1092 
August  19,  1910. 
come  thoroughly  sterilized  by  the  okl-style  kettle 
by  this  new  process  will  be  sterilized  in  eight  min¬ 
utes.  The  long  time  required  by  the  old  process  wns 
caused  because  the  heat  took  so  long  to  reach  the 
center  of  the  can,  but  by  agitating  the  contents  the 
heat  penetrates  very  rapidly. 
WORKING  ON  SMALL  SCALE. — On  a  small 
scale  the  general  method  is  the  same  as  in  the  large 
factory.  Sorting  may  be  done  on  a  small  table,  the 
tomatoes  may  be  washed  by  placing  them  in  bushel 
wire  baskets  and  dipping  into  tanks  where  the  water 
is  constantly  changed  so  all  dirt  will  he  removed. 
Then  the  tomatoes  still  in  the  wire  baskets  can  be 
dipped  in  a  kettle  of  boiling  water  to  scald  them 
and  then  into  a  tank  of  cold  water  to  harden.  Pans 
take  the  place  of  the  metal  table  and  hand  packing 
is  jnst  as  good  as  machine,  only  a  little  more  ex¬ 
pensive.  A  small  seamer  can  be  secured  and  will  do 
the  same  work  as  the  large  automatic  and  the  pro¬ 
cess  kettle  is  jnst  the  same  large  or  small.  The  lit¬ 
tle  cannery  will  not  pay  as  large  profit  per  case  as 
the  large  one,  but  if  loeated  on  a  farm  it  will  throw 
a  pretty  good  bluff,  and  thus  add  to  the  farm  pro¬ 
fits  on  the  fresh  goods  sold.  c.  o.  warfoed. 
Soil  Moisture  and  Annual  Bearing 
ON  page  910  T  was  interested  in  what  is  said 
about  the  biennial  bearing  liabits  of  Baldwins 
and  your  surprise  at  its  bearing  this  year  again,  or 
two  years  in  succession.  Prof.  James  E.  Rice 
thought  that  it  was  due  to  the  ample  moisture  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  previous  Summer.  You  ask  if  in  the 
irrigated  sections  of  the  West  the  same  results  are 
obtained.  Also  you  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that 
a  wet  season  is  likely  to  drive  the  trees  into  a 
wood  growth. 
I  Having  had  experience  in  both  the  irrigated  and 
non-irrigated  sections  of  the  West  and  watching  the 
habits  of  orchards  under  both  conditions  I  would 
unhesitatingly  say  that  the  opinion  of  Prof.  Rice  is 
the  correct  one.  Most  of  the  commercial  varieties  in 
this  irrigated  section  (Southern  Idaho)  bear  an¬ 
nually.  Considering  the  same  variety  some  orchards 
bear  annually  and  some  do  not,  and  when  the  condi¬ 
tions  as  to  such  fluctuations  are  investigated  it  is 
found  that  if  the  proper  moisture  conditions  were 
lacking  the  previous  season  that  fruit  buds  are  also 
lacking. 
In  this  arid  section  the  available  plant  food  lias 
not  been  leacbed  out  by  rains,  as  is  the  case  in  the 
humid  sections;  then  with  the  heat  and  dry  at¬ 
mospheric  conditions  of  the  arid  sections  the  ten¬ 
dency  of  plant  life  is  greater  fecundity.  The  heavy 
bearing  of  the  fruit  trees  is  abnormal,  and  the  ex¬ 
treme  thinning  of  fruit  from  the  trees  is  essential 
to  the  best,  quality  of  fruit  and  vitality  of  the  tree. 
A  great  vegetative  growth  and  heavy  hearing  of 
fruit  are  not  co-ordinate,  as  the  conditions  which  en¬ 
courage  each  are  I  ho  extreme  of  each  other.  Hence 
when  the  tree  is  heavily  laden  with  fruit  its  vitality 
is  taxed  and  extreme  vegetative  growth  will  not  fol¬ 
low  as  a  result  of  ample  irrigation.  The  prune  tree, 
as  an  example,  when  mature,  will  make,  practically, 
no  growth  the  year  it  is  in  heavy  bearing  and  re¬ 
gardless  of  the  amount  of  moisture  applied,  and  this 
is  a  tree  that  bears  annually  here. 
