Purdue Up;
l_IE3R,<
LAFAYEP
VOL. LVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., APRIL 5, 1902.
NO. 14
To Brace a Fence Post.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Below find a diagram of how to brace a
wire fence post. Large posts not necessary, but should be 8 feet in length.      I
a
1
a
saw   query   in   your   paper,
needs to be  thoroughly  done.
r
The   work
Sam Eby.
A '"Farmer" in- March 8th issue asks
for method to brace end post of fence.
We believe the accompanying cut will explain itself, with the exception of saying:
1 is a large flat stone just under the surface; 2 is a piece of 2x0 plank 30 inches
long, spiked to bottom end of post before
putting post in hole.     The nature of the
la building the fence, without it is
woven, be sure when putting up wires to
start from the same end of fence each
lime. Should you reverse in stretching
every other strand, it will tend to slacken
every other one staple.
The corner post is not anchored in con-
uuence of the rod being in the way. A
panel of fence is not objectionable at the
corner; in fact it often saves the wire
from pulling staples, by persons climbing
at coiner of fields. If this should prove
to be of any advantage to A Farmer, all
I charge, whether he adopts it or not, is
to sign his right name, and his place of
abode. Robert Morris.
Washington Co.
soil has something to do with necessary
depth of post. If clay soil four feet will
be deep enough; lean post slightly away
from pull of fence, put in dirt, small
amount at each time and tamp solid, especially at aides and back of post, the
top half should be tamped very solid in
front. W. A. O.
Vermillion Co.
I noticed in the Indiana Farmer, of No.
10, March 8, an article from some one
signed a Farmer, who wishes to know
how to brace a post, so it will be perfectly
rigid. I suppose he means for a wire
fence. A y2 inch rod of iron, 10 feet long,
with an eye on one end for a key or
bolt, with a thread cut and a tap to
tighten on the other end, is what he needs.
Then if rocks are accessible, get one two
feet long, by most any thickness, with a
hole drilled to receive end of rod, with
bolt back of rock, buried in the ground
or if not convenient to drill a hole, two
rocks will answer just as well, with bolt
between. A hole nearest the side of post,
that the wire is attached, (to prevent the
post from tendency to turn), for other
end of rod. with washer and nut attached.
When   properly   fixed   it   is   rigid   tight.
A
Editors Iudiana Farmer:
In the Farmer of March 15 "A Farmer"
inquires if anyone can eell him how to
brace the end posts for a wire fence. Let
him dig a hole about 3% feet from the
end post of his fence, then set a good
solid post back seven feet from the end
post, with a good brace put in horizontally, about two feet from the top. Then
get a large stone or block of wood for an
anchor and run three strands of No. 9
wire from the top of the secodn post down
past the end post about six inches under
ground, down in the bottom of the hole
dug at the end of your fence. Throw
your anchor in the hole upon the wire,
then bring it around on the other side of
the end post up to the top of the second
post and securely fastening the ends. It
's best rot to put the brace m until the
wires are fastened. Weieht your anchor
down and tamp the dirt in solid. Tighten
vour wires by twisting. You are now
renay ror your fence. You need not be
afraid of pulling up the end posts. Where
there is room at the end of the fence we
sometimes leave out the second post ana
the brace and simply run the anchor wires
out about eight feet from the end post.
If any one has a better way lets hear it.
Union Co. w. H. L.
As a matter of fact, about 400 pounds
of a fertilizer containing 1 to 2 ammonia,
7 to 8 available phosphoric acid, and 1 to
2potash is used; supplying per acre about
6 pounds ammonia, 6 pounds potash and 30
pounds available phosphoric acid. There
is enough phosphoric acid, but there the
fertilizer stops, and also the oats crop
stops too. It is quite useless to expect
oats to search through the soil for potash
as does corn, it has not the long period of
growth, not the extensive root system.
One of the first signs of a potash shortage
is sham grain; that is, grain with little or
no kernel—all husk. The grain falls way
below in weight, and gives its producer a
bad name. It is worth little for feeding
purposes.
If oats must be planted, lessen the area
to suit the quantity of proper fertilizer you
can buy. It pays better to grow 600 bushels on 10 acres than 600 bushels on 30
acres. If your dealer will not supply
proper oats fertilizer, and you owe him
too much to take your trade elsewhere, buy
of him some muriate of potash, or kainit,
and apply with fertilizer, at the rate of
100 pounds of muriate or 400 pounds of
kainit per acre. With this treatment, your
clover following oats, which is a good plan,
will also do well for clover following oats,
game laws by striking out the objectionable word "enclosed" occurring before
the word "land" in section 8, and all objections to the game laws on the part of
farmers would be removed.
John Smith.
—We stand corrected. The law should
be amended so to afford protection- for the
farmer whose land is not fenced. It
will soon be time to interview candidates
for the legislature on the subject. Let
a concerted action be had from all sections of the State as you suggest, and the
amendment will be made undoubtedly.
which is a good plan, willalso."do "well" for  crops for many years in succession,  and
clover must hare plenty of notash.     Tt is   at the end of their usefulness may hav
Wher rocks are not to be had, of course
some durable timber as red cedar or black
locust, will answer as an anchor, with a
hole for the rod, keyed on smooth surface
of hard  wood.
