702 
the: 
N li V\ - \ U K iv K H 
Soil Fertility Problems 
Making a Muck Compost. 
I Lave a country home near the sea¬ 
shore where I can get plenty of seaweed, 
oak leaves and swamp muck. I want to 
make a compost pile to be used another 
year in a family garden. I hardly know 
just how to arrange it. I have agricul¬ 
tural lime, land plaster and air-slaked 
lime. Please advise me just how to do 
it so that it will rot and be of service for 
me. Would it better be put in a heap 
exposed so that the sun will strike it at. 
all times, or place it beside a stone wall 
under trees? If I am - to place lime, 
plaster or anything else with it to rot it, 
how much and what of the three would 
be better? s. a. r. 
Massachusetts. 
We should not put the seaweed into 
the compost. It is too salty to decay 
easily, and the salt will hold back fer¬ 
mentation in the muck and leaves. 
Spread the seaweed alone on grass land. 
Make a pile of muck and leaves about IS 
inches high. Throw into it such fish 
waste as you can obtain—such as fish 
heads and offal or other refuse. Scatter 
over this pile about 100 pounds of air- 
slaked lime to each ton of muck and 
leaves. If possible throw in some hen 
or horse manure. It will help start fer¬ 
mentation throughout the pile. Add an¬ 
other layer of muck, leaves and waste 
and more lime, and so on, building the 
pile up four to five feet high. After 
about three months fork it over and pile 
again. In this way you will ferment or 
“cook” the muck and leaves. 
The Limestone Business. 
One of the most remarkable things con¬ 
nected with American farming is the 
wonderful increase in the use of lime dur¬ 
ing the past few years. This develop¬ 
ment was really started by Prof. II. 
.7. Wheeler, Director of the Rhode Island 
Experiment Station, who showed the 
great need of lime on most New England 
soil. Practically all the other agricul¬ 
tural scientists at that time attached lit¬ 
tle importance to these experiments, and 
did not see what was coming in the way 
of a lime crusade. The practice of lim¬ 
ing. however, spread wherever it was 
tried with the result that it became a 
general proposition. Practically every 
piece of laud in our Eastern States that 
has been under cultivation for 50 years 
requires a dressing of lime. When peo¬ 
ple began to understand this fact, there 
was a rush to learn about its different 
forms and methods of using it. Just as 
was the case with spraying, increased 
knowledge and investigation have built 
up a great business in supplying material 
and apparatus. In the old days most 
farmers bought stone or “quick” lime, 
slaked it themselves and spread it by 
hand. It is difficult in these days to em¬ 
ploy a hired man who would do this 
work as the old timers were obliged to 
do it. We now have a dozen forms 
of lime, each one adapted to particular 
conditions, and probably the greatest de¬ 
velopment of all has been in the prepara¬ 
tion and use of ground limestone. We 
do not take up here a discussion of these 
different forms of lime and their special 
needs. On a very sour soil or on the 
heavier clays we should prefer a quicker 
lime than ground limestone, but without 
question the use of the latter has spread 
very rapidly over the limestone sections, 
and in order to supply the material 
properly mills or crushers have been de¬ 
vised for preparing the limestone. Some 
years ago this limestone crushing was 
largely confined to the localities where 
limestone was abundant. The lime was 
crushed and then hauled out to the farm. 
This was because it was thought that 
large and expensive machines were need¬ 
ed to do the crushing and these of course, 
centralized the industry. Smaller and 
still powerful machines are now made. 
