1891 
623 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKE 
graphs of two parts of a plot of my land seeded alike In all 
respects and the same day, March, 1890, to clover and Tim¬ 
othy mixed —four quarts of clover and six of Timothy per 
acre. The photographs were taken June 5, 1891, and are 
qolte as striking In their way as those of the wheat and 
orchard on page 621 of this issue. On the tiled part of the 
strip the photograph shows strong, rank clover and al¬ 
most no Timothy. That Is, the clover took possession and 
“ swamped ” the Timothy. On the part not tiled the pho¬ 
tograph shows good, strong Timothy and no clover. The 
clover simply did not grow enough to show, or to prevent 
the Timothy from being sold in any market as clear Timo¬ 
thy. My friends might work till doomsday on my farm, 
and on thousands like it in Ohio, and not get clover itself 
to grow as a profitable, reliable crop, (to say nothing of 
fertilizing other crops) unless they both tiled and enriched 
the land. Then you can raise “ no end of ” wheat and 
clover. For example, this same plot (divided the other 
way so as to include both tiled and untiled land in each 
half) was sown to wheat in the fall of 1889. On about half 
of it I used the best grade of ammoniated superphosphate 
at the rate of $5 25 per acre, and on the rest none. The fer¬ 
tilized part had 36 bushels of wheat per acre, and the non- 
fertilized only 25, other conditions being the same. The 
clover on the fertilized part was visibly stronger and 
heavier from the first, but in order to leave no doubt, I 
cut, raked and hauled the crops from the two strips sepa¬ 
rately—five acres of each. The fertilized part had 16 large 
loads, and the non-fertllized only 12 , the loads being of the 
same size as nearly as the men could make them. That is, 
the fertilizer increased the hay yield 33% per cent. And so 
the superphosphate paid twice its cost the first year in 
wheat, and more than paid for itself the third time in in¬ 
crease of hay. I am therefore not so anxious to know 
whether clover will keep up fertility since I know that 
manures and fertilizers will more than pay their cost in 
the increase of all crops, and especially of the clover crop. 
I am after the maximum profitable yield of all crops, in¬ 
cluding wheat and clover, and hope to reach it within five 
years on all my 65 acres of thoroughly-tiled land, and then 
—tile some more 1 
Tile Draining and Permanent Timothy. 
One strip of 10 acres had about 8% tiled and the rest not, 
until last winter. Six years ago it was seeded down to 
clover and Timothy with wheat; and phosphates were used 
costing $4 p 8 r acre. The clover (best on the tiled part) 
nearly all “ went out ” after two years and left clear Tim¬ 
othy. On the tiled part the Timothy has fully held its 
own and even increased year after year, but not on the 
part not tiled. This year I cut 40 immense loads from the 
10 acres— loads, I say, cocked overnight and drawn chiefly 
on a hay rack 17% feet long, and loaded heavily because it 
had to be drawn about half a mile. One average load well 
cured weighed 2,460 pounds on the scales. But the point is 
this—while the Timothy on the tiled part has held its own 
or increased year after year, that on the part not tiled has 
grown thinner and shorter, and weeds, coarse grass and es¬ 
pecially that miserable pest plantain, have come in. This 
year the hay on the tiled part was easily twice as heavy as 
on the part not tiled—as strong, clean Timothy as I ever 
saw with no plantain or weeds in it. The Timothy was so 
dense that it shaded the weeds to death before they got a 
real start. I have photographs of the two parts of this 
Timothy plot as striking as the orchard plot is on page 621. 
They may yet see daylight in The Rural New-Yorker 
some day. 
The Tiles Overflow the Barn. 
Seventeen years ago I built a bank barn 39x72 feet with 
a tool house and carriage house annexed and basement 
stables. It Is a sort of composite barn, built out of four 
old barns, two of them moved whole and two taken down 
and built on. The posts are low (14 feet above the base¬ 
ment) and of this part, 39x72, 15x72, is a long “lean-to ” in 
the rear of the upright, which is 24x72, and its rear posts 
are only seven feet above the basement. Still It is a good 
barn and conveniently arranged. It will now hold 100 
tons of hay, and stable 32 cows and four horses. When it 
was built, myself and neighbors thought it ample or too 
big for my little farm. I have since ceased renting adjoin¬ 
ing land as I did then, and have also sold 11 acres of my 
own, leaving only 115 acres, 10 of which are “ sugar camp ” 
with shade too dense for much pasturage, and 15 acres are 
orchard nearly all as dense as shown in Fig. 224, and hence 
not productive of full hay or grain crops. 
