1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
21 
EVERYBODY’S GARDEN. 
Winter Rhubarb.—I read in The R. 
N.-Y. about Winter rhubarb, and have 
taken up a few roots for planting in the 
cellar, and stored them in the barn. I 
would like you to give explicit directions 
as to what to do to get it to grow. My 
cellar has hot water heater and seems to 
be ideal. Shall I get sand to pack around 
the roots? Any directions will be thank¬ 
fully received, as fruit is so scarce that 
rhubarb will be enjoyed if I can get it to 
grow. H. T. A. 
Lyons Farms, N. J. 
Have tlie roots been thoroughly- 
frozen? If not, remove them from the 
barn, and place them outdoors where 
they will freeze solid, as that is the first 
requisite. Do not be afraid of too much 
freezing, for the more they get the bet¬ 
ter. When well frozen, remove them to 
tne cellar, and set snugly together in 
one corner, first covering the bed with 
an inch or two of moist soil (not dry 
sand). Tack a heavy blanket or old 
carpet to the floor above, allowing it to 
hang fully down to the cellar bottom, 
entirely excluding the light. This is im¬ 
portant, as the light will seriously in¬ 
jure the quality, and cause the leaves to 
grow. As your cellar has hot water 
heater it will be excellent for the pur¬ 
pose, but enclosing the rhubarb bed to 
shut out the light will doubtless exclude 
the heat also. You will easily deter¬ 
mine this, as if the bed is too cold, the 
stalks will start slowly if at all, and 
grow spindling. Should this be the case 
set a low lamp or lantern on the bed, 
which will doubtless be sufficient, if not 
use two, as more heat will cause more 
rapid growth. Smoke the chimney or 
globe in order to modify the light, as 
even too long lamplight will impair the 
quality and color, and start the leaves 
to growing. Do not use sand, but moist 
soil to fill up the spaces, and they may 
be filled clear up to the crowns or cov¬ 
ered entirely up. Rhubarb is the most 
accommodating crop in the world, espe¬ 
cially in the cellar, and will grow and 
grow if it has a ghost of a chance. The 
above directions are all that are neces¬ 
sary, unless it be to water the bed if it 
becomes too dry, and it is a good plan 
to keep it quite moist. It will be very 
easy to handle; the results will be a 
surprise, and you will find it a very 
cheap and exceedingly welcome delicacy, 
especially when apples are selling at 50 
cents per dozen, as they are in many of 
our stores here. Remember this, too, 
there is plenty of time to lift more 
roots, whenever the ground is not frozen 
too hard to dig them, and they may be 
put in the cellar clear up to the middle 
of March. In this way you can have a 
steady supply until the outdoor crop is 
ready for use. A western correspondent 
writes: 
i have just purchased the New Rhubarb 
Culture, but find my chief difficulty lies In 
getting started here in this new country. 
Two years ago I planted one-half pound 
rhubarb seed (Myatt’s Victoria), and got 
only two plants. Last year I planted the 
same amount and got only 22 plants. 
Where can I buy reliable seed? I live on 
the bank of a lovely lake, and near my 
place is a shallow bay, where the decayed 
vegetable matter of ages has accumulated 
to the depth of three feet or more. Last 
Spring I hauled some of the deposit on my 
onion ground, and found it excellent for 
onions. How do you think it would do for 
rhubarb? What ought one to pay for ni¬ 
trate of soda by the pound wholesale? 
These results were indeed very dis¬ 
couraging, but I would not depend en¬ 
tirely upon the seed for getting a start. 
If any of your neighbors have the de¬ 
sired variety, get a few old roots of them 
and in the Spring divide them up, leav¬ 
ing one or more eyes on each piece, and 
plant them out as soon as practical. If 
you cannot obtain the old roots, send to 
a seedsman and get the young plants 
and set them, as in this way you will 
save much time over growing from the 
seed. Do not abandon growing from the 
seed, however, but try it in the hotbed 
and also in the open ground. Follow 
carefully the directions given in the 
book, as it gives every needed help from 
the seed sowing to eating and market¬ 
ing. The seed firm you mention is cer¬ 
tainly one of the most reliable in the 
country and their seeds ought to grow. 
My advice is to write them, carefully 
explaining every particular, and they 
will, I am sure, be glad to meet you half 
way at least. 
The deposit of the bay, if accessible, 
will be a veritable gold mine, and work 
equally as well for rhubarb or almost 
any other vegetable as for onions. Use 
it unsparingly, but it may be better, 
however, to haul it into piles or mix it 
with manure and expose it to the action 
of the frost and air for the Winter at 
least, before using it. Try both ways 
and let results prove which is the better. 
The price of nitrate of soda will doubt¬ 
less vary according to circumstances of 
location and the dealer of whom you 
buy. I have bought it at ?3 per 100 
wnen the same dealer asked 10 cents 
by the single pound. Larger quantities 
than 100 pounds would doubtless be pro¬ 
portionately less. Write to the Propa¬ 
ganda for Nitrate of Soda, 12 John Street, 
New York, and they will send you the 
address of your nearest dealer, and will 
also send you if desired valuable litera¬ 
ture on its uses. Much care must be ex¬ 
ercised in its use, however, as it is a 
very helpful servant but a very hard 
master. Do not let it come in direct 
contact with the leaves or roots of 
plants, especially if young, as it is very 
concentrated, and will destroy them at 
short range. Scatter on the surface near 
the plants and work it into the soil with 
a hoe or other implement. 
