Notes from a Maryland Garden 
FERTn.izEK For Potatoes. —Down in 
North Carolina the Commissioner of 
Agriculture and his agronomist are ad¬ 
vising the farmers that they can make 
a cheap fertilizer for all crops by using 
ground limestone as a leading material 
in the fertilizer. They are telling the 
truckers that the following mixture will 
be good for the early Irish potato crop: 
600 lbs. ground limestone, 500 lbs. 16% 
acid phosphate, 700 lbs. cottonseed meal, 
and 200 lbs. of nitrate of soda. A cor¬ 
respondent there asks my opinion on 
this. My opinion is that, aside from any 
bad influence of the limestone, it is a 
very low-grade fertilizer for potatoes, 
having an excess of nitrogen in propor¬ 
tion to the phosphoric acid. They claim 
that the limestone will take the place 
of potash. It could only do this by re¬ 
leasing insoluble potash in the soil, and 
^.•!?jle it is thought that burnt slaked lime 
will do this to some extent, it has nerer 
been claimed that raw ground linu'stone 
will have auj' such effect. lame will 
often have a bad effect on Irish pota¬ 
toes by making soil conditions more fav¬ 
orable to the growth of the scab fungus, 
which will make iinmarketable potatoes. 
Then too, the lime will tend to start the 
nitrification of the cottonseed meal and 
release ammonia, and it will revert the 
phosphoric acid and make it less avail¬ 
able, and the low-grade mixtiire will soon 
be some lower gi-ade if it stands long. 
Mixture For The South. —Ground 
limestone is an excellent material if used 
all over the land in a liberal way, and 
well harrowed in, preceding some other 
crop than IrLsh potatoes. T^sed in a reg¬ 
ular systematic rotation of crops and the 
growth and use of legume crops it is im¬ 
portant, for most of the Southern soils 
are in an acid condition. For Irish po¬ 
tatoes the Southern grower can make 
a good fertilizer by simply mixing cot¬ 
tonseed meal and acid phosphate in equal 
amounts. This will give a well-balanced 
fertilizer with about one per cent, of 
potash. But never mix lime in any 
form in a fertilizer with materials that 
have nitrogen in an organic form. Then 
RURAL N 
if farmers everywhere would consult 
their State experiment stations they 
could get the best .advice on fertilizt'rs 
from men who understand the chemical 
effects of various mixtures. Aside from 
any bad effect of the lime a fertilizer con¬ 
taining as much nitrogen or more than 
phosphoric acid is a poor mixture for 
Irish potatoes, which should have at 
least twice as much phosphoric acid as 
of nitrogen in the fertilizer. 
Cold Weather. —The coldest weather 
for years has prevailed of late, and we 
have not yet been able to get the early 
peas in the ground as we. usually do be¬ 
fore the middle of February. In fact we 
have had no chance to do any work In 
the outside garden. With the thermom¬ 
eter day after day indicating at sunrise 
0 to 10 above zero, we cannot even get 
the hardy things out of the ground for 
use. Perhaps March will give us better 
conditions, for I have often planted corn 
in March, and bad it do well. The early 
tomato seeds are sown and beginning to 
germinate in the flats in the gremihouse 
and the sweet peppers are now going in. 
Doubtless we will have some warmer 
weather after a while. Usually by this 
(Feb. 7) the tops of the hyacinths and 
Narcissus are showing under the cover 
of rough manure, but this Winter they 
are keeping evry close, and there are no 
signs of starting. Violets in the frame 
are blooming very 'scantily, and Winter 
holds the stage completely. 
W. F. MASSEY. 
Handling the Corn Crop 
In reply to your article on page 144 
in regard to field corn, I find the best 
and most satisfactory way is to leave 
the corn in the field until thoroughly 
ripe, then pick and hu.sk. The corn as 
picked is dumped under a shed and cov¬ 
ered at night to keep off frost so that 
the husking can commence at 7 a. m. 
The stalks are harrowed and plowed in 
as soon as the corn is picked and are of 
more value used in that way than any I 
know of. I believe where anyone is 
going to raise five acres or more in corn 
every year a harvester and .a husker 
E W-YO R K E R 
would make a profitable investment, pay¬ 
ing for itself in three years. Where ma¬ 
chinery is used the help involuntarily is 
speeded up to keep the machinery going, 
and this is what is needed now where 
tlie help want and exact such high wages. 
In these days the laborer has more to 
spend on his person and for pleasure than 
the average farmer. B. b. haul. 
Massachusetts. 
A Fruit Grower’s Travels 
Part I. 
Clover in the South. —It has been 
my pleasure and privilege to travel 
through Kentucky, Ohio, New York, 
Massachusetts. Maine, Nova Scotia and 
Canada, and I have attended fruit grow- 
Scarifying Sweet Clover 
ers’ meetings and seen and talked with 
many of the farmers and business men. 
