102 
February 16 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
did enough work to take care of an acre of good land, 
which would have yielded much more in proportion. 
To guard against thieves he kept two bulldogs, and 
also had to be on the wateh much of the time him¬ 
self in addition to the dogs. 
HAVE THEIR TROUBLES.—Boys and rowdies are 
a great bother to people near large towns. Boys, par¬ 
ticularly those who have not been well trained at 
home, are likely to make themselves obnoxious, and 
this is expected to a certain extent, but a big over¬ 
grown rowdy is an inexcusable nuisance. Around 
every village some of these may be found, and the city 
crop is unusually large. This genus is worse than the 
dog in the manger, for he won’t stay in the manger. 
His idea is to torment somebody else, some weak and 
inoffensive body, of course, for he is too big a coward 
to trouble those who can defend themselves. The 
squatters suffer greatly from these pests, who seem 
to think that, as they have no real titles to their 
homes, they ought to be made as miserable as pos¬ 
sible. Two women living alone in their own house 
on the outskirts of a city were tormented to an awful 
extent. The rowdies stole fruit and chickens, tore 
down the dooryard fence, and in the middle of the 
night would throw stones at the house, try to pry 
open the windows, yell and groan and do all manner 
of outlandish things. It is not surprising that the 
women were frightened. Their remedy was to alarm 
the neighborhood by blowing a horn, a proceeding 
somewhat suggestive of the end of the world to any¬ 
one who hears it for the first time. The neighbors 
then turned out with lanterns and went to the rescue, 
but, of course, the roughs got away before they could 
be caught. These night rescuing expeditions got to be 
a regular thing, and would have been amusing if it 
had not been for the real fright of the women. I 
knew of one young rowdy, however, who 
ran into justice with barbs on it. A large, 
muscular man was keeping “bachelor’s 
hall’’ in a room over a wagonshed. Some 
of the smart town boys thought it would 
be a good scheme to torment him, so in 
in the evening they would go up the 
stairs, rap at his door and then run. They 
had played this trick twice one night and 
the man was waiting for them the third 
time. The instant the head one touched 
the door it opened; a long arm reached 
out into the darkness; aftd the rapper dis¬ 
appeared inside the room with a speed 
equaled only by that with which a toad 
gets away with a fiy. Just what hap¬ 
pened inside the fellow never understood. 
The floor, chairs, table and walls, went 
round and round and upside down. The 
performance ended by his entertainer 
throwing a pail of water on him and roll¬ 
ing him out the door. One lesson of that 
kind was enough for him. 
were paid at the last harvest time. It is clearly evi¬ 
dent that under favorable circumstances barley is a 
more profitable crop than oats. I intend to sow 
beardless barley the coming Spring to the exclusion 
of the latter crop. Being harvested about the time 
wheat is harvested, catch crops may often be sown, 
while after oats such a course would be impracticable. 
Many farmers failing to secure a wheat crop disk or 
cultivate the ground and sow barley. Being short and 
erect a good catch of grass and clover may be secured 
if a four-year rotation is desired. One more advan¬ 
tage is its superior feeding qualities when ground. 
There are no harsh, coarse hulls, which the pigs dis¬ 
like so much in ground oats. To me it seems that the 
disposition of farmers to keep in the rut traveled by 
their predecessors accounts for the fact that a great¬ 
er number do not sow this valuable grain, j. d. p. 
Archbold, Ohio. 
BEARDLESS BARLEY HAY.—When you ask: "Is 
beardless barley worth sowing?’’ I suppose that you 
refer to common beardless barley. I have no figures 
to offer as to its productiveness, but have always con¬ 
sidered it worth at least $2 more per ton for hay than 
the common bearded barley; also from observation it 
does not yield quite as much either hay or grain to 
the acre. We now have a beardless Chevalier barley 
that originated in this county. It does not, appar¬ 
ently, yield quite as much hay or grain per acre as 
the common Chevalier, but last year (1899) one of our 
fields containing 23 acres yielded 464 bags of nice 
plump barley, weighing 115 pounds to the bag. I con¬ 
sider good clean beardless barley hay unequaled by 
anything that we raise here, for horse feed. Farm 
or driving horses will do good work on this hay alone. 
