1892 
497 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
The  Grape  Business. 
The  grace  of  the  vine  is  proverbial,  and  the  beauty 
of  its  fruitage  gives  it  a  high  rank  among  the  more 
attractive  products  of  the  soil.  It  is  difficult  to  im¬ 
agine  a  more  delicate  and  delicious  fragrance  than  that 
which  greets  one  when  entering  a  vineyard  loaded 
with  well-ripened  fruit. 
(irapes  prefer  a  southerly  exposure,  a  well  drained, 
fertilized  and  cultivated  soil.  The  uninitiated  would 
scarcely  credit  the  difference  careful  cultivation  makes, 
not  only  in  the  appearance,  but  in  the  flavor  of  the  fruit. 
The  vineyards  in  the  famous  grape  region  from  Erie, 
Pa.,  to  Brocton,  N.  Y.,  look,  in  August,  as  free  from 
weeds  and  as  carefully  kept  as  the  daintiest  flower 
garden  in  the  land,  and  the  vines  cling  to  the  trellises 
perfectly,  with  no  vagrant  branches  to  accuse  their 
owners  of  carelessness.  There  is  no  fruit  which  requires 
more  delicate  handling  than  the  grape,  for,  if  the 
bloom  is  rubbed  off  or  the  clusters  are  in  any  way  dis¬ 
figured.  the  market  value  is  seriously  reduced. 
As  soon  as  the  fruit  has  ripened,  the  labor  of  picking 
and  packing  begins.  The  picker  is  supplied  with 
wooden  trays,  each  of  which  holds  about  30  pounds 
when  a  little  less  than  even  full.  These  trays  are  made 
so  that  they  can  be  piled  up  in  tiers  on  the  grape 
wagons.  The  picker  takes  each  cluster  by  the  stem 
and  cuts  it  from  the  vine  with  sharp- pointed  grape 
scissors,  and  lays  it  carefully  in  the  tray.  The  clusters 
are  handled  entirely  by  the  stems,  and  the  careful 
picker  lays  them  in  the  tray  with  the  stems  up,  so  that 
the  packers  may  find  no  trouble  in  taking  them  out. 
These  sit  at  long,  low  tables.  When  boxes  with  wire 
nails  are  used,  there  is  a  slit  in  the  table  to  receive  the 
wire,  as  the  boxes  are  packed  face  down,  and  there 
are  blocks  to  incline  the  box  or  basket  toward  the 
packer. 
Grapes  ax’e  usually  assorted  by  the  packer  into  three 
or  more  grades.  The  Niagara  Company  puts  a  certifi¬ 
cate  of  excellence  on  its  first-quality  fruit,  and  nothing 
goes  into  these  boxes  that  is  not  absolutely  perfect. 
The  clusters  must  be  large  and  shapely,  and  the  berries 
large,  well  ripened,  and  of  good  color.  The  second- 
quality  boxes  contain  smaller  clusters,  but  all  imper¬ 
fect  berries  are  clipped  out,  and  all  webs  and  other 
foreign  matters  are  removed.  No  loose  clusters  are 
packed  in  these  boxes.  If  fruit  is  scarce  and  high,  a 
third  quality  may  be  packed  with  profit,  but  the  fruit 
left  from  the  second  selection  is  usually  made  into  jel¬ 
lies,  catsup  and  fermented  or  unfermented  wine. 
It  is  said  that  grapes  may  be  produced  at  a  fair  profit 
for  two  cents  per  pound,  but  unless  sold  in  bulk  the 
margin  from  such  sales  must  be  very  narrow.  The 
care  necessary  to  pack  the  grapes  for  market  renders 
this  part  of  the  work  expensive,  as  cheap  labor  cannot 
be  utilized.  True,  a  great  bulk  of  fruit  may  be  raised 
per  acre  ;  but  the  average  packer  will  not  put  up  more 
than  500  pounds  per  day,  and  skilled  packers  receive  a 
dollar  per  day. 
The  area  devoted  to  grape-culture  is  increasing  rap¬ 
idly,  and  the  delicious,  healthful  fruit  has  been  brought 
within  the  reach  of  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich.  It  is 
an  “  ill  wind  which  blows  no  one  good,”  and  the  con¬ 
sumer  is  benefited  by  this  fruit  surplus.  Let  us  hope 
that  the  producer  is  not  impoverished,  s.  a.  little. 
