768 
OCT. 31 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
removed. These are what yon see on the ground. It is 
then piled up on what we call a ‘ rope crate ’ and carried 
into the washing room. Five sixths of our crop is thus 
handled—we store only about one-sixth. Celery that is to 
be stored is dug like the other; a few outer stalks are 
pulled off, when it is set in boxes and carried to the store¬ 
house. You see that long, low building yonder: that is 
one of our storehouses.” 
“ I see it, but most of the roof has disappeared. Where 
is it t» 
“ The roof is simply boards and they are so arranged 
that they are easily removed, so that we can use them for 
blanching early celery. When that is all gone, they go 
back to the storehouse and thus perform a double duty. 
The hoards necessary to board an acre of early celery, if 
stretched in a row would be more than five miles long, 
and when you have 20 or 30 acres, you can easily see that 
no Inconsiderable amount of capital is required for 
boards.” 
The storehouse is simply a roof on a stone foundation, 
with its earth floor about two feet below the snrface level. 
The celery plants when put in here are simply stood up¬ 
right on the floor, close together, so that on looking it 
over, when full. It looks like a level floor carpeted with 
green. The work of completing the blanching, of course, 
goes rapidly on in this building, and the crop very soon 
becomes ready for shipment. When wanted, it is trimmed, 
washed and packed. Near the packing house, on a trellis, 
about 80 feet above ground, is a large circular wooden 
tank. Two windmills in different parts of the tract work 
force pumps, which keep the tank filled with water. Pipes 
connect it with the washing room. The celery from the 
field is ranged in ranks on a table, the roots at the edge. 
A stream from the hose sent forcibly against the plants 
does the cleansing work effectively and quickly. It is 
then taken to another table, a dozen roots are tied up in a 
square-shaped package, made so by a frame in whieh it is 
securely held until tied. It is then removed to the pack¬ 
ing room, where each bunch is wrapped in paper and from 
eight to twelve bunches go in a box —the number de¬ 
pending on the size of the celery. It is assorted into three 
grades—the bulk of it being in the first. The work of stor¬ 
ing celery is begun about the middle of October, and the 
growers aim to have It all on the market by Christmas. 
« Do you sell much of your celery through commission 
houses ? ” said The Rural correspondent. 
“We do not. Our main crop is sold‘out and out’to 
dealers. In occasional Instances we send small lots to 
commission men.” 
“ Are you ever annoyed by rust on your celery ? ” 
“ Occasionally. In excessively hot or excessively wet 
weather it sometimes rusts more or less, but this is not a 
very damaging factor in the business.” 
“ How many plants to an acre f ” 
“ From 30,000 to 85 000. They are set out when about 
three inches high, and probably not one per cent of them 
die. Those that do are easily replaced.” 
Irrigation ; Some Startling Figures. 
“Come out here,” continued Mr. Stewart, “ and I will 
show you how we get our water for irrigating in dry sea¬ 
sons.” He led the way to where a large, obloDg basin or 
reservoir had been dug, into which the water naturally 
came. In the bottom of this, several pipe wells had been 
driven, through which constant streams of water were 
flowing into the reservoir. Outside of this was a main 
ditch running through the tract, and laterals ran from 
this about 12 rods apart. Some drain tiles have also been 
laid, just deep enough to escape the plow, and through 
these the water runs. A horse power is here used, which 
will empty from the reservoir into the Irrigating ditches 
1,000 barrels of water per hour, without lowering the 
supply. From this it goes to all parts of the tract. 
“ Is irrigation often necessary f” 
“In seasons of ordinary rainfall we do not use it exten¬ 
sively. The past season has been very dry and we kept the 
pump going continuously, day and night, for five weeks. 
It takes two horses to operate the pump and they were 
changed every six hours during the period named.” 
“ Do you mind telling us at what prices your celery is 
sold f” 
“ Certainly not. The bulk of the best quality Is sold at 
40 cents per dozen roots; the second quality at 35 cents.” 
