i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
21 
ANSWERED BY J. W. KERR. 
The best varieties of apples for your sec¬ 
tion for market purposes would be : for 
early, Yellow Transparent, Fourth of July, 
Red Astrachan, and Carolina Red June; for 
fall, Gravensteln, Wine, Cumberland Seed¬ 
ling, Fallawater, aud Bachelor; for winter, 
York Imperial, Black Twig, Stayman’s 
Winesap, Lawver and Smith’s Cider, and 
for the greatest profit two-fifths should be 
early, one fifth fall, and two-fifths winter. 
Apple trees 30 feet apart with three peach 
trees for each apple tree, are too close for 
the best results with either. A peach tree 
in the center of the square formed by four 
apple trees will answer, as the peach trees 
will be a little over 21 feet from the apple 
on each side. Even this is rather close for 
alternate apple and peach trees on good soil 
of which there is plenty in Baltimore 
County. A dwarf pear would be profitable 
for filling in the squares. Keep in mind 
one fact—that too close planting tells sadly 
upon the final results of the labor. Plant 
on hilly ground by all means in preference 
to low meadow. With the pear as with the 
apple and peach your “ idea” of economiz¬ 
ing land by planting too closely will have 
precisely the same effect upon the returns 
—they will be easier to handle. Twenty 
feet apart each way is close enough for 
standards. Dwarfs, of which the Duchesse 
is the only variety worth bothering with, 
should be from 14 to 16 feet apart each way. 
Among the varieties in the list of stand¬ 
ards Bartlett should lead, as, all things 
considered, it is the most profitable variety 
that is generally grown. Keiffer, Anjou, 
and Lawrence are none of them early pears, 
neither can I call to mind a single instance 
where the early pears pay as well as does 
the Bartlett. 
For peaches, a succession of kinds gives 
advantages in more ways than one : 1. The 
grower has a longer time to handle and 
market the crop. 2. It affords a greater 
assurance of having peaches annually, as 
by a succession containing both white and 
yellow-fleshed kinds, there will be seasons 
when the yellow kinds will be nearly an 
entire failure, and the white-fleshed, being, 
as a rule, hardier in blossom, will yield the 
most profitable crops. Start, say with St. 
John or Lady Tngold, both yellow, then 
Mountain Rose (white-flesh), then Foster or 
Crawford’s Early—it will make no differ¬ 
ence which, as they are precisely alike—next 
Mary’s Choice, or Reeves’s Favorite, all four 
yellow kinds. Follow with Moore’s Favor¬ 
ite or Old Mixon, Wheatland, Crawford’s 
Late or Globe or Beer’s Melocoton or Bran¬ 
dywine. For a white-fleshed kind ripening 
with Wheatland, take Southwick; follow 
Crawford’s Late with Fox’s Seedling, fol¬ 
lowing with Walker’s Variegated Free, and 
this with McCollister and Shipley ; these 
with Beer’s Smock and Garey’s Hold On 
and these with Salway. Ordinarily I do 
not advise the planting of the last named 
here on the eastern shore of Maryland, as 
there are but few places here where it suc¬ 
ceeds well; but I have seen very fine speci¬ 
mens in some parts of western Maryland on 
heavier soil. The Wonderful, according to 
the best information I have from disinter¬ 
ested parties who have seen it, is not su¬ 
perior to a well-grown Smock. Novelties 
had better not be too prominent in market 
orchards when profit is the object. C. A. 
H. can buy better pear trees in New York 
than are raised in Maryland nurseries, and 
he can buy varieties equally good aud per¬ 
haps cheaper in Alabama than in New York. 
Apple trees he ought to buy as cheap in 
Maryland as anywhere, and he can ; and 
as to peach trees he certainly can get them 
in his own State, reliable, and entirely 
healthy, at prices low enough for safety. 
Let him buy from honorable, upright men 
who value reputation aud character, and 
he will be likely to makemoney in the long 
run by doing so, and escape vexation and 
disappointment. 
FERTILIZER FROM COTTON-SEED. 
R. G. 71., Barker. La. —I wish to make a 
good potato fertilizer. Cotton-seed prod¬ 
ucts are most convenient: Cotton-seed 
meal $20; cotton seed hull ashes $18; acid 
phosphate $20 ; kainit $20. These prices are 
per short ton, in the New Orleans market. 
How shall I combine them ? Should I use 
anything else ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. E. B. VOORIIEES. 
