1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
751 
COW PEAS AT THE NORTH. 
We have urged northern farmers to try cow peas as an 
experiment—not for stock food, but as a manurial plant 
on the poorer fields of the farm. This hard and trying 
season has given the crop a tough test. The following 
report is from Greene Co., N. Y., and was written Oc¬ 
tober 2: 
I planted, June 16, two acres of Benson Renovator 
and Early Black cow peas, two rows of each alter¬ 
nately. The Benson pea is not of better growth, I 
think, although it seems to be somewhat larger, in 
spots, and is not nearly as early as the Black, as 
there are but very few pods, and they small, on it, 
while the Early Black iis well filled with pods in size 
up to 10 inches, and a few of them have full-sized 
peas, nearly black, in them. I think that in an or¬ 
dinary season this variety will ripen a large portion 
of the seed. The growth is very irregular, being in 
some places knee-high, with vines several feet long 
running along the ground, and in others no larger 
than ordinary beans would have grown. 
I can find no root-galls or tubercles on the roots. 
This being the case, will it, probably, pay to plant 
them, or would one better use northern peas, the sole 
idea being improvement of poor land set to apples? 
The ground is from clay in a small portion to all 
sorts of light soil and coarse gravel. I am thinking 
of planting several acres of the peas next season. 
Our season has been very dry, not enough water hav¬ 
ing fallen to wet to the bottom of potato hills since 
last Spring, and every light rain has been followed 
by several days of high wind, still most crops are 
fairly good. 
Although we have had frost enough to injure corn, 
in places, the cow peas are still alive, except being 
burned a little on the end of plants, and they may 
ripen some seed. Crimson clover was a very poor 
catch this season, and is small yet, but I hope it may 
make a good growth yet this Fall, as it usually kills 
in March here. 
I would like to let people know that the Renovator 
pea is a humbug, and so save them some money. I 
was of such opinion before I bought it, but did not 
know whether there might be something in its 
claims, and so bought some. 
R. N.-Y.—With such a showing we would certainly 
continue to use the cow peas. They will make more 
growth than northern peas, and will add more fer¬ 
tility to the soil. It has been our experience that, 
while the tubercles may not be found on the first crop 
grown on the farm, they will appear in the second or 
third crop. 
MORE ABOUT FISH CULTURE. 
Mr. Scarff’s article on fish culture, page 653, has inter¬ 
ested many people. On our own farm we have a good 
spring, which runs freely in most seasons. During the 
past dry Summer it has dwindled to a mere trickle of 
water. We would like to dig some tanks below it, and 
start a few fish by running the water through the tanks, 
if such a plan is practicable. Mr. Scarff adds the follow¬ 
ing notes to his former article: 
The subject of trout culture has interested a good 
many Vermonters within the last two or three years, 
and I have visited some of the private hatcheries, or 
rather brooders, as these people do not attempt arti¬ 
ficial hatching. One pond of about two acres, in the 
town of Plymouth, that was started three years ago 
with 5,000 fingerlings, has yielded 800 pounds of trout 
to the hook this past season, all of which sold at the 
pond for 50 cents per pound. I should hesitate to 
count too much on rearing trout below your spring, 
as you say that the supply of water is limited during 
a portion of the year. The hot weather is the most 
severe on trout, and they require such cold water 
that I should fear you might not succeed well with 
them. 
It is quite likely that you may largely increase your 
water supply by laying drain tile well up in the 
meadows or hillsides above the springs, and leading 
down to your tanks; 100 rods of tiling three to four 
feet in the ground will, in many cases, leach sufficient 
moisture to flow one inch of water during ordinary 
times. A good driven well close to the tanks can be 
brought into service by pumping in water during a 
severe drought, dither with wind or steam power. If 
it prove to be too warm for trout, you can doubtless 
succeed with bass, pike, shad or carp. Carp will live 
in a mud-puddle, anywhere, but I do not think very 
highly of them; they are coarse and sluggish, and 
look slimy. 
The temperature of the water should not rise above 
56 degrees; 50 degrees is still better, although I have 
known small trout to live through a whole season 
when the water was frequently as high as 70 degrees. 
By this I mean the temperature at the intake, as the 
water at the farther end of pond, or in shallow water, 
may be much warmer. Bass or pike are very gamy 
fish, and excellent for the table, and may be reared in 
tanks where the sole supply of water is pumped in, 
and need not be a continuous supply. A friend of 
mine in Nebraska had two tanks, each 12x20 feet, and 
about four feet deep, in which he reared sufficient 
bass to supply his own table with frequent messes 
of fine fish. He pumped water from a windmill pump 
by letting the mill run for an hour or two every day 
that afforded wind. Natural ponds lying wholly 
within the borders of a man’s premises may, by 
special act of the Vermont Legislature, be ceded to 
the proprietor for the purpose of fish culture, and 
where this is attended to the tourist and sportsman 
have no show. 
KEEPING APPLES IN SAND. 
Are Barrels Better ? 
One of our readers in Michigan asks us the following 
questions: Would apples (Baldwin, Greening and Spy), 
placed in bins In a dry, frost-proof cellar, each layer 
covered with dry sand, keep as well or better than in 
barrels? Should the sand be perfectly dry, or would a 
small amount of moisture be unobjectionable? 
WRAP IN PARAFFIN PAPER.—I have had no 
experience in keeping apples in dry sand, but I doubt 
somewhat the expediency of so doing. That is, if the 
sand were perfectly dry I should fear it might draw 
moisture from the apples, and hence reduce their 
BUD VARIATION IN THE FIG. Fig. 278. 
quality. I should prefer, from what I know, to keep 
them in barrels. I have observed that apples wrap¬ 
ped in paraffin paper retained their good qualities 
and fine color in a remarkable degree, and I am in¬ 
clined to think that, if this paper can be purchased 
reasonable enough it may be an excellent way to 
care for apples that are to be kept for a long time. 
