596 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 3l 
yarmers Club. 
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our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
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separate piece of paper.] 
'BEET TOPS IN THE SILO. 
J. O. 8., Oconomotcoc, Wis.—Can you tell 
me what kind of feed the tops of sugar 
beets would make if put into the silo, and 
what should I pay for them for that pur¬ 
pose? The beet fields are from three to 
four miles from silo. Feed is very high 
here this year, owing to the drought; 
tame hay worth from $12 to $15 per ton; 
bran, $17; other feed in proportion. 
We are unable to find anyone who has 
actually tried the tops, in this way. 
Here are the opinions of practical men: 
It is a common practice in the old 
country to throw beet tops together in 
heaps, cover them with a little earth, 
and feed them as they are needed, but I 
can give you no definite data as to the 
feeding value of the tops, or in regard 
to the quality of silage which might be 
made from them. For myself, I should 
not venture to place a very large quan¬ 
tity of them together in a silo where 
other silage material was to be placed 
above them, as I should expect the pres¬ 
sure to force out the juices and thus 
greatly lessen the feeding value. There 
would be little risk in finishing the fill¬ 
ing of a silo with sugar beet tops; but I 
should not be willing myself to haul the 
tops and put them into the silo for feed¬ 
ing purposes, or pay more than 30 to 50 
cents per ton at the outside. It would 
not be necessary to cut them, but if they 
could be put into the silo easier by run¬ 
ning them through the cutter elevating 
the carrier, this could be done. They 
probably could be handled as hay is 
handled, either with the hay or with 
rope slings. [Prof.] f. h. king. 
Sugar beet leaves may be preserved 
in a silo like any other green material 
that will settle compactly together and 
exclude the air. There is no need of 
running them through a cutter. In feed¬ 
ing value they would not be very differ¬ 
ent from corn silage. While containing 
considerably more protein than green 
corn they contain less total nutrients. 
'To feed with corn fodder or straw they 
would be worth more than corn silage. 
The objection to using them for silage 
is the difficulty in gathering them to¬ 
gether in large quantities without mix¬ 
ing with the soil, and getting them fast 
enough so that those already in the silo 
would not take harm from exposure to 
the air before others are added. It is 
doubtful whether under ordinary condi¬ 
tions it would be profitable to put them 
in a silo, but under exceptional condi¬ 
tions and where the distance necessary 
to haul them is not too great it may 
be advisable. [Prof.] i. v. rohebts. 
li I was short of feed and had noth¬ 
ing else to put in the silo I would try the 
beet tops. I would not think it neces¬ 
sary to cut them, but should keep the 
outside the highest while filling the silo, 
and well tramped, especially around the 
outside. 1 should want the tops as green 
as possible; that is, not partially dried, 
and free from dirt or other substances, 
and should want to fill as fast as pos¬ 
sible. If I could not arrange cheaply 
for power to elevate them to the silo 1 
would have two large baskets, holding 
two or three bushels, and with a pulley 
and rope they could be hoisted quite 
rapidly; one basket could be filled while 
the other was going up and down. Many 
of the farmers near me pay from 40 to 
50 cents per ton for sweet corn husks 
and refuse for feeding purposes, and 1 
should think perhaps the beet tops 
might be worth half as much, and per¬ 
haps more, to the man who wants them. 
If I had no silo I would put them in pits 
the same as potatoes, only make the pit 
long, and if the soiil is dry, that is where 
no water could get in, dig down two or 
three feet or more, according to the 
situation. Commence at one end, fill 
and tramp, like putting in the silo, and 
cover with straw or swale hay enough 
to keep out the dirt; then cover with 
soil, and when wanted for feed open at 
the end and uncover as needed. I am 
not sure that, if it was not easy to get 
them in the silo, the pit would not be 
preferable. The tops would make succu¬ 
lent feed, thereby giving one a chance 
to use more straw and other roughage. 
As all feeding material is to be high the 
coming Winter, one must resort to every 
available resource to procure feed rather 
than to sacrifice valuable stock. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. a. d. b.vkek. 
Rye to Follow Potatoes. 
C. /., liocheisler, N. T.—Have any of your 
readers had any experience with sowing 
rye on potato ground after the potatoes 
are dug in the Fall, then plowing it under 
for oats in the Spring? We have about 
15 acres of potatoes on land that is in¬ 
clined to be gravelly, with a very little 
clay in places, but not heavy. It is gently 
rolling, sloping mostly to the north and 
west. Some claim that should it be a dry 
Spring the rye will do more damage than 
good; that it will absorb moisture from 
the ground. My idea is to sow rye just 
before digging the potatoes; that this 
operation would cover the grain in good 
shape as we dig with a digger. The ground 
is free from weeds. We do not like to 
have the ground bare all Winter, and it 
would seem that the rye should benefit 
the land. 
ANs—We would like to bear from any 
who have tried this. We have frequent¬ 
ly sown rye after digging potatoes, and 
plowed it under the following Spring 
before planting corn, or potatoes again. 
Who has tried it for oats? In a wet 
Spring we feel sure that the growing 
rye will make the soil lighter and easier 
to work. In a dry Spring it should be 
well rolled after seeding, so as to pack 
the rye down hard. We should not seed 
before digging, but dig first and then 
smooth the soil down with a harrow, 
before sowing the rye. Unlike clover, 
the rye will add but little to the soil. 
It will, however, save considerable so.u- 
ble nitrogen, which would otherwise be 
washed from the soil during October 
and November. 
From Raspberries to Rape. 
