The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-04-21

given thus Birch, eight; Beech, five;
Oak, five; Poplar, thirteen; Elm, three;
Eastwood, five; Willow, sixteen; APP
pie, five; White Pine, six; Fir, six;
Larch, four. Other analyses of mixed
ashes, more recently made, and better
representing ashes as usually picked
up, give an average of between five
and six per cent of potash, and about
two per cent of phosphoric acid. The
soft woods do not make as much ashes,
cord for cord, as hard woods, but it is
said they do ton for ton, when dry.
Johnson's table shows that Eastwood is
the richest in potash, and Willow in
phosphoric acid, of any of the trees
given. These analyses were from pure
ashes, free from coal, sand, etc.
3. Ashes and stable manure cannot
be fairly compared in that way, since
one is partial fertilizer and the other
a complete one. If soil were desti-
tute of the nitrogen necessary to crop,
no amount of ashes would produce
crop, since ashes contains no nitrogen.
But when this is understood, we may
compare them by estimating the ashes
in connection with the substances neces-
sary to make it complete fertilizer.
When ashes and ground raw bone, or
ashes and cotton-seed meal, are mixed
together, the mixture can properly be
compared with manure as to value. AS
noted above, in our reply to " An Old
Reader" it will be seen that we regard
the directed mixtures, either of them,
to be worth as much as the same value
of ordinary manure. In these the
ashes are estimated at about twenty
cents a bushel. The comparison is val
liable, yet in most cases we must re-
membert that artificial fertilizers come in
mostly not in competition with stable
manure, but as useful when there is not
enough of it.
A. There is no harrow best " for all
purposes. All farms need a cutting
and pulverizing harrow like the Acme,
or the Disk harrows, for preparing the
land for crop. They also need lighter
harrows for covering seed and other
will realize the value of sloping-tooth
harrows for wedding purposes. But
an average Yankee farmer would go
crazy if he were held while somebody
narrowed his growing corn, or his pota
toes, just as they were breaking the
ground.
8. These questions cover too much
ground, and cannot be fully answered
here. Briefly, we like to grow potatoes
on rather light soil in good heart, after
a big crop of corn on turned sod.
Plow it seven or eight inches deep, as
early in spring as the season will allow,
and spread evenly on the furrow
thirty good two-horse loads to the acre
of fine stable manure, or ten barrels of
the ashes and bone mixture, or one
thousand pounds of good complete fer
tilizer, say Bradley's NJ, or Stock
bridge. Harrow thoroughly, and then
open your drills six inches deep and
three feet apart (more or less, ac-
cording to the potato) Have your po-
tatoes medium size and we'll ripened)
cut two eyes to piece, and drop a
piece every ten inches in the drills.
Harrow crosswise to cover them, after
the whole piece is dropped. AS soon
as the first young plants begin to crack
the ground, harrow again crosswise
with Thomas harrow Work between
the rows two or three times with good
horseshoe, before the vines begin to get
heavy and drop down. Attend to the
bugs, and as soon as the tops are dead
dig and store in barrels in cool, dark
cellar. In seeding to grass after tillage
we prepare exactly as for wheat or
oats, and then SOW the grass-seed with
out the grain. But on run-out moving
we would turn the sod over fiat with a
shallow furrow, SOW on four hundred
to eight hundred pounds of good fer
tilizer or twenty loads of fine manure
to the acre, harrow well, SOW on the
grass-seed and roll. This is done as
soon after haying as possible.