1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
787 
dormant, and are less likely to be injured by late 
frost. This plan of spraying whitewash upon peach 
trees is well worth trying, on a small scale, at least. 
Those who wish to investigate the subject still 
further, should send to the Missouri Experiment 
Station (Columbia) for Bulletin 38. 
Among other methods of winter protection tried at 
this station is that of baling the trees, which is 
illustrated at Fig. 334. The branches are drawn into 
a bundle and tied and then covered with corn stalks 
or coarse hay. This method is said to be about as 
expensive as that of whitening, and the proportion 
of buds saved was about the same. 
CROSSING BERKSHIRES AND POLAND-CHINAS 
A subscriber of The Rural New-Yorker asks the 
following question : 
How will it do to cross a Poland-China sow with a Berkshire 
boar, or a Berkshire sow with a Poland-China boar ? 
There is a feeling among farmers that breed swine 
that there is a great gain to be made in crossing 
the different breeds ; that the offspring from such 
crosses are superior to the parent stock; that 
their stamina and vitality are greater. This, in 
many cases, is, no doubt, true, but it is a ques¬ 
tion whether the mere matter of crossing makes 
it so. The reason it is so, is because one breed 
has these desirable qualities in larger proportion 
than the other. The farmer may find one breed 
lacking in some desirable qualities, and he may 
be able to improve these by crossing with some 
other breed that has these qualities in a high 
degree. For instance, a farmer recently bought 
Berkshire sows on which he will use a Poland- 
China boar. It is his belief that the Berkshire 
sows are more prolific and better mothers than 
the Poland-Chinas. However, I believe that he 
will soon be disappointed in his expectations, be¬ 
cause he places the Berkshire sows in the same 
conditions with which he surrounded the Poland- 
Chinas and, in time, results will be the same. 
It is generally admitted that, if breeds of swine 
are to be crossed, the above breeds are as good as, or 
better k than,oany. others; but opinions differ as to 
which way they should 
be crossed. It is a pro¬ 
vision of Nature that 
the male animal of a 
species is larger and 
stronger than the fe¬ 
male ; whether man 
can change these con¬ 
ditions to his benefit 
or not, is governed by 
circumstances. 
□ Many farmers think, 
as in the instance noted, 
that the Berkshire sow 
should be bred to the 
Poland-China boar, be¬ 
cause the Berkshire sow 
is more prolific and a 
better suckler than the 
Poland-China sow. My 
own impression is that 
the cross should be 
made the other way— 
the Berkshire boar be 
used on the Poland- 
China sow. These are 
my reasons : It is gen¬ 
erally conceded that the 
sow gives the feeding 
capacity to her off¬ 
spring, and the boar the 
form. If this is true, 
the form of the pig we 
want should determine 
the way the cross should 
be made. The demand 
is for a small-boned, neat hog; hence I say, use the boar 
of the finer-boned breed. The Poland-Chinas are con¬ 
ceded to be larger than the Berkshires, consequently 
I should select the sows from the Poland-Chinas, and 
the boar from the Berkshire breed. Then I know the 
offspring will be of a strong Berkshire type. 
As to the Berkshire sows being more prolific than 
the Poland-Chinas, I am very much in doubt, and am 
of the opinion that, in handling Poland-Chinas, I could 
in a short time, get as numerous litters from Poland- 
China sows as I can from the Berkshires. Any one 
undertaking such a cross should remember that the 
advantages resulting from it are altogether in the 
first cross ; after that, he will be entirely at sea as to 
results, unless a purebred boar be used from one 
breed or the other, and the work continue as a grad¬ 
ing up ; even then, the results cannot be expected to 
be as good as those from the first cross. 
As a conclusion of the matter, if I owned purebred 
hogs of either breed, I would not cross with the 
other with the hope of bettering myself. To get the 
full benefit of the first cross, we must renew stock out 
and out every four or six years. john m. jamison. 
THE FARMER AND HIS GAME. 
LET HIM DEFEND HIS RIGHTS. 
We, the undersigned farmers of Licking County, will prosecute 
any person who hunts, shoots, or trespasses on our farms with¬ 
out permission. The killing of quail Is positively forbidden. 
At last, some of our more aggressive farmers, dis¬ 
gusted with the ever “wriggling” and outrageous 
game laws that * 1 protect ” only in the interest of the 
unscrupulous city 1 ‘ pot-hunter” and lazy bushwhacker- 
hound-and-shotgun “ combination ” of the country, 
have bravely taken a stand in defense of their own 
interests and the protection of the small game that 
abounds in their fields and forests. The above notice 
appeared last week in our leading county paper, and 
was followed by the names of 69 of our most progress¬ 
ive farmers. It is, I think, perfectly safe to say that 
WHITENED AN1) UNWHITENED BUDS. Fig. 332 
these 69 farms would average 100 acres each—perhaps 
more—so it is evident that this one list declares the 
protection of the considerable area of 6,900 acres of 
land. Many others, too, are sure to follow these 
farmers’ example ; and if they all stand by their reso¬ 
lutions, which I doubt not they will do, the game 
gourmands of both city and country will be forced to 
look up the “ records ” pretty closely before starting 
out upon their tour of heartless destruction of our 
“ wee live stock.” Not infrequently, it happens that 
the farm stock also suffer from the invasion. But a 
few days since, a neighbor lost a fine lamb—shot by 
one of these unerring (?) marksmen. 