W'e work and drive about 20 horses the year 'round, 
and for two years have not fed any grain with the 
GANNAS BORDERED WITH PENNISETUM. Fig. 38. See Page 108 
W. W. H. 
EXPERIENCE WITH BEARDLESS BARLEY. 
BEATS OATS.—I have sown the beardless barley 
for several seasons; with me it pays better than oats, 
because it yields as many bushels to the acre or more 
if sown on good ground; besides, it weighs more to 
the bushel. It makes a splendid dairy feed ground 
with equal parts of corn and oats; also for fattening 
hogs. It is considered an excellent feed for laying 
hens. This time of the year, when eggs are bringing 
25 cents a dozen or more, I like to go every week to 
market with a good-sized basnet. But it does not pay 
to sow Spring beardless barley on poor soil,’ because it 
grows and ripens in so short a time. It ripens three 
or four weeks before oats. If sown early it ripens 
before wheat. s. r.. 
Columbiana, Ohio. 
BARLEY AHEAD OP OATS.—The query in a recent 
issue of The R. N.-Y., “Is beardless barley worth 
raising?’’ would be read with considerable surprise by 
a majority of the farmers in this vicinity. More bar¬ 
ley is raised here since the introduction of the beard¬ 
less variety than before. Many farmers formerly did 
not raise this crop on account of the unpleasantness 
of handling it. The beardless variety is as pleasant 
to handle as oats. I know of no one who has aban¬ 
doned the raising of this grain, while one seldom sees 
a field of bearded barley. In fact, I know of only one 
field in the neighborhood. I had the pleasure (?) of 
loading a part of this crop as it was being drawn to 
the machine. I imagine I see those long exasperating 
beards coming at me yet. Beardless barley will yield 
from 20 to 50 bushels per acre, depending upon the 
soil and season. One farmer raised 120 bushels upon 
two acres. This was counted an extraordinarily large 
yield. Soil that will produce 50 bushels of oats will 
produce from 35 to 40 bushels of barley. Comparing 
the value of the two crops per acre we have some¬ 
thing as follows: 50 bushels oats at 20 cents equals 
$10; 40 bushels barley at 35 cents per bushel equals 
$14, or $4 in favor of the barley. The above prices 
hay, and the horses have never worked harder nor 
kept in better condition. The beardless Chevalier 
barley hay is an exceedingly pleasant hay to handle, 
and there are no beards to hurt the horses’ mouths. 
When left for grain and thrashed the straw makes a 
valuable feed for dry cows, calves and idle horses and 
colts. H. G. KEEvSLING. 
California. 
FOR NEW ENGLAND.—My experience with beard¬ 
less barley has not been altogether favorable. I had 
hoped much from it, as I found that common barley 
fed green caused a good deal of coughing among the 
cows. I do not know that the beards are really in¬ 
jurious, but I do not like to hear cows cough hard 
while eating it. The beardless variety is perfectly 
satisfactory as food when it will grow, but I never 
could get a large crop of it, nor would it stand up 
as well as desirable, but falls down and is difficult 
to mow. Another fault is that it is exceedingly difli- 
cult to thrash with flails. I presume that a thrashing 
machine would get the grain out from the straw, but 
these machines are all out of use in this section of 
the country, so if one wish to save one’s own seed the 
flail has to be used. Beardless barley is hulless, like 
wheat and rye, but it does not as readily shell freely 
like these. I hope others have been more successful 
with it than I have, or may have found a variety that 
is more desirable. Barley seems to be almost indis¬ 
pensable as a green feed to grow and use late in the 
season. I have often mowed and fed it so late in the 
Fall that I had to wear mittens while cutting and 
carting it. a. w. ciieeveb. 
Massachusetts. 
Where trash does not clog too badly, we greatly prefer 
the jointer on the breaking plow, since it turns the sod 
and trash and weed seed into the bottom of the furrow. 
This renders the planting and tillage easier and allows 
the use of the weeder. e. h. c. 
The “New” Farmer.—So the commission man wants a 
“new farmer!” Well, two years ago, when the western 
buyers were after New England apples, how did they do 
their packing? Top and bottom of barrel faced up, and 
the middle all small stuff—an object lesson for the amazed 
farmer! This told me by one who sold. j. w. b. 
CROWDING APPLE TREES TOGETHER. 
A New Plan for Large Crops. 
