68 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
in the plant raising line could not be attempted. 
Shallow cigar boxes were procured, several holes being 
made in the bottom of each to insure good drainage. 
These were filled with earth, which I first thoroughly 
pulverized by rubbing it through my hands. After 
putting a layer of soil in the bottom of the boxes, I 
next put in a little old manure. Then with a small 
stick, 1 made holes in the earth, about one-half inch 
apart. A seed was dropped in each hole, then covered 
witli earth and pressed down lightly with the hands. 
The earth was then thoroughly moistened with water 
from which the chill had been removed. The boxes 
were placed in the bay window, where they received 
light fx-om the south and the east. One box I covered 
with a pane of glass. The seeds in this box germinated 
with surprising x*apidity. The earth also retained the 
moisture much better than that in the boxes that were 
not covei'ed. As soon as the seeds germinated I re¬ 
moved the glass. 
When my plants were about an inch in height, I 
transplanted them into other boxes, some cigar, others 
candy boxes, the latter being the more desirable. I 
put 12 plants in each box. The transplanted plants 
were kept shaded for a few days. The earth was kept 
moist, not wet, all the time. The plants grew rapidly, 
and as they sought the light, 1 found it necessary to 
turn them at least once duiang the day, in oi-der to 
keep them straight. 1 frequently stirred the earth 
around the plants, taking care not to disturb the 
i-oots. As the earth began to settle in the boxes, I put 
more earth around the plants, sometimes mixing a 
little manure with it, and sometimes a little soot. I 
also occasionally added a little soot to the water with 
which 1 moistened them ; anti sometimes a little salt¬ 
peter was added. 
As the weather became a little mild I began setting 
the plants out of doors, for an hour or so in the morn¬ 
ing. I gradually inci’eased the length of time until I 
left them out all day, bringing t hem into the house at 
night. They had not been kept out of doors long, 
before the stems began to gi*ow a little red, and then 
I knew they were successfully undergoing the toughen¬ 
ing process. A few days before the plants were sold, 
1 left them out all night, sheltered by an inclosed 
piazza. The plants were very thrifty, straight and 
stocky, and presented a fine appeai’ance, and were 
sold to two grocers. We set out sevex-al dozen in our 
own garden. I had more than enough tomatoes for 
my own use, and found no difiieulty in disposing of 
the surplus. 
Tomatoes used and sold. $5 00 
26 dozen plants at 20 cents per dozen. 5 20 
Total.$10 20 
My two small dimes had grown into 10 lai‘ge silver 
dollars. Nellie c. Andrews. 
Wayne County, N. Y. 
THAT $10 HOTHOUSE LAMB. 
SOME FACTS ABOUT ITS HISTORY. 
Two weeks ago The It. N.-Y. told of the three lambs 
raised by Mr. Clark Allis that brought $29 in the New 
York market. Mr. Allis has given us some new facts 
about these lambs. “ IIow old was the $10 lamb ?” 
“It was dropped September 28, by a poor grade 
sheep that would sell in the market for $1 or possibly 
$1.25. It was the first lamb from a flock of 70 ewes 
that raised hothouse lambs last winter, and had two 
rams turned with them early.” 
“ What bi-eed were the rams ?” 
“ A registered Dorset ram was turned with the ewes 
in April, tuid a registered Shropshire in June. When 
both rams have been turned in at the same time, the 
first lambs have always been Dorsets and through the 
season I usually- have about six Dorsets to one Shrop¬ 
shire. Other lambs were di-opped soon after October 
1, until I had over 40 by December 15. One was born 
dead, all the rest were sti-ong and healthy, and all 
lived.” 
“ To what do you attribute that ?” 
“ It was at least partly due to the fact that the ewes 
had good i-ye for fall feed. The i-ye was sowed the 
last week in August on bean ground. I keep my beans 
free from weeds by the use of the Z. Dreed weeder 
and cultivator, and as soon as the beans ai-e off, I 
harrow once or twice with a spring-tooth harrow and 
sow rye for fall feed, and to plow under in spring.” 
“ IIow do you make the ewes breed easily ?” 
“ 1 do not know how or why this one old sheep had 
one eai'ly lamb, and the good strong ewes do not. 
But 1 would give considerable for a recipe or kind of 
sheep that would breed when desii-ed. Only one-half 
of my ewes have had lambs yet.” 
“ What cai*e did the sheep and lambs have ?” 
