1914 . 
THIS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1S06 
MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 
Damaged Hay as Fertilizer. 
1 HAVE about 30 tons of last years’ 
hay in three stacks within one-third 
mile from the station in New Jersey. 
It was improperly stacked and is now 
suitable only for bedding. I do not know 
that I can get $10 per ton for it. Rather 
than sell it for less, having use for ma¬ 
nure, I have decided to turn it into ma¬ 
nure if I can do so expeditiously and ad¬ 
vantageously. What would it cost to 
turn this into manure and just how 
would you advise doing so in order that 
it may be used on the land next Spring? 
E. E. s. 
A ton of Timothy hay will carry 25 
pounds of nitrogen, 11 pounds phosphoric 
acid and 20 pounds of potash. At pres¬ 
ent prices this means a value of a little 
over $10 in commercial plant food. If 
you have stock you can use the hay free¬ 
ly for bedding, let it absorb the liquids 
well and keep it well mixed through the 
manure pile. If there is but little manure 
put the hay in loose piles in the barn¬ 
yard and keep it well wetted down. Lime 
would hasten decay but it would drive off 
too much nitrogen. The wet hay will be 
tit to use by Spring. 
Forest Leaves for Fertilizer. 
1 IIAVE recently come into control ot 
a 00-acre farm in Van Buren County, 
Mich. About 35 acres of this tract 
are timbered thickly, and I tind a thick 
layer of leaves covering- the ground 
throughout this timber land. It is my 
intention to use the woods for pasturing 
stock during the coming years, and I 
would like to learn how best to dispose 
of the leaves which have accumulated 
during the past years. I shall probably 
put in a few sheep to help clear away 
the shrubs and brush, but am wondering 
if the leaves would be of any value as a 
fertilizer in the cleared part of the land if 
raked and plowed under this Fall or next 
Spring. w. w. 
These leaves, if well rotted, would 
have somewhat the same composition as 
manure. They will need the addition of 
lime, as they are usually quite sour. It 
will hardly pay to rake up and haul the 
dry leaves. They are too light and bulky 
to handle economically. After they have 
rotted or matted down on the ground 
they may be scraped up and spread like 
manure on cultivated ground, but we 
should always use lime with them. 
Sheep Manure for Garden Use. 
W HAT is the proper way to use sheep 
manure to the best advantage on a 
home vegetable garden? That is, 
when should it be used, at the time of 
planting or at some stage in the growing 
season, and about how much? 
Jamaica Plain, Mass. J. m. s. 
In a general way sheep manure is too 
expensive to use as a general fertilizer in 
gardens. Many people find it very useful 
as a top-dressing for lawns, for use in 
growing tobacco, or in glass-house gar¬ 
dening. As a rule, however, market gar¬ 
deners do not buy sheep manure to any 
large extent, as they think it is possible 
to obtain plant food cheaper in other 
forms. It is safe to use sheep manure 
at any time, and in almost any quantity. 
Its effect is rather slow as compared with 
soluble chemicals, and as it supplies or¬ 
ganic matter, and is a bulky manure, it 
may be a desirable thing to use in small 
gardens. The prices run from $20 to 
$60 per ton, depending upon analysis, and 
at these figures it would not pay as a 
practical fertilizer, except upon special 
crops, or very intensive gardening. We 
should prefer, if unable to buy stable ma¬ 
nure, to use a good chemical fertilizer in 
addition to cover crops, or any green or 
growing matter plowed into the soil with 
lime. 
Killing Seeds in Manure. 
W ILL you tell me how to treat seeds 
in stable manure before putting on 
land, so that the seeds in manui’e 
may not sprout again? g. m. w. 
Canandaigua, N. Y. 
If the manure is piled and heated and 
then turned and piled again and treated 
in this way till rotted there will be few 
seeds left alive. Of course there will be 
some loss in the manure, for I have al¬ 
ways found that the best way to use ma¬ 
nure is to get it out on the land as fast 
as made, and then fight the weeds early 
and kill them as they start. But in 
garden work it always pays to get the 
manure well rotted; I have some now 
undergoing the heating and repiling pro¬ 
cess for use on the garden in early Spring 
when it will be perfectly fine. I do not 
mind the weeds, for I kill them as soon 
as they start. w. f. massey. 
Maryland. 
Our method of treating manure has 
been very effective and simple. We pur¬ 
chase it by the carload and pile about 
four feet deep, tramping very firm and 
adding enough water so as to prevent 
firefang. In hot weather this watering is 
very important, and a carload will re¬ 
quire a large quantity. We usually have 
three or four men forking the manure 
and one man tramping and watering with 
a one-inch hose. The manure is then 
left to heat thoroughly for about one 
week, when it is turned agair. and more 
water added. A third turning will make 
it in better mechanical condition for 
some purposes, though not necessary to 
kill weed seeds, as we have found two 
weeks usually kills all, or very nearly 
all weed seeds. elmer j. weaver. 