Now for the effects of tiling upon barn room: My crops 
have more than doubled. The barn to day is full from 
basement to gable, having been filled gradually during 
just four weeks of haying and harvesting, and hence thor¬ 
oughly settled and fllled-in again several times. Not only 
that, but I have had to stack outside 45 large loads of 
wheat and 28 large loads of hay, and the second-crop clover 
is not jet cut. Next year I must virtually rebuild my 
barn, lift the roof so that all eave posts shall be 20 feet 
above the basement, and otherwise enlarge it so as fully to 
double its capacity, and then I can soon fill it with hay aud 
grain by tiling about 10 acres more and continuing the 
careful saving of all the home made manures and the 
moderate use of the best superphosphates. I have also a 
photograph of the barn and “overflow” stacks to show 
“ why I must enlarge the barn.” 
Tiling Clay Into a “Potato Soil.” 
Of the effects of tile-draining on potatoes I have little to 
say. I had a few good crops of potatoes before I began 
thorough tiling, but was finally driven out of it until 
after I should tile. Then my 11 years’ absence deferred the 
return to their raising. I am sure I can now raise excel¬ 
lent potatoes on tile-drained clover sod previously man¬ 
ured, and shall begin next year unless barn-building takes 
too much of the time next spring. 
How I Became a Drainage Convert. 
What originally converted me to drainage was that on 
OJie ol my very best rolling upland fields, the orchard, with 
trees then very small and needing cultivation in hoed 
crops, I lost two crops in succession for the lack of drain¬ 
age, because the soil in a wet season was supersaturated, 
and became virtually puddled so that when It dried it was 
hard and very lumpy. The first of the two crops was po¬ 
tatoes. I had only about 150 bushels on 10 acres and these 
on the back furrow ridges. The second of the two failures 
was Hungarian Grass. But the young orchard needed cul¬ 
tivation, so I thoroughly tiled about 13 acres of it, leaving 
about two acres for comparison. Then because of its very 
lumpy condition I plowed early in the summer, rolled and 
cultivated it most thoroughly to subdue the lumps and 
get a good seed bed, and sowed 11 acres of it to wheat, and 
in the spring seeded to clover and Timothy. I had 465 
bushels of wheat followed by as grand a stand of clover 
and Timothy as I ever saw. That gave me the fever for 
tiling, and I have gone on from year to year until now 
I have, as before stated, about 15 miles of tiles laid, and 65 
acres thoroughly tiled except the two acres of orchard 
and a few lines where fields have been enlarged since they 
were tiled or where a line was omitted for particular 
reasons. These I hope will all be completed this fall, in¬ 
cluding the two acres of orchard, and then for aught I can 
see I am likely to drain aud bring under tillage parts of 
what is now simply pasture land, and not very productive. 
Tile Draining for both Drought and Flood. 
I have made careful observations on this point, which, 
in connection with established meteorological and other 
physical principles prove to my mind not only that tiling 
diminishes the bad effects of drought and decreases its 
probability in proportion to the area of drainage, as its 
advocates claim, but also that it usually diminishes the 
violence and frequency of floods and freshets, instead of 
increasing both as even its advocates have sometimes con¬ 
ceded. Some of these points I may discuss at a future 
time in these columns, and give other photographs and 
diagrams in support of my beliefs. 
Summit Co., O. 
A FLOURISHING FRUIT FACTORY. 
Selling Water In Profitable Combinations. 
An ideal fruit location; a double garden system; the 
silo stays here; ensilage fed to horses and swine; 
saving liquid manure; no more dishorning of bulls; 
a fine apple showing; four different sprayings; sad 
pear prospects: a destructive pest; plums, cherries, 
currants and grapes. 
