736 
OCT. 17 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SOME FACTS ABOUT FRUITS. 
A Hardy Peach; Excelsior! 
Twenty years’ experience in commerciHl peach culture 
here In Connecticut, whe^e the mercury sometimes In win¬ 
ter drops to 20 dearer or more below zero, has kept me 
constantly on the lockout for hardy varieties and I am 
therefore esp lallv interested in Prof. Budd’s article on 
pace 080 of The Rural of September 26 and hope he may 
be successful with the new varieties from Central Asia. 
The yellows and other dl-eases, as well as the insect 
enemies of the peach, we can fight here with a fair degree 
of success, but we must have more hardy varieties before 
the business can be m ide very profitable in New England. 
In 12 years past we have had but one full crop of Craw¬ 
fords and three of Mountain Rose, Stump Oldmlxon and 
others of that class. Hill’s Cnili and Prait fruit almost 
every year, but the former Is so unattractive in appearance 
as not to sell well, while the latter has of late years rotted 
badlv on the tree. Excelsior, a variety originating near 
Lowell, Mass . and 10 or 15 rears ago largely distributed in 
northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire, has proved 
very hardv, fruiting for many years past when all others 
have failed. The tree has the same willowy habit of 
growth as the Hill’s Chili, the fru't buds are even more 
hardy, while the fruit is so much more attractive in appear¬ 
ance as to sell at high prices ; the color is a rich, orange 
yellow, splashed with carmine on the sunny side, more 
handsome than the Late Crawford, although not so large 
in s'za; time of ripening, between the Early and Late 
Crawford. I do not know what it will do in other cold 
sections of the country, but for New England I believe we 
have In the Excelsior a reach that, will be as reliable as the 
Concord Grape or the Bartlett Pear. 
Even in the hard frosts of May 5th and 6‘h l»st, when 
all trees were In full bloom here, in an orchard of 5,000 
two-year old trees, the bloom on Excelsior was unimpaired 
while that, on Mountain Ro«e, Stnmp Oldmixon, Late 
Crawfrrd. Wager at d Keyport was killed. 
The New Eogland Homestead in speaking of it as grown 
in Middlesex Countv, Mass., and Hillsborough County, 
N H , calls it, a “ frost proof peach,” and, while I am not 
quite sure that this is so. it is a fact that Excelsior is the 
onlv variety that has fruited each season for the past nine 
years herein New England, and therefore it comes near 
being ‘‘frost proof.” J- H. HALE. 
Hartford County, Conn. 
Wood Ashes Will Kill Peach Trees. 
S. A. Little, in answer to S M W in reference to the 
best, method of trusting peach troes lufested with borers— 
see Rural New-Yorker, page 593 -recommends the piling 
of wood a«hes just about the body of each tree and on the 
roots after some of the surface soil has been removed. 
D >1ng so, however, would be so disastrous that the advice 
should not be allowed to pass unnoticed. I have waited 
for some one else to criiiciee it, but will do so myself now 
for fear some ore may follow the advice to his loss. I 
have seen leached ashes piled about trees, as recommended 
with fresh ashes, and have seen the trees killed. Uni ached 
ashe« would be almost sure death, and, besides, would be 
effectual only for a short time even if they were harmless 
to the tree. A much better preventive for the attack of 
borers, one eu’irely safe and as sure as safe, is to take 
some dirty soap—the dirtier the better—and add to it 
sweet skim milk so as to make strong suds ; into this mix 
hydraulic cement (common water-lime) in quantity suffi¬ 
cient to make a thick whitewash, and, using a stiff bru-h 
or old broom, with this coat the trees from the ground or 
a little below to from a foot to a foot and a half above, 
using pleEty of the wash. This will form a solid coat of 
mail that no ins 5 ct can penetrate, and unless broken with 
hoe, barrow or other tool, will last for a full year or until 
the growth and expansion of the bark of the tree fill it 
with cracks. To eradicate borers already lodged in the 
trees there is nothing so good as a sharp, strong knife and 
a sharp-pointed wire. J. S. WOODWARD. 
