129-4 
could be asked for, especially in its first season. The 
success with this field led me to repeat the experi¬ 
ment in a field of 31 acres this Fall. I used a mix¬ 
ture containing a variety of clover and Alfalfa, of 
which I sowed 40 pounds per acre, and to which 
I added four pounds per acre of inoculated Alfalfa 
seed. Land was carefully prepared, limed and fer¬ 
tilized as usual with S00 pounds per acre of basic 
slag. Present indications point to another success. 
Much has been said about the expense of seeding 
by my method, but I believe it will prove in the 
end to be more economical than the prevailing 
method, which is usually followed by breaking up 
after two hay crops have been harvested. In this 
connection let me say that I top-dressed meadows 
sown by the old method, supplying some seed and a 
couple of hundred pounds of fertilizer, in the Fall 
of 11)11, and again with fertilizer only a year ago. 
In (he Spring we spread 100 pounds of nitrate of 
soda and rolled the field. Instead of cutting half 
a crop the third season, this field gave me nearly 
10% moi-e hay than in its second year; furthermore, 
as a result of the top-dressing, every dormant clover 
seed in the land, whether wild or tame, seems to 
have germinated—probably due to the 40% of lime 
in the slag and demonstrating, conclusively, I think, 
that our red lands are only slightly acid. Grass 
is my hobby and I am convinced that as good grass 
can be grown in our section of Virginia as anywhere 
in the country—not Timothy, perhaps, but good, 
nutritious mixed grasses that ought, as hay, to have 
preference over Timothy, on its feed value. Given 
deep plowing and the preparation of a fine seed bed, 
well compacted by repeated disking and rolling, a 
little lime, plenty of seed and fertilizer, and suc¬ 
cess is practically assured. As good meadow is a 
fine asset, and as such should be cared for—a little 
hand work occasionally will keep out noxious weeds, 
which have little chance in a good sod. I try to 
return in top-dressings, the phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen taken off in my cuttings, and I believe that 
under such treatment the life of a meadow may be 
prolonged indefinitely. edwin earle. 
Albemarle Co., Va. 
TREATMENT FOR AN OLD ORCHARD. 
Will you outline plan for renovating neglected and 
run-down apple orchard? I have just purchased a farm 
on which is an orchard of about 400 trees, presumably 
30 to 35 years old; practically no apples this year, al¬ 
though owners claim to have had a good crop last year. 
Trees are sadly in need of pruning, and show a good 
many dead limbs. Would it be safe to do any pruning 
at this time? Conditions are such that some work could 
be done in orchard now if practicable. The ground is 
now in sod and has evidently been used as pasture for 
young stock. Would you advise disking and sowing 
some cover crop this Fall? If so, what? Would you 
advise fertilizing late in the Fall, or to wait until next 
Spring? Please give formula of fertilizer to be used, 
and quantity of same. I wish to stimulate to bearing 
next year if possible. a. s. c. 
Baldwinsville, N. Y. 
Every neglected orchard is somewhat of a law unto 
itself. Only the most general advice can be given, 
and then the owner must use his judgment. Usually 
these old orchards have about stopped growing, and 
are dying from the top. The soil is “hide-bound” 
and the trees are afflicted with scale or other insects. 
If we had such an orchard we should begin at once 
to cut out the dead branches. Cut two or three 
inches below the dead wood in each case, and paint 
the stub with pure white lead and oil. Cut the dead 
wood out at this time, but delay further pruning 
until later. Put three big horses on a disk or Cut¬ 
away harrow and weight it down heavily. With this 
tear up old sod both ways. Then sow a bushel 
of rye to the acre and harrow it in, using if possible 
300 pounds of fine bone and 100 pounds muriate of 
potash per acre. In November, or after the leaves 
have fallen, we would soak these trees thoroughly 
with soluble oil. This is on the theory that they 
have scale. The oil is best as a Fall spray on these 
rough old trees. During the Winter we should get 
some experienced fruit-grower to come and trim a 
few trees to explain what is needed. If you know 
how to do it yourself you will not need this help, but 
no one can tell you how to do it right on paper. Get 
some man who knows right in the orchard, and 
watch him and ask him why he cuts one limb and 
leaves another. Early in the Spring scatter four to 
five pounds of nitrate of soda around each tree as 
far out as the branches extend. As the rye comes 
into bloom or a little later cut it and rake it all up 
under the trees—not close to the trunk. In early 
March give the trees another soaking with standard 
lime-sulphur. If they bloom spray with arsenate of 
lead with lime-sulpliur added. After cutting the 
rye use the disk between the trees and keep the soil 
well stirred up until late July, and then sow rye and 
clover. This is what we would do to an old orchard, 
but the treatment should be modified to suit condi¬ 
tions. It will start the old trees into new life. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
A MONUMENT TO PETER M. GIDEON. 
