1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
67 
For  an  orchard  of  50  trees  for  family  use,  the  following 
were  given:  two  White  Jenneating,  two  Early  Harvest, 
two  Red  Astrakhan,  two  Duchess  of  Oldenburgh,  three 
Maiden’s  Blush,  three  Rambo,  two  Talman  Sweet,  two 
Broadwell  Sweet,  eight  Grimes’s  Golden,  eight  Jona¬ 
than,  eight  Ben  Davis  and  eight  Winesap. 
President  Evans  gave  an  account  of  a  curiosity  grow¬ 
ing  on  Bald  Knob  Mountain  in  Missouri.  On  top  of  a 
high,  bare,  rock  with  but  few  fissures,  stands  a  Post 
Oak  at  least  150  years  old.  It  partly  reclines  and  has 
sent  its  roots  along  the  surface,  and  they  have  pene¬ 
trated  these  fissures  and  impart  a  stunted  growth  to 
the  tree.  In  the  body  of  the  tree  is  a  hole  in  which  a 
peach  tree  has  grown,  until  it  now  fills  the  cavity, 
chokes  and  breaks  off,  then  sprouts  and  repeats  the 
process.  It  is  claimed  that  this  peach  tree  has  been 
growing  there  100  years.  The  Indians  annually  visit 
the  spot.  Persons  residing  near  it  claim  to  have 
eaten  fruit  from  this  tree  at  different  times,  extending 
back  for  more  than  25  years.  w.  n.  B. 
The  Manure  on  a  Dairy  Farm. 
FERMENTING  IT  IN  THE  FIELD. 
For  more  than  30  years  I  have  drawn  the  manure 
made  during  the  winter  directly  from  the  stable  to  the 
field  and  piled  it  in  large  heaps  as  described  by  Joseph 
Harris  in  the  first  number  of  The  Rural  for  the  pres¬ 
ent  year.  Cattle,  hogs  and  horses  have  been  kept  well 
bedded  with  straw,  and  most  of  the  time  there  has 
been  a  two-horse  load  to  be  drawn 
each  day.  The  piles  have  been 
made  about  five  feet  high,  with 
from  20  to  50  loads  in  each  heap  in 
convenient  position  for  spreading 
on  plowed  land  in  April  or  May. 
Several  such  piles  have  been  made 
each  winter  during  the  above 
period  and  nearly  all  have  devel¬ 
oped  heat  enough  to  cause  the 
manure  to  rot  so  that  it  could 
easily  be  made  fine  and  incorpor¬ 
ated  with  the  soil  by  means  of  the 
harrow. 
Nearly  every  year  a  part  of  the 
manure  made  has  been  spread  on 
the  fields  directly  from  the  stable 
without  fermentation,  and  I  have 
had  a  good  opportunity  to  observe 
the  different  effects  of  the  two 
methods  of  application.  The  man¬ 
ure  placed  in  large  piles  until 
sufficiently  rotted  so  that  it  could 
be  finely  incorporated  with  the 
soil  has  proved  far  more  valuable 
than  that  applied  in  a  green  state. 
In  the  climate  of  Northern  New 
York,  where  the  ground  is  usually 
frozen  and  covered  with  snow 
during  the  winter,  manure  can  be 
drawn  to  the  field  in  that  season 
more  conveniently  than  at  any 
other  time.  This  is  especially 
true  on  farms  of  considerable  size 
with  fields  at  a  distance  from  the 
barn.  Manure  drawn  in  winter 
will  be  used  the  same  year  in  which 
it  is  made,  and  thus  loss  is  avoided 
and  immediate  profit  secured. 
When  straw  is  used  for  litter  and  the  manure  is 
placed  in  large  piles  in  the  open  field  there  will  be  no 
loss  from  excessive  heating  or  from  leaching  during 
the  winter,  nor  until  such  time  in  spring  as  may  be 
convenient  for  spreading  it. 
