1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
453 
seed stems, it becomes rough and unacceptable to 
them. It should be sown rather thickly ; if thin on 
the ground, it grows strong and coarse, and stools out 
into big tufts. Timothy is more suited to make a big 
bulk of hay than to furnish pasture, and the same 
may be said of clover. The best time to sow Orchard 
or Blue grass is August, soon after the seed ripens, 
and when the fall rains are imminent. The seed will 
catch, if birds don’t eat it, on any surface that is a 
little open and not encumbered with shading litter. 
The yield, however, on ground filled with thirsty tree 
roots, will be but moderate. Any reliable dealer in 
seeds in any of the large wholesaling cities can fur¬ 
nish fresh seed in the season, and it will be likely to 
be pure and genuine—conditions that are of prime 
importance. w. 
Pennsylvania. 
As for myself, I would not sow either Timothy or 
Red clover in woods, although I have never had any 
experience with grass sowing in such a locality. I 
have seen woods with very good pasture in them, and 
I believe if J. A. B. would cut his brush and clean up 
his woods, give them a good harrowing, and sow in 
the spring, he would have a good pasture I would 
sow Blue grass, and would prefer Kentucky Blue 
grass, although if it is too much shaded, I would sow 
English Blue grass. I have seen in Iadiana, Madison 
County, as nice a pasture as any one could wish in 
woods, and it was composed of Kentucky Blue grass. 
Ohio. w. F. s. 
I have had some experience in such seeding. In 
the spring of 1896, I seeded a piece of thin woods 
with a mixture of Timothy, Red and Alsike clovers, 
and the woods are now giving me fine pasture. 
The Timothy shows but little yet, but the clovers 
nearly cover the ground, the Alsike showing the best. 
Clovers will catch well when Timothy will not, be¬ 
cause of the deeper root growth of clover getting 
hold of the firm soil, while Timothy, not rooting 
deeply, gets hold only of the decayed vegetable 
matter, and a drought catches it before it gets a firm 
hold. Blue grass ought to be natural for such land, 
unless it is lacking in lime. Timothy might do best 
if sown in the fall, but the clovers should be sown in 
the spring. Early harrowing is not essential, but 
might do good. s. 8 . bailey. 
Michigan. 
My experience in sowing grass seed to improve 
pasture, has been confined to Blue grass on wild land 
which had never been cultivated, but which had been 
pastured by cattle. The seed was sown early in the 
spring, without any attempt at cultivation of any 
kind, and the Blue grass soon crowded out the native 
grass. There can be no question, I think, about Blue 
grass doing well in northwestern Ohio. It is the most 
common grass in southern Minnesota. It is our best 
pasture grass, but is a nuisance in the meadows, for 
it crowds out all other grasses, and amounts to little 
or nothing as hay. Our meadows have to be broken 
up and reseeded often on account of the Blue grass 
taking possession. j. M. drew. 
Minnesota. _ 
How to Enlarge a Silo. 
A. B., Hopewell Junction, N. Y. —I have a silo 11 feet wide and 
22 feet long, inside measure, and 14 feet deep, 10 feet in the ground 
and four feet above the surface, built of stone laid in mortar. 
The wall is 214 feet thick, cemented smooth on the sides and bot¬ 
tom. I would like to enlarge it by making it 10 feet deeper, and 
dividing it Into two pits so that I can feed off the top, one at a 
time. It is covered with a frame building and shingle roof. 
Would it be best to raise the roof and build up the walls of mason 
work or of wood ? Would a 16-inch brick partition laid in cement 
and well cemented on each side, be sufficiently strong ? 
Ans. —Raise the roof of your silo and build the ad¬ 
ditional 10 feet of wood. On the top of the wall, lay 
the sills one inch from the inside of the wall. Set up 
the studding even with the inside face of the sills. 
Board up with lumber one inch in thickness. This 
would better be matched lumber, and to insure its 
being air-tight, give the interior a coating of coal tar. 
Make the connection between the old part and the 
new tight by means of cement. Lay the sill in fresh 
cement, and no loss of ensilage should occur at that 
point. Build the partition of wood. It will be just 
as good as and much cheaper than brick. If, when you 
are filling the silo, you will keep the ensilage at near 
the same height on both sides of the partition, no 
extra bracing will be required. The lateral pressure 
will be about equal on both sides while the ensilage 
is settling, and when once it is settled, the pressure 
against the walls almost entirely ceases, l, a. Clinton. 
Walk of Portland Cement. 
I. I). <7., South Byron, N. T.—Will you give instructions for lay¬ 
ing Portland cement walks, stating the materials used, the pro¬ 
portion of each in the mixture, and the mode of applying? 
