1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
the cleft method, cutting- the stock off underground. 
If the stock is large, I use a fine-toothed saw to split 
the stock. If the stock is strong enough to hold the 
scion firmly, no tie is needed. If not, I tie firmly 
with strong, but not too thick twine. I use no wax, 
simply press the soil firmly about the place of union, 
and fill up an inch above the top bud on scion, and 
mulch with some loose material, as sawdust, chaff, or 
fine chips from the woodyard. I remove the suckers 
from the old stock, if any appear, and keep the growth 
from the graft tied up. k. a. riehl. 
Illinois. 
To Graft Old Vines in Vineyard. 
Provide a sharp hand-saw, pruning knife, or strong 
pocketknife, a mallet, a two-inch chisel, a half-inch 
cold chisel, or a strong, blunt half-inch chisel, a spade, 
strong, well-ripened three or four-eye cuttings of last 
season’s growth of the varieties to be grafted, and a 
flat basket or berry-picker’s carrying case, in which 
to carry the small tools and cuttings. 
With the spade, clear away the soil around the 
collar of the vine, two to three inches below the sur¬ 
face. Saw off the vine horizontally about one inch 
below the surface. With the knife, or the broad 
chisel, if sharp, pare away the rough surface lefo by 
the saw; then with the broad chisel, hit with the 
mallet, split the stock iu the center, and where it will 
split down the straightest, until the chisel has entered 
an inch or thereabouts. With the knife, cut the lower 
end of the cutting to a uniformly tapering wedge, to 
match the taper of the cleft when opened with the 
chisel, leaving a bud at the base of the wedge, and 
that side of the wedge slightly thicker than the other. 
Insert the wedge of the cutting into the cleft so that 
the bud will stand on a level with the top of the stock, 
and the scion should lean a little outward on the side 
of the stock in which it was inserted, so the growing 
layer between the bark and wood comes opposite to 
the growing layer in stock, and nearly parallel with 
it, the slanting outward making it sure that the two 
growing layers cross, and thus certainly secure con¬ 
tact. If the stock is small, one graft will do. but if 
1 Vi inch or more in diameter, then two—one on either 
side—should be inserted. Sometimes, three or four 
scions are inserted in a very large stock, by making 
cross clefts. The cleft in stock is held open with the 
narrow blunt chisel as a lever inserted in the cleft in 
the center of the stock. 
After the scions are accurately and firmly set. press 
clean, damp soil carefully aud firmly with the hands, 
all around and over the junction of the scions with 
the stock, so as to exclude the air. I never tie or wax 
my grafting of this kind, and succeed with about90 per 
cent. The wax is not nearly so congenial to the vine 
as is the damp soil, and much less liable to start decay. 
Finally heap up the loose soil about the scions until 
only the top eye of each is left at the top of the mound 
of soil, as in Fig. 80. This grafting in place should be 
done just as buds begin to push in stock in Spring and 
when bleeding has about stopped. The scions should 
have been taken earlier, before bleeding began, and 
kept dormant in cold soil. x. V. MUNSON. 
Texas. 
SOUTH JERSEY FARMING THAT PAYS. 
I’LANT-FOOD IN A RAG. 
Asparagus, Potatoes, Hay, Hogs and Lambs. 
■ [editorial correspondence.) 
Part III. 
I have told what Mr. Atkinson’s fertilizer is. Be¬ 
fore telling how he uses it, let us see what other plant- 
food the farm produces. The live stock on the farm 
consists of six horses and mules, three cows, 50 hogs 
and shotes and, this year, 50 breeding ewes and their 
lambs. Most of the horse and cow manure is put into 
the hogpen, and worked over by the hogs. Damaged 
clover hay and refuse from baling are, also, given to 
the hogs. They eat part of it, and work the rest over 
into an excellent manure. 
The stable manure is practically all used on the corn 
crop—which is a common practice with fertilizer farm¬ 
ers. Of course, the corn is planted on sod. In this 
connection, it is interesting to state that the use of 
Crimson clover enables the fertilizer farmer to shorten 
his rotation, or cut across corners with it. One great 
object of the rotation is to bring in a good sod. Mr. 