Another  Fruit  Grower’s  Association 
In  1890,  the  fruit  growers  of  Ripon,  Wis.,  and  vicinity 
organized  a  Fruit  Growers’  Association  and  were  duly 
incorporated  by  the  State.  Its  aim  is  to  so  systematize 
the  business  of  growing  small  fruits,  that  it  can  be 
made  profitable  to  the  one  who  does  the  hard  work  of 
raising  the  same,  and  to  prevent  the  commission  men 
and  express  companies  from  making  all  the  money, 
also  to  enable  the  seller  to  get  the  best  possible  ship¬ 
ping  facilities  and  to  harvest  the  fruit  in  the  most  im¬ 
proved  way.  It  is  well  known  to  all  that  under  the 
old  system,  the  growers  not  only  cut  each  other’s 
throats  in  the  same  market  but  were  fearfully  bled  by 
the  express  companies.  Then  the  grower  took  his 
fruit  to  some  local  man,  generally  a  grocery  man,  and 
owing  to  the  bad  shipping  facilities  and  lack  of  organ¬ 
ization  and  other  causes  he  often  received  less  than 
GO  cents  a  crate  for  his  berries.  The  experiment  has 
been  a  grand  success.  The  entire  cost  of  selling  fruit 
has  been  cut  down  to  about  four  per  cent.  The  grow¬ 
ers  formerly  paid  35  cents  to  send  a  crate  of  berries  to 
St.  Paul  by  express,  whereas  now  the  rate  is  not  only 
lowered,  but  the  association  has  secured  the  finest 
ventilated  refrigerator  cars  on  springs,  in  which  the 
fruit  is  rushed  through  on  fast  trains,  getting  to  the 
market  in  better  shape  than  by  express  at  a  cost  of 
from  G  to  15  cents  a  crate,  according  to  the  quantity  in 
a  car.  Other  reforms  have  been  introduced  and  t  his 
year  the  organization  is  doing  better  work  than  ever. 
Such  organizations  should  be  established  in  every  f  ruit- 
growing  community. 
Weeders  and  Cultivators. 
The  weeder  will  not  rake  stones  or  anything  under 
five  inches;  it  works  through  the  two  rows  of  teeth, 
and  large  stones  are  apt  to  break  them  :  but  in  raking 
up  yards,  gravel  walks  and  drives  it  works  admirably. 
If  the  gravel  is  packed  and  weedy,  I  first  run  an  ordi¬ 
nary  harrow  and  finish  with  a  “  weeder.”  In  cover¬ 
ing  grass  seed  and  grain,  it  is  often  preferable  to  an 
ordinary  harrow,  and  particularly  in  covering  grass 
and  clover  seed  sown  after  the  grain  has  been  har¬ 
rowed  in.  This  spring  I  tried  a  heavy  chain  harrow 
for  this  latter  purpose,  but  it  dragged  the  clods  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  leave  the  grass  seed  in  clumps 
and  ridges,  so  I  abandoned  it  for  the  weeder. 
In  dry  weather,  by  running  it  often,  there  need  be 
but  little  use  for  the  cultivator  ;  in  wet  weather,  if 
the  weeds  are  large,  I  give  some  one  of  the  Planet 
Junior  cultivators  a  turn.  One  great  beauty  of  using 
a  weeder  is  that  its  work  is  so  thorough  and  so  quickly 
done  that  weeds  should  not  be  allowed  to  show  them¬ 
selves  beyond  the  seed  leaf.  An  ordinary  garden  rake 
cuts  every  \  M  inch,  a  weeder  cuts  2%  inches,  and  takes 
a  sweep  of  seven  feet ;  by  going  twice  in  a  place,  or 
the  second  time  across  the  first,  the  ground  is  nearly 
as  thoroughly  broken  up  as  with  a  rake.  This  spring 
I  ran  a  weeder  both  ways  on  an  acre  of  young  aspara¬ 
gus  in  45  minutes. 
The  teeth,  being  detachable,  can  be  taken  out  so  as 
to  pass  over  the  rows,  and  in  dry  weather  and  when 
the  soil  is  mellow,  the  weeder  will  do  good  cultivator 
work,  provided  the  rows  are  straight  and  parallel.  It 
will  not  answer  in  strawberry  paths  packed  hard  by 
the  pickers’  feet.  The  cultivator  should  first  be  run, 
after  which  the  weeder  teeth  will  cut  in  an  inch  or 
more. 
