58o 
August 24 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Jarmers Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the writer to In¬ 
sure attention. Before asking: a question, 
please see whether it is not answered In 
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questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper.] 
WEEP AND SILAGE. 
The following statement was received 
from one of our readers In the Winter at 
sheep-feeding time. The answers may be 
useful now: 
“I put up a 12-foot tub silo last Fall for 
my sheep, but they think they are abused 
if I make them eat silage. If I fed them all 
the bean fodder twice a day they will eat, 
they don’t eat much silage. It has con¬ 
siderable corn in it. I have a tight board 
cover, and feed from one-half the silo, and 
feed about three Inches from one-half one 
day and turn the cover and feed from the 
other side. The silage is bright and nice, 
not moldy at all. The corn had just begun 
to glaze (not much). Did I put it in too 
ripe or too green?” 
We are feeding silage to our sheep, 
and they eat it well. We feed clover 
hay and silage. I suppose if we fed all 
the clover hay they could eat they 
would not take the silage, at least at 
first, until they had become accustoine.d 
to it. I think the trouble described may 
be due to the fact that he gives the sheep 
too much bean fodder. If he will with¬ 
hold that somewhat, and teach the 
sheep to eat silage I think he will have 
no trouble. Young sheep do not take 
so kindly to silage as do old, mature 
ones. The silage described seems to 
have been put up properly and to have 
kept well. The trouble seems to be with 
the feeder, not with the feed. 
b. A. CbINTON. 
From the description here given I can 
see nothing wrong about the silage and 
do not understand why the sheep don’t 
eat it. It may be tthat this man expects 
them to eat more than they can. He 
should remember that an ordinary ewe 
weighing say 75 pounds should not be 
fed more than three pounds per day, or 
at the usual rate of four pounds per 100 
of live weight. Now of good silage it 
does nolt take much to weigh that, and 
he may think they ought to eat much 
more. If they do not readily eat that 
quantity there must be something wrong 
with it, but from the descripttion given, 
and without seeing it, no one can tell 
what it is. We have been feeding silage 
to all our sheep for a good many years, 
and never find any trouble in getting 
them to eat it. When we commenced 
to feed it we had the notion, then uni¬ 
versal, that silage was not good for 
sheep, and when we fed the first lot, we 
selected a lot of the poorest old ewes in 
the flock, and fully expected some of 
them might be killed in the experiment, 
but to our surprise and joy we found 
them doing the best of any sheep in our 
barns, and soon the feeuing of silage 
was extended to all our sheep, even thj 
ewes raising Winter lambs I don’t see 
how this man can make a success in 
raising Winter lambs without plenty of 
some kind of succulent food. We can¬ 
not, and if he is feeding no roots it must 
be that his ewes are eating more of ithe 
silage than he thinks, or surely the 
lambs would not get milk enough to do 
their best. We like to feed our ewes 
with Wintter lambs both silage and 
roots, but if we could have but one 
would prefer silage. I suggest that he 
weigh the silage and see whether they 
are not eating enough (four pounds per 
100 of live weight). J. s. woodward. 
Planting Seckel Pears. 
II’. M. T., Ogden, N. 1’.—I have room for 
one row of large pear trees. I want them 
to be Seckel. Would it be better to set 
that kind, or some variety that would be 
more hardy and grow faster, and then 
graft? If the latter, what variety should 
it be? 
Ans.—(S eckel makes a good tree, as it 
is hardy, nearly free from blight and 
grows quite freely as a standard. I 
woulij be i» no wise doubtful about 
planting the Seckel for the desired pur¬ 
pose. ii- E. V. D. 
A Lazy Mulberry Tree. 
1<\ II. II., Fayetteville, X. 7.—We have a 
thrifty mulberry tree, about six inches in 
diameter, but to my knowiedge it has never 
borne fruit. A tree in a neighbor's yard, 
very similar in appearance, bears profusely 
nearly every year. Can you tell me why 
ours does not fruit? 
Ans.—S ome mulberry trees have im¬ 
perfect flowers, and in a few cases they 
are so much so that they will not bear 
even with those having perfect flowers 
ill close proximity. I have never tried 
grafting the mulberry, but I believe it 
can be easily done. The New American 
is the best variety I know and the one 
I would suggest for trial. It is as hardy 
as any of our native mulberry trees. 
H. E. V. D. 
Apples and Plums for Kentucky. 
A. B., Paducah, Ky.—l have a small or¬ 
chard of peach, pear and apple trees. My 
pear trees are in bad condition. The bark 
gets black in spots and tree dies loaded 
with pears. I cut off the top limbs. Was 
that right? What is the best Winter apple 
to plant here? They grow' poor fruit here. 
