St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-05-08
CAUSE OF CLUB ROOT.
Hog Manure and Cabbage-An Old
Theory Handled Without Gloves.

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Theory Handled Without Gloves.
Regarding club root in cabbage, m,
experience has been that the question
of soil has more to do with the matte
than the manure. If you have a piec
of strong, loamy soil, inclining to clay
with good natural drainage, you hav,
a soil that, with proper care in tn,
details of preparation, fertilizing, etc.
can be safely counted on for a goo(
crop of late cabbage if the right varie
ties are planted. But in that fiel(
there may be here and there places OF
spots that sag below the general leve
of the rest of the field. Now, if during
the growing season Of this crop there
come a few downpours of rain, large
proportion of the cabbage in those
spots will have "big root" as it is
called here, hog manure or no hog
manure. Several years ago a prominent
butcher of our neighborhood occupied
a back corner Of the farm we were
living on at that time. Of course we
had the manure. He had trade that
called for large quantities of pork.
He bought cattle and pigs by the car
load. The pigs worked up the offal,
and we drew the manure on the cab
bage ground. The blood from the
slaughter house was led to a large
trough in the pigyard adjoining. Ow-
ing to this latter fact we discovered
that the proportion of nitrogen was too
great even for cabbage. We then be-
gan to mix it with the coarser product
of the barnyard by hauling out alter
nate loads of each to pile in the
field where it was to be used. A cou-
pie Of turnings now and then greatly
improved the mechanical condition
while increasing the availability of the
coarse matter. If afraid to use the
hog manure alone, Why not adopt some
notifications of this plan?
/ never saw any more danger from
the use of hog manure than any other
kind; the trouble has been that never
could get enough of t. recall also that
when l came into possession of my
larger farm there had been quite
number of hogs fSttened the autumn
previous, and there was pile of about
two good wagon loads of clear hog
manure lying outside the pen. Be-
sides this, we tore down the old pen
that had been built on the ground
about so years before, and it seemed at
the time that everything was hog
manure for about two feet down. At
all events we dew out II good loads
altogether from that old pen and ap-
piled the whole lot with half ton of
fertilizer, to an acre Of ground for late
cabbage. The crop was sold in the
field for considerably more than / paid
for the ground wish we had dozen
or two of sucf things to clean up now.
1 should be wiling to take the chances
on ''big root" by using it.
l have heard this talk concerning
the danger If using hog manure for
cabbage as long as l can remember,
but in every instance that has come
under my personal observation it has
proceeded from class of men who al
ways SOW their cabbage seed when
the ''sig1s is in the head" and kill
their PORK when the moon is nearing
the full, so the meat will swell in the
pot" ID recapitulate: If l wished to
grow rop Of late cabbage and the
ground vas bare, no sod, 1 should
draw allthe coarse manure l could get
or pay 6r, not less than 20 loads per
acre, pillow it under as soon as l could
in the Pring, top dress with a few
loads of fine stuff and about one-half |
ton Of god cabbage fertilizer analyz-
ing 4 pa cent of nitrogen, s per cent
of phoslhoric acid and 10 per cent of |
potash lpplied broadcast, then thor
oughly cultivate not too deep once a
week til planting time. This on a
soil naturally or artifcially we'll drain
ed (Rlan 21a by 21a feet one ought to
get $125an acre from that crop.
But a good crop of cabbage would not |
be the 'ole object of this thorough |
treatment. 1t is we'll known fact
that then is no crop grown that is bet
ter calculated to clean up a weed in
tested pece of ground than late cab
bage, because to get crop, even on
well maured ground, the cultivator
must be lept constantly going, and this
at seaSn of year when showers are
less frequent and weed growth less &C.
tive. Ausust Is better month to sub
due wee6 than June usually.
But, again, the next season should
like to pint that field with corn, with
200 pounds of muriate of potash and
900 pounls acid phosphate per acre ap-
piled broadcast. I should plant it to be
worked 10th ways, then work 1t all
summer Perfectly level and Just before
cultivatiny it the last way for the last
time sow ten quarts Mammoth clover
of undoulted purity mot less than 81
per cent, then run the cultivator over
lightly aid the year following lust
keep the op cut back. The next year
you can grow cabbage, potatoes or al
most anything, concludes a Rural New