384 
MAY 16 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
began to bear three years after planting, and one or two 
of the trees existed aDd bore a fair crop of fruit in 1888. 
The trees which lived longest were of the Alberge variety 
and were planted in' a fence row. The trees were freed 
from borers by hand work, and from two to four quarts of 
wood ashes were put into the hole before the earth was 
drawn back to the tree. It was found to be best to do this 
in spring. When the trees were about 15 years old they 
passed one summer of absolute neglect. This was not a 
bearing year and a stress of other work was allowed to 
crowd them out. The next year two rows of Early Craw¬ 
fords suffered severely. The fruit set in large quantities, 
but it attained less than half the usual size and was al¬ 
most of no value. It was thought that the trees would 
die. The next spring they showed signs of life and an 
effort was made to save them. They were severely pruned 
and the block of 150 trees received a dressing of 40 barrels 
of wood ashes and a heavy coat of stable manure, all of 
which was plowed in. The trees started vigorously and 
the foliage was rich and dark all summer, and the next 
year their crop paid handsomely for this extra care. 
A few trees have been planted at a time in different lo¬ 
cations on the farm and it has been found that the sandy 
hill is by far the best place for them. In 1884, 1,000 trees 
were planted 20 by 22 feet apart. The varieties were 
Early and Late Crawford, Wheatland, Foster, Stump, Old 
Mixon and Hill’s Chill, with a few Early Rivers and 
Beatrices. The land has been cropped every year, but the 
trees have made fair progress in growth. The winters of 
’86, ’87 and ’88 were unusually severe and some trees were 
killed. A part of the orchard is on a steep hillside and a 
tew trees have been washed out by heavy rains. All va¬ 
cancies have been filled and the orchard is in fair order. 
The trees bore a fair crop of fine fruit in ’89. About one- 
halt the buds were alive April 1, last year, but late frosts 
and heavy spring rains did very efficient work, and not 
more than a bushel of fruit was gathered from the entire 
orchard. This was the fifth crop lost since 1860, which shows 
that peaches are no more uncertain here than any other 
fruit. When the crop is light the price is sure to be good 
and the cost of gathering and marketing less, so the gains 
are not very unequal. Our trees Are usually pruned after 
the chances of loss of buds and young fruit are reduced to 
a certainty, so far as possible, and the pruning answers the 
purpose of thinning, which otherwise is a tedious process. 
Our fruit is marketed, for the greater part, in our neigh¬ 
boring villages. We use what are known as “wooden 
grape baskets,” in sizes ranging from the little five-pound 
basket to that which holds one-third of a bushel. The 
fruit is carefully assorted and graded. Specimens which 
are fine in flavor but overripe or bruised aie put into the 
small baskets; and the peaches which will not sell for 
enough to pay for carrying to market must be very poor. 
Peach raising is not likely to be overdone in this locality, 
for, though there is considerable land which is admirably 
adapted to this fruit, it cannot be raised without the price 
of “ eternal vigilance,” a price which comparatively few are 
willing to pay. It is also true that the demand is con¬ 
stantly increasing. The American people have been a 
little slow in learning the uses of fruit as a food rather 
than a luxury, but the lesson is fully learned and the gain 
is as great to the consumer as to the producer. 
Seneca County, N. Y. s. A. little. 
MOTES BY E. P. POWELL. 
Blackberries.— The Erie and Minnewaski Blackberries 
—young plants—do not come through right; but old Eries 
are safe. I am satisfied that so far the three berries for 
this section are Snyder, Agawam and Taylor. Thompson’s 
is hardy, but otherwise needs farther testing. It is folly 
to waste farther time on the Lucretia Dewberry. But if 
we can have a berry as early and as handsome, and at the 
same time entirely hardy, it can be made very useful in 
rockeries, on stone fences and possibly for field culture. 
