83o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 1ST- 
grande” for that season, and the astonishing total of 
10 tons was recorded. During the World's Fair, and 
again at the time of the California Mid-Winter Ex¬ 
position, large sums were offered Mr. Wilson for the 
removal of the vine for exhibition purposes, but he 
wisely declined both. geo. g. m’j.ean. 
California. 
FOOD NEEDED BY FRUIT TREES. 
What is the amount of potash in a ton of fruit? How 
much phosphoric acid and nitrogen? We wish to know 
how much plant food to put to a tree to meet require¬ 
ments of its fruit production. H. G. 
Gossport, N. Y. 
Ans.—A ton of apples will average the following 
amounts, in pounds, of water and plant lood: 
Phosphoric 
Water. Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. Lime. 
3,600 2% 2 4 1 
A yield of 200 bushels of apples per acre would take 
away from the soil 12*4 pounds of nitrogen, 10 of 
phosphoric acid and 20 of potash. Two tons of aver¬ 
age stable manure would give 20 pounds of nitrogen, 
26 of potash and five of phosphoric acid, but no good 
fanner will pretend to say that this would be an 
abundant manuring for an acre of large apple trees. 
Why not? Because we cannot measure the food re¬ 
quirements of a crop by the exact amount of plant 
food which the salable part removes from the soil. 
As an illustration, take a cow. Suppose sue gives 20 
pounds of milk per day. That would mean 1.6 ounce 
of nitrogen, half an ounce of potash and half an ounce 
of phosphoric acid. Eight pounds of clover hay would 
give these amounts, and more besides. A pound of 
cotton-seed meal would do the same, yet no one would 
expect the cow to continue to give her 20 pounds of 
milk because you feed her all the plant food you milk 
away, and give her all the water she wants to drink. 
The reason for this is evident—the cow requires not 
only what she gives back in the milk, but a good deal 
more to provide for the wastes of the body and to 
keep her warm and supply energy with which to 
change that water into milk. A good share of the 
food also is not available and passes through the sys¬ 
tem as manure. 
Now in feeding the tree we must consider much the 
same things. The tree makes each year a large 
growth of root, trunk and branch. All this draws 
heavily on the soil for food. There is also produced 
a heavy crop of leaves, many of which are blown 
away and lost to the soil. The tree also stores up 
plant food ahead of the actual crop, and all these 
things must be provided for when we use manures or 
fertilizers. Prof. Roberts has figured out the amounts 
of plant food removed from an acre of apple trees in 
20 years. He allows 35 trees to an acre, and figures 
average crops of fruit for 20 years after they begin 
to bear: 
Removed in 20 years. 
Nitrogen. Plios. Acid. Potash. 
Apples ... 498.6 35.25 72S.55 
Leaves . 456.75 126. 411. 
Trees (35) . 283.15 1 07.45 264.25 
Total .1.238.50 271.50 1.433.80 
You will see that the fruit removed 40 per cent of 
the nitrogen, 13 of the phosphoric acid and 50 per 
cent of the potash. Part of the plant food which was 
needed to make the crop of leaves may be saved, but 
if the orchard is mowed or pastured some plant food 
is taken away, so that the actual requirements are 
about as given. According to these figures a yearly 
application of 25 pounds of nitrogen, two of phos¬ 
phoric acid and 36 of potash will replace all the plant 
food removed by the crop. This would be found in 
three tons of average stable manure. Yet, as we said 
before, no good apple grower will believe that he can 
keep up the yield for 20 years with any such light 
manuring. The plan of adding to the soil just what 
the crop remoA^es may answer fairly well in pot cul¬ 
ture with crops line lettuce or cabbage, Avhere neai ly 
all the plant is soid, but it will not do in orchards 
Avhere from 50 to 80 per cent of the plant food must 
go to produce root, stem and leaf. In feeding or¬ 
chards the safe rule is to find Avhat proportions of 
nitrogen, potash and phospnoric acid are needed, and 
then put them on liberally. 
DO BEES DAMAGE FRUIT? 
That question came up in Hungary in a practical 
way two or three years ago, Avhen grape growers in 
a certain district accused the insects of puncturing 
the ripe berries. The matter Avas referred to Prof. 
