190 ). 
TIIH RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
715 
I lie Ayrshire exhibit was very stylish and of good 
quality, but one could hear tne general comment ‘‘short 
teats." While the "Scotch type” is popular they do not 
seem to correct their one fault. The ‘‘Island type” of 
Jerseys arc beautiful animals, fine handlers and attrac 
tive and full of constitution. From a conservative 
point of view is it any wonder these animals do not all 
fulfill their mission here, under all conditions of climate, 
TREE IN VERGON ORCHARDS. Fig. 317. 
feed and care, after having the uniform mild climate and 
treatment of the Island. A cattle show and no dissatis¬ 
faction would not be human. I think, however, that 
less fault finding was heard than usual. The manage¬ 
ment, I know, have hut one purpose; and that to he a 
good, honest, clean competition, and where mistakes are 
made, as they must he in any business done so hastily, 
if the managers could he approached (in a spirit of 
fairness and candor, instead of bias and jealousy, better 
results would follow. To those who study these great 
international shows from year to year there must come 
this decision; that we are surely coming to the develop¬ 
ment of an American type of milk producer. Many 
years will elapse before the color will he uniform. Abil¬ 
ity to produce under prescribed environment is the one 
objective. The machines adapted to these demands must 
therefore not vary widely in conformation, and so while 
we vary in our opinions upon side issues, the great ir¬ 
resistible goes on bringing us more closely to a common 
ideal and point of view. h. e. cook. 
HOW WE SEED TO RYE. 
We arc preparing our ground for rye now. Our oat 
stubble was plowed early in August. We smoothed the 
furrows down with a plank drag, then harrowed it eight 
times with a Clark cutaway. We let the cutaway lap 
half so the outside disk throws the dirt into the depres¬ 
sion made by the last round of the harrow, thus leaving 
the ground level, instead of in ridges, which so many 
object to in using a cutaway harrow. We follow twice 
more with a smoothing harrow and we are ready to 
drill. That seems like a lot of work, but we must have 
the ground firm in the bottom and a fine dust on top 
Our next piece to fit is five acres of corn ground. We 
divide the field up into shock rows as far apart as will 
be handy to carry, selecting the rows to set the shocks 
on. We cultivate one row each side of this row with a 
one-horse cultivator with three-inch teeth. We then 
sow the rye and cover with a 14-tooth one horse harrow. 
We have our shock rows sowed now. We next cut 
the corn and set it up on these sowed strips, and then 
we are ready to fit and sow the rest of the field. We 
grow the large white rye, which yields from 20 to 28 
bushels per acre. wm. m. olds. 
Ingham Co., Mich._ 
COMMERCIAL DAHLIA CULTURE. 
The best way is to start the old root in a cold frame 
in April. When the sprouts arc about 10 inches long 
cut them clean at least two inches above the crown of 
the roots, and prepare cuttings as one would geraniums. 
In a hotbed or cold frame with about four inches of 
coarse sand they root very easily in from two weeks up. 
When rooted lift them nicely from the sand. Plant 
them, if there is no danger of frost, outdoors about 
three feet apart each way, not in too rich ground; then 
when they commence to grow get a good stick, broom 
handle is good, then tie them up with either cotton 
cloth or raffia. It is best to raise them with a single 
stem; take half the branches off, so the air and light 
will circulate well around the plants, as they take time 
to make large plants. 1 plant cabbages or corn between 
the rows; corn is the better, as the leaves protect tne 
Dahlias from the hot sun. The Dahlia does best when 
the nights are cool, about this time of the year. I give 
them liquid manures; cow, horse or sheep manure, or 
nitrate of soda, whatever I have on hand. I do not 
carry the liquid manure, but put barrels in highest point; 
then I fill them up with manure first and let the hose 
run in them. I had two crooked pieces of pipe made 
to order to go over the barrel; then 1 start these two 
pipes, one goes in and two return, forming a syphon. 
