444 
“She RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 23, 1918 
DIBBLE’S SPRING WHEAT 
is the kind to sow, to raise enough Wheat for your own flour 
and some to sell in these trying times of flour scarcity. Last year 
40 Farmers in New York Stale Grew 
An average of over 25 Bushels per acre 
no crop less than 1 5, and one as high as 45. We can furnish 
you the same varieties that made these wonderful crops, enough 
for one acre, $4.50; for ten acres, $45.00. 
Dibble’s Farm Seed Catalog, Samples, Special Price PD pp 
List and Circular—“How to Grow Spring Wheat” i IXJLiJLi 
Address: EDWARD F. DIBBLESEEDGROWER, BoxB, HoneoyeFalls, N.Y. 
“THERE’S MONEY IN IT 
SEED CORN 
Cut down your grain bill by growing 
Early Mastodon Corn for your silo. 
Heavy vielder of grain and foliage. 
OUR SEED WILL GROW. 
ORDER NOW 
$4.25 PER BUSHEL 
10 Bushels.$40 
Sacks holding 2 bushels, 25c. each 
Cush with order. Other good flint and dent 
corn. Send for list. I’rices ainl Seed Kight. 
E. MANCHESTER &SONS 
WINSTED CONN. 
Pure IrKh Cobblers, fire* 
u66ur0tat08S Ohlos, Bliss. Boris and olh.’r' 
laud grown. KAKVIKW F.VKM, Fulrixirf, 
Sand 
Y. 
C..J lllnsfrated Catalog Free. Buy Birect 
oeearotatoes from arihvk Aunuhot, niiwr.. v. 
Luces Favorite Seed Corn CorniuDtown, New 1 «.rk 
F ORSAlt—" IIIIEIIKM SKEhfOHX. 9r>% fertile by lest. 
S 4 |i»r l(u. Write E. C. OSGOOD, AHEnnEEN, Mahveand 
Special 
W 
for this week only. lh‘St ALSYKE Best 
ALFATJ'A $ 1 B. a. ILOOMINGDALE. Schenectady. N. Y. 
IIITK WOXUKU KI:EI> KEAN 8. Early and great 
yielders. Htate wantt<. GEO. K. BO^WIISII. Eeperance, N. ¥. 
SAMPLE OUR SEED 
Three earliest veKetables in cultivation for 10c. fine 
packet each. Kobinson'B Earliest Tomato. Earliest 
Round Red Radish, Earliest Lettuce, 10c to new 
customers. Regular price 30c. CATALOt. FRl'.L. 
C. N. Robinson&Bro., Dept.51, BaltimorcnMd. 
Ve.ir U/oe florrlon ill 1918 onf grant! succe.ss if .voii fol- 
lOUr nar uaruen low the expert planting directions 
ami I lie two practical garden diagrams in this our In-and 
new booklet. Send 10c for it to tlio Dk La Make Co.. 41 
tv. 37tb St., Xcw York. Catalog "CountryBide Books” free. 
Acitaracriie ROOTS, HORSERADISH SETS, CABBAGE. 
Asparagus beets, onion plants, lettuce, toma¬ 
toes. EGG PLANTS. PEPPERS and CAULIFLOWER PLANTS. 
Keud for Price List. J. C. Schmidt, JBristol, Pa. 
Market Gardener’s Paper 
If you grow vegetables, send 2.i cents for 3 montlis’ trial 
suhscription and And out what you liave been miss¬ 
ing. Do it today. Satisfaction guaranteed or money back. 
MARKET GROWERS JOURNAL. 603 Intcr-Soulhem Bldg., Louisville,Ky. 
JONES’ NUT TREES 
My hardy I’enn.sylvnnia-grown 
trees an- tlie liesf obtaiimlile. 
Pecans. Knglisli and Black Wal¬ 
nut. Sbagliarks, eti-., all budded 
or grafted trees, no seedlings. 
Attractive I'atalogue free. 
J. F. JONES, 
Box H, I.ANeASTKi;. I’\. 
Millions of Trees 
PLANTS, VINES, ROSES, ETC. 
Tiie oldest. largest .and most complete nurtery in 
Jliebigan. Send for catalog. Brices reasonable 
I. E. ILGENFRITZ’ 
THE MONKOE XCBSERY 
SONS CO. 
