5l2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 23 
to mark the spot, and the eggs are gathered each day. 
When a hen shows a disposition to sit, she is given a 
clutch of eggs and allowed to hatch them. Then for 
three or four weeks the young ai'e fed and cared for, 
hut as soon as old enough, all are moved out into the 
large pastures at the east end of the island, where 
they run almost wild until Fall, when they are rounded 
up. They are visited three or four times a week dur¬ 
ing the Summer, to see that they are all right, fed a 
handful of grain, hut are left to shift for themselves 
largely. They live mostly on grasshoppers, berries, 
etc. Raised under such conditions, the turkeys are 
not tame enough to make good pets, but their hardi¬ 
ness and vigor are beyond question. 
Poultry Markers. —Mr. Crangle says that every¬ 
body in the poultry business, no matter how small 
the business may be, should have a poultry marker, 
and mark all chicks when taken fi-om the nest. This 
marker is simply a small punch by means of which a 
tiny hole is punched in the web of the foot. This 
serves several purposes. With breeders of fancy poul¬ 
try, it is used to keep track of different, strains and 
matings. In Thk It. N.-Y. of July 9, we had a sym¬ 
posium on how to tell the age of a hen, and one 
breeder said that he couldn’t tell the age of his own 
hens without looking for these marks. So they are 
useful for this purpose, and enable one to select the 
old stagers. By different combinations of marks, a 
number of different records may be made. There 
have heen numerous instances in which stolen fowls 
have heen identified by means of these marks. Chicks, 
turkeys, ducks, geese and all birds may be thus 
marked. The marker costs but 25 cents, and may be 
had of all poultry supply houses. 
Natural Advantages. —Rolling, gravelly orsandy 
well-drained land, with abundant cover, pure water 
and isolation, are most prominent. No trouble here 
from getting the neighbors’ turkeys, or other fowls 
mixed with their own flocks. There is very little 
trouble from hawks or other predatory vermin. In 
some localities, it would be impossible to keep poultry 
at large as they are kept here, because of the ravages 
of their natural enemies. Then there is little likeli¬ 
hood of loss by thieving, as it would be difficult for a 
thief to get away with his plunder. They have an ex¬ 
cellent home market during the Summer just when 
there is little demand for eggs for hatching; this 
market also takes the broilers and roasters, and the 
block is the fate of those birds which do not come up 
to the required standard for breeding stock. These 
advantages combined with skillful breeding and in¬ 
telligent supervision explain the success attained. 
_ F. II. v. 
A LATE CROP OF PEAS. 
VARIETIES, CULTURE AND SOIL. 
We always raise a supply of peas for table purposes 
during the Fall months. We, also, make a second 
planting of the different early varieties in our Trial 
Grounds to mature during the latter part of Septem¬ 
ber and early in October, and of all our stocks of 
early peas as a further check in our Spring trials. 
The pea naturally succeeds best in a cool, moist soil, 
and during the hot Summer months, the growth is so 
much enfeebled by the unfavorable conditions of soil 
and atmosphere as to render it an easy prey to disease. 
For the Fall crop, we plant about the first of Au¬ 
gust, and again on the fifteenth, and from one of these 
plantings, if not both, we have always succeeded in 
getting a fair supply of peas of the finest quality, 
even though, in a hot, dry Fall, the vines and peas are 
sometimes slightly affected by mildew. It has always 
seemed to us that these late plantings maturing for 
the table during cool, Fall weather, are superior in 
quality and sweetness to those grown in the Spring. 
In these late plantings, we generally use the dwarf, 
early-maturing varieties, planting two or three kinds 
at the same time, which will mature in succession, 
using Burpee’s Extra Early, American Wonder, Nott’s 
Excelsior, William Hurst, and Premium Gem. Some 
of the early bush varieties are, also, excellent for this 
purpose, and can be grown in rows three feet apart 
without support. Among the best for this purpose, 
are Burpee’s Quantity, Abundance, Everbearing and 
Iiorsford's Market Garden. 
A good loamy soil, with a cool, clay subsoil, into 
which the roots can penetrate in search of moisture, 
is the best with us ; in fertilizing, we prefer land that 
has been well dressed with stable manure early in the 
Spring. 
For Spring planting, we prefer to plow the manure 
under the previous Fall, as it is then in fine condition 
to be assimilated by the young plants, and there is no 
danger from any burning action from the fermenta¬ 
tion of the green manure, or trouble from insect pests. 
