628 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by tho 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before asking a question, please seo 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
Duties of Railroad Agent. 
S. L. P., Genoa, N. Y. —Is not tho agent 
at a country railroad station obliged to re¬ 
move express goods from a wagon to plat¬ 
form? I find it convenient sometimes to 
let some of the women of the house drive 
express butter and eggs to station, expect¬ 
ing agent to remove it from wagon, and he 
did not do so. 
Ans. —Our understanding is that the 
agent is not obliged to unload the 
wagon. The goods are delivered to him 
when put on the platform. Most agents 
in such a case as you mention will help 
unload the wagon. We have had them 
do so, but we do not understand that 
they are obliged to do so. 
The “ Tree Raspberry.” 
M. J. D. —I notice advertisements of an 
“Everbearing Tree Raspberry” which is said 
to grow ripe berries in four months: 
“Nothing like it grows; a strong hand¬ 
some bush liberally loaded with berries and 
should be grown in every garden in the 
country. It yields a crop of fruit the saine 
Rummer and Fall from plants set in April 
or May. Plants set in April gave ripe fruit 
July 4 and continued to produce ripe berries 
until the end of October.” 
Can you tell me what this wonderful 
thing is? 
Ans. —No one at the National De¬ 
partment of Agriculture seems to know 
this wonder. It is most likely a fake, so 
far as it has any real, practical value. 
The most probable basis, aside from 
pure “guff,” may be one of the tall- 
growing varieties of strawberry-raspber¬ 
ry (Rubus rosaefolius or R. sorbifolius) 
brought from China by the Department 
explorers, and very sparingly distrib¬ 
uted, as of doubtful value. The old 
strawberry-raspberry was herbaceous 
and bore very large showy red berries 
of generally disagreeable flavor, but the 
newer kinds grow several feet high and 
fruit in the old wood where it does not 
Winter-kill. The berries are red, 
smaller in size, and of tolerable cooking 
quality though rarely relished when 
fresh. They would probably be grown 
for their beauty, and earliness, ripening 
in May, before the standard kinds are 
out of bloom, were they hardy enough 
to stand our Winters, but they kill near¬ 
ly to the ground every Winter in Wash¬ 
ington. 
USE OF UNAVAILABLE PLANT FOOD. 
S. j} fp.—Some of us would like to know 
win- the soil chemists generally decry the 
use of what they call “unavailable” fer¬ 
tilizers. A case in point is the recent dis- 
cusssion of ‘‘stone meal v or crushed rock. 
I presume the same objection is made to 
the use of “floats” or raw phosphate rock. 
Ans. —Many years ago, in the early 
days of soil chemistry, it was believed 
that soil analysis would serve a ready 
means for measuring soil fertility. 
This opinion prevailed during the first 
30 or 40 years of the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury. It was found, however, that the 
content of total plant-food in the soil 
bore no direct relation to its ability 
to produce large crops. In fact, it was 
soon recognized that no matter how 
much potash, lime or phosphorus may be 
present in any cultivated soil, the crops 
might fail to make satisfactory growth, 
simply because of lack of availability 
of these constituents. Hence, soil 
chemists have been endeavoring for the 
past 50 years to devise methods which 
would enable us to measure not only 
total plant-food, but also available plant- 
food. Moreover, students of soils have 
realized that in every productive soil, 
there is provision made for the trans¬ 
formation of inert plant-food into avail¬ 
able plant-food. The change is caused 
by bacteria and other micro-organisms 
working unceasingly to cause decompo¬ 
sition. It is recognized that the pres¬ 
ence of large amounts of fresh vege¬ 
table or animal matter is essential for 
the existence of an efficient bacterio¬ 
logical machinery, that should transform 
the plant-food locked up in the soil par¬ 
ticles into soluble compounds available 
to growing crops. It is evident, there¬ 
fore, that any ground rock would be 
of but little use to most soils, since we 
must assume either that. effective bac¬ 
teriological machinery exists in the soil 
and this machinery would make avail¬ 
able the plant-food already present or 
that no efficient machinery is present, 
and the inert rock material added would 
be of but slight service. 