Anthracnose.— The great problem now is what to do 
with anthracnose on grape vines, and elsewhere. It has 
made havoc in my youngest vineyard, eating into the young 
wood, and putting an end to the vine very quickly. I am 
now spraying all my vines with a solution of copperas—12 
pounds dissolved in a barrel of water. I doubt its efficacy, 
but it is reported, on apparently good authority, to be the 
right thing. My boys are armed with sponges wired to the 
ends of staffs six feet long; with these they swab the cop¬ 
peras solution generously over the vines j ust before the 
buds start out. A liberal supply is allowed to fall about 
the roots. This when ic falls on strawberries does not seem 
to do any damage ; but it would injure fresh grape shoots. 
I shall hereafter promptly dig out affected vines and burn 
them. Some varieties of grapes are assailed worse than 
others; and I am sorry to say the noble Diamond is one of 
the worst to suffer. 
Pawpaws and Persimmons are growing here. Both are 
entirely hardy; but my persimmon is barren. These two 
fruits ought to be objects of much attention until we get 
them highly improved and in general culture. 
Prunus Simoni proves entirely hardy here and my trees 
are loaded with blossom buds; but I value this new plum 
more for its growth. It is one more added to our upright 
growing trees, like some of the junipers and the Buff um 
Pear. E. p. powell. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. 
Tying up Celery.— My experience in tying up celery in 
papers is not the best, as it heats and the centers rot too 
much in warm weather. Blanching it with 12-inch boards 
is the most satisfactory to me. If the celery plants are 
set five inches in the row, the rows being 18 inches apart, 
and the boards are set upright on each side of the row, the 
celery will come out in good edible shape in a few days. 
Marshalltown, Iowa. A. B. m. 
VERMONT FARMING. 
Without thinking it necessary to express a doubt of the 
truth of John Rusticus’s personal observations upon Ver¬ 
mont farms and farming, as given on page 324 of the 
Rural of April 25, I wish to say that some of his state¬ 
ments are very misleading and, as regards the general 
condition of the State, utterly wrong in the impression 
they must convey to readers of the paper. I particularly 
object to the following : 
The intervale farms are considered the best. I visited 
one place of this kind. The owner kept a dairy, bay baiDg 
the main crop. He also raised grain and potatoes. His 
men were harvesting a crop of oats by mowing with a 
machine and raking together with a horse rake; more 
than half the crop was kale or wild mustard and 
Canada Thistles. He would possibly get 10 or 12 bushels 
of oats to the acre. This on land valued at $100 per acre ! 
On a piece of upland which had been heavily manured and 
planted to potatoes the pig weeds and thistles were as 
high as my head; but the potatoes were not very large. 
It is possible that there may be such farms, so farmed, 
in Vermont; but if they were numerous it would be utterly 
impossible for the State as a whole to stand, as it does and 
has done for many years, as high as the 32nd in the whole 
list of States in the value of its agricultural products per 
man and per acre. I make this statement from memory 
of an article which recently appeared in the Vermont 
Phoenix from the pen of Hon. Marshall O. Howe, Census 
Superintendent of the State, which I preserved, but have 
mislaid, much to my regret. I think, however, that a por¬ 
tion of it was copied by THE Rural. To show how ab¬ 
surdly out of the way such an account Is, as showing 
average Vermont farming, I will refer to something I have 
accurate knowledge of, relating to a farm that came into 
my possession two years ago. It stands two miles from 
the east shore of Lake Memphremagog, and at least 150 
feet above its level; but is moderately even in surface, and 
was originally good hard-wood land, though the soil is 
rather light, and the farm, having changed hands four 
times in eight years, has not been well farmed. This is the 
very place alluded to by my humorous friend, E. B. True, 
in The Rural a few weeks ago, where he complained that 
the Hoover potato digger did not have a fair show in dig¬ 
ging my potatoes in the wet and blighty year of 1889. He 
was right in saying that the field was grassy; but he ex¬ 
aggerated in saying we had to mow it; and though the 
blight struck the field In its fullest growth, he dug out 
over 80 bushels of merchantable tubers per acre, to say 
nothing of about 20 per cent more that were cut, or left in 
the ground. 
