1914. 
'THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1395 
Soil Improvement Notes 
Soot as Fertilizer. 
W E are often asked about the value 
of soot or chimney cleanings as 
fertilizer. .Some of our readers live near 
factories where this soot can be obtained 
for little money. It contains considerable 
nitrogen, and usually fair quantities of 
lime and phosphoric acid, and is useful 
for garden crops, although used alone as 
a fertilizer it would not he very satis¬ 
factory. It makes a good dust for put¬ 
ting on melon or squash vines to repel 
insects. It is also used around cabbage 
and similar crops for the maggot. Some 
gardeners who desire to quicken up their 
land so that they may plant it earlier 
use the soot to attract the heat. A dress¬ 
ing of soot on the land, a light soil in 
particular, will warm it up considerably 
and in some cases give a chance to work 
it several days in advance of the uncov¬ 
ered soil. The dark color of the soot ab¬ 
sorbs the heat on the same principle that 
the black clothing is found warmer in 
Winter than the white clothing natural¬ 
ly worn in the Summer. 
Value of Filter Bed Deposits. 
YT7TIAT is the value of the deposits 
YV from the filter beds which receive 
drainage from city sewers? Would 
it make a good fertilizer for tobacco? 
Connecticut. A. E. 
The deposits from sewage filter beds 
are quite uneven in quality. Sometimes, 
in dry weather, the material is almost a 
dry skim, which is removed. At other 
times it must contain 50 per cent, or 
more of moisture. Without ever having 
tried it on tobacco, I should not advise 
its use. It is certainly a fairly good 
manure for general farm crops, to which 
I think it should be applied, rather than 
to tobacco, where so much depends on 
that obscure thing which we call 
“quality.” E. II. JENKINS. 
Sweet Clover. 
Y OUR correspondent who writes over 
the initials C. II. K. undertakes to 
read me a lecture on the value of Sweet 
clover for Maryland. I have not the 
slightest objection to his advocating it 
for Ohio, but down here we have plenty 
of better forage crops and soil improvers, 
and as I said, we do not need the Sweet 
clover. It grows wild here, five or six 
feet high, along neglected ditch banks 
and roadsides, and as I have said, I have 
seen cattle in a field where there was a 
rank growth of the Melilotus «.lba along 
the ditch banks, eating the grass and 
severely letting the Sweet clover alone. 
Down here we can grow cow peas in 
Summer and Crimson iver in Winter, 
and can make big crops of Soy beans. 
Where the Crimson clover will not stand 
the Winter, the Sweet clover will have 
value, but here, as compared with the 
crops we can grow of the legume genus, 
we do not need the Sweet clover, and 
farmers in colder sections are right in 
using it, and are perfectly welcome to it 
so far as we are concerned. We prefer 
crops that cattle will eat without any 
starving into it. We can make crops 
of cow pea hay, which is far better than 
the Melilotus, and can make Alfalfa too, 
and cut it three or four times in a sea¬ 
son. We can grow a crop of Winter oats 
heavier than Spring oats are grown in 
Ohio, and on the same land, the same 
season, can get a crop of cow pea hay, 
which the veteran Henry Wallace told 
the Iowa farmers is as good, ton for ton, 
as Alfalfa, and after the cow pea hay is 
cured we can get the same land in Crim¬ 
son clover for the Winter and turn it 
under and make a big corn crop in the 
Spring, sow peas among the corn, and 
turn them down for a big Winter oat 
crop in the Fall. And we could not do 
all this with Sweet clover instead of the 
peas and Crimson clover. Hence we do 
not need the Sweet clover, except that 
where it grows wild it will inoculate the 
soil for Alfalfa. w. f. massey. 
Plants Affected By Lime 
T HE Geological Survey in referring to 
hme deposits in this country says: 
i hus, some of the common plants 
which are stated by the Department of 
Agriculture to be benefited by lime, are 
spinach, lettuce, beet, celery,' onion, cu¬ 
cumber. cantaloupe, asparagus, cabbage, 
peanut, rhubarb, pea. pumpkin, bean, 
tobacco. Alfalfa, clover, barley, wheat, 
oats, Timothy. gooseberry. currant. 
orange, quince, and cherry. Indian corn 
is only slightly benefited. Plants which 
are said to be slightly injured by lime are 
cotton, tomato, cowpea, Concord grape, 
peach, apple, and pear, and those really 
injured are radish, flax, blackberry, black 
raspberry, and cranberry.” 
One of the crops not so well understood 
in this relation is corn. This crop is 
usually selected for a sod and lime is 
frequently used with it. The truth is 
that corn does not respond to lime, 
though some flint varieties endure it bet¬ 
ter than others. 
Applying Lime in Fall. 
I HAVE ordered a car of burnt lime 
to use this Fall. I intended to put 
it on top of the wheat in November 
(my wheat is up now and looking well) 
but I have been told that it will burn the 
phosphate that I have drilled with the 
wheat: that if I use it as I intended to 
do I shall get no benefit from the phos¬ 
phate at all. I would like to use the 
lime; I thought I might get a better 
stand of grass in the Spring by using it 
this Fall. What is your opinion? 
Henderson Md. T. P. R. 
We never had much success in using 
lime in this way. Lime ought to be 
worked into the soil—not left on top. 
The danger of destroying or “burning” the 
phosphate will not be great now—some 
time after seeding—but the chances are 
that you will not be satisfied with the re¬ 
sults of such liming. 
