576 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 20 
Whites being in majority. For my part, I use the 
Brown Leghorn only, paying no attention to fancy 
points. My experience has been that where one 
breeds for fancy points, he is likely to sacrifice speci¬ 
mens that are most desirable from the practical 
point of view. He is, also, likely to retain birds hav¬ 
ing the so-called ‘ points’ when they, perhaps, would 
never be otherwise retained.” 
“ But, of course, in keeping Leghorns, you have to 
practice artificial hatching and breeding of chicks ?” 
“ That is true. Left to themselves, the Leghorns 
would not give us fresh supplies of pullets. I have 
been experimenting for 10 years with artificial brood¬ 
ing. When a boy, I raised a brood of chicks in a 
frame where early cucumbers were grown. We, there¬ 
fore, began with frames but, as the business grew, 
substituted houses somewhat like greenhouses, with 
the benches for runs, along the gangway, which is 
partly through the center. On one side is the brooder, 
which consists of a box sufficiently below the level of 
the benches to hold five-inch terra-cotta pipes in such 
a way that when filled with sand, level with the floor, 
or benches, these pipes are entirely covered with 
sand. The pipes are heated by a stove at the entrance 
end of the house. Hovering boards lined and cur¬ 
tained with flannel, are placed at the proper distance 
above these pipes. This you will notice, is bottom 
heat. I observe that eastern poultrymen claim that 
bottom heat produces leg-weakness, though it never 
does so here. This style of brooder house is quite 
common in this country, but with many modifications, 
the most common being lamp brooders instead of 
stove, and the admittance of pipe on the sides instead 
of through the roof.” 
“ How about feeding the little chicks ?” 
“ We try to give generous feed, but not to be waste¬ 
ful. A brood consists, generally, of 300 to 500 chicks 
with free runs inside and out. We keep our brood 
houses far enough apart to keep the chicks in their 
own place. Of course, here as elsewhere, cleanliness 
is of great importance and generous yet economical 
feeding. I notice in reading reports of feeding hens, 
that j'ou eastern people seem to be very much afraid 
of getting your hens fat. We are not. With us, thin, 
poor hens never lay at all, and we are never 
afraid of feeding our hens too well. In California, 
the stingy feeder soon gets out of the poultry business 
because the hens kick him out. We expect to keep a 
breed of hens that will turn food into eggs. That is 
the kind of a bird the California Leghorn is. In your 
part of the country, the breed may have scratched up 
the bad habit of turning food into fat instead. If 
that is so, I am sorry for you.” 
STRAWBERRIES RETARDED BY ICE. 
FINK FRUIT IN AUGUST. 
An Interesting and Valuable Experiment. 
Part II. 
Comparing' Yields. —The fruiting of several acres 
of strawberries in June past was fresh in my mind, 
and as I fruited all the varieties that Mr. Divine had 
in the plot, I quite naturally began to compare the 
yields. These “iced strawberries” promised to ma¬ 
ture one-third more fruit than the same varieties 
on my grounds that were fruited during the regular 
season. This, of course, was a great but agreeable 
surprise to me. In the retarding of the fruiting of 
these plants, I rather expected to find reverse con¬ 
ditions ; but these are the facts, and we must accept 
them. April 14 I had walked over these two overcoats 
of ice, in all 30 inches in thickness. On top of this 
ice, was a covering of straw 8 to 10 inches thick. It 
seemed to me then that these plants did not have very 
comfortable quarters for their long sleep. Just three 
months and two days later, these same plants in re¬ 
turn for this cold charity are producing large, fine- 
flavored fruit, all of which proves more conclusively 
that the limits and capabilities of the strawberry are 
not yet known, by any means. 
I visited Mr. Divine’s place again on August 8. We 
made another careful examination of the different 
varieties. There were, at least, 30 quarts of ripe ber¬ 
ries on the vines at this time. The Marshall would 
give a good picking for at least 10 days more. They 
will thus fruit this variety under this experiment for 
over one month. We had the Marshall in fruit for 26 
days in succession in the season of 1896, but they will 
beat this by at least one week. An abundance of green 
berries of all sizes were yet on the vines. The color 
of the fruit was darker than I ever saw it before, and 
the flavor positively better than any Marshall I had 
ever eaten. The lateness of the season, color and 
flavor reminded me of the old Jucunda as I remember 
it 20 years ago. Occasionally the Jucunda would bear 
a little fruit on the new plants of the present year’s 
runners. The Parker Earle and Warfield had a quan¬ 
tity of ripe and green fruit on their vines. It looked as 
though they had not picked these varieties for a day or 
more. The flavor of both was much improved since 
my last visit. The fruit, however, is rather small 
when compared with the Marshall, Gandy and Brandy¬ 
wine. 
