THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ets 
1910. 
WHEN TO USE POTATO FERTILIZER. 
D. M., Worcester Co., Md .—In raising 
early potatoes, to be followed by corn, using 
one-half ton of 5:7:5 fertilizer on the 
potatoes, is it best to put the fertilizer 
right under the potatoes or spread one- 
half of it broadcast and the remainder di¬ 
rectly under the potatoes? The land is 
in a poor state of cultivation, with no hu¬ 
mus in the soil. It is now covered with 
Winter rye, and I intend to spread six 
70-bushel spreader loads of manure to the 
acre. The custom here in raising late po¬ 
tatoes is to use one-half ton of say 3 :G :G 
fertilizer in the planter directly under the 
potatoes. Is this the best plan? 
•An 5.—Most practical potato growers 
use all the fertilizer in the drill. The 
larger growers put it in with the ma¬ 
chine. When planting by hand we spread 
the fertilizer over the furrow in a strip 
18 inches wide, working it in with the 
cultivator. The plan followed by Mr. 
Fagan of Connecticut gives good results. 
He uses a drill after the seed is dropped 
and the furrows open and then harrows. 
If you are to spread manure broadcast 
we would put the fertilizer all in the 
drill in a wide strip. We do not think 
the planter scatters it enough. 
CARING FOR THE EARLY LAMBS. 
There is profit in sheep when the 
business is properly conducted. The 
better care given the flock the greater 
the profit. Many farmers seem to think 
it unnecessary to put any labor into the 
raising of sheep beyond that of supply¬ 
ing them with shelter and hay in Win¬ 
ter. I am not speaking of the men who 
make sheep raising a business, but of 
the general farmer who has, beside his 
cattle and horses, a flock of sheep to 
pasture his rough land and add some¬ 
thing to his income. As soon as the 
first sign of green shows on the brown 
fields in Spring, and a few warm sunny 
days appear, I see flocks of oftentimes 
newly sheared sheep with .their young 
lambs, being driven along the road' to 
back pastures. Many times some of these 
lambs are so young and weak that after 
following for a time, they fall out and 
are picked up and carried the remainder 
of the journey in a wagon. In these 
pastures there is no shelter, only that 
afforded bv a clump of spruce or fir 
bushes, or a fence corner that might 
break the wind somewhat. Now, if the 
sunny days were sure to continue, and 
the grass grew quickly, this would not 
be so bad, although with everything 
favorable, sheep with lambs taken from 
the barns where they have been shel¬ 
tered and fed, can only barely exist for 
a time when turned out in this manner 
to shift for themselves. The ewes will 
not furnish as much milk and the lambs 
will use every bit of their vitality in get¬ 
ting accustomed to the changes. They 
will not grow until they become hard¬ 
ened to the outdoor life. 
To get the most profit from lambs 
they should be. kept growing to their 
limit from the day of their birth until 
market day. They will make the great¬ 
est gain at the least cost when they are 
very young. The mothers should be fed 
all the good milk-prroducing feed they 
will eat, and turned to grass gradually, 
being turned out near the barns for the 
middle hours of the day and sheltered 
and fed at night. When the feed is 
plenty in the pastures and the lambs are 
accustomed to outdoor life they may be 
turned away without loss or shrinkage, 
and will grow continuously. A flock is 
often left entirely to itself after turning 
out, visited once a month perhaps by its 
owner with a dish of salt; he stays 
among them for 15 minutes or perhaps 
half an hour, then sees them no more 
for another month. Once a week is none 
too often to inspect the flock away at 
pasture. Should there be an ailing sheep 
or lamb it can be taken home, cared for 
and often saved, w r hereas if no one looks 
after it it will either die or grow poor 
and be of no profit. The flock that runs 
near home where it can be seen every 
day is far the best off if its owner does 
his duty by it. It pays to feed the nurs¬ 
ing ewes grain throughout the time the 
lambs are suckling. The early lamb 
brings the best price, the fat lamb brings 
the top price. Aim to have the lambs 
come early and give them the best of 
feed and care, so as to get them to 
market ahead of the later supply of me¬ 
dium to good lambs that there are always 
plenty of. The man who gets more for 
his goods than his neighbors because 
it is of better quality always carries a 
satisfied feeling about with him, and he 
also thoroughly believes that sheep rais¬ 
ing pays. • The man who markets an in¬ 
ferior lot late in the season for a small 
price does a lot of growling, feels dis¬ 
satisfied with himself, the sheep, the 
market and the world in general. It isn't 
a good way to feel, and it is better policy 
to put considerable effort into cultivating 
a better grade of stock and a better con¬ 
dition of mind. Good stock to start with 
is a good thing to have. Not necessarily 
high-bred and high-priced, although 
there is great satisfaction in this, but 
good-sized thrifty stock free from dis¬ 
ease. This any man can own if he will, 
and he can grade them up so that his 
flock will grow better year by year. 
Compared to dairying sheep raising is 
easy work. But it is not profitable to 
make it too easy. Better put more into 
it and get more out of it. H. L. h. 
Vermont. __ 
COTTON MILL WASTE FOR FERTILIZER. 
