1512 
December 25, 1915. 
“THE KUKAU 
General Farm Topics 
Power on the Farm Machinery 
•Some of our readers in the North who 
are wading through snowdrifts or pre¬ 
paring to get in ice will think the picture 
on the first page hardly appropriate. 
They must remember, however, that this 
is a great big country, and that while 
they are trying to warm things up there 
are farmers in this big land who are 
still doing the ordinary work of caring 
for the soil. This picture was taken in 
Kentucky, and shows the work of disk¬ 
ing over corn stubble. Down in that 
country they believe in thorough work, 
and thorough work means power, and 
power means either beef, gasoline, or 
steam. In this case the farmer has en¬ 
listed what we call “beef,” that is four 
big farm horses who are handling the 
disk harrow as though it were a play¬ 
thing. You can see that even in that 
country there is a touch of frost in the 
air, for the farmer has on his thick coat 
and gloves, but it is a good time to shake 
up and stir that soil. Even at this late 
season rye can be seeded there if neces¬ 
sary, so as to get a fair start before 
Winter finally shuts up all farm op- 
operations. Where a farmer has two 
teams or three horses, it is best to put 
them all on a big machine of this sort 
and work the ground as deeply as pos¬ 
sible. That chops and stirs up the up¬ 
per surface, makes a mellow seed bed and 
gives far better results than a shallow 
light working. Many farmers on a field 
like the one shown in the picture are 
now using tractors in the place of these 
two big teams of horses. In some cases 
where the tractor is heavy enough the 
whole operation of plowing and disking 
can be done at one operation, as the 
disk well weighted down is hauled behind 
the plow, chopping and stirring the soil 
as fast as it is turned over. Tractors 
are coming and many farmers are experi¬ 
menting with them. On many farms they 
will prove a great help in fitting the 
soil. There are many of us, however, 
who must depend upon our horses for 
a while yet, and it is desirable at times 
to put as much power as possible upon 
these big machines and make a thorough 
job. 
Scientific Agriculture in Guam 
The island of Guam, which now be¬ 
longs to this country, has an experiment 
station, and like the rest of these institu¬ 
tions it issues a report. The first one 
just at hand is very interesting, and 
shows that even on that faraway piece 
of land important farm problems are be¬ 
ing worked out. Among other interesting 
things a poultry experiment is under 
way. There is on the island a breed 
of native black-fleshed poultry. A cock¬ 
erel of this breed was mated to a pen 
of Brown Leghorn hens. The chicks 
from this mating appear to vary consid¬ 
erably in color, one for example having 
one white leg, with a large black patch 
on the other leg. Who knows but that a 
pen of birds of this black-flesh type may 
some day enter the egg-laying contest and 
walk off with the prize? In that far-off 
country a great deal of w r ork is being 
done with vegetables and forage plants. 
Sorghum and peanuts appear to do well, 
and most of our common vegetables are 
being grown. Among other statements 
made in this report is the following: 
“The average native of Guam is ex¬ 
tremely hesitant in the investment of a 
dollar in a new enterprise of any farm 
equipment that has not through custom 
or long usage become an acknowledged 
necessity.” It would appear from this 
that there are some agricultural habits 
which are worldwide, and not all confined 
to the Island of Guam. The island has 
210 square miles, and there are real 
agricultural opportunities there. Quite 
a number of milch goats have been im¬ 
ported, and they appear to be doing rea¬ 
sonably well. The island goats were of 
an inferior and degenerate type. The 
introduction of new blood from good 
strains of dairy goats is improving the 
stock of the island, and it seems as if 
goat breeding fairly conducted would be 
a help to the inhabitants. Cattle of the 
Ayrshire breed have also been introduced, 
as this breed appears to be best suited 
to the island conditions. While it is 
not expected that the island of Guam 
will ever add materially to the food sup¬ 
ply of this country, the work there is in¬ 
teresting, and if it can be so developed 
as to enable the inhabitants to live with 
greater comfort, enjoy better food, and 
add somewhat to their wealth, the money 
spent on these experiments will be well 
invested. 
