846 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 20 
as may be seen, has been joined an addition. The 
older part is built with double walls, the 18-inch 
space between being filled with sawdust. The ceil¬ 
ing is 14 feet high, and the ice chamber, of course, 
above. Mr. Vergon does not like the old wooden 
structure nor the plan of filling the walls with saw¬ 
dust, as the latter is continually settling, and affords 
a harbor for rats and mice. The old room does its 
duty, however, and the Jonathans and Fameuse were 
safely stowed away in the chilling temperature with¬ 
in its walls. It is used almost exclusively for those 
varieties, which do not keep in ordinary storage long¬ 
er than early Winter. The new addition is built of 
hollow brick. The walls are in three sections with 
two two-inch spaces between. One of these is packed 
with mineral wool, which is known to be an excellent 
non-conductor. Ice is not used in this new addition 
where the later-keeping sorts are stored. The tem¬ 
perature, however, is under almost perfect control by 
a carefully planned system of ventilation. Under the 
floor is a shallow “basement” probably two or three 
feet in depth. In the foundation are openings with 
sliding doors for the admission of cold air when the 
temperature outside is colder than that of the storage 
room. The currents of cold air enter the traps in the 
foundation, pass up through long, narrow, screened 
openings in the floor, of which there are six—three 
upon each side—circulate among and through the 
closely-packed crates of fruit and pass out through 
sliding traps in the ceiling. There is also a large, 
hinged and screened, double window near the ceiling 
at the end of the storage room, which also may be 
thrown open when desired. 
Thermometers are provided for both indoors and 
out, closely watched, and the circulation increased or 
diminished, as necessary, to keep an even and low 
degree of temperature. As is also shown, an ample 
driveway passes through the building crosswise; 
this, too, is packed with crated apples when the two 
storage rooms are full. Mr. Vergon has 4,000 crates, 
each holding 1% bushel. These, filled with apples, are 
packed as solidly as brick, and 14 feet high in the 
storage. The cold air system of the new addition 
gives excellent satisfaction. In conclusion, I will state 
that Mr. Vergon is very conservative in regard to 
what he is accomplishing by his carefully-studied 
methods. He does not claim that his is the only 
plan to pursue in apple culture; but prefers to let 
the other fellow peacefully follow the dictation of his 
own judgment. It cannot be denied, however, that 
he does occasionally smile when he hears or speaks 
of the various trials and troubles that seem to occur 
now and then among his friends who so emphatically 
proclaim the doctrine of “constant cultivation.” As 
before stated, Mr. Vergon’s son, J. C. Vergon, is the 
manager of this great business, and under whose care 
every detail is safe and well calculated to bring ul¬ 
timate success and profit. f. h. baet.ou. 
Ohio. 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
PIPING FOR WATER SUPPLY.—We were saved 
the necessity of building a new feed room in order to 
get the water to run through our little coal heater, 
thus turning our supply of ice-cold water in Winter 
into a veritable hot spring. We laid a new %-inch 
lead pipe., and this gives us such a good flow and 
force, that there is ample fall to convey a good stream 
up into the hot water tank, although the surface of 
the spring 20 rods distant is only about a foot higher 
than the box. If you think of laying a pipe to convey 
water to your barn or house, don’t make the mistake 
of laying a small pipe, and think twice before using 
any other kind of pipe but lead. I have known too 
many cases where galvanized iron pipe has filled up 
with rust and sediment in a short time, and caused 
trouble. I have a near neighbor who laid a galvan¬ 
ized iron pipe, one-inch size, from a fine spring about 
10 years ago to his buildings. The supply of water is 
ample, and the fall good, not less than 10 feet. The 
first few years the service was excellent. Within the 
last four or five years, however, he has been constant¬ 
ly bothered, having to open the trench several times 
and take up sections of the pipe. Had he used lead 
instead of iron I am satisfied all this bother and ex¬ 
pense would have been saved. The idea of running 
your stream of ice-cold water in Winter through a 
coal heater before delivering into the barnyard seems 
to be new, in this section at least, and promises to 
be good. We keep a number of horses, colts, cows, 
heifers, etc., and a water box in a sheltered part of 
the barnyard with a stream of warm water running 
into it will be a great improvement over the old one, 
from which we had to chop the ice every cold day. 
STARTING A DAIRY.—When I embarked in the 
hen business I sold off a good dairy of cows. For a 
number of years we took on dry cattle and young 
stock from neighbors in order to utilize our pasture, 
and sold the surplus hay. There was very little in¬ 
come, however, from pasturing young stock at 50 to 
75 cents per month, so we started in about two years 
ago, to raise another dairy. We now have 10 heifers, 
most of which will be giving milk before Spring. We 
have sold a few as soon as they were ready for milk¬ 
ing, but think we shall keep these 10 for our own use. 
