1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
83 
late. The inexperienced may have better success 
with White Plume and Golden-Heart. T. greiner. 
Niagara County, N. Y. 
From Ohio and Canada. 
We have found nothing better than White Plume 
for early; 1 000 pounds of salt and 50 bushels of 
wood ashes to the acre applied on the surface after 
the manure was plowed under would probably correct 
the hollow or pithy feature. For a second-early, 
Giant Golden Self-Blanching and the Pascal for win¬ 
ter, treated with the same plant food as White Plume, 
should answer the question and prove a success. 
This has been my experience on low, marshy lands, 
when properly drained. e. j. hollister. 
Ohio. 
I prefer Giant Pascal for late; I have had no 
trouble in blanching it white enough. I have never 
thought much of White Plume. I prefer Golden Self- 
Blanching for early. New Rose is a good pink variety 
of fine quality and a good keeper, valuable for home 
USe. W. W. HILBORN. 
Canada. 
Golden Self-Blanching Alone. 
I do not know any reason why one kind of celery 
should be grown for the early crop and another for 
the late. Why not plant the best for both ? When 
the markets prefer a particular kind of anything, it is 
to the advantage of those who grow this class of 
products to sell, not to have too many varieties—a fact 
that is not always appreciated. In growing celery 
for New England markets, at least, I am inclined to 
question the policy of planting even two varieties ex¬ 
tensively, because a critical study of the peculiarities 
of the different varieties shows that there is one type 
which, more nearly, meets the requirements of both 
growers and marketmen than does any other ; con¬ 
sequently, the efforts to grow a second choice with 
profit in competition with the first are handicapped at 
the outstart. There is no need of planning to raise 
second-quality celery ; there is enough of this to be 
culled from the first choice, and an excess is sure to 
injure the trade. The popularity of the Golden Self- 
Blanching or Paris Golden celery in the larger mar¬ 
kets in New England, is unparalleled by that of any 
other kind. It has been learned that this celery satisfies 
the average custom, and an examination of the plant 
readily shows why. It makes a nice bunch that keeps 
well. The growth, too, is just where the gardener 
wants it. The centers of the plants are full of thick¬ 
ened stalks of convenient length, and these can be 
ripened up quickly after the plants are mature, at the 
pleasure of the grower. To be sure, this celery does 
not look as vigorous when growing in the field as 
some others, and it may not be able to hoe its own 
row quite so well; but when its preparation for the 
market begins, then its superior qualities at once be¬ 
come apparent. When well grown, this celery re¬ 
quires but little knifing, nearly the whole growth 
goes to market, and, furthermore, excepting the 
leaves, it is all edible. 1 have already spoken of the 
full centers of the plants of this variety, which con¬ 
stitute an important peculiarity ; in addition to this, 
the whole habit of growth of the plants is such that 
a large number can be grown on a small area. While 
this celery, like the Baldwin apple, has not the rich¬ 
est flavor or the largest size, 1 doubt whether it has 
a peer among its kind for ordinary market purposes, 
either for the early or moderately late crop. The 
centers of the plants sometimes die out, and the stalks 
of this kind, as well as others, are occasionally of 
light weight: but these are matters which appear to 
be due partly, at least, to improper culture—too por¬ 
ous a soil may be responsible for both of the troubles. 
Rhode Island Ex. Station. l f. kinney. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Sec ond - C rop Potatoes.’’ 
In The R. N.-Y. of January 16, page 37, T. P., of 
Indiana, asks how the second-crop potato is raised. I 
think that he is too far north to raise true second- 
crop potatoes, as they are grown from the seed of the 
first crop, and not from potatoes that are raised the 
year before and, therefore, are only a late crop which, 
no doubt, he could raise there as well as in Kentucky 
by planting a little earlier than they do. In raising 
the true second-crop, we plant the first crop the lat¬ 
ter part of February, or as soon as the land is in con¬ 
dition to work. They are dug the latter part of June 
or first of July, then from the middle of July to the 
middle of August, the second crop is planted from the 
seed of the first, and they are harvested at any time 
after the frost has killed the vines. After several 
years’ experimenting, we have at last succeeded in 
being almost independent of the weather in regard to 
the second crop, provided the land is properly pre¬ 
pared to start with, which is to plow it thoroughly in 
the early part of summer, and keep it worked clear 
of weeds until time to plant the second crop, when 
we plow again and work the soil as fine as possible 
with the Cutaway and Acme harrows. Then the land 
is marked off in 3 or 3%-foot rows, and the rows 
opened with a one-horse plow twice to the row, going 
as deep as it will turn the soil. Then potatoes cut 
to two or three eyes, are dropped in the furrow, and 
immediately covered with two furrows with the 
plow, which covers the potatoes eight inches or more. 