On the other hand, where plant-food 
is added in an available form, the grow¬ 
THE R.UR.A.L NEW-YORKER 
May 3, 
ing plants can utilize it irrespective of 
the fact whether the micro-organisms 
are intensely active or only moderately 
active. To sum it up, therefore, there 
is no excuse for adding inert sub¬ 
stances to land already well supplied 
with them. For the man who wishes 
to increase the supply of available plant- 
food to his crops, there are only two 
ways open: he must either apply avail¬ 
able compounds of nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid and potash in commercial fer¬ 
tilizers, or other materials, or lie must 
so enrich his soil in readily decaying 
organic matter as to stimulate the trans¬ 
formation of the vast stores of inert 
plant-food into available .compounds. 
Where the soil is but ill supplied with 
potential plant-food, as is true of sandy 
soils or of certain peaty soils, the 
farmer must depend on outside sources 
for bringing his soil up to a higher 
level of fertility. 
JACOB G. LIPMAN. 
CHEMICALS AND CLOVER. 
Part II. 
The “money crop” of this rotation— 
is potatoes. As we see from the table 
printed last week the potatoes on 20 
per cent of the farm area gave 43 per 
cent, of the income. Some years this 
proportion will be higher, for naturally 
some fields are better adapted to pota¬ 
toes than others, and when there is a 
combination of best soil and most fav¬ 
orable season with higher price the 
“money crop” is truer than ever to its 
name. 
We have seen that one reason for 
planting corn on the sod and manure is 
to give a mellow soil for potatoes—with 
humus instead of rough organic matter. 
In some parts of the country, Maine, 
for example, farmers say they prefer to 
plant potatoes on an old sod, such as 
a rough meadow or pasture. We have 
found such places full of white grubs 
and wireworms and in the “Chemicals 
and Clover” rotation corn ground seems 
by far the best place for potatoes. The 
point is that not only is the soil espe¬ 
cially fitted for the crop, but all or 
nearly all the fertilizer is used on the 
potatoes. This is done for several 
reasons. It is desirable to have an 
abundant supply of plant food ever near 
the potato crop.' A well-balanced high- 
grade fertilizer mixture will feed the 
crop properly, and will not be lost or 
wasted. The wheat and grass which fol¬ 
low occupy the land constantly. As we 
all know there is little loss of plant 
food when the soil is covered with a 
living crop. The theory of this rota¬ 
tion "therefore is to supply enough fer¬ 
tilizer to the potatoes to make sure of 
a good crop, and at the same time pro¬ 
vide a surplus for the wheat and grass 
which follow. In practice Mr. Lewis 
has frequently found it profitable to use 
fertilizer direct in both wheat and grass, 
in addition to what was used on pota¬ 
toes. 
Of course in such a rotation early or 
medium early varieties of potatoes must 
be grown in order to get them out in 
time for wheat seeding. As soon as the 
potatoes are dug the field is well har¬ 
rowed and seeded to wheat and grass. 
We see that the wheat crop brought 
$407.75. Not a large amount for 18 
acres, yet Mr, Lewis considers it a use¬ 
ful part of the rotation. It gives vari¬ 
ety, and the straw goes back to the 
soil in bedding and manure, thus keep¬ 
ing up the land. The grass is cut two 
years, there thus being 36 acres to cut 
each year. As we see the hay brought 
$1,124.31 last year, or over $31 per 
acre, besides what was fed to the stock. 
After cutting the second year the sod is 
manured and plowed, as previously ex¬ 
plained. 
Thus the rotation swings around—all 
the manure on the sod for corn and all 
or nearly all the fertilizer on the po¬ 
tato. Usually about 10 cows are kept, 
and it cannot be said that the fertility 
of the farm is maintained through its 
live stock. The backbone of this rota¬ 
tion is high-grade fertilizer. In Illinois 
the farmers are being taught that “Illi¬ 
nois does not need chemical fertilizer.” 
The farmer in New Jersey and other 
Eastern States frankly admit that such 
fertilizers are needed. We invite the 
Illinois farmers to come forward with 
the figures to show that any unfertilizer 
farm of 90 tillable acres farmed with¬ 
out fertilizers gave a larger income from 
corn, potatoes, wheat and hay than 
Mr. Lewis’ “Chemicals and Clover” 
farm. H. w. c. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
“ Better Buildings ” contains val¬ 
uable plans and information relative to 
all classes of farm buildings. It tells 
you how to secure the lowest rates of 
insurance, and construct good durable 
buildings at low cost, by using 
Roofing and Siding 
SOLD BY WEIGHT. 
These products are strong, rigid, lasting. Book 
for the trade-mark on tho top of each bundle. 
