C»e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1107 
Soil Fertility Notes 
Grinding Hen Manure 
I have been very much interested in 
your talks about using hen manure vs. 
fertilizer. I am keeping about 200 
hens at the present time, and expect to 
keep more another year. Do you think 
it -would be profitable to buy a grinder 
to grind this stuff anu use in the place 
of buying fertilizer? I can buy a sec¬ 
ond-hand feed and cob mill, 8-inch plates, 
for $13. Would this do the work? I 
do not know' where I can get land plaster 
•to mix with the hen manin-e, but can get 
ground limestone. What is the difference 
between the plaster and limestone? Some 
tell me they are about the .same. 
Venice Center, N. Y. ,T. I,, w. 
It is doubtful if it would pay to buy 
a mill to grind the manure from 200 
hens. In a flock of 500 or more such a 
mill would pay. The way to handle such 
manure would be to use some drier freely 
under the roosts and where the fowls con¬ 
gregate. Scrape the manui’e up frequent¬ 
ly and keep it in a dry place under cover 
in barrels or bins. This w’ill leave it in 
dry, hard chunks. These chunks can be 
crushed wfith a heavy spade or club and 
run through the m'll to make them as 
fine as possible. Then we would mix three 
parts of the manure by weight with one 
part of acid phosphate. This gives a 
simple mixture which will be good for all 
kinds Of crops, and will g've better re¬ 
sults than the hen manure alone. The 
land plaster is better as a drier than the 
ground limestone, though the latter 
will give fair satisfaction if kept dry and 
used freely. The land plaster is a sulphate 
of lime, really a combbiation of lime and 
sulphur. The ground lime.s'tone is a car¬ 
bonate of lime, that is a combination of 
lime and carbonic acid. The burnt lime, 
that is limestone burnt in a kiln, would 
not be safe to use w’ith the manure, for 
that would drive away the ammonia. 
The ground limestone, however, will be 
useful for the puiTJOse, although we 
would rather have laud plaster if it can 
be obtained. 
Value of Lime and Wood Ashes 
Can you give me the difference in 
value of bard wood ashes compared with 
lime, lime at $1.25 per ton and ashes at 
$1.50 per ton. The wood ashes have come 
from under the boiler in a sawmill and 
have been put in a pile in the weather. 
Mill is running and ashes put on pile 
each day. I am speaking of ground 
limestone. The ashes and I’me ai’e to be 
used on clay ground, to be .sown in part 
in wheat, and part corn. I also wish to 
use some on a lawn of five years .stand¬ 
ing. C. L. R. 
Iluntington, W. Va. 
The ground limestone will contain 
nothing of value except I’lne—perhaps 
1,500 pounds of lime in a ton. The 
wood ashes, if of good quality, will con¬ 
tain 100 pounds of potash, 40 of phos¬ 
phoric acid and 000 of lime to the ton. 
()n this basis the ashes are worth at 
least six times as much as the limestone. 
They have probably been leached some¬ 
what and thus have lost some of the 
potash, but they are a far better bargain 
at the i»r‘ce than the limestone. The 
best way to buy such things, if there is 
a large quantity of them, is to have an 
analysis made for fair sample, and thus 
know what you get in a ton. 
Manure and Lime for Garden 
I have a backyard garden 20x.50 ft., 
which has not given good results thi.s year. 
Ground is sour. I would like to put it 
in first-class shape for next season. How 
much I’me shall I apply and when? I 
can get all the fresh hor.se manure I 
want for nothing, but it contains a lot of 
straw. How many loads should I ap¬ 
ply? Do you think it best to dig it in 
this Fall and let it rot over Winter, or 
could I plant some crop for green manur¬ 
ing like rye and spade it in the Spring? 
College Point, N. Y. A. F. 
We often have questions about the 
quantity of lime or manure to use. There 
are 43,560 square feet in an acre. If 
you use lime at the rate of one ton per 
acre, there -would be 2,000 pounds or 
one pound for each 22 sq. feet or nearly 
three-quarters of an ounce for each square 
foot. At 3,000 pounds per acre this Avould 
be increased by one half. Your garden 
contains 1,000 feet, so that 75 to 100 
pounds of lime would give a heavy dress¬ 
ing. We should spread one ton of horse 
manure before Oct, plo>y it under and 
then spread the lime and harrow in. I'hon 
sow about five pounds of rye and work it 
into the soil. In the Spring spread half 
a ton more of the manure and plow it 
all under. 
Grain Hay in California 
Peferi’ing to an article, “Horse Feed 
from Wheat,” page 1011, California 
conditions are very different from condi¬ 
tions in a humid climate. Nearly all 
wheat is grown on unirr'gated land, the 
moisture necessary to make the crop com¬ 
ing from the Winter rain, I)ecember to 
March. When the rainfall is blight or 
the land is not retentive of moisture, all 
grains fail to mature. Such grain, wheat, 
oats or barley is cut for hay; if allowed 
to mature, such grain would be light and 
not fit for milling, useful only for chick¬ 
en feed. Very little grain has been cut 
for hay that would have made plump 
heavy milling grain th's year in Califor¬ 
nia, while some has been saved for grain 
that should have been cut for hay. 
California. ,r. A. beam. 
Utilizing Weeds 
We have a plot cf low ground which 
i.s covered with a dense growth of weeds 
and swale grasses. Would it pay to mow 
these weeds and spread them on upland 
fields to plow under? Which would you 
ad-vise, to plow them under green, pile 
them up and allow them to rot before 
applying, or burn them and apply the 
ashes? It seems to me as if a large 
amount of the plant food would be wasted 
by burning. I,. S, S. 
