1290 
The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
August 7, 1920 
General Farm Topics 
Estimating Bushels of Grain 
During the late Summer and Fall we 
always get many questions about esti¬ 
mating the number of bushels of corn in 
a crib or bin. The following figures are 
taken from a report given out by the 
Department of Agriculture and are, w T e 
think, reasonably fair. A standard bushel 
of grain contains 2.150.42 cubic inches, 
or nearly 1*4 cubic feet. This means a 
bushel by measure of shelled corn or other 
grain. A bushel of corn on the ear will, 
of course, vary widely in volume, depend¬ 
ing on the variety and the proportion of 
cob to grain. Some varieties have a much 
smaller cob than others. There will gen¬ 
erally be a little over twice as much bulk 
in a bushel of ear corn as would be found 
in a bushel of shelled corn. On the 
average about 244 cubic feet of sound ear 
corn will make a bushel of shelled corn. 
When this is figured out by weight, how¬ 
ever, it is generally estimated that 70 
pounds of air-dried ear corn will make 
an even bushel of shelled corn. That 
means there are 56 pounds of shelled corn 
and 14 pounds of cob. This, of course, will 
vary somewhat according to the size of 
the cob and the amount of moisture in 
the corn, but the above given proportion 
is considered .fair. 
The rule for estimating the number of 
bushels in a bin of shelled corn is to 
multiply the length, breadth and height 
in feet and divide by 144- This same rule 
can be used for estimating the bushels of 
other grain, such as rye, wheat or oats. 
The contents of a round bin is found by 
multiplying the area of the base by the 
height of the grain, and then dividing by 
144. To find the approximate contents 
of a crib of ear corn we first find the 
cubical contents of the crib, and divide 
by 244. That gives the estimated num¬ 
ber of bushels of ear corn. The contents 
of a round crib can be worked out in the 
same way. The area of the base of the 
round crib is found by getting the square 
of the diameter, multiplying it by .7856, 
then multiplying this by the height of the 
grain, and dividing by 244 gives the num¬ 
ber of bushels of ear corn in the crib. 
Fertilizer Value of Lime Mortar 
I have a quantity of lime mortar from 
a building that I have torn down. Is it 
worth while spreading it on the land. 
Newark. N. J. K - G * 
You will understand that lime mortar 
is a combination of lime and sand, and, 
for wall plastering, a small quantity of 
hair. This furnishes a very small amount 
of nitrogen, but in some cases of old 
mortar there is a small amount of nitrate. 
About all that you can depend on. how¬ 
ever, is the lime. This will have about 
the same value as coarsely ground lime¬ 
stone, depending upon how finely it is 
bi’oken up. The ordinary chunks or 
pieces of mortar scattered and plowed 
into the ground would have little, if any, 
effect upon the soil. The best use that 
we have found for this broken mortar is 
to pile it around the fruit trees to serve 
as a mulch and to keep down the grass.* 
That is the best use we have found for 
it, and there would be little, if any, value 
from spreading coarse pieces and plowing 
them under. 
Different Types of Bacteria 
They tell me here that Sweet clover 
inoculates the ground for Alfalfa. I have 
a good stand of Sweet clover. Is this 
true? J. B. 0. 
Washington, N. J. 
Yes, the bacteria which work on the 
roots of Sweet clover are the same as 
those found on Alfalfa. Where Sweet 
clover thrives you may be quite sure to 
obtain a good Alfalfa seeding. In some 
cases farmers dig up the soil along the 
road —where Sweet clover grows—and use 
it to inoculate the soil when seeding. Yet 
this bacteria will not serve to inobulate 
the soil for clover. The clover bacteria 
is quite different—perhaps as much so as 
different breeds of cattle or horses. All 
clovers, Alsike, Crimson or Red, seem to 
have the same kind of bacteria, but this 
kind will not thrive on Alfalfa, beans or 
peas. Still another kind is found on the 
roots of Hairy vetch and garden peas. 
The Soy bean* bacterium is in a class by 
itself, and so are those which work on 
cow peas and garden beans. They do not 
interchange—4hat is, the bacteria for Soy 
beans would not affect either garden beans 
or vetch. Some farmers think that there 
is but one family or race of these tiny 
workers. There are at least six different 
types working on the legume crops, so 
that plowing under a Sweet clover crop 
will not inoculate the soil- for either clover 
or beans. 
