D* RURAL NEW. YORKER 
533 
General Farm Topics 
Burning Off the Meadows 
I have purchased a farm, the owner 
of which was unable, ou account of the 
scarcity of help, to cut the hay the past 
season. The hay crop was a very heavy 
stand of Timothy. The farmer who has 
now moved on to the farm has been ad¬ 
vised by some of the neighbors to burn 
over the meadows; others tell him to let 
t K e old hay remain ; that by burning the 
meadow now he will kill the roots and 
destroy the seed that dropped from the 
last year’s crop, and that he will only 
have a crop of weeds. The meadows are 
on upland and are of recent seeding. 
What do you advise? j. J. G. 
The chief advantage from burning off 
such meadows is that they are cleaned. 
If the old grass is left it will be hard to 
cut close at haying time, for the dead 
trash will clog the mower knives. It is 
not likely that the burning will do any 
great damage if done at once, before the 
new growth starts. There will be some 
loss of fertility from the burning, but the 
ashes left will be promptly available. 
There will also be some loss in organic 
matter, and under ordinary conditions we 
should not burn. Where the entire grass 
crop was left we should burn in order to 
clear the ground. 
Figuring a Chemical Fertilizer 
Will you give me the number of pounds 
of nitrate of soda, muriate of potash or 
sulphate of potash, and 10 per cent aeid 
phosphate to make a 4-10-7 home-mixed 
fertilizer? F. J. M. 
Fort Hunter. N. Y. 
The usual plan for figuring this out is 
as follows: Suppose you wish to make 
a 3-8-10 fertilizer. That means three 
per cent of nitrogen, or 00 lbs. to the ton. 
eight per cent of phosphoric acid, or 100 
lbs., and 10 per cent of potash, or 200 lbs. 
Nitrate of soda averages 10 per cent of 
nitrogen, or 10 lbs. per 100. Thus in 
order to get 00 lbs. of nitrogen you must 
have 375 lbs. of nitrate. The acid phos¬ 
phate contains 10 lbs. of phosphorus to 
the 100. and thus in order to obtain 100 
lbs. you must have 1,000 lbs. of acid 
phosphate. Muriate of potash contains 
50 per cent of actual potash, so that 400 
lbs. of muriate are needed to supply 200 
lbs. of potash. Thus you need 375 lbs. 
nitrate of soda. 1,000 lbs. acid phosphate 
and 400 lbs. of muriate, or 1,775 in all. 
To make np the full ton we use 225 lbs. 
of “filler”—soil or plaster or ground lime¬ 
stone. To make the other fertilizer 
(4-10-7), you need 80 lbs. of nitrogen. 
200 lbe. phosphoric acid and 140 lbs. of 
potash. Figuring in the same way, you 
will need 500 lbs. nitrate of soda, 1,250 
lbs. acid phosphate and 280 lbs. muriate 
of potash, or 2,030 lbs. all told. When 
making these higher grade mixtures it is 
usually necessary to use some sulphate 
of ammonia or ground boue, which con¬ 
tain more plant food than nitrate or acid 
phosphate. 
Burning Lime 
One of my neighbors has an old lime¬ 
kiln, and plenty of nice lime rock ou his 
farm; we want to burn some of it to use 
on our land in the Spring. Can you give 
us any information in regard to pat-king 
and burning a kiln of lime, or tell us 
where we can get a book or bulletin on the 
subject? We would like to know how 
much to break up the rock, how to pack 
if. how much wood to put in and how 
long to burn it. C. H. H. 
Dixfield, Me. 
I do not know the technical name for 
the opening at the base of a limekiln, hut 
as we see them constructed in this section 
there is an aperture about three feet wi(\e 
by possibly four or five feet high. Right 
at the top of this opening there are sev¬ 
eral railroad rails placed about six inches 
apart to keep the stone from falling down 
too low. When starting to fill the kiln 
these rails are covered with rather large 
stone, laid in rather loosely, so as to allow 
the flame of the wood placed below to 
draw upward. This first layer of stone 
should be about one foot thick, then a 
layer of pea coal is thrown on top of the 
stone, and so on till the kiln is filled to 
the top. The layers of coal should be 
rather heavier at the bottom than at the 
top. The usual practice is to allow one 
ton of coal for 100 bu. of stone. It may 
require a cord or more of wood to gen¬ 
erate enough heat to ignite the coal prop- 
pei'ly, and after starting the- wood fire 
simply keep adding wood till you know 
the coal is burning freely. The stone 
should be broken up to a size smaller than 
a man’s head on down to the size of a 
fist. e. j. w. 
Close Identity of Strawberries 
For four or five years I have been 
growing the Premier strawberry, and be¬ 
lieve, along with many others who have 
tried it, that it is one of the best commer¬ 
cial varieties in cultivation. Last season 
I fruited Howard No. 17 for the first 
time, and found the two varieties to be 
very much alike, both in plant and fruit. 
So close is the resemblance that some 
growers have expressed a suspicion that 
they are identical. 
In an effort to get at the facts of this 
matter I wrote to the R. M. Kellogg Co., 
introducers of Premier, who replied that 
they received their first Premier plants 
from F. IT. Rield, of Illinois, in 1911. 
along with other random seedlings for 
trial. This variety came under label 
“Seedling No. 28.” and was introduced in 
1915 as Kellogg’s Premier. Three or 
four years later Howard No. 17 was sent 
out by ('. E. Chapman, of Connecticut, 
lie obtained his start of this variety from 
his State experiment station, where it 
had been sent for trial by its originator, 
Mr. II oward. of Massachusetts. So it 
would seem that even though these two 
strawberries may prove to be as much 
alike as two peas, they are really distinct 
varieties, and are entitled to their dif¬ 
ferent names. There are quite a number 
*of strawberries on the list that seem to 
have their doubles, and in some cases 
their distinct identity does not seem to 
have been established. The New York 
has been propagated under near a dozen 
synonyms. Gibson, Parson’s Beauty and 
Pocomoke all look much alike to me, and 
after trying for three or four years to 
discover the difference between Dunlap 
and Dr. Burrill I gave it up. 
