368 
The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
March o, 1921 
TOP-DRESSING TALK No. 8 
Side-Dress as You Cultivate 
With Arcadian Sulphate of Ammonia 
and with your cultivator equipped 
with a fertilizer attachment, you can 
cultivate and side-dress your crops in 
one operation. 
Arcadian Sulphate of Ammonia is the 
nitrogenous top-dressing that is fine 
and dry, and free from hard lumps. 
It can be applied easilyand uniformly, 
by hand or with machine, in just the 
right amounts to push the laggard 
crops to renewed vigor and to early 
maturity. There is no loss of labor 
and no waste of material. 
Arcadian Sulphate of Ammonia 
Arcadian is the ideal top-dressing 
ARCADIAN IS 
CONNECTICUT: Bridgeport; Berkshire Fer¬ 
tilizer Co. 
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston; The American 
Agricultural Chemical Co., Bowker Fertilizer 
Co., The National Fertilizer Co. 
MICHIGAN: Detroit; Solvay Process Co. 
NEW JERSEY: Chrome; Armour Fertilizer 
Works (Address Baltimore, Md.). Newark; 
Listers Agricultural Chemical Works. Trenton; 
Trenton'Bone Fertilizer Co. IVoodstown; South 
Jersey Farmers Exchange. 
NEW YORK: New York; The Coe-Mortimer 
Co., The American Agricultural Chemical Co., 
Nassau Fertilizer Co., W. E. Whann Co., Pa- 
tapsco Guano Co., The National Fertilizer Co., 
Bowker Fertilizer Co., Frcd’k Ludlam Co., 
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. Syracuse; F. S. 
Royster Guano Co. 
and side-dressing fertilizer. The am¬ 
monia.is all soluble, quickly available 
and non-leaching. One hundred to 
three hundred pounds per acre can 
be recommended to increase the prof¬ 
its from any crop needing quickly 
available nitrogen. A little will do the 
work. It doesn’t wash out of the soil. 
Sulphate of Ammonia is the well- 
known standard article that has done 
you good service in your mixed fer¬ 
tilizers for years past. 
Arcadian is the kiln-dried and 
screened grade, made fine and dry for 
top-dressing purposes. Ammonia 
2514% guaranteed. MadeinU.S.A. 
FOR SALE BY 
OHIO: Columbus; Federal Chemical Co. Cin¬ 
cinnati; Armour Fertilizer Works, Virginia- 
Carolina Chemical Co. Cleveland; Swift & Co. 
Sandusky; Armour Fertilizer Wor)<s. Toledo; 
F. S. Royster Guano Co. 
PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia; Baugh & 
Sons Co., 1. P. Thomas & Son Co., S. M. 
Hess & Bro., Inc., J. E. Tygert Co. Reading; 
Reading Bone Fertilizer Co. York; York Chem¬ 
ical Co. 
VIRGINIA: Norfolk; Pocomoke Guano Co., 
Norfolk Fertilizer Co., Inc., Imperial Co., 
Hampton Guano Co., Berkeley Chemical Co., 
Robertson Fertilizer Co., Inc., Tidewater 
Guana Co., Carolina-Union Fertilizer Co., F. S. 
Royster Guano Co., Virginia-Carolina Chemical 
Co. Richmond; Old Buck Guano Co., Virginia- 
Carolina Chemical Co. Alexandria; Alexandria 
Fertilizer & Chemical Co., Virginia-Carolina 
Chemical Co. Lynchburg; Pocahontas Guano 
Co. Buena Vista; Armour Fertilizer Works. 
Write Desk No. 10 for booklet No. 5 “Intensive Market Gardening 'with Sulphate 
of Ammonia ", also for booklets on fertilizing hay , grain and fruits 
Medina, Ohio 
Berkeley, Cal. 
Company 
Baltimore, Md. 
Atlanta, Ga. 
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, NEW YORK 
Melon Culture is Coming Back 
Part 1 
Changed Conditions. — The growing 
of cantaloupes, or muskmelons, used to be 
a most profitable occupation in the east¬ 
ern part of the United States. The con¬ 
ditions seemed to have changed. The 
Eastern-grown product began to dimin¬ 
ish, while the Western growers supplied 
the Eastern markets. Now the freight 
rates, cost of new containers and icing 
in transportation have become very high, 
so that the Eastern farmers now have un¬ 
usually big advantages over the Western 
growers. Every year as far back as I 
can remember (30 years) we have pro¬ 
duced from two to six acres of canta¬ 
loupes for the Newark, N. J., market, 12 
miles away. My father learned to grow 
the old-fashioned Hackensack muskmelon 
in Bergen Co., N. J., when the good farm¬ 
ers specialized on that crop. Perhaps I 
can tell their methods, and emphasize the 
changed conditions which present-day pro¬ 
ducers must realize and provide for 
Bergen County Methods in 1875.— 
The old Bergen Co., N. J., melon grow¬ 
er specialized on the large and robust 
Hackensack muskmelon. Early in the 
Spring he plowed under an old upland 
sod which had been manured, and bar- 
Planting. —The rows should be ridged 
up at least a week before the seed is to 
be planted. This gives the soil in the 
ridges a chance to dry out and warm up. 