While, of course, our plantings are for home use, 
the question of profit does not arise in connection 
with this Fall crop of peas, though some of the mar¬ 
ket gardeners in our immediate vicinity make a prac¬ 
tice of sowing pea-9 ip. August for the Fall market in 
ground which has been cleared from early Spring 
crops. We would judge that the crop matured in the 
Fall would not be, in general, over 50 per cent of that 
raised under favorable circumstances during the 
Spring. E. D. DARLINGTON. 
Superintendent of Trials, Fordhook Farms. 
THE BERRY AND TRUCK PATCH. 
FRUITS ON A GOLDENROD SOD. 
To-day, July 1, I am in the midst of cultivating and 
hoeing strawberries, sweet corn, etc. My choice this 
year for a strawberry patch was most unpromising— 
a goldenrod field or none at all. The goldenrod was 
four feet high, and thick. I first rolled it flat, and 
burned it over in February. I began plowing March 
10 for blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and 
early peas, for a catch crop between blackberries and 
raspberries. Blackberries and blackcaps are planted 
eight feet apart, with three rows of Nott’s Excelsior 
peas in each space. I find eight feet the best distance 
for blackberries and blackcaps. I have, this year, a 
patch of peas, and have cleaned it up and planted the 
ground to-day to Evergreen sweet corn. Next year, 
I can plant peas again or potatoes, and after that, the 
“ briers” will fully occupy the land ; meanwhile, the 
catch crops will pay for the cultivating of the berries. 
I never before had so good a stand of blackberries 
or red raspberries as this year. I planted them 
April 2, and the continued wet weather gave them the 
best possible chance, fully 95 per cent living. The 
condition of this goldenrod sod by May 13 was dis¬ 
couraging in the extreme. It was too wet to fit for 
strawberries all through April and May. I heeled in 
the strawberry plants in the kitchen garden as soon 
as they arrived, one inch apart, requiring for 10.000 
plants two days' work. I did not worry about them, 
but the ground was getting pretty green, and was too 
wet to touch. Finally, May 13,1 began setting, taking 
up and setting a few hundred a day between showers, 
finishing on June 3. I am more than pleased with the 
“new way” of setting strawberry plants. I lost 
scarcely any, and they are looking well, and setting 
new plants with great vigor. 
That goldenrod was a poser. The little shoots 
would laugh at me all through that wet time, but 
now I have my time, for only a clip of hoe or culti¬ 
vator is needed, and sure death follows. The soil is 
now exceedingly mellow, the old sod is all broken up, 
and evidently yielding abundant plant food. I expect 
to get a full matted row by Fall. I shall know more 
about goldenrod, at any rate. I am putting on fer¬ 
tilizer high in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, believing 
that the burning every year of all growth has de¬ 
stroyed the nitrogen naturally present. 
New Jersey. _ h. t. adams. 
DOES IT PAY TO BAG GRAPES? 
Several years ago, quite an interest was taken in 
bagging’ grapes. As most of our readers know, this 
was done by placing stout paper bags over the bunches 
when the grapes were about as large as good-sized 
shot. The bags remained over the bunches until the 
grapes were ready to pick. Of late, a number of 
growers have been asked whether this practice con¬ 
tinues, and is profitable in a commercial way. Read¬ 
ers also wish to know what advantages are gained by 
such bagging. We find that the practice has prac¬ 
tically been abandoned by those who grow grapes for 
the market, although, in several cases, it is followed 
in quite large vineyards. 
Chas. A. Green says that it surely will not pay to 
bag grapes except for a market that will pay extra 
prices for line samples of fruit. Most of those who 
bag grapes at present have only a few vines in the 
garden. Such persons may well use bags, for they 
protect the clusters as well as increase the beauty of 
the grapes, and give some protection from grape rot. 
Rochester grapes are seriously attacked by the 
birds, so much so that it is almost impossible to 
find perfect specimens. The general appearance of 
bagged grapes is greatly improved. The bloom is un¬ 
impaired, and bagged specimens are more delicately 
tinted and more perfect in every respect. Mr. Green 
has not noticed that the skin is more tender. 
E. C. Gillette, of Yates County, N. Y., says that he 
used bags only to determine the power of different 
varieties to fertilize themselves. Such grapes were 
bagged before any blossoms appeared. He thinks the 
general appearance was improved, particularly with 
such varieties as Diamond, Duchess, Empire State, 
Eldorado and Prentiss. No rot was found inside the 
bags, although a little mildew was found on the stems 
of some varieties. His judgment is that it would not 
pay to bag grapes except for exhibition purposes. If 
done at all, the bags should be put on just as soon as 
the blossom falls. If done before, many varieties will 
fail to set a single berry ; others are partly self-fer- 
file, and some are perfectly so. 
