1‘iOO 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
687 
myself. At least 50 barrels were used in the northern 
districts, and probably more. Fully 20,000 trees of all 
kinds have been treated with undiluted material, and 
a great many more by a diluted mixture. Much has 
been learnt which will be embodied in a bulletin this 
Fall, and I am more confident than ever that in this 
material, properly applied, we have a reliable check 
to the insect that was heralded as the doom of east¬ 
ern horticulture should it ever establish itself. Fes- 
tina lente (hasten slowly) is a good motto! 
New Brunswick, N. J. joiin b. smith. 
WEEVILS IN SEED BEANS. 
Keep the Bean Bags Open. 
On page 626, A. J. N. refers to a former com¬ 
munication of mine about my experience with the 
Bean weevil, and he does not. appear clearly to under¬ 
stand what I meant to say about the weevils attack¬ 
ing dry beans. What I meant to say was that weevils 
would not attack dry beans or multiply in them when 
the beans are left uncovered, so the weevils can 
escape to the open air as the beetles emerge from 
the pupal state. I feel sure that the weevils will 
never attack the dry beans if they can go elsewhere 
to feed and lay their eggs. Beans tied up in bags are 
confined, and as then the weevils cannot escape will 
feed on and multiply in the dry seed. A very few 
weevils in such condition will soon become a host, and 
their rapid increase is 'accompanied by an increase of 
temperature, so great that the 'hand thrust into the 
contents of bag will feel a sensation of warmth, ap¬ 
parently more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit some¬ 
times. My experience and observation leads me to 
the conclusion that unless there i's absolute certainty 
that no living weevils in any stage of existence are in 
the beans, it is not safe to bag them or head them up 
in barrels for storage, but if left open no danger of 
attack by weevils need be apprehended. A. J. N.’s 
beans, which were in a basket, were not attacked, 
which he attributes to camphor, but they would have 
been safe if no camphor had been present, as the 
weevils could escape from the basket to search for a 
more desirable place to multiply their species. I in¬ 
fer from what A. J. N. says about the sacks of beans 
being stored in a place where ‘“insects had free access 
through openings between the logs,” that he sup¬ 
poses the beans were attacked by the weevils through 
the sack covering. I do not think so. There- were 
probably some weevils in some stage of existence in 
those beans when they were bagged and as the 
beetles could not escape when emerging from the 
pupa, they began to do their best under the conditions 
to obey the first injunction to all animal and vegetable 
organizations; increase and multiply. 
A. J. N.’s preventives may i.ave kept the weevils 
from multiplying, or there may not have been any 
weevils present to multiply. It does not follow that 
two lots of beans growing side by side will be alike 
affected by weevils. I have had early beans and late 
beans Side by iside, the arly badly infested, the late 
uninjured. I suppose the late beans did not reach a 
stage of maturity for attack until the beetles had 
completed their egg laying for the season. On this 
supposition I act' and by late planting avoid weevily 
beans. I suppose that if all the crop is subjected, 
after harvesting, to fumes of bisulphide of carbon it 
would prevent any further damage by weevils. I have 
written rather lengthily, but some previous writer to 
A, J. N. did not seem fully to understand my thought 
of the necessity of leaving the stored beans uncovered 
to prevent weevils from multiplying in them, if 
there are any living in them. I may be nn error, but I 
think I am correct. m. morse. 
RYE HAY IN THE ROCKIES. 
