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The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
February  10.  1928 
Making  a  Job  on  a  Farm 
I  am  a  man  of  50,  once  farmer,  carpenter  and  miner 
in  Colorado,  since  a  printer,  and  about  to  go  back  to 
the  land.  I  have  bought  a  00-acre  farm  in  Greene 
County,  N.  Y.,  in  a  section  where  there  are  few  if  any 
good  farms.  This  is  an  old  farm  and  the  best  of  the 
district,  but  has  been  abandoned  for  several  years.  It 
is  knee  deep  in  clover  and  Timothy,  and  the  small 
orchard  has  good  apples,  remarkably  free  from  blemish. 
There  are  three  streams,  good  meadow,  fair  plow  land 
and  30  acres  of  line  timber,  some  2  and  3  ft.  in  diameter 
(oak.  pine  and  chestnut). 
I  have  orders  to  build  three  bungalows  on  farm  for 
Summer  residents  on  lease — people  I  know — and  design 
a  Summer  camp  for  a  few  families,  besides.  I  plan  to 
sell  truck,  eggs,  milk  and  chickens  to  Summer  resorters 
on  farm  and  in  region.  There  is  a  local  sawmill  a  short 
haul  away,  which  charges  $7.50  per  1,000  board  feet  for 
sawing  any  dimension.  The  mill  will  also  buy  my  logs 
for  lumber  and  stuff  for  barrel  making,  but  I  don’t  know 
what  basis  to  compute  prices  on.  Where  can  I  buy 
feeder  calves  and  pigs  (either  weanlings  or  just  on 
pasture)?  Can  1  butcher  my  calves  and  pigs  on  farm 
and  sell  the  meat,  or  must  I  have  inspection  of  same? 
How  to  notify  inspection  is  wanted?  What  sort  of  saw 
can  I  use  for  lumber?  What  should  I  do  about  clean¬ 
ing  the  old  well  to  make  it  safe  for  use?  It  is  a  dug 
well  and  has  a  good  reputation,  but  unused  for  years. 
New  York.  s.  n.  w. 
the  same  time  as  manure:  also,  that  one  should  use 
lime  in  seeding  to  clover.  I  read  that  the  best  time  to 
apply  lime  is  in  the  Fall  after  plowing,  and  leave  it 
over  Winter,  but  this  will  not  be  plowed  until  Spring. 
Massachusetts.  J.  b.  t. 
We  should  spread  the  compost  and  plow  it  under. 
Then  plant  potatoes  and  use  the  fertilizer  in  hill  or 
drill.  Never  use  lime  when  planting  potatoes,  is  a 
good  rule  to  follow.  It  is  not  likely  that  lime  will 
increase  the  potato  crop,  while  it  will  be  quite  sure 
to  increase  the  scab  disease.  As  for  using  lime  with 
Pruning  'he  young 
stone.  The  real  object  in  using  lime  is  not  to  supply- 
plant  food  so  much  as  to  act  on  the  soil  chemically. 
If  this  marble  dust  can  be  had  without  cost,  we 
should,  by  all  means,  use  it — up  to  the  labor  economy 
of  hauling  it.  We  should  spread  it  mostly  on  grass 
and  clover. 
Fruit  Trees  on  Muck  Land 
Will  fruit  trees  grow  on  muck?  I  have  bought  10 
acres  of  it,  and  understand  vegetable  growing.  The 
muck  I  have  secured  has  second  growth  timber  on  it. 
such  as  elms  and  sugar  maples,  and  the  soil  runs  from 
10  to  20  ft.  deep.  I  wanted  to  set  out  just  enough  fruit 
for  my  own  use.  g.  e.  s. 
Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Muck  lands  have  been  formed  by  an  accumulation 
of  plants  or  other  organic  materials.  An  excessive 
amount  of  moisture  has  prevented  its  decay,  and 
the  result  is  a  layer  of  this  undecomposed  organic 
matter,  varying  in  depth  anywhere  from  2  to  50.  el¬ 
even  100  ft.  Muck  is  notoriously  low  in  mineral  ele¬ 
ments  and  available  nitrogen,  though  because  of  its 
ease  in  working  and  readiness  of  drainage,  it  has  be¬ 
come  valuable  for  truck  crops. 
