Improved Methods in Asparagus 
Production 
W E now handle our five-acre asparagus field 
entirely different from what we did five years 
ago. The expenses have been reduced and the yield 
and quality improved. The old set rule was to apply 
manure during the Winter, and broadcast a moderate 
amount of fertilizer just before cutting season. The 
cutting season formerly ended when strawberries 
came into the height of their season. Finally the old 
top growth was mowed down in the Fall and either 
burned or else hauled from the field. Now every¬ 
thing is changed. 
We have accepted the theory that the growing 
crop cannot utilize the plant food we apply until 
after the cutting season. Therefore it stands to 
reason that the manure and fertilizer applied early 
in the Spring is partially leached away before the 
asparagus makes its top growth, four months later. 
Nowadays we apply the manure immediately after 
the cutting season by driving straddling the rows 
with the spreader. The rows are 1,200 ft. long, and 
by using the right adjustment one load will do a row 
and leave a bushel or so over. In two or three 
weeks’ time the asparagus is getting the benefit of 
This Young Rider Feels Quite at Home. Fig. 110 
that freshly-applied manure. Furthermore, by that 
time the newly developed growth is just about ready 
to absorb and utilize vast quantities of plant food. 
It is just at tiiis time that we apply a dressing of 
commercial fertilizer between the rows. Here is 
where we saw money, and we get excellent results. 
Instead of buying ready-mixed materials, which con¬ 
tain considerable costly, inactive ingredients, we 
simply buy the equivalent amount of plant food iu 
the cheaper chemical form. For instance, this com¬ 
ing season each acre of asparagus will receive the 
following mixture: One bag nitrate soda (200 lbs.), 
two bags ammonium sulphate (400 lbs. - ), six bags 
16 per cent acid phosphate (1.000 lbs.), and one bag 
muriate of potash (200 lbs.). This mixture weighs 
only 1.800 lbs., but it contains just as much plant 
food as a tori of fertilizer which analyzes 7 per cent 
ammonia, S per cent phosphoric add and 5 per cent, 
of potash. Furthermore, the plant food contained 
is quickly available for use by the growing crop. A 
few years ago all the ammonia was obtained from 
nitrate of soda, but it was observed that nitrate of 
soda was short-lived. Sulphate of ammonia works 
just as quickly, and it lasts very much longer. Acid 
phosphate and muriate of potash are recognized as 
the cheapest and most efficient sources of phosphoric 
acid and potash, respectively. With the. treatment 
the asparagus tops make an enormous growth, and 
store up strength so that the roots can produce an 
abundance of large stalks the following 
Spring. 
The harvesting season is now con¬ 
tinued until all the strawberries are 
harvested. We observed that when we 
stopped cur tin _ two weeks earlier a 
heavy setting of seed developed. By 
lengthaping the cutting season the seed 
berries were less likely to develop on 
the top growth Therefore the energy 
which formerly went into the develop¬ 
ment of useless seed is now utilized 
for direct production. 
Finally, it was formerly the custom 
to burn or cut and remove the old top 
growth each Fa i. We have found that 
it can l*e disk-harrowed into the soil 
and thereby enrich the ground. Not 
only does the harrowing required pul¬ 
verize and bury the old top growth, but 
it also destroys all grass and weeds, 
and removes many of the old asparagus 
stumps from the row. 
The methods briefly outlined above 
indicate a very important fact: Fann¬ 
ers all oyer the land are learning to 
‘Iht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
make more efficient use of their labor and fertilizing 
materials. This seems to be absolutely necessary if 
the producers hope to be repaid for their labor and 
expenses. n. w. de baun. 
New Jersey. 
The Tractor on a Small Farm 
T HE accompanying pictures of tractor and two 
happy children are sent us by John W. Russunx 
of New Castle County, Del. The little tractor does 
all the work on his farm, while a two-ton truck does 
A Busy Little Tractor on a Delaware Farm. Fig. Ill 
all the running. The tractor plows, harrows, pulls 
mower, binder, disk harrow, wagon, or anything that 
three horses can do. No horse is kept for work. 
Mr. Russum says: 
“Some say they cannot use a tractor and get along. 
One can drive this tractor just the same as a horse: 
it is not necessary to ride tractor, but one can ride 
whatever implement is in use. We cultivate two 
rows of corn at a time, and work on what it would 
take to keep one horse, and it does the work of four 
horses.” 
The boy, Harrington Russum, was only two years 
old when he won the pony at the State Fair, while 
another picture shows his sister Marguerite with 
their pet. Mr. Russum’s farm is one of 40 acres, 
which with intensive culture finds profitable work 
for the tractor. It has proved an economy in both 
time and labor. 
