‘Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1051 
very tightly and sew firmly to the sides of the basket, 
taking special care at the corners and over the 
handles. If the top is not tight the cork will settle 
51 nd the cloth will become slack, permitting the eggs 
to jar. The handles should he tied tightly together 
so that nothing heavy can be put on top. Mark 
the basket plainly: “EGGS FOll HATCHING— 
HANDLE WITH CARE.” If the eggs are packed 
carefully, they will travel almost any distance and 
will be in good condition. We shipped eggs from 
Michigan to Southern Florida and the customer 
hatched 10 out of 13. 
EDUCATING BUYERS.—I have said that you 
must have something which the public wants or can 
he made to want. By that I mean something which 
it is to their advantage to buy, but the value of which 
they do not yet realize. For many years we had 
hud good success with ducks and chickens, but had 
never tried any other kind of poultry. A few years 
ago wo got some White Chinese geese, and very soon 
realized their value. There was little market for 
them, however, as no one near here kept geese. The 
problem then was to make people want them. In 
just five years the goose orders have increased so 
much that the supply never meets the demand, and 
we have to return a large number of orders for both 
stock and eggs each season. Tf one is not willing to 
write countless letters and to take the trouble neces¬ 
sary to pack and ship either produce or stock, he 
would better not attempt to sell by mail. On the 
other hand, if one has the ability to write a good 
letter and advertisement, sis well as to ship things so 
that they reach their destination safely, the fund 
which he may cover is almost unlimited and the 
returns are most satisfactory. 
ESTHER MARIE UETTS. 
the time required for the two different plants to ma¬ 
ture. The old-fashioned Sweet clover requires two 
years for seed-maldng and maturity. The Ilubam 
clover is seeded in the Spring, makes its full develop¬ 
ment of plant and seed in one season, frequently 
growing as large in four months of growth its the 
old-fashioned clover does in two years. 
Killing Canada Thistle 
Can you tell me how to get. rid of horse nettle and 
Canada thistle? c. w. 
Where there is only si small quantity of the weed, 
hand-cutting will prove the surest plan. With a 
spade or sharp spud cut Off the riots about three 
inches below the ground. This is only practical on a 
small scale, and when the field is badly infested the 
hand work would not be practical in these days of 
high-priced labor. In some cases continued clipping 
of a part above ground with a mowing machine so 
Lime and Fertilizer Notes 
Lime and Fertilizer on Meadow 
I have a lmyfield on the top of .a hill on which there 
is Timothy and some Iled-top. and the yield is unsatis¬ 
factory. Would it lie possible to sow Alfalfa broadcsist 
on that piece and to lime it and expect the Alfalfa to 
take root? Is liming better done in I lie Spring <.r Fall ? 
If I put a commercial fertilizer on the hayfield. should it 
lie done in the Fall or after the frost is out of the ground 
in the Spring? H. s. u. 
New York. 
It is possible tiiat some <>f the Alfalfa might start 
if seeded as you describe, but you will not get a 
creditable stand in that way. The young Alfalfa 
plants arc tender and easily smothered out, and the 
Timothy and Red-top would probably kill the Alfalfa. 
We have never been able to make a satisfactory seed¬ 
ing of this sort without fitting the soil properly. 
Ground limestone may he put on the land at any 
time. For use on a meadow we should prefer Fall 
application, and ground limestone will he heller tha t 
burned lime for such use. As for the fertilizer, it 
will depend on what you use. Acid phosphate and 
potash may well he used in the Fad. It is not likely 
that there will he any loss from such use. When 
nitrogen, and especially nitrate of soda, is used, we 
prefer to put it on in Spring. 
Sawdust and Manure; Sweet Clover 
Will sawdust used as an absorbent for liquid manure 
be injurious to the land? L can run (his liquid into a 
pit and absorb a greater part of it, with sawdust. I 
have read that sawdust will lose a great part of its 
acidity by mixing it with liquid ''rum the stable. I 
intend to store manure made during the Winter in a 
pit under a shed. Will it lose much nitrogen by fermen¬ 
tation during the Winter? I am tired of seeing il run 
to the creek during heavy rains. How does ilubam 
clover differ from tlm Sweet clover growing in the fields 
here in Maryland ? J. w. n. 
Yes, the plan you mention is practical, provided 
you do not use too much sawdust. The theory of 
this matter is about as follows: Sawdust and planer 
shavings contain acid which in large quantities is 
injurious to the soil. After these shavings are fully 
rotted or mixed with lime there will not he great 
trouble, but large quantities of fresh sawdust should 
not he used. Liquid manure is alkaline in its action, 
and when the shavings or sawdust are thoroughly 
soaked in this manure, the greater part of the .acid 
will be neutralized so that there will be no trouble 
in the soil. It would he a mistake to use too much 
sawdust; that is, more than could be thoroughly 
wetted by the liquid manure. Tf the proportions are 
right and the sawdust is thoroughly wet and put into 
Ibis pit with the manure over Winter, there will be 
very little trouble from the acid, hut if you use large 
quantities of the sawdust, too much for the liquid 
manure to decay thoroughly, you will he likely ro 
have had results when this manure is used. The 
plan of keeping the manure in a pit, provided it can¬ 
not ho hauled out every day, is a good one, and if 
you can go further and use ;!0 to 10 lbs. of ucid phos¬ 
phate with each ton of immure, you will find it a 
profitable practice. 
There is practically no difference between Ilubam 
clover and the old-fashioned Sweet clover, except in 
A Virgina Farm Girl 
One of our readers sends us the picture of a 
Virginia girl shown here. This is Miss Ruth F. 
Rouzie—a genuine farmer’s daughter—one of the 
sort you read about. She is raising the colt by 
hand, and she evidently has the colt well in hand. 
