i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
469 
PLANTING A CHERRY TREE. 
Location for an orchard; varieties ; insects and fungoid 
foes ; harvesting, packing and marketing the crop. 
A rich sandy hill is undoubtedly the best location for a 
cherry orchard : but here in the northern portion of West¬ 
ern New York it is difficult to find a place where this de¬ 
licious fruit will not grow and yield a bountiful crop. It 
seems superfluous to state that fine, straight, first-class 
trees should be selected for planting ; but so many inferior 
trees are put out that the warning may not come amiss. 
Cherry trees do better with no culture at all than with 
deep culture. It is to their advantage that the ground 
should be kept open between the rows but for the space 
of a few feet around each tree great care must be taken 
lest the tender rootlets be destroyed by plow or harrow. It 
will be noticed that trees in the fence rows bear best and 
grow most thriftily. Fashions in cherries vary. Twenty 
years ago the principal market for this fruit was made by 
the canner, and white and light kinds were preferred. 
Now the bulk of the crop is used tresh and dark sorts have 
the preference. 
The first cherry to "ripen here is the Early Purple ; but, 
like most very early fruits, it is smaller and less desirable 
than those which come a little later. The Black Tartarian 
stands at the head of the cherry market and has fairly 
earned that position. Its large, handsome fruit is not 
easily affected by the weather or transportation, and its 
flavor compares well with that of any other variety. It is 
a free bearer and the fruit hangs in clusters which are 
easily detached by the picker. The Black Eagle is another 
fine variety, but a shy bearer, and the fruit hangs singly, 
so that picking can not be rapidly done. It is a little later 
tnan the Tartarian and hence commands an excellent 
price. It is very firm and of fine flavor. The Holland 
B igarreau—often miscalled Bigarreau—is still later, a hand¬ 
some, dark-red fruit almost as solid as an apple. It is not 
so sure a bearer as the Tartarian and not so sweet; but it 
might be preferred by some. 
Of white and light red cherries the old-fashioned French 
Imperial, though almost as perishable as the dew. must 
always be a favorite as will its first cousin the Yellow 
Spanish. They are both very solid, and no cherry can com¬ 
pare with them for preserving or canning, but a breath of 
moist air or the least bruise destroys their beauty and in a 
few hours causes their decay. The most delicious cherry, 
perhaps, raised in this section, is Burr’s Seedling. The 
fruit is of good size and color and keeps as well as any light 
cherry. It is very sweet and delicious for dessert purposes, 
and yet has character enough to commend it to the cook. 
Sour cherries, while much liked by many, are always 
lower in market than sweet. The old May Duke and the 
Late Duke are good representatives of their class, and for 
family use have the advantage of not ripening all their 
fruit at the same time. TheEarlyRichmond is a clean,hand¬ 
some sour cherry, which bears heavily and greatly excels 
the old-fashioned sour cherry which it resembles. Many 
other varieties might be named, but these are found most 
profitable In this section. 
The cherry crop has many enemies aside from late frosts 
and the little white scamp which finds a home in so many 
of the most desirable-looking specimens. Rose-chafers are 
prosaic enough to leave their diet of “ rose leaves and dew 
drops” for one of cherry leaves and fruits. Canker worms 
sear the trees like a blight. There is a bark louse and a 
scale insect and an aphis which delight in the attempt 
to destroy the trees. Then, mildew and other fungi at¬ 
tack the leaves and the cherry crop must be valiantly fought 
for, else it w’ill be lost. 
The harvesting of cherries in this variable climate is 
nervous work. The orchardist gathers pickers from far 
and near and these must be on hand on the hour the fruit 
has reached perfection, else there will be loss. Men, 
women and children are employed. The employer pays 
about one cent per pound for picking, furnishing dinner 
and supper for the employees, and the implements for the 
work. The fruit is picked with the stems on, the pickers 
being instructed to handle it by the stems to avoid bruis¬ 
ing. In the packing-room the fruit is assorted, all which 
is likely to decay being removed, and the rest is packed in 
baskets which hold from 10 to 20 pounds each. These have 
wooden covers which are easily adjusted. In California 
cherries are packed in 10-pound boxes by an ingenious pro¬ 
cess. A zinc box is used, with a movable board in the 
bottom. A layer of flue cherries is put on this board, one 
by one, with the stems towards the packer. The box is 
then filled even full of fruit, which is shaken down. A 
wooden box is put over the zinc box,covering the open fruit. 
