624 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 10 
ola trees, it is necessary to pick off the apples for a 
few years if it is desired to get large tops to the trees. 
Of course, it is a Summer apple, and must be mar¬ 
keted as soon as ripe; but usually, it sells for a fair 
price, and sometimes, like the present year, will 
bring from §2 to S3 per barrel, and then an orchard of 
bearing Duchess is better than the average Klondike 
gold mine. 
Maiden's Blush is not a red apple, but it is of good 
size, an annual cropper on heavy land, grows fair, and 
can be sold as a Fall apple or kept into Winter. It is 
very partial to a strong, heavy soil, and appreciates 
plenty of manuring. In such a soil and with such 
treatment, it will make the owner of a good-sized 
orchard rich and happy. The best paying orchard on 
our farm is one of Maiden’s Blush, and it has now a 
full crop for at least the 11th or 12th year in succes¬ 
sion. But it does not do nearly so well on lighter 
soil, or especially on a dry, gravelly soil. It there 
ripens too early, and is very subject to attacks of both 
the curculio and Codling moth. 
Sutton’s Beauty and Hubbardston are both classed 
as red apples, though neither is red like Jonathan. 
Both are good bearers. In full years, they must be 
thinned or the fruit will break the trees. They are 
handsome and fair, and good sellers. 
I am now trying several of the newer apples like 
Ontario, Milwaukee, Rome Beauty, Peerless and half 
a dozen others, and although I like the foliage and 
growth of some first-rate, I would not dare recom¬ 
mend them without longer trial. One thing in all 
varieties should receive the first attention—the char¬ 
acter of the leaf—as it is a fact that the material for 
the development of both fruit and growth of tree is 
assimilated and prepared in the leaf. It is impossible 
to get a healthy, vigorous tree unless it has a good 
leaf, and the kinds I have recommended all have ex¬ 
ceptionally strong, healthy leaves. 
Niagara County, N. Y. j. s. woodward. 
A NEW WHEAT DRILL WANTED. 
WHICH 18 T1IR BETTER, HOE OR RUNNER ? 
I see a great deal in The R. N.-Y. about wheat growing, prepar¬ 
ing the soil, etc., but very little about the kinds of drills used. In 
this section of the country, we are pretty sure of a crop if the 
wheat goes through the Winter all right. One thing which I con¬ 
sider essential for this is to have the ground solid. On account 
of this, I plow shallow, for it is next to impossible to get deep- 
plowed ground solid when the Fall is a dry one. Do not you and 
your readers think that large ridges between the drill rows of 
wheat afford great protection to the wheat in Winter ? Also, don’t 
you think the press wheels an advantage in packing the soil ? I 
don’t like the hoe drills because they will not go through the 
trash that we so often plow under; besides they tear up the 
ground, leaving it loose, and have no press wheels behind. I 
would like to have a runner drill, with press attachment, that 
would make large ridges like a hoe drill. It seems to me that 
some one ought to get up a runner drill with an attachment near 
the top of the runner that would throw the small clods and loose 
soil to one side, forming a ridge between each two drill rows. 
Something similar to the attachment they have on corn plauter 
runners to push the clods away from the row would do the work. 
Mason City, Ill. g. b. a. 
Hoe Drills in Illinois. 
Here in the center of the Winter-wheat belt of 
Illinois, the hoe drill is the only kind used ; although 
the runner and disk drills are manufactured here, 
they find a market in other sections of the country 
where a high ridge between the drill rows is not nec¬ 
essary. Such a drill as G. B. A. mentions is made 
here; there are different sizes with runners six or 
eight inches apart. There are press wheels and 
pressure springs to force the runners into the ground, 
but I do not believe that he would get that high ridge 
which he is looking for. The Gundlach hoe drill is 
the general favorite in this county. This drill is sim¬ 
ple in construction, easy draught, low down to fill ; 
the hoes are so shaped that trash will work upward 
above the level of the ground, which makes it easy 
to keep clean. It will do good work in land with 
more trash than there should be. 