Some people get from the cotton mills 
hero what is eallerl picker dust; costs one 
dollar a ton or two-horse load. It is fine 
dust, sweepings of eottou, etc. Some put on 
and plow under, others, let’hogs work it up 
with manure, and report good success. What 
do you know about it? What value has it? 
b. w. it. 
An average analysis of the dust shows 
15 pounds nitrogen, 10 potash and 40 
pounds phosphoric acid. These are all most¬ 
ly insoluble. The dust, is a good bargain at 
the price. In England such refuse is used 
largely. We should scatter the dust and 
plow it. in, or mix through the manure pile. 
Wiiex you write advertisers mention Tub 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square den'.” See guarantee page 10. 
ONE MAN DOES 
WORK OF TWO 
With Iron Age RidingCulti-. 
vntors. You can do it easier and 
better, because they are built on 
lines that make this possible. 
Hoes are under perfect control, 
Can regulate depth and 
keep hoes desired di8' 
tance from growing 
plants. More ad¬ 
vantages in our 
IRON AGE 
Boak.lt’* 
FREE. 
IMrot 
or flied 
wheels . 
Wheel 
Utf) 
or lo 
BATEMAN MFG. CO., Bo* 102-C 
LET ME START YOU IN BUSINESS ! 
I will furnish the advertising matter and the plans. I 
want one sincere, earnest man in every town and town¬ 
ship. Farmers, Mechanics, Builders, Small Business man. 
Anyone anxious to improve his condition. Address 
COMMERCIAL DEMOCRACY, Dept. D-35. Elyria, Ohio. 
F 
•: 
Who Says New England is Barren ? 
=n 
$1000 in CASH PRIZES for CORN 
$500 for Quantity - $500 for Quality. 
A New England man, Mr. N. H. Brewer of Hockannm, Conn., took the Grand. 
Prize for the larg-est yield of shelled corn per acre, grown in the United 
States and shown at the great National Com Exposition at Omaha in 1908; 
the yield was 133 1-3 bushels and was grown on Bowker’s Fertilizer. In the 
Bowker Company’s 1909 corn contest, Mr. A. W. Butler, a farmer and shoe 
cutter of Brockton, Mass. (20 miles from Boston), took the first prize with a yield of 
132 1-2 bushels of shelled corn (Dent) raised from one acre on Stockbridge Corn 
Manure exclusively; while Mr. Brewer took the second prize with a yield of 127 
bushels Dent corn; the third prize, for 114 1-2 bushels Dent corn, went to Mr. N. O. 
Battles, Brockton, Mass., and the fourth prize, for 103 bushels Flint com, to Mr. A. 
F. Peirce of Winchester, N. II. Six contestants secured yields of over 100 bushels 
of shelled corn; eight over 90 bushels, thirteen over 80 bushels and sixteen over 70 
bushels per acre. Who says New England is barren ? 
It is known that a ton of English liay grown on rich land has a higher feeding value, pound 
for pound, than a ton of swale hay grown on poor land The same is no doubt true of corn. To 
prove it in time for the results to be known at the great New England Corn Exposition, to be 
held next fall, and to prove whether Dent corn is more profitable to grow than Flint corn, 
WE OFFER $1000 IN CAvSH to be awarded $500 in prizes for the largest 
quantity of water-free shelled corn obtained from an acre, grown on Stockbridge 
Corn Manure exclusively and 
ONE GRAND SWEEPSTAKE PRIZE OF $500 
to be awarded for the crop of moisture-free shelled corn obtained 
from one acre on Stockbridge exclusively, which shows the great¬ 
est FOOD VALUE determined not only by quantity, but also by 
quality, the quality being determined by analysis and based on 
the amount of protein, carbo-hydrates, fat and mineral matter in 
the water-free grain, their relative feeding values to be judged by 
a scale to be established by experiment station experts and others. 
ASTTkis contest is.open to New England farmers only, and exclusive of the prize winners in 
our 1909 contest. Not less than 1000 lbs. of Stockbridge Manure for corn shall be used per acre, 
and no other dressing. 
POTATO CONTEST 
We offer for 1910 $200 in prizes for potatoes grown on Stockbridge Potato Manure 
exclusively and sprayed with Bowker’s Pyrox. Open to all New England farmers 
except Aroostook and Penobscot Counties in Maine and last year’s prize winners. 
In our potato contest for 1909, the first prize was won by Mr. Geo. II. Fish, Hope, Me. (not in 
Aroostook County) for 611 bushels (Green Mountain) grown on Stockbridge Potato Manure ex¬ 
clusively. In this contest there were thirty contestants who raised from 266 1-2 bushels to 611 
bushels per acre in various parts of New England. Surely New England can grow potatoes with 
the right treatment. Who says New England is barren ? 
WHY NOT COMPETE? Even if you do not win a prize, you have nothing to lose; in 
fact you have everything to gain by using the Stockbridge Special Manures which, as you know, 
are among the best, if not the best fertilizers that you can obtain to grow large crops at small 
cost for actual plant food, one ton doing the work of two tons of ordinary kinds or of 20 to 40 
cartloads of manure. 
For further particulars write to 
BOWKER 
FERTILIZER COMPANY 
43 CHATHAM STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
lb 
£S*Send for Mr. Bowker’s new book “Plant Food, Its Sources and Application,” mailed free 
Not a line of advertising in the text. 
.=U 
