have yet to see an orchard anywhere in New 
York standing on what can be called wet land, 
that is satisfactory in growth, or productive¬ 
ness. On the other hand, the deepest soils 
and dry land produce the most and best 
apples. In my own orchards, the highest 
lands and those thoroughly dry, have the 
healthiest and most vigorous trees, and give 
us the most certain crops by far and of the 
best quality of fruit. A part of one orchard 
was flattish land, and though not what could 
be called wet, it was more than doubled in 
value by being underdrained at an expense 
of not over $20 per acre. 
The tiles should be laid not less than three 
feet deep—a half foot deeper would be better 
—and under no circumstances should they be 
less than two and one half feet deep. The dis¬ 
tance apart for the lines of tile will depend 
much upon the character of the soil. If “pret¬ 
ty heavy” let them certainly be no further 
apart than the rows of trees; but if the ground 
is strong, don’t be guilty of putting the trees 
nearer than 35 feet—40 is far better. Great 
folly has been committed in close planting. 
One good full-grown tree thoroughly devel¬ 
oped is worth a half dozen dwarfed trees, and 
40 feet is none too far for full development for 
Baldwins or Hubbardston. If the drains are 
placed 40 feet apart it will require 70 rods of 
drain to each acre, and digging trenches, lay¬ 
ing tiles and cost of the tiles, should not make 
the whole expense over $26 per acre. Surely 
this will be money well expended on land 
otherwise suitable for an apple orchard, only 
a little too wet. 
CAN WE UTILIZE THE TRENCHES AS PLACES 
IN WHICH TO PLANT THE TREES? 
If the tiles are properly laid there is no better 
place for the trees than directly over the tiles, 
and if not properly laid they will be of only 
temporary use, laid anywhere. There is some¬ 
thing about the channel in the tiles very at¬ 
tractive to the roots of the trees, and if there 
is a hole anywhere in the body of the tile as 
large as a pin, or the least crack left at the 
joint, the roots will surely find their way in, 
and when once there, a few months will suf¬ 
fice for such a mass of roots to grow as to 
completely fill the bore. The only safe and cer¬ 
tain way to make the drain permanent is to 
fit the joints as closely as practicable and then 
surround each with a small quantity of good 
hydraulic cement. It is impossible, even with 
the use of collars, to make the line so tight as 
to exclude the roots, but with a little cement 
appled to each the joint is made as solid as any 
part of the tile. For this purpose mix good hy¬ 
draulic cement and clean, fine sand, one part of 
cement to five of sand; have both dry and keep 
dry, wetting only a small quantity as wanted; 
care must be taken that a complete close ring 
of cement is made at each joint. But it will 
not pay to set the trees in the trench to save the 
labor of digging holes. If the trees be planted 
in the trench the balance of the trench must 
be filled by the shovel and hoe by hand, and 
this will not pay. After the tiles are laid by 
putting in only enough dirt by hand to hold 
the tiles in place and prevent their being 
broken by having stones falling upon them, 
if the land be stony, and then using a plow 
and good team, several hundred rods can be 
filled in a day, so that it will take less time 
and labor to open holes for the trees than to 
do so much hand work in filling. However, 
if one be an expert with the plow he can fill 
the trenches to just the right point, then plant 
the trees and after this finish the filling with 
the plow, being careful to turn scarcely any 
furrow opposite the trees. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
FACTS ABOUT BEANS. 
The high prices during the past season for 
beans have caused a considerable interest to 
be taken in their cultivation in sections where 
they have not previously been cultivated. 
Bean raising appears to be quite an industry 
in parts of Western New York and Michigan, 
large areas being frequently given up to the 
crop. With a view to giving our readers a 
few facts concerning the cultivation of this 
crop the following notes have been obtained. 
It is not expected that the high prices of the 
past season will be maintained any more than 
it is thought the present high prices for pota¬ 
toes will be held next year. Those who go into 
bean raising on a large scale, figuring their 
profit on the present prices, will probably be 
disappointed. Still, there is a fair margin of 
profit in the business and at any rate the home 
comsumption of beans could be very profita¬ 
bly increased. 
FROM N. B. KEENEY & SON. 
