.o4 
THE KUM.A.L, 
Isi H. W - VOW W K R 
March J.3, 
Fertilizers and Cover Crops 
Muck as Fertilizer. 
ERE in Far Iioekaway the last storm 
has washed a wide area of sand 
from the ocean front away, and un¬ 
der that is a thick black mud. Would 
you recommend that mud dried and mixed 
with 4-8-7 fertilizer for celery? My 
ground is sandy, and I thought it would 
give me more strength than sand or loam 
for mixing. 2. IIow about Green Moun¬ 
tain potatoes for late here? J. o. 
Far Rockaway, N. Y. 
1. This mud is evidently an old muck 
deposit that had been covered with sea 
sand by the storm billows rolling on the 
shore, probably many years, or maybe 
centuries ago, and now has been uncov¬ 
ered by the same agency. All muck is 
more or less valuable for fertilizing pur¬ 
poses, but all muck is not of equal value. 
If the deposit is made up of the wash¬ 
ings or silt from this main body, it is of 
less value than that at this source from 
which it was washed. This fact has 
been demonstrated by chemical analysis 
of the deposit taken from the bottom and 
the marginal or higher points of ponds, 
that part consisting of washings and de¬ 
posits from the water, containing but a 
fraction as much humus and nitrogen as 
that taken from the higher ground that 
was well filled with decayed fibrous mat¬ 
ter. and surrounded by growing plants. 
The best grade of muck is not only of 
great value as a means of imparting hu* 
mus to the soil, but contains four to five 
per cent, of nitrogen. The muck deposits 
along this sea coast are at least in some 
instances made of additional value for 
fertilizing purposes by the tides over¬ 
flowing them and leaving more or less of 
the smaller inhabitants of the sea to de- 
cay and enrich it. The usual practice 
of handling muck is to haul it out and 
let it dry for several months .before it 
is used. After it is dry any kind of fer¬ 
tilizer may be mixed with it and the 
mixture applied to the land. All muck is 
more or less sour and will be benefited 
by the application of two to four bushels 
of slaked lime to the ton. Dry muck on 
account of its loose fibrous condition 
makes a valuable absorbent for use in 
stable, poultry house or for mixing with 
piled manure, particularly salt marsh 
muck, which is the best of all for this 
purpose. Good muck, properly condi¬ 
tioned. will pay a large dividend on every 
ton of it applied to the land, and if all 
the farmers and truckers throughout the 
country who have access to muck de¬ 
posits knew the real value of muck for 
fertilizing purposes, there would be tons 
used where there are pounds used at 
present. 2. The Green Mountain potato 
will no doubt succeed well in your sec¬ 
tion, provided soil is adapted to the grow¬ 
ing of potatoes. K. 
“Cover Crops” North and South. 
IIE enclosed clipping seems to imply 
that buckwheat sown in August rip¬ 
ened before frost near Rochester, N. 
Y. Elsewhere I saw it recommended as a 
cover crop in Massachusetts. My idea 
of a cover crop is one that lives through 
the Winter, and in an orchard it must be 
sown here about August 1. Will buck¬ 
wheat sown then ripen before frost (Oc¬ 
tober here) or will it go through the 
Winter? J. l~ w. 
Ivy Depot, Va. 
The clipping suggested sowing buck¬ 
wheat in late Summer as a cover crop. 
This was for Western New York, near 
the lakes. We must remember that a 
“cover” crop is one that covers or grows 
on the soil, and then dies down or is 
plowed under. A crop of oats and peas 
plowed under in June would be a “cover 
crop.” In the far North it is not so ne¬ 
cessary to have this crop grow on through 
the Winter and Spring. The ground 
freezes solid, and often it is the best of 
practice to plow in the Fall and thus 
have the work done—since the Springs 
are short and cold. In such eases buck¬ 
wheat would help, because it makes a 
good growth in late Summer and Fall, 
and when plowed under before Winter 
set in would add considerable humus. In 
the South it would not, if seeded alone, 
be a good cover crop, as it would die at 
frost and leave the soil without a living 
crop. It is particularly necessary to have 
this living Winter growth at the South, 
since the Winters are mild and the soil 
will wash badly unless it is protected. 
We have seeded buckwheat, rye and 
Crimson clover together in July. This 
gave a good growth of buckwheat. It 
fell down upon the ground in November 
and then the rye and clover came on and 
gave a fine growth for turning under the 
following Spring. You must suit your 
cover crop to the climate and soil and 
local conditions. 
Bacteria Inoculation. 
O doubt about it, the practice of using 
the commercial bacteria for inoculat¬ 
ing seed of legume crops has greatly in¬ 
creased. This is now a common practice 
with many good farmers. Here is a typi¬ 
cal report from a prominent farmer: 
As to clover seed inoculation, while I 
have rather successfully grown clover, 
cow peas and vetch on our farms for the 
last 25 years, and always had an abund¬ 
ance of nodules and felt confident that 
the ground was what we would ordinar¬ 
ily call thoroughly fit for planting. Some 
experiments with seed inoculation for two 
or three years past showed me that all of 
these plants made a quicker and surer and 
better start off where the seed was in¬ 
oculated. So last season we blew in 
about $150 in the purchase of one of the 
special br; nds of inoculation, and the 
wonderful growth from the very start off 
leaves me convinced that it will pay to 
invest in this inoculation and fallow the 
directions, a simple matter of reducing 
with water and then sprinkling the seed 
just before sowing, of course, drying out 
enough afterwards with any available 
drier and then go ahead with the sowing. 
It took time to convince farmers that 
the success of clover lay in its ability to 
take up nitrogen through the nodules on 
the roots. Then more time was required 
to show that carrying the bacteria to 
some soils was necessary, and it was 
harder yet to show that the bacteria 
might be carried much on the principle of 
a yeast cake. Now tne thing begins to 
take rank as one of the necessary opera¬ 
tions of seeding. 
