726 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV 2 
an ear of corn is about as wise as to wash the 
feet to make the hair grow. 
The study of roots would be the best ed¬ 
ucation obtainable by any man who tills 
the soil. Just remember that, though we 
often change the habit of the top of the 
plant, we have never been able to change 
its root-growth—except by selection—not¬ 
withstanding all the root-pruning to which 
we subject it. It is difficult to kill our 
garden plants; but we can do it, or at least 
so cripple them as to make them unfit to 
breed from. This terrible root-destroying 
process, to which our plants are yearly sub¬ 
jected, makes it necessary to be changing 
to new originations of plants. “ Our va¬ 
rieties run out,” the farmer says. What 
wonder that anything should try to “ run ” 
when an ignorant, well-fed man with a 
lively team starts at it with a deep-running 
shovel-plow! It seems to me folly “ of the 
ordinary kind ” to put on a lot of manure 
to grow a crop of weeds ; consequently I do 
not grow them. But it seems folly “of no 
ordinary kind ” to put on an abundance of 
manure, and, having grown a strong lot of 
surface-feeding roots, to mangle them with 
your implement of torture called a cultiva¬ 
tor. I have no plow or cultivator with 
which to stir the soil after planting. In 
my method no weeds are allowed to mature; 
I have water in abundance with which to 
dampen the soil, when necessary. Now, 
given a “stirrer” and harrow with which 
to prepare my seed-bed, what useful pur¬ 
pose will a cultivator serve on my farm? It 
may be that the plowing, cultivating and 
hoeing of the ground may be of value in 
pulverizing the manure lying near the sur¬ 
face, thereby affording the next crop a bet¬ 
ter chance for available material for 
growth; but the crop then needing it is 
certainly injured. Cultivating may destroy 
some larvae; but the most destructive in¬ 
sects do not burrow, and those that do, 
sink so near the plant, as a rule, that they 
are not found by the ordinary methods of 
cultivation. If it is said that manures un¬ 
dergo decomposition from the exposure to 
light and heat incidental to cultivation, I 
say that it is more than offset by the early, 
increased vitality of the plant caused by al¬ 
lowing the ground to become warmer ^be¬ 
sides, what does it avail you whether the 
manure is decomposed or not since there 
can be no roots in the soil reached by the 
cultivator? When you use nitrates on the 
surface in which there are no roots the land 
must receive just the proper distribution of 
moisture or your nitrates will leach away 
in the winter rains. These considerations, 
added to the facts that manure enriches 
the soil only for about a foot in depth, and 
that one-third of that is lost by the system 
of cultivation generally adopted, lead one to 
inquire, seriously, whether the hour is not 
pressing when we should adopt many new 
methods in modern agriculture? 
Yesterday I soaked the ground around a 
hollyhock that stood 11 feet high, and 
pulled it up. It had one root that went 
down, but the rest of its roots were only 
from one to two inches beneath the surface. 
Did I plow about it ? No. Neither did I 
hoe it; but flat-lying leaves, like those of 
the oak, were scattered about it, and water 
was given it several times during the sea¬ 
son, and thus do I raise all kinds of veg¬ 
etables and fruits in a state as near perfec¬ 
tion as may be seen in this country. 
Apropos, I shall plant, this fall, wheat in 
drills and test four methods: Mulching 
with straw; mulching with boards, only 
allowing space for the plants to come up; 
leaving some to fate, while some will be 
cultivated. 
In Mr. Terry’s criticism of Y. A. S., on 
page 509, he seems to be “boring pretty 
close to the lead,” as we would say out 
here. He says, in discussing the propriety 
of raking off the mulch to cultivate: “ It 
might pay on strawberries where one gets 
8400 or 8500 an acre; but then I would put it 
back after working the ground.” Now, if 
it were my case, I should consider that, be¬ 
fore the season had advanced far enough to 
make soil-stirring profitable, a considerable 
amount of vegetable mold had formed in 
the suface of the soil under the mulch, and 
that it was precious to the roots of the 
plant and necessary for the latter’s perfect 
development; consequently I would rather 
pay for allowing the mulch to rest than for 
raking it off, cultivating the ground and 
replacing the mulch. Try mulching on all 
your crops, leaving it on and giving them 
a little water if you can. Even a very little 
water is valuable if put on a good mulch at 
the proper time. Try this method, and 
you will wonder how strangely we have 
clung to the vicious habits of our ancestors. 
