447 
4889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
H\)t tHmnjariX 
“WOOD!” 
GRAPE CUTTINGS ANSWER ASA 
FERTILIZER? 
VIEWS OF VINEYARDISTS. 
THE QUESTION. 
“i have often heard that it benefited a 
grape-vine to bury around its roots all the 
trimmings and prunings, green and ripe , 
that are taken from the vine, there to decay 
and act as a fertilizer. What I would like 
to know is, whether the vine is benefited by 
such application more than it would be by 
applying decayed wood of any kind." 
New Britain, Conn. f. g. g. 
THE ANSWERS. 
FROM SAMUEL ROGERS. 
I deem it beneficial to cut up all grape vine 
prunings and spread them broadcast about 
the trellis and work them into the soil w ith 
the plow and harrow. I think the grape-vine 
is valuable when used in this way, and better 
than other kinds of decayed wood, aknough 
other woods are also good. This I know from 
experience. I know nothing about the effects 
of burying the grape-cuttings around or 
specially near the roots of growing vims, hav¬ 
ing never done so. 
Highland, N. Y. 
FROM J. H. HALE. 
Finely ground bone and good hard-wood 
ashes buried at the rcots of the grape-vines, 
are sure to promote the growth of good 
healthy wood and the production of plenty of 
fine grapes; but that there is any special 
merit in grape-cuttings as a ftrtilizer over 
that of any decayed wood, I cannot com¬ 
prehend, except that, possibly, they may con¬ 
tain, to a little greater degree, certain ash 
properties that would be slightly more help¬ 
ful to vine grow r th than these to be found in 
other woods; yet not enough so to be woitby 
of practical attention. 
Hartford Co., Conn. 
FROM CHAS. L. JONES. 
In reply to the inquiry “ whether the prun- 
iugs of the grape-vine, both green and ripe, 
are more beneficial as a fertilizer to the vine 
than tne same amount of decayed wood of any 
other kind,” I have to say that in my opinion 
they would have the preference, inasmuch as 
their ash ingredients contain moie of the 
essential elements of the vine growth than aDy 
other. I think, however, that the main benefit 
from them will be found if they are applied 
as a mulch to the vine. The process of decay, 
and they must be decayed to act as a ferti¬ 
lizer, is so slow that their effect will be hardly 
perceptible for a longtime. Asa fertilizer 
I would not depend ui on tl em, but 1 
would rather give the vines a good dressing of 
fine bone and potash well worked in around 
them, and supplement it by the cutiiDgs if 
there should be enough to act as a mulch, in 
which case they are valuable. 
Newark, N. J. 
FROM GEO. C. SNOW. 
The danger lies in this, tLat if any diseased 
or insect-infested wood or foliage should be 
buried about the roots of the vines, it would 
be bad policy. Disease and insects indigenous 
to the vine increase fast enough wi.huut the 
protection which would be afforded them by 
the method proposed. Burn the cuttings first 
and apply the ashes. As much fertilizing 
value will be received in this way as by any 
other. Now if the mechanical condition of 
the soil is such that the advantages to be ob¬ 
tained by applying the cuttings over-balance 
the objection named, 1 would suggist running 
the clippings and refuse wood through an old 
cutting-box; the pieces can then be applied 
without the annoyance which would follow if 
the vines were buried uncut. I have no 
reason to think that there would be any per¬ 
ceptible increase of benefit from grape-wood 
and leaves, more than from the applica' ion of 
a like amount of wood and leaves of any kind. 
Fenn Yan, N. Y. 
FROM STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS. 
