1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
kind, followed by Fanny, Primate, or Early Joe. A 
little later come Jefferis, Chenango, or Fall Wine. 
Grimes Golden or Jonathan will bring us to early Win¬ 
ter in most sections. From this list, one tree of each 
season should be chosen. 
Of pears, I would plant mostly dwarf trees, because 
they will occupy less space, and bear earlier than 
standards. If the latter be planted as far apart as 
the apple trees, there may be one each of Sheldon, 
Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, and Kieffer. Then between 
these may be put at least one dwarf pear tree. Tyson, 
Howell, Seckel, Angoulgme, Dana’s Hovey, and Law¬ 
rence will do well for these places. A tree each of 
Elberta and Mountain Rose peaches will furnish a 
pleasant variety, and one each of Richmond and Eng¬ 
lish Morello cherries will make good use of any re¬ 
maining space. A vine each of Moore's Early, Niagara, 
Brighton, and Delaware grapes may be trained by 
the fence. Gooseberry, raspberry, currant and straw¬ 
berry plants may be grown between the apple rows 
for several years. Thorough and continued cultiva¬ 
tion, without allowing any grass to form a sod among 
the fruit trees and plants, is a prime necessity in a 
town lot as well as on a farm. 
How to Start Peach Pits.—How should I plant peach pits to 
have them come out well ? What distance apart ? l. n. b. 
Whitewater, Col. 
Peach seeds should be kept in a moist condition 
from the time they come from the fruit if possible, al¬ 
though I have had them sprout and grow very well 
when they had not been always in this condition. If 
piled in heaps when fresh and wet, they may heat 
and become worthless. Spread out on the ground in 
a shady place, and covered with straw or some such 
stuff, is a good way to keep them until Fall or early 
Winter. Before freezing weather, they may be planted 
directly where they are to grow. One of the best 
stands I ever had was by this plan. The ground was 
plowed, harrowed and furrowed out 3>£ feet apart, 
but not deeply. The seeds were dropped five or six 
inches apart, and covered about three inches deep. In 
the mild climate of western Colorado, this work may 
be done almost any time during the Fall or Winter, 
but the earlier the better security from drying of the 
seeds. 
Another plan is the bedding-out system. This is to 
dig beds about one spade deep and of any convenient 
shape and dimensions. 1 usually make them about 
three feet wide, and as long as may be needed, or the 
space admit. Throw out the earth, and make the bot¬ 
tom of the bed smooth. Spread the seeds about three 
inches deep over the whole bottom. Then cover with 
the earth, and let all remain so until the approach of 
Spring. Keep a sharp lookout for the opening and 
sprouting of the seeds, and as soon as they show the 
white roots outside the shell plentifully throughout 
the mass, plant as described for Fall seeding, only not 
quite so deeply. Still another plan is to let these beds 
alone until the sprouts have come six inches above 
ground ; then dig up and set in rows during a time 
when the earth is moist but not wet. 
Budding Cherries and Plums.— I budded several small Morello 
cherry trees with Dyehouse buds In September, and having more 
to bud next year, I should like to know whether dormant buds 
inserted next Spring will make a growth next Summer, or remain 
dormant all Summer. On what side of a horizontal branch should 
a bud be inserted ? In cleft grafting I notice that the new growth 
always' goes up, and if this be the case with a bud it will 
make a material difference in the shape of the head of the 
tree one is top-working, whether the bud be inserted on the top 
or bottom of the branch. Does the Montmorency or other Morello 
make a suitable stock on which to bud Windsor, Gov. Wood or 
Olivet ? I have a number of nicely-shaped trees of Glass Seedling 
plum which I am afraid is too late for our short season. Is it 
practicable to top-work them by inserting Red June or Burbank 
buds next Spring or Autumn ? Do the Domestica or Americana 
families of plums make suitable'Stocks for the Japans ? d. j. s. 
Aitken’s Ferry, Prince Edward Island, Can. 
Dormant buds inserted next Spring ought to make 
a good growth that year. The stocks must be cut off 
as soon as union with the bud has taken place. It is 
much better to set the buds in horizontal limbs on the 
upper side, that the weight of the shoot may press 
against rather than away from the stock. It is true 
that the style of the tree may be somewhat controlled 
by the position of the buds or scions where top-work¬ 
ing is done, but the peculiar habit of the variety put 
on will be produced in the main, no matter which side 
of the stocks they are set. After-pruning will have 
much to do in the matter. The Morello cherry trees 
do not make good stocks for the more rampant-grow¬ 
ing sweet varieties. The union is not perfect, and 
they are likely to break off in after years. I have 
tried it repeatedly, with this experience in nearly all 
cases. There are considerable variations in the growth 
of the varieties of the Domestica and Americana 
species of the plum family ; hence, the Japan or Tri¬ 
flora varieties, which are all of strong growth, succeed 
somewhat differently on them. Speaking in a general 
way, they graft together fairly well. The more nearly 
they are of equal vigor the better the union. I would 
not hesitate to graft over late or otherwise undesir¬ 
able kinds of both the former species to the latter, 
unless the habit of growth of the particular varieties 
were quite dissimilar. 