This young woman helps her parents on the farm 
when other help is scarce. She can drive the 
will not always greatly increase the quality and crop 
of the grass. It will help, but usually a small lot 
of nitrate of soda is also needed in order to make a 
first-class showing. The New York soils are often 
deficient in phosphorus, so that a quantity of acid 
phosphate, fine hope, or other form of phosphate 
will usually help. 
How to Handle Chicken Manure 
What is the best way to prepare hen manure, and 
how to use it? Whal are the crops for which it is best 
adapted? We have large quantities of it, but are not. 
sure we are using it to the best advantage. 
This question was unsigned, hut is one of many 
on the same subject, and at this season of the year 
it is evident that people are interested in handling 
this manure. Our own plan is to dry the manure 
a*- thoroughly as possible. This is done by using 
hind plaster, or gypsum, road dust, sifted coal ashes 
or some similar drying material, and the manure Is 
promptly scraped off the perches and stored in bar¬ 
rels or boxes under shelter. This generally leaves 
it in dry, hard chunks. When needed for use these 
chunks are crushed. This can ho done by putting 
them on a hard floor and beating with a spade or 
mallet. A small grinder would crush them properly. 
For ordinary use 700 pounds of the dried and 
sifted hen manure and 300 pounds of acid phosphate 
will make a good combination. ’This would he good 
for such crops as cabbage, grass or grain, fruit or 
most crops which make their main growth above 
ground. For potatoes or crops requiring a move 
complicated mixture, 700 pounds of chicken manure. 
300 pounds of acid phosphate and 50 each of nitrate 
of soda and muriate of potash till well mixed to¬ 
gether would make a good combination. 
The chief value of the chicken manure lies in the 
nitrogen il contains. Chicken manure is higher in 
this element than other forms of farm manure, and 
as a rule it is not desirable to use the chicken 
manure alone on ordinary crops. In case it is not 
possible to handle tlie manure in this way, it can he 
taken directly from the house and spread in the 
garden or on farm soil and plowed in. We should, 
.however, in any event, use the acid phosphate with 
the manure, as this will greatly increase its value 
for crop producing. In fact, it is a mistake to use 
any form of farm manure without the addition of 
phosphorus in some way. 
binder, shock wheat, harrow in front of the drill 
and, being a natural hand with horses, she is able 
tc work almost any sort of horse machinery. In 
former years we heard much about this type of 
farmer’s daughter. They are not advertised now 
as they formerly were, but there are still plenty 
of them. N. T. S. 
as to prevent any growth will kill out most of the 
weeds. Wlnm the field is badly infested, however, 
the safest way is to clip off the plants and rake :ind 
liiirn them, then plow the ground and plant some 
hoed crop, like corn or potatoes, and give them the 
most thorough culture through the season with both 
cultivator and hoe. 
Using Lime on Pasture 
A farm paper says that lime applied to moss in pas¬ 
ture will kill the moss. Would ashes have that, effect? 
The land lias too many stones for plowing. K. s. n. 
The free use of lime will destroy much of the old 
moss we find growing in pastures. If. will not de¬ 
stroy all of it unless the pastures can he plowed or 
broken up so -that the lime can he thoroughly worked 
in. T to-“stone scattered on top will help, however, 
and it i> an excellent, practice to use if. Wood ashes 
cot tain usually about 50 tier cent of lime, and to 
tlm extent they will help in this work. The potash 
in the wood ashes is in a carbonate form, and also 
has some effect in sweetening sour land. The moss 
that we see on those pastures is often the indication 
of a very sour soil. The use of ashes or lime alone 
Value of Silage Corn 
Can y<m give me the rule for figuring the value of 
silage corn when ready l<> harvest, ears to remain on 
stalks. Luce’s Favorite, rows drilled liS inches apart? It 
has a very good stand at present writing. t.. E. N. 
New York. 
We have never known of a case where such values 
were figured out, and it would be rather difficult to 
make a fair showing. Tin* value of silage is gener¬ 
ally comparative. In most eases it is figured at 
about 55 per cent ton for ton of the value of hay in 
the mow: that is. if such hay is worth .$20 a ton, a 
ton of silage would he valued at $7; or if the hay 
wen* worth $50. the silage would be worth $10,50. 
That is probably as fair a basis of figuring as we 
are likely to got. As for the comparative value of 
a ton of growing corn and a ton of silage, we have 
nc.vor seen that figured out. With standing grass 
the usual figure is one-third of the value of the hay; 
that is, if hay were worth $50 in the local market, 
the man who bought the standing grass would make 
as good an estimate as he could, and then expect to 
pay about $10 for the grass which would make one 
ton of hay. In the case of the green corn, we should 
consider that it would be worth about half the 
value when cut into the silo. No one can tell what 
such corn will produce, but probably about 12 tons 
to the acre would be a fair estimate. It may lie 
possible to figure out a reasonable price from this 
data. Some of our readers may have had just such 
a case, and if so we would like to hear from them. 
It is rather a new proposition, however, and we have 
p.o exilet record to cover it. 
Transplanting Hubam Clover 
Would it be possible to raise some of the Ilubam 
clover in a cold frame next Spring, then transplant to 
the garden in the Spring and cultivate so as to produce 
more seeds? J. M. I.. 
New York. 
ES, that it quite frequently done, and av i 11 pay 
while the seed is high in price. The trans¬ 
planted plants make a large growth and seed heavily. 
We have a number of requests for information about 
harvesting small quantities of this clover seed. We 
let the seeds ripen well on the plant, then cut it care¬ 
fully and throw on a sheet or blanket spread on the 
ground. Beat the seed off on this sheet with a stick 
or strip it off with the fingers, and dry it thoroughly. 
