TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 31 
384 
FARMERS' CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
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sure attention. Before asking- a question, 
please see whether it is not answered in 
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separate piece of paper.] 
CAN FARMERS PROTECT THEIR 
PROPERTY? 
Subscriber, Massachusetts.—I am somewhat 
surprised at your answer to H. J. S. on 
page 337. Is it true that a man has not 
the right to protect his property from dep¬ 
redation? The constitution of Massachu¬ 
setts guarantees the right to acquire and 
protect property. I am no lawyer, but if 
the State prevents a man from protecting 
his property justice would require the State 
to make good the loss. I have been much 
troubled by robins destroying my grapes 
and cherries, some years taking most of 
the best. I have shot them and propose 
to continue to do so. 
In order to settle this matter we wrote 
to the officials of various States asking 
if a farmer had the right to shoot robins 
or other birds which destroy his crops, 
or if the State can be compelled to pay 
damages for such destruction by pro¬ 
tected birds. Here are various opinions: 
An Opinion from Massachusetts. 
There appears to be no adjudication 
upon the points raised. My own opin¬ 
ion is, however, that the owner of farm¬ 
ing property who suffers loss from the 
depredation of animals or birds protect¬ 
ed by law, would not have the right to 
take or kill them. He probably would 
be authorized to kill, in cases where life 
was endangered, but he would not be 
justified in violating the law merely for 
the protection of his crops. I am fur¬ 
ther of opinion that he could not recover 
for damage so inflicted from the com¬ 
monwealth. The question is one which 
will probably never be of much import¬ 
ance in this commonwealth, as the pop¬ 
ulation is so large and so widely dis¬ 
tributed that game or song birds will 
not be numerous enough to become a 
source of much damage. 
F. B. GKEKNHALGE. 
Ass't Attorney General. 
The Shot Gun in Pennsylvania. 
The questions are all fully answered 
by Section 33 of the Act of June 3, 1878, 
which reads as follows: “That nothing 
in this act will prevent any person from 
killing any wild animal or bird when 
found destroying grain, fruit or vege¬ 
tables on his or her premises.” This is 
still the law of the State, and a robin 
may be killed when found destroying 
fruits or berries. So with any other 
bird, although it is very questionable 
whether or not this is the proper thing 
to do, as those who have made this ques¬ 
tion a life study assert that every wild 
bird, with perhaps the exception of three 
kinds of hawks and two kinds of owls, 
do far more good than harm and should 
be protected at all times. I never heard 
of deer in this State destroying prop¬ 
erty, and we will certainly try to make 
anyone killing a deer upon this ground 
prove his claim without a doubt. 
JOSEPH KALBFU8. 
Secretary of the Game Commission. 
The Law in New York. 
The provision of the Forest, Fish and 
Game law relative to the question is 
Section 33 of Article 2 of said act, and is 
as follows: “Wild birds, other than the 
English sparrow, crow, hawk, crane, 
raven, crow-blackbird, common black¬ 
bird, kingfisher, and birds for which 
there is an open season, shall not be 
taken or possessed at any time, dead or 
alive, except under the authority of a 
certificate issued under this act. No 
part of the plumage, skin or body of 
any bird protected by this section shall 
be sold or had in possession for sale.” 
Section 34 of said act is a provision 
against the destroying or robbing of 
nests. The certificate referred to in 
Section 33, above quoted, is a certificate 
granted to a person to collect birds, 
birds’ nests or eggs for scientific pur¬ 
poses, and that only, and is issued for 
one year. The statutes quoted are the 
governing ones in the questions sug¬ 
gested, and I do not know of any law 
that would allow any person to kill 
these birds no matter whether they were 
doing damage or not. There is no stat¬ 
ute that would allow a claim to be made 
against the State for any such damage. 
Attorney General, joiln c. davies. 
Unsettled in Vermont. 
The question which you raise respect¬ 
ing birds protected by law has been dis¬ 
cussed somewhat in this State respecting 
deer which injured crops. The law 
makes no exception permitting farm¬ 
ers or others to destroy protected game 
birds or animals injuring property, but 
whether such destruction under those 
circumstances would be excusable, or 
whether the State would be responsible 
for loss incurred by protected animals 
has, so far as I know, never been legally 
determined in Vermont. 
FRED A. HOWLAND. 
Secretary of State. 
Soy Beans in Peach Orchard. 
Header.— I have a peach orchard two years 
old. I am giving clean culture. (The trees 
are not very large). How would it do to 
plant Soy beans in rows and cultivate as 
long as possible, then leave to lie on ground 
over Winter? Which would you do, put 
on beans or some other crops, or leave the 
land bare? 
Ans. —We prefer cow peas to Soy 
beans for orchards. The Soy beans re¬ 
quire better soil than the cow peas. 
They do not grow as well the first year 
—doing better as the soil becomes filled 
with their bacteria. The erect growing 
habit of the Soy beans makes it harder 
to plow them under than the cow peas, 
which grow closer to the ground. We 
should use Whippoorwill or Black cow 
peas. 