I believe they plant the wrong kinds. We 
have several Wild Goose plum trees, but 
do not get much fruit. 
Ans. —Blight was the cause of the 
trouble with the pear trees and it was 
the proper thing to cut off the diseased 
branches. The danger is in not getting 
below the diseased parts. Winesap is a 
good Winter apple for your section. 
Wild (loose is a very common plum, 
bright red in color; it is not very pro¬ 
lific when planted by itself, but when 
planted near Smiley, Milton ' or some 
other variety of plum that will p::lli- 
nate its flowers it bears very well. 
II. E. V. D. 
Early Apples for Virginia. 
A. It. L., Barboureville, Va. —I live in the 
Piedmont section of Virginia and wish to 
plant a few apples for the Summer market. 
None but large ones pay to ship at this 
season. Give a short list of those varieties 
that you think most suitable. Also give 
description of the Keswick, both of tree 
and fruit. 
Ans. —There are few apples that are 
large and attractive looking that ripen 
at any time during the Summer. Olden¬ 
burg is one of medium size that will 
ripen in Virginia in July and August, 
but it is too poor in quality for any use 
besides cooking. It is a most produc¬ 
tive and hardy tree. Chenango is larg¬ 
er, most beautiful red striped and of 
good quality. Lowell is a yellow apple 
of the same season that is well liked for 
both home and market use. It makes 
a fine orchard tree and bears regularly. 
Keswick is a second early apple that is 
of medium size, roundish conical shape, 
greenish white color, and is intensely 
sour. The tree is of medium upright 
growth. II- E. V. D. 
Raspberries, Lawn and Strawberries. 
A. Q. (.No address)—!. When shall I cut 
the old canes from my raspberry bushes? 
Is it better to do it as soon as they are 
through bearing or not until Fall? 2. Also 
about my lawn. It is just full of Witch 
grass, and that is killing all the other 
grass. How can I get rid of it? 3. My 
strawberry patch is almost ruined. The 
plants were thrifty and full of green fruit, 
when a small green worm attacked the 
leaves. I tried some Slug Shot but it did 
not seem to help matters. Then a blight 
struck the plants, and many of them died. 
I cut off all the eaten and dead leaves and 
burned them, but the patch has never re¬ 
covered its thrifty look. Do you believe 
they will be worth saving and working 
over, or would you advise just spading 
them under? 
Ans.—1. Old raspberry canes are best 
cut out as soon as through bearing, as 
they often interfere with the new 
growth and are of no benefit after the 
crop has been produced. 2. If your lawn 
is well fertilized, and closely clipped 
once or twice a week, the undesirable 
grasses should diminish. Frequent ap 
plications of a good complete chemical 
fertilizer during rainy weather and con 
stant clipping will do wonders for an 
old lawn, though some of the grasses 
with creeping rootstocks are very per¬ 
sistent. 3. It would seem better to give 
up the fight with the affected straw¬ 
berry bed and start a new one. Spray¬ 
ing with Bordeaux Mixture and dusting 
with imwdered hellebore would seem 
promising remedies. 
Are Mulberry Trees Self-Fertile ? 
/-’. IF. B., Aniiocrp, N. J.—Are mulberry 
trees ditecious? If not, what would you 
advise doing for a tree that blossomed full 
each year but bore no fruit? 
Ans. —The mulberry is generally mon¬ 
oecious (that is, having flowers of both 
sexes on the same ti’ee). Young speci¬ 
mens of the mulberry tree often produce 
few staminate blossoms. As they grow 
older the balance is more likely to be 
restored. It may be well to graft your 
tree over with scions from a good beat¬ 
ing tree. 
Where to Put the Manure. 
A. II. S., Clarendon, Mich. —I have about 20 
loads of good manure, mostly lit for top 
dressing. I am only going to put out six 
acres of corn ground to wheat, but have 
some clover and Timothy sod that I shall 
plant to corn. Would it pay me better to 
leave this and haul the manure out on my 
wheat ground after cutting the corn, or 
haul out now and spread evenly on the sod 
to be plowed under in the Spring? 
Ans. —It will depend on circumstances. 
In our own farming we would put the 
manure on the corn and consider the 
corn ground strong enough to produce 
a fair crop of wheat. If the corn was 
well manured last year we would leave 
it as it is, and use all the manure for 
the corn. If the corn was not well ma¬ 
nured we would plow the manure in for 
the wheat. 
Lime for this Soil. 
