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THE RURAL, N R W -YORK R R 
ness and hesitates to make a change. So far as any 
real benefit to agriculture is concerned, his agricul¬ 
tural college education is thrown away. What might 
have been an asset to any farming community, a 
leaven leavening the whole lump, and thus a profit¬ 
able investment on the part of his State and his 
nation, is worse than wasted. 
STARTING ON FAITH.—Sidney Stabler did not 
go to town hunting a job. Instead, he somehow man¬ 
aged to buy a GO-acre farm in a sleepy southern 
Maryland community. How he managed to finance 
the purchase and get a team with a few indispensa¬ 
ble tools, I do not know. To-day that farm is prac¬ 
tically paid for. It was no easy task. It meant 
work, early and late. More than once Sidney went 
out into the field and husked corn by the light of a 
lantern. He also entered the government service as 
a local agent or field demonstrator. But the impor- 
tant thing is this; that entire community is revived 
and organized through the influence of this young 
college graduate. It has a farmers’ club, which 
meets in the parish house of the little Episcopal 
Church. The rector of the parish is an enthusiastic 
member of the club. Last Fall, the club arranged 
an exhibition of farm products at this parish house. 
The rector’s wife took the first prize for expert but¬ 
ter-making. After closing its own exhibition the 
club sent a local exhibit to the great Maryland Week 
Exhibition, held annually in Baltimore, where it 
attracted considerable attention. At this moment 
the members of this club, under leadership of their 
young farm expert, are talking about organizing and 
incorporating a local savings and credit association. 
They will no doubt succeed, and they will owe their 
success to the young man who came into their midst 
some two years ago, with no asset but his college 
training, his knowledge of practical farming and his 
appreciation of the value of unselfish, loyal co- 
operation. 
CULTURAL METHODS.—I met him the other 
day near the Mattawoman Creek in Charles County. 
We spent several hours, discussing, among other 
things, an experiment he had made to determine the 
value of deep plowing and the use of certain ferti¬ 
lizers in the growing of Maryland’s chief cover crop, 
Crimson clover. That the value of such an experi¬ 
ment is increased a hundredfold by being conducted 
under the eyes of the people whom it is designed to 
benefit instead of at some experiment station which 
none of them has ever seen needs no proof. Farm¬ 
ers, like other people, want to be shown. They sel¬ 
dom put much faith in descriptions of experiments 
conducted in other communities, and under what 
they conceive to be quite different conditions than 
those with which they are familiar. This, by the 
way, is another argument for a system of agricul¬ 
tural credits, for such a system might be used to 
place a local experimenter in every backward com¬ 
munity of the State. The advisability, or rather the 
urgent necessity of growing cover crops In Mary¬ 
land has long been recognized. The favorite crop 
for this purpose is Crimson clover. It is usually 
sown after the last working of a corn crop, which 
in this climate, means about the 15th of July. It 
was therefore exceedingly important for Sidney to 
know, for his sake as for the sake of his fellow- 
farmers, how best to grow a cover crop of Crimson 
clover on the prevailing soil type of his community. 
It was a so-called “sassafras loam,” a dark red fri¬ 
able clay soil, easily worked, and extending to a 
depth of about 15 feet. The subsoil was alkaline, the 
top soil slightly acid, which may be accounted for 
by its having been worked for 200 years, during 
which time the growing of clover or other legumes 
together with shallow plowing had produced this 
acidity. 
METHOD OF DEMONSTRATION.—The lay of 
the ground and drainage is excellent. Located on a 
fairly level plateau, gently sloping toward the creek, 
which in that country means the wide mouth of a 
stream emptying into the Potomac River, no water 
ever stands upon the fields. The portion selected 
for experiment or demonstration differed in no way 
from the general neighborhood soil type. Having 
lain in Red-top sod for three years it was broken 
in the Spring of 1912 and planted to corn. The 
entire field was plowed with the plow set for a 
depth of nine inches, in order to break out the hard 
plowsole usually found on these old farms at a 
depth of five or six inches. Experience proves that 
it is impossible to secure good underdrainage and 
capillary action unless this is done. In order that 
this might appear in connection with the proposed 
demonstration, one plot of a quarter of an acre 
was plowed to a depth of six instead of nine inches. 
