2 
January 3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Still I must say now, as I stated officially while con¬ 
nected with the Texas Experiment Station, non-cul¬ 
tivation will not do for Texas, and I will add to the 
statement now and make it read for the South gen¬ 
erally. There are too many orchards going to pieces 
in the South under non-cultivation. Experience is 
against it Science is against it We tried it in Texas 
where the trees were root-pruned and the system 
failed when a Summer drought of 115 days’ duration 
came, while the cultivated orchard stood it. There is 
no doubt but that cultivation is often improperly done 
in the orchard. After le.aving the orchard land un¬ 
cultivated for even one year and then plowing it five 
or six inches deep, many of the feeding roots will be 
broken near the surface. Land is often left bare dur¬ 
ing the Winter, and it washes in gulleys and becomes 
hard and compact. This can be avoided usually by 
sowing Fall catch crops, such as rye, wheat and Win¬ 
ter oats, and then turning them under during the late 
Spring. In Texas the following system was very suc¬ 
cessfully followed by me: The ground was first cul¬ 
tivated in the early Spring by the Diamond disk ex¬ 
tension harrow and then about four rows of Whip¬ 
poorwill cow peas were sown between the peach rows 
These were let grow till the end of June, when they 
were turned under to rot. The ground was mellow 
and the disk harrow prepared the mulch for the Fall 
drought. The peavines rotted and added fertility to 
the soil, and usually kept it from Winter washing. 
This system was profitable with me. It was the only 
one that was on that hard, poor and indifferent soil. 
However, not all of Texas soil is like that. If the 
principles of cultivation were more generally under¬ 
stood no harm would result by citing isolated ex¬ 
amples that exist under peculiar conditions on either 
side of this discussion. The harm that does follow 
from such discussions is usually through general con¬ 
clusions being drawn from isolated facts. 
Montgomery Co., Va. n. n. piuoe. 
The Cultivated Trees Died. 
I am such an amateur that I hesitate to reply to 
such authority as Prof. Waugh, but his article on 
page 831 of your paper has made me do some think¬ 
ing. Twenty-five years ago, when I took the place 
where 1 now live, there were 44 large old apple trees, 
most of which were then not less than 60 years old, 
as I have investigated the time when the orchard 
was planted. To-day every tree that stood in sod at 
that time is still alive and bearing well, having pro¬ 
duced this year the best crops ever known since I 
took the place, while every tree of the 44 which stood 
in cultivated ground has died in the meantime and 
gone to the wood pile. From a practical standpoint, 
this seems to me to be as good a reply to Prof. 
Waugh’s argument as can possibly be put forth. I 
believed five years ago exactly as he seems to to-day, 
but cannot overlook such an evidence as this that his 
theory is not correct. a. c. worth. 
Bergen Co., N. J. 
Prof. Craig on Orchard Tillage. 
One might fairly assume after reading the article 
on page 831 entitled ‘‘A New England Authority Says 
Don’t,” that in the language of a belligerent student 
our friend Waugh “was looking for trouble.” When 
I was a boy in the country school a favorite pastime 
in the recess hour was “teetering.” The essentials 
were a high fence or a forked tree, a long pole and 
two boys. The pole was balanced on the fence or 
tree, a boy mounted each end and the fun of swing¬ 
ing each other up and down alternately commenced. 
Sometimes the boys were of unequal weights. This 
difficulty was adjusted by making the heavy boy 
mount the short end of the pole, or by calling in the 
services of a third boy who was to act as “candle¬ 
stick.” The duty of the candlestick was to stand in 
the middle and regulate inequalities of avoirdupois 
by throwing his weight on the side most needing it. 
He might of course have mounted the light end, but 
in that case the heavy man would have been in diffi¬ 
culties. Is not ^'ir New England arc-light of horti¬ 
culture an extremist? Is he not so far out on the 
end of the pole that he is likely to fall off? Should 
he not play candlestick? In graver strain let me say 
that while extremists often bring about needed re¬ 
forms, and while extreme measures are occasionally 
imperative, yet as a rule, I do not think it necessary, 
nor do I think it wise in speaking to the average 
agricultural audience to place myself at the very end 
of the “teeter” board in order to influence their posi¬ 
tion or change their views. 
Certainly it is true that the want of tillage is kill¬ 
ing the prosperity of many an orchard. But you can 
give culture without cultivating. The sod-mulched 
orchard is an exceptional method suited to excep¬ 
tional conditions. Let our modest but emphatic 
friend remember that the “sod-mulch” culture differs 
widely from the “sod-meadow” plan, which is too 
much in vogue. Let us think it worth while to dis¬ 
criminate while yet we preach the gospel of culture. 