The position of the boxes is reversed and the zinc box is 
lifted out by its handles, leaving the fruit in the wooden 
box ready for its cover. One can scarcely realize how 
greatly the appearance of the fruit is improved by this 
method of packing. The cherry orchards there are often 
made to do double duty, as the spaces between the trees 
are filled with currant bushes, a fruit which meets a ready 
sale there at much better prices than can be obtained here. 
The fruit from this section is largely sent to commission 
men in New York, going on the cars in the evening so it 
may meet the early morning trade. The price varies from 
three to 10 cents per pound, though in seasons of universal 
scarcity like the present, 15 and even 20 cents per pound 
may be obtained for superior black kinds. 
Where cherry trees are planted in orchards the rent of 
the land must be couuted against them; but when, as is 
often the case, they occupy waste places about the farm, 
their product is almost clear gain. They are handsome 
roadside trees, and as grass will grow heavily under them, 
the hay which may be gathered around them before their 
crop ripens will pay a fair price for the fertilizers necessary 
to keep them in good condition. One may feel assured of 
three crops of cherries in five years, an expectation which 
is often more than verified, g, A. J4TTLB, 
Wayne Couuty, N, Y, 
Business. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Wind-Mills for Grinding, etc.— In a recent Rural 
inquiry was made in regard to the use of wind-power for 
grinding purposes on farms, and as just outside this 
village there is a considerable manufacturing establish¬ 
ment run by wind-power, perhaps a brief description 
might be of benefit to some of the readers. Mr. Edwin 
Warner owns a little 20-acre farm devoted to general farm¬ 
ing, fruit and hen culture, that pays a good profit every 
year. On it he has a 14-foot vaneless Monitor geared 
wind-mill, which he considers a very valuable adjunct to 
his line of business. It is on a 40-foot tower, and stands 
just outside the barn at one end, and is geared to line 
shafting inside on the second floor. This floor is devoted to 
common farm purposes, and the machinery consists of one 
Monitor grinding mill, having a capacity of 10 bushels of 
corn and oats, per hour, and grinding it, too, as fine as any 
farmer would want it for general feeding purposes; a self¬ 
feeding Acme corn shelter that easily shells 10 bushels of 
com per hour, and a rotary feed-cutter* With an extra 
good wind these machines can all be attached to the 
pulleys, and shelling and grinding corn and cutting feed 
can be done at one time. The mill is powerful enough to 
handle any feed cutter that requires an ordinary four- 
horse power to run. Underneath is the ground floor, de¬ 
voted to the manufacture of ladders, and it contains a va¬ 
riety of machinery used for that purpose. First, there is a 
saw table with which different-sized saws are used for 
sawing ladder material and working up wood for house¬ 
hold use, an upright boring machine that will work any 
sized auger, or the common drills that blacksmiths use in 
drilling ordinary iron-work, and, next to that, on one 
frame, is a shaffer and spoke auger for shaping the ends 
of ladder rounds. A large turning lathe occupies one eud 
of this room, and is used in turning rounds and broom 
handles. As Mr. Warner keeps several hundred hens and 
chickens, of course he has a bone mill that is worked by- 
power, and it is remarkable to see the way this little mill 
crushes and pulverizes large bones, pigs’ feet, etc. He 
also has an attachment for pumping water, and the gear¬ 
ing is so arranged that the mill may be set 50 feet, or more, 
from the well, and not necessarily over it. The total cost 
of mill, tower, shafting, pulley wheels, gearing and grind¬ 
ing mill, was but $240, and it would seem that if it was a 
good thing for Mr. Warner on his farm, it would be almost 
a necessity to large farmers living any great distance from 
mills, who have much grinding to be done. There are a 
number of other uses to which a geared wind-mill may be 
put, such as churning, turning grindstones, etc., and the 
best thing about it all is, that the power eats neither hay, 
oats, coal nor wood. edward f. dibble. 
Lima. N. Y. 
Some Maine Machines.— In the matter of farm gates, 
the simplest and handiest I have is attached to a tree, with 
ordinary hinges, and with a strong wire guy running from 
a point in the tree to the outer end of the gate, and about 
10 or 12 feet above the base of the tree. Any tree stand¬ 
ing in a line of fence can be utilized, and the gate may be 
made light and cheap, with four boards and four cross¬ 
pieces nailed together. Such a gate is neat and durable. 
