have of relying on nauseous drugs 
to relieve stomach trouble, keeps up the 
patent medicine business and helps keep 
up the army of dyspeptics. 
Indigestion—dyspepsia—is caused by 
what is put into the stomach in the way 
of improper food, the kind that so taxes 
the strength of the digestive organs they 
are actually crippled. 
When this state is reached, to resort 
to tonics is like whipping a tired horse 
with a big load. Every additional effort 
he makes under the lash diminishes his 
power to move the load. 
Try helping the stomach by leaving 
off heavy, greasy, indigestible food and 
take on Grape-Nuts—light, easily di¬ 
gested, full of strength for nerves and 
brain, in every grain of it. There’s no 
waste of time nor energy when Grape- 
Nuts is the food. 
“I am an enthusiastic user of Grape- 
Nuts and consider it an ideal food,” 
writes a Maine man: 
“I had nervous dyspepsia and was all 
run down and my food seemed to do me 
but little good. From reading an adver¬ 
tisement I tried Grape-Nuts food, and 
after a few weeks’ steady use of it, felt 
greatly improved. 
“Am much stronger, not nervous now, 
and can do more work without feeling 
so tired, and am better every way. 
“I relish Grape-Nuts best with cream 
and use four heaping teaspoon fuls as 
the cereal part of a meal. I am sure 
there are thousands of persons with 
stomach trouble who would be benefited 
by using Grape-Nuts. Name given by 
Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. Read 
the little book, “The Road to Wellville,” 
in pkgs. “There’s a reason.” 
Ever read the above letter ? A new one 
appears from time to time. They are genu¬ 
ine, true, and full of human interest. 
Paint and protect your barns with 
Sherwin-Williams Commonwealth Barn Red 
Do it now, before winter sets in, for 
there is no better investment than a good 
protective paint that will keep your farm 
buildings dry and sound through the cold, 
stormy months. 
Sherwin-Williams Commonwealth 
Barn Red has a remarkable covering 
capacity and spreads well under the 
brush. It is a clear, handsome red 
that retains its freshness much longer 
than ordinary paints. And it is 
merely one of the many Sherwin- 
Williams Finishes that will add to the 
life and looks of your buildings and your 
home—inside and out. You can buy 
them everywhere. Write for our booklet, 
“ Paints and Varnishes 
for the Farm ” 
It is free — and it will give you a 
good many valuable ideas and sug¬ 
gestions about what paint can save 
for you in dollars and cents. 
Sherwin-Williams 
Paints ^Varnishes 
Best dealers everywhere. Address all inquiries to The Sherwin-Williams Co.,635Canal Rd., Cleveland,0. 
THE BEST 
FARM ENGINE 
MONEY CAN BUY 
Simplest, most compact, easiest 
running farm engine ever designed. 
Light but exceptionally strong. Few parts—Vs 
nothing to get out of order. All parts acces¬ 
sible and standardized. Ask us to show you why 
Brownwall Air-Cooled Engines 
fare the best Investment you can make. Uses less fuel 
I and requires less attention than any engine of its size 
I on the market. Send today for full 3 A..,. 
\ information and details of our 
, special offer to you. -- 
, Drop us a postal now. 
$ 
M! 
The Brownwall 
Engine&Pulley Co. 
32.1 Michigan Ave., 
Lansing, Michigan 
m&m S3 
/ 3 Mdre Water ££$& 
"American” Centrifugal Pump 
than by others because the impeller 
is accurately machined to the casing, 
preventing any sudden 
change tn direction 
of the water. Not 
an ounce of power 
js wasted. Every 
“American” Cen¬ 
trifugal absolutely 
guaranteed. 
Write for new 
catalog. 
THE AMERICAN WELL WORKS 
Office and Works, Aurora, Ill. 
First National Bank Building, CHICAGO 
LIME 
for the soil only. Our Agri¬ 
cultural Lime can be applied 
at the time of seeding and 
will not burn anything. Will 
drill, broadcast or scatter. 
We guarantee immediate 
shipment, analysis, mechani¬ 
cal condition, fineness, quick 
INTERNATIONAL AGRICDLTUBAL CORPORATION Otm™ paper tree. Write”! 
CALEDONIA MARL BRANCH, Caledonia, N. Y. 
Seed Down Your Fields 
Permanently 
Trade Mark Reg. U. S. Pat. Office 
Use Hnbbarcl’s “Bone Base” Fer¬ 
tilizer for Seeding Down and Fruit 
(formerly called “Grass and Grain 
Fertilizer”) and you won’t have to 
plow your grass fields every few 
vears. 
„ „ Bridgeton, Me., June 17,1912 
The Rogers & Hubbard Co., Middletown. Conn. 
Dear Sirs:—I commenced using your goods six years ago, following the Clark Method 
on two acres. The land is a high, dry knoll, very poor grass land, and would usually run 
out in two years when using manure, but the grass on that field using your Famous Hay 
Makers lias been a wonder to everybody. 1 think that the two acres has cut ten tons of 
dry hay In one crop, and one of my neighbors said yesterday “ It is the best this year it 
has ever been.” Last year I cut it July titb. and, after raking, it looked like a solid mass 
of hay all over the ground. 
This field was laid down with 500 lbs. of Hubbard’s “Bone Base” Fertilizer for Seed¬ 
ing Down and Fruit (formerly “ Grass and Grain ”) to the acre and ever since 500 lbs. of 
Hubbard’s “Bone Base” Fertilizer for Oats and Top-Dressing has been used per acre 
each year. Yours truly, C. L. H1LJON 
Our Almanac and “Soil Fertility” sent free to any address 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO. 
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. 
