334 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 10 
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN HOMES. 
Our two little pictures furnish the material for a 
whole volume of history. The rude building shown 
at Fig. 126 was “home” to the pioneers who crossed 
Kansas and sought free land in the wilderness. A 
dozen years of hard and patient toil and the old 
shanty gives place to the comfortable home at Fig. 
127! If one could have the history of those 12 long 
years what a story of a bulldog fight against hard con¬ 
ditions it would make! For such victories are not 
easily won. The tools with which men and women 
build homes on the western prairies are stained with 
blood and tears, which even the happiness of victory 
cannot fully wipe out. Yet the Far West has seen 
thousands of just such victories, and each one adds to 
the stability of State and country. Twenty years ago 
the writer iived in Colorado. At that time the ma¬ 
jority of the people who lived there talked of “making 
their pile” and then going back “home” to spend it. 
The new country was not yet home to them. They 
were too old when they left the East to root quickly 
in a new place. Finally, this feeling passed away. 
Their children grew up without any sentiment about 
the country “back East”—they knew no home besides 
the place where they were born or where their child¬ 
hood was spent. This feeling is giving a new strength 
to the West. The farmer will no longer sell out 
readily, for his home is no longer a thing to sell but 
a thing to love and cherish. This feeling is really do¬ 
ing more for the West than the vast increase in ma¬ 
terial wealth. 
A GRANGE FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. 
The Massachusetts State Grange is doing a fire in¬ 
surance business of its own, and is meeting with re¬ 
markably good success. The members of the Grange 
are taking this matter up in earnest, and while but 
few see fit to cancel a policy before maturity, they 
willingly take out the new one from the company con¬ 
trolled by the State Grange. The rates of this com¬ 
pany are one per cent on houses and barns alike; the 
policy is written for three years, and the maximum 
amount written on any one policy is $1,600. They are 
doing a very conservative business, but it is all the 
safer for the policy holders. Farm risks will be writ¬ 
ten for Grange members only, but dilapidated, unoc¬ 
cupied or neglected buildings and those out of repair 
will not be insured by this company at any rate. 
Buildings of this class will not be insured even if the 
owner is a member of the Grange in good standing. 
His buildings must be in good standing also. Some 
seem to think that the company should write a policy 
as high as the owner of the building cares to pay the 
premium on. I heard the secretary of this company 
say that one reason for so many mysterious fires was 
“the friction caused by a $3,000 policy rubbing against 
a $1,000 risk.” This company proposes to avoid all 
such friction. Much criticism is heard about officers 
receiving large salaries. The president of this com¬ 
pany receives $50 per year only. The old line com¬ 
panies have abandoned very much farm property in 
Massachusetts, and on others have placed a rate of in¬ 
surance which is simply prohibitive. On very much 
of the farm property which they will write for they 
take very small risks, and if this property is mort¬ 
gaged the mortgagee calls for an immediate payment 
of the mortgage note, so that the farmer in Massa¬ 
chusetts whose property is mortgaged and who is not 
in the Grange, so as to take advantage of this insur¬ 
ance, is in a very bad situation in many cases. This 
company insures property for people who are not 
members of the Grange, but insures farm property for 
its members only. I regard this insurance as one of 
the many golden offerings that the Grange holds m 
store for its members. s. r. walker. 