.Josef JablonoA\ r sky, the State Entomologist, at Buda¬ 
pest. All the evidence knoAvn to him was against the 
charge, and none of the observations at and near 
Budapest gave the least support to it. But no amount 
of negatiA’e evidence can discredit even a single posi¬ 
tive observation, and he visited the district Avhere 
the crime Avas committed. I saAv Prof. Jablonowsky 
at Budapest in June, 1900, and he told me there Avas 
no doubt that the bees Avere guilty as charged. But 
in extenuation it Avas said that there was absolutely 
nothing else for them to eat at that season. The re¬ 
gion is semi-arid and, while there are plenty of Spring 
flowers, there is nothing for the bees after midsum¬ 
mer. What was at first an occasional feeding on a 
broken grape developed into an occasional attack on 
a sound one, and this became a universal habit in a 
surprisingly short time. The mouth parts of a bee, 
Avhile beautifully adapted for gathering nectar, have 
also well-developed jaws or mandibles, and there is 
absolutely no reason why they should not puncture 
ripe fruits tc get at the juices if there is nothing else 
equally attractive. I do not believe that the fruit¬ 
piercing habit is at all a normal one and, so far as 
my oAvn obserA r ations go, I have never seen a bee on 
HALL’S SEEDLING PEACH. Fia. 320. See Page 835. 
any fruit not previously injured by some other cause. 
I would be ahvays inclined to seek a prior break rath¬ 
er than consider the bee guilty. I am a believer in 
bees, and frequently suggest bee keeping in large or¬ 
chard areas. I think their work in securing a set of 
fruit far outweighs the little mischief they may cause 
on ripe examples. And after all, if lack of suitable 
food is really at the bottom of their raid, why not 
feed the bees? DeliDerately sacrifice a feAv juicy 
fruits to them, or a few pans of sugar water or di¬ 
luted molasses. Or plant a clover patch Avhere they 
can get it, or buckwheat, or Avhatever else may he 
in honey-yielding condition when the fruits ripen; but 
keep the bees by all means. The trees need them. 
New Brunswick, N. J. john b. smith. 
A SOLID AND SUBSTANTIAL SILO. 
I am constrained to believe that the advocates of 
the so-called cheap silos are making a mistake, this 
conclusion being drawn both from observation and 
personal experience, it may have been wise in the 
NEAV IDEA FOR A SILO. Fig. 321. 
past to advise and to construct such silos, because 
many farmers considered it experimental, and I am 
Avilling to say hoav that a cheap construction is bet¬ 
ter than none at all, from the fact that few are bold 
enough to deny its necessity. We are warranted in ad- 
A r ising the building only of thoroughly airtight Avails. 
Whether Ave have yet reached the ideal I am not sure. 
We have been slowly solving during the past 10 years, 
and shall, no doubt, make further improvements. I 
think, lioweA r er, that when we take into consideration 
both cost and A r alue, the well-built stave silo the most 
satisfactory. Fig. 321 shows a section of a stave silo 
Avith staves six inches Avide and 2% inches thick. Pine, 
beveled to the circle, grooved and tongued, is put to¬ 
gether with Avhite lead, making each joint airtight, 
ends of staves being joined with a heavy piece of gal¬ 
vanized iron. The foundation is similar to any barn 
wall, only the Avail projection is outside the silo, per¬ 
mitting an even perpendicular wall on the inside. The 
top of the Avail is so inclined that ivater cannot stand 
upon it. The inside of wall and bottom of silo are 
cemented, the center being about six inches lower 
than the side; a basin-shaped bottom. The roof 
should be symmetrical, Avith Avide cornice projections, 
and, if possible, so adjoining the barn as to give it a 
fine architectural appearance. Two coats of paint and 
a weather x r ane complete the external construction. 
Fig. 321 shows some coni'eniences not always found. 
