Iht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
415 
r. 
THE MAILBAG 
Gasoline for Cleaning 
It was a groat help to me when 1 
learned that a little salt in gasoline pre¬ 
vents it from forming a ring. This ad¬ 
mirable cleaner should not be used in very 
cold weather, a* it chills the hands to a 
dangerous extent when used in the open 
air; and. used indoors, it is a source of 
still greater danger. A friend o' mine 
saw a house in Nebraska that had been 
moved awry on its foundation, when a 
man (who was instantly killed) entered 
the cellar with a lighted lantern. Gaso¬ 
line had been sprinkled on puppies there a 
day or two before. G. A. t. 
Cleaning Brushes After Use of Shellac 
“If you ever use shellac." says a recent 
correspondent, "buy a cheap brush and 
throw it away after the job is done, as 
shellac hardens and cannot be cleaned 
from the brush." I would advise buy¬ 
ing a good varnish brush and using it; 
with a cheap brush yon cannot do any 
shellacking. When through with the 
brush put it near your shellac can. so you 
can find it next time, and the next time 
you shellac take this brush and let. it soak 
for one hour in alcohol and the brush will 
be as good as new, and better. F. A. 
Unfertilized, this field produced only enough hay 
to feed one steer 14.0 days. With fertilizer, it pro¬ 
duced enough to feed two steers iqo days. 
No additional fertilizer was used on the following 
corn crop. But the yield was increased 25 bushels 
per acre, or enough corn to make 200 pounds more 
pork. 
The Check-Row Corn Planter 
The letter of F. H. S. on page 191 
prompts me to relate my experience. I 
planted a four-acre rocky field, with a 
knoll in rhe center. The important out¬ 
standing features are uniform tightness of 
wire; leaving plenty of spare wire at 
either end to allow for possible running 
out of fence line; seed cans should be 
perfectly vertical to be regulated by levers 
and raising or lowering pole at horses’ 
necks. But the all-important factor, 
which spells success or failure, is the ac¬ 
curacy of the drop—too much care (and 
trials along the road) cannot be exercised 
tu determine the selection of plates proper 
for the seed. The uniformity of the num¬ 
ber of kernels per hill is controlled by 
this factor, and is more difficult to bring 
about than accurate checking. However, 
with graded or uniform seed, selection of 
plates for that seed, a machine in good 
order and an observant and intelligent 
operator, results should warrant encour¬ 
agement. ,TOS. ROSM.VX. 
Rockland Co.. X. Y. 
Sweet Clover on Old Sod 
IIow should I prepare a pasture for 
sowing Sweet clover, and what is the 
proper time t<> sow for best results? Land 
is at present seeded with Red clover and 
Timothy, and ha-? not been plowed for 
several years. p. j. 
Ripley, X. Y. 
Plow Red clover under in the Fall and 
as early in the Spring as possible sow 
Sweet clover ar the rate of 10 lbs. to the 
acre. Test the soil with litmus, and if 
it is very acid apply lime. We harrowed 
an acre of new land after clearing and 
burning brush, and sowed Sweet clover. 
The ground was not plowed. The grasses 
killed out the clover in all places except 
where the brush had been burned, and 
here it grew finely, so I would advise 
plowing and getting the seed in as early 
as possible in the Spring, so the seed can 
get a start ahead of other plants. Do 
not pasture until late in the season, as 
the plants need a strong growth and will 
self seed. T. H. T. 
Poke Berries for Ink 
In answer to your correspondent who 
wants to know how to prepare ink from 
poke berries, and. as I suppose, preserve 
its color, carmine, and stay its fermen¬ 
tation : As for staying fermentation, 
there are many ways, but the one sug¬ 
gested by The R. X.-Y. is decidedly the 
best, but the trouble is in keepiug the ink 
made from poke berries. Phytolacco de- 
candens. from changing its color. I know 
of no better way than to add a few drops 
of ammouuia. .Should this fail the ques¬ 
tioner will have to look further for a rem¬ 
edy. Y ’011 may take, for instance, the re¬ 
cently expressed juice from common elder¬ 
berries, and drop into it a small quantity 
of muriatic acid. In a moment’s time it 
will chtiiige its color iuto a Turkey red, 
and to preserve thrtt color any length of 
time I use ammonia. I would advise the 
inquirer not to spend much time or money 
experimenting with poke berries for ink 
purposes, as their value for other pur¬ 
poses is much more. They are really a 
good medicine, and some botanists with a 
knowledge of medicine say the poke berry 
is an infallible specific when compounded 
with other ingredients in one or two stub¬ 
born diseases that have battled the skill 
of our most learned physicians. Of course 
medicine. 1 ik♦ > all other arts and sciences, 
is now working ou advanced stages, and 
in place of using crude poke berries in 
bitters as our grandmothers used to do, 
the doctors of the present day would in¬ 
clude only its active principle, pliytolac- 
cill. WILL. II. S. BANKS. 
“That fellow is a millionaire.” “I 
should think he’d be happy when he thinks 
of all the money he has.” "Trouble is. he 
seems to think mainly of all the money he 
hasn’t."—Louisville Courier-Journal. 
Each Acre Fed One Additional Steer 
and Made 200 Lbs. More Pork! 
J UST as the grass turned green in the early 
spring, a complete fertilizer was applied. It 
raised the hay yield from 2100 pounds to 
5700 pounds per acre. 
This acre which formerly grew 
only enough hay to winter one steer 
for 140 days was made to produce 
enough to feed two steers for 190 
days. The fertilizer paid a profit 
of $13.12 per acre. 
Then corn was planted after the 
timothy. No more fertilizer was 
applied, but the fertilizer which had already added 
more than a ton to the hay crop increased the fol¬ 
lowing corn yield 25 bushels per acre. This ex¬ 
periment station test showed how fertilizer can 
increase the stock-carrying capacity of your land. 
The profitable raising of livestock depends upon 
abundant pasture for summer, good hay for 
winter, and grain production. 
The use of V-C Fertilizers helps in all three 
of these departments. In one test, 
fertilizers made an acre of pasture 
yield 92^2 gallons more milk. 
Grass and clover fields would 
produce far better if plant-food 
were supplied. Note above how 
one acre was made to feed two 
steers instead of one. 
To produce quality meat or milk 
at a profit, a generous grain ration is needed. V-C 
Fertilizers enable you to grow that grain. Their 
use means better pasture—more hay—more and 
better corn or silage from the acres which you now 
farm. We urge you to order early. 
Write us for the names of V-C dealers near you. 
V-C 
Fertilizers 
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company 
N.w York, N. T. 
Baliiaore, Md. 
Cincinnati, Obi* 
Fart Wayne, Ind. 
Shreveport. La. 
Richmond. Va. 
INCORPORATED 
V-C SALES OFFICES: 
Norfolk, Va. 
Alexandria, Va. 
Dorham, N. C. 
Winatoa-Salem, N. C. 
Ckarleatoa, S. C. 
Colombia. S. C. 
Atlanta, Ga. 
Sava nnab, Ga. 
Athent. Ga. 
GaiaMviDe. Fla. 
ackionville. Fla, 
Saaford, Fla. 
Birmingham. Ala. 
Montg ornery. Ala. 
Mobile, Ala. 
Memphis. Tens. 
Mt. Pleasant, Taai 
VI RGINI A 
CAROLINA’ 
V-C Fertilizers 
CHEMICAL 
CO. 
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ery wide-awake farmer sees opportunities to make extra 
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IRON AGE 
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The best-built drills 
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