It is as good for the man who preaches as the man 
who practices, but be just as scrupulous in your re¬ 
gard for the exception as for the rule, jcnm craig. 
ARGUMENTS FOR ANGORA GOATS. 
The Meat a Delicacy. 
On page 757, last year’s volume, I read the obituary 
notice on the Belgian hare. It seems strange that 
our people will not take kindly to the meat. Those 
of us who have traveled and lived abroad have fre¬ 
quently enjoyed eating hare, a dish that is considered 
by the English a great delicacy, and I fancy that be¬ 
tween a Belgian and an English hare there is not 
much more difference than between a Canvasback 
and a Red-head duck. Now we have added still an¬ 
other meat to our butcher’s bill. Angora venison, 
thought by many westerners to be superior to mut¬ 
ton. because the Angora goat does not limit itself to 
one kind of feed, but enjoys everything that comes 
its way, everything that is green and thrifty, feeding 
like deer. I have eaten goat in France and Switzer¬ 
land, where a leg of kid is considered a most inviting 
tid-bit, and so it is. In the Angora goat one has not 
only delicious eating but profit also in the mohair, 
which sells for double the price of wool, and for years 
to come there will be an unlimited demand for mo¬ 
hair, as we are now paying more than $20,000,000 a 
year to Turkey and South Africa for this fleece, which 
ranks next to silk in value. The goat is undoubtedly 
the poor man’s friend. Worn-out deserted farms 
throughout the East could be made profitable by 
keeping and raising Angora goats, for they are weed 
and brush exterminators, and they will live where 
sheep would starve. As to fencing the goats, woven 
11 
11 
1.1 
AN AUSTRALIAN SCARECROW. FiG. 3. 
wire four feet high will hold them. This year the 
third annual exhibit and sale of the American Angora 
Goat Breeders’ Association took place at Kansas City, 
an Association with a membership of nearly 500, rep¬ 
resenting almost every State in the Union. Three 
years ago the first prize buck sold at this show for 
$700, Recently the prize buck sold at auction for 
$1,400. Prices are steadily advancing, as this most 
profitable animal is becoming known, and the quality 
of the mohair greatly improved by careful breeding. 
No trouble or expense has been spared by some of 
our western breeders in securing the best bucks. Some 
years ago the Sultan of Turkey issued an edict for¬ 
bidding the exportation of Angora goats, wishing to 
control the mohair industry, but in 1901 Dr. Bailey, 
one of the firm of Bailey & Sons, California, who own 
about 10,000 goats, showed great energy and pluck in 
smuggling two bucks out of the country. While for 
a time we must look to Turkey or South Africa for 
the best blood, eventually, no doubt, we shall breed 
superior animals. The following is taken from the 
New York Tribune of November 1, 1902: 
“Haa it occurred to many people in this town that the 
Angora goat possesses a commercial value large enough 
to make a business of breeding it?” asked J. B. Macfar- 
lane at the Astor House yesterday. Mr. Macfarlane 
lives near Santa Fe, N. M., where he went 10 years ago 
to engage in mining. Not finding this profitable, and see¬ 
ing the possibilities of Angora goat breeding, he started a 
goat farm, and now has a herd of 5,000. “The Angora 
fleece,” he continued, “is used in the mohair industry 
and made into plush. It is shipped to eastern manufac¬ 
turers. and the finished product cannot be told from the 
Turkish. When you consider that millions of dollars’ 
worth of Turkish hair is imported annually you can see 
the possibilities of the industry in America. Ten years 
ago an Angora was worth a dollar; now one costs $20. 
This is due to breeding. The country around Santa F6 is 
suitable for raising them, as it has the same topographi¬ 
cal and soil requirements as the goat has in the Orient. 
The animals browse on the underbrush and need only 
salt and slight shelter. They are immune from tuber¬ 
culosis and are hardy.” 
Fairfield Co., Conn. H. he b. schenck. 
MORE ABOUT ROOT-ORAFTINO. 