The  White  Winter  Pearmnin  growing  here  has  the 
tendency  to  biennial  bearing  unless  the  moisture 
conditions  are  watched  very  cautiously,  and  when  it 
does  bear  it  overdoes  itself  and  if  at  this  time  the 
soil  does  not  receive  ample  moisture  to  develop  the 
fruit  crop  properly  the  hud  development  also  suffers. 
Another  thought.  Your  trees  could  not  make  an 
excessive  wood  growth  in  a  sod-bound  soil  the  same 
year  it  bears  a  full  crop,  and  hence  the  ample  rains 
favored  fruit,  bud  development  and  better  fruit  at 
the  same  time.  J-  F-  mttooy. 
Idaho. 
Making  Alfalfa  Meal 
C7>e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
required  in  grinding  grain,  although  a  number  of 
different  types  are  in  use. 
Most  of  the  Alfalfa  hay  used  for  producing  meal 
is  of  extra  quality.  The  pea-green  grade  off  hay  is 
most  desirable,  but  in  years  like  the  present,  when 
it  is  impossible  to  get  enough  bay  of  this  quality, 
some  bay  of  lower  quality  is  used.  One  of  the  Ne¬ 
braska  mills  reports  that  its  meal  is  produced  from 
hay  grown  in  the  irrigated  section  of  Wyoming. 
Another  mill  buys  from  the  irrigated  section  of 
Western  Nebraska.  The  only  advantage  which  hay 
from  irrigated  land  could  have  over  Other  hay 
would  he  the  advantage  in  curing  quickly  without 
rain,  so  as  to  retain  its  green  color.  Hay  pro¬ 
duced  on  irrigated  land  is  frequently  coarser  and 
stemmier  than  hay  produced  on  unirrlgated  land. 
The  meal  is  produced  by  grinding  the  hay,  stalks 
and  all.  Generally  some  other  product  is  added,  for 
example,  a  low  grade  of  mod  asses  produced  from 
cane  or  beet  sugar  mills.  Some  Alfalfa  mills  add 
grain  to  the  Alfalfa  and  molasses,  making  a  pro¬ 
duct  which  is  sold  under  some  special  trade  name. 
Where  Alfalfa  is  shipped  to  the  mills  in  bales, 
it  is  necessary  to  Open  up  these  bales  and  to  put 
them  through  a  large  cutter  before  sending  the  hay 
to  the  grinder.  Where  the  Alfalfa  is  delivered  to 
the  mill  loose,  I  understand  that  in  some  instances 
at  least  it.  is  fed  into  the  machine  without  previously 
being  cut.  One  mill  reports:  "Our  reduction  is  made 
in  one  process  by  cutting,  and  wo  do  not  do  any 
grinding.”  Formerly  it  was  thought  necessary  by 
many  of  the  mills  to  grind  the  product  very  fine. 
At  the  present  time  this  is  not  thought,  necessary, 
and  most  of  the  product  is  left  in  a  rather  coarse 
condition.  This  product  is  not  so  dusty,  and  it  is 
claimed  to  he  more  palatable  than  when  ground  into 
a  tine  meal. 
All  hay  must  be  thoroughly  dry  and  brittle  before 
It  can  be  ground  ;  otherwise  it  will  gum  the  machine 
and  require  an  unreasonable  amount  of  power.  Ex-, 
eept  where  kept  under  very  dry  *  conditions,  it  is 
probable  that  bay  should  be  cured  at  least  two 
months  before  grinding,  and  should  be  kept  away 
from  all  rain  or  sources  of  dampness. 
