1913 . 
THE RUR4Ii» NEW-YORKER 
217 
Fitting Soil for Potatoes, 
E. D. II., Iloneoye Falls, N. Y .— I have a 
field that raised a crop of potatoes last 
year. I wish to grow something on it this 
year not to harvest, but so as to add to 
its fertility so as to plant it to potatoes 
the year after; it is light sandy soil, 
located where I cannot get manure to it 
easily. I had thought of sowing to clover 
and about a bushel of Canada peas to the 
acre, early in the Spring, or oats and peas. 
When I plant potatoes I should apply 800 
pounds high-grade fertilizer per acre. When 
off. As the soil was wet part of this 
was self-seeded. The rye falling on 
this wet ground sprouted in the mud 
and made a fair stand. In other parts 
of the orchard the rve was chopped up 
with the cutaway and made a full crop 
the next year. It seems likely that your 
plan will work well. We think you will 
do a better job by using the roller or 
harrow after the cutaway and not be¬ 
fore. We should also use Crimson 
clover seed along with the Cow-horn 
turnips. While this clover may be 
M’PIKE CLUSTER; CONCORD IN CORNER. 
(See Ruralisms Page 219.) 
last plowed it had a light sod; not very 
strong soil, but raises excellent potatoes. 
Ans. —We should spend this year in 
stuffing that soil with organic matter. 
Sow oats and peas as early as the 
ground is fit. Plow this crop under 
when ripe and then sow buckwheat 
alone, or buckwheat and clover. If the 
buckwheat is seeded alone, plow it 
under in early September and sow rye. 
If you use buckwheat and clover cut 
the buckwheat just before it makes 
seed and let it lie on the ground. This 
will protect the clover. It will make 
a fair crop and all can be plowed under 
next Spring for potatoes. 
An Easy Supply of Humus. 
F. O., Saybrook, Conn .—Circumstances 
may make it necessary for me to “aban¬ 
don” my farm for a year or two. I do 
not wish to rent it. I want to increase 
the humus in the soil if possible. It is 
now largely in rye with Cow-horn turnip 
and I have thought of letting it stand 
until the grain is dead ripe and then sow 
turnip seed and harrow with a cutaway 
to cover up seed and break down the straw, 
preceding the harrow by a roller or a 
plank drag if necessary. After this I 
would let it lie until another Summer and 
repeat the process. Land is a sandy loam, 
or perhaps more properly a loamy sand, 
well drained, poor and deficient in humus. 
You see I want to find the easiest, cheapest 
plan to keep it covered and growing crops 
to be turned under or to lie on the sur¬ 
face as a mulch. 
Ans. —This is a new proposition to us, 
yet we think it, or a modification of it, 
will carry out your purpose. We have 
often reseeded rye in about this way. One 
season was quite wet and rye had been 
seeded as a cover crop in part of the 
orchard. In one way and another we 
were unable to cut all this rye, and par; 
of it ripened on the straw and shelled 
killed out, it will make growth enough 
to more than pay for seed and labor. 
Handled with the rye in this way it 
will have a better chance to get through 
the Spring thaw and freeze. This plan 
will certainly enable you to fill that 
soil with humus without much labor. 
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