558 
it time to settle thoroughly so as to give a good 
firm seedbed, seeding being finally made very late 
in June on account of the weather conditions of 
15117, with which every one is familiar. The poorer 
field, while treated exactly the same as the other 
so far as concerns lime and inoculation, and seeded 
but a few days later than the other, was not plowed 
on account of the weather until just before it was 
seeded, so that it was at once fitted and limed and 
seeded immediately after plowing, thus giving it no 
chance to settle well and get a firm seedbed. The 
difference in the result of the two fields is accounted 
for apparently solely by this difference in the firm¬ 
ness of the seedbed, apparently no other explanation 
being discoverable. This seems to confirm what the 
bulletins indicate, namely, that a very firm seedbed 
is essential and that failure with Sweet clover as a 
farm crop often results from lack of a sufficiently 
firm seedbed. In this experiment hulled scarified 
seed was used, about 15 or 10 pounds to the acre, 
which is more than is really necessary. Inoculation 
was obtained from the Agricultural College at 
Ithaca, applied to the seed and worked fine. With 
the cost of seed, lime and work where it is there is 
too much risk in not inoculating, too expensive to 
take any chance, unless the land has already had 
either Sweet clover or Alfalfa on it. 
COMPARISON WITH ALFALFA.—One other 
point. In a low spot of small area a number of 
plants heaved a good deal in the severe Winter of 
1917-1918, but nevertheless thrived and came on well 
in 1918. The Farm Bureau manager called atten¬ 
tion to this, remarking that Alfalfa would hardly 
have stood what the Sweet clover did. If I were 
starting Sweet clover this year I would plow and fit 
the land as early as possible, keep it clean, let it 
settle well so as* to get a very firm seedbed, use 
hulled scarified seed (about 12 pounds to the acre) 
and be sure to inoculate (unless the land has had 
either Sweet clover or Alfalfa on it). Use 1 !4 to 
two tons of fine ground raw rock limestone (or its 
equivalent in other form) with part of it plowed in 
and part harrowed in (on this point there is a dif¬ 
ference of opinion) unless it is a limestone soil and 
there is surely plenty of limestone in the top soil, 
and would do this (use limestone) even if the land 
is not sour, because Sweet clover seems to be a heavy 
feeder on it. If the land is naturally limestone soil, 
or has had either Sweet clover or Alfalfa on it, in¬ 
stead of following the foregoing method unhulled 
seed might be put on now, broadcast on the last of 
the snow (in this section of the country) and let 
work in with the freezing and thawing. Using un¬ 
hulled seed, however, requires a much larger amount 
of seed per acre because there are so many hard 
seeds that the germination is low" the first year. 
Some of the hard seeds may hold over for a long 
time before their hard coat will be broken down 
enough by nature to permit germination. 
VARIATIONS IN OROWTIL—In order not to sub¬ 
ject ourselves to criticism in respect to any state¬ 
ments as to the Sweet clover, I ought to add that in 
the fine field there were two small areas that did 
not do as well. One such area of about half an acre 
was where there is a depression underlaid by a ledge 
of rock that comes close to the surface so that ex¬ 
cessive water was not readily taken off, which prob¬ 
ably accounts for it. As to the other small area, I 
do not yet know the answer. Also in the fine field 
there was variation in the height of the clover, al¬ 
though as the smaller of the two pictures shows, 
there was an unusual stand all over, with the ex¬ 
ception of the two areas referred to. Two pieces of 
this good field, in addition to the lime and inocula¬ 
tion. had put on them some cow manure that had 
been left in the barnyard when I took possession of 
the place in the Spring of 1917. On these two pieces 
the clover was in some places taller than in the rest 
of the field. What the very tallest of it was I do 
not know, did not measure it; but a stalk that had 
been cut by someone from one of these pieces next 
to the road (the piece from which cut is not shown 
in either picture), I found and took into the house 
and measured it, and it measured eight feet six 
inches. How high above the crown it had been cut 
I cannot say. It had not been cut long when I found 
it, as it was not wilted. The picture with the people 
lined up in the edge of the clover shows well the 
thickness of the stand on the good field, but it does 
not show the tallest clover. It shows a fair average 
of the good field. There is one other point of interest 
which confirms what the bulletins intimate. Follow¬ 
ing the cutting made by the Farm Bureau June 18, 
1918, a good second growth developed and made a 
good crop of seed. The difference was observable 
where a short stubble was left accidentally, and 
where stubble about six inches was left, the latter 
developing second growth better, although the former 
came on later quite well. Following the cutting 
Jht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
made July 16, 1918, the second growth was very 
thin, scattering. Following the cutting made a little 
later for silage there was practically no second 
growth at all. jonx e. Wellington. 