In using the double harpoon horse fork, in many barns, 
when the hay is so high that the fork catches in return¬ 
ing, attach a heavy snap to the upper part of the fork, and 
let the man on the mow put the trip rope in this snap. 
Then the man on the load can pull the fork back without 
the tines sticking into the hay. The rope is put into the 
strap and taken out in a second, and without it the fork 
always comes back tines first. 
I could not mark my rows satisfactorily with a horse 
and devised what may be called a wheelbarrow marker. 
Fit handles, like those of a wheelbarrow, to an ordinary 
carriage wheel—one that does not dish. Then arrange 
small spade-shaped washers on the periphery of the 
wheel, which as the latter revolves will be pressed into 
the soil at perfectly regular distances. An arm may be 
hung out over one side of the frame, to follow the last 
row, and in this way when the first row is straight, all 
the rest will be so. g. d. paine. 
M. B. P., Henderson, |N. C.—Would Breed’s weeder be a 
good implement for working among grape vines ? We 
plant corn about four feet apart and only one stalk in the 
hill, consequently it never shades the ground enough to 
prevent the growth of grass and weeds. We need an im¬ 
plement for working when the corn is four to six feet 
high, that will kill grass without injuring the corn. Will 
Breed’s weeder fill that bill? 
An*.—No. Breed’s weeder will not answer at all. It 
will only break down the stalks and vines. By looking at 
a picture of the weeder, you will see that it has a board 
seven feet long at the top. It can only work among crops 
that are short enough to pass under this board. 
Daniels Plow Sulky .— 1 This sulky is made by 
E. B. Daniels & Co., Havana, N. Y., who will send 
a circular describing it. There are plenty of farmers 
who ought to use their legs to better advantage 
than in walking behind a plow. It is no indi¬ 
cation of weakness or “fancy farming” for a man 
to ride w T hen he can do so with profit. Why walk 
when it is not necessary to do so ? Mr. Daniels claims the 
following points of superiority for his sulky : “It is the 
lightest sulky made, being made entirely of wrought 
iron and steel. It has the ligntest draft, as the team is 
hitched directly to the plow, bringing them close to the 
work. The plow has a flexible attachment, allowing the 
wheels to pass over uneven ground without affecting the 
plow. This also relieves all strain on team and sulky in 
striking a fast stone or other obstructions. The plow is 
hung on a swivel, thereby allowing it to turn square corners 
without the necessity for raising It out of the ground, and 
there is no strain on the horses’ necks in turning corners. 
It has a foot-lever by which the driver can elevate the 
point of the plow so as to take it entirely out of the 
ground or hold it in hard, stony spots. Most farmers 
have good, improved plows which they do not wish to dis¬ 
card ; others have a preference for some particular plow 
and will use no other, and often use one plow for sod- 
and another for stubble. With this they can use their 
favorite plow and attach any plow in three minutes. 
Sweep Rakes and Stackers.— During the haying sea¬ 
son just closed, great numbers of the wide sweep rakes 
have been used—more than ever before. There is nothing 
new about these devices; farmers made them at home 
many years ago. The essential feature in the early days 
was a large rake, 24 feet or more wide, with long, flexible 
teeth, which lay flat on the ground. With a horse at each 
end of this big rake it was dragged across the field to the 
place where the stack was desired. It really pushed the 
hay together. In the improved sweep rakes wheels have 
been added and an arrangement so that the horses 
pull from behind. These sweep rakes do good work in 
large fields, where it is not considered absolutely necessary 
to rake perfectly clean. 
The Weak Point in Mowers.—W hy is it that in many 
makes of mowing machines the breaks all come in one 
particular casting. In one machine I have in mind, I saw, 
lu a pile of broken castings where “ repairs” were kept for 
it, at least a ton of one casting, and only two or three 
o hers from all parts of the machine. I had suffered 
e iough, so I got a new casting, used it as a model, and had 
o ie made of gun metal; it has stood three seasons’ use; 
yet the makers of this machine, from the sale of so many 
duplicates of this one piece, must know it is the weak 
point. They make no effort, however, to strengthen it, or 
make it, at least, of a tougher metal. I liked the ma¬ 
chine, but execrated the maker until recently. c. 
