170 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 2, 1924 
Scott’s Field Seed Book 
1 Ef! 
Tv, 
tl HOW TO KNOW 
| GOOD SEED _ 
SWEET CLOVER 
iflJIIMif 
—- — 
Send today for your copy 
of this valuable book. 
Read what a successful farmer 
says of it:—“I feel under ob¬ 
ligation to you for the instruc¬ 
tion and pleasure afforded by 
the privilege of reading your 
seed book. Plain presentation 
of facts crowd every page.” 
O. M. Scott & Sons Co. 
Marysville, Ohio. 
12 8th Street 
mm 
SEEDS 
SULPHUR 
“BROOKLYN 
BRAND” 
COMMERCIAL FLOUR SULPHUR, 99-^% pure, for spraying and 
insecticide purposes. 
SUPERFINE COMMERCIAL FLOUR SULPHUR, 99/ 2 % pure j f or dusting 
• ••••• / 
FLOWERS OF SULPHUR, 100% pure 
u 
purposes 
branT AM. CRUDE SALTPETRE 
for Better, Bigger and More Fruit. Also Crude Nitrate Soda. 
BATTELLE & RENWICK, 80 Maiden Lane, New York 
Dept. “B’ 
Write for Prices and Booklet 
SEEDS THATSUCCEED 
Direct from the Nation’s Capitol. Send for 
our Big Catalogue in color. Now ready. Ab¬ 
solutely free. 
SEND lO CENTS 
And we will include 1 pkt., each:— 
Dwraf Mixed Nasturtiums, Fealherbloom Asters, 
Giant, Flowered Zinnias, Scarlet Globe Radish, 
Masterpiece Lettuce, Bolgiano Tomato, 
Don’t Delay. Send Today. 
F.WBOLGIANO & CO, 
1022 B St., Washington, D. C. 
Send 
/cataiog 
Certified Seed Potatoes 
A. G. Aldridge Sons « - 
Established 1889 
Catalog Free. 
Fishers, Ji. V. 
Farm Co-operation 
is a protest against the monopoly 
and other oppressive methods of 
organized distributors and the 
capital stock companies. Can 
farmers afford to adopt the policies 
in their own organizations that 
they denounce in others ? 
Be Sure Your Clover Is 
American Grown 
| and check up on these Field Ssed Prices. 
RED CLOVER — Metcalf’s recleaned, 
medium, guaranteed.American grown; 
per bu. of 60-lb.$1 7.BO 
ALSIKE—Metcalf’s recleaned; per bu. 
of 60-lb.. St2.00 
SWEET CLOVER—Metcalf’s Scarified 
White Blossom; perbu. of 60-lb Sl 1.BO 
TIMOTHY—Metcalf’s recleaned; per 
bu. of 45-lb.$ 4.70 
Other Metcalf Specials: 
Include Telephone, Aldermnn and Thomas Laxton 
Pens, Alberta Cluster Oats and reeleaned Timothy 
and Alsike, 20% AUtke. 
Bags free —freight prepaid on 250 lbs. 
Write today for free catalog illustrating the value, quality 
arf& service offered you in field seeds and farm supplies 
by the mail order department of the Metcalf stores. 
Your banker will gladly tell you aboutour responsibility 
B. F. Metcalf & Son, 202-204 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, N. Y. 
Vi 
ORGANIZED 
COOPERATION 
By 
JOHN J. DILLON 
T HIS SUBJECT is treated fully 
but concisely in the new book, 
“Organized Co-operation.” Farmers 
must understand these questions if 
they are to direct their own organiza¬ 
tions, and no organization can be 
co-operative unless the members direct 
it themselves. 
The book will be sent 
postpaid for $1.00 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th Street, New York 
Quaker Hill Farm 
CERTIFIED RUSSETS 
Outyield Ordinary Seed Potatoes 
by 50 to 150 Bushels Per Acre 
1. Practically 100% disease free. 
t. Selected by hill unit system for five years. 
' 8. Green up to digging time. 
