862 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 19, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before asking a question, please see 
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.] 
Pruning Raspberries. 
My raspberry patch has new canes 
grown to the height of six or seven feet. 
Should those be cut back now or should 
they be allowed to grow now and be cut 
next Spring? I do not want to raise 
shoots for transplanting. I would like 
the bearing canes next Spring to be about 
five feet high if that is good practice. 
Ephrata, Pa. G. z. H. 
Blackcaps are usually headed in when 
from 20 to 30 inches high. It is quite 
important that this be done as soon as 
the canes reach the desired height. The 
lateral branches will then start near the 
ground which will induce a stout self- 
supporting growth. The laterals are 
pruned the following Spring and should 
be shortened in to 15 to 18 inches. Red 
raspberries are as a rule permitted to 
grow unchecked the first year. The fol¬ 
lowing Spring they should be cut back 
about one-third of their growth. If head¬ 
ed too high the canes will be top-heavy 
and be liable to bend over to the ground 
and perhaps break off at the root unless 
given supports of some kind, which is not 
always convenient nor desirable to do so. 
K. 
Making a Garden. 
I have a parcel of land containing 
17,100 square feet, which I propose to 
plant next year as a vegetable garden. 
In the Fall of 1912 this land was plowed, 
fertilized, and sown to rye. from which a 
crop was cut in May of this year. The 
roots were then plowed under, and the 
fertilizer from one horse, for a period of 
about ten months, applied to the land, 
which was then sown to Hungarian. I 
expect to cut a crop from the Hungarian 
as soon as ready, and plow the field this 
Fall, and should like your advice on the 
following: 
About how much fertilizer will one 
horse make in one year? How much 
from 25 hens? I expect to have the fer¬ 
tilizer from one horse and 25 hens for 
about a year to apply to this parcel of 
land. What other fertilizer should be 
used, and how much? How large a part 
of the 17,100 square feet should be plant¬ 
ed to potatoes in order to supply five 
adults and four children? We use about 
25 bushels a year. I wish to have both 
early and late potatoes. What part of 
the potato patch should be planted to 
each kind, and what amount of seed 
should be planted in each patch? Would 
an average of two hours’ work per day 
(one man) be sufficient to take care of 
a garden of this size, where a horse cul¬ 
tivator and Planet, Jr., wheel hoe could 
be used. E. B. 
Whitinsville, Mass. 
It is estimated that an average sized 
hen probably drops about 75 pounds of 
manure in one year. Usually about all 
of this saved for use on the land is the 
quantity left under the roosts. On the 
average this would be about half. Of this 
part of the ammonia will be lost through 
failure to keep it properly. Thus the 
value of 100 pounds of fresh hen manure 
would be about 65 cents figured at what 
you would have to pay for chemicals. 
The value of a year’s droppings from one 
hen would be 45 cents, but leaving out 
the part not recovered and the loss of 
ammonia you could count*on about 15 
cent’s value per hen each year. 
Experiments with horses show that in 
round figures good sized animals averaged 
about 55 pounds of manure per day— 
both liquids and solids. This had a value 
of about seven cents per day. Probably 
about half this manure would be voided 
on the road or at work and part of the 
liquid manure is lost by drainage or fer¬ 
mentation. If you recovered one-third 
of the actual manurial value from the 
horse you would do well. Thus if you 
get six tons of actual horse manure in 
one year for use on this garden you 
should be well satisfied. This manure 
will be worth about $2.50 per year. You 
will undex*stand, of course, how difficult 
it is to give exact figures about such 
things. We have given here what you 
may expect under average conditions. 
This piece of land is about 40 per cent 
of an acre. We should use in addition 
to this manure 300 pounds of acid phos¬ 
phate and 100 pounds of sulphate of pot¬ 
ash. You may spread the manure on the 
ground and plow it under—then spread 
the chemicals and rake or harrow them 
in. We should plant one bushel of early 
potatoes and two bushels of late. This will 
probably produce more than you need for 
the family, but it will be safe planting. 