Linseed Oil on Wheels.— About one gallon of oil is 
sufficient for four wagon wheels. Heat the oil as hot as 
possible, and in it revolve each wheel very slowly for about 
10 or 15 minutes. Wagon tires that are slightly loose, can, 
in this way, be firmly set, and the farmer will receive big 
returns for the time and money thus expended. Tf the 
tires are so loose that they can be moved with the hand, 
this process will be a failure. The blacksmith’s shop is 
the place for such a wheel. Some manufacturers and 
second-class repair-shop men dislike to reset carriage tires, 
and resort to the hot-oil process, where the tires are 
slightly loose. If the carriages are properly housed, tires 
thus set will remain tight for several years. 
J. N. MUNCEY. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
“ Cotton to Cover Cotton.”—A great deal has been 
said about the efforts made at the South to find a substi¬ 
tute for jute to use in making cotton bagging. Many fibers 
have been named, and it is probable that most of them 
can be utilized, but the Farmers’ Alliance does not look 
upon them with much favor. The plan is covered by the 
heading to this note. The following statement of the 
wishes of the Alliance is indorsed by Mr. Henderson, 
Agricultural Commissioner of Georgia : 
“ That plan was emphatically and tersely stated in the 
words, ‘ cotton only for the covering of cotton,’ and in 
my view, the strength of our game lies not in the defeat of 
the jute trust and the reduction of the price of jute bag¬ 
ging. nor in the subtituting therefor of some other cheaper 
article, but in carrying out the orginal plan of ‘ cotton 
only—lint cotton only —as a covering for cotton.’ And I 
have steadily and constantly held that the consumption 
of our staple in this new channel, by increasing the de¬ 
mand, and thereby enhancing the value of the same, will 
more than compensate for every apparent loss growing 
out of the difference in price of the bagging and the 
unjust and iniquito s tare on cotton-cove ced bales. In¬ 
deed, I feel sure that so soon as the cotton growers demon¬ 
strate their determination to use ‘cotton only,’ the tare 
will be made actual because it is simply just, and no set of 
men can long contend for a gross injustice. I have there¬ 
fore looked with suspicion on every effort to find a substi¬ 
tute for jute. Indeed. I see but little choice between jute 
and pine straw, or even cotton-stalk fiber as a covering for 
our cotton. Either material is foreign to the cotton 
grower. What difference to us whether we use pine 
straw, cotton-stalk fiber or jute, except that whichever is 
cheapest and answers the purpose well, will be the best for 
us. And I do not doubt that jute would be the article that 
would answer these conditions. As to any revenue arising 
to the cotton grower from the bark of his stalks, that is 
not to be expected until the demand for that fiber arose to 
such proportions as to consume the whole crop, a contin¬ 
gency doubtless very remote indeed. I have looked upon 
every effort to substitute some other covering for cotton in 
the place of jute, as an effort to divert the ^Alliance from 
the main question of using * cotton only as a covering for 
cotton.’ If the jute men can get the Alliance and the cot¬ 
ton growers to give up their own staple and turn to pine- 
straw, bear grass, palmetto, or cotton stalks, for a cover¬ 
ing for cotton, then the jute trust can sing their de 
triumphe, for the victory will be theirs. This is not a 
contest for the putting down of jute, unless it be put down 
by means of ‘cotton bagging.’ For one. I am willing to 
submit to every necessary sacrifice in order to make a suc¬ 
cess of ‘cotton bagging,’ but when the fight turns on any 
other fiber, I’m for the cheapest.” 
Tobacco Products.— Prof. John B. Smith sends us the 
following information: “The Farmer’s Fertilizer Co., 
Syracuse, N. Y., make a ground tobacco preparation 
which they call ‘Nicotinia.’ I have found it effective in 
the form of a decoction, particularly against flea beetles; 
but also against plant lice. About one half pound to one 
gallon is effective for most purposes, but the chrysan¬ 
themum aphis requires a decoctiou of one pound to two 
quarts to kill it.” 
Preventing Scalding with Paris-green.— As a rule, 
a great deal of scalding has been done by using strong so¬ 
lutions of London-purple and Paris-green, but the damage 
has not always risen from the strength of the solution but 
from the accumulation of dregs in the bottom _of the 