Atkinson has given up wheat, and this, of course, 
changed the rotation somewhat. A successful catch 
crop of Crimson clover will provide a good sod with¬ 
out any break in the rotation. With the present low 
prices for hay, this use of Crimson clover will prove 
very profitable on potato or truck farms where land is 
too valuable to remain two years in sod. 
The most interesting part of the live stock at Cherry 
Lawn farm is the flock of sheep. Last year, the prices 
of wool and lambs were so low that Mr. Atkinson gave 
up the sheep. The result was that he had to use con¬ 
siderable extra fertilizer. Now that wool and lamb are 
both higher in price, while hay is low, there is likely 
to be more profit in sheep feeding. The breeding ewes 
are bought each year, and sold after the lambs have 
been disposed of. 
“ When do you buy the ewes ? ” I asked. 
“ As soon after haying is over as the pasture has 
started sufficiently, we look up the sheep market. 
Sometimes it takes several trips to the stockyards to 
get what we want, and as there are other-i after ewes 
at the same time, we generally have to pay for a good 
grade of ewes about as much as fat sheep sell for.” 
“ What sort of ewes do you look for ?” 
“ Those in fair flesh are considered the best and 
cheapest, unless they are bought very early in the 
(Straight clotted line shows level of soil, curved dotted line 
damp soil, and upper line mound of earth.) 
season, and have time to flesh up before the rams are 
put in the flock. Generally speaking, we want a large, 
well-framed and roomy ewe, healthy and intelligent.” 
“ How are the rams cared for ?” 
*• The rams are kept in the barn in the daytime, 
grained some, and at night, one ram turned in with 
about 25 ewes. We use South Down rams.” 
“ How are the ewes fed ?” 
“ After the sheep are in their Winter quarters, they 
are grained some before lambing. Lambs usually be¬ 
gin to drop about New Year’s. We use a grain ration 
for the sheep made from cracked corn, bran, and oil 
cake meal. Just enough of the last is used to keep 
the bowels in good shape. They are fed all the cut 
T. C. KEVITT AND HIS WAXED PAPER FRUIT BOXES. 
Fig. 81. 
corn fodder (cut in about two-inch lengths with the 
fodder cutter) and clover hay they will eat.” 
“ What are the most important things about caring 
for the ewes and their lambs ?” 
“ When the lambs commence to drop, they are 
looked after constantly, the last thing before going 
to bed, and the first thing in the morning. Lambs 
are often unable to start the milk, and sometimes 
really haven’t lamb sense enough to take hold of the 
teat at all. Ewes that are good milkers often need to 
be milked some for a few days after lambing, as the 
young lambs cannot use all the milk. A few days 
after lambing, the ewes are fed about all the mixed 
feed they will eat readily. They are fed three times 
a day, so that the feiUls need not be so large at a time 
as when fed only tw!^ We feed for milk and flesh. 
The lambs have a pen' % go into that the ewes can¬ 
not enter, where they *4fcn get cracked corn, oil cake 
179 
meal and hay at all times. The troughs that contain 
the mixed feed have a board over them, so that the 
lambs cannot get their feet in the feed. The flocks 
have access to fresh water at all times. A suckling 
ewe drinks lots of water—a little at a time and often. 
The lambs will, also, drink considerable. The pens 
are warm enough so that the water never freezes. 
The doors are closed at night, also during the day, if 
the weather is very cold while the lambs are being 
dropped.” 
“ What about selling- ? ” 
‘•The lambs are pushed off to market just as fast as 
they are fit. Forty pounds live weight early iu the 
season is heavy enough for the Philadelphia market. 
Later on, heavier weights are required. After the 
lambs are taken fro n the ewes, the latter should have 
less grain for a few days, and attention be given to 
them while drying up. The ewe will often do to go 
to the butcher as soon as she is dried up ; when partly 
dried, they are grained heavier, and pushed as fast as 
possible. Only a few of the late lambs and ewes are 
turned on grass late in the Spring, and wnen once put 
in winter quarters, are not allowed to run out and 
pick grass. We do not want many lambs dropped after 
March, so in the latter part of February, all ewes that 
are not springing are sold to the butchers. There 
has not been much profit in the early lamb business 
for several years, and only that hay is so plenty and 
low, we would not keep sheep.” 
