Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-17


could plant the Bermuda sets without
removing the stumps, as they VIII
quickly decay.
FERTII.IZING VALUE OF SAW-MILL
ASHES.
r. NJ c. Cleveland, Ca, writes: Are
ashes from oak, spruce and white pine rom
a big saw mill furnace worth anything as
fertilizer? They analyEe high In potash,
but there is dispute among the people
here TO their availability as plant s st;
They are full of cinders and / am AFRAID
they have been burned too hard trle1
some once and did not get the results
thought | should. would like TO use
good lot Of them around my late crops II l
knew it would pay. ! would like your ad-
vice in the matter.
The amount of plant food in ashes va
ries considerably according TO the char
acter of trees from which the ashes are
derived and the treatment to which
they are subjected after they have been
burned. Mixed wood ashes probably
contain anywhere from to per cent
of carbonate of potash. They also con-
tain a little phosphoric acid, say from
lis to per cent. The potash in ashes
from hard wood trees generally runs
higher than that from soft wood trees
/ can see no reason why ashes burn
ed in a big saw mill furnace, If remov-
ed while in a fresh condition and applied
70 the land should not be valuable for
fertilizing purposes If they are puIled
out of the furnace box and exposed to
rain their value will be greatly lessened
because the potash they contain is IN
readily soluble form and hence is easily
washed out of the ashes if they are SUI
jected to teaching.
To get the best results from ashes one
should apply them separately from other
fertilizers and as a rule broadcast
over the land. You may use anywhere
from 500 to 1000 pounds per acre. PROB
ably 1000 pounds would be the best
amount to use for most field crops and
. 900 pounds the right amount TO apply
for garden and truck crops When the
ashes are scattered over the land we
would harrow them into the soil thor
oughlv and then Law off or Der the soil
as seems best. open burrows mix such
additional fertilizers as you wish to
use with the soil in the bottom OF the
burrows and plant the crop.
= There is nothing you could use TO I'M
lock the potash in wood ashes, and, In
fact there is nothing needed for this
purpose The fact that they contain
some cinders or dirt simply means that
YOU will have to use more Of them to OBJ
tain a given amount Of potash as com
pared with a higher grade of ashes
formed from such material. In view OF
the high price of potash and the Difficult
ty in obtaining the same, and the value
of using it in association with our gar
den and truck crops, ! would certainly
save and use all the wood ashes possible.
PLANTING IRISH POTATOES AFTER
ONIONS.
n C. B.. Hickory, N c., writes: | have
about a quarter of acre that was In
onions. I want to put 1t In Irish potatoes
now. broadcasted a barrel OF crushed
lime rock IL. Will IL do the potatoes
any harm lessen the yield:
1t is not considered good practice to
use lime on land which is intended for
Irish potatoes, as it tends to produce
the formation of scab. This, as you
know, makes the potatoes very unat-
tractive in appearance and also causes
a very considerable amount of waste in
preparing them for food. Any disease
naturally affects the growth and devel-
opment of a crop unfavorably. Fota-
toes like a neutral or slightly acid soil.
Since you put the lime on some time ago
and used such a relatively small guam
tity it will not likely interfere serious
ly with your potato crop. No doubt you
mixed the lime thoroughly with the top
layer of soil While under the circum-
stances we think you may plant pota-
toes on this land with safety, We con-
slider the practice Of using lime in as
sociation with this crop Objectionable
for the reasons assigned above and
would therefore. advise against its use.
FOOD VALUE OF CORN STALKS FOR
cows.
W. T.. Townsville, Ca. writes: Are
corn stalks, such as we get out Of the
garden at this time Of year from which
the green corn has been pulled. a safe feed
nilch when Cut p1rad vv1t
dry cut hay, soakd owe night with salt wa
ter sprinkIed It and fed In equal parts
with regular sweet dairy feed?
There is no reason why the corn
stalks to which you refer should not
be used as part of the ration for your
dairy cows If you cut them up and
sprinkle water containing a little salt
over them you will add to their palar-
ability and a greater percentage of the
food will be eaten on that account. We
do not think II necessary for you to
soak them over night. however, unless
they are quite dry. You should be sure
10 see that the cut feed is not piled
up too high or else II may heat and
mould. Should moulds develop 1t would
be Objectionable to use for food.
We would handle this semi-green corn
Just as we would any other soiling or
forage crop. You will find it a very
valuable roughage. as the stalks and
leaves contain very considerable
amount of nutriment. You can of course
cut this corn and shock 1t in the fields
and let II dry out. In that event you
would then need to chop II up in a
cutting box to moisten II and let IL |
stand for a few hours before feeding
IT. 1t can of course be run into the
silo If you have one. There is no
danger of feeding sorghum to cows.
Once in while in an exceedingly dry |