The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-09-01
Various Questions.

f. Z. stevens, EnOsburgh Center, VT,
makes the following inquiries l. Can
you tell the best way to improve
stony pasture that abounds in moss,
with some brakes? Some of it has been
plowed but the field had run mostly
into June-top. The timber was mostly
hardwood. Is it best to take off the
stone and pillow it, or not? 2. Have
you Bailey's Crimson crab-apple, and
what do you think of it? 3. Where do
you buy your bone meal and rock phos-
plate? 4. Have you the Jewell straw
berry? 8. What strawberry do you call
the best? 6. Which is the best way to
apply manure to gravelly soil to have
it last the longest? My experience is
to plow it in. 7. Can you tell me if
silo is any better than to cure the
corn-fodder?
REPLIEs.-1. If the pasture is tolera-
bly, level, and not too stony or lcdgy,
we think it might be improved by pick
ing off the stones before and after plow-
ing; the blowing to be done by a strong
OK team with suitable pillow that will
turn all vegetation under. We should
do this in the fall. In the spring we
would SOW on half ton per acre of our
| bone and ashes third fine
ground bone and two-thirds unleached
hardwood ashes (by measure), wet up
/ in barrels and left to stand two or three
weeks, then turned out and mixed with
enough dry ashes, plaster or dry earth
so that it can be handled and spread
easily and evenly. This dressing costs
about ten dollars per acre and will
bring good crop of corn or potatoes.
1t should be worked into the soil with
disk or acme harrow, and the potatoes
or corn planted Gone set of two eyes, or
two kernels) foot apart in the row,
the rows three and one-half feet apart.
If these crops are thoroughly well hoed,
and kept clean until harvest, the weeds
and grass will be subdued. Get the
crop off early, and seed down to grass
in September, using a liberal quantity
of good seed-timothy, red-tOp, white
and alsike clover mixed together. The
culture of the corn or potatoes should
be level (no hilling) and the potato
tops buried at digging. Then cut up
the surface we'll with either of the
harrows named above, before seeding,
and cover the seed with brush har-
row. If these directions are carefully
and thoroughly followed the pasture
would, we think, be well renovated by
this treatment. 1t would be well to
SOW fifteen or twenty bushels of good
ashes to the acre with the seeding.
Perhaps some reader can suggest some
improvement to the above method. If
so, we hope he will do so.
2. Yes. 1t it is one of the very best
crabs where it does not spot, which it
does with us. Gideon's Martha is
equally good and does not spot.
g. Wherever we can get good ar.
ticle cheapest. Most of the fertilizer
dealers and agents keep them on hand
or will take your order if you will give
it to them before they order their spring
stock Get the finest rock phosphate
J known as " floats"
4 and 8. We have not tried the Jewell
) but we have confidence that it is a goo(
berry. There is no Z" best strawberry
for all purposes. Some of the best il
quality are Improbable to grow fo
r market. The Manchester, Crescent
Q Downing, Sharpless, Windsor Chic
1 and the sold reliable" Wilson ar,
most cultivated and generally satisfac
tory. Kentucky is also a fine late berry
6, Shallow blowing, or working int
4 the surface with the disk or acme har
n row is the way we like the best. W.
It do not believe in burying manure yer,
+ deep. Its valuable ingredients natu
r rally work down.
/, 7. This depends on circumstances
d AS rule, where the quantity is large
d we think the silo is preferable, becaus
3, the food is better eaten. But we d
n not believe that ensilaging adds any