Both cotton seed meal and cotton-hull 
ashes are cheao fertilizing materials at the 
prices named, though it must be admitted 
that it is a wasteful practice to use cotton¬ 
seed meal as a fertilizer without first secur¬ 
ing its feeding value. The potash in kainit 
at $20 per ton would cost eight cents per 
pound as against about three cents for 
that contained in cotton-hull ashes. Acid 
phosphate At.the price named is a Iso A rela¬ 
tively expensive source of phosphoric acid. 
Cotton seed meal of average quality con¬ 
tains seven per cent, of nitrogen, 3.25 per 
cent, of phosphoric acid and two per cent, 
of potash. Cotton-hull ashes vary consid¬ 
erably in composition though average sam¬ 
ples contain 25 per cent, of potash and eight 
per cent, of available phosphoric acid. 
Acid pliosph ite should contain 12 per cent, 
of available phosphoric acid. The follow¬ 
ing formulas could doubtless be used with 
profit: 1. 800 pounds of cotton-seed meal; 
800 pounds of cotton-hull ashes ; 400 pounds 
of acid phosphate. This would furnish a 
mixture containing 2.8 per cent, of nitrogen, 
seven per cent, of phosphoric acid and 10.8 
per cent, of potash. 2. 1,000 pounds cotton¬ 
seed meal; 1,000 pounds cotton-hull ashes—a 
mixture containing 3.50 per cent, of nitrogen, 
six per cent, of phosphoric acid and 13.50 per 
cent, of potash. The cost of these mix¬ 
tures would be practically the same and 
the minimum amount applied should be at 
least at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre, 
though it is more than likely that double 
this amount would give the most profitable 
returns. Cotton-hull ashes contain small 
amounts of lime. The mixture should 
therefore be applied as soon as possible 
after it has been prepared in order to in¬ 
sure against loss of nitrogen. 
HEN MANURE. 
L. E. A , Smyrna, Del.— What is dry, 
pure manure consisting of the droppings of 
young chickens fed on grain and bone-meal, 
worth per bushel and ton? What should 
be mixed with it to keep it from heating? 
ANSWERED BY DR. E. H. JENKINS. 
Numerous analyses have been made at 
this station of “ hen manure,” but the ma¬ 
terial has always been a mixture of hen 
dung with variable quantities of feathers, 
straw and earth scraped from the floor of 
the hennery. We have no analysis of the 
unmixed hen dung; therefore a statement 
of its value would be mere guess-work. 
The difference between the excrement of 
fowls and that of cattle of all sorts is that 
the former contains in solid form all the 
fertilizing material of the food except what 
is retained in the body for growth or goes 
iuto the eggs; while a very considerable 
portion of the fertilizing value of the food 
of cattle is excreted in liquid form and is 
easily lost even in the stalls or barn-yard. 
It is easy to see then why the “dung” of 
fowls is richer manure than that of cattle. 
That of the former contains both the 
urinary and bowel excretions, that of the 
latter consists largely of the undigested 
food, with what of the urine may have 
been absorbed and retained by it. The ma¬ 
nure can be kept from heating by mixing it 
with earth, or, better perhaps, with some 
plaster. 
Connecticut Ag. Ex. Station. 
THE MAKING OF OILS. 
H. IF. H., (no'address ).—Where and by 
whom is oil of hemlock manufactured ? 
ANS. —The leading druggists seem to 
manufacture their own supplies of this 
product. We are frequently asked if it 
will pay farmers to try to make this oil or 
oil of cedar on the farms, to sell. A num¬ 
ber of farm papers have advised their read¬ 
ers to try the business of oil-making and 
have printed pictures of the implements 
used. The manufacture of the oils is easy 
enough. They are products of distillation. 
An apparatus similar to that used in whis¬ 
ky stills is all that is necessary ; but there 
is no profit in the oil. The market is well 
supplied and there is absolutely no chance 
to sell large quantities at paying prices. It 
may be said that oil of wintergreen is the 
only product of this sort that will find a 
ready sale. The expense of gathering the 
wintergreen will eat up all the profits. 
The R. N.-Y. does not wish to throw cold 
water on any plan that promises to relieve 
the farmer ; it only desires to state the facts 
as it learns them. 
Miscellaneous. 
L. L., Copenhagen, N. Y. —1. A sub¬ 
scribes for a magazine and pays for the 
same one year in advance. At the end of 
six months the publisher stops issuing the 
magazine and gives credit for another mag¬ 
azine which he sends in place of the one 
subscribed for. When the time the pub¬ 
lisher has given credit for is up, he does 
not stop sending th6 magazine. Can he 
collect pay for the time beyond what he 
has given credit for, whether the magazine 
be taken from the office or not? 2. Sup¬ 
pose the paper is refused and not taken out 
of the post-otlice at all, even for the time 
for which credit has been given, can the 
publisher collect pay then for sending the 
magazine for a longer time than that for 
which credit has been given ? 