How to Spread Lime. 
EFERRING to answer given G. B. 
Jj. on page 210 in regard to the 
application of lime in connection 
with rye, I do not consider it good prac¬ 
tice to apply lime direct to the plowed 
field before harrowing, as the lime 
tumbles along into the grooves between the 
furrows and is not evenly distributed. 
The better practice is to harrow once, 
apply the lime and then harrow in. Two 
borrowings before the lime is applied 
are still better. The finer the soil and 
leveler the field the evener the distribu¬ 
tion and better the practice. 
E. R. SMITH. 
R. N.-Y.—We think the method of 
putting on the lime counts for something 
in this. We use a drill which makes a very 
even distribution of the lime. Then when 
the Cutaway or spring-tooth is used at 
once the soil is chopped or torn up, and 
the lime well mixed. It might be different 
with a smoothing harrow, but with one 
of the choppers or mixers the lime is 
well stirred into the soil. 
Grafting Waxes. 
The grafting season will soon be at 
hand and in order to help all I give be¬ 
low recipes for making the best plastic 
and liquid waxes ever compounded. 
Plastic Wax.—Four pounds of resin, 
one pound of beeswax, one pint of lin¬ 
seed oil. Put in an iron pot, heat slowly, 
and mix well. Pour into cold water, and 
when cool enough, pull by hand, until it 
assumes a light color; work into sticks 
and put into a cool place until wanted. 
In usin , oil the hands, work the wax 
until soft, when it will be easily applied 
and strongly adhesive. This wax will not 
crack in cold nor run in hot weather. 
Liquid Wax No. 1.—Melt one pound 
of resin over a slow fire, when melted 
take it from the fire and add two ounces 
of balsam of fir, stirring it constantly. 
As soon as it is cool enough, mix in five 
to six ounces of alcohol of 95 degrees 
strength, (according to the season) un¬ 
til it is about the consistency of molasses. 
Pour into wide-mouthed bottles and cork 
tightly. If kept airtight it will keep a 
long time. If it should become too thick 
by the evapoiation of the alcohol, it is 
easily thinned by putting the bottle in 
warm water, stirring in enough alcohol to 
bring it to the proper fluidity. This is 
much superior to the waxes made of resin, 
beef tallow and turpentine, as if does 
not granulate, and is easily applied to 
wounds and scions with a small brush. 
For protecting nut-tree scions against 
evaporation there is nothing to equal it. 
Liquid Wax No. 2.—Melt over a slow 
fire one pound of good resin and one 
ounce of beef tallow. When thoroughly 
melted remove from the fire and add one 
to two teaspoonfuls of turpentine and 14 
fluid ounces of 95 per cent, alcohol. The 
mixture should be about the consistency 
of molasses. Pour into wide-mouth bot¬ 
tles and give the same care and use in the 
same manner as directed for No. 1 for¬ 
mula. K. 
Successive Potato Crop. 
I HAVE a piece of low wet land on 
which I have planted potatoes two 
years in succession. Can I plant with 
potatoes the third year, and get a good 
yield ? d. b. 
Bridgewater, Mass. 
We know cases where potatoes have 
been planted for three, four, or even more 
seasons in succession, and with fair re¬ 
sults. The chief objection to such plant¬ 
ing is the fact, that potato soil is likely 
to be filled up with the germs of potato 
diseases like scab, rot or blight, and if 
this is the case, it would not be good 
economy to try to plant another crop, 
therefore you will have to be guided by 
the appearance of your last growth. If 
it did not suflVr particularly from scab, 
rot or blight in the soil, and other condi¬ 
tions are right, it may be quite safe to 
put in another crop this year, but if you 
had trouble with those diseases last year, 
we would not do it, but grow some other 
crop to clean up the land. 
Another Onion Record. — I noted in 
your issue of October 10, 1914, a New 
Hampshire onion grower produced 50 
bushels of onions on one-eighth of an 
acre. Mr. Perkins said that he did not 
intend to let little old Jersey be beaten 
by New Hampshire, or any other State 
if he can help it, but we are out to beat 
them both here in New York State. We 
sowed our rows 14 inches apart. We fig¬ 
ured that we sold 780 bushels an acre 
from each of 2% acres. H. o. 
Glens Falls, N. Y. 
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THE MAPES 
FERTILIZERS 
The STANDARD for GENERATIONS 
WHAT THE HALL-MARK IS TO SILVER, MAPES 
HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO FERTILIZERS—STERLING 
The most successful farmers, the men with bank ac¬ 
counts, have always regarded Mapes as their best friend, 
and never more than this season with the stand we have 
taken. 
Read recent article by H. W. Collingwood, Editor of 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, “A 6,000 Bushel Potato 
Crop,” with an exact description by Professor Clinton, of 
the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, of 
every detail of the growing from the preparation of seed 
to final storing of crop. 
The grower, Mr. Joseph A. Fagan, described the crop 
“As the most important ever grown in Connecticut.” 
The farm, when Mr. Fagan bought it, in 1900, had 
“struck bottom in production.” 
The fertilizer referred to in the above article is the 
Mapes Potato Manure, which has been used by Mr. 
Fagan from the start. 
Mr. Fagan wrote August 30, 1907: 
“In these seven years working this farm I have used only 
the Mapes Manures, and I am satisfied my choice of the Mapes 
goods in building up soil has been a great factor in achieving 
what I have thus far,” 
and he has continued to use them ever since. 
THE MAPES FORMULA AND PERUVIAN 
GUANO COMPANY 
Central Building, 143 Liberty Street, New York. 
Branch: 239 State Street, Hartford, Conn. 