As for the labor it all depends on the 
man and his judgment in handling the 
weeds. When the weeds are small a man 
who knows how can kill more weeds in 
half an hour than he can in half a day 
after these weeds have grown to full size. 
With good judgment two hours per day 
ought to keep such a garden clean. After 
the Hungarian is cut we would sow rye 
and plow it under next Spring. 
Protecting Trees from Rabbits. 
For several years I have used strips 
of burlap to protect young trees from 
rabbits, and have never had one so pro¬ 
tected injured, but have lost a good many 
which had been left unprotected. I use 
old bags cut in strips about six inches 
wide. Begin at the ground and wind in 
a spiral to the height of about two feet, 
then tie with string. Left on the tree 
the year through the burlap serves not 
only as protection against mice and rab¬ 
bits, but also against injury by the heat 
of the sun. I have tried other ways, hut 
have found the burlap the easiest and 
best. w. c. F. 
Litchfield Co., Conn. 
Late Planted Potatoes 
What crop or crops can I plant now 
that will mature to take the place of po¬ 
tatoes which I put in on a half acre that 
failed to come up on account of drought? 
The soil seemed suitable for potatoes, but 
a dry spell set in and the seed dried up 
and failed to sprout. I don’t want to 
lose the use of the ground and would like 
to grow a crop of something for Winter 
use if it is not too late. I would prefer 
potatoes, but fear the season is too far 
advanced for that crop. I have plenty of 
beans, tomatoes and corn. H. s. 
Plainfield, N. J. 
We would hardly risk potatoes so late 
in the season. With a long moist sea¬ 
son they might grow to fair size. We 
have tried such late planting several 
times, but it never paid. The best sub¬ 
stitute now would be root crops like 
turnips and table beets. The yellow 
turnip or rutabaga for July seeding gives 
the best substitute we know of for po¬ 
tatoes. -- 
Pecans in Arkansas. 
I own some very rich land on top of a 
mountain, sloping north, elevation about 
L100 feet, 300 to 400 feet above sur¬ 
rounding country. Timber consists of 
hickory, lime, ash. white oak, etc., about 
the center of this State. Would you ad¬ 
vise planting Paper Shell pecan or Eng¬ 
lish walnut trees there? If so, which is 
the more profitable? Can I graft or bud 
them on native hickory or Black walnut? 
Kindly give name of best variety. 
Cedar Glades, Ark. E. M. L. 
It is probable that the region men¬ 
tioned would be rather too high and not 
well suited to the pecan unless some of 
the more northern varieties, such as have 
been brought to notice from Missouri and 
other more northern regions will suc¬ 
ceed. The southern type is too tender 
and late in maturing the nuts to flourish 
in the North, and even the apple regions 
of the Southern States are not suitable. 
But it is likely that the Persian (Eng¬ 
lish ) walnuts will flourish there. It 
would be well to try some of them. Seed¬ 
lings of the hardy types would do to make 
this test, but if grafted or budded trees 
of the named kinds were planted it would 
be still better. Some of these varieties 
are being grown on native walnut seed¬ 
lings as stocks with much success and 
there are a few nurseries that can sup¬ 
ply them in a limited way. The Rush, 
Pomeroy and a very few others are of 
this class and are hardy as far north as 
Pennsylvania and Western New York, 
where they originated. While they will 
grow when properly grafted on our com¬ 
mon native walnut trees it is not every¬ 
one that can do the work successfully. 
It requires the most accurate knowledge 
of the proper conditions of both stocks 
and scions and then the most careful 
work of doing the grafting. There is a 
special bulletin on this whole subject is¬ 
sued by the U. S. Department of Agri¬ 
culture at Washington, and it may be 
had by applying for it there. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Alfalfa Planting. 
In the Eastern States few of us have 
gone by the plan of seeding Alfalfa as 
we do clover or grass. The scheme of 
planting it as we would strawberries or 
cabbage is a new one. yet it is practiced 
in the West. In North Dakota Prof. 
Hansen has been quite successful at 
starting Alfalfa in little beds and then 
transplanting the seedlings by machinery. 
These transplants may be cultivated like 
other crops and are said to give a great 
yield. In Colorado where Alfalfa is the 
main forage crop, transplanting is some¬ 
times advised for small plots. Prof. 
