1904 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
23 i 
THREE WAYS OF PLANTING A TREE. 
How Sfringfellow Would Do If. 
If ground is to be cultivated, break about eight 
inches and harrow. As all chance fruit tree seedlings 
and forest trees are the most vigorous and long-lived, 
imitate nature and let the subsoil alone. Cut off top 
to about 18 inches, and holding tree, top down, cut 
back all roots to short stubs an inch or so long, slop¬ 
ing so as to leave surface of cuts facing downwards 
after planting. Sink a spade to full depth, lift, insert 
tree, drop the soil back and tramp firmly. If tree is 
to be planted in sod or unbroken ground, hoe a four- 
foot circle deep enough to kill grass; remove a spade¬ 
ful or two of earth, pulverizing with back of spade, 
insert tree and fill hole, ramming well, as the foot will 
not compact the soil sufficiently on unbroken ground. 
In both cases top-dress around tree liberally with 
manure or fertilizer. Knowing from long experience 
that large holes are a useless expense, about four 
years ago I planted some peach and apple trees in 
driven or crowbar holes on sandy land, and with such 
good results that I recommended it in print. I have 
since found that it is difficult to compact the earth 
well around the short stubs in such small holes, es¬ 
pecially in sod or stiff soil, and now prefer a small 
spade hole. I see that frost has destroyed many cul¬ 
tivated peach trees at the North, but I predict that 
the fence-corner, back yard and sod trees will not only 
pull through, but bear fruit next Summer. “I told you 
so” in “The New Horticulture.” 
Texas. h. M - stringfellow. 
How Hale Does It. 
To plant peach trees properly I prepare the land as 
thoroughly as for any cultivated field crops, and 
check off the rows in the easiest and cheap¬ 
est way that will surely get trees in proper 
alignment each way. Dig broad, deep holes 
two or three times larger than would be re¬ 
quired to receive the roots of the trees. 
Procure large-sized thrifty one-year trees. 
I have used many thousand June buds and 
light yearling trees, but now choose the 
larger ones. Cut top all away, and main 
stem down to 12 or 15 inches. As to fibrous 
roots, I do not care whether there are any 
or not. The larger main roots I cut with a 
good sharp knife back to within three or 
four inches of the main stem, or a good 
sharp pruning shears may be used if it does 
not in any way bruise the end of the root. 
A clean, smooth cut is essential to quick 
callusing over and the throwing out of new 
feeding roots. Scatter a handful or two of 
fine bone in the hole and more on the rich 
surface soil that is to fill in the hole later. 
Fill in the hole a few inches with best sur¬ 
face soil obtainable, tramp it down, put 
tree in place, apparently about two inches 
lower than it stood in nursery row, then fill 
in around the roots with fine surface soil 
that has been scattered with bone. Firm 
the ground thoroughly about the roots, and 
after trees are planted put on surface about 
the tree whatever fertilizer or manure the 
soil needs to keep the trees growing fast 
after they once get started. Apple trees I treat in just 
the same way, except that I use two-year trees that 
I head at two to 2 y 2 feet in the nursery row when one 
year old, so as to make low branching trees. These 
branches I cut back to within four to six inches of the 
main stem at time of planting, and in pruning the 
roots leave them perhaps two inches longer than I 
do my peach roots. J. h. hale. 
Connecticut. 
What Hitchings Has to Say. 