There is an association in the twin cities of Minne¬ 
apolis and St. Paul known as the Native Sons of 
Minnesota, made up as its name implies of those 
who were born in the State. The main object of 
the association is the cultivation of sociability among 
the members and their families; but they have of 
late done some things which will be remembered 
long after their social functions have been forgotten. 
Recently this association erected a monument to one 
of Minnesota’s pioneers, which ought to be of interest 
to all Americans who are fond of good fruit, and 
who appreciate the missionary spirit in which 
pioneers in horticultural work have labored to bring 
out new or improved varieties. 
The Wealthy apple now known to all lovers of 
good fruit, was originated by Peter M. Gideon, on 
his homestead near Lake Minnetonka, in 1S64. It 
was the result of long years of experimenting and 
the growing of countless seedlings, and when it 
fruited it gave such promise of being what the 
Minnesota horticulturists had been seeking, a hardy 
variety of excellent flavor and good keeping qualities, 
that he gave it his wife’s name of Wealthy. Peter 
M. Gideon’s work is done, and his earthly remains 
lie beside those of his wife in the beautiful little 
cemetery at Excelsior’, overlooking Lake Minne¬ 
tonka ; but his memory will live in the minds of 
generations to come. The thanks of all good people 
are due the Native Sons of Minnesota for their act 
in placing a permanent monument on the spot where 
Mr. Gideon did his work. The picture, Fig. 505, 
MONUMENT TO PETER M. GIDEON. Fig. 505. 
shows the monument as it appears to the passer-by 
on the public road in front of the old Gideon home¬ 
stead. j. m. DREW. 
THE USE OF SWAMP MUCK. 
I own a farm of 3S0 acres; much of it is forest land, 
that was used for 60 years as a stock dairy, and sheep 
farm. The owner died, the heirs moved to the village 
and I bought the place very cheap. I am using it for 
a Summer home, raising a good lot of farm crops, sell¬ 
ing the hay and have out an orchard of 1.200 trees— 
apple, pear, plum and „ cherry. So far the farm has 
paid exceedingly well. I have put back whatever profit 
the crops have given into improvements to buildings 
and fruit trees. The soil is a typical Adirondack gla¬ 
cial drift. There are many large stones and bowlders. 
The soil does not leach, and is very productive. I have 
been buying muriate of potash, acid phosphate and ni¬ 
trate of soda for fertilizer. The water table is six 
to eight or 10 feet below the surface. Underneath is 
hardpan. Where the creek empties through this place 
into the lake is a marsh of five or six acres. The creek 
drains 15,000 to 25,000 acres of heavy forest land. For 
a mile before it flows into the lake is a steep side hill. 
In the Spring, the creek is almost a torrent, the rest 
of the year only a very small stream. This marsh is 
a black heavy muck of practically unlimited amount. 
It apparently is the wash of the whole mountainside 
of forest, and has been accumulating for ages. It must 
contain a goodly amount of plant food. How may I 
best make it available? I would like to have it take 
the place of nitrate of soda at $60 per ton. I could 
probably get it onto the land at 40 to 50 cents per 
two-horse load. How would it do to put on about 
young apple trees and work into the soil as sort of 
mulch? IIow would it do on potato ground without 
lime? How would it do with lime on fields that are to 
be seeded? If left in piles and mixed with lime, how 
much lime should be used? Does such muck contain 
potash and phosphorus? Will it be of value as a top¬ 
dressing for meadows? a. m. u. 
Corinth, N. Y. 
Since we stated that good black muck or swamp 
soil contains organic nitrogen we have received 
nearly 50 letters like this. These notes will cover 
briefly most of the points raised in these letters. 
These swamps or muck deposits do, without ques¬ 
tion, contain much of the nitrogen washed down 
from the surrounding hills. As a rule they contain 
but little phosphoric acid and little or no potash. 
The soil is usually quite sour, and the nitrogen is 
“tied up” in organic forms which are not available 
as plant food. 
One of the first things to do is to obtain, if possi¬ 
ble, a copy of Bulletin 165 of the Vermont Experi¬ 
ment Station at Burlington. This is a complete 
December 6 , 
study of the peat and muck deposits of Vermont. 