Some trouble has arisen in connection Avith solid iron 
rods, lacking flexibility; silo expansion and cold wea¬ 
ther have caused them to break. The Page wire fence 
has been used to some extent, and has the advantage 
of overcoming to a degree this difficulty, but other ob¬ 
jections seem to offset it, so that it has not come in¬ 
to general use. In casting about for a medium that 
would combine the good qualities of both the steel 
wire cable seemed to fill the bill. I found the Roeb- 
ling Manufacturing Company giving the strength of 
oue-half-inch Avire rope as one-third greater than %- 
inch solid iron, and at the same time possessing the 
flexibility so much needed. The system of fastening 
is the ordinary tAvin buckle; other means, however, 
may be equally as good. The system of doors has al- 
Avays been a difficult one to solve. The continuous 
door is the only satisfactory one, yet the patent doors 
that I have seen are open to many objections not 
necessary to enumerate here. My idea was to get a 
door that should be continuous, hung on the outside, 
firmly held and always ready to use. This Ave se¬ 
cured by alternating the doors with two staves be¬ 
tween them uncut. The heavy iron cleats formed to 
the circle serve also as hinges. They are bolted to a. 
similiar iron on the inside, countersunk in the door 
and staves. These doors are fastened Avith refriger¬ 
ator-door fasteners, tAvo on the lower doors and one 
on the doors nearer the top, holding the doors abso¬ 
lutely to their place. The dormer window in the roof 
furnishes sufficient light and a place to fill. We have, 
therefore, combined durability, effectiveness and con¬ 
venience. H. E. COOK. 
REPORTS ON ALFALFA. 
DROUGHT AND MOISTURE.—I know of two trials 
near me, one on rich barnyard land at base of hill. 
This piece is about a failure, on account of excessive 
moisture in the soil. My brother has the other piece, 
and on under-drained land it is doing well, but on 
naturally well-drained soil it seemed to succumb to 
the dry Aveather in June to a certain extent. 
Black Ash, Pa. w. h. m. 
FAILED IN NEW YORK.—In the Spring of 1899 I 
sowed one acre of fertile clay loam corn stubble, after 
an excellent preparation Avith Clark’s Cutaivay and 
spring-tooth harrows, sowed to oats, seeding dOAvn 
with one-half bushel of Alfalfa and six quarts of Tim¬ 
othy. The growth of grass seeding Avas light at har¬ 
vest, oAving to dry, hot weather, but later rains gave 
(he Alfalfa a fine groAvth ahead of the Red clOA r er in 
the rest of the field, Avhich had been killed consider¬ 
ably, especially after the oats were harvested. I pas¬ 
tured lightly with sheep, and it Avent into Winter Avith 
a fine promise of a crop this year. But 1 was doomed 
to disappointment; it all lay with its foot-long roots 
on top of the ground. It could not be the exposed 
situation, as some sheltered but arid land shared the 
same fate. It might have been different under a more 
favorable Winter. As a dry-weather plant it proved 
a grand success, but as a Winter plant on our hills 
it Avas a dismal failure. m. h. ii. 
Prattsburg, N. Y. 
GOOD IN OHIO.—Prof. Roberts wishes to know 
about Alfalfa. I have raised it in a small way for 
the last six years, and shall soav more in the Spring. 
I consider it the best hay crop that a farmer can 
raise. All stock eat it readily and do Avell on it. I 
cut mine four times this last season, getting 1V Z to 
tivo tons per acre at a cutting. From Avhat I read 
1 don’t consider that I have as good land (clay) for 
it as they haA r e in the West, but I am told that mine 
was as heavy as any seen in the West. I put the land 
in good condition in the Spring, or better yet, in the 
Fall previous and sow as early in the Spring as the 
condition of the soil will permit, and soav 15 or 20 
pounds of seed to the acre, according to the fertility 
of the land, as the poorer the soil the more seed, but 
I soav it alone without oats or any other grain. It 
will do better, they tell me, Avhere the roots can reach 
water, but I have some groiving Avhere there is no 
chance of their reaching water below, and it is doing 
well. When once established in the soil, it is there 
to stay, and will take care of itself, and takes entire 
possession of the land. It requires perhaps a little 
more time and care in curing than other clover, but 
any farmer could judge as to that. c. d. j. 
Lakeside, O. 
