326 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
APRIL 25 
The Rural Thoroughbred Flint Corn. 
C. E. Little, Ocean County, N. J.— 
I have grown the Rural Thoroughbred 
Flint Corn as a grain and ensilage crop for 
three years, and can give the pros and cons 
of my experience in a few words. 1. It sur¬ 
passes all the varieties I have tried in the 
abundance of 5ts leaves; indeedit far ex¬ 
ceeds them. 2. The ears do not mold so 
readily as those of other varieties of en¬ 
silage corn, when plucked off and left on 
the ground while cutting up the stalks for 
ensilage. I have lost heavily of Golden 
Beauty by molding in the husk during wet 
weather, etc., but very little of the Rural, 
owing to its smaller cob, which facilitates 
drying. 3. The ensilage made from it has 
more leaf and less stalk than that from 
coarser varieties, and the stalks bsing of 
medium length, are also more convenient 
to handle, while the yield of grain is good. 
Against it, I must record : 1. The fault 
of rolling its leaves in a dry season sooner 
than other varieties, owing to the much 
greater surface of its abundant foliage ex¬ 
posed to sun and winds. 2 It is a thorough¬ 
bred and, like all other thoroughbreds, re¬ 
sents ill treatment. On a poor soil, or 
crowded on a good soli, one will look in 
vain for its extraordinary foliage. I have 
grown a large crop of grain and fodder by 
drilling it on good ground in rows four 
feet apart and 15 inches apart in the row. 
[This is too close for the best yield of 
either grain or stover. Try 2, or even 
2%x4 feet.—E ds.] 
Seeding That Pasture. 
Henky Stewart.— An excellent pasture 
on such land as that described by Dairy¬ 
man on page 285, may be made by sowing 
one bushel of Orchard Grass, one of Red 
Top, six pounds of Timothy and eight 
pounds of Alsike Clover per acre. At the 
usual price for Orchard Grass and Red 
Top at the New York seed stores, this will 
cost about $6 per acre, but if the seed is 
bought in Louisville, Ky., it will cost less 
than $4. Grass seeds are much cheaper 
there than elsewhere, as a very large quan¬ 
tity is grown for sale by many farmers who 
have 100-acre fields kept especially for seed. 
The seeding cannot be done with a dense 
crop like oats and peas, but may be with 
oats alone. To insure a safe growth of the 
seed it should be sown immediately after 
the oats are harrowed or drilled in, and be 
covered by a light harrowing or rubbing 
with a brush harrow or a plank rubber. 
Alsike Clover is a longer-lived plant than 
any of the other clovers. Orchard Grass 
and Red Top are perennial, and with good 
care will last 50 years. 
Those Big Strawberry Stories. 
W. F. Massey, Raleigh, N. C.—Doubt¬ 
less 10,000 quarts of strawberries can be 
grown on an acre of land, but half that 
quantity is as much as the best growers 
usually raise. On moist and very fertile 
bottom land I have nearly reached the 
first named quantity ; but my objection to 
these figured out estimates of big yields is 
that they are misleading to inexperienced 
growers, and create the impression that 
wonderful profits can be made in raising 
strawberries at five cents per quart, while 
the tyro will soon find this cannot be done 
on any large area. Good culture and good 
berries, (uot a pint to the plant), will se¬ 
cure good prices, but the best culture can¬ 
not be afforded for five cents per quart, and 
the beginner will be much safer in count¬ 
ing on 2,500 quarts per acre than on 10,000. 
With berries at five cents per quart, to be 
shipped any distance and sold by commis¬ 
sion men, from land mauured as H. A. M. 
directs, the profits would be generally 
found In the commission man’s pocket. 
Fertilizers For Sweet Potatoes. 
