1006 
filled with humus, and worked down to a good seed 
bed. A very light sandy soil is not usually consid¬ 
ered well adapted to grass and grain crops. 
ROTATIONS.—The old-fashioned Summer fal¬ 
low, where the land is plowed early in the season 
and kept thoroughly dragged down to destroy the 
weeds and preserve the moisture, will undoubtedly 
fit all soils in the best possible condition to raise a 
crop of wheat. When the best land was worth from 
$25 to $50 an acre, and a man and team could be 
hired for $2 per day, this was doubtless good prac¬ 
tice, but there are few if any circumstances where 
it can now be made to pay, even though the' yield 
may be above that from any other method. 
FOLLOWING OATS AND BARLEY.—A rotation 
which was prominent for many years, and is still 
practiced quite extensively in the Northeastern 
States, is to plow over the oat and barley stubble 
after harvest and Summer-fallow the rest of the 
season. Where this is done the ground should be 
disked immediately after the crop is removed to 
keep the sun from baking the surface and drying 
it out. Then plow as soon as possible, and thorough¬ 
ly work down with the harrows. The plowing and 
fitting, however, makes a considerable item to 
charge to the cost account of the wheat. This cost 
may be warranted under present conditions if the 
price is to stay up. The idea, however, of “growing 
two blades of grass where one grew before” is giv¬ 
ing way to that of “growing two blades for what 
one cost before.” Excellent yields of wheat are ob¬ 
tained by this system, but we must take into con¬ 
sideration the various items of cost as well as the 
returns in planning for a crop in order to estimate 
the possible profits. Many people who are keeping 
cost accounts have discontinued this practice, be¬ 
cause of excessive cost of fitting the ground, and are 
seeding the Timothy and clover in the Spring grain, 
thus eliminating a portion of their wheat area and 
shortening the rotation one year on that field. 
WHEAT AFTER PEAS.—One exception is in the 
case of canning peas. Where peas are raised for 
the canning factory they are usually off the ground 
early in July, which allows the land to be worked 
over as a rule nearly a month earlier than after 
barley or oats. This during the droughty part of 
the season means the saving of much valuable moist¬ 
ure. The peas are a strong legume and, being har¬ 
vested before the seed ripens, appear to leave a sup¬ 
ply of valuable nitrogen just right for the wheat to 
use to best advantage. I believe that there is no 
surer place to start a successful wheat crop than 
following canning peas. The fact that the land 
must be plowed and worked down as in the case of 
oats and barley is more than offset by the residual 
influence of the peas. oba lee, jb. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. 
Keeping Up Grass Lands with Chemicals. 
On good grass land can hay be grown at a substantial 
profit without wearing out the soil, by plowing under 
green crops for humus, then using commercial fertilizer 
for tin* animal elements? I have 60 acres I would like 
to treat in this manner, and all details on the subject 
would be appreciated, as to how often to plow green 
crops under, the kind of crops, etc. The land is loam 
with clay subsoil. G. w. 
Connecticut. 
No question about it, it is entirely possible to 
keep up land for hay by using green crops and 
chemicals. We have often described the so-called 
Clark method of grass culture. Under this method, 
as soon as a meadow runs out or fails to give profit¬ 
able crops, it is torn up and reseeded. As soon as 
the hay is removed under this system the sod is 
plowed or turned up with a disk or Cutaway and 
kept constantly stirred through the Summer. This 
constant stirring kills out the old sod and makes a 
very fine seed bed. In early September, under this 
plan, a heavy seeding of Timothy and Red-top is 
given, with lime if necessary, and a heavy dressing 
of chemical fertilizers. This plan keeps up a con¬ 
tinued supply of grass, the great objection to it 
being the heavy cost of labor in working the ground 
constantly through the late Summer. Another plan 
may be carried out as follows: 
As soon as the grass is cut, the sod may be plowed 
and a combination of buckwheat, rye and clover 
promptly seeded. The buckwheat will make a rank 
growth until frost, when it will fall down upon the 
ground, and the rye and clover will grow up through 
it. These hold the ground until Spring, when they 
may be plowed under, and a crop of oats and peas 
seeded in the usual manner. If needed for fodder, 
this crop may be cut in June and cured as hay. 
