295 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1898 
$100 FOR TWO WEEKS. 
Only about two weeks now remain be¬ 
fore the close of our subscription work 
for this season. We want once more to 
say that $100 will be divided May 1 
among those club raisers who send five 
or more yearly subscriptions by that 
date. This now promises to give club 
raisers the best reward for their w T ork 
that has been given during this subscrip¬ 
tion season, since August 15 last. The 
clubs are small and few of them. We 
want some clubs of five by May 1. If 
you get more than five, the proportion 
of the $100 to you will be’greater. Every 
name will increase it. This will be in 
addition to commissions, etc. Can’t you 
hunt up five neighbors who want Tiik 
R. N.-Y. ? The time is now short. Act 
quickly ! 
Tiie Rural New-Yorker, New York. 
SUGAR-BEET CULTURE. 
At a farmers' institute held at Sidney, N. Y., 
special attention was given to the beet-sugar in¬ 
dustry. The new beet-sugar factory at Bingham¬ 
ton has made a market for sugar beets for farm¬ 
ers in that vicinity. Mr. J. E. Rogers, one of the 
pioneers in growing sugar beets, thought this 
new industry opened a wide door to .a profitable 
business to a large number of American farm¬ 
ers. He said, “ We pay,other countries $100,000,000 
for sugar every year. We make in this country 
only six per cent of the sugar consumed, so there 
is no doubt in regard to a home market. There 
are now in this country eight beet-sugar factor¬ 
ies, and several more will be built this year. To 
encourage the industry, Germany pays a bounty 
on all the sugar exported, and charges duty on 
all imported. This country should encourage 
the home production of sugar in the same or 
other ways. One reason why the outlook is now 
more hopeful, is that we have a better sugar beet 
than we ever had, and this has been brought 
about by several years of careful selection. 
Last year, I bought 70 pounds of best seed, and 
distributed it among the farmers on the terms 
that each one should send me two beets, as a 
sample of his crop; 40 of these samples were sent 
to Cornell University for analysis. The average 
analysis was 16 87-100 per cent sugar. In Ger¬ 
many, the per cent of sugar in these beets is only 
abo.it 14 per cent. We have demonstrated that 
we can grow sugar beets as well as the Germans 
and grow more sugar in them. The sugar-beet 
growers of California can grow beets cheaper 
than we can, but their beets contain only about 
14 per cent of sugar. The climate and soil that 
produce thesuperior fruit of New York State, are 
adapted to growing beets with more sugar in them 
than the western beets. 
“The prices paid for beets range from $4 to $6.50 
per ton. From 15 to 20 tons can be grown on an 
acre. Average land free from stones, will produce 
15 tons per acre, worth $75. What does it cost to 
grow an acre of beets? Smiths &. Powell told 
me that they can grow an acre of beets for $25. 
A market gardener at Binghamton says that he 
can grow an acre for $30, but I do not assume 
that farmers without experience can grow an 
acre of beets for less than $40; $75 after paying 
$40 for labor and seed, leaves $35 for the use of 
the land. My advice is not to put all your eggs 
in one basket; do not grow all beets, or potatoes, 
or give all your time to the dairy. Try an acre 
of beets; give them good culture, charge the crop 
with all the expense of growing—labor, tools, use 
of land, and fertilizers—and compare the profits 
with your other crops.” 
Mr. Eastman spoke of the value of the beet 
tops for feeding cattle. They make excellent 
food for cows, and when utilized in this way, will 
reduce the cost of growing the crop. The culture 
of sugar beets improves the soil, so that the next 
crop will be a better one. The more the beets 
are cultivated, the more saccharine matter they 
will contain. Beets will soon be paid for accord¬ 
ing to the per cent of sugar they contain. 
In answer to questions asked by the farmers, 
Mr. Regers gave the following cultural direc¬ 
tions for growing sugar beets; “Beet lands are 
not confined to the valleys or river flats; dry land 
that is free from stones, that can be tilled to a 
depth of 12 to 15 inches, will grow beets rich in 
sugar. Deep plowing is essential. The soil 
should be made friable to a depth of 12 inches. 
This should be done, not by plowing the subsoil 
to the surface, but by following the plow with a 
subsoil plow that loosens the subsoil, but does 
not bring it to the top. The next thing to do is 
thoroughly to pulverize the soil to a depth of sev¬ 
eral inches, and thus prepare a good seedbed. 
