1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
579 
unnecessary to supplement this food with meal of 
any kind, consequently my hogs have yet to learn 
the taste of corn or other grains. As cheap as these 
beans seem to be as compared with the price of corn, 
etc., I believe that I obtain better results from a ton of 
refuse beans than I could from either a ton of corn 
or a ton of wheat. I decided a few years ago to devote 
my attention to other branches of farming, and less 
to this manner of feeding hogs, but soon discovered 
that the income from the farm was being very much 
decreased, and at once decided that for myself the 
only way to remedy the matter was again to boil 
beans for hogs. This lumber, etc., that you notice is 
for the purpose of building a new hoghouse, store 
room, cooking department and other conveniences 
for continuing the business on a larger scale than 
formerly.” 
Other instances could be noted where these refuse 
beans, after having been boiled, were fed to dairy 
stock with evident success. irving d. cook. 
New York. 
THE SPRING-SET BLACKBERRY PATCh. 
WHAT TO DO WITH IT THIS FALL. 
Methods for New York State. 
1 should cut off all weak, straggling canes, and 
shorten all others to two feet at once. This will 
cause all future growth to come in the form of side 
shoots, and the plants will become of a tree form— 
short, stocky, stiff, with considerable spread and 
surface. Growth of proper shape, is most desirable, 
and I would not only keep clean of weeds, but would 
cultivate once a week till November. If the ground 
is very rich, use no manure. Potash worked in this 
fall will be a benefit, but too rank, nitrogen-produced 
foliage, is likely to 
be barren. Keep 
a good lookout for 
rust, blight and 
insect foes, cut¬ 
ting out and burn¬ 
ing every infected 
bush, at once, 
when found. If 
it is handy, I 
would fill in 
around the plants 
with straw during 
winter. If cheap, 
I would fill in 
deep between the 
rows also. In this 
case, I would not 
d o anything t o 
them till after 
fruiting. The 
straw must not 
be thick enough under the bushes to prevent young 
sprouts from coming up in spring for the next 
crop. Without mulching, I would cultivate and 
give a thorough hoeing early in spring. I would 
cultivate often enough to keep the surface mellow 
till the fruit is nearly grown. On our soil, we have 
to stop then' and let the weeds start a little to keep 
the berries from getting soiled. c e. chapman. 
A Northern New Jersey Patch. 
Our treatment for spring-set blackberry plants is 
to cut out all surplus suckers that spring up be¬ 
tween the rows, and let only two to four strong canes 
grow near where the original plant was set. Late in 
fall, mulch heavily with forest leaves or swale hay, 
and let the mulch remain between the plants. Early 
in spring, each cane should be cut about one-third ; 
this will cause each lower bud to send out a strong 
leader, which will bring a fine crop of choice, large 
berries. On canes not cut back in spring, when the 
fruit is ripe, the top of each cane will lie on the soil, 
and the fruit will rot more than on canes that are 
cut. A good plan is to drive a stake in each hill and 
tie the canes to stakes. t. c. keyitt. 
Should Have Been Pinched Earlier. 
These young blackberry canes should have been 
pinched back to a uniform height of from two to three 
feet; if it has not been done, it is now too late, as the 
young side shoots which would be thrown out, would 
not ripen sufficiently to develop fruit. Keep the 
weeds down by frequent level cultivation. In early 
November, manure liberally with well-rotted stable 
manure, and plow furrows toward the hills until the 
space between the rows is all turned over. As early 
in the spring as the ground will do to work, plow the 
plantation entire by back furrowing the space be¬ 
tween the rows, followed by leveling the ridge around 
the hills with a hoe. Cultivate thoroughly once each 
week until the time of ripening of the fruit. I pre¬ 
sume that this plantation is set to work but one way, 
and these suggestions are made on that basis. 
Ulster County. N. Y. a. w. williams. 
Large Culture in Illinois. 
There are two good ways of handling the black¬ 
berry patch—by mulching and by clean cultivation. 
The latter is called the “dirt mulch”, and I prefer it 
to the straw cover. One can do no better than to keep 
the ground mellow and free from weeds. When the 
new growth starts next season, clip or pinch the tips 
THE YEDDO PLUM. Pio. 242. 
at about the height of two feet. This must be done 
as often as once a week, until the young shoots cease 
to start. The row should be narrow and kept so, say 
two feet at the bottom, in order to get large berries. 
The laterals must be clipped enough to give free pas¬ 
sage way for the cultivator and the pickers. Some 
shorten all the laterals to improve the size of the 
fruit. At any time—during the fall, winter, or 
spring—the old canes must be taken out. For this 
purpose, I use a hooked knife with a handle three 
feet long. The brush is then raked into pitchforkfuls 
with a narrow slant-tooth harrow with long teeth 
(made for the purpose). For convenience in getting 
this out, it is best to have crossroads in the patch as 
THE RED JUNE PLUM. Fig. 246. 
