1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
acid, and .4 pounds of potash. The commercial 
value of this per ton for a fertilizer would not be over 
40 cents, and probably not that much. 
3. In the process of making- sugar from beets, a 
large amount of molasses is left. In the old country, 
this is used in considerable quantities for feeding pur¬ 
poses. Hay or straw is cut fine, and then a quantity 
of the molasses poured on it. When fed in this way, 
it is relished by stock, and is said to enable the animals 
to get a greater amount of nutriment out of the hay 
or straw than would otherwise be the case. Alcohol 
has been made from the molasses, but in this countx-y, 
the indxxstry has not been developed. 
How to Force Rhubarb. 
C. F. S., New Westminster, B. C. —What is the most economical 
way to raise rhubarb for the early market, without the use of 
glass, on the North Pacific coast ? I can get 10 cents per pound 
in the latter part of February and March. The temperature, as 
a rule, does not go below zero in the winter, but we get a lot of 
rain. 
Ans. —In general, the simplest and cheapest way to 
foi*ce rhxxbarb without the use of glass, is to place a 
few hai'rels over the plants in early spring. In some 
localities, the mere protection from the wind and cold 
afforded by a box or tub, will bring in the pie-plant a 
week or two earlier. The heat produced by the fer¬ 
mentation of fresh manure, stable litter, forest leaves, 
or other convenient material, will still further hasten 
the product. Sometimes, a few pieces of wood are set 
close together under the bottom rim of the barrel to 
serve as a lid and to allow the escape of steam which 
might injure the young shoots. If it is worth your 
while to study the daily changes, you might use a box 
with a movable cover. I have never heard of any 
other method of forcing rhubarb plants in a small 
way where they stand. On a large scale, some 
modification of the same principle must be used, such 
as that suggested for asparagus on page 725 of Tim R. 
N.-Y., and previously illustrated. The cultivation of 
the two crops is the same in all essentials. The forc¬ 
ing of either crop under glass involves an entirely 
different principle, viz., the huiu-ying out of all the 
vitality stored up in the roots, the exhausted clumps 
being thrown away. The forcing of plants where 
they stand involves the principle that plants forced 
in the field must be allowed every advantage to re¬ 
cuperate. 
These are the only two methods. Other so-called 
methods are merely variations in practice adapted to 
local conditions. The truth is that judgment is neces¬ 
sary in this as in everything that has to do with grow¬ 
ing things. However, the process is simple, and the 
forced product is far more tender and salable than 
the field-gi’own rhubarb. wiliiet.m midler. 
Kalamazoo and Pinqree Peaches. 
A. J. II., Saddle River, N. J. —Have you or any readers of The R. 
N.-Y.had any experience with the Pingree and Kalamazoo peaches. 
Ans.—I have seen Kalamazoo in Mr. Stevens’s orchards 
at South Haven, Mich., the originator. It is a small 
to medium, yellow peach, freestone, that is hardy with 
him. It ripens in September thei’e, I think, is a 
good bearer, but the leaf is subject to mildew. Here 
it would be of no value, for it would cut no figure with 
our best yellow peaches. I have never had it fruit 
here. The Pingree I do not know. ciias. wright. 
Delaware. 
Fire Blight on Apple Trees. 
J. M., Alpena, Mich. —The tips of my apple trees seemed to scald 
last summer; the leaves died and young wood turned black, and 
the trouble finally extended down the bodies. I supposed it to be 
sun scald, so-called. I have been in the practice of washing the 
trees with soap suds with ashes added. This is all right for the 
bodies, but the tops are the difficult parts. Can you give me a 
way to remedy this ? I thought perhaps soap suds made strong 
with lye sprayed on would help. 
Ans. —It is, evidently, the genuine Fire blight which 
affected the apple trees of J. M. The usual course of 
this disease on the apple is to begin in the tender 
growing twigs, whei - e the bacterial germs find easy 
access, and extend downwards. Sometimes it reaches 
for six or more feet in one season from the tips of the 
branches. Sometimes it runs down a small branch to 
a very large one or to the body of the tree, and spreads 
entirely around it, thus cutting off the normal circu¬ 
lation of the sap, and killing all the live part above. 
