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653 
Soil Fertility Problems 
Garbage Ash for Fertilizer. 
What do you think of fertilizer which 
is pure ash taken from furnace of garbage 
works? This company collects store 
boxes, waste paper, and kitchen waste, 
and occasionally dead animals. They do 
not mix, but sell their pure product at 75 
cents per 100 pound sack. What is this 
potash worth, and how would you use it 
where general gardening is being carried 
on, crops being sweet corn, potatoes, 
beans, peas, beets, melons, cucumbers, to¬ 
matoes. etc. Soil is fairly good loam, 
day subsoil, has had fair applications of 
manure in last six years, but only fair 
amount of lime. Land was in sod or laid 
fallow last year. E. n. 
Pennsylvania. 
The ash from garbage works will vary, 
depending upon the amount of wood or 
similar fuel, and the quantity of bone 
burned in the furnace. As an average of 
many samples, the chemists state that a 
ton of such ashes should contain 100 
pounds of potash, 160 pounds of phos¬ 
phoric acid, and about 400 pounds of 
lime. This is about the same amount of 
potash you would find in unleached wood 
ashes, and about four times as much 
phosphoric acid. The price in ton lots 
would probably be cheaper, but for gar¬ 
den use the price quoted is fair, and 
these ashes might well be used on every 
crop freely, except on potatoes. You 
must remember that these ashes supply 
no nitrogen whatever, and that element 
should be provided in some other form. 
If you could plow under manure, and 
then broadcast these ashes, you would 
have a good combination, or you can 
broadcast the ashes over the garden, har¬ 
row or rake them in, and then use nitrate 
of soda along the rows or drills, and in 
this way obtain a good combination. 
More About “ Commercial Humus.” 
We have had more or less t<> say about 
this commercial humus which is offered 
for sale by most of the seedsmen or direct 
from the handlers. Dozens of questions 
still come askhig about the value of this 
material. We have stated that we do not 
think it would pay to use the humus as a 
commercial proposition in farm or fruit 
cultivation. It. has value in providing a 
form of organic matter, and would prob¬ 
ably give fair results on lawns or in small 
gardens where for one reason or another 
it did not seem desirable to use stable 
manure. This humus is nothing more nor 
less than rich swamp muck or soil, such 
as many a farmer has right on his own 
farm. Our objections to the use of this 
humus have been based upon the price 
charged for it as a fertilizer. There are. 
however, other objections now coming to 
the front. At the New Jersey Experi¬ 
ment Station samples of this humus have 
been tried in growing roses in the green¬ 
house. They found that some varieties 
of these roses made a fair growth when 
this humus was worked into the soil. On 
the othe"r hand, the rose known as “My 
Maryland.” has been invariably damaged 
and depressed in growth when the humus 
was used. When HO per cent of the 
humus was mixed in the soil the rose 
plants made practically no growth at all. 
As most of us know, certain varieties of 
plants have peculiar notions about plant, 
food and growth. For example, most va¬ 
rieties of dent corn will not respond free¬ 
ly to the use of lime, and most farmers 
who have had experience with this have 
learned to use their lime upon the grass 
or small grain rather than on corn. We 
have found, however, that certain varie¬ 
ties of flint corn produced by many gen¬ 
erations of breeding on the sour soil of 
the New England hills, respond to lime 
quite freely, showing a distinct difference 
in its taste and response to feeding. Very 
like the same thing is true of these varie¬ 
ties of roses. We have had one or two 
other reports of negative or injurious ef¬ 
fect from the use of humus in greenhouse 
work. 
Deposits of American Potash. 
The United States Geological Survey is 
still continuing its work in hunting for 
deposits of potash in this country. The 
Government appropriated a sum of money 
for this purpose, and a great deal of work 
has been done. Potash has been found in 
several deposits, mostly in California and 
in parts of the desert lands in the West. 
In one or two places these deposits are 
promising, but these places are so far 
removed from transportation, and are so 
inaccessible at present, that it will be 
years before the potash found there could 
. Utilized. Some of this potash is found 
in brine taken from salt mines. In other 
places it is in the form of a mineral. As 
we have already stated, great quantities 
of potash are found in the kelp and sea¬ 
weed along the Pacific Coast, and it is 
well known that many of the granite 
rocks throughout New England contain 
fair amounts of this material. In none 
of these places, however, has potash been 
found in such quantities that the price 
could compare with the potash from the 
German mines in time of peace. The lat¬ 
est deposit is found in the mud of Colum¬ 
bus Marsh, in Nevada. This has an area 
of 35 square miles. Considerable potash 
is found in this mud, but as is the case 
with other deposits, there is not enough 
of it to warrant handling it commercially. 
The chief value of this deposit lies in 
the fact that it shows the geologists and 
scientific men generally something addi¬ 
tional about potash deposits, so that they 
may look for them with greater intelli¬ 
gence. There is nothing in these discov¬ 
eries yet to warrant anyone in exploiting 
potash mines. In some cases stock in 
such enterprises has been offered to the 
public, with rather wild statements about 
its value. Under no circumstances wili 
it pay you to invest in such stock. 
Keeping lien Manure. 
I have a pile of hen manure which I 
wish to keep for my late planting of 
sweet corn. This planting will probably 
be in July, flow can I prevent this ma¬ 
nure from becoming a breeding place for 
flies? j. ir. M. 
Locust Valley, N. Y. 
Flies breed mostly in horse manure. 
They would not use the hen manure to 
any great extent. You can scatter acid 
phosphate freely over the pile and then 
throw a layer of soil about three inches 
thick all over it.. Keep it covered until 
you are ready to use it. 
'I'lie Help Problem. 