It may be of interest to some of your 
readers to read some brief remarks on 
these different sections and my observa¬ 
tions of present conditions and farm 
I)ractices. In Kentucky I went into the 
hilly country just south of the Ohio 
River to investigate the Sweet clover in- 
dusti-y that has sprung up there within 
the last few years. I found the land 
rough and hilly; the soil mostly a reddish 
yellow clay and most of the hillsides 
badly wa.shed. These hillsides are 
only suitable for pasture lauds, and 
the best practice is to sow yellow, un¬ 
hulled dover on the sod in February. A 
277 
good catch is almost certain and even on 
well pastured land, enough plants ripen 
.seed to keep up a good clover sod. Some 
of the fields are cut for hay or pastured 
early in the second season, and then al¬ 
lowed to go to seed. This seed, much 
to my surprise, is harvested mostly with 
a little hand sickle and the untied 
bunches left to dry in rows. When dry 
these are thrown on a tight box wagon, 
driven through the field, and thrashed 
with a flail, the straw thrown off ami 
left in the field. The unhulled seed and 
chaff are fanned and taken to a centrally 
located mill to be cleaned, hulled and 
sacrificed. The scarifying process is to 
break the hard seed coat and insure 
quick germination. The seed is fed into a 
fan and blown across a piece of sandpaper. 
(Fig. 104.) The yellow Sweet clover 
is more popular than the white, as it does 
not grow as rank, has more leaves and 
makes finer hay than the white. All the 
farmers I saw were enthusiastic over 
Sweet clover, and were feeding it with 
good success to all kinds of stock. E. w. M. 
Spelt and Emmer 
On page 160 you state your experience 
has been against spelt or emmer. Three 
years ago I .sowed an acre with emmer 
as an experiment. On one side was oats 
and on the other barley. The emmer 
produced about 25 biLshels per acre, 
while the oats only about 20 and the bar¬ 
ley about the same. In justice to the 
emmer I .should also say that the emmer 
could have been sowed twice as thick. I 
believe had this been sown twice as thick 
it would, I am certainly convinced, yield 
far heavier than any other grain I have 
grown except corn. I am trying the 
Winter emmer this year; it got a fair 
start last Fall. I put in about two- 
thirds of an acre of it. e. b. s. 
West Cornwall, Conn. 
Feb. 12. The wholesale prices paid 
by buyers here are: Eggs 40c doz.; 
fowls, alive. 20c; hogs 11 to 12c lb.; 
veal calves 10 to 12c lb.; cattle $6 to 
per hundred ; hides iSc lb. o. b. 
Culpeper, Va. 
ows 
r 
May All Be Kept for One Year on the Product of One Acre 
It is hardly believable. Keeping seven cows for a whole year on one acre goes a long way toward reducing the cost of milk. 
Ross Eureka Corn produced in one year on one acre 70 tons and 800 lbs. of the best quality of ensilage. Figuring at 
the rate of 50 lbs. of ensilage per day, which is a very liberal allowance, this amount will feed seven cows for one year and 
enough left over for 261 feeds, iThis enormous crop won our $50.00 gold prize, 
Wc Offer $100.00 in Gold fo fhe First Party Brealdiig 
this Record with Ross’ Eureka Corn 
Every bag or crate of RosS* Eureka Com bears our trade mark—the man holding the stalk of com. We do this for your protedtlon, because 
there has been so much corn sold as Eureka which is not Ross’ Eureka and does not produce the same results. As yc sowy so shall ye reap. 
If you plant cheap seed, you must expect to rea:> accordingly. Ross’ Eureka is backed by a reputation of more than 25 years. We know 
before we ship our seed that it will grow under favorable conditions, as we test every variety before we send it to you. If it doesn't germi¬ 
nate, the fault is with the planting, weather or some conditions that cannot be foreseen. 
Ross’ Eureka Ensilage Corn 
Grows tallest, has most leaves, greatest number of ears. The four heaviest afclfes of this corn in one year gave a 
total yield of 200 tons and 96 lbs., an average of 50 tons and 24 lbs. per acre. This it not much above the average 
yield for Ross’ Eureka Corn if it is planted under favorable conditions. 
You do not need to plant your whole farm when you can fill a 200-ton silo from 4 to 6 acres with Ross' Eureka. 
The best money you can spend on the farm is for good seed. Poor seed is dear at any price, bat good seed is alwayfl 
worth what yon pay for it. Ask yourself what corn is worth per bushel that will produce 70 tons and 800 lbs. per 
acre over ordinary corn. We are not asking you to experiment. We are only asking you to buy seed com from 
us that thousands of successful farmers have bought from us and planted on their 
farms, year after year, and have found it to be the cheapest and best corn they can buy. 
'm, 
Sudan Grass—Latest Forage Crop 
Grows 7 to 9 feet and stands up well in rainy weather, producing more per acre 
than any other summer crop. It is the most prolific and dependable crop in 
limited rainfall in the north and west. The stooling habit of Sudan Grass 
after being cut causes many of the single plants to produce 300 to 500 stems. 
SHEFFIELD WORLD’S PRIZE FLINT CORN 
Still holds record for heaviest yield for flint corn—123.8 bushels of crib-dry corn 
from one acre. It can be planted later and will mature earlier than any other 
flint corn. 
Grass Seeds of Highest Grade 
We have all varieties—Timothy, Blue Grass, Fescue, etc. Superb Utah-grown 
Alfalfa. May be purchased in any quantity. Special mixtures for both wet 
and dry land, mowing or pasture. Our 1917 catalog tells you more about these 
wonderful crops and also our full line of seeds. 
This Big New Catalog Free—Write 
K—Numbe 
for It Today- 
ber Limited 
ROSS BROS. CO., 67 Front St., Worcester, Mass. 
Crtp tf Sudan Grass frown in 
WprcjstrTf Mass,, this pasis4asan. 
Sudan Grass is eaten readily by horiei, 
cattle and pies, it can be dried for bay 
and will produce 3 or 3 crops a year. 
“Everybody Knowa Rose’ 
Seed Crows " 