We have just commenced to sell a little milk, at a 
time when wholesale price is higher than it has been 
for years; 3% cents per quart is quite a change from 
2*4 cents, which was top price at the time I quit milk 
production. I look for still higher prices for both 
milk and butter in the near future. All the signs 
point that way, as I look at them. When I sold my 
dairy of cows most of my neighbors shook their heads 
and said that I was making a sad mistake. Most of 
them still think that dairying is the only way to 
maintain the fertility of the farm and raise good crops. 
I was also trained in that school of belief. I broke 
away, however, and burned my bridges behind me. 
Almost any of said neighbors would admit that the 
farm is now producing better crops than ever before, 
while its owner feels that he has but just begun to 
learn how to “feed the plant” rather than to try to 
feed the land. 
LAYING PULLETS.—I believe I set a mark for 
those New York pullets, which was “to eat pumpkin 
pie for my Thanksgiving dinner made from eggs from 
that pen.” They failed to “get there,”,” however, 
which perhaps is just as well, since my physician has 
ordered me to eliminate pie from my bill of fare. The 
trouble was partly with the President, however, and 
not entirely with the pullets. Had he named Nov- 
vember 30 instead of November 27, the pullets would 
have been “on deck” with the eggs. 
FEEDING THE PIGS.—Billy G. made a success at 
balancing his own ration from whole corn and skim- 
milk. He was just a good average pig at the start, 
weighing 26 pounds when weaned, at about seven 
weeks old. I am trying the same system of feeding 
on a couple of pigs that are a good way below an 
average. We had six sows with 50 pigs all in one 
pen before the pigs were weaned, and I noticed that 
two of the pigs failed to grow. The probabilities are 
that some of the older and stronger pigs had robbed 
them of their place at meals. Seeing that they were 
not doing well I removed them late in October, and 
DEVICE FOIt GREENHOUSE HEATING. Fit:. 344. 
placed them in a pen where they have corn and skim- 
milk unlimited as Billy had, in order to see if such 
feeding will succeed with genuine “runts.” I am 
sorry that I failed to weigh them when first removed, 
but judge that they would weigh between four and 
five pounds each. They certainly did not feel heavier 
than a good hen. They ate sparingly at first, the 
milk being generally pretty cold. After we com¬ 
menced to put warm milk in their trough several 
times a day they soon began to eat and grow, and by 
November 18 the two weighed 25 pounds, and at this 
writing, December 3, they weigh 40 pounds, and begin 
to look like quite promising pigs. They are not grow¬ 
ing as fast as Billy did, neither are they eating as 
much by far. What, if any, is the secret of success 
in such a system of feeding young pigs? I attribute 
it to the fact that they eat little and often. You 
would be surprised to see how often they will go and 
take a sip of milk or crack a few kernels of corn. 
Sucking pigs eat very often, usually at least every 
two hours, and it is a radical change, as well as de¬ 
parture from nature’s order of things, for them to be 
given an entire change of diet at weaning time, and 
be compelled to eat only three times a day. 
O. W. MAPES. 
OTHER SIDE OF TELEPHONE QUESTION. 
Charles Sumner, on being asked to listen to a 
speech giving the other side of the slavery question, 
said that “there is no other side to the slavery ques¬ 
tion.” This is largely true of the telephone, and quite 
as true of it as of the mail service.' Either may be 
abused, but the abuse is on account of the fault of 
the user instead of the system. I hear complaints 
like this: “Well, I thought I should especially like 
my ’phone, and in many ways do, but I find it so easy 
when I have a little friendly chat with a friend to 
say it at once that I do not have so much to call for 
a special visit, and the presence of my friend is not 
so often enjoyed.” The ’phone in some measure 
changes the character of social intercourse by elimi¬ 
nating the personal presence and magnetism of your 
friend. It is also refreshing to have some cause to 
leave home once in a while, and spend a few hours in 
new surroundings. With telephone, free rural mail 
and daily paper one may live the life of a personal 
recluse, and he becomes so hungry for society that he 
wants to sit in the front yard awhile and see the faces 
of those passing. The telephone also is accused of 
increasing tattling and worthless gossip. But we 
should remember that it also increases helpful in¬ 
spiring conversation. 
When we put in our»system no merchant would 
take it. One said that a friend of hig advised him not 
to have one, since in his experience “every old wo* 
man would order goods sent out by the mail wagon 
or a neighbor to pay a Saturday,” but when Saturday 
comes they neglect it. This is true of those who will 
pay, ahd it is easier for those who are poor pay to 
ask for credit over the telephone than face to face. 
