430 
•fl* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 8, 1919 
No. 3 
TOP DRESSING TALKS 
r \ V HE orchard needs a top dressing of quickly-available nitrogen, and 
* will respond to it just as quickly and surely as timothy, winter grains, 
or vegetables. Nothing brings young orchards into bearing so quickly or 
keeps the older trees in profitable condition so surely. 
The best nitrogenous fertilizer for orchard use is ARCADIAN Sulphate 
of Ammonia. It carries more ammonia (25 Vf/o guaranteed) than any 
other, consequently less freight. It is all soluble, quick acting, and all 
available, besides being easy to spread by hand or machine. 
Arcadian Sulphate of Ammonia 
ARCADIAN Sulphate of Ammonia is the well-known standard article 
that has done you good service in your mixed fertilizers for years past. 
Especially kiln-dried and ground to make it fine and dry. Ammonia 
25%%. Made in U. S. A. THE GREAT AMERICAN AMMONIATE. 
For sale by Armour Fertilizer Works, Chrome, N. J., Baltimore, Md. and Greensboro, 
N. C.; Swift & Co., Charlotte, N. C.; Home Fertilizer and Chemical Co., Baltimore, Md.; 
Independent Packers Fertilizer Co., Columbus, Ohio; Federal Chemical Co., Nashville, 
Tenn.; I.P.Thomas & Son Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Berkshire Fertilizer Co., Bridge¬ 
port, Conn.; Baugh & Sons Co., Philadelphia, Pa., Baltimore, Md. and Norfolk, Va. 
Solvay Process Co., Detroit, Mich. 
For information 
as to applica¬ 
tion, write 
The 
Company 
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT 
New York 
N. Y. 
KEEP THESE FACTS IN MIND 
Tiiat Phosphorus is the lacking' element in most soils. 
That profitable crops won’t grow on Acid soils. 
That the essential nitrifying bacteria cannot live in an Acid soil. 
That you cannot maintain the land’s fertility by depending on plant stimulants. 
BARIUM - PHOSPHATE 
IS AN ALKALINE FERTILIZER 
Analyzing 
16% Phosphoric Acid 
7% Barium Sulphide 
Barium-1’liosphate is a mixture of a water soluble alkali, barium sulpliido, and phosphate 
of lime. It will never make a soil acid and it will correct acid soil conditions. 
This material supplies phosphorus in a most desirable form at a reasonable cost ana also 
contains 7 per cent of Barium Sulphide, an active alkali which 
SWEETENS THE SOIL 
and Promotes the Growth of Favorable Bacteria 
Phophorus and decaying organic matter are the two substances which constitute the key to 
profitable systems of permanent agriculture. 
Used in combination with manure or plowed under with green crops, Barium-Fhosphate alone 
Will produce profitable yields and build up the fertility of.your farm. . . . 
It will pay you to write lor our book describing this material and its uses. | 
Witherbee, Sherman & Company, Inc. 
2 Rector Street, New York City 
LIMESTONE 
When You Use Lime—It Pays to Buy the Best 
You want the form of lime that does most good to soil and 
crops, at lowest cost. Pulverized limestone is the safest, 
cheapest, best form of lime for the farm. Solvay Pulverized 
Limestone, Purest Quality—tests 94% carbonates; ground 
very fine, easy to handle, and sold at a reasonable price. 
FREE BOOKLET: About lime and how to use it. Free on request, 
THE SOLVAY PROCESS CO., 506 Milton Ave., Syracuse, N. Y. 
C "V* s* v- 
—MOST IMPORTANT PART OF 
ORCHARD WORK 
High and Constant pressure, A dependable engine and pump. Thorough 
agitation of liquid. Freedom from clogging. Rigid, simple construction, 
feature the “Ospraymo” machines. Foliage unsprayed breeds insects, scale, 
fungus, blight. Use a sprayer that .covers. . 