4. Grown in a northern climate 
and. stored at 33» to 40o Ft. all 
winter. 
More profits to you from 
UL AKEIt HILL Farm Seeds 
Write Today for Description, 
Records and Prices 
K. C. LIVERMORE 
Quaker Hill Farm 
Box R, Honeoye Falls, N. Y. 
'Of\ ft- Drnu. Very choice colors and 
JV I l. r\OW \shades. Bargain. Enough 
\to plant 30 ft. row. Every 
customer MUST be satis¬ 
fied. Illustrated catalog 
Seeds. Plants, Fruits, 
Trees, FREE. 71 years in 
business. Write today. 
SPRING HILL NURSERIES 
Box 79 Tippecanoe City, 
CATALOG^ (Miami Oo.) Ohio. 
FRE 
Your Cabbage Crop Increased 
Genuine imported Danish seeds will in¬ 
crease your yields of cabbage, cauliflower, 
spinach, etc. Write for proof. Valuable 
free booklet tells you famous high 
yielding methods. Practical informa¬ 
tion from a man who has made Danish 
crops hislifework. Send a postal today, 
M. KLITGORD kW er °’ Dan L?MAf n^y. 
Hovy 
L°Gi-ow 
S etter . 
Poultry in Sprayed Orchard 
I have an orchard of about 100 large 
apple trees which has been kept in sod 
for a number of years. I am planning 
to plow it early next Spring and sow to 
rape, and later when the rape gets a good 
start let about 1.000 White Leghorn 
chickens run in it. Do you think enough 
of the spray material will find its way 
into the chickens to poison them? On a 
planting of 2,000 apple trees, and with¬ 
out taking into consideration the first 
cost of trees, would you advise planting 
one or two-year-old trees? j. A. w. 
No, we do not think there would be 
great danger. The most effective spray¬ 
ing will be done before the rape is large. 
We have never had any trouble of this 
sort either from spray or dust, and chick¬ 
ens and geese are confined to the orchard. 
It might be possible to handle the spray 
so carelessly that stock would get too 
much of it. In cases where loss is re¬ 
ported to us we have found that the dregs 
of the tank were blown off on the ground, 
or the nozzle left on the ground 
while the pump was working. This left 
a puddle of spray material. Many ani¬ 
mals seem to have a craving for such 
stuff. With ordinary care we do not 
think there would be danger. We prefer 
a good two-year-okl tree. 
Alfalfa in Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
The Alfalfa Belt. —Several times in 
the last 15 years the writer has reported 
to Tiie R. N.-Y. the results of his investi¬ 
gations of the Alfalfa-growing situation 
in the region around Syracuse, N. Y., 
which is not 'far from the middle of the 
‘Alfalfa belt” of Central New York. An¬ 
other examination of the field has just 
been completed, and it is hoped that a 
brief statement of the results will be of 
interest to its readers. 
Methods of Production. —Most of the 
growers interviewed have been handling 
Alfalfa for 20 years, and a few for 30 
The area given it on their farms 
tings formerly gave, and more material is 
left to protect the roots in the Winter. 
But sometimes it is better to'cut three 
times. Such a case was seen in a field 
from which two crops had been taken, but 
on quite an area the later growth meas¬ 
ured 3 ft. in height. This was on rich 
land, and it is probable that underground 
springs furnished a large and constant 
supply of water. In curing Alfalfa the 
tedder is used to some extent, but it lias 
the fault of breaking off many of the 
leaves. Only a little Alfalfa is cured in 
the cock, and hay caps are generally re¬ 
garded as too troublesome and expensive. 
The side-delivery rake and hay loader are 
in common use. Some Alfalfa is stacked, 
but most of it is stored in barns and 
sheds. The yield of the first cutting last 
year was good, but a severe drought re¬ 
duced that of the second. 
