‘Iht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1065 
A  Few  Fertilizer  Notes 
Potash  in  Wood  Ashes 
Early  in  the  Spring  I  burned  brush  piles  along  the 
fences  of  a  sod  field.  This  field  I  plowed  and  planted 
with  a  hard  variety  of  husking  corn.  Now  the  corn 
is  coming  out  in  top ;  where  the  brush  piles  were 
burned  the  corn  is  about  2  ft.  higher  than  the  rest  of 
the  field,  and  a  little  darker  green.  Was  it  the  potash 
or  the  action  of  the  heat  on  the  soil  that  made  the  im¬ 
provement  in  this  corn  where  the  brush  piles  were 
burned,  or  something  else?  0.  C.  b. 
Orange  Co.,  N.  Y. 
IT  was  the  ash.  It  contained  lime,  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid — the  most  useful  being  potash. 
That  is  evidently  what  deepened  the  color  and  in¬ 
creased  the  size  of  the  corn.  It  is  an  indication  that 
your  soil  needs  potash.  A  mixture  of  acid  phosphate 
and  muriate  of  potash  would  pay.  The  action  of 
fire  has  a  good  effect  upon  some  soils.  Cabbage  or 
tobacco  growers  sometime  burn  a  pile  of  brush  on 
the  spot  where  they  grow  seedling  plants.  The 
fire  sterilizes  the  soil  and  on  a  heavy  clay  will 
(break  up  and  crumble  it.  That  may  have  helped, 
but  the  chief  reason  for  the  growth  of  corn  is  the 
potash  in  the  ashes. 
Ground  Oyster  Shells  and  Lime 
Is  there  as  much  value  in  ground  oyster  shell  and 
lime  as  there  is  in  potash  and  lime?  One  of  the  lead¬ 
ing  seedsmen  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  recommended  ground 
oyster  shell  and  lime  instead  of  potash 
and  lime.  A.  W.  P. 
Rhode  Island. 
The  potash  and  lime  will  pay  bet¬ 
ter.  Ground  oyster  shells  are  much 
the  same  as  ground  limestone.  There 
may  be  a  small  amount  of  phosphoric 
acid,  but  to  use  the  shells  -would  be 
much  like  using  lime  with  lime.  The 
potash  will  pay  better. 
Limestone  for  Alfalfa 
I  have  eight  acres  I  desire  to  put  in 
Alfalfa  after  digging  early  potatoes.  1 
plan  to  lime  land  and  inoculate  seed. 
What  kind  of  lime  is  best  to  use,  burned 
lime  ground,  hydrated  lime  or  ground 
limestone?  What  is  the  difference  chem¬ 
ically  and  in  their  action?  J.  H.  w. 
New  Jersey. 
For  a  long-lived  crop  like  Alfalfa 
we  should  use  ground  limestone — one 
ton  to  the  acre.  The  burned  lime  is 
more  active  and  will  give  quicker 
chemical  action  in  the  soil,  but  the 
ground  limestone  will  give  more  per¬ 
manent  results.  You  should  use  twice 
as  much  of  the  (ground  limestone  as 
you  would  use  of  the  burned  lime. 
This,  of  course,  means  more  labor  but 
the  limestone  is  easier  to  handle  than 
the  burnt  lime.  The  ground  limestone  is  the  same 
chemically  as  lime  rock.  When  this  rock  is  thor¬ 
oughly  burned  the  carbonic  acid  is  driven  off.  What 
is  left  is  called  stone  lime  or  burned  lime.  When  ex¬ 
posed  to  water  this  lime  “slakes” — that  is  takes  up 
water  and-  is  then  called  slaked  lime. 
Fertilizer  for  Strawberries 
years  ago  is  operated  by  one  rope  and  it  carries 
forward  only  when  the  operator  pulls  the  rope,  re¬ 
leasing  immediately  if  the  rope  is  let  go.  We  think 
the  hoist  is  one  of  the  best  devices  to  save  labor 
in  haying  that  we  have.  It  is  operated  easily  by  a 
good  four  horsepower  gasoline  engine.  It  needs 
to  be  well  installed  and  made  solid  and  the  engine 
works  best  if  set  solidly  on  the  ground.  This  year 
it  has  been  necessary  to  use  the  same  engine  for 
milking>,  washing  and  handling  hay.  The  engine  is 
on  a  somewhat  wide  frame  of  planks,  and  is  easily 
hauled  by  a  horse  wherever  it  is  wanted.  It  will 
be  a  paying  project  to  get  a  hoist  ready  before  an¬ 
other  haying  season  comes  around.  h.  h.  l. 
