i8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 10 
dressing of 200 pounds of muriate of potash, 200 
pounds of ground bone and 100 pounds of nitrate of 
soda. The following Spring I would plow in such 
clover as had grown, give the same system of tillage, 
repeat with the clover and the same application of 
fertilizers. This ought to give the orchard a start, 
and by continuing the clover and tiTlage system, it 
should begin to make more vigorous growth and then 
fruit will soon begin to be more abundant. The or¬ 
chard will never bear much fruit until it is brought 
up to a point where there is a more vigorous annual 
growth; then fruit buds will be developed more freely. 
I would give the orchard judicious pruning, covering 
a period of three years, taking out such wood as is 
necessary to open up the trees and give opportunity 
for the sunshine to pass through the trees and upon 
the soil under them. It will not be wise to do this 
in one year, but should be done gradually. If under 
this treatment the orchard does not respond, it would 
better be abandoned, as the conditions would not be 
adapted to orchard work. The fact that the orchards 
in the locality have been doing much like this is an 
indication that the natural conditions are not the 
best. Spraying, of course, must be included with the 
other conditions named. It would be useless to at¬ 
tempt to grow healthy trees and get good fruit with¬ 
out taking in spraying as a part of the regular plan. 
The treatment of the land as outlined will certainly 
do for the trees all that can be done to bring them 
into good bearing condition. I do not believe that 
mulching would help that orchard, oico. t. row’ELi.. 
“Prune and Feed," says Prof. Card. 
I should firsc examine the trees with a view to the 
question of pruning. If I found many old diseased or 
weak branches I should make the pruning vigorous, 
taking out such branches but leaving suckers or 
younger ones in all cases to take their place. If I 
found the branches on the whole in good health and 
the growth not too thick and dense, I should prune 
but lightly. If the tops are thick I should thin out, 
leaving the most vigorous and thrifty branches. In 
doing this 1 should form my judgment about the ferti¬ 
lizer needed. If the ends of the branches show’ an ap¬ 
proximate yearly growth of one foot 1 should not 
trouble myself greatly over the question of fertility, 
or at least of nitrogen. If, on the other hand, as is 
more likely to be the case, the twigs show' a growth of 
but a few inches. I should then endeavor to form an 
estimate of the natural fertility of the land as judged 
by the productiveness of adjoining fields. This might 
lead me to believe that the lack of grow’th could be 
accounted for by the lack of tillage and consequent 
encroachment of the grass upon the feeding ground 
of the trees. If not, I should plan to furnish fertility 
in the cheapest available form. If stable manure were 
accessible I should use that; if not I should buy 
chemicals. A formula which gave good results in 
bringing up a neglected orchard in Rhode Island was 
made up as follows: 100 pounds nitrate of soda, 100 
pounds tankage, 100 pounds acid phosphate and 100 
pounds muriate of potash. This amount, 400 pounds, 
was applied per acre. The nitrate of soda was de¬ 
signed to give a quick start in Spring, while the dried 
blood and tankage were intended to furnish a more 
slowly available supply of nitrogen. I cannot say 
that this formula would be the best for all. The or¬ 
chard under treatment here was on a rather light, 
sandy soil, very much lacking in fertility. In Spring 
I should plow the orchard to a moderate depth. If 
chemicals are used I should apply them after plowing 
and harrow in. I should then keep the orchard well 
and frequently tilled until the middle of August. At 
that time I should sow a cover crop, trying to select 
one which would enable me in future to drop out the 
nitrogen from the fertilizer formula. If the soil and 
locality are suited to Crimson clover I doubt whether 
a better crop can be found. If not, possibly Mammoth 
clover may do better. In the Rhode Island orchard 
in question we started with oats and peas, but these 
were not satisfactory sown at that time of year. My 
chief objection to rye is that it furnishes no nitrogen 
and will not cut down the fertilizer bill. It also 
takes up large quantities of moisture in Spring, and 
must be turned under very promptly, or it will work 
injury. There is something to be said in favor of the, 
hog tillage which your correspondent suggests. It 
is cheap and useful to a certain extent, but it is not 
prompt enough to give the best results. I have had 
no experience with the “Hitchings” plan, but have a 
feeling that it is a method particularly adapted to 
wet land, such as I understand Mr. Hitchings has. 
