1913. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
751 
GREASE ON APPLE TREES. 
On page 635 J. H. Romney, of West Virginia, asks 
about using axle grease on apple trees, and Mr. Van 
Deman replies that he has seen no injury resulting 
from that treatment. I consider this a very dan¬ 
gerous precedent, because I have seen many in¬ 
stances where grease and heavy oils have been used 
on trees for rabbit and mice protection, and have 
neve** seen any of these treatments without more or 
less injury resulting, usually killing a large per cent 
of the trees. We have had several instances of this 
kind come to our attention here in Montana, where 
a preparation of tallow and sulphur was applied to 
the trees to prevent gnawing of the bark, and there 
were some tracts where several thousand trees were 
killed. I do not question Mr. Van Deman’s opinion, 
but I do question his experience in this connection, 
and I consider it a very dangerous treatment. 
Montana. m. l. dean, 
State Horticulturist. 
There is grave danger in applying any mixture 
to young trees that contains any grease or heavy 
oils. The accompanying cuts show the effects of 
applying a mixture of tallow and sulphur with 
which thousands of trees were injured or entirely 
killed. The first season but little injury was mani¬ 
fest as it was a hard matter to make the mixture 
adhere to the trees, but where it did stick the cam¬ 
bium layer turned black as per number 3. The 
second year the injury was more severe as in 2, 
where the dark wood shows a dead heart and a 
deeper injury to the cambium. No. 1 shows the 
result after the third application, where nearly the 
entire wood is darkened and the cambium layer 
black, the entire wood being in this condition from 
the surface of the ground as high as the tree was 
daubed. No. 4 shows a less degree of injury to the 
inner but the cambium was killed. Some trees that 
were not too severely injured partially recovered, 
but those showing the most damage failed to start 
any growth. Great precaution should be taken in 
the application of any mixture to the bodies of 
young fruit trees. There are some mineral mixtures 
which are safe, but beware of grease and heavy oils. 
THE GREAT FARM PROBLEM. 
You are coming to something worth while on page 
671—"The Great Farm Problem.’’ The college son 
has very little to do with the situation throughout 
the land, as there is so small a per cent, of our sons 
who are college graduates, and even if they are 
college bred, they must all practice the right meth¬ 
ods in order to succeed. Why do fathers have so 
little confidence in their sons, whether they go to 
college or not? Many fathers appear to have more 
confidence in their animals for what they are bred 
for than they have in their sons. Why is this? I 
hold there are two reasons for it. One is pure and 
simple selfishness. The other is the father has 
neglected to train his boy in such a way that he can 
be trusted to do business. Who is to blame for all 
this if the father is not? The boy is not, for as 
your professor says, 85% of them are anxious to be 
farmers. 
Now to the point: I am a father, and am in part¬ 
nership with my son and son-in-law, and we are 
farming together. We all have our living, each 
family using their judgment what is needed for a 
good living, then the profit is ours equally. The boys 
are making well for themselves and so am I. But 
better than the mere making of money is the fact 
that they are learning that farming is by far the 
most beneficial calling of man, and we all enjoy 
better health, better feeling toward each other, bet¬ 
ter fellowship with mankind than we could in any 
other occupation. We believe in farming, and we 
are not afraid to meet preachers, lawyers, bankers, 
professors, scientists, doctors or any other class of 
men. We know but little of their different callings, 
but we believe we are as well informed in their 
lines as they are in ours, and we further know that 
we are constantly working nearer to the natural 
laws governing mankind than they are, and we feel 
our calling as farmers stands at the head of the 
list. I should feel badly to have my boys want to 
leave the farm. 
I am satisfied the principal trouble is with the 
fathers, and I wish to say to them that it is much 
cheaper to allow your son the chance to spend a few 
dollars in gaining experience while you are here to 
consult with him, than to have him get the idea that 
this is a hard world and that it is next to impossible 
to get ahead financially, and become so discouraged 
that the farm is left and a salaried position ac¬ 
cepted. This always means a sacrifice of business 
ability. 
1 hen at your death when he comes into possession 
"f your property, he is wholly unprepared to take 
care of it and many times it is a damage to him, for 
after it is gone imagine your son’s idea of the 
world and of humanity in general. I could give you 
many pleasant experiences with my sons in our 
business together; some of them have cost us some 
SECTION SHOWING GREASE DAMAGE. Fig. 201. 
money, and some have made some money, but I 
treasure the thoughts of the experiences more than 
the money, and as I trundle my grandchildren on 
my knee I thank my God that we are as we are. 
A FATHER. 
GROUND LIMESTONE vs. LAND PLASTER. 
Can raw ground lime be safely used in the stable 
gutter as an absorbent when the manure is not drawn out 
(to the field), a^ soon as made? How does it compare 
BARK DAMAGE BY GREASE. Fig. 262. 
with other absorbents, as to absorbent qualities? Will 
it do to use on the drop board under hens? Will the 
manure that has this lime mixed witu it do to top-dress 
a meadow without losing ammonia? j. d. s. 
