1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1499 
Soil Fertility Questions 
Corncobs as Fertilizer. 
RU broken corn cobs used as a fertil¬ 
izer of any value to the soil? If so 
for what crop, and how should they 
be applied? e. j. e. 
Lancaster, Pa. 
A ton of corncobs contains eight 
pounds of nitrogen, two pounds of phos¬ 
phoric acid and nine pounds of potash— 
a little less nitrogen than stable manure. 
This plant food will not be of any use to 
plants until the cobs decay. Broken cobs 
would remain in the soil for a year or 
more without feeding crops, and are thus 
of little value as a fertilizer. The broken 
cobs would absorb considerable stable 
liquids or make a good mulch for fruit 
trees, but they are too slow to serve as 
manure. 
Lime and Cover Crop. 
AM not a disciple of the theory that 
lime in some form is a panacea for 
all or most of the unproductiveness of 
New England soils. The constant de¬ 
crease in the average production per acre 
of the newer lands of the West is not 
owing to the exhaustion of lime in these 
soils, but to the rapid waste of humus, 
with which the soils were originally fully 
stored. The same is true of the older 
soils of the Eastern States. Too many 
farmers are still trying the foolish ex¬ 
periment of producing something from 
nothing, a practice upon which nature 
has placed her everlasting embargo. 
Connecticut. L. p. c. 
R. N.-Y.—That last sentence is ever¬ 
lastingly true. You must remember, 
however, that in some cases you cannot 
hope to put humus into the soil at rea¬ 
sonable cost unless you use lime to start 
manurial crops. We have learned this 
in trying to build up a tough, hillside 
soil. 
Commercial Value of Manure. 
IIAT is chicken manure worth per 
ton, and what is the best place to 
dispose of about two tons a week? 
Ts chicken manure, scraped from drop¬ 
ping boards on which lime has been 
sprinkled, as good as that without lime? 
White Haven, Pa. a. c. f. 
In most localities the value of chicken 
manure is comparative, like that of sil¬ 
age. In the case of silage the fairest 
way is to figure that it is worth, ton for 
ton, about 30 per cent, of the price 
charged for hay in the mow. That seems 
to be the fairest way of estimating its 
value. In the case of chicken manure, 
fresh from under the perches, and with¬ 
out too much litter or feathers, it is safe 
to figure on a value of from three to four 
times as much as the local prices of 
stable manure. In most cases it is fairer 
to figure this way than to estimate the 
value of plant food which it is thought 
to contain. On this valuation in our 
own section such chicken manure would 
be worth $8 to .$10 per ton. but in places 
where stable manure would bring only a 
dollar a ton, the chicken manure would 
be worth between $4 and $5 comparative¬ 
ly, unless you could find some one who 
would buy it on analysis. Do not under 
any circumstances whatever use lime or 
wood ashes on this manure. We have 
repeatedly given the facts about this. 
The lime in slaked lime and wood ashes 
will set free the ammonia in the fresh 
manure, and in this way you will lose 
at least one-third of its plant food value. 
Land plaster, ground phosphate rock, 
coal ashes or road dust will dry out the 
manure without loss, but never use lime 
or wood ashes. The only probable sale 
for the chicken manure would be to 
some local farmer or gardener. Why 
not advertise in a local paper? 
Chicken Manure for Alfalfa. 
OWN 160 acres best bottom land, 90 
acres in Alfalfa; will produce in or¬ 
dinary seasons five tons hay per acre. 
I am getting four or five tons of fresh 
chicken manure a week delivered free of 
charge. How should 1 use this manure? 
Will it injure the Alfalfa? How much 
should I spread per acre, and what value 
is this manure to me, if any? j. a. c. 
Winfield, Kan. 
In most locations on the Atlantic 
Coast this manure would be worth $8 
lo $10 per ton. It is valuable chiefly 
for its nitrogen. This is the element 
which the Alfalfa least needs, since it 
can obtain nitrogen from the air. The 
chicken manure will stimulate its growth 
and somewhat increase the yield. When 
used in the East chicken manure is used 
mostly on corn or on garden and truck 
crops when mixed with chemicals. You 
can use two tons of chicken manure to 
the acre. If your manure spreader can 
be gauged to distribute this amount per 
acre use it. Or you can mix it with two 
or three times its weight of good soil 
or dry swamp muck and then distribute. 
Your Alfalfa will probably need potash 
and phosphoric acid with the manure. 
