449 
The RURAL NEW.YORKER 
Coal Ashes and Potatoes 
T am enclosing a clipping from tlii« 
morning’s Boston Herald and should like 
to read your comment and explanation of 
this most interesting experiment. 
Massachusetts. Samuel to r a hick. 
The clipping referred to follows: 
COAT. ARTIES AND POTATOES 
Oil land which had not been cultivated 
for .’}() years or more I turned the sod 
under, leveled oil' the dirt and laid the 
seed cuttings 12 inches apart each way, 
on top of tin* soil. These I covered with 
4*4 inches of coal ashes from my fur¬ 
nace. They came up and grew well, but 
ripened and died down early, being some¬ 
what affected by the draught and blight. 
No fertilizer was used and no attention 
given them except spraying. From this 
Patch I harvested at the rate of 500 bit. 
per acre of excellent quality potatoes. 00 
per cent merchantable. On another patch 
with same treatment except the applica¬ 
tion of a moderate top-dressing of stable 
manure on the soil, I harvested at the 
rate of 600 bu. per acre. 
I do not pretend to explain the some¬ 
what remarkable result obtained in these 
experiments, but the fact remains and is 
confirmed by others who have tried this 
method. Agricultural authorities agree 
that there is little fertilizing value in coal 
ashes, and that any advantage obtained 
by their use comes from the mechanical 
or chemical action on the soil. It should 
he noted that there is much heavier seed¬ 
ing by this method than by that in gen¬ 
eral use. and that the roots of the vines 
have the benefit of the full depth of the 
soil. GEOKGE M. FISKE. 
This plan of growing potatoes under a 
“mulch” is not new. We have often de¬ 
scribed the plan of using straw or manure 
for covering the potatoes. One year we 
made a trial of this plan, and, running 
out of straw, put coal ashes over several 
rows of seed potatoes. These grew about 
the same as the “seed” under the straw. 
We do not know from Mr. Fiske’s story 
how large a plot lie had. It is much 
easier to obtain a big yield “at the rate 
of" than to produce the crop on an entire 
acre. When planted one foot apart each 
way. there would be more than 43.000 
plants on an acre. If Mr. Fiske had 500 
plants he grew say six or seven bushels 
and multiplied by 86 in order to get the 
rate per acre lie could not expect, even 
under the best of conditions, to make 
every spot of the entire acre produce as 
well as this small plot. 
From our own experience we conclud¬ 
ed that there were several reasons for 
this good showing. Of course the extra 
number of plants naturally produced more 
tubers. There was a small amount of 
potash in the coal ashes. This came from 
the wood burned in the furnace, and cov¬ 
ering the soil 4*4 inches thick required a 
large quantity of the ashes. Then the 
fine ash gave a good place for the tubers 
to develop. As we all know, the tubers 
are often made small or crooked when 
they try to grow in hard, baked or dry 
soil. The coal ashes did not bake or pack 
hard enough to prevent free growth. The 
chief benefit came, we think, from the 
effect of the coal ashes as a mulch. Spread 
How Mohawks Ride 
on Clay Roads 
Mohawk, Keaton or Non-Skid treads are excel¬ 
lent clay road tires. 
# Their big sturdy projections have the faculty of 
digging down into the slipperiest kind of a road, 
holding the car safe. 
Right from the beginning we have built Mohawk 
tires, both the treads that show and the parts 
underneath that don’t show, so that they will give 
the right sort of service, on clay roads, rocky roads, 
paved roads, or any other kind of roads, and give 
a lot of it. 
We don’t believe that Mohawk users want to 
pick their roads or spend any great amount of time 
babying their tires. 
We have held to the idea that to give Mohawk 
users the kind of service they want, we must build 
a tire that is so extra strong it will always give good 
big mileage and mighty little trouble no matter 
where the user may choose to drive. 
There is nothing mysterious about the way we 
accomplish it—just the sensible method of using 
the finest grade of rubber and fabric in the world, 
building a reasonable quantity of tires so that we 
can watch each one carefully, allowing the builders 
plenty of time to do their work right. 
VVe have kept our company on a very efficient 
basis—haven’t a dollar’s worth of watered stock or 
bonded indebtedness and we are satisfied with a 
reasonable profit. In this way, we have been able 
to use these expensive materials—more of them than 
the average tire maker seems to think he can, and 
have still been able to sell Mohawks at competi¬ 
tive prices. 