The best soil for raising beans is a clay or 
clay and gravel. Light sandy soil, such as will 
do well for potatoes, is not desirable for beans. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Old sod is usually considered best and the 
more clover roots in it the better, and it must 
be fertile if a good crop is to be obtained. The 
old maxim that anything will grow white beans 
may be true to a certain extent, but to grow 
white beans with profit, the soil must be rich. 
Early plowing is advisable, giving time for the 
sod to rot. Let the field be cultivated through 
the month of May very much as a summer 
fallow is prepared for wheat. The later 
varieties, such as late Pea Beans, and White 
Kidneys, should be planted between May 25th 
and June first, and the earlier varieties, such as 
Mediums, Marrow Pea Beans and Marrows, 
during the first ten days of June, provided al¬ 
ways the soil is moist but not wet. Beans 
planted in a dry, dusty soil will malt. They 
should always be planted when the soil is 
sufficiently moist to enable them to make a 
quick start and rapid growth during the first 
few weeks. It is not advisable to grow beans 
after corn or other hoed crops on account of 
the hand labor required to keep them free 
from weeds.—[?—E ds.] 
The best varieties for bean cultivation are 
the Medium, Marrow-Pea Bean and the Mar¬ 
rowfat. The average yield in a good year is 
10 to 15 bushels per acre; while many fields 
produce 20 bushels and an occasional field 25 
to 30 bushels. The commercial fertilizers 
don’t show as good results on beans as on 
many other crops, but a bountiful supply of 
well-rotted barnyard manure always pays 
well. 
There are several first-rate bean planters, 
some having a phosphate attachment; but 
many of our farmers use eight-inch grain 
drills for planting with very good results, 
stopping four teeth and letting the first, fourth 
and seventh feed, thus placing the rows 28 
inches apart and the beans in the row three to 
five inches apart. This will plant five-eighths 
of a bushel of Marrow-pea beans, three-quar¬ 
ters of a bushel of Mediums and a bushel and an 
eighth of Marrows per acre. There is a gen¬ 
eral belief among growers that it is unsafe to 
work in the growing crop when the leaves are 
wet from dew or rain, on account of the crop 
being rusted thereby. 
The crop is harvested during September. If 
the season is hot and dry they will mature 
about the first of September; if rainy and 
cold, the last of the month; and the price 
varies “as much as the size of a lump of 
chalk,” from 75 cents to $2. There had been 
no money in raising beans for several years, 
until the crop of ’87, which yielded fairly 
well and is bringing the producer $1.75 to 
$ 2 . 10 . 
A crop of beans can be grown, harvested 
and delivered for about $10 to $12 per acre, 
without reckoning anything for the use of the 
land. The damaged beans which are picked 
out of the crop are fed in their natural state 
to sheep, or ground and mixed with corn 
meal and fed to cows, or boiled and fed to 
hogs, and are considered very desirable and 
nutritious feed for stock. 
Genessee Co., N. Y. 
FROM EDWIN M. HAVEN. 
Thousands of acres of beans are annually 
grown in this section. They are planted on 
all soils from lightest sand to quite heavy 
clay. A medium in good heart is best. Turn 
under the sod just before planting—in this 
latitude about May 20. Harrow down well 
and plant at once. Cultivate often and thor¬ 
oughly until bloom appears; then cultivate 
very shallow and only sufficiently to keep weeds 
down. The first year after turning the sod I 
would put on corn or potatoes, then if wheat 
was to be sown put on beans to precede wheat 
sowing. Small, white Navies are grown per¬ 
haps more than any other. Marrowfats and 
tree beans are also grown. The yield per 
acre is about 12 bushels averaging the seasons. 
Sometimes as high as 30 or 35 bushels are 
secured. Well-rotted barnyard manure is 
not out of place and [lots of it. Little com¬ 
mercial fertilizer has been used here. Beans 
need soil in good [condition as well as other 
crops, and a fertilizer that is immediately 
available as plant food. The plants are very 
quick-growing and must have a full growth 
without set-backs or the crop will not be 
full. Muck land and rank manures are not 
favorable for bean-growing. I have heard 
of a bean-puller but have not seen one. We 
use about here an old wheat thrasher remod¬ 
eled a little for thrashing, and it does good 
work. We sell during October and Novem¬ 
ber. The price now is from $2 to $2.50. Last 
year only 90 cents to $1.10 were realized. 
