1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
583 
liopeJarniNotes 
Tiiu Oi.i) Okciiard. —I have mentioned 
an api)le orchard which stands back of 
the large barn. Some of the trees are, 
I judge, 50 years old. They are what I 
call “spool grafted.” That is, the graft 
was set in the main stem, and stock and 
graft have not grown evenly. There are 
gi-eal buncJies and drums on the stems 
and the trees are headed up in the air 
so that they have grown into ungainly 
looking things. Two of them are shown 
at Fig. 254. When we bought the farm 
I wanted to cut these old veterans out, 
but the Madame said “No” as forcibly 
as she could. She believes in giving 
things a chance to show their virtues if 
they have any. We Fall-plowed around 
these old trees two years ago, put on a 
good coat of manure and grew a fair 
crop of rape, Kaffir corn, sorghum, etc., 
last year. This Spring we seeded to 
oats with Orchard grass and clover and 
gave the trees a fair pruning. We cut 
oat hay enough to feed all our stock 
about 40 days, and have already sold 
over $100 worth of apples, gross, while 
there is a fine crop of clover and grass 
coming on. We can’t find any fault 
with that. That’s part of what you get 
by heeding your wife’s advice! 
Pi..\NS WoKKr.NU Out.— The apples 
mentioned above are all early varieties, 
mostly Nyack I’ippins and “Sweet 
Houghs.” We have picked up and 
shipped to New York 37 barrels of wind¬ 
falls which sold for $50.50. With freight 
and commission out they netted us a 
trifle over $1 a barrel. This fruit was 
all more or less bruised, though we sort¬ 
ed out the best for shipment. Of the 
hand-picked fruit 146 baskets sold at re¬ 
tail for $50.64. There are a few more 
barrels yet to pick, and we have had at 
least 30 barrels for hog feed. If 1 had 
gone at it earlier we could have shipped 
20 barrels more, but 1 was a little dull 
in comprehending what the great short¬ 
age of fruit means. In former years 
even the hogs have been inclined to turn 
up their noses at windfalls.. This year 
humans are calling for them. The only 
point I want to make about this or¬ 
chard is the fact that it shows progress 
of the first one of our farm plans. 1 
started two years ago to make that or¬ 
chard more productive, and it is grati¬ 
fying to see the results write o. K.” 
on the plans. If I could have sprayed 
the orchard thoroughly last Spring I 
think the returns would have been bet¬ 
ter yet. I know, of course, that this is 
not a fair year and that 1 canntrt expect 
such prices every season. Still, 1 know 
that the orchard is all right, if I do my 
part. That’s all we need to do with 
many other neglected things. 
Seedino Okciiauds. —I have the fol¬ 
lowing question from a friend in Penn¬ 
sylvania: 
We desire to seed to grass our apple 
orchard of 10 acres. What kind and quaii- 
tily of grass seed would you advise us to 
sow to the acre? Also time to sow. quan¬ 
tity of fertilizer, etc. This orchard has 
been cultivated eight times or more from 
early Spring to July for the past eight 
years, and from the remarkable wood 
growth we think a rest by seeding to 
grass, mowing same as mulch, would be 
benellcial 
I like a mixture of Orchard grass and 
Red clover for such seeding. With me 
this combination has been very useful. 
I seeded in the Spring, but this year I 
shall sow the grass seed in the Fall. We 
have an orchard which has, I believe, 
made growth enough for the present. I 
shall have it plowed early in September 
and thoroughly fitted. We shall then 
sow 21/2 bushels of Orchard grass seed 
per acre. This is an expensive seeding, 
but I think it pay's. The seed is fine and 
light, and the grass is likely to grow in¬ 
to little clumps or tufts unless put on 
thick. Next Spring I shall put on eight 
quarts of clover seed per acre. If we 
have manure enough left I shall put it 
on the orchard before plowing—if not 
about 300 pounds per acre of a fertilizer 
containing about 2% per cent of nitro¬ 
gen, eight of phosphoric acid and seven 
of potash. I prefer Orchard grass to 
Timothy because the former do(S better 
in the shade, ripens early and is, all in 
all, better for orchard conditions. 
Oats and Smut. —^^The following ques¬ 
tion from Virginia demands attention: 
There Is a gn>at quantity of smut In 
the oats here this year, botli in tlie Winter 
and Spring sown. 1 wish tlie Iloiie Farm 
nuin would tell us just how he treats his 
seed to prevent it. a. r. i,. 
