The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
972 
follow close behind with another horse on a weeder 
to cover the inoculated seeds quickly, before sunlight 
kills the bacteria. Or you can use a wheelbarrow 
seeder, but the seeds must be covered quickly. Sow 
one-half of your seeds one way of the field and the 
other half the other way. Sow it alone. Do not use 
a nurse crop. If you will not. and insist on a nurse 
crop, sow about 2 lbs. each per acre of Red and 
Alsike clover with it. 
VARIETIES OF ALFALFA.—We prefer Cossack, 
Hal tic, Grimm, Dakota 20, in the order named. In 
our own fields, sown in drills and cultivated, Grimm 
beat Cossack, but sown broadcast, under not the 
best conditions, Cossack was far better. Baltic is an 
improved Grimm. Dakota 30 has been growing in 
Dakota for 30 years or more, Seeds of Grimm are 
more plentiful and cheaper than the others, except 
Dakota 30, and it is doing well here. Of these va¬ 
rieties sow 10 to 15 lbs. per acre. If every seed 
would grow, and if it could be evenly distributed, 
3 lbs. would be enough, but it will not, and you 
cannot. 
BACTERIA.—It is extremely important that you 
get nitrogen bacteria into the soil of your new Al¬ 
falfa field. If you cannot or will not do it, do not 
waste your time, seed, lime and use of your field, 
by sowing Alfalfa. Cut it out, and use the field for 
other purposes. There are two ways you can do 
this, and I advise you to do it both ways. Go to a 
vigorous Alfalfa or Sweet clover patch and get some 
soil. Sieve it or run it. over a gravel screen, to take 
out the stones and chunks. Keep the soil from direct 
sunlight, or it will kill the bacteria. But it into the 
fertilizer department of your grain drill and drill in 
about 300 lbs. per acre when you sow your Alfalfa 
seeds. You can do this one way of the field, and put 
in fertilizer when you sow your seed the other way 
of the field. Treat your seeds with pure cultures 
also. Cornell Experiment .Station will supply you 
with the proper bacteria for this. 
REMARKS.—I hear a reader say: “I have lime¬ 
stone land. I do not need ground limestone, not 
much anyhow.” 
You may need more. Some of the sourest lands 
we have are limestone soils. If you have a lime¬ 
stone ledge, covered over with a thin layer of soil, 
and you can scratch this up and sow Alfalfa, it will 
grow. But beyond 10 or 15 ft. from the edge yon will 
need ground limestone and much of it. 
Another remarks: “I will sow my Alfalfa with 
my wheat or other grain.” That may do in some 
sections, but it will not do in Southeastern New 
York. The Alfalfa needs all the moisture, sunlight, 
and air. 
Another says: ‘•Well, I have not time to bother 
With Alfalfa in the Spring. I will put mine in in 
August.” lie gets it in about September 5. just as 
we are sure to have a drought. It makes a small 
growth in the Fall, and the following Spring, when it 
is thawing days and freezing nights, the small plants 
are gently lifted from the ground and laid carefully 
out on top to dry. He has made a failure and de¬ 
clares that “our section oi in ountry is not adapt¬ 
ed to Alfalfa.” 
If you will follow the above instructions you will 
surely get a fine stand of Alfalfa. It will take the 
place of expensive grains in your dairy feed ration. 
You can feed it to your horses in place of grain to 
do your Spring work. You can winter your sows on 
it, together with a very little corn. You can feed it 
to your young calves instead of grain. It is excellent 
feed for your hens. You can put the old sow and her 
litter of pigs into a growing field of it and the pigs 
will make hogs of themselves. A few years later, 
when you plow this Alfalfa field, the land will he far 
richer than it. was when you put. in the Alfalfa, and 
you can grow corn, potatoes or almost any farm crop 
without fertilizer. If you will go on and put other 
fields of your farm into Alfalfa, you will soon be 
able to put money you have been paying for expen¬ 
sive feeds and fertilizers into a mortgage on the farm 
of a man who does not grow Alfalfa. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y r . martin e. thew. 
What is a Ton of Manure Worth ? 
Y EARS AGO we knew of farmers in Missouri 
who purposely built the barn near a river, so 
the manure could be quickly dumped into it and 
washed away. TliHt was the quickest way to get 
rid of it. At one time it was not uncommon to re¬ 
gard manure as a nuisance to be thrown away like 
coal ashes. The writer worked for a Western dairy¬ 
man, who gave away hundreds of tons of manure 
to anyone who would take it. 
Now comes the Missouri College of Agriculture 
with the following statement: 
Trials made on the various experiment fields through¬ 
out Missouri have shown that, an average application 
of eight tons of manure to the acre once in four years' 
has increased the yield of corn 10.5 bushels, oats 5.17 
bushels, wheat 5.24 bushels and clover hay 937 pounds. 