I  prefer  one-horse  to  two-horse  riding  cultivators. 
The  rows  for  the  latter  should  be  very  long,  the  head¬ 
lands  very  wide  and  the  ground  level.  On  rolling 
grouud  two-horse  riding  cultivators  are  apt  to  slide 
sideways  into  the  rows,  and,  from  the  top  weight  of 
the  driver,  they  are  likely  to  cut  too  deeply  on  the 
lower  side,  while  the  upper  runs  nearly  out  of  the 
ground.  In  harrowing  with  the  Acme  and  the  disks, 
of  course  the  same  thing  oceurs,  but  to  a  less  extent. 
In  early  winter  1  top-dress  all  strawberry  and  aspara¬ 
gus  fields  with  heavy  applications  of  fine,  rotten  ma¬ 
nure,  much  of  which  goes  on  in  large,  frozen  lumps  in 
spring.  By  using  a  weeder,  this  is  rapidly  fined  down 
and  evenly  distributed,  and  worked  well  into  the 
strawberry  plants  without  in  any  way  injuring  the 
vines.  I  consider  Breed’s  weeder  one  of  the  most  use¬ 
ful  all-’round  tools,  either  for  the  garden  or  farm. 
Province  of  Quebec,  Canada.  w.  A.  HALE. 
Drainage  of  Farm  Houses. 
The  removal  of  wastes  from  dwellings  is  one  of  the 
most  important  considerations  affecting  the  health  of 
the  family.  The  safe  disposition  of  the  drainage  is  a 
question  which  offers  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
solutions.  It  cannot  be  collected  in  a  permanent  re¬ 
ceptacle,  and  in  but  a  very  few  cases,  it  cannot  be  dis¬ 
charged  into  streams  without  infringing  upon  the 
rights  of  owners  lower  down  the  water.  It  is  an  offense 
at  law  to  pollute  flowing  water,  and  rightly  so,  for  no 
person  can  justly  pollute  a  stream  which  other  per¬ 
sons  have  the  right  to  use,  and  which  forms  a  com¬ 
mon  possession  for  the  use  of  the  land  through  which 
it  flows. 
The  soil  is  the  proper  receptacle  for  all  waste  mat¬ 
ter.  It  is  the  natural  disposer  of  all  dead  matter,  and 
its  office  is  to  make  of  this  the  material  of  new  life. 
Life  springs  out  of  death,  and  the  subsistence  of  new 
life  is  provided  by  the  decomposition  of  all  the  wastes 
of  Nature.  Consequently  it  is  the  business  of  all  con¬ 
cerned  to  facilitate  this  natural  law  as  far  as  possible, 
by  getting  the  waste  matter  of  the  dwelling  into  the 
soil  as  quickly  as  may  be  and  before  it  becomes  offen¬ 
sive  and  injurious.  Nature  attaches  to  every  one  of 
its  laws  a  penalty  for  its  violation,  which  cannot  be  es¬ 
caped  ;  and  the  penalty  for  infringing  this  law  regard¬ 
ing  the  wastes  of  the  household  is  a  serious  one — death 
for  constant  violation,  and  sickness  and  disease  for 
minor  disregard  of  it.  These  penalties  come  in  the 
form  of  the  most  prevalent  and  fatal  diseases:  diphthe¬ 
ria,  scarlet  fever,  malaria  of  various  kinds,  typhoid 
fever,  dysentery,  all  of  which  are  common  in  farm 
houses  where  sanitary  regulations  are  neglected,  and 
make  thousands  of  victims  every  year  to  these  invio¬ 
lable  laws  of  Nature. 
