The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-03-13
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
COMPOSING WITH LIQUID MANURE.


We extract the following remarks from an
article in an exchange: Many farmers who
think they have nothing to top-dress their
grass with have resource that they do not
think OF. Under the old cattle barns and tie
ups, where the urine has run through the
floors and soaked into the ground Tor many
years, is an accumulation of valuable plant
food unsupported by many who possess it. The
earth under these old stables, from four to six
feet deep, and often more, is richer than any
manure, and it is just the thing to top.dress
either new or old grass lands with 4 farmer
recently top-dressed twelve acres of grass with
the dirt from beneath an old barn, and got
such growth of grass that the hay could hardly
be made on the ground. Many others have
tried the same, and In every case the results
have been satisfactory"
There is in the above good lesson, and re-
calls to mind method of making use of liquid
manure which we have seen many years ago
on farm noted for its crops. The dr:linings
from the horse and cow stables, the washings
from the barn-yard and all waste water from
the dweillng-house were run By drains into
large cemented cistern at suitable distance
from the buildings. Hundreds OF loads of earth,
brought from any convenient field. from bot
toms where it had accumulated fIom surface
washings, or material picked up near old fence
rows, were piled up IN a tlat-topped heap iii
close proximity to the tank. Every day the
collected DRAWINGS were drawn up by good
| pump and run over the heap; small ledge
was raised around the edges Of the heap to pre-
vent escape of water, and in this manner the
| whole pile of earth would be saturated with
| the liquid. This compost was considered of
more value for top-dressing grass, for shoveiing
| into a hill OF corn, or sprinkling in the drills
| previous to planting potatoes, than twice its
| bulk Of the best rotted barn yard manure For
| grass lands it is considered the best fertilizer
| that can be applied.
MARKET GARDENING IN THE SOUTH.
! In paper recently submitted by p Hender-
| son, OF New York, We find the following exam
| pie of successful market gardening: "In q
visit to Charleston, S. c., last February, called
on firm of market gardeners-the Messrs.
Noisette-who had long been customers of ours
for seeds and plants, and never dreaming for
moment, from acknowledgment manner of doing
| business, but what they were white men. was
! surprised to find, On asking for them. that the
| firm was represented by two modest looking
| colered men of middle age who from begin
| ming OF eleven acres in 1864 had, in 1888. got
to be owners of seventy-fve acres of valuable
land, right in the suburbs of Charleston, every
acre of which was worked in vegetable and
fruit crops in the most thorough manner.
Hardly weed was to be seen, and nearly
every crop showed the greatest possible fer
tility; and no wonder, for they use sixty tons
of stable manure and one-fourth ton of guano
per acre. They had the biggest and best
manure heap ever saw in any market garden,
| having early learned the importance of that
factor to success. They employ an average of
seyenty-five hands, or about one to each acre,
| which is about the same as is required at the
| North, though the wages paid-itty cents per
day for women and one dollar per day for
mems little more than half that paid North,
and when it is known that their early products
now sell for three times as much in New York
or Philadelphia as the home grown vegetables
and fruits, it can well be understood how prof
liable tho business must be- | did not ask
| what their profits on their seventy-fve acres
| were, but | have little doubt it would not be
less than $4,000 per year. and may be $4,000;
for when cabbage sells for twenty-five cents
and eauliaower seyenty-fve cents per head.
| and when we know that 10000 plants are
planted on an acre. it is easily seen what mar
| ket gardening must pay in the South. These
| men had the best plows, harrows and rollers
that money could buy, aud the 1000 tons of
manure which they use annually is spread
by manure-spreader worked by horses
/ Their principal crops are Strawberries lettuce,
cauliflower and cabbage, with some potatoes,
tomatoes and melons"
1 NOTES ON VEGETABLES.
We brief the following from the Rural Ne,r-
Yorker: AFTER trying all the leading varieties
of bush beans ! prefer the Golden Wax. The
| Marrow is one of the best for field culture; the
NUlbS WAX IS UCt productive eIOuGUr LE6
New Prolific tree bean is a grand fzzle. Try
the Egyptian beet for extra early, Dewing's
| blood turnip for second early and winter use.
The Champion Globe is the best cropper among
the mangeis. Out of score Of varieties of
cabbage trial the past season, / consider
Etampes, for extra early; Jersey Wakefield,
early; Winnlngstadt, medium Stone Mason
and Premium Flat Ducth for late, the best.
Marblehead Early sweet corn leads the van
for earliness. but has red con. Roslyns Hybrid
pleases me best as a late variety. Amber cream
disappoints in size and productiveness. Tail
by's Hybrid cucumber is the very best either
for table use or for pickles. The Salamander
lettuce forms large, compact head, withstands
heat and drought, is crisp and tender, and re-
mains in edible condition long time For an
| early onion the Early Red Globe was fit for
use several days ahead of other kinds. For
general crop nothing equals the Danvers and
Wethersfeld. / think that it will be some time
before a potato win be found that combines
more good qualities Tor winter use than the
Burbank. As q grand failure, the Perfect Gem
squash is entitled to all the gems in the casket,
as grown in my garden. Boston Marrow and
Hubbard did well. IF / had to confine myself
to one variety of tomato it would be Hatha-
ways Excelsior. OF the new varieties am very
favorably impressed with the Mayhower 1t
is large, solid, of excellent favor and has few
Seeds The early purple-top Munich turnip is
very perfect. The SNOWFALL is q very good
second early kind"
CUTTING OUT DEAD WOOD.
A great many years ago-twenty five years
at least-the writer had occasion TO trim out
several of many rows of raspberries just after
the fruit was gathered. The old canes which
produced the fruit were removed, and all the
young canes or sprouts taken out except four
or five, which were left to produce the crop of
the following season. The remainder of the
patch was not trimmed out till the spring.
The consequence Was that the plants which
had been first trimmed produced so much more
fruit, and of SO much better size and quality,
that the difference was apparent on sight.
Since then we have always recommended the
removal of old raspberry and blackberry canes
as soon as they complete fruiting We have
over and over again, since that time, seen state
ments to the effect that it made no difference
to the forthcoming crop whether the old canes
were removed or not. OF course, we always
doubted that the writers ever made any ex-
pertinent but simply advise because they think
there can be no harm from allowing old dead
wood to remain.
We allude to the above for the reason that
the following paragraph is going the rounds of
the rural papers, and is now fortified by the
discovery, or at least advice, of scientific men,
which gives it much more value, as public in-
formation, than if merely promulgated by a
grower of berries: Scientific men now claim
l hot byra- toI, fi,ox ,kois&