Where Returns Are Largest
Categories: DRAINAGEThe total area of land needing drainage is
immense. Swamps form only a small part of this area. Yields of much old
farm land are limited by the excess of water during portions of the
year. As land becomes older, the area needing drainage increases.
The owner of wet land does well to gain his first experience in a field
where a swale or other wet strip not only fails to produce a full crop,
but limits the yield of the remainder of the field by delaying planting
and cultivation. This double profit often is sufficient to repay cost
in a single year.
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We Are Troubled With Pumpkin Bugs Please Tell Us What To Do For Them
When the bugs first make their appearance in the field they can be easily disposed of by hand picking and dropping into a bucket containing about two inches of water with about one-fourth inch of kerosene on top to kill the bugs. The picking should ... We Use Sulphuric Acid The Results Were Favorable From The Very Start
The warts rapidly shrunk away and finally disappeared entirely. The acid is applied to the crown of the wart with a small swab or similar instrument, and only in sufficient quantities to wet the crown surface of the wart. It should be applied about th... We Would Not Plant Such Land To Fruit At All Except A Family Orchard
The fruits most likely to succeed are pears and pecans. On such land alfalfa should not hurt trees unless it is allowed to actually strangle them. The alfalfa may help the trees by pumping out some of the surplus water. ... What Gypsum Does
I intend to fertilize alfalfa and should like to know about gypsum. I have heard it stimulates the growth temporarily but in three or four years hurts the land. I have heavy land. The functions of gypsum are: (a) to supply lime when the soil l... What To Do Against Tuberculous Milk
I should like to know what could be done with a dairy where cows are dying with tuberculosis and the owner knows, but is selling the milk. The case should be reported to F. W. Andreason, Secretary of the State Dairy Bureau, at San Francisco, f... What To Do With Frosted Oranges
What is the best plan of treatment for frosted orange trees? The crop will be a total loss. It does not show any tendency to fall off the trees, however. Should it be picked off, thrown on the ground and plowed under? Should this be done right a... Wheat And Barley For Feeding
What is the difference in the feeding value of wheat and barley for hogs and horses? There is very little difference in the chemical composition of wheat and barley. In their physical condition there is much difference, chiefly because of the... Wheat Or Barley For Hogs
Which would be the better grain for me to buy for hog feed; wheat at $1.30 per hundred, or barley at $1? Would it be worth paying 10 cents a hundred for rolling, and then haul the grain 8 miles by wagon? Wheat is only considered about 10 per c... When I Sell My Cream From The Separator They Say They Cannot Whip It
Can you tell me if there is any way that I can make the cream whip? There appears to be no good reason for blaming the separator for your difficulty with the cream. Possibly the cream may be too thin, as thin cream is sometimes difficult to whip. Th... When To Cut Oat Hay
To make the best red oat hay should it be cut when in the "milk," "dough" or nearly ripe! It should be cut in the "soft dough" or, as some express it, "between the milk and the dough." This is probably as near an approach in words as can be m... When To Plant Potatoes
I have been puzzled to understand Potato growing in California. Do you have more than one cropping season, and if so, about what dates are they due? Every month in the year potatoes are being put into the ground and being taken out of the gro... When To Plow Down
If rye has made a good growth before spring, the roots run deeper than the plow goes, and holds the soil much like a grass sod. In such a case the plowing may be made early in the spring without regard to the rye, though organic matter increases rapid... When To Plow Down
Excellent farmers differ regarding the relative efficiencies of manure plowed down and that mixed with the top soil. Both classes may be right for their individual instances. The plowing down of manure helps to deepen the soil, and that always is desi... When To Turn Down
When the maximum benefit is desired for the soil from a crop of clover, the first growth should not be plowed down. Its office should be that of a mulch. In its decay all the mineral plant-food and most of the nitrogen go into the soil. The second cro... Where Alfalfa Is Grown
In what counties is alfalfa most successfully grown? By this I mean where three crops of hay may be had each growing season. Also, will corn grow good paying crops in same sections? Alfalfa is grown all through the valleys and foothills of int... Where Clover Is Not Wanted
