The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-25

10" anu III Otner years none at all.
Can you tell what will mako them
bearw Being Informed only that the
| trees are twenty years old tells me
little about them. AT that ago they
should BIO bearing. 1t may be that
they are growing too fast, for rapid
growth Is not conducive to fruiting.
II this Is the case. 1t will help to pillow
tho land between tho trees deeply and
check the rapid growth by cutting
some Of the roots This will often throw
trees into bearing. Trees that over
bear one year are apt to fail to make
"a crop the next season. L cannot say
what aiis your trees unless 1 was on
the ground.
Potatoes After Corn.
In replying to my queries, you ad
Vised sowing clover after the corn. but
this will not be necessary, as 1 want
to put the land in potatoes in the
spring. Is IL too late to BOW peasY'
II you are going to plant potatoes
where the corn now is it Is all the
| more important that you should have
a green winter cover on the land
Crimson clover would not get in
bloom b. the time 1t is necessary to
pillow for the potatoes, but you can
SOW rye now among the corn. and this
early rye VIII give you q fine
green growth to turn under for the
potatoes: and the potatoes will be
greatly helped by the turning under
OF green growth and the rye Will take
and hold the nitrate that might be
washed from the soil In winter. y
green crop 10 turn under for potatoes
liz always an important matter.
Suckers on Corn.
Il took your advise and did not pull
Off the suckers from the prolific corn,
and now have stalks with two ears
and two suckers each with two ears.
HIVE shown these to several. and they
say they never saw anything like It
before. Our county demonstrator is
doing good work. and farmers find
that they can learn more than they
knew before. for many or them still
| believe in the hollow horn ana plant
ing by the moon"
Lazy Bed Potatoes.
How can l make a lazy bed of late
potatoes?" Rather late TO plant any,
but possibly The early varieties from
cold storage might grow. TO make
what is called a lazy bed simply plant
the potatoes as usual. but cover only
two or three inches. and then cover
the whole plot with straw or pine
leaves six inches deep
Fertili1inS Content of Glover.
A correspondent recently asked what
the fertiiizing Value of a crop OF
clover OF ton and half an acre
analysis OF clover hay. l have since
found an authoritative analysis. This
places the content OF clover hay In
nitrogen at twenty four pounds per
ton. with Sc pounds of phosphorus and
! 1876 pounds of potash. But this lacks
| considerable amount of giving the
whole nitrogen value or the clover
crop. since a good deal is LEFT in the
| stubble and roots. But crop making
two tons an acre is only a fairly good
crop, and in the hay alone there would
be far more nitrogen than Is con-
tanned In whole ton an acre OF the
2-S-2 fertilizer SO commonly used b.
farmers. Such a crop. all turned un-
! der, would not only add more nitrogen
| to the soil than n whole ton of the
average fertilizer, but would also give
| a large amount of humus-making ma
terial for the mechanical Improvement
OF the soil. And IL made into hay the
nitrogen would be largely recovered
in the manure to be returned to the
land.
The potash removed would be equal
| to that In half ton of the 2-S-2 prac-
I tically, and this came from the soil,
and in sandy soils naturally deficient
in potash. and black peaty swamp
land that is especially lacking in pot
! ash, few hundred pounds of the low
grade fertilizer would not replace that
removed by the clover. Hence. while
| clover gives us an extra supply or
nitrogen from the air II draws on the
| soil for all the phosphorus and pot
nssium. and these must be maintained
| in the soil or there will be n deteriora-
| ton In the crops. Therefore. in good
rotation of crops the important thing
| is to use the phosphate and potash
| mo Sc sIIos u0ns III ldeoXe 'HIIrLsQII
Piedmont red clay, where there seems
| to be an ineXhaustible store OF potash
that can be made available by stor-
ing organic matter in the soil and an
occasional lining. Therefore. the
I good farmer on such lands needs
| only to be liberal with the phosphates,
and the legumes and the manure. from
| feeding them will do the rest. and he
will never need 70 buy an ounce OF
nitrogen in { fertilizer. This has been
done by more than one good wheat
| farmer in Maryland. The late s. 4.
| Earle, of Queen Annes County. Md, an
enthusiastic farmer up to his death
at eighty five years of age, wrote me
shortly before his death that for
| twenty years, by practicing a good
rotation with clover Us the main
| legume crop, he had averaged forty
bushels of wheat an acre, and during
that time had used no commercial fer
| tili2er but Il very liberal application
VI eCiu phoSpHt'c Oh 'iic "Hcae' usiHS
none at all on tho corn that was
grown on n red clover sod with the
! farm manure.
Nothing is palmer, then, than chat
| our farmers in general are wasting
great deal of money in the purchase
| of commercial fertilizing materials
| that they do not need to buy. If they
| farmed right. On lands deficient in
| potash 1t will, of course. be necessary
| to add potash to the phosphoric acid,
but the nitrogen can all be gotten
| free through the proper use of the
| legumes.
HroOm Corn.
Several inquircrs want to know If
| broom corn culture can be made profit
| able in Virginia. I have known sew
| of 70 ha finn