Sprayers for Every Need. \\ rite for Free catalog showing complete line. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP COMPANY._Dept. 2._ Elmira, New York 
Soil Fertility Notes 
Improving Poor Land 
I have a piece of land 12 to 15 acres, 
too poor to grow it crop of corn, on which 
there is a very little grass growing, but 
not enough to amount to much. Would 
it not be a good scheme to plow it this 
Spring and sow Japanese millet (or some 
other grass) to cut for hay, say two years, 
then seed to rye and plow under the fol¬ 
lowing Spring? The soil is a light sandy 
loam. There is it considerable amount 
of quack grass growing on it. Oats, 
Timothy and corn have been grown on it 
for years. Clover will not catch much. 
IIow would you proceed? w. e. ii. 
Lewis Co., N. Y. 
Soil “too poor to grow corn” will not 
produce a crop of millet or good grass. 
The millet needs a strong moist soil. We 
do not know of anything that will make 
even a fair crop without manure or fer¬ 
tilizer. except buckwheat. That might 
give a light j-ield. and by seeding rye 
with it you could have something to 
plow under next Spring. There is little 
or no use trying to grow a profitable crop 
on poor soil. This land is evidently sour 
and probably that is why clover will not 
catch. If this field were in Delaware 
we would suggest a crop of cow peas, hut 
we do not know of anything beside buck¬ 
wheat and turnips which will grow well 
on such soil in the North. If we had 
such land and could not use lime and 
fertilizer we should sow buckwheat with 
turnips and rye added and plow in the 
crop. If it were possible we should plow 
and harrow in at least 1,200 pounds of 
lime per acre. Then plant corn and use 
400 pounds of fertilizer per acre and sow 
rye and clover at the last cultivation. 
Treating Grain Smut 
I wish to treat small grain for smut 
this year. Would you advi me whether 
bisulphide of carbon would be just as 
effective as the formalin treatment? I am 
better situated to use the bisulphide of 
carbon than formalin, ('an oats, barley 
or corn treated with same be fed with 
.safety, as sometimes a man treats more 
than he nee Is for planting? A. E. o. 
Jamestown, N. Y. 
We do not know that bisulphide of car¬ 
bon has ever been used for grain smuts. 
It is sure death to insects when in some 
confined space, but we do not see how it 
could destroy disease germs. The treat¬ 
ment with formalin (or formaldehyde) 
is sure. An improved method of using 
this has been worked out, and is simpler 
and just as effective as sprinkling the seed 
grain. Add one pint of water to one 
pint of formaldehyde; pour in a small 
quart sprayer or atomizer and apply to 
40 or 50 bushels of oats as the grain is 
slowly shoveled from one pile to another, 
taking care to spray each shovelful. One 
stroke of the piston is usually sufficient 
for one shovelful of the grain. Cover 
with canvas, sacks or other covering for 
five hours and sow immediately without 
drying. Seed treated in this manner can 
be kept for several weeks without ma¬ 
terial injury. 
Plain Long Island Crops 
I am sending you herewith an ear of 
corn which was raised as a second crop 
after potatoes, and is yielding two bushels 
of ears per heap of 42 hills, not counting 
the soft corn. The potatoes on this 
ground yielded about 400 bu. per acre, 
and I sold them for $3.75 per barrel on 
the dock one-half mile from my place. 
This makes the total income per acre at 
about $500 for just common crops of corn 
and potatoes. I believe this variety of 
corn will eventually become popular with 
dairymen for seed, as it matures very 
quickly. The potatoes were Irish Cob¬ 
bler, planted in the first half of April, and 
the corn was planted in every other row 
about the 25th of June. If I had planted 
10 days earlier, as I should, there would 
have been more hard corn, hut this shows 
what can be done on good Long Island 
soil. I hung up the ear to dry in the 
post nHice. The post, office mice seem to 
think it sweet and nice, and I think their 
judgment good. I believe that in the 
years to come the raising of corn on Long 
Island to sell for seed to dairymen to 
raise silage will be one of the prominent 
industries. We have a long season and 
this is the right kind of corn. 
Long Island. ciias. L. YOUNG. 
