1006 
ishes or lettuce could be grown. If sash are placed 
only at intervals at one side success would bo prob¬ 
lematical, and could only be determined by experi¬ 
ment. as very few plants make a growth that would 
be profitable commercially unless light in abundance 
strikes them from every angle, especially during the 
dark days of Winter. Tomatoes would be my pre¬ 
ference for such a house. The seed should be sown 
July 1, and plants kept growing rapidly and finally 
placed in large pots, or boxes about 10 inches square 
and six to eight inches deep in good rich soil, trained 
to a shape, and all suckers kept off main stem. 
Bonny Best would be best variety to grow. A good 
crop of fruit would set outdoors, and some time dur¬ 
ing September the boxes could be placed in house 
where the fruit would mature during November and 
December. If the plants were to become root bound 
in pots or boxes they could be shifted to larger pots, 
or if in boxes the bottoms could be removed and 
boxes set on a few inches of fresh soil. If the roots 
are given too much liberty the fruit will ripen late; 
56 to 60 degrees at night and 75 to SO degrees day 
time would be good temperature. Water freely, or 
black rot at blossom end will develop. 
The late varieties of Chysanthemums could also be 
experimented with by growing in pots out doors 
under canvas till frost, then placing indoors, though 
the success would be doubtful. The season would be 
too short to develop any other flower that I know 
of at present. 
Chemical Fertilizer for Dahlias. 
ILL you tell me what would be the proper 
amount of phosphoric acid and potash to use 
on Dahlias, per plant, and how to apply it? 
Is it possible to apply a sufficient quantity to 
be harmful? Give quantities in using acid phosphate 
or bone meal; sulphate of potash or wood ashes. 
Massachusetts. w. H. J. 
In sandy soil, which is the only type of soil in 
which the Dahlias can be profitably grown season 
after season, chemicals give very good results, and 
the formula generally used is a high-grade potato 
manure of about two to three nitrogen, eight to nine 
phosphoric acid and 10 potash. This formula can be 
used with advantage at rate of 1.200 to 1,500 pounds 
per acre, preferably in two applications of several 
weeks apart, when cultivating in Spring. If clay 
soil is used, it is possible that only phosphoric acid 
and potash would be sufficient, and not a great quan¬ 
tity of these, as with us the Dahlias make all plant 
and bulbs or roots and very few flowers, and these 
few are usually ruined in the bud by tarnished 
plant-bug. W. H. J. can figure amount per plant by 
number of plants he would set per acre, as he grows 
them. 
Profit in Greenhouse Tomatoes. 
WOULD like to know whether tomatoes raised in a 
hothouse for the early Spring trade would be a 
paying proposition in this locality. Southern toma¬ 
toes that are picked almost green are shipped in 
here and retail at 12% to 15 cents per pound. This 
seems to me as though it would be a good thing to 
take up if I had some facts about the extent of glass 
required to raise a certain amount of tomatoes, etc. 
Kokomo, Ind. G. J. C. 
There is no question about there being profit in a 
Spring crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse if properly 
managed, and other crops of a profitable nature can 
be grown while the tomato plant is maturing, like 
lettuce or radishes. The seed should be sown No¬ 
vember 1 to 10, and plants kept growing in pots 
without crowding and planted out in beds or benches 
February 15 to March 1. By good culture you may 
possibly obtain four to five pounds per plant, and 
the plants can be set 16x18 inches or even 16x16 
inches apart, so if you have any definite amount in 
view that you would like to produce, you can figure 
how much glass would be required to produce that 
many pounds. In our market greenhouse tomatoes 
always sell for three to six cents per pound more 
than the tough southern tomatoes that are picked 
green. If G. J. C. has a file of back issues of The 
li. N.-Y. and will look up articles on a greenhouse 
for a small place, printed early last Spring, he will 
find detailed information regarding the handling of 
tomatoes under glass and several catch crops to 
utilize space while tomato plants are maturing. 
ELMER J. WEAVER. 
FITTING PASTURES FOR POTATOES. 
E have a number of acres of run-out pasture 
land, has not been turned for over 40 years, 
sod very mossy, soil rather dry gravelly loam, 
such as is usual in Northern Massachusetts; in 
places inclined to pack, southern and eastern 
exposure. In places this land will not grow buckwheat 
eight inches high. When heavily dressed with ground 
bone (we have but little stable manure) rye, buck¬ 
wheat, beans, etc., show fine growth. Lime one ton 
to acre does not seem to improve crop growth. We 
wish to fit this land for potatoes in 1915 at least ex¬ 
pense for fertilizers. E. A. c. 