Ans. —The first requisite for success in a stone walk 
is to have the foundation well drained. This drainage 
may be secured by tile or by crushed rock placed deep 
enough to prevent heaving by frost. Upon this well- 
drained foundation, place four inches of well-mixed 
mortar made of three parts Portland cement and one 
part water lime, with two or three times the quantity 
of sand as of Portland cement. Before this sets, put on 
a finishing layer one inch thick made up of one part 
Portland cement, one part water lime, and one part 
sharp sand. Add enough water to cause it to spread 
well. Before this is finally set, dust on the surface 
some pure Portland cement, and work it in with a 
trowel. L. A. c. 
What Dry Fodder for a Dairy Farm ? 
If. W. If, Rochester , N. Y. —In producing dry fodder on a dairy 
farm, to feed in connection with well-eared ensilage, which is the 
most economical, clover hay, corn fodder sown thickly so as to 
produce stalks only, or corn planted so as to produce ears to husk 
and turn into meal, the stalks being used as fodder ? The soil is 
in good heart, but is more certain of producing a big corn crop 
than clover. 
Ans. —Corn is the great American forage or fodder 
crop. It will give greater returns per acre than any 
other crop that is grown in connection with dairy 
farming. Yet the question of economy depends upon 
several things. The farm must be conducted m such 
a manner that its fertility shall not be diminished, 
and at the same time profitable crops must be taken 
off. Corn and clover should both form a part of the 
rotation on a dairy farm. If corn fodder and ensilage 
be the only form of roughage provided for the cows, 
then the grain ration must be furnished with some 
protein-producing food, as linseed or cotton-seed meal, 
or both. It is nearly always wise to grow on the 
farm those crops from which a balanced ration can 
be made up, and if the corn crop be supplemented by 
clover, a proper ration for cows can be made up with 
the ordinary farm grains. If it is desired to grow 
corn alone, by all means plant it in drills and do not 
sow it. Have the drills 3% feet apart, and the stalks 
eight to ten inches apart in the row. A great mis¬ 
take made by many farmers is in raising sowed corn. 
Corn is a sun plant and, if sown so thickly that the 
larger part of it is entirely shaded, it makes an in¬ 
ferior growth, and its feeding value is greatly les¬ 
sened. Plant the corn so it can be cultivated, and 
give it thorough culture. The more the ears form on 
it, the better feed it will make, and do not harvest 
the corn until near maturity. If it be desired to keep 
up the fertility of the land without having clover as 
a regular crop in the rotation, it can be done by mak¬ 
ing use of Crimson clover. Sown in the corn just be¬ 
fore the last cultivation, it will make a cover for the 
land during the winter, and bring a valuable supply 
of nitrogen to the soil. l. a. c. 
A Device for Distilling Water. 
G. F. W., Alexandria, 0.— Can you give me a plan for an appar¬ 
atus that a tinner can make with which I can condense steam 
enough to make a quart of distilled water ? 
Ans —Fig. 194 shows the outline of a distilling 
apparatus which any tinner can make. The water 
to be distilled is placed in the can, A, and the tight- 
fitting cover, B, put in place. The heat may be ob¬ 
tained by placing an alcohol lamp under the can, but 
the stove can be used as well. The steam developed 
passes through the tube, B, to the spiral tube, C. This 
spiral tube is placed in a can of cold water, and 
the steam is condensed in passing through it, and the 
distilled water comes out at C. The can, F, is sup¬ 
plied with cold water through the pipe, E, the over¬ 
flow being carried away through the outlet, O. The 
spiral tube should be made of block tin, and the ves¬ 
sel used to catch the distilled water should be per¬ 
fectly clean. l. a. c. 
Various Fruit Questions. 
J. M. G., Fort Garrett, Ky 1. What is the best method of com¬ 
batting anthracnose in blackcap raspberries ? 2. Is anthracnose 
worse in some localities than others, e. g., Kentucky than New 
York? 3. Are any varieties exempt from this disease; if so, 
which are they ? 4. We often hear that the strawberry or rasp¬ 
berry is the result of a cross between two well-known varieties; 
is this the product of seed from a berry produced by cross-fertili¬ 
zation ? 5. To what extent, if any, can the quality or appearance 
of a strawberry be changed by using different perfect flowering 
varieties with the same imperfect sort ? 
Ans. —1. Spraying the canes with Bordeaux Mixture 
is thought to be the best way of combatting anthrac¬ 
nose. 2. Yes, in many places where the raspberry 
thrives, the disease is unknown. We cannot say 
whether it is worse in Kentucky or New York. We 
know of instances where the disease prevails on one 
farm and not on the adjoining farm. 3. At the Rural 
Grounds, there does not seem to be any variety that 
is exempt. 4. Yes. 5. It is our belief that neither 
the quality, shape nor size is changed by the variety 
furnishing the pollen. That is to say, a Timbrell will 
be just the same whether the pistils be fertilized with 
pollen of Wilson or Sharpless. 