Beans are more profitable than wheat or corn 
at the prices of late years. Cull beans are 
mostly used for sheep feed. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
FROM VAN S. CRAM 
Prepare the soil the same as for a garden 
with a disk harrow and plow. The crop can be 
cultivated with a horse. If sod, it requires no 
hoe; if not, it must be kept clean with the hoe. 
The beans should be planted from May 20 until 
June 15, according to the variety. We plant 
the Marrows. Pea beans generally are better 
yielders, but in 1887 I harvested 28 bushels of 
large Marrow beans per acre on my land when 
20 bushels are considered a good average for a 
good season of any variety. As to thrashing, 
we have a bean machine in this State, but I 
use the horses if in cold weather, as the beans 
are liable to split with the machine; which 
makes some waste, and it requires screening to 
separate them. There is always a good mar¬ 
ket for beans. They sell readily here this sea¬ 
son at $3 per bushel; usual price $1 50 to $2, 
according to variety. Culled beans are sold 
for sheep as is also the fodder, and it is always 
worth one cent per pound to cook for hogs. 
Bright fodder is worth from $5 to $8 per ton. 
We have a bean planter made at Brockport, 
N. Y.,’with which we plant in hills from 10 to 
12 inches one way and from 24 to 30 inches the 
other way. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
farm 
CEMENT FLOORS. 
PROFESSOR R. C. CARPENTER. 
Such floors, when properly made, are very 
valuable for barns and outbuildings. In the 
first place, they are impervious to liquids, and 
will retain all the manurial matter that is 
placed on them. In the second place, rats 
and other vermin cannot burrow through 
them, and, so far as my experience goes, will 
not burrow under them to any great extent. 
Floors made with American cement will not 
generally be tough enough to withstand the 
treading of animals, and should be protected 
by a covering of boards. A covering of Eng¬ 
lish Portland cement, about two inches in 
thickness, made by mixing three parts of 
sharp sand to one part of cement, with water 
just sufficient to damp it, and thoroughly 
rammed in place, will stand treading of ani¬ 
mals, but will, I think, in most places be more 
expensive than a board covering. 
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION. 
A foundation for such floors should first be 
made; this is done by laying a course of small 
stones from two to four inches in diameter. 
Ram these in place with a ram made of a 
block of wood of the shape shown in Figure 
136, about 10 inches in diameter at the lower 
end, and two or three feet 
long. After this course of 
stones is in place, make a 
mortar by using one par, 
by measure of quick-lime, 
one part of American ce¬ 
ment, 10 parts of sand and 
sufficient water to make it 
very thin. Pour this water 
as soon as mixed on the 
course of stones, and with 
a common hoe work the 
mortar into all the cracks. 
Sufficient mortar will be 
used when the cracks are 
full. After the first course 
is completed, a second one 
should be put on. This 
will make a total thick¬ 
ness of about six or eight 
inches, If a floor is to be 
laid for a stable, joists 
of two by four scantling 
should be bedded in the upper course and al¬ 
lowed to project about one-half inch above 
the course. Before the floor is laid a mortar 
made of one part quick-lime, one part Ameri¬ 
can cement and six parts sharp sand,is spread 
over the surface and leveled off from joist to 
joist, the boards or planks for the floor should 
bo laid at once while the mortar is soft. This 
last course of mortar may, with advantage,be 
replaced by a mortar made of hot coal tar and 
sand, mixed and applied while hot. 
If the floor is not to be trodden on by animals, 
it will do to finish it with a coat of cement 
mortar, about one inch thick. The mortar for 
this finishing coat should be one part sand to 
one part cement and no lime. If a cement 
floor is needed for a stable, a covering of 
Portland cement mortar as described, should 
be placed upon the stones. 