Strawberries Between Corn Rows 
I am thinking of putting down a straw¬ 
berry bed of one-half acre. I have not 
at the present a place which I consider 
good enough. Would you advise me 
planting them now between the hills of 
field corn until such time as I have a 
place, say a year or two? What number 
of plants would cover one-lialf acre? 
Massachusetts. P. J. D. 
Of course, this is not the best way to 
plant strawberries. The plants will make 
but a small growth in the shade of the 
corn, but they will keep alive and slowly 
grow. You will have them firmly estab¬ 
lished when the corn is cut, but the field 
will not be as good as where the plants 
have a full chance the first season. The 
way to figure the number of plants needed 
is to remember that there are 43,560 
square feet in an acre. If the plants are 
set 2x3 feet, each one occupies six square 
feet, or 7,260 plants. 
Working Potatoes Late 
What is your opinion as to the advisa¬ 
bility of working out potatoes as late in 
the season as the middle of July? One 
of my neighbors has just been working 
his out, although they are in full bloom, 
and the vines fill the spaces between the 
rows. It seems to me that it will do 
more hurt than good. What is your 
opinion? J. H. R. 
Middle Island. N. Y. 
It is a matter of variety, season and 
method of planting. In a very wet sea¬ 
son, like the one we are having in New 
Jersey, we think late cultivation a good 
thing. The tendency in a wet season, 
when the potatoes are well fertilized, is 
to make too much vine growth and delay 
formation of tubers. The late cultiva¬ 
tion breaks up the wet soil, cuts off sur¬ 
plus roots and seems to force an earlier 
growth of tubers. On the other hand, it 
breaks off and smashes part of the vines, 
which seems to act somewhat like prun¬ 
ing a tree. When the soil is very dry 
we should avoid late culture. It would 
cut off too many roots, which cannot be 
promptly repaired in a very dry soil. Such 
upright growing vines as R. N.-Y. No. 2 
may be cultivated longer than the type 
of some which fall early and spread over 
the ground. Generally after the bloom is 
full and the vines cover the ground it is 
not wise to cultivate unless the season is 
very wet and the field is very foul with 
crab grass or weeds. 
Seeding Timothy with Alfalfa 
In a little note from the Connecticut 
Experiment Station, II. L. Dorsey speaks 
of using Timothy seed when seeding to 
Alfalfa in New England : 
Where winter-killing of Alfalfa is 
feared, one-fourth of the seed may be re¬ 
placed by Timothy and 20 lbs. of the 
mixture seeded per acre. At harvest, if 
there is a good stand of Alfalfa, there 
will be but a sprinkling of Timothy in the 
first cutting. The second and third cut¬ 
tings will be nearly pure Alfalfa. 
The advantage of the mixture is that 
the Timothy takes the place of any Al¬ 
falfa that winter-kills, or it serves as in¬ 
surance against a failure of the Alfalfa. 
Tests at Storrs, Conn., show that such a 
mixture becomes almost pure Timothy 
after one or two years, even when Grimm 
is used. Therefore this is not recommend¬ 
ed where a long-time stand of Alfalfa is 
desired. 
We have had several such reports from 
New England, where Alfalfa seeding is 
more or less of a gamble. The Timothy 
helps provide a crop of hay. even if the 
Alfalfa is destroyed. We would like to 
hear reports from New England farmers 
about this. 
Origin of Bordeaux Mixture 
A press bulletin from the Ohio Experi¬ 
ment Station gives the following historical 
note about the use of Bordeaux mixture: 
Bordeaux mixture had its origin in 
France, near the neighborhood of Bor¬ 
deaux, where little French youngsters 
were accustomed to help themselves to 
grapes along the road. To scare the chil¬ 
dren away, workmen smeared some poison 
material from a dye factory over the 
grapevines. Soon after, French scientists 
studying grave diseases, found that where 
the poison material had been spread very 
little disease was noticed. They found 
that the product—copper sulphate—was 
valuable in preventing disease spores from 
germinating. The practice of applying 
copper sulphate was carried to extreme 
somewhat in France, as it was applied in 
such quantity as to destroy much of the 
fruit. 