I  am  fully  satisfied  by  experiments  made  on  my  farm 
that  in  Lewis  County,  N.  Y.,  it  is  true  economy  to  keep 
dairy  cows  in  a  warm  stable  during  the  winter,  with 
water  constantly  before  them.  With  a  warm  stable  so 
constructed  that  the  manure  can  be  loaded  directly  from 
the  gutter  onto  the  sled  or  wagon  and  so  arranged  that 
the  cows  kept  in  the  stalls  can  have  running  water  with¬ 
in  their  reach  at  all  times,  I  have  no  use  for  a  covered 
barnyard.  In  this  climate  such  a  yard  to  be  of  much 
use  would  have  to  be  fully  inclosed  and  double-boarded, 
and  then  it  would  be  no  better  for  dairy  cows  than  the 
well-constructed  stable.  In  a  warmer  climate  where 
it  is  not  practicable  to  draw  manure  on  the  fields  in 
winter  and  where  cows  can  be  economically  kept  in 
an  open  shed,  the  covered  barnyard  may  be  useful. 
c.  s.  RICE. 
Scotch  Manure  Piles. — I  have  read  with  pleasure 
Mr.  Harris’s  letter  on  manure,  in  a  late  Rural.  In 
Scotland,  farmers  first  clean  up  all  the  horse,  cattle 
and  hog  manure  in  the  fall  and  haul  it  out  to  where  it 
is  to  be  needed  and  deposit  it  all  together  in  a  “  mid¬ 
dens”  40  feet  square  and  five  feet  high,  without  tramp¬ 
ing,  and  when  the  work  has  been  finished  the  pile  is 
covered  with  a  foot  of  loamy  soil  and  allowed  to  stand 
until  May.  When  it  is  hauled  out  it  is  like  soft-soap 
and  can  be  put  in  the  cart  with  a  spade.  .1.  gaurie. 
Chemicals  and  Clover  for  Cauli¬ 
flowers. 
At  Fig.  57  is  shown  a  photograph  of  a  beautiful  head 
of  cauliflower  grown  on  Long  Island.  Who  ever  saw 
a  more  perfect  specimen?  It  was  grown  by  Mr.  E. 
Willis  Horton,  who  has  a  fine  reputation  for  growing 
fine  cauliflowers.  Many  persons  find  it  difficult  to 
grow  this  vegetable  and  make  it  “  head  ”  properly. 
Mr.  Horton  thus  describes  his  method  and  experience: 
“Early  in  April  I  plow  my  ground;  sod  is  preferred  to 
any  other  as  it  seems  better  adapted  to  this  crop. 
Plowing  so  early  gives  the  sod  more  time  to  become 
decomposed.  Last  season  a  good  many  farmers  did 
not  plow  till  late  and  were  not  so  successful  as  those 
who  plowed  early.  After  I  have  finished  plowing  I 
let  the  ground  remain  idle  one  month,  and  then  work 
it  into  a  fine  condition,  and  then  mark  it  out  in  drills 
3%  feet  apart  one  way  and  place  the  fertilizer  in  the 
drills.  I  use  per  acre  six  bags,  or  1,200  pounds  of 
Mapes’s  Cauliflower  Fertilizer,  and  cover  the  drills  four 
inches  deep,  and  let  it  remain  a  month  before  I  set  out 
the  plants,  so  that  the  fertilizer  will  be  well  incor¬ 
porated  with  the  soil.  This  method  insures  complete 
success  every  year.” 
Mr.  Horton  thus  gives  a  practical  illustration  of  the 
value  of  “  chemicals  and  clover.”  Many  farmers  claim 
that  nothing  can  equal  stable  manure  for  crops  like 
cabbage,  cauliflower,  etc.  This  well  decayed  grass  sod 
Photograph  of  Cauliflower.  Fig.  57. 
