The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-10-27
WITH THE FARMERS
BY Prof. w. F. MASSEY

little pamphlet that | prepared for n
ant-grower. which will tell you more
about small fruit culture than ] could
write here.
BOolss ON Farming and stock Raising.
Have bought farm in King Will
liam County. and win be glad to have
you name some good books on stock
and hog-raising and general farming"
Al several have asked similar qucs-
few good books: productive Swine
Husbandry." published BY tho Lippen-
colt Company. of Philadelphia, Is the
latest on hogs: Animal Breeding" by
Shaw. published by Orange Judd Com
pany. New York: Crops and, Methods
OF Soil Improvement" By A. Agee, pub
lished by Macmillan Company. New
York: practical Farming" Massey,
published hy \. c. McClurg. Chicago,
will cover the ground pretty well.
Growing Potato Onions.
Roanoke County: Il want to plant an
acre in yellow potato onions. Land
- good loan with clay gubsoil; was
broadcastcd with stablc manure last
spring and 1000 pounds OF high grade
fertilizer. and planted to irish potatoes
lOiIDWtd ny lute corn. HOW Snail
treat this land To make a bumper crop
or onions? Thought Of covering IT
with manure again, but would like
your advice?' 1t is getting late now
to get the onions in. My potato
onions are above the ground now, but
there is still time To get them in ana
give them "a start. but the sooner the
better.
Plow and prepare the land we'll and
do not use any more stable manure,
but give IL broadcast application of
1000 to 1900 pounds OF a high grade
fertilizer strong In ammonia md pot
ash, and plant the onions in rows six
teen inches apart and keep clean TIL
frost cleans all weed growth off.
use a hand wheel plow and cultirator.
and throw q furrow to each side the
rows as winter protection after tho
tops arc we'll started. This Is pulled
away in the spring to let the bulbes
form on tho surface Keep the same
land for onions for several years. and
always SOW peas after the onions, and
turn them under IN tho fall. and you
VIII be able TO get more OF a bumper
crop with the sanie fertilization after
two seasons than at first.
Marketing Produce.
An Albcmarlc correspondent. whose
letter is too long 10 quote here, writes:
You arc doing missionary work In
The Times Dispatch, and one OF the
Why is II that papers in general
fail to give quotations on garden truck.
The Consumers League of Pittsburgh
published the wholesale prices on the
front page OF the papers and ~ re-
suited In drop Of 80 TO 60 per cent
in the retail prices. But ] am inter
ested in the producer rather than tho
consumer and there are a good many
Of us who would send truck 10 the
Richmond market IL we had the prices
before US daily. Large truckers. OF
course. keep posted, but enough goes
to waste III the home gardens OF Vir-
Glnia to feed Isichinond. A. you know.
mint grows wild IN Albemarle. Would
not small patch OF II prove profit
BILE? Would like to know about It's
cultivation. Would like addresses
ri commission men In Richmond and
Washington 10 whom could ship a
gardener on small scale In a sec
ton where there are few engaged in
truck growing. IL always handicapped
by heavier freight rates and the neces-
silly for shipping 10 commission mer-
chants Where ! live this has been
done away with and the selling is all
done by car loads by the produce eN-
changes, which have treviiHg sales
men in the North taking car load or
ders for cash.
some OF the smaller growers sell at
the railroad stations, as there arc al
Ways buyers there competing with
each other 10 get their cars filled. We
do not know any more about commits
zion merchants, and as | do not live
in Richmond or Washington and never
ship 10 either city, ! DO not know any
thing about the commission houses.
Papers devoted TO the interests or the
truckers and the florists give the
wholesale prices OF each in different
cities. Most of the selling here on
the peninsula Is done by the produce
exchanges. and they have been wonder
fully successful The exchange on the
Eastern shore OF Virginia has made
Accomac and Northampton rioh. and
they have more money there per capita
than in any other counties In the
state. l suppose that there is limit
cd demand for mint put up In punches
like parsley, and the only thing neccs-
sary to get a good patch OF II In Al
bemarlc is 10 plant the runners In
moist bottom land and let them cover
the whole ground. But sections where
truck growing is the leading pursuit
OF the farmers will always have an
advantage over isolated growers. I'm
being able to combine for mutual
benefit
Dying PeEs.
~ have some sandy soil on which COW
peas all die. They seem to thrive fair
~ Wen awnile ana lHen All
What can / do 10 stop this? The first
thing lis to find out the cause OF the
peas dying. There may be several
reasons for the failure. There may he
ecl-worms. or nematodes in the soil.
These will be shown by the roots get
ting thick and swollen. 1t may be from
the disease known as pea wilt that Is
common in many sections further south.
Where this prevails they SOW the Iron
pea, which is resistant to the wilt IL
may be that the failure is due to de
iicient plant food in the soil. and you
do not say what you have used OH tho
peas. 1t may DO that the soil has got
ten so acid that even peas Will not
thrive, and this can be cured by lining.
Hence you will readily see that | can
not advise where ] do not know the
cause of the failure.
Nematodcs or eel worms are micro
scop.c worms In the soil. anu the rem
edy is to practice II rotation with