These figures seem rather startling. Each acre contains 
an average of about 32 000 plants. Let us reject 2,000 for 
failures, and then throw off another 5,000 in order to make 
our calculations safe. This gives us 25,000 roots, which, at 
three cents per root, would amount to $750 per acre, and 
The Rural thinks this estimate a safe one. How much to 
deduct for labor, interest on capital, wear and tear of 
material, etc., we cannot say, but it is safe to assume that 
enough will remain to make the business very remuner¬ 
ative. 
There are probably about 200 acres of celery grown in 
the vicinity of Tecumseh. The Tecumseh Celery Company, 
a neighbor of the Prairie Side Company, cultivates about 
40 acres, and there are others in the trade. The business 
is steadily growing, but we think the demand has increased 
fully as fast as the supply and that it will keep pace with 
It for years, if not forever. The area of desirable celery 
land is limited—there may not be more than is needed to 
give the world a supply. It is not improbable that we 
shall yet supply the London and Parisian markets with 
celery. Who knows ? E. G. F. 
Many milk dairymen object to raising any calves. They 
kill the little things and buy fresh cows. This is mainly 
because they don’t like to spend the milk and time needed 
to make good cows. In such a dairy a “ scrub ” bull is as 
good as any. The trouble is that he is too often found In 
a dairy where heifer calves from the “ best cows ” are 
raised. We feel sure that it will pay for more dairymen 
to keep better bulls and raise more cows. 
MEETING OF THE AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY. 
R. N.-Y. Short-Hand Report. 
( Continued ) 
T. T. Lyon speaking on the “ Results of Recent Experi¬ 
ments with Small Fruits,” said that European varieties of 
the raspberry prove unsuitable to our climate, so that im¬ 
provements have been mainly in native sorts. These have 
been mostly accidental. Cuthbert, parentage unknown* 
possibly a hybrid, remains one of the best. Golden Queen* 
alleged to be a sport from the Cuthbert, is a queen 
among the yellows. Herstine and Reder, while not quite 
satisfactory as to plants, are so beautiful and so high In 
quality that home plantations should scarcely be con¬ 
sidered complete without one or both. With raspberries 
size and productiveness seem to have been the main objects 
rather than quality, and as yet, few if any of the “im¬ 
proved ” varieties compare favorably with the wild prod¬ 
ucts In quality. Of the currant, Mr. Lyon said that 
though It had been cultivated from time immemorial none 
of the modern introductions surpass, if they equal in real 
value the oldest varieties. A slight increase in the size is 
the only improvement. 
Among gooseberries the Houghton is not exceeded except 
in size. Downing and Smith, though reputed as natives, 
indicate some foreign blood. They are not really proof 
against mildew. Industry and several other foreign 
sorts, though said to be less subject to mildew than most 
other foreigners, are only tolerably so under especially fav¬ 
orable conditions. 
The newer varieties of Juneberry, as Success, Mam¬ 
moth, etc., claim superiority in some undefined particu¬ 
lars, but they have not yet passed the experimental stage, 
and are not largely planted. This fruit is especially at¬ 
tractive to the birds. Its value for general planting is 
still to be determined. Judging from the cuts published 
in certain quarters, advantage of its similarity of growth 
to the whortleberry has been taken to palm It off as a va¬ 
riety of that fruit. None of this species seems to have been 
successful in the garden or field as yet. The most prom¬ 
ising for this purpose is the Swamp Blueberry (Vaccinium 
corymbosum.) 
The sacrifice of quality to appearance is quite rapidly 
endangering the very existence of our superior varieties 
with no equivalent insight. A class of “agents” nave 
sprung up representing only themselves and dealing in 
“tree strawberries,” “ blue roses” and “plum grapes.” 
Another outgrowth of modern pomology is the origina¬ 
tion and introduction of novelties as a money-making busi¬ 
ness. Along with this highly important pursuit have 
grown up objectionable practices, such as the foisting of 
novelties upon the public under unwarrantable and mis¬ 
leading names and claims, disappointing purchasers and 
planters. Upon all this the society has wisely placed its 
ban. 
Dr. Carey, of Georgia, asked if the currant would suc¬ 
ceed in that State. President Berckmans answered, “No, 
sir ! the climate is unsuited for It.” 
Mr. Engle, of Pennsylvania, spoke highly of the Hansel 
Raspberry. If confined to one raspberry, Mr. Engle would 
take the Hansel; he said it is as early as any of the black¬ 
caps and with proper cultivation is more valuable than 
any other. 
