543 
Sudan Grass and Canada Thistles 
When f^liould Sudan grass be sown and would it be 
possible to smother out Canada thistles by sowing it 
thick enough? I have never had any experience with 
Sudan grass, but read about it as a wonderful grower. 
I'ennsylvania. ii. e. b. 
T ins proini.'^ing new crop is a native of Africa 
where the climate is hot and dry. Therefore 
we have found that Sudan grass is better for South¬ 
ern .Jersey conditions than for Northern .Jersey. If 
it is sown about .June first, when the soil is well 
warmed Tip, it should make two heavy crops of 
ha.v or green forage with a feeding value similar 
to Timothy and better tlian millet. It lives only 
one year. 1)0 not sow until the ground is well 
warmed up. Have a well-prepared seed bed as free 
from weeds as possible and use 25 pounds of seed 
broadcast, drilled or harrowed in, or about six 
pounds in cultivated rows 28 inches apart. Tlie 
saving in seed, especially this year, will jiay for 
cultivation, and the latter method is generally more 
successful. Another good method of seeding is to 
stop every other hole of a grain drill; this saves 
seed and, like broadca.-^t .seeding, produces a finer 
textured ha.v. The weeder may be used to ad¬ 
vantage to kill small annual weeds without injury 
to the crop. If sown later than June 15. only one 
good cutting should be expected. The best time to 
cut is when the first heads come into bloom The 
stalks seem hard and woody, but livestock eat it 
well, either green or cured. 
Canada thistle is a very deep-rooted i>erennial 
which can be conquered only by frequently destroy¬ 
ing its foliage, thus exhausting the roots. I’robably, 
if the .^udtin grass was sown in rows it would be 
more possible to destroy this obnoxious weed by 
cnltiviition. Sudan grass does best on a warm, 
fertile soil and in order to get two crops, the sea¬ 
sons should be quite long. This forage crop is quite 
a strong feeder and draws quite he.avily on the 
I)lant food of the .soil. Perhaps a crop of oats and 
Canada field peas planted early in the Spring could 
be followed to adv.-nitage by Soy beans drilled in 
rows to permit cultivation against the thistle. After 
this crop is cured for hay it could be followed by 
a cover crop of rye. This would leave the soil in 
lu'tter condition, as it Avould afford a chance to 
plow the ground in early Summer and again in 
early Fall. The Canada thistle would be more ser¬ 
iously checked in its devt>loj)ment and two he.avy 
leguminous hay crops .should be harvested. About 
oOO lbs. per acre of acid phosidiate may be broad¬ 
cast just before the Canada field peas and oats are 
sown, and again before the Soy beans ai*e drilhal. 
R. W. I). 
Peas and Oats for Hay 
T HF.RE are many questions about .seeding C.-in- 
ada peas and oats. Evidently this combination 
will be heavily .seeded this year. The first thing to 
remember is to use the Ckinada field pea, and not 
the cow pea. The latter is a warm weather plant, 
and cannot be seeded succes.sfully ivith oats. The 
Canada p«a is a cold weather i)lant, even more so 
than the smooth garden i>e.as. P.oth the peas and 
the oats are benefited by lime, and unless the crop 
has been grown on the faiau before, it will ju'ob- 
ably pay to inoculate the pea .seed. Our own jdan 
is to use five pecks of the peas and three bu.shels 
of oats to the acre, when a hay crop is desired. 
For grain less seed should be used. AVith a seed 
drill the peas and oats can be mixed together and 
drilled in like other gr.-iiu. This of course is a 
more rapid plan of seeding, but broadcasting the 
seed separately Avill usually give a better yield, 
since the peas to do their best should be st.irted 
deeper in the soil than the oats. For hand seeding 
we broadca.st the peas evenly over the ground. 
They are then either jtlowed in Avith a light ploAV 
about four inches deep, or choi)ped in Avith a disk 
harroAA'. The oats are then scattered on the rough 
furroAvs and Avorked in Avith a tool like the Acme 
or a spike-tooth hari-oAA’. 