J. K. B., IlagersUnon, Md. —On a sandy 
farm (Potomac River land) where South 
Carolina phosphate has been sown for 
years, the land seems to be getting full of 
sheep sorrel and land cress; would lime be 
beneficial? The same land raises good 
wheat and fair corn, but we are unable to 
get a stand of grass; what change in the 
fertilizer would bring better results? 
Ans. —We think that lime would sure¬ 
ly help such soil. The sorrel is a pretty 
sure indication that the land is sour. 
Continued use of S. C. rock tends to 
make such soil acid. From 20 to 25 
bushels of lime spread after plowing 
and well harrowed in will enable you to 
secure a much better catch of grass. Do 
[S 
we understand that you have used noth¬ 
ing but the S. C. rock? If so, muriate 
of potash and some form of nitrogeii 
will pay, but probably lime is the ele¬ 
ment most needed now. 
Disease of Peach and Quince. 
C. Q. I'j., Mystic, Conn.—l send samples of 
diseased peach and quince. What ails 
them and what can I do? 
Ans. —The peach seems to he affected 
with the brown rot fungus common in 
the West and South. The fungus af¬ 
fecting the quince fruit and twig is not 
so easily recognized, but is apparently 
very destructive. The only promising 
treatment would seem to be to remove 
all affected fruit and twigs and bury or 
burn them. Nothing further can be done 
this season. Next Spring before the huds 
open both peach and quince trees could 
be sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture of 
full normal strength (six pounds each 
of lime and sulphate of copper to 50 
gallons of water), and the quince again 
with the full strength after the flowers 
fall, about the middle of June. The 
peaches may be sprayed in the same 
way, except that after the foliage ap¬ 
pears the strength should be reduced 
one-half (three pounds lime and same 
of copper sulphate to 50 gallons of 
water). Thorough work of this kind 
will probably save your orchard from 
future damage. 
The “Bag-Worm” on Evergreens. 
L. B. If., Goatesville, Pa.—I have an ever¬ 
green tree on which I noticed a few cocoons 
this Spring. Within a few days small 
black worms enclosed in similar coverings 
or cocoons began coming down the tree. 
We did not notice them until they had 
spread to other trees, going along the grass 
and up the trees. We destroyed the origi¬ 
nal tree at once and all the insects we 
could. What have we and how can we 
gel rid of them? 
Ans. —The “cocoons” proved to be the 
cases made by and within which thj 
caterpillar known as the “bag-worm” 
lives. The caterpillars carry these bag¬ 
like homes about themselves, sticking 
otit their heads to feed and to crawl 
al)out. This bag-w'orm bears the jaw¬ 
breaking scientific name of Thyridop- 
ABmnONO A McKELV! 
Pittsburgh. 
BETMEB-BAUMAN 
Pittsburgh. 
SAVI8-CHAMBERS 
Pittsburgh. 
FAHNESTOCK 
Pittsburgh. 
ANCHOR ) 
1 Cincinnati. 
ECKSTEIN J 
ATIANTIC 
BRADLET 
BROOKLYNI 
JEWETT 
ULSTER 
UNION 
SOUTHERN 
SHIPMAN 
COLLIER 
MISSOURI 
RED SEAL 
SOUTHERN 
B ON’T jeopardize your in¬ 
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New Ycrrk. 
Chicago. 
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JOHN T. LEWIS A BROS CO 
Philailelphia. 
MORLET 
Cleveland. 
SALEH 
Salem, Mass. 
CORNELL 
BuiTalo. 
XENTUCKT 
Louisville. 
cracked and peeling paint. 
Avoid the necessity for the dan¬ 
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pure old Dutch process ” White 
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be renewed without burning off. 
These brands are genuine. 
By using National Lead Co.’s Pure White Lead Tinting Colors, 
any desired shade is readily obtained. Pamphlet giving valuabla 
information and card showing samples of colors mailed FREE to 
all applicants. 
National Lead Co., ino IVil/iam. Sh'cet. New York, 
The New Horticulture 
BY H. Af, STRLNCF^ELLOW, 
We do not hesitate to say that this is one of the most 
interesting books on horticulture that ever was printed. 
Most reading farmers have heard of the now famous 
“Stringfellow Method” of planting trees, but few 
understand clearly what it is. This book tells the whole 
story in clear-cut, forcible style, which all can under¬ 
stand. Not only is the theory of close root-pruning 
carefully explained, but the general principles of garden¬ 
ing and fruit-growing are discussed. Mr. Stringfellow 
is a practical gardener, and he gives his own experience. 
We commend the book to all without reserve. New 
Edition, paper covers, 50 cents. 
THP i>iTDAT npw-YOPKF.R. New York* 