Treasurer Smith said: “ The English Gooseberry does 
well with me; with proper treatment it will do just as well 
as any of the natives. Don’t plant it where it gets the 
noonday sun. For 15 years I have grown it successfully.” 
He tried to imitate England as far as possible in its cult¬ 
ure, used cow manure always, but he gave no extra atten¬ 
tion, yet had received prizes 13 times In 16 years. Several 
members assured the society that what the Treasurer said 
was fully true. He also succeeds with the blueberry In his 
garden. Said he: “I was told I might as well try to tame 
the North American Indian as to grow this fruit In my 
garden, but I planted the seeds and the plants grew and 
bore well.” H. H. 
(To be continued.) 
Live Stock Matters. 
Cotton Seed and Linseed Meals for Poultry.— Are 
“concentrated foods” such as linseed, cotton seed and 
gluten meals suitable for poultry Instead of corn meal. I 
feed whole grains at night and soft food in the morning. 
My young, growing and fattening stock get two parts of 
meal to one of wheat bran by measure, while the laying 
hens get four of bran to one of meal. The four kinds of 
meal are nearly the same price here now—$23 to $30 per 
ton. Wheat bran is about $32. We can get buttermilk at 
the creamery about half the time at two cents per gallon. 
What is its actual feeding value in wetting the soft feed ? 
Northford, Conn. w. M. F. 
Ans.— Cotton-seed meal is seldom used for poultry, being 
considered too heating, and not sufficiently laxative. Lin¬ 
seed meal is allowed, about a gill daily being given 10 
hens, mixed with any soft food, two or three times a week, 
more for its dietary benefit than as a food. The difficulty 
with such foods is that they are too rich in oil, inducing 
the fowls to moult prematurely. The above method of 
feeding is excellent, provided some kind of bulky food is 
also given, such as clover hay cut fine and scalded. Bran 
contains more mineral matter than ordinary ground grain, 
and is a valuable addition to the ration. Buttermilk con¬ 
tains about three per cent of flesh forming (nitrogenous) 
matter, one per cent of fat and five per cent of starch, 
with about half of one per cent of mineral matter. At 
two cents per gallon it is the cheapest food that can be 
given. Compared with wheat it contains, by weight, one- 
fourth as much flesh forming matter, one-half as much 
fat, about one-fourteenth as much starch, and about one- 
twelfth as much mineral matter. These estimates may 
vary according to the quality o? the articles, p. H, JACOBS. 
Feed Ahead of Breed.— The Iowa Station has issued a 
bulletin in which the director chemist gives facts to show 
that there are two sides to the question whether the 
quality of milk can be changed by change in feeding. On 
page 526 of The R. N.-Y. some of our best known scientists 
argued that the quality of the milk depends almost 
entirely upon the animal and that extra feeding would 
simply make the cow give more, but not better milk. The 
Iowa Station people take Dr. Babcock’s article in that 
issue of The R. N.-Y. as a text for their experiment. They 
fed four cows—three grade Short-horns and one grade Hol¬ 
stein. They were fed in pairs—alternating from one ration 
to another, so that the exact effects of each might be seen. 
One daily ration was 12)^ pounds of corn and cob meal, 12 
pounds of corn fodder and four pounds of clover hay. 
The other was 10 pounds of sugar meal, 12 pounds 
of corn fodder and four pounds of clover hay. Sugar 
meal is a by product in the manufacture of glucose. 
It costs $16 per ton at the factory. The figures of analysis 
given in this bulletin certainly show that the milk varied 
considerably in quality. The widest difference was found 
in a grade Short-horn cow. She was fed 21 days on the 
sugar meal ration, then 21 days on corn and cob meal and 
then 21 more on sugar meal. The following table shows how 
her milk varied through these periods. We give even frac¬ 
tions. The “total solids” means everything in the milk 
but the water. 
Sugar meal. 
Corn and cob.... 
Sugar meal. 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Per cent 
Per cent 
milk. 
fat. 
solids. 
fat. 
total solids. 