This is not printed with any thought 
of telling a “big story,” hut to show what 
can he done with common farm crops on 
Long Island. We doubt if there is any 
place in the country where a combination 
of corn and potatoes grown as Mr. Young 
states will prove more profitable. The 
mild climate and quick, warm soil of 
Eastern Long Island give farmers a great 
advantage which they are utilizing. There 
is no question hut that Long Island seed 
corn is superior, and with a system of 
grading and inspection which will per¬ 
mit a solid guarantee of purity and vital¬ 
ity, there is a great business for the fu¬ 
ture. 
Fertilizing an Old Meadow 
I have the use of a six-acre lot adjoin¬ 
ing my farm, which is cutting about 500 
lbs. poor hay to the acre. It is fairly 
good land, hut needs reseeding badly. 
While I have the use of it for the hay 
only, the owners refuse to allow it to be 
plowed up. I want to know how to get 
this field hack to good hay yields again 
without plowing. Can it be done? If 
so how and what is the better time of 
tiie year to do it, or commence to do it? 
Connecticut. w. s. 
It depends on the present condition of 
the field and how much of the good grass 
remains. You cannot expect to get such 
a field hack into good grass without plow¬ 
ing, fitting well, using lime and reseeding. 
If you cannot pjow your best plan is to 
use early this Spring a fair quantity of 
chemicals. You can use on each acre 
350 pounds of acid phosphate and 125 
pounds nitrate of soda, or 500 pounds of 
some good mixed fertilizer. If there is 
a fair stand of grass left you will get a 
fair crop of hay, and you will have to 
take the chance on getting enough to pay 
a profit on these fertilizers. If you are 
sure to have, the use of this land several; 
years it will pay to put on 1,200 pounds 
of lime per acre and a light seeding of 
grass seed, scratching it in with a light 
harrow. 
Spreading or Piling Manure 
Will you or Dr. Thorne (see TL N.-Y., 
page 163) explain how a pile of manure 
out on a field that “does not heat at all’ 
can lose 25 to 30 per cent of its fertility 
from exposure to rain, when if this same 
lot of manure were broadcast over the 
field it would not sustain this loss? I am 
not a champion of either method espe¬ 
cially, but in reading this article it struck 
me as being rather hard to understand. 
Connecticut. J. B. 
I would say that manure spread broad¬ 
cast over the field will leach out' more 
rapidly than that in the pile, but the 
leaching will go where you want it, iiir 
stead of in one little spot. To illustrate: 
Some years ago I employed a man to haul 
out some manure to one of my fields, with 
the bargain that it should be spread im¬ 
mediately from the wagon. While work¬ 
ing on the side of the meadow in sight of 
the house he spread as agreed upon, but 
when he got over to the other side he 
dumped it off in piles and left it. Nut 
having occasion to visit the field for some 
months, I did not discover what he had 
done, hut when I did go I found that un¬ 
der each pile the Timothy had grown up 
so rank that it rusted and fell down, 
while there was practically no fertility 
left, in the small remnant of the pile, so 
that I lost the whole business. 
CIIAS. E. TIIOUNE. 
Ohio Experiment Station. 
Use of Pigeon Manure 
I have 10 barrels of pigeon manure 
which lias been through a screen. Can 
you tell me if l can use it the same as 
hen manure, only in smaller quantity? A 
neighbor of mine told me lie used pigeon 
manure once on corn and it spoiled the 
whole crop. IIow can I use it without 
injuring the crop? L. E. R. 
Caldwell, N. J. 
We do not believe the pigeon manure 
injured the crop, if used in any reason¬ 
able way. We should use it as we would 
chicken manure. If you have any fear of 
it, mix tin* pigeon manure with equal 
parts of sifted coal ashes or good soil and 
use broadcast along the hill or drill. 
Sorghum Bagasse for Fertilizer 
I have quite a lot of sorghum bagasse, 
and would like to have some information 
as to its value as fertilizer. 1 would like 
to hear from someone who has had ex¬ 
perience. J. J. T. 
Preston, Md. 
We shall have to put that up to our 
readers for experience. 