Michigan. J. e. morse. 
What About Beardless Barley ? 
Our readers who are looking for some¬ 
thing to substitute for oats ask for a fair 
statement of the value of beardless barley 
as compared with oats. What are its ad¬ 
vantages and drawbacks? Does it require 
very fertile soil, or does it lodge easily? 
Is it a breeding place for the Hessian fly? 
About what is the average yield per acre, 
and what is its time for ripening, whether 
later or earlier than oats? 
Its advantages are its excellent yield¬ 
ing quality and its value as stock food, 
also its ability to stand up on the most 
fertile soil. Its drawbacks are that it 
grows too short to harvest on thin soil 
and must be sown very early—does not 
lodge. It requires very good soil to make 
a full crop. I do not think it a breeding 
place for fly. I have grown 46 to 48 
bushels per acre; have known of 65 
bushels. It ripens with the earliest 
wheat, 10 days before oats, and is the 
most satisfactory grain to harvest I 
have ever grown. I like it better than 
oats, because I can grow as many or 
more bushels per acre; stock eat the 
straw in preference to oat straw. I 
never saw any lodged barley, excepting 
in one case, and that from a very hard 
storm and heavy grain, and it brings 
nearly double the price of oats in mar¬ 
ket. c. D. LYON. 
Ohio. 
So far as we are able to learn from our 
customers beardless barley does well 
even where other barley is not grown at 
all. We have orders for it from every 
section of country. In Illinois, for in¬ 
stance, no bearded barley is grown at 
all, but we have shipped a good many 
lots of the beardless down there. Farm¬ 
ers here find the beardless as a rule not 
quite up to the Manchurian, which is 
the best bearded variety, but many grow 
the beardless because much nicer to 
handle, better to seed with and better for 
feeding. As to freedom from smut, we 
have never seen any smut in beardless 
barley. Most other barley and almost 
all the oats were very smutty here last 
season, but the beardless was entirely 
free from it. As to season it is much 
earlier than oats, and earlier than other 
barley by at least a week. We never 
tried cutting it early for hay. It would 
certainly make good hay, although the 
straw is rather short. It does not make 
as large a growth as oats, or even as 
other barley, as a rule. We have now 
hulless barley, too, which seems to be 
meeting with much favor. It grows like 
the beardless and looks like it until 
thrashed. Then the hulls all come off 
and leave the grain much like wheat in 
looks. L. L. OLDS. 
Wisconsin. 
HALE'S 
ORCHARD 
TOOLS 
Clark’s Hay Tools, 
D. A. Harrow moves 
15,000 tons earth In 
a day. These 5 tools 
cut a track 31 feet wide. 
IMPROVED iMfe. 16-ln. Sulky 
SICKLE iHP®l*iow; draft 
WATER 300 lbs. All made by 
miiNTUTH the Cutaway Uarrow Company, 
uhlh n of lllgganum, Conn. 
8end for Circular. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
"asquaredeal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
ZERS 
Beardless Barley 
Is prodigally prolific, yield¬ 
ing in 1901 for Mr. Wells, 
Orleans Co., New York, 109 
bushels per acre. Does well 
everywher e. Tha t pays. 
20th Century Oats. 
The oat marvel, producing 
from '200 to 300 bus. per acre. 
Snl/.er’s Oats are war¬ 
ranted to produce great 
yields. The U. S. Ag. Dept, 
calls them the very bestl 
That pays. 
Three Eared Corn. 
200 to 250 bus. per acre, Is 
extremely profitable at pres¬ 
ent pricesofcorn. Hnlzor’. 
Bueds produce everywhere. 
Marvel Wheat 
yielded in 30 States last year 
over 40 bus. per acre. We also 
have the celebrated Maccu- 
ronlWheat, which yielded 
on our farms 63 bu*. per acre. 
That pay*. 
Speltz. 
Greatest cereal food on 
earth—80 bus. grain und 4 
tons magnificent hay per 
acre. That pays. 
Victoria Rape 
makes it possible to grow 
hogs, sheep and cattle at a 
cost of but lc a lb. Marvel¬ 
ously prolific, does well 
everywhere. That pay». 
Bromus Inermls. 
Mo«t wonderful grass of 
the century. Produces6tons 
of hay and lots and lots of 
pasturage besides per acre. 
Grows wherever soil is 
found. Salzer’s seed is 
warranted . Tha t pay a. 
$1 0.00 for 1 Oc. 
We wish you to try our 
great farm seeds, hence 
offer to send 10 farm seed 
r samples, containing Thousand 
Headed Kale, Teosiute, Rape, 
Alfalfa, Speltz, etc. (fully worth 
$10.00 to get a start) together with 
our great catalog, for 10c postage. 