A Barn of Concrete. 
Several Readers .—What is the truth about 
concrete or cement barns? Are they re¬ 
liable and equal to wooden buildings? 
What do they cost? Will they last? 
ANSWERED BY GEO. T. POWELL. 
three feet of foundation in the ground, 
which was made of one barrel of cement 
to three of gravel, was 8% cents per 
cubic foot. I had no expensive mechanic 
upon the work. A mechanic receiving 
$4 a day was discharged, as he insisted 
upon having these stones broken up in 
fine pieces, which would have added 
greatly to the cost, and would not have 
been better for this purpose. Men who 
worked for $1.25 to $1.50 per day, board¬ 
ing themselves, put up this building at 
the cost mentioned above for the walls. 
There is no expense for painting, the 
building is cool in Summer, warm in 
Winter, and apparently as hard to-day 
as the original rock itself. It seems as 
though the building would stand for 
centuries. With the materials that l 
have mentioned, conveniently at hand, 
and with the increasing cost of wood for 
buildings, the concrete material, it 
seems to me, is going to be a solution 
in the future for buildings of moderate 
cost. 
THE 
Agricultural Exposition 
OF 03Sr03NTDA.Gi\. 
will hold Its 
First Annual Spring Fair 
AT 
Kirkwood Park, Syracuse, N. Y,, 
June 1«, 17, 18, 14),‘20, 21, 1902. 
Large Prizes for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine. 
Poultry, etc. Premium List now ready. Entries will 
close June lO. 
THEO. H. COLEMAN, Sec'y, Syracuse, N. Y. 
FRUIT EVAPORATOR D P TJoV. aSSS?” 
Circulars free. B. L. Ryder Co.,Box 420, Phlla.. Pa. 
Potted Strawberry Plants, July I. 
T. C. KEVITT, Athenla, N. J. 
Sweet Potato Plants 
Jersey Yellow, $1.25 per 1,000; Early Golden and 
Improved Nansemond, $1.50 per 1.000. Ten per cent 
discount on 20,000 or more. Plants ready now. 
JOHN CASAZZA, Vineland, N. J. 
Lumber 
AT 
Extremely 
Low Prices 
We purchased the Pan-Ameri¬ 
can Exposition at Buffalo, and 
have 33,000,000 feet of fine sea¬ 
soned lumber to offer It consists 
of joists, timbers, flooring, sheath¬ 
ing, patent lath, and, in fact, 
anything and everything in the 
lumber line. 
IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUILD 
Send Us Your Lumber Bill 
FOR OUR ESTIMATE. 
We issue a catalogue. Address 
as follows : 
Sweet Potato Plants 
By Mail. 
100 
By Express. 
100 l.onn 
Jersey Yellow. 
. $0 00 
$0.30 
$1 50 
Jersey Red and Big Stem. 
.60 
.30 
1.75 
Pierson and Up-Kiver. 
.00 
.30 
2.00 
Vineland Bush. 
.75 
.50 
3.50 
200 plants by mail. $1. Cash with order. 
FRANK 8. NEWCOMB, Vineland. N.J. 
C elery and Cabbage Plants. %1 per 1,000 
rimson Clover Seed, $4 per bushel. 
SLAYMAKKR & SON, Dover, Del. 
1,000,000 Tomato Plantsfor the canner; 
500,000 Late Cabbage and other plants. Catalogue 
free. CALEB BOGGS & SON, Cheswold, Del. 
^ ^ I .500 bushels Early Black Cow 
I Ul OdlU Peas, $2 bu.; 100 bushels Early 
Black-eyed Peas, $2 bushel; 500 bushels Delaware- 
grown Crimson Clover Seed. $3 bushel. 
J. E. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
PUT PRY PT ANTS Grown on land specially adapt- 
LuLulVl I bail 10 e( j t0 them; sown thin, each 
plant is strong, stocky and well rooted. Prices: 
White Plume, 500, 75c.; 1,000,$1.25; 5,000, $5. Golden 
Self-Blanching, 500. $1; 1,000, $1.50; 5.000, $fi.25; Giant 
Paschal and Pink Plume, 500, $1.25; 1.000, $1.75; 6,000. 
$7.50. Circular free. 
WILSON BROS., Tecumseh, Mich. 
Tomato Plants, 
Transplanted. 
All varieties. $1 per 
100; $8 per 1 000 cash. 
CONVERSE 
GREENHOUSES, 
Webster, Mass. 
Chicago House Wrecking Co., 
Pan-American Exposition, Dept. <52, 
BUFFALO, N. Y. 
>—25 
CABBAGE PLANTS 
Ea. J. Wakefield. Ea. Summer. 
cents per 100 
postpaid. 
By exp.. $1 per 1,000. 
My concrete barn, built, over 20 years 
ago, has been satisfactory in every way. 