Full Weight Oats.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
As soils become worn with incessant
cropping and insufficient fertilization, one
of the first crops to show exhaustion is
oats. It shows first in a failure to give
grain full weight, then- the straw becomes
short, and grain very scanty, and the crop
is abandoned. The reason, nine times out
of ten, is a pure and simple lack of available plant food. The oat crop has a short
season of growth ami the action of soil
forces in making insoluable plant food
available, are not in full work when the
oats must necessarily mature. Another
point is the unfortunate use of fertilizers
high in phosphoric acid as compared with
nitrogen and potash, which results in a
forced early maturity of the crop.
The plant food needs of the oat crop are
heavy. To yield 60 bushels of grain and
3,200 pounds of straw per acre, the plant
must have the actual use of about 60
pounds of nitrogen, 65 pounds of potash,
and 25 pounds of phosphoric acid. This
means an application per acre of 1,000
pounds of fertilizer containing 6 per cent
nitrogen, 6 to 7 per cent potash, and 2 to
3 per cent available phosphoric acid. Of
course the nitrogen may be lessened as
clover in some form will have started some
available nitrogen in the soil, but the
potash and phosphoric acid must be supplied. Now. who will use 1,000 pounds of
a fertilizer on oats, and who can get a
fertilizer containing 2 per cent ammonia
6 to 7 per cent potash and 2 to 3 per cent
phosphoric acid?
clover must hare plenty of potash. It is
because oats clean the top soil so effectually of potash, that this is called an exhausting crop.
All farmers should study this matter of
crop needs in plant food. The oat crop
illustrated here is only one problem in
many. They are simple questions when
tackled squarely, but you must take only
your facts second hand. Do your thinking
for yourself. A fertilizer dealer is a necessary aid in farming, but are rarely farmers. The farmers should buy what he
wants of the dealer, not go to the dealer to
find out what he wants. S. P. Cox.
The Legumes.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
The value of leguminous plants as fertility builders is becoming better known
each year. Yet there arc districts where
the legumes are not planted to any great
extent, and many of the farmers in such
localities are wondering why they do not
iaise the heavy crops "they used to". The
leason is not hard to find. Those inexhaustible prairie soils are not as inexhaustible as was supposed. Year by
year they gave back almost imperceptibly
until a worn out condition is reached. It
is true that they may bear the same
crops for many years in succession,
Huntinjr on Enclosed Lands.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
At the risk of becoming tiresome I feel
compelled to again call your attention to
the Game Law.
In a foot note to a communication from
Clinton county, in your issue of March
22d, you state:
"Section 8 forbids hunting on any farmer's land without his written permission."
In a previous communication which
you kindy published in your issue of Jan.
25th, I called attention to the fact that
Section 8, requires the written consent
of the owner or tenant only, when hunting
upon closed land. As the law now stand.*
there is virtually no protection against
hunters who hunt upon land that is not
enclosed.
So you see that the foot note above referred to is misleading, though evidently
not intended to be so. The simplest way
would be, in my opinion ,to amend the
game law by striking out the word "enclosed" occurring before the word "land"
in section 8, and then the law would
read as your foot not infers. It is only
then, and not until then, that persons will
be forbidden to hunt "on any farmer's
land without written consent."
Let us not get away from the fact that,
as the law now stands it is only necessary to obtain a written consent from the
owner or tenant when hunting upon "enclosed land" and no written permit from
any one is necessary when hunting upon
unenclosed land.
Let the farmers throughout the state
understand this, and by a united effort
induce the next legislature to amend the
brought during the years of their cultivation many  times  the  original  cost  price,
but there is really no need of their ever
approaching  very  near  the  condition  referred to.     The growing and selling from
the  farm  of heavy  potash  and  nitrogen
feeding crops, without  replacing the loss
to the ground will sooner or later exhaust
even prairie  soil as rich as it is.      The
only wonder is that it has not worn out
sooner.      There   are  many  farmers   who
feed   annually   large   numbers   of   cattle,
who consider it almost a waste of time
to haul out and scatter manure on cultivated land.     But oftener the supply of
barnyard manure runs out before all the
land is covered.     In that case the leguminous crop, to which belongs the property
of drawing on the air for its supply of
nitrogen and  converting this  usually unavailable     element  into     available  plant
food,   is  invaluable  as  a   soil   renovator.
By legumes are meant those plants which
bear their seeds in legumes or pods, and
of these there are something less than 100
in cultivation-.     Alfalfa and the soy bean
are the best known of these plants in the
west.      The roots of these  are  prorided
with tiny nodules, which are supposed to
contain the nitrogen fixing bacteria. However this may be, the plants are raluable
if a stand can be obtained on old culti-
rated fields, for bringing them into a higher degree of fertility and  restoring them
from their partly rundown condition. What
red clover does erery year for the Bast,
alfalfa  will  do for the West.      The soy
bean takes the place of the cow pea  in
the West, in that it resists drouth better
and  can be grown  on  a  wider range of
soils.       However,   different   leguminous
plants succeed in different localities, even
in the West, and it remains for the farmer to  decide  which  are  best adapted  to
his particular vicinity.     AH legumes have
the property of drawing nitrogen- from the
the  atmosphere,  and  these  are  the  only
plants which have.     As their roots usually penetrate deeply into the subsoil they
have been termed the farmer's subsoilers
Especially   is   this   true   of   the   clovers.
When   their   mechanical   action   becomes
more generally known there will be more
of  them   planted,   and  the   farmers   will
be enriched in proportion.
Kansas. A prairie Parmer