FRED W. CARD. 
A VETERAN AUCTIONEER. 
The face shown at Fig. 8 is familiar to the farmers 
of central New York, as well as to many horsemen 
and others throughout the State. Milton Rooks was 
born in 1824 near Kelloggsville, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
where he resided until 1865, when he took up his resi¬ 
dence at Moravia, N. Y., his present home. Fifty-six 
years ago he commenced auctioneering and during 
this time has sold almost everything from a paper of 
needles to a meeting house. For the first five years 
he sold general merchandise mostly, but since that 
time has been selling farm property, stock and tools. 
Hi? first sale was in the town of Niles, N. Y., and he 
has sold property in Cortland, Onondaga and Tomp¬ 
kins counties, but his sales have been principally in 
his native county. In several instances he has sold 
for three generations, and during this time there has 
never been a day that he was not able to sell. At the 
first of his auctioneering property sold low, but about 
war time and following prices advanced so that it was 
not a difficult matter to get $100 for a cow and $200 
for a horse. The highest figure he obtained for a 
farm horse was $475, in 1864, and for a dairy cow $125 
in 1867. His largest sale was for a Mr. Fitch, of Au¬ 
burn, in 1870, when he sold $27,000 worth of property, 
mostly real estate, in one-half day. He has never 
sold on a commission, but always by the day. Mr. 
Rooks has always been much interested in good 
horses, and for many years he took an active part 
in the races held in central New York. While he is 
now nearly 78 years of age he is still in active service 
as an auctioneer. Where is the man who can beat the 
record? ' v. m. c. 
INTENSIVE RYE CULTURE. 
CONSERVATIVE FARMING.—A farmer may 
handle a crop all his life and still never know its 
possibilities, so also he may farm an acre of land till 
the earth claims him and never dream of the possi¬ 
bilities of that acre. Why? Because he has followed 
the usual custom of farmers who have passed before 
him, and been in company with those about him 
working on the same lines and thinking the same 
A VETERAN AUCTIONEER. FiQ. 8. 
thoughts about farming, believing actually that there 
“is nothing new” under the sun. It is difficult to 
break away from the customs, circumstances and en¬ 
vironments that surround us, and work out some new 
line of thought in handling a crop or crops. The 
wealth of the American soil has produced a race of 
farmers given over to plowing and harvesting; grain 
rather than stock farmers. If grass or pasture is had 
mainly the ultimate aim is to put the land in condi¬ 
tion to plow again. It is a wise provision of nature 
that impoverishment and not exhaustion is possible 
with the soil. This after a term of the former by 
cropping allows recuperation by a change of crops, 
drawing on the fertility that still remains in the soil. 
For this rest and recuperation pasture crops are best. 
CHANGES IN PRACTICE.—For 20 years in hand¬ 
ling Oak Grove Farm the great aim was the improve¬ 
ment of the soil, using crops regularly in rotation and 
selling nothing but stock, wheat and clover seed. 
Now I have planned to sell only stock and clover 
seed with the possibility that the latter may soon be 
dropped. The short cut to this change was the sub¬ 
stitution of rye for wheat, the rye never being har¬ 
vested by machinery. While I have been more or less 
familiar with this crop all my life, and had much to 
do with it, still the full possibilities of the crop 
never dawned upon me till within the last year. One 
reason has been that since I have been working 
clover, wheat and corn in rotation, and improving the 
land by hauling manure and purchasing straw for 
bedding, and buying much other stuff to feed out on 
+be farm, rye has not been much grown, consequently 
it was not known what it would do with the soil in 
its improved condition. Another reason why it did 
not succeed better was the failure that almost always 
followed an attempt to get a stand sown in the corn 
before the last plowing. My plan now is to sow in 
the corn a week or two before cutting by using a one- 
horse drill. If corn is down sow immediately after 
it is cut, using 200 pounds or more of acid phosphate 
to hasten the growth, if the land is moist enough 
to cause germination at this time; if not it is better 
to wait till it is. On this farm there are 45 acres used 
for cropping as follows: Clover one year, rye one 
year, and corn two years. This gives me 20 or 22 
acres of corn each year, 10 or 12 acres of rye, and the 
same in clover. By this plan each field in turn when 
plowed for corn grows two crops of corn before go¬ 
ing back to rye, to be followed by clover. The first 
rye for this rotation was sown in October, 1901. Now 
I have 10 acres sown for a crop next year, 12 acres 
sown on corn stubble to be plowed under next Spring, 
and 12 acres of volunteer following the crop hogged 
down. This latter has growing with it a fine stand 
of clover, and both will come on together next Spring. 