Brandywine would have plenty of fruit for 12 or 15 
days to come ; the fruit, however, does not average as 
large as the Marshall. The flavor of this variety at 
that time was very distinct, a good, lively, sprightly 
berry with a very agreeable after flavor. The Gandy 
was about done fruiting, and would not be as late as 
the Marshall or Brandywine. The fruit seemed to 
ripen during a short period. Of course, the Gandy is 
a very shy bearer ; however, we found some magnifi¬ 
cent samples of fruit on the Gandy plants. I was 
glad to learn that the characteristics of the different 
varieties were not changed to any great extent. The 
fruit is not quite so firm as it is in the normal fruiting 
season. 
What Is the Fruit Worth ? —Mr. Divine seemed 
to pay but little attention to the marketing of the 
fruit, or rather, he did not try what some consider 
the best market, a New York City fancy fruit store or 
some of the high-class hotels. As a matter of fact, he 
was more anxious to make a success of the undertak¬ 
ing than anything else, and when he started out he 
expected to lose money. He said, “ We have sold our 
fancy Marshalls for 50 cents per quart.” People 
drove to the house for them during my visits, and the 
fruit was sold from the market wagon at 50, 30, 25, 
and as low as 12 cents per quart, according to its 
grade and condition. It seems to me, however, that 
there is a market in New York City for this fruit at 
50 cents to 81 per quart. 
What was the exact cost per quart to produce this 
fruit in this manner ? Mr. Divine said, “ Everything 
I had done in connection with this experiment was 
performed in the most costly manner. As near as I 
can figure, the fruit cost me 22 cents per quart. I am 
sure that I could do the same thing over again for a 
great deal less money.” 
“ Have the conditions been favorable for this ex¬ 
periment, or have there been any circumstances in 
connection with it that might not exist another 
season ?” 
“ None whatever. I would go into this thing again 
without any misgivings, assured of success from the 
start.” 
“ How much later could you have fruit by using, 
say 3 % feet of ice ? ” 
“ There is no doubt in my mind that I could have 
fruit one month later.” 
“ What variety do you consider best for this busi¬ 
ness ? ” 
“ I have as yet found but one strawberry for this or 
other purposes, that is the Marshall.” Mr. Swift said, 
“We will swear by the Marshallevery time.” Mr. Divine 
has about three or four acres of strawberries, and per¬ 
haps, has 15 or 20 varieties. He grows more of the 
Marshall than of all others combined. 
“ Do you think asparagus could be retarded in this 
way ? ” 
“ I see no good reason why we could not retard 
asparagus just the same as we do the strawberry.” 
How It Was Done. —Mr. Divine and Mr. Swift, 
who superintended the work, gave me the following 
facts about this successful undertaking : The plants 
were set in June, 1897, and were pot-grown plants 
that had been kept in cold storage. They were fruited 
in a small way in September of that year, so that 
this is their second year of fruiting. Mr. Divine 
thinks that they would bear even more fruit next 
year than they did this. The plants were covered 
last Fall, after the ground had frozen, with about two 
inches of corn stalks and other litter. There was one 
foot of snow on the ground January 22, when they 
began putting on the first layer of ice, which was 16 
inches in thickness. The second layer of ice was 14 
inches thick. This work was finished February 5. 
Thus there were 2% feet of ice on the plants. To be 
exact, it took 680 tons of ice to cover the quarter of 
an acre. On top of this ice, were put 7 M tons of 
buckwheat straw, etc., or a covering about eight to 
ten inches deep. This was put on between February 
15 and 27, and nothing further was done until my first 
visit April 14, when as before stated, an examination 
of the plants was made, and everything looked 
favorable. 
May 20, one row was uncovered and, of course, 
the fruit from this row ripened some time before 
the rest of the rows. The covering of straw was 
removed a little at a time, making six separate jobs 
of this work. On June 23, all the straw with some 
small pieces of ice on different portions of the patch 
was removed. The ground was then mulched. The 
first ripe fruit was picked from the Marshall July 16. 
August 8, the ground was quite free from weeds. 