The  price  of  Alfalfa  molasses  feed,  according  to 
Nebraska  conditions,  ranges  from  $18  to  $22  per  ton 
at  Missouri  River  points  in  car  lots.  Tlie  retail  price 
Miries  from  $1.20  to  $1.50  per  hundredweight  at 
points  close  to  the  mills.  As  Alfalfa  meal  must  bo 
shipped  in  sacks  the  same  as  ground  grain,  present 
juices  are  increased  by  the  increased  cost  of  sack¬ 
ing  materials  and  the  higher  price  of  molasses  due 
to  its  use  in  various  industries,  such  as  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  alcohol  for  fuel.  K.  a.  burnktt. 
[Many  of  our  readers  now  realize  what:  an  immense 
business  1ms  been  developed  in  crushing  or  grinding  Al¬ 
falfa  and  selling  it  either  alone  or  mixed  with  other 
feeds.  Some  farmers  who  Iced  good  clover  or  Alfalfa 
hay  actually  buy  this  Alfalfa  meal  at  a  high  figure,  and 
feed  it  with  their  silage  and  hay!  Quite  a  number  <>t 
readers  .have  asked  about  this  meal,  so  we  print  the 
following  from  l'rot’.  E.  A.  Burnett,  dean  of  the  .Ne¬ 
braska  College.] 
THE  amount  of  power  required  to  grind  Alfalfa 
bay  is  considerably  greater  than  that  required 
in  grinding  corn  or  other  grains.  One  Alfalfa  meal 
mill  in  Nebraska  reports  that  it.  requires  a  150  horse¬ 
power  steam  engine  to  grind  four  tons  of  Alfalfa 
per  hour.  Another  mill  replies  that  it  requires  a  100 
horsepower  motor  to  reduce  five  tons  of  hay  per 
hour.  It.  is  necessary  that  the  hay  be  thoroughly 
dry  before  it  will  grind  satisfactorily.  The  mills 
required  in  grinding  Alfalfa  are  different  from  those 
\  ines  and  keep  the  disk  harrow  and  the  spike  har¬ 
row  going  till  the  surface  soil  is  made  as  fine  as 
possible.  Then  use  simply  400  pounds  of  10%  acid 
phosphate  an  acre  for  the  wheat.  The  peas  and  the 
residue  from  the  manure  applied  to  the  corn  will 
give  you  all  the  nitrogen  needed  for  the  wheat. 
Sow  the  grass  seed  with  the  wheat  and  the  clover 
in  (lie  Spring.  Do  not  allow  manure  to  accumulate 
about  the  barnyard,  but  get.  it  out.  on  a  sod  as  fast 
as  circumstances  will  admit.  It.  will  do  more  good 
there  than  anywhere  else.  When  you  make  manure 
enough  to  cover  the  cornfield  every  Winter  the 
rest  will  be  easy,  and  like  some  farmers  in  this 
State  who  used  to  think  40  to  50  bushels  of  corn 
a  fair  crop,  now  make  nearly  100  bushels,  by  pre¬ 
paring  the  land  in  the  late  Summer  and  sowing  the 
annual  Crimson  clover,  and  manuring  that,  during 
the  Winter  and  turning  under  the  whole  in  Spring 
for  corn.  If  you  turned  your  sod  in  late  Summer 
and  sowed  Crimson  clover  you  would,  when  turning 
the  manured  clover  under,  bring  the  rotten  sod 
right  where  it  is  needed  and  get  humus  into  your 
soil  more  rapidly.  A  crop  of  clover  in  bloom  will 
have  done  all  that  it  can  do  in  the  way  of  nitrogen 
fixing.  w.  F.  MASSEY. 
Maryland. 