“ Rusts” on Blackberries and Raspberries. 
T. R. W., Roselle, F.J. —What causes, and wbat is a preventive 
for rust on blackberry bushes ? I know that digging them up 
and burning them is a temporary remedy, but I want to know 
what is the cause of the disease; is it in the soil, or in the atmo¬ 
sphere, or spontaneous in the plant? My jjlants are badly 
.affected by it, and although I dig up and burn all that show dis¬ 
ease, in a few days others appear to be as badly affected as those 
destroyed. 
A. L. C., Winchendon , Mass. — I send a leaf from some black¬ 
berry bushes here, and would like to know what ails them. It 
has completely covered one vine, and started some on others. 
What is the disease, as I think it must be a disease ? 
ANSWERED BY M. V. SLING ERL AND. 
The Orange-rust, or Red-rust, of blackberries and 
raspberries is a peculiar fungous disease with which 
most growers of these fruits are familiar. The dis¬ 
ease becomes noticeable as soon as the leaves expand 
in the spring ; the affected leaves are smaller and 
have a peculiar golden color, which at once distin¬ 
guishes them. A little later, the surface of the leaves 
becomes more or less covered with small patches of 
orange-colored spores or fungus seeds. So numerous 
are these patches, that often the whole leaf is nearly 
covered by the fungus, and the common name of the 
fungus well describes their appearance. 
This disease exists on the plants in two very differ¬ 
ent stages. The orange spores which are developed 
on the leaves in such numbers in the spring and early 
summer, germinate or grow on the leaves. The 
germinating tubes or “ spore-roots”, enter the leaf 
through its breathing pores ; once inside, they de¬ 
velop a mycelium or root growth which ramifies 
through the leaf tissues, and finally in the fall, pro¬ 
duces upon the leaves a crop of spores of an entirely 
different character from the orange-colored ones so 
copiously produced in the spring. These fall spores 
were supposed, for a long time, to belong to a differ¬ 
ent fungus. It is believed that this fall crop of 
spores is washed on to the underground shoots of the 
plants, where they germinate and develop a growth 
of mycelium or roots within the shoots. This myce¬ 
lium spreads from the underground shoots all through 
the canes and branches of the plant and, in the 
spring, produces the orange spores on the leaves. 
Thus when the disease shows itself on the leaves as 
the Orange or Red-rust, it means that a plant thus 
affected has the mycelium or vegetative portion of 
the fungus thoroughly scattered all through the 
canes. 
A plant once infested with this perennial mycelium 
thus cannot be cured of the disease. Such plants 
should be burned root and branch at once, as soon as 
they show any signs of the disease. Doubtless spray¬ 
ing neighboring plants with Bordeaux Mixture or 
some other fungicide will prevent the entrance of the 
disease into their tissues. It will not pay to treat 
plants upon which the characteristic Orange-rust has 
appeared on the leaves. Burn them at ooce, for they 
will be a constant source of danger to your other 
plants. 
Galls on Grape Vines. 
C. F. L., Chester, Conn .— What causes the enlargement of the 
stems, veins of leaves, and the tender growth of vine on grapes ? 
Ans —The enlargement of the stems and tender 
growth of C. E L.’s grape vines is caused by a minute 
insect whose larva lives within the swellings. The 
affection is known as the Grape-vine Tomato gall. 
By cutting open the galls, one can readily find the 
yellowish maggots witnin. Liter in the season, the 
maggots leave the galls, go into the ground, and 
there pass through their transformations into minute 
little Hies. Rarely does the insect seriously injure 
the vines. By simply cutting off and burning the 
affected branches at once, one suould be able effec¬ 
tually to check the further work of the pest. m. v. s. 
A Simple Way of Making Butter. 
A. R. Fallston, Md. —la there a machine or churn to make but¬ 
ter direct from milk in a commercially practical manner, without 
the interposition of the separator or other method of creaming? 
I have read of a machine which produces butter (sweet) direct 
from the milk. I tnink it was a foreign machine, but I have not 
heard of it since. Is there any better way than the use of a sep¬ 
arator—any simpler route to attain the end of butter-making ? 
Ans —A few years ago, a Swedish machine, the 
butter accumulator, was advertised and sold. This 
machine actually made butter directly from the milk. 
The milk was poured into it the same as in a sepa¬ 
rator, and the grains of butter dropped from a spout. 
Another machine, known as the butter extractor, 
worked upon a different principle, and actually made 
butter from whole milk Neither of these machines 
has been able to stand the test of practical business. 
The sweet butter made in this way would not keep 
so well as that made from ripened cream, and there is 
not yet in this country any large demand for sweet 
butter. Small machines are advertised to make but¬ 
ter in three minutes, but they are more in the way 
of toys than practical machines. The best butter 
will continue to be made in the good old way. 