This is more common in the pear than in the apple, 
the latter being affected as described by J. M., and 
being called Twig blight. It, also, affects the quince 
in the same way. It is useless to endeavor even to 
check this dread disease, the Pear or Fire blig-ht, by 
spraying with any chemical or mixture that has been 
tested. I have just heard Mr. M. B. Waite, of Wash¬ 
ington, D. 0., talking on this subject. He has g-iven 
it the most careful study, and experimented more than 
any one else with supposed remedies. At px’esent, the 
only known method of fighting the blight is to cut off 
evei'y twig or branch that shows signs of it, being 
sure to get a foot below the visible evidence of the 
ti’ouble, and burn the brush at once. It may not be 
necessary to burn, as the germs are said to die as 
the branches dry up on the gi’ound, but it is as 
well to burn them first as last, and thus remove all 
possible danger of contagion If this were persistently 
done in a neighborhood, or in the whole country, 
we would be as exempt from pear, apple and quince 
blight as we now are from small pox. If the sources 
of infection were desti*oyed there could be no disease. 
H. E. Y. D. 
The Profit in Local Bone Mills. 
C. W. II, Waterford, N. J. —Where can bones be bought in ear- 
load lots, and what is their probable cost ? What is the probable 
cost of machinery and appliances needed to manufacture, say a 
ton per day of fine ground bone ? Would it pay to do this on a 
small scale for a local market, say of 50 or 100 tons per year, to be 
sold at $25 or $30 per ton ? 
Ans.—W e doubt whether it will pay to buy bones in 
large lots for such a trade. The lai’ge manufacturers 
are on the watch for such lots of bones, and a small 
dealer can hardly afford to compete with them. In 
some country districts, back from the large towns, 
local bone mills pay a fair profit. Bones are bought 
in small lots from farmers and others, and brought to 
the factory where they are steamed and then gi’ound 
in a bone mill. Even this business is not as good as 
formerly, since many fresh bones are cut up in green- 
bone cutters, and used as poulti-y food. Except for 
working up the local supplies of bones, we doubt 
whether a small mill will pay. We think there will 
be more clear profit in buying in 100-ton lots of ground 
bone fx-om the western butchers. 
A Simple Fertilizer Mixture. 
G. V. S., Preston, Conn. —Would a fertilizer composed of 600 
pounds of cotton-seed meal, 1,000 pounds of acid phosphate, and 
400 pounds of muriate of potash, be good for farm crops in gen¬ 
eral ? Would it be good for fruit, both tree and small fruits ? 
Would one-half ton of the mixture be sufficient for an acre, for 
all crops ? 
Ans.—S uch a fertilizer would contain plant food 
about as follows: 
Nitrogen. 
Plios. acid. 
Potash. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
600 
Cotton-seed meal... 
40 
9 
10 
1000 
Acid phosphate. 
140 
— 
400 
Muriate of potash... 
— 
200 
Total. 
149 
210 
This means two per cent of nitrogen, 7% per cent 
phosphoric acid, and 1034 per cent of potash. On 
natxirally strong land, with clover or peas for green 
cropping, this might be satisfactory for small frxxits ; 
but under ordinary circumstances there is not enough 
niti'ogen. The cotton-seed meal gives nitrogen in the 
organic form, and this is more available in the latter 
part of the growing season. At the North, and espe¬ 
cially on cold soils, some more soluble form of nitx’o- 
gen should he used to force the plant in Spring. A 
mixture containing 500 pounds cotton-seed meal, 100 
pounds acid phosphate, and 300 pounds muriate of 
potash will give you better results on most farm crops. 
Half a ton per acre of this mixture ought to be prof¬ 
itable. 
Winter Care of Hen Manure. 