Ans. —1. Not if the paper is not taken 
from the office. 2. No, he can not. It is a 
mean, unjust law, anyway, that enables 
publishers to collect for papers beyond the 
term subscribed for. 
J. P. P., Valatie, N. Y. —For three 
years we have raised a potato called the 
Mayflower, which we and our neighbors 
consider superior, for eating purposes, to 
any other variety we have tried. It is 
white and oblong with shallow eyes and 
ripens about one week later than the Early 
Rose. Does the R. N.-Y. know the va¬ 
riety ? 
Ans. —The Mayflower was introduced, as 
we remember, about eight or nine years ago 
by the late firm of B. K. Bliss & Sons. The 
quality is very fine, but it is not a large 
yielder. It is considered an intermediate 
as to ripening. 
P. M., Afton, Mo. —Will it pay me to 
get the Clark’s Cutaway Harrow ? I have 
only 21 acres of land, one-third in small 
fruits ; one-third in hay, and one-third in 
corn, Irish and sweet potatoes, oats, etc. 
Ans. —It will depend upon the supply of 
tools you now have. As we have often 
stated, the Cutaway is more a plow than a 
harrow. On general principles, we should 
think the work done by the Cutaway, af¬ 
ter plowing and before harrowing, impor¬ 
tant enough to warrant the cost of the im¬ 
plement and the time spent in using it. 
S. S. A., Pittsfield, III. —1. I am hauling 
long manure from the.livery stable and 
putting it on my strawberries ; will it pay? 
Some say that it will smother them out. 2. 
In cutting cions, is the end bud alone used 
or can all of a small limb be used? 
Ans. —1. The manure will not'smother or 
harm the plants, if properly applied. Our 
way is to spread it two or three inches deep 
between the rows while the plants them¬ 
selves are barely covered. This answers 
every purpose. 2. All of a suitable length 
and size. 
R. O. B., Paterson, N J.— In a late R. 
N.-Y. it was stated that the editor was of¬ 
fered a pen of Brown Leghorns for 10 cents 
per pound. I would like to get them; who 
has them for sale ? 
Ans. —The R. N.-Y. should have stated 
that the birds were for sale by a commission 
man in this city. We merely wished to 
show how prices range at this time for good 
hens. 
II. B. P., Caldwell, TFfs.—How can 
sweet potatoes be grown from the time the 
plants are started till the potatoes are 
cured and stored away ? 
AnS. —The R. N.-Y. will soon print a de¬ 
tailed account of this crop. 
G. C., Ore Hill, Conn.— The R. N.-Y. 
has not much faith in a hand hay press. 
Our experience with hand pressing has not 
been very satisfactory when the bales were 
obliged to compete with those turned out 
by the powerful presses now used. 
Mrs. M. Z. D., Gordon, Neb .—If the R 
N.-Y. is not mistaken HoardVDairyman of 
Fort Atkinson, Wis., will supply a book 
on cheese making by J. H. Monrad. 
A. M., Creston, Iowa. —The R. N.-Y. has 
not used the Hench and Dromgold spring- 
tooth harrow, but from its appearance and 
the reports of reliable men we are sure it 
will do first-class work. 
C. S. B., Milton, N. Y. —There are two 
experiment stations in Connecticut. Write 
to Prof. S. W. Johnson, New Haven and to 
Prof. C. S. Phelps, Storrs P. O. Tolland 
Co. 
Discussion. 
TWENTY-FIVE HENS VS. ONE COW. 
C. B. C., Fayetteville, Ark.—F. H. V. 
on page 820 of the R. N.-Y. raises the ques¬ 
tion as to the relative profit of 25 hens 
against one cow. He speaks of taking the 
country at large and averaging things. 
Such a discussion would be interesting and 
valuable. I will speak of north western Ar¬ 
kansas. Let us suppose the owner is to buy 
feed in each case. What will the result be 
supposing the cost of housing to be the 
same, although it is really in favor of the 
hens ? 
For the Cow. —Good scrub cow, $25; 
feed for one year, $35 ; 2,400 quarts of milk 
at two cents a quart (made into butter), $48. 
Balance in favor of cow, $13; interest on 
investment, 52 per cent. 
For the Hens. —25 hens at 15 cents, $3.75; 
feed for hens at 60 cents each, $15; 250 doz¬ 
en eggs (average) 10 cents per dozen, $25. 
Balance in favor of hens, $10; interest on 
investment, 26S per cent. 
