The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
197 
Notes from a Maryland Garden 
Everything now outside seems to have 
come through the almost zero cold wave, 
and %w the sun is shining brightly and 
the soil is thawing. Farmers are expect¬ 
ing soon to get into the field to prepare 
the land and check it out. anl get in the 
manure in the hills where the cantaloupes 
and watermelon crops are to be planted, 
for they like to get the manure there to 
be rotting some before April. 
I notice in a daily paper that some 
professor or other at the meeting of the 
American Association for the Advancement 
of Science told of some wonderful new 
vegetables just introduced. One of these 
was the dasheen. T grew the dasheen 
seven or eight years ago. and after two 
or three reasons’ trial I threw it out as 
worthless, at least here. In fact, at that 
time the editor of The R. N.-T. sug¬ 
gested that I would better try it on the 
dog first. The dasheen is one of the 
arums like the jack-in-the-pulpit, Cala- 
dium, etc. The casual observer would 
not notice any difference in its growth 
from that of the Caladium esculentum. 
so common on our lawns, and known as 
elephant's ears. The Caladium makes 
much larger tubers here than the 
dasheen, and makes white roots, while 
those of the dasheen are pink. The tubers 
of the Caladium are eaten to some extent 
in the South and largely in Hawaii. 
But then we eat down here some other 
things that are rarely eaten North. Did 
you ever eat a salt-water marsh musk¬ 
rat? We had two for dinner today, and 
if you have never eaten one you have 
missed a dainty game animal. Dressed 
muskrats are abundant on the game stalls 
here in Winter. It is now an open sea¬ 
son for the “marsh rabbits.” The trap¬ 
pers le..se areas in the immense salt 
marshes along the bay and its tributaries, 
and on the seaside too, and are now very 
act*. - ' for the pelts are selling tor un- 
heard-ot paces to make the “Hudson seal” 
furs for the ladies. Some years ago the 
late .loe Wing and Cary Montgomery 
were attending a farmers’ institute here, 
and I had them for dinner at my home 
and gave them marsh rabbit to eat, and 
they en.io.ved it greatly. The ordinary 
cottontail is poor eating alongside the 
muskrat, which is no kin to a rat. 
But this is not gardening. It is now 
time to get in potting soil for the seed 
flats where we are to sow the early gar 
den seeds. Here I usually sow seed oi 
the early tomatoes the first week 5n Feb¬ 
ruary. As a rule iu any section they 
should be sown 10 weeks before it is safe 
to set them in the open ground iu that 
locality. I find that the pulverized sheep 
manure from the Western stockyards is a 
convenient and good manure to use in the 
preparation of the soil in the greenhouse, 
and I can buy from our local dealers any 
quantity, small or large, at two cents a 
pound. It does very well in the frames, 
too, with the addition of some acid phos¬ 
phate. I find that the more frequently 
the young plants are transplanted the 
better the plants and the earlier the fruit¬ 
ing. I sow in flats, and as soon as large 
enough to handle transplant to other flats 
to give more room and make more roots 
by setting deeper. Tin a I stem them in 
2!£-inch pots, and from these into the 
cold frames. A lot of trouble, of course, 
hut I get early tomatoes iu .Tune, and it 
is worth a good deal to lead the neighbor¬ 
hood. If I were growing for market I 
would use a good strain of Earliana as 
the earliest, and at the same time sow 
Bonny Best, as the Earliana throws its 
whole crop almost at once, and Bonny 
Best is very little behind it and far bet¬ 
ter. and will continue to fruit a long 
while till later tomatoes come in. 
Then before the end of January I sow 
seed of the Everbloomiug Begonia for 
bedding in Spring, and have these well- 
grown in 2%-inch pots by May. Egg¬ 
plants I never attempt to harden off in 
the cold frames like tomatoes, hut keep 
them growing in pots till large plants 
and the June weather is warm. Hence 
I do not sow the seed till late February. 