When planting is finished, the field is run over with 
a roller to press the soil closer to the potatoes, and 
then the field is gone over with a weeder, and if the 
work has been well done so far, after the weeder has 
gone over the field, one may well feel proud of it. 
Every week thereafter, the field is gone over with the 
Planet Jr., followed by the weeder, until the tops are 
too large for the weeder, but the Planet Jr. is kept 
going until late in the fall, of course, going shallow. 
Never plant second-crop potatoes unless the ground 
is damp, and do not use small potatoes for seed, as it 
takes them a long time to sprout. Some of our north¬ 
ern friends have found fault with the so-called 
“ second-crop ” received from the South, saying that 
they were not superior to, or even as good as, those 
they had, when the truth was that they never had 
the true second-crop, and that is the only kind that 
we claim are superior to northern-grown seed for first 
crop. c. T. T. 
Alexander, Ark. 
There is as much difference in the keeping quali¬ 
ties between genuine second-crop potatoes and the 
so-called second-crop as there is between the latter 
and potatoes of the first crop. The genuine second- 
crop are “ from potatoes grown early the same year.” 
After digging the early crop, more than as many as 
are intended for seed are spread out in a warm place 
to sprout. The usual method is to spread them in 
the open and cover slightly with fine earth, in the 
manner nurserymen bed their peach stones. I have a 
suitable room in my barn where light enters and 
where the temperature will rise considerably if the 
doors are kept shut. About three weeks after spread¬ 
ing. some of the potatoes will be found to have 
BLA.n l-Oit A BASEALENT BARM. Fig. 4<\ . 
sprouted. Only sprouting potatoes should be planted 
for second-crop, and these whole. By planting a 
quantity in the fall, and mulching as I do, the first 
crop will mature soon enough that the second plant¬ 
ing may be deferred six weeks, if need be, and still 
give the second crop time to mature in this latitude. 
In favorable seasons, as early potatoes may be had 
from spring planting ; but it so often happens that, 
in such years, the ground is too wet for the man who 
regards the condition of his soil. I, therefore, make 
sure of getting in, at least, a barrel or so in the fall, 
and then in the spring I need not worry about the 
weather, at least, so far as early potatoes are con¬ 
cerned. My best potatoes last year were from those 
thus planted. j. c. senger. 
Virginia. 
Give Cows Fresh Air. 
The bugbear of warm stables is amusing, or would 
be, if it were not so foolish. In The R. N.-Y. of 
January 16, on page 39, D. C., in a very sensible 
article under the above beading, says : “Put into the 
disinfected stable a lot of healthy cows, keep it warm, 
pay no attention to ventilation, and the poisoned and 
vitiated air will poison and inflame the lungs, and 
cause precisely the right condition for the bacilli.” 
And they will have them, too, in spite of the disinfect¬ 
ants. Can it be possible that anybody thinks that keep - 
ing the stable warm would, in any way, add to the 
difficulty ? Would not the same stable in the same 
unhealthful condition be a score more times as dan¬ 
gerous if kept down to freezing and below than if 
kept warm ? The main care should be to have the 
stable well ventilated and the air pure, and then I 
don’t care how warm it be up to a summer tempera¬ 
ture. The happiest, healthiest lot of cows I ever saw 
and those giving most milk for food consumed, were 
a lot kept in a stable warmed by a furnace, and main¬ 
tained at about 70 degrees F., night and day ; but it 
was thoroughly ventilated and kept as clean as ordin¬ 
ary houses. If the same money were spent in educat¬ 
ing cow owners as to the needs of sanitary conditions 
and then in enforcing them, that has been wasted in 
foolish sacrifice of animals in which it required close 
hunting with a high-power microscope to find any 
tubercles, it would have been more sensible. When 
we look at the dark, damp, ill-ventilated, cold stables, 
and then remember that cows have been closely 
crowded into such stables from 16 to 22 hours of every 
24, and then turned into a zero blizzard to go to some 
pond and get down on their knees to drink ice water 
from a hole in the frozen cover, the wonder is that 
our cows have remained as free from tuberculosis as 
they have. Instead of testing the poor brutes and 
knocking every one showing the least response, in 
the head, let us try to knock a little cow wisdom into 
the heads of the owners. j s. woodward. 
