267 
i80o THE RURAL NFW-YORKER 
will set his neighbors all agog to share in the spoils, though 
not one of them has his experience and skill, and all are 
most unlikely to equal his good fortune. My advice, the 
result of many years’ experience, to those who would like 
to embark in orcharding for profit, is to be more careful to 
do what they do thoroughly well, than to widen out beyond 
their knowledge and means. 
“Little ships should hug the shore, 
Larger ones may venture more.” 
“THE INDICATIONS OF A GOOD SOIL.” 
PROF. EUGENE DAVENPORT. 
Surf ace indications “ drift and alluvial soils especi¬ 
ally valuable;” clays; sand and gravel; dark-colored 
and loamy soils; judging soils by the trees and other 
vegetation growing on them, and by the general pros¬ 
perity of the section ; relative advantages of closeness 
to market on a “poor ” soil and distance from market 
on “pretty good land." 
A Wisconsin correspondent of the R. N.-Y. is about to 
trade a house and lot in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a farm 
on which to carry on general farming, including fruit rais¬ 
ing. He asks two very important and suggestive ques¬ 
tions not easily answered ; viz : “ What are the indica¬ 
tions of a good soil?” and: “Which is preferable for the pur¬ 
pose indicated, a farm five miles out from the city on 
‘ rather poor soil ’ and with poor buildings, or one 14 or 18 
miles out in fair condition and ‘ pretty good land,’ the 
relative cost not entering into consideration?” 
No general rule for judging soils can be laid down that 
will not be subject to many modifications and exceptions. 
In general, a soil composed of various rock formations is 
more fertile than one which is mainly the result of the 
disintegration of some simple rock in place. Hence the 
drifts and alluvial soils are especially valuable. If we can 
discover that a particular sample is in place by the action 
of water, it is likely good unless it should be the sand or 
gravel washed from the bed of some lake. 
Clays are of themselves usually fertile and their absorp¬ 
tive and retentive powers both for moisture and the ele¬ 
ments of fertility are very great. They are exceedingly 
fine and powdery and unless mixed with a liberal proportion 
of sand, they are liable to retain water too completely and 
there is a strong tendency to “ run ” and puddle when 
wet, afterwards baking into 
a solid mass when dry, and 
breaking up into refractory 
lumps when plowed. These 
conditions are disagreeable, 
but under-draining will do 
much to prevent difficulties. 
If clays fail, it is because of 
their mechanical condition, 
and by retaining the water un¬ 
til it is evaporated from the 
surface. Such a soil will be 
cold and backward. It is usu¬ 
ally fertile, however, and 
drainage is the one thing 
needed, together with letting 
it alone while wet. 
The opposite extreme—sand 
or gravel—is certainly not so 
fertile, but is more easily 
managed. Such soils need to 
be “ fed ” more liberally than 
almost any other. If they 
have a clay subsoil—a good 
foundation—they are exceed¬ 
ingly desirable. If, however, 
the soil grows coarser as 
we descend, the bringing of 
it up to a state of fertility 
will be much like filling a 
sieve with water. The catch¬ 
ing and retaining of moisture 
and of the elements of fertility 
by the particles of soil ar6 
due purely to surface action. The substance of the minute 
grains of soil is not penetrated, but the surface of each 
little particle is wetted by the water charged with plant 
food already dissolved. Here it is held till some hungry 
root seizes upon it. 
Retention of moisture and fertility being due to surface 
action, it is in proportion to the total surface of the par¬ 
ticles of the soil, which is in direct proportion to their 
fineness. The surface of a given mass of material in¬ 
creases enormously with the fineness of division of its par¬ 
ticles. A cube one inch on a side has six square inches of 
surface. If it be ground to powder so fine that each 
particle is a cube only one-thousandth of an inch on a side, 
the total surface will be increased one million times, and 
the absorbing power of the mass of course in the same pro¬ 
portion. These leachy soils are never wet and are conse¬ 
quently warm and “ quick,” and are often much prized by 
the gardener, but he needs a boundless source of fertilizer 
at hand. It is not too much to say that they are not desir¬ 
able for geheral farming. A condition approaching this 
and often called poor may be found profitable if near a 
large market and a good source of manure. 
