882 
December 2f? 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The residence we live in would cost from $15 to $20 
per month in the city. Our water and fuel are free. 
We have our buggies and sleighs to ride in; don’t 
have to ask the boss to get off and lose our job if not 
back till such a day at seven o’clock. We have horses 
to go with and feed in the barn for them, and the 
cows that furnish us with real cream for our straw¬ 
berries or oatmeal. The pork is in the barrel and beef 
is coming as soon as fat enough; meanwhile the hens 
are giving two dozen eggs a day. Then there are lots 
of potatoes and the nicest apples down cellar, to¬ 
gether with about 200 cans of our own grown fruit. 
I am no one’s boss and no one bosses me. The city 
man wants our eggs, we make the price, he pays it, 
glad to get the eggs. The same with our honey—they 
are sure it is real honey. Our potatoes and dressed 
poultry go at good figures, and could sell more if we 
had more time to raise more. Get a reputation for 
honesty, good measure and good articles and you will 
have more to do in making the price than the other 
fellow. Raise the products that give you the most 
profit. Raise things to eat that the people want, and 
that every farmer can’t supply. Dressed chickens at 
16 cents and ready sale is better than hogs at eight 
cents or beef at six cents. Can’t all raise chickens, 
eggs and bees; all the better. Some can raise 50-cent 
potatoes or GO-cent corn. 
Work too hard—or wife work too hard? Perhaps 
so, but those who work hard seem to get more out of 
life than those who idle their time away, and do not 
grumble so much either. The years seem short to 
those who are doing something. Wife and children 
have been away a week at a time on two occasions 
this year, once in July and the present week. The 
whole family has been away on several other oc¬ 
casions. A brother-in-law moved to town a year ago 
and has not had a day off since last Christmas, week 
day or Sunday, until last Friday, when an accident 
laid him up for some time, with expenses running on 
just the same. We expect to enjoy the comforts of 
the farm, and let the other fellow do the drudgery 
and monotonous work of the city. w. ii. m. 
Pennsylvania. __ 
COW PEAS IN THE CORN BELT. 
Last Summer 'fiiE R. N.-Y. suggested that cow pe-as 
be tried on the great Brookmont Farm at Odebolt, la. 
There are over 7,000 acres on this great farm. We 
suggested drilling cow peas after harvesting wheat or 
oats—to be plowed under for another crop of grain. 
Prof. H. M. Cottrell makes this report of the experi¬ 
ment; 
“We purchased 10 bushels each of New Era and Mt. 
Olive cow peas, and planted them after wheat. This 
season has been excessively cold and wet; not a single 
warm day in August, and heavy cold rains every 
week. The cow peas made a weak growth of six to 
eight inches, and were entirely killed by frost Sep¬ 
tember 16. The season was so unfavorable that we 
considered it useless to test Crimson clover. This test 
does not dim our confidence in cow peas at all. We 
shall probably not have another such a season in 25 
years. I am sure that you are right on the cow-pea 
question, and hope that you will keep pushing it. We 
shall have to be able to secure acclimated seed before 
cow peas will come into general use in the West. This 
is the only drawback now that I can see to their rapid 
introduction in the corn belt.” 
HOW TO MANAGE A BEE TREE. 
I desire information in regard to taking up a bee tree, 
and to save the bees. I want to take a part of the tree 
and set it up in my yard. What time of the year would 
be best? Would it be best to cut it now and put it in the 
cellar till Spring, or cut it in the Spring, and in what 
way could I feed the bees? a. k. 
Bedford, N. Y. 
Borrow or rent a pair of climbers from some tele¬ 
phone man and with these go after the bees, equipped 
in addition with a hatchet, saw, clothesline and bee- 
smoker, having the same all fastened in a belt. On 
arrival at the spot put on the climbers and climb the 
tree. If it is a large one use a barrel hoop or bent 
wire to reach around to hitch your way up as you 
lift yourself with the climbers. If the bees are in a 
limb which can be cut off, hitch the rope to it and 
tie over one above; cut the limb with the bees off, 
let it down carefully and haul it away. When you 
commence working, sawing or chopping, blow smoke 
into the entrance, A few blows on the side of the 
limb with a hammer after the bees have been smoked 
will demoralize them to such an extent that they will 
not offer to attack. If the bees are located in the body 
of the tree the only way to get them is to cut down the 
whole tree. Usually permission of the owmer of the 
land on which the tree is located can be secured. 