What  Protection  for  the  Widow 
What  are  the  laws  of  New  York  State  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  Two  unmarried  brothers,  both  their  father  and 
mother  dead,  own  a  farm  together,  having  a  joint  deed 
as  legal  tenants  in  common.  The  one  brother  marries. 
1.  What  claim  has  his  wife  on  the  property  if  he  dies? 
2.  How  can  she  best  be  protected,  he  wanting  her  to 
have  his  entire  half  of  the  property?  3.  If  he  makes 
a  will,  to  that  effect,  will  it  hold?  4.  'If  the  will  is  made 
out  by  a  lawyer  are  witnesses  to  it  necessary?  5.  Is 
it  legal  if  the  lawyer  himself  and  his  stenographer  sign 
their  names  as  witnesses?  6.  If  the  wife  is  named 
executrix  must  she  know  the  contents  of  the  will  or  be 
notified  of  her  appointment  if  she  is  not  present  when 
hens,  as  well  as  humans.  The  problem  of  vermin 
is  worse  than  in  the  North,  as  they  have  no  cold 
Winters  to  help  keep  them  in  check  down  there. 
Against  these  you  have  green  food  growing  all 
the  time  and  no  long  dark  Winter  nights,  and  no 
snow  to  shovel,  or  water  pans  to  thaw  out  in  the 
morning.  As  to  markets,  they  are  very  good  in 
the  Winter,  owing  to  so  many  Winter  residents;  the 
prices  of  eggs  and  poultry  were  better  in  Miami  last 
Winter  than  in  New  York,  and  some  poultrymen 
told  me  the  price  of  eggs  did  not  go  below  45  cents 
in  1922,  but  they  did  not  expect  to  get  that  in  1923. 
I  know  I  can  make  poultry  pay  here  in  New  York, 
and  am  sure  I  could  do  it  in  Florida,  yet  I  would 
advise  one  to  go  slow  and  find  out  what  they  are 
up  against  in  the  way  of  disease,  etc.,  before  going 
into  it  extensively.  That  is  what  I  -am  doing  my¬ 
self,  and  what  so  many  abandoned  poultry  farms  we 
see  all  around  us,  tell  us  should  always  be  done  in 
starting  a  new  business.  floyd  q.  white. 
This  shows  the  feeding  force  on  a  large  California  poultry  farm.  The 
fed — all  the  grain  being  purchased.  The  hens  must  be  waited  on 
The  Trouble  with  Wheat 
THE  recent  article  by  Mr.  Reynolds  on  balanced 
production,  page  941,  has  called  out  much  dis¬ 
cussion.  Our  letters  run  all  the  way  from  full  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  plan  to  cut  down  wheat 
production  to  a  statement  that  such  a 
suggestion  is  unmoral.  We  are  told 
that  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as 
overproduction  so  long  as  there  are 
people  who  do  not  have  enough  of 
bread  to  eat.  These  critics  say  it  is  only 
a  matter  of  distribution.  They  are  right 
in  that,  but  they  offer  no  jjlan  for  im¬ 
mediate  relief.  A  surplus  of  wheat  is 
piling  up.  There  is  no  sale  for  it  at 
profitable  prices  now  in  sight.  There 
is  a  movement  on  foot  to  increase  con¬ 
sumption  of  wheat.  If  it  should  suc¬ 
ceed  there  would  be  an  increase  of 
production  which  would  offset  any  in¬ 
creased  demand.  We  do  not  believe 
that  government  price  fixing  would 
give  perm  -nent  relief.  The  truth  is 
that  our  farmers  are  producing  too 
much  wheat  for  our  present  methods 
of  distribution.  The  governors  of  the 
International  Farm  Congress  have  is¬ 
sued  a  statement  in  which  they  say: 
The  wheat  belt  is  sick.  Its  farmers 
are  depressed  by  the  low  comparative 
price  of  their  chief  product,  and  by  the 
increased  production  and  marketing  costs. 
birds  are  well 
regularly. 
it  is  made  or  signed?  7.  What  is  done  with  the  will? 
