1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
399 
times we go over the ground S omeyears) : is shallow, after 
the very first time. An inch and a half of freshly stirred 
soil makes a mulch that pretty thoroughly checks evapo¬ 
ration and does not injure the roots. Such cultivation 
need nnt stop when the potatoes are in blossom It can 
never do any harm as long as the horse can get through 
between the rows, and it may do much good. 
I might go back farther and say that I try to check 
unnecessary evaporation from the very moment the clover 
sod is turned over. If at all dry, we harrow at once, to keep 
the land from drying out. If there comes a rain we har¬ 
row a^am at once. When we were part through planting 
this spring a light shower came, not enough to prevent 
our planting the next morning; bat we did not, but 
hitched on to the harrows and stirred all the field first, 
that which was planted and what was not. Last spring 
we would not have taken this precaution, as we were get¬ 
ting rain almost constantly. This spring the weather is 
quite dry, with strong indications of a long spring 
drought. Let it come. I am ready for it. Every move 
has been made with this end in view for the last month. 
I put twice the tillage on my land before planting that I 
did last year. With fine, firm soil, and the surface lightly 
stirred (and the soil full of clover roots), I have done my 
part; as an old friend of mine says, “ divided fairly with 
Providence.” 
We have just finished planting by hand \% acre 
with very valuable seed (thrfe dollars a pound). The 
Cutaway harrow went over that land four times, and the 
Thomas about as often and the roller twice. One can 
hardly overwork dry land. Then I put perfectly fine 
mellow dirt over each set with a hoe, and then trod on 
each hill. As soon as we were through we scratched the 
surface over with Breed’s wf eier, all with a view to save 
the unnecessary evaporation of moisture and get a crop, 
whatever the state of the weather. Some good people will 
call that irreverent; but Gcd gave man “ dominion.” It 
probably displeases Him more to see people so loth to take 
this great gift and so ready to find fault with the seasons. 
A CONVENIENT HOG-HOUSE. 
To raise good bogs and make pork making profitable, it 
is essential that the buildings and appliances be well ar¬ 
ranged and kept in good order. No mudhole with a few 
rails around it and some boards over one corner will serve 
the purpose. The building, for a limited number of hogs, 
should be 36x12 feet, with a passageway four feet wide along 
one side, and it should be divided into six apartments, each 
6x8 feet, which communicate with eich other by means of 
sliding doors, and with the outside by either hanging- 
doors or doors opening outward. The partitions should 
be solid and about three ftet high. A plan of such a 
building is shown at Fig. 142 
For a larger number of hogs the building may be en¬ 
larged proportionally, and, if desirable, a corn-crib may be 
built along the front to facilitate feeding. The entire 
building should be raised off the ground about 2X feet, 
and bridges should lead to the running ground in the rear. 
There is nothing more annoying in hog-raising than the 
usual rush and scramble for the monopolization of the 
trough, by which means the weaker animals are always 
crowded back, and the runt always remains a runt. 
Fig. 143 shows a very good contrivance for preventing this, 
insuring “equal rights” to all, and, as the owner of such 
a pen remarked : “ It is an excellent device for teaching a 
hog good manners.” It is a solidly made swing door, 
reaching across the front of each division. The upper 
crosspiece to which the boards are nailed is a scautling, 
cut round at the ends, so as to work freely in a two-inch 
hole. This door, when unconfined, swings directly over 
the center of the trough. The trough, A, Fig. 144, is made 
of lj^xlO inch hard-wood material, and is fitted closely be¬ 
tween the (stanchions which support the roof, while resting 
on the end board is a somewhat triangular shaped board, 
B, which serves to give greater solidity to the trough, and 
closes an opening which would otherwise be made by 
drawing the swing-door forward. 
The swing door, Fig. 143 is supported at one end by a 
solid block, A, firmly nailed to the upright, while at the 
other end the block is in two sections, the lower part only 
being made solid, the upper part being fastened to the 
stanchion by means of a coach screw. This part is made 
movable and can be pushed aside as in Fig. 143. In the 
center of the swinging door is a strong wooden bolt, B 
whose construction may be readily seen from the design, 
This is made to work neatly but easily, and is shot into a 
corresponding hole in either side of the trough, thus re¬ 
taining the door in the desired position. An iron handle 
is attached by means of which the bolt is worked, while at 
the same time it serves to draw the door backward or for¬ 
ward. The door is pushed back and bolted, leaving the 
trough clear, as at C, Fig. 143. When in this position, the 
slops may be poured in from the passageway without even 
the slightest annoyance from the hogs inside. It is then 
drawn forward as at D, and the greedy animals take pos¬ 
session. 