At prices which prevailed the first, of the year this 
increase would ho worth $4.83, and at pre-war prices 
$2.34. for each ton of manure applied. It will cost the 
farmer not more than one dollar a ton to collect the 
manure and haul it to the field. This would leave a 
net profit of $3.83 at present prices, or $1.34 at pre-war 
prices, for each ton of manure applied. The full value 
of the manure is usually not obtained during the first 
four years, for it loaves the soil in better condition, and 
its effect upon later crops is often quite significant. 
This becomes more noticeable after the first two or three 
applications, since a liberal application of manure every 
four years will result in permanent improvement to the 
land. 
That method of figuring will ho new to most of 
our Eastern farmers who, through the use of fer¬ 
tilizers. have been taught to figure out. the commer¬ 
cial values. An average ton of manure as it is 
hauled to the field will probably carry about 8 lbs. 
of nitrogen. 5 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 10 lbs. of 
potash. Some analyses run higher than this, but 
that will not be far out of the way. Thus 10 tons 
of manure would provide 80 lbs. of nitrogen. 50 lbs. 
of phosphoric acid and 100 lbs. of potash. If you 
bought this amount of plant food in chemicals you 
would need to buy 500 lbs. nitrate of soda, nearly 
350 of acid phosphate, and 200 of muriate of potash. 
Just attempt to buy these chemicals at market prices 
and you will get the commerical value of 10 tons of 
good manure! Recent, ton lot quotations at New 
York were: Nitrate of soda. $90: acid phosphate. 
$20.50; manure salt. 2<» per cent. $05? This has some¬ 
what less than half as much potash as muriate. 
Before the war many of the chemists had begun 
to say that the chief value of manure lies in the 
organic matter which it furnishes, and in the bac¬ 
teria which it brings to the ground. Now, as we see, 
plant food has considerable value, too. 
The Missouri College states a few things not 
generally known. A well-fed horse will produce in 
a year about eight tons of manure—as it goes to the 
land. A good-sized steer produces nine to 11 tons. 
A good-sized share <>f this is liquid, and 35 per cent 
of all the nitrogen and 55 per cent of all the potash 
will he found in (his liquid part. Every farmer 
knows how quickly these liquids run off and are lost 
unless the gutters are tight and plenty of absorbents 
are used. When the liquids in the 10 tons of manure 
are permitted to wash or drain away it is just like 
putting 200 lbs. of nitrate of soda and 100 lbs. of 
muriate <>f potash in hags out under the dripping 
eaves. There is 10 times as much potash wasted 
each year in that way as was over imported from 
Germany! 
Manure never contains more plant food than the 
day it is made. Fermenting in a pile may make some 
of the plant food more available, but there is a 
steady loss in the amount as the manure is kept in 
the yard or barn. Wherever possible it is better to 
haul out the manure each day. Most of the loss of 
potash can he prevented by using concrete gutters 
and plenty of bedding. As we see. the manure con¬ 
tains less of phosphoric acid than of either of the 
ether needed elements—though more of this is needed 
bv most 'Tiqis. Thus we can see how the addition 
of some kind of phosphorus to the manure may 
nearly double its productive power, especially on 
grain or dairy farms. 
The Problem of Cotton Picking 
F ROM time to time we have questions from people 
who want to know whether any practical cotton- 
picker has been invented and used in a businesslike 
way in the cotton fields, it is generally thought that 
a successful picker of this sort would change the cot¬ 
ton-growing industry almost as much as the inven¬ 
tion of the cotton gin a century or more ago. In 
practically every other great staple American crop 
inventive genius has come to the rescue of the har¬ 
vester. That is true, in particular 1 of grain, for the 
country could not possibly he fed today if the ma¬ 
chinery for harvesting the crops had not been in¬ 
vented. There is just as much a need of cotton¬ 
picking machinery as for harvesting implements. 
Yet the great, industry must still depend in the last 
analysis upon the finger and thumb of the man or 
woman taking the lint, off the stalks by hand. A 
countless number of machines have been invented, 
but apparently few if any of them have thus far 
been entirely practical. 
Many sensational stories have been told about help 
In cotton culture. Almost every year the old story of 
the trained monkeys gets into print. According to 
lliis some wise planter in Mississippi imported speci¬ 
mens of a certain breed of monkeys and trained them 
to pick cotton. They became so expert at it that 
one monkey would pick twice as much in a day as 
the ordinary field hand. Of course the expense for 
feeding them was very light; they required no cloth¬ 
May 22, 1020 
ing, or shoes, and drew no wages. The inference 
was that the entire crop of the South would soon he 
picked by monkeys at a great saving in labor cost. 