THIS  man  seems  to  have  his  plans  well  laid,  lie 
will  make  use  of  his  skill  as  a  carpenter  to  help 
out  his  farming;  a  wise  plan,  that.  Then  he  seems 
to  have  no  illusions  about  growing  great  crops  and 
spending  a  small  fortune  for  equipment  and  fer¬ 
tilizer.  With  an  abundance  of  pasture  lie  can  fatten 
calves  and  pigs  and  develop  a  home  trade,  thus 
organizing  a  business  cheaper  than  could  be  done  by 
plowing  his  meadows  and  trying  to  raise  crops.  As 
to  the  questions: 
We  think  you  can  buy  all  the  calves  and  pigs  you 
need  from  local  farmers  and  dairymen.  We  should 
advertise  in  the  local  papers  and  also  in  Kingston 
and  Catskill.  We  have  found  good  stock  in  this 
way.  The  calves  offered  you  may  not  be  large 
enough  for  your  purpose,  but  you  can  probably  get 
all  you  need  in  Albany. 
Very  likely  a  small  advertisement  in  our  Sub¬ 
scribers’  Exchange  department  will  locate  some  one 
who  has  a  sawing  outfit  for  sale.  You  can  find  prac¬ 
tically  everything  in  that  department. 
A  farmer  is  permitted  to  butcher  and  sell  calves 
and  pigs  of  his  own  raising  without  inspection. 
There  is  a  local  ordinance  in  New  York  City  which 
compels  inspection  of  carcasses  sent  here.  If  you 
buy  and  sell  you  will  probably  be  ranked  as  a 
butcher.  Better  write  the  Department  of  Farms  and 
Markets  at  Albany,  tell  them  just  what  you  expect 
to  do,  and  get  a  ruling  from  them. 
Put  a  windlass  with  rope  and  bucket  over  the 
well.  Before  you  go  down  put  a  lighted  lantern  at 
the  end  of  a  rope  and  lower  it  down.  If  the  lantern 
keeps  burning  it  is  safe  for  you  to  go  down.  If  the 
flame  goes  out  there  is  carbonic  acid  gas  at  the  bot¬ 
tom  which  might  poison  you.  If  the  lantern  goes 
out  put  down  a  bucket  pump  and  work*  it  so  as  to 
mix  up  the  air,  or  put  several  bags  at  the  end  of  a 
rope  and  churn  them  up  and  down  through  the  air 
in  the  well.  When  it  is  safe  go  down  and  dig  out 
the  dirt  and  foul  stuff  at  the  bottom  of  the  well, 
pulling  it  out  with  the  bucket.  Pump  the  water  out 
several  times  until  it  runs  clear,  and  drop  down  a 
quantity  of  hot  charcoal. 
Various  Farm  Problems 
Does  Rye  Make  Good  Hay? 
Wo  have  a  lot  of  rye,  about  30  bushels  sowing,  and 
last  year  we  had  about  the  same.  By  the  time  we  bad 
it  thrashed,  and  all  the  labor  together,  we  were  in  debt. 
Is  green  rye  good  for  hay?  If  so,  we  are  going  to  cut 
it  and  make  bay  of  it;  and,  if  not,  we  will  let  it  go  and 
reap  it.  _  vr.  ,t. 
Livingston,  N.  Y. 