A dark color is usually caused by the presence in the soil 
of a large proportion of vegetable mold. This is not only 
a good thing in itself as a source of available fertility, but 
it indicates favorable conditions in the soil. If the soil 
aas produced spontaneously enough vegetation to produce 
h good vegetable mold as it decays, then surely under 
skillful management it may be made to produce good 
crops. Sometimes the dark color may be due to a soil 
composed largely of shale, and it may be exceedingly poor, 
but, as a general rule, a dark color is. a comparatively safe 
guide. A loamy soil containing a good proportion of this veg¬ 
etable mold, with clay enough to make a good foundation 
and insure fertility, and sand enough to secure good me¬ 
chanical conditions and fairly easy tillage is, in the mind of 
the writer, in every way the ideal soil. I would avoid a 
sandy soil with a hard-pan a few inches from the surface, 
and quicksand just below as being almost the worst thing 
that human ingenuity could invent or the powers of Nature 
create. Next to this are probablyithe moving sands. Other 
things being equal, I would prefer the lower lands that re¬ 
ceive the washings from the. upper, provided they can be 
readily drained. So much for judging soils by examina¬ 
tion. I am aware that I have said but little; but only the 
experienced can realize how difficult, nay, impossible it is 
to know all soils by their appearance, much less to give 
absolute directions in the matter to others. 
The truth of the old adage:—“The proof of the pudding,” 
etc., is exemplified in nothing else better than in compar¬ 
ison of soils, and what the soil is producing is a safe guide 
to its character. If it be a new and timbered country, look 
to the variety and general thriftiness of the growth. Elm, 
basswood, walnut, for example, always, so far as I 
know, grow upon strong land. Many seeds grow in 
some localities upon the best soils; In others upon those 
decidedly poor, as, for example, the Sugar Maple and 
the pine. If destitute of timber, the growth of grass or 
whatever herbage covers the ground will serve as a fair 
index to the soil. The common alder grows on the better 
soils; but good soil, as a rule, produce the better plants, or 
if nothing but weeds, they will be thrifty and of compara¬ 
tively few sorts. It is a bad sign to see where there should 
be a meadow, a stunted, sickly growth of grass with a feeble 
growth of a great variety of worthless weeds. In general, 
the better the soil the fewer the varieties of plants that will 
be found growing in a given limited area, say, one acre. A 
few,whether accidentally or by intent of man, get a start 
and thrive so well that others have no room to get a foot¬ 
hold. If, however, the soil be poor, no plant can flourish 
well, and there will be much unoccupied space where some 
floating seed may set up a sickly attempt at living. If 
crops are growing upon the land, they should be thrifty,or 
at least there should be a thrifty growth of weeds. Good 
soil will raise something—wheat or tares. 
Another fair indication of the character of the soil con¬ 
sists of the buildings and improvements. This applies 
rather to a section or locality than to a limited area. 
Many good soils are poorly managed for a time, but ulti- 
WATER BY TELEGRAPH. Fig. 79. 
mately they get Into good men’s hands and their fruitful¬ 
ness will result in a general appearance of thrift in and. 
over the locality. A day’s drive over a tract of various 
soils will give an impression of this relation between soil 
and the prosperity of its owners. 
The question of the advantage or disadvantages of dis¬ 
tances from the city as compared with the character of the 
soil, is not answerable on general principles. While noth¬ 
ing will take the place of a fertile soil, still it is also true 
that a near and full supply of manure, always to be had 
in the city, may very readily make up the deficiency. A 
distance of five miles is rather too great to make this 
economical, still on a poor farm it would pay better to 
haul the manure for such a distance tban to do with¬ 
out it. 
For fruit or most other farming a distance of 14 or 18 miles 
is too great for going to market. In these days of new 
railroads one can hardly permanently remain so far away, 
as some railroad is sure to come nearer than that to al¬ 
most any locality which produces good crops. The terms 
“ rather poor ” and “ pretty good, ” are too indefinite 
to convey to any one—if indeed it could be conveyed— 
the actual difference in the soils of these two farms. 
What is “ rather poor ” for wheat or grass may be excel¬ 
lent for truit. If he is to raise such crops as need a frequent 
and ready market or such as will.be marketed in bulk, the 
old farm nearer the city should be taken. A breeder of fancy 
stock must not be 14 miles from railroad facilities, but 
one can carry on mixed farming nicely at that distance, 
letting most of his crops walk to market. I cannot help 
thinking that as the country grows older the best situa¬ 
tions will be those near large cities. 
READ, SPOKEN AND SEEN. 
Killing Flea Beetles.— The R. N.-Y. has had so much 
trouble with flea-beetles that it takes genuine pleasure in 
making public anything that promises to do them injury. 
Here we have the latest—we hope it will prove the best. 
