"Che RURAL NEW-YORKER 
281 
Muck Soils and Lime 
On page 68 you advise a man to put 
lime on a muck field which is underlaid 
at a little distance with marl. It is the 
experience of some of our muck farmers 
that lime is not needed, or is even harm¬ 
ful. E. R. Hay, New York, has .some 
muck on which cooperative experiments 
were carried out some years ago. Ilis 
statement and that of his neighbors is 
that the strips on which lime was used 
are and have been for years the poorest 
he has. Two weeks ago Mr. Barker of 
the Geneva Station was asked about 
this. He said that in the ca.se of muck 
with a good bed of marl under it. lime 
was often unnecessary, but that he had 
never before heard of its being harmful 
except that burned lime sometimes in- 
.iured young plants the first year. 
A. w. 
R. N.-Y.—We have had quite varying 
reports about this. It seems that some 
samples of muck are not acid, and on 
such soils lime would be worse than 
useless. As a general proposition the 
use of lime on such low black soil is 
recommended, but there are evidently 
some cases where this is not the rule. 
We would like to hear from any w'ho 
have handled such soils. 
Plowing Manure Under 
Which will I receive the better results 
from, to draw the manure out this Win¬ 
ter and plow it in under, or draw it out 
in fce Spring after it is ’plowed and 
work it in? I also have a piece of 
ground of rotten stone to be seeded this 
Spring. How would it be to draw out 
manure this Winter and Avork it in? 
It is to be sowed to oats and seeded. 
Would it be bettor to wait until I cut 
the oats and then give it a top-dressing 
with the. manure spreader? F. b. 
Theresa, N. Y. 
From our own experience we conclude 
that it is always better to plow manure 
into the ground, unless it has been thor¬ 
oughly rotted so as to make it fine for 
an CA'en distribution. It is usually a 
mistake to haul coarse, ucav manure out 
on plowed ground and try to work it 
thoroughly into the soil. Fine manure 
can be easily worked into the ground in 
this way, but coarse or chunky manure 
will not make a good distribution. In 
our own case this Winter we are hauling 
most of the manure out while the ground 
is hard, and spreading it on the level 
field. This saves a great deal of work 
in Spring. I.ast Spring was late and 
very wet. and we found it impossible to 
get all of the manure out when Spring 
finally came, as the other work was 
pressing hard. Thus this year we hauled 
the manure and spread on the solid 
ground to be plowed under when Sp”ing 
comes. With very fine manure used as 
a top-dressing. Ave can use a manure 
spreader, put the fine manure on evenly 
and harrow it in so that it will give 
good results. Conditions vary, and no 
definite rule can be giA’en, but in thei 
ca.se of the oats we should prefer to Avait 
until after harvest and then give a top 
dre.ssing of fine manure. 
Sow Sweet Clover Seed Now j 
I have been reading the inquiry of C. Ei 
C.. of Vineland. N. .1.. in regard to Sweet ; 
clover, and the ansAver of Trucker, Jr., to 
same on page 151. I am ahvays inter¬ 
ested in the articles of Trucker, .Tr., and 
am pleased to find that he is a good friend 
of‘that greatest of all legumes. Sweet 
clover. IloAvever. Avhile his plan of seed¬ 
ing may be all light, yet I like mine bet¬ 
ter. and as I have groAvn SAA’^eet clover 
onl.v on my entire farm for years Avith 
success, I feel that I ought to knoAV some¬ 
thing about it. Nature’s AA'ay is to use 
the unhulled seed only, and soav during 
the Winter on the snow, and if no snow 
then SOAV it just the same betAveen Jan¬ 
uary 1 and March 15. so that the freezing 
and thuAviug of late Winter and early 
Spring Avill coA'er it. and rot off the hull 
and the outer coating of the seed. Then 
as soon as the first Avarm days of early 
Spring arrive it Avill germinate ahead of 
the weeds, and will keep ahead, and about 
September 10 .vou will cut a big crop of 
nice, tender hay that all stock will relish 
better than Alfalfa or even grain, as I 
know for a fact that my horses Avill not 
touch their grain until the Swmet clover 
hay is eaten first. It has been proved be¬ 
yond question that stock of all kinds will 
keej) in better condition on an all Winter 
ration of SAveet clover without grain 
than Avith other hay and silage combined 
Avith grain. This is because it contains 
more protein than any other legume. 
I lived at one time for five years wnthin 
four miles of Vineland, the home of C. E, 
and I am satisfied that if he Avould 
get some unhulled seed and sow as above 
on his potato ground this month Avithout 
an.v lime, fertilizer, manure or inocula¬ 
tion. he Avould be more than pleased Avith 
the results. People are beginning to open 
their eyes on the SAveet clover question, 
and thousands of farmers are going into 
it this Winter with unhulled seed. 
The statement from the Iowa Station, 
on page 170, proves Avhat I have ahvays 
held, that no stock will eat Alfalfa as well 
as SAA’eet cloA’er. While they are consid¬ 
ered tAvin sisters. Sweet clover contains 
more protein and if it is cut at the proper 
time makes better hay, and will produce 
more per acre, and will fill up a poor soil 
with humus quicker than any other 
legume. I would advise any farmer 
Avhose farm is not producing as it should 
to get into SAveet clover (the Avhite, of 
course), as quickly as possible. It Avill 
grow on any soil and after it gets started. 
Avill stand all kinds of Aveather better 
than any other legume. 
NeAv York. a. bloomingdale. • 
The Value of Coal Ashes 
Would the fine part of sifted coal 
ashes improve run-doAvu South Jersey 
soil, and Avould it be best to spread after 
ploAving and dragging? Will potatoes 
grow on soil that does not produce good 
coAv fodder? . s. L. il. 
Ncav Jersey. 
Here is another question which comes 
up at least 100 times during the year. 
People read about the great value of 
Avood ashes and at once assume that 
coal ashes properly sifted are just as 
rich in plant food. The tAvo kinds of 
ash are entirely different. While the 
wood ashes contain lime and potash to 
a considerable amount, there is practical¬ 
ly no plant food in the coal ashes. As 
a fertilizer therefore they are of no 
value; yet without question they do often 
give results when used on the ground. 
These results are due not to the plant 
food they contain, but to a mechanical 
effect upon the soil. On open, sandy 
soils, the fine, pasty ashes Avork into 
the sand and bind it together, so that it 
will hold moisture to better advantage. 
The trouble Avith most sands is that the 
soil particles are too loose. Air Avorks 
in betAveen and dries such soils out too 
rapidly. The coal ashes prev''nt this by 
closing up the soil spaces. On the other 
hand, the fine ashes also give results on 
thick, clay soils. In such cases they 
open the soil. Avork in between the soil 
particles, and overcome the heavy brick¬ 
like condition which makes such soils 
hold too much moisture in a wet time, 
and permits them to bake solid when the 
Aveather is too dry. There are many 
cases on record Avhere the use of coal 
ashes in this way has greatly improved 
the condition of the soil. We have found 
them very useful for piling around trees 
as a mulch. They are particularly good 
for packing around currants or rasp¬ 
berry bushes ill the garden. These ashes 
are also very useful, for carrying avail¬ 
able plant food. Ifiquid manure, cham- 
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