Massachusetts. 
The fact that this land responds to an application 
of fine ground bone shows that phosphoric acid is 
the most needed element, and that the nitrogen in 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the bone also helps. In practically every case where 
we have tried to refit an old pasture land lime has 
proved useful, and we think in nine cases out of ten 
lime will benefit such soil. Even if the soil is not 
sour the lime will generally help give it a better 
mechanical condition. We have done considerable 
work with soils of this character and have followed 
about this plan: • 
If it is possible, plow in the late Fall and leave the 
furrows exposed through the Winter to the frost 
and weather. This helps to break up and subdue 
the old sod, and kills out many of the insects. In 
the Spring work up with a Cutaway harrow and use 
a spring-tooth also if possible. Fit the land by ap¬ 
plying one pound of lime to the acre and plant some 
variety of flint corn which will do well in that lo¬ 
cality. The flints do well on this rough land, and in 
our experience have responded better to an applica¬ 
tion of lime than the dents havfe done. They also 
mature early, and we are able to start a cover crop 
to good advantage. We give this corn good culture 
through the season, and at the last cultivation in 
August put in a cover crop. With us this means one 
bushel of rye, either 15 pounds of Crimson clover or 
20 pounds of Hairy vetch and two pounds of Cow- 
horn turnip seed to the acre. This is scattered on 
the ground and worked in by the cultivator. In the 
Spring what remains of this cover crop is plowed 
under, and if the soil is thoroughly fitted it is then 
in fair condition for potatoes. Under ordinary con¬ 
ditions and with ordinary soil, we would not use 
lime so heavily one year in advance of the potato 
crop, but such pasture lands are usually very sour 
and the cover crop also plowed under seems to over¬ 
come to a large extent the effect of the lime. In 
your case it is now too late to plant flint corn, and 
we should simply try to put as much organic mat¬ 
ter as possible into that soil to fit it for next year’s 
potato ci’op. We should plow this land as soon as 
possible and use from 600 to S00 pounds of slaked 
lime per acre, then apply 500 pounds of a mixture 
containing three parts of fine ground bone, and 
one part muriate of potash. Then broadcast a com¬ 
bination of two bushels of buckwheat and three 
pecks of field beans or cow peas. Let this grow un¬ 
til late in August Then plow it under and sow as 
soon as possible the cover crop which we have men¬ 
tioned above, or any other combination which ex¬ 
perience has shown better suited to the locality. 
FERTILIZER FOR THE CORN CROP. 
AYE the experiment stations determined whether 
a complete fertilizer used on a green crop in the 
Fall to increase growth will pay? Will the in¬ 
creased growth decay in the Spring and Summer, 
and form nitrates to such an extent as to pay for the 
nitrates used in the Fall? Notwithstanding the good 
teachings of The R. N.-Y. which I think are second to 
none among farm papers, I think Timothy sown after 
or among crops is far ahead of anything yet. I would 
not sow rye and wheat if I could buy Timothy if any¬ 
one gave me the other free, to be used to plow under. 
The Timothy makes a stronger sod, can be sown among 
any standing crop, and without any covering makes a 
fair stand; also it can be left to stand loader in the 
Spring before plowing under. w. s. 
Matawan, N. J. 
By a “complete” fertilizer we assume that you 
mean one containing nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 
acid. We do not think the stations have settled the 
matter. The plan of using the potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid on the cover crops is a good one, par¬ 
ticularly when this crop is a legume like peas, beans 
or clover. With such a crop the potash and phos¬ 
phate give a larger growth and thus the crop obtains 
more nitrogen from the air. We know one very 
successful potato grower who had plenty of land 
and grew a potato crop once in two years, lie 
seeded cow peas in May with a fair dressing of pot¬ 
ash and acid phosphate. These peas made a good 
growth and were plowed under in early September 
when rye and Crimson clover followed. In the 
Spring this crop was plowed under, the soil fitted for 
potatoes—at which time nitrate of soda or a small 
amount of a special potato fertilizer was used. This 
gave a soil full of organic matter, and with the 
chemicals used the year before on the cow peas in an 
available form. After harvesting the potatoes rye 
was seeded—to be plowed under the following Spring 
for another cow pea crop. This system produced 
large crops of potatoes at a low cost of plant food. 
Generally speaking it would not pay to use nitro¬ 
gen on a Fall-seeded cover crop. One object of such 
a crop is to utilize the nitrates which are formed in 
the soil during late Summer and Fall. It would not 
be good economy to use nitrogen under such condi¬ 
tions, but the potash and phosphoric acid may well 
be used then. As for Timothy as a cover crop— 
from our experience we prefer rye, rape, turnips or 
vetch. One objection to Timothy with us is that it 
is about the worst weed in hoed crops that we know 
of. Seeding it ahead of potatoes or garden crops 
would increase the work of hoeing or weeding. 