To bury the trimmings about the vines would 
be of but little value. The vine roots would 
be more or less cut and injured in the bury¬ 
ing, and the food derived from the clippings 
would be available only after they had decayed 
and then it would not be enough to pay, A 
few handfuls of wood ashes sown over the 
surface of the ground, would be worth more as 
a fertilizer. To lightly and frequently work 
the soil in which the vines are planted would 
be beneficial; then with an application of 
wood ashes or a light top-dressing of manure, 
the vines would grow and do well. We would 
prefer to burn the trimmings on the ground 
than to bury them. Decayed wood would be 
better only because it could be more easily 
spread and it is nearer plant food than trim¬ 
mings. If only partially decayed and buried 
near the surface, it might hold moisture a 
little and be beneficial in a light degree in a 
dry summer. We do not consider either vine 
trimmmgs or decayed wood (unless in the 
shape of chip manure) of value enough to 
spend any time in using them. Burn all such 
things up and reduce them to ashes and use the 
ashes with muriate of potash or rotted manure 
for the rest of the fertilizer required, with 
frequent stirring of the soil, and the vines 
will do well. 
Farfield Co., Conn. 
FROM WARD D. GUNN. 
T catnot satisfactorily answer, even to my¬ 
self, the inquiry in regard to grape-wood and 
prunings around vines as manure, or wheth¬ 
er they are of more value than decayed wood 
of any kind. I have heard of some growers of 
grapes, who cut up the waste wood and trim¬ 
mings short enough to be covered with the 
plow, and leave them on t he ground to be turned 
under. While they are undoubtedly cf some 
manur ial value, and there is no further trouble 
in removing the waste from the vineyard, it 
is very doubiful if their application in this 
way would pay, countii g the time required 
at ordinary wages. Although not relevant to 
the inquiry, let me state the following as mci- 
d. ntally touching the qm stion : In the early 
days of the grape business in the Hudson Val¬ 
ley, the Underhill vineyards at Croton Pcint 
were noted for the excellence of their pro¬ 
ducts. Mr. Wm. T. Cornell (who planted the 
first vineyard in Ulster CouDty for the pur¬ 
pose of growing grapes lor market—in 1845) 
was well acquainted with the Crotcn Point 
viueyardisls, their methods of cultivation, 
etc. From him 1 have heard that the wood of 
the vines was all the manure required there; 
but, according to my recollection, this asser¬ 
tion was accompanied by tue statement that 
the soil there was essentially different from 
the soil here. After that, the late Samuel 
Heaton and a friend from this place visited 
tne vineyards ot the late Wm. A. Underhill 
at the Point, and observing vines that ap¬ 
peared more luxuriant in foliage, vines and 
fruit, than the rest he called attention to them, 
and Mr.Underhill explained that they received 
the wash of a hog-pen near-by. This seemed 
quite satisfactory to Mr. Heaton and his 
friend, the latter being one of the pioneer 
vineyardists of the county, who had always 
used barn-yard manure liberally, growing 
No. 1 grapes. 
Ulster Co., N. Y. 
FROM B. WHEATON CLARK. 
It would, no doubt, benefit grape-vines to 
bury the trimmings or any decayed wood 
about the roots. The application can be over¬ 
done, however, unless they are thoroughly 
rotted and mixed with the scil Too much 
decaying wood about a vine is liable to create 
a root fungus that would be injurious. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
Pain) Ijtisbanl'ri!. 
Burlington Butter. 
WINNERS WRITE WHOLESOME 
STORIES, STATING SOME 
STERLING 
DAIRY DOTS. 
The following questions were sent to the 
winners of the dairy prizes offered at the late 
Vermont Dairymen’s Convention. Vermont 
stands in the front rank as a dairy State. 
Our purpose was to establish the exact pedigree 
of each specimen of prize butter. 
1. What breed of cows? 
2. How were the cows fed and handled? 
3. How was the cream cared for? 
4. How was the butter churned , worked , 
colored and packed? 
HERE ARE SOME OF THE ANSWERS. 
FROM GEO. AITKEN. 
The but'er which won the first prize, the 
dairy sweepstakes, and also the grand sweep- 
stakes which was open to competitors from 
all parts of the United States and Canada, 
was made from the Billings Farm herd, of 
thoroughbred Jersey cows. Their feed ration 
was about two pounds each of oats and peas, 
ground, two pounds of bran, three pounds of 
corc-and-cob-meal, and about six pounds of 
com-slalks, good, bright barley straw and 
clover hay cut and mixed with one-half bushel 
of maDgolds, f f d at 5 A M. and 5 p. M. with a 
light feed of early-cut upland hay at noon. 