Bee trees should not be cut during cold weather, but 
any time in the Spring, Summer or Fall when the 
bees can fly will answer. The best time is in the Fall. 
Yoi; can cut ift mid-Winter but you will have to se¬ 
lect some warm day, warm enough for the bees to 
fly, before attempting a job of this kind, as they would 
fly out and chill to death. I would advise leaving the 
bees where they are and cut the tree next Spring. If 
you succeed in cutting it down in the Winter on 
some warm day you can put the log with the bees in 
the cellar and transfer next Spring. The cellar must 
be dark, or the bees will fly out and die. For a food 
give bees in cold weather rock candy. In warm 
weather give them a syrup of granulated sugar and 
water, equal parts. It can be mixed when cold if 
stirred well. e. r. root. 
TRUE MULCHING OF THE ORCHARD. 
Mulching as I understand it implies covering the 
soil with a medium, as leaves, hay, straw or corn¬ 
stalks. Many different things are available in the dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country, and all will add to the 
soil in greater or less degree the three most essential 
elements present in complete fertilizers, also humus, 
but most important of all this real mulch conserves 
all moisture that falls, and prevents most of the evap¬ 
oration, not taking up a large proportion of it in 
growing the cover crop which necessarily occurs in 
the method that has been so fully elaborated. Fur¬ 
ther this drain of the soil moisture is the most seri¬ 
ous from being the most rapid in the driest and hot¬ 
test of our seasons here in the West, and when the 
trees most need it, and in greatest abundance, to per¬ 
fect the crop supposed to be in evidence in the intelli¬ 
gently managed orchard. I have no criticism to make 
regarding the methods so successfully followed by Mr. 
PROF. JAMES E. RICE. Fig. 327. See Page 885. 
Hitchings and Mr. Vergon, and their achievements 
would surely satisfy all fair-minded people that they 
are pursuing the right course for them. Still, I can 
but feel that the conditions they have are different 
from those in my locality, nevertheless it is my con¬ 
viction that mulching pure and simple, not growing 
the mulch in the orchard, but using six to eight loads 
a year of straw, swale hay or an equivalent of other 
available material, would bring success to the or- 
chardist in the West to parallel that of the horticul¬ 
turists above mentioned. 
No doubt the proposition to bring the mulch from 
outside sources will be met at once by the objection 
that it is expensive, and I assent to same, but do not 
think the mulching should be begun until the orchard 
is beginning to bear, giving good cultivation up to 
that time, which is also expensive; further, The R. 
N.-Y. and many of its correspondents will not need 
to have the suggestion made that the material brought 
from outside generally contains a large percentage of 
its first cost of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, not 
to speak of the bacterial action set up by the humic 
forces set in motion. Of the very beneficent results 
attending the liberal use of mulch on all fruit trees, 
and I may say all fruits, especially in this semi-arii 
climate, it is scarcely necessary to speak; it is so very 
evident to all interested observers, but “line upon 
line” seems to be necessary to most of us, and I some¬ 
times hark back to the very readable articles of 
Woodbridge Strong and others in past volumes to 
strengthen my resolutions and renew my energies. If 
The R, N.-Y. columns are not closed on the subject, 
may we not hope to hear from others on real orcharfl 
mulching as above Indicated? c. b. p, 
Albany, 111. 
THE VINE BLACKBERRY IN ILLINOIS. 
I must differ from Mr. Van Deman in some particu¬ 
lars in his answer about the Oregon so-called Ever¬ 
green blackberry, but more properly Vine blackberry. 
