684 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Oct.  22 
justly  ;  but  still,  on  the  other  hand,  if  more  milk  comes 
to  Boston  than  is  wanted  by  the  consumers, and,  if  the 
peddlers  are  buying-  an  increasing-  amount  without 
any  surplus  understanding-,  it  follows  as  a  result  that 
the  amount  of  surplus  in  the  hands  of  the  contractors 
is  thereby  increased,  and  that  the  amount  of  discount 
which  the  farmers  supplying  them  are  obliged  to 
stand  is  increased  on  account  of  the  sales  of  their 
brother  farmers  to  peddlers  at  a  straight  price.  The 
amount  of  milk  which  the  contractors  sold  for  the 
last  five  months  was  3,0G8,1G7  cans. 
The  Making  of  a  Permanent  Pasture. 
PROF.  SHAW  GIVKS  RIS  EXPERIENCE. 
In  a  late  Rurai.  Mr.  II.  Stewart  speaks  of  the 
making  of  a  permanent  pasture,  and  it  seems  to  me 
puts  the  case  rather  strongly.  He  says  : 
A  permanent  productive  pasture  can  be  made  only  by  the  following 
method:  The  land  Is  to  be  first  put  Into  the  best  possible  condition  by 
a  clean  summer  fallow,  liberal  manuring,  draining  if  necessary,  the 
removal  or  burial  of  stones  If  the  land  Is  not  clear  of  them,  most  ex¬ 
cellent  cultivation  and  seeding  with  the  right  kinds  of  grasses  In  much 
larger  quantities  than  the  American  farmers  ever  think  of.  Three  or 
four  bushels  of  seed  of  several  kinds  Is  the  least  that  should  be  sown. 
The  grass  should  be  sown  alone,  and  no  animal  should  be  pastured  on 
It  until  the  sod  is  firm  enough  to  prevent  breaking  through  it,  and 
poaching  the  surface. 
I  do  not  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Stewart  on  the  follow¬ 
ing  points  in  this  quotation’:  1.  As  to  the  absolute 
necessity  of  preparing  the  land  by  means  of  the  bare 
fallow  ;  2,  as  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  sowing  the 
seed  alone  ;  3,  as  to  the  amount  of  seed  recommended  ; 
and,  4,  as  to  the  advisability  at  all  times  of  pasturing 
it  closely.  The  thing  of  paramount  importance  in  pre¬ 
paring  land  for  sowing  with  permanent  grasses  is  to 
have  it  clean  ;  it  matters  not  by  what  process  it  is 
made  so,  but  careful  regard  should  of  course  be  had  to 
the  expense  of  the  cleaning.  I  regard  cleaning  land 
by  means  of  the  bare  fallow  as  very  expensive,  and  in 
this  country  at  least,  quite  unnecessary.  Some  kind 
of  a  hoed  crop  will  answer  as  well  as  the  bare  fallow 
if  it  is  properly  cared  for.  Potatoes  and  field  roots 
will  answer  very  well.  Corn  will  not  do  so  well  owing 
to  the  interference  of  the  roots  in  the  after  cultiva¬ 
tion.  Where  land  is  farmed  as  it  ought  to  be,  a  clover 
sod  may  be  turned  under  and  sown  with  permanent 
grasses.  I  would  want  no  better  preparation  than  a 
crop  of  field  roots  properly  cared  for.  After  they 
have  been  removed,  the  land  wants  no  further  prepara¬ 
tion  the  same  autumn.  The  following  spring  it  need 
not  be  plowed,  but  simply  cultivated  thoroughly  before 
the  crop  is  sown.  The  manure  in  this  case  would  be 
put  on  before  the  roots  are  grown. 
The  amount  of  seed  required  is  certainly  placed  high 
by  Mr.  Stewart.  Of  course  much  will  depend  on  the 
kinds  used.  1  think  the  following  quantities  sufficient : 
Pounds.  Pounds. 