Gutting in the New Moon. —It is 
interesting to recall the fact that in my 
investigation several years ago a veteran 
grower was found who strongly advised 
against cutting Alfalfa when the moon 
is in the last quarter. Experience on his 
own farm and observation of fields be¬ 
longing to others had convinced him that 
cutting at this time would be injurious 
to the Alfalfa, and if persisted in would 
be ruinous. His opinion remains un¬ 
changed. No matter how fine the weath¬ 
er, or how ready the Alfalfa for harvest¬ 
ing,if these favorable conditions come in 
‘‘the old of the moon” the cutting is de¬ 
layed until the new moon appears. 
What Becomes of the Crop. —Alfalfa 
is grown for feeding on the farm, and also 
as a direct sale crop. Many of the grow¬ 
ers keep high-grade Holstein cows for pro¬ 
ducing milk. Their herds range in num¬ 
ber from a dozen to 25 cows, and on one 
farm it reaches 00 and will soon be in¬ 
creased. Most of the large quantity of 
hay which they consume is Alfalfa. In¬ 
cidentally it may be noted that this is the 
banner county in the East for the produc¬ 
tion of Alfalfa, and that there are more 
Holstein cows within its limits than there 
are in Holland. A few of the Alfalfa 
growers who are also dairymen have milk 
routes in Syracuse, but the majority sell 
to concerns which manufacture various 
forms of dairy products, or to people who 
ship milk to New York. 
Use as Hay. —Most of the Alfalfa that 
years. 
ranges from 18 to 80 acres. The methods 
followed have a general x-esemblance, but is fed here.is used as hay, though some is 
there is a considerable variation in the de- used as green feed. Some growers give 
tails. In the majority of cases the Alfalfa the hay freely to horses, and regard it as 
sod is broken up every five to 10 years, the best, of feeds; others give it spar- 
On one large farm the rotation calls for a ingly, arid some will not feed it to horses 
seven-year term with Alfalfa. Several at all. Comparatively few Alfalfa fields 
growers let the sod remain until it gets are used for pasture. Many growers be- 
thin, or until there is an invasion of grass lieve that pasturing, especially when the 
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POTATO SPRAYER 
HIGH PRESSURE 
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ASPARAGUS ROOTS.1 yr. old. Washington, $15 per 1,000. Read- 
jngGiant.l yr. old,*101,000. Chirlei Wil letl. Cmcord Jet.. Mm. 
ROOT Grafts Sss’-’SK 
Grow trees yourself. 
Small outlay. Others succeeding. 100—S3.50 ; 
Hunter U E. Marine ^ Martinsburg, W. Va. 
Attention-Fruit Growers. “MICE-IDE” 
An effective remedy for field mice and rats. Invalu¬ 
able for orcliardlBt, farmers, etc. Made strictly accord¬ 
ing to U.S. Dept. Agriculture formula and recommenda¬ 
tions. Dealers and Agents wanted. Capitol Chemical 
Company, 3108 18th St.. N. W., Washington, 11. C. 
which to a considerable extent supplants 
the Alfalfa. In some cases this extends 
the time to 12 or 15 years. A very few 
fields have been down 20 years, but they 
are not in good condition. 
Seeding. —Most of the seeding is done 
in the Spring. With but few exceptions 
a nurse crop is provided. One grower 
seeds with peas, which are harvested and 
sold to a cannery ; a few seed with barley 
or wheat, but the common practice is to 
seed with oats, sown at the rate of from 
1% to 2 bu. per acre. The quantity of 
Alfalfa seed varies greatly. The major¬ 
ity use from eight to 10 quarts per acre, 
but a few sow as much as a half bushel. 
From two to four quarts of Timothy to 
the acre is usually added to the Alfalfa, 
and a few growers who have moist spots 
in their fields add some Alsike clover. 
Preparing Soil. —In most cases the 
land is manured for the preceding crops 
rather than when the Alfalfa is sown. 