They are portable and can be hauled 
about from farm to farm so that in any 
locality where a ledge of limestone can be 
exposed, these smaller mills can be made 
useful. It is remarkable how this busi¬ 
ness of crushing limestone with the small¬ 
er mill has developed. Hundreds of 
plants like the one shown on our first 
page are at work throughout the coun¬ 
try. In some cases they are operated on 
much the same principles as thrashing 
machines or sawing outfits, as they tra¬ 
vel from farm to farm crushing up a 
year’s supply of limestone about as the 
sawyer would cut up the year's fuel. On 
many of the larger farms one of these 
crushing outfits is kept the same as the 
sulky plow, a silage cutter or any other 
needful implement. Most of these larger 
farmers in these days have an engine of 
some kind and at the proper time crush 
limestone whenever they can find a de¬ 
posit within reasonable distance. The 
picture on the first page. Fig. 253, shows 
one of these outfits at work, the compar¬ 
ative size of the chunks of limestone 
used and the appearance of the crushed 
product, as it comes from the mill. The 
other picture at Fig. 257. page 701, shows 
how this limestone is applied in a drill. 
We have found this form of drill very 
satisfactory and we are often asked how 
much limestone should be used in order 
to do a thorough job. The color of the 
soil where this lime has been applied will 
make a very fair answer to this question. 
We should judge that in this case they 
are using about three tons of the crushed 
limestone to the acre. Surely Prof. 
Wheeler when he started his work with 
lime at Kingston, It. I., could have had 
little thought of the outcome of those 
small experiments. Their accuracy and 
the lessons they taught have developed 
one of the best industries connected with 
the sale and use of fertilizing products. 
Making Tough Soil Over. 
The article on peculiarities of drainage, 
on page 591, is of interest to me. as I 
have had experience with a similar soil 
near Washington. D. C. I suppose that 
the soil mentioned, like most soils in that 
region, has been burned year after year 
until there is no humus left, only the min¬ 
eral soil. In its present condition this 
soil is so compact that a layer of it a foot 
thick will hold water almost indefinitely. 
If I had such a soil to work I should first 
ditch and tile it thoroughly, putting a 
drain into the bottom of every sag or hol¬ 
low. It might be necessary to put in 
some material to aid in keeping the soil 
open over the tile. After this I should 
try to plow in at least one good cover 
crop every year until some of the humus 
was replaced. The extent to which some 
people will go in an attempt to rob the 
soil is shown by a case which came to my 
notice near Washington, where a team¬ 
ster refused to attempt to plow a field 
unless it was burned over first. The 
growth was grass with a few dewberry 
vines in it. the whole perhaps eight inches 
high, and could have been turned under 
almost entirely without using a chain. In 
the case of E. N. B. I should suggest 
treating one field at a time about as fol¬ 
lows: Tile the field in late Summer 
when the ground is dry. Sow a cover 
crop of some legume which will not win¬ 
ter-kill. Plow this rather early next 
Spring, and sow a crop which will give a 
large growth during the Summer. Plow 
this under, and plant a crop which will 
give a cover crop for Winter, a forage 
crop next Summer and a strong second 
crop to plow under. Repeat this an¬ 
other year, and then arrange the rotation 
so as to get at least two crops to plow 
under every three years, using lime freely 
where it seems to give good results. 
New York. Alfred c. weed. 
R. N.-Y.—This in Maryland and Vir¬ 
ginia would probably mean Crimson 
clover or vetch for a Winter crop. For 
the second crop mentioned a combina¬ 
tion of Crimson clover, vetch and rye 
ought to do it. 
Lawn Graded With Coal Ashes. 
1. I intend to regrade a portion of my 
lawn raising it about five inches. Can 
you inform me at what depth sod or 
growing grass can be covered with soil, 
and grow through it? If clean coal 
ashes are used in grading, to what depth 
should they be covered with soil, for a 
lawn? 2. Can you recommend any pre¬ 
paration that can be placed on a lawn 
without injury to prevent dogs from over¬ 
running a lawn? 3. Are plain coal ashes 
of any fertilizing value when mixed with 
soil? K. L. R. 
Binghamton, N. Y. 