Monroe, Michigan 
SAVE MONEY 
THIS SPRING 
Write for 1918 catalog with low prices. 
Choicest varieties, guaranteed stock, 38 
years of experience in selling direct to 
fruitgrowers. You'll never regret planting 
Kelly Trees. 
Kelly |{r<>K. WIioIcahIo .NiirBoru-H 
.Ttih .Uulii Street IhiiiMvlUc. V. Y. 
FRUIT TREES 
and I’lants. Shrubs, Vines, 'Roses. 
Kveiyibing for file Oreliurd, 
rrnit. Garden and Lawn. 
Select Varieties Quality Stock 
Huy Direct from tlie tirower 
at lowest wliolestile iirices. 
Send for Illustrated Catalog 
Grover Nursery Company 
67 Tru»l Bldg. Rocheiter, N. Y. 
MALONEY TREES 
Fruit and Ornamentals, Vines, Slirnbs, 
Maloney A-1 quality selected from tlie 
choicest stock grown in our 4U0-aere 
nurseries. Direettoyou at cost iilusone 
prollt only. Hardy, fresii dug. iienltliy, 
true to name—Write for free wliolesalo 
catalog in colors giving valuable information 
Blmut nursery stuck end Folder on *' Care of 
Trees and Shrubs.'' Free. 
, Bros. & Wells Co., 52 East Si.. Dansville, N.Y. 
Pioiuei' W/ioUnaU /^’ur^rifs 
Fruit Trees, Small Fruits, Vines, Shrubs ^xvhy'iS 
to slow freight service this year ? 'We prepay expresscharges and guarantee quick, 
safe delivery of your order. We eliallcnge any reliable competitor to furnish better 
trees, to beat our iirices and nrepay express ciiarges to your door. You will please drop a postal at once 
for our liiiT liluntrateo cataloK'. 
THE ROWAN WHOLESALE NURSERIES, Inc., Dansvillle, N. Y. Wholesale Nurseries*' 
FRUIT GROWING PAYS 
Oovemirient crop reports show that com, wlieat and oats bring the 
farmer about $18 an acre yearly. They also show that an apple 
orchard will yield $100 an acre. Peaches do as well or better. 
o.e.M«JUDaa>na 
>sasRiKT0s» 
have Btarted thousands of successful fruit farmers. Our 
thrifty, hardy trees are true-to-name and budded from 
bearing orchards, insuring high quality. All our stock is 
rigorously Inspected, free from disease—the product of 30 
years of earnest effort to produce the best trees that grow. 
Send to-dav for our 1918 Fruit Guide. 
Harrisons’ Nurseries Box 14 Berlin, Maryland 
“Largest growers of iruit trees in the world." 
isser Crops of Better Fruit 
America will demand more and better fruit after the war 
Europe also, with its orchards ravaged and destro 5 ’'ed, must 
look to America for its supply of fruit. Don't be caught with 
your orchards going out of bearing. Plant this Spring, and 
get ahead of the slow-minded. Barnes’ trees are grown 
in the bleak New England climate. They grow vigor¬ 
ously, bear early, bringing quick returns. 
Make up your planting list from our selected assort¬ 
ment of Apples, Peaches, Pears, and Small Fruits. 
SEND TODAY FOR FREE CATALOG 
mes Brothers Nursery Co 
8 Yalesvillej, Coiux« 
Soil Fertility Notes 
Lime in Fertilizer 
f'.nn .some one tell nu' wliethor it would 
be stifo. to list' ground lime.«tone for filler 
in milking ft'rfiliztu'V ii. ir. S. 
1 lunging Unck, W. Va. 
A'es. ground runestone will iimke a 
good “filler” when mixing ohoniical.*!, and 
is i|nite often used for that purpose. 
Use of Hardwood Ashes 
I have i(‘cently purchased .a farm, and 
among othei- ft'rtilizers on the place, are 
.‘10 barrels of homemade hard wood ashes. 
The land for the most jiart is light, fine 
loam. AVill you .advise me on what crops 
to use these fo best advantage and how';* 
Massaclin.setfs. ii. jc. s. 
The wood ashes are chiefly useful foi- 
the potash and lime which they contain. 
AVe must not use them on potatoe.s as the 
lime is likely to increase scab. They will 
give good results on corn or garden crops 
like cahhage, roots or peas. They are good 
for orchards, 'grain or gras.s. 
