1892 
35 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
need  shaping',  cut  away  all  the  branches  to  within  about 
12  inches  from  where  they  radiate  from  the  main  trunk. 
The  pruning  must  be  done  late  in  the  spring  after  the 
leaf  buds  have  fully  started.  If  the  tree  he  thus  beheaded 
before  growth  begins,  such  radical  treatment  maj  be 
fatal,  but  he  had  never  known  a  tree  killed  when  thus 
pruned  at  the  proper  time.  He  had  renewed  the  heads 
of  hundreds  of  trees  in  this  way,  usually  operating  on 
alternate  trees  along  the  rows  and  the  next  year  on 
the  intermediates.  The  growth  of  new  wood  will  be 
strong,  often  attaining  a  length  of  8  or  10  feet.  Fruit 
buds  will  develop,  and  if  the  following  season  is  favor¬ 
able  the  new  top  will  yield  a  fair  crop.  After  such  re¬ 
newal  the  tree  may  be  allowed  to  grow  several  years 
until  the  branches  again  become  too  long;  then  they 
should  be  cut  back  as  before.  Under  this  system  the 
fruit  will  be  improved  and  more  easily  gathered,  and 
the  breaking  of  branches  due  to  a  large  crop  w  ill  be 
avoided. 
The  cherry  and  plum  may  be  similarly  treated  with 
similar  results.  When  the  trees  need  renewing,  the 
branches  should  be  shortened  from  half  to  two-thirds. 
This  may  be  safely  done  at  any  time  after  growth  has 
fairly  started  in  spring. 
Comments. 
Mr.  .Tones  had  experienced  no  difficulty  with  elon¬ 
gated  spurs.  He  has  12-year-old  vines  trained  and 
pruned  on  the  Thomery  or  short-spur  system,  that  are 
in  full  growth  though  confined  to  a  space  4  feet  long 
by  4K  feet  high.  There  are  no  spurs  more  than  two 
inches  long,  the  lower  bud  on  each  is  so  close  to  the 
arm  that  it  seems  almost  as  if  growing  out  of  it,  and 
yet  the  clusters  are  as  fine  as  those  on  the  upper  one. 
He  summer  prunes. 
Secretary  Williams  had  never  observed  the  tendency 
of  the  Clinton  to  set  imperfect  clusters  when  pruned 
as  described.  He  prunes  his  vines  in  that  way  with 
five  or  six  buds  to  an  arm.  He  had  practiced  summer 
pruning  for  10  years  and  had  only  cause  to  regret  neg¬ 
lecting  it. 
President  Blackwell  mentioned  a  very  successful 
peach  grower  who  beheaded  his  orchard  of  young 
trees  to  within  a  foot  of  the  ground  after  they  had 
made  a  year’s  growth.  His  idea  was  to  give  the  roots 
the  balance  of  power  which  enabled  them  to  get  a  firmer 
hold  and  to  make  stronger  trees  with  low  heads.  These 
trees  produced  the  finest  kind  of  fruit,  which  sold  in 
Boston  at  $1. 30  per  basket,  while  the  best  peaches  in  New 
York  were  selling  at  00  cents.  B-  B- 
New  Apple— The  Boardman. 
From  Franklin  County,  Maine,  I  sent  The  Rural 
New-Yorker  a  box  of  Maine’s  beautiful  seedling  apple 
named,  by  VanDeman,  the  Boardman,  in  honor  of  the 
secretary  of  the  Maine  Homological  Society.  The  tree 
fruits  every  year.  Where  Baldwins  winter-kill,  it 
com  js  out  all  right.  During  10  years  I  have  never  seen 
a  bud  killed.  When  my  sister  was  sick  and  other  food 
distressed  her,  she  could  eat  Boardman  with  impunity. 
Let  the  editor  try  them,  and  if  he  can  eat  enough  to 
hurt  him,  I  will  let  him  try  a  barrel  next  year. 
