1893 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER. 
685 
although the extra bulk with kainit may have some 
fertilizing value 5. Any summer crop that requires 
cultivation may be put in. Corn may be grown the 
first summer, provided it is not planted too close to 
the trees, and afterward potatoes, beans, squashes 
and the like. H. M. engle. 
Corn and Potatoes the First Year. 
1. Generally speaking, plow the sod down this fall. 
2. Lime in the spring after the first harrowing, or ap¬ 
ply the raw bone. 3. If the latter is applied the first 
spring, then apply lime the second, after first harrow¬ 
ing, to act on the upturned sod. 4. Use kainit alone, 
200 pounds or more per acre. 5. Potatoes and corn 
are the only crops I can recommend. I think the 
shade they afford in dry weather is a benefit to the 
young trees. I prefer to plant the trees 18 by 18 feet, 
and the second year I would plant but four rows of 
corn between, i. e., I would plant four feet from the 
trees each way. d. b mentzer. 
Waynesboro, Pa. 
Lime, Raw Bone and Kainit. 
1. Plow the ground deep this fall. 2. Fifty bushels 
of lime per acre: apply before plowing. 3. Apply 300 
pounds of raw bone per acre on the sod before plow¬ 
ing. 4. Next spring, before planting, sow broadcast 
400 pounds of kainit per acre, and harrow well. 5. 
Potatoes may be planted two years. No grain of 
any kind. josebh t. smith. 
Swales, Pa. 
No Lime Unless Needed. 
1. Autumn plowing is generally preferred, but for 
a peach orchard it is best to have a summer crop the 
season before planting. 2. I would not advise liming 
unless the soil has been exhausted of lime. 3. For 
quick action use dissolved bone. Raw bone is good, 
but slower in its action. Sometimes both kinds are 
mixed with good results. 4. The muriate is much 
the richest in potash, but costly. Kainit sometimes 
gives very good results when applied freely—say 300 
to 500 pounds per acre. j. v. garrettson. 
Flora Dale, Pa. 
Plenty of Good Food. 
1. Plow this autumn. 2. Lime applied this fall 
might indirectly be of some benefit to the trees, but 
my own experiments with it for orchards has led me 
to abandon its use entirely as a separate application. 
3 and 4. Use 800 pounds of fine ground raw bone, 800 
pounds of dissolved animal bone, and 400 pounds of 
muriate of potash, thoroughly mixed and applied 
broadcast or with a drill, 400 pounds per acre an¬ 
nually until the trees come into bearing, after which 
for the dissolved animal bone, dissolved South Caro¬ 
lina rock can be substituted. 5. Trees set 20 or 22 
feet apart each way on land treated as above will make 
sufficiently t apid growth, and permit a paying crop of 
corn to be grown at the same time, for the first two 
years at least. I have heard it Eaid that corn will 
smother the young trees the first year, but I have never 
seen it do so, and I know scores of fine orchards 
which were cultivated in that way. j. w. kerr. 
Denton, Md. 
Raw Bone and Muriate Later On. 
1. Plow the ground this fall by all means. It would 
be difficult to get it in proper condition if clover were 
left until spring to be plowed under. 2. If not re¬ 
cently limed, a dressing this fall would be advisable. 
3 and 4. If the soil is naturally fertile, I would apply 
no special fertilizers for a year or two after planting ; 
then I would apply, separately, about 400 pounds of 
raw bone, and 200 pounds of muriate of potash per 
acre. I would prefer raw bone, because its effect will 
be more permanent and continue until the trees come 
into bearing. If the soil is poor, an application of 
dissolved bone and muriate of potash in about the 
quantities named would be advisable just before 
planting. 5. Potatoes or beans can be grown without 
injury to the trees for two years at least. A crop of 
this kind insures regular and careful cultivation, and 
can be made a source of profit. e. b. engle. 
Secretary Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. 
Building: a Cranberry Bog:. 
H. W. R., Anderson, Ind .—I have some ground that 
grows wild cranberries, and have been told that it 
could be put in shape so that they could be cultivated 
with a nice profit. Is it necessary to flood the land, or 
does it have to be continually in that condition ? How 
are the berries started ? Are they set out, or grown 
from seed ? How many acres are considered a good- 
sized marsh ? What is the average yield of bushels 
per acre and about what is the cost per acre of raising 
them ? 
Ans. —Cranberries have been cultivated in but very 
few parts of the country. Peculiar conditions of soil 
are required to insure success. While they are grown 
on low, marshy land, it must be drained by means of 
open ditches, and so arranged as to be flooded with 
water, or the water drawn off when required. In 
some places the bed of a drained mill-pond is utilized, 
and no better location is to be found. In the case of 
the mill-pond, the dam is already built; otherwise it 
must be built. In some cases the swamp to be planted 
is flooded with water on the start until all vegetation 
is killed. This method is cheaper, but takes a longer 
time. 