Now is the time to sow seed of Prize- 
taker onion and succession cabbages iu 
the cold frames with the double glazed 
sashes, also lettuce seeds for plants to 
set in March. Iu the climate of New 
York a slight hotbed should be made for 
these. But if the Winter continues as it 
began we may be as cold as New York 
usually is. w. F. MASSEY. 
How an Acre of Pasture Was Made 
to Produce 922 Gallons More Milk 
I N producing milk, good pasture is as valuable as 
grain, and pasture is very much cheaper. The 
pasture land, as a whole, is the 
most inefficient on the farm. Many 
now grow only weeds and poor 
grass when they could help lower 
the cost of producing summer milk. 
In a famous test, fertilizer was 
applied to the pasture land once 
in a four-year period. It resulted 
in an annual increase in milk pro¬ 
duced per acre of 92 1 /2 gallons. Onlj* 20 gallons 
were required to pay the annual fertilizer charge. 
Have you pasture lands which are not produc¬ 
ing as they should? Fertilize them with V-C 
Fertilizers. Drive out the weeds. Bring in clover. 
Make richer feed. Increase your production of 
beef and milk. Balancing the plant 
food in manure with V-C Fertil¬ 
izers and increasing your soil’s sup¬ 
ply makes beneficial changes in the 
vegetation. 
By the proper use of fertilizer, 
you can grow more crops of better 
quality — raise more feed — keep 
more livestock, get more manure. 
It is highly important this year for you to place 
your fertilizer order early. There is a shortage of 
materials. Write us for the name of V-C dealers 
near you and let fertilizers help to keep milk 
profits from being eaten up by the grain bill. 
VC 
Fertilizers 
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company 
New York, N. T. 
Baltimore, Md, 
Cincinnati. Ohio 
ForfWsyne, Ind. 
Shreveport, La. 
Richmond. Va. 
INCORPORATLD 
V-C SALES OFFICES: 
Norfolk. Va. 
Alexandria. Va. 
Durnam N C 
Wimton-Salem. 
Charleiton S C. 
M. C. 
Columbia. S. C. 
Atlanta. Ga. 
•Savannah. Ga. 
Athens. Ga 
Gainesville Fla- 
Jacksonville. Fla. 
Sanford, Fla, 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Montgomery, Ala. 
Mobile, Ala. 
Memphis Ttnn. 
Mt Pleasant, lean. 
VI RGINI A 
/ CAROLINA 
V-C Fertilizers 
\ CHEMICAL 
CO. 
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WITTE Engines are regularly equipped with 
H. T. battery, or Standard BOSCH Magneto on 
order. Write for latest prices. Quick delivery. 
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FARQUHAR for 
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O UR Standard Farquhar Portable Saw¬ 
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The Farquhar Double Belt Feed equals 
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with wear reduced to a minimum by shift¬ 
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belts instead of on feed proper. We offer 
the choice of either Standard or Log Beam 
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Faraubar Mills are 
most economically oper¬ 
ated byFarquha* Power; 
Cornish ‘Slab Burner* 
and Locomotive Port¬ 
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Write to as concern¬ 
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and we’ll send full de¬ 
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Box 630 York. P.. 
OTHER FARQUHAR 
PRODUCTS 
GAS TRACTORS 
and PORTABLES 
THRESHERS 
POTATO DIGGERS 
GRAIN DRILLS 
HYDRAULIC 
CIDER PRESSES 
Catalogs on request 
KITSELMAN FENCfe 
PRICES 'WAY DOWN 
We’ve knocked the bottom oat 
high cost offence building. 
Pay the Freight anc Jive 
money. Here s a mar Chat 
Saved 38 per cent 
Mr. R. D. Dillard. Milton. Ofcla., 
writes: “I round all the Fence us 
good or better than I expected. 1 save,.’ 
$2&.f>5 on my $75.00 order.” 
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KITSELMAN BROS. PepL 130 Muncld. Ind. 