Furthermore, the burning effect of the 
fertilizer is dissolved away in a week. 
While cantaloupes should be planted early 
for a heavy yield, there is little gained 
in planting them before the first early 
tomato plants are set out of doors. It is 
well to do the planting only on a bright, 
warm day, when the soil is mellow. Fresh 
check marks are made three feet apart 
across the ridges with a light marker. 
This provides for cross cultivation. “Hoe- 
pat” hills are quickly made on the sunny 
slope of the ridge. About 15 seeds are 
dropped in each hill and covered no more 
than an inch deep, as the soil is moist 
and cool at that season. In a few days 
the seedlings will be coming up. 
Controlling the “Yellow Flies.”— 
As the seedlings begin to crack the ground 
a most critical time for the cantaloupes 
is at hand. Almost before the grower 
is aware of it, the striped cucumber bee¬ 
tles (often called “squash flies”) are rais¬ 
ing havoc. They hardly wait for the 
melons to come up, and frequently crawl 
under the lumps of soil which the seed¬ 
lings force up. That is the time for the 
grower to give “first aid.” The insects 
do not like dust of any kind. Therefore, 
the farmer may “run over” the field and 
pulverize the particles of soil where the 
A Muskmelon Field Well Along Toward Harvest 
00D SEEDS 
Grown From Select Stock 
— None Better —50 years 
selling seeds. Prices below all 
others. Buy and test. If not 
O.K. return and I will refund. 
Extra packets sent in all 
orders I fill. Send address for 
Big Catalogue illustrated with 
over 700 pictures of vegetables and 
flowers of every variety. 
R. H. SHUMWAY, Rockford, III 
SEED 
Timothy, Alfalfa, Clovers, Seed Oats, 
Seed Corn, Seed Grains and Grasses. 
Write today for Rohrer’g 1921 Catalog. It is 
FREE. Every bag of seed is guaranteed to 
please you. We specialize in the Best Seeds 
obtainable. Write for this book at once. Seed 
Samples free if you mention this paper. 
P. L. ROHRER & BRO. 
SMOKHTOWN, LANCASTER CO., PENNA. 
Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllillllll] 
Pedigreed 
WASHINGTON 
ASPARAGUS 
Seeds and Roots 
Our asparagus work is conducted 
under supervision of Professor J. 
B. Norton, the originator of the 
method of pedigree asparagus 
breeding and of the Washington 
Asparagus. Our stock grown in 
isolated region, thus absolutely 
pure and the best obtainable in 
breeding and quality. 
Write for our bulletin on 
asparagus growing and price 
list. Orders filled promptly. 
Pedigreed Seed Company 
HARTSVILLE, S. C 
Dependable SEED CORN j iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii 
BUY HIGH QUALITY LUCE* FAVORITE 
SEED CORN AND NINETY DAY SEED CORN 
Grown on my farms, S3. 35 and S3 per bu. Re¬ 
spectively. Cash F. O IL.Fecomc. 
8. H. SMITH, Feconic, L. I., N. Y. 
For Sale-SEED POTATOES 
Improved Number Nines lead in productivity, uni¬ 
formity and freedom from disease. Hied by tuner unit 
method since 1911. We are of rering tins first ,-luss stock 
at #1.40 per bu.; f> bu.. *«.&<>; 10 bn.. *12. Cash with 
order This stock treated, sprayed and field inspected 
for disease. RILEY BRO*., Hcnnctt, New York 
Golden Orange Flint Seed Corn 
90 days; S3. 50 bu. Giant White Cap, yellow dent 
Fills silo with corn, not all stalks. Special price 
car lots Harry Vail, New Milford, Orange Co. f N. T. 
Buy Right-HIGH GRADE SEEDS 
WIL80N EARLY BOY BEANS $4.60 ; 20 l ush., $4.20. 
Red Clover. $13.80 Hush. Yellow Da .vers Onion Sets 
$2 60- 20 Bush., $2.26. UTTON 8 LATT0M, Inc., Georgetown, Del 
OTATO MAGAZINE 
3 Months Trial 
PUT DOLLARS IN TOUR POCKET 
I .earn how to grow and market 
table and seed potatoes at gi-enter 
profit. Send 25c for ,'i months to 
THE POTATO MAGAZINE 
City Hall Square Bldg. A, Chicago. III. 
SEED OATS 
Carloads or less. Swedish Select, Sensation, lHg 
Four and Silver Mine. Seedsmen, Farmers’ Associa¬ 
tions. tret onr low price in quantities. Samples free. 
