1013. 
1297 
Mature Grain in a Feach Orchard. 
I am sending you with this a photo¬ 
graph of a young peach orchard which 
speaks for itself. This shows the differ¬ 
ence between a crop of rye turned under 
in the Spring and that remaining left to 
stand and ripen through the pressure of 
other work. These trees are all the same 
age and variety, and are on the fruit 
farm of Robt. J. Walton at H ummels- 
town, of which I have charge. Nothing 
could be a better object lesson, nor bet¬ 
ter illustrate the folly of letting a crop 
of grain mature in young trees. F. r. 
Ilummelstown, Pa. 
R- N.-Y.—The picture is shown at Fig. 
509.. The smaller trees at the left show 
where the rye matured its grain. At the 
right we see where it was plowed under 
early. There can he no question about 
these facts. We have seen the same 
thing in our own orchard. Somehow the 
maturing grain sucks the soil like a 
thousand strong force pumps, and hard¬ 
ens it so that it does not seem to recover 
without plowing and harrowing. The 
worst thing you can do to a young or- 
TJt-I iC RURAL 
tilling, but the wood from the stills can 
be dried and burned as fuel. 
In those wintergreen woods you may 
find the Canada snakeroot next Spring, 
which is the only time the leaves show. 
The roots of this carry about four per 
cent of an oil worth about $8 a pound, 
but the cost of collecting will be large. 
F. d. c. 
“ Cyanamid.” 
riease give as full information as you 
can as to the above source of nitrogen, 
and particularly st'ate whether the nitro¬ 
gen in it is immediately available, as in 
nitrate of soda, or gradually furnished to 
plant as in tankage or cotton-seed meal, 
etc. a. \v. S. 
Americus, Ga. 
This is a new form of fertilizer nitrogen 
made possible by the recent development 
of electrical force. It is made by passing 
a current of nitrogen gas through hot 
calcium carbide, which is the substance 
used in acetylene lighting machines. This 
carbide is coarsely ground and put into 
iron tubes and thoroughly heated. The 
nitrogen gas is prepared by passing a 
stream of air over red-hot copper—made 
A RYE CROP IN A YOUNG PEACH ORCHARD. Fig. 509. 
chard is to let a crop of small grain ma¬ 
ture among the trees. We have plowed 
strips along the trees and let the middles 
mature with fair success, but it is ruin 
to let the entire grain crop stand. 
Distilling Wintergreen. 
My woods and for miles around are 
thick with wintergreen and sassafras. 
What is the proper time to pick winter¬ 
green for the still? Can the berries be 
used? Most of us raise mint and have 
stills. Will it pay to try the above? 
Bravo, Mich. C. M. E. 
I do not know when the most oil is in 
the wintergreen leaves, nor do the books 
at my disposal mention it; likely it has 
not been determined. The Department of 
Agriculture may be able to tell you. At 
best there is said to be only about one 
per cent by weight of oil present in win¬ 
tergreen, and the labor of collecting is so 
large a share of the cost, that it pays to 
distil when you can get the stuff picked. 
The berries can be used, but their oil 
content is very small. 
True wintergreen oil, wholesale, runs 
about $4 to $4.50 per pound and anyone 
who can build up a reputation for an honest 
product is sure of a market for years to 
come. But the stuff is 98 per cent methyl 
salicylate, worth about 35 cents a pound 
in drums, so the temptation to make a 
thousand per cent is ever present. Few 
withstand it in the long run, but the 
adulterator gets caught, sooner or later, 
as a really good Cherniy can detect the 
addition. The wintergreen should be free 
from other herbs and trash, since even 
small amounts of these put the flavor 
"off,” and a fine oil is sold on its flavor. 
The leaves might well be shredded or 
crushed; at any rate they should be al¬ 
lowed to stand a few hours in the still, 
as the oil is set free by a ferment natur¬ 
ally present, as is the case with many 
leaf oils. 
Sassafras oil is present in the root- 
bark to about eight per cent, and in the 
root-wood to about one per cent by 
weight. The leaves carry traces of an 
oil, but it is not identical with the 
former and has no market. The root 
oil sells at about 60 cents a pound, but 
its great competitor is a fraction of cam¬ 
phor oil, which is almost identical, and 
is offered at about 30 cents per pound. 
In both oils, the valuable constituent, 
called safrol, is present to about SO per 
cent, and this is sold, pure, at 40 cents 
a pound. So it is a question of labor 
cost, digging, washing, chipping and dis¬ 
hot by electric force. The oxygen in the 
air combines with the hot copper to form 
copper oxide—thus the nitrogen gas is 
left behind. This nitrogen gas is also 
obtained from liquid air—made liquid 
under very high pressure. The nitrogen 
gas driven through the hot carbide forms 
a compound . known in chemistry as 
CaCN2. It is a light, fine dark-gray 
powder, containing 18 to 20 per cent of 
nitrogen, while nitrate of soda contains 
about 16 and sulphate of ammonia 20. 
The cyanamid compares well with sulphate 
of ammonia as a fertilizer—probably not 
quite so available as nitrate of soda, but 
more so than dried blood or any form of 
organic nitrogen. Sulphate of ammonia 
is somewhat acid, while the cyanamid, 
with its large proportion of lime, is alka¬ 
line. It is dry and powdery and not 
pleasant to distribute, and when used in 
direct connection with seed or young 
plants sometimes causes injury through 
chemical changes in the soil. It is better 
to use it in advance of seeding or plant¬ 
ing. The cyanamid promises to be a very 
valuable source of nitrogen, but the best 
methods of handling it to preserve its 
ammonia have not yet been worked out. 
Belgian Hares and Bees. 
1. Will Belgian hares pay where feed 
must be bought? 2. Would bees likely 
prove profitable? My location is a sub¬ 
urban lot. w. m. w. 
Elm Grove, W. Va. 
1. I think it altogether unlikely that 
you will find any considerable profit in 
Belgian hares, though if one wishes to 
rear them in a small way, he may find 
pleasure and possibly some profit in it. 
The Belgian hare boom has waxed and 
waned, and as a source of wealth it may 
safely be classed with mushroom growing 
and ginseng culture. 2. For one who 
can care for them properly, a few col¬ 
onies of bees should prove as profitable 
as anything that can be kept upon a sub¬ 
urban lot. Only in exceptional cases can 
a livelihood be expected from them, but a 
few hens and a few colonies of bees make 
aii ideal combination for one who has 
retired from active work and wishes them 
as much for profitable recreation as for 
income. There are several admirable 
journals of bee keeping published, among 
which may be mentioned “Gleanings in 
Bee Culture,” and as a guide and text 
book for the beginner, I know of nothing 
better than “The A. B. C. of Bee Cul¬ 
ture.” Either of these may be procured 
through The R. N.-Y. office. m. b. d. 
NEW-YORKER 
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