It is not because the farmer, his wife and little 
ones do not enjoy a dainty morsel of game occasion¬ 
ally, that this by-product of his farm seldom appears 
upon his table. It is because the game laws are so 
nicely and timely adjusted, that just as he becomes 
inextricably “ tied up” in corn cutting, clover-seed 
thrashing, seeding, husking, cribbing, and hauling 
his winter’s fuel, he sees his city cousins, upon every 
hand, in full array, with their Winchesters, Reming¬ 
tons, Pointers and Setters, making sad havoc and 
sending terror, devastation and bloodshed abroad 
among his little furred and feathered stock. 
It is astounding with what assurance some of these 
destroyers will take possession of a stranger’s field or 
forest. A friend, who allows no hunting or shooting 
on his farm, recently noticed two men, guns in hand, 
deliberately trespassing. He at once hailed them 
and kindly asked them to vacate. In return, he re¬ 
ceived a shameful cursing. The fellows had the 
advantage of him in that they were quite a distance 
away, and he could not recognize them. An attempt 
to overtake them only proved that they were quite 
unwilling for that distance to be lessened. 
A favorite excuse of trespassing bird hunters is 
that the farmer makes no effort to kill his quail; 
therefore, some one might just as well have a little 
sport out of hunting them. No I There are thousands 
of farmers who do not kill their quail because, in 
some way, away down deep in their hearts, there has 
developed a tender little spot that becomes painful at 
the thought of killing or wounding one of their little 
home-grown “ brownies ” . This season, a beautiful 
flock of about 20 tiny, downy, brown balls sud¬ 
denly made their appearance in one of our old 
raspberry plantations, where they were hatched. 
All season long, they made their home among 
our plants and trees, becoming quite tame. They 
even came into our dooryard where, one even¬ 
ing, we noticed our little tot of three years amus¬ 
ing herself by driving them about beneath the 
plum trees. Would I kill them ? I would almost 
as willingly send a load of shot among our flock 
of beautiful White Plymouth Rocks, as to kill and 
wound those little brownies. But the professional 
sportsman, that embodiment of destruction, needs 
only the most slender opportunity. Perhaps this 
same little family of quail, by venturing a trifle 
too far from their own old home grounds, may be 
almost annihilated by a few being killed and many 
wounded so that they will die. The law alleging 
to protect our quail, and other small game 
as well, is a failure. It does not protect. The thou¬ 
sands of city “ pot hunters ” and the few greedy 
game slayers of the country, can undo in one or two 
short months of conscienceless bloodshed and bone¬ 
breaking, more than Nature can do in eleven. 
Perhaps this is a 
pretty severe attack 
upon the city sports¬ 
men; but is it not true ? 
Who can show you the 
finest guns money can 
buy ; the most complete 
hunter’s equipment; 
the purest bred Pointers 
and Setters ? It is the 
city sportsman. And it 
is his intention to make 
these repay him a large 
rate of interest upon 
his investment, in 
“sport.” How? By in¬ 
vading the fields of the 
farmer and shooting, 
killing and taking as 
prisoner everything 
within sight or scent. 
How long shall this be 
tolerated ? Why not 
give our quail complete 
protection ? They are 
our most loyal little 
friends—the most un¬ 
tiring workers in the 
insect field. Why not 
protect our squirrels 
and rabbits from those 
who have no more 
right to them than to 
our poultry? The 
farmer should arrange 
for a half-holiday oc¬ 
casionally, and the killing of this surplus game would 
prove to be just as much sport for him and the boys as 
for the merchant, lawyer, doctor and barkeeper who 
have heretofore been annually bagging these by¬ 
products—these savory rarebits of the farm. Organ¬ 
ize 1 Protect your own property ! Buy a serviceable 
shot gun of your own and use it—on the game ! 
Ohio. F. H. BALLOU. 
RECORD OF HALF A DOZEN SHEEP. 
Formerly I made ewes and lambs the principal 
stock of the farm. Since I changed to dairying, I 
still keep a few ewes to run in odd corners which are 
unsuitable for larger stock. These utilize grass and 
rubbish that would, otherwise, make a good deal of 
labor to keep down. These pets, for they are pets, 
average about a half dozen in number, but last year, 
only five. The five produced nine lambs and 30 pounds 
of wool. The lambs, which began to come about the 
middle of February, went to the butcher of a neigh- 
WHITENED AND UNWHITENED EARLY RIVERS PEACH TREES. Fig. 333. 
Showing Difference in Time of Flowering. 
