68 
and were not fit to jmll. A soasi n or two later we 
noticed tlie same result on a tield without irriga¬ 
tion where a lonj' dry spell was followed by several 
copious rains, which caused us to reason that any 
sudden change in the growing conditions of the aster 
tends to stimulate the spread of the yellow disease, 
this being the di.sease upon which no scientific data, 
apparently, can he obtained. Noting the above 
mentioned effects of rain after drought we decided 
1o tr.v irrigation at all times when there was in¬ 
sufficient rainfall, with the result that the season 
being dry, our returns from ast<‘rs that season 
^vould have made some of the wild dreams of 
writers, who from lack of common sense and hon¬ 
esty. tell yarns of imjiossilile returns in some ir¬ 
responsible ]»apers. look natural. Naturally we 
thought we had the aster where we want(‘d it. The 
following season we doubled our area, and irrigated, 
only to have the yellow disease wor.se than before. 
The next season, after in-igating regularly till flow¬ 
ers were forming, and having fine looking stock, it 
began raining and our field being already moist, in 
a week or 10 days one-third of our plants were lost 
by stem-rot. T.ast season was naturally wet. and no 
continuous iri’igation was necessar.v. though where 
Ave did use water the cro]) was not as good as where 
no water was used. If one were in a locality where 
irrigation could he depended tipon entirely, I should 
think excellent results could he obtained in that 
manner. Our observation has been that the aster, 
to succeed, does not want any sudden check or any 
sudden spur after a long continued period of re- 
jiression in its development. 
VAIIIETIES.—Queen of the Market is the most 
largely gro\An variety for cutting, and must be 
jilanted upon a new plot each season. We have 
tried it the second season on the same soil, and after 
a lapse of six years with the same i-esult—^in-ac- 
ticall.v the entire croii went off with stem-rot before 
any flowers were marketed. We also found where 
this variety was idanted on higher ground, and sev¬ 
eral seasons later the same variety was planted 
where water flowed from the former field during a 
rain, all the plants would have stem-rot. Vick's 
Itoyal strain is a good one, though not as earl.v as 
Queen of the Market. This variety will not stem- 
rot if iilanted several seasons on the same plot, 
though it appears much more suscefitihle to the 
yellows than Queen of the Market. Vick's T’liright 
I’erfection, and the Semple varieties are the be.st 
for midsummer and late, though in our localitie.s 
pubjeet to the ravages of the black aster beetle. The 
safest manner to combat this bug when it first ap¬ 
pears is to go over the field daily and pick them off 
by hand. Later when they become more numerous 
and destructive Paris green may be used, though 
you must experiment carefully at the start, or you 
will burn the foliage. 
INSECT MARAPDERS.—The tarnmhed plant- 
bug is the real, almost uncontrollable, insect enemy 
of the aster. It begins operations early in the sea¬ 
son. when the plants are small, by puncturing the 
stem and at the .same time injecting some poison¬ 
ous substance, and continues this method to the 
end of the season. If a small plant is punctured, the 
entire top. with possibly half the upper branches, is 
ruined, and sometimes the entire plant. Last year 
a plot of Vick's Royal containing near 10.000 plants 
was practically ruined in this manner. Almost all 
the plants were punctured and nearly all the re¬ 
maining shoots became yellow before maturity. Be¬ 
ing a sucking insect it cannot be poisoned, nor can 
It be caught, being ver.v sly, and it is hard to hit 
with a contact insecticide, as the first approach of 
a person or a spray causes it to fly off, or hide un¬ 
der the foliage. A good active lot of half-grown 
chickens will do some good in keeping them down, 
though not entirely effective. 
MARKETING.—The marketing of the crop is an¬ 
other matter that is often overlooked by persons 
who wish to try something unfamiliar, many form¬ 
ing the idea that all that is necessary is to grow 
the stock and there will be no trouble to sell it. 
This idea is quite often disseminated by writers in 
some farm and horticultural papers. Avho have either 
bulbs or plants to sell. If you are so situated that 
you can retail Avhat stock you grow, you are for¬ 
tunate indeed, if not, better make sure of a mar¬ 
ket before putting out the crop. The larger per¬ 
centage of flowers grown in this country are sold 
by commission men, and many of these houses con¬ 
tend. either rightly or otherwise, that they should 
not handle flowers from a grower in the Summer, 
who does not have a greenhou.se and ship through 
the Winter. Looking at this fi'om our point of 
vieAV Ave may try to justify that stand in this pos¬ 
sibly selfish manner. Two years ago Ave shipped 
1.50.000 aster blooms to regular commission men to 
whom Ave shipped throughout the year with one or 
tihe RORAiL NE Z-YOKKER 
two cxceiUions; RiU.OOO of these just paid the pack¬ 
ing and express charges, and the remainder barely 
paid the expenses, leaving us nothing for a season’s 
Avork. The quality Avas better than any AA’e ever 
marketed. Noaa’ AA'ith the market in such a con¬ 
gested condition, do .a'ou think those commission men 
AA'ho could not sell the I'egular florists’ stock AA’ould 
he justified in taking an outside shipper's? Po.ssibly 
—but this I do not can* to argue here. One thing 
1 wish to say. howcA-er. is that there are not many 
(ommissiou houses in any one cit.A’, and they IniA'e 
a high standing for business integrity generally, 
Avith none of the odium usually attached to the 
commission merchant Avho pre.vs upon the farmer 
and small A’egetable groAA’er. Of course there may 
lie exceptions, and occasionally aao hear of one, 
though as florists aao are glad to knoAV they are rare 
indeed. 