It saves dirty work and many steps. I make little fur¬ 
rows alongside of the plants and go very easy; before 
the city water was obtained I had the work done by 
hand, but it cost too much and the worker gets tired and 
dirty. 
If fine flowers for exhibition are wanted disbud them 
like the Chrysanthemum. The Dahlia here is apt to 
get sick; the worst enemies we have are perhaps the red 
spider and the thrips; they also get stem rot and other 
fungus diseases. The best way to avoid spider is to 
raise plants outdoors as much as possible. If in green¬ 
houses late in Summer they arc apt to be affected. „A 
mixture of one part of bisulphide of carbon to nine 
parts of alcohol will kill them, only we have to make a 
fine spray like a mist. Next to it is flowers of suTphur; 
blow underneath the leaves. It is best to use it when 
the sunshine is very bright, about midday. A cold spray 
of water from a well is the best and the cheapest rem¬ 
edy too. When the Dahlia is affected with vermin it is 
best to cut nearly all the growth and throw it away, and 
the plants will grow again and flower later. The 
Dahlias never bloom out in this climate and Europe (I 
mean France, in the Parisian region, and farther north) ; 
they get killed by frost when they are full of life and 
beauty. The best ones can be protected. I place some 
sticks over, and a piece of canvas sheet or blanket is 
good to prevent the first frost. In 1898 we had frost 
here September 30. The plants protected last four 
weeks longer, and it pays for the labor, because you get 
the finest flowers and lots ot them. Then the tuber 
gets ripe better too. 
When the Dahlias are killed by frost, cut out the tops; 
do not dig them too early; wait till the bard frost comes. 
They can stand here till November 15. They get more 
A WELL CULTIVATED TREE. Fig. 318. 
nourishment from the ground too. When you dig them 
be careful not to bruise them. Let them stay in the 
sun to dry, then put them in their Winter quarters; a 
cellar that is frostproof is a good place. Cover them 
with sand, but if your cellar has concrete bottom or it 
is too cold, they will get mildew and die. Put some 
boards in the bottom. It is wise to look after them once 
a week. If one gets sick it should be thrown away right 
when you see it, because it will contaminate the others. 
I have kept them with success in a hole in the ground 
about four fget deep, well drained in the bottom with 
cinders from a factory, and covered with sand on top, 
making the ground high so the water could not be stag 
nant at the roots. In very cold weather I cover the top 
with three feet of horse manure. The water and snow 
water will penetrate overhead, and the tubers kept that 
way are much healthier than any others and will not 
be infected with vermin as in greenhouses or cellars. 
One should sow some Dahlia seed; they grow much 
stronger than either tubers or cuttings, and one is well 
repaid. The seeds sown in March like tomatoes will 
flower from the middle of July till frost; those that 
do not suit can be thrown away, and the best ones can 
be kept over for another season. Those who do not 
care to grow them from cuttings or seed may start the 
tubers in the Spring and divide them to a single eye 
and plant them the same as the cuttings. Among the 
best varieties are the following in the large-flowered 
section: White: Gloire de Lyon, Mine. Furtaldo, La 
France, Princess Mathilde. Yellow: Toison d’ Or, the 
largest; Mandarin Chinois. Muriel, Norma, Royalty. 
Red: Gloire de Paris, the largest (amaranth color); 
Gen. Steinmetz, Gros Papa, Mrs. Douglas, The Giant. 
Pink: Malvina, Juon, Seraph. Cactus type: Keynes’ 
White, Bridesmaid, pink; Firebrand, red; Radiance, 
orange; Miss Jane Pasham, red; Captain Broad, red; 
Cycle, pinkish red; M. L. Grenthe, red; Mrs. John Pope, 
red; Minos, dark maroon; Mine. Le Clcrc, yellow; 
Queen Victoria, white. Decorative type: Perle de la 
Tete d’ Or, white; Grand Duke Alex is, white; Le 
Colosse, straw, the largest in its class; Mme. Victor 
Vaissier, yellow, extra. 
the single Dahlias are also fine for cut flowers; in 
Europe they have a fine collection, but here at Wood- 
haven the beetle eats all the petals and they are worth¬ 
less so far. 1 don't know of any remedy except to pick 
the beetles by hand, but this labor is too expensive for 
the prices that we get for the flowers, henri beaulieu. 