“ The R. N.-Y. advises C. H. W. to use wood ashes to keep 
the flea-beetles off cabbage plants. I noticed that while 
the plants were wet the beetles did not work in them, so I 
keep them wet during the critical time. I use a spraying 
pump three or four times a day and have no trouble in 
raising plants.” w. M. p. 
Treading on “ Corn.”— L. A. Roberts writes the follow¬ 
ing : “I have long wondered why the American people 
persisted in calling maize, corn, instead of giving the word 
its true and original meaning, and I think the Rural will 
agree with me that it is time to stop it. Corn is the name 
properly applied to that class of grains that furnish food 
to man and beast, and to single seeds thereof; but in Scot¬ 
land by custom the word has come to mean only oats, 
while in the United States when corn is spoken of maize is 
meant. This custom could be abolished here in a few 
years if the agricultural press would take it in hand.” 
R. N.-Y.—“ The American people,” or at least a good 
many of them, still insist upon saying “ superphosphate ” 
when they do not mean superphosphate at all. Maize 
is right, but it will be many years before we hear the last 
of “corn” 
Growing Vine Seeds.— Prof. W. W. Tracy has had great 
experience in the growing of vine seeds. He tells us that 
many of these are grown in the West where gophers and 
jack rabbits are numerous, and destroy many of the vines. 
It is stated that one of the best ways to drive these pests 
away is to scatter cantor beans among the plants. After 
eating the beans the animals find it necessary to depart for 
the good of their health. Another practice followed by 
some of these vine growers is to sow rye in the fall and in 
the spring, plow only four furrows, planting the vines on 
the narrow strip of plowed ground. The rye is permitted 
to grow between the rows until the vines are so large that 
they need the rye ground. The rye is then cut off and the 
soil is thoroughly cultivated. In this way the striped 
beetle is kept at bay. 
Tough Pork.— There is quite a general complaint from 
farmers throughout the dairy districts that their pork is 
much tougher than formerly. Various reasons are given for 
this—differences in the char¬ 
acter of the hogs kept, dif¬ 
ferences in curing the pork, 
etc., etc; but the majority of 
the R. N.-Y.’s correspondents 
seem to believe that the trou¬ 
ble is mainly due to the great 
amount of milk now fed to 
the family hog. In fact, it 
may be stated as a general be¬ 
lief that a heavy feeding of 
milk makes tough pork. The 
R. N.-Y. would like to know 
what can be fed with the milk 
to counteract this tendency 
Can’t our chemists tell us 
more about it ? 
Any Potato Beetles;?— 
Some of our friends write to 
remind the R. N.-Y. of what 
it said concerning the potato 
beetles last fall. What was 
said? Simply that the blight 
and wet weather had so de¬ 
stroyed the vines that we could 
not see how the beetles were 
to find food. We hoped they 
would die of starvation and 
we hope so yet. It remains to 
be seen whether these beetles 
are tougher than a steel cul¬ 
tivator. We know that one 
of these implements was 
ruined by exposure to the same weather that the beetles 
endured. 
Ashes for Maggots. —“The cabbage and cauliflower 
maggot has failed to injure my crops for five years, and I 
attribute the fact to this treatment: Seed is sown on land 
that has not been dressed with stable manure for two 
years. As soon as the plants begin to break the ground 
they are dusted with wood ashes. This operation, re¬ 
peated every three or four days until the plant forms the 
third leaf, keeps off the maggots, and I think the green 
worm also. Of 7,000 heads of cabbage raised by me last 
year, not one was seriously eaten by the green worm, nor 
was one stump-rooted.” a Massachusetts gardener. 
Transplanting Weather.— The writer well remembers 
when a boy, working many a day in the rain at transplant¬ 
ing cabbage, tomato and strawberry plants. It was then 
thought that this work could be done successfully only in 
wet weather. A few years later when working for a good 
gardener the writer w T as rather surprised to find that his 
employer would not let him set a plant except in clear, 
pleasant weather. He was still further surprised to see 
that a greater proportion of these dry-weather plants lived 
than was ever known under the rain-setting system. It is 
believed that the majority of gardeners still desire a rainy 
day for transplanting, although some of the most successful 
growers in the country desire a clear, pleasant day when 
the soil is reasonably dry. 
Potatoes Again. —The R. N.-Y. has decided to plant 
potatoes again in the experiment acre of last year. The 
original design was to grow one crop of potatoes and then 
seed to oats and clover, assuming that the fertilizer left in 
