1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
563 
by the director and chemist of the Agricultural Ex¬ 
periment Station, Urbana. A branch experiment sta¬ 
tion has been established on this farm, two advanced 
students in agriculture are in charge and have about 
75 breeding plots of three varieties of corn. In addi¬ 
tion the writer has plots of high and low protein corn 
and six plots of second-year breeding of Riley’s Fa¬ 
vorite yellow corn. All the plots are isolated; suck¬ 
ers, imperfect stalks and especially barren stalks 
have been pulled out. All our corn looked very fine 
until the recent hot and dry weather came, and now 
the outlook is not encouraging. Much of the corn in 
the fields is what is called “fired” (lower leaves dead 
and stalk turning red), and when it is at that point, 
later favorable conditions cannot possibly bring a 
good crop. In this corn belt we have had no rain 
since July 3, and hot sun and winds since. Corn on 
Fall plowing yet looks well mornings, on Spring plow¬ 
ing it is badly wilted, and only partially recovers 
nights. In examining my breeding plots I see that 
my second-year breeding shows a larger and stronger 
growth, and is less affected by drought than the one- 
year breeding plot on the same ground and conditions 
side by side. It would seem from that fact that oreed- 
ing has a tendency to produce a stronger vitality. 
Sibley, Ill. f. a. warner. 
“ FAIR AND SQUARE” CONNECTICUT GRASS 
On page 515 we printed an article in which farm 
values of land in eastern Connecticut were well dis¬ 
cussed. S. Marvin, who wrote the article, has since 
sent us samples of his corn and grass to show what 
can be done on this “abandoned” New England soil. 
The samples were astonishing. The corn, received 
July 26, stood nine feet eight inches high, with big 
stalks and an abundance of leaves. One sample of 
grass sown iSeptember 1, 1900, after a Summer fal¬ 
low, without grain, contained stalks of Timothy 51 
inches long, with Red-top 40 inches in length. An¬ 
other sample of Timothy sown alone on October 1 
measured 48 inches, and another mixture of Timothy 
and Red-top without grain, sown at the same time, 
measured 47 inches. This grass seems to be about 
as high as that grown by Mr. Clark, but is probably 
not so thick on the ground. Mr. Marvin tells his own 
story regarding this remarkable grass: 
“The samples I send you are fair and square, as 
near an average as I could get. I sowed 12 acres with 
grass alone last Fall, ranging from the last week in 
August to October 1. The sample of Timothy was 
sown after potatoes; it came up finely, but the Winter 
was cold, and the ground bare of snow, and in Feb¬ 
ruary it turned brown and looked as though it would 
die out, so we gave it a heavy stop dressing of stable 
manure which covered and protected it, and in the 
Spring went over it with a weeder to fine and break 
the lumps. It is to-day as handsome a piece of grass 
as you ever saw. I use the same fertilizer that Mr. 
Clark does, about 300 pounds per acre. I will 
tell you how I prepare my land for seeding to 
grass: We manure sod ground very heavily for 
corn, and are very particular not to have a weed 
go to seed, as potatoes follow the corn. The next 
Spring the corn hills are split cornerways, the corn 
having been planted 3^ feet square, which almost 
plows it. It is left for a few days to warm and dry, 
when it is harrowed down, and manured very heavily, 
no fertilizer being used on the potatoes, which are 
planted as soon as possible. No weeds being allowed 
to seed in the corn, there are very few in the pota¬ 
toes, and they are easily kept clean. We dig oiir po¬ 
tatoes with a double moldboard plow, which about 
plows the ground and turns them nearly all out; the 
few remaining are easily and qiiickly uncovered with 
hooks. After the potatoes are all out every sitone is 
picked from the field, for by so much working they 
are nearly all on top. The Cutaway harrow is started 
and with twice harrowing, the soil is as mellow as 
an ash heap. I sow my fertilizer, and then with a 
weeder mix it with and level the ground. The grass 
seed is sown each way, about 10 quarts each of Tim¬ 
othy and Red-top if sown together; if Timothy alone 
one-half bushel per acre. It Is gone over once with 
a weeder to cover the seed, and bushed down level 
with six long straight cedars in a head about six feet 
long. I have no trouble in getting a splendid catch 
and a fine yield. In parts of the field that I send you 
samples of it is much larger, and is lodged and nearly 
fiat.” 