75356 
2 9* 
9 m 
3J>7 
12.43 
6*1* 
1» 
68 4-5 
8.15 
11.45 
560* 
21* 
63 1-5 
3.85 
12.16 
These figures show that the sugar meal ration induced 
the cow to give more milk of a better quality than the corn 
and cob ration. One hundred pounds of the sugar meal 
milk contained 7-10 of a pound more fat than that made 
from corn and cob meal. In the course of a year this differ¬ 
ence would amount to 30 or 35 pounds of butter. We are 
not told much about the health of the animals during the 
tests except that weights “ did not surely indicate either 
gain or loss.” We wish accurate accounts of this had 
been given, for it does not seem to us that the corn and cob 
ration gave the cows a fair chance. The following figures 
show the composition of the two rations. 
No. 1. No. 2. 
12 * pounds corn and cob meal. 10 pounds sugar meal. 
4 “ clover hay. * “ clover. 
12 “ corn fodder. 12 “ com fodder. 
Pounds. 
Protein. 185 
Fat .56 
Carbohydrates. 14.89 
Pounds. 
Protein. 2.83 
Fat . 1.32 
Carbohydrates. 11.94 
The corn and cob ration is deficient in fat and in pro¬ 
tein, and no cow could do her best on it. The test seems 
to show that it is possible to reduce the quality of a cow’s 
milk by feeding her a poor ration. It also shows that 
sugar meal is an economical food for milk production. 
Oleo Oil For Calf Food.— Have you ever heard of any 
instance where oleo oil has been used in feeding calves, 
lambs or other animals ? Could it be so used with profit f 
Would it not take the place of the fat in milk in rations 
fed to young animals f 
I have not known of oleo oil being used for food for 
calves or other young farm animals, but I see no reason 
why it might not be so used. There might be some prac¬ 
tical difficulties in getting it thoroughly mixed with the 
skimmed milk or other food, and it is claimed that it is 
less digestible than butter fat. It is not certain that it 
would be more economical than vegetable fat, as in flax 
seed; but I see no reason why it would not be a healthful 
and satisfactory food If it should prove desirable to use It. 
[PROF ] G. E. MORROW. 
I have never known or heard of an instance where oleo 
has been fed to calves, lambs or other animals, but I see 
no reason why It might not be fed successfully and profit¬ 
ably, provided the emulsion were made complete enough, 
and it were fed at the right temperature. Perhaps by 
forcing the mixture through the nozzle of some of the 
sprayers used in fruit orchards, the emulsification might 
be made complete. I see nothing Illegitimate or wrong 
about using oleo oil as food for animals, in the way sug¬ 
gested. It would constitute one test of its digestibility. 
It is rather a wonder to me that, In the greed for getting 
“ the last wrung drop ” of fat out of the milk, no one has 
before suggested the substitution of oleo in its place. 
T. D. CURTIS. 
We hear of several instances where this beef oil has been 
used for supplying fat to skimmed milk with fair results. 
Most of the leading dairymen object to its use in any 
form, believing that any such use will be considered an 
indorsement of its food value. We should like, however, 
to see it carefully tested as a calf or lamb food by the side 
of linseed or vegetable oils. 
Beef Business in Herefords.— Last winter a company 
in Nebraska fed about 7,000 cattle. Among them were 
Herefords, and from them they obtained the best results. 
This year they will feed as many more, and will get as 
many Herefords as they can—probably fully one-half, say 
3,000 or more. Another party from Arizona, who brands 
7,000 calves this year, and largely of Hereford blood, is 
about to establish a feeding stable, and will feed 2 000 or 
more cattle this year. These are sample movements, and 
out of these will grow a large Hereford movement. Here¬ 
fords can be fed 25 per cent cheaper than any other breed. 
When put in the stalls when 18 to 24 months old, they go 
from the hands of good feeders to the top of the best mar¬ 
kets of the world. T. L miller. 
Some authorities advise cutting the ends of the teats of 
hard milkers—arguing that the only trouble is that the 
vent Is too small. We should call this a dangerous opera¬ 
tion, and would tarn such cows over to the calves. A calf’s 
time is not very valuable anyway, and it won’t injure Its 
health to have his food come a little slower. A good many 
of these hard milkers give lots of milk, and it seems a 
shame to make beef of them. 
