76 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 15, 1921 
Several readers are planning to seed 
Alfalfa next year. Usually they start 
with a heavy sod of Timothy and clover. 
This will ba Fall-plowed, limed and plant¬ 
ed to corn next Spring with fertilizer in 
the hill. Having heard about cover crop¬ 
ping. these people think they can seed to 
Alfalfa right in the corn, obtain a good 
stand in that way and save trouble and 
expense of fitting the soil separately for 
the Alfalfa seed. 
We would not recommend this plan for 
general practice. There have been a few 
cases reported to us where Alfalfa seeded 
in the corn made a good stand and a fair 
growth. Most of such experiments, how¬ 
ever, fail to be satisfactory. In order to 
make a good, permanent Alfalfa meadow 
the field must be kept as level as a floor 
during cultivation. Most farmers prefer 
to hill up the corn, more or less, and the 
Alfalfa field with these ridegs would not 
be satisfactory. Unless great pains arc 
taken it is not possible to get a perfect 
stand when seeded in this "way, as where 
corn hills stand there will be little seed 
sprouted. 
This plan of seeding in the corn will 
give good results for a cover crop; that 
is, where the growth made through the 
Fall and Winter is to be plowed under 
the following Spring to enrich the ground. 
For a permanent crop, however, the 
chances are against success, unless great 
pains are taken in putting in the seed. 
In some parts of New England Timothy 
am] Red-top are seeded in the corn with 
fair success. In such cases the corn is 
grown in hills and absolutely level cul¬ 
ture is given, with no ridging whatever 
or hilling up. The seed is scattered by 
hand during the latter part of August, 
special pains being taken to cover the en¬ 
tire field. A light cultivator is then 
worked between the rows and a workman 
follows with an iron rake scratching over 
the ground between the hills in the row. 
In that way a fair stand is obtained, and 
some remarkable yields are reported from 
such seeding. It seems that Alfalfa is 
quite different, and, on the whole, wc 
would not advise this kind of seeding for 
that crop. We think it will pay better to 
take more time and follow the corn with a 
crop of oats or peas. Cut these early and 
then fit the ground as well as possible, 
seeding Alfalfa alone about the middle of 
August. 
Many of our readers have taken up the 
plan of adding a few quarts of Alfalfa 
eeed to the clover and grass when seeding 
to the meadows. The Alfalfa gives a 
small crop in connection with the clover 
the first year. As this mixing of seed is 
continued year after year, the Alfalfa 
thickens up and finally the soil is in 
condition to give a full crop of Alfalfa, 
when properly seeded. The use of the 
Alfalfa with the clover is not expensive, 
but it certainly fits the land for a full 
Alfalfa crop. 
A good many readers say that they 
were unable to sow wheat or rye last 
Fall. They intended these crops to be 
cut for fodder or hay. What can they 
use now?. 'We know of nothing better 
than a mixture of Canada field peas and 
oats. This mixture seeded early in the 
Spring will give a heavy growth, which 
may be cut in early July either for green 
feeding or cured as hay. It makes a very 
fair substitute for clover. 
Our plan has been to scatter about one 
bushel of the Canada peas over an acre 
and either plow them in with a light 
plow or chop them under with a disk. 
Then we seed 2 1 / 2 bushels of some variety 
of oats which makes a heavy growth, and 
work the seed in with a harrow in the 
usual way. The object is to get the peas 
in deeper than the oats, so that the two 
will come up close together. 
The Canada peas are, on the whole, 
superior to Spring vetch for this purpose. 
The peas stand up better and are move 
likely to give a good stand, to make 
about as much growth, and are very much 
cheaper, so that the combination of oats 
and peas makes a very good hay substi¬ 
tute. 
It is necessary to have good land, Avell 
prepared, in order to make a success with 
this crop. There is no use in trying to 
grow it on light, worn-out land, unless it 
is heavily manured. It is a good plan to 
inoculate the peas before they are put into 
the ground. This crop is one which re¬ 
sponds well to lime, and needs a strong 
solution of manure or fertilizer. In many 
cases where there is a large acreage and 
labor must be saved, the ground is well 
prepared and the oats and peas are 
drilled in, the seed being mixed together 
in the hopper. This gives fair results, 
but where there is a small acreage it will 
usually pay to put in the peas and oats 
separately. 