Improving  a  Virginia  Rotation 
I  have  about  125  acres  of  land  divided  into  five  fields 
of  about  25  acres  each,  which  are  cropped  as  follows: 
One  year  in  corn,  corn  land  sown  in  wheat;  Timothy 
and  clover  sown  on  wheat  in  the  Spring.  The  next  two 
years  the  hay  crop  is  cut  from  this  land,  then  land  is 
planted  to  corn  again  and  the  above  rotation  is  fol¬ 
lowed  not.  The  land  is  comparatively  level  and  what  you 
might:  term  a  sandy  loam  with  clay  subsoil.  It  takes 
pretty  well  to  Timothy  and  clover,  will  produce  from  40 
to  50  bushels  of  shelled  corn  a  good  season.  1  lie  wheat, 
yield  is  light,  from  eight  to  15  bushels  per  acre,  largely 
controlled  by  the  season.  I  have  thought  the  land  needs 
lime,  and  liave  limed  about  50  acres,  hut.  cannot  use 
heavy  applirntionH  of  lime  on  account,  of  distance  iioni 
railroad  station.  All  feed  is  fed  on  the  place  to  cattle 
mid  horses,  and  manure  is  saved  and  spread  on  the. 
wheat,  which  is  about  125  loads  per  year  of  50  bushels 
each.  At  present  1  am  using  a  mixture  of  fertilizer  on 
I lm  wheat  which  is  guaranteed  to  analyse  19  per  cent. 
1  hosphorus,  iya  per  cent,  ammonia,  use  the  above  fer¬ 
tilizer  at  the  rate  of  400  pounds  per  nerc  ou  wheat,  i 
1  now  that  the  bind  needs  humus,  and  would  it  not  he  a 
mod  practice  not  to  graze  the  land  after  the  lmy  crop 
s  removed  when  the  land  is  intended  for  corn  the  next 
'ear,  in  order  to  add  move  humus  to  the  land?  'Mint 
s  the  difference  in  the  value  of  a  crop  to  the  laud 
plowed  down  green  and  when  it  is  allowed  to  dry  and 
then  plowed  under?  It  is  practically  impossible  for 
me  to  change  my  rotation  as  corn  and  lmy  have  a  high 
value  in  this  section,  corn  about  $1  per  bushel,  hay 
£20  per  ton.  Do  you  think  the  use  of  more  fertilizer 
would  he  advisable?  I  am  forced  to  grow  wheat,  hi  or¬ 
der  to  have  the  straw  for  bedding,  as  it  is  impossible 
to  purchase  it  in  this  .section.  What  would  be  the 
most  practical  method  to  improve  the  land  and  follow 
out  the  rotation  as  stated?  T-  P.  \v. 
Washington,  Va. 
YOFR  rotation  is  not.  at  all  bad,  but  1  would  sug¬ 
gest  what  T  would  consider  an  improvement. 
Get  out  all  the  manure  during  the  Winter  on  the 
sod  that  is  to  go  in  corn,  and  get.  it  out  as  nearly 
es  fast  as  made  as  possible,  and  spread  it  and  let 
lie.  It  will  lose  less  value  there  than  anywhere 
else  you  can  keep  it  Com  will  make  better  use 
of  the  fresh  manure  than  wheat,  and  it  will  be  in 
better  condition  foi  Ihe  wheat  following  corn  tlmn 
if  applied  directly  to  the  wheat.  Sow  an  early  ma¬ 
turing  variety  of  cow  peas  in  the  corn  at  last  cul¬ 
tivation.  Cut  the  corn  nt  maturity  and  set  the 
shock  rows  as  wide  apart,  as  convenient,  so  as  to 
leave  as  much  open  land  as  possible.  Then  do  not 
replow  deeply  for  wheat,  but  disk  down  the  pea 
The  Bacteria  on  Clover  and  Alralfa 
What  Do  You  Know  About  This? 
Occasionally  one  lie/irs '  such  remarks  as;  “Will 
Smith  didn't  ‘inoculate  his  seed,  and  his  Alfalfa  grew 
all  right,  and  he  lias  the  nodules  on  the  roots  to  prove 
it.  1  don’t  think  your  theory  is  nny  good.” 
Such  eases  are  common,  the  noilulcs  coming  from  the 
nitrogen  in  the  soil,  and  the  second  year  such  an  Al¬ 
falfa  field  will  turn  yellow.  But.  if  the  plants  get  ni¬ 
trogen  from  the  air.  by  inoculation,  they  will  store  it. 
m  the  roots,  thus  continually  enriching  the  soil.  Farm 
and  Fireside. 