Value of Oyster Shells 
I am in a position to get about two 
tons of oyster shells and one ton of clam 
shells each week. Tell me where I can 
dispose of these shells, and about how 
much they should bring? I can also ob¬ 
tain considerable waste paper, such as 
wrapping tissue and cardboard. Where 
could I dispose of this at a profit? 
Burlington Co., N. J. G. L. 
It is doubtful if you would get enough 
out of the shells to pay for handling 
them. They are used for road purposes, 
for poultry, and for lime to be used on 
the land. In Southern New Jersey the 
usual price for shells in road building 
is not much more than 25 cents per 
load. For poultry or lime the shells will 
not be salable until they are pulverized 
or crushed. There would probably be 
some demand for crushed shells for poul¬ 
try feeding. You would have to buy a 
grinder and power to take care of the 
shells properly. You might then interest 
some of the poultry supply dealers in 
Philadelphia, or advertise for direct sale. 
In small retail lots such broken shells 
often sell as high as one cent a pound. 
The supply, however, is large, and it is 
doubtful if a small individual outfit 
could compete with the larger dealers. 
As for lime, both oyster and clam shells 
are used for the purpose, but they are of 
little value unless they are finely pul¬ 
verized. To put them into this form you 
will have to burn them, or crush them 
in a grinder. At some points of South¬ 
ern New Jersey such ground shells are 
offered at $2 or less per ton, yet people 
do not buy them readily because the 
freight rates are too high. In one case 
we know where ground oyster shells were 
offered at $1.50 per ton, but the freight 
rate for about 100 miles was $2.52 a 
ton. At this same point a Baltimore 
firm offered ground limestone at $1.50 
per ton, but the freight rate amounted 
to $3.25 per ton. There is little use in 
trying to handle these bulky and cheap 
materials while freight rates are so fear¬ 
fully high, and at the same time they are 
going higher. As to the waste paper, 
there would be a small amount of plant 
food in the ashes from it, or it might be 
sold to junk dealers or paper mills. It is 
not likely, however, that anything of this 
sort which contains real value would ever 
be given away. 
Hopi Corn 
There seems to be some effort to de¬ 
velop a boom for the Ilopi corn, and most 
remarkable stories are told about its abil¬ 
ity to live and grow in a drought. You 
might think it was first cousin to a cac¬ 
tus plant without any of the spines, by 
the way people are talking about it. 
There are always those who are carried 
away by a novelty, and the bigger the 
story the more money they want to put 
into it. The Arizona Experiment Station 
shows us this Hopi corn for what it is. 
It seems to be a corn developed among 
the Hopi and Navajo Indians in northern 
Arizona. It has a deep root, and can 
work up through six or eight inches of 
the soil. This deep planting enables it to 
germinate and grow in very dry soil. It 
seems to have been bred for that partic¬ 
ular* purpose. It is said that the Hopi 
Indians plant this in deep holes, putting 
the hills 10 to 20 feet apart. These In¬ 
dians dig down until they strike mois¬ 
ture, which means a hole two or three 
feet deep. Then they drop the seed and 
cover with six or eight inches of soil. 
Then they put a bunch of seed, eight or 
ten, in each hill. The corn rarely grows 
over two or three feet high, and will tas¬ 
sel at one or two feet. In some cases the 
ears are almost at a level with the 
ground, and eight or 10 bushels of grain 
is a good yield for an acre. The only 
thing about this small corn is that it re¬ 
quires but little moisture and will thero- 
NEW-VORKER 
fore grow in very dry climates. That is 
all there is to it of value, and as for sub¬ 
stituting it in our humid climate for the 
local varieties of corn that do well in the 
locality, nothing could be more foolish or 
a more useless waste of money. When 
you are tempted to invest money in the 
Hopi corn, hop away from the idea. 
Preparing Horseradish for Table Use 
I would like to know the best way to 
prepare horseradish for sale in bottles 
after it has been grated. I wish to make 
a good article, strong and of good flavor. 