Location Just Right for Fruit. 
Beautifully situated on a hill-side among the lovely hills 
and valleys of Columbia County, N. Y., near the village 
of Ghent, and about midway between that place and 
Chatham, is the home of Mr. Geo. T. Powell, to which a 
"Chemicals and Clover.” Fig. 227. 
representative of The Rural was heartily welcomed on 
July 29. Mr. Powell has become well known to most of 
the farmers of this State, having met many thousands of 
them at the series of farmers’ institutes, which, under the 
direction of the State Agricultural Society, he so success¬ 
fully conducted the past season, and The Rural thought 
it could not furnish more Interesting reading to its read¬ 
ers than by telling them how Mr. Powell does things 
at home, noting how his theory and practice harmon¬ 
ize—in short, describing what manner of man he is 
at home, and how he manages his business. 
Let us premise by saying that Columbia County is 
admirably adapted for orcharding. Its soil is a gravelly 
loam, aud, I should judge, is largely free from the hard- 
pan subsoil which makes expensive under iratnlng a 
necessity where fruit is desired. The surface is varied, 
hills and valleys aud sloping plateaus, affording all sorts 
of exposures for various crops. 
Mr. Powell’s residence was built by his grandfather. It 
is an unpretentious-looking home, but is most convenient¬ 
ly arranged and supplied with all that is necessary for 
comfort. The large lawns are dotted with ornamental 
trees of various kinds, all of which Mr. Powell has him¬ 
self planted. 
Two Good Ideas for the Garden. 
A large garden, or ratner two of them, lie near the house, 
not inclosed with a fence, but so arranged as to allow of 
their thorough cultivation with a horse. He cultivates 
these for a few years at a time or alternately, choosing to 
seed one down with clover at intervals and then plowing 
it under. The healthy appearance of the crop speaks well 
for the method, and there can be but little doubt that the 
clover brings to the surface large quantities of plant food 
which would otherwise have been lost, by slowly percolat¬ 
ing below the reach of the roots of ordinary vegetables. 
In the rear of the house we noted a hot-bed, about 6x10 
feet, cheaply constructed of boards. This Mr. Powell in¬ 
formed us, was used for growing celery after the plants 
grown in It had been removed. Its sides are about 15 
inches above the surface of the soil. He sets it full of 
celery plants, about five inches apart each way, and then 
lets them grow. The plant roots soon reach the fertilizer 
beneath and grow very vigorously. Confined by the sides, 
R. 
and, being close together, they grow up tall and are 
blanched perfectly for more than half their length—ready 
for the table in early autumn. There are thousands of 
hot-beds which could be used to advantage In this way. 
It was entirely new to me and may be so to Rural readers. 
The Barn and the Silo. 
The barn is situated about 150 vards from the house. It 
was built by Mr. Powell. It is 05x75 feet. The walls are 
of concrete, 24 feet in height, surmounted by a wooden 
superstructure and roof. It is very conveniently arranged, 
containing a silo, ice-house and ample room for cold 
storage, stabling, etc. 
“Do you still like the silo ?” I inquired. 
“ I should hardly know how to dispense with it,” said 
Mr. Powell. “By its aid, I am enabled to farm much more 
successfully than would be possible in any other way.” 
“ What is the capacity of your silo ? ” 
“ One hundred and fifty tons. It is about 22 feet deep, 
30 feet in length and 16 feet In width. I have now 10 acres 
in ensilage corn, mainly of the Learning variety, though I 
am testing some other sorts. I have a portable engine and 
a Cyclone cutter, and I assure you that it Is to me a spe¬ 
cially pleasant sight to see them at work, storing up this 
most excellent cattle food for winter use.” 
“ I)o you feed it to any animals besides cows ? ” 
“Oh yes. Of course, the cows eat the bulk of It, but I 
feed it freely to horses, colts and swine. I have never 
seen any ill effects from its use.” 
“At what period do you cut your ensilage T ” 
“When it is almost mature—only a few days earlier 
than I would if it was to be husked for the grain. I have 
used it for 10 years and do not hesitate to say that I would 
be most seriously handicapped without It. I could not 
possibly keep the stock that I now do.” 