I think the man that is habitually bothered at sow¬ 
ing time with trash and clods is farming too much 
land. In preparing land for wheat, I start the mower 
ahead of the plows, cutting the stubble and coming 
weeds, which grow with a will here, using them as a 
mulch to prevent the escape of moisture instead of 
hastening it. This short stuff will fall nicely into 
the furrow and not prevent the land from packing as 
long weeds and long bunches of stubble with their 
roots on to make them still longer would do. The 
roller or harrow follows the plow to crush the clods 
while they are soft, and to hold the moisture as much 
as possible. After the plowing is finished, the sur¬ 
face is thoroughly worked until one would say that 
there is a good seed-bed, but this seed-bed extends 
only three or four inches down. We now with the 
plows turn this land bottom side up, and make a new 
seed-bed and, instead of having holes, clods and 
bunches of trash to check the roots of the growing 
wheat, we have good mellow soil below as well as on 
top, with thetr ash cut in two, also on top where it 
should be. This land is sown with a nine-hoe drill 
nine inches apart. p. f. miller. 
From a New York Standpoint. 
We have been using various kinds of drills during 
the last quarter of a century. We feel that none of 
the drills is perfect, but so far, the Empire drill has 
been fairly satisfactory; the fault, I think, is not 
with the manufacturers, but with the farmers. They 
will not fit the land perfectly, therefore, the runner 
drill such as in common use in Europe cannot be 
used; neither can a drill be made to sow the grain at 
a uniform depth until the farmers will consent to fit 
the land as properly as they have been fitting it for 
sugar beets. The manufacturer is forced to make a 
strong drill with large teeth which are heavy and 
which deposit the grain too deeply where the ground 
is mellow. If they were made to cover the grain 
about one inch in depth in good ground, they would 
not cover the grain at all in the cloddy ground. 
The ideal drill would be one with a runner similar 
to the beet drill with press attachments and so ar¬ 
ranged that the depth of sowing could be accurately 
regulated ; the space between the drill marks should 
be reduced at least two inches so as to distribute the 
grain over the ground better. To do this and leave 
the ground corrugated (and that is the way it should 
be left), the drill teeth would have to be much smaller 
than those now used. So with our present arrange¬ 
ment with large drill teeth well adapted to land im¬ 
perfectly fitted, the teeth must be seven to eight inches 
apart, or the proper corrugation of the surface is not 
secured. The time will come, of course, when we 
farmers will learn to fit the land better, and as this 
comes about, the manufacturers, I think, will respond 
quickly. I think the protection afforded by the cor- 
THE FORDHOOK FANCY TOMATO. Fig. 291. 
rugations or ridges between the drill rows cannot be 
made too prominent in all of those districts where the 
wheat is in danger of freezing out. i. p. Roberts. 
Cornell Experiment Station. 
FARMING AMONG WESTCHESTER HILLS. 
AGRICULTURE IN A ROCK-ROUND COUNTRY. 
Hens and Fruits, With Vegetables to Pave the Way. 
[editorial correspondence.] 
Part II. 
A Means to an Fnd. —The end in view was to run 
the whole farm into fruit and hens, the latter for pro¬ 
ducing eggs for a fancy trade. To do this rapidly 
would cost considerable money. But as stated last 
week, the determination was not to go into debt, and 
to make the place pay its way as they went along ; so 
it was necessary to produce something that would 
yield quick returns. The cows on hand were ready to 
give down at once. Much of the farm was fit only for 
pasturage, so these cows seemed one of the most 
available sources of immediate revenue. But most of 
the old settlers were shipping their milk to New York, 
and getting prices that would hardly pay the bills for 
feed purchased. Such business would never pay them, 
so a separator was purchased, and butter was made 
for which a ready market was found in the towns and 
Summer resorts roundabout. The herd was improved, 
and milk was purchased from neighbors to enable the 
firm to supply the ever-increasing demand. Choice 
butter, made into neat prints, each carrying on its 
face the imprint of the firm, delivered to customers 
every week, was the best kind of an advertisement, 
besides bringing in that ready cash so much desired. 
Many of the people spending the Summer at the hotels 
using this butter, were so pleased with the taste that 
lingered in their mouths after their return to the city, 
that they wanted more ; they also wanted fresh eggs, 
etc., so that more good-paying customers were secured, 
and trade grew. Few cows are now kept. 
Vegetables as Helpers. —There was a demand 
from the hotels and villages for good, fresh vegetables. 
Much of the farm was not in shape to raise these, but 
some of it was available, and most of it naturally 
suited to this purpose. So crops of peas, beans, 
tomatoes, potatoes, beets, turnips, sweet corn and 
other vegetables were made a part of the supplies, and 
are still grown in considerable quantities. Ultimately, 
however, the larger part of these will be dropped, and 
fruits and hens receive most attention. 