1. It would not be advisable to cover 
the grass with top soil over an inch or 
two deep, as much of it would be likely 
to smother out, particularly if the soil 
used was a heavy clay loam ; heavy rains 
would settle it so close and hard that the 
air could not get through to the grass, 
unless it was loosened up with a steel 
rake or lightly harrowed after heavy 
showers. The better plan would be to 
raise the grade to the required height 
and seed it down with a good lawn grass 
mixture. When coal ashes are used as a 
foundation they should be covered with 
top soil to a depth of at least five inches, 
seven inches would be better, but the 
lesser depth will answer quite well, es¬ 
pecially if the soil beneath the ashes is 
clay or clay loam. 2. A good shot gun 
properly used, or meat saturated with 
arsenic is about the only way to break up 
the dog nuisance effectually. These rem¬ 
edies will. not injure the lawn in the 
least, but may be quite bad for the dogs. 
This method of dealing with nuisances of 
this kind is not at all commendable, but 
occasionally has to be resorted to. or go 
to the expense of erecting a dog-tight 
fence. 
3. Coal ashes have but small fertiliz¬ 
ing value in the fresh state, but when 
they become aged and thoroughly rotted, 
they rank in fertility about equal to or¬ 
dinary sandy loam. I have used the 
rotted ashes in large quantities in the 
seed boxes and for pot plants in the 
greenhouse and hotbed, mixed in equal 
quantities with composted loam, and have 
found them very good. All kinds of 
plants that require a porous soil thrive 
well in the mixture. For sowing seeds 
of nearly all our common flowering and 
vegetable plants, this mixture is par¬ 
ticularly well adapted. Coal ashes are 
quite beneficial to heavy clay soils. Ap¬ 
plied in quantity and well mixed with 
the soil, they will lighten it, making it 
porous and friable, rendering it more 
congenial to almost all kinds of crops. 
K. 
“Fortunes” at Berry Picking. 
Some weeks ago I read an article tell¬ 
ing of the fortunes (?) to be made dur¬ 
ing vacations by picking berries on berry 
farms. The article interested me, as I 
am a country school teacher with three 
months vacation, and if I could capture 
a fortune of say $8 or $10 per week at 
such work I might be tempted to try 
it. I wish to know the location of these 
fortune grounds. I have a vague idea 
that they might be in New Jersey or 
Southern New York. Tell me where these 
places are and what course I am to pur¬ 
sue to obtain a position. w. c. R. 
New York. 
Where did you see any statement about 
these fortunes? It is true that during 
the busy season, good pickers are often 
scarce and they make fair wages. The 
writer did this work some years ago, be¬ 
fore the berry business was organized as 
at present. In some localities Italian or 
other foreigners do the work on contract, 
but it is usually quite easy to find work 
at picking in the Hudson River Valley. 
We have known people, to start with 
strawberries, then take cherries, rasp¬ 
berries, blackberries, currants and goose¬ 
berries so as to find work through the 
Summer. It takes long hours and nim¬ 
ble fingers to make fair wages. As for 
fortunes made at picking you will have 
to be content with one of very modest 
size. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
May 15, 1013, 
Our Improved 1913 
ACRE-AN-HOUR SIFTER 
U-ats every baud implement for killing Potato 
Bug*, Cabbage Worms, etc. Applies Plaster, 
Lime, etc., mixed with Paris Green or Arsenate 
of Lead. Regulate* to cover big or little 
plants, also to apply any quantity of any 
kind of maniifArttired dry insecticides. Will 
operate as fast as desired. Better, easier 
and faster thau any $5, $10 or $15 spray 
pump. Insist on jour dealer showing you 
this wonderful little implement. Prepaid, 
toe. Circulars. 
ACRE-AN-HOUR SIFTER CO., Oept.H, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 
FRUIT PACKAGES 
Peach, Truck and Berry Baskets, Berrj 
Crates, Apple Boxes, Ladders, etc. 
Write for Catalog 
C. N. ROBINSON & BRO. 
Dept. A Baltimore, Md. 
VEGETABLE PLANTS 
CABBAGE. SWEET POTATO, TOMATO. PEPPER, 
CAULIFLOWER. CELERY, EGG PLANTS 
Leading, varieties. Large or small lots, by express or 
mail. Catalogue free. 