I have seen very good floors made by mix¬ 
ing hot coal tar with sand and stones, instead 
of lime or cement, as described. This floor 
will give off its characteristic odor for a long 
time, however, and can not be recommended 
when such odor is objectionable. The floors 
under the cattle stable and also the piggery 
at the Michigan Agricultural College were 
constructed substantially as described. All 
the surfaces of wood-work in contact with the 
mortar were first coated with hot coal tar. 
This work was done in 1871. In 1886 it be¬ 
come necessary to remove the piggery to a 
new site; the floor was well preserved, but 
R8AY 42 
the joists bedded in the mortar were badly 
rotted. The cattle stable floor is apparently 
in as good condition as when first put down. 
No doubt the piggery floor would have lasted 
indefinitely, had the building not been moved. 
Figure 137 shows the form of floor used for the 
cattle stable and piggery. 
P.Tnc/J P;an%r 
Fig. 137. 
I wish to say just a word regarding the use 
of cement and lime. Cement should be used 
as soon as mixed with water, as it very soon 
hardens or sets; this operation should not be 
disturbed, and if it takes place even in a 
small degree, before the mortar is deposited 
in its permanent place, it will never become 
as hard as though it had not been disturbed. 
Lime mortar is rather improved than injured 
by allowing it to remain a long time after be¬ 
ing mixed. In this article I recommend the 
use of equal quantities of lime and cement, 
solely on the ground of economy. If the 
foundation is, however, in the water, the lime 
should be replaced by cement, but for all or¬ 
dinary circumstances a mixture of half lime 
and cement gives better satisfaction than pure 
cement—such a compound forms a water lime 
that, although it will not set under water,still 
when once it is set, will not be affected by wa¬ 
ter. For ordinary floors, I think it becomes 
in time harder than pure cement. 
Mich. Agricultural College. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question please see if it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. * 1 
INTESTINAL WORMS IN A HORSE. 
G. W. S., Andover, Mass— My eight-year- 
old horse is in poor condition with rough hair 
and is troubled with small white intestinal 
worms. He has had from nine to twelve 
quarts of grain and a liberal allowance of hay 
all winter and light exercise nearly everyday. 
He is always hungry eating everything he can 
find, and, if anything, he is growing thinner. 
I have tried tonic powders of sulphate of iron 
and powdered gentian, but they have had no 
effect. What should be done? 
ANSWERED BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
The small white worms are probably the 
common pin-worm—Oxyuris curvula. If so, 
they should have a pointed tail and be about 
an inch in length. Most likely the horse also 
has other intestinal worms, so that it will be 
desirable to follow a course of treatment that 
will remove all of them. Give six drams of 
Barbadoes aloes to freely purge the animal. 
Then each morning for a week give two drams 
each of tartar emetic and sulphate of iron, 
and one dram of carbolic acid in a pint of milk 
or gruel. On the seventh morning give an¬ 
other dose of four to eight drams of aloes ac¬ 
cording to the effect produced by the first 
dose. During the treatment the horse should 
be fed sparingly on a laxative diet (grass,roots 
or a daily bran mash) and the medicine should 
be given each morning before feeding. To 
move the worms in the lower colon and rec¬ 
tum give daily injections of two quarts of a 
strong solution of quassia; or four ounces of 
oil of turpentine shaken up in a pint of milk 
and diluted with two quarts of warm soap 
suds, to be injected daily. All injections 
should be blood-warm when injected. An¬ 
other very effective course of treatment, and 
one requiring less time is to give a dose of 
aloes as before,and after a fast of 18 to 24 hours 
(allowing free access to water but no food) give 
a drench of three ounces of oil of turpentine 
well shaken up in one quart of milk, and fol¬ 
low immediately with a small dose of three to 
five drams of aloes according to the effect pro¬ 
duced by the first dose. After the bowels have 
moved supply the usual diet. Repeat in a 
week if it appears necessary. The injections 
of quassia or turpentine should also be given 
in this case as before; but if turpentine is used 
for the injection it should not be injected 
until eight to twelve hours after the drench¬ 
ing. Either course of treatment if thorough 
should rid a horse of his intestinal worms. 
To tone up the system after the above treat¬ 
ment give the following powders night and 
morning on the feed, in doses of two table- 
spoonfuls: sulphate of iron and aloes, each 