It AA'ill i)ay to treat the. oats for smut, but sprink¬ 
ling the .seed Avith a solution of one pint of formal¬ 
dehyde in GO gallons of Avater. This Avill prevent 
smut in the oats, and the plant Avill make a larger 
growth. AVe let the crop groAV until the oats are 
in the milk stage, that is, Avhen the grain can be 
crushed into a fluid by crushing them between the 
fingers. Some little judgment is required in order 
to cut at the right time, and Ave Avould rather cut 
too early than too late. The oats hold mo.st of 
the peas up off the ground, so that the crop can be 
cut easily Avith a good moAver. The hay is cured 
much the same as clover. In curing the object is 
to rake up the crop into AvindroAvs before the leaA'es 
are fully dried out. The moisture is largely evapor¬ 
ated through these leaves, and as long as they have 
7jhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the poAver to throAv off moisture the curing will be 
rapid. The best curing is done in the AvindroAv or 
cock, Avithout spreading out to the sun as Avould be 
the case Avith Timothy. As compared Avith other 
kinds of hay. the 
folloAving 
table is taken 
from 
Henry’s “Feeds and 
Feeding” 
Protein 
Carbohydrates 
Fat 
Oats and peas . . . ., 
8.:i 
.^,7.1 
1.5 
Alfalfa . 
. . lO.G 
.8f) 
0.0 
Red clover . 
T.G 
M9.G 
1.8 
Timothy .. 
• > 
42.8 
1.2 
Red-top . 
4.(; 
45.0 
1.2 
Hungarian millet . . , 
5 
4G 
1.8 
Barley hay . 
4.G 
48.2 
0.0 
Oat hay . 
Ml.8 
1.7 
Rye hay . 
41.1 
1.1 
Wheat hay . 
4 
48.5 
0.8 
The analysis given 
above of 
.Vlf.ilfa, Timothv 
and 
cloA-er represents the UAerage of many different 
analyses. It Avill be seen that barley really makes 
the be.st hay of any of the grain.s, and rye the poor¬ 
est. In addition to its Ioav analysi.s, the rye is very 
A Field of Sudan Grass. Fig. 205 
tough and hard, and stock must be practically staiw- 
ed into eating it. The addition of the Canada peas 
to the oats as a fodder crop is most desirable; in 
f.act the oats alone as a fodder Avould hardly pay. 
A Wisconsin Farmer’s Experience 
I AAI a farmer and a back-to-the-lander. I came 
to KcAvaunee County, AA'is., nine years ago, pen¬ 
niless, Avith a .sick Avife and child. I worked on the 
farm one year, and after one year’s Avorking at a 
Avage of .$250 a year and board for the whole fam¬ 
ily, I rented the farm I Avorked on. Tliree years 
ago I bought the farm for the sum'of $I,(!(X). The 
farm con.sists of IGO acres. I must say, thankfidly, 
that I have strong hopes that I Avon’t have to go 
begging in my old age, and I have had hard luck 
Avith stock and sickness in the family. Had I 
Avorked by the day I could not pay the bill in the 
next 10 ye.ars. It is not ea.sy; many Avere the nights 
AA'hen sleep av.-is impossible, and many Avere the days 
that AAere 10 and even more hours of Labor. Hut 
Chinese Persimmon Tamopan. Fig. 206. See page 5,53 
I did not 1 was doing this for myself and 
tho.se so dear to nu*. 1 was alone to work for the 
AA'hole fjimily, so 1 was obliged to hire helii. I al- 
AA’ays had from one to two imm and a hired girl, and 
must say I had no truubh> in g(*rting help, because I 
alAA'ays paid good Avages. 1 .always man,aged to use 
my men Avell, and although I put in long hours I 
noA’er a.sked my men to help me after six o’clock. 
But Avhat I am driving at this time is about the 
bread riots in Noav York, of Avhich you AA i-ite on 
page 4G4. Tavo years ago last Fall I picked up a 
man, an Austro-Hungarian. He Avas penniless and 
Avanted to Avork on the farm, so I hix’ed him at $20 
per month in the Winter time. He Avas a good 
Avorker, behaved himself pretty Avell. but AA'hen 
.Spring came and he had around $75, he began to 
feel like flying back to the city. 
During the Winter I hired another one. his friend, 
and I could have got a Avhole bunch of those boys 
jinst for board or little pay. During this time I 
ansAvered an advertisement from a married couple 
in Chicago, as my Avife needed a helper. Tliese peo¬ 
ple Avanted a place Avhere the Avoman could help. 
They came in the fir.st part of April, but also as 
beggars, not enough clothes for a change. We 
furnished them out so thej' could work. Ju.st as 
.^oou as they got a feAv dollars they fleAv aAvay back 
to the city. I again hired a married couple from 
the city. They have been Avith me nearly tAvo years 
Avith a. Avage of $480 per year besides all the pota- 
toe.s, fuel, house, 200 pounds pork, tAvo quarts 
milk, etc. I figure their AA'ages come to $05 per 
month. But they cannot .saA'e anything, that is 
AA'hy they are here, or else they avouUI have gone 
back to Chicago. Now can anybody blame j-our 
reader in Seneca Co., N. Y".? I do not. If I should 
express myself I am sure it Avould be harder. 
