THE RUR-A.L, NEW-YORKER 
1321 
Soil and Fertility Problems 
Rye and Rock Phosphate. 
After drawing off my silage corn this 
month, I applied to the field of six acres, 
three tons of rock phosphate, putting it 
on with a drill right over the stubble 
ground. I then plowed the field, turning 
under the stubble weeds that had come 
up on the field, and the phosphate. I 
intend sowing rye on this piece of ground 
now, and plowing that under in the 
Spring, all of this being part of my pro¬ 
gram to bring the field up to better pro¬ 
ducing powers. I shall sow oats next 
Spring, after the rye is plowed under. 
What criticisms have you on this way of 
handling this field? I understand that 
rock phosphate should be applied only 
with a green manuring crop plowed un¬ 
der or with a manure dressing. j. E. K. 
New York. 
The plan of using rye as a cover crop 
is good. We think that results after 
a year or two will convince you that Al- 
sike clover or vetch should be added to 
the rye. Alsike with us is giving excel¬ 
lent results as a Fall-sown cover crop. 
We doubt if the rock phosphate will 
show itself on that soil. Our own ex¬ 
perience is that smaller quantities of 
acid phosphate pay very much better, and 
a recent bulletin from the Massachusetts 
Experiment Station shows clearly that 
during a long series of years the rock 
phosphate gave little if any benefit. Dr. 
Brooks, who publishes this bulletin, says 
that the farmers, gardeners and fruit 
growers in Massachusetts are advised 
against the general use of raw phosphate 
rock. We think it pays better to use 
the available form. Next Spring our 
advice would be to plow that rye under 
when it is about two feet high, and we 
would then use an application of slaked 
lime, GOO pounds or more to the acre. 
If you expect to seed down with the oats, 
or if the land is to go into grass for a 
term of years, we would use a ton of 
lime, but if the cover crop is to be plowed 
under year after year light annual ap¬ 
plications of lime just after the rye is 
plowed under will surely pay. After a 
year or two of this plan of cover crop¬ 
ping with lime you will be surprised to 
see the improvement made in your soil. 
Gathering Loose Stones. 
Is there an implement or device to 
gather loose stones of varying sizes from 
a field that has been plowed and har¬ 
rowed and is ready to seed, but is cov¬ 
ered with almost an innumerable number 
of stones? The old system of forking 
them into a wagon seems very laborious 
and costly. IX. E. T. 
Washingtonville, N. Y. 
There is no practical device that we 
know of for loading stones upon a wagon. 
About the best you can do in a practical 
way is to rake the stones together in 
piles or “windrows,” and then fork them 
into the wagon and cart away. Various 
devices have been tried for raking stones. 
In some cases on a large scale an old 
steel rail from the railroad is dragged 
over the field. A good-sized team is at¬ 
tached to each end, and the rail dragged 
along over the harrowed ground. This 
rakes or pushes many of the stones to¬ 
gether. Stone rakes are made by fasten¬ 
ing stout wooden or steel teeth to a 
plank, somewhat after the plan of a 
weeder, and scratching this over the 
ground so as to rake the stones together. 
We have known discarded hay-rakes to 
be used by fastening light plank to the 
back of the teeth, and then scratching 
over the ground. In some cases near the 
shore farmers use the instrument known 
as oyster tongs for this work. About all 
you can hope to do to relieve the labor 
is to rake the stones together and then 
fork by hand. Every now and then some 
inventor comes forward with a machine 
for picking up these stones. Such ma¬ 
chines are usually made somewhat on the 
plan of an elevator potato digger, hut 
they are expensive, and the stones are so 
heavy that most of such implements are 
not found to be practical. 
Benefits of Rotation. 
The North Dakota Experiment Station 
sends these facts as an argument for 
crop rotation: 
“One plot at the North Dakota Exper¬ 
iment Station that has been in wheat for 
15 years has produced 20G bushels. A 
similar plot that has been in corn one 
year followed by wheat three years and 
so on throughout the 15 years has pro¬ 
duced 233% bushels of wheat while an¬ 
other plot on which the corn was ma¬ 
nured and followed by three crops of 
wheat, produced 2G2% bushels of wheat. 
