j903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
CORN FODDER IN A SILO. 
On page 721 a question is asked about cutting dry 
corn fodder into the silo. I cannot see what this 
man expects to gain by letting this field of corn stand 
and cure after getting ripe. He ought to know that 
''f the feeding value of this corn when beginning to 
glaze at least one-half is in the stalks and leaves, 
and most of this in the large stalks below the ears; 
that the valuable part of these stalks is the sugar 
which they contain, and that from this time on this 
sugar is changing to cellulose or woody fiber. Also 
that when the stalk is fully cured very little of the 
sugar is remaining. The stalk which at its best was 
full» of sweet juice is now hollow save a few bundles 
of dry cells that have very little more food value than 
basswood sawdust. While nature could easily change 
the sugar into wood, no process of man at all practi¬ 
cable can change this indigestible woody fiber into 
digestible sugar. 
Now, though shredding and soaking this woody 
fiber may induce the stock to eat a little more of it 
than if fed dry, it can never restore the food value. 
But that is neither here nor there; what this man 
wants to know is how much water he should add to 
the shredded part, so that it will keep' in the best 
condition for feeding. This very much depends upon 
how dry it is when shredded and run into the silo. 
There is very little danger of getting it too wet, even 
;hough it be wetted until it drains, it will not at all 
injure its keeping. One of the principal troubles in 
silos is white mold. I have seen chunks of molded 
silage as large as a load of hay, all so firmly grown 
together as to require picking to get it broken up. 
This white mold comes from onl,y one cause: The 
corn went into the silo too dry, airways this. He 
old one. Secondly, they meet periodicallv and dis¬ 
cuss questions of public utility, and those of vital 
concern to their own welfare. The Grange is our only 
medium through which we can reach effectively leg¬ 
islative halls, either State or National. The order 
has been responsibly for much valuable agricultural 
legislation. 
The Grange is a secret order simply because such- 
societies are never permanent unless so constituted. 
Some people are upon general principles opposed to 
secret organizations. With them I have no disposi¬ 
tion to debate the question. Secret societies have 
existed since the early history of man, and their 
strength numerically, socially and morally has been 
of steady growth, and for a general humanitarian 
uplift. No human agency can check this growth so 
long as these principles are upheld. I believe a 
farmer should show the same disposition towards the 
Grange as an agricultural compact that as a citizen 
he displays to the Government. I believe so long as 
the present policy of '^he Grange is maintained that 
every agricultural newspaper should unfurl its ban¬ 
ners and advocate its principles. I believe that the 
farmers’ institutes should publicly defend its exist¬ 
ence. No apology should be offered for Grange sup¬ 
port, and I feel sure our friend A. B. S. would be far 
more effectual in righting the little wrongs and in¬ 
consistencies that are sure to dwell in any organized 
body by joining such a society rather than by a gen¬ 
eral outcry against them. h. e. c. 
JACOBS SWEET APPLE. 
Fig. 291 is a good representation in natural size of 
Jacobs Sweet apple, as submitted by S. D. Willard, 
Geneva, N. Y., who regards it as one of the most de¬ 
771 
fallen leaves or fruit parings, or severed branches 
left to die; of course the scale is often transferred 
to new fields in buds or scions cut from infested trees. 
M. V. SLINOERI.AND. 
'GROPING HAY'* IN OLD TIMES. 
I have just been reading the article on roping hay 
in Tfie R. N.-Y., page 723, and it so brought up afresh 
I he work in the hayfield in my youthful days that I 
thought it might be interesting to some to get a 
glimpse of how the work was done 50 or 60 years 
ago in eastern New York, showing that it was not as 
my friend Gould says, an Ohio invention and term. 
My father was an expert at the work. The arrange¬ 
ment being somewhat different from that described 
by Mr. Gould, I will give it. First procure a one- 
inch rope 150 feet long; twist and double it, which 
will, form a loop at one end; tie the other end to the 
whiffletree of the off-side horse. Have a stout iron 
hoop attached to the whiffletree of the nigh horse to 
which hitch the looped end of the rope. Drive the 
horse around the end of the windrow, which has been 
prepared for the drawing; lay the rope across the 
hay, stand upon it and start the horses. As a boy in 
my early teens I assisted by standing upon the rope 
on one side or the other as needed, my father stand¬ 
ing at the rear. As the load increased in size the 
horses were urged to a trot, and many a time the 
load of half a ton or more reached the stack with 
the horses at a keen run. Then unhook the rope and 
draw it out and go for another load. Sometimes the 
rope would slip over the hay and the boy would get 
covered up, but if the windrow was properly prepared 
by throwing the hay forward so that left back would 
slide under one man could draw without any assist- 
should put on enough to make the corn as wet as it 
would have been with the original juice when ready 
for the silo. If thoroughly dried it w'ould need from 
90 to 100 gallons to the ton, and from this amount 
clown to 40 or 50 gallpns as the stalks were less and 
less dried. Better be on the safe side and put on 
enough. Besides this, he should aim to get it as 
evenly distributed as possible, so the silo shall have 
no dry spots to start the white mold. 