The Farmers’ Club. 
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see whether it is not answered in our advertising columns. Ask 
only a few questions at one time. Put questions on a separate 
piece of paper.] 
TILING AN ORCHARD. 
We are thinking of tiling a peach orchard of six-year-old 
trees. Some say that the tiles will fillup with roots, and that they 
will do no good. We would like to hear what men of experience 
think about it. 
I have put in many tiles in my orchards, laid mid¬ 
way between rows of trees, and have suffered no in¬ 
convenience from their filling up with roots Yet I 
can easily see how this might follow. I should lay 
them as deep as possible. I think that they would be 
morelikely to suffer if put in shallow, s d willard. 
I have never known of tiles filling with roots in an 
orchard, and do not think it probable that such a 
thing would occur. Willow and elm roots often fill 
tiles on low land, where there is water in the tile 
much of the time during the growing season ; but it 
is hardly conceivable that water would stand in tiles 
in an orchard. w. J. green. 
If the soil is wet, or looks like it, I would drain it. 
If a piece of heavy tarred building piper six inches 
wide be laid over the crack, between the tiles, I am 
told by those who have tried it, that the roots will 
not penetrate into the drain. I once made a stone 
drain on a piece of land that I afterwards set to peach 
orchard, but was never troubled with roots in it for 
the 10 years I had opportunity to watch it. h. e. y. d. 
A peach orchard ought Dever to have been set on 
land that had not naturally thorough drainage. I 
certainly see no objection to tiling. I have done it 
in a limited way myself, and after four years, there 
is no indication that the roots have in any way checked 
the flow of water. Certainly, if I had an orchard on 
land too wet for the best condition of the trees, I 
should tile-drain it thoroughly, and take my chances 
as to any stoppage from root growth. To succeed in 
peach culture, one has to take many chances anyway. 
Doubts and delay almost always result in greater 
losses. J. H. HALE. 
It is a very common practice in this section to tile 
land that is to be used for orchards and nurseries. 
While some of the tiles may, eventually, become 
clogged with roots, especially where there is water in 
the tiles much of the time, yet the benefit that is 
derived from the tiling is generally held to be more 
than sufficient to pay for the operation. Especially 
is this true where the subsoil is a heavy clay, or 
where the land is liable to be wet during a pstrt of 
the growing season. A plum grower in this vicinity 
recently had occasion to examine the tiles which were 
laid in his plum orchard several years ago, and so 
far as they were examined, found all of them in good 
working order. In our own experience, we have 
found, as stated above, that some of the tile drains in 
orchards eventually become clogged, but on our soil, 
believe that the advantage received from tiling makes 
it a profitable operation. s. A. beach. 
Plan for a Basement Barn. 
T. B. y., Center, S. Y .—Will you give a plan for a barn about 
30x40 feet with 20-foot posts, and an eight-foot basement to ac¬ 
commodate eight cattle and two horses ? I should like to have a 
silo. I intend to try to produce milk in the winter, so shall want 
to have everything as convenient as possible. The front side of 
the basement will be of stone, the rest to be one-half wood on 
account of the lay of the land. 
Ans.—F ig. 47 shows how a basement may be con¬ 
veniently arranged to accommodate 10 cows, two 
horses, and have an extra box-stall, which should be 
found in every barn. This plan could be modified to 
suit the needs, and be made to adapt itself to the 
lay of the land. The driveway on the upper floor 
will be directly over the feed-hall of the lower floor. 
The circular silo may be placed near the entrance to 
the barn so that the cutter can be out of doors. The 
silo in the plan is 15 feet in diameter ; this is larger 
than would be required for eight cows, but it is always 
better to have one larger than needed rather than 
smaller. A 12-foot silo would answer the purpose. 
If the ground will permit a driveway into the central 
hall, it will be found a great convenience, especially 