E.  F.  PURINGTON. 
Remarks.— The  above  apples  were  received  about 
November  12.  The  shape  is  sufficiently  shown  by  the 
illustrations,  Figs.  10  and  17.  The  color  is  crimson, 
splashed,  dotted  and  streaked  on  a  light  yellow 
ground.  Stem  short,  calyx  open  in  a  rather  deep 
basin.  Flesh  crisp,  subacid,  juicy — as  white  as  that  of 
Fameuse.  Quality  very  good  to  best. 
Farm  University  Extension. 
To  supplement  the  farmers'  institutes ;  district  classes  in 
agriculture ;  agricultural  science  taught  by  competent 
instructors  ;  chance  for  agricultural  college  graduates. 
system  of  farmers’  institutes  that  has  been  main¬ 
tained  for  some  time  in  New  York  State  has  undoubt¬ 
edly  done  more  than  any  other  single  thing  toward 
lifting  up  and  enlightening  the  general  mass  of  farm¬ 
ers  and  advancing  the  interests  of  agriculture  as  a 
whole.  These  institutes  are  now  in  the  full  tide  of 
their  usefulness,  and  in  all  probability  will  continue 
the  same  good  work  for  many  years  to  come  ;  but  it 
has  occurred  to  me  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when  they 
should  be  supplemented  by  instruction  that  should  con- 
ti nne  over  a  longer  time,  that  should  be  more  detailed, 
definite  and  specific  in  character,  and  therefore  make 
a  more  lasting  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  learn¬ 
ers.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  demand  for  such  instruc¬ 
tion  is  greater  in  those  places  where  the  institutes 
have  been  of  most  effect  than  elsewhere,  and  that  a 
scheme  something  like  the  following  could  be  quite 
easily  carried  out  and  would  lead  to  far-reaching  and 
lasting  benefits. 
Let  there  be  organized,  under  competent  State* 
authority,  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  classes  in  agri¬ 
culture,  which  should  extend  over  a  period  of  at  least 
10  weeks  and  should  meet  weekly.  They  should  be 
presided  over  by  a  competent  instructor  and  should 
admit  regular  students  upon  the  payment  of  a  nominal 
fee  ;  the  students  registering  in  these  classes  should  be 
required  to  attend  regularly,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
Course  should  be  subjected  to  examination,  preferably 
under  the  care  of  the  Regents  of  the  State  University, 
and  those  passing  should  receive  “  pass  cards,”  which, 
when  a  sufficient  number  were  obtained,  should  be 
followed  by  a  diploma,  as  is  now  done  in  the  case  of 
academy  and  high  school  pupils. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  scheme  embraces  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  classes  in  all  the  various  branches  of  applied 
agricultural  science.  Some  of  the  courses  that  would 
naturally  be  organized  would  be  on  the  origin  and  for¬ 
mation  of  soils  and  principles  of  culture  ;  production, 
care  and  use  of  farm  manure  ;  the  breeding  and  rearing 
of  domestic  animals :  principles  and  practice  of  stock 
feeding  ;  dairy  husbandry  ;  the  chemistry  and  physiol¬ 
ogy  of  plant  growth  ;  the  principles  of  plant  propaga¬ 
tion:  fruit  growing  in  all  its  branches;  injurious  insects 
and  their  remedies,  etc.,  etc.  In  short,  all  those  appli- 
The  Boardman.  Fig.  16. 
cations  of  practical  and  natural  science  for  which  the 
common  and  high  schools  now  make  no  provision, 
should  ha  ve  a  place. 
