642 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
retain their popularity in localities where they ripen with 
certainty. Early Victor, Wyoming Red, Ulster, Pough¬ 
keepsie Red and Empire State are all more or less promis¬ 
ing candidates for the popular favor, but are yet too little 
known to have acquired an assured position. Champion 
and Perkins are popular with a certain class of planters, 
on account of their hardiness and earliness; but it is be¬ 
lieved that their very low quality has the effect to so far 
disgust buyers as to diminish the demand for later and 
more desirable varieties. T. T. LYON. 
South Haven, Mich. 
Words From Kentucky. 
From my experience in grape growing I would say that 
the grape grower from Michigan is certainly right in all he 
claims in so far as certain varieties are concerned: in others 
the same plan would fail. Take, for instance, the Delaware: 
we all know It is prone to overbear ; that the bunches are 
small, often far below the average. Now by summer 
pruning (pinching back) and thinning out the small clus¬ 
ters, I have made others grow seven inches long and 
very heavily shouldered, the shoulder being larger than the 
ordinary bunch. On the other hand, a neighbor whose vines