Corn Tests in Connecticut 
E VERY corn show in New England brings out 
dozens of local varieties of flint corn—some of 
them very superior. As a rule these may be called 
family varieties. Many years ago the original type 
was selected—perhaps taken from the Indians—and 
through one generation after another, each year the 
seed was selected to some definite standard. It may 
have been early maturity, color, size of cob, yield, 
size of stalk or some other desired quality, but 
whatever the standard was the type has become 
fixed through close selection for a century or more. 
As a result, some of these varieties have become 
exactly suited to the thin and worn soil of the New 
England hills. They will produce more food on such 
land than any other grain crop and they have be¬ 
come as hardy and prolific as weeds. We have long 
felt that some of these flint varieties possess great 
merit, and that they should he collected and tested. 
Perhaps they are useful only in their limited locali¬ 
ties. Perhaps, like other Yankees, they would, if 
given larger opportunity, dominate other sections. 
Some years ago the Connecticut Experiment Station 
began a corn variety test, which included some of 
these local flints. The following report by Prof. 
D. F. Jones shows how the work is progressing: 
I am sending a copy of our preliminary report of 
corn variety testing. This work, which has now been 
going on for about seven years, has shown definitely 
that there is no one best variety of corn. It has proven, 
however, that in a given locality certain types are 
clearly better than others. For example, at New Haven 
Gold Nugget flint has stood at first place right along. 
This variety, grown at»Storrs (50 miles north) from 
Handling Hotbed Frames. Fig. 1^2. (See l uge oJO) 
the same seed, stands in sixth place. Burwell’s flint, 
a smaller, earlier maturing type, is first there, but 
fourth here. 
In general the large-eared types, such as Gold Nug¬ 
get, Mammoth and Longfellow, tend to yield most if 
given good soil and a sufficiently long season to mature 
properly. If they cannot have these conditions the 
smaller-eared varieties will outstrip them. Gold Nugget 
is a rather distinct kind of flint. It shows a slight 
inclination to dent and I think it is of rather recent 
origin. 
We have no positive evidence as to how much our 
present-day varieties have changed since the landing of 
the passengers of the Mayflower. It is commonly said 
that King Philip is a variety which has come down 
almost unchanged from the time of Miles Standish. 
Many of the varieties grown by the Indians at the 
present time in their reservations in the Dakotas, and 
said by old members of the tribes to be like the corn 
grown by them as long as they know, differ visibly in 
no appreciable way from other varieties of flint. Inci¬ 
dentally the farmers of the Northwestern States are 
beginning to appreciate the fact that these varieties 
grown by the Indians are better adapted and on the 
average 'more productive than the varieties they have 
brought with them from the Eastern States. It is 
generally this way, that settlers at first have nothing 
but contempt for local corn varieties, but they soon 
change their opinion. The fate of corn varieties from 
the Ohio River bottoms in Western Kansas is a good 
instance. 
The farmers of New England are for the most part 
very decided in their preference for their own varieties. 
I don’t believe there is any place in the country where 
as many different sorts of corn are grown as in Con¬ 
necticut. This is in part due to the fact that most of 
the grain is consumed locally and there are no trade 
requirements to meet. It is a common occurrence to 
find varieties grown by the family for three generations 
or more or as long as they have any way of knowing. 
Many of these varieties are very good, as our tests show. 
Undoubtedly they have become adapted to the conditions 
here, so much so that I believe for planting in Con¬ 
necticut one makes a mistake in going out of this region 
for seed corn. _ D. F. JONES. 
Connecticut Experiment Station. 
The report sent by Prof. Jones shows that out 
of 30 varieties tested at New Haven the following 
named six flints which stood at the head are: 
Variety 
Gold Nugget. 
Hanford White Flint. 
Hauschild’s Yellow Flint.. 
Olmsted’s White Flint. . .. 
Burwell’s Yellow Flint. .. 
Rosebrook’s Yellow Flint. 