How  to  get  the  household  wastes  into  the  soil  and 
safely  dispose  of  them  is  thus  a  subject  for  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  every  rural  housekeeper.  It  is  not  suf¬ 
ficient  to  get  them  away  out  of  sight,  and  thus  out  of 
mind.  Disease  lurks  in  every  hidden  accumulation 
of  refuse.  Some  years  ago  I  was  invited  to  examine 
the  drainage  system  of  a  large  house  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson  River,  in  which  there  had  been  sevei’al 
cases  of  typhoid  fever  and  one  death.  The  drains  dis¬ 
charged  into  a  ravine  which  led  to  the  river.  Over  the 
outlet  had  been  deposited  hundreds  of  cartloads  of 
stones  collected  from  the  farm,  and  thus  the  rapidly 
gathering  refuse  was  covered  out  of  sight,  except  at 
the  bottom  of  the  stone  piles,  where  a  foul  stream 
trickled  through  tangled  vegetation  of  brambles  and 
rank  grass.  The  river  breezes,  thought  to  be  the 
bearers  of  healthful  influences,  became  angels  of  death 
to  the  family,  who  were  in  entire  ignoi’ance  of  the 
danger,  thinking  this  disposal  of  the  drainage  made 
everything  secure,  as  they  had  been  advised. 
Thousands  of  such  cases  exist.  Anothei*  became 
known  to  me  in  Orange,  N.  J.,  where  a  family  were 
constantly  ailing  and  under  a  physician’s  care  for  what 
was  supposed  to  be  malaria.  This  time  it  was  the 
drainage  fi*om  a  neighbor’s  hoixse  which  reached  the 
well;  and  in  such  manner  thousands  of  farm  hands 
become  infected  with  disease.  To  avoid  these  dangers, 
the  drainage  from  a  dwelling  may  in  almost  all  cases 
be  turned  into  a  most  useful  fertilizer.  The  drain 
leading  from  a  house  may  discharge  into  a  system  of 
i*adiating  tile  drains,  through  which  it  will  quickly  be 
absorbed  by  the  soil.  It  is  a  system  of  sub-soil  irriga¬ 
tion  in  fact,  to  which  is  added  the  most  effective  fertil¬ 
ization  of  the  soil.  For  many  yeai’s  past  I  have  had 
such  a  system  which  waters  a  garden  and  lawn  of 
more  than  an  acre,  upon  which  many  trees  and  shrubs 
are  planted.  The  water-closet  discharges  into  a 
cemented  brick  cesspool,  covered  with  an  arch  of  the 
same  material  three  feet  under  the  surface.  The 
excess  of  rain  fall  which  over-flows  from  the  cistern  on 
the  top  floor  of  the  house  flushes  out  the  drain  at 
times,  and  carries  off  the  dissolved  matter  from  the 
cesspool.  A  strainer  prevents  any  solid  matter  from 
escaping  into  the  outlet  and  clogging  the  tiles.  In 
course  of  time  everything  is  dissolved,  and  carried  off 
and  absorbed  by  the  soil.  Of  course  the  dwelling  is 
on  high  ground  and  there  is  ample  fall  for  the  drains. 
Any  back  flow  of  air  or  gas  is  prevented  by  several  air 
traps  and  a  stand  pipe  carried  above  the  roof  of  the 
house.  The  outlet  pipe  is  twice  the  capacity  of  the 
house  drain.  This  is  six  inches  in  diameter,  the  outlet 
being  eight  inches.  Thus  back  over- flow  is  prevented. 
If  such  a  system  of  drainage  discharges  into  a  field, 
the  tiles  should  be  laid  12  inches  below  the  surface, 
wlxei’e  the  plow  will  not  disturb  them.  Mine  are  nine 
inches  below,  which  I  have  found  quite  sufficient. 
H.  STEWART. 
Business  Bits. 
They  have  a  big  milk  problem  In  England,  too,  as  the  following  note 
from  a  milkman  will  show:  “The  only  remedy  for  the  present  low 
prices  which  are  obtained  by  farmers  for  milk  will  lie  In  their  turning 
their  attention  to  other  branches  of  farming,  and  reducing  the  quan¬ 
tity  of  milk  offered— nay,  forced— on  the  London  trade  during  the 
summer  months,  which  will  cause  such  a  shortness  of  supply  as  to 
raise  the  retail  price  of  milk  in  Loudon  to  5d.  per  quart.” 
A  London  FIRM  Is  said  to  be  doing  quite  a  large  business  In  manu¬ 
facturing  “  fruit  powders.”  The  juices  of  various  fruits  are  evaporated 
and  preserved  In  the  form  of  a  fine,  dry  powder,  of  which  this  Is  said: 
“  The  fullest  flavor  of  the  fruit  Is  retained  in  its  moBt  palatable  form 
and  the  low  cost  of  production,  the  portability,  and  the  fact  that  the 
powders  will  keep  much  better  than  liquids  or  syrups,  all  combine  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  an  Ideal,  cheap,  refreshing  summer  drink.” 