J 
m 
w 
V 
: 
L ‘ J 
John ASalzer Seed Co. L *w?l?F 
HOLMES WIRE ROPE SEEDER. 
Sows 14 or 16 ft. wide. Light, strong iron wheel. Un- 
equaled for sowing timothy, cloveis alfalfa, etc*. We 
want age nt a In every locality. Write for special terms. 
THE HOLiES WIRE ROPE SEEDER CO.. YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN. 
FISTULA AND POLL EVIL 
FlemiiiR^TfistnUwinHPolHCvi^u^^ Cured 
is a new, scientific <fc certain remedy. I , , - , 
NO COST IF IT FAILS. I 111 15 tO 
Write today for Important circular No. Ill Inn 1)0110 
FLEMING BROS., Chemists, B uU UdjS 
Union Stock Yards, Chicago. 1 
ARIEL TENTING CLOTH of tobacco, vege¬ 
tables and market produce. Made especially for the 
purpose in widths of 124, 144 and 200 Inches. Orders 
received Jor early Spring delivery. 
J. H LANE & CO., 110 Worth 8t., N. Y. City. 
Second-hand cloth (used one season) for sale by 
ARIEL MITCHKLSON, Taritlville, Conn. 
American Gardening 
10 Sample Copies, separate Issues, 10c. 
Published at 136 Liberty St., New York. 
Plank save Timber and cash. Best 
DalllS cheapest, strongest; 4,000 In use. Book 
for stamp. 8HAWVKR BBOS., Bellefontalne. Ohio. 
NO HUMBUG- 3 p< 7n , nl.°° 18 
Humano Swino V Stock Marker and Calf Dehomer. 
Stops swine of all ages from rooting. Makes 48 different 
ear marks, large or small. No change of blado. Extracts 
iiorns. Testimonials free. Prico $1.60, or send $1.00, got 
it on trial. If it suits, send balance. Fat’d Apr. 23,1901. 
FARMER BRIGHTON, FAIRFIELD, IOWA. 
Gasoline Engine 
i t c r r\ An y pi »ce 
LJXrl) Any One 
LiJLl/ For Any Purpose 
Stationeries, Portables, Kngines 
and Pumps, Holsters 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and 
Testimonials. State your Power Needs. 
Charter Gas Engine Co., Box 26, Sterling, III. 
MIETZ & WEISS 
Kerosene Engines 
Cheapest, and Safest Power 
Known. For pumping and 
electric lighting, grinding 
corn, separating cream, 
sawing wood, and all power 
purposes. Awarded Gold 
Medal Pan-American Kxp., 
Buffalo, 1901. Send for Cat. 
A. MIETZ 
128 Mott Street, New York. 
IT PUMPS IT UP.' 
No matter how faraway or how steep 
I the hill the 
RIFE HYDRAULIC ENGINE 
will force the water up and put it where 
you want it, most convenient for use. 
Will fill a storage tank 
{any height above the source 
of supply, when water may 
be drawn through buildings, 
dairy houses, stable, yardB, 
etc. by gravitv process. It 
runs Itself. Never stops. Will force up the pure water of a spring 
with the muddy water of a brook without mixing. Write us 
your needs and we’ll send plans and estimates of cost. 
RIFE ENGINE CO., 122 Liberty Sfreel, New York, N. t. 
A Literal Proposition. 
Thrice-a-Week World and ) Cl gR 
The Kural New- Y orker f a teak 
One of our special offers is the Thrice-a-Week 
World and The Rural New-Yorker combined 
for $1.65 a year. By this arrangement you are 
Bure to obtain all the news of the day, and infor¬ 
mation of special interest to the farm and home 
at the same time. The Thrice-a-Week World is a 
clean, reliable newspaper, and the low figure at 
which it is offered, in conjunction with The Rural 
New-Yorker, should make the combination un¬ 
usually attractive. 
Record at the Paa-Anierican Model Dairy. 
De Laval average skim-milk test, .0172 Buttermilk test, .121 
i 
I 
-.1 
United States “ “ 0138 
Gain U. S. over De Laval, .0034 
.109 
.015 
l! 
u 
I 
K 
I 
$ 
fl 
$ 
The above shows that the De Laval Separator left 25 per cent 
more bntter-fat in the skim-milk than the United States . An im 
mense waste that amounts to a very large sum of money upon the 
dairy products of the world. Enough to pay for a United States 
Separator to replace every De Laval Separator now in use. 
Rural 
THE 
Delivery 
A POSTOFFICE 
T YOUR DOOR 
THE SIGNAL MAIL BOX, Bates- 
Hawley Patent, IS THE ORIGINAL BOX 
FOR RURAL SERVICE. It has been 
SIGNAL 
MAIL BOX 
especially recommended by the Post¬ 
master General— Is full government size, 18x6)4x1114, and is the only 
one which will meet all your requirements. Material—Heavy Steel and 
Iron, completely Galvanized, finished very attractively in Aluminum and 
Red. Yale lock. Automatic Signal flag. Individual celluloid name plate. 
FREE SAMPLE worth $3. for first list of patrons on proposed routes. 
Write for particulars. SIGNAL MAIL BOX CO., (Box Al) Joliet, III. 
