The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1917-04-18

! IMPORTANT FOR ALL WITH GARDENS OF M SIZE.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PREPARES COMPLETE MANUAL
As a stimulus of the movement for more extensive gardening to feed the
country during the war, the Department of Agriculture has prepared for
free distribution a complete manual for the guidance of gardeners. Thousands
Of copies have been printed. The department will mail a copy to any person
requesting it.
The booklet contains detailed instructions. founded upon the best scien-
tfc and practical knowledge and stated comprehcnswdy, s. a to be of value
to novces particularly. The principles OF garden plotting, choice of crops,
preparation of soil, cultivation and irrigation are discussed in successive sec
tons and there m many illustrations showing the proper tools and their
use, the tables showing depths of planting and similar details.
In a foreword the department points out the comparative simplicity Of
gardening methods and outlines the essentials as follows:
By the exercise of care and forethoughti in planting succession crops and
rotations and the utilization of every foot of available space, it is possible
to grow considerable quantities of vegetables on limited acres and st sup
plement the family food supply. The principal factors in accomplishing this
are the use of seed boxes and hot beds to give plants al early start in spring
before seeds may be planted outdoors, the Use of outside seed beds to carry
plants for main season crops while early crops are occupying the garden
space, and the planting of late o succession crops S soon as earlier plants
have been removed.
YOUR GARDEN ENEMIES.
The by who gets out early in the morning in his garden and begins
to pick sqvasa bugs, cucumber beetles, potato bugs and sush slugs and cut
the wire worms al are in sight, with his thumb and forefnger and drop them
in a deep c7n, will do more good than poison could do in three days.
Pour boiling hot water into the tin holding these insects to make sure
that they are killed. Go around every morning. Do not wait until after
school or late in the day because they have Toasted and crawled away to
sleep and rcst-most of them. Do not try to pick them at noon because
and early in the morning they come out with the sparkling dew to get busy
and eat the GOOD things you planted. Get up an hour earlier three mornings
a week just to do this and the result will pay you 10 times w when your
garden begins to supply you with peas and beans and cucumbers and lettuce
and radishes and many other deicacies.
All owners of horse and cow lots, livery-stables, city stables and private
stables please take notice. May cost a little bit, but is cheaper by far than
disease, taken from a multitude of flies.
This war won't be half so bad if we all keep healthy and with just a
little thought and care " can do this.
We heard of one family having to move because their neighbours lot was
so disagreeable to smell and furnished such a breeding place for flies, that
they felt that they could not go through the summer near it. Is that right!
Is it good neighbory? LET'S ALL work together for a healthy and beauti-
full town. We can't do away with our guilt by shutting our eyes if our neigh
bes get sickness from flies for which ur horse n COW lot has furnished the
breeding place Hadn't you rather pay out $500, $1,000 or even $4,000 In
one season than to have this guilt attached to your souls?
FERTILIZER MIXTURES PREVENT FLIES BREEDING IN MANURE.
That flies may be prevented from breeding in barnyard manure by adding
to the substance the common fertilizer ingredients, calcium cyanamid, acid
phosphate and kainh, has been demonstrated by recent experiments made by
the bureaus of entomology and chemistry of the United States Department of
Agriculture. The valuable feature of the discovery is that by the treatment
the fertinzing value of the manure is increased at the same time that is
menace to health is lessened, Under treatments for preventing flies breeding
in manure heretofore in use the fertiizing value Of the substance has been
decreased or net affected.
The fertilizer ingredients indicate by the experiments to be most efec-
tive in preventing the development of fly maggots in manure is calcium cyan
amid. a compound in which nitrogen from the air is fixed BY electricity. The
Investigations showed the value, however of adding other ingredients to bal
ance properly the chemical effects and to prevent waste of fertizng ele-
needed, but a still better fertilizer was obtained when kant, wa used also,
Tn three substances, cyanamid, acid phosphate and kainit give a fertilizer
complete in itself, containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, as well as
Inns.
As q result of the experiments the departments specialists advocate the
use Of mixtures Of one pound of cyanamd and two to four peunds Of acid
boxes or pits. When the manure is in open piles the rate Of application
should be four pounds of cyanamid and four Or more pounds Of acid phosphate
ments more than four pounds Of acid phosphate ae recommended. When
kaint is used it may replace a portion of the phosphate.
When manure from pits treated as suggested above is applied as ferdl-
izer, the rate should be nine tons per acre to provide the amount of cyanamid
calculated to be most effective. Manure, treated in open piles should not be
applied in excess of 2 IL tons per acre. since it contains a much higher per-
centage of the commercial fertilizer than the pittreated product.
Earlier experiments made by the departments specialists prove that
Ib0raX and heuebore are effective IN preventing lies from Dreedlng IN manure
The use Of borax was found to constitute the cheapest effective treatment,
costing onehalf cent per bushel Of treated manure. This treatment may les
sen the value of the manure for agriculture purposes, however. The belle
bore treatment was found to cost about one cent per bushel of manure, and
neither lessons nor increases the fertiizing value. The treatment with fer
hHzer ingredients just evolved costs from one-half cent per bushel Of manure
when treatment is in pits to 1s cents per bushel when the treatment is
in open piles. This cost is based on the normal selling prices Of the fertilizer
ingredients, and is materially lessened in effect by the increased fertilizer
ingredients added, but also their presence prevents the waste of certain
valuable elements usually lost from untreated manure.
In their most recent experiments in the treatment of manure the d.
partments specialists tried numerous other substances, including sulphur and
various plant infudens. From none Of these however, were the results %
satisfactory as those obtained with the use d borax, henebore and the fer
tlizer mixtures. Acting on the data gathered from the groups of experiments
carried on since 1918, the specialists recommend the use of bTax for pre-
venting the breeding of flies in manure when the latter is not to be put to
agriculture use, and the use of either the fertilizer mixtures already descrb-
ed of heebore when the manure is to be used agricuturany.
The experiments Of the described in the United States Department OF
Agriculture Bulletin No, 4Ds by F. c. Cook of the bureau of chemistry and
R. H. Hutchisoa of the bureau Of entomology:
COMMITTEE OF HouSEKEEPERs,
|pRI7EH F0R THE NCH00T,