Now, last year, with a very light dressing of fertilizer 
(not over 150 pounds per acre), the crops per acre on about 
20 acres were 26 bushels of rye, 33 of oats, 42 of oats and 
rye mixed, 13 of barley and six of wheat. It was seeded to 
grass with this grain, and I have an extra “catch” over 
the whole piece. 
If this is the result under such unfavorable circum¬ 
stances on a “worn-out” Vermont hill farm which has 
been under cultivation for upwards of 60 years (and pretty 
poor cultivation for much of the time), how can the state¬ 
ment of our Wisconsin friend fairly represent our best 
intervale farms, worth $100 an acre ? My home farm on 
the lake shore has given me 460 bushels of potatoes, 37 
bushels of wheat, 51 bushels of rye and 92 bushels of dry, 
shelled corn to the acre, as maximum crops during the 
past 25 years. My new place, above referred to, cost me 
less than $25 per acre, though it is well located on the 
main road, only two miles from the county seat and rail¬ 
road. 
I do not make the above statements in any spirit of 
vain glory. My friend True has beaten me many times in 
the matter of crops, and so have some others ; but I wish 
to speak of what I know in this matter, and so take my 
own experience from carefully kept accounts. 
Orleans Co., Vt. T. H. hoskins. 
The Farmers Clvib. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
|Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
writer to insure attention. Before asking a question, please see if it is 
not answered in our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
BEER DRINKING AND LIFE INSURANCE. 
Several Subscribers .—Has the increased consumption of 
beers and other liquors made any difference in the policies 
issued by the life insurance companies f Are special tests 
of health required of moderate drinkers 7 Is habitual 
drinking considered in writing out a policy ? Is the con¬ 
stant use of tobacco considered ? 
Ans.—The R. N.-Y. has been informed by a number of 
agents that the best companies look with disfavor upon a 
steady drinker, believing that modern beers are frequently 
adulterated and are injurious to health. We therefore 
sent these questions to the presidents of five of the largest 
life insurance companies in the country. Their replies 
follow: 
Good Health and of Temperate Habits. 
The test in selecting persons for life insurance requires 
them to be in good health and of temperate habits. We 
know of no rule on the subject spoken of by you among 
insurance companies, that is not covered by the principles 
expressed above. j. L. halsey, vice-pres. 
Manhattan Life Insurance Co. 
Moderate Drinkers Not Tested. 
This company has not changed its policies on account of 
the so-called general habit of beer drinking, nor do we 
submit moderate drinkers to any tests from which other 
risks are free. The fact that a man is a habitual drinker 
of beer or other liquors is of course considered in the 
acceptance of the risk, but no definite rule is laid down, 
each case being considered by Itself in connection with all 
the circumstances surrounding the application. 
President Phoenix Mutual Company. J. B. bunce. 
Much Lost Through Intemperance. 
We are not aware of any marked change lately made In 
the acceptance of risks on peoDle who drink beer. We 
have lost much through intemperance, and I presume other 
life companies have also lost, and therefore we are partic¬ 
ular in accepting risks, to endeavor to avoid those who 
drink to excess. We cannot throw out all applicants who 
drink beer in moderation and do not attempt to throw 
them ont, yet we look with great suspicion where there is 
any reason to suppose that an applicant drinks too fre¬ 
quently. Our experience has been that very few Indeed die 
from the tobacco habit. H. B. HYDE, PRES 
Equitable Life Assurance Society. 
Companies Are More Particular. 
To the qu. stion whether it is a fact that the increased 
general consumption of beer and other liquors has forced 
insurance companies to change their policies, I cannot 
speak generally for the companies, but will say in regard 
to the Northwestern that it has not been the case. To the 
inquiry whether the fact that a man is a habitual drinker 
of beer or other liquors makes any difference with this 
company in writing a policy, I reply that the Northwestern 
exercises an increasing care in scrutinizing the drinking 
habits of applicants for insurance, and we have the im¬ 
pression that the companies generally are more particular 
on this subject than formerly. This increasing care is 
very specially exercised with yonng men. As to whether 
the tobacco habit in any form affects our policies, in our 
applications we raise the question whether the applicant 
now uses or has ever used opium or other narcotic drugs. 