THKO HURT & SONS, Melrose, Ohio 
Annual White Sweet Clover 
Guaranteed Seed of Hughes Variety 
Makes the growth i n one season that ordinary clov- 
ersdointwo. Writeat once before limited supply 
is exhausted. The DeGraff Food Co., DeGraff, O. 
rowed it frequently for a few weeks. 
Then the rows were marked out four feet 
apart each way. At every cross a forkful 
of well-rotted barnyard manure was 
placed. This material was actually mixed 
through the soil with forks, and finally 
a large flat hill was shaped up with a 
hoe. Of course, that was a laborious 
method, but labor was cheap those days, 
and the Bergen Co. farmer was rated 
by his' melon patch.. The seed was plant¬ 
ed with exacting care, and the second it 
began to come up the grower was there, 
ready to sift on a heavy dusting of wood 
ashes every day for' a month if necessary 
to drive away the striped cucumber 
beetles (erroneously called “yellow flies”). 
Furthermore, the trained eye of the alert 
melon-grower detected the first seedling 
destroyed by a cutworm. That cutworm 
was immediately “executed by hand.” 
Thus the insects were constantly subdued, 
the soil was cultivated and hoed carefully 
and frequently. The tender little seed¬ 
lings were not injured by hurriedly ap¬ 
plied fertilizer, by unchecked insects nor 
by slap-bang cultivation. They had ideal 
growing conditions; they started quickly 
and soon developed into strong, vigorous 
and prolific vines. Blight was unknown. 
Soil Preparation. —We like to plow 
down an old sod for cantaloupes, hut, like 
too many present-day farmers, we do not 
have it always. Then we use a field 
where there is a good cover crop. Before 
plowing we like to broadcast rough ma¬ 
nure or old hay. There is something 
about such stuff that cantaloupes “appre¬ 
ciate.” As soon in the Spring as the soil 
is in condition it is plowed, lined and re¬ 
harrowed. Deep rows are marked out 
five feet apart. A forkful of well-rotted 
barnvard manure is placed about every 
five feet along the row. Then with the 
use of a short-handled manure fork an 
operator quickly spreads the manure 
along in the furrow. This seems to be the 
easiest and quickest method of getting the 
manure evenly distributed. A high-grade 
potato fertilizer is then sown along the 
rows on top of the manure. The rows 
are ridged up with an asparagus ridger 
or little plow. Thus, by spreading the 
manure and fertilizer along the row, the 
developing crop will be assured a con¬ 
stant supply without a detrimental ex¬ 
cess in the beginning. 
seedlings are coming out. This process 
may enable the cantaloupes to come up 
better, or if they are up the work may 
answer the purpose of a quick hoeing. 
The next thing to do to drive away the 
striped beetles is to dust on a poison 
some morning while the seedlings are 
moist with dew and before a breeze be¬ 
gins to blow. Delay is fatal. Don’t wait 
until damage is done. All kinds of ready¬ 
made mixtures and apparatus are on the 
market. However, we use a bushel of 
air-slaked lime, a pound of Paris green 
and a pound of arsenate of lead. Four 
pieces of mosquito netting the size of a 
red bandanna handkerchief are placed on 
top of each other, and a pint of the dust 
is placed in the center. The netting is 
then taken up by the corners and, after 
a little experience, the operator, can walk 
right along a row and give each hill a 
nice dusting. It is usually necessary to 
apply the dust three or four times at in¬ 
tervals of a few days. 
Preventing Wilt. —Strange as it may 
seem, the “yellow flies” (striped cucum¬ 
ber beetles) carry the wilt disease and 
infect the tiny seedlings. As the" plants 
grow the disease develops, and finally 
causes the vines to wilt and die. By pre¬ 
venting the work of the “yellow flies” we 
prevent the wilt. Why not? By clean¬ 
ing out mosquitoes in the Panama Canal 
section the workers were protected from 
infection with that dreaded tropical dis¬ 
ease known as yellow fever. 
Destroying the Cutworm. —The oth¬ 
er destructive enemy of the seedlings is 
the cutworm. They can easily be killed 
by applying an attractive poison bait. It 
is made up of 40 lbs. wheat bran and 1 
lb. Paris green mixed together. A quart 
of molasses and the juice of six lemons 
is mixed in two or three gallons of water. 
This solution is used to moisten (not 
soak) the mixture of bran and Paris 
green. This is sufficient for an acre. We 
sow it broadcast some warm evening, just 
before the melons come up. At night the 
cutworms crawl around on top of the 
ground and quickly find the fatal dose. 
By this method the infestation of cut¬ 
worms is cleaned out before it does any 
damage. Cultivation is given about every 
10 days until the vines prevent. When 
the plants have their second '‘pair of true 
leaves they are thinned to two in a hill. 
R. W. DE BAUN. 