CROWD THE TREES.—You will find it very diffi¬ 
cult to gather statistics of an orchard, at the present 
day, that will give anything near what we may expect 
from one that is properly cultivated, fertilized and 
sprayed. I think, however, that in a few years there 
will be typical orchards bearing, when statistics may 
be had that will startle many of our farmers by the 
large yields and profits obtained from them. From 
what I have seen and learned, I am satisfied that apple 
trees of many varieties may be brought into full bear¬ 
ing at four years after being set into the orchard. I 
have seen apple trees the fourth year after planting 
out, bear one-half bushel of apples per tree. I once 
saw an orchard here in which 90 trees bore, the eighth 
season after being set into the orchard, 206 barrels 
of picked apples. These 90 trees were composed of 
Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening and Roxbury Rus¬ 
set, and were set 18 feet apart. I am not an advo¬ 
cate of large apple trees with tops spreading 30 to 35 
feet, and going up into the air 25 to 35 feet; requir¬ 
ing a 30-foot ladder to gather the fruit, but prefer to 
set my trees 18 feet apart, using 135 trees per acre, 
and when the trees are four years old, and come into 
bearing, stop all other cropping and let the trees have 
all the ground to grow and mature their fruit. I 
would, however, fertilize and cultivate the orchard 
as I would for any crop. 
CUT TOPS BACK.—By setting the trees 18 feet 
apart I have 100 trees more to the acre to bear from 
the time they are four years old and on. This makes 
the orchard itself pay a good profit for the land, and 
there is less reason or desire to crop the land with 
some other crop, as would be done with only 35 trees 
to the acre. These trees would bear for 
15 years before crowding, when the top 
of every other tree should be cut back to 
as near the body of the tree as could be 
done, and not leave the limbs too large; 
the same as would be done if the tree 
were to be top-grafted. A new top of 
young thrifty growth would start out, 
which, of course, would need to be thinned 
out properly, and in three years, the trees 
would be in full bearing again, when the 
tops of those not cut back may be served 
in like manner. By this method of treat¬ 
ment the top would be kept young; the 
fruit be grown on young and thrifty wood, 
and the apples easily picked and trees 
easily sprayed over those low heads. 
When the trees crowd again, let the tops 
be cut back as before, or take out every 
other tree entirely. As money from the 
orchard is the object, thus planting the 
trees 135 to the acre and keeping the tops 
within a radius of about 16 feet, more apples will be 
taken from the orchard in 20 or 25 years, and at less 
expense per tree, than would be from the same ground 
with trees set 35 trees to the acre in 50 years, for there 
are 100 more trees per acre to bear fruit, and on 
thrifty, vigorous young trees. 
BUSINESS TREES.—The above plan is for those 
who have made up their minds to go into orcharding 
for the profit there is in it, making it their business, 
and not a secondary thing. If the orchard cannot 
have the use of all the land, and proper feeding, cul¬ 
tivating, spraying and trimming, as well as thinning 
out the fruit when necessary, then go on the present 
system. Set the trees 35 to 40 feet apart, and get all 
you can from the land by putting it into grass or 
other crops. Those who thus plant their orchards and 
crop them, will be the ones who will proclaim aloud 
that orcharding does not pay, as thousands are shout¬ 
ing at the present time. There are many things on 
our farms needing great changes if profitably con¬ 
ducted, but there is nothing where a more radical 
change is required than in the present system of or¬ 
charding, as it is done on most of the farms, if profit 
is to be derived from it. A new departure must be 
taken if we would grow apples at a profit. Orchards 
should have no off 3 ’ears, but should bear every year 
an average of two barrels per tree, or 250 to 300 bar¬ 
rels of picked apples per acre should be annually 
gathered, after the orchard is five years old until 15 
years old. After this, a much larger yield may be 
annually expected. Feed and cultivate the trees, and 
the trees will feed you. Apples raised from trees thus 
fed, cultivated, sprayed and thinned, will find ready 
market at very remunerative prices. Care should be 
taken in the selection of varieties, as some varieties 
are earlier and more abundant bearers than others. 1 
have found Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Rox¬ 
bury Russet, McIntosh Red, Jonathan and Hubbards- 
ton to be early, profuse bearers, and fine selling va¬ 
rieties. At the present day, success in orcharding is 
only reached by abundant feeding, thorough cultiva¬ 
tion, timely spraying, trimming the trees and thinning 
the fruit. edwin hoyt. 
Connecticut. 