About, this time W. J. Green, horticul¬ 
turist at the Ohio Experiment Station, 
began some experiments with copper sul¬ 
phate and lime to control plant diseases. 
He worked out the formula of 4-4-50 
(four pounds each of lime and copper 
sulphate to 50 gallons of water), which 
is now used by many Ohio orchardists. 
The application of material of this 
strength was found to control disease 
without damage to fruit or _ foliage. 
Spraying for fruit disease in Ohio dates 
only from 18S4. 
Lime with Leaf Mold 
On pa^e 1067, I note the article, “Leaf 
Mold as Fertilizer.” I am interested in 
this fertilizer, having a large supply, but 
because of its sour condition have not 
used much of it. Can you give me some 
adequate idea as to how much lime and 
fine-ground bone or acid phosphate I 
should use to a given quantity of the leaf 
mold ? M. R. s. 
Virginia. 
Different samples of leaf mold -will vary 
somewhat in acidity, depending on age 
and the nature of the trees. Generally 
about 200 lbs. of lime to the ton will 
sweeten the mold, and we should use 
about 40 lbs. of fine bone or 50 lbs. of 
acid phosphate to the ton. 
Large-growing Alsike Clover 
I am sending you a bunch of White 
clover that seems to me to resemble what 
you have told us about in The R. N.-Y. 
as being a new discovery in Ohio, that 
you may pass on the same. We found 
this in our garden here with short White 
clover, and a little Red clover in spots. I 
think what I send is a combination of the 
two. making a large growth of a new 
kind. What do you consider it? J. b. A. 
Griggstown, N. J. 
We have received many samples of 
clovers supposed to be the new annual 
Sweet clover, or something like it. This 
one showed a tremendous growth. We 
had seen nothing quite like it before, and 
to make sure of it the sample was sent to 
Jessie G. Fiske, seed analyist of New Jer¬ 
sey. She says: 
I have given the plant careful exam¬ 
ination and from all indications it seems 
to be a prolific growth of Alsike clover 
(Trifolium h.vbridum) a perennial. Un¬ 
doubtedly the extraordinary size of the 
plant leads J. B. A. to believe that it 
might be the new annual clover. 
We never saw Alsike clover grow to 
such size before. It merely shows what 
rich soil and culture may do. In Mis¬ 
sissippi on the strong limestone soils we 
measured White clover and found stems 
over two feet high. 
Trunk Wash for Peach Trees 
The South Carolina College suggests 
the following wash for trunks of peach 
trees to prevent the peach borer: 
i.ump lime . 20 lbs. 
Soap (whale oil. homemade, or 
ordinary laundry). 3 lbs. 
Sulphur . 4 lbs. 
Water . 20 gals. 
Shave the soap finely and dissolve in 
three gallons of hot water. Make a thin 
paste of sulphur and add to the soap solu¬ 
tion, and while the lime is slaking (in 
half barrel) pour the solution of soap and 
sulphur over it, dilute to make 25 gal¬ 
lons, which is a sufficient quantity to 
wash 200 to 300 trees, six to eight years 
old. This wash is very inexpensive, and 
may be easily applied by the use of a 
paint brush. 
The eggs from which the peach borer 
hatch are laid by a moth (at about this 
season) on the lower part of the trunk. 
By mounding around the tree and paint¬ 
ing with this wash many of these eggs 
will be destroyed. 
Damage from Careless Spraying 
Could you inform me what could be 
done about apple and plum trees which 
have been sprayed with such a strong 
solution that all the leaves are dropping 
off? The nursery people admit that they 
made a mistake. Do you think it will 
permanently injure the trees? They are 
fine 11-year-old apple trees, and were 
just this year full of buds. The plums 
were also covered with fruit. I expected 
a fine crop. They have spoiled the looks 
of my place for the Summer, and no fruit. 
What redress could I demand? I wish 
to teach them a lessen, so that they will 
not injure other people’s trees. 
New York. F. M, L. 