[R. N.-Y. Our readers will remember that 
this writer lives in California where pecu¬ 
liar conditions of agriculture are found.] 
A MILKMAN AGAINST THE SILO. 
A. J. T., Franklin Park, N. J.—Con¬ 
tributors to the Rural New-Yorker from 
time to time have treated on the advan¬ 
tages of a silo and the use of silage as a 
factor in the acquisition of a plethoric bank 
account and I do not now remember having 
seen within the last year or two a single 
correspondent who did not strongly favor 
the silo. In the very teeth, as it were, of 
so much favorable evidence, it is with con¬ 
siderable diffidence that I venture to offer 
anything that looks like dissenting from 
the popular favor in which it is apparent 
the silo now basks. However, I will state 
only facts, leaving Rural readers to form 
their own opinions. It is now several years 
since I was seized with the silo fever and 
while it was at its hottest I erected a silo 
of medium capacity holding perhaps 70 
tons. I have the silo yet, but it is no long¬ 
er annually stuffed with silage It was 
built wholly above ground, and as a recep¬ 
tacle for the storage of green food for stock 
it has proved worthy of the confidence 
placed in it, all the silage taken from it be¬ 
ing of unexceptionable quality and in all 
respects satisfactory as a wholesome and 
nourishing fodder for my cattle, so that the 
fact that the structure has been diverted 
from the uses for which it was originally 
intended cannot be ascribed to any inher¬ 
ent defective qualities of the silo itself. It 
now yearly contains plain honest clover or 
Timothy hay, which is leisurely stored 
therein at hay time, and as leisurely and un- 
excitedly taken therefrom on its way to the 
feeding mangers later in the season. The 
reason of this change of heart may be brief¬ 
ly stated as originating in the effort to 
make silage a staple article of food in a 
dairy of milch cows, the milk from which 
was daily forwarded to customer’s in New 
York City. 
The railroad transportation to the city 
covered only about 40 miles. The milk 
was aerated and cooled in the usual way 
known to any milk dairyman, and left in a 
tank of ice water until hauled on the after¬ 
noon of each day to the railroad station. 
Every precaution was taken in the matter 
of cleanliness of the utensils employed and 
nothing of the most orthodox methods was 
omitted to make the milk sweet and whole¬ 
some. The ration of grain fed with the 
silage consisted of ground com and oats to¬ 
gether with a proportionate amount of 
wheat bran and there was no neglect in 
feeding. A short time after commencing to 
feed silage, I received anote from the dealer 
in town asking why I did not send better- 
smelling milk. I replied, inquiring what 
was the odor he objected to, adding that it 
was perfectly sweet when it left my 
premises. His answer was more emphatic 
than polite, and included an opinion that 
unless a reform was at once instituted he 
could no longer attempt to sell my milk. 
I was suspicious of the silage, but cordially 
disliked to be obliged to relinquish my fa¬ 
vorite theory that the system of silage was 
to be the future hope of the dairy interests, 
and I determined to give it a thorough test 
even at the risk of losing my customer. 
With this commendable resolution in view 
I wrote him that possibly my man at home 
was at faultin his care of the milk, and that 
I would give him such a “ raking over ” as 
would doubtless improve matters in the 
milk-house. The “ raking over,” however, 
consisted in ordering the man to stop the 
silage and feed clover hay and the usual ra¬ 
tion of grain only. This continued for a 
couple of weeks, during which time the 
city milk man reported an agreeable change 
in the odor and taste and that everything 
was satisfactory. After giving him time 
to settle down fairly to this conviction, I 
again ordered that the silage should be fed, 
limiting the quantity to only one feed a 
day. In two or three days I again heard 
from town. “What is the matter with 
your milk ? It smells worse than a sour- 
kraut barrel.” 
I decided to visit the milk-dealer in per¬ 
son and examine for myself if his fault¬ 
finding had any foundation in fact. An 
hour was selected before he had begun to 
distribute the milk, and, in fact, before he 
had opened the cans. He asked me to walk 
around to his refrigerator and inspect a 
can, as he unfastened and removed the lid. 
I did so, and as he quickly pulled off the 
lid it was deftly turned up side down, thus 
bringing the cylinder with all its accumu¬ 
lated fragrance directly in contact with my 
olfactories. The “bouquet” was inde¬ 
scribable, but approached as nearly as may 
be to that of a combination of stale sugar- 
house molasses and some kind of acid— 
something which while not strictly un¬ 
wholesome, was yet entirely foreign to the 
usual and natural odor of sweet milk. 