On strong land where there is plenty 
of moisture the crop of peas and oats 
can be cut in early July for hay or fod¬ 
der. Then the ground may be disked or 
plowed and seeded to Japanese millet, in 
time to obtain a good crop before frost. 
This, of course, gives a double crop of 
fodder, but there is no use attempting it 
unless the ground is made rieh and the 
season is reasonably moist. In seeding 
the millet it will usually pay to use a 
fair quantity of nitrate of soda or sul¬ 
phate of ammonia. 
A good many of our chicken men are 
working into the email fruits in connec¬ 
tion with poultry. Many of them have 
planted strawberries, and the question 
arises as to when they can use the chick¬ 
en manure to advantage. Several of our 
readers ask if they should put the chicken 
manure right on the berries this Winter, 
or wait until Spring. 
We have tried both ways and prefer on 
the whole to hold the manure until 
Spring. Make it as fine as possible and 
mix it with acid phosphate so as to make 
a reasonable fertilizer. Handled in that 
way we get good results from the berries; 
better, we think, than when the manure is 
scattered during the Winter. The latter 
plan, however, saves considerable labor 
and where there is a good deal of litter, 
such as straw or leaves, in the manure, it 
serves as a mulch to protect the plants 
and gives good. results. The work of 
crushing or fining the manure in the 
Spring takes considerable time, but we 
think it pays to make this manure as fine 
as possible before using. 
QIIIMIIIIIIIIIJIIIIItlllltlllllllllllllllltlllllllllllillllHIIIIIIIIItlUnillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllg 
| A Ready-Cooked Food | 
| For Breakfast or Lunch | 
| Grape=Nuts [ 
| Crisp granules of wheat and malt- i 
| ed barley 'sweet as a nut”from | 
| special processing and long baking. |§ 
1 No need to sprinkle sugar on your 1 
| cereal when you use Grape=NutS 
I “There's a Reason" I 
BiiiniiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiMiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilMiiiiiiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiiis 
MR. FARMER 
IT’S WORTH YOUR WHILE TO GET 
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT 
BARIUM- 
PHOSPHATE 
AN ALKALINE FERTILIZER 
Containing 
28%] PHOSPHORIC ACID 
7% BARIUM SULPHIDE 
and 
SULPHUR IN A WATER SOLUBLE FORM 
Headquarters also for all 
FERTILIZER MATERIALS 
For “HOME MIXING” 
Nitrate of Soda, Potash Salts 
GROUND PHOSPHATE ROCK 
l 
Witherbee, Sherman & Company 
2 Rector Street, New York City 
moxMmom 
Att low a* 
$19.50 
For f(ertzler& 
Zook Portable 
Wood Saw 
Frame 
BACKS THIS SAW 
HERTZLER & ZOOK 
Po £ b 0 < SAW 
Is easy to operate. Our 
No. 1 is the best and 
cheapest saw made to which 
a ripping table may b© at¬ 
tached. Guaranteed 1 year. 
Money refunded if not satis¬ 
factory. Write for catalog* 
HERTZLER & ZOOK CO. 
Pox 3 Belleville, Pa. 
s 
WITTE 
LEVER CONTROLLED 
Log Saw 
Engine, Saw, Etc., all complete. 
From Pittsburgh add $6.80. Aik lor Termx. Folder FREE. 
WITTE ENGINE WORKS 
.11890 Oakland Avenue 1890 Empire Building 
Kansas City, Mo. Pittsburgh, Pa. 
For A Good Seeding Job 
T HE Farmers’ Favorite seeds evenly—at all times. Plants every seed at an even 
depth and at an even space. For more than half a century Farmers’ Favorite 
Drills have been helping to grow bigger crops—all because of even, accurate, 
better seeding. r T 
Fo \ Tea ™ or 
Any Tractor 
The Farmers’ Favorite is 
extra-strong yet unusually 
light of draft. Furnished with 
either steel or wood wheels. 
The better materials used 
throughout show plainly in 
the many years of service it 
The Farmers’ Favorite Tractor Drill should be your choice &i ve S the freedom from 
for any tractor requirements. It has a special power lift and repairs. Made in a large va- 
adjustable tractor hitch. You raise or lower discs while in riety of styles and sizes, 
motion without leaving the tractor seat. 
Ask your dealer to show and explain the many special features. 
The American Seeding-Machine Company, Incorporated 
Springfield Most Complete Line of Crain Drills in ihe World Ohio 