A. M., Farmington, Del.—I f there has 
not been a great loss in taking the manure 
from the city to the landing, the loss from 
hauling it to the farm would not amount 
to much. I would prefer piling it, at the 
same time mixing it with a reasonable 
quantity of sand. Then I would cover with 
sand, which will prevent the gases from 
escaping. Spreading green manure and 
plowing it under for “sweets” I do not 
think advisable. At least it does not 
work well with me The expenses in 
handling stable manure for sweets are mat¬ 
ters of serious consideration, and, there¬ 
fore, why not abandon the use of it alto¬ 
gether ? If it is home-made, put all you 
can on your land ; but don’t buy and haul 
any while commercial fertilizers can be 
readily secured. I am inclined to think 
that stable manure favors the fungus, 
which causes the rot, while fertilizers con¬ 
taining sulphuric acid are an antidote to it. 
The Mapes, Stockbridge, etc., are excellent 
for “sweets.” Sow broadcast 200 to 300 
pounds of muriate of potash and 800 pounds 
of fertilizer to the acre; mark out the 
patch and scatter one small handful of the 
fertilizer over every place designed for a 
hill (about 400 pounds); make the hills and 
you are ready. You will find that sweets, 
treated in this maimer, are better in 
quality, of the mo^t delicate and beautiful 
appearance, and outyield those raised with 
stable manure two to one ; besides, they 
are hardly ever affected with rot. 
Irrigation In South Dakota. 
T. Macalpine, Clark Co., S. D.—The 
legislature of South Dakota, recently ad¬ 
journed, passed a law enabling townships 
to bond themselves for sufficient to put 
down nine six-inch or seventeen 4%-inch 
wells in each civil township. Since the 
passage of this act most people have be¬ 
come red-hot on the subject either in favor 
of or against irrigation. It is now general¬ 
ly admitted that in the Tim River Valley 
and westward to the Missouri artesian 
wells are a certainty and, that being so, 
people seem to think they have nothing to 
do but put down the wells, dig a few 
trenches, turn the water into them, and— 
presto! 60 bushels of wheat to the acre. 
Now this may all be very feasible on paper, 
but actual results are not very encourag¬ 
ing where the people have had wells for 
some time. Large crops have certainly 
been grown by their means, but the areas 
were limited and no trouble or expense 
had been spared to make them a success. 
At present the chief difficulty seems to be 
the nature of the soil, the pores of which 
are perpendicular, making the trench sys¬ 
tem impracticable as the water will not 
percolate laterally through the soil. I have 
seen magnificent looking wheat along the 
edge of the trench that would be good for 
30 or 40 bushels to the acre, while a rod 
away the crop would not be worth harvest¬ 
ing. To overcome this difficulty it is now 
proposed to flood the surface of the soil in 
the fall and winter, so as to have it 
thoroughly wet before seeding so that very 
little water would be afterwards needed. 
Whether this will succeed or not has yet 
to be demonstrated; certain it is there are 
elements to conjure with and a rich har¬ 
vest for those who can solve the problem. 
Already townships have called elections to 
vote on the question of bonds and there is 
no doubt that this year will see an im¬ 
mense boom in the matter of irrigation so 
that South Dakota is likely to take front 
rank as a State with “great possibilities.” 
Cost of a Cheap Silo. 
John Gould, Portage Co., Ohio —A cor¬ 
respondent, on page 212, asks about the 
cost of a cheap silo, and thinks some of the 
statements made are “ away off.” My own 
silo, 16x16 feet and 22 feet deep, cost as fol¬ 
lows : 
2,800 feet of lumber.$28.00 
9 0 feet studding. . 9.00 
to pounds nails. 1.10 
3 rolls of paper.,.... 2.10 
4 gallons of gas tar.12 
2 gallons of gasoline.20 
Total.$40.52 
This “ box ’ ’ was built by my hired man and 
myself in four days, and holds a little over 
100 tons. I am now convinced that when the 
silo is in a barn, or outside where there is 
natural drainage, a stone foundation 
is of no especial value. A 10-inch sill 
trenched in the ground and filled in with 
thin cement, is as strong as a joint of stone 
and wood, and if well seasoned and then 
painted with gas tar, it will be as lasting 
as the walls about it. I also think that a 
clay floor is preferable to a cement one, 
especially if made kettle-shaped. If one 
fears that rats will burrow under such a 
silo, let him mix a coating of gas tar and 
sand and spread it over the floor an inch 
thick, and then cover this with a inch of 
clay, and no rat will put tooth or toenail 
into this concoction. The reports made to 
me by men at the institutes, on all sides, 
East and West, this winter, are that they 
are building good silos in barns and out¬ 
side structures for 50 cents per ton, and as 
separate buildings for $1.00. A 400-ton out¬ 
side silo built last year at the Minnesota 
asylum at Rochester, cost $385, complete. 