Now is the Time to Buy Sheep 
I HAVE two suits of clothes here. One was bought 
in 1903, and the other was a present that the 
donor bought last November. The old one cost $25 
and the new one $65. I wore the old one 10 years 
for good, and then at all kinds of farm work since. 
If the knee cf the trousers had not been torn by 
barb wire it would be a fair-looking suit yet. The 
new suit was guaranteed “all wool,” and after the 
purchaser wore it less than six months the edges 
were all worn off and the goods had pai’ted in sev¬ 
eral places. It was worthless, and always had been 
so, but it appeared nice at first. 
There is not a fiber 1 in. long in it and they are 
all rotten. Several generations of hoboes must have 
had it on their backs since it was clipped off a 
sheep, and you can poke your finger through the 
cloth. My old suit has worn 34 times as long, and 
has wear in it yet. while it is very old and the other 
very new. If the shoddy suit was worth $ 5 mine 
was worth $2,216. Figure some more: $65 for six 
months makes the shoddy suit cost $10.50 a month, 
or 35 cents a day. and $25 for 204 months’ wear of 
269 
the virgin wool suit was 13 cents a month, or less 
than half a cent a day. 
Now figure for the rag man. There has been but 
one profit on the old suit in 17 years, whereas to 
keep clothed with suits like the new one it would 
give 34 profits to the mill that spun the shoddy, to 
the man who furnished the trimmings, the one who 
made it and the one who sold it. There is money in 
shoddy. The tailor who made the old suit is alive 
and well, and the gentleman who bought this nice- 
looking new suit, and gave it to me pro bono publico, 
is a notary public, so if any affidavit is wanted send 
half a dollar. 
A worsted and woolen mill, we read, bought a mil¬ 
lion and a half pounds of South American wool at 20 
cents, all commissions paid, delivered at port of en- 
try. Also wool from Argentina sold for nine cents. 
Cause and effect; what shoddy has done to wool. 
Looks pretty blue, doesn’t it? Don't let the reader 
who needs clothes he discouraged, but let him insist 
on virgin wool with not a tuft of shoddy in it. and 
neither let the wool grower lose heart. He must wait 
and sleep over night, but the sun rises in the morn¬ 
ing. Hold on to the wool and the sheep. The wool 
industry has had its night of debasement. Shoddy 
has done enough. The sheep men and quite a nice 
A Farm Pony*and His Small Owner. Fig. 113 
proportion of the public are pitted against the shoddy 
men. The fight is on, and because the public did not 
use its wits is no reason it has lost them. We will 
sure have a battle with the gentlemen who want oft- 
repeated sales and profits on rags, but will never let 
up until we win. w. w. Reynolds. 
Ohio. 
Notes on Stacking Alfalfa Hay 
With an Alfalfa hay yield greater than present 
barn capacity, arises the question of stacking in the 
open. I shall appreciate light on these several fea¬ 
tures : What would be a safe and economical volume 
to the stack? What is the best shape of stack to build? 
How would you protect hay iu stack from weather? 
C’oloma. Mich. h. g. k. 
The methods of stacking Alfalfa hay are not es¬ 
sentially different from those employed iu stacking 
any clover. The essential is having the hay well 
cured and got into the stack without interference of 
rain. Alfalfa should be cured out in either wind¬ 
rows or small cocks, to avoid breaking off the leaves 
which entails much loss iu feeding value. As to 
stacking, there is no especial rule that differs from 
that practiced in stacking of any clover, which of 
course implies good stacking, a balanced building 
up. and keeping the center of the stack crowning 
full all the time, to prevent central depression. 
The size of the stack depends more upon the amount 
of clover to dispose of. The stack may be round, 
square, high or low, or may be a long 
“rick" with two or three hundred tons. 
I think T have seen Alfalfa stacks in 
the Far West (ricks) containing more 
than 300 tons. The essential is to keep 
the center more than full all the time 
whether stack or rick. A good stacker 
will top out a stack with the clover and 
will require no other protecting cover 
to shield it. Tf there is doubt, a straw 
thatch can be put on, and whether 
straw or clover, it will want “lugs” 
strung over the top to keep the wind 
from dislodging it. 
I es, there are stacking machines to 
unload the hay by a power lift. There 
are several kinds, the derrick and the 
elevator. The first uses a common hay¬ 
fork with block and tackle and the 
elevator which takes the whole load 
high into the air and dumps the load 
somewhere supposed to be in the center 
of the stack. Any large implement 
house will send you illustrations and 
printed matter on application. 
A Box of Asparagus Faded for Market. Fig. 112 
J. G. 