To  Australian  Boys.— Could  The  R.  N.-Y.  find  the  address  of 
some  English-speaking  boy  between  17  and  20  years  old,  In  Jamaica. 
Australia,  New  Zealand  or  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  who  Is  Interested  In 
botany,  entomology  and  general  scientific  work,  with  whom  I  could 
correspond  and  exchange  specimens.  I  have  had  two  years’  schooling 
at  the  Maryland  Agricultural  College,  iipd  expect  to  return  this  fall. 
Westover.  Ind.  meiivin  f.  sudi.kr. 
New  Barrel  Making.— A  new  German  method  of  making  barrels 
Is  thus  described:  “  The  stem  of  a  tree  Is  cut  Into  lengths  correspond¬ 
ing  to  the  size  of  the  cask.  These  lengths  are  then  boiled  for  two  or 
three  hours  In  a  closed  vessel,  while  a  current  of  electricity  Is  passed 
through  the  water.  The  wood  Is  thereby  softened  so  that  it  can  be 
cut,  in  a  machine  rotating  the  log  In  the  same  manner  as  the  ordinary 
lathe,  Into  a  sheet  of  any  desired  thickness.  The  sheets  are  then 
passed  through  a  grooving  machine  and  grooved.  Another  machine 
seizes  the  sheet  between  two  arms,  and  by  means  of  knives  cuts  a 
series  of  mortices  or  slots  around  the  sides,  so  as  to  give  them,  when 
made  up,  the  desired  conical  shape.  Eventually  the  sheet  reaches 
the  cooper,  who  rolls  It  into  cylindrical  form,  drives  on  the  hoops,  and 
makes  a  barrel  of  it.” 
The  Everitt’s  Man  Weight  Cultivator  Is  not  adapted  for  use 
among  stones  or  In  rough  ground.  The  land  must  be  In  perfect  order 
for  it  to  work  at  all  well.  It  Is  very  light  and  the  material  very  poor. 
I  have  had  to  get  new  screws,  bolts,  etc.,  for  mine,  as  those  sent  were 
so  soft  that  they  would  not  permit  the  parts  to  be  screwed  up  tight 
enough  to  work  without  bending  or  breaking  right  off.  R.  G.  F. 
Maywood,  N.  J. 
A  Volume  on  a  Page.— I  am  under  a  thousand  obligations  to  The 
R.  N.-Y.  for  Its  excellence.  There  is  nothing  like  It.  The  Issue  of  July 
9  is  before  me.  It  is  not  any  better  than  the  usual  papers,  but  the 
first  page  is  a  whole  book.  “Spring  Poor  and  Spring  Eat”  is  simply 
an  Immense  illustration  of  profit  and  loss;  of  success  and  failure;  of 
the  old  and  the  new;  of  progress  and  decay.  I  cannot  thank  the  edi¬ 
tors  enongh.  I  am  under  grateful  obligations  for  the  kindness  done 
me  by  helping  me  to  others’  experience  of  “soiling  sheep  and  preparing 
ewes  for  the  ram.”  That  settles  it.  The  men  who  gave  advice  on  the 
subjects  are  the  highest  authorities  in  the  world.  it.  M.  bell. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Farm  Dwellings.— A  complete  and  well  planned  farm  dwelling  s 
a  valuable  and  interesting  piece  of  property.  From  foundation  to 
attic  It  should  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  planned  with  regard  to  use 
and  appearance.  Its  location  and  surroundings  should  be  well  studied 
and  selected  with  regard  to  soil,  view  and  convenience.  Few  builders 
spend  sufficient  thought  and  pains  in  planning  and  designing.  There 
is  a  wide  diversity  of  taste  and  a  great  lack  of  cultivation.  Many  per¬ 
sons  mistake  a  graphic  sketch  for  a  good  design  and  substitute  artifice 
for  honest  study,  and  the  results  are  claptrap  and  disappointment. 
One  failure  serves  to  disgust  a  whole  township  of  builders.  w.  c. 
