The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-21

, the OF the IeTollseT e1lner, DOt
of the way in which fertilizers have
been used The farmer who farms
right will never need any nitrate of
soda on his corn crop, for he will al
ways have clover to turn under for
the corn, and can set more nitrogen
free than he could afford to buy i'll a
fertilizer. Buying nitrogen in any
form for the corn crop Is evidence of
poor farming. and dn your peanut
country YOU will never need to buy
nitrogen in any form II you farm in
n proper rotation and use phosphate
and potash literally. With liberal use
OF phosphoric acid and potash, and an
occasional lining. with the growing of
peas and clover. the lands in your sec
ton can be brought to a high pro-
duction without the purchase OF
ounce OF nitrogen In any form, If the
rouEhage Is fed on the farm and the
manure returned to the land. This
has been proved by scores Of the best
farmers. Fertilizers literally used, and
used In the proper place. can be made
the best agents you can get for the
Improvement OF the soil Used as they
have been, and still are being used
all over the South. they result in soil
impoverishmcnt, and as have said.
1t is not the fault of the fertilizer.
but of tho farmer. Applying nitrate
Of soda year after year on a poor soil.
to induce n stronger growth will GER
tainly enable the crop to impoverish
the land
Nurse Crop with Alfalfa.
From Richmond: "win you kindly
advise me in sowing alfalfa with five
pounds OF red clover an acre. Will IL
be advisable to SOW rye as a nurse
crop at rate of 3-S bushel an acre?
/ expect to SOW thirty pounds of al
falfa seed and five pounds of rcd
clover an acre. I wish to thank you
for your excellent letters In The Times
Dispatch. which read with great In
terest, and feel sure they are doing
much good" In my experience I have
found 1t best to SOW alfalfa alone and
not mixed with anything else. The
early growth of alfalfa is rather slow
and feeble, and any stronger growing
plant with II will be a hindrance to the
alfalfa. This Is the main reason for
sowing in the fall rather than spring,
for the spring sown alfalfa will have
to fight for life with the vigorous
weeds and the ever-present crab grass.
Sown late in August or very early In
September. I believe the sowing of
thirty pounds an acre of alfalfa seed
Will be better. so far as the future Of
the alfalfa is concerned, than sowing
anything else with It, or course. II
general mixture of clover alfalfa and
other legumes is made. as Mr. Sandy
has done In Nottoway. It is n different
matter But If you want to get the
very best yield of alfalfa and keep it
in moving for several years ! would
SOW nothing but alfalfa seed, and
would make sure that the seed is clean,
especially OF do6der.
Pasture for Hogs.
Il want pasture for hogs when
crimson clover is not available, and
after 1t is done. can grow the
clover all right, but want pasture for
the hogs when the clover is not avail
able What will it be-" You can
SOW now on good soil. well fortified,
Dwarf Essex Rape, and il Will carry
the hogs in your Tidewater section
nearly through the winter. and till
YOU can turn On the clover. Then you
can SOW the rape again ms early in
spring as tho soil can be worked
in good order. and can have n crop
that will succeed the clover till some
cowpeas come in. Then, by sowing
patches Of early and late cowpeas for
succession, you can keep the hogs
foraeins nearly all the time
Strawberries, etc.
From Washington d. c.: Il am very
anxious TO plant q few hundred
strawberry plants this month In an
open lot near my house / have pro-
pared n good part of this rot for a
garden. II seems hard to get the
plants in summer your large
growers refuse TO dig them at this
season. Where can I get them? While
YOU give a great deal of good advice
to your readers you totally fail in
one respect. You have never told us
how TO protect our gardens from hail.
and mine has been completely riddled.
Everything beaten to frazzle" The
strawberry plant growers who sell
plants only from the open ground
Will not dig and ship them in summer.
rs they do not care to take any risk
Of their failure. But almost any OF
the leading seed houses in Philadelphia
or New York will furnish you with
strawberry plants grown in pots, and
these can be set at any time or
course. they cost more than plants
from the open ground. but they live
better and will make Il full crop next
spring. ! would like very much to be
able TO protect my own grounds from
hail. We have not had any for two
years, but the last hailstorm we had
broke good deal of glass for me.
and one of my neighbors lost 10000
square feet of glass. Damage done
outside by hail will often be mended
by later growth, but broken glass
never RECEIVERS.
Scnbby PotntOes.
What causes Irish potatoes to get
scabby. and how shall II be prevent
cd?' Scab In potatoes Is caused by a
| Fungus growth. II can to some extent
/ De prevented by soaking the seed in
n solution of formaldohyde But if
the soil is badly infected with the fun
gus this Will not entirely prevent II.
The best way IS TO always have n
4 green crop like clover or rye 10 turn
under for the potatoes. This causes
some acidity in the soil, which is detri-
mental to the growth OF the fungus.
lime by sweetcnins the SOIL and
ashes which have large percentage
OF lime IN them. will make conditions
im sa....--