Bu. per Acre Av. Days 
Shelled Corn to Maturity 
82.1 113 
7G.8 113 
761 102 
74.9 110 
74 2 1 07 
74.7 104 
The corn with the shortest maturing season was 
March 20, 1910 
Hayes’ Canada Flint. This gave 62.7 bushels in 101 
days. As for the dent varieties of corn at New 
Haven, the following table shows the leaders: 
Bushels Av. Days 
Per Acre to Maturity 
Beardsley’s Learning . 94 8 117 
Ivlondyke .. 94.2 129 
Montgomery’s White Dent.... 89.3 127 
Willcox David Dent. 85.5 113 
Century Dent .. 85.1 108 
Drew’s White Cap Dent. S4.3 108 
Thus the dent varieties on the whole gave heavier 
yields than the flints, but averaged longer to mature. 
A test of silage varieties showed the following 
leaders: 
Dry Mat- 
Tons Green 
Days 
Variety 
ter. Lbs. 
Fodder 
to Matu 
Eureka . 
10,765 
21.7 
137 
Beardsley’s Learning 
10.605 
IS 
123 
Klondyke . 
10.272 
16.6 
130 
Earlv Mastodon. 
10.227 
21 2 
125 
Gelston’s Ensilage.. 
9.639 
18.2 
124 
Red Cob . 
9,472 
17 
146 
Garden Notes from Massachusetts 
R ESISTANT ASPARAGUS.—Although the rust- 
resistant qualities of Reading Giant asparagus 
have resulted in its generous planting by commercial 
growers, it is not as common in amateur gardens as it 
deserves to. be. A considerable number of plants have 
been sent out for trial from the State College, and 
several dealers are now listing Reading Giant, so that 
if can be obtained without much difficulty. It is the 
Variety recommended to garden-makers who are 
going to start an asparagus bed this year. It is a 
Massachusetts product, having been developed by 
Prof. Norton, at the asparagus experiment station 
in Concord, but it seems suited to all parts of the 
country. Another variety, and one which seems to 
be an improvement over Reading Giant, is called 
Washington. There are both Martha Washington 
and Mary Washington strains, and in time this will 
probably prove to be the best asparagus for New 
England. 
SETTING THE PLANTS. — Asparagus plants 
should be set out as early as possible. It is best to 
place the plants about 15 inches apart in the home 
garden, and if more than one row is planted the 
rows should be three feet apart. There has been 
some discussion as to the age of asparagus plants 
to be chosen, but experience seems to show that one- 
year-old plants will give the best results, even in the 
amateur’s garden. The question of salting continu¬ 
ally comes up. The actual usefulness of salt has 
leng been a matter of dispute. Apparently its value 
comes from the chlorine it contains. If muriate of 
potash is used, no salt will be needed. Otherwise its 
application will be of some benefit. It is of the ut¬ 
most importance that only strong crowns be used, 
even if many small roots have to be thrown away. 
It is a good plan to cover them with only two inches 
of soil, and to fill in the trenches as the plants grow. 
HOTBEDS AND FRAMES.—Hotbeds are used as 
a matter of course by market gardeners in starting 
early plants, and a few home gardeners are able to 
get good results with them. The average amateur, 
though, finds the management of a hotbed too com¬ 
plicated or difficult. Cold frames are much easier 
to handle, and are a great help in getting early 
plants. When plants are started from seeds sown in 
flats in the house, they can be transferred to cold 
frames late this month, and will make rapid growth 
before the time comes for setting them in the open 
ground. While considerable work is necessary to 
make a hotbed, a cold frame is easily prepared, and 
it is not necessary to have any manure in the bottom 
for heat. There should be plenty of well-rotted 
manure in the soil with which the cold frame is 
filled, and if some leaf mold can be added so much 
the better. A scattering of bone meal will also prove 
helpful. Plants may be started successfully in pure 
sand, and it is always well to have the contents of 
the flats at least one-tliird sand. Then good roots 
are formed, while top growth is retarded. After the 
plants are well started, though, and set in frame's 
or even shifted to other flats, they should have an 
abundance of good soil for the roots to work in. 
STARTING SEEDS.—It is now a much more com¬ 
mon practice among market gardeners to start seeds 
in flats in the greenhouse than to plant the seeds in 
hotbeds. Deep cold frames are also being used, 
sometimes being made of cement and large enough so 
that the operator can walk through them under the 
glass. Ordinary hotbed sash is used to form a 
double pitch roof. Such a frame does excellent serv¬ 
ice when large numbers of cabbage or other plants 
are being raised for market. When planting seeds 
in a frame or hotbed the rows can be quickly marked 
by using an old rake with teeth set the proper dis¬ 
tance apart. Sometimes an upright piece of wood 
is nailed to one end of the rake, and is allowed to 
run along the side of a sash so that the rows will be 
perfectly straight. (Continued on page 560) 
