94 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



A Nebraska Protest. Buffalo County people 

 protest against the affidavit required to secure 

 a share of the free supplies, donated to drouth 

 sufferers, on the ground' that it is humiliating and is 

 in effect an admission of pauperism. Such donations 

 usually lead to bitter heartburnings, and pitiful as 

 are the sufferings which they are intended in good 

 faith to relieve, the results almost uniformly cause 

 misgivings on the part of the donors as to the wisdom 

 of their action. 



New Methods of Handling Fruit. There 

 are improvements and changes in the conduct of all 

 industries, new machinery and new processes facili- 

 tating and cheapening production. The improve- 

 ments in fruit handling and shipping are of as vital 

 importance as any perhaps. Carbonic acid refriger- 

 ating is now contesting actively for the prece- 

 dence over iced cars, avoiding delay, and, it is claimed, 

 reducing the expense. Sterilizing, to prevent decay 

 is another claimant for the public attention, and if 

 successful as in other directions might work a great 

 benefit. California is naturally leading in every class 

 of experimenting. The advantages of extending the 

 market can hardly be over-estimated. 



Fruit Selection. An idea which was quite 

 generally prevalent at one time, that fruit grown by 

 irrigation would be inferior in flavor, less compact, 

 anoTless desirable for keeping and shipping has been 

 exploded by experience. On the other hand, irriga- 

 tion at proper seasons and intelligently applied, en- 

 ables the production of a better fruit in all these 

 respects. All fruits are not, however, equally 

 adapted for every locality and the varieties should be 

 very carefully chosen. It requires three or four 

 years to test most fruits, and a bad selection at the 

 outset involves great loss and disappointment. 



Fruit Exchanges. By the organization of fruit 

 exchanges in the principal districts of California, the 

 growers thought they had accomplished the purpose 

 of marketing their fruit more advantageously and 

 economically. They found sales at auction in the 

 market centers to work satisfactorily for a while, but 

 the] dealers have formed a counter combination and 

 exclude all but members of their association from the 

 auction room. There appears (to be no other recourse 

 except to extend their operations so as to reach the 

 consumers directly. 



Orchard Profits. Judge W. B. Felton has fur- 

 nished us with figures relative to his orchard for 1893. 

 All his crop was sold before November 1st. 



Cherries .. $ 3305 



Pears 174 16 



Grapes 222 06 



Apples, early 160 86 



Apples, late 577759 



Otherfruits 187 38 



Total, 86,555.13; expenses, $1,535.87, leaving a net 

 profit of $5,019.26. Less than nine acres are under 

 cultivation, five of which are planted to winter apples 

 (paying $1,155.51 per acre) ; except apples everything 

 was a short crop. There are many larger orchards 

 in Fremont County which are wonderful producers; 

 but Judge Felton believes " Ten Acres Enough '' for 

 any man; and the way he conducts his place and his 

 success with it in the past few years would indicate 

 that he is not far wrong. Canon City (Colo.) Record. 



Straw a Substitute for Hay. Bulletin No. 35, 

 of the Utah Experiment Station, treats of, first, the 

 value of straw as a substitute for hay ; second, short 

 spring periods of grain feeding; third, relative value 

 of ensilage, roots and straw as condiments; fourth, 

 value of different grain rations. The following facts 

 are brought out in the bulletin: 



1. Steers fed on mixed hay alone for 112 days 

 gained 1.09 pounds per day each. 



2. Steers fed straw and hay, with grain, gained 

 .78 pound per day each for thirty-three days. Steers 

 fed on lucerne and straw for fifty-six days gained prac- 

 tically nothing. Steers fed on red clover and straw for 

 twenty-three days gained .56 pounds per day each. 



3. Steers fed on grain and straw for 112 days 

 gained .33 pound per day per steer. 



4. All the steers, after having been fed as speci- 

 fied in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, gained but .34 pounds 

 per day each for thirty-five days on mixed hay, grain 

 and roots. The smallness of the gain is thought to be 

 due to the change of feed. 



5. Steers housed at night and in yard during the 

 day, when fed on hay and grain, and either roots, 

 straw or ensilage, gained 1.35 pounds per day each 

 for eighty-four days. 



6. The experiments indicate that any attempt to 

 crowd a steer late in the spring, after he has been 

 moderately well fed, will result in a loss. 



7. Roots made more gain than either straw or 

 ensilage. 



8. As the amount of grain fed increased the 

 growth increased and the cost of the gain decreased. 



9. Steers bought at 2 cents and fed in the manner 

 indicated during the winter, cannot be sold at a 

 profit in the spring for less than 3 cents. 



The European Wine Industry. To give an 

 idea of the wine industry in foreign countries it may be 

 stated that France cultivates about 4,550,000 acres of 

 vines, Italy 8,600,000 acres, Spain 6,200,000 acres, and 

 other European countries perhaps 5,000,000 acres. 

 The largest producers of wine are Italy, Spain and 

 France. Twenty years ago France led all other 

 countries, and in 1874 her vintage was reported at 

 1,800,000,000 gallons. But the disease known as phyl- 

 loxera attacked the vineyards to such an extent that the 

 enormous output of 1874 has never been duplicated, 

 although, thanks to the reestablishment of many vine- 

 yards by grafting upon the roots of the American 

 wild grape, last year the vintage rose to 1,125,000,000 

 gallons a quantity thirty-seven times greater than 

 the vintage of the United States in any single year. 



Pruning the Peach Tree. Summer pruning 

 of peach trees is recommended by many advanced 

 orchardists. It should be remembered that peach 

 buds live but two years, and the utmost care should 

 be taken therefore not to so trim the trees as to 

 preclude the possibility of bearing from a dearth 

 of buds. A careful system of pinching back in sum- 

 mer from the early growth of the tree will generally 

 effect good results in keeping the tree near the 

 ground and well supplied with good, strong branches 

 able to bear and properly mature a heavy weight of 

 superior fruit. 



Prof. Henry says a ton of butter, worth $400, con- 

 tains fertilizers worth not more than fifty cents, while 

 a ton of cheese worth $60, contains $1.70 worth; a ton 

 of wheat worth $20, contains $7.75, oats $7.43, and 

 barley $7.99. 