White & Rice are extensive exhibitors at agricul¬ 
tural fairs in their vicinity. To prepare for these, a 
large assortment is necessary. I was shown a block 
of about 30 different varieties of beets. Other plots 
comprised nearly all the different varieties of other 
vegetables, while the number of varieties of potatoes 
was bewildering. The amount secured in premiums 
on these is quite an item, considerable advertising is 
received, and most of the vegetables can either be sold 
after exhibiting, or are, at least, available for feeding 
the feathered stock. A forcing-house has been built 
for starting early vegetable and flower plants. Several 
frames were used to carry over lettuce for early mar¬ 
ket, this to be followed by radishes. Numerous smaller 
lines of work aid in making up the grand total needed 
to keep the machine running, improve the farm and 
put out the trees that are to bear the future crops of 
fruit. 
Clearing the Way. —The farm couldn’t all be im¬ 
proved in one year. One old pasture after another was 
taken up and put through the renovating process. 
Great hedges of weeds and bushes lined the numerous 
stone walls. These were cleared away. Huge rocks 
and smaller stones were carted from the fields. Dyna¬ 
mite was used on such as were too large to handle 
otherwise. Many of the stone walls have been taken 
away and others are doomed. Many old-time stone 
drains are found here and there, but few of them are 
in working order. Great quantities of the stone have 
been used in making stone road, and this has proved 
such a good object lesson that much more of this road 
is likely to be built in a country which formerly knew 
none of it. A great reservoir has been built of stone 
under the barn, which is filled by a windmill and fur¬ 
nishes water enough to be a great aid to the garden 
in a dry time. The water is also piped to the house, 
and plans are made to have it so arranged that no 
pumping will be necessary. Mr. White remarked that 
few farm houses have such an arrangement, but it is 
certain that most of them should have. Quite a tract 
was tile-drained last Fall, and whereas the crops on 
this piece of land have nearly always been a failure 
during wet seasons heretofore, it has produced a heavy 
crop this season, more than enough to pay all the cost 
of the work. 
Furnishing Fertility.— The first crop on an old 
pasture is corn. This is one of the best of crops for 
subduing land. The grain is used for feeding the 
poultry, and the stalks for feeding the stock. Some 
buckwheat is grown, as both grain and straw are 
needed for the hens, and this is also a good crop to 
grow for subduing land. Chemical fertilizers are 
used to some extent, but mostly mixed at home. 
About §100 worth a year on the average, or a little 
more, covers the bill. But everywhere is sown Crim¬ 
son clover. Not a foot of land is left bare. Mr. Rice 
says that a farmer should have Crimson clover seed 
in his barn the same as he has flour in the barrel ; it 
should be a staple article. The seed is sown in the 
corn at the last cultivation. Among the vegetables 
and fruit plants it is scattered. If a piece of ground 
is cleared of potatoes or early vegetables, it is at once 
seeded to Crimson clover. Among some of the latter 
is also scattered turnip seed, the turnips to furnish 
feed for the hens. Mr. Rice said that about the onty 
place that clover isn't sown is in the old apple or¬ 
chard. From one piece on which the buckwheat just 
in bloom was about waist high at the time of my 
visit, a heavy crop of Crimson clover had been taken. 
It was so heavy that it had been judged better to 
take off the larger part of it for hay, but the remain¬ 
ing stubble and the roots had given a goodly amount 
of humus. The manure from the horses, cows and 
hens is all utilized. 
A Glance Around.— The old orchard is divided 
into two parts. In one, the hogs pasture and do the 
cultivating ; in the other, experiments are being con¬ 
ducted with a number of different varieties of cow 
peas. One plot of corn looked as though it had be¬ 
come tired of life ; evidently, it would amount to lit¬ 
tle though having had a good chance. Mr. Rice said 
that the only thing he could think of as an explana¬ 
tion was too deep cultivation close to the rows, which 
cut off the feeding roots. A lot of very fine potatoes 
were shown me which had been dug from a plot 
planted in March, which had afterwards been frozen 
hard. The neighbors made numerous remarks about 
planting potatoes in the Winter, but the results justi¬ 
fied the wisdom of early planting. More potatoes are 
planted too late than are planted too early. A build- 