A. W. Williams, of Ulster County, N. Y., says that 
he has had enough experience in bagging grapes for 
market to convince him that any variety requiring 
bagging is not profitable to grow. He says that the 
original purpose in this line was to protect the blos¬ 
soms from rot and bugs. At that time, the quantity 
of grapes grown was comparatively small and the 
bags could be afforded. At present, however, it does 
not appear that any market grower could afford it. 
If he were obliged to bag grapes in order to secure a 
crop, under existing conditions and at present prices, 
he would best quit the business of growing them. 
DO THRASHING MACHINES MIX SEED GRAIN? 
IIOW TO PREVENT IT. 
In many wheat fields, we often see a number of 
heads of rye, and rye fields are often seeded with 
wheat. Good farmers generally go into their wheat 
fields before harvesting, and cut the rye out; but the 
question comes up as to how the grain is mixed in 
seeding. Most people attribute this mixing to the 
grain thrasher, in neighborhoods where the same 
machine is used for thrashing different kinds of grain. 
We have corresponded with a large number of thrash- 
ermen located in various parts of the country, and as 
usual, we find quite a wide divergence of opinion. 
S. B. Clary, of North Dakota, says that, in his ex¬ 
perience of 25 years, he has never heard that machines 
would mix the seed. If the machine is properly 
handled and allowed to run empty after thrashing 
one kind of grain, before commencing another, it is 
hardly possible that there should be any of the first 
left. He says that the farmer who properly cleans his 
seed wheat through a fanning mill, will find no other 
grain growing in his field. 
E. J. Gittens, of Nebraska, says that, when a 
thrasher finishes one particular job. he runs his* ma¬ 
chine until it is cleaned of all grain. He says that, in 
99 cases out of every 100. such mixed grain is due to 
other causes than the thrashing machine. 
Jas. Garcelon, of Maine, says that some farmers 
refuse to spend the time needed to clean the machine 
properly. One has to be careful in such cleaning, 
but it can be done so that the grain would never mix. 
L. A. Estabrook, of Vermont, never heard a com¬ 
plaint of the mixing of different grains in this way. 
With a few minutes’ running, the machine can he 
perfectly cleaned so as to take all the first grain out 
of it. 
C. A. Lowe, of New York, says that the trouble is 
generally more with the farmer than with the ma¬ 
chine. He claims that no thrasher is made that will 
separate the different kinds of grain one from another. 
Farmers make the mistake of putting the different 
kinds of grains all in one barn, and generally all in 
the same mow, then they expect the thrasher to pick 
them apart. 
F. L. Maine, of Cortland County, N. Y., says that 
many of the old-fashioned machines not only carry 
grain from place to place, causing a mixture of seed, 
but thej r carry grain to the stack, and lose it. The 
modern machines, however, have cleaners which han¬ 
dle the grain properly. They will not separate the 
wheat from the rye when thrashed together, but after 
a job of wheat has been thrashed, one can commence 
at once on rye or any other kind of grain, and after 
the first bushel, no more wheat will appear in the 
measure. 
A LOCATION FOR FRUIT GROWING. 
WHERE IS TIIK SO-CALLED “FROST LINE?” 
One o ' our readers in northwestern Georgia asks a 
number of questions concerning the best location for 
fruits as regards exemption from early frost. Reaches 
and strawberries, he says, are planted with a south¬ 
east exposure, as high up on a hill as possible, with 
the idea that the higher up, the earlier and safer from 
frost in Spring. None of the hills in his section is 
over 500 or 000 feet above the general level of the 
country. The general idea is that there is a frost line 
somewhere on the hillside above which fruits are 
largely secure from frost. His questions are about as 
follows: 
At what elevation above the valley is this frost line generally 
found? What are the limits of elevation thought best for earli- 
uess and security ? What virtue is there in elevation beyond a 
point sufficient for atmospheric and water drainage ? What ex¬ 
posures are best in the South for fruitgrowing? A good inauy 
of the high sites are held at high prices, but there is an unlimited 
number of ridges and hills from .">0 to 100 feet high. Do you con¬ 
sider these as valuable for fruit growing as are the high ridges ? 
There is no Fixed Frost Fine. —F. S. Earle, hor¬ 
ticulturist of the Alabama Experiment Station, says 
that these are difficult questions to answer without 
being personally familiar with the exact local sur¬ 
roundings. Many factors are to be considered in de¬ 
ciding on the desirability of a location for fruit grow¬ 
ing. He considers the idea of any fixed frost line, 
above which is safety for fruit, is an error, because 
the danger line varies with the varying character of 
each succeeding season; still, more crops will be 
secured, one year with another on the hills, than ik 