T. 8., Camden Co., N. J.—l. What is the best 
way to care for red and black raspberries, 
blackberries and Lucretia dewberries, that 
is, when and how to prune? They are now 
tied to a wire IS inches and four feet from 
the ground. 2. I desire to form a herba¬ 
ceous bed at side of house that will take 
about 14 shrubs. Will you advise what to 
plant for succession of bloom? I would 
like the foliage to be eyergreen or nearly 
so. I could supply bloom with lilies, Gan¬ 
nas and Phlox. 3. I wish to plant a clump 
of grasses either circular, half circular or 
three-cornered. Arundo donax and Arundo 
donax variagata 1 would like to form the 
background or center. Will you advise 
what other grasses to use and how far 
apart they should be planted? 4. 1 have 
considerable outbuilding covered with tar 
roofing paper that requires recoating. 
Would gas tar do for the purpose, or would 
it be better to use roofing paint at 75 cents 
for two gallons? 5. Would it be good to 
give horses Dwarf Essex rape? I see 
it recommended for hogs, sheep and cattle, 
but horses are not mentioned. 6. My 
peaches and Abundance plums rot as soon 
as they commence to turn color. Can 
anything be done to help them for another 
season? 7. What do you consider a good 
second early smooth tomato? Stone is 
all right, but something is wanted earlier, 
and a good cropper. 
Ans. —1. Cut away completely all old 
canes soon after fruiting. The new 
growth should be topped as soon as they 
clear the top wire. EJarly next Spring 
the canes may be thinned to two or 
three to a plant, and all branches cut 
back to two or three buds each. 2. If 
evergreen shrubs are desired other than 
coniferous varieties the choice is limited 
to the various kinds of box, Kalmias, 
Rhododendrons, the Mahernia or ash- 
berry, and the hardy laurel, Prunus 
Laurocerasus Schipkaensis, though the 
common privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium, 
may be added, as it retains its foliage 
until January in the inquirer’s latitude. 
If some conifers are wanted there are va¬ 
rieties of dwarf Thuja and arbor vitae 
and the native hemlock, which can be 
kept compact by frequent pruning, 
though conifers as a rule look better 
when planted in a group by themselves. 
3. The Pampas grass, Uynerium argen- 
teum, the various kinds of Eulalia, and 
Eriamthes Ravennae, which resembles 
the Pampas grass, but has the advan¬ 
tage of being hardier, would do well 
with the Arundos in the grass bed. Eu¬ 
lalia gracillima univittata is the best of 
the Eulalias, and should be freely used. 
The above varieties may be planted 
three or four feet apart. 4. From our 
own experience with gas tar we would 
prefer to buy the roofing paint. 5. We 
have fed rape to horses as a green or 
soiling crop. They do not eat it read.iy 
at first, but soon become used to it. 
Feed little to begin with and increase 
the quantity slowly. We would not pas¬ 
ture horses on it. Of course the rape 
cannot be made into hay. 6. The only 
treatment for fruit rot, giving practical 
results, is to spray the trees just before 
the buds swell with Bordeaux Mixture, 
five or six pounds each of copper sul¬ 
phate and lime to 50 gallons of water, 
again after blossoming and finally as 
the fruit begins to color. All applica¬ 
tions after the leaves come out should 
be reduced to half strength—three 
pounds each lime and copper sulphate 
to 50 gallons water. 7. The Combina¬ 
tion tomato catalogued by W. Atlee 
Burpee & Co., Philadelphia, Pa., should 
meet your wishes under ordinary culti¬ 
vation. 
Pruning the Potato l/ine. 
8., Barnstable, Mass .—I have a field of 
Ijotatoes which show very fine tops. I am 
advised to cut these tops off, leaving 
about eight inches above ground, on the 
theory that such pruning will cause the 
plants to set more tubers and mature 
them. Is this sensible? 
Ans. —I have never tried the effects of 
cutting off tops of potato plants, and so 
can only tell you what I believe would 
be the effect. It is that it will reduce 
the yield and size of the tubers—the 
amount of injury depending upon the 
time when it is done. The potato tuber 
is a storehouse of starch. The starch 
is formed by the green leaves. The 
0 
grow'th of stems and leaves uuring the 
early part of the Summer is preparatory 
to this manufacture and storage of 
starch which occurs naturally uuring 
the latter half of the life of the plant. 
Every green leaf that is killed by bug or 
blight, or removed by such pruning as 
is proposed, during this later stage in 
the plant’s entire development, means a 
proportional loss in starch production 
and consequent decrease in yield. I am 
of course discussing the potato plant as 
it grows under Vermont conditions. It 
is conceivable that these might be dif¬ 
ferent in the South or Far West, but I 
doubt it. L. R. .TONES. 
The Trade in Apple " Chops. 
B. E. L., Lee, Ifc.—There are about here 
quite a quantity of natural fruited apples 
which I could buy cheap. What is the 
best way for a man of limited capital to 
render these apples salable? Describe the 
apparatus and method of making the 
form of dried apple known as "chops?” 
What price per ton does the producer usu¬ 
ally get for “chops?” Do you think there 
would bo a demand for what "chops” I 
could produce? 
Ans. —What wo call "chops” are 
apples of any size, kind or color, sliced 
into five to eight slices (without being 
peeled) by hand or with machine, and 
dried artificially in any kind of a drier— 
stove, hophouse or evaporator, but to 
sell for full value they must be bleached 
with sulphur before being dried, a pro¬ 
cess now well known in every com¬ 
munity. We can procure the chopping 
machine for anyone desiring to make 
these goods who will ship them to us 
for sale, or will furnish one or more to 
responsible persons who will pay for 
them with chops. L/ast year the price 
went down to $20 per ton delivered here 
in bags, but they are now worth $40, 
and may bring more in September, Oc¬ 
tober or November, but they may be 
lower in the Spring, as the crop of wine 
in France is so great that the demand 
may be small after New Years. 
New York. a. c. worth. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
"a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page 
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The New Horticulture 
BY H. M. STRID/CrELLOW, 
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. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