8.  Should  it  be  recorded  in  the  surrogate  office ;  should 
the  lawyer  keep  it,  or  should  the  maker  care  for  it? 
9.  Is  a  copy  of  the  will  made  to  be  given  to  the  maker? 
10.  Can  the  will  be  changed  or  another  made  without 
notifying  the  executrix?  mbs.  w. 
New  York. 
THE  wife  has  a  dower  interest  only  in  the  share 
of  her  husband’s  property  in  case  he  dies  with¬ 
out  leaving  a  will. 
2.  He  can  either  make  a  will  or  deed  to  her  and 
We  have  generally  used  one  of  the  mixed  fertilizer  himself  as  tenants  by  the  entirety. 
What  do  you  use  as  a  fertilizer  for  strawberries  and 
when  is  it  put  on  ?  S.  H.  L, 
designed  for  fruit.  Mixtures  put  out  by  the  leading 
manufacturers  are  good.  If  we  were  to  use  a  home 
mixture  it  would  be  about  the  following :  100  lbs. 
nitrate  of  soda,  100  lbs.  dried  blood  or  tankage,  300 
lbs.  acid  phosphate,  100  lbs.  nitrate  of  potash.  We 
like  to  use  half  the  fertilizer  when  the  plants  are 
set  out  in  the  Spring  and  the  other  half  in  August. 
We  think  this  late  fertilizing  helps  to  form  fruit 
buds. 
Hoisting  Hay  in  the  Barn 
HAYING  is  over  for  this  year,  and  possibly 
help  may  be  more  easily  procured  next  year 
than  it  has  been  this.  It  is  likely,  however,  that 
there  will  be  labor  shortage  on  farms  next  year,' 
and  for  several  years  to  come.  In  our  dairy  dis¬ 
tricts  haying  is  the  one  big  job.  and  it  will  be  a 
good  plan  to  see  what  labor-saving  devices  can  be 
had  for  the  haying  season.  The  hay  loader  and  the 
hay  fork  will  be  considered  anyway,  if  not  already 
on  the  farm.  The  particular  machine  that  I  had  in 
mind  is  the  hay  hoist.  It  is  not  one  of  the  ex¬ 
pensive  machines  except  the  gasoline  engine  or 
the  electric  motor  to  run  it.  A  pretty  good  share 
of  dairy  farms  now  have  some  power  that  can  be 
made  to  operate  the  hoist.  With  a  horse  hay  fork 
one  must  handle  the  horse,  and  usually  it  is  one 
that  can  be  doing  something  else. 
All  the  hoists  that  I  have  seen  can  be  so  arranged 
3.  If  the  will  is  properly  executed. 
4.  At  least  two  witnesses  are  necessary  in  the 
State  of  New  York. 
5.  Yes. 
6.  No. 
7  and  8.  The  testator  may  keep  the  will.  He  may 
leave  it  with  his  lawyer,  or  he  may  file  it  with  the 
county  clerk  or  with  the  surrogate  of  his  county. 
9.  Sometimes  a  copy  of  the  wall  is  made,  but  not 
often. 
10.  The  will  can  be  changed  as  many  time  as  de¬ 
sired  without  notifying  the  executrix.  n.  t. 
The  Poultry  Business  in  Florida 
.  I  am  contemplating  starting  a  poultry  farm  in  the 
city  of  DeLand,  Florida,  120  miles  from  Jacksonville. 
The  State  of  Florida  claims  they  can  only  supply  one- 
third  of  poultry  and  eggs  which  are  consumed  in  the 
State.  Could  you  give  me  any  information  as  to  the 
price  of  poultry  and  eggs  in  the  State  of  Florida? 
What  is  your  idea  of  a  poultry  plant  in  the  above 
named  State?  Do  you  think  a  poultry  plant  around 
New  York  is  more  profitable  than  a  poultry  plant  in 
Florida?  G.  v.  D. 
New  York. 
