1S95 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
179 
too hot and cooked the potatoes. When suitable ma¬ 
nure is not available in sufficient quantities, or where 
business is conducted on a large scale, it is cheaper 
and more satisfactory to use fire heat, which is applied 
in various ways, a few of the best of which I will en¬ 
deavor to describe in the next article. s. T. d. 
SOME VALUABLE VARIETIES OF APPLES. 
1 have been testing new varieties of seedling apples 
for 20 years or more, and I have among them a number 
of kinds that are well worthy of general cultivation. 
There are also varieties grown here and there, locally, 
that are not offered in the nurserymen’s catalogue. 
There is an apple called Baker, that I think is a 
seedling from Fairfield County, Conn., which is 
superior, as a market apple, to any other of its season. 
It grows large to very large, on vigorous, hardy trees, 
and is of yellow color nearly, and sometimes quite, 
overlaid with splashes of clear red. Often the fruit is 
entirely red, and it makes a very handsome appear¬ 
ance. I commenced sales during the last week in Sep¬ 
tember, and as I write there are specimens standing 
on my desk in fine condition. It is not of highest 
quality, but its mild, subacid flavor, and tender, 
brittle, texture, make it a favorite in the market. If 
I could plant only one variety of apple for our local 
markets, it would certainly be the Baker. Stephen 
Hoyt’s Sons, of the New Canaan nurseries, have rec¬ 
ognized its value, and I think will catalogue it soon, 
if they have not already done so. 
Another valuable apple which comes into market as 
a pie apple at a time when it practically has no com¬ 
petitor, is the Iloel, a seedling of New Haven County, 
which has never been offered by the nurserymen. It 
is a large to very large clear golden yellow fruit, sub¬ 
acid in flavor, and ripens just following Red Astra- 
chan. It is not a table fruit, having a little too much 
acid to suit most peoples’ taste ; but its value for cook¬ 
ing is undoubted. Its handsome appearance sells it 
readily, and at good prices. The only 
fault I have noticed, is a tendency 
toward too rank growth of wood, and 
as a consequence, it is sometimes in¬ 
jured slightly by severe cold weather. 
The Marigold is another local favorite, 
a yellow winter variety, hardy, vigorous 
and a great bearer of handsome, me¬ 
dium-sized fruit that will keep until 
May. Its quality is very near best, and 
1 have a great demand for it as a table 
fruit. This season, a good deal of the 
fruit showed a decided red cheek, due 
to late picking, and an early ripening. 
As a winter fruit, I would rank it ahead 
of the Baldwin, except that it is not 
known in the markets. I have a good 
many other varieties on trial which are promising, but 
those I have mentioned are well tried, and of them 
I can speak from experience. c. r. augur. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
How to Usk Dynamite. —Last spring, I had some 
pear trees with very long tap roots, to set on clay 
ground with a very hard, tough subsoil. I did not 
wish to cut off the tap root, as that was about all 
there was, so I dug through the sui-face soil and bored 
1 }4 foot into the subsoil with a two-inch auger. Less 
than that distance is better than more. Then I put in 
one-quarter pound of dynamite and exploded it. The 
result was a hole as large as a bushel basket or larger, 
and the earth all around it soft and mellow. The 
expense was a little less than five cents a hole. A 
similar charge exploded on some iron ore hard pan 
that came within a few inches of the surface, where I 
wished to set a peach tree, mashed it completely. 
I have used hundreds of pounds of dynamite, and 
buy it direct from the factory at a little more than 
one-half what dealers charge. A strength of 40 per 
cent is generally used for stumps, and is put up in 
cartridges of one-half pound. It freezes at 42 or lower, 
and is then hard and no good. For use, it must be 
nearly as soft as putty. On cold days I carry a 
quantity in my pockets and bootlegs to keep it pliable. 
The danger is next to nothing compared to carrying a 
loaded revolver in one’s pocket. 
In using it, I make a hole in the side of the cart¬ 
ridge, one-third of the distance from the end, and at 
an acute angle, employing the sharp end of an oldfile. 