If  you  were  following  a  three  years’  rotation  of  clo¬ 
ver.  potatoes  and  oats  would  you  inoculate  your  clo¬ 
ver  seed  every  three  years?  Why  isn’t  it  the  number 
of  germs  in  the  soil  that  would  indicate  its  fertility 
rather  than  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  potassium  and 
phosphorus  it  contains?  c.  c.  o. 
New  Hampshire. 
WE  do  not  know  anything  about  it,  but  we  think 
this  writer  or  printer  got  things  mixed  a  lit¬ 
tle.  The  “nodules”  are  the  little  warts  or  galls  on 
the  roots  of  clover  or  Alfalfa.  They  are  really  the 
houses  in  which  the  tiny  bacteria  live  and  do  their 
work.  These  nodules  would  not  come  from  the  ni¬ 
trogen  in  the  soil!  Wliat  this  writer  evidently 
meant  to  say  was  that  the  clover  or  Alfalfa  made 
its  growth  from  the  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  and  that 
when  that  was  used  up  the  plants  turned  yellow. 
We  saw  a  ease  of  this  not  long  ago.  A  man 
bought  a  farm  on  which  there  was  a  field  of  Alfalfa. 
It  started  well,  but  last  year  it  gave  only  an  ordin¬ 
ary  yield.  Investigation  showed  no  nodules  on  the 
roots  so  this  year  the  farmer  gave  tlie  Alfalfa  a 
coat  of  manure  and  got  a  good  yield.  A  field  of  Al¬ 
falfa  or  clover  without  the  bacteria  or  germs  on  the 
roots  would  not  gain  nitrogen  from  the  air  any  more 
than  corn  or  wheat-  It  would  simply  use  the  ni¬ 
trogen  which  was  fed  to  it  and  when  that  was  used 
up,  show  by  its  growth  and  color  that  it  was  not.  fed. 
Let  that  soil  be  inoculated  so  that  the  germs  find 
places  on  the  roots  and  the  plants  will  take  care  of 
themselves  su  far  as  nitrogen  is  concerned.  We  have 
seen  several  fields  of  Alfalfa  and  clover  which  were 
taking  no  nitrogen  from  the  air,  although  fully  cap¬ 
able  of  doing  so  when  the  bacteria  once  appeared 
and  formed  nodules  on  the  roots. 
As  for  inoculating  every  three  years,  it  would  de¬ 
pend  on  conditions.  If  the  soil  were  quite  sour  and 
lime  were  not  freely  used  it  might  be  necessary.  We 
should  observe  the  clover  in  other  fields  of  the  ro¬ 
tation  and  on  much  the  same  class  of  soils.  If  it 
did  well  and  showed  the  nodules  on  the  roots  we 
should  let.  it  go.  We  should  also  send  fair  samples 
of  Ihe  soil  to  the  experiment  station  and  have  it 
examined  for  bacteria.  While  a  soil  well  stocked 
with  bacteria  would  indicate  its  ability  to  Help  in 
the  nitrogen  question,  the  potash,  phosphorus  and 
lime  are  not  in  like  manner  brought  to  the  soil  by 
germs  and  must  he  supplied  if  needed  in  the  form  of 
manures  or  fertilizers. 
The  “  Three  Price”  Grocery  Plan 
SEVERAL  retail  grocery  concerns  in  Southern 
California  are  working  successfully  on  what  is 
known  as  the  “three  price”  plan.  The  goods  are 
priced  on  the  basis  of  delivery  and  credit.  Those 
Who  pay  cash  and  take  their  purchases  home  get.  10 
per  cent,  discount  on  orders  of  50  cents  or  more,  or 
five  per  cent,  if  they  want  either  delivery  or  credit. 
’Phis  lets  every  customer  know  just  where  he  stands. 
He  can  pay  for  whatever  credit,  or  delivery  he 
wants,  and  knows  that  others  do  the  same.  Under 
the  common  system  the  man  who  pays  cash  and  does 
his  own  delivering  is  penalized  to  help  pay  for  the 
credit  and  delivery  of  others. 