A Talk About Potash. 
J. P. B., Brest, Mo. —Where can I get potash, such as Is used for 
fertilizers ? How should it be prepared for use ? What does it 
cost? Can it be sown with a common fertilizer drill ? How much 
should be applied per acre ? My land needs potash, I think. 
I have tried bone meal and found that it did no good, but where 
I burn brush, or rubbish, the ashes make the crops grow well. 
Ans.—I t is sold only by regular fertilizer dealers. 
The potash most commonly used for fertilizer is im¬ 
ported from Germany, where it is dug out of a mine, 
and divided, by quality, into various forms, known to 
the trade as muriate, sulphate, kainit, etc. The muri¬ 
ate and the sulphate each contain about 50 per cent of 
actual potash. The sulphate is more expensive, as it con¬ 
tains practically no salt, and is thus thought by some 
people to be better suited for use on fruits or vege¬ 
tables in which a high flavor is desired. For the great 
majority of farm crops, the muriate is just as good, 
and is several dollars cheaper per ton. The muriate 
costs, at the seaboard, from $40 to $43 per ton retail, 
but would, of course, bring more tban this west of the 
Mississippi. In appearance, the muriate is much like 
salt, and it will drill reasonably well through a fer¬ 
tilizer drill. For most grain and fruit crops, a mixture 
of one part of muriate of potash and three parts of 
bone meal will give excellent satisfaction, although 
four or five parts of the bone meal are often used in 
grain growing. Use from 200 to 500 pounds of the 
mixture per acre. The fact that the crops respond 
wherever wood has been burned on your soil, is good 
evidence that the land needs potash, although you 
must remember that wood ashes also contain a good 
deal of lime, and possibly, lime in the ashes is what 
has benefited the soil. Generally speaking, most of 
the heavy lands in the West are deficient in phos¬ 
phoric acid, especially where dairying and beef grow¬ 
ing have been carried on. Our advice would be to try 
a quantity of muriate of potash in connection with 
bone, through the grain and on the fruit. Leave 
strips without potash, and also without bone, for com¬ 
parison. If you can obtain lime at a reasonable price, 
we would advise you to try experiments with that 
also both in connection with the fertilizer and with¬ 
out it. 
Advice About Using Dynamite. 
O. H. T., Bloomington, Ind. —I have about 100 stumps which I 
wish to take out. I expect to use dynamite, but I know nothing 
about handling. Shall I bore a hole in the stump, or with a bar 
make a hole under it, in which to place ray charge ? How much 
explosive will be required ? Would it be better to wait until the 
ground is frozen ? What per cent is best to use ? 
ANSWERED BY J. C. SENGER. 
The only safe advice to give to G. H. T. and all 
others equally unfamiliar with the use of dynamite, 
is to handle it through the fingers of another. How 
the work is to be done can be learned in a few minutes 
by taking a practical lesson from an expert. The caps, 
or exploders as they are called, must be handled as 
carefully as the dynamite itself. Mutilation of the 
body, and even death, lurks in the bottom of these 
apparently inoffensive little things. If G. H. T. must 
blast, it would be decidedly wiser, unless he can get 
an expert dynamite man to do it, to use a high-grade 
black blasting powder. Let him bore a hole in a solid 
part of the stump, put in a handful of powder, push it 
to the bottom of the hole with a dry stick, something 
like a broom handle, then insert the freshly-cut end of 
the fuse, add more powder, gently push this down, and 
then put in the tamping. This must be put in by de¬ 
grees, the first being simply pushed snugly in place, 
while the successive additions must be made firmer 
and firmer. The efficiency of the gases produced by 
the ignition of any explosive depends upon the skill 
used in tamping. The fuse must be cut of ample length 
to enable one easily to get to a safe retreat after the 
match has been applied. The length will much de¬ 
pend upon the nature of the fuse employed. In the 
many thousand feet of different kinds of fuse that I 
have used in the past, I have always found that some 
sections of even the same coil would burn faster than 
other sections of exactly the same length. Therefore, 
better cut the fuse a foot too long than an inch too 
short. 
Boring a hole in the solid part of a stump is harder 
and longer work, but less explosive is necessary, and 
results are more certain. “ How much explosive will 
be required ? ” Won’t it depend on the size of the in¬ 
tended game what size shot I will use when I reload 
my shells ? So with these stumps. For some, one- 
quarter pound may do, while others may require 
several pounds. If buildings are near, use barely 
enough to shatter the stump. It won’t be a hard task 
to remove the pieces. When the explosive is placed 
underneath the stump, more will be required, as the 
soil does not offer sufficient resistance. It is very 
much like using a strong lever on a rotten fulcrum. 