Niagara County, N. Y. 
Big Apple Yields. 
In 1870 I had 50 bushels of apples on one tree and 25 
bushels on each of two Fall Pippin trees. S. w. C. 
Wheatland, N. Y. 
R N.-Y —Who can beat this ? 
In 18 c 8 I picked from a Rome Beauty tree, 15 years old, 
10X flour barrels of apples The same year I p eked one 
flour barrel full of apples from a Shockley Apple tree, four 
ye->rs old. D. w. D. 
Hickman, Ky. _ 
Live Stock Matters. 
SUCCESSFUL DAIRY BUSINESS. 
A Grade Holstein Herd. 
Mr. Ezra R. B-nton, of South Amenia, is one of the 
patrons of Borden’s C mdensed Milk Factory at Wassalc, 
N. Y. I found him in his stables st.o ing a car-load of wheat 
bran which the men were drawing from the depdt. 
“ What branch of farming do you follow here ? ” I asked. 
“Dairybg” he replied. ‘‘We sell milk to the con¬ 
densed milk factory ” 
“ How. often do you deliver it ?” 
“ Once a day except Sundays. In cold weather we deliver 
three milkings on Monday morning ” 
“ What kind of stock do you keep ? ” 
‘‘Grade Holsteins. I don’t keep any thoroughbreds. 
The grades do better for my purpose than anything else 
that, I can get.” 
“ What are you feeding now.” 
** Native corn from the field, planted like field corn and 
fed with the ears on. It is now getting too hard, however, 
to feed whole. I shall soon cut it with a power cutter, and 
feed it in the stable. I keep about 50 cows.” 
‘ What will you feed with this bran you are getting in ? ” 
‘‘My own native corn, ground on the cob—two parts 
bran to one part corn. I want all the cob in. Cows need 
bulky feed, and there is a littla nutriment in the cob. be¬ 
sides. I wouldn’t feed the cob to horses. They have 
smaller stomachs and need less bilkyfeed. People are 
learniag more about feeding horses than they formerly 
knew. Tnere is not one heavey horse now where there used 
to be 20. I never have a heavey hor-e aoy more. I 
would rather that horses should have oat straw thaa hay, 
and I want to see their maagers empty part of the time 
anyway.” 
Ensilage a Forbidden Food. 
“ Have you a silo f” 
“ No We are not allowed to feed ensilage.” 
“ Isn’t that tough, considering that ensilage is so good a 
feed ?” 
“Yes! It Is tough. The trouble came seven or eight 
years ago. A great many built silos around here and put 
In green and immature c >rn. It soured and spoiled, and 
trouble arose with the milk at the factory, and the next 
contract made had a clause forbidding the use of this feed. 
B stter eos lage is made now, and if it could be use 1 there 
would bs no trouble from It. People have learned two 
things about ensilage—not to put it in too green, or too 
fast. The corn must be matured and allowed to heat as 
it is put into the silo.” 
‘‘About what do your cows average apiece during the 
year in gross earniogs f” 
“ I sold last year about $4 009 worth of milk from 50 
cows, an average of $8) to the cow.” 
“ D > you know what it cost you to keep a cow during 
the year f” 
“ No. I have no record to show that. I can’t get at it 
very well ” 
“ Do you buy much feed ?” 
“Not much. I bought about 30 tons of bran last year, 
but I raise most of my own heavy grain. I raise about 15 
Device fer Watering Cows. Fig. 264. 
acres of corn and about the same acreage of oats and wheat. 
I’ll have 1,200 bushels of corn this year.” 
Green Calves for Sale. 
“ What do you do with your calves ?” I asked. 
“Sell ’em,” he promptly replied. 
“ When ?” 