PLOWS AND PLOWING. 
Much has been written from time to time as to why 
ground should be plowed, and how plowing should 
be done, to secure best results. Many sketches have 
been made showing the relative size, angle and lap of 
the average plow furrow, but these sketches seldom 
give a correct picture of the actual furrows, as made 
by the average plow. Fig. 247 is a copy I have made 
of a sketch of the cross section of some plow furrows, 
illustrated in a recent issue of an agricultural paper. 
This was intended to show how some plows turned 
a furrow at too steep an angle. In reality, no plow 
turns such a steep furrow, in actual use. It is im¬ 
possible to turn such furrows in ordinary plowing, 
and the sketch is simply a monstrosity, or freak of 
the imagination of the writer or artist. Stiff June 
grass sod can be turned up to almost stand on edge, 
as Fig. 247 indicates, provided the plow is adjusted 
to cut a narrow, deep furrow. But the sketch shows 
a shallow, wide furrow, and no farmer ever owned 
a plow that could “perform” that way, and no such 
plowing was ever “performed.” I have made Fig. 248 
to show how such plowing, as shown in Fig. 247, 
would “work out,” if any plowman attempted the 
feat. Granted that .the first five furrows actually 
stand as shown in Fig. 247. The next furrow. A, of 
THEORETICAL PLOWING. Fig. 247. 
the same relative width and deiRh, is turned up and 
over by the plow, adjusted to cut and turn furrows 
of similar size. Where would it lie, or stand? The 
dotted line. Fig. 248, indicates its position, in cross 
section, and no plow, or moldboard adjustment of any 
plow, could possibly carry the sixth furrow. A, far 
enough to the right to stand it on edge beside the 
fifth furrow. The writer of the article is wrong in 
making a sketch, showing such a relative impossibii- 
SDCH PLOWING IS IMPOSSIBLE. Fig. 248. 
ity, and stating that “much plowing is to be seen as 
indicated in Fig. 247.” 
How does the average plow turn, or leave a furrow? 
I went into our cornfield a few weeks ago, when our 
man was plowing clover and Timothy sod for corn. 
The plow used was, and is, a general favorite 
throughout the country. It was set to plow a furrow 
eight inches deep and 14 inches wide. I took a spade 
and carefully cut out a vertical section of ithree fur- 
PICTURE OF ACTUAL PLOWING. Fig. 248. 
rows, and took a photograph, as shown herewith. It 
was a cloudy day, but I secured a fair picture, which 
shows just how a cross section of the average furrow 
looks. In reality, there is but a slight “lap,” the fur¬ 
rows lying not quite fiat. The furrows shown in this 
picture are of the model variety. The plow is a 
standard make for this section of country, with the 
proper width, height and curvature of moldboard. 
The furrows illustrated are similar to those turned by 
a great many thousand farmers who read this paper. 
We use a jointer to turn under grass, manure and the 
upper I'^/z inch of surface soil, which leaves a per¬ 
fectly clean furrow, as no trash can stick out. The 
moldboard, in iifting and turning, manipulates or 
agitates every cubic inch of the furrow, as the pic¬ 
ture shows. The whole process loosens and aerates 
the furrows, and leaves them in fine condition for 
further operation thereon by means of the harrow and 
roller. The ideal soil for manipulation with these 
tools is a clay loam, with a slight admixture of sand. 
In another aiiticle I will take up the adjustment of 
the plow, from a plowman’s standpoint. 
Calhoun Co., Mich. J, u. brown. 
A TALK ABOUT CHERRIES. 
I notice that Mr. Van Deman, page 516, bases his 
objection to the white sweet cherries on their poor 
selling qualities, and one might infer from what he 
says that they are hardier than the red and black 
sweet cherries. White sweet cherries are very scarce 
here. The only ones I have ever seen, I think were 
said to be Yellow Spanish. They seemed superior in 
size and quality to any of the red or black sweet 
cherries I have seen . Our experiment station says 
that they crack and decay badly in wet weather. 
Windsor is the most thrifty grower I have. The trees 
set six years ago have bloomed twice, but the bloom 
has been killed each time except one fruit last year. 