Bliun of the Colorado Station, gives the 
following advice for starting Alfalfa in a 
chicken yard: 
“Those who desire to establish Alfalfa 
in their poultry yards can succeed in this 
way by plowing or spading under Alfalfa 
crowns that have been freshly plowed out 
from some field nearby. Early in the 
Spring is the best time, while the crowns 
are still dormant. The crowns should be 
covered four to six inches deep, and the 
soil wetted down and kept moist and the 
chickens kept off until the crowns have 
become established, which will be much 
sooner than by Alfalfa seeding, and will 
stand much harder pasture.” 
Preserving Manure. 
Iu a recent issue Mr. Fiekett writes 
about the use of sulphuric acid with saw¬ 
dust to neutralize the ammonia in the 
stables. It would probably be a great im¬ 
provement if clean sand were used in¬ 
stead of sawdust because the acid works 
on the sawdust and is partly neutralized 
by it with no increasing advantage, 
whereas if the dampened sand is exposed, 
the whole of the acid should be converted 
into sulphate of ammonia. Hydrochloric 
acid could also be used, but is volatile 
and the two vapors meeting in the at¬ 
mosphere would make fumes of chloride 
of ammonia, which is in uo degree harm¬ 
ful to man or beast, but as the resultant 
chloride would settle all over the place it 
would not be so easily removed to the 
point where it was wanted. The sul¬ 
phuric acid could be used with land plas¬ 
ter as well on which it has no chemical 
effect. w. E. SAUNDERS. 
Ontario. - 
Marketing Carp. 
On page 792 the statement was made 
that shipments of German carp are made 
from Sprague. Wash. Some of our 
readers are curious to know what is doue 
with this inferior fish. We have received 
the following note from the editor of the 
Sprague Advocate: 
“We have shipped seven or eight 
cars of carp to Eastern points, Philadel¬ 
phia mostly, I believe. They are ship¬ 
ped in boxes on ice and as I understand 
it are sold as fresh fish. Some were ship¬ 
ped to St. Louis, but I have always 
been under the impression that they were 
sold as fresh fish. I doubt if they would 
be sold as canned carp, more likely be 
sold for salmon after being processed. 
The carp in this country is considered an 
abominable nuisance and of very little 
value.” A. C. SCHRADER. 
r 
The best varieties, both 
new and old, and the best 
methods of planting to raise a 
full crop of Strawberries next 
year, are fully particularized in 
DREER’S 
Mid-Summer Catalogue 
Also the best varieties of Celery, 
Cabbage Plants, etc. 
A most complete list of the Best Hardy 
Perennial Seeds for summer sowing. 
Also vegetable and farm seeds for sum¬ 
mer and fall sowing. Select list of sea¬ 
sonable decorative and flowering plants. 
Write for a copy and kindly 
mention this weekly — FREE. 
HENRY A. DREER PHILADELPHIA 
Hardy Seed Wheat 
Finest seed whf*at, all cleaned, graded 
and tested. Grown in the heart of the 
most protific wheat soil i n the world — 
the fertile valleys of Lancaster county. 
Graded Seeds Mean Bigger Crops 
You can easily grow 30 to 40 bushels 
per acre. Many varieties, smooth and 
bearded —and all big, heavy yielders. 
They possess wonderful vitality. 
Yalndblc Wheat Catalog—‘Free, I sell 
direct from farm to you. No middle¬ 
man's profits. Money buck and all 
charges paid if not satisfied. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Box 30.Landiaville, 
Co., Pa. 
Weed Killers. 
There is always, at this season, a de¬ 
mand for weed killers—something to 
clean out weeds without the exertion of 
lifting a hoe. Thus we give the follow¬ 
ing advice from the Colorado Agricul¬ 
tural College: 
1. Salt. Take one pound of salt to 
one gallon of water, boil and apply while 
still hot. or dry salt may be used and 
then watered in, blit this will color the 
walk more or less and is not quite so 
effective. 
2. Crude carbolic acid, half ounce of 
the liquid to one gallon of water will also 
destroy ants. 