Can you not obtain corn-cob ashes? 
These are very rich in potash, and if 
you could use half a ton of the ashes per 
acre, not with the manure, but separate¬ 
ly, you would have a good fertilizer. 
Hen Manure for Potatoes. 
I S chicken manure good for potatoes? 
If so, is it better to manure the land 
where they are to be planted, now in 
the Fall or in the Spring? f. m. 
Connecticut. 
Chicken manure is good for any crop. 
As it is rich in nitrogen it will give best 
results on these crops which produce 
mostly above ground—like corn, cabbage 
or grass. When used for potatoes it 
would be better to dry and crush the 
manure fine and mix with chemicals and 
then use like any fertilizer. Some grow¬ 
ers plant the potatoes and drop a handful 
of the manure on each hill—hoeing it in. 
We would rather store the manure in a 
dry place over Winter and use in Spring. 
Value of Wood Ashes. 
HAT are hardwood ashes worth a 
bushel or barrel for fertilizer; also 
soft-wood ashes? I wish to buy 
them from my neighbors and furnish 
each with a barrel to save them in. 
New York. c. E. w. 
Do not buy plant food by the barrel 
until you weigh several packages. Figure 
by the pound. The ton of average hard¬ 
wood ashes will contain 100 pounds of 
potash, worth $5, 35 pounds of phos¬ 
phoric acid, worth $1.75, and 500 pounds 
of lime, varying in value. The soft¬ 
wood ashes will be worth about SO per 
cent, of this. Ashes from the average 
stove or furnace will contain some coal 
ashes and sand, which reduces their 
value. Usually a bushel of ashes weighs 
40 pounds. Allowing for leaking and 
waste it is worth about eight cents. 
A “Misfit Tree” Case, 
FIND this clipping in a local paper: 
“Albion, Nov. 24.—The jury in the 
action of Watson II. Whipple, of Me¬ 
dina, against the Brown Brothers’ Nur¬ 
sery company, of Rochester, returned a 
verdict at 9:15 last night, awarding a 
judgment of $405 to the plaintiff. The 
action v^as to recover $1,750 damages as 
a result of having purchased a quantity 
of peach trees of standard varieties, 
which, it was charged, proved not true 
to name.” 
Can you give us any further particu¬ 
lars about this? j. l. 
Here is a statement of the case from 
the lawyer who tried it for Mr. Whipple: 
The amount involved in this action is 
not so important as the fact that it dis¬ 
closes the position which the nurserymen 
are going to take in respect to the thou¬ 
sands upon thousands of trees which they 
have sold throughout this country and 
which have proven untrue to name. Mr. 
W hippie is a highly respected man here, 
and has the confidence of all concerned. 
Brown Bros. Co. was considered a re¬ 
sponsible concern. In the Fall of 1909, 
Brown Bros, sent a man here by the 
name of Mull, of good personal appear¬ 
ance and taking manners, who succeeded 
in Selling trees to friends of Mr. Whip¬ 
ple’s. Believing that everything was 
open and above board. Mr. Whipple made 
a verbal agreement with him to buy his 
trees. Shortly afterwards, toward even¬ 
ing, he drove to Mr. Whipple’s place in 
great haste, and presented an order to 
him to sign, stating that the company 
would not ship the trees on account of 
having so many orders, unless they had 
a written order specifying the kiuds, to 
go by. Mr. Whipple, who did not haye 
his glasses with him at the time, took 
Mr. Mull’s statement about the order and 
signed it. 
We brought our action upon the ver¬ 
bal contract which was the real con¬ 
tract, and when shown the paper which 
he signed, Mr. Whipple testified that his 
signature to it was secured by fraudu¬ 
lent representation. When the court per¬ 
mitted that question to go to the jury, 
they then set up the defense that Mr. 
Mull was only their agent to take or¬ 
ders upon a special order blank and that 
these orders must be approved by them. 
In other words, they had turned out upon 
the community a man whom they had 
held out as their agent, for the purpose 
of selling trees, but who, by some secret 
understanding with them, could only sell 
their trees upon an order which deprived 
any man who purchased their trees of 
any relief in case they proved untrue to 
name. This also did not work, and the 
case was submitted to the jury, which 
found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. 