Wherp live stock is kept the oat and pea hay can 
be fed on the farm, leaving more of the Timothy 
as market grass for sale. As soon as the oats and 
peas are harvested the ground may be plowed again 
and seeded to buckwheat and turnips. These are 
plowed under in early September and one ton of 
slaked lime to the acre used. After being thorough- 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
ly fitted, a heavy seeding of Timothy and Red-top 
may be put in, with 500 or 600 pounds of a chemical 
mixture suitable for the grass. This would be one 
of the manufactured brands, or a combination of 
one part of nitrate of soda, three parts of acid phos¬ 
phate, one part of muriate of potash, and one part of 
dried blood. This will give a light cutting of short, 
thick grass the following year, and continue to im¬ 
prove in yield for three or four years following. 
By carrying out faithfully a plan of this sort, plow¬ 
ing up the meadows as fast as they fall below a 
ton and a half to two tons of hay per acre, and mak¬ 
ing annual application of 400 to 500 pounds of fer¬ 
tilizer, it will be entirely posible to keep up the 
meadows without using stable manure. 
An Ocean Supply of Potash. 
Y OUR article in last week’s issue about the cul¬ 
tivation of seaweed for fertilizer purposes leads 
me to inquire why it would not be possible to make 
some use of the enormous masses of floating sea¬ 
weed which are to be found in the Sargasso Sea, 
situated 1200 miles off the coast of Florida. Colum¬ 
bus ran into this mass of floating vegetation on his 
first voyage of discovery to America, and pretty 
nearly lost his way therein. There are thousands of 
square miles of this substance containing about 16% 
of potash to the ton, and I am informed that it 
could be very cheaply concentrated on the spot in 
suitable barges and brought ashore by an attend¬ 
ant steamship. 
This supply of potash is inexhaustible because it 
is renewed from year to year by natural processes, 
and there is no chance for any individual or nation 
monopolizing it. It is much more available than the 
kelp of the Pacific coast because it is floating on 
the surface and not attached to the bottom of the 
ocean as is the case with the kelp. Again, a vessel 
does not have to be moved about in it, but just al¬ 
lowed to drift and keep sucking the weed into her 
hold day and night, where the water is squeezed out 
of it between rollers and the pulp properly treated 
to concentrate the potash. b. s. iiowlaxd. 
Florida. 
R. N.-Y.—We submit this to our readers. We do 
not know whether our agricultural scientists have 
considered this supply or not. We know they have 
hunted everywhere for a potash supply. There may 
be objections to this seaweed supply which our cor- 
respondent has not mentioned. At any rate we 
should like to see the subject well discussed by 
those "who know. 
The Hill Farms of New York. 
T HE answer of the editor to the question about 
New York lands is in the right line. May I add 
something in behalf of the hill farms in (he South¬ 
ern part of the State, those farms that sell for $20, 
$30 and $40 an acre, and perhaps add a word for the 
farm at $60 in preference to the Western farm at 
$200 or $300 an acre? It is quite possible that had I 
a fai‘m in the $300 region and had it paid for I 
might prefer to remain there, but for a man with 
small capital, that region is not for him. I am 
not prepared to advise the man with a Western 
farm that he can sell at $250 an acre, respecting 
his buying one in the East at less than half that sum 
that will produce as much as his Westei’n farm. 
I would pi-efer to do it, Imt the Western man might 
find the change to Eastei’n conditions not to his 
liking. What I want to do is to point to the produc¬ 
tiveness of those hill farms that are so much decried. 
Here in the Susquehanna country I know of a 
farm of 140 acres within a mile of a fine village, 
that has a new bairn and a house recently over¬ 
hauled and made modern, that is offei-ed for less 
than $60 an acre. It is right along the river, and has 
a splendid soil, 100 acres of it tillable. The buildings 
are worth about $6,000. It is newly fenced with 
wire, and has a fine orchard. It will cari’y readily 
20 cows and grow any kind of grain a man wants 
to grow. This is a type of land along the x’iver, 
and for a farm so near town is considered cheap. 
I would appi-ove of this farm. On the other hand 
I want to mention a hill farm four miles from town 
of about 150 acres that will carry the same 20 cows, 
the tillable land almost as level as the other, the 
buildings worth nearly $4,000, and the whole farm 
offered at about $3,000. This may be a little more 
attractive than the usual hill farm, but there ai*e 
many practically as good. Both of these faimas are 
run without commercial fertilizers for the most part 
but lime is being used to some extent. The soil is not 
to be considered thin, although it is different from 
the black land of Illinois. The hill farm has a loam, 
somewhat heavy. By keeping cows on the farm the 
soil is impi’oved from year to year. 