With the other end of the file, push the cap or exploder 
in the hole, then cut the fuse off square, put the end 
in the cap, and tie firmly to the cartridge, so that the 
fuse cannot be drawn up from the fulminate in the 
least. Cap crimpers are seldom reliable. If any moist¬ 
ure is liable to get in the cap, make it water-tight 
around the fuse with grease, wax or hard soap. Bore 
under the stump with an old two-inch auger, having 
the shank lengthened four or five feet. In putting 
under more than one cartridge, slip them out of their 
papers so as to run them tightly together. Lower the 
loaded cartridge carefully, and push in the first few 
inches of earth. The fuse I use burns about three 
feet in a minute. Keep the caps away from the dyna¬ 
mite. If a charge fail to explode, wait an unreason¬ 
able length of time, and then bore nearly to the charge 
and put in one-half a stick with cap and fuse as before 
and that will explode the whole charge. A charge 
under a solid stump will rarely split it. To do so, 
bore into the stump and proceed as before stated. 
The expense of blowing out the stumps in this 
section is from 10 cents to $1 each, and for that reason 
it is cheaper to use a machine. I have one that works 
with a capstan and wire rope, and pulls two to three 
acres at one setting, much quicker than can be done 
with a machine that has to be moved to each stump. 
I use dynamite mostly when I get hold of a stump 
that the machine cannot start readily. v. u. c. 
South Haven, Mich. 
Crimson Clover the Great Improver. —I have four 
acres of poor land, which has been in corn two or 
three times, and produced 20 baskets of soft corn, or 
10 bushels of shelled corn per acre. In 1892 it was 
planted to corn, and at the last working 1 sowed rye. 
November 5, some one told me about Crimson clover, 
and I asked whether it was too late to sow some at 
that date, and was told that it would depend on the 
season. I sowed some seed and it was very small when 
winter set in. I had a good catch of clover and rye. 
Spring, 1893, I turned all under when the rye heads 
commenced to show. The clover was only about four 
inches high. I planted it to corn that year, got 15 
bushels per acre, and at the last working of the corn 
I sowed Crimson clover. I got a fair stand ; when in 
full bloom it stood only about one foot high. I turned 
it under and planted corn again, and then I got 25 
bushels of shelled corn per acre. At the last working 
I sowed clover again, got a good stand, and it stood 
about 15 inches high. I turned it under again and put 
in corn. That fall I got 50 bushels of shelled corn per 
acre, besides the soft corn. It is now seeded to clover 
and is a good stand. I shall turn it under and seed it 
to rye in the fall of 1895. N. K. 
Greensboro, Md. 
Millet for Dairy Feed. —In consequence of the 
severe drought of last season, many meadows will fail 
to produce their usual crop ; in fact, many will pro¬ 
duce nothing, and it behooves the dairyman and stock 
raiser to raise some crop that will take the place of 
hay. Few excel German millet for feed, either as a 
soiling crop, for hay, or ensilage. More milk can be 
produced from a piece of ground growing a good crop 
of millet, than from any other crop grown in this 
locality. One of its best features is the time of sow¬ 
ing, which may be done at about the same lime as 
buckwheat, or after the conditions of the meadows or 
corn crop are fully decided and the probable shortage 
of feed estimated. I am not just prepared to qualify 
to the statement, but am of the opinion that as many 
tons may be grown per acre as are usually grown of 
corn, and at not one-half the expense. It readily 
responds to the application of commercial fertilizers ; 
but, as with any crop, especially of small seeds, the 
ground must be well pulverized. Sow three pecks per 
acre, either broadcast or with a drill, running the 
hoes very shallow. 
If wanted for the silo, it may be cut with the binder 
which will greatly facilitate handling. But the most 
important thing is the time of cutting, which for the 
silo, would need to be earlier than if for curing. If 
allowed fully to form the seed, it becomes too woody, 
and the seed will shell. Care should be taken to 
prevent it getting frosted, as it is almost worthless if 
thoroughly frosted. Cutting for ensilage should be 
done as soon as it is well headed out, or when in its 
most sappy condition. Although I have had good 
ensilage by putting it in the bottom of the silo, cut¬ 
ting the corn on top of it, and thereby thoroughly 
weighting it, I prefer to cut it about one inch, or the 
same as corn, thoroughly tramp the sides and corners, 
and then slightly weight it. Herein is the advantage 
of harvesting with the binder ; it will be clean and 
free from stones, etc., that are raked up if cut with 
the mower, and would be bad feed for the fodder 
cutter. Therefore, 1 advise sowing millet. 