Potatoes on Poultry Run 
T have a piece of ground that has been 
nst'd its a poultry run foi* several year.s. 
\YiJl iiotatoi's do well on that gi’onnd by 
using acid iihosiiliate as a fertilizer? Will 
the hen manure in the ground and acid 
phosidmte make a comidete fertilizer? Is 
there danger of the jiotato jilants ninning 
too much to vines? Would yon advise me 
to iilaiit some other cro]) in the henyai-d? 
If so, wliat would you rticommend? 
Providence, II, I. C. P. W. 
That soil is rich in niti-ogen. Grojis 
which make most of their growth above 
gi'oniid, like corn, calihage. celei-y, etc., 
would do h(‘st on it. 'riie lien manniT' in 
(liat soil and acid jiliosphate will not 
make a fully comjilete manure without 
liotash, lint it will be about the best you 
can do this year. By using the acid 
phosiihate or tine hone freely you will get 
a fair crop of iiotatoes. Without the 
jdiosjdmte the potatoe.s will make big 
vines hut small potatoes. Such rank, ten¬ 
der vines will need earefill spraying. 
Wood Ashes on Clay Soil 
I have a garden about ,o0x2.’)0. and I.“ 
fruit trees. 1 can buy wood ashes for 
per ton. Art' they wortli it? If they 
are not a comidete fertilizt'r wliat. sliall 1 
add to it? 1 fiin g<‘t about two tons of 
horse manure also. Soil is a <'lay. 
T.akowood, O. J.. p. s. 
Of course, the value of wooil ashes de- 
lit'iid.s oil their tpiality. If tlit'se ashes 
iirt' from hard wood and htive het'ii under 
cover, they are worth the prict' this year 
for your garden iind fruit, as tliat is 
about the only source of iiotasli yon will 
he able to tind. If they have been left 
out in a pile, so that the water has 
h ached through them, they are not worth 
.$20. The ashes will not make a com¬ 
plete fertilizer. The niti'Qgeu contained 
in the original wood is driven away on 
burning, and to make a complete fertilizer 
you must add nitrogen in some form, and 
it would he better also to add some jihos- 
phoni.s, as this is lacking in the wood 
ashes. The. ashes are valuable chit'lly for 
their lime and iiotash. Clay .soils ai-e iiot 
usually deficient in ])otasli, and the com¬ 
bination of stable manure and ashes will 
work well on that kind of soil. ’I'ln* stahh' 
manure could be spread on the land and 
thoroughly plowed under. Tht'ii the 
ashes may be broadcast tind harrowed or 
raked in. This will give yon a fair prejia- 
ration for the garden as the the manure 
will supply nitrogen whib' the aslit'S sup¬ 
ply potash and lime. In gardening on a 
large scale it would pay to use a quantity 
of ground bone or acid idiospluite in tiddi- 
tion. but on this kind of soil the manure 
and the ashes will give good results. 
Lime-potash and Spring Wheat 
T intend to sow an acreage of Spring 
wheat, and believing that lime and potash 
iire essential, T discussed the matter with 
the manager of a certain comiiany. lie 
informed me that he was getting a carload 
of fertilizer in from ti cement comiiany, 
and that said material was the dust, etc., 
of the works, and -was about 40 per cent 
lime, and 2% to S per ctuit potash. Is 
above true, and is the product worth .$1S 
per ton? Would von recommend it? 
Grant, N. Y. a. t. s. 
This is evidently the lime-potash or 
cement dust w’hich we have described sev¬ 
eral time.s. In cement-making, clay or 
crushed rock are mixed with lime and 
heated to a fierce heat. In this m'oeess 
some of the potash in the clay is made 
available, and. with lime, is blown off as 
dust. Formt'rly this (Tn.st was allowed to 
escape, hut now it is saved for n.se as fer¬ 
tilizer. The agricultural chemists tell ns 
that they have not fully worked out the 
value of this form of potash, but it gives 
good results, and is available as plant 
food. You must remember, however, that 
lime and jiotash alone will not make a 
comph'te fertilizer for wheat. Both nitro¬ 
gen and phosphorus must also bo used. 