For description of plums see Ruralisms, page 582. 
often as each 15 or 20 rods. I find the Handy wagon, 
with a frame on it, excellent for hauling the brush. 
I have tried chopping this brush up for a mulch, but 
there is too much work in it, and besides, it makes a 
very awkward mulch. Further, I imagine that many 
insects may be destroyed by burning the brush, but 
am not prepared to prove this. benjamin buckman. 
Lay Down the Plants. 
We would do nothing more in the way of cultiva¬ 
tion this fall. If the land is level or low so that 
water is liable to stand on it during the winter, then 
care should be taken to provide ways for it to drain 
off. In fiat land, it is best to turn the soil to the 
plants, leaving a clear furrow in the center between 
each two rows so that the water will run down the 
furrow instead of standing around the plants. On 
well drained land, we prefer to leave the ground per¬ 
fectly level. In *the vicinity of, and north of New 
York City, the plants will be better to be laid down 
during the winter ; this can be easily done by two 
men, one holding the cane down with a fork or 
pronged stick, and the other placing a shovelful of 
earth on the top of the cane to hold it down. 
After all danger of hard freezing is past in the 
spring, remove the earth and cut the canes back to 
three feet; all side branches should be cut back to a 
foot or 18 inches. Remove all the weak canes and 
the old dead ones, then remove the brush so that it 
will not interfere with future cultivation. As soon 
as the ground is in condition to work, plow away 
from the plants and hoe out all the dead grass or 
weeds that were left over from the previous fall and 
summer. If the grouad be in need of a fertilizer, 
sow bone and potash broadcast over it, using about 
300 pounds of bone and 100 pounds of muriate of 
potash mixed well together ; then harrow the ground 
so as to pulverize the soil and plow back again to the 
plants. All plowing and cultivation should be shal¬ 
low. After this, the harrow or cultivator should 
be used, at least once a week until the berries com¬ 
mence to ripen, when cultivation should stop, unless 
it be very dry at the time. Clean and thorough culti¬ 
vation and good drainage are the only ways to pro¬ 
duce fine and large crops of blackberries. 
New Jersey. J. h. black, son * co. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Mr. Clark Discusses Sorrel. 
I send you by this mail, a package of dead sorrel 
roots, which have a history. A few years ago, I had 
three adjoining 
fields that were 
badly infested 
with sorrel. Two 
of these were kept 
in grass, and one 
in grain and Hun¬ 
garian grass. One 
of the grass fields 
contained five 
acres, the other 
two; the grain 
field four acres. 
The first test was 
made to destroy 
the sorrel upon 
the two-acre grass 
field, by putting 
$50 in hand labor, 
pulling it up root 
and branch. This 
was a total fail¬ 
ure. It not only failed to kill out, but increased 
the stand. Sorrel thus cultivated multiplies won¬ 
derfully. Then, as soon as the grass was cut I 
plowed this field and harrowed, as I thought, fairly 
well, and reseeded. The grass, Timothy and Red-top, 
came up well, making a good stand by October 1, but 
the next spring that was gone and the sorrel was 
back. Then with a set of Cutaway grass tools I gave 
the field a good medium overhaul ; for several weeks, 
it was kept well loosened and graded, then reseeded. 
The following spring, but little of the sorrel came back 
The scientific men advised the use of quicklime, 
which was done, using 600 pounds of kiln-bottom lime 
to the acre, and in 40 days the sorrel was dead. At 
the same time, two tons of the same kind of lime to 
the acre were used upon the five-acre field, and at the 
end of six months, the sorrel had received a shock ; 
six months later, there was a fair crop of sorrel re¬ 
maining, but in two months, it was gone. The sample 
I send you was from that field. The lime cost $3 per 
ton delivered. 
The four-acre grain field had the most complete bed 
of sorrel, and the plowing in the ordinary way and 
seeding to grain and Hungarian, twice each year, 
served to cultivate rather than to destroy the sorrel. 
Weeds and sorrel reigned supreme in this field until 
the grass tools arrived, when, with three cultivations, 
all weeds and sorrel disappeared. Not a bushel of 
foul trash has grown upon the four-acre field in the 
last 12 months. The scientific men have it right—the 
land is sour, and plenty of quicklime will, in time, 
without cultivation, kill sorrel; but it will not re¬ 
store the crop. Good, medium cultivation, with some 
quicklime will kill sorrel, and thorough cultivation 
without other aid will sweeten the land and kill out 
sorrel and all other foul trash. This is my experience 
with the sorrel pest. I would like to know what 
others find. george m. clark. 
Building Dams; Culture of Fish. 
One thing that Mr. Stewart said in his late direc¬ 
tions about building dams should be most carefully 
noted and thoroughly carried out by all persons who 