This order contained the following 
clause: “Any stock which does not prove 
to be true to name as labeled, is to be 
replaced free or purchase price refunded, 
but is not further wen-ranted,” in fine 
print, so fine that an ordinary person 
could not read it without having the 
best of light and examining it very close¬ 
ly. At the top of it in large letters was 
printed the word “ORDER,” from which 
a casual observer would think that it was 
simply an order to ship certain numbers 
of articles without any further provision. 
The words “Not further warranted” 
were inserted in this order to cover the 
decision in Sanford vs. Brown Brothers 
Co., 119 Supp. 333. 
In spite of the position taken by the 
defendant the plaintiff was successful. 
There are hundreds and thousands of 
these trees untrue to name sold through¬ 
out this fruit section. Mr. Brown him¬ 
self on the stand testified that there was 
not a single tree in this orchard of Mr. 
Whipple’s of the kind purchased by him. 
After spending five years of his life in 
cultivating, phosphating and caring for 
these trees, plaintiff finds himself with a 
worthless orchard upon his hands. 
LEON M. SIIERWOOD. 
WEATHER AND CROPS. 
We are having the longest spell of 
stormy weather I can recollect for this 
climate. No cold weather yet to amount 
to anything. Had fine lettuce from the 
open garden to-day for dinner, and have 
not touched that in the frames yet. Sal¬ 
sify is growing faster now than it did 
in the dry weather of early Fall, and the 
spinach is rank, and the late-sown spin¬ 
ach intended for Spring cutting is almost 
large enough to cut now. But with the 
heavy mulch of stable manure it will go 
through all right I suppose. 
Maryland. w. F. massey. 
Dec. 1. The figures given are just 
what the farmers are receiving at whole¬ 
sale here. Apples. No. 1, 75c. per bu.; 
poultry, live. 10 to 12 ; hogs, live, 5; beef, 
live, 5_: wheat, best. $1.09; corn, 65; 
oats. 50 at elevators; potatoes, 40; 
onions, 60. c. D. B. 
Battle Creek, Mich. 
Nov. 30. Berries are the main thing 
here. Strawberries and grapes go out 
through our Fruit Growers’ Association; 
strawberries. 84^4 cents per 16-quart 
Case; grapes, five cents per eight-pound 
basket. This, is net all expenses, pack- 
ages L etc., being deducted. Raspberries, 
$1.25 per 25-pint case; black raspberries, 
$1 per 16-quart case; blackberries and 
dewberries. $1 per 16-quart case, all net, 
the canners furnishing the cases. We do 
a little better by contracting these at 
the cannery. In shipping we receive all 
the way from $1.10 to $3. after cases, 
express, “cartage,” “moldy”; our aver¬ 
age on the season does not do as well. 
Our eggs we ship to customers in Chi¬ 
cago. four dozen by parcel post, 12 dozen 
by express; price per dozen from 25 to 
■iV cents, according to the season, we pav¬ 
ing the express. Butter from 25 to 35 
here at the store: we ship in cold weath¬ 
er. paying the express, 40 per pound. 
Hay. $16; corn, 62: rye, 95; wheat, 
$1.05; oats. 42. This is to each other, 
none being raised to ship out. Good 
cows from $60 to $100, and scarce; 
horses from $150 to $250. Dressed hogs 
generally brng 10 cents per pound; this 
year, 6*4 to S; hogs and poultry very 
cheap, the home butchers taking advan¬ 
tage of this strict quarantine which we 
are under at the present time. 
Bridgman. Mich. n. s. w. 
Potatoes were a good crop and sell at 
50 cents per bushel in a small way; a 
large part not sold, no buyers in large 
lots. Apples were a big crop. Grafted 
apples sold at all prices from $1 per 
barrel to $2.50 in a small wav; have 
just sold 20 barrels at $1.50 per barrel 
on car. Many in first hands and no 
sale. Cider apples sold for 20 cents 
per 100 pounds, and IS cents per 100 
pounds at mill or car. Thousands of 
bushels were left to rot, no sale, and 
could not pay $1.75 per day to pick them. 
May about $15 at barn and $20 baled. 
Beef. $9; dressed native not a large 
amount to be had. Cows, $40 to $75 as 
to size and quality. Pork, 1114c. dressed; 
fowls, 12 : chicks, 13 to 14 alive. Corn- 
meal, $1.75 per cwt. Taxes. $2 on $100 
of grand list. The high cost of living 
ought not to be considered high only on 
pork and beef. Butter, 35. j. h. a. 
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