E  have  used  a  good  deal  of  green  rye  hay.  It 
is  the  poorest  of  all  the  grain  hays;  that  is, 
hays  made  from  green  grain,  because  the  stems  are 
hard  and  tough.  Our  stock  eat  it  but  it  cannot  be 
said  that  they  like  it.  Most  farmers  make  the  mis¬ 
take  of  letting  the  rye  stand  too  long.  When  the 
conditions  are  just  right  the  plants  will  nearly 
double  in  size  in  a  week,  and  it  is  hard  to  resist  the 
temptation  to  let  it  grow  and  make  a  big  yield.  For 
best  hay  it  should  be  cut  before  the  head  forms.  It 
will  then  be  2  to  3  ft.  high.  By  the  time  the  head 
is  well  formed  the  stalks  are  tough.  We  should  cut 
for  hay  before  the  head  forms,  and  thus  save  cost 
of  harvesting,  binding  and  thrashing — if  we  had 
stock  to  eat,  the  hay. 
Best  Time  to  Apply  Lime 
I  have  a  piece  of  land  in  sod  that  I  intend  to  break 
up  next  Spring  and  plant  in  potatoes  and  corn,  mainly. 
I  have  quite  a  large  pile  of  seaweed  (or  eel  grass), 
leaves,  etc.,  that  by  Spring  will  be  fairly  well  rotted, 
that  I  shall  plow  in.  In  the  Fall,  after  the  crop  is  har¬ 
vested,  I  shall  cross-plow,  manure,  and  sow  down  to 
Red-top  and  Alsike  clover,  as  it  is  a  low,  wet  piece,  and 
no  chance  to  drain.  I  shall  use  fertilizer  harrowed  in, 
as  well  as  the  compost  plowed  in.  I  wish  to  use  some 
lime  and  I  have  read  that  one  should  not  use  lime  at 
manure,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  mix  them  together 
above  ground  or  exposed  to  the  air.  One  action  of 
the  lime  would  be  to  set  free  some  of  the  nitrogen 
in  the  manure.  When  the  manure  is  plowed  into 
the  ground  there  is  no  sound  objection  to  spreading 
.the  lime  and  harrowing  it  in.  In  case  the  lime  did 
act  upon  the  manure,  the  ammonia,  thus  set  free, 
would  be  absorbed  and  held  in  the  soil.  After  the 
potatoes  are  dug  you  can  fit  the  soil  right,  put  in  the 
lime  and  seed  to  grass  and  clover. 
The  Use  of  Marble  Dust 
Some  time  within  a  year  I  read  in  your  paper  an 
article  on  lime.  This  author  mentioned  marble  dust.  I 
can  get  quarry  muck  within  an  eighth  of  a  mile  without 
Here  we  have  a  picture  showing  one  of  the  giant  red¬ 
wood  trees  on  the  Pacific  coast,  utilized  as  a  barn.  The 
lower  part  of  the  tree  has  decayed,  making  an  opening 
large  enough  to  shelter  horses.  It  is  said  that  these 
redwood  trees  are  the  oldest  of  living  plants,  its  well 
as  the  largest. 
cost.  I  do  not  believe* my  land  sour,  for  all  our  water 
is  hard,  and  clover  grows  well.  But  if  marble  dust  is 
an  available  plant  food,  would  it  pay  me  to  feed  my  hay 
laud  by  top-dressing?  Would  it  be  better  for  me  to  use 
acid  to  free  the  marble?  u.  H.  w. 
Vermont. 
Marble  dust  cannot  be  called  “an  available  plant 
food.”  Usually  it  is  not  as  available  as  ground  lime¬ 
Now  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  if  the  muck  is 
deep,  or  the  water  table  high,  the  relatively  deep¬ 
rooting  trees  will  not  be  able  to  get  a  good  foothold, 
or  will  die  from  wet  feet.  In  fact,  trees  growing  in 
muck  have  been  reported  easily  blown  over.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  muck  is  shallow  and  the  soil  be¬ 
neath  is  good — though  it  is  more  apt  to  be  a  heavy 
clay  or  some  other  impervious  substance — then  fruit 
trees  might  grow  well.  In  the  main,  fruit  trees  will 
not  be  found  doing  well  on  muck.  An  orchard  near 
muck  land  is  reported  which  ran  down  to  the  muck 
area ;  the  trees  were  dead  or  dwarfed  in  proximity 
to  the  muck.  If  you  decide  to  try  the  experiment  for 
yourself,  pick  the  highest,  best-drained  spot.  Straw¬ 
berries  often  do  well  on  muck.  ir.  b.  t. 