Should the vinegar be strong or weak¬ 
ened with water and some sugar put in? 
What else besides vinegar is put with it, 
or should anything else be added? If so 
how much of each is put with each quart 
of grated horseradish? I wish to make it 
it quickly without too much fussing yet I 
want a good article that I can sell to 
hotels and restaurants at a reasonable 
price as well as to retail customers. 
Fresno, Cal. J. R. w. 
To put up a good article, one that you 
can guarantee in every respect, no adul¬ 
terants of any kind should be used in its 
manufacture. To prepare the roots for 
grating properly they must be scraped 
clean of all the outer bark and all rust or 
other spots cut out, otherwise the grated 
root will be specked and will not look 
well. Use only the best of pure cider 
vinegar, water and sugar to be avoided. 
Horseradish put up in this way can be 
sold with a clear conscience and a posi¬ 
tive guarantee as to its absolute purity. 
To lessen the pungency of the finished 
product, and also to cheapen it, some use 
turnips for an adulterant, in the propor¬ 
tion of about two-thirds grated horse¬ 
radish to one-third turnips thoroughly 
mixed. This makes a mild and very pala¬ 
table condiment, but this combination is 
not pure horseradish and cannot be hon¬ 
estly sold as such. K. 
Ground Limestone and Lime Ashes 
Will you show the respective benefits 
to land from the application of ground 
lime rock and lime ashes? s. T. F. 
Massachusetts. 
Ground limestone contains lime and 
probably some magnesia, and would be 
useful largely for its chemical effect upon 
the soil. Lime ashes contain the ash 
from the fuel used in the lime-kiln, and 
also refuse lime scraped up with the 
ashes. This varies in composition great¬ 
ly. An average of 42 samples at the 
Massachusetts Station gave for one ton, 
35 pounds of potash, 14 of phosphoric 
and 900 pounds of lime. Thus the lime 
ashes would give some potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid and a more active form of 
lime than the ground limestone. These 
ashes vary so in composition that they 
should not be bought without sampling 
and analysis. __ 
Lime on Grass 
I think you advise not using ground 
limestone on top of grass land ; the reason 
seems clear to me after watching its ac¬ 
tion. Can I use any other form of lime 
with success on top of grass, or must I 
wait for plowing and re-seeding? E. C. G. 
We do not think any kind of lime used 
on top of grass sod will give satisfactory 
results. From the very nature of lime 
and what it is used for the proper way is 
to -work it thoroughly into the upper soil. 
Lime on sod will not always wash down 
into the soil. It frequently forms a hard 
cement or mortar near the surface. We 
think the hvdrated lime would be best for 
such application—better than ground 
limestone._ 
Keeping Cornstalks Shredded 
I have read in some of the agricul¬ 
tural papers that some farmers at the 
time they husk their corn shred their 
cornstalk's, put them into a stack or mow, 
and allow them to sweat out the same as 
clover hay or Alfalfa; that they come 
out bright, clean, and palatable. I have 
never been able to keep either cut or 
shredded cornstalks in the mow or stack 
without molding. Can you give me any 
information as to how you can prevent 
the shredded stalks from molding? 
Berlin, Conn. c. M. J. 
We have not been able to do it. In 
our humid climate we expect to lose at 
least 20 per cent, of such shredded fod¬ 
der when large quantities are handled at 
once. We read of success with the meth¬ 
od in the West, but conclude that the cli¬ 
mate and the fodder must be drier than 
with us. Salt scattered over the shredded 
fodder as it is put in the mow or bin 
will help somewhat. Our best practice 
is to shred not over two weeks’ supply 
at a time. The entire fodder keeps bet¬ 
ter outdoors. Put up a temporary shed 
or roof near the barn. Run a rack or 
pole down through the center of it and 
stand the bundles of fodder up against 
it on either side. This keeps off the rain 
and enables the air to work under and 
around the fodder. It keeps well and 
can be shredded every two weeks or so. 
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