The cream was raised in a Cooley creimer, 
churned one hour in a Stoddard churn, salted 
with iralf an ounce of sa't to the pound, and 
no artificial color was used. We have never 
had occasion to use any unless when short of 
mangolds. When this happens our butter 
falls off in coPr and most decidedly in flavor; 
in fact, I have never been able to make a first- 
class article of butter in winter without plen'y 
of marge Ids to give it a grass flavor. 
The Billings Farm herd have been care¬ 
fully selected with regard both to the quan¬ 
tity and quality of their butter. If a cow at 
four years of age, with her second calf, fails 
to demonstrate that she is capable of making 
two pounds of first-class butter per day, she 
is discarded, being sold either to the butcher 
or to some milkman as an unregistered cow, 
no transfer being given with such cows. 
This matter of the quality of a cow’s pro¬ 
duct is something which ought to receive more 
attention from breeders of dairy cattle, as one 
cowgivirg badly flavored cream will spoil the 
butter of a whole dairy, and if breeders and 
dairymen would t^st their cows for this pur¬ 
pose, they would be surprised to find how 
many such cows there are in their herds. 
Windsor Co. 
FROM F. E. LAMBERTON, WINNER OF FIRST 
PRIZE FOR FIVE-POUND BOX. 
1 have a herd ot thoroughbred Jerseys 
which breed is the finest of which I have any 
knowledge for butter both as regards quantity 
and quality. The feed consists of 20 pounds 
of early-cut clover ana Timothy hay per day 
given at three feeds, with a grain ration of 
1% pound of corn-meal, pound cf bran 
and half a pound of cotton seed-meal in the 
morning and the same at night, with a ra¬ 
tion of roots occasionally. The root crop was 
nearly a failure last season, else I would have 
fed six quarts per day in addition to the above 
ration. 
The milk is set at present in small pans and 
skimmed in 36 hours. The cream is ripened 
36 hours before churning. I seldom use any 
coloring, though at present 1 am using a very 
small quantity of Thatcher’s color. The cream 
is churned at a temperature of 62 degrees in a 
barrel churn until the butter begins to sepa¬ 
rate, when the temperature is reduced to 58 
degree s, and the churning is continued until 
the butter comes in granular form, when the 
butter-milk is drawn off and a weak brine is 
added for the first washing. After this clear 
water is put in and the butter is washed once. 
It is then salted with three-quarters of an ounce 
per pound of Higgins’s salt while yet in granu¬ 
lar form, and, alter standing a short time, it 
requires but little working with the lever- 
worker, to make it ready for market. In 
order to make a prime article, perfect cleanli¬ 
ness must be observed and there must be care¬ 
ful supervision through the whole process. 
Windsor Co. 
FROM H. L. DAVIS, WINNER OE THIRD PRIZE 
FOR TEN POUND TUB. 
My herd of 17 cows are all thoroughbred 
Jerseys with the exception of two that are 
high-grade Jerseys. The milk is set from 30 
to 36 hours in shallow paus; but it is skimmed 
before souring. The cream is allowed to be¬ 
come slightly acid t efore it is churned. It is 
then churned in the Stoddard barrel churn, 
and requires churning tor from 30 to 45 min 
utes. The latter time I think gives the better¬ 
grained butter. It is then washed in the 
churn while in granular form. It is salted 
with Higgit s’s salt—half an ounce to the 
pound—being pressed dry before the salt is 
added. It is worked only once, with a lever- 
worker, which 1 consider the best. At this 
time of year the butter is colored a little; I 
use three tea-spoonfuls of Wells, Richardson 
& Go’s, coloring to 50 pounds of butter. 
The butter is packed in 10, 15, 20 and 25 
pound tubs and sent to maiket every week. 
One man has had it all for 13 years. 