Grown  with  the  Mapes  Cabbage  and  Cauliflower  Manures. 
is  equal  to  the  manure  made  from  feeding  the  best  of 
hay,  while  the  fertilizer  contains  more  soluble  plant 
food  than  the  grain  that  animals  might  eat.  Manure 
is  nothing  but  the  residues  of  hay  and  grain  eaten  by 
animals,  and  the  sod  and  the  fertilizer  supply  every 
element  the  manure  supplies.  Is  it  not  so? 
Scraps. 
El /E agnus  Longipes. — Our  friend,  Isaac  Hicks,  has 
evidently  got  hold  of  the  Elseagnus  umbellata,  from 
what  he  says  in  The  Rural  of  January  16.  His  descrip¬ 
tion  tallies  exactly  with  one  which  I  received  from  the 
Cambridge,  England,  botanic  garden  under  that  name, 
and  I  know  that  a  large  lot  of  the  importations  from 
Europe  have  proved  to  be  the  same  as  my  plant.  There 
has  been  some  confusion  in  regard  to  the  names  of  many 
of  the  Elseagnuses,  and  we  here  have  the  impression 
that  the  sending  of  Umbellata  for  Longipes  is  a  mis¬ 
take  on  the  part  of  the  European  nurserymen.  Last 
October  one  of  my  neighbors  had  two  large  bushes  of 
Umbellata  full  of  fruit ;  and  very  beautiful  they  were. 
I  sent  specimens  of  the  branches  of  fruit  to  some  of 
those  who  had  taken  much  interest  in  the  matter  of 
getting  before  the  public  the  correct  names  of  the 
species,  but  they  did  not  say  what  they  thought  of  what 
I  had  sent.  But  I  incline  to  think  Mr.  Hicks  can  rest 
satisfied  that  his  is  the  Umbellata.  Joseph  mf.eiian. 
Good  Keiffer  Pears  in  Arkansas. — It  appears-  to 
me  that  the  horticulturists  of  the  East  are  blind  as  to 
the  merits  of  the  Keiffer  and  are  treating  it  as  an 
autumn  pear,  when  it  should  be  placed*  on  the  list  of 
winter  kinds.  Here,  in  White  County.  Arkansas,  such 
varieties  as  Easter  Beurrc,  Anjou,  Lawrence,  Vicar 
and  Winter  Nelis  are  gone  before  the  Keiffer  is  in  a 
condition  fit  to  eat ;  but  in  this  state  it  is  as  good  as 
any  of  them  in  flavor.  My  Keiffers  bloom  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  March  and  are  picked  in  the  forepart  of 
October :  the  longest  I  could  keep  them  was  to  the 
beginning  of  December.  I  wrap  them  in  paper  and 
keep  them  in  a  dark  box.  They  color  up  and  ripen 
through,  and  at  this  stage  I  can  command  from  five  to 
ten  cents  each  for  them.  I  have  grown  them  to  weigh 
24  ounces,  and  two-thirds  of  them  will  weigh  a  pound 
apiece.  Let  Northern  growers  pack  the  Keiffers  in 
sand  or  bury  them  in  the  ground  where  it  is  not  too 
warm,  and  at  a  certain  stage  take  them  out  and  put 
them  in  a  moderately  warm,  dark  room,  and  they  will 
be  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  the  fruit  loses  that 
objectionable  flavor  it  has  even  here  in  the  beginning. 
In  the  latitude  of  New  York  the  Keiffer  ought  to  be  at 
its  best  from  Christmas  to  March  and  when  well 
ripened  it  is  superior  to  any  California  pear  in  flavor 
and  beauty.  There  is  more  money  to  the  grower  in  it 
than  in  any  apple,  as  it  can  be  exported  as  easily  as 
the  latter.  I  may  seem  over  sanguine  in  this  matter, 
but  I  know  what  I  am  writing  about.  .T.  c.  BAUER. 