The good man holds his job and his 
old wages in this section, but many poor 
men (mostly drinking men) are gone— 
where? Farmers are cutting down ex¬ 
penses and seem to have a feeling that 
there is a period of very hard times 
ahead of the Eastern farmer. They are 
planning to keep less stock and grow all 
the feed they can to feed what they do 
keep, without buying much. At present 
prices of feed wo are making eggs, milk 
and meat at a loss; only the man who 
raises his own food can live, and he 
would make more by selling his feed and 
his stock on the market than by feeding 
it. Question—can we hold on until the 
tide turns? F. b. w. 
Westchester Co., N. Y. 
In regard to the labor question in this 
section, the farmers are able to get a 
fair supply of month help, but it is al¬ 
most impossible to get day help. Wages 
seem to be on tin* increase, both for 
month and day help. Farmers are chang¬ 
ing their methods so as to get along with 
as little hired help as possible, doing 
what they can themselves and letting the 
rest go. as they cannot afford to pay the 
wages that hired help are asking. La¬ 
borers are not generally satisfactory; 
they seem to be very independent; every¬ 
thing must conform to their wishes or 
they don’t work. B. g. C. 
Wolcott, N. Y. 
The hired help question is hard to de¬ 
scribe; there are but few in this section 
who keep month hands, as they are a 
luxury. With the present prices for 
produce along with taxes that keep going 
higher, the farmer is lucky who breaks 
even at the end of the year. Dairying 
is the only thing that will bring back the 
old time prosperity to this section. The 
Agricultural College at Ithaca is helping 
those that keep cows along the Short Line 
to Auburn. The county agent could be 
made a factor in the Food and Markets 
Commission and help develop a market 
for farm produce; it would make a de¬ 
mand for farm help and farmers would be 
better satisfied. g. s. 
Locke, N. Y. 
Fektii.izei: In Ikki.a.nd. —The IT. S. 
Consul Frost at Cork, Ireland tells about 
the chemical fertilizers used on that isl¬ 
and. He says that the chief fertilizing 
materials are superphosphate, nitrate of 
soda, and muriate of potash. From these 
three elements many combinations are 
made. There are also special fertilizers 
in which many forms of fertility are 
found. The favorite mixture for pota¬ 
toes in Ireland seems to be one part of 
sulphate of ammonia, four parts of super¬ 
phosphate. which is what we call acid 
phosphate, one part of muriate of pot¬ 
ash. In Ireland manure is used for the 
potato crop, about 15 tons to the acre. 
This seems to be plowed under and the 
mixture named above used at the rate 
of about 700 pounds in the drill or hill. 
Contrary to the custom in this country 
lime is used on the potato. We under¬ 
stand that the scab disease is not com¬ 
mon in Ireland. Prices for fertilizers are 
quoted as follows: Sulphate of ammonia 
about $65 a ton; superphosphate $16 a 
ton; bone meal about $25 a ton; potash 
prices are high of course, this year but 
under ordinary circumstances the kainit 
brings about $12 a ton. The total im¬ 
ports of fertilizer for one year were val¬ 
ued at $3,768399. 
Keep a 
Kodak Record. 
< 
T HE photograph of the young orchard—just as it 
starts the summer growth—then another pho¬ 
tograph, vsay in October, when the growth is ended 
and the wood is hardening, will make an interesting 
and valuable record. Such pictures become a real 
asset when used to show comparative growths of trees 
or crops that have had different treatments in fertilizers 
or in cultivation. 
And picture making is very simple by the Kodak 
method, and less expensive than you think. Ask your 
dealer or write us for our new booklet, “The Kodak on 
the Farm.” 
EASTMAN KODAK CO., 387 State St., Rochester, N. Y. 
3 feet wide 
Chas. C. Gelder, Princess Anne, Md., says:— 
‘‘My stand of Crimson Clover sown in over 60 
acres of standing corn in 1913 by the Eureka One 
Horse Seeder was the best and most uniform 
I have ever had.” 
A New Seeder—Between Rows 
Reduces Labor and Assures Better Results 
Than From Any Other Method or Machine 
For seeding and covering seed between rows of corn, etc. Sow* 
clover, alfalfa, timothy, rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, etc. 17 flat 
teeth cover the seed to any depth desired and leave the field 
level. Wind does not interfere. Seeder mechanism and teeth 
same as used on our large machines for 11 years. Accurate and 
adjusts for various quantities. Shipped from branch near you. 
Eureka One Horse Mulcher and Seeder 
also forma dust mulch and kills weeds. It is an ideal cultivator 
for farm or garden. Works close to small plants. Any of the 
teeth can be removed. Eight weight with greatest strength— 
all parts of steel or malleable Iron, except handles. Easily 
operated. Low price. Send for free catalog. 
EUREKA MOWER CO., Box 1200. Utica. N.Y. 
Wood Beam Cultivator 
40 years’ actual service have proved the worth 
of the special shaped teeth which clip; the 
weeds close to the hill and do not cover lithe 
crop with earth. 
Ask for Catalog No. 200 
BATAVIA CLAMP CO., 199 Center St., Batavia, N. Y. 
0 
I E-PLAIN VIEW 
LE SEED PLANTER 
tion selects the seed. It excels in accuracy for Corn. 
Peas. Beans, Peanuts, etc. Most remarkable seed planter 
-practical—useful—simple—yet most surprising. Write 
for full description. 
THE COLE PLANTER has been the 6tan- I 
dard in many states, many years. 
It will pay you to investigate 
the COLE Plain View Seed 
Planter—the most won¬ 
derful improvement 
i n seed planters since 
time began. 
Write today I 
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Charlotte, N. C. 
^Pumps For Every Purpose^ 
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Waterproofing for silos, cellars, and all kinds 
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