Starting with natural swamp, the first thing is to 
drain and turf it, removing all the bushes, brakes, 
bogs, etc., root and all, taking as much of the surface 
as is necessary in doing so. Natural water courses are 
cleaned out, straightened and deepened, and other 
ditches dug as required to thoroughly drain the sur¬ 
face. Sometimes this work costs several hundred dol¬ 
lars per acre, so it is readily seen that the making of 
a cranberry bog is no child’s play. After the turfing, 
the surface is covered with sand four to six inches 
deep, and the bog is ready for planting. This is done 
at any time when the ground is not frozen. Cuttings 
made from thrifty vines are used. They are cut in six 
or eight-inch lengths, and are pressed well into the 
sand eight or ten inches apart. The after cultivation 
amounts to little, consisting in pulling whatever 
weeds or coarse grass may come up, and in opening 
and shutting the flume gates when necessary. 
The Iron Mills bog, near Hammonton, N. J., com¬ 
prises 75 acres, and is valued at $1,000 per acre We 
think that there are few larger. A full crop is not 
expected until the third or fourth year after planting. 
An average yield is perhaps 50 bushels per acre, 
though some bogs yield much more, and some prob¬ 
ably less. There is little expense, excepting the 
picking, which costs about 40 cents per bushel. Under 
favorable conditions a bog should last an ordinary 
lifetime. 
How to Plant Chestnuts. 
J. P. B., Girard, Pa .—I wish to plant four or five 
acres to chestnuts in the spring for the timber ; how 
shall I keep and plant the nuts ? 
Ans. —They may be planted as soon as ripe in drills 
a foot apart, two inches deep and six inches apart. 
They may be placed in moist sand and buried. Then 
plant as above in the spring. If chestnuts are per¬ 
mitted to become thoroughly dry they will not ger¬ 
minate. 
A List of Plums. 
H. J. C., Jeddo, Mich .—What is The Rural’s opin¬ 
ion of the following list of plums? We are exactly 
on the parallel of Rochester, N. Y. I have the fol¬ 
lowing kinds: Niagara, Abundance, Quackenboss, 
Bradshaw, Shipper’s Pride, Lombard, Prunus Sim- 
onia, German Prune, Saratoga. 
Ans. —Abundance has been fully described in our 
last issue. Quackenboss is of fair quality and a great 
yielder. It is large, dark purple, with a dense bloom. 
Bradshaw is an old favorite. It is very large, dark 
purplish-red and of fair quality. The tree is a ram¬ 
pant grower and productive. Lombard is of medium 
size, reddish purple, with yellow flesh and of good 
quality. The tree is a heavy bearer. Prunus Simonii 
is a worthless, mongrel fruit. We have never heard 
of Prunus Simonia. Shipper’s Pride is said to be of 
large size, round, purple, firm and of good quality. 
Tree productive. German Prune is a September 
plum, medium size, oval, blue, rich and fine. Pro¬ 
ductive. We know nothing of the Saratoga. 
Apple-twig: Borer on Grapes. 
H. F. S., Beloit, Kansas .—I send some beetles or 
borers taken from a grape vine. A neighbor came to 
me with a piece of dead vine that contained quite a 
large number of them, and as the thing was new to 
me I was anxious to investigate further and went with 
him to his vines. On examination I found many of 
them in the living vines—last year’s wood. They 
entered the vines at the point where the laterals start 
out and make their way for two or three inches to¬ 
wards the center, and then cut a passage to the out¬ 
side, but seem to remain in the older track as a home 
or place of protection. What is the life history of 
this insect and the best means of protection against it? 
Ans. —The beetles sent were about one-fourth of an 
inch long, of a dark brown color, the front edge of the 
thorax being armed with short horns, and from near 
the end of each wing cover of the male beetles there 
projects a single quite conspicuous horn. The insect 
is commonly known as the Apple-twig borer. Its 
scientific name is Amphicerus bicaudatus. It is often 
destructive in the Western States and occurs in New 
York. Although it has been known since 1824, its 
life hi-.tory has only been recently worked out. In 
1887, Professor Popenoe, of Kansas, found the grubs, 
pupae, and adult beetles in burrows in tamarix and 
grape vines. They are fleshy, curved objects about 
four-tenths of an inch in length and much thickened 
just back of the head. Professor Popenoe concludes 
that the eggs are deposited in April and May in the 
unhealthy or dead wood in the vineyards or elsewhere. 
