54o 
August 12 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
and enjoyment to the poorer classes of the cities. 
Free packages on produce coming a long distance 
and bringing a high price, may ultimately prevail. 
Hut on produce from nearby points it will not be tol¬ 
erated. Much of the produce business in cities is done 
by men who own great quantities of carts and employ 
boys to run them. These men buy thousands of bas¬ 
kets of produce every morning, and when they can 
save eight cents per basket by returning the empties, 
they will order the boys to do it every time. Nearly 
every consumer, if offered a package of fruit or vege¬ 
tables at a certain price, with the option of taking it 
without the package at a reduction of price equal to 
the cost of the package, would take the article and 
return the package. Since, then, both grower and 
consumer agree on this subject, it is hardly worth 
while to make a change solely for the benefit and com¬ 
fort of the commission houses. c. p. 
Parry, N. J. 
(Under this beaulnit we propose to print questions that seem to call 
fora variety of answers. We ask all who have any experiences or 
sunsestlons to offer to talk into Tub R. N. Y.’s ear at once - ) 
Crimson Clover for Tennessee. — 1 . When should 
Crimson clover be sown in Tennessee ? 2. Can it be 
sown in the corn crop before it is gathered ? 3. How 
much earlier will it do to pasture than the common 
Red ? 4. I want early spring pasture ; is common 
clover the earliest? j. n b 
Colo Storage in Ice-Houses. —I have an ice-house 
10x14 feet, and wish to build in it a cold storage room 
large enough to hold a beef. Is this a practicable 
scheme for keeping meat fresh, and how shall I build 
the walls ? f. h. k. 
Greenland, Colo. 
Nut Grafting — I have a grove of 15 acres of young 
suckers, mostly chestnut and hickory. The ground is 
a sandy loam near Philadelphia, and seems naturally 
adapted to the growth of the above-named trees. I 
have grafted the chestnuts with Paragon, Numbo, 
Comfort and many of the improved Japan varieties ; 
they are doing nicely and grafts four years old are at 
present loaded with burs. Wishing also to turn the 
hickories to profit, I procured some scions from large 
bearing jiecan trees near here. These were grafted 
on the hickories, by the crown, cleft and tongue pro¬ 
cesses, about April 20, or about the time the sap com¬ 
menced to flow, but with no success. Would some of 
The Rural readers give their experience, the mode 
of doing the work and time of grafting or budding 
pecans on hickories, and oblige one very much in¬ 
terested in nut culture. o. p. 
Beverly, N. J. 
What Arout It ?—Brother farmers, give me your 
opinion as to what is fair play in this case. I paid $3 
for 13 eggs to a firm of seedsmen who have pictures of 
Golden Wyandottes in their catalogue. These birds 
have rose combs. The eggs were put under a very 
quiet hen which never left the nest and was lifted off 
to feed every day. Four chicks were hatched, two 
had dark plumage and rose combs and two black and 
white plumage and single combs. One of these is 
pronounced by a good judge to be a Plymouth Rock. 
Nine eggs were clear and the yolks were all whole 
and had not been fertilized. These facts were re¬ 
ported to the firm, which replied that ‘ the yolks of 
eggs became broken in transit,” and that “ hens leave 
the nest and the eggs get chilled.” They were told 
that neither of these contingencies had happened. As 
to the chicks with single combs they said : “ We have 
no doubt that as the chicks grow up* they will come 
out all right.” lawford. 
Southern Silo Facts Wanted.—-I have no cash to 
spend on a silo, but I have hands, teams, plows and 
scrapers, and plenty of timber. Adjacent to my cow 
barn is the brow of a hill. I propose with my plows, 
teams and scrapers to excavate in this hillside a large 
pit, probably open at the end down the hill, as deep as 
I can make it before striking a substratum of stone, 
but not deeper than 15 feet in any event. This pit 
will be, say, 100 feet long by four feet wide, and the 
edges of its bottom for a width of two feet all around 
will be deeper than the rest of the bottom. I will 
then build a double wall of rough poles with not less 
than 18 inches between the walls along the sides and 
at each end of the pit, and as high as may be neces¬ 
sary to give the desired capacity, leaving a space of 
two feet between this wall and the solid south sides 
of the pit. The vacuum between the poles of 18 
inches I will fill in with thoroughly tamped earth, 
the same that was previously thrown out of the pit, 
and cross-sections of this wall will be constructed at 
intervals of 10 feet across the pit for the entire length 
of 100 feet, making in effect 10 small silos. At the 
bottom of each of these earth and pole pens I shall 
place a layer of straw. I shall then fill with ensilage, 
corn and cow peas, either long or chopped, as con¬ 
venience may demand. When full, I will cover with 
weights (heavy stones), then with a thick layer of 
straw, then with ea - th. The space of two feet left on 
the outside of the pit all around is intended as a drain, 
and to prevent water from getting into the silo from 
all directions. The cross-sections are to enable me to 
fill, and, if necessary, complete one silo at once, 
the'eby minimizing the danger from loss while incom¬ 
plete. If^there is any flaw in this programme, or im¬ 
provements without involving money outlay can be 
suggested, I would like to have the benefit of them 
before attempting to execute it. How would native 
prairie hay do for ensilage; would it pay ? b. l. 