Indiana. f. moffitt. 
Another case, somewhat different, is 
that of the .Toe strawberry. It origi. 
noted with E. D. Black, of Monmouth Co., 
N. .T., and is an excellent berry. It has 
been introduced by various parties as Big 
.Toe. Black .Toe and .Toe Johnson, and 
perhaps under other names which omit 
any reference to "Joe.” 
Inoculation for Clover and Alfalfa 
I would like to sow some Alfalfa seed 
in with clover and Timothy with oats, 
sowing with the drill, my object being to 
get some started in the field so as to sow 
to Alfalfa later. Should the seed be inoc¬ 
ulated? If, with some of the culture, 
would it be made ineffective by mixing 
and sowing with the other seed? Will it 
help or pay to inoculate Red clover seed 
in sections where Red clover thrives nat¬ 
urally? c.w.jr. 
IToosick Falls. N. Y. 
We think it a good plan to use a small 
quantity of Alfalfa seed whenever seed¬ 
ing to Red or Alsike clover. You cannot, 
of course, expect to get a full seeding in 
this way, but some of the Alfalfa will 
grow and thus help to prepare the soil for 
a full seeding later. We should certainly 
inoculate the seed, and it can be added to 
the clover and grass seed and all put in 
together. It is, of course, understood 
that the bacteria used on the Alfalfa is 
different from that on the clover. One 
cannot be substituted for the other. As 
for inoculating Red clover seed, we think 
it will pay, even in places where this 
clover grows well naturally. 
Better Mail Service Wanted 
I notice on page 135 the plea of 0. P. 
B. for help to get his mail brought across 
his farm. I am hoping some one will be 
able to help him, for by doing so he would 
help many others. If there is any would- 
be public official looking to the farmer for 
his vote lot him make a move to give the 
country people 100 per cent rural de¬ 
livery, and then watch himself grow in 
their estimation. There are many cross¬ 
roads without mail service which could 
be served by the present,carriers driving 
in and out again the difference of a half to 
one mile. Cannot some one start the ball 
rolling towards some plan for more com¬ 
plete rural mail service? It is one of the 
things “we must do ourselves.” 
E. m. w. 
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Compressed Air Spr 
AUTOMATIC 
BRASS 
NOZZLE 
THROWS 
LONG 
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FINE 
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^Banner 
COMPRESSED AIR SPRAYER 
Every Farm Needs It Daily— 
the Year Around 
Sprays trees, shrubs, potatoes and field 
crops for insects and fungus; sprays stables, 
pig and poultry pens; barn yards for lice 
and vermin and for disinfecting. Also can 
be used for whitewashing stables, poultry 
houses and fen' es. It’s handy too, for 
washing windows, buggies, autos and for 
spraying cattle. 
This sprayer is sturdy; tank is made of 
heavy brass or galvanized iron; capacity 
4 gallons. Pump is two inches in diameter, 
seamless brass; brass castings; nothing to 
rust, corrode or wear out. A few strokes 
and you have a strong pressure to deliver 
long-distance fine mist or coarse spray through 
the Automatic, Brass, Non-cloggable 
Nozzle. Does not waste liquids. Easily 
operated by man, woman or boy. 
The No. 22 Banner is built for long, hard 
service. Be sure and ask your dealer for it 
by name. 
1/ your dealer cannot supply you , write 
D. B. SMITH & CO., Manufacturers 
50 Genesee St., UTICA, N. Y. 
On sale in New York City at No. 98 Chambers St. 
Wo make 50 different styles and sizes of sprayers. If 
you are interested in smaller or larger sprayers send 
for catalog. 
FERTILIZERS 
We Recommend for 
Potatoes, General Trucking. Gardening 
Croxton Brand 
4-8-5 and 4-8-2 Mixtures ’ 
We also sell Haw Materials, carloads or 
less (ban carloads, as follows: 
NITRATE OF SODA 
SULPHATE OF AMMONIA AND 
PHOSPHATE 
BLOOD AND TANKAGE 
BONE MEAL 
MURIATE OF POTASH 
SULPHATE OF POTASH 
Address Dept. F 
H. J. FERTILIZER&CHEMICAL CO. 
Factory Croxton, Jersey City, N. J. 
Office, 60 Trinity Place, New York 
POULTRY BREEDING 
AND MANAGEMENT 
By JAMES DRYDEN 
A standard book by an eminent 
poultry authority. Price $2.00. 
For Sale by 
THE RURAL NEW YORKER 
333 West 30th St., New York City 
Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees? 
TT D0F8 if vnu list- HUBBARD’S BONE BASE 
A b ERTILIZERS—"s hundreds of prosperous 
apple growers will testify. Every season sees 
them picking extra p-ofits in the shape of big, 
plump, rosv-cheeked apples raised and ripened 
on HUBBARD'S BONE BASE FERTILIZERS. 
Send for 
“THE APPLE” 
It.’s a. free booklet 
—but. it. sure puts 
money on your 
apple trees! 
The Roger* A llnhbnrd Co., Dept. A, Middletown, Conn, 
HUBBARD S FERTILIZERS 