They are more tender in bud than Gov. Wood or 
Downer’s Late Red on my grounds. Montmorency 
set the same year as Windsor, and bore a full crop 
the Summer after the hard freeze. Gov. Wood is the 
most productive sweet cherry I have, but is not equal 
to Downer or Windsor in quality. In answer to G. H. 
W., I will say that I think it is easier to^ raise two 
bushels of sour cherries than one of sweet. Can The 
R. N.-Y. give me any information in regard to the 
Choisy cherry? The Michigan Experiment Station 
bulletin for 1891 says: “It takes first place as the 
finest as well as the most beautiful of cherries of any 
class; its only drawback being its somewhat deficient 
productiveness.” In other bulletins it is described as 
very hardy, and as productive upon sandy soils. My 
land is sandy with a sand and gravel subsoil, but is 
low, being on the second bottom of Grand River, and 
is exposed to northwest winds. I am extremely 
anxious to get information about this cherry. Is It 
hardy in bud? Is it moderately productive upon such 
soil as mine? Who grows the trees? I cannot find 
it in the catalogues. c. f. c. 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
It was not my intention to lead anyone to think 
that white sweet cherries were more productive or 
hardier than other classes, but I do know that some 
of them are among the most productive in some sec¬ 
tions. This is notably true of the Napoleon, when 
grown on the Pacific coast, where it is called Royal 
Ann. It is not a white or yellow cherry, properly 
speaking, but has a red cheek in the Eastern States, 
and in the Far West turns almost red when fully ripe. 
There are at this time (August 1) some very fine spe¬ 
cimens of this variety on the tables at the Pan-Ameri¬ 
can Exposition from Benzie Ck)., Mich. It is large and 
less liable to rot and crack than Yellow Spanish, and 
most other light-colored cherries, but it is not so 
sweet nor so light in color as that variety. Rockport 
is another good sweet cherry that is yeliow with a 
red cheek. Governor Wood is generally liked as a 
yellow and red or very pale red cherry. But I fully 
agree with C. F. C. that it is easier to grow two bush¬ 
els of sour cherries than one of any kind of sweet 
ones in most places east of the Rocky Mountains. 
However, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge there are 
some wonderful crops of sweet cherries grown; espe¬ 
cially in parts of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsyl¬ 
vania. Choisy is rarely grown. It is not a true sweet 
cherry, but is somewhat tart and yet of very high 
quality. I hope those who can give direct answers to 
the questions about its hardiness of bud and pro¬ 
ductiveness on sandy land, or any other special points 
of interest about it will do so. h. e. van deman. 
A NEW STRAWBERRY.—Samples of a seedling 
strawberry were received from I. S. Palmer, of Stuy- 
vesant, N. Y., on June 19. The berries reached us in 
good condition, firm and solid, with good color. The 
flavor was pronounced, and judging from these sam¬ 
ples, the berry is a good one. A fair-sized specimen 
was engraved and is shown at Fig. 246. Mr. Palmer 
writes: “It is a seedling of Jessie and Bubach. I 
think it is the coming berry. I have named it Lin- 
denwald.” 
DESTROYING THE CHERRY APHIS.—Having 
had a little experience in growing sour cherries, I 
have had experience with cherry pests, nothing, how¬ 
ever, being so troublesome as black lice. During July, 
1900, I had 125 sour cherry trees attacked by these 
little enemies, completely covering the underside of 
leaves on all the new growth. I at once sprayed them 
with kerosene emulsion with no satisfactory results. 
A second treatment failing, finally in despair, I used 
kerosene and water, half and half, and killed one 
tree, severely damaging several others. By this time 
cool weather and frosts, and the falling of the leaves 
caused the disappearance of the aphids. Again in 
July this year they appeared in greatly increased 
numbers. I tried another plan, using twice the 
amount of soap that the formulas usually give, and 
instead of applying it in form of a spray, having a 
large barrel pump, with extra air chamber, I kept 
nozzle closed and pumped up the pressure as high as 
1 could, then applied the emulsion in form of a very 
vigorous stream, almost taking some of the leaves 
off the tree. This one application cleared my or¬ 
chard of every trace of the pest, and 1 have yet to 
see any injury to trees or foliage. c. w. F. 
Wayville, N. Y. 
