April S, 1922 
the size to trunks and branches, though it he’ps in 
no way to make the tree taller. When a fence is 
nailed to a tree it never moves up. because the 
growth is horizontal; that is, the wood is forming, 
also the bark making the trunk larger around, but 
not taller. Height must come from the terminal 
buds at the tips of the limbs. When we cut a tree 
down we find rings which we say tell the age. This 
i< not exactly true, as a tree may, under certain 
circumstances, form two rings during a year. In 
the Spring, with plenty of moisture and plant food, 
the tree grows rapidly and the wood cells formed 
are very large. As Fall approaches and growth is 
slow the cells are smaller. The next Spring again 
growth is rapid, and rows of large cells are laid 
down next the small ones formed the Fall previous, 
and the difference makes a distinct line or ring. 
Should we have a dry Summer and theu heavy rains 
the growth may have stopped, so two rings would 
appear the same year; thus counting the rings may 
not he altogether accurate, though it is approximate. 
Limbs never move upward, though it is hard for 
many people to realize this. When we prune a two 
<<r three-year-old tree we can lay out the limbs at 
just the height they will always stay. Let the un¬ 
believer try it and see. t. ii. t. 
1 The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
put some of the manure on the rye and vetch as it 
is put under. Starting with sod ground for corn, 
we should use manure and some acid phosphate on 
the sod. Then seed in the corn and follow the plan 
you have indicated. We would not advise buck¬ 
wheat or cow peas for early Spring seeding. Hotter 
1 low the rye and vetch early and seed to oats and 
Canada peas. That is the best Spring crop, and it 
can be followed by rye and vetch or Soy beans with 
rye and vetch seeded in the beans. By using acid 
phosphate and potash freely you will in this way 
parts. As soon as the pullet or hen has laid six 
eggs the eye ring and vent become bleached: as 
production continues the ear lobe becomes white. 
When :)5 or 3(j eggs have been produced in regular 
cycles, the beak becomes white, starting at the head. 
When SO eggs have been laid the legs will he found 
to he bleached almost white. The pigmentation test 
is a fairly accurate test when applied during the 
However, certain ex¬ 
in constitu- 
onditlOn, may 
due to the unhealthy 
Spring and Summer month 
ceptions should he noted, liens lacking 
tional vigor, in an unthrifty or sickly < 
also show light-colored legs, 
condition. Such hens are easily detected by the 
weight, the condition of the head and egg sack. 
TIME OF MOLTING.—It has been found that 
hens that delay molting until the latter part of Oc¬ 
tober or November invariably make the best records, 
because they have the necessary vitality for pro¬ 
longed production. They molt late, after having 
produced eggs at a time when they bring the most 
money, and usually molt quickly, many of the leath¬ 
ers being dropped at one time. Hens which molt 
early, during July and August, should be killed off 
or marketed, as they lack the necessary vitality for 
continued heavy egg production. Their production 
is limited to the Spring months, and they usually 
indulge in a prolonged molt, never laying another 
egg until the next Spring. The late molter. on the 
contrary, usually completes the molt in six or seven 
weeks, and again gets down to the business of mak¬ 
ing money for her owner. Farmers have persisted 
in marketing the unsightly looking bird in October 
and November, the one which has in reality been the 
money maker, and have retained tin* smooth looking. 
Fields 
Filling Gullies in 
A NY time during Winter, up to early April, is the 
proper time to stop the little gullies and washes 
that frequently start in most upland fields after a 
season of cultivation. Those washes may start from 
wagon tracks, mole runways, or because there is a 
slight natural depression that collects rain water. 
The wash shown in Fig. 220 started from allow¬ 
ing a slight depression to collect surface water and 
start a gully years ago. It has a sod in the bottom 
now, but the sides are bare yet. and need more 
treatment. The best time to stop gullies is when 
they are starting. Throw coarse heavy manure in 
large hunches along their course when small, and 
get a heavy sod started as soon as possible. Orchard 
grass is good; so are Timothy and Blue grass, but 
they need the help of 'plenty of coarse manure to 
start them quickly and hold the soil till they are 
established. This is good treatment for large 
washes, too. though fodder, straw and brush held 
in place with stones or stakes may he needed in 
addition to the manure. No work is more needed 
on most farms, and no work is more neglected 
usually. w. e. duckwall. 