(»n very rich land or on a clover sod the 
nitrogen might not be necessary, hut the 
phosphorus must he used if yon expect a 
good yield and early maturity. As for 
Sjiring wheat, onr own oiiinion is that 
harh'.v Avill give more actual food as a 
Spring crop. 
Blind Drains 
T have a iilace on my farm where it 
slo|)es towards another man’s farm. I 
have tAvo plact'S on it that, are wet in a 
wet season. :ind do not bother much in an 
ordinary season. I cannot drain it with¬ 
out running the water on his land, roiild 
I dig a pit. (ix.S ft. or lOxS ft. deo]) and 
liartly fill it with field stones in a clay 
.soil, and dr;un it enough? A. I.. B. 
Wellsvilic, Ark. 
Von c:in make your jilan work if yon 
can dig thi-ongh the clay soil and strike a 
layer of gravel or ojicn soil, which 
gives good drainage. The jilan would not 
work nnles.s you can get good drainage at 
the bottom. In many cases this iilan has 
workt'd out A hole is dug deej) enougli 
to strike a layer of open soil above the 
regular water level, then this hole is 
filled with stones and drains from the wet 
)il;ices are inn to it and good tile n.sed. 
'riie w liter tlien rims into this hole and 
soaks away at the bottom, and unless the 
clay woi-ks in and clogs it uji, it will 
givt' good s.Mtisfaction. for :i time. We 
have such an outfit on our own farm 
which has given good service for l.T yt'ars. 
Unless, however, you can strike a layer 
of gravel or .sand to take off the water at 
the bottom, the plan will not Avork satis¬ 
factorily. 
Making Vinegar Quickly 
(f’ontinned from jiagc 44.‘5.) 
quicker, put the “mother” in a cask Avitli 
clean beech shavings (beech because it 
gives no taste, birch or maiile Avill do 
nearly as AvellJ, iind till AA’itli the haril 
cidtM*. l.t't stand a few days, then run off 
and fill the cask agiiiii. If yon let ideiity 
of air in. tlie hard cider can h<‘ let tlirongli 
ill a steady trickle and Avill change to 
A'inegar on the Avay. But the flavor Avil! 
not he as good as AA'lien it is made more 
sloAvly. _ I'’- 
Using Watch as Compass 
IIoAV can you tell the points of the com¬ 
pass by a Avatcli and the sun? J. AV. B. 
I’epperel, Mass. 
q’his i.s a Boy Scout tost and^ their 
manual gives the folloAA’ing: “Tfse an 
(qii'ii-face Avatcli, since at certain times 
the slmdoAV of the coA-er interferes. Hold 
file Avatcli level. fiic<‘ up, hold a slender 
straight stick on the t'dgti of the Avatch 
at the end of the hour hand and turn 
till the shadoAV falls on the hour hand. 
South Avill then be half Avtiy hetAveen the 
hour hand and the 12 on the Avatcli.” 
Effects of Frost 
Why does the house snaii on a cold 
Winter night? Why does fro.st continue 
to go doAvn in the ground Avhen it is 
thaAviug on the surface. Nt. B. 
Candor, N. Y. 
Wood contracts Avith the cold niore or 
h*ss, and is also someAAdmt ela.stic in the 
direction of its length. A beam shrinks 
as it chills, but is held by the weight: and 
construction of the house so that it is a 
hit stretched. Finally it gives, and snaps 
back to its length at that temperature, us 
any other stretched thing would, the 
mass of the house glA’lng resonance, just 
as a breaking fiddle string makes more 
noise on the fiddle than In the hands. 
BeloAV the thawing surface is a mass 
of frozen ground Avhich is considei-ably 
heloAV freezing, and this is also a bad 
condnetor of heat. This frozen mass con- 
tinut's to freeze the ground heloAV it, 
tpiite regardless of the fact that the upper 
surface has begun to tlniAV. Take a long, 
narroAV test tube, jacket it Avith a paper 
cone an inch above the end. an ela.stic Avill 
hold the paper tight enough, fill the tube 
with Avater tAVO inches above the cone. 
I'hll the cone with the usual ice and salt 
mixture, and, as the Avater begins to 
fi't'eze, put the iqiper inch in a small g.'is 
or even candle flame. That Avater Avill 
lioil Avhile the Avater in the lower end is 
tpiietly freezing, and the condition you 
mention Avill he reproduced. 