“ As soon as possible. If I couldn’t sell them, I would 
knock them on the head and bury them. I raise enough 
to keep up my stock of cows, however. I like to raise my 
cows better than to sell the calves ” 
I found that this practice of selling young calves—bob 
veals—is quite as general in this section as in pa>-ts where 
the milk is snipped to New York. The cslves are usually 
kept longer heie, however, as the milk is not salable until 
the calf is nearly two weeks old. I obj set to the placing of 
this “ green ” meat in the hands of men who send it to 
New York for food, 
A Successful Watering Device. 
I found in Mr. B nton’s stables, and in fact in all the 
stables I visited in this section of Dutchess County, a de¬ 
vice for watering cattle in the stable, that I have found 
nowhere else. E very dairyman seems to have the arrange¬ 
ment here and all are much pleased with it. It is called 
Buckley’s Davice, and is manufactured bv C. E. Buckly & 
Co., of Dover Plains, N. Y. Ic consists simply of an iron 
tub which is fastened to the s‘anchion b tween the cows, 
so that two cows can drink from one tub. The whole 
apparatus is shown at Fig. 264 The tank at the front and 
to the left receives the water, from aspring In Mr. Bentoa’s 
case, but In many cases It is pumped from wells or drawn 
from cisterns. The tank is lined with zinc or galvanized 
iron, and stands on a level with the tubs attached to the 
stauchions It is provided with au overflow pipe or sur¬ 
face valve, as desired, and covered so as to keep out matter 
that would obstruct the pipes. A pipe leading from It is run 
along the stanchion sill, and a pipe from this leads to the 
bottom of each tub. The tub Is provided with a check valve 
which prevents hay, straw or other substance from working 
into the pipe The water is, of course, always at the same 
height In the tubs as In the supply tank. The cost of 
putting this in does not exceed $2 a cow, and every one 
who has it says it pays for itself five times over every year. 
To my notion this Is the best thing that has been added 
to the dairy Industry In a loDg time. The water is in the 
stable and is at a proper temperature for the stomachs of 
the cows. They have it just when they want it, and as 
much of It as they want. Tnere is no running out in the 
cold to break through the ice and fill up with ice cold 
water one'e or twice a day, where the tubs are used. A cow’s 
digestion must be better when at any hoar of the day or 
night she can have all the water she wants that is neither 
too cold nor too hot, and It Is safe to say that she will make 
more and better milk on less feed than when she gets Ice- 
cold water once or twi< e a day in the open field or yard. 
Manures and Methods. 
i\ Do you u«e any commercial fertilizers in growing 
crop*? ” I asked. 
Yes,” he said, “ we use a little, but mostly on potato 
grouad. I can grow from 3) to 59 bushels more potatoes 
on the same acre of ground with feitillzers than without 
them.” 
“ How do you manure corn ground ? ” 
“ With stable manure as it is made. I am now manuring 
corn ground for next year. I handle the manure only 
tvice—once in putting it in the wagon as it is shoveled 
from the drops, the wagon being run into the stable, and 
once in the field as it goes from the wagon. The corn is 
planted on sod grmnd. The next year 1 sow oats or Hun¬ 
garian Grass, and follow this with wheat and seed to 
cl >ver and Timothy.” 
“How do you like your tubs for watering cows In the 
stable f” 
“ First-rate 1 The device ts one of the best investments I 
have made In the way of small Improvements. Each pays 
for itself every month ” j. j. d. 
SOME COW NOTES. 
We should never feed cotton seei meal without ensilage, 
roots or some other succulent fodder. We are now feeding 
it sprinkled on chopped cabbage with excellent results. 
We like cabbage as a cow food more and more. When¬ 
ever a garden crop ripens, we harvest It, brevfc up the 
ground and set out cabbages. We have it growing as a 
third and fourth crop. It is fed during milking, and we 
cannot find any objectionable results. 
Late in August we sowed rye in drills between the sweet 
corn. Thedrills are ab mt two feet apart and the rye Is 
now luxuriant—better for grazing than when broadcasted. 
