The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-03-11

ready for market. They sell at high
price before other onions are dry
enough for market.
I" MEASURING ASHES.
B. also asks how to measure ashes.
We buy by heaped measure, and make
an allowance besides when there is
much coal mixed in. We know of no
law about it.
CRoZIER's GRASS MIXTURE.
G. V. w., Dummerston, Vt, asks:
Where can Mr.. Crozier's Grass Mix
ture be had?" and wishes to know
if it is the best kind to SOW, and what
it costs per acre.
REPLY.-Mr. Crozier's mixture, to
SOW after wheat in fall or spring, is
made up of the following varieties of
grass
Orchard Grass, Sweet Scented Vernal,
Meadow Foxtail, Meadow Fescue,
Sheep Fescue, English Rye Grass,
Rhode Island Bent, Italian Rye Grass
Hard Fescue, Red Top.
One-half of the bulk being Orchard
Grass, while the other half is made up of
the other grasses. The quantity sown,
for average land, is about seventy-fve
pounds per acre, and one-fourth to one
third less for rich heavy lands. Prices
of grass seed vary. Opinions would
also vary as to its being the best mix
ture in all cases, but it is a good one.
1t can be had of Peter Henderson e
Co., 35 and 81 Cortlandt street, New
York. Mr.. Crozier says he adds a
educ proportion - of clover seed to
the above mixture. 1t makes earlier
haying than the ordinary sowing of
Timothy, Red Top and clover. The
only way to determine properly which
is best is to try both. Perhaps both
would be best, as one can be cut before
the other is ready.
FERTILIZERS.
G. w. g., Greenville, N. H., writes
"A year ago, following your directions,
/ bought one ton of the South Carolina
Rock, dissolved, at $24.5O per ton, de-
livered here, and used muriate of pot
ash and sulphate of ammonia mixed
with it, as you said. 1t proved an ex-
cellent fertilizer, but what l wish to
know is whether l could not take the
ground rock and dissolve it myself with
ashes or potash, the same as l do
ground bone. l have used your bone
and ashes mixture three years, and
have got about through using super
phosphates, although l can buy them
at wholesale rates."
REPLY.-We have no personal expe-
rience in the use of ashes or potash to
make the South Carolina Rock more
quickly soluble. We do not think
there would be any difficulty about it,
however, using the unleached hard
wood ashes the same as for bone, and
wetting it with water in barrels, OF
using say ten pounds of common pot
ash dissolved in enough water to wet
each barrel of the ground rock. 1t
would probably not be quite as quick
as when dissolved with acid, but il
would be much cheaper and stronger
OF course this is not a complete fer.
tilizer, as it contains no nitrogen. Fol
this add twenty-five pounds of pulver
lied sulphate of ammonia, or two bush
els of cotton seed meal, to each barrel
two weeks after wetting. Shovel the
whole together well, and remember
that, if the meal is used to get the nj
trogen, allowance must be made for the
increased bulk when applying it to thu
land. For drying these mixtures, Sc
that they can be sown by hand, ashes
plaster or bran may be mixed will
them, when the cotton seed meal is no
used, or is not sufficient.
SAVING THE NITROGEN.
Quest of Williamstown, VT, writes
MANY thanks for your very satisfac
tory answers to my questions. In thes
answers you say that as manure is gen
orally handled much of the nitrogen i
. lost before it leaves the stable. Wi
you tell us how best to save it?"
REPLY.--A manure cellar with &C
mented bottom, and enough absorbent
to take up all the urine, and hogs t
work it over and keep it from injuriou
|, heating, is the only thing that fills tn
bill perfectly. When hogs are not KEEP
injurious heating is only prevented b
,, shoveling over as needed. Wher
stock are kept well bedded in box stalls
they may go several months withor
being cleaned out, and their treadin
will make the manure so hard that
will not heat.