Pennsylvania. 
We do not have any special treatment 
for stable manure to kill the weed seed 
it contains. The manure we use for hot¬ 
beds and cold frames is hauled out in the 
Fall at any convenient time, and turned 
once, if possible, before freezing weather. 
It is turned again in the Spring before 
going into the beds. The fermentation 
and decay that takes place in the manure 
not only makes it fine but alsi, I believe, 
kills many weed seeds. If we were try¬ 
ing to eliminate the weed seed nuisance 
in manure we would use cut corn fodder 
(the waste left after feeding) for litter. 
As it is we have a bountiful supply of 
rough hay from low meadows and utilize 
all we can of it for making manure. The 
weed seeds it contains are in one way a 
nuisance, but in another a sure guide as 
to the thoroughness of cultivation. 
New Jersey. trucker, jr. 
Value of Air-slaked Lime. 
I S air-slaked lime anything but an in¬ 
direct fertilizer? Has it, in itself, any 
direct fertilizing value, or does it only 
set free in the soil plant food and thus 
become what is known as an indirect fer¬ 
tilizer? Of course I know of its value 
as a sweetener of soil and also of its me¬ 
chanical effect in lightening heavy soils, 
but what I wish to know is. has air- 
slaked lime available plant food in its 
makeup? r. c. r. 
Salisbury, Conn. 
All plants contain lime as is shown by 
the analysis of their ashes. Most soils 
contain enough lime to supply the plant 
food needs of the crop and when phos¬ 
phates are used a fair supply of lime is 
added. In the great majority of soils 
the need of available lime for feeding 
plants is much less than that for either 
potash or phosphoric acid. Air-slaked 
lime is available for feeding plants, but 
its greatest service is in acting chemi¬ 
cally and mechanically upon the soil. 
The Adsuki Bean. 
A PLANT immigrant from Japan that 
seems likely to prove a most desirable 
addition to American agriculture, is 
the adsuki bean, which has been suc¬ 
cessfully grown on the Government’s farm 
at Arlington, Virginia and at many other 
places. Its most valuable feature lies in 
its large yield of seed. Owing to its tex¬ 
ture, the bean is easily ground into meal 
or flour and has proven far superior to 
any other bean for that purpose. Its fla¬ 
vor is delicate and it lacks any objection¬ 
able “beany” taste. The adsuki bean is 
a most popular food in Japan, and there 
seems no reason why a food so rich in 
protein should not become popular in the 
LTnited States. A statement from the 
Department of Agriculture says the aver¬ 
age yield per acre of the best varieties of 
the adsuki bean at the Government’s farm 
has been about 25 bushels. The bean is 
a Summer annual requiring about the 
same climatic conditions as the common 
bean. The plants are bushy in habit, 
growing from 1^4 to two feet high accord¬ 
ing to variety and soil. The beans are 
not only prolific, but ripen evenly and 
do not shatter readily. It has been evi¬ 
dent, however, that these beans cannot 
compete with either cowpeas or Soy beans 
as hay producers. Their initial growth 
is slow and their total yield of herbage 
inferior. 
Ventilating And Cooling A Cellar. 
—In the house which I recently built 
there is only one small window in the 
room intended for storing fruit and vege¬ 
tables. To prevent wilting of fruit, this 
room has the natural dirt floor. The 
following device helps to ventilate the 
room in a very satisfactory manner. 
From the lower half of the window ex¬ 
tending to near the floor is a long box 
made of half-inch lumber. In cool weath¬ 
er the warm air passes out the open up¬ 
per half of the window and cool air passes 
down the long box to take its place. 
When well cooled down to near freezing 
the whole window is tightly covered on 
the outside. The cooling-off process needs 
to be repeated occasionally with changes 
of temperature. w. J. b. 
Amherst, Mass. 
Dairymen and Fruit Growers 
Profit by Use of Autocars 
Save Co&t of Rail Shipments—Deliveries More Prompt 
T HE quickness with which the Autocar 
carries its loads to market, with less 
handling and less expense than rail ship¬ 
ments, explains its growing favor among 
dairymen and fruit growers. 
The Middletown Farms, of Middletown, 
Del., have had an 
Autocar four years. 
They used to ship 
their milk and cream 
by rail to Wilmington, 
25 miles away. Their 
Autocar now takes 
care of this work, 
making some days as 
many as three trips to Wilmington and return, 
delivering right at the doors of their customers. 
“We have found the greatest satisfaction 
with our Autocar’ says the Middletown 
Farms. “It has brought very great improve¬ 
ment to our facilities.” 