“ The sheep were put in the barn on stormy days 
and evei\y night from the last of October, and turned 
on the rye during good weather. About November 15, 
the ewes with lambs had all the gi-ain and turnips 
they would eat clean ; the grain was about equal 
parts corn, linseed meal and bran, mixed. The lambs 
have two rooms^for themselves, where they can get 
meals at all hours of the day or night. The sheep are 
kept in the basement, and the lambs have one room 
there and the other on the barn floor up one flight of 
stairs. Lambs are like boys, happiest when climbing, 
so most of the lambs go up stairs for lunch. They 
get the same feed in both rooms, bran and linseed 
meal mixed, corn, coirn meal and cracked corn, clover 
hay and bean fodder.” 
“ What breed are your sheep ? ” 
“ My ewes ai*e from quite fine wools to three-quarters 
Shropshire, but it does not seem to make any differ¬ 
ence about how early they have lambs, whether fine or 
coarse. The Dorsets are said to be more prolific than 
other breeds, but I have not had a twin in my three 
years’ expei’ience with them. But for hothouse lambs, 
I would rather have a single lamb than twins.” 
“You are trying Crimson clover are you ? ” 
“ Yes, I sowed some on bean ground, and it went 
into w inter quarters in fine condition. If it is as good 
a friend to me as The It. N.-Y. has been, I shall be 
satisfied.” 
HIGHEST QUALITY DESSERT APPLES. 
WHERE WOULD YOU GO TO GROW THEM? 
What Varieties Would You Set Out ? 
THE BULL’S EYE. 
1. If you were a young man desirous of making a life work of 
growing highest quality dessert apples (winter especially), where 
would you locate ? 2. Where in the United States do apples attain 
their best quality ? 3. What kind of soil and lay of land would 
you choose ? 4. What varieties would you select ? T. R. c. 
Kentucky. 
Can't Get Ahead of New England. 
1. Hartford County, Conn. ; Worcester County, 
Mass., or Grand Isle, Ver. ; these sections produce the 
best colored, best flavored and longest keeping apples 
of any section of the United States. This I believe 
after careful observation of apples in every State and 
Territory, in orchard and market. 2. On the hill 
lands of New England ; here they are crisp sind 
snappy, fine in texture and of more sprightly flavor 
than the same varieties grown in any other section of 
which I know. 3. Medium, sandy loam, or heavy 
loam, if the subsoil is not gravelly. High rolling 
lands are most reliable for annual crops. 4. The 
varieties would be somewhat of a local issue, depend¬ 
ing upon the size of the orchard, the markets to be 
supplied, means of reaching them, etc. I would need 
to know the exact circumstances before advising. 
Connecticut. J. n. hale. 
Come Right to Missouri. 
1. I would, without hesitation, say, come to Mis¬ 
souri. Here you can grow the best apples as well as 
the finest in appearance, and the greatest quantity. 
2. I do not believe that apples can be any better in 
quality, or beauty either, than those grown in parts 
of Missouri. All that is necessary here is to know the 
variety well, the best time to pick it, the best way to 
ripen it, and the best market to put it into, to be sure 
of success. The rich, virgin soil, full of lime, iron and 
potash, is just the home of the apple, and the climate 
seems to give the highest of quality and color. 3. We 
use the high, rolling timber lands that are underlaid 
with a rich porous subsoil that gives perfect drainage, 
for the perfection of our best fruits in quality. 4. 
Grimes’s Golden, Jonathan, Pryor’s Red, Huntsman 
Favorite and Lady apple. L. a. Goodman. 
Secretary Missouri Horticultural Society. 
Sensible Advice from Dr. T. H. Hoskins. 
1. Somewhere between New York and Washington, 
by preference ; but, generally speaking, near, and 
easily accessible to, a gx-eat city. At the same time, it 
is better to be somewhat off from main roads, and 
routes favored by tramps, roughs and mischievous 
boys. A somewhat elevated locality is px-eferable ; at 
any i - ate, a fx-ee cii-culation of air is very necessai-y, 
although the protection of a belt of woodland on the 
windy side is of considerable advantage. This may, 
in time, be secured by planting such a belt at the time 
of setting the orchard, choosing trees of x-apid growth. 
Next to robbers, high winds ai*e the most injurious to 
the growers of tree fruits. Apples ai-e generally quite 
cosmopolitan, and succeed, perhaps, in as many places 
and soils as any other fruit. But they must have suffi¬ 
cient depth of soil for the roots to reach below the 
effects of severe droughts. Unquestionably, fresh, new 
soil is highly appreciated by all fruit trees ; and the 
decline of orchards is sui*e to follow neglect of careful 
culture, enrichment, and intelligent attention to each 
individual tree. In pruning, an open head must 
always be kept in mind. Without fi-ee access of sun¬ 
light, good, well-colored fruit is an impossibility. 