In selecting apple trees to plant choose those of good 
size that are two years old, and that were grown in 
new soil or soil not previously cropped with nursery 
stock. Trees of this character are full of vitality, 
and if the nurseryman has taken care to obtain his 
first scions from trees that show a good type of the 
variety wanted, these trees will respond well to treat¬ 
ment, and give a good account of themselves in fruit¬ 
ing later. Fresh-dug trees are best, and they should 
be exposed as little as possible to the action of the 
sunlight or wind until planted. To plant in sod dig 
holes two feet wide and 18 inches deep, placing the 
sod, the black soil and light-colored soil in separate 
piles. Place a portion of the black soil in bottom of 
hole and stand the tree upon this after cutting off 
at least one-half of the last year’s growth of wood 
of each limb, and cutting back the roots to stubs of 
about seven inches in length, varying the amount of 
soil thrown in and length of roots so that the tree 
when planted will stand about one inch deeper than 
before. Place the remainder of the black soil around 
the roots, and tread down flrmj.y; next place a cover 
of sods , over the roots, digging some in addition to 
those taken out. Tread these down firmly, also fill in 
the light-colored soil over the sods and up around the 
tree, and leave it without treading; finally mulch the 
tree with manure six inches from body out about a 
foot beyond the edge of the dug hole. The roots, 
starting out from the end of the stubs, will penetrate 
deep enough for all practical purposes; this I have re¬ 
peatedly verified by examination. The sods placed 
as described not only furnish an excellent mulch to 
hold moisture immediately around the roots at first, 
but as they decay and form humus plant food is re¬ 
leased and moisture held by the sponge-like consist¬ 
ency of soil obtained by reason of this decay. This 
plant food is at the right point for the feeding roots 
of the tree to strike out. Later the manure used as 
mulch becomes available, and finally the cut grass 
keeps up the needed supply of humus which makes 
the live soil so much desired. Trees treated as de¬ 
scribed ripen their wood well and bear early with¬ 
out apparent injury to the tree. 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. grant o. iiitchings. 
STEAM FOR POWER AND HEAL 
Having been very much interested in reading how 
others solved the problem of heating farmhouses, 
perhaps my experience would not come amiss. Con¬ 
ditions were these: House built 50 years ago, no 
sheathing under clapboards, an extreme northwest¬ 
erly exposure. I used five stoves, and did not try to 
heat some rooms at that. There was any quantity of 
pure soft water 125 feet from the house, and 10 feet 
lower than the house or barn level; 250 tons of silage 
to cut each year, and yearly supply of firewood to 
saw. I paid on the average $50 per year for power 
a day, which is as much as we can handle with our 
own teams. Cost of the whole plant about $700, and 
we have not found out yet which part of it we could 
spare. I know that there are many farmers situated 
similarly t.o us and to them would say it is entirely 
practical to get heat and power together by using 
steam as I have done. w. n. davis. 
Middlesex Co., Conn. 
CRIMSON GIANT FORCING RADISH. Fig. 99. 
See Ruralisms, Page 240. 
to fill silo and saw wood. I wanted to heat the whole 
house, to have that water upstairs and down, hot and 
cold, and furnish the barn enough for 60 head of cat¬ 
tle, and power to do my work and save that $50 extra 
expense each year. Two years ago we put in a steam 
plant, which we think is perfect. It is an eight horse¬ 
power safety boiler, with a three horse-power engine 
placed in the house cellar. The boiler is packed, and 
does not heat the cellar, but does heat the house com¬ 
plete (nine room and three halls) with from three to 
five pounds pressure. We burn anything, wood, hard 
or soft coal, and have not seen any frost on the win¬ 
dows this Winter and have seen the thermometer at 
24 degrees below zero on the veranda. I put up a 54- 
foot shaft from the engine out to the woodpile, so we 
can saw wood anytime, also put a power pump in a 
corner of the cellar, belt from above shaft, and pump 
water into a 3,000-gallon tank on the second floor. 
From there it runs all over the house and supplies a 
bathroom on that floor with hot and cold water, also 
runs to the barn. An hour’s pumping with the en¬ 
gine once in four days give us a plentiful supply at 
house and barn, and remember that these 60 head of 
cattle do not have to go out of doors now for 
water. Last Summer pumping 30 to 45 minutes once 
a week kept the tank full. We also run belt from the 
shaft on to a family washing machine; before that 
was run by man power. My silo being on the back 
of the barn from the house, we are obliged to move 
the boiler and engine out to them. That is an hour’s 
Job for three of us with a team only; then ire run a 
No. 16 Ohio cutter with traveling table, and it does 
not bother us to cut and elevate 30 to 35 tons of corn 
CHEMISTRY OF LIME AND SULPHUR. 
Why is the salt omitted in making the California wash 
with soda or potash instead of boiling? I am of the 
opinion that salt is one of the important elements in 
the California wash. Would it do any harm in any way 
to use salt same as in this California wash when caus¬ 
tic soda or potash is used instead of boiling the wash? 