There are two objections to doing the work when the 
ground is frozen. First, the stump is then very much 
8oi 
harder to move bodily. Secondly, dynamite freezes 
readily, and in this condition, is unfit to use and must 
first be thawed. Thawing dynamite has sent many a 
man heavenward, boots and all. When thawing be¬ 
came necessary, I always used warm water, which re¬ 
quired more time but guarded against ignition. The 
higher the per cent, the stronger and more dangerous 
the article. Thirty per cent is sufficiently strong for 
any stump in this part of the country. 
The Bulk of a Ton of Ice. 
J. D. W., Savannah, Oa .—What space in cubic inches, will a ton 
of block ice occupy ? What is the measurement on the side of 
the cube ? 
Ans. —One ton of ice contains 35 cubic feet very 
nearly. A block of this size measures very nearly 3>£ 
feet each way. It may be of interest to explain how 
these figures may be found. As water weighs 62>£ 
pounds per cubic foot, and as ice is about one-eleventh 
lighter than water, one cubic foot of ice weighs nearly 
57 % pounds. Consequently, on the basis of these 
figures, it is very easy to calculate the size of a block 
or mass of ice weighing one ton. A ton of ice contains 
60,208.7 cubic inches. Of course, these figures relate 
only to a solid block of ice. They apply very closely 
to a mass of ice made up of even-sized blocks, the 
spaces between which are filled with the dust of the 
ice made by the handling. In irregular-shaped pieces, 
the space occupied by a ton of ice will be double the 
size given, as the vacant spaces will make up one-half 
the bulk. 
How to Grow Crimson Clover. 
U. F. O., Adams Basin, W. Y .—Can Crimson clover be grown 
successfully in au orchard ? If so, can I sow it next Spring, and 
cut for hay the same season ? What special preparation should 
I give the soil, if any ? The soil is a sandy loam. 
Ans. —In many parts of New York State, farmers 
are growing Crimson clover in their orchards with 
great success. You cannot, however, expect to sow 
this clover in the Spring, and obtain satisfactory re¬ 
sults from it the same season. It is not a warm- 
weather plant. The hot sun of midsummer will either 
kill it or drive it to a head when only two or three 
inches high. It is by nature a cold-weather plant, 
and is best suited to sowing in late Fall, so that it 
may hold the ground during the Fall and Winter. We 
use it in this way as a catch crop, growing, say from 
August until May, and then making room for another 
crop better suited to holding the ground during the 
Summer. Grown in this way, Crimson clover is of 
great value to the farm, but we do not advise that it 
be cut and cured for hay. It ripens at a time some¬ 
what out of season for safe haymaking, and on the 
whole, we consider it better suited for plowing under 
as green manure or for pasturing hogs or sheep. 
On our own farm, we use this clover as a catch crop, 
usually sowing it in the standing corn. At the last 
cultivation of the corn, we go through and sow broad¬ 
cast, about 12 pounds per acre of the Crimson clover 
seed. Then run the cultivator through the corn as 
usual, thus working the seed in. After the corn is 
cut, the clover grows along through the Fall and 
Winter. Most of our clover, at the present time, is 
from three to four inches high. We also sow the seed 
after early potatoes; after digging, we work the 
ground with the Cutaway harrow, sow the clover seed 
and then roll. It is not necessary to give any very 
careful preparation of the ground in preparing it for 
Crimson clover seed, but you will make a mistake, if 
you undertake to sow the seed in the Spring, because 
it is not adapted to Spring sowing, and will certainly 
prove a disappointment. 
The Gravity Cream Separators. 
S. W. C., Caledonia, N. Y—Farmers around here would like to 
know something about Wheeler’s gravity cream separator, which 
is being sold here. Will we get more butter than by the old sys¬ 
tem of pans? How will it compare with the high-priced sep¬ 
arators ? 
Ans —This separator is described in Bulletin 151 of 
the Cornell Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. Prof. 
Wing says that it is nothing but an ordinary tin can. 
The plan is to pour water into the milk, the claim 
being that this will cause the cream to rise quicker 
and surer. As compared with shallow pans or the 
ordinary Cooley creamer, Prof. Wing found that it is 
no better than the shallow pans, except that it requires 
less labor. It is not so good as the Cooley system, in 
which the milk is set in a deep can and surrounded by 
cold water. The cans are not separators at all, and 
cannot begin to rank with the centrifugals. They 
would, probably, give better results if no water were 
poured into the can, and the cold water was kept 
around it. Prof. Wing states that, several years ago, 
when the deep gravity system of raising cream was 
the ordinary method, there occurred in New England 
and New York a succession of very mild Winters, so 
that ice was hard to get. It was suggested that cream 
would be raised quicker by diluting the milk with 
from one-half to an equal volume of water. This was 
expected to overcome the lack of ice. The thing 
was carefully tried at several experiment stations, 
but no special advantage was found ; in fact, it seems 
to be demonstrated that more satisfactory results will 
be obtained with the milk as it comes from the cow, 
either in shallow pans or in the deep cans surrounded 
by cold water. 