It will seem strange to northern men 
to speak of sowing oats in the Fall, yet 
in the South the turf or Winter oats are 
put in like our rye or wheat. We use 
formalin or formaldehyde (both the 
■same) on the seed oats. A place on the 
barn floor is swept clean and the oats 
are spread out about six inches deep. 
Half a pint of the formaldehyde is dis¬ 
solved in 60 quarts of water. Stir it up 
well. This will giv'e 15 bushels of oats 
a good wetting. We sprinkle it on with 
a watering pot. After the oats are wet 
on top, we shovel them over rapidly for 
about five minutes, so as to get the wa¬ 
ter all through them. Then the oats are 
shoveled into a pile and covered for an 
hour and a half with a blanket or fer¬ 
tilizer sacks. Then they are spread out, 
so that they will dry as quickly as pos¬ 
sible. We like to do this just before 
sowing. The germ or spore of the oat 
smut is killed by the gas arising from 
the formaldehyde. The water carries 
it to every part of the pile of oats. This 
is our way. We like it because it kills 
the smut. 
Potato Notes.^ —If potato vines were 
salable this year I could cut a good slice 
out of the mortgage. The growth above 
ground has been excellent and, strange 
to say, there has been little if any blight. 
The tubers, however, are very disap¬ 
pointing. There are many of them, but 
so small that, as yelt, they are scarcely 
worth digging. The vines of the Junior 
Pride were about dead by August 15, 
nearly two weeks later than last year, 
but they have made few large potatoes. 
The June Eatings are still growing, but 
have as yet set only few poor little tu¬ 
bers. I find quite a good many vines 
this year rooting at the joints like 
squash vines. We find tiny tubers nos¬ 
ing down into the soil where the stem 
has been beaten and partly covered by 
the rain. It looks as if the feiitilizer 
which we applied shortly after July 4 
is going to increase the crop, but Sep¬ 
tember will have to tell the story. It 
looks now as though the potato field 
will eat up the returns from the old or¬ 
chard, and then growl for more. Still 
$4 a barrel counts up fast and gives size 
to the little ones! 
Nei.i.ie Sobers Down. —Last year I 
had much to say about the behavior of 
our driving mare Nellie Bly. She ran 
away, shied at bicycles and “got gay” 
on all occasions. The Madame wouldn’t 
drive her and Nellie became quite a 
black sheep of the barn. Now that her 
daughter has appeared upon the scene, 
Nellie has become highly respectable. 
She goes steadily and swiftly about her 
business, merely sniffs at a railroad 
train and barely winks at a bicycle. The 
Madame drives her all about and takes 
pleasure in her society. What’s come 
over Nellie Bly? She may be ashamed 
to cut up such pranks before her daugh¬ 
ter! Men and women before now have 
sobered down and “quit fooling” when 
brought face to face with the responsi¬ 
bilities that belong to parentage. It’.^ 
just as likely that old Major gave his 
barn mate a bit of advice. One can im¬ 
agine the old fellow wagging his wise 
head as he saj^s: “See here, old girl— 
don’t make a fool of yourself—it don’t 
pay. These folks want to use you well. 
When you get into the harness you go 
where you are directed. It’s all against 
their interests to take you where you 
are going to get hurt. Quit dancing and 
jumping and behave yourself, or the 
first you know they will let you go and 
separate you from your colt. Look at 
me. I’m as stiff as a bone, but I do just 
what they tell me, and they know I 
would take a blind man safely to 
church. I won’t be thrown out upon 
any cold world—or hot one either! I’ll 
end my days right in this comfortable 
barn. So will you—if you behave your¬ 
self!” That’s pretty sound advice and 
1 hope she’ll take it. 
Ar.u Soirrs.—My reasons for not tak¬ 
ing a cigar seem to have stirred up a 
great discussion. I am getting letters 
from all sorts and sides. There seem to 
be three questions over which the best 
and bravest are ready to struggle—reli¬ 
gion, politics and tobacco! I’m a man 
of peace, and when some fellow with a 
barb sticking in him gives me a piece of 
his mind, I try to reason that I ought 
not to take it because the fact that he 
throws it so hard is pretty good evi¬ 
dence that he hasn’t mind enough to 
make it wise for him to give it away. It 
does me good to find that there are lots 
of people in this world who believe as 
I do about tobacco. It is fine stuff for 
killing insects and infants! .... 