WANT TO KNOW. 
The Sorghum Sugar Business. 
T HE price of sugar has gone to 10 
cents per pound, and this has start¬ 
ed some of us in this section to think¬ 
ing about sorghum as a partial substitute. 
I feel sure that you or some of The 
R. N.-Y. family can give just the in¬ 
formation we want. Are the small horse¬ 
power crushers and “cook” pans adver¬ 
tised by the mail order houses satisfac¬ 
tory where the business is carried on on 
a small scale? If so are copper pans 
enough better than galvanized iron to 
justify the added expense? About how 
many gallons of syrup could be produced 
per acre on land capable of producing 
50 bushels of corn per acre? We have 
in this section three distinct types of soil, 
sandy upland (bright tobacco land), red 
clay upland and alluvial bottom land 
along the streams. Which kind would 
be best suited to the production of sor¬ 
ghum for syrup? I have grown sorghum 
for feed on our red hill land, and it 
makes a good growth and gets very 
sweet. I want to start the business in 
the simplest, most inexpensive way that 
will produce good syrup. Any sugges¬ 
tions as to best practices in boiling and 
swimming, “running off” the syrup, etc., 
will be appreciated, also any information 
as to growing and handling the crop. 
JOHN B. LEWIS. 
Brunswick Co., Virginia. 
I HAVE a small quantity of medium 
wool, about 200 pounds, which is hard 
™ to dispose of as dealers want larger 
lots. Can you put me in touch with any 
mill that will make it up into horse 
blankets or other goods suitable for farm 
use, on shares or for pay. c. E. a. 
Long Island, N. Y. 
Paint Brushes and Hair. 
A FEW things not generally known 
about paint brushes are told by U. 
S. Consul Johnson of Kingston, On¬ 
tario : 
“The Canadian paintbrush makers are 
experiencing difficulty in adjusting sell¬ 
ing prices to the present cost of the basic 
material. Bristles from a semiwild hog 
of Russia and Siberia and also a black 
hog of China have advanced 50 per cent, 
since war was declared, on account of 
the practical stoppage of shipments from 
those countries. Other hairs used in 
brush industry are also scarce. Camel 
hair is dressed only in Germany; the 
trade of dressing this very fine and short 
hair requires great skill. It is not known 
where it can be secured when the present 
supply is exhausted. Badger skins from 
which the badger hair is obtained comes 
entirely from Russia. The advance in 
this article is nearly 100 per cent.; in 
fact, it is not a question of what one 
has to pay, but whether it can be bought 
at any figure. Germans and others in 
and around New York City have been 
dressing bear hair in large quantities for 
the past 10 years and as a result the 
Canadian trade is not obliged to pur¬ 
chase in Europe. Ox hair, generally 
called Siberian ox hair, comes from the 
inside of cows’ ears. These ears were 
formerly taken to Germany, where the 
hair was cut out, the skin used for other 
purposes, and the gristle of the ear used 
for gelatine. During the last few years 
the dressing of cows’ ears has been done 
in the United States.” 
1 he brother aged five years, was taken 
in to see his new baby sister. Upon view¬ 
ing the baby’s red face, he exclaimed: 
Aw. it’s an Indian !” The nurse assured 
him it wus not, whereupon he replied: 
Y\ ell, if it’s not an Indian, all I got to 
say is, then it’s spoiled.”—Chicago 
Tribune. 
Buy Elephant Head Rubber Boots— 
1st. Because they are made of only pure, live, durable rubber and 
are perfectly waterproof and stay so longer than other boots. 
2nd. Because they are made of highest quality selected tested 
duck, and so wear longer than other boots. 
3rd. Because they are triple reinforced at every joint and seam, 
and so do not split, rip, nor tear. 
4th. Because they are lined with soft wool net, and so do not 
chafe nor cause corns, callouses and blisters. 
5th. Because they are made by the largest Rubber Company in 
the world, and have been tried and found right by millions 
of farmers. 
All the better dealers sell Elephant Head Rubber Boots. 
You can depend on anything you buy in the stores that have them. 
WOONSOCKET RUBBER CO., Woonsocket, R. I. 
Silo Forms Were Used For This 
Circular Concrete Milk House 
This concrete milk house, on the dairy farm of O. G. Sherburne, 
near Coldwater, Mich., was built with the same forms which con¬ 
tractors had used in building two 14x40 silos for Mr. Sherburne. 
Farmers who are having silos built can profitably use the roof 
and w T all forms for a concrete milk house. 
Mr. Sherburne’s farm buildings are typical examples of the pro¬ 
gressive farmer’s preference for concrete structures. Twelve 
years ago his place had practically no improvements. Today it is 
a model dairy farm, with buildings permanently constructed 
of concrete. 
Whenever you buy cement for concrete work, be sure to ask 
your dealer for 
UNIVERSAL 
PORTLAND 
CEMENT 
Its fine, even quality and regular setting properties insure strong 
concrete. Send for our free book: “Concrete for the Farmer" 
UNIVERSAL PORTLAND CEMENT CO. 
CHICAGO, 208 South LaSalle SI. PITTSBURGH, Frick Bldg. 
MINNEAPOLIS, Security Bank Building 
Plants at Chicago and Pittsburgh Annual Output 12,000,000 Barrels 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. artd you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