It is an assurance that vou are getting galvanized 
sheets that are honestly manufactured, high in 
? uality, and FULL weight. Write to-day for a 
roe copy of “Bettor Buildings.” 
Apollo Best Bloom Galvanized Sheets are un¬ 
excelled for Culverts, Tanks, Cisterns and all 
underground uses, as well as for Hoofing and 
Siding. Accept no substitute for Apollo. 
AMERICAN SHEET AND TIN PLATE 
COMPANY 
Frick Building Pittsburgh. Pa. 
-- 
Wood’s Seeds. 
Cow Peas, 
the great forage and soil¬ 
improving crop. 
Soja Beans, 
the most nutritious and best 
of summer feed crops. 
Velvet Beans 
make enormous growth; are 
splendid for summer graz¬ 
ing and as a soil renovator. 
Write for “WOODS CROP 
SPECIAL”, giving full informa¬ 
tion about these and other 
Seasonable Farm Seeds. 
T. W. WOOD & SONS, 
Seedsmen, - Richmond, Va. 
Our stocks of Cow Peas and Soja Beans 
are choice recleaned stocks of supe¬ 
rior quality and germination. 
SEASONABLE 
FARM SEEDS 
COW PEAS SOY BEANS 
The best varieties for hay and silage. 
Millets, Buckwheat, Dwarf Essex 
Rape, etc.—all the best varieties. 
Mangel Wurzels and Sugar Beets for stock 
feeding. 
Write for prices on any Farm Seeds desired, 
also ask for free Alfalfa Leaflet. 
HENRY A. DREER 
714 Chestnut Street, Phila., Pa. 
Cabbage Plants $i pur ioGuT Tomato, Sweet 
Potatoes, $1.50 per 1000. Cauliflower. Peppers, $2 per 
Stand for list. 
C. SCHMIDT. Bristol, I'a. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
OUR SOLE 1913 AGENT 
This Catalog contains a 
volume of information re¬ 
garding Trees and Plants 
for Bock Gardens, Old Fash¬ 
ioned Gardens. Sea-Shore 
Planting andGround Cover¬ 
ing under Rhododendrons 
and Shrubbery. Gives also 
suggestive planting plans 
and planting list for Roso 
Gardens, Herbaceous Gar¬ 
dens and Suburban Estates. 
Names and describes desir¬ 
able Trees and Shrubs with 
Ornamental Fruits, Hedgo 
Plants, Trees for Orchard and Forest Planting, 
new and old varieties of Roses and Climbing Vines. 
Copy sent Free upon Request. 
We grow in quantity every hardy Tree or Plant 
worthy of Cultivation. Correspondence Invited . 
THE NEW ENGLAND NUKSKRTKS CO. 
I)cpt. “M” Bedford, Mats. 
Strawberries 
Millions of vigorous Strawberry Plants of the22 
Karliest, Latest, Largest, Best Flavored, Most Pro¬ 
ductive varieties grown. Also all leading varieties 
Fruit Treos, Raspberry, Blackberry, Asparagus, 
Rhubarb, Horseradish, Cabbage. Cauliflower. To¬ 
mato, Sweet Potato Plants. CATALOGUE FREK, 
Harry L. Squires, - Remsenburg, N. Y. 
St ft POTATOES 
Tho Vine is a plant among potatoes ; fltood tip without apot or 
blemish (comparatively) while others were (lead ami dying all 
around it. Yielded 300 bu. while Mountains on either side of 
It yielded 200 bu. same conditions. Price, bid., $3.00. Writ® 
for prices tn quantity. 
I. L. WARE, - Gardinor, Maine 
OTIUICIC OnVDC A M 0—Scn<I now for our free illustrated 
o I U N L O oU I ULANO catalogue- “Tho Soybean and IU 
Cios. M It contains descriptions and illustrations of the best soy¬ 
beans in America, such as Ohio 7*103, Ohio 7455. Medium Green, 
Roosevelt, Black Beauty, I to San and others. Soybean bacteria 
inoculated soil at Meta per 125 lb. sack. Field and Ensilage Seed 
Corn. Virginia White cob ensilage, Red cob ensilage, Cuban Giant, 
Eureka, learning, Reid’s Yellow Dent, Clorage, Pride of the 
North, White Cap,Yellow Dent and other varieties. Stone’s famom 
Soy benn—Coen Ensilage. The cheapest, richest, beet dairy feed 
in America. Ground Limestone. In carload lots. High analy¬ 
sis; finely pulverized; prompt service and low price. Wa.Mel). 