On page 815 H. E. V. D. gives quite explicit direc¬ 
tions for root-grafting, and as be is competent au¬ 
thority as we all know, I wish to give my process of 
root-grafting, and invite criticism on same. Of course 
we all know that to do anything in a proper manner 
we must know how and have material and tools to 
work with, but I wish to emphasize the point that 
when you do your own grafting you can know what 
you are raising, but if you buy trees you take the 
word of some one else. In regard to roots, seedlings 
one year old should be used, but I have had a perfect 
stand from one-year roots cut from a tree (on its own 
roots) two or three years old. Grafting has been done 
March 27 to April 14. and set at once results in 95 per 
cent of a stand. Sometimes when made March 1 re¬ 
sults were satisfactory. I buy my stocks from grow¬ 
ers in the Winter as late as possible, as they are bet¬ 
ter prepared to keep them properly than I am, and 
cut my scions as usual about nine inches long and 
graft on straight piece-roots 2i^ inches, about three- 
sixteenths to four-sixteenths-inch diameter, and cover 
with hot wax at once with small paint brush, as this 
seems to me to be more convenient than to use waxed 
.string. Bury in sand or earth in cellar or plant at 
once if soil is ready. In regard to making the splice 
I never was able to make a neat job from directions 
that were printed, but I simply made sloping cut on 
both stock and scion and fitted together; then I made 
a cut near center of each about one-eighth inch deep 
and joined them together so they would stay until 
waxed, the cut on a three-sixteenths-inch stock about 
one-half inch long or on a one-half-inch stock per¬ 
haps five-eighths inch; one size of lead pencil seven- 
eighths or one inch long. Always try to have stock 
and scion of same size and the splice of same length, 
and fitted together as close as possible. 
Iowa. l)ELANqi#SANl-'ORI). 
ALL SORTS. 
TOBACCO DUST AND BEES.—Last Summer 1 was 
induced to try tobacco dust on my melon and cucum¬ 
ber vines as a protection against the Striped beetle, 
and am satisfied that while it proved most effective 
in that regard it also deterred the pollenizing insects 
from visiting the flowers as they are wont to do. My 
crop of melons and cucumbers suffered in consequence 
of its use. True, the weather was unpropitious, but 
1 noticed that while the bees, etc., were plentiful in 
other parts of the garden, they seemed to give the 
melon and cucumber flowers the “go-by.” Is that 
the experience of others? l. m. b. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
PROFITS ON A DAIRY FARM.—In issue of De¬ 
cember 20, page 487, you had an article entitled “What 
.share for dairy tenant.” I own two farms, one of 100 
acres, and one of 61 acres. I pay my men by the 
month. I have two married men and one single man 
working for me. The married men receive each $17 
per month, besides they receive their firewood, use 
of the garden proceeds, rent free, each of them 900 
pounds of pork and 250 pounds of beef, all the pota¬ 
toes and other farm products they need. The single 
man receives $15 per month and board; this man’s 
hoard I pay to one of the married hands of the 100- 
acre farm at a cost of $8 per month. Besides I at 
certain times of the year employ day labor at $1.50 
per day and pay 20 cents for their dinner. On the 
two farms I average about 1,000 gallons of milk per 
month; this milk is sold at 12 cents a gallon. The 
proceeds of the milk are divided in such a manner 
that my monthly men receive one-third of the money 
received by the sales of the milk. The road taxes are 
not worked out by my people, since I pay my taxes 
in hard cash. I consider my land worth from $1,500 
to $2,000 per acre. Now you can calculate for your¬ 
self where my profit in the dairy business comes in. 
Allentown, Pa. R. p. s. 
GERMINATING LOCUST SEEDS.-In addition to 
H. E. Van Deman’s good advice to C. W. N., Concor¬ 
dia, Kan., on the germination of Black locust seed, 
page 816, last volume, I add my experience. Fifteen 
years ago there stood three rather tall locusts, west¬ 
ward, across the public road, v/hich had been oearing 
heavy crops of seed for several years. The wind blew 
these across the road until five acres or more were 
thickly seeded. Fourteen years ago these trees were 
cut down. Five years after this the seed began to 
grow, and continued to increase in number for five 
years more. From this I would infer that the natural 
germinating period of locust seed would be near five 
years; and chat the prolonged period in this case re¬ 
sulted from plowing and cultivating the ground, by 
which a portion of the seed would be too deep in the 
soil for quick results. I have grown locust from seed 
many years since, and will trust my memory to say 
to C. W. N. that if he will take a small handful of dry 
locust seeds, put them in a pint bowl, fill it with water 
at the full boiling point, and let stand for 24 hours or 
more, there will be no trouble about their growing. 
This might be rather heroic treatment for seed that 
has been in the moist soil for two years. J. e. f. 
Ohio. 