I should not be prepared to say that I think the sand 
would be better with a small amount of moisture, in¬ 
deed, I should prefer to experiment somewhat with 
this before expressing an opinion. The paraffin paper 
certainly excludes the air and prevents decay or 
shriveling of the fruit, and I think, so far as I know, 
may prove a success. s. d. wiklard. 
New York. 
HARD TO CLEAN.—I have never tried packing ap¬ 
ples in sand to keep them over Winter. I have kept 
different varieties of Winter apples until June in 
perfect condition, packed in land plaster, also in a 
mixture of flowers of sulphur and finely sifted coal 
ashes. In both cases the packing material was (ap¬ 
parently) quite dry; I think any perceptible moisture 
would be objectionable. I would not recommend the 
practice, as the fine dust gets into the eye of the apple, 
and into the cavity about the stem, and spoils the ap¬ 
pearance of the fruit; it can only be got out by very 
careful washing, and this will not pay at present 
prices of apples. 
I prefer to place the apples in bins about two feet 
deep, in a dry frost-proof cellar, so arranged that 
the windows can be opened at night and closed in 
the daytime, until the weather is so cold that they 
must be kept closed all the time. If I find that the 
apples are losing too much of their moisture, I spray 
them lightly once or twice a week with clear cold 
water, using a knapsack sprayer for the purpose. By 
following this plan I have kept Baldwins, grown here, 
until the middle of March very nicely, and although 
some will rot even with the greatest care, the loss is 
less than the cost of barrels or boxes, or the labor 
connected with the use of plaster or other packing 
material. Then the fruit sent out is fresh packed, 
and the shipper knows that every apple is sound when 
it leaves his hands. This plan I have followed for the 
past 10 years, and I know of no better or cheaper one. 
Pennsylvania. gabbier hiester. 
FREEZE AND THAW—I would not think that 
apples would keep any better in sand than in barrels, 
and the labor of putting them down, taking them out 
and cleaning would be quite an item of additional 
cost in handling. Moist sand would be preferable to 
the dry. You do not need a frost-proof cellar to keep 
apples. The only thing to be particular about is to 
keep them in the dark. An apple will freeze and thaw 
several times, and not be injured if all light be ex¬ 
cluded. We know cnat many persons would be skep¬ 
tical upon this point of freezing and thawing, but 
you will only have to try it to be convinced of its 
correctness. One of the largest apple growers of 
my acquaintance keeps his apples in boxes outdoors, 
doesn’t take the precaution to put them under a shed 
out of the rain. For fear there may be cracks in 
boxes or barrels that will admit light, he covers with 
old pieces of carpet, bags or quilts to keep out light, 
and his apples are nice, crisp and luscious in Spring. 
We have never found a plan we like better than to 
put late-keeping apples in barrels that are tight, al¬ 
ways repacking three or four weeks after they have 
been put in Winter cellar, and have gone through the 
sweat. Put away in this manner, they do not have 
to be rehandled when put upon the market, which is 
no small item, as it adds considerably to the cost of 
fi'uit to handle it several times. Unless your apples 
are better 'than the crop we have here in the Ohio 
Valley, we would not think it advisable to try to keep 
them over, taking the risk of their keeping and the 
advance in price. Our apples are not going to keep 
very well this season, no matter how they are 
handled. w. w. stevens. 
Indiana. 
A CROP OF TIMOTHY SEED. 
How Produced in Iowa. 
Timothy seed is a minor crop in Iowa, and it is, 
therefore, hard to find figures regarding it. Prob¬ 
ably as much is raised here as in any State. In 1897 
we raised 785,000 bushels, and the average for the 
State was 3-5 bushels per acre. Jasper County, this 
year, does not produce enough for its own needs, 
something unusual, but it is owing, probably, to the 
scarcity of hay and the desire to turn everything 
available into hay. The meadows that were cut for 
seed gave very satisfactory yields. One of our deal¬ 
ers went into the northwestern part of the State, 
bought a carload of the seed, and brought it here. 
He went out among the farmers, and bought the seed, 
some here and some there. Union and other counties 
in the southwestern part of the State also produce a 
good deal of seed. 
Saving and handling the crop is a simple matter, as 
conducted here. The Timothy is left to stand longer 
than if it were to be cut for hay, and when it is 
thoroughly ripe it is cut with the self-binder, cut as 
high as possible, so as to leave out most of the leaf, 
and the bundles are set up in medium-sized shocks, 
without caps. After the shocks have stood for a few 
weeks the upper heads appear almost bare, but the 
seed and chaff have fallen down into the bundle, and 
if it is handled with reasonable care, very little of it 
is lost. It is thrashed with the usual thrashing out¬ 
fit for small grain, some special riddles being all that 
is necessary in addition. Six or eight bushels per 
acre is a very satisfactory yield. If the Timothy is 
somewhat thin on the ground it seems to head out 
and yield better. 
In Illinois, where I grew up, the crop was often cut 
with a header, a machine that is seldom seen there 
now, and never seen here. Shortly after the Civil 
War my father made Timothy seed his maiin crop, 
and it was very profitable, as he got as high as $5 a 
bushel for it. He cut his with the header, and he 
sometimes tramped it out with horses, instead of 
having it thrashed with a machine. Just why, I can¬ 
not say, but I think that he thought the machines 
were very wasteful. e. b. watson. 
Jasper County, Iowa. 
The National Provisioner says that a steer which re¬ 
cently broke loose and terrorized East St. Louis people, 
is now thoroughly tamed in tin cans and ready to go to 
the Philippines. 
