The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-04-02
Progressive Farmer

Progressive Farmer.)
Is a fertilizer carrying I per cent
or pOtash a good one for sweet pold-
toes ?" probably it is a fairly good one
if the other ingredients are roper
balanced and the potash Is from SUI
phate.
How can / destroy the lady-pugs on
early peas and not hurt the peas
Won do not want to destroy lady-bues-
They are among the most useIul IN
sees We have. If you flnd tneIn Oh
the peas do not jump to the con
clusion that they are eating the peas
for they are not. 1hey are there pc
cause there are green lice on the
meas and they are eating them. II
YOU use tobacco stems or tobacco dust
as a fertilizer for the peas you, WALL
not be troubled with the green lice.
What can you tell me about vel
vet beans?" This is from Stafford
countv Virginia. The velvet bean is
a valuable forage plant When grown
far enough south to nature. 1t VIII
not mature north of the southeast
corner Of North Carolina, and Would
not amount to much in Stafford coun-
tv. Virginia. 1t would probably
make there a heavy growth or I'M
mature vines, but would not be worth
nan o. 4dN
beans.
What is the matter with my satisfy!
| dug it the latter part or november,
and spread it on shelves in the cellar,
where it gradually Shrunk up unul ~
is no larger than my llttle niger.
The only thing the matter with the
satisfy is thai you dug it when you
should have left it in the soil where
it grew, for the freezing only I'M
proves it, while 1t is certain to wilt II
dug. Parsnips and satisfy and table
carrots are all better left where they
grew in our climate at least. In fact,
the satisfy was only making its best
growth in November when you dug IT.
The difference between acid phOS-
PLAT and Thomas phosphate is that
the acid phosphate is simply the
phosphate rock dissolved in sui
phuric acid and the Thomas phos-
phate is the Stag left by the extrac-
ton Of PHOSPHORUS from iron in the
basic method of making steel. Much
OF the lime used for this purpose re-
mains in the Stag and it carries about
40 pounds of lime in every 10O
pounds. The Thomas phosphate
then, will to hat extent tend tC
sweeten the soil. 1t is not so readilS
available as the acid phosphate, bu1
it is better for the permanent i'm
provement of the soil as it does no
enc to soil acidity as the acid phos
phate does.
The following is the analysis Of {
tobacco fertilizer offered at a low
price: Available phosphoric acid.
per cent; potash (k20) 3 per cent
What do you hin Of it," l thinl
that you can buy 1000 pounds o
acid phosphate of 16 per cent grade
and 120 pounds of sulphate Of potash
and you will have all that is in a tol
Of this article. The remaining SS'
pouds is all worthless filler. You viii
have an excess of phosphoric acid 70
tobacco and no nitrogen at all. Yo'
can buy the acid phosphate and pot
ash for about $40, and l do no
know what this so called tobacco fer
tilizer sells for, but if you simply mi
the phosphoric acid and potash 70
will have all the plant food there
in a ton of it, and you will not hav
to pay for sacking and f%reighting tn
sand in it. Then 0 can add som
nitrogen for yourself. Then if tn
potash in this mixture is from kaini
it Will have a bad effect on tobacco
for to make the three per cent the,
would have to be 500 pounds
kainit used and there would still /
a quarter of a ton of sand or otht
worthless filler, and the kainit wou'
make the tobacco OF low grade. Be
ter buy good materials and mix
high-grade fertilizer for tobacco usi1
acid phosphate, dried blood and higl
grade %sulphate of potash.
HOW TO GROW CELERY.
We cannot grow early celery in II
South as they do in the North, b
can TOW the winter celery on moi
and strong land. Prepare a see
bed in early April, and mark 0
slightly rows six inches apart. Sc
the seed rather thinly on the mar
and simply pat it down with back
spade. Then cover the bed wi
fertilizer or grain sacks to keep t
surface from drying out, and if wat
IS needed. you car sprinkle it on t
gunny sacks. When the seed sh,
termination raise the sacks off the
and as the plants show green RENO