The  details  of  the  arrangements  of  such  classes  and 
courses  could,  of  course,  be  varied  to  suit  circumstan¬ 
ces  ;  for  instance,  one  instructor  could  very  easily  give 
instruction  in  two  distinct  but  related  courses,  one  in 
the  morning  and  one  in  the  afternoon,  and  could  meet 
classes  every  day  in  the  week  in  localities  not  too 
widely  apart ;  so  that  one  instructor  could  well  take 
charge  of  six  classes  in  each  of  two  courses,  and  when 
he  had  finished  his  course,  could  give  way  to  another 
who  should  take  the  same  classes  in  some  other 
branches.  In  this  way,  twelve  classes  in  six  localities 
The  Boardman.  Fig.  17. 
could  very  easily  get  instruction  in  six  different  courses 
during  three  terms  of  10  weeks  each,  from  October  1  to 
May  1.  In  all  probability  the  greater  number  of  the 
persons  desiring  instruction  such  as  that  here  out¬ 
lined,  would  be  young  men  and  young  women,  and  the 
instruction  should  be  designed  primarily  for  them  , 
but  an  important  feature  of  the  whole  scheme  should 
be  the  opening  of  all  such  classes  to  whomsoever  might 
desire  to  attend.  In  this  way,  older  persons  might  get 
the  benefit  of  the  lectures  and  discussions,  but  need 
not  be  tied  down  to  regular  attendance. 
There  should  be  very  little  difficulty  in  getting  suit¬ 
able  quarters  for  holding  such  classes.  Grange  halls, 
farmers’  club  rooms,  and,  undoubtedly  in  many  places, 
rooms  in  high  schools  or  academies,  could  be  readily 
had.  Nor  would  it  be  a  difficult  matter  to  find  teach¬ 
ers  ;  those  who  have  attained  the  best  success  in  the 
farmers’  institute  work,  would  for  the  most  part  make 
admirable  teachers  and  leaders  for  such  classes  of 
young  men.  A  large  number  of  the  better  informed 
high-school  principals  would  make  admirable  teachers, 
demanding  most  knowledge  of  pure  science,  and,  last 
but  not  least,  a  large  and  increasing  number  of  gradu¬ 
ates  of  our  agricultural  colleges  could  find  here  an 
excellent  field  to  extend  their  usefulness.  Such  is  a 
brief  outline  of  what  I  believe  to  be  a  most  desirable 
form  of  agricultural  university  extension  ;  is  it  not 
practicable?  h.  H.  wing. 
Growth  and  Uses  of  Rape.-  II. 
THOMAS  L.  SHAW. 
The  rape  with  us  is  usually  ready  for  pasturing  about 
the  middle  of  September.  We  turn  the  lambs  in  upon 
it  after  a  full  feed,  and  leave  them  on  it,  never  taking 
them  out  of  it  unless  in  case  of  severe  storms.  If  a  sod 
field  is  at  hand  it  will  be  well  perhaps  to  allow  them 
to  go  into  it  at  will  that  they  may  lie  upon  it.  It  should 
be  all  eaten  off  about  freezing-up  time,  or  a  little 
sooner.  When  it  has  been  frozen  solid  it  does  not  seem 
so  good  for  the  lambs  again  when  it  thaws  out. 
Rape  has  its  dangers  as  a  food.  Lambs  should  never 
be  turned  in  upon  it  when  hungry,  and  this  will  also 
apply  to  any  kind  of  stock,  as  it  is  apt  to  induce  bloat¬ 
ing  in  such  cases,  which  generally  ends  in  the  death  of 
the  animals.  When  the  lambs  get  fat,  there  is  danger 
that  they  will  get  on  their  backs,  in  which  position  they 
will  soon  die.  They  should  have  access  to  all  the  salt 
they  will  take.  They  do  not  require  any  water,  and 
our  experiments  would  seem  to  show  that  it  will  not 
pay  to  feed  them  grain  when  on  the  rape,  except  when 
frosty  nights  have  come.  The  grain  seems  to  lessen 
the  tendency  to  bloat  at  such  times,  and  bloating  is 
more  dangerous  then  than  at  other  seasons. 