F. G. C., Sandy Greek, Me. —We are getting two bushels per week 
of hen manure from the dropping boards, using road dust as an 
absorbent. We put it into the pigpen with the horse manure, 
scattering in corn for the pig to work it over with the other dress¬ 
ing. Is there any better way to dispose of it ? 
Ans. —Our own plan is to use the dried hen manxxre 
as a filler for a home-mixed fertilizer. We use a plat¬ 
form under the roosts, and keep the manure well 
dusted with land plaster. This keeps it hai’d and dry, 
and if kept under cover during winter, the manure 
will he found in hai’d chunks. This is crxxshed and 
fined on a hard floor, with a heavy shovel, and sifted 
through a fine coal screen. It is mixed in aboxxt the 
following proportions :—500 pounds dry and fine 
manure, 250 pounds dissolved rock, 125 pounds muriate 
of potash, and 125 pounds nitrate of soda. This rnix- 
txxre gives reasonably good results on most crops. 
Some farmers recommend the use of kainit in the hen¬ 
house, but we do not like to put this substance where 
the hens can eat it. If we were to change this method 
of using the hen manxxre, we woxxld put it directly on 
the strawberries, or use it to help ferment our piles 
of muck. It is a slow and disagreeable job to handle 
soft and pasty hen manure in the Spring. 
More About the Use of Dynamite. 
M. M., Medway, Mass. —I read with interest Mr. Garrahan’s ac¬ 
count of how he blasted out his rocks, and I have some myself 
which I should like to remove; but he omitted to tell what 
strength dynamite he used, or the weight of a stick. Will he en¬ 
lighten me on these points ? 
Ans. —The dynamite used in removing bowlders at 
Hicks Ferry, is known to the trade as 50-per cent 
grade. Dynamite is fux-nished in 40, 50, 60, 70, and xxp 
to 90-per cent goods, the higher, the stronger. We 
used the 50-per cent grade, costing here 115 per 100 
pounds, delivei’ed. It is manufactured three or four 
miles away, and comes in sticks one and 134 inch in 
diameter, and one-half pound in weight. Transporta¬ 
tion companies ax-e strict regarding this kind of 
freight ; some refxxse to carry it, others only on cer¬ 
tain days and trains, and at special rates. 
A few days ago, a neighbor called my attention to 
a large walnut stump in the middle of the road near 
his house; it had originally heen cut about even, or 
level with the surface, but the ground had been worn 
away, so that the stxxmp projected above the ground 
21 
six inches. He bored a 134-inch auger hole, 12 inches 
deep straight down in the stump. The weather was 
freezing cold, and below 40 degrees dynamite will 
hardly explode. A basin of warm water was pro¬ 
cured, two sticks of dynamite placed therein to thaw, 
then removed from the cartridges, firmly pressed with 
a stick into the hole, a little damp earth pressed on 
top for tamping. It was fired in the usual manner, 
requiring, perhaps, half an hour in all, and costing, 
possibly, 35 cents for material. The stximp was 
knocked into firewood, but all stumps are not built 
that way. m. garrahan. 
Whole Root or “ Old Oak " Trees. 
E. E. W., Forest, 0. T. —Is there any advantage in a whole-root 
tree ? Why is it better than a piece-root 1 What is meant by the 
old-oak process ? 
Ans. —There is x*eally no such thing as a whole root 
of an apple seedling xxsed in making any root grafts 
that I have ever seen, except a few thoixsand that I 
made myself. But I did not like the trees that grew 
from them. The lower part of the roots did not de¬ 
velop. Only the upper six or eight inches of the root 
sent out thrifty growth. A series of trials pi*oved to 
me that the upper six inches of a first-class one-year- 
old apple seedling make a better tree than any other 
size or part. This is what is used by those nursery¬ 
men who gi’ow and sell “whole-root” trees, so they 
have told me. I believe this is the old-oak process of 
root grafting, and it makes a well-rooted and thrifty 
tree. Smaller pieces of roots, especially the lower 
cuts, have xisually made smaller and less thrifty trees 
for me. H. E. v. D. 