There are a few exceptions, but as a rule 
after a sod is formed it is top-dressed 
with manure at intervals of from one to 
four or five years. The manure is applied 
with a spreader. The rate varies from 
five to six to 20 loads per acre, though 
but few of the growers use more than 
seven or eight loads, and the one who has 
used 20 loads will in future cut down the 
quantity about one-half. This is a strong 
limestone soil, and for a long time it was 
the universal belief that the application of 
lime, which in many places is absolutely 
essential to success with Alfalfa, would 
be of no benefit to the crop. Of late, 
however, opinion has been changing, and 
many growers are not sure that there is a 
sufficient quantity of lime in an imme¬ 
diately available form to insure the largest 
possible yield. As yet only a few have 
tested the matter, but those who have are 
pretty well agreed that the application of 
lime to their fields has been profitable. 
On one large farm it has been used at in¬ 
tervals of three years and at the rate of 
1,500 lbs. per acre. If ground rock is 
used the quantity is increased to four 
tons. On another farm, several miles dis¬ 
tant, the application last year of less than 
a ton per acre had a remarkable effect. 
In a field of the same kind of land, and 
in all other respects treated in the same 
way, lime was used on about one-half of 
the area. This Fall the Alfalfa was so 
much larger where the lime had been 
spread than it was on the unlimed part 
that the difference was apparent as far 
awav as the field could be clearly seen. 
Cutting and Curing. —Some growers 
mow the Alfalfa fields three times each 
Summer, -and a very few mow them four 
times, but there is a tendency.to reduce 
the number of cuttings to two. By mak¬ 
ing these a little further apart the quanti¬ 
ty of hay is almost as large as three cut- 
ground is wet, will injure the Alfalfa, and 
they do not think it is quite safe for the 
stock. Some tests on a small scale indi¬ 
cate that a good quality of silage can be 
made from Alfalfa. A good deal of Alfal¬ 
fa, principally of the first cutting, is sold 
loose in Syracuse, to be fed to team 
horses. Of the nearly 200 loads of hay 
that are weighed each month at the pub¬ 
lic market, a large proportion is mixed 
Alfalfa and Timothy. When Timothy 
brings $20, Alfalfa usually sells for $18 a 
ton. Most of the Alfalfa that is shipped 
is baled at the farms. Some is sold direct 
to dealers, but large quantities are re¬ 
ceived by an association which distributes 
it among buyers, who supply dairymen in 
the vicinity of large cities in New Eng¬ 
land, the territory around New York, and 
sometimes as far south as Virginia. 
Varieties.: —Much of the larger part of 
the Alfalfa grown here is of the common 
variety which has been the standard sort 
since the crop was introduced. The seed 
is “Northern grown,” and principally 
comes from Montana and South Dakota. 
Grimm has been tested on a good many 
farms, but mostly on a small scale. Some 
of the large dealers report the sale of seed 
of Grimm as not more than one-tenth that 
of the common variety, but one of them 
gives the proportion of Grimm as a little 
more than one-third. The price of Grimm 
seed is about double that of the other sort. 
Some growers say that they can see little 
difference in the yield of the two varieties, 
but they believe Grimm is to be preferred 
where the ground is very moist or is lia¬ 
ble to lie'aVe in the Spring. No enthusi¬ 
asm for Grimm was manifested, but it 
appears to be regarded rather favorably, 
and the sales of seed indicate that it is 
slowly gaining in popularity. 
For a Farm Crop. —As is the case with 
all other crops, Alfalfa varies with the 
soil, the season, and the methods of culti¬ 
vation ; but where conditions are fairly 
favorable, and it is properly managed, it 
is one of the most reliable products of the 
farm. In average seasons a yield of from 
three to five tons of excellent hay may 
reasonably 'be expected. As feed for the 
farm herd it is unexcelled, and for the 
surplus there is a good demand. Then, 
too, bv storing nitrogen from the -air, and 
by liberating mineral elements which are 
locked in the subsoil, Alfalfa is of great 
service in maintaining the productiveness 
of the land. Practically all the crops of 
this latitude thrive when they follow Al¬ 
falfa. and where it is grown the dairy in¬ 
dustry flourishes. Its influence for good 
is felt everywhere. The houses and barns, 
the fields and herds, and the prosperity of 
the community, unite in their witness to 
the value of Alfalfa as a crop for the 
farm. J. E. B. 