.T. S. WOODWAUl), 
A DEFENSE OF THE ORANCE. 
I have taken 'I'he R. N.-Y. for .several years, and have 
found it very useful on the farm, and its moral influence 
good in the family. But in one thing I believe you are 
wrong—that is in recommending the Grange, as it is a 
fetder of the larger secret orders which compel good 
n en to shield and support wicked ones, which often pre¬ 
vents good government, and ecjuality in business. In our 
tow’n 1 f:Ul to see where the Grange h.as helped its mem¬ 
bers to be better farmers, and morall.v and spirituall.v t 
believe its influence has been bad. Tt seems to me if 
our people would spend their spare time reading good 
farm books and papers, and attend farmers’ institutes, 
they would be more intelligent farmers than they :ire 
attending the Grange. a. b. s. 
New Hampshire. 
I am a believer in the Grange, its present usefiilnes.s 
and future possibilities. It is an easy matter to make 
general statements that are not capable of mathe¬ 
matical, solution, but I feel that the Grange has done 
as much as any other agency to elevate the farmers 
and bring them to a proper conception of their relative 
social, political and financial standing. Effective 
farmers’ institutes in New York State in fully one- 
half of the towns have been made possible only 
through the Granges. First, they form an organized 
hody, composed of the leading farmers, who are quick 
’>^0 grasp a aew idea oi’ an up-to-date solution of an 
JACOBS SWEET APPLE. Fro. 291. 
sirable apples for baking. The color is yellow with 
large greenish dots, sometimes with a flush of red on 
the sunny side. The flesh is white and crisp, rather 
coarse grained, but bakes sweet and tender. The skin 
is' especially thin and delicate after baking. The 
tree has a vigorous spreading growth. Considering 
its size and good quality this is an excellent Winter 
sweet apple. The variety originated in eastern Mass¬ 
achusetts. 
THE SCALE ON FALLEN LEAVES. 
I have some trees badly infested with Asiatic scale. 
Can they spread from falling leaves? I am aware thav 
they may spread from a green leaf if the period for 
young has not passed, but will not all scale die soon on 
a withered leaf, on a severed twig or branch and the 
ordinary ripened leaf soon due to fall and blow about 
the orchard? u. s. b. 
So. Flingham, Mass. 
The only time a San Jose scale can crawl or mi¬ 
grate is for a day or two after birth. It then settles 
down, secretes its scaly covering, and never can move 
from the spot. Duringthe growing period of the in¬ 
sect, from May till Autumn, doubtless all scales blown 
away on leaves or removed on severed branches would 
soon die. But in late Autumn, when the period of 
hibernation and colfi weather approaches, many of 
the scales could doubtless survive all Winter on fallen 
leaves or severed branches. Most of the scales hi¬ 
bernate when about half grown. But if these scales 
got through the Winter all right on the leaves or 
severed branches, they could not obtain food in early 
Spring, and they could not crawl to fresh food. There¬ 
fore, sooner or later all the scales on fallen leaves 
or severed branches, at whatever time of year, will 
doubtless perish. The crawling baby scales are often 
blown about by the wind. I know of no authentic 
case where an infection has occurred from infested 
ance, as I remember my father doing when 1 got old 
enough to bfiild the stack. This was in the forties 
and fifties, the old-fogy days, as some may think, 
but never was hay got together more quickly than 
by this method. wAL'ren f. taber. 
CROSS BRED CORN FOR SEED. 
I note the answer on page 727 about sweet corn com¬ 
ing true. If in the answer yoii would infer that all 
cross-fertilized kernels would show the first season, 
I must disagree with you, although this might be 
possible where sweet corn is crossed with flint or 
dent. But in field corn I had a very marked case to 
the contrary not long since. In 1900 I wished to grow 
some red corn for decoration at the Pan-American. I 
procured some fine red ears from a man who grew a 
lot of it. This was planted isolated from alj other 
corn. At harvest I was surprised to find I had just 
about half of each of clear red ears and clear white, 
but not a single case of a mixed ear of red and white, 
neither were there ears or kernels of mixed shades. 
The next year out of curiosity and need of more seed 
1 used a lot of the white corn, and produced plenty 
of red ears, but not so Ifirge a proportion. I also had 
shaded colors, but as I now remember no mixed ears. 
I also had a good deal of dent corn adjoining, show¬ 
ing red kernels of the first class. I am glad the mat¬ 
ter came up now, as I happen to have stock with 
which to experiment next year, and will keep it in 
mind to do so. a. g. gullet. 
R. N. Y.—As general advice we think it safer to 
reject alj. the sweet corn kernels that show the cross. 
While they might not come untrue we think it safer 
to leave them out. It would make more difference 
with sweet corn than in a variety grown for dry 
grain. 