“Now,” said he, “I don’t personally dis¬ 
like that smell; I could drink milk well 
enough myself that smelled no worse than 
that; but my customers are making such a 
great racket that I shall lose them all if I 
continue to sell them this milk. You m ust 
manage in some way to prevent this odor 
or we shall be obliged to part company— 
you can see or smell for yourself that some¬ 
thing is wrong.” 
Convinced by this time, beyond perad- 
venture, that the silage was at the bottom 
of the mischief, I reluctantly gave an order 
to feed the milch cows no more of the stuff. 
The same dealer afterward continued to 
take the milk for a long time, reporting it 
as entirely satisfactory to his patrons. The 
silage thenceforth was relegated to the 
young stock or dry cows, much to the dis¬ 
gust of those we were milking, which would 
any time toss aside good hay to get at a 
mouthful of silage. Perhaps in a milk 
business where the fluid is distributed to 
customers soon after milking no harm 
would result; but for milk sent long dis¬ 
tances to a city market I should interdict 
the silo by all means. 
EARLY KING AND ERIE BLACKBERRIES. 
T. Greiner, Niagara County, N. Y.— 
Some of the largest of these two berries in 
existence have been under my almost daily 
observation, during their growing season, 
for several years, and this may be a sufficient 
excuse for me to volunteer to add my mite 
to the literature on the subject. I am quite 
certain the Erie is distinct from the Lawton, 
but greatly doubt whether it is very much 
better. It is the same strong grower, and, 
if anything, more productive. The berry 
differs but little in quality, but is plumper 
or rounder in shape. The cane is exceeding¬ 
ly thorny, apparently healthy and hardy in 
New Jersey. Its greatest fault is one which 
it has in common with the Lawton, per¬ 
haps even in an intensified degree, namely 
that of turning red and appearing stale or 
in the first stages of decay very soon after 
being picked. A few hours’ standing rend¬ 
ers freshly-plucked, luscious fruit in the 
baskets so exceedingly unattractive as to 
be unfit for sale, and I have known the 
greater part of a crop left on the bushes to 
go to waste merely on account of the un¬ 
willingness of buyers to accept the ill-look¬ 
ing stuff. 
While, on the whole, I think the Rural 
New-Yorker has spoken too favorably of 
the Erie, its verdict concerning the Early 
King does not, in my opinion, do it justice. 
From first acquaintance, I have always 
held and still hold the Early King in high 
esteem as a fruit for the home garden. I 
have found it the equal of the Early Har¬ 
vest in earliness, and while the latter, where 
hardy enough, is a good market berry, it 
has not the quality which would entitle it 
to a great deal of respect by the home grow¬ 
er. Here the Early King finds its place, 
for although the berry is small, it has all 
the superiority in sweetness and absence of 
core which characterizes the better kinds of 
wild blackberries. In cane it seems to be 
moderately vigorous and healthy, and fair¬ 
ly productive, although not the equal of 
many others. I believe that it well deserves 
a place in the home garden, which is more 
than I would care to say about the Erie. 
D. B., Colerain, Ohio.-— I see in the 
Rural New-Yorker of October 5, a 
lengthy communication from G. W. Camp¬ 
bell of Delaware, Ohio, in regard to the 
Woodruff Red Grape in comparison with 
the Colerain. He speaks of it as not being 
so vigorous a grower as the Woodruff. I 
have measured with a rule the length 
of the growth of some average vines of 
Colerain and the Woodruff, without any 
forcing or the use of any fertilizer what¬ 
ever. Most of the main Shoots made from 
10 to 30 feet of growth during the past sum¬ 
mer. I measured the entire growth from 
one bud starting in the spring, and it was 
53 feet. If the Woodruff or any other va¬ 
riety can beat that, let us hear from any 
person who has it through the RURAL 
New-Yorker. Besides, the quality of the 
Colerain is much superior to that of most 
other kinds, and its earliuess, too, will 
commend it to all. I do not care to criticize 
Mr. Campbell’s judgment on grapes; but jus 
he says of the opinion of the Woodruff held 
by the Rural’S editor, on further trial and 
acquaintance with the Colerain 1 think he 
will change his opinion. 
