Evening star., 1916-01-09
All Around the Place.

All Around the Place.
| The greatest drawback to profitable
farming, gardening and general agricul-
ture in this section is the condition OF
the soil on the average farm. Improper
ly, wastefully and unscientifically cropped
for years and years. the soil has lost
practically all of its humus. many of its
mineral salts and has degenerated into
such a condition that every rain washes
and gullies the land, teaches out still more
of the fertility and finally converts whole
farms into barren. unproductive areas in
capable of producing anything but
igrowths of weeds and briars. Restoration
iof fertility in such areas means vastly
Increased productiveness, improved farm
conditions. more money for the farmers,
larger supplies for the consumers and
benefits all around.
To restore the fertility to orn-out
soils is an easy process. but one little
understood by the average farmer. 1t in
wolves simply the restoration to the soil
of it's humus, the increase of those min
eral elements that are utilized by plants
in their growth and the prevention of soil
washing or erosion The following pro-
ceOure is recommended DE experts con-
nected with an eastern establishment that
has been closely connected with farming
and gardening for the past ia years:
| "The proper preparation of land so as
to insure maximum crops is a weighty
problem with most farmers and garden
ers. if we can judge from the number of
requests that come in daily for informa-
| ton on the subject, says the publication
| ITO prepare old, worn-out soils that have
! fn ovaf{ {r,f, h,,-
condition it is necessary to get the soil
\ mellow, well enriched with decayed yepe-
table matter and well rotted BARNARD
manure and clear of weeds, briars and
| brushes.
The ground should be plowed as
early in the spring as it can be worked
! putting on about one ton of burnt lime
to the acre. Harrow and pulverize the
soil, giving it a thorough working to
| get 1t as fine as possible. Sow one and
a half bushels of Canada field peas and
| three bushels of oats to the acre. Late
IN June or early in July plow this crop
under. applying thirty to forty loads
| OF well rotted barnyard manure per
acre. yell worked in. and SOW two
| bushels of buckwheat and rye and
twenty pounds of crimson clover to the
acre, or two and a half bushels of
| Canada field peas or cowpeas. If buck
| wheat. rye and clover are used let the
| buckwheat die down when frost comes
\ anu picW all uHoer tne following spring.
\ II coWpeas are used turn them under In
| September and apply ton of unleached
! hardwood ashes per acre; SOW two
! bushels of rye per acre. and in the
| loads of barnyard manure, plowing all
under as soon as the ground is dry
enough to work.
of cereals mentioned above, the oats
| and peas may be followed by a plant
ing of white beans. planted in hills,
| cultivated both ways and hoed In
and in spring plow all under: another
half ton of lime may be used to ad-
| vantage, and the cultivating and hoe
| ing will clean out the weeds and give
oughly plowed and narrowed, should be
mellow and rich enough to grow any
| kind of crops.
ground as deeply as possible in the fall:
| harrow and pulverize it to make it
| friable and easy to work Apply as
| top dressing fifty bushels of air-slaked
| lime and sow two bushels of rye per
acre. Apply thirty or forty loads of
| barnyard manure per acre early in
| spring and plow all under early in
June; then sow two and half bushels
| tivate them in. About the end of Sep
| tember turn the cowpeas under. apply
| ing one ton of unleached hardwood
| ashes per acre, and again SOW to rye.
| Next spring apply forty loads of well
rotted manure and plow all under as
soon as dry enough.
"In order to renovate ground used as
a vegetable garden and allowed to run
down. soon as frost comes the
| ground should be plowed. applying a
| liberal quantity of sheep manure. Work
1 it in well, then sow two bushels of win
1 -
this should be plowed well under after
| applying a complete fertilizer at the
rate of 1900 to $500 pounds per acre.
| Gardeners throughout the entire sec
tion adjacent to the District of Colufp- =
| bia have in recent years suffered inS
creasing losses through the ravages OF
the striped cucumber beetle. The in
sect not only destroys immense num-
| bers of plants Of cucumbers. melons and
| squash by it's attacks in feeding, but
it has been proved that it plays an i'm
| portant part in spreading the bacteria
of wilt of cucumber, melon and squash
plants. 1t has further been determined
| that the alternating beetles carry the
wilt infection over from one season to
the young plants of the next spring.
| Experiments reported in the Ameri-
can journal of Agricultural Research
detail the work Of investigation in
Long Island. n. Y The Investigator
grew cucumberS vines in beetleproof
cages in two fields where in 1914 about
| IS per cent of the cucumber vines had
| been destroyed by the wilt. Some of
| the test plants were thus kept abso-
luteIy free from beetles, while beetles
| recently out of winter alternating
quarters were introduced purposely into
other cages.
| The experiments established abso-
| iutely that the beetle carries wilt dur
| ing the growing season from infected
to other plants. In all cages from
which beetles were excluded the plants
| remained free from the disease in both
| fields, although wilt-infected plants
were growing all around these cages.
On the other hand, wilt was found in
ber beetle had gained access to the
plants In one cage, supposed to be
free from beetles, wilt was observed
just starting on the tip of one plant at
a point gnawed by beetle. Careful
| search of this cage disclosed striped
! beetle After the beetle had been re-
moved and the one wilted plant had
| been taken out no further signs OF
the disease appeared in that cage.
| The cage experiments indicate that
| wilt bacteria are carried over the win
ter by hibernating beetles and are
inoculated into the next crop of Gu
cumber plants when the beetles feed
| upon the young leaves. The results
! seem to indicate. however, that not all
! hibernating beetles carry the disease