The feed question will be a knotty one 
this Winter. Oats and corn are both 
short in the West, and this will mean 
a higher price for “horse feed,” which 
many of our farmers buy. Wheat bran, 
too, is going up in price, which is all 
wrong in theory and fact, since the 
wheat crop is reported heavy. A friend 
of mine who is supposed to be very wise 
says that our export trade in corn has 
increased so fast that the surplus will 
soon be disposed of, and dealei’S will 
have to charge more. Our export trade 
is all very well in its way, but there 
will be a little tremble in the hurrah 
for “expansion” when some of our farm¬ 
ers got their bills for grain. ... If 
grain prices keep rising in this way, I 
predict that many of our Eastern farm ¬ 
ers will be forced to produce rather than 
buy. While I hope to work my farm in¬ 
to fruit, rather than pay extortionate 
prices for grain, I will raise more corn 
on the back fields and work until I get 
Alfalfa started. . . . The days are 
growing short. We have had so little 
real sunshine this year that when ’.ve 
did have a few bright days in August 
we were surprised to see the sun climb¬ 
ing the hill long before we were ready. 
Well, it’s not so bad for the young folks, 
for a year chopped off the stick doesn’t 
make so much difference, when there is 
a big surplus of life ahead. It’s a little 
dark for the fellow with gray hairs 
though, for we haven’t had full measure 
of pleasure and profit out of this hard 
season. Haven’t, eh? Why not? Figure 
again and see about that. But it all 
down and give your blessings a fair 
show.__ B. w. c. 
Note From Canada. —Bees that sur¬ 
vived the Winter have been doing well, 
much better than last year, and prospect 
for the remainder of the season is good 
Basswood blossom is not yet qurte avail¬ 
able. Grain crops generally promise 
well. Manitoba wheat crop is reported 
very promising, so much so that thou¬ 
sands of laborers will be needed from 
the outside. The Canadian Pacific Rail 
road each season sends from the older 
Provinces excursion trains of laborers 
at low rates 10 assist in harvesting the 
crop. Some of these remain as perma¬ 
nent additions to the population. I 
grow my strawberries on the matted- 
row plan. Last Winter 1 killed a num¬ 
ber of the plants. I think of giving ad¬ 
ditional protection to some new beds by 
plowing a good substantial furrow be¬ 
tween the rows to assist in holding the 
snow and any covering that may be pu 
on; taking care to provide waterways 
to prevent the plants from being sub- 
mei’ged. w- o. e. 
Full Heads 
Strong grain re¬ 
sults only when a 
liberal amount of 
Potash 
is pre.sent in the 
fertilizer used. 
Our hooks tell the 
rest. They are Jrce. 
German Kali Works, 
93 Nassau St., New York. 
nHIHIGH 
IS THE STA'NDA.R D 
STfJIMPUMPS. At/tLIFTS, bi 
CASOLINt ENGINES.wi 
wmrtFOR cmcuLAR^iE^Wi 
THtAMERICANWEtt WORKS 
AURORA,ILL.- DALLAS.TE 
BRAND NEW STEEL ROOFING 
Bouprht at Receivers’ Sale. 
Sheets either tiat, corru- 
Kate(ior‘-V”cr;inpeil. No 
tools except a hatchet or 
hammer is needed to lay 
the roofiiui" We furnish 
free with each ^order 
_ - _ _ - ' enough paint to ^I "tiC 
cover and nailsto lay. Price per square, ■ » »» 
ABauaremeansIOOsonareft. Write for tree lataloxue 
So. 57 on General Berehandlse. Chicagu Iluuse 
WrfccKtug Co., WestSBth and Iron Sts., Chicago, in 
WHEN YOU SEE 
“llORSE-lIlOtl, BUEL-STRONU. I’lU-ruillT” 
applied to feiicinir. It always means The FA«K. 
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We can show you how we make a fence that will last 
A lifetime. The Fro.st Is the standard for weight 
and strength. 
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I.ake Street, near Marquette. Cleveland, Ohio. 
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I FonFai*m Wagons 
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Havana, Ill. 
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IN A LIFE TIME 
is often enough to do some things. It’s of ten enough 
to buy a wagon if you buy the right kind. The 
ELECTRIC ”wACON 
• ^ \ 11 l«'l I'Vtf. f.lll* 1 i t If 
lu.sts that long under ordiiuii-y conditions. First the llle 
of a wagon depends iqion the wheels. This one is 
equipped with our Eleetrie.'»toel WlieeU. with straight 
orstagger spokes and wide tires. Wheels any height 
froiii S4 to GO in. It lasts beeanse tires can’t get loose, no 
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