HARRY" L. SQUIRES Kemsenburg. X. Y. 
FOR SALE 
] Cow Peas, $2..TO bushel: Soy Beans, $2.50 bushel; 
Crimson Clover Seed, $6 bushel; Red Clover Seed, 
$!).50 bushel: Bean Screenings, $40 ton: Oat Flake- 
i $50 ton. Joseph K. Holland, Milford, Delaware 
CU/F FT SKKI>. White and large biennial 
^ * yellow. Prices and circular on 
f'j request- E. BARTON, Box 
C/tyU V LK gy, _ Falmouth, Kentucky 
Vfxrplflhlp Plflnl<T _Tornat0, Pe PP er - Celery, Cauli- 
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Sf REGIS EVERBEARING RASPBERRY PlANTS-grown 
vM ’ on my own fruit farm. Price reason¬ 
able. PAUL I.. HEGGAN, Waterford, N. J. 
ForSale: 500,000 TOMATO PLANTS 
Cabbage. Pepper, Sweet Potato and Celery Plants. Send 
for price list. Special prices on large lots. UOMiVl 
Sk h l> AM) PI.ABiT FA KM. Caleb Hocks A Son, Cbeswolrt. llp|. 
Winter Vetch for Sale sjx ^ 
home-grown winter vetch for sale at $7.50 per bushel. 
Sample sent if requested. T. II. KING, Trnmantlinrt. V V. 
CRY D C A || C Variety Jet. Ripens in Ohio. 
wU I DI.H HO Fine variety for hay. $2.20 per 
bushel. Sample on request. W. II. Fl'l/rox, Sidney. Ohio 
THY DAVIS YELLOW FLINT SEED CORN 
• PERLEY E DAVIS, - - Granby, Mass. 
Cabbage, Celery, Kohl Rabi, Beets, KTJ,'; 
1.000, **,:.() per IO.OOO: TOMATO. 8WF.F.T POTATO. 
per l.OOO: C.AI I.IFI.OAA FK. PEPPERS, EGG PLANTS. #2.:,« 
per l.OOO. Send lor Ikt. I. C. SCHMIDT. Bilool. In. 
COW PEAS at WHOLESALE 
MILLET s CLOVER 
‘ Dpt. 162,Baltimore,Md. 
Seed Growers and Importers. Established 1870. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
Earliest, Latent. Largest, Mont Productive 
Varieties 
KASI’IS ER IS V, BLACK IS E R R Y, G OOSE BE It It V, 
CURKANT, GRAPE, ASPARAGUS, HORSE¬ 
RADISH PLANTS, FRUIT TREES 
Catalogue free 
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HAY BALING IS EASY 
With the Famous 
ADMIRAL 
MOTOR PRESS 
Leverage does the work. 
ET D ET ET Write today for free catalog showing 
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BOOKS WORTH READING 
Landscape Gardening. Parsons. 2.00 
Lawn Making. Barron. 1.10 
Agriculture and Chemistry, Storer. 5.00 
Fertilizers and Crops, Van Slyke.... 2.50 
Weeds of Farm and Garden, Pammel 1.50 
Book of Wheat. Dondliuger. 2.00 
Successful Fruit Culture, Maynard.. 1.00 
Irrigation and Drainage. King.... 1.50 
Study of Corn, Sboesmith.50 
The Soil. King. 1.50 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 W. 30th St., New York City 
SLUG-SHOT 
USED FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN FOR 34 YEARS 
Sold by Seed Dealers of America 
Saves Currants, Potatoes, Cabbage, Melons, Flowers, Trees and 
Shrubs from Insects. Put up in popular packages at popular 
prices. Write for free pamphlet on Bugs and Blights, etc., to 
B. HAMMOND, Beacon, Tishkill-on-Hudson) New York 
JKe GrantJhmterS^ys- 
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THE GIANT 
PAINTER 