When Ave Lancaster Gounty florists de.sire to see 
choice asters Ave take a tri]) to the Lancaster city 
markets. Avhere many farmers offer a small quantity 
for sale. Wherever I have noticed a fcAv dozen 
jilants groAving in a farmer's garden, they are in- 
A-ariahly better than Ave can groAv them upon a 
large ai’ea. 
FERTILIZERS.—We have used tobacco stems at 
the rate of 10 tons per acre, manure flO tons per 
aci-e. and ploAved under a heavy crop of vetch, all 
with the same results as far as Ave could determine. 
We also used chemical fertilizer of about to 5% 
nitrogen, 0% to 8% i>hosphoric acid and 8% to 10% 
potash, applying 1.000 to 4.000 pounds per acre for 
experimenting Avithout any very noticeable differ¬ 
ences. All of Avhich shoAvs tlie China aster a con¬ 
undrum more easily solved sometimes by the in- 
exiierienced than the so-called professional. 
Lancaster Co., I’a. elmer j. aveaver. 
Handling Muck and Marl 
In the Fall of 101.5 I purchased this farm, on which 
there Avas about three acres of muck that had neA-er 
been ploAved. We ditched this piece and in August, 
1010. ploAved it. The muck runs from 18 inches to 
tAvo feet deep, underlaid with about four feet of marl. 
If possible I want to plant this jiiece to celery, onions, 
carrots, mangels and possibly a feAV Cobbler potatoes. 
lIoAV shall I handle it to seeure best results? Shall I 
use lime (ground rock) and if so how much per acre? 
Should the lime have been aiiplied last Fall or this 
Winter if the ground is bare (I have a lime soAverl. or 
Avonld it be better in the Spring? Would the marl 
have anv A-alue draAvn on the fields in the place of 
lime? Could it be run through a manure spreader? 
The top of the marl is full of small shells that crush 
betAveen the fingers; toAvard the bottom the shells are 
so decayed there are no shapes left, only a soft grayish 
mass that AA-orks like soft initty. Will it pay me to 
compost some of this muck Avith lime and stable ma¬ 
nure for top-dressing ucav seeding or Avould it be all 
right to use it raAA’? K. G. 51. 
Wheeler, N. Y. 
\’ERY year there are questions about imick 
and its use. We have ansAvered them many 
times, but this is one of the matters Avhich requii-e 
steady discussion. Try to obtain the bulletins is¬ 
sued by the-Vermont Experiment Station at Bur¬ 
lington and the Michigan Station at East Lansing. 
These give many facts about the composition and 
handling of muck and SAA'amp lands. 8uch muck or 
])eat often contains as much nitrogen as manure, 
but very little of either potash or phosphoric acid. 
It is generally sour, Avith the nitrogen not available 
and too moist to ploAA* or fit properly. Thus liming 
and good drainage are first necessities. 
Since you have ditched and ploAved this field the 
next need is lime. You Avere Avise in not liming 
last Fall. As soon as you can Avork this ground in 
the Spring put on tAvo tons of ground limestone per 
acre, and chop and harroAv it into the soil, "ii’e 
should not lime that part of the field Avhere you 
Avill plant potatoes. We should spread and har- 
roAV in at least 400 pounds of acid phosjihate per 
acre, 'as all muck soils need aA’ailable iihosiihorus. 
If it Avere possible to obtain .potash Ave should use 
that too, but this year it Avould not pay to buy pot¬ 
ash for farming punioses. The liming ought to 
make sure of a supply of nitrogen but most likely 
100 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre Avould pay 
by supplying a small quantity of available nitrogen 
through the early season. Handled in this Avay you 
ought to get a fair crop. Some farmers make the 
mistake of supposing that because the muck is rich 
in nitrogen it is therefore a full manure. It is al¬ 
ways loAA’ in phosphoric acid and for best results 
that element should be used AA'ith it. 