It does occasionally appear that a man uses tobacco so ex¬ 
cessively that the application is declined or post¬ 
poned, and we expect our agents and medical examiners 
to advise us of the facts in case there appears to be such 
an excessive use of tobacco as to impair the risk. 
WILLARD MERRITT, 2ND VICE PRES. 
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. 
Views of “ Mutual Life ” Medical Officers. 
In reply to its inquiries, we send The R. N.-Y. a recent 
publication on the subject of the use of alcohol, narcotics 
and tobacco. Although the document is not issued 
officially, it represents the views of the medical officers of 
the company. E. J. marsh, m. d., medical director. 
From the pamphlet above referred to we make the fol¬ 
lowing quotations: 
Dr. Edward W. Lambert In an article, “Personal Habits,” 
in The Medical Record, vol. viii. p.245, says: “No ques¬ 
tion presents more difficulties than that relating to the 
personal habits of the applicant. As a rule this question 
is answered more indefinitely than any other in the ap¬ 
plication ; yet this is the question of all others which will 
give the most information as to the probable longevity of 
the individual, and it ought to be answered so definitely 
and clearly, that he who reads may correctly understand 
the manner of the dally life of the individual. In order to 
give an approximate idea of tne personal habits of appli¬ 
cants for life insurance, it would be wise to divide all per¬ 
sons of the same age into four equal classes, putting each 
individual into that class in which his personal indulgences 
place him: 
“ Class 1—Will include those who are careful eaters and 
total abstainers from alcoholic stimulants and malt liquors, 
or who use the latter medicinally. 
“ Class 2—Will include those who use wine and malt 
liquors at dinner, who may occasionally indulge in food to 
excess, but who, as a rule, are as careful in their indulgence 
as Class 1. 
“ Class 3—Will Include those who are steady but mod¬ 
erate users of alcoholic stimulants, who are fond of the 
pleasures of the table, yet no one can say they are ever 
overcome by the appetite. This is the doubtful class and 
it is a very deceptive one to life insurance companies. 
“Cla8s4—Will include all those who are known to be 
given to excessive indulgences.” 
In consideration of these things it will be easy to con¬ 
clude that applicants of this class are not looked upon 
with favor; and such in reality is the case. From what¬ 
ever point of view they are considered, physically, mentally 
or morally, they are below the standard of this company. 
The alcoholic influence pervades, and insinuates itself in 
every direction, antagonizes well-meaning efforts in many 
instances, and teaches a lesson of extra care in selection. 
A quotation of the following observations made by the 
present general manager of the company, in 1885 while he 
was yet medical director—Dr. W. R. Gillette—is extremely 
applicable: “ It has been the rule of this company never to 
insure an individual who is a habitual user of liquors; 
and we do not take those who use malt liquors habitually 
unless they seem by inheritance to take malt liquors as a 
matter of diet such as the Germans, or the French who 
take light wines We do not, however, take these classes 
if we find they drink to excess. 
“It is sometimes interesting or necessary to ascertain 
whether the applicant has Indulged in the use of alcoholic 
drinks, independently of his statement, by an examination 
of the urine. 
“ The following formula, known as Anstie’s test, may 
be employed: A test solution may be made by dissolv¬ 
ing one part of bichromate of potassium in 300 parts by 
weight of strong sulphuric acid. The u^lne Is to be added 
drop by drop to the solution. If a bright emerald-green 
color suddenly results from this manipulation, ic signifies 
that there is a toxic amount of alcohol In the urine. 
Quoted by Seguin, in Pepper’s System of Medicine, vol. v. 
“ Many cigarettes are said to contain more or less 
opium—and the fascination of this form of smoking is due 
