96o 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
what the simple swing dasher style of agitator is 
the best- If properly made so as to go the whole 
length of the tank and operate close to the bottom, 
it is very effective. 
TYPES OF NOZZLE—The kind of nozzle to be 
used depends partly on the time and the purpose of 
the spraying. A coarser spray may be used with the 
first spraying on the dormant trees, because there 
are many branches as well as the trunks of the trees 
to be covered, and some force to get into all the crev¬ 
ices is desirable. For this work the Bordeaux type 
of nozzle is, in my opinion, the best. When it comes 
to spraying on the foliage, however, and particularly 
in spraying for fungus diseases, the finer spray is 
much more desirable. If the material is properly 
strained and the tank is kept closed, there is very 
little danger of worry and delay from clogging. If 
a tower is used, as it should be with high trees, the 
range of these mist sprays is not too limited. 
Five Years Accurate Cost Records on a Six Acre Apple 
Orchard, 40 to 60 Years Old. 
Labor. 
Costs per acre. 
Man hours. 
Horse hours. 
Value.* 
Operation . 
13.16 
5.54 
9.94 
4.22 
6.52 
.66 
.92 
76.15 
29.73 
15.66 
2.92 
Hauling out brush. 
Spraying. 
4.01 
7.80 
8.33 
12.70 
1.32 
.61 
.siii'*” 
29.75 
.78 
. 
Plowing and fitting.... 
Cultivating. 
. 
Manuring. 
Cover cropping. 
Picking. 
Packing. 
Marketing. 
Miscellaneous. 
. 
Totals. 
165.42 
68.71 
$43.39 
$1.57 
2.89 
3.95 
28.06 
Materials. 
Cover crop seed .. T . 
Manure. 
Spray material 
Packages+ . 
Total. 
$36.47 
$6.42 
1.58 
13.75 
6.07 
5.00 
Fixed Charges. 
Use of equipment. 
Taxes. 
Interest. 
Overhead charges. 
Management. 
Total. 
$32.82 
Grand total, 
$112.68 
* Man hours 20 cents, horse hours 15 cents. 
+ Average yield 1909-1913, inclusive, 78 barrels; cost per 
barrel, $1.44. 
Year. 
Yield barrels 
per acre. 
Price per barrel 
including culls. 
1902 . 
102.6 
$1.96 
2.23 
1903 . 
71.1 
1904 . 
61.5 
1.78 
1905 . 
48.5 
2.68 
1906 . 
52.6 
2.55 
1907 . 
34 4 
4.10 
1908 . 
96.2 
2.32 
1909 . 
92.0 
3.38 
1910. 
54.6 
3.03 
1911 . 
101.2 
2.38 
1912. 
68.8 
2.21 
1913. 
72.3 
2.73 
Average for 12 years. 
70.5 
$2.61 
TRUCK AND HOSE.—In most cases it is desira¬ 
ble to have the front wheels cf the truck turn under 
the tank so that short turns can be made at the end 
of the rows. In practice we use an ordinary wagon 
truck, with the spraying tank mounted high enough 
so that the wheels turn under e: sily. We use one 
line of hose from the tower or top of the tank, and 
one line from the ground. A 3% horse-power engine 
would carry a third line of hose, but I do not think 
this necessary or practicable in a small orchard on 
a general farm. We use batteries instead of mag¬ 
netos. Where there are only a few trees, as 30 to 50, 
if labor is plentiful and capital scarce, a “one-horse 
one-man” spraying outfit might be practicable. For 
any proposition involving 150 trees or more, I do not 
think that such a small outfit would be practicable. 
It would increase rather than decrease the cost of 
spraying. Spraying is not as troublesome and ex¬ 
pensive as your correspondent has been led to be¬ 
lieve. Before a man has done any of this work, it 
looks difficult and expensive. When he really gets 
at the job, if he tackles it just as he would any other 
important and worth while piece of business, he will 
find that it can be handled just as easily. 
M. C. BUKEITT. 
A GOOD HAYRACK.—Fig. 413 shows the ar¬ 
rangement of a hayrack used by Ernest Hoke, of 
New York. With this rack on the wagon and a good 
hay loader at work a load can be put on in 20 min¬ 
utes. There can be no sliding off or tipping over 
when a rack of this kind is used. 
The real test of farm management comes now when 
the crops are young, and a dozen things crowd at once. 
FERTILIZING FOR A SECOND GRASS CROP. 
I HEARD some time ago of a person up in Con¬ 
necticut who was top-dressing his grass field after 
he had got his first ci - op, and by so doing obtained 
a very good second crop. I have had such very 
good success by the use of the nitrate of soda on my 
Timothy sod that I am tempted to try an experiment 
on my new grass field, where I just cut a very light 
crop owing to the dry weather. Since the recent rains 
the grass has revived wonderfully, and I have a notion 
of making an experiment by using a ton of fertilizer 
at the rate of say about 500 pounds to the acre. Have 
you had an experience along this fine? If so, what 
has it been and. if not, what would you think of the 
idea? I don’t think we half study the needs of the 
soil for the growing of our grass crops, especially in 
comparison with the way we study the needs for our 
potato crops, and after everything is said and done, 
don’t we often get as large returns from a good field 
of grass as we do from many of the crops of potatoes? 
Grenloch, N. J. f. n. B. 
