

THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



In diversified farming by irrigation lies the salvation of agriculture. 



Short, practical articles, notes of experience and observation, are invited from the readers of THE IRRI- 

 GATION AGE who are interested in the promotion of the idea of the small diversified farm providing to the 

 fullest economical extent all of the various articles of food, clothing, etc., required by the family. 



THE ORCHARD FOR THE SMALL FARM. 



P. J. SPRENG, before the Shawnee County, Kansas, Horticultural 

 Society. 



SUCH an orchard should be of such size and com- 

 position as may, under stress of unfavorable 

 conditions, yet reasonably be expected to afford 

 its owner, as near as may be, a continuous supply of 

 good fruit from the earliest ripe to the latest keeper, 

 embracing a period of at least ten or more months 

 of the year; and that, when the season shall have 

 been propitious and the yield abundant, the surplus 

 shall find a ready market by reason of adaptability 

 and merit. 



To such ends I would plant approximately 200 ap- 



Ele trees, about as follows: For early Benoni, 5; 

 arly Harvest, 5; Cooper's Early White, 5; Maiden's 

 Blush, 5; Sweet Talman or Bailey, 5. 



Fall Fameuse, 5; Jonathan, 10; Grimes' Golden, 

 10; Smith's Cider, 40. 



Winter Ben Davis, 40; Winesap, 20; Missouri 

 Pippin, 20; York Imperial, 20; Rawle's Genet, 10 

 Total, 200. 



In pears I would confine myself to the Seckel and 

 Kieffer; in plums to to the Wild Goose and Leka, 

 which ripens in October; of cherries I prefer the 

 Early and Late Richmond, the common and English 

 Morello; of quinces the Orange; currants, Red 

 Dutch; grapes, Moore's Early, Dracut Amber, Wor- 

 den, Concord, Elvira, Pocklington, Niagara and 

 Goethe. 



These I would plant where it would most nearly 

 conform to the convenience of the family and the 

 general arrangement of the premises, regardless of 

 the generally expressed preference for a north slope 

 (or any other slope, for that matter). I much prefer 

 a site approximating the level, with a fertile surface 

 and porous subsoil. 



The apple trees should be set 30x30 feet. The 

 trees in the rows north and south may be alternated 

 with peaches at small expense to the owner and little 

 inconvenience to the cultivator, and they will proba- 

 bly have outlived their usefulness by the time the 

 apple trees have attained their growth, and may be 

 removed without loss. I would plant in the spring, 

 two-year old trees that were not taken up (or dis- 

 turbed) in the fall, and set them about two inches 

 deeper than they stood in the nursery row, on such 

 soil as above indicated. On a non-porous subsoil the 

 tree should not be set so deep as to promote the accu- 

 mulation of water about the roots. Plant popcorn, 

 sweet corn, potatoes or cabbages in the plat, and cul- 

 tivate thoroughly for from three to five years, then 

 sow to red clover, mow twice a year and keep all 

 stock out. Keeping the trees well pruned, shaped 

 and balanced from the start, will not be regretted 

 later on. Wash the trunks with a solution of lye at 

 least twice a year April and last of June, and sprin- 

 kle flour of sulphur on the ground about the trunk, 

 covering it (the sulphur) with sufficient earth to keep 



it moist, and few, if any, borers will work under that 

 surface. Protect from rabbits. A good way to do 

 this is to kill one, and cut in pieces and rub the trunk 

 of tree with it. The pears may be set twelve feet 

 apart in row, the cherries twenty feet, the grapes 

 eight feet in row, and rows twelve feet apart. The 

 currants should have very rich soil, and be planted 

 five feet apart in row, and protected from the sun by 

 planting on the north side of a board fence or row of 

 trees. Quinces and gooseberries will do well any- 

 where in good soil. These suggestions are in line 

 with my personal experience. Whether or not they 

 merit the consideration of others in any degree, may 

 be determined by investigation or personal experi- 

 ence, keeping in mind that loss and disappointment 

 is the price of ignorance, negligence and sloth. This 

 always has been, is now, and always will be, suscepti- 

 ble of verification at short range. 



Pork and Dairying Together. A writer in 

 the American Cu//zvafor criticises the common prac- 

 tice of throwing whey, milk and buttermilk into the 

 swill-barrel and leaving them there until sour. He 

 says that if pig-raisers would only appreciate the fact 

 that the best part of the swill is lost to the animals 

 when allowed to sour and ferment, there would be less 

 of this old-fashioned slops fed. Pigs want sweet 

 food, and the sugar contained in sweet milk does 

 them as much good as any of the other constituents. 



Dairymen may learn a lesson in feeding their pigs 

 with the buttermilk, whey and washings. There was 

 some justification in their action of throwing every- 

 thing into the swill for somebody else's pigs, but 

 when they have their own pigs to look after, it is a poor 

 cutthroat policy. Save the buttermilk and whey by 

 all means for the animals, but give to them while 

 sweet. This can be done by carefully washing and 

 scalding all of the utensils each time before the swill 

 is put into them, and then by feeding the swill fresh 

 each day. Just enough pigs should be kept to use up 

 this waste and no more. Sour bread and slops from 

 the house should not be thrown in the barrel. They 

 should be given to the swine separately. If mixed 

 with the buttermilk and whey they soon sour the 

 whole mass, and make the barrel filthy. 



Sweet, fresh whey has great feeding value, although 

 some have claimed that it has killed their pigs. This 

 has been found only in cases where the animals were 

 made to depend upon this alone for food, while all 

 other solids are denied them. An exclusive diet of 

 any food is bad for all animals. Several of the ex- 

 periment stations have tested the value of whey, and 

 the results show that, fed alone, whey was not a good 

 food for the swine, but when fed with grain, cornmeal 

 or shorts, almost a perfect food was formed. The 

 whey does not make muscles at all, and hence the 

 need of grain and solid foods. It makes fat rapidly, 

 and when grain is mixed with it the flesh is firm and 

 solid, making the best kind of pork imaginable. 