The fact that the entire building should be raised off the 
ground will admit of an elevated platform, Fig 145, placed 
at one end of the house. It should be substantially made 
and have a gate, A, at one side. The gate bears a hook 
and when not in use is folded back and fastened to a staple 
in the wall. 
To remove hogs from the pen, close the gate and back 
the wagon with its rear end squarely against the end of 
the platform. The movable block E, Fig. 143, is then 
pushed aside, and the swinging door is then easily removed. 
The hogs may then, without the least difficulty, be driven 
along the passage and directly into the wagon with not 
one-tenth the vexation of loading from an open pen. 
JAMKS M SHULL. 
ENSILAGE AGAINST FODDER CORN. 
During the past year there has been much discussion as 
to the relative value of corn ensilage and fodder corn as 
food for cows giving milk; and there have been one or 
more well-conducted experiments in which an equal 
amount of dry fodder corn well preserved and run through 
a feed cutter produced as good results as an equal amount 
of corn ensilage. Had these feeding tests been made in 
the last half of March, April and the first half of May, I 
am of the opinion that there would have been a marked 
showing in favor of the ensilage. During this period the 
leaves of the fodder become so dry and brittle that much 
is wasted, and also the fodder becomes dry and harsh and 
the cows do not relish it, and quite a percentage is left in 
For Teaching Hogs Good Manners. Fig. 143. 
the mangers uneaten. But to-day (May 5) our cows, with 
a limited supply of pasture grass, ate 25 to 30 pounds each 
of corn ensilage with a relish and without any waste, eating 
it as clean as at any time during the winter ; and what is 
most satisfactory is that my 22 cows—16 of which came 
In, some a year ago, some in the fall and the remainder in 
How the Trough Works. Fig. 144. 
the early winter, none fresh milkers, with six two-year 
old heifers that came in in March—are making daily 20 
pounds of packed butter with no grain feed except what 
they get in the ensilage. They had been fed during the 
winter, in connection with this ensilage, three or four 
pounds each of two parts of wheat bran and one part of 
Platform for Loading Hogs. Fig. 145. 
oil meal, until 10 days ago, when they were allowed to 
run for some days on a small pasture of four acres, and 
the grain, except what was in the ensilage, was discon¬ 
tinued. They, of course, have what good hay they 
will eat clean. I would not in any way undervalue fodder 
corn, but after four years’ experience with ensilage I 
know of nothing that, during the time I have indicated, 
has filled the bill as fodder for cows giving milk so well 
as good ensilage. 
A year ago The Rural wrote to me for my experience 
in feeding ensilage to horses. I had at that time only fed 
it to cows; but this winter I have fed it to my horses—20 
to 25 pounds each in two feeds, with good hay, but no 
ptber grain—until two weeks ago when the ensilage was 
discontinued and they were put upon a dry-grain ration 
for spring work. The result of this ensilage feeding has 
been most satisfactory: they are in perfect health and 
good flesh, and while they may not have shown quite as 
much spirit as they would had each been eatiug 12 quart* 
of oats, they have not been dull by any means ; and with 
oats here in Wisconsin at 50 to 55 cents per bushel, the 
amount of money saved has reconciled me to going a 
trifle slower. * CHARLES R BEACH. 
Walworth County, Wis. 
FRUIT DESTROYERS IN NEW YORK STATE. 
New and Old Insect Foes. 
Tmetocera ockllana. —In a recent investigation of the 
apple buds, a small brown worm was found which Prof. 
Lintner pronounced to be the larva of Tmetocera ocellana, 
or Eye-spotted Bud moth. This little rascal has some very 
bad habits. He takes up a convenient perch at the base 
of the tiny flower buds and feeds upon them voraciously. 
Sometimes he cuts the bud off, at other times he eats the 
young fruit. Another of his tricks is to enter the end of a 
branch, which bears a cluster of buds, and eat his way 
down the center until the branch is killed. Prof. Lintner 
recommends the kerosene emulsion, and thinks it possible 
that two applications might be necessary. 
The larva reaches its full size in June, so the spraying 
must be done early to be effectual. s. a. little. 