It had become almost impossible for our farmers 
to buy any insurance. Some could not get it at all, 
and those who could paid a price that was well nigh 
prohibitory. The old-line companies claimed that a 
large per cent of their losses were on farm property, 
and so refused to take such risks at all, and the others 
changed the term from five to three years. Accord¬ 
ingly the Massachusetts State Grange, believing that 
aside from the “moral” risk, the farm risk was a 
good one, in the Spring of 1901 assumed control of 
the Salisbury and Amesbury Mutual Fire Insurance 
Co., and for a year has been ready to write insurance 
on farm property belonging to members of the order 
(if considered a safe risk) and on desirable village 
property. Now as to results. Of course business the 
first year was necessarily light, owing to the fact 
that farmers as a class are slow to take hold of any¬ 
thing new, and to the fact that a good many members 
did not care to cancel any policies in force, who will, 
however, insure in this company when their present 
policies run out. On December 1, 1901, the total risks 
outstanding were $385,885, a gain of $190,530 since the 
Grange took hold of it, having written 236 policies 
during 10 months. Since January 1, 1902, there have 
been written over $105,000, which is more than one- 
half of last year’s total. The business is scattered 
over 108 cities and towns, which is a very desirable 
feature, as it reduces the danger of a heavy loss in a 
large fire. Everyone who insures in this company Is 
required to give a deposit note of 10 per cent of the 
face of the policy. These notes taken collectively 
constitute the basis upon which the company is al¬ 
lowed to do business. They bear no interest and can¬ 
not be assessed except to pay losses, and not then so 
long as any funds are in the treasury. The company 
has met with fire losses the past year to the amount 
of $15, which would go to show that the Grange farm 
risk was not a bad one. The raise of 25 per cent in 
the rates on mercantile property by all insurance 
AN OKLAHOMA HOME IN 1889. Fig. 126. 
companies would seem to indicate that they are find¬ 
ing out that something beside farm property is eat¬ 
ing up their surplus. Leslie r. smith. 
Mass. State Grange Deputy. 
FERTILIZING COW PEAS. 
It ought to be well understood by this time that 
what is known as the cow pea much resembles a bean. 
It is a true child of the South, tender, rejoicing in 
sunshine and a warm soil. It cannot safely be plant¬ 
ed before field corn, and does best in warm open soils, 
which are likely to be the poorest spots on the farm. 
The plant is not well suited to low, damp places, or to 
heavy clay soils. Thousands of northern farmers will 
try the crop this year for the first time. It may be 
broadcast on the rough furrows after plowing, and 
worked in with harrow and roller, or the seed may be 
planted in drills like peas or beans. The latter plan 
is more economical of seed, and if the cow peas are 
cultivated the vine growth is larger and the soil is 
left in better condition for the following crop. While 
the cow pea is of itself one of our best manurial plants 
it is of special value as a fertilizer mixer. If potash 
and phosphoric acid are used on the cow peas the 
vines grow quicker and larger, giving a surer crop, 
AN OKLAHOMA HOME IN 1901. Fig. 127. 
and far more to cut or plow under. This is clearly 
shown in the pictures at Figs. 128 and 129. From the 
time when the peas first appear above ground the 
fertilized plants are larger and stronger—the differ¬ 
ence becoming more and more apparent as the vines 
grow. We have heard farmers ask why they should 
put fertilizer on a crop which will make a fair growth 
without it, and which is to be used to fertilize another 
crop. As an illustration let us take a pig or a hen. 
They may run at large and pick up a fair living from 
insects, weeds or scraps. They may, in this way, ob¬ 
tain food enough to keep them alive and to make a 
slow growth. Thus they-can produce a few eggs or 
a few pounds of pork without being fed. Suppose we. 
give them a few bushels of corn or wheat! The in¬ 
crease in eggs or pork will more than pay for the 
grain. We shall have more food than we would had 
we eaten the grain ourselves. For tJie s&me 
reason it pays to apply muriate of potash and acid 
phosphate to the cow-pea crop rather than to hold 
them for use on the crop which follows. It does not 
usually pay to put nitrogen on cow peas. This plant 
has the ability to take nitrogen from the air. It mixes 
this nitrogen with the potash and phosphoric acid, and 
thus makes a balanced fertilizer for other crops. 
GREENING AND OTHER APPLES IN STORAGE 
I have noticed that we have not of late years been 
able to carry Greenings in common storage as well 
as we used to. You are aware that we have had very 
different seasons from formerly. The first season 
that we saw this more particularly was three years 
ago, when we had extreme hot weather in October. 