ALBERT HANSELL, a prominent farmer 
and fruit grower, of Burlington, N. J., bought 
an Autocar in February, 19! 1. In discuss¬ 
ing it recently, he said: 
“1 bought the car because I became con¬ 
vinced that hauling my fruit to market with 
horses and wagons 
was too expensive. 
After several years of 
service with the Auto¬ 
car, I know now that 
I was right. The car 
makes three trips to Dock 
Street, Philadelphia, 
15 miles distant, in a 
day, while a team of 
horses is making one. And horses after such a trip, 
have to be rested up the next day. "My Autocar 
often makes three trips to Trenton and back in a day, 
a total distance of 120 miles. Since 1 have had the 
car, it has travelled more than 32,000 miles without 
a serious breakdown, and has added greatly to my 
profits through the quick marketing of my goods." 
“Used in Every Line of Business” 
Why not become fully informed about the Autocar and 
its work ? Write for our new catalog. Address Dept. R. 
THE AUTOCAR COMPANY, Ardmore, Pa. 
Established 1897 Motor Delivery Car Specialists 
For Threshing and Ensilage Cutting 
The “Badger” gasoline engine is the best power plant for the 
big jobs, like threshing and ensilage cutting. Reliability, plenty 
of power, steadiness and readiness, required for these big jobs, 
typify the “Badger.” Made of the best materials; speed and 
pans made adjustable; the engine develops more speed than 
rated at less cost of fuel. Runs by gas, gasoline or kerosene. 
Consumes no fuel which is not turned into power. 
The “Badger” is always ready to mn—Winter or Summer—at an instant’s 
notice. Every part guaranteed lor five years unconditionally* 
Send for Catalog. Free Engineering lessons sent on receipt of dealer’s name* 
Address . The Christensen Engineering Co., Milwaukee, Wis 
J. B. NORTON CO., Inc., Distributors, 209 Elizabeth St.,Utica.N.Y. 
gasoline Engines 
Master piece of the Largest Manufacturers of 2-Cycle Engines in the World? 
Let the Bessemer do it: # This sturdy little worker will pump your water, run your machine shop. 
Duzz saw. sprayer, washing machine, and do all tho other power jobs on the farm. And do it at 
small cost, because the Bessemer runs on kerosene, distillate, etc., and thus pays for itself 
in fuel saved. 2 to 8 H. P. Thousands aro in use. 80 days’ free trial. 
nt\ Immediate shipment. Write for Catalog “K.” If you require a larger 
engine use the 
Bessemer Fuel Oil Engine 
Lower picture shows the Famous Bessemer Fuel Oil Engine. 
Widely used in irrigation, flour mills, factories, electric lizht 
plants, etc. Runs on cheap fuel and crude oils. No batteries 
or magnetos required; ignition is automatic after starting. 15 to 
165 H- P. Special Catalog **0“ free. 
THE BESSEMER GAS ENGINE COMPANY 
123 Lincoln Ave. Grove City, Pa. 
She JefHeq Lime-Pulver 
Grinds Limestone on the Farm 2 to 3 Tons Per Hour 
The day of cheaper lime is here. If you have lime rock available you can make fertile fields of land that 
is now sick and sour. No need to buy burnt lime at high prices that burns up the bumus and wastes the Nitro- 
gen in the soil No need to buy ground limestone and pay for freight and hauling. Get a JEFFREY LIME- 
PULVER and. after quarrying the rock, grind it at a cost of 50c per ton. Dig out those rocks that prevent 
>v, y° ur cultivating your fields and make them enrich your soil—turn the stones into dollars! 
Grow clover, alfalfa and other legumes by giving your soil the lime it needs. 
Msk 
Saves From $1 to $2.50 Per Ton 
It costs most farmers from $1.50 to $S per ton to get ground limestone on their 
farm. With a Lime-Pulver you can grind your limestone for 50c and save from 
SI to 42.50 per ton. In a short time the Lime-Pulver pays for itself. 
Both a Crusher and Pulverizer 
The JEFFREY Lime-Pulver is the machine that crushes and pulverizes. 
It takes big rocks 4 inches thick and II inches long and reduces them to 
powder. Grinds from 2 to 3 tons per hour. The product can be ground coarse 
or fine. Put it through your spreader without trouble. Crushes rock for road 
work—grinds corn, tobacco 
Made in the famous Jeffrey shops. 
Ball-bearing pulverizci—Pulveriz¬ 
ing hammers of manganese steel. 
Sold on a guarantee of satisfaction 
or your money back. Write to¬ 
day for valuable booklet, price 
and full information about 
home-grinding of limestone. 
The Jeffrey Mfg. Co. 
402 First Ave. 
Columbus, O. 