Timothy . . .  3  Alslke  Clover .  2 
Meadow  Foxtail .  2  White  or  Dutch  Clover .  1 
Meadow  Fescue .  4  Yellow  Clover  o.  Trefoil  ....  1 
Tall  Oat  Grass .  3 
Lucerne .  4  Total . 20 
I  would  not  use  Orchard  Grass  owing  to  its  selfish 
habit  of  crowding,  nor  any  of  the  rye  grasses,  as  they 
are  too  tender.  One  or  two  pounds  of  Kentucky  Blue 
Grass  per  acre  may  be  added  in  some  soils  ;  in  others 
it  will  come  in  quite  soon  without  being  sown.  The 
Timothy,  Lucerne  and  the  clovers  may  all  be  allowed 
to  drop  after  the  grain  tubes,  while  the  grain  is  being 
sown  which  accompanies  the  grasses.  The  Meadow 
Foxtail,  Meadow  Fescue  and  Tall  Oat  Grass  owing  to 
the  size  of  the  seeds  had  better  be  sown  by  hand.  A 
light  harrow  should  come  after  the  sowing,  followed 
by  a  roller.  These  quantities  may  be  increased  on 
some  soils,  but  they  are  given  as  a  fair  average  of  the 
amount  of  seed  actually  necessary  on  average  soils. 
Other  grasses  may  yet  be  added  to  this  list,  but  those 
named  are  the  only  ones  I  would  confidently  recom¬ 
mend  at  the  present  time. 
We  have  sown  them  at  the  Ontario  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion  alone,  and  also  with  a  thin  seeding  of  barley, 
and  have  obtained  equally  good  results  in  both  in¬ 
stances.  We  use  about  one  bushel  of  barley  to  the 
acre,  and  usually  reap  from  20  to  30  bushels  to  the 
acre.  It  seems  to  be  no  detriment  whatever  to  the 
grasses.  The  past  season  we  sowed  a  10-acre  field 
with  barley  and  Lucerne  only.  The  barley  gave 
fully  25  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  the  Lucerne  is  now 
about  two  feet  high.  If  we  can  get  20  to  30  bushels  of 
barley  per  acre  the  same  season  that  the  grass  is  sown, 
and  without  any  injury  to  the  grass,  we  should  cer¬ 
tainly  grow  the  barley. 
Generally  speaking,  the  pastures  should  not  be  eaten 
closely,  but,  where  mice  are  troublesome,  close  pas¬ 
turing  will  deal  with  them  quite  as  effectively  as  the 
blocks  of  wood  with  the  poisoned  meal  in  them,  which 
Mr.  Stew'art  mentions,  and  far  more  conveniently.  The 
close  pasturing,  however,  should  be  done  in  the  sum¬ 
mer  or  early  fall,  leaving  time  for  a  light  growth  to 
spring  up  to  protect  the  roots  in  winter.  In  this  the 
mice  are  not  apt  to  revel  as  they  would  in  long  uneaten 
grass  lying  down  in  decay. 
It  would  not  be  wise  to  grow  permanent  grasses  on 
every  kind  of  soil.  Those  soils  only  are  suitable  which 
are  rich  naturally  or  made  so,  and  drained  naturally 
or  otherwise,  not  easily  poached  in  a  wet  time,  and  at 
least  fairly  moist.  We  can  have  good  permanent 
pastures  in  this  country,  but  not  so  good  as  in  Europe. 
We  cannot  have  the  variety  owing  to  the  cold  of  our 
winters,  nor  can  we  have  the  constancy  of  growth, 
owing  to  the  dryness  of  our  summers. 
Mr.  Stewart  would  also  apply  every  spring  a  top¬ 
dressing  of  200  pounds  of  superphosphate,  and  100 
pounds  of  nitrate  of  soda.  This  in  some  instances 
and  under  some  circumstances  would  be  pretty  costly. 