Poultry is very cheap here. The best 
chickeus and turkeys bring but six cents at 
retail. A few days ago a fine lot of 12 
cockerels weighing 51 pounds sold for I1.S0. 
I intend to make some experiments on 
capons and try to find a market for them 
in St. Louis. Eggs find a ready market, 
but in summer they are as low as six cents 
per dozen and quantities are shipped from 
here to St. Louis. 
B. B., Ansonia, Ohio .—What is a good 
book on grape culture? 
ANS.—Fuller’s is about as good as any. 
All booksellers offer or can procure it. 
Price about $1. 
H. S. W., Little Utica, N. Y.— In the 
R. N.-Y. of July 20, farmers were requested 
to tell how much stock they keep and on 
what number of acres of land it is done. 
Although I haven’t a large farm, and it is 
not to be compared with the best land in 
Onondaga County, N. Y., where it is situ¬ 
ated, yet it is best adapted to dairying, and 
so I make that my chief business, and as 
compared with others in this locality, I 
think I may safely say that I make it a suc¬ 
cess. My farm consists of only 75 acres and 
on it I keep from 10 to 12 milch cows 
and young stock enough to swell the num¬ 
ber to 15 or 16 head, all told. They are 
well kept from the products of the farm en¬ 
tirely aside from all farm crops, such as 
potatoes, wheat, etc., without ever purchas¬ 
ing either fodder or grain. I also keep two 
horses. Now as to the manner of feeding 
and what I receive in return : Remember I 
run no fancy dairy of thoroughbred stock. 
I have nothing but our American cattle 
and the first thing I do is to see to it that 
they are good ones. A good cow eats no 
more than a poor one and the amount in 
the pail is more satisfactory. 
The first and all-important thing (after 
the cows themselves) fora good flow of milk, 
is feed. I have a permanent pasture which 
has never been disturbed by the plow, that 
furnishes remarkably sweet pasturage 
very early in the spring. Then I plant (not 
sow) a sufficient amount of fodder-corn for 
use when the grass becomes dried up in the 
fall. Right here is a great difficulty with 
many farmers in regard to fall feeding: 
they do not begin early enough in the sea¬ 
son. One should always commence before 
the cows begin to shrink in their milk, as it 
is comparatively easy to hold them to their 
regular yield, but when they have “shrunk 
in their milk ” to any great degree, one 
may as well give up trying to increase the 
flow again. My cows are stabled and bed¬ 
ded at night after September 1. This is 
done not only to get the manure and straw- 
stack on familiar terms wi h each other, 
but for the comfort of the cows. In winter 
the cows are kept in a basement stable 
where the mercury never gets below freez¬ 
ing, and they are let out but little more 
than to allow time for cleaning the stable 
and to get water close by the stable door, 
twice a day. They are fed (as well as 
milked) on time. To get them through 
the winter requires from 30 to 35 tons of 
good hay and corn-stalks from four to six 
acres with some oat-straw, and every one 
g»ts corn and oat-meal in the spring. 
The milk goes to the cheese factory from 
May 1 until November 1. Cheese for the 
seasons of 1888 and 1889 has been very low 
in price and my cows have not paid well. 
For the season of 18S8 the price per pound 
of cheese ranged from 6% to 10 cents. My 10 
cows paid for the six months at the factory, 
$399.40 : amount per cow $39.94. The average 
price for the season for 100 pounds of milk 
was $.861, or less than two cents a quart. 
I received $40 for the veal calves and made 
say, $40 worth of butter in the year, mak¬ 
ing a total of $504.40 for one year. Now 
with the small amount received per pound 
or per quart for the milk, I stand no chance 
at all with my brother farmer who peddles 
his milk for five or six cents per quart or 
with him who gets a high-toned price for 
butter. But;keeping my cattle in the way 
which I have described'! have been able to 
make my 10 cows pay as much last year as 
any dairy of the same size at a cheese fac¬ 
tory of nearly 100 patrons—or more. 
ROTjBLIGHT ; SEED POTATOES, iYIELD. 
C. E. C., Peruville, N. Y.—Diseased 
seed may or may not affect the future crop, 
according to favorable conditions for the 
development of the parasitic growth, the 
effect of which is called blight when it at¬ 
tacks the foliage, and rot when it attacks 
the tuber. The moist and cool weather of 
August developed the disease and the hot 
weather of September checked it. A frost 
which kills the vines before the tubers are 
reached, also arrests decay. In 1888 a 
severe frost killed the vines in August on 
the low lands, and in such fields no rot was 
ptisircUatteottSi 
“Herbrand” Fifth Wheel for Btureiea 
