The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-01-06
WITH THE FARMERS
By Prof. w. F. MASSEY

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, pertinent by spraying peach trees all
over with whitewash. the Idea being
| that the white color would reflect tho
heat and retnrd tho blooming, and 1t
did to a very considerable extent. The
row Of treea whitewashed was on the
south side of tho orchard that sloped
to the north. and these trees put out
later than unsprayed trees north of
them You can do nothing now to-pro-
| tect tho tree other than throwing some
| sort of tent or cover over II. Then
| next fall try. tho spraying with white
wash. and II may have some effect
FeTaifxer for TObacco-tirnss Mixture.
King William County: II have some
lano mat was In oak timber. IT was
| cleared last year and worked in hue-
cured tobacco. 1t is light gray soil,
| with light clay subsoil. we want TO
raise hue- cured tobacco on II again this
| season coming. and In the fall seed
| II down to a grass mixture best suited
| TO the land. think the land needs
| lime. but do not know. Please give
| mo what assistance you can, az L know
| nothing about farming and want to
| Know the best fertilizer for tobacco
! and for the grass" 1t is not a good
| plan to repeat the same crop on land
| But as your land is new, 1t Will do bet
| ter than on old land. The best fer
t!lizer for bright tobacco that have
| tried. and have already given in these
in North Carolina This is 900 pounds
t OF IL per cent acid phosphate 100
| pounds of nitrate of soda, 600 pounds
OF pure dried blood. 400 pounds OF high
grade sulphate of potash. to make
| ton.
This was used IN Granville County.
| y. c.. at rate OF 700 pounds an acre
| But on your fresh land 600 pounds
Will BIO sufficient per acre. ] suppose
that you want tho grass mixture for
hay. In that event you Will ind the
following good Tall Meadow Fescue,
ten pounds: Tall Meadow oat-grass,
ten pounds; Red clover, ten pounds. for
an acre. Sow the grass seed and then
! SOW the clover. aB you cannot keep
II we'll mixed with the lighter grass
seed. If sown early In tho fall the
clover should do well. II you want the
grass for permanent pasture. / would
mako different mixture and would
use ten pounds OF Orchard grass, ten
pounds OF Sheep Fescue or Red Top
grass and five pounds OF blue grass
and scatter some white clover seed,
about five pounds, after sowing the
grasses. You can ascertain whether
your land needs lime. as / have re-
peatedly shown. by getting soIne blue
litmus paper slips from q drug store
and milking up some OF the soil TO n
per in II. IT, In half an hour or less
1t turns pink. II shows that the soil is
acid and needs lime. But do not lime
ahead OF the tobacco. for il will darkcn
the tobacco; but lime after tobacco and
after blowing for the grass and har-
row the lime In on the fresh blowing
In regard TO the tobacco fertilizer
have letter In the same mail with
yours from a farmer In South Caro-
lima, who states that his neiEhbors and
himself used the fertilizer advised
and made $4,000 an acre their to-
bacco this year. All OF which is. OF
course. pleasant news to me
Preparing Lnnd for Vegetables.
North Carolina: Il have three acres
of newly cleared sandy land that I
wish to put in vegetables. Land was
cleared last spring and put In corn
and peas. with light dressing of
commercial fertilizer. and made about
ten bushels OF corn an acre. II l ap-
ply fifteen TO twenty cords OF stable
manure this fall and plow and cut 1t
fine and apply another good dressing
in the spring. do you think II will do
for growing onions. carrots, beets, etc. {?
Some say that the land Is too raw for
such crops. l expect, of course, TO use
commercial fertilizer literally before
planting" From my own experience
with the land in your immediate
neighborhood, think that you should
have lined II last spring. ahead OF
the corn planting. But the manure
now and in the spring Will be all right
II you axe then liberal with CONNER
c!al fertilizer. To show you how gar
deners on similar soil fertilize ] Will
say what ] have had in a letter from
n gardener on Long Island. He COW
cred his land we'll in the fall with
stable manure and in spring applied a
ton OF fertilizer an acre that ran about
Q per cent nitrogen. per cent phos-
phoric acid and per cent potash
This was used after covering the land
well over with stable manure.
The same gardener wrote that last
spring he prepared half an acre for
Chesapeake strawberry plants. and
used on II 200 pounds Of dried blood,
zoo pounds OF bone meal 400 pounds of
acid phosphate and 200 pounds Of mu-
riate OF potash. or at rate OF a ton an
acre And now he intends TO give the
strawberries q winter mulch OF coarse
stable manure. This is on land that
has been already MANFRED and worke ed
that only made ten bushels Of corn an
acre this year will need very heavy
manurinG and fertilization to grow
even moderately good crops OF vege-
tables Cover the land with manure
we'll now and let 1t lie on the surface
all winter. Plow II under In the early
spring and then get very high grade
fertilizer or one rich in nitrogen and
potash and use ton an acre and you
may get that land to make vegetables.
The mixture have given another cor
respondent above for tobacco will an
swer very we'll for vegetables, If used
heavily.
Soil for Alfalfa.
II have twelve acres OF sandy loan
bottom land now in clover. The re-
mander of my land is red and mixed
hills. Which will be best for alfalfa %
If the bottom land is well above any
overflow, II will be by far the best
place for alfalfa, and as it grows
clover, l suppose 1t is we'll enough
drained for alfalfa. But use the clover
next season. and do not SOW alfalfa in
the spring; for the crab grass viii be
certain to smother it.. You can turn
n clover sod in August and apply about