Alfalfa  Needs  Open  Land 
We  have  about  20  acres  of  flat  land  underlaid  with 
clay,  with  about  one  foot  of  soil.  Would  it  grow  Al¬ 
falfa?  It  is  good  for  clover  and  Timothy,  but  have 
never  tried  Alfalfa.  e.  j.  b. 
Pennsylvania. 
This  is  not  good  Alfalfa  land.  With  good  under¬ 
drainage  and  subsoiling — that  is,  breaking  up  the 
clay  subsoil  beneath  the  ordinary  furrow — it  might 
produce  a  fair  crop  for  a  few  years.  Alfalfa  is  a 
deep-rooted  plant  and  does  best  in  an  open  soil  with¬ 
out  hardpan,  where  the  roots  can  work  down  deep, 
it  might  produce  Alfalfa  which  would  live  as  long  as 
clover,  but  for  a  permanent  Alfalfa  crop  there 
should  be  a  more  open  subsoil. 
Fish  as  a  Fertilizer 
What  is  the  chemical  value  of  fish  as  a  fertilizer? 
Are  fish  of  no  food  value  along  the  coast  being  con¬ 
verted  into  this  use,  and,  if  so.  to  what  approximate 
extent,  and  how  prepared?  D.  c.  s. 
Pennsylvania. 
•Fish  contain  considerable  nitrogen  and  phos¬ 
phoric  acid,  but  no  potash.  The  fish  will  run  all 
the  way  from  3  to  7  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  depending 
upon  the  amount  of  water.  The  ordinary  fish  fer¬ 
tilizer  is  taken  from  fish  that  are  cooked  and  pressed 
to  crush  out  the  oil.  Then  what  is  left  is  dried  and 
ground  into  meal.  Refuse,  or  fish  of  no  food  value, 
can  be  used  in  various  ways.  Some  farmers  spread 
it  right  on  the  soil  and  plow  it  under  for  corn.  This 
raw  fish  is  likely  to  sour  the  ground,  and  it  is  well  to 
use  limestone  with  it.  The  fish  is  sometimes  spread 
out  and  covered  with  land  plaster  or  gypsum.  This 
dries  it  out  and  prevents  decay  to  some  extent.  Or 
the  fish  can  be  mixed  into  the  manure  pile  or  com¬ 
post  heap  and  left  for  several  months  to  ferment. 
Where  there  is  a  good  supply  of  horse  manure  in  the 
pile,  the  fish  will  be  well  broken  up  and  fitted  for 
the  manure.  The  thing  to  remember  about  fish  is 
that  it  supplies  nitrogen  and  phosphorus,  but  needs 
potash,  especially  on  light  soils. 
New  Jersey  Poultry  Outlook 
HEN  the  New  Jersey  poultrymen  began  their 
campaign  for  egg-laying  contests  one  prom¬ 
inent  argument  was  that  these  contests,  properly 
conducted,  would  stimulate  the  poultry  business  and 
increase  egg  production.  Events  have  shown'  that 
this  argument  was  sound.  New  Jersey  is  rapidly 
coming  to  the  front  as  an  egg  State.  The  business 
has  been  both  stimulated  and  organized.  Both  Vine- 
land  and  Westwood  are  becoming  headquarters  for 
poultrymen,  and  there  is  to  be  a  still  greater  devel¬ 
opment.  In  the  future  both  of  these  towns  are 
likely  to  follow  the  development  of  Petaluma,  Cal., 
and  become  great  shipping  points  for  eggs.  They 
will  have  the  advantage  of  being  close  to  market. 
There  is  now  to  be  started  a  new  poultry  contest,  in 
which  the  birds  will  be  compared  on  the  basis  of 
their  value  for  meat  production, 