The total returns for the three plots 
were: for the first, $109.39, for the sec¬ 
ond, $170.30 and the third $196.09 or 
nearly twice as much as from the first 
one. This is a fine demonstration of how 
the most simple rotation greatly increases 
the returns.” 
These arguments are most needed by 
the Western grain growers who persist 
in growing wheat year after year on the 
same ground. A “rest” of the land now 
and then by growing corn or letting clo¬ 
ver grow would increase the yield and 
make a sure thing. 
Burning Sawdust. 
Referring to the article under this 
heading on page 1214, the proper treat¬ 
ment of such a large amount of sawdust 
is undoubtedly recommended. The fol¬ 
lowing also may be of value to L. S. in 
making a decision : 
Wood ashes should be kept dry in order 
to prevent the valuable fertilizer con¬ 
tent from leaching away. When left ex¬ 
posed to the weather for very long they 
lose practically all of their potash, an 
element that is very scarce and costly at 
the present time. The analysis varies 
greatly, but the following represents an 
average condition of unleached wood 
ashes: 5 per cent, potash, 114 per cent, 
phosphoric acid, 32*4 per cent, lime, or 
in one ton there is about 100 pounds pot¬ 
ash, 30 pounds phosphoric acid, 650 
pounds lime. 
Rotting is a very slow process with 
sawdust, but must take place in order to 
give up its fertilizing elements; further¬ 
more, its addition to the soil produces an 
undesirably sour condition. A more 
prompt and beneficial return may be ex¬ 
pected from wood ashes applied to the 
soil, since the potash content is readily 
soluble. In view of these facts and that 
they contain a large amount of lime, 
which aids immediately in sweetening the 
land, burning the sawdust and applying 
the ashes undoubtedly will bring quicker, 
more economical, and better results. 
Atlantic Co., N. J. e. d. smith. 
Cover Crop of Volunteer Oats. 
I have a side-hill piece, light sandy 
loam planted to corn in 1913, root crop, 
beans and garden truck in 1914, oats in 
1915. In 1913 and 1914 it had a good 
fertilizing with barnyard manure (cow) 
and commercial fertilizer; not any ma¬ 
nure in 1915, but raised a good crop of 
oats, for grain. I thought to seed to 
grass after oats without plowing, so 
disked thoroughly, but was delayed in 
seeding to grass. The oats were very 
ripe and dry when cut, and shed so that 
a good crop of oats has come in and is 
now about eight inches high. I intend to 
turn the oats under and plant to corn, 
using commercial fertilizer next year. 
Shall I turn under the oats this Fall to 
rot during coming Winter, or let them 
stand, to prevent soil washing till Spring, 
then turn under? What treatment would 
you suggest? “o.” 
Connecticut. 
We should lot the oats alone, to make 
such growth as they will this Fall, and 
plow them under in the Spring. The 
only advantage from Fall plowing would 
be to get the work done ahead. The oats 
and the weeds will make some little extra 
growth this Fall, and will hold the snow 
on the ground through the Winter. In 
the Spring we should plow everything 
under and plant corn. Probably a light 
dose of limestone in this field would help. 
Spring Wheat in Massachusetts. 
I have been reading with much mteresl 
your articles on wheat, and in today’s 
paper a correspondent asks if it may 
not be a “by-product” and so not very 
expensive. Last Spring I had a field of 
two acres that I wished to seed down. 
I also knew I should need a lot of straw 
to bed the horses this Winter, so I seed¬ 
ed with clover and grasses and put in 
Spring wheat with it. The piece had 
been in corn for two years, and well 
manured, but when the wheat was com¬ 
ing up I put on 400 pounds acid phos¬ 
phate. I got about 30 bushels an acre of 
wheat and a lot of straw. So much for 
the “by-product.” After the wheat was 
off, owing to the numerous rains and the 
fertility combined, the clover came along 
famously, and I have just put awav over 
three tons of clover hay, and the field is 
starting up finely again for Winter pro¬ 
tection. Did my wheat crop cost me 
much? GEORGE E. MORSE. 
Massachusetts. 
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