The rest of the field was laid off in quarter-acre 
plots, each of which was to receive a somewhat dif¬ 
ferent treatment. The corn was planted late, and 
Sidney’s other duties, especially his field demonstra¬ 
tion work in the county, prevented its being worked' 
as thoroughly as might be deemed desirable. At the 
last working, or about July 15, Crimson clover was 
sown in the entire field. The samples of clover 
shown in the illustration were taken from the sev¬ 
eral plots on May 22, 1913. A brief description of 
the treatment given and of (he results obtained will 
help us form several instructive conclusions. The 
numbers of the plots tally with the numbers on the 
tag of each sample in the picture. 
Plot I. This plot was treated with pure raw bone 
meal and 14 per cent acid phosphate prepared at 
home, by mixing one part of bone meal with two 
parts of phosphate. This mixture was broadcast 
at the time of sowing the clover. Not more than 150 
pounds per acre was applied. Its application had 
no noticeable effect upon the corn crop. Its effect 
upon the clover is very noticeable, not only as re¬ 
gards the size of the individual plant, but also as 
regards the thick regular stand. This plot has the 
largest and heaviest crop of clover. 
Plot II. The next plot was treated with Thomas 
slag, applied at the time of plowing when the ground 
was being prepared for corn in the Spring of 1912. 
The unit cost of phosphate in this form is about the 
same as that of the acid phosphate application on 
Plot No. 1. This plot had the best crop of corn. 
Its clover stand was not quite as good as that of 
Plot No. 1. 
A third plot was treated with raw phosphate rock 
or floats. No clover sample is shown from this plot, 
because there was no appreciable result either upon 
the corn or clover. The sample of riot V. may 
therefore serve as an illustration for the effect of 
this application. It is possible that the application 
of a small quantity of kainit with this form of phos¬ 
phate might have been wise, but the result obtained 
agrees with the result in other parts of the country 
where floats have been applied to alkaline soils. 
While it may come into action later, it is apparent 
that the farmer who cannot afford to wait indefi¬ 
nitely for appreciable results, should not use it on 
this soil type. It is also apparent that the recipe 
“ground limestone and raw phosphate” is not to be 
universally accepted for the treatment of Maryland 
soils. It may be the thing for very acid Leonard- 
town loams. It is not the thing for the soil type 
upon which this demonstration was made. 
The other plots of Sidney Stabler’s demonstration 
were designed to show the value of different forms 
of lime applications. Plot III. received ground 
oyster shells at the rate of two tons per acre. This 
is becoming a favorite form of lime application in 
Maryland, for ground oyster shells, according to 
President Patterson of the State Agricultural Col¬ 
lege, contain not less than 95 per cent carbonate of 
lime. This plot showed a decided improvement both 
in the corn and clover as compared with the plots 
which received no lime. 
Plot IV. was treated with burnt oyster-shell lime. 
No sample of the clover from a plot treated with 
hydrated shell lime is shown, because the sample 
from Plot No. IV. serves to illustrate the effect of 
the lime treatment in these two forms. The effect 
of the ground oyster-shell treatment is decidedly 
better than that of the application of either burnt 
or hydrated shell lime. The use of the latter slightly 
benefited the corn crop, but not so much as the 
Thomas slag or the ground shells. Its effect upon 
the clover as compared with the plots which re¬ 
ceived nothing was hardly noticeable, excepting that 
it tended to make the clover mature earlier. 
Plot V. This plot received neither phosphate nor 
lime, but it was plowed to a depth of nine inches. 
The sample of clover shown illustrates the effect 
of floats and of deep plowing. 
Plot VI. shows the result of shallow plowing. 
Compare with Plot No. V. which was plowed nine 
inches instead of only six inches deep. The marked 
benefit of deep plowing is quite noticeable; espe¬ 
cially in the field, where the clover stand is thin and 
irregular, in fact, no stand at all. 
Plot VII. This plot was plowed nine inches deep 
in 1912, and treated with ground oyster shells at 
the rate of two tons per acre. Its clover stand is 
thick and regular. A comparison and study of these 
results warrants the following conclusion: 
The benefit of deep plowing is very apparent. If 
a similar demonstration had been conducted upon 
an adjoining two-acre plot, plowed six inches deep, 
subdivided into eight plots, but otherwise treated 
exactly the same as each of the plots above de¬ 
scribed, this might perhaps have still more plainly 
appeared. The necessity of deep plowing upon these 
old farms is, however, so generally understood by 
all successful farmers in this section, that the 
trouble and expense of such an experiment was not 
needed. 