In our own case we cut such growth 
and carry it to the higher ground to pde 
under the fruit trees. A^'ery often apple 
trees growing on thin and rocky land 
can be kept in fine condit’on by cutting 
the growth in swamjiy places and using 
it as a mulch in this way. Do not burn 
this stuff. That would drive off the nitro¬ 
gen, which is the most valuable part of it. 
Wo h.ave found it quite safe to spread such 
growth r’ght on the higher ground and 
plow it under. Most of the plants which 
grow in the low places will not thrive on 
the higher ground or, at least, are easily 
killed out. Another good way is to use 
this stuff as litter or bedding for animals 
and throw it out into the manure. Dur¬ 
ing the Winter a few head of stock can 
stamp down and work up a large amount 
of such trash. Dy all means save it. 
Hard Wheat 
What is hard wheat? When is it 
planted, and in what States is it raised? 
I h.ave been told “it can’t he raised in 
Missouri, all of our hord wheat comes 
from Kan.s’a.s, and is plantetl in the 
Spring.” .7. S. S, 
The hard wheat is generally grown 
only in the Great Plains di.strict from 
Northern Texas to North Dakota and 
Montana inclusive. It may be A^’inter 
wheat or Spring wheat. The hard AA'inter 
wheat is cldefly groAvn in Kansas. Most 
of the hill'd Spring wheat is grown in 
North Dakota and Minnesota, Avith a lit¬ 
tle in Eastern Montana and South 
Dakota. These hard Avheats always have 
red kernels, but may be bearded or not. 
Some of them have velvet chaff', but they 
are usnially bare or glabrous. The chaff 
is usually white in color, but occasional¬ 
ly red. That hard Avheat cannot be 
grown in Missouri is practically correct, 
a.s it is not adapted to a humid climate. 
A good portion of the hard wheat does 
come from Kansas, but, of course, is not 
planted in the Spring as that is a Winter 
wheat. M. A. CAKI.ETOX, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
Borers in Peach Trees 
I have found the following a harmless 
and most effectiA’e remedy. Remove the 
soil from around the tree down to the 
roots, and with it make a mound or 
dam six or e'ght inches away from the 
tree—then pour a pail full of soap suds 
(from the family wash), boiling hot in 
the cavity made and let it gradually soak 
away. The borers Avill never bore any 
more in trees treated thus, and the trees 
will grow with increased v’gor. This 
method is much easier and better than 
cutting the borers out, for it does not 
mutilate the trees and eaves time. Don’t 
be afraid of having the suds boiling hot, 
for no possible harm to the trees can re¬ 
sult. A. J. COOK. 
D id you ever notice that the homes 
one likes to visit most and stay 
in longest are most likely to be well 
painted? The cheery, thrifty appear¬ 
ance of such buildings reflects their 
owner’s ability to make the most of 
life’s good things. 
There are families who think they 
have inherited gloomy dispositions. If they would only 
put new paint on their buildings it would help a lot to 
change their outlook on life. 
Dutch Boy White-Lead 
mixed with pure linseed oil, in its own pure white or 
tinted any color, is a paint which adds beauty to cottage 
or mansion. For outside use, such paint gives long- 
lasting protection against all the attacks of weather. 
Indoors, the walls and woodwork painted in simple 
soft tints with Dutch Boy white-lead and a flatting-oil, 
give a feeling of roominess and lightness which cheer all 
occupants. All effects are easily ob¬ 
tainable from the deep, brilliant 
tones to the dull, velvety harmonies. 
These painted surfaces are always 
washable and therefore can be kept 
in their original freshness. 
Dutch Boy 
Red-Lead 
Fof" color schemes for htside and outside painU 
ing and for much useful taint information write 
for Paint Points No. I(t6. 
To make the most of the 
metal about the place, the 
railing, gutters, roofing, 
implements and ma¬ 
chinery, means keeping 
away rust. This is most 
surely done by painting 
with Dutch Boy red-lead. 
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY 
New -Tork 
Buffalo 
Boston 
CbicaKO 
Cincinnati 
San Francisco 
Cleveland 
St. Louis 
(John T. Lewis & Bros. Co., Philadelphia) 
(National Lead & Oil Co.. Pittsburgh) 
Break up the stumps 
with Farm Powder 
A pulled stump is hard to handle. Getting rid of it 
is just as big a job as the pulling. Blast it out and 
you can carry it away like firewood. “ Most stump 
pulling machines are too expensive and unwieldy,” 
says U. S. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 150. Use 
Hie Original Farm Powder 
Send for *'Better Fanning” Book—FREE 
“Better Farmine’’ (illustrated) tells bow you 
can grow bieeer crops by blastine the subsoil, 
how you can bring orchards into bearing two 
years earlier, and how Atlas Farm Powder re¬ 
places expensive labor. Sent free for Coupon. 
ATLAS POWDER COMPANY 
General Officee: Wilmington, Del. 
Sales Officesj Birmingham. Boston, Houghton. 
Joplin, Knoxville, Kansas City, New Orleans, 
New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St, Louis 
and save money, time and 
labor. Punch a hole under 
the stump, load, fire, and the 
job is done! The shattered 
roots come out free of earth, 
the soil is loosened for yards 
aiound—ideal for crops. 
Atlas Farm Powder is made 
especially for farm use. It 
is the cheapest farm hand for 
blasting stumps and bould¬ 
ers, digging difehes and 
many other kinds of work. 
Sold by dealers near you. 
FBilfeeOOK JiPUPCIK] . 
ATLAS POWDER CO., Wilmington, Del. 
Send me your 
I am interested : 
purpose before ' 
_ 
Tree Planting 
Ditch Digging 
Road Building 
Stump Blasting^ 
Boulder Blasting 
Subsoil Blasting 
Name- 
Address- 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a ’^square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