There are two important tilings in the 
construction; plenty of stones and an 
abundance of good creek gravel. If 
these two materials are close at hand, 
concrete buildings can be put up cheaper 
than any other kind, and they are far 
more desirable. My barn is 75 feet long, 
65 feet wide and the walls are 25 feet 
high, with a partition wall running the 
entire length on one side, where I had 
silos arranged in the building with a 
capacity of 500 tons. I set my studding 
wherever walls were to be built and in¬ 
side placed boxes made of two 10-inch 
hemlock boards which were filled with 
concrete and moved up the studding 
daily and filled again, this process being 
continued until the walls were com¬ 
pleted. Our proportions were as fol¬ 
lows: One barrel of lime, one barrel of 
Rosendale cement and 12 barrels of 
creek gravel. This material was mixed 
in mortar beds. The cement was not 
put in until the lime was slaked and the 
gravel added, then all were thoroughly 
mixed together and wheeled to the walls 
where all sizes of stones were thrown 
into the boxes and bedded in this mor¬ 
tar. The walls were made 16 inches 
thick, with the exception of the silo 
walls, which were 20 inches. I think 14 
inches would be heavy enough and 
should not make them thicker than that 
in building again. A space between the 
stones and the side of the box of %-inch 
was left, which allowed the concrete 
mortar to cover the outside of the 
stones, making the surface nearly 
smooth. There are many farms through¬ 
out the country where old stone fences 
could be utilized in making cheap and 
durable buildings. The entire cost of 
walls from bottom to top, including 
Binder Twine 
FARMERS wanted as agents 
August Post, Moulton, la. 
Cane 
and avoid the terrible effects and losses | 
of a drouth like that of last year. 
Fifty pounds of our 
Amber Cane Seed 
sown broadcast on an acre of good ground I 
\will produce 10 tons or more of succulent I 
green fodder. Drilled in and cultivated, I 
it produces upwards of 50 tons of I 
green fodder or ensilage per acre. Un- | 
equalled as a catch crop in drouthy sea¬ 
sons. May be pastured, soiled or cured. 
All stock eat it greedily. Catalogue free. 
PRICRfbags free)—100lbs.,$5 ; 50lbs., 
$2.75; 25 lbs.,$1.60. iind 10 lbs , 75c. | 
Vaughan's Seed Store, 
84 and 86 Randolph 8treet, CHICAGO, 
or 14 Barclay St., NEW YORK. 
Vegetable Plants. 
Asparagus—Conover’s Colossal, $3 per 1,000. Cab¬ 
bage—Danish Ballhead, from our imported seed, the 
best Cabbage from October to April or May, $1.25 per 
1,000; Wakefield and Early Summer, $1 per 1,000. 
Celery — White Plume, transplanted, strong, and 
Celerlac, $2 per 1.000. Horseradish Sets—4 to 6-inch. 
$1.50; 7 to 9-inch, $3 per 1,000. Tomato—Dwarf 
Champion. Acme, Livingston and others, trans¬ 
planted, very strong, $5 per 1,000 , 65c. per 100. Cash 
with order. 8end 5 cents In stamps for sample of 
anyone to be mailed. LUDWIG MOSB4EK, 
8500 Anthony Avenue, South Chicago, Ill. 
ESTABLISHED 1824. 
H / G H - a R A D E 
Carden Seeds 
BR IDG EM AN'S SEED WAREHOUSE 
37 East Nineteenth Street, New York 
Descriptive illustrated Catalogue mailed free 
to all applicants. 
Fruit Packages 
Quarter, Pint and Quart Berry 
Baskets, 
Borry and Grape Crates, Grape 
Tills, Partitions, etc. 
for Prices. Address 
J. E. WESCOTT, 
Highland, N. Y. 
FARMERS 
Waterproof or Plain Canvas 
Stack Covers. Hay Caps, Wagon 
and Implement Covers, Tents, 
Plant Bed Cloth, etc. 
HENRY DEH-BY, 
124 Chambers Street, - - New York, N. Y. 
Peach, Apple and 
Pear Buds. 
Send list of wants to be priced. Car. furnish In 
large or small quantities. 
J. G. HARRISON A SONS, Berlin, Md. 
Glenwood Nurseries 
Most complete assortment of choloe 
Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Vines. 
Bend for Descriptive Illustrated Catalogue. 
THE WM. H. MOON CO., MORRISVILLE, PA. 
SO miles from New York; 30 miles from Philadelphia. 
5 
for 
$4 
Send us a club of four subscription# with 
$4 and we will advance your own sub¬ 
scription one year free. New yearly sub¬ 
scribers will now get the paper from 
the time subscription is received until 
January 1, 1903. Get up a club at once. 
The Name on Mv Trees Means Something 
Tree Breeders. 
IT DOESN’T ALWAYS ON OTHERS. 
ROGERS ONoTHE HILL. 
Dansville, N. Y. 
SRASS SEED 
CHOICE RE-CLEANED SEED FOR ALL PURPOSES 
Dreer’s Permanent Pasture Mixture cannot be excelled 
for producing abundant hay crops, and luxurious after¬ 
math. Full line of all Grasses and Clovers; also special 
mixtures for Lawns, Golf Links, etc. Circular and prices 
on application. HENRY A. DREER, Phlla., Pa. 