The sheep furnish a good deal of excellent manure 
when fed in this way. At present prices, they, prob¬ 
ably, pay a little more for hay than the hay dealers 
are ready to offer. This feeding also provides Winter 
work when men are hired by the year. Next week I 
hope to tell how the fertilizer is applied. Our next 
issue is to be a special fertilizer issue, in which such 
information will be most appropriate. h. w. c. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Kevitt’s Fruit Wrapper. —We have often spoken of 
T. C. Kevitt and his strawberry business. Now we have 
a chance to show a picture of Mr. Kevitt (see Fig. 81) 
and his method of wrapping strawberry boxes. After 
the box has been filled with fruit, a piece of waxed or 
parchment paper is wrapped around it, as shown in 
the picture. This keeps out all dust and dirt, and 
gives the fruit a very neat appearance. Mr. Kevitt 
sells his fruit in Passaic and Paterson, N. J., and when 
customers have become used to this wrapped box, 
they appreciate its advantages, and are ready to pay 
extra prices for it. Where one has a choice lot of 
berries to be sold in a nearby market, this method is 
well worth trying. The best customers like clean 
fruit, and they soon come to realize that the neat 
paper wrapper keeps out dust and dirt. 
Seeding New Ground. —After reading in The R. 
N.-Y. the question from E. E. B. about seeding newly- 
cleared ground, I thought that it might be helpful to 
him to have an opinion different from the one given 
on page 131. The vegetable mold on new ground, 
formed by decaying leaves, etc., if once plowed under, 
can never again be placed in a position to be as help¬ 
ful to grass roots as before plowing. If the ground 
has no wild grass, take a heavy, narrow, single \ 
drag and, after sowing about one bushel of oats per 
acre, harrow the ground thoroughly, sowing the grass 
seed before the last harrowing. It is necessary to 
success to do this early in the Spring, while the ground 
is moist and very mellow. The oats will make a good 
stand of excellent feed before the grass is ready, and 
will keep sprouting up fresh nearly all Summer, if 
they are kept fed down from the start. If wild grass 
already has possession of the ground, with a more 
thorough harrowing, I believe the same method would 
prove satisfactory, but have never had experience 
under such circumstances. After the first seeding has 
run out, the same method of seeding and thorough 
harrowing early in Spring, may prove satisfactory. I 
expect to try it. s. c. b. 
Burdette, N. Y. 
Crimson Clover in Pennsylvania. —Having, the 
past Summer, a piece of meadow which had ceased to 
produce paying crops of hay, we decided to prepare it 
for potatoes in 1898. Shortly after the hay crop was 
removed, we plowed the ground, and after applying 
lime, harrowed it pretty thoroughly. VVe applied the 
lime because a rank growth of sorrel and the litmus 
paper test indicated that the soil was somewhat sour. 
Crimson clover seed was sown August 9, at the rate of 
about 30 pounds per acre—pretty heavy seeding we 
agree—and covered by harrowing with a light harrow. 
No rain fell that moistened the soil over 1% inch 
deep from that time to October 15. After the seed had 
lain in the ground about two weeks, a light shower of 
rain caused it to sprout ; afterwards the hot sun and 
dry weather caused fully one-half the plants to per¬ 
ish. That which survived made a slow, feeble growth, 
and up to October 15, the plants had but from four to 
six leaves. Afterwards an abundance of rain fell, and 
the plants grew very rapidly during the warm days of 
November. At this writing, they cover the ground 
pretty thoi-oughly, and thus far have withstood the 
freezing weather remarkably well. The soil is a dry. 
gravelly loam. This is my second trial with Crimson 
clover. The first was a partial failure on account of 
poor seed. With us, it has shown itself able to live 
and grow under the most adverse circumstances. The 
clover will be turned under in the Spring, and the 
ground planted to potatoes. j. t. c. 
Fayette County, Pa. 