Ohio. 
How to Hold a Hen Correctly. Fig. 22J 
stuff the ground with organic matter and add much 
nitrogen. Neither cow peas nor vetch respond freely 
to lime, and with this sort of culture we would not 
use much—except a small quantity of ground lime- 
stune. The plan is quite practical, and far more 
economical than buying large quantities of high- 
priced manure. 
The Growth of a Tree 
Which way docs a tree grow—from the inside or the 
outside ? Dues a tree grow taller from the outside, 
inside or from the top'.' 1 Some of the boys here say that 
it grows from the outside, but if it does, why wouldn’t 
a fence that is nailed to a tree draw up as the tree 
grows taller? I><• the limbs grow up or stand still? 
Muscatine, Iowa. o, c, .m. 
A TBEE grows from the tip or term nal bud at 
the end of each twig or shoot.- This increases 
the length of the limbs, and due to growth from side 
buds, the number of branches increase in number. 
There is also another place of growth, and a study 
The Possibilities of Muskrat Farming 
O N a nearby farm there is a cat-tail covered 
marsh of about two acres with a small spring 
run flowing through. It seems to be an ideal home 
for muskrats. Each Winter for several successive 
jenrs trappers have taken more than a hundred 
rats from this place, while the farmer gets nothing. 
With muskrat skins averaging about $1.50 each in 
these hard times, it seems that here is a source of 
income that should not be overlooked. 
The method of trapping has been to catch what 
can be taken readily in the early Winter, move to 
oilier trapping grounds, and then hack to this marsh 
ii the Spring to ’‘clean up.” That is, to trap until 
as far as an experienced trapper can observe there 
are no more muskrats to catch. It is a simple mat¬ 
ter for an experienced trapper to get practically 
every muskrat in a small place like this. With this 
ruthless method of trapping, where even the musk¬ 
rats’ homes are mostly destroyed, there are always 
a few that drift in from some place in the early 
Summer and restock the marsh. Could not this 
farmer, with a little management and a very little 
expense, double the number of muskrats produced, 
and make this marsh pay more per acre than he 
gets from his regular farm crops? 
We know there have been many failures at fur 
farming, but it seems that here is a much more 
simple undertaking than fencing and feeding the 
meat-eating animals. The muskrats multiply very 
rapidly; some say the first Spring litters will breed 
the same season. They are naturally inclined to 
live in colonies, and not at all particulars as to what 
they cat. We would like some real practical in¬ 
formation along this line. b. v. egbekt. 
Colorado. 
It. N.-Y.—Send to the Department of Agriculture 
at Washington for a bulletin entitled "Fur Farm¬ 
ing," We ask our readers to help in this. We know 
that some of them are expert trappers, and some 
have tried just such a plan as is suggested above. 
Will they help us with experience? 
T boon worked *nit in many cases. Just, consider s 
1 
that the manure contains certain bacteria which are 
added to the hay as it passed through the animal. Measuring Quality of Egg Sack. Fig. 
A ton of clover or rye or vetch will contain a cer¬ 
tain amount of potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen, of this growing part answers the questions of G. 
Naturally that ton of hay will lose some of the plant C. M. Around the trunk of every tree, and on every 
food when eaten by live stock—for the animals must limb as well, down to the smallest twig, there is a 
live, and they take their nourishment, or part of it, growing part between the bark and the wood. Wo 
from the hay. Y'et plow that hay directly under often speak of this part as the cambium or living 
and you might not get quite as rapid results as you part, and in budding or grafting trees the operation 
would from the manure made from that hay. The cannot he successful unless the cambium layers of 
latter will probably decay faster and give up its the two plants are brought together. Now on the 
plant food. If you can add a little manure when inside of this layer or line the wood cells form, and 
the green crop is plowed under you give the needed on the outside tin* hark cells form; thus the youngest 
bacteria and add to the value of the green manure, wood and the youngest bark cm tbc tree is always 
The best time for you to use the manure will be at the cambium layer. That means that the oldest 
when you plow under your heaviest green crop. As wood in the tree is at the very center and the oldest 
your main object is to raise strawberries we should bark is at the outside. From this growth we get 