2. There^is no doubt that, as regards immediate 
results, the finest apples are now being grown in the 
States west of the Mississippi. But this present supe¬ 
riority will be short-lived, and i-uinously delusive, if 
location alone is to be relied upon. Great orchards, 
set out without regard to the future means of keeping 
them supplied with plenty of plant food, as well as 
sedulous care, will end in being only great failures. 
One hundred trees, well cared for, will pay very much 
better than more neglected ; and this rule applies with 
equal or greater force, the more extensive the planta¬ 
tion. Far better have too few than too many trees. 
Hundreds of mined orchards, throughout the Eastern 
States, in the Middle States, and even much farther 
west, to-day testify to the truth of these statements. 
Indeed, much of the country may be said to be full of 
wrecked orchards, that once were wonders to look at, 
for the size, beauty and abundance of their fruitage. 
3. It is not necessary for an orchai'd to slope more than 
to secure perfect drainage ; yet many good orchards 
are to be found on very uneven, rough and rocky soils. 
But it should be well understood that an orchard must 
be fed ; and that this requirement increases rapidly 
with the number and growth of the trees. It takes 
capital to run a large oi’chard successfully. A light, 
sandy soil, or a hard, tough clay, is equally bad for 
an orchard ; but of the two, the first is to be preferred. 
Very fine orchards are to be seen in the sandy valley 
of the Merrimac River, in New Hampshire and Massa¬ 
chusetts ; but they have to be well cultivated and 
manured. 
4. Those vai-ieties most popular in the nearest good 
market, arc the best to plant. It is not easy to sell a 
new variety, however good, against well-known and 
approved sorts. This is why some very valuable ap¬ 
ples are neglected. It is hard to contend against pre¬ 
possession and pi-ejudice. Buyers regard the old sorts 
as “ good enough.” 
Vermont. 
Quality Cannot Go Up Head. 
The inference, apparently, must be that T. R. C. 
wishes to grow apples for the market. Such being 
his pui-pose, “ dessert apples of the highest quality,” 
would, in most cases, be found far from salable or 
profitable ; and, for this reason, quality must take 
second or, possibly, third place. 1 and 2. I know of no 
locality more desirable for commercial apple growing 
than the fruit belt along the easterly shore of Lake 
Michigan, from Oceana County noi-thward, nearly to 
Mackinaw, for the following reasons : Good locations 
with cheap lands are abundant, nearly all the popular 
Eastern varieties succeed well, apples mature so late 
that they can be placed upon the mai-ket after com¬ 
petition is practically past ; while, grown here, they 
never over-mature, as the result of warm weather 
after gathering. I know of no other good apple grow¬ 
ing region in which the apple takes on such exceed¬ 
ingly rich coloi’ing, combined with superior flavor. 
Access to the best markets by rail and steamer is all 
that can be desired. Western New York, northern 
Ohio and southern Michigan have similar advantages, 
except in so far as climate is concerned. 3. The apple 
i-eadily accommodates itself to a variety of soils. The 
typical soil for the purpose is a rich loam, either 
sandy or clayey ; sufficiently elevated for good air 
drainage, and with a sufficiently porous subsoil. 4. 
No better reply can be made than to learn the reauire- 
ments of the markets to be supplied ; together with 
the success of such varieties in the region chosen. 
Michigan. _ T. T. LYON. 
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piece of paper.1 
Building a Silo in a Barn. 
C. C., Grand Rapids. Mich. —1. Is the Planet Jr. liill-dropping drill 
a good machine ? 2. I have a barn that is 90 feet long and 30 wide. 
At one end is a bay 14 feet wide. 1 would like to make a silo out 
of it. The barn has a basement with seven-foot posts. Would it 
be large enough for 50 head of cattle ? 3. Would it be a good plan 
to make two out of it ? 4. Would the odor have any effect on the 
hay across the driveway ? 5. IIow strong a wall must I build 
through the center ? 6. Would it be best to put a tight wall to the 
roof, or only as far as it would be tilled ? 
Ans. —1. Yes. 2. No. The silo will hold about 120 
tons, and will last 50 head of cows about three months, 
by feeding half of the time. I have a silo, and feed 
ensilage in the forenoon and hay in the afternoon. I 
give a bushel basketful in the morning, and as soon 
as some eat that, I throw in a scoop-shovelful more. 
A bushel is all that some cows will eat. Others will 
eat more and need more. 3. Make two silos, by put¬ 
ting a partition through the center. Thus you will 
have two which will be, when completed, about 
12^133^ feet.^.4. No. 5. The center partition should 