It is better to plow the ground early in the Spring, 
then harrow it, and let it lie until the weeds start 
to grow, then just before sowing the seed, har¬ 
row again, and so destroy the first crop of weeds. 
“ If the land is fairly rich, 400 to 600 pounds of 
high-grade fertilizer per acre will produce a 
good crop of beets. This should be sown broad¬ 
cast and harrowed in. It has not been found 
profitable to transplant beets, when seed can be 
bought for 12>4 cents per pound. The seed is 
sown with a seed drill at the rate of 14 pounds 
per acre, three-fourths to one inch deep. The 
rows should be from 18 to 20 inches apart, and 
straight, that they may be more easily cultivated. 
When the plants are two inches high, with a 
sharp hoe, cut out the plants so that they will 
stand six to eight inches apart in the row. The 
next process is thinning. We have now two or 
three plants in a hill. The work of thinning, so 
as to leave only one plant in a hill, must be done 
by hand. Take hold of the best plant and hold it 
with one hand, and with the other, pull up the 
remaining plants. This is the only slow and 
expensive work in the cultivation of sugar beets. 
After the thinning is done, the weeder may be 
used to advantage, and if the field is reasonably 
free from weed seeds, it will not require much 
hand weeding to keep down the weeds. The cul¬ 
tivator should be used often, and with care, so 
as to keep the row clear of weeds as near the 
plants as possible. They should be cultivated as 
often as once in seven to ten days, and if weeds 
appear, they must be kept down until the beet 
plants possess the ground. Cultivation and 
weeding are usually finished by July 1, and the 
crop will require but little more attention until 
harvesting time, when the beets maybe plowed 
out with an ordinary reversible plow. Fortopping 
the beets to prepare them for the factory, we 
have at present no machinery, and the work 
must be done by hand. The tops should be cut 
off at the base of the lower leaves. The tops may 
be fed to cattle, or left on the ground for a fer¬ 
tilizer. A large amount of the plant food taken 
from the soil by the beets is contained in the tops 
and crowns; if these be returned to the soil, we 
have put back more than one-half the fertility 
which the plant has taken from the land.” 
The discussion which followed showed that 
much interest is taken in the sugar-beet indus¬ 
try, and that many farmers would begin growing 
them this year. _ w. h. j. 
SCIENCE FROM THE STATIONS. 
REVIEWS OF IMPORTANT BULLETINS. 
Pkof. W. J. Gkeen, in Bulletin 85 of the Ohio 
Station (Wooster), gives some interesting notes 
regarding the culture of strawberries. He says 
that he thinks the method of planting described 
in this Bulletin is the best that has yet been offered 
for Fall planting. Old strawberry growers, look¬ 
ing at the bed in December, thought that it 
must have been planted in the Spring. Water is 
essential in his method in order to get the plants 
well started. He says that the essential differ¬ 
ence between this and other plans of Fall jdant- 
ing is in spacing the plants. By other methods, 
the plants are usually set in single rows, but he 
has found that they will do as well in triple as 
in single rows; that is, the berries will be as 
large, and more of them. If, by close planting, 
we can get more fruit without reducing the size, 
there is a gain. He leaves pathways between 
the matted rows of only 18 inches, so that the 
ground is about half covered with plants, or 
about the same as in Spring-set beds of matted 
rows. He believes this to be the plan for a maxi¬ 
mum crop of large berries. 
In Bulletin No. 49 of the Arkansas Experiment 
Station (Fayetteville), Prof. J. T. Stinson gives a 
preliminary report on certain Arkansas seedling 
apples. In 1893, an investigation was begun of 
varieties of apples claimed to be Arkansas seed¬ 
lings. This investigation started at the World’s 
Fair exhibit, and has been continued in orchards 
throughout western Arkansas. The State is 
noted for the fine seedling apples it produces, 
and it is a remarkable fact that new varieties 
are being brought into notice every year. The 
enterprising nursery firms have secured stock of 
some of these varieties, and are selling them un¬ 
der different names than those by which they are 
known by the State. In order to avoid this con¬ 
fusion, Prof. Stinson makes this report in ad¬ 
vance, so that these fine apples may be properly 
named and identified for the benefit of those who 
may care to try them. A picture of the original 
Mammoth Black Twig tree is given in the bulle¬ 
tin, and Prof. Stinson says that this variety is, 
probably, a seedling of Winesap. Other varie¬ 
ties, such as Paragon, Arkansas Black, Arkan¬ 
sas Belle, Ashton, Beech, Collins, High Fill, 
Holt’s Seedling, Oliver, Ozone and Black Ben 
Davis, are given. It is remarkable how- many of 
these superior apples are knowu to be seedlings 
of Ben Davis. Certainly that vigorous old variety 
is likely to leave behind it children that will rise 
up and call it blessed. All pomologists, and es¬ 
pecially those in the West, will want to read Prof. 