Where men have their own lumber—as 
many do—and build the silo themselves—as 
any man can who can saw off a board square 
at the end and drive a ten penny nail—the 
figures given for 100-ton silos are very low, 
representing the actual cost and outlay; 
but where imaginary prices are credited 
for labor which the farmer performs him¬ 
self, the silo foots up more. In my own 
case, for instance, the material cost $40; but 
what did the silo actually cost me, con¬ 
structed as it was in odd hours and rainy 
days ? 
How About The Grown-up Chil¬ 
dren ? 
Sally Smith, Smithville, N. Y.—The 
editors of The Rural have said that the 
women might have their “say” about 
making wills, and as there was no specifi¬ 
cation as to whether the one holding forth 
be maid, wife, or widow, one “old maid” 
would like to criticise a bit, “of course,” 
and to ask a question or two. One writer 
thinks no large sum ought to be left iu a 
widow’s hands for fear of fortune-hunters 
with matrimonial intentions. Why will 
not that rule work well for the other side 
of the house, too ? How many well to do 
elderly “ widowers,” who now secure very 
eligible young wives, would be equally 
successful If it were known that they had 
but a life-lease of the property they hold? 
The same writer thinks a man ought to 
leave his possessions to his wife on condi¬ 
tion that she did not marry again ; for, she 
says, “ Who would want to accumulate 
wealth for strangers ?” Is not a second wife 
as much a stranger as a second husband ? 
Some children who have found the truth 
of the old couplet, that 
“ A mother Is a mother all the days of her life. 
But a father is a father till he gets a new wife,” 
think “ number two ” a decided “stranger.” 
In all this talk about will-making no one 
has put in a plea for the rights of children 
of either sex, who are no longer children in 
years, but who have never set up tents for 
themselves, but have, till perhaps middle 
age, lived and worked under the paternal 
roof, and helped much by both head and 
hand work to bring that same roof and Its 
surrounding acres—for I am speaking to, 
and of, farmers especially—to their present 
value; and who have given with their 
work what no money will hire—interest. 
Some may say: “They have had their 
‘ keep ’ all these years—board, clothes, and 
privileges;” but would not the same effort, 
both physical and mental, if made for 
other people, and paid for accordingly, have 
secured for many much more than the 
“share,” which, as children, they receive 
in common with their brothers and sisters 
who went to “do for themselves” years 
before ? 
Cheap Silo; Cut or Uncut Ensilage. 
F. L. S., Bainbridge, N. Y.—In answer 
to the question on page 212 in regard to 
cheap silos here is my experience. My 
barn was in the shape of an L and the pro¬ 
jection made one side and an end of 
the silo. I had to build the other side and 
end and put on a roof. On the inside of 
(Continued on next page.) . 
Advertisers treat all correspondents 
well if they mention The Rural New- 
Yorker. 
Without 
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cure Scrofula, Salt 
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strength and overcome 
d'h at Tired Feeling,— 
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For Internal and External Use. 
Stops Pain, Cramps, Inflammation in body or limb, 
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THE GREAT ENGLISH REMEDY, 
BEECHAM’S PILLS 
For Bilious anl Nervous Disorders. 