3. Sulphuric acid. Four-fifths ounce of 
the acid to one gallon of water. Best 
applied with a wooden pail. 
4. Take one pound of powdered arsenic 
to three gallons of cold water, boil and 
stir well. Then add seven gallons of cold 
water with two pounds of sal soda. 
5. Lime and sulphur. 10 gallons of 
water, 20 pounds of quicklime and two 
pounds of flowers of sulphur are boiled 
in an iron vessel. After settling, the 
clear part is dipped off and used when 
needed. 
There are also a number of commer¬ 
cial weed killers in the market which can 
be bought at seed stores. Applications 
of weed destroyers should be made on a 
hot day or right after a rain, with a 
watering pot (sprinkler), and one good 
application is usually sufficient for the 
season. As the most of them contain 
poison, either arsenic or acids, great care 
should be exercised in handling them. 
ALFALFA 
AMERICAN NORTHERN GROWN 
Guaranteed, to be 9956 pure and free from dodder. 
Write for sample on which we invite you to eot 
Government tests. We do not handle Turkestan 
“Dwarf Alfalfa” or cheap inferior European seed. 
We refuse to handle anything but th« very best. 
Experiment Stations agroe that American Seed ex¬ 
cels all other. Our eeed should produce bay at $G0 
per acre annually. Write for catalog and folder 
which contains valnablo information that you 
should know about. We are sure it will Interest you 
GRAIN AND GRASS SEED 
Northern grown and of strongest vitality. Ws 
handle export grade only and can furnish grass 
mixture suitable for any soils. Write for catalog. 
WING SEED CO., Box 223 MechanicsburQ, O. 
PoKhorro DI onto - Danish Railhead and Shurehead 
OdIJUdgG ridlllb an d Flat-Dutch. 81.00 per 1,000. 
VT. S. FORD & SON, - Hartly, Delaware 
Pahkerra Dio rile-Beets, Lettuce, Kohl-rabf, 
udlludgc rldniS per 1000. Tomato, Sweet 
Potatoes, 81.50 per 1000. Caulitiower, Peppers. $2 per 
1000. Send for list. J. C. SCHMIDT, Bristol, Pa- 
Standard Apple Barrels 
Car lots or less. ROBT. GILLIES, Medina, N. Y. 
For Sale—Alfalfa Soil 
for inoculation. Send for circular. 
E. T. GILL, Haddou Farms, Haddonfield, N. J. 
Strawberry Plants 
For July, August and 
September Planting. 
Also Fr u i t Trees. 
CATALOGUE FREE 
HARUT L, SQUIRES, Good Grouud, N. V. 
1 h!ive ten lbs - of stratified 
» seed more than I wish to plant. 
Will sell cheap and guarantee it in every way. 
H.W. Elmendorf, Itaveiia, AIbanyCo.,N. \ . 
The Label of Safety J 
Here, at last* i* die safe Iiwuranc* companies ■ 
arc convinced. Every precaution taken to prevent in* 
created fnsaraaci? rutes. Make sure of this protection 
by getting the 
JACOBSON ENGINE 
Every engine bears its own laiml showing that it lian 
been inspected and approved by th« Underwriter* Lalx>r- 
Jacobson Machine Mfg. Co. 
Dept. D 
Warren, Pa. 
Be Your Own Thresher man 
Save enough to own the Thresher. Be independent. 
get ready. 
Ellis Champion 
Threshers 
Suit everyone. Both tlie profes¬ 
sional thresherman or the farmer 
who wants a home outfit will find the 
Champion rightly named- The picture 
shows ELLIS CHAMPION NO. 2 It is complete 
u ithstacker, tailings, elevator and grain hag 
ger. Connect it with stoam, gasolene, tread or 
any other power, put in the grain and the Cham¬ 
pion does tire rest. No straw clogging. Any size. w 
We also make tread and sweep horse-power, drag or circular saws 
eosiLage cutlers, corn shelters, etc. Ourcataloulells the whole story. 
ELLIS KEYSTONE AGRICULTURAL WORKS, Potts town, Pa. 