He said that it greatly increased his accounts. An¬ 
other trouble our merchants feared was that it would 
start a delivery system which is hardly practical In 
small towns. The system was not in long before a 
new store was started with a telephone, and its or¬ 
ders were so many that everyone had to put in a 
telephone. One other misfortune in its use is that 
some take a telephone who do not need-it for business 
purposes and can’t afford it for social uses. I knew 
on© renter to sell his last family cow to Secure a tele¬ 
phone, and the monthly charge of $1 or more comes 
pretty often to one who handles but little cash a 
year. It robs his family of what they need much 
more, just because his wife probably delights in gos¬ 
sip and can’t stand it to see others chatting over it 
and talking about their “fun” without enjoying it 
herself. The great misfortune in many rural districts 
is that they do not wake up and put in a mutual and 
run it at cost, which is done freely in many places at 
$3 a year. I know one system of 6,000 ’phones in 
Indiana which costs an average of $3 a year. This is 
$18,000 a year, while if a corporation had put it in 
and charged $1 a month it would cost those people 
$72,000 a year. e. h. coelins. 
Central Indiana. 
DEVICE FOR OIL HEATING. 
Referring to editorial, page 712, one of my neighbors 
here is heating three large greenhouses very success¬ 
fully with oil. I understand he uses crude oil. This 
device is shown at Fig. 344. In the diagram, 1 and 2 
are oil tanks, used one at a time. Water is admitted 
under pressure from below, and forces the oil out 
through the pipe 3 to the burner. When tank No. 1 
is empty use tank No. 2 while filling No. 1, and vice 
versa. The finest needle is not finer than the fine 
jet of oil spray which emerges from the pipe 3, and 
is ignited in the fire chamber under the grate 4, filled 
with fire brick, heating water in the boiler, 5, and 6 
is the steam pipe, which heats the greenhouses. The 
distance between the oil tanks and the boiler may be 
one-fourth mile if necessary. w. b. w. 
FIGHTING RABBITS AND APPLE BORERS. 
Apple growers in the Ozarks are using wire screens 
(window screen netting) with satisfactory results to 
prevent injury to the young apple trees from rabbits, 
and there has been no complaint of injury to the 
trunks of the trees by leaving them on during the 
Summer. The screen serves to prevent the parent 
beetle of the Apple tree borer from laying the eggs in 
a suitable place, and is giving good satisfaction. This 
is not an expensive wrapping, as the screen wrappers 
can be prepared during spare times. Some growers 
are using wrappers made of common newspaper with 
good results for the borers and also for rabbits in 
some cases. The wrappers are satisfactory for borers, 
but in some cases they do not prevent injury from 
rabbits. I was in an orchard this week where the 
rabbits had torn the paper from the trees and girdled 
them. [Prof.] j. t. stinson. 
Missouri. 
I have been planting out orchards more or less for 
the past 12 years, and have had a rough and tumble 
time of it, as no one around here takes any interest in 
fruit, and they regard me as having gone crazy, so I 
have had to work out all my own devices for protect¬ 
ing my trees. I find one of the best preventives for 
the borer is to mound up around the trees in May. 
as the borer eggs are laid down just under the sur¬ 
face of the ground where the bark is tender. I have 
also used with benefit a wash made of slaked lime, 
soft soap (or better whale oil), a small quantity of gas 
tar, say a gill to a two-gallon bucket of whitewash, 
a little glue^to make it stick to the trees and a small 
quantity of earth or clay, three or four handfuls to 
each bucket. This should be applied to the trees each 
Spring and Fall. Dig away a little from the trees and 
apply at the base up to the limbs. This is fine to keep 
away the borers and also prevents the depredations 
of rabbits and mice. The earth should be pulled back 
to the trees again after the wash has been applied. 
Mice have done me equally as much damage as borers 
and rabbits. A few poisoned peanuts around each tree 
are fine to thin out the mice. I have not tried the wire 
netting but should think it good for keeping off rab¬ 
bits, but ineffectual for borers or mice. I do not 
think it would matter about leaving the wire netting 
on in Summer, but would be an advantage, as rabbits 
will bark young trees in Summer as well as Winter, 
though not as much; at least they have done so for 
me. I have saved lots of young trees from rabbits and 
borers by wrapping them with old newspapers. Last 
Winter I wrapped 2,800 young apple trees clear up 
to the limbs as a prevention against the locusts with 
good results, as they could not stipg through the 
paper. a. h. h. 
Maryland. 