I  would  not  advise  pasturing  costly  and  valuable 
pure-bred  sheep  upon  the  rape  as  other  sheep  are  pas¬ 
tured,  for  if  one  or  two  were  lost  the  profit  would  be 
taken  away.  They  can  be  managed  with  safety  by 
the  following  method  :  A  small  piece  of  rape  may  be 
sown  not  far  away  from  the  buildings.  The  sheep  may 
be  turned  in  upon  it,  first  for  a  short  time,  then  for  a 
longer  time.  They  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain 
on  it  at  night,  nor  should  they  ever  be  put  on  it  when 
hungry  or  when  the  rape  is  eovered  with  dew  or  frost. 
Another  way  with  show  sheep  is  to  cut  the  rape  with 
the  scythe  and  carry  it  to  them  in  the  buildings.  This 
may  be  done  with  perfect  safety  when  the  quantity 
fed  is  reasonably  limited.  Cattle  may  be  pastured  on 
rape,  but  they  destroy  much  more  of  it  than  the  sheep 
through  trampling.  They  are  equally  liable  to  bloat 
when  feeding  upon  it.  It  taints  milk  when  fed  to  milch 
cows.  It  is  a  good  foraging  crop  for  swine,  which  are 
very  fond  of  it. 
The  fattening  pi’operties  of  rape  are  remarkable. 
One  acre  will  fatten  from  12  to  18  head  of  lambs  and 
will  make  them  ready  for  the  market  in  two  months. 
Our  Canadian  lambs  usually  gain  about  10  pounds  per 
month  when  feeding  on  it  without  any  additional  food, 
except  salt.  The  past  season  we  fed  six  lambs  for  42 
days  on  one-sixth  of  an  acre  grown  under  favorable 
conditions.  In  that  time  they  made  a  gain  of  120 
pounds.  The  amount  of  the  gain,  however,  will  vary 
with  the  kind  of  lamb.  In  1890  we  fattened  537  head 
upon  our  station  farm  and  in  1891,  650  head.  We  had 
about  40  acres  of  rape  in  1891. 
We  have  also  ascertained  that  the  rape  may  be  cut 
just  before  the  ground  freezes  up,  and  put  in  heaps 
like  small  cocks  of  hay,  and  that  when  thus  piled  it 
will  keep  quite  good  for  at  least  six  weeks.  It  may 
therefore  be  found  useful  when  thus  prepared  to  draw 
it  to  the  sheep  pens  after  the  winter  has  set  in  to  be 
fed  there. 
The  advantages,  then,  from  growing  rape  are  these; 
1.  It  furnishes  a  useful  food  for  sheep  and  lambs  in  the 
autumn  when  food  is  not  usually  very  plentiful.  2.  Its 
fattening  properties  are  such  that  the  extent  to  which 
it  may  be  utilized  in  fattening  lambs  may  be  limited 
only  by  the  supply  of  the  lambs  and  the  demands  of 
the  market.  3.  It  may  be  grown,  when  desired,  as  a 
second  crop,  thus  enabling  the  farmer  to  get  two  crops 
a  year  on  a  given  piece  of  land.  4.  It  is  very  helpful 
in  destroying  weeds  when  cultivated  properly.  It 
leaves  the  land  in  good  condition  for  the  following 
crop,  when  it  is  fed  off  upon  the  ground  where  it 
grows. 
Nothing  can  be  done  with  the  ground  the  same 
autumn  after  the  rape  has  been  pastured.  1  he  follow¬ 
ing  spring  it  may  be  cultivated,  say  twice,  with  the 
disc  harrow,  or  it  may  be  gang-plowed,  and  sown  with 
any  kind  of  crop  that  may  be  desired. 
There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  those  who  fatten 
lambs  on  rape  to  push  them  on  the  market  in  the  late 
autumn  when  they  are  cheap.  1  his  should  not  be 
done.  Lambs  can  be  fattened  easily  enough  through 
the  winter,  providing  this  is  done  on  rational  lines.  If 
the  lambs  are  put  in  suitable  sheds  after  they  are 
taken  from  the  rape,  and  fed  a  diet  of  hay,  grain  and 
roots,  they  will  continue  to  improve  nicely  all  through 