These people live from day to day, Avhile on the 
farms we are Avasting our products because Ave can¬ 
not get help in time, so Ave harvest all Ave can, the 
ro.st goes to waste. Why .should aa'c sympathize 
Avith these people Avhen Ave have to support them? 
I knoAv many instances Avhere the man has good 
wages but saves nothing. When sickness comes the 
city has to look after them, or the tOAA'u or count.A'. 
So Ave are alAAays paying for all that; no matter 
hoAv or Avhere anything has to be paid, the farmer 
pay his sh.are directly or indirectly. 
Furthermore, the.'io city people Avork by the day 
and all they look for is that the day is gone. Such 
men Avill never accomplish anything in this Avorld. 
I have to lie first and last eA'eryAA'here. while if a 
hired man Avould take any interest in his AA'ork he 
Avould not alloAv his employer to do so. P.y so do¬ 
ing he Avould command better Avages, Avoi-k up his 
reputation, and get a chance to rent a farm for 
hini.self. ^lo.st of them .s.ay fiirm Avork is hard. 
Still Ave haA'e all kinds of smart men farming, and 
they do not think it hard, because they find interest 
in farming. Ho long as the city people Avill fe<4 
terrorized at the sight of a farmer no other condi¬ 
tions AVill exist. .TAMES n. avisuka. 
Wisconsin. 
Borrowing Money in Massachusetts 
Tavo types of credit are available to Mu.ssachuset+-s 
farmers. Pcrsotwl or filiort-time credit is used for the 
purchase of supplitvs, fertilizers, machinery, etc. This 
is secured by a promissory note usually endorsed by 
a second pei\son. The United States Federal Reserve 
B.ank Act proA'ides that Nation.al l)anks may make 
such loans to farmer.s on six mouths’ time with priv¬ 
ilege of reneAval. This source of por.sonal credit is 
not u.sed in IMassachusetts as much a.s Avould be jus¬ 
tified. 
T he above is quoted from a Ixulletin i.ssued by 
the Agricultural College Extension Service, 
-Vniherst, IMass. Possibly I can give a reason wliy 
source of credit is not used. Because the average 
farmer is not a busine.ss man, and i.s afraid of do¬ 
ing business Avith a bank, Avhere notes must be met 
promptly AA'hen due. 
Wishing to extend my operations a little this sea¬ 
son I found myself in need of another team, and a 
ncAv poultry house, and decided that a loan of $iiO() 
could be used to advantage. I went to the bank 
Avhere I carry a checking account, and applied for 
a loan. “Certainly; no trouble about that. Just 
get one of your neighbore to endorse the note, .as 
;i matter of form,’’ 
The first man I applied to said he “Wouldn’t sign 
a bank note Avith my OAvn brother’’; but when I 
st.ated that I needed a team he offered to help Avith 
pIoAving Avith his team, and take my note in pay 
ment “if I Avas short of ca.sh.’’ “But,” said I, “sup- 
jMAse 1 can’t pay the note when due?” “Oh, I’ll re 
ncAv it; maybe the bank wouldn’t.” 
1 applied to the man from whom I expected to 
imrchase the team; he declined to sign the note 
Avhich Avould haA'e a.ssured him a cash deal, but of¬ 
fered me time on 'the horses. The lumber dealer 
said he “Never signed a note in my life, but If you 
need lumber for a henhouse take it along; I’ll want 
some maple syrup this Spring, and some apples this 
Fall, we’ll fix it up.” 
The last man I applied to declined to sign the 
note, but offered to loan me the amount personally, 
Avhich I declined. I will get along without the team 
and the hou.se until I can pay cash for them. 
MeaiiAvhile, my ci'edit at the bank has been in 
jured, as it looks as df my neighbors did not con 
sider me a good ri.sk, AA'hile in reality my personal 
credit is O. K., and it is the 'bank they are afraid 
of. As one man put it: “I don’t get mixed up Avith 
any banks. If you can’t pay right on the dot, otf 
goes your head.” 
Another said: “I borroAved $10G of Jim - 
for six months, three years ago, and I ain’t paid it 
yet; couldn’t do that Avith a bank. ReneAV the 
note? Nuav; ju.st drop roUud and pay the interest 
tAAice a year, an’ a few days over time don’t make 
any difference either Avay.” l. p. 