At  the  prices  paid  here  for  these  fertilizers,  this  would 
mean  from  $5  to  $G  per  acre  each  year.  Would  we 
always  get  it  back  again  ?  When  visiting  that  exceed¬ 
ingly  practical  dairyman,  John  Gould,  last  summer, 
he  pointed  out  to  me  100  acres  of  very  good  Blue 
Grass  pasture,  which  had  failed  to  secure  a  rental  of 
$1  per  acre.  This  was  in  the  Western  Reserve  of 
Ohio  and  but  three  miles  from  the  village  of  Aurora. 
In  that  locality  $5  to  $6  per  year  per  acre  would  be 
too  much  to  give  for  fertilizers  to  be  applied  to  grass 
lands,  although  it  might  answer  better  in  other  sec¬ 
tions.  The  amount  of  fertilizer  will  be  governed 
mainly  by  the  character  of  the  land  and  its  location 
Some  soils  are  not  much  in  need  of  any  kind  of  fer¬ 
tilizer  ;  on  other  soils  it  may  pay  to  use  them  on  per¬ 
manent  grass  lands  with  more  or  less  frequency. 
When  we  talk  to  our  farmers  about  permanent  pas¬ 
tures  we  do  well  to  state  things  moderately,  or  very 
few  indeed  will  have  the  courage  to  take  the  steps 
necessary  to  obtain  them.  [prof.]  tiios.  shaw. 
Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
Leavings. 
Improving  Pastures. — Pastures  can  be  greatly  im¬ 
proved,  in  fact  quite  regenerated,  by  sowing  upon 
them  a  small  amount  of  Tall  Medium  Fescue,  Timothy, 
Red  and  Alsike  Clover  (an  equal  mixture  of  these) 
four  to  six  pounds  per  acre.  The  seeding  should  be 
done  early  in  the  spring,  as  soon  as  it  is  possible  to 
get  upon  the  land  to  harrow  it.  Scarifying  with  a 
sharp  tooth  harrow  should  be  done  most  thoroughly 
and  then  the  land  should  be  compacted  with  a  heavy 
roller.  Often  the  pastures  are  poor,  not  because  of 
the  poorness  of  the  land,  but  because  of  the  lack  of 
culture.  So  if  we  can  cultivate  even  the  surface  im¬ 
perfectly  and  let  in  the  light  and  heat,  and  permit 
chemical  action  to  set  plant  food  free,  great  benefit 
may  result.  Of  course,  if  the  reseeded  pasture  could 
have  a  liberal  dressing  of  ashes,  of  farm  manures,  or 
even  of  straw  or  other  coarse  material,  it  would 
materially  assist  in  producing  the  desired  results. 
Cornell  Experiment  Station.  i.  p.  rorerts. 
Chemists  and  Baked  Potatoes. — “Can  chemistry  tell 
us  whether  a  potato  is  raw,  baked  or  boiled  ?”  Yes,  it 
can.  The  cooking  of  starch  bursts  the  cells,  solidifies 
the  albumen  and  changes  some  of  the  starch  to  sugar. 
Heat  alone  is  the  agent  in  cooking,  and  the  chemical 
result  is  the  same  either  with  dry  or  wet  cooking,  ex¬ 
cept  that  in  baking  the  heat  is  greater  and  the  results 
more  pronounced,  as  in  the  difference  between  a 
boiled  and  baked  sweet  potato  and  its  skin.  H.  s. 
Against  Crop  Statistics. — I  am  pleased  to  see  the 
article  in  The  It.  N.-Y.  of  October  8,  in  regard  to  the 
crop  statistics  by  the  Agricultural  Department.  Al¬ 
though  I  have  reported  for  the  Department  to  some 
extent,  I  have  of  late  felt  that  the  reports  as  a  whole 
were  injuring  rather  than  helping  the  farmer,  as 
the  estimates  are  usually  much  in  excess  of  the  actual 
output.  A.  F.  M. 