Following this came the story of the trained geese 
that walked through the cotton fields chewing off 
crab grass and other weeds, thus saving the entire 
cost of booing out the cotton. These geese were said 
to he very efiicient, and two geese would clean out 
more grass in the course of a day than the ordinary 
field hand. Not only that, but in addition to clean¬ 
ing up the grass and weeds, they turned this pest 
into an excellent crop of eggs and meat. 
Then came the man with the trained English spar¬ 
rows which were to keep down the cotton-worms. 
According to reports these sparrows were kept in a 
large wire house, fitted like an open wagon on 
wheels. 'When the worms were dangerous this house 
was driven into the middle of the cotton field. The 
door was opened and the manager played a certain 
tune on a cornet. The sparrows immediately flew 
out, ranged over the field, cleaning up the worms in 
short order, and then returned to the wire house, so 
that they could ho driven to another field and repeat 
their performance. There are apparently plenty of 
people in this world who actually believe all these 
things, and we have actually had letters asking 
where specimens or eggs of these remarkable mon¬ 
keys and birds can ho obtained. 
With regard to the cotton-picker the following, by 
l*rof. E. R. Lloyd, is probably as fair a statement of 
the matter as we can give: 
With regard to the cotton-picker, three or four types 
of machines have been tested out in the Mississippi 
Delta, but, so far, none of these has proven satisfac¬ 
tory. There are two principal types, one a suction ma¬ 
chine. and the other with fingers or rough needles 
which twist the cotton out of the boll. I had a talk 
with a party from New York who had a machine down 
here last year to test out. trying to find out the weak 
points of the machine. I do not know what success lie 
had. but there isn’t a single machine in use on the farms 
in the South that I know anything of; still, I haven’t 
lost hope, and I believe that yet a cotton-picker will 
finally bo made that will be a practical machine, and be 
put into general use on the larger plantations. 
The monkey propaganda was gotten out by a man in 
the Delta who had a considerable sense of humor a 
number of years ago; that article was copied all over 
the country and a great many of our Northern friends 
actually thought that the monkeys had been trained to 
pick cotton. Mr. Mangun. who originated this unique 
theory, had a big cotton plantation in the Mississippi 
Delta, but this monkey business was all a joke. 
There are still some farmers who claim that two 
geese will equal one good hoe hand in keeping grass out 
of cotton, and they do graze very close, as you know; 
but if I were growing cotton I certainly would not de¬ 
pend upon geese to keep down the grass. 
The English sparrow will eat most anything of value, 
but lie doesn't seem to fancy the boll weevil. I never 
knew of one eating boll weevils; in fact, there are very 
few birds that do seem to relish the boll weevil. How¬ 
ever. I think we have a corner on the boll-weevil situa¬ 
tion now by the use of calcium arsenic. The results of 
this poison have been very satisfactory. 
The 'nigh price of cotton has turned the farmers all 
crazy in this country. I have been, the last two months, 
conducting food and feed campaigns with the hope <>r 
getting enough feed planted this year to feed the woik 
teams next. The food situation in tire South is really 
serious The cotton acreage will be increased as much 
as available labor will warrant, and I believe that the 
corn and other food crops will be decreased. _ Last > p a* 
was the worst year that we have ever had in our his¬ 
tory. It rained the entire year except June. .luly. Au- 
gus't and September, and it was too dry in the rail to 
plant oats or clover, and has been too wet ever Since. 
The small grains planted last Fall and this Spring "i 
be 20 per cent of what is normally planted. 
E. K. LLOYD. 
The Non-Partisan League 
r llE truth about the Non-Partisan League in 
North Dakota seems to he working out at last, 
'he truth about any industrial or political move- 
nent cannot he told until the years have fully test'd 
t. The league is still being cursed and denounced by 
he daily papers, hut so near as we can learn t.uni 
ife and farm business are on the whole happier and 
nore prosperous as a result of what the leagu* has 
lone. One thing which is not generally undeistood 
q the part which the State Agricultural College took 
v. this fight. Several very strong men were con- 
ieeted with that college. They quickly saw that 
mder tin 1 peculiar system of handling and s« 11 i 11 —. 
forth Dakota’s grain crop, increase of production 
lone would he of little benefit to farmers. These 
nen were able to prove with scientific accuracy, 
vliicli could not he disputed, that North Dakota 
’armors were being robbed by railroads and dealois 
ml buyers. When farmers, who lack scientific edit- 
ation. make general charges of dishonesty and mb 
iery. it. is quite easy to bluff them off. hut the college 
a me forward with facts which could not he dis- 
mted. Thus it may he said that the Agricultural 
"allege loaded the gun which the members of the 
ougue fired off. Of course, efforts were made at 
nice to bottle up these scientists and ‘ fire tin in- 
rhey refused to be “fired,” and the farmers stoei 
nlidly behind them. One <>f the things which acted 
o make the league a fighting force was the battle 
hese farmers made to keep the scientists in ol.i< 
nd control the Agricultural College. 