In a case of this sort no one can give 
decided advice without examining the 
trees. This year’s crop has, no doubt, 
been killed, but the trees may not be per¬ 
manently injured. They will probably 
leaf out once more. The persons who 
did this are clearly responsible, and 
should pay reasonable damages. They 
had no business to make any such mis 1 - 
take. Our advice is to write the Farm 
Bureau agent of your county and ask 
him to come and examine the trees and 
make a fair estimate of damage. 
Planting Potato Sprouts 
I read your note on planting potato 
sprouts. On June 10 I started to plant 
my Cape May Redskins. There were- 
about three peeks of them in a hamper 
in the cellar where they had been all 
Winter. I took off 160 sprouts from six 
to eight inches long and about 300 from 
one to two inches long. As I was short 
of seed, I took the short sprouts to the 
field, dropped them in a hill, and covered 
same as I would potatoes. At this time 
they are looking as well as potatoes plant¬ 
ed the same day. I made a bunch of the 
long sproute. dug a hole on north side of 
the chicken-house, buried the bunch about 
three-fourths of the length in the ground, 
gave them plenty of water and left them 
there for 10 days, when they had begun 
to grow: then set them out in the field, 
two in a hill, one foot apart. They have 
made a growth of about six inches and 
look fine. c. A. WOOD. 
New Jersey. 
McIntosh Apple for Michigan 
Is it a good plan to set McIntosh apples 
in a solid block of eight or 10 acres? 
Some claim that McIntosh is an annual 
bearer, and I have seen one statement 
that they bore heavily every other year. 
What is the most general experience? 
Do the apples bruise easily, so as to re¬ 
quire extra care in packing and shipping? 
Michigan. f. w. 
We do not consider it a good plan to 
plant any variety of apples in solid blocks 
of 10 acres. Our experience has been 
that we get better fruit and a surer pol¬ 
lination when the varieties are mixed, and 
we always plan to run rows of other va¬ 
rieties through orchards solidly planted. 
Our experience is that McIntosh in par¬ 
ticular does better when the varieties are 
mixed in this way. In our own orchards 
McIntosh gives us a crop every year, 
but these crops are not of uniform quan¬ 
tity. For instance, this year most of our 
McIntosh trees have what would be called 
quite a fair crop, while last year and 
probably next year the crop may well be 
called heavy. Baldwin and Spy with us 
bear very heavily one year and give either 
a few apples or a very light crop the next 
year. We are now succeeding, however, 
in changing the character of our Baldwins 
so that they give a fair crop each year. 
With us McIntosh, when thoroughly rip¬ 
ened, ranks as a delicate or tender fruit, 
more so than Baldwin or Ben Davis. It 
must be handled carefully to avoid bruis¬ 
ing or crushing. This refers to the thor¬ 
oughly ripened apple. The most profit¬ 
able way to grow McIntosh is to pick it 
reasonably early and keep it in storage 
Jin til about Christmas time. It then 
usually sells at a very high figure, but, 
like all delicate apples, must be handled 
with great care, as it bruises easily. 
Storage Houses for Lime 
The Ohio Experiment Station gives 
le following note about lime storage, 
his is a good idea for both lime and fer- 
lizer: 
To provide a supply of lime and ground 
mestone for farmers, a number of lnem- 
jrs of local County Farm Bureaus have 
■ganized associations which provide for 
mestone storages along railways. 
This makes it possible to store many 
ms of limestone for a few weeks, so that 
irmers may haul the material to their 
inns when hauling grain to market, or 
t least, they will be able to get it when 
icy can apply it to the soil. 
Frequently shipments of limestone 
>uld not be made to meet farmers needs 
nd they were forced to leave other work 
> haul the material, or to pay excessive 
funurrage. 
In several counties the limestone ques- 
on is discussed at night meetings in rural 
immunities. At these meetings farmers 
gure out the amount of lime that should 
e used on their farm and the results to 
ildren in the Sunday school class 
ii»£ restless, and the teacher, to 
pm, asked all who wished to go 
1 to stand up. All rose except 
girls. “Don’t you want to go 
11 . Jennie?” asked the teacher, 
was the response, “but I know 
. „r.«« n f mn f A o' 
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