I have had it for eight years and got the start from 
Wm. Irwin, of Indiana, who said he was the first to 
bring it east of the Rocky Mountains, and he got his 
start from a man in Oregon to whom a sailor pre¬ 
sented a couple of plants 10 or 12 years before, having 
brought them from what was then known as the Sand¬ 
wich Islands. As to its value in Illinois I will say it 
is in some respects valuable for family use if properly 
cared for, given plenty of water, the young vines kept 
well cut back during the Summer and protected by 
laying down and slightly covered during Winter. The 
good points are that it never suckers but remains for 
years where planted; the fruit remaining a longer 
time in season than any other. In size the fruit will 
compare favorably with Snyder with less core, sweeter 
and not so watery as any other blackberry. That is 
why it stands up so well when shipped from the Pa¬ 
cific coast to Chicago, and for this reason also it 
makes fine pies, with no trouble from running out 
of juice as with other berries. The vine here is not 
“evergreen,” the bearing canes dying each year, as 
other blackberries. I repeat that properly cared for, 
training to trellis, leaving vines not longer than 15 
feet, and keeping young vines cut back during first 
Summer so as to make them stocky, and allowing four 
or five vines to a hill, so as to be easily laid down for 
Winter protection, and plenty of water in dry seasons 
a family with little room in back yard or garden and 
little labor may be sure of plenty of first-quality 
blackberries, fresh every day or two for a month. 
Edgar Co., 111. iiavid emkrick. 
WHAT TO DO WITH RASPBERRIES. 
I have an acre planted to raspberries, red varieties, Co¬ 
lumbian, Miller and Cuthbert and Cumberland blackcap. 
These were one and two-year-old plants when set Spring 
of 1903, and owing to unfavorable circumstances were not 
manured till July, and accordingly have not made the 
growth they might have done. Twenty loads of horse 
manure per acre were applied. Each piant has shown up 
one good healthy shoot. How shall I handle this acre 
next year, try to crop it, cut all off to the ground in Feb¬ 
ruary, or leave this year’s growth and nip off blossoms? 
Is nitrate of soda alone good when wood only is 
needed as “frame” for the next year’s crop? What 
amount per plant should be given at an application, and 
how often? 
British Columbia. 
Picking off raspbei’ry blooms would be tedious and 
unprofitable work. Better let the plants develop in 
the natural way ripening all the berries, and cut out 
the old canes as soon as fruit is off. Stable manure 
at the rate of 12 or more tons to the acre is the most 
practical fertilizer for raspberries. It should be ap¬ 
plied in Spring, lightly plowed in and cultivation kept 
up until July, when it is a good plan to seed between 
the rows with Crimson clover, to be turned under 
early the following Spring. Wood ashes at the rate 
of half a ton to the acre are very beneficial, furnish¬ 
ing both lime and potash. Nitrate of soda alone has 
not been found profitable. If chemicals are to be re¬ 
lied on a good formula would be for each acre 100 
pounds nitrate of soda, 300 pounds dissolved South 
Carolina rock or bone and 100 pounds muriate of pot¬ 
ash. As raspberries are usually set about 3x6 feet, or 
2,400 to the acre, this would work out at a little more 
than three ounces of the mixture to each plant. The 
application is best made just as they start into 
growth. 
WHEN AND HOW TO SPREAD MANURE. 
I have read with interest the discussion in a recent 
number upon the best methods of handling farm ma¬ 
nures. Without doubt, the best way to handle it, pro¬ 
vided one can do so, is to haul it to the field each day 
and distribute it at once. Practically there are but 
few farms where this can be carried out. Their work 
presses at times, and consequently it is found more 
convenient to let the manure accumulate for a time 
and then haul it out. We have a manure spreader 
which handles about 40 bushels, and for some time 
we have been trying to determine how we could use 
this to the best advantage. It is so small that it is 
not economical for us to haul the manure from our 
storage shed to the fields on the manure spreader. We 
have finally decided upon the following plan as best 
adapted to our New England conditions. The manure 
is allowed to accumulate in the storage shed for about 
one month, then with our farm carts, which handle 
about 2,800 pounds of manure per load, the manure is 
hauled to the field and dumped in large piles. By 
means of the dump carts no labor is required what¬ 
ever in unloading. We have the manure spreader at 
work in the field hauling the manure from the large 
pile made in the field, and distributing it upon the 
land. We find this a better plan than to spread the 
manure directly from the carts by hand, and also bet¬ 
ter than leaving the manure in small piles to be dis¬ 
tributed by hand. We find it requires less labor to 
pitch the manure a second time into the manure 
spreader than to pitch the manure in spreading it by 
hand. With the spreader we can do a more even job 
pf distributing than in any other way. L, A, clintoNj 
(C onnecticut Experiment Station,. 