Family Fruits for Central Indiana. 
M. J. W., Philomath, Ind. —I wish to set a small orchard of 30 
apple, 6 pear, 5 cherry, 10 peach, and 5 plum trees. I want 
only three Summer and three Fall apples. What varieties would 
be best for central Indiana ? I want the rest Winter apples. Do 
you know an apple called the Black Ben Davis, and another 
called the Winter Maiden Blush ? 
Ans. —The following vai’ieties would, perhaps, be 
suitable for family use in central Indiana: Summer 
apples : One each of Yellow Transparent, Benoni, and 
Sweet June; Fall apples : One each of Jefferis. Maiden 
Blush, and Wine ; Winter apples : Four Gi'imes Gold¬ 
en, five Jonathan, five Indiana Favoifite, and ten York 
Imperial. Cheri*ies ; Two Early Richmond, one Mont¬ 
morency, and two English Morello. Pears: Two 
Bartlett, one Anjou, two Seckel, and one Lawrence. 
Plums: One each of Wild Goose, Abundance, Bur¬ 
bank, Hawkeye and Red June. Peaches: Two each 
of Triumph, Elberta, Heath Cling, Mountain Rose, 
Oldmixon Free. Black Ben Davis is a new and al¬ 
most an untried kind, and the same is true of Green¬ 
ville, which was once called Winter Maiden Blush. 
h. e. v. D. 
Effect of Turnips on Milk Flavor. 
J. V. G., West Falls, N. Y. —Does feeding turnips to cows when 
making butter, give it a bad flavor, or make it bitter ? My butter 
is bitter, and people tell me that it comes from feeding turnips. 
Ans. —Feeding txxrnips to cows is likely to make the 
butter bitter unless they are fed with some care. Any 
such material as that should be fed directly after 
milking. If fed a few hours before milking, the butter 
is almost sui*e to be bitter or off flavor. Frequently 
poor ensilage will give a bad flavor to the milk and 
butter when, if it were fed directly after milking, the 
disagi-eeable flavor will have disappeared before the 
next milking. Prof. H. H. Wing, of Cornell Univer¬ 
sity, says in Milk and Its Prodxxcts, “ The volatile fats 
that are derived directly fx*om the food may give either 
desirable or ixndesirable flavors to the milk. Thus we 
esteem the characteristic flavors due to the grasses, 
clover and like fodder; on the other hand, the 
stronger flavoi*s of garlic, onions, turnips, cabbage, 
etc., give to the milk an undesirable character. The 
presence of these undesirable flavors in milk is often 
a source of a good deal of annoyance, but with proper 
precaxxtions, the bad results coming from them may 
be greatly lessened and, in many cases, entirely obvi¬ 
ated. Since all of these flavoring oils are volatile, 
they easily pass through all the tissues of the animal, 
and in a comparatively short time, pass off through 
the various excretox*y channels. We shall find them 
present in the greatest amount, not only in the milk, 
but in all the tissues of the animal, during the time 
that the fodder containing them is undergoing diges¬ 
tion, and by the time digestion is completed, the vola¬ 
tile products will have almost entirely passed away. 
If, therefore, sufficient care be taken so to time the 
feeding and milking that the milk shall be drawn not 
less than 10 or 12 houi’s after the undesirable fodder 
has been eaten, there will be slight danger of con¬ 
tamination of the milk by it. Whereas, if milking 
occur within thi’ee or four hours after feeding, the 
milk will be strongly impregnated with the undesir¬ 
able flavor. Taking advantage of this, and feeding 
cows immediately before or immediately after milk¬ 
ing, dairymen are often enabled to feed large quanti¬ 
ties of turnips and even onions without danger of con¬ 
tamination of the milk.” If J. V. G. give the above 
directions a trial, I would like to have him report the 
results to The R. N.-Y. l. a. c. 