Fort Smith, Ark. 
Turnips in Barley. — I bought this spring 12 
bushels of barley for seed of one of the oldest and. 
supposed to be, one of the most reliable seed firms in 
New York, and having received a sample and know¬ 
ing the reputation of the firm I neglected to examine 
it before sowing. What was my surprise after the 
grain came up to find radishes and turnips in it in 
quantities. Then having some of it left, I examined it 
to be sure that the trouble came from that, and found 
plenty of such seeds in it. Now I want to know, 
when seedsmen ask nearly double the market price 
of grain and warrant their seeds to be pure, etc., why 
they should not take especial pains to examine and 
screen the grains so as to take out all of the foul 
seeds ? Should a firm trade on its reputation so as to 
put a person to the trouble of returning seeds so as to 
avoid seeding his land with foul weeds? I would not 
have bad it happened for five times what the seed 
cost, and have already spent more than that in trying 
to eradicate the evil. j. G . 
Connecticut. 
What They Say. 
To Knock Worms. —A tablespoonful (or less) of salt¬ 
peter to a three-gallon sprinkler of water, sprinkled 
on or a little put in the center of a head will knock 
out cabbage worms every time. n. j. h. 
Haughville, Ind. 
Straw in Drain. —The man who drains wet, sandy 
land will find it to be a good thing to put straw in the 
bottom of his drain and lay his tiles on it and then 
put a good layer of straw on the tiles. If he has tough 
sod it is good with the grass laid carefully to the tile, 
but he should commence at the head of the drain and 
always get a reasonable fall. j a. h. 
Lookingglass, Oreg. 
Money in the Gandy. —There is more money forme 
in the Gandy strawberry than in any other variety 
yet thoroughly tested. One acre in fruit yielded 175 
bushels, two-thirds of which were assorted fancy and 
sold for $4 per bushel straight; the rest sold for 10 
cents per quart. Ordinary berries were selling for five 
and eight cents per quart. The Gandys were carried 
in wagons and sold in the city of Jackson, 18 miles 
distant. One day we picked 54 bushels, which brought 
$200. Among the new varieties, Timbrell promises to 
prove as represented in The R. N.-Y. report last July. 
Leslie, Mich. p 
Wire and Oak Slats —In answer to G. E. H. of 
Jonesboro, Va., in The Rural of July 15, I would juvt 
like to say that 10 years’ experience on a 200-acre 
farm and close observation lead me to the conclusion 
that the best solution to the fence question is a com¬ 
bination of heavy wire and oak slats. If properly put 
up on good posts, the farmer need not think about it 
for many years, as it will be sure to remain a perfect 
barrier against all kinds of stock without liability to 
injure any of them, as they are sure to see it before 
they approach. The expensiveness of a fence is its 
first cost divided by the number of years it will stand 
and do its duty without repair or further attention. 
All considered, I think the wire and slat the best. 
Let’s hear from others. f. p. w. 
Richmond, Md. 
Fall-Sown Clover Seed.—The Rural asks for 
the facts about the fall sowing of clover seed. The 
facts that I have cost me $6, that being the value of 
one bushel of seed and the time used in putting it on 
an acre of land in southern Ohio. The young plants 
could not stand the freezings and thawings of winter, 
very few remaining until March, although part of the 
field has perfect drainage. I have never cared to re¬ 
peat the experiment. I do sow clover seed in Feb¬ 
ruary, and have had a severe freeze catch it when 
sprouting without injuring it materially. In fact, I 
greatly prefer to risk the effect of frost in March 
rather than that of drought in August, believing that 
scores of plants from late-sown seeds are killed in mid¬ 
summer where one is killed in March ; but I have no 
faith in the sowing of clover in the fall in my lati¬ 
tude. The tap root of the plant enters the soil just 
far enough to be pumped out by the winter’s frost. 