The larvae bore into the canes, forming cylindrical 
burrows two or three inches in length. Within these 
the grubs change to pupae and these reach the beetle 
state in the fall or winter and remain through the 
winter in the burrows. In the spring the beetles eat 
their way out, making conspicuous holes leading into 
the burrows. They often bore into fruit and forest 
trees for protection and food and thus frequently do 
serious injury. This habit of boring into apple twigs 
has given the insect its common name. Most of the 
injury to grape vines is done by the grubs, and to the 
fruit trees by the beetles. There seems to be but one 
brood during the year. This is a hard insect to com¬ 
bat. All that can be suggested at present is tb collect 
and burn the dying twigs, caused by the beetles’ bur¬ 
rows, in winter, thus destroying the pests. Also the 
diseased and dead vines and prunings in the vineyard 
should be collected and burned, thus taking away all 
sought for breeding places, and if done in the summer, 
killing many grubs. M. v. slingerland. 
Facts About Feeding Hens. 
L. R. J. ,Cape Girardeau, Mo .—Last year I bought a set¬ 
ting of Leghorn eggs. All hatched, and of the chicks a 
fair proportion were roosters. These I crossed on our 
old stock of five or six dozen hens of Plymouth Rock 
lineage, and the result is a fine lot of 200 pullets, with 
long, slim bodies, mostly black or brown in color; so 
I find myself at once with the responsibility of a large 
poultry raiser, and my ambition is to attend to the 
fowls according to the best light of the experienced 
breeder. Of course, my wife and I obtained much 
well-earned knowledge during the hatching season. 
Now approaches the laying season, and I am thirsting 
for further information. Hore are a few questions 
that are troubling me just now : 1. I live in the midst 
of a large farm ; there is unlimited range. How much 
should I feed per hundred pullets of soft feed (bran, 
shorts, etc.) and how much of pure wheat? At this 
time of year should they be fed two or three times a 
day ? Now I find that if I feed a great deal, they stay 
around the yard and do net range off. If I feed only 
a little, they range off. What is the golden mean ? 
Ranging is surely good for them, but starving is not. 
2. What should they get occasionally to ward off dis¬ 
ease ? Several of my pullets have drooped around for 
several days and finally died. 3. Is meat anything like 
a necessity for egg production ? Would it pay to buy 
the cheapest grades of beef, say at four or five cents 
per pound, and run it through a sausage mill to pre¬ 
pare it, and, if so, how often should it be fed? Is there 
anything commercially prepared that will do in place 
of fresh meat ? 
Ans. — 1. No one can tell just how much to feed a 
given number of pullets or hens, as different flocks of 
the same number will vary greatly in the amount of 
food they require. The best method I have ever found 
is to feed no more at a time than will all be eaten 
readily and fairly satisfy the appetite of the flock. 
Where soft feed is fed in the morning, I would advise 
feeding whole grain both at noon and night, being 
careful not to feed more at noon than would leave the 
flock with a good appetite for their supper. I would 
always feed the wheat or other whole grain scattered 
in straw or other dry litter, so that the flock must ex¬ 
ercise somewhat while feeding, whether they have 
range or not. A range to which a flock has had free 
access all the season will offer but little attraction for 
them so late in the season as this, as worms, insects, 
etc., have become scarce there. While in some cases 
a small flock may find nearly sufficient food upon the 
range, as a rule both growing chicks and adult fowls 
will give much better results if fed regularly in quan¬ 
tities according to their requirements as indicated by 
their appetites at feeding time. 
2. I have found that feeding nothing but sound, 
wholesome food, keeping the quarters clean and free 
from vermin, with good care generally, are all the 
precautions needed to ward off disease, when proper 
attention is given to the selection of breeding stock, 
using none for that purpose that had ever been sub¬ 
ject to disease, or were in any way debilitated or im¬ 
mature. I have not given a dose of medicine of any 
kind to my fowls or chicks in 10 years, and my per¬ 
centage of loss is very small. 
3. Yes; I consider the feeding of .meat of consider¬ 
able importance, not only for egg production, but also 
for the proper and rapid growth of the chicks, for the 
reason that without its use (or that of its best substi¬ 
tutes, skim-milk or curd), it is extremely difficult to 
furnish a ration sufficiently nitrogenous to meet the 
requirements of the hen, and enable her to lay a large 
number of eggs, a large proportion of which is made 
up of this substance. Also when moderately fed to 
growing chicks its benefits will be seen in the produc¬ 
tion of well-developed, strong-boned, muscular and 
well-feathered birds. I get better results from feed¬ 
ing a little every day rather than in larger quanti¬ 
ties at longer intervals. I think the cheap pieces of 
beef at four and five cents per pound would be a good 
investment, provided they were sweet and lean, as 
the fat would produce just the opposite of the result 
desired. I would prepare the meat by thorough cook¬ 
ing, then chop or grind fine and add it to the soft feed 
together with the liquor in which it was boiled. 
There are upon the market several kinds of so-called 
prepared meat for poultry feeding. That put up in 
cans by the New England Dressed Meat and Wool Co., 
of Boston, Mass., is the only one I have tried that I 
can recommend. c. u. wyckoff. 