We are told on what seems good authority that 
those high-priced farms in the West do not pay 2% 
on the valuation. These farms will do better than 
August 14, 1915. 
that. I am speaking of large numbers; the single 
instance is barred out as not proving anything. 
It requires large numbers to determine facts. The 
western farms are producing less from year to year 
as the time goes on. Eastern farms are slowly im¬ 
proving in production. This is a fact to add to the 
one stated by the editor, that the average produc¬ 
tion in the East is higher than in the West. . New 
Y'ork has all sorts of land; soixie of it sells as high 
as any in the West. It has a good reputation and 
needs no word of mine. These hill farms are in 
worse repute than they deserve. They are usually 
somewhat stony, and that hurts their reputation. I 
will not advise the man with ample means and a pre¬ 
judice against hills and stones to try one unless he 
wants to. There are thousands of good farmei’S 
with only a little money who want to own faim 
homes, who are not afraid of work, can practice 
economy and put up with some inconveniences. 
These will find the farm on the hill, if a right se¬ 
lection is made, almost an ideal place. h. ii. lyon. 
Summer Pruning : Theory and Practice. 
Part III. 
SUMMER PRUNING AND FRUIT PRODUC¬ 
TION.—A skilled gardener can Summer prune 
dwarf trees to secure increased fruit production. It 
is commonly stated that apple and pear trees produce 
fruit buds only upon wood growth that is at least 
two years old when as a matter of fact much fruit 
is produced from axillary and terminal buds upon 
the past season’s growth. Vai-ieties of apples which 
pi’oduce good crops annually like Stayman and Rome 
owe their productivity to this fact. The proper 
Summer pruning will tend to inci’ease the number 
of axillary flower buds produced upon apples and 
pears but if not done at the proper time it may 
even deci’ease the number. Statements are often 
made that Summer pruning increases the number of 
fruit spurs upon apples. It more often tends to de¬ 
ci’ease them by forcing slow developing buds 
into active branch formation. Summer pruning is 
not a practice that can be recommended to the com¬ 
mercial fruit grower in the East. It is too expen¬ 
sive and requires the skill of a gardener to de¬ 
termine the proper time each season. A drought 
following soon after a Summer pruning may result 
in weak twigs. Green aphis may attack the tips 
of the tender young shoots (as illustrated on page 
053) which develop after Summer pruning, while less 
damage would be caused upon the unpruned shoots. 
Some say “delay Summer pruning until the terminal 
buds ai*e formed.” They sometimes form early if 
the season is dry and then a good growing period 
follows, side buds are forced into a late growth and 
great danger of Winter injury is the result. Sum¬ 
mer pruning may be employed to advantage upon 
dwarf fruit ti’ees and for the production of a few 
fancy fruits but aside from the practices recom¬ 
mended previously in this paper it is likely to re- 
main a special practice. 
DOUBTFUL COMMERCIAL VALUE.—Some 
authorities claim commercial advantages for the 
severe Summer pruning of bearing trees but as yet 
under eastern conditions at least we lack the pi’oof 
of an orchard so pruned producing more or better 
fruit at a greater pi’ofit than an orchard grown un¬ 
der good commercial conditions and receiving only 
a modei’ate Winter pruning. Summer pruning of 
young trees to assist in forming a sti’ong and well 
balanced top may be and often is commei’cially 
practical and desirable. Summer pruning of young 
trees making an excessive wood growth may reduce 
the necessity for severe Winter pruning and im¬ 
prove the color of the fruit for that season, but 
Summer pruning of dwarf or special trees by an ex¬ 
pert may increase axillary and terminal fruit bud 
formation. Summer pruning may be distinctly in- 
jurious, howevei’, by inducing a weak or late twig 
growth besides adding to the expense of oi’charding. 
It may also force into bi-ancli developments buds 
that would normally become fruit buds. Fruit grow¬ 
ers might well experiment by Summer pnining a 
few ti’ees as in this way, they will become better ac¬ 
quainted with the laws of tree-growth and some 
features may prove to be serviceable, but as for its 
adoption as a general practice for eastern orchards 
in bearing it is best to “go slow.” The writer frank¬ 
ly admits that his expei’ience is limited to eastern 
conditions and Summer pruning of orchards in full 
bearing in the West may possibly be commei’cially 
advantageous. Some extensive pruning studies are 
now being conducted with apples, pears and peaches 
at the New Jersey Experiment Station with three 
years of results already complete and a full crop 
of peaches on the trees for the present season. More 
data is desirable before my definite statements and 
facts are published, however, in connection with 
these experiments. m. a. blake. 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 