Geo. P. Powell, director of the New York State Farm¬ 
ers’ Institutes, sends the following information about 
other insect pests; 
“ In Columbia and Wayne Counties, while holding 
farmers’ institutes, orchards were examined, and the Pear- 
tree Psylla was discovered, an insect that works iu the 
buds of pear trees, both leaf and fruit, resulting In an ex¬ 
udation of sap that drops out on leaves and runs down on 
the branches, which turn black in a short time, injuring 
the trees and fruit. Dr. Lintner, State Entomologist, is 
not so sure as to this insect as yet. There is an Apple- 
tree Psylla in Europe, and this on the apple trees this 
spring may prove to be the same.” 
Kerosene emulsion or soap suds spraying is recommended. 
“ The Apple Bucculatrix, the cocoons of which are very 
numerous on the apple trees of Wayne, Orleans, Monroe, 
Niagara, Livingston and Ontario Counties, and lightly in 
nearly every county in the State, is easily recognized by 
all fruit growers, from the small white cocoons thickly 
plastered over the branches, and which were brought to 
all the institutes of these counties. A heavy spraying of 
soap and kerosene emulsion will destroy many of them 
when done before the foliage starts ; after they hatch and 
begin to eat the foliage in Jane, Paris green spray will 
check their work. A parasite often follows them, and at 
a recent institute at Sodus, Wayne County, on an apple 
branch a foot in length, containing 30 of these cocoons, 25 
had been destroyed by this parasite, a small hole at the end 
of the cocoon showing where the parasite had come out 
after doing its work. 
“ In Wayne County the Spotted Pelidnota, a beetle that 
eats into and upon the grape buds and leaves, is doing 
quite destructive work, the warm, dry weather of April 
having brought it out early in the season. The Paris- 
green spray will check it. They jump from vine to vine; 
are sluggish early in the morning and can ba picked off or 
jarred upon a canvas and then destroyed. 
“In Essex County the Apple tree Aphis is very numerous. 
These plant lica infest the buds, feed on the ju’c j s and in¬ 
crease with wonderful rapidity. All are females at this 
time; each female lays tw > eggs a day for three weeks ; 
each brood matures in 10 days, and is equally prolific, so 
that millions get their food from the fruit buds and leaves, 
and they also eat upon the young fruit, making it scabby. 
Spray with one pound of tobacco boiled in one gallon of 
water; or strong soap suds, as soon as buds begin to open.” 
NOTES ON TREE TRIMMING. 
Trimming is not so much a matter of season as of 
promptness. If it is done rightly no large limb need ever 
be taken from a tree. Suckers should be kept off. If a 
fruit tree is worth setting it Is worth caring for. Three 
or four times a year at least cut out useless shoots and 
buds. Preserve all the force of the tree in valuable limb 3 . 
Go at least twice a year over all trees one; in midsummer to 
cut out weak and sucker shoots, and then in November to 
head In what is preserved. If you caunot do this in 
November, do it in March or April before the buds start. 
The policy in trimming is, 1, to shape the tree. This 
should not be done artificially. The idea that there is a 
pear tree model or ideal is a mistake. The cone shaped 
tree of dealers’ books is not the natural form of five sorts 
of pears. Buffums grow like Lombardy Poplars. If you 
cut off the tops you ruin the trees beyond recuperation. 
The Seckel has naturally a nearly globular head. The 
Anjou is uniformly spreading; the Nells and Rostlezer 
are sprawling. One must first know what sort of pear 
tree he is to cut before he should dare to bias the form. 
2. The object should be to open the head and admit no 
crowding of branches or hiding places for insects un¬ 
touched by sun and air. The tree top should be well 
ventilated. To do this, leave the last bud on each twig of 
a young tree pointing in the direction you wish the limb 
to grow. These remarks apply to all kinds of fruit trees. 
Fruit trees, as a rule, should be headed low, especially 
those that grow large and heavy fruit. I am especially 
careful to obtain pear trees that are limbed not more than 
three or four feet from the ground. The advantages are, 
firot, the trees begin to bear as soon as dwarfed trees; 
second, the fruit can be easily reached with a stepladder ; 
third, in failing there is less likelihood that the fruit will 
be bruised; fourth, the young orchard can be readily 
trimmed for many years without a ladder. The disadvan¬ 
tage is iu plowing ; but a pear orchard should, if possible, 
After looking this over I would add that we stir the soil 
again after five to seven days if it has not rained mean¬ 
while By that time it settles together so a3 not to make -~_L1\ 
as perfect a mulch as freshly stirred soil. 
Summit Co., Ohio. 