ADVANTAGES OFFERED.—The objection may 
develop that the rye prevents the clover from doing 
its best. If held in check the fore part of the season 
an effort will be made to allow it to do its best dur¬ 
ing the latter part of the Summer and FalL Prac¬ 
tically there is growing on the farm, counting the 
volunteer rye, 34 acres. This has been a most favor¬ 
able season for its growth, but the old clover, from 
which was taken a crop of seed, has made a light 
growth. Had this field of 11 acres been sown to rye 
and disked in as soon as the clover crop was off there 
would have grown on the field rj’e six to eight inches 
high by this time, and given a great quantity of pas¬ 
ture. Had this been done there would now be grow¬ 
ing on the farm 45 acres of rye. The experience of 
this year points out the way for the future. Tnis 
year the Fall growth of rye was fed off by lambs 
bought for Winter feeding, and in this way I expect 
to use the rye in the future. The grain crop will be 
harvested with hogs, aided by the ewes and lambs if 
there are any on the farm at that time. If the Winter 
is open and sheep or feeding lambs are kept on the 
farm there are only about two months in the year 
that rye is not available as pasture, and that while 
the rye is making a grain crop during May and June. 
This year the stock was off my field from May 7 to 
July 4. About the only enemy the crop seems to have 
is rust; the Hessian fly does not feed on it till com¬ 
pelled to. I know of no crop that can be used as con¬ 
tinuously on the farm as rye. There is much more 
that can be said about it as to value of pasture and 
.saving of labor, that I will speak of at some future 
time. .TOUN M. JAMISON, 
Ross Co.. O. __ 
HARDINESS OF BLACKBERRIES. 
The ever increasing demand for choice blackberries 
in our markets has established the growing of this 
fruit on quite a large commercial scale. It would un¬ 
doubtedly be a much larger industry were it not for 
the fact that our severe Winters often injure the 
canes and winterkilling results. We have to be sure 
several iron-clad hardy varieties, so the nurserymen’s 
catalogues tell us, and we read of such descriptive 
terms as “perfectly hardy,” “never known to winter- 
kill,” and the like. The fact is, that in certain sea¬ 
sons and under certain conditions, no variety is per- 
fectlj^ hardy, though some are more so than others. 
What we need to know is not so much how hardy the 
variety is w’here the nurseryman grows it, as to know 
how it comes through the Winter in our immediate 
vicinity. This fact has been strongly impressed on 
the writer on many occasions, and several instances 
have occurred to strengthen this view. In one case a 
field of Eldorado, when first planted out, was care¬ 
fully watched for several years and then reported as 
perfectly hardy. It was in that vicinity. Not long 
afterwards and in another part of the State several 
fields of the same variety were observed where the 
canes had killed to the ground. To all outward ap¬ 
pearances the conditions were just as. favorable. 
Again the Taylor has been observed to stand the 
Winters year after year in one locality while not 
many miles distant it is always more or less injured. 
Even the much vaunted hardy Snyder succumbs at 
times—and then there are much better varieties to 
grow. The blackberry industry is bound to develop, 
and it ranks as one of the foremost of the small 
fruits. Perhaps in time better and more cold-resist¬ 
ant varieties will come forward and make a crop prac¬ 
tically certain, as far as this hardiness is concerned. 
At present our only safe method of procedure is to 
stick by the old varieties where found to be hardy in 
our locality; try the new ones if we will in a limited 
way until their behavior is known, but at all times 
be very cautious about indiscriminately planting a 
new variety, basing our judgment on reports from 
some far-away section. Q* a. drew. 
Mass. Agr’l College. 
< 