August in, 
SHALL HE BUY A FARM TRACTOR ? 
AM a young man of limited strength but unlimited 
determination to succeed; I have very little knack 
of handling large teams but have a natural me¬ 
chanical turn. My farm (120 acres) is stony, but 
has no actual bed rock near the surface. The fields 
are gently rolling with no steep places. Then the labor 
problem is at its worst. There are 1,000 apple trees on 
the place. Would a good reliable farm and orchard 
tractor pay me as a business investment, considering 
that there is a large field for outside work, hauling, 
etc.? 8. I’. T. 
This question ranks with what we often receive 
from crippled men or farmers with only one leg or 
arm —“will it pay me to buy a milking machine ?” 
Anyone can see with a little thought what a serious 
thing it is for an outsider or stranger to give direct 
advice regarding an investment which might mean 
serious loss to the farm in case it did not turn out 
well. No one should tell such a man yes or no defin¬ 
itely unless he knows the man personally and has 
had a chance to study his character and ability. No 
one claims that farm tractors have yet been devel¬ 
oped so that they rank with automobiles in efficiency. 
All of them must still be regarded as more or less 
of an experiment. Our friend might find one well 
adapted to his stony and rolling land, while others 
would fail when taken away from the level, smooth 
fields of the west. It would not pay, as a general 
proposition, to buy a tractor for the work on a 120- 
acre farm alone but if there is outside work to be 
done the investment may pay. There is no ques¬ 
tion but that more and more of the future farm work 
will be done by tractors when the machines are made 
more practical and better adapted to varied farm 
conditions. At present it must be admitted that the 
buyer is expected to pay for some of the work of 
experimenting with them. A farmer must expect to 
do this for some years yet. We think it will pay 
this farmer to try out a tractor on his farm. lie 
should not pay for a machine until he has tried it 
long enough to understand what it will do under the 
usual conditions of soil and climate in liis neighbor¬ 
hood. If he can find a machine in this way which 
will prove reasonably successful it will pay him. 
THE MOON AND THE WEATHER. 
N regard to the article on page 903 entitled: 
“The Moon and Weather Changes,” it seems to 
me that most people consider the weather as a 
local matter, and do not realize that it is a part 
of great air movements extending many thousand 
miles over the earth’s surface. The cause of the 
different varieties of weather which we experience is 
the movement of areas of high and low atmospheric 
pressure. These areas move approximately from 
west to east, areas of low pressure being accom¬ 
panied by unsettled or stormy weather, and those 
of high pressure by fair weather. Warm and cold 
waves are also caused by these same areas, those of 
high pressure being usually attended by cool weath¬ 
er and those of low pressure by warm weather. 
Within the boundaries of the United States there are 
frequently two or three centers of low pressure and 
stormy weather, and at the same time a similar 
number of centers of high pressure and fair weath¬ 
er. Such being the case how could such different 
varieties of weather prevailing in different sections 
of the eountt-y at the same time be caused by the 
moon? For example, how could fair weather in 
New England, rain in the Mississippi Valley, fair 
weather in the Itockv Mountain region and rain 
again upon the Pacific coast occuring simultaneously 
be explained by a change of the moon’s phases? 
When New England has been experiencing some of 
the severe droughts of recent years the Gulf States 
have at the same time been receiving an excessive 
amount of rain. Both regions have, of course, been 
under the same lunar influence (if such influence 
existed) but with the widest variation in weather. 
I have heard people speak of the moon driving 
a thunder shower “around to the north,” naively as¬ 
suming that the moon was a purely local affair 
that did not exist “up north.” I have kept a daily 
record of the weather for 24 years and have thus 
had an opportunity to test many of the so-called 
“weather signs.” In the early years of my record 
I gave attention to this matter of the moon's in¬ 
fluence. using Herschel's table of the moon’s changes 
and the various proverbs which I had heard relating 
to the matter, and came to the conclusion that ab¬ 
solutely nothing could be determined from that 
source. I think that any person who has the daily 
weather maps of the Weather Bureau available for 
examination and who will give them a careful and 
intelligent study will be forced to the conclusion that 
the changes of the weather cannot be ascribed to the 
moon or other heavenly bodies. a. b. Roberts. 
Connecticut. 
The happy time of apple sauce and baked apple has 
come again. Baked sweet apple and milk is too good 
for the average King. 