Ilagaman, N. Y. 
Ground limestone and marl may be used with 
safety as absorbents in the stable behind cattle, 
but they merely act in a somewhat similar way as 
fine, dry earth would do, although rather less effi- 
ciently. They merely hold the liquid on the surface 
of the particles without binding the ammonia chemi¬ 
cally. Land plaster or gypsum, which is sulphate 
of lime, may not only absorb directly in the same 
way as ground limestone or marl, but it may also 
react with the ammonium carbonate, formed from 
the urea present in the manure, in such a way that 
carbonate of lime and sulphate of ammonia are 
formed. This reaction is dependent, however, upon 
a reasonable amount of moisture, and it is a rever¬ 
sible reaction; in other words, it may go the other 
way unless conditions are favorable. In order to 
have this chemical preservative action on manure, 
the pile must be kept moist at all times. It is, in 
short, on account of the land plaster present in acid 
phosphate that it exerts its chief preservative action 
upon the ammonia produced in the manure, although 
the acid phosphate may, under certain circum¬ 
stances, aid in other additional ways. When the 
mixture is finally applied to the soil the ground 
limestone or marl would be more efficacious, pro¬ 
vided the soil is distinctly acid and needs liming; 
since, in this case, direct benefit would arise from 
the neutralizing effect of the carbonate of lime. 
If, on the other hand, the soil were neutral or 
alkaline, gypsum might , be more efficacious than 
marl or ground limestone by virtue of its acting as 
an indirect manure; or, in other words, on account 
of its libex-ating potash or other plant food ingredi¬ 
ents more efficiently than either marl or ground 
limestone could do it. 
For use on the dropping boards under hens, land 
plaster would be preferable to ground limestone or 
marl and it can be used at the rate of from five to 
10 pounds of land plaster for every hundreds pounds 
of fresh hen manure. If, in addition, there is mixed 
with every hundred pounds of hen manure IS to 20 
pounds of kaiuit and 12 pounds of acid phosphate, 
it will make a well-balanced fertilizer for ordinary 
crops; whereas hen manure used alone is exceed¬ 
ingly lacking in phosphoric acid and is also deficient 
in potash. 
In regard to the use of lime, it is possible to em¬ 
ploy such large quantities on very sandy and grav¬ 
elly soils as to injure their physical condition, at 
least temporarily; whereas small applications of a 
ton to two tons per acre at a time, may sometimes 
be highly beneficial. There are soils upon which 
the use of ground magnesian limestone gives poorer 
results than the use of a ground limestone which 
contains little or no magnesia. In such cases high- 
grade marl has a distinct advantage over the mag¬ 
nesian limestone. 
It is a simple matter for a farmer to apply side 
by side these two forms of limestone, planting across 
each area a few rows of the crops which he usually 
grows. By this means he can determine which form 
gives, the better results on his farm. If the season 
is unusually dry or unusually wet, it may be desir¬ 
able to repeat the test a second year. As concerns 
the use of slaked lime, that which contains a high 
percentage of magnesia is more likely to cause im¬ 
mediate ill effects than that which contains little or 
no magnesia, particularly if the season becomes very 
dry and if the soil is sandy and gravelly. This is 
for the reason that the slaked magnesian lime does 
not become carbonated by the addition of carbonic 
acid from the air and soil so quickly as the purer 
lime, and hence it retains its burning or caustic 
quality a little longer. In certain experiments in 
Rhode Island, however, it was found that even when 
very pure magnesia was injurious the first year its 
effect the second year was better than that of slaked 
lime, which contained no magnesia. Under most 
ordinary conditions. Hungarian, common millet and 
pearl millet are not helped by liming, particularly 
if heavy applications are made. Japanese millet, on 
the contrary, may show decided benefit from the 
use of lime. Attention is called to this because of 
the many newspaper statements which have ap¬ 
peared to the effect that millet is injured by liming. 
It will be noted, therefore, that what is true of one 
millet is not necessarily true of all. 
Of the cereals, Indian corn and rye are least 
likely to be benefited by liming; then follow oats, 
wheat, barley, and sorghum in the order men¬ 
tioned. Red-top will grow splendidly on soils which 
are so exceedingly acid and in need of liming that 
the last Timothy and clover plant will disappear; 
and the same is also true of its close relative the 
Rhode Island bent. Orchard grass, Tall meadow 
oat-grass, Meadow fescue, and many other grasses 
are less in need of liming than Timothy and Ken¬ 
tucky blue-grass, but are nevertheless helped by it 
to a moderate extent. Watermelons can be grown 
successfully on certain soils where for lack of lim¬ 
ing the cantaloupe will fail, and where cucumbers 
show marked benefit from its use. The clovers 
vary among themselves somewhat as to their lime 
requirements, the common Red clover being among 
the more sensitive varieties which stand most in 
need of liming. db. h. j. wheeler. 
Massachusetts. 