The whole thing is a pronounced success; this mod¬ 
est, retiring man has showed us the way to new 
possibilities in the horticultural world. It will be 
said, in fact it has already been hinted, that this is 
nothing new. This may be so, but as far as I can 
learn, this is the first time we have found the man 
who has figured out the ways and means to such a 
successful termination. 
Possibilities Of the Scheme. —How many times 
have we heard it said, “ I regret so much to see the 
strawberry season over. It is no trouble to get a 
meal when we have plenty of this fruit. If they would 
only last longer! This is the fruit that the great 
majority of us will use in preference to all others.” 
Heretofore, the best we have ever been able to do 
under the most favorable conditions was to have 
strawberries for six weeks ; now we can have this 
fruit for at least three months, and even longer with¬ 
out any considerable expense. All we want is ice, 
and during the Winter in this part of the country, we 
often complain that we have too much of it. Let us 
put some of it to a good use. A bed of strawberries 
20 feet square will give plenty of fruit for a good-sized 
family. If one has a bed of this size, of course in 
addition to the bed for the regular fruiting period, 
and 25 tons of ice, he can have strawberries for three 
months. Use one layer of ice for the early retarded 
fruit, two layers for the second early, and three layers 
for the very late fruit. What the cost of icing these 
plants will be will depend entirely on circumstances. 
Often the conditions are such that it can be done for 
810, and I would name 825 as the highest cost. The 
plants will bear a full crop, fully as much as, and often 
more than those fruited in the regular season, as the 
blossoms will be free from all frosts. This is a simple 
and sure way to lengthen the season of the fruit. It 
has been said that God might have made a better fruit, 
but we have proof enough that He never did. 
Orange County, N. Y. t. j. dwyer. 
Farmers’ Club. 
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A BASKET OF FRUIT QUESTIONS. 
ANSWERS BY II. E. VAN REMAN. 
Propagating Pears from Cuttings. 
I have been told that LeCoute and Kieffer pears can be grown 
from cuttings. I put up some pear cuttings as I put up vine cut¬ 
tings to callus and form roots. Many turned black, others 
callused and budded. I then planted them as I do vine cuttings. 
Many turned black after being started, others budded but failed 
to grow. What is the cause of their failing to grow ? Which 
would be the best method to grow pear trees from LeCoute and 
Kielfer? l. w. 
Arkansas. 
It is true that cuttings of the LeConte pear will 
strike root very easily in some climates and soils. 
Kieffer does not root so easily. This is specially true 
in Georgia aud other southern States. The most suit¬ 
able soil for this purpose is sandy and very loose. 
There must be considerable warmth, also. The soil 
in which L. W. planted his cuttings was, probably, 
too heavy, and owing to the elevation above sea 
level, the climate in that part of Arkansas is, prob¬ 
ably, too cool in the Spring. The natural conditions 
must be somewhat similar to those which the gar¬ 
dener has who induces cuttings of various kinds to 
strike root in a greenhouse, where he uses bottom 
heat to induce the roots to grow. A cold, clammy 
soil is not like this, and the cuttings cannot strike 
root easily where the air and warmth of the sun do 
not penetrate readily. Speaking from the standpoint 
of the scientist, a cutting of any kind or tree or plant 
will grow if treated rightly, but from the standpoint 
of the practical propagator, it is not so. The science 
of cuttings forming roots is that, under favorable con¬ 
ditions, the cells of the cambium layer multiply and 
grow out into a whitish mass which we call callus; 
if kept in the ground or in such place as will furnish 
the right conditions, the new cells will organize them¬ 
selves into tender rootlets, and finally, into substantial 
and vigorous roots. When this process can be induced 
easily and cheaply, the practical grower says that 
the cuttings of this or that kind will grow, as for 
instance, those of the grape and currant. Those of 
the oak and pine will grow too, if they can be kept in 
such a state as to induce the callus to form, and then 
the roots, before the buds expand too much, and the 
leaves grow and consume all the nourishment stored 
in the buds and twigs, and evaporate the moisture in 
the cutting. The roots gather food and water, and 
the growth and leaves consume them. If the con¬ 
sumption is more rapid than the supply, then death 
must ensue. I have experimented in the open ground 
with cuttings of oak, walnut, hickory, maple, poplar, 
elm, ash, wild cherry, apple, pear, peach, plum, etc., 
and got excellent starts from the oak and other large- 
budded kinds ; but their death was sure and swift in 
the end When the store of starch and sugar had 
been consumed by the expanding leaves, there being 
no roots to absorb more of the elements of plant 
food and water from the soil, they had to die from 