Greenings that were not in cold storage went to 
pieces very early and very badly, and I am inclined to 
think that both seasons since we have had a good deal 
of warm weather late in the season. My judgment 
is that while this is partly to blame for Greenings 
scalding and not keeping it is not entirely the case. 
I would not say it was due to spraying alone. I be¬ 
lieve that the cultivation and fertilization have a good 
deal to do with the forcing of the apples, and taking 
from them their hardiness. At the same time we 
know that it makes a much finer and better flavored 
apple than those that grew in their natural state. 1 
believe it is something of the same nature as all wild 
fruits, like berries, etc., they are all much firmer and 
stronger than when they are cultivated. I believe 
from my observation that we have improved all of our 
standard apples in quality and flavor by the improved 
methods of cultivation, fertilization and spraying, but 
I do not believe that we have improved their keeping 
qualities. With the facilities in the country now there 
is no trouble in carrying any fruit, if properly han¬ 
dled, any length of time necessary for the market. I 
have observed this with reference to the Baldwin 
apples in this State; since they have commenced this 
care of them they have improved so much in flavor 
and quality that they are a much more desirable apple 
than they used to be, and I firmly believe that if the 
producers would stay with the old standard varieties, 
the Baldwin, Greening and Roxbury Russet, and spare 
no time and expense in cultivation, fertilization and 
spraying there are no better apples in the world as 
commercial varieties. I notice that a great many fruit 
men advocate some of the new varieties as having the 
flavor and quality, but as long as we get as good 
apples as those named we all know that there is more 
commercial value in them for the producer on ac¬ 
count of their yield than any other apple of the East 
I also believe that the commercial apple of the West, 
the Ben Davis, has also within the last 10 years im¬ 
proved in quality, and I think too that it is due in a 
measure to better care the West is taking of this 
apple and the richness of the soil where it is 
grown. d. S. BECKWITH. 
Albion, N. Y. 
PINCHING BUSH FRUITS.—Referring to the ar¬ 
ticle on page 286 on pinching raspberries, my experi¬ 
ence in raising bush berries for the past 20 years con¬ 
firms the conclusions there stated. I got my first in¬ 
structions in raising small fruits from reading the 
Fruit Recorder, whose editor recommended double 
pinching. I soon found it was not the thing for Min¬ 
nesota, and only pinched once. Of late years I have 
not pinched the reds at all, finding that by pinching 
the canes get so large that they are nearly all cracked 
or broken in laying down in the Fall, and that we 
get fully as many berries without pinching, but in 
case of the blackcaps and blackberries it is different. 
I do not lay down the blackcaps any more, but pinch 
once when about two feet high. This induces good 
side branches, which will take root at the tips and 
hold the bushes up during the Winter, so they do not 
get broken by the winds. Of course one cannot clean 
out the old wood, or trim back until Spring, when 
the side branches are cut back to eight or 10 inches 
of main stem. With blackberries it seems to be neces¬ 
sary to pinch once in order to get enough fruiting sur¬ 
face, and as the best berries are grown on the ends 
of branches we have abandoned the cutting back in 
Spring, except those canes that interfere with culti¬ 
vation. If too many canes better cut out the weakest. 
Minnesota. _ w. s. w. 
PROSPECTS IN INDIANA.—This is not a favored 
peach section, still a fair'crop is raised every two years, 
but there are not many trees in orchards. Peach trees 
matured but few fruit buds last year, but trees that 
were protected by woods or buildings have living Buds 
at present. Apple, cherry and small fruits promise a 
good crop. Wheat and rye is looking well, and a fair 
acreage of oats is being sown. Corn acreage will be 
large; above the average price—62 cents at present. Three 
creameries in the county, and many farmers are giving 
their attention to milk and dairy products, as the profit 
has been better than growing grain. l. s. f. 
Oakwood, Ind. 