Pennsylvania. A. L. WALES. 
FROST-PROOF WATERING TANKS. 
A reader from Linn County, la., wishes to know 
how the frost-proof stock tanks mentioned on pnge 
34, are constructed. His note gave me the cold shivers, 
for it came during our severe cold weather, and I was 
fearful lest the tanks would not prove equal to the 
emergency. Morning after morning the thermometer, 
without any regard to consequences, has in a cool and 
indifferent way, registered in the teens below zero. If 
the tanks stand this, they will do. 
“ Well, have your water tanks kept open ?” 1 asked. 
“Oh, yes; I have had no trouble with the cattle 
tanks, but one of the watering places for hogs is 
frozen. I think the rats dug around it and let the 
frost down to the pipe. It is the pipe which is frozen, 
and not the tank. Rats are terribly thick here, and 
are about to take the place.” 
“ Better keep some good cats a round the barn. They 
axe better than dogs, traps and poisons all combined. 
But how do you pack those tanks to keep them from 
freezing ? ” 
“They are the ordinary rectangular stock tanks, 
set directly on the ground, and are packed with six 
inches of sawdust. The pig tanks are not packed, but 
are set three feet in the ground, and this keeps them 
from freezing.” 
“ If you had only two cows to drink from one of 
these tanks, might it not freeze ? ” 
“ Yes, possibly. I have had more ice in them this 
winter than ever before, and I think one reason is 
that I have fed fewer cattle. The more water drank 
from a tank, the more warm water flows in, and, of 
course, the less ice forms.” 
There are several other things to be noted. First, 
they are placed under open sheds. Sec 
ond, they are about half covered, the 
cover being in the middle of the tank 
and leaving each end open. Under this 
cover is the float. Third, they are not 
frost-proof in the sense that no ice forms 
in them, but the inlet pipe never freezes, 
and if the drinking holes arc cut open 
each morning, and the float kept tree, 
water is always before the stock. The 
drinking boxes for the hogs deserve 
mention. I have seen drinking foun¬ 
tains made from barrels, but they were 
veritable pig traps. The little pigs would 
fall in, and being unable to get out, would 
drown. In this tank, there is a false 
bottom several inches under the sur¬ 
face of the water, and if a pig falls in, it can scram¬ 
ble out again. See Fig 58, page 181. No pains is taken 
to make the board, B, water tight, and so water seaps 
in around it as fast as it is wanted. In the open, or 
drinking part of this trough, ice forms about one inch 
thick on cold nights. Of course, this is easily removed, 
and then it stays open all day. This trough is as pop¬ 
ular with the horses as witli the hogs. 
Jasper County, la. e. b. watson. 
WHAT ROOTS FOR THE SHEEP? 
Feeding Flat Turnips. —Mr. Cook asks in The R. 
N.-Y. of January 19, whether flat turnips are a health¬ 
ful food for ewes in lamb. We annually raise from 
5,000 to 20,000 bushels of flat turnips, and especially 
with a view of feeding them to sheep. From the 
time the sheep go into the folds, about the middle of 
November, until they are all fed out, our sheep all 
get practically all the turnips they will eat every day 
and we have yet to see the first indication of their 
doing them any harm. In fact, I know of no food 
that can be raised with the same labor, that will give 
such good results as a sheep feed. We feed to the 
ewes both before and after lambing, with the same 
lavish hand. 
But I think one caution should be observed. When 
sheep are eating so much of succulent food, they 
should not be exposed to severe cold. Neither would I 
wish my sheep to eat frozen turnips. But when kept 
as ours are always, in warm quarters, I do not be¬ 
lieve that the sheep would take any harm if given all 
they would eat all the time. 
Mangels vs. Sugar Beets. —There is no doubt that 
sugar beets have a larger percentage of sugar than 
mangels. But when we take into account the differ¬ 
ence in yield, and the great difference in growing, and 
especially in pulling and cleaning the two roots in 
favor of the mangels, no one would hesitate a minute 
in choosing to grow the mangels for stock food. The 
yield, on the same ground, will be nearly or quite 
twice as many mangels as beets. Then when pulled, 
the beet is one mass of fibrous roots from top to 
THE SIZE OF SWEET POTATO SEED Fig. 57 