That’s all there is to it. 
As far as we know, almost any maker could have done 
the same thing if he had been organized the same way we 
have—had the same ideals and had been able to keep away 
from the temptation of making bigger profits by using 
cheaper materials and methods. 
The point is that most of them haven’t done so. 
And that is why Mohawks have stood out from among 
the great variety of tires on the market and have gained 
such a reputation for consistent high quality. 
The best proof of this is that our records prove that 85% 
of car owners who buy their first Mohawk tires become 
permanent Mohawk users. 
MOHAWK RUBBER COMPANY 
AKRON, OHIO 
Branches at: 
New York Boston Chicago Atlanta Kansas City San Francisco 
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Mohawk Tires—either 
Mohawk, Keaton or 
Non-Skid treads—hold 
a car safe on clay roads. 
But there are altogeth¬ 
er too many of these 
bad roads in this coun¬ 
try. It is estimated 
that 20 per cent of our 
roads carry from 80 to 
90 per cent of our traf¬ 
fic. In other words, 
while we have over 
2,000,000 miles of 
roads, if400,000 miles 
were permanently and 
properly constructed 
in the right place, they 
would practically com¬ 
plete our necessary 
high ways. 
Oil top of the laml they prevented evap¬ 
oration and thus held moisture around 
the roots of the potato plants, or just 
where it was needed. Wo have had much 
the same effect from straw, manure, rot¬ 
ten sawdust, boards or thick paper. All 
such protection will act to check evap¬ 
oration and thus hold moisture in the soil, 
and we think this was largely responsible 
for the benefit in using the coal ashes. 
We have noticed much the same benefit 
when coal ashes are used to cover the 
soil around trees, currant bushes or 
strawberries. The soil of an old pasture, 
aside from the grubs which it contains, is 
considered by many of our New England 
readers nearly ideal for potatoes. 
Applying Lime and Manure 
I have one acre of land that has been 
planted to corn two years. I have one 
ton of ground lime and a two-horse wagon 
load of hen manure to use for the crop. 
How should I use it to get the best re¬ 
sults? 1 was intending to mix the lime 
and manure thoroughly, and drop a large 
handful beside the plant when it is about 
two inches high, and then cultivate if 
thoroughly into the ground. One of my 
neighbors tells me to put; on broadcast 
and drag it in before planting. Part of 
the soil is gravel and part sandy loam. 
Busk irk, N. Y. c. n. s. 
Do not mix the lime and manure. By 
doing that you will drive off part of the 
ammonia. Plow the land aud spread on 
the lime. Harrow it well iu and plant 
corn. When two or three inches high 
get the hen manure as tine as possible and 
scatter it along the hills or drill and hoe 
and cultivate it in. 
Stop Wasting Money On Your Stump Land 
Turn It Into Dollars 
Weight, without coble, 171 pounds 
G RASP the OPPORTUNITY and put DOLLARS in your pocket by clearing 1 your 
stump land. Stump land was never bo valuable as it is TO-DAY. The “K” Stump 
Puller will do the work in less time and the least expense. Cost just about % of 
ahorse power machine and about of the cost of dynamite. One man or woman with 
a “K” can out pull 16 large horses. One person single handed can pull from 50 to 150 
stumps per day, HAND P° w e-* 
f^yStumpPuJIer 
worki by leverage—same principle as a jack—one man can lift or pull 48 ton» alone. Work* 
easy as rowing a boat. Works on hillsides or marshes where horse* cannot operate. Has 
£ speeds ancl weighs 171 pounds. Made of the best steel. Absolutely guaranteed against 
breakage. Endorsed by U. S. Government officials. Highest bank references. 
Send for my special offer and free book on Land Clearing 
WALTER J. FITZPATRICK Bos 34 182 Fifth St,. San Francisco, CaKf. 
No stump 
too big 
for the 
“K” 
WE WILL PAY ¥ T R you will use it to secure new and renewal subscriptions to The Rural 
p/Ar) VAl in ora 1 r»r> __ New-Yorker. This is the best subscription season. Send for terms. 
KJK YOUR SPARE TIME THERURALNEW-YORKER, Dept. “M," 333 West 30 th Street, N. Y. 
