1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
026 
COVER CROP NOTES. 
Cover Crops in Peach Orchard. 
I HAVE half an acre of oats and peas 
in a peach orchard that I shall cure 
for hay about the middle of July. 
What can I put in the ground after the 
oats and peas are off that will give me 
a crop of hay for next Summer? I gen¬ 
erally sow rye, but thought you might 
suggest something else that I could put 
with the rye. You may think I am ask¬ 
ing too much of the peach orchard, but 
Prof. Surface tells me the ground is too 
rich for the good of the trees. I also have 
half an acre of Evergreen sweet corn that 
I would like to seed with something that 
will give me early fodder, or cure it for 
hay and get off in time for corn again. 
Factoryville, Pa. L. l. 
In such a case we should work up the 
ground after harvesting the oats and peas 
with a cutaway or plow, fit the soil and 
sow fodder corn thickly in drills three 
feet apart. Give fair cultivation and if 
the season is at all favorable, you ought 
to have a heavy crop of corn fodder. This 
corn fodder makes a small thick stalk, 
which is usually very satisfactory as a 
substitute for hay. We have found it ex¬ 
cellent for feeding all kinds of stock 
through the Winter. Y T ou can if you like 
sow rye at the last cultivation of this 
corn for a Fall and Winter cover crop. 
In the sweet corn we should sow equal 
parts of rye and barley. After the corn 
is taken out the barley will make a heavy 
growth, and may be cut in October for 
green fodder or hay. The rye will live 
through the Winter and give a Spring 
crop for fodder or for turning under. 
Cover Crop for Orchard. 
W HAT treatment do you recommend 
for a 25-year-old orchard that was 
neglected for the first 20 years, but 
is now r in fine thrifty condition and bear¬ 
ing well? Past few years bas been fer¬ 
tilized with nitrate of potash and slag 
with cover crops of rye turned in. and 
then cultivated between the rows. Many 
of these trees are growing too fast, and 
I would like to check growth about Aug¬ 
ust first with cover crop that can hold 
over next Summer or be cut early for 
mulch. S. 
Bolton, Mass. 
In a case of this kind you need a crop 
or combination of crops which will make 
a quick rank growth during the Summer 
and Fall, when such land is active and 
most likely to be filled with nitrate. From 
our experience you should use for this 
purpose two bushels of buckwheat, three 
pecks of rye, two pounds of Dwarf Es¬ 
sex rape per acre. If this seed is well 
put in there will be a heavy growth dur¬ 
ing the late Summer and Fall. Buck¬ 
wheat will be killed out by frost 
and the rape will die during the 
Winter. This will cover the ground 
like a mat, but the rye will come 
on and give a heavy growth for next 
year, which can be cut and piled around 
the trees. Or in place of the rape, if 
you desire a permanent mulch, you can 
use mixture of Timothy, Red-top, Blue 
grass and White clover. 
Cover Crop for Blackberries. 
I HAVE several acres of blackberries in 
full bearing, set in rows six feet 
apart and kept clear of grass and 
weeds between the rows. Would it be 
advisable to sow something between the 
rows before or after picking (which 
comes in the month of August with us) 
for a Winter cover crop for the ground 
that could be scraped up against the 
bushes in rows in the Spring for a mulch, 
with a snow-plow shaped scraper, and if 
so which would be best? I have read 
about vetch, rape, Cowhorn turnips, etc., 
as a cover crop and fertilizer, but have 
had no experience with them. I want 
something that will winter-kill, and am 
afraid vetch would grow in the berry 
rows in the Spring and have the effect 
of weeds or grass the following season. 
Cortland, N. Y. a. s. 
We have a number of calls from par¬ 
ties who desire a cover crop that will not 
live through the Winter. The object of 
this is to avoid plowing in the Spring. 
Rye is the foundation of most northern 
cover crops, but this is practically sure 
to live through the Winter and thus 
would not answer. In most cases vetch, 
after it becomes acclimated will live 
through the Winter and make a heavy 
growth in Spring. For a crop which is 
to be killed out through the Winter prob¬ 
ably a combination of barley and Dwarf 
Essex rape will be as satisfactory as any¬ 
thing. The barley and rape will make 
a good growth during the Fall, covering 
the ground thickly. A few plants of the 
rape may be found in the Spring, but 
the great bulk of the crop will be killed. 
For this purpose we think the rape will 
be better than the Cow-horn turnips. 
The barley and the rape may be seeded 
after the middle of August by working 
the ground with a cultivator, and will 
add a good quantity of organic matter to 
the soil. 
Bonding New Concrete to Old. 
C LEAN off with clear water and stiff 
broom the surface of the old con¬ 
crete. Mix one part commercial muriatic 
acid or hydrochloric acid and three parts 
water (or use bonsit or ransomite, mixed 
according to directions with hot water) 
make several applications one after an¬ 
other with a brush containing little or no 
metal. This will not injure the concrete, 
as the acid does not sink to a sufficient 
depth before it is neutralized. This will 
have the effect of removing the cement 
from the top surface of each grain of 
sand or piece of stone and the other ag¬ 
gregates that may have been used, ex¬ 
posing the clean surface of these aggre¬ 
gates in exactly the same condition as 
they were before being mixed. After ap¬ 
plying the acid, wash the surface with 
clear water, scrubbing with stiff broom or 
brush removing all the dead particles. 