I have noticed letters in several of your late issues 
about rye hay. A great many of the writers say 
that it is no value for hay, and describe the stalks as 
large, woody and unpalatable. In fact they give one 
the impression that they do not know what rye hay 
is or looks like, or in fact anything about it. In this 
State we make a business of feeding stock, not ."a 
your correspondent/s probably do with five or six tons, 
but in many cases with the hay product of 1,000 or 
more acres, and Mr. Clark’s yields are often dupli¬ 
cated hr s, but never his fertilizing methods. I my¬ 
self have grown rye hay, for hay, und rye for grain 
also many times during the last 15 years. I never saw 
the team yet that would not leave old Timothy hay 
for nicely-cured and equally fine rye hay, cut before 
the heads have had time to beard or bloom. Rye 
should be sown as thick as one can put it on, and cut 
just at the right time. If any mistake is made let it 
be cut too soon. If cut too late, or if it gets rained 
on, one would better buy straw and feed, and throw 
the rye away. By cutting at the light tim > I have 
never failed to get a second ciop, which can be cut 
for hay or seed. If one has plenty of land to spare 
he can leave the second crop to stand and run a com¬ 
bination spike-tooth and brush harrow over at the 
right time, thus getting a Seeding free of charge for 
next year. I have thus grown rye hay without ir¬ 
rigation on the same land for seven years, beginning 
With 2 y 2 tons to the acre, and ending with one-half 
ton to the acre, then sow to Alfalfa. If, on the con¬ 
trary, one has little ground and wants a lot of hay 
he must cut his first crop of hay; plow the ground, 
irrigate, and sow a thick seeding of oats, which even 
in our short season will produce iy 2 ton to two tons 
of fine hay before frost. Summer fallowing of land, 
which one of the clippings refer to, I saw pronounced 
by T. Greiner, one of your eastern farm writers, as 
OCTOBER PURPLE PLUM. Flo. 259. 
a back number. With us it is our favorite way of 
farming, and the authorities of our experiment sta¬ 
tion say that there is no appreciable loss of fertility 
in any shape through the practice. Truly one-half 
the farmers don’t know how the other half lives. 
Montana. n. c. b. colvill. 
CATTLE FEEDING IN MIDDLE WEST. 
During the last 10 years there has been quite a 
change in the methods of handling cattle in the Mid¬ 
dle West. Before that time feeders raised their cattle, 
while now it is an exception for a feeder to do so. 
They buy grass cattle in August (two-year-olds) and 
finish them by the following April, May or longer, de¬ 
pending on the feeding qualities and state of markets. 
These cattle are all kinds; range cattle, all of which 
have “writing on” (branded), natives from western 
Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas; southern cattle 
from Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. The cattle are 
grazed on tame grasses until late Fall, then fed on hay 
and a small ration of snap corn, gradually increasing 
the corn, and adding a little oil meal for the last few 
weeks. As to profit, that depends on the margin be¬ 
tween tne cost and selling price, on the cost of feed, 
length of time they are fe<l, etc. Usually the feeders 
A BUNCH OF KANSAS SHORT-HORNS. Fig. 260. 
aim to get 75 cents per 100 pounds margin. In ex¬ 
ceptional cases a smaller margin may pay a profit. 
Practically the whole uusiness partakes largely of 
the nature ol gambling. The railroads always get the 
lion’s share. Some one has said, “The railroads get 
four freights on every steer,” which is true. Now add 
commission twice, yardage a couple of times, first cost 
of steer, cost of feed, interest and loss; anyone can 
see that there is small chance of profit; in fact, the 
average feeder thinks he is flying high if he comes 
out even; all he expects is a fair price for his feed 
and the business of it for profit. A short time ago I 
was talking to a young man who had fed western and 
native cattle for a number of years. In answer to a 
question he said: “ I have never made a cent of ac¬ 
tual profit in cattle feeding.” I asked why he did not 
quit, “Well,” said he, “I keep up the fertility of my 
land by raising hay and grass, and have the yards, 
etc., and so long as I get a fair price for the feed, shall 
continue to feed.” The above example shows the con¬ 
ditions existing here at present, in a few years there 
will be a change back to old times, as many farmers 
are raising calves once more. Fig. 260 shows a small 
bunch of well-bred Short-horns. 
WALTER ZIMMERMAN. 
POSITIONS ON THE FARM. 