Potatoes  After  Corn. — A  year  ago  The  Rural 
gave  me  the  benefit  of  the  experience  of  several  of  its 
readers  in  growing  wheat  after  corn,  and  the  editor 
remarked  that  it  was  a  poor  rotation,  which  is  doubt¬ 
less  true  with  regard  to  most  soils.  Potatoes  are  the 
best  cash  crop  in  my  section,  and  all  have  believed 
that  they  should  follow  clover,  so  the  fields  that 
grew  corn  were  seeded  to  wheat,  oats  being  unprofit¬ 
able.  Last  year  half  of  a  clover  field  was  broken  for 
late  corn,  the  other  remaining  in  clover.  This  spring 
the  whole  field  was  planted  to  potatoes,  and  the  corn 
stubble  was  looser  and  livelier  than  the  clover  all  the 
season.  The  difference  in  yield  of  the  sections  of  the 
field  was  marked,  the  corn  stubble  yielding  over  200 
bushels  to  the  acre,  while  the  clover  sod  fell  under 
that  amount.  The  field  was  seeded  to  wheat  after 
potatoes,  a  rotation  that  pays  us  much  better  than 
the  other. 
A  single  test  is  worth  little,  and  I  would  attach 
little  weight  to  the  comparative  yields  of  the  two 
sections  of  the  field  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the 
corn  stubble  remained  so  much  looser  than  the  other, 
thus  showing  less  ill  effects  from  the  heavy  spring 
rains,  and  affording  the  potatoes  a  chance  to  grow. 
In  clay  soils  this  packing  of  the  earth  is  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  potato  growing.  Of  course  the  corn  im¬ 
poverishes  the  land,  but  if  it  loosens  it  for  potatoes} 
such  a  rotation  should  pay,  if  the  soil  is  very  fertile. 
In  this  case  the  corn  was  fed  to  stock  on  the  ground 
that  grew  it,  at  least  half  of  the  manure  being  returned 
to  it.  A  neighbor  reports  similar  results  from  potatoes 
after  corn,  and  those  having  very  rich  clay  loams  may 
do  well  to  continue  this  experiment.  alva  agee. 
Scraping  Bark. — In  the  management  of  a  commer¬ 
cial  apple  orchard  I  do  not  find  it  desirable  to  scrape 
the  bark  of  the  trees.  If  any  sprouts  appear  at  the 
base  of  the  trunks,  they  are  carefully  cut  away,  as 
they  harbor  borers,  aphides  and  other  insects  far 
more  than  rough  bark.  Otherwise,  three  things  are 
necessary,  viz,  thorough  but  shallow  cultivation,  lib¬ 
eral  fertilizing  and  spraying  at  the  proper  time  with 
a  mixture  of  insecticides  and  fungicides.  It  requires 
much  insight  and  experience  to  supply  these  three 
conditions  of  success.  If  any  one  of  them  is  omitted, 
the  best  results  may  not  be  hoped  for.  If  all  are  prop¬ 
erly  observed,  the  bark  need  not  be  scraped,  and  yet 
a  glorious  harvest  may  result.  w.  H.  hart. 
The  Bose  Pear. — I  want  to  say  “Amen”  to  the 
hearty  commendation  The  Rural  has  given  to  the 
Beurrd  Bose  pear.  Downing  gave  it  “unqualified 
praise  ”  many  years  ago,  and  all  he  said  of  it  then  has 
been  literally  true  ever  since.  The  American  Pomo- 
logical  Society  has  continued  to  shower  “  stars”  upon 
it  in  25  States  and  provinces,  and  yet  The  Rural’s 
question,  “Is  this  delightful  pear  known  to  all  of  our 
readers  who  raise  pears?”  is  a  pertinent  one.  My  own 
observation  answers,  “No.”  There  are  hundreds  of 
orchards  in  New  York  State  alone  where  the  variety 
cannot  be  found,  and  many  of  the  growers  do  not 
seem  to  even  know  of  its  existence. 