When one year old the plant has a better grip upon 
the earth, although it is liable to travel skyward even 
then unless the land is well drained, naturally or arti¬ 
ficially. ALVA AGEE. 
Treading the Ensilage —Yes, why tread the ensil¬ 
age ? Is there any other good reason except that it 
gives employment to one or two men to whom com¬ 
pensation must be made ? Four years ago I stopped 
the treading feature, and with it the spoiling of the 
ensilage along the walls and corners ceased. I have a 
little platform 3% feet square suspended close up 
under the upper end of the carrier, and this as soon as 
heaped up with the fine ensilage, slants the rest to the 
outsides, where it is ridged up two to four feet higher 
than the center, and the grain rolls inward, instead of 
out. We go into the pits once in about two hours, 
and for 10 minutes level up so that the ensilage will 
not get one-sided. It never springs away from the 
walls when settled. Just before we quit for the night, 
the distributor is moved to one side, and a couple of 
loads of corn are cut into the center of the pit, and al¬ 
lowed to settle all they will overnight, and in the morn¬ 
ing if any of it is still “ in the air,” it is left, and it is 
quickly buried by the fresh downfall of fodder. This 
will keep the ensilage from falling in, if it otherwise 
would, which I do not think will occur—it never did 
with me—where the pits are kept highest on the sides, 
as I think they should be. joiin gould. 
A PROFIT IN WHEAT. 
AN OHIO FARMER'S FIGURES; LARGELY DUE lO 
FERTILIZERS. 
New and Old Costs. 
It is a fact that while this crop is universally grown, 
but few farmers can tell anything definite about its cost 
All their work is pooled ; if they come out ahead, all 
right; if not, there is a complaint that it does not 
pay to raise wheat or corn—that farming is down at 
the heels, when the fact of the matter is that one of 
the crops may be grown at a profit, and they have 
not known it, and the other at a loss—the one in a 
manner balancing the other. Mr. W. N. Cory is not 
this kind of a farmer, but works with his eyes open, 
and backs his work with figures. 
‘‘When you commenced wheat growing what did 
you consider a good crop ? ” I asked him. 
“ Twenty-five years ago we thought 20 bushels per 
acre a good crop; sometimes we reached 25 or 26 
bushels per acre. We thought this a fair crop for 
our land. Just before the war it was rated at $45 per 
acre ; now it is rated for taxation at $60 per acre.” 
“ Could you grow a crop cheaper then than now ? ” 
11 1 do not know that we could. Now, however, we 
have improved machinery—then we used a five-foot 
harrow ; now I use one that cuts 10>£ feet. Prac¬ 
tically there is but little difference, as our land was 
in about as high a state of cultivation then as now.” 
“ Do you always follow corn with wheat ? ” 
‘‘Always; I have not plowed any land for wheat 
for 20 years. The custom is to follow corn with wheat 
all over the country.” 
“ What is your rotation ? ” 
“ One year to corn, one to wheat and two to grass. 
The last year the Timothy is the heaviest growth, and 
1 can cut a heavy crop of hay. This mi-kes plowing 
come once in four years.” 
How the Soil is Fitted for Wheat. 
‘‘What is your preparation before sowing your 
corn land ? ” 
“ I straddle with a disc harrow each corn row, but 
do not ride the harrow, but give it as great an angle 
as possible. It cuts about 1% inch deep, which is 
deep enough. Another point—the soil is heaped on 
the row, but by going over each row the land is left 
in better tilth and is leveled. My disc harrow throws 
towards the center.” 
‘ Do you give the land any more work before sowing?” 
‘ - If there are no weeds I go over it with a drag 
harrow to level and pack it. If the land is weedy, I 
find it drills better after the disc than after the drag 
harrow. I never tried the latter with the drill in the 
same direction the harrow was drawn ; probably it 
would be better than to follow the disc harrow. 
Usually our land is pretty clean, but sometimes it 
gets a little weedy. I generally plow the corn once 
after harvest to keep down the late growth of weeds.” 
“ How much wheat do you sow per acre ? ” 
“ A bushel and a half of choice No. 1 wheat. My 
grader will throw out about one-third that I do not sow, 
but which will pass for merchantable wheat. I al¬ 
ways carefully clean my seed wheat, and have not 
seen chess on my farm for 20 years, because I do not 
sow any.” 
“ Do you roll, or give the land any other work after 
sowing ? ” 
“ No, this is all the work I give it. Last year, how¬ 
ever, if I had rolled the land after the work with 