Long Island. 
SOD AS CULTIVATION FOR APPLE TREES. 
Mr. W. H. Fuller, of Onondaga County, N. Y., sends 
the photographs of trees which are engraved at Figs. 
318 and 319 . He wished to show the difference in habit 
and growth of a tree well cultivated and one grown on 
the so-called “Hitchings” plan. Mr. Fuller leaves no 
doubt as to his preference in the following note: 
"Both trees are of the same age, eight years, set at 
the same time. Fig. 318 has been well cultivated and 
sprayed. Fig. 319 has stood in sod, mulched after Mr. 
Hitchings’ plan of orcharding and well sprayed; both 
stand in the same soil. The cultivated tree has a spread 
of 20 feet and a height of 17 feet; body three feet high, 
girth 18 inches, growth this year 12 to 16 inches. The 
sod tree has a spread of 11 feet; height 10 feet, body 
three feet six inches high, girth nine inches; growth 
four to six inches. This statement is a fair one. Now 
let the fruit growers judge for themselves whether it 
pays to cultivate their orchards or let them run wild.” 
In connection with these pictures we reprint a draw¬ 
ing of a tree in Mr. Vergoti’s celebrated orchard in Ohio. 
This tree was grown in sod, being planted without plow¬ 
ing, on rich soil. The tree was mulched and headed 
low, the grass being cut and left on the ground to decay. 
Tt will be seen that the tree makes the same low, sprawly 
head which Mr. Fuller does not like. Our own sod 
trees are starting to head in the same way. Mr. Vcr 
gon’s orchard is one of the most profitable in the coun¬ 
try. Tie prefers this form of a tree. We want to pre¬ 
pare readers so that they may understand what their 
sod trees are coming to. 
IRON OR STEEL WIRE AND PIPE. 
Your correspondents who discuss the wire, fence ques¬ 
tion in your issue on page 667 have hit the’nail on the 
head when they assign poor steel wire as the cause of 
the short life of wire fencing. But when they assert 
that all fencing is made of that wire they are probably 
mistaken, as I am told by those who ought to know 
that there is at least one place where the genuine iron 
wire can be obtained. 
The same reason exists for the short life of steel roofs. 
If genuine iron is used there will be no trouble. One 
of our large potteries here is covered with iron roofing, 
and the proprietor told me a few days ago that the roof 
bad been on the building for 23 or 24 years and bad 
never leaked. As far as be knew it was just as good as 
when first put on. Now iron roofing can be had if 
ordered as such and any other refused. It costs 15 or 20 
per cent more than the steel, but is worth more than 100 
per cent more. The same also applies to common black 
pipe, gas pipe as it is usually called. Order such pipe 
without specifying that it must be guaranted to be iron, 
and of course it will be steel, and when put into the 
ground in four five years it has rusted out and gone 
Only last year there was quite an extensive system of 
pipe work laid in our little city, all of which was guar 
anteed to be pure iron. After it was received samples 
were taken promiscuously and sent to a competent chem¬ 
ist for analysis, and his report confirmed the guarantee, 
so it seems iron can be had if people will insist on it and 
will accept no other. 
But how many farmers know anything about this mat- 
TREE GROWN ON HITCHINGS’ PLAN. Fig. 319. 
ter? Not one in a hundred perhaps ever thought of it. 
1 have never seen the question discussed in any paper 
save The Rural New-Yorker, and as there are but few 
farmers in comparison to the whole number who take 
that paper and read it, I fear the discussion of the ques, 
tion in the minds of farmers is not very general. Allow 
me to say that any merchant who deals in these things 
can find where they can be had if he does not already 
know. A. W. FOREMAN. 
Illinois. 