This particular Maryland soil type, the sassafras 
loam of Charles County, is not especially benefited 
by heavy applications of lime. When used, its chief 
June 28, 
purpose will be the correction of any acidity, which 
is usually slight, and the increasing of the friability 
of the clay loam, if it happens to be stiff and un¬ 
pleasant to work, which is not often the case. 
This particular soil type is especially benefited by 
the application of phosphate. The success of the 
plot treated with Thomas slag (Plot No. II.) as com 
pared with the plot which received raw bone meal 
and acid phosphate (Plot No. I.) would indicate that 
no especial benefit was derived from the bone meal. 
Raw phosphate rock or floats should not be used, 
for the best and most prompt results are obtained 
from the use of 14 or 16 per cent acid phosphate or 
Thomas slag. Finally, the whole demonstration 
shows the manifest advantage of a careful study of 
his own soil type by the individual farmer with a 
view toward mixing his own fertilizer at home and 
applying it as actually needed. n. h. steffexs. 
Maryland. 
VARIOUS NOTES. 
The following wise scheme for harnessing human 
nature to manual labor is reported from Washing¬ 
ton University. The lawn became badly spotted with 
dandelions. Turn the average college boy to the 
job of digging out the weeds and you would find him 
too much of a dandy to become lion-hearted in such 
service to his college. That would be with ordinary 
motives grafted on the weed roots. Some wise old 
fellow with a memory of other days offered prizes 
for the most popular girls! There was a restricted 
ballot—nothing was legal except a dandelion root 
dug from the college lawn! A young man could 
cast as many ballots as he was willing to dig! Such 
a lawn cleaning was never known before! The 
average young man would find little eloquence in the 
call of mother’s empty wood box. We will not men¬ 
tion the thoughts which father’s morning call might 
wake. It would be a very perfunctory dandelion 
pulling which either call would start. But how these 
roots flew out with “the girl” in the race! We call 
that harnessing human nature up with labor—a 
great team they make! 
We have a class of town readers inclined to com¬ 
plain because we do not encourage their back-to- 
the-land schemes. It is hard to convince these peo¬ 
ple that farming is a business or profession as hard 
to learn as any other. They tell us they have stud¬ 
ied books and bulletins, and therefore know how to 
proceed to raise crops. Suppose some hired man in 
the country came up with such a proposition as 
this: “I have studied books and papers and have 
taken a correspondence course. I never lived in the 
city, but I am going there to practice law or den¬ 
tistry or to open a store. True, I never did such 
work, but I have read books and papers and seen 
a few people at work—so I know I can succeed!” 
How our back-to-the-land friend would scoff at the 
hired man who rushes in to make a fortune where 
thousands are crushed out of opportunity. Yet tne 
hired man may be just as sensible as the back-to- 
the-lander in his theory that bulletins and books 
alone will fit him for a profession. The ract is that 
it is harder for a man to learn how to run a farm 
successfully on limited capital than to learn a pro¬ 
fession or business. If the back-to-the-lander can 
be made to understand that he has a chance to 
succeed. 
The Florists’ Telegraph Delivery is a trade or¬ 
ganization designed to permit a florist in one city 
to fill orders at any distant point; it numbers over 
one hundred members, in various parts of this coun¬ 
try and Europe. Thus, when J. I*. Morgan died in 
Rome, friends in this country gave their orders for 
flowers to members of the association here, who 
cabled to F. T. D. firms in Europe. Orders are 
often given and paid for in this country, for delivery 
to tourists in Europe, while a buyer may pay for a 
bouquet in New York, and have it promptly deliv 
ered in San Francisco or Seattle. The close organi¬ 
zation and strong fraternal feeling existing among 
florists generally has been very beneficial to the 
trade. A somewhat similar organization among 
fruit growers would pay. Some governments are 
taking up the matter as we see from this news item: 
In New South Wales, those requiring fruit can buy 
a coupon at any post office to the value of the fruit 
desired inclusive of carriage. The fruit growers ad 
dresses and prices are posted up in the post office. I he 
railway charges are reckoned at 12 cents for every <>u 
pounds, irrespective of distance. 
Here is the post office department in the fruit 
business. It will mean fruit in thousands of homes 
from which it was formerly banished, and a market 
for much that would otherwise be wasted. 
This is what we read in an English paper: the 
dog tax in Berlin is so high that ladies are looking 
round for other pets, and the fashion just now in tur¬ 
ning is—what do you think—foxes.” 