Many experiments have been made with a top¬ 
dressing of nitrate of soda after the first cutting, 
in order to increase the second crop. The outcome 
CULTIVATING AN ALFALFA FIELD. Fig. 413. 
depends largely upon the season. It often happens 
that the grass is fertilized quite heavily in the 
early Spring with a mixture containing nitrogen, 
I>otash and phosphoric acid. There follows a dry 
April and May so that the grass crop is light. Then 
in July rains will start and continue for the Sum¬ 
mer, as seems likely to be the case this year. In 
such a season and under these conditions the appli¬ 
cation of nitrate of soda alone will usually pay 
well. A quick growth of grass is started, and as 
potash and phosphoric acid were used freely in the 
Spring it is unnecessary to use more of these 
elements for the second crop. The hay grown by 
this use of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia 
is usually of extra feeding value, and under the 
conditions here mentioned an application of nitro¬ 
gen will pay well. It is a mistake, however, to use 
nitrate alone for such a crop, unless we are sure 
that the soil contains an abundance of potash and 
phosphoric acid. If there is any doubt whatever 
on that point, it. would be far better to use more 
of a complete fertilizer containing all three ele¬ 
ments of plant food. For this purpose it would be 
more economical to use all the nitrogen in soluble 
UNLIMED AND LIMED ALFALFA. Fig. 414. 
form, such as nitrate of soda or sulphate of am¬ 
monia, using acid phosphate and muriate of potash 
in addition. Under the conditions stated above 
such an application will undoubtedly pay, and this 
plan will be followed quite freely this year by a 
good many farmers who find their first crop greatly 
reduced by the drought. There is no question 
about the need of studying the soil conditions best 
August 1, 
adapted to grass culture. One of the first things 
to be understood'in this connection is the fact that 
Timothy and clover must have neutral or alkaline 
soil conditions. Neither crop will do well in a soil 
that is acid or badly lacking in lime. In fact, 
thorough liming is the foundation to be laid in the 
production of such crops as Timothy, clover an l 
Alfalfa. Red-top will make a fair growth on a 
soil that is quite acid, but Timothy must have an 
alkaline soil to do its best. 
Another point to be observed in grass culture is 
the fact that the growth is made very rapidly, and 
the grass must therefore have a constant ami 
available supply of nitrogen, which is the plant 
food element most responsible for growth. This 
means that the nitrogen should be supplied in a 
quickly available form, and not in organic forms, 
which require warm weather and considerable time 
to become available. On some of the famous Eng¬ 
lish meadows the liquid manure from tanks or 
manure pits is sprinkled over the fields after the 
first cutting. This liquid contains nitrogen in a 
promptly available form, and such an application 
is not unlike the use of nitrate of soda or sulphate 
of ammonia, driving the grass into quick growth 
and giving a good crop of suitable hay. The soil 
also contains an abundance of both potash and 
phosphoric acid. A crop of grass forced into a 
.rank and tender growth by nitrate of soda alone, 
and on a soil lacking in the other elements, would 
not be satisfactory either in its appearance or in 
its feeding quality. 
QUESTIONS ABOUT MOON AND PHOSPHATE 
S it right to plant root crops by the old moon and top 
ground crops by the new moon? This is an old 
saying carried forward. I have never read any¬ 
thing about it in any paper. Does phosphate 
weaken the ground by regular use, so that you 
have to add more each year? All my crops are for gar¬ 
den purposes. Would like to use phosphate because it 
will not have so many weeds. h. s. 
Wallkill, N. Y. 
As to this moon proposition, it is right to plant 
root crops or top crops either when the soil is in 
good condition, and when danger of frost is past, 
whether the moon is old or young. We have fre¬ 
quently tried to explain this matter. So far as we 
can learn, there are no scientific facts to back up 
either side of the problem. We know some very 
good farmers who plant by the moon, either old or 
young, and they claim that this moon planting is 
responsible for their success. On the other hand 
there are just as good farmers who say there is 
nothing whatever to this moon planting. They put 
in their crops when they get the soil ready, regard¬ 
less of the moon, and as they are just as good farm¬ 
ers, and get just as good results as the moon men, 
there seems to be no way of figuring the moon's in¬ 
fluence. Personally we pay no attention whatever to 
the condition of the moon in planting, and we do 
not believe it has any influence upon the gi*owth of 
crops. It has often been said that our scientific 
people ought to take this matter up and give it a 
test, but there are so many conditions connected 
with the soil and climate, and other particulars at 
the time of planting, that we can see no way in 
which the influence of the moon could be fairly 
compared. For instance, if one phase of' the moon 
gave a soil plenty of moisture, while the other phase 
of the moon gave it a very dry time, there would 
be no way of making a fair comparison, while an¬ 
other year might see the exact reverse of these 
wea tlier conditions. 
We hardly know what you mean by suggesting 
that a phosphate will “weaken the ground.” We 
presume by phosphate you mean a complete fertil¬ 
izer containing nitrogen phosphoric acid, and pot¬ 
ash. This would not weaken the ground by regular 
use, since it supplies the plant food which your crops 
require, and if the soil is poor and lacking in avail¬ 
able plant food, it will be necessary to add some¬ 
thing of the kind each year if you expect to pro¬ 
duce crops. On some kinds of soils the use of a 
fertilizer alone year after year will not give the 
best of results, since the fertilizer does not add any 
organic matter or humus to the soil, and this humus 
is necessary in order to keep the soil in good con¬ 
dition. Where you use stable manure this organic 
matter is added, hut the fertilizer used alone with 
the crops taken away year after year, and nothing 
added in the way of organic matter, would reduce 
the ability of that soil to hold moisture, or give its 
best returns. This would not mean that the phos¬ 
phate had weakened the soil at all. It would mean 
that the soil had grown hard, and dried out too fast, 
so that the plants could not get water or a good 
chance to grow. If you use fertilizer, year after 
year, and also grow some “cover crops” like rye or 
clover, and plow it under, the soil will not “weaken” 
but will be kept up as well as with stable manure. 