We have now a cow that will e it Lima hem vines. All 
cows will not eat these vines, but this one en j oys them and 
seems to like the beaus almost as w°ll as green sweet corn. 
Every farmer in Bergen C mnty, N J., has 500 or more 
poles of Limas and a parch of turnips. 
We find linseed meal one of the cheapest foods we can 
buy. With us it is mildly laxative while cotton seed meal 
is constipating. L'nseed is best fed mixed with corn meal 
and sprinkled over moistened chopped fe-d. Ic pays to cat 
by band enough stalks or hay to utilize the grain feed 
rather than feed It dry. 
The cow can hold an Immense amount of water, but she 
prefers to sip a little now and then. Our cows seem to do 
better with water constantly before them than when they 
can drink only once or twice a day. 
Evert time grain gets high In price there is a rush to 
sell off the “unprofitable stock” Tdat is all right, but 
who wants t,o buy the animals then? The worsttime to sell 
an “unprt fitible cow ” is when food is high, because she Is 
more unprofitable then than ever. If you kuow a thing is 
wi’hout profit, why do you keep It ? For fuu ? 
O'IE of the worst nuisances on the farm Is permitting 
poultry to run in the stabLs. Where cows are fed from 
the floor the hens fight for tbe grain and defile the food so 
that any respectable cow 1- justified iu striking. Keep the 
hens out of the cow barn If you have to kill them to do It. 
NOTES. 
Rattlesnake Bites.— I have a horse that was bitten, 
while plowing, on the fore foot by a rattlesnake. I 
bathed the foot with ammonia, gave internally about a 
quart of whisky, and over a pint of alcohol; then 
bathed the swollen leg and body with solution of copperas 
and salt and bound the wound wi h copperas and salt. 
After two weeks the swelling had gone so that I began 
using the animal. He now appears as well as ever. Is 
there a better treatment ? O. F. R. J 
Clifford, Texas. 
R. NY. No! 
Prolific Ewes.— One great advantage claimed for the 
Dorset sheep Is the fact that, they are very prolific, twins 
and triplets being the rule. Waen the rams are crossed 
on common sheep the same result is reached and many 
farmers have concluded that this characteristic Is due al¬ 
most entirely to the inflience of tbe ram In a recent 
Eagllsh work on live stock we ars told that: “Th^re is a 
demand for the draft ewes of the Exmoor breed just as for 
those of tbe Dorset breed. to bea- lambs for fa'tening in 
other parts of the country.” These ewes are crossed with 
L“icester rams or those of other large breeds and in al¬ 
most every Instance drop twins or triplets which take the 
form and quality of the large mutton breeds. There can 
be no doubt that some ewes even of the emmum breeds 
are more likely than others to drop twin 1 imbs. If It is 
desirable for a ewe to raise more than one good lamb, the 
propensity may be cultivated on the female side as wt 11 as 
on the male. 
Tonics for Horses —The Rhode Island Experiment 
Station gives the following formu’a for a mixure good 
for horses that are “ off their feed ” for no apparent reason: 
“Ground or crushed oats and com meal, of each, five 
pounds, oil meal one fourth of a pound, common table salt 
two ounces. If the animal seems in need of a tonic or Is 
troubled with intestinal worms, there may be mixed with 
each ration as above given, a dessertspoonful of powdered 
gentian, and a small teaspoonful of tbe dried sulphate of 
iron.” It also copies the following from Stewart’s “ Feed¬ 
ing Animals:” Linseed oil cake. 25 pounds, flax seed, 10, 
molasses 20, corn meal 40, ground tumeric root IX. ginger 
two ounces, caraway seed two ounces, powdered gentian 
six ounce®, cream of tartar two ounces, sulphur one pound, 
salt one pound, coriander seed 10 ounces. The fl ix seed is 
to be boiled in 10 gallons of water tiJl it forms a thin mu¬ 
cilage; then one should stir in the drugs, salt and sulphur 
and afterwards the molasses, meal and oil.cake. 