What is the difference between caustic soda and caustic 
potash? I have thought perhaps caustic soda was de¬ 
rived from potash salt from the German mines, and 
caustic potash came from ashes. Am I right or wrong 
in this? In your opinion, which is better to use in dis¬ 
solving the sulphur, caustic soda or caustic potash? Do 
you think making the wash destroys the fertilizing 
properties of the potash? Is caustic soda a fertilizer as 
well as caustic soda? J. a. n. 
The chemistry of the lime, salt and sulphur mix¬ 
ture is much more complicated than in the case of 
the Bordeaux Mixture. That is, the chemical reac¬ 
tions are not likely to be so definite or uniform as in 
the case of the Bordeaux. The various combinations 
in the resultant mixture of the lime, salt and sulphur 
are not clearly defined, nor is the effectiveness of the 
insecticidal form well understood. In making the 
lime, salt and sulphur, or California wash, the pri¬ 
mary object is to obtain sulphide of lime, which is 
supposed to be the destructive agent, though there 
are undoubtedly in the final mixture other chemical 
combinations of the lime and sulphur. The mixture 
is boiled for the purpose of causing an ac¬ 
tive chemical reaction between the lime and 
sulphur. The salt is used mainly for the 
purpose of improving the sticking quality 
of the wash, and not because it materially 
assists in the chemical reaction. I do not 
think it would do any harm to add the salt 
in making the modified California wash, and 
may improve its sticking qualities. The 
difference between caustic soda, chemically 
sodium hydroxide, and caustic potash, po¬ 
tassium hydroxide, is that in the one case 
the metal soda is the base, and in the other 
the metal potash is the base. Soda and pot¬ 
ash belong to a group of chemical elements, 
designated as the “alkaline earths,” which 
have certain properties in common. Lime 
and magnesia also belong to this group. 
When either caustic soda or caustic potash 
is used, instead of the salt, as in the modi¬ 
fied California wash, more heat is generated 
than when the salt is used, and the chemical 
reactions which result in the formation of 
sulphides (probably of both lime and soda 
or potash), will take place without the con¬ 
tinued boiling, hence the main effect of the 
substitution is to avoid the necessity of 
boiling. There would doubtless be a great¬ 
er activity in the reaction which takes place 
with the caustic potash than with the caus¬ 
tic soda, though it is not known whether the 
resultant product would be any better as an insecti¬ 
cide. In making the wash with caustic potash, how¬ 
ever, the element potash would not be destroyed. It 
would on exposure to the air eventually change to a 
sulphate and would be quite as effective as a fertilizer 
element as if applied in that form. Soda is not an 
essential fertilizing element, and from the standpoint 
of its use in supplying needed fertility, would not be 
as good as potash. If potash is needed as a fertilizer, 
however, I should recommend that it be purchased in 
suitable form from fertilizer manufacturers. 
N. J. Experiment Station. e. b. voorhees. 
WILL COTTON PRICES AFFECT WOOL? 
It had not as yet occurred to us that the advance in 
cotton would have any effect on the woolen goods situa¬ 
tion; the difference in cost is as yet too marked. 
Chicago, Ill. H. T. THOMPSON A CO. 
We do not see any reason to expect an increase in the 
demand for woolen goods because of the higher prices 
asked for cotton goods. 
Boston, Mass. whitman, farnsworth a thater. 
We have not studied the matter enough to make our 
opinion of much value. From what we have observed we 
are inclined to believe the high prices of cotton will stim¬ 
ulate the demand for woolens, and lessen the consump¬ 
tion of cotton goods. john miller a co. 
Chicago, Ill. 
We do not think that the price of cotton has or will 
have any effect on the wool market; true, they are used 
together at times, but where a woolen mill uses cotton it 
is generally put in to cheapen the goods. There is no 
doubt that there are a great many loom* idle on account 
at the advanced price of cotton, but the majority are 
cotton mills or mills using eotton goods that are thus 
affected. hund arson a co. 
Philadelphia. Pa. 