I  KNOW  that  they  claim  the  State  of  Florida  does 
not  produce  one-third  the  eggs  or  poultry  they 
consume,  and  while  my  experience  has  been  in 
Southern  Florida  I  believe  your  inquirer  will  find 
that  if  he  will  study  the  climate,  and  adapt 
himself  to  conditions,  he  will  find  a  big  opportunity 
The  reaction  upon  all  agriculture,  and 
.  consequently  upon  all  business  interests, 
is  unmistakably  bad.  This  reaction  extends  far  beyond 
the  confines  of  the  wheat  belt  proper.  It  constitutes  a 
national  problem — economic,  industrial  and  political. 
Wheat  is  quite  generally  considered  as  the  “key- 
crop  .  the  standard  by  which  agricultural  prosperity, 
and  indirectly  the  general  business  welfare,  are  meas¬ 
ured.  The  situation  calls  for  the  earnest  consideration 
of  all  wheat  growers,  and  of  all  business  interests. 
The  question  is,  what  is  the  matter  with  wheat? 
The  answer  is  obvious.  There  is  too  much  wheat 
The  agriculture  of  the  wheat  belt  has  drifted  danger¬ 
ously  toward  a  one-crop  basis.  It  is  out  of  balance 
There  are  too  many  farms  that  bring  in  little  revenue 
except  the  annual  check  for  the  wheat  crop.  The  very 
soil  is  tired,  and  its  tillers  are  worn  out  by  the  hopeless 
effort  to  make  more  acres  of  wheat  spell  more  dollars. 
The  time  has  definitely  passed  when  wheat  can  carry 
all  the  overhead  of  an  average  American  farm,  supply 
the  family  of  the  owner  or  renter  with  money  to  buy  the 
food  supplies  for  the  year,  and  pay  the  cost  of  its  own 
production  and  marketing.  That  time  may  never  come 
again — certainly  it  will  not  until  the  United  States 
ceases  to  be  a  wheat  exporting  nation,  for  the  domestic 
price  is  based  on  the  world  price,  and  protective  meas¬ 
ures  are  proving  at  best  only  partially  effective  The 
American  farmer  cannot  successfully  compete  with  the 
cheap  land,  cheap  labor  and  water  transportation  of 
other  countries,  unless  he  can  take  a  large  part  of  the 
cost  of  operating  his  farm  off  his  wheat  crop 
There  is  no  necessity  for  experiments  of  any  sort _ 
economic,  political,  or  by  way  of  trying  out  new  crops 
or  new  farming  practices.  It  has  been  abundantly 
proven  that  this  very  region  to  which  the  condition's 
under  discussion  apply  is  susceptible  to  a  safe  system 
of  crop  diversification  and  live  stock  production. 
All  that  is>  needed  is  a  program,  generally  applied, 
which  will  bring  in  revenue  every  week  in  the  year  to 
supplement  the  wheat  check.  Poultry,  dairy  cows  and 
other  live  stock  wrill  do  this.  Such  a  program  will  pro¬ 
vide  12  months’  productive  employment  on  the  farm, 
instead  of  two.  The  resultant  lessened  production  of 
wheat  will  cause  an  increase  in  price,  in  conformity 
with  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
for  success.  The  climate  seems  to  me  to  be  ideal 
that  the  levers  may  'be  operated  'by  ropes  from  the  for  egg  production,  and  I  know  my  hens  laid  very 
load.  At  any  rate  I  would  look  to  this  if  consider-  well  in  Southern  Florida.  They  must  have  shady 
ing  the  use  of  a  hoist.  The  one  we  put  in  several  runs,  for  the  long  hat  season  is  very  enervating  to 
Shingles  or  Roofing  for  Barn 
We  have  a  large  hip-roof  barn  that  must  have  new 
roof.  The  roof  boards  are  about  2  to  3  in.  apart. 
Which  would  be  cheaper  and  better,  to  take  the  roof 
boards  off  and  nut  them  together,  and  put  on  good  roof¬ 
ing.  or  reshingle  with  good  shingles?  Roofing  would 
cost  about  $3  per  roll;  shingles  about  $6  per  100  sq. 
ft.,  and  lumber  $45  per  1.000  ft.;  labor,  35  to  40c 
Pf,r  hour.  n.  D.  R. 
A  GOOD  grade  of  shingles  properly  applied 
makes  an  excellent  roof  where  the  pitch  is 
sufficiently  steep.  They  should  not  be  used  where 
the  pitch  is  flat,  especially  if  there  is  likely  to  be  a 