.V good quality of marl Avill give about the same 
results as ground limestone. It is sometimes more 
valuable AA'hen it contains phosphorus, as some 
marls do. It Avill surely pay to mix some of this 
marl or lime Avith the muck. M’e should put a lay¬ 
er of muck in some dry. Avell-drained place and 
spread over it a layer of the marl: then more muck 
and so on. A load of manure can be used to great 
advantage in each layer of muck. Many farmers are 
.Tanuary 20, 1917. 
noAV using this muck raAA'—sjiread OA'er the fields 
and iiloAved under Avith a feAv loads of manure. It 
is claimed that the bacteria in the mamire Avork 
through the muck and make it available. At least 
good results are reported Avhere this method is car¬ 
ried out. We learn of farmers in Minnesota Avho 
during the Winter go into the sAvamps and chop 
o\it great chunks of the frozen muck. These are 
loaded on stone boats, hauled out and dflmpetl in 
the field. They tlniAV out in Spring and may be 
roughly spread Avith a harroAv. Then a feAv loads 
of manure are spread ami ploAved \inder AA'ith the 
muck, and the soil acts someAA'hat like a compost 
heap to make the muck aA'ailalile. This plan saves 
labor, but Ava think it Avill pay better to use the 
muck and marl and manure in the pile before 
spreading. That Avill make a finer and more aA'all- 
able compost. 
Gasoline for Cleaning Hogs 
This Maine Man Vetoes It 
TRIED it to my sorroAv. I do not think there 
is any AA'ay as good as hot Avater and plenty 
of jAOAvdered resin AA'ell rubbed in the hair before 
scalding. I’sing gasoline one mu.st go out aAA'ay 
from the buildings, and it is generally pretty cold 
at butchering time so it makes extra Avork getting 
hog out and back. Al^*o the smell is A'ery bad. 
In u.sing gasoline the hog must be dry; that also 
requires extra AA'ork. I had one quart of gasoline, 
and that did not begin to do tbe job, so 1 had to 
AA'ait for AA'ater to heat, so a one-hour job AA'as 
lengthened out to three hours. My advice is stick 
to the old Avay. M. browx. 
Maine. 
A Jerseyman and a Gasoline Torch 
I read AA'ith considerable interest the letter ap¬ 
pearing in a recent issue in reference to the use 
of gasoline in the cleansing of hogs, for, as it hap- 
]iencd. T Avas just in a position to test this neAV 
method of accomplishing a task AA'hich, at its best, 
is alAvays tedious and unpleasant. 'While I sat read¬ 
ing and digesting your remarks on the subject it 
occurred to me that I might even improve on your 
correspondent's method of applying the gasoline. 
Instead of poui'ing the fluid over the carcass, and 
igniting it, I might use a small gasoline hand torch 
such as is commonly used by plumbers. I found this 
simple and .safe manner of singeing a lU'onounced 
success and I should imagine far more thorough and 
.satisfactory. Hitherto I have ahvays anticipated 
AA'ith a degree of dread, the long and disagreeable 
old-fashioned process of scalding, but after my ex¬ 
perience of yestei'day Avith my little torch I shall 
never again haA'e recourse to the hot-AA'ater tank. I 
ought to add that by this means the singeing can 
be done anyAvhere, in or out of doors, Avhich is cer¬ 
tainly of no small importance, as the danger from 
fire is r(*duced to a minimum. john bodki.x. 
NeAA' Jersey. 
Selling Produce by Weight 
W HY cannot you start a campaign for the use 
of the cental or hundred-poiind AA’eight? In 
Colorado Ave use the Aveight for everything, oats, 
barley, corn, cabbage, tomatoes, or potatoes all .sell 
by the iHUind or hundred pounds. When Ave put our 
product on the scales Ave are ready to figure the 
amount of sale by multiplying by the price per 
pound: hut after you have Aveighed your product 
you then haA'e to reduce it to bushels, and a bushel 
, of one thing is so different from a bushel of some¬ 
thing else that comparison of price is yet vei'y 
diliicult. If Avheat is Avorth $2.50 per hundred and 
corn Avorth $2.10 Ave easily compare the feeding 
vaUie of each. 
5Iany of our people have groAvn up hardly to 
kiiOAV Avhat a bushel is. but Avlien it comes to your 
barrels of flour, and barrels of potatoes, that is 
the limit. I haA'e been trying to make compari¬ 
sons betAA'een your prices and ours, but I don't 
under.stand your language, and I cannot eA'en find 
it in "Webster's Dictionar.A'. Potatoes in Denver are 
retailing at $.3 per hundred, and I Avill A'enture 
there is not a man in the civilized Avorld Avho can¬ 
not understand that. 
I consider that along Avith the question of mar¬ 
kets this is the most important question be¬ 
fore the American farmer. This confusion of 
weights and measurements gives all the advantage 
to the trader. I think you can readily see the 
point to this question, and I believe you could do 
something to bring about this reform. Possibly it 
is a question that should come before Congress. 
I'oulder Co., Col. johx gratta.x 
R. N.-5’.—Count us in on any campaign to make 
marketing more simple and direct. The iilan of 