The lower or basement story contains the stables. It 
opens out on the lower yard, and while warm, is well 
lighted and very commodious. The stalls are fitted with 
swinging stanchions, which are very satisfactory to Mr. 
Powell. Behind the cows is a drop, covered with a wooden 
grate, which is easily lifted off. Into this Is put a supply 
of coal ashes, sawdust or charcoal dust, as an absorbent. 
He is thus enabled to save all the liquid manure, and he is 
firm in the belief that the liquids thus saved are as val¬ 
uable as the solids. Dnrlng the winter season the manure 
is hauled to the fields and spread as fast as made. Summer 
made manure is carted to the orchards and fields, where 
it remains in heaps until the fruit season is over, when it 
is also spread. 
Little Use for Dishorning. 
“ I see you keep Jersey stock,” said I. 
“Yes,” replied Mr. Powell, “ for my purposes they are 
best, as I sell butter and cream. Guernseys are also ad¬ 
mirable for that purpose.” 
“I see your bull is dishorned.” 
“ Yes, but I do not think I would repeat the experiment,” 
said Mr. Powell. “ He seemed to be greatly pained and 
shocked by the operation, and I have sometimes thought 
it would have a permanently injurious effect, influencing 
unfavorably his prepotency. It is an open question.” 
“ What grain foods do you buy ? ” 
“I buy largely wheat bran, cottonseed and linseed 
meal. Cotton-seed meal I value highly as a food for dairy 
cattle, but I prefer linseed for horses and colts.” 
“ Do you raise any horses t ” 
“ Oh yes, quite a good many. At the present time I am 
breeding trotters from standard stock, and Cleveland 
Bays. I am not interested specially in breeding for speed, 
but rather to supply the demand for fine matched teams 
and carriage horses. I find I need eight or ten horses on 
my place to do my work, and so am enabled to do consid¬ 
erable work in this line at a minimum expense.” 
The Apple Is the Core of the Farm. 
But all these matters are side Issues and it is only when 
we come to talk fruit that Mr. Powell’s work is seen to 
advantage. Ills farm contains 104 acres, 70 of which are 
devoted to fruit. And yet, despite the small area devoted 
to meadow, he had 10 tons of surplus hay last season—a 
tribute to the usefulness of the silo. About 20 acres are 
in apples—about 750 trees. The earlier set trees are 33 feet 
apart, the later 40, and were he to do the work to-day, he 
would set them 50 feet apart—a conclusion with which I 
heartily agree. Setting at such a distance becomes spe¬ 
cially advantageous when spraying machinery is to be used 
between the trees. 
A visit to the orchard was very gratifying. The trees 
showed evidences of systematic pruning, mostly done when 
It could be done with a pocket knife. They were headed 
low, spreading out widely and were very handsome. The 
foliage was bright and healthy and the fruit a vision of 
loveliness. Just think of it I In these days of gnarled 
wormy and scabby apples, here was an orchard where the 
reverse conditions prevailed. The trees were not over¬ 
loaded, and the fruit was simply superb. 
A Question of Spraying. 
“ Well > Mr. Powell,” said I, “ this is a magnificent show¬ 
ing. Will you tell us how you have brought it about ? ” 
“ With pleasure,” he replied. “ It is a question of spray¬ 
ing. I spray the trees first, about the first of April, before 
the buds open, with a solution of potash and whale oil 
soap. My idea in this is to secure a clean, healthy con¬ 
dition for the wood and bark. It seems to brighten up the 
wood and destroys moss. I use it again as the buds open 
when It heads off the ravages of the aphis. About the 
25th of April, just as the buds are opening, I spray with 
the sulphate of copper solution, to destroy the apple scab 
fungus. I use the solution quite strong—one pound of the 
sulphate to 15 gallons of water. After the blossoms drop— 
about May 20—1 use the carbonate of copper and carbonate 
of ammonia solution for spraying.” 
“ How do you prepare this f” 
I take three ounces of carbonate of copper and one 
pound of carbonate of ammonia with two quarts of hot 