THE DRESSED BEEF BUSINESS. 
F. E. E., Geneva, N. Y.—1. The Rural 
asks: “ Hasthetradein Chicago dressed beef 
made itself felt in farming interests in your 
section ?” Yes. A warehouse at our rail¬ 
road station pi’actically controls the price of 
dressed meat. This price is such that local 
butchers can buy the best dressed^meat at 
a nominal figure; hence if they handle 
cattle in the home market it must be at a 
price low enough to compete with the 
dressed-beef price. There is no longer a de¬ 
mand for tallow at prices for which our 
butchers will render it, and all the rough fat 
goes as offal. This throws more of the ex¬ 
pense of handling on the carcass and the 
price on foot must be set low enough for 
these expenses to fall within the dressed- 
meat price. Thus the burden is thrown on 
the stock-raiser and feeder. The price is too 
low to make it safe for farmers to raise 
and fatten stock with any certainty at all of 
making even a.small profit on the operation. 
3. To what extent has it affected the rais¬ 
ing and fattening of beef cattle ? My ac¬ 
quaintance with this market has been com¬ 
paratively short, but from accounts and 
present appearance it seems the trade in 
beef cattle has become nearly stagnant. 
Very few really good beeves can be found. 
The few I have seen driven to market were 
scarcely above good store condition, and 
would bear 30 to 60 days’ feeding for a good 
market. 
3. Has it changed the business of local 
butchers to any extent ? Yes. There is a 
constant pressure to cut Chicago dressed 
meat from the competition in trade. Each 
must put before his customers as good an 
article as that offered by others, and he 
will buy it from the cheapest source. This 
by a natural course will soon be the ware¬ 
house near the railroad, because the best 
cannot be profitably produced at home. 
4. The business is carried on to the farm¬ 
er’s disadvantage most plainly. The con¬ 
sumer is not benefited in the least by the 
change, and it is doubtful if the butcher was 
not better off when he had his old-fashioned 
dealings with the farmers. 
5. What can a person suggest as a means 
of fairly regulating the matter? This is 
not an easy question to answer. If one can 
tell just how to handle the Standard Oil 
Trust, the Sugar Trust, etc., the meat ques¬ 
tion can be settled in the same way. The 
State inspection laws are wrong, because 
they interfere with constitutional freedom 
of trade between the States. It seems that 
the only feasible legal means is a general 
law passed by Congress which shall at once 
grasp the “ Trust ” principle and break the 
power of a few monied kings to manipulate 
the trade of the whole country. This is 
one of the great questions our legislators 
have to face and it is only killing time and 
beating around the bush to pass such meas¬ 
ures in our State legislatures as can be con¬ 
strued to conflict with the freedom of trade 
between the States. 
TRUE INWARDNESS. 
The Michigan Experiment Station 
mentions Burpee’s Superior, Rural New- 
Yorker No. 3, June-eating, New Queen and 
Early Oxford as meritorious potatoes. 
From various tests in the culture of po¬ 
tatoes at the N. Y. Experiment Station the 
following conclusions are drawn, as given 
by the American Garden and previously 
alluded to in these columns. Little or 
nothing is gained by using cut potatoes for 
seed, over whole tubers of the same weight. 
Seed tubers badly sprouted yielded about 
8)4 per cent, less than the unsprouted ones. 
Earliness of crop was not influenced by ex¬ 
posing the tubers to light and warmth be¬ 
fore planting. Yield was materially reduced 
by removing the seed end of planted tubers. 
Fertilizer placed below the seed may be 
slight ly preferable to fertilizer placed above 
it. The more rapid consumption of the seed 
tuber on rich than on poor soil is probably 
due to a more abundant supply of moisture. 
Whether it is better to place the fertil¬ 
izer above or below will depend upon the 
season—whether wet or dry. So, at least 
the R. N.-Y.’s experiments indicate as giv¬ 
en in another column of this issue. 
The editor of the New England Farmer, 
with this year’s experience, is ready to let 
late potatoes go and depend on but a single 
variety and that variety will be the Polaris. 
The R. N.-Y. has tested three distinct kinds 
under that name. 
The Mark Lane Express says that 
there is a difference of opinion as to the 
proper time to harvest potatoes. Many 
farmers prefer raising the crop immediately 
after growing ceases; others believe that 
tubers should be left^in the aground until 