“Worth a Guinea a Box” but sold 
for 25 Cents, 
BY ALL DRUGGISTS. 
RUCKEYE SENIOR 
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MoweR 
Made in 
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cut. Most Re¬ 
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Also Manufacturers of the Buckeye Hose Reel 
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F&rphr Keystone Corn Planter 
,_ Warranted the best 
Corn Dropper and most 
perfect Force-feed Ferti¬ 
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.world. Send for Catalogue. 
ADDRESS, 
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YORK, PA. 
Send for Large Illustrated Catalogue. 
t ,89i w EUREKA 
A PERFECT MACHINE 
sizes: 
5,6 and 7 Feet 
Valuable Improvements 
in the 
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mak¬ 
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on rougher ground, 
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erated and lifted by 
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MOWER 
. ___GIREKA will 
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’HAS HARROWS 
BEST MATERIAL. 
Sizks: 
16,18 and 22 Tootli 
Channel Steel Frame. 
A Harrow that will not 
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EUREKA CULTIVATORS 
OUR LATEST IMPLEMENT^ 
Name Frame " 
may be used for 5 or T 
tooth,Shovels or Spring 
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and horse hoe attach¬ 
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!nller. Easy Ratchet 
Adjustment, enabling 
ALL STEEL FRAME. 
FINEST workmanship, 
SOMETHING NEW 
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operator to widen or 
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Send foi catalogue and full description. Our 
goods are all of the best stock, honestly made 
and nicely finished. Address 
EUREKA MOWER CO., UTICA, N. Y. 
Buckeye Wrought Iron Punched BniiTente 
Also, manufacturers of Iron Cresting, Iron Turb« 
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UflMF O I V U I instruction given by 
II Will tm Mail in Book-keeping, Business Forms, 
Arithmetic, Penmanship, Shorthand, 
etc. Low rates. Dista-ce no objection. Circulars free. 
Bryant & Stratton, 415 Main Street. Buffalo, N. Y. 
XTiOB SALE.- Good fruit and farming lands in 
ID Washington. For particulars address •• G,” care 
of FIRST NATIONAL BANK, Goldeudale, Wash. 
F OR SALE.— 30 good Missouri or Illinois 
Farms, near St. Louis, with possession, Write 
for descrip ions to THOS BETTS, 525 Chestnut St., 
St. Louis, Mo. Established 18«0. 
“THE FLORIDA REAL ESTATE JOUR 
A AL,” $1.00 a year. Arcadia, Florida. Cheap homes, 
cash or time. Samply copy, with State map, 10 cents • 
In the South 
along the 
line of the 
MOBILE <A OHIO. RAILROAD^ Cheap lands 
J^otneaTm^ooa^ater^Tnnucinnate.good markets 
for your products, and in fact all that conduces to 
success iu Agricultural and Mechanical pursuits. You 
can purchase ROUM^JIIPLAMLSE^^EIW 
TICKETS VIA THE MOBILE OHIO_ILAIL_- 
ROAD, from STj^JAIUlKMtL^ to almost any 
poTu^n our terrTtory^^er^o^Tates, HOOD FOR 
FORTY DAYS from date of sale, with privilege>C 
STOPPING OFF AT PLEASURE south of the 
YTTTTTTTiver - "i^)r"7urn!er"7Tffomuu7on in regard to 
rates address J. IV. EBERLK, Land and Immigra¬ 
tion Agent, No. 423 Chestnut Street, ST. LOUIS, 
MO., or G. W. KING, General Passenger Agent 
M. & O. R. R., MOBILE, ALA. Address the ALA. 
BAMA LAND AND DEVELOPMENT CO., 
or HENRY FOiYDE. Pres., MOBILE, ALA., for 
circulars or other ||| II ■ n ■ U % 
information In re- I M ft I ft K it jcSS ft 
gard to land | H HLHDH HI ft ■ 
HOMES FOR ALL 