The ability to grow heavy red clover is a practical assurance that the soil's content of lime is sufficiently high. When clover fails on account of a lime deficiency, the work of applying lime may not be escaped by a shift in the farm scheme that per... Where Returns Are Largest
The total area of land needing drainage is immense. Swamps form only a small part of this area. Yields of much old farm land are limited by the excess of water during portions of the year. As land becomes older, the area needing drainage increases. ... Whether You Will Fully Succeed Against Bermuda Grass Or Not Is Doubtful
It is probable, however, that you can reduce the Bermuda so that other cultivated crops can be continuously grown. Common experience is that Bermuda will hold on unless you have hard freezing of the ground to a considerable depth, as they have in the ... White-yolk Eggs
Why are eggs watery and light-colored? The trouble is in the feed somewhere. Too much green feed, especially green feed that springs from wet, soggy ground, will sometimes make the eggs watery. Or if you are feeding more mash feed than dry gra... Whitewash For Spray Pump
Can you give a recipe for a durable whitewash which can be prepared simply and in large quantities? The whitewash will be applied with a spray pump. To 25 pounds of lime, whole, slacking with 6 gallons of water, add 6 pounds of common salt an... Whitewash Requires Some Kind Of Grease In It To Make It Most Durable
Any kind of grease, even though it be old and partly spoiled, will answer all right, though tallow is best. The grease imparts to the whitewash an oil property the same as in good paint. Tallow will stay right on the job for years, and the cheapest of... Whitewashes For Stock Buildings
I desire whitewash recipes which have given durable results on outbuildings. It is so desirable to make outbuildings neat and clean, and so important to keep trees from sunburning, etc., that a durable whitewash as cheaply and easily made as ... Whitewashing Fruit Trees
When is the proper time to whitewash walnut trees to prevent sun scald? How high up is it advisable to apply the wash? Whitewash after heavy rains are over and before the sun gets very hot; near the coast see that it is on early in April; in t... Whole Roots Or Piece Roots
For commercial apple orchards which is preferable, trees grafted on piece roots or on whole roots? On behalf of the piece-root trees it is claimed they sprout up less around the tree. On the other hand, it is claimed they never make a vigorous t... Why The Beans Are Waiting
Can you tell me why pink beans which were planted early in Merced county, irrigated four times, hoed four times and cultivated, have no beans on them? The vines look finely. Probably because you had too much hot, dry wind at the blooming. This... Wild Cherries
Where do the Mahaleb and Mazzard cherries grow naturally? How large are the trees, and what kind of fruit do they bear? The Mazzards, of which there are many, and some of them wild in the Eastern States, are counted inferior seedlings of the s... Wind-blown Orange Trees
What would you do for citrus trees five years old that have been badly blown out of shape? Such trees must be trued up by pruning into the wind; that is, cutting to outside buds on the windward side and to inside buds on the lee side; also re... Winter Feed For Sheep
What would be the best to sow for sheep pasture - barley, oats, rye, vetch or rape? Of the grains, rye is usually found to be best for quick winter growth, and rye and vetches sown together are very satisfactory, because the rye holds the vet... Winter Forage
At what time of the year should I plant kale, Swiss chard, etc., so as to have them ready for use during the months from February to June? You should plant Swiss chard, kale, etc., as soon as the ground is sufficiently moist from the rain in t... Winter Irrigation
Last May I irrigated my prune trees for the first time, again during the first two weeks of last December. If no rain should come within the next two weeks, would you advise me to irrigate then? Should I plow before irrigating, or should irrigat... Wire Worms
Is there any way to destroy or overcome the destructive work of the wireworm, which I find in some spots takes the lion's share of crops, such as beans, potatoes, onions, etc.? We do not know any easy way with wire worms. Nitrate of soda is be... Wood Ashes And Tomatoes
Is there any harm to vegetable growing to dig sufficient of wood ashes in for mellowing heavy soil? My tomato plants grew splendidly this year, but the fruits were all rough and wrinkled. I gave them plenty of horse and poultry manure at plantin...