The  Bose  (as  it  is  now  properly  called)  is  a  Belgian 
pear,  having  originated  with  Van  Mons  in  1807.  It  is 
most  distinct  in  character,  being  wholly  unlike  any 
other  of  the  pear  family.  In  shape  and  size  it  is  with¬ 
out  a  rival.  Its  handsome  pyriform  always  seems 
like  an  ideal  pear  to  me,  and  it  is  uniformly  large, 
smooth  and  regular.  Compared  with  Downing’s  out¬ 
line,  my  fruit  is  always  broader  at  the  base.  An 
obovate,  elongated  pyriform  would  perhaps  describe 
the  shape  better  than  nearly  “  pyriform,”  which  is  at 
best  an  ambiguous  term  in  the  absence  of  any  typical 
pear  form.  I  think  on  the  whole  Downing’s  outline  is 
slightly  inaccurate  in  the  respect  indicated  as  applied 
to  the  Bose  as  generally  grown  in  America.  The  qual¬ 
ity  is  indeed  delicious  and  excellent  as  described.  The 
cinnamon-russet  exterior  is  without  knots  and  covers 
the  firm,  rich,  melting,  perfumed  flesh  inside.  The 
fruit  keeps  well  and  is  devoid  of  any  strong  peculiarity 
in  flavor  requiring  an  education  of  the  palate  to  ap¬ 
preciate.  The  tree  is  healthy  and  productive,  though 
not  a  very  early  bearer  with  me.  The  wood  is  strong 
and  handsome  and  the  habit  of  the  tree  excellent.  It 
does,  however,  grow  in  clusters  to  some  extent  on  my 
trees,  often  two  or  three  together,  as  I  find  now  on 
some  grafts  I  have,  and  then  the  three  long  specimens 
are  beautiful  indeed.  Another  valuable  feature  of 
the  Bose  is  it  does  not  scab,  crack  or  mildew.  This 
season  it  is  growing  in  my  garden  grafted  on  Flemish 
Beauty  stock  with  the  cracked  and  scabby  “  Beautys,” 
hanging  around  it,  but  the  Boses  are  all  without  a 
blemish.  Why  yes,  everybody  ought  to  plant  the  Bose. 
It  has  not  the  flavoring  and  deceptive  cheek  of  the 
Clairgeau,  but  it  has  positive  merit  and  is  one  of  the- 
best  of  all  pears.  H.  H. 
Experience  With  “  The  New  Celery 
Culture/’ 
Our  readers  will  remember  the  series  of  articles  by 
Mr.  Robert  Niven  on  celery  growing,  which  appeared 
in  The  R.  N.-Y.  last  spring.  Mr.  Niven’s  plan  is  to 
make  the  ground  very  rich  with  fertilizer  or  stable 
manure  and  to  cultivate  until  the  soil  is  as  fine  as  an 
ash  heap.  The  young  celery  plants  are  then  dibbled 
in  on  the  surface  of  the  ground — seven  inches  apart 
each  way.  They  are  given  good  culture,  kept  free 
from  weeds  and  supplied  with  abundance  of  water. 
Such,  in  brief,  is  “The  New  Celery  Culture.”  It 
seems  that  a  good  many  of  our  readers  have  tried  the 
plan  this  season.  Here  are  the  first  of  their  comments: 
I  planted  eight  square  rods  with  White  Plume  cel¬ 
ery,  seven  inches  apart  each  way,  and  while  I  did  not 
meet  with  complete  success  on  account  of  an  inade¬ 
quate  supply  of  water,  yet  the  crop  is  good  and  I  am 
sure  that  if  Mr.  Niven’s  instructions  are  fully  followed 
his  is  the  way  to  grow  celery.  His  little  book  gives 
very  full  instructions.  w.  h.  boyes. 
From  a  lazy  man’s  standpoint  the  new  celery  culture 
seems  to  me  a  “  celery brated”  success,  bringing  in 
large  returns  for  a  small  amount  of  labor.  The  celery 
stalks,  excluding  the  leaf,  are  over  two  feet  in  height 
on  sandy  soil,  not  very  fertile.  I  think  the  system  all 
right,  but  next  year  I  shall  plant  earlier  on  ground 
that  will  be  half  manure.  I  shall  plant  six,  seven  and 
nine  inches  apart  for  comparison,  because  at  present 
while  my  neighbors  lire  enjoying  well-blanched  cei» 