Stone, Soybean and Corn Specialist, Atwater, Portage Co., 0. 
V D C A M O—Medium Green. 
¥ D E 1^1 O Choice North¬ 
ern grown seed. Best variety for Northeastern 
States. $3.50 per bu. DECKER BROS , Beemcrville, N. J. 
SEED POT A TOES-,!" b SfiSS*}; 
per bushel: F. O. B. West Rush, N. Y. 1912 crop 
averaged 385 bushels per acre. No rot. Original 
seed purchased of Peter Henderson in 1S97. 
T. E. MARTIN, 102 STANPART STREET, SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
POTAT.OKS—Beauty, Bliss, Cobbler, Hebron.Giant,Hustler,Ohio 
Peerless, Star, Rose, Raleigh. 85 kinds. 0. W. Ford, Flslieri, N. Y 
F OR SALE-DANISH PEDIGREED CAULIFLOWER SEED—Kar 
liest Snowball, Extra Early Dwarf, Erfurt, 
Danish Giant or Dry Weather. 15 cents package; 
$1.50 ounce: $5 Vpoiind. No more reliable *eod 
grown. E. L. THOMPSON, 81 Quebec St., Portland, Maine 
C. K CoIa—C ow Peas, $2.50 bnshel. Seed Buck- 
T Oi dale wheat, 85e. bush. Crimson Clovor Seed, 
$4.50 hush. lied Clover Seed, $11 and $12 bush. 
Onion Sets, $2 bush. JOSEPH E. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
S TRAWBERRY PLANTS—Reliable money 
making varieties. Only $1.50. $1.75 & $1.98 per 1000 
Illustrated catalog free. S. A. VIRGIN, Hartly, Del. 
Rtrau/horru Plantc- Mone y'™ aliin h' varieties. 
Oil aWUc! I y rldillb Prices $1.50,$1.75,$1.90 perlOOO. 
Illustrated catalogue free. David Rodway, Hartly, Del. 
Da li 1 ia 
bulbs. Free catalogue on application. 
D. V. HOWELL, Dahlia Specialist, PECONIC, L. I. 
Transplanted Vegetable Plants 
We grow plants for the largest market gardeners; 
for the man who plants for protit. A fair trial will 
convince you that our plants produco better crops, 
two to four weeks earlier than local or Southern 
products. Write for price list. 
GUY M. HUTTON, - CONYNGHAB1, PA. 
RAW GROUND LIME 
Good for all Crops. Quickly available. 
Order now. 
F. E. COIMLEY LIME CO., - - UTICa, N.Y. 
Soy Beans 
May and June is tho time to sow this most valu¬ 
able crop. Grow your own protein and feud a bal¬ 
ance ration, and save buying oil meal. Wo have a 
fine stock. Writo for prices. Catalog FREE. 
THE LIVINGSTON SEED CO., Box 14, Columbus. Ohio 
Seed Beans 
Yellow Eyes and White Medium, free from anthrac- 
nose. Excellent suuiples. lied Marrows, very good 
lot. $3.00 per bushel,00 lbs. Samuel Fraser, Geneseo, N.Y. 
I 
cuicrT SEED—Large biennial cultivated variety 
* for hay, pasture and fertilizer. Price, 
pI nurn and circular how to grow it, on reque-t. 
ULUVCIf u BARTON, Box 29, Falmou th, Ry. 
Sofid Corn “ Early Michigan^ 
A White Cap Dent, early as Flint. Yield last 
season, 140 bushel oars per acre. Selected ears 
on cob. $1 per bushel; shelled, $1.75 per bushel: 
bags, 20c each. CHOICE SEED POTATOES-Prinet! Henry 
and Carman No. 3—75c per bushel, sacks free. 
PINE VIEW FARM, J. N. MacPherson. SCOTTSVILLE, N. T. 
SLUG-SHOT 
ED FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN FOR 29 YEARS 
Sold by Seed Dealers of America 
res Currants, Potatoes, Cabbage, Melons, Flowers, Trees and 
-ubs from insects. Put up in popular packages at popular 
ees. Writo fur free pampnlet on Bugs and Blights, etc., to 
B. HAMMOND, - Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York 