Black  Tar  Illinois  Roads. — Those  who  would 
like  to  know  how  bad  bad  roads  are  and  how  hard  it  is 
to  mend  them  and  keep  them  in  good  order,  may  learn 
by  visiting  central  Illinois  about  this  time,  or  at  any 
other  time  during  the  moist,  mild 
and  soft  winter  weather.  When 
the  roads  are  good,  they  are  good 
beyond  comparison,  being  as  hard 
and  smooth  as  a  stone  floor;  when 
they  are  bad  on  the  soft  side,  the 
mud  is  from  5  to  15  inches  deep 
and  is  about  as  black  and  sticky 
as  tar;  when  they  are  bad  on  the 
hard  side,  that  is,  when  the  mud 
is  suddenly  frozen,  they  are  incon¬ 
ceivably  rough,  and  remain  so  till 
there  is  a  thaw  or  until  slowly 
worn  down  by  feet  and  wheels. 
When  they  are  at  their  best,  a 
half  hour’s  rain  will  spoil  them, 
by  making  the  surface  slippery  as 
if  slushed  with  soft  grease,  and 
bothering  both  man  and  beast  to 
keep  their  feet. 
Such  being  the  state  of  the 
roads,  how  is  it,  says  the  veteran 
observer,  you  fellows  out  there  in 
Illinois,  who  brag  on  your  corn, 
cattle  and  crops  generally,  who 
talk  about  farms  selling  for  $50  to 
$100  an  acre,  suffer  the  roads  to 
go  on  without  improvement,  or 
making  anything  like  a  successful 
attempt  at  it,  as  you  have  done 
for  half  a  century?  The  implied 
reproach  would  be  just  were  it  not 
for  the  very  great  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  making  hard  roads  in  soft 
weather,  on  account  of  the  pecu¬ 
liar  nature  of  the  top  black  soil 
and  the  yellow  clay  subsoil.  Tile 
or  surface  drainage  does  little  or 
no  good.  If  stirred  or  moved  when 
wet,  the  mud  can  no  more  be  drained  than  so  much 
soft  beeswax,  and  if  it  freezes,  its  capacity  for  hold¬ 
ing  water  is  so  large  that  the  frozen  soil  is  nearly  as 
hard  and  heavy  as  stone. 
If  broken  stones  are  hauled  on  and  deposited  to  the 
depth  of  18  inches,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  sea¬ 
sons  the  material  sinks  out  of  sight  and  the  roads  get 
worse  than  ever.  This  experiment  was  tried  some 
years  ago  in  the  city  of  Bloomington,  Ill.,  the  mile  be¬ 
tween  the  two  railroad  depots  being  thus  treated,  and 
with  such  results  as  stated  above.  Gravel  deposited 
fares  the  same  way,  though  in  Indiana,  where  the  soil 
and  subsoil  abound  in  lime,  the  latter  unites  with  the 
sand,  a  mortar  or  cement  is  formed,  and  a  firm, 
smooth  road  bed  is  established.  At  the  present  price 
of  white  oak  lumber,  the  wooden  part  of  a  plank  road 
would  cost  from  nine  to  ten  cents  a  square  foot,  and 
the  expenses  of  other  portions  of  the  work  would  carry 
the  cost  up  to  $1.25  to  $1.50  per  square  yard.  These 
latter  figures  are  not  far  from  the  cost  of  a  brick  pave¬ 
ment  laid  on  six  inches  of  sand,  the  lower  course  of 
brick  put  flat  and  the  upper  course  edgeways.  This  is 
about  the  real  condition  of  the  road  problem  at  this 
time,  and  every  one  hopes  the  Macadam  of  these  later 
years  will  come  and  tell  us  how  to  make,  at  a  reason¬ 
able  cost,  hard  roads  in  soft  weather.  b.  f.  j. 
“  The  old  iron  teakettle  is  much  safer  than  tin  with 
a  copper  bottom.”— Grange  Visitor.  Perhaps  it  is, 
but  it  is  not  decent  treatment  of  a  woman,  to  ask  her  to 
handle  such  a  uselessly  heavy  implement.  It  is  as  bad 
as  if  the  farmer  should  ask  his  hired  man  to  work  with 
an  old-fashioned  Southern  “  nigger  hoe,” 