Stinson’s bulletin. 
Farmers in northern New England and New 
York State will be interested in Bulletins 61 and 62 
of the Vermont Experiment Station (Burlington). 
No. 61 discusses hardy apples for cold climates. 
Prof. Waugh says that the limit of successful 
apple culture has been moving steadily north¬ 
ward ever since the occupation of this country. 
This northward progress has been aided by the 
planting of crab apples, dwarf apples, the in¬ 
troduction of the Russian varieties, and espe¬ 
cially the selection of native hardy seedlings 
and the adoption of better orchard practice. It 
is certainly a striking thought that methods of 
improving culture have thus conquered frost, 
and sent this health-giving fruit farther and far¬ 
ther to the north. The story as told in this bul¬ 
letin is exceedingly interesting. For example, 
the line which marks the present limit of the 
Baldwin and Rhode Island Greening in Vermont 
has been clearly marked out. Bulletin 62, also 
by Prof. Waugh, discusses home-grown grapes 
in Vermont. In that cold country, the vines are 
usually laid down and covered during the Win¬ 
ter. As a select list of grapes for home use in 
Vermont, Prof. Waugh gives the following: Black 
—Moore’s Early, Worden; Red—Moyer, Brighton, 
Wyoming Red; White—Green Mountain. Those 
which would be named as second choice would 
be: Black—Concord, Merrimac; Red—Brilliant, 
Delaware, Salem, Vergennes; White—Moore’s 
Diamond, Niagara. 
LARGE DISPERSION SALE. 
Sizes 
up to 
13% ft 
Holstein-Friesian Cattle. 
Standard Bred Horses. 
French Coach Horses. 
TWELVE SPANS well-mated Coach, Driving and High-Stepping Horses. 
SINGLE DRIVERS. CLYDESDALES AND PERCHERONS 
All the stock of “Lakeside” Stock Farm, Smiths Powell 
Co., Syracuse, N. Y., to be sold at Public Auction, on the 
State Fair Grounds, Syracuse, N. Y., on May 3 and 4, 
Peter C. Kellogg, Auctioneer, in order to close up the 
Estate of the late W. Brown Smith. 
THE 
EMPIRE 
■t Why walk when you can 
ride without increasing the 
labor of your team ? 
WHEEL HARROW 
WITH RIDING ATTACHMENT. 
ORIGINAL AND NEW. 
The Riding Attachment is practically inde¬ 
pendent of the Harrow and the draught direct 
from the evener. It overcomes the objections 
that exist in other Spring- 
Tooth Harrows, and will work 
In trash, stones and soils 
where other Harrows fail. 
RUNS EASILY. 
SIMPLE AND VERY STRONG. 
THE STANDARD 
HARROW CO., 
General Office and Works: 
UTICA, N.Y.,U.S.A. 
- , 
AGENTS WANTED. 
DUANE 
Pulverizing Harrow, Clod Crusher and Leveler. 
A general purpose harrow, but pre-eminently adapts 
to the preparation of sod and other ground FOJ 
CORN. Has no pointed teeth, and therefore no tendenc 
to pull up sod and rubbish. 
“ Its various qualities fit it for an easy, rapid and efficier 
preparation of land, and in cheaply working the broad field 
of a large farm into as fine a condition as a garden.” 
SENT ON TRIAL 
to he returned at my expense if not entirely satisfactory 
Delivered free on hoard at conveniently located distribul 
ing points. 
H. NASH, Sole Mfr., Milli ngton, N. J., and 30 S. Canal St., Chicago 
BEING PREPARED FROM THE CHOICEST MATERIALS, ALWAYS PRODUCE THE LARGEST POS¬ 
SIBLE CROPS OF GRASS, GRAIN, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLES IN THE SHORTEST TIME. 
BOSTON, MASS. 
BRADLEY FERTILIZER CO 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
CLEVELAND, OHIO, 