While the surface is still wet (and it 
should be thoroughly wet) apply the new 
concrete. Protect this new concrete by 
keeping it damp for at least a week. Do 
not let it dry out at any time during 
the first week. It will be found that the 
new concrete will bond to the old as 
strongly as if both had been mixed at 
the same time. c. b. l. 
Roughing a Concrete Floor. 
I N reply to inquiry regarding slippery 
concrete, on page S32, I would say 
that I have asked the same question many 
times. We never received an answer, and 
finally tried an idea of our own, and the 
experiment has proved satisfactory in 
every way. Apply to the floor a heavy 
coat of tar. The floor should be dry and 
clean, and the tar slightly warmed. Ap¬ 
ply with an old broom. If a new broom 
is used, cut the splints off about half 
way to make a stiff brush. After the 
tar is applied, cover with very coarse, 
sharp sand—about one-half inch thick. 
Leave the sand on and use the floor, un¬ 
til the tar takes up all the sand it will. 
Then the floor may be swept. This can 
be repeated every year if necessary, as 
it is inexpensive and easy to apply. It 
takes the same color as cement, and is 
hardly noticeable, and does away entire¬ 
ly with the slipping. CLAUDE M. bulson. 
Otsego Co., N. Y. 
Cold Storage Eggs. 
I S there a limit provided by law for the 
length of time eggs shall remain in 
cold storage? ii. s. 
Florida. 
On application to the Bureau of Chem¬ 
istry at Washington we have the fol¬ 
lowing : 
No laws have been enacted regulating 
the length of time in which eggs may be 
held in cold storage. The sale of eggs 
which have been held in cold storage un¬ 
til they are unfit for food would, of 
course, be considered a violation of the 
Food and Drugs Act. It would also be 
considered a violation of the Act to sell 
storage eggs as fresh eggs. 
Planer Shavings in Manure. 
I LIVE in a suburban place where sev¬ 
eral acres are available for truck. 
The land is quite heavy, but can be 
kept in good condition if regularly worked. 
On this place there are kept 10 or 12 
horses from which there would naturally 
be quite enough manure available for this 
piece of land, but the horses are bedded 
with planer shavings, principally of pine 
with some oak. I know from experience 
that the tendency of pine shavings is to 
sour the land, and I would like some ad¬ 
vice as to how this manure could be 
treated in compost to overcome this de- 
fect % e. b. w. 
Wilmington, Del. 
We have frequently discussed this ques¬ 
tion of planer shavings. These shavings 
contain an acid and when used in large 
quantities will sour the land. There are two 
ways of overcoming this trouble. One is 
to use a ton of air-slaked lime to the 
acre, harrowed into the soil after plowing 
in the manure. This usually overcomes 
the effect of the acid. The other plan is 
thoroughly to soak the shavings in stable 
liquids before putting them into the ma¬ 
nure pile, and then permitting these piles 
to stand until they are thoroughly fer¬ 
mented. Where the manure is put into a 
pit and watered to keep it moist these 
shavings are not troublesome, but when 
hauled from the stable as fast as the ma¬ 
nure is made there will be trouble unless 
lime is freely used in connection with 
the manure. 
Dissolving Bone Fertilizer. 
C AN you give me a formula for dis¬ 
solving bone with potash for a liquid 
fertilizer? It may not pay, but 
never mind that. w. G. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
It is good to be able to do things 
whether they pay or not. A fertilizer 
chemist and manufacturer gives the fol¬ 
lowing directions: 
I have made all kinds of fertilizers for 
a number of years but this is a new one. 
The best suggestion that I can give him 
is to make a box of suitable size of two- 
inch plank, line this with sheet lead, and 
in this mix the bone, which previously 
must be ground up very fine indeed, with 
ordinary commercial sulphuric acid (50 
to 53 degrees Beaume I at a temperature 
of 100 to 120 degrees Fahr., in the follow¬ 
ing proportion: 1.250 pounds of fine 
ground bone with 750 pounds of sulphuric 
acid. This should be mixed thoroughly 
but during the mixing he should tie a 
handkerchief or wet sponge over his 
mouth and nose to prevent his inhaling 
the fumes. This mixture should be al¬ 
lowed to stand about 48 hours and will 
then have the consistency of a stiff dough 
or half dried mud. To dry it further he 
can add 100 pounds more of ground bone 
or 100 pounds of fine ground carbonate 
of lime (ground limestone) then if he 
wishes for potash he can add the potash 
to the mixture in whatever proportion he 
desires, using either muriate or sulphate. 
This will not however, give him a 
liquid fertilizer, but perhaps a quantity 
of this dissolved in water as far as it 
will would answer. 
-»- 
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