Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1890-09-06
PUMPKINS.

Farmers whose experience with the
pumpkin has been confined to what it
will yield when planted among corn
would be surprised to see the crop that
can be grown when raised by itself, with
q liberal application of the kind of
manure best adapted to it. James J. II.
Gregory, Marblehead, Mass, in the -Ne''
England Farmer, says: The kind of
manure best for the corn crop is not the
kind which is tie best for the pumpkin
crop. Corn requires loan rich in phos-
phoric acid and potash, and certainly but
a small per cent. of nitrogen. The vine
class, such as pumpkins, squashes aud
melons require, on the contrary, loan
that shall be especially rich in nitrogen,
and the quantity of the crop is almost in
proportion to the liberallty of the use of
this clement. While it might not pay to
purchase the high priced forms of nitro
gen for this crop, yet where the farmer
has access 20 that very cheap source, fish
waste, if he has dairy it may be made
to pay well.
Last spring 1 measured off half acre
of fair loan that had been MANFRED at
about the equivalent of six cords to the
acre for the four years it had been re-
claimed for pasture; to this was applied
four cords OF barn manure in which
rather over ton of fish had been well
mixed The piece was planted toward
the close of May with the Michigan
mammoth pumpkin, in hills twelve by
twelve, the vines being finally reduced to
two to each hill. They had three cult
vatiors, though at one period of their
growth the weeds got the start, and there
had'to be some hard pulling. In the
fall, after the leaves of the vines had
mostly died down, the field, Gov
cred with its huge fruit, weigh
ing from twenty to forty pounds
each, and almost every one
of the richest orange color, was certainty
very striking sight. One load being
weighed, and the quantity OF the rest OF
the loads being estimated from that
weight, we found the entire crop, in
GLIDING two loads not fully ripe, was
rising ten tons. It's not necessary that
farmer should plant this variety to get
twenty IONS 10 the acre. have known
o crop at the rate of twenty-five tons to
the acre to be raised from pumpkins
whose average weight was not over
eight pounds. This crop was remark
ably large, for the fact that the seed was
taken from several varieties which grew
side by side, for mongrel crop of eth
er pumpkins OF squashes, if but one step
removed from it parents, will yield
heavier than did either of the parents.
This is on the same principal whereby
grade COW will usually do better than the
average Of the two pure-brcd parents OF
which she is cross Now does the
pumpkin play any part in the farm econ.
omy that would make it profitable TO
raise them2 find in my experience az
a milk producer that there is period
between the coming Of the first frost suf-
fciently severe to destroy fodder corn
and the date when we open our silc
where there is blank in green fodder;
this blank the pumpkin will fill. The
objections sometimes made to feeding
the seed is not always we'll taken, but il
the COWS are observed to urinate more
freely after being fed with seed and all,
then the bulk of the seed should be re.
moved, otherwise as this contains fan
richer nutriment than the flesh, indeed
are especially rich when that is deficient,
advise feeding them.