Peat has been used to some extent in Vermont as 
fuel, and the chances are that in the future greater 
fuel use will be made. “Muck” is decayed peat, and 
has true value as a fertilizer when properly handled. 
The quality varies greatly. One sample in Vermont 
contained about four per cent of nitrogen while 
another had less than one per cent. The average of 
many samples was 2^4. Now a ton of 4% high-grade 
fertilizer would contain 80 pounds of nitrogen, or 
what we should buy in 500 pounds of nitrate of 
soda. Everyone knows what would happen if we 
put 500 pounds of nitrate on an acre of grass. Yet, 
if we used a ton of four per cent muck it is doubt¬ 
ful if the SO pounds of nitrogen would make any 
showing at ail. That is because the nitrate is avail¬ 
able, while the muck is not. It may cost more to 
make this muck available than the nitrogen is worth. 
If we had a large deposit of such muck we should 
first find out how much nitrogen it contains. Send 
a fair sample to some chemist and have it analyzed. 
The most practical way to make it partly available 
is to “cook” it or give it a thorough fermentation. 
To do this, it must be dry, open, so as to admit the 
air, with something in it to start up the ferment. 
Haul the muck out of the swamps to a well-drained 
place where the water may work out and the air 
work in. Make the piles long and narrow—say eight 
feet wide and five feet high, driving along the top 
with a wagon or sled and dumping off. If possible 
to do so, add from time to time a load of horse or 
chicken manure. These will help start up the 
needed ferment—as will any organic matter which 
rots easily. To every load of the muck add at least 
100 pounds of air-slaked lime. The ground lime¬ 
stone will not answer for this. The gentle action 
of this limestone is not quick enough for the work 
inside this pile of sour material. Dump the load 
in a long shallow strip along the pile and then dust 
the lime all over it. As the result of this a good 
heat will start inside the pile and you will have a 
mild fertilizer factory. 
At the end of say four months this pile should 
be forked over, The workman starts at one end, 
and, with his fork, throws the muck back of him 
so that as he proceeds a new pile follows after. This 
admits air to the pile and helps crumble or fine it. 
After two months more it may be used as a fer¬ 
tilizer, or it may be used as an absorbent in the 
stable or mixed in the manure pile. We worked 
for a farmer one Winter who hauled many loads 
of muck right from the swamp to the barn yard. 
The cattle tramped over it and the stable liquids 
were absorbed so that in the Spring there was a 
fine lot of “manure” to haul out. 
By handling the muck in this way the organic 
nitrogen is made more available, but it will not take 
the place of nitrate of soda. It will be about as 
available as the solid part of the manure, but not 
as much so as the liquids. The “cooked” or fer¬ 
mented muck would probably take the place of two- 
thirds of the nitrate you are now using, and for 
your orchards at least it may supply in time, with 
manure, all the nitrogen you need. We would 
not use it at all without the drying and fermenting, 
and you must use potash and phosphoric acid with 
it, for a complete fertilizer. 
A SHEET-IRON BRUSH BURNER. 
I am enclosing picture of the brush burner, used 
in this section for burning brush after pruning, see 
Fig. 508. It consists of a half round sheet of iron, 
with a strip of sheet iron at the ends, and is mounted 
on two long sled runners, high enough to avoid scrap¬ 
ping on the ground. It is about 10 feet long and five 
feet wide. A team is attached sevei’al feet away by 
the use of a chain. This burner would be still bet¬ 
ter if the top edges flared out instead of in, which 
would let the brush down faster as it burns. In 
Fig. 508, showing green brush, is our method of 
clearing an old peach orchard, cutting off all the 
small brush, the limbs and trunk being left for the 
cross-cut saw, to be sawed into furnace or stove 
wood. Here, two wheels were added to aid the 
horses, also helped the air draught. This burner 
is very handy in disposing of brush after pruning, 
driving up the bows between the trees, and pitch¬ 
ing it in, thus handling it but once. As will be 
seen in Fig. 506, when the brush is very small, we 
rake it together and use a pitchfork for handling. 
Care must be taken not to stop under the trees, 
or in such a way that the wind will carry the heat. 
With a good bed of coals it will take the brush al¬ 
most as fast as two men can work and yet not scorch 
the trees. c. n. achor. 
Ottawa Co., Ohio. 
Remember that the parents of next year’s mosquito 
crop are probably wintering in your cellar! 