A recent paragraph in The R. N.-Y., relating to the 
difficulty experienced by wealthy men in obtaining 
satisfactory farm superintendents, affords a good text 
for an agricultural sermon. The statement is made 
that the agricultural colleges ought to supply this de¬ 
mand. I believe that in most cases the agricultural 
colleges appreciate the demand, and are frequently 
called upon to suggest men for just such positions, 
a sei vice which they are glad to render when possible. 
Unfortunately there are two reasons why they are not 
able to meet the demand. The first is that positions 
of this sort demand more than a college training. A 
banking corporation does not seek a young man 
fresh from the business college for itis president or 
cashier. Neither does a manufacturing firm seek a 
superintendent among the students of a mechanical 
school. A business-college course may be of great 
service to the bank cashier, and a mechanical course 
may greatly help a young man in his climb toward a 
factory superintendency, but neither is sufficient in 
itself. We learn to do things by doing them. None 
of us likes to trust a difficult case in law or meuicme 
to the young graduate of the legal or medical school. 
Is it more reasonable to expect the young agricultural 
graduate to have become master of his profession? 
I he position of farm superintendent demands ex¬ 
perience, judgment and executive ability, things not 
acquired in the class-room, and which not every man 
possesses. Hence it usually demands men of greater 
age than those whom the colleges nave on their list. 
Back of age in its students, however, is not the most 
serious reason why the agricultural college is not 
able to supply this demand. The chief trouble lies 
in the fact that it gets so few agricultural students. 
I his is the great problem in agricultural education 
to-day. Men are seeking the best that may be learned 
in agriculture, and stand ready to impart the in¬ 
formation freely and gladly, but few or none come 
for it. Many suggestions have been made as to the 
reason. It is sometimes urged that the colleges are 
untrue to their trust, that they do not devote a fair 
proportion of their funds to agricultural work. There 
is stiong temptation to do this in some instances 
when students are multiplying and calling for instruc¬ 
tion in other lines, while few or none can be induced 
to take agricultural work. Yet agriculture is seldom 
treated unfairly, and it is doubtful whether the records 
of a single institution maintaining different courses 
can be found which will not show a far greater pro¬ 
portionate outlay per student in agricultural lines 
than in any other. Again, it is urged that the stand- 
aids of admission are too high, so that farmers’ sons 
cannot reach ,uem. Yet statistics very often show a 
larger number of sons and daughters of farmers 
among the student body than of the children of any 
other class of people. These students seem to have 
met the college requirements without difficulty, but 
they are not in the agricultural course. Further¬ 
more, there are few, if any, of the agricultural col¬ 
leges where special students may not be admitted, 
without examination, to take up any line of agricul¬ 
tural work for which they are fitted, which includes 
most of the practical work. The only requirement is 
that they shall have .a sufficient English education to 
be able to make the work which they take of value 
to themselves. This is aside from the short courses 
offered by so many institutions. I am convinced that 
much of the trouble lies entirely outside the college, 
and is to be found in the farm homes. We are too 
apt to magnify the unpleasant features of our own 
calling, and overlook the pleasant ones. Too often 
the farmer and his wife want the son and the 
daughter to follow some other calling, in which they 
believe there is less work and more return. For 
this reason they are sent to college for the express 
purpose of getting away from the farm, and obviously 
they are not found in the agricultural courses. Yet 
I believe that at the present time there are more good 
openings in agricultural lines than in any other. 
Measured in terms of the comforts of life few posi¬ 
tions offer better return than just such ones as are 
referred to in the paragraph under discussion. There 
are aliso many calls for men to fill positions demand¬ 
ing less experience, but affording an opportunity to 
acquire it, thus enabling the occupant to grow into 
a better place when fitted for it. fred w. card. 
Rhode Island Exp. Station. 
From cold storage tests made at the Kansas Experi¬ 
ment Station, it was learned that grapes kept in the 
best condition when packed in dry sawdust or cork chips. 
This adsorbs the moisture and thus prevents mold. The 
length of lime which they may be kept in cold storage 
depends somewhat upon the variety, but two months was 
found to be about the limit. 