Each cow- has daily 18 pounds of early-cnt 
| Timothy with a slight mixture of clover hay- 
fed at three meals; four pounds of dry corn- 
fodder, cut fine, fed at two meals, six pounds 
of corn-meal, two pounds of bran, and seven- 
eighths of a pound of cotton-seed-meal thrown 
on the corn-fodder. The grain is fed in the 
morning just after milking, and at night be. 
fore milking. I do not dare to feed more 
cotton-seed-meal for I think more would in_ 
jure the flavor of the butter. My cows get 
pure, running, spring water, twice a day. 1 
do not find it necessary to warm it. It is 
natural for all animals to drink cold water, 
and this does not freeze in the trough. The 
stables are warm, never freeze, and are 
thoroughly cleaned twice a day. The cows 
are kept clean. Dry sawdust and horse- 
manure are used for absorbents. Cleanliness 
at the barn is very essential to the production 
of fine-flavored butter, as well as all the 
caution that can be used through the whole 
process by the makers. 
Windsor Co. 
FROM C. S. PAINE, WINNER OF THE THIRD 
PRIZE FOR FIVE-POUND PRINT. 
My cows are mostly grade Jerseys. They 
are fed good early-cut bay, a mixture of the 
vaiious English grasses and clover. Poor 
corn-fodder is also a part of their feed. For 
gram feed 1 have a mixture of corn and-cob- 
meal, co.ton-seed-meal and bran. The man¬ 
ner of feeding is as follows: 
In the morning I give them grain. To each 
old cow in full flow of milk, I give about four 
quarts of the mixed stuff, say, about one 
quart of cotton-seed-meai, tilling up the meas¬ 
ure with about equal parts by measure of bran 
and corn-meal; then I milk, after which I 
fe d the corn-fodder and hay. Each gets 
probably about 14 or IS pounds of hay per 
day. I do not give them all they will eat. 
Next I water and tie them up in s'anchicns in 
the stable immediately after drinking. They 
are not fed again until about 4 p. m. Then 
they first get the same grain feed as in the 
morning; ihen the hay and corn-fodder come 
in; when the mixture is pretty well eatfn I 
water them, ana milk them about 6 o’clock. 
The cream is raised in a Lincoln creamer in 
water at a temperature of about 40 degrees. 
The milk se’s in 24 hours. I churn when the 
cream from the cold deep setting is thickened 
up and is in the first stages of acidity. I 
warm tue cream by the use of hot water to get 
it to the proper temperature, setting the can 
of cream in the hot water, and stirring it 
meanwhile. I churn in a barrel churn at a 
tempsrature of about 65 degrees. When the 
butter has come in the graiiular form, I draw 
off a part of the butt a r-miik and pour in a 
pailful of water cf the temperature of that in 
which the milk was set. This will cool the 
mass to about 58 degrees. I wash the butter 
in two more waters at about 60 degrees. Then 
I sift in about one ounce of Eureka salt, 
which I stir thorougly into the butter. Then 
it is taken out and put on a lever butter-werk- 
er, and worked down about five times. It is 
expected that about one-half ounce of salt to 
a pound of butter will remain after work ng. 
The butter is immediately put into prints and 
s nt to market next day in tin trunks The 
prints weigh a quarter of a pound, and are 
laid in trays one above another until the 
ti unk is full. 
The cows are kept in a stable where frost of 
any consequence never enters, and 1 am very 
particular that no barn filth get? into the pail. 
The cows are in all stages of milk, and all the 
milk goes together in one mass. 
Orange Co. 
Pi.srcUancousi <3Uvcrti.$'in(i, 
WEAK KIDNEYS 
BACKACHE 
Weak and Painful Kidneys. Aching 
Sides. Back and Chest. Rheumatic, sciatic, sharp 
and Muscular Paius, relieved in one minute, by 
Cuticura Inti-Pain Plaster. 2“ 
only Instantaneous puln-kUllug. strengthening plas¬ 
ter. 25c.; 5 for *1. At druggists, or of Potter Drug 
and Chemical Co., Boston. Mass. 
Warranted the most perfect Force-Feed 
Fertilizer Drill in existence. Send for 
«*"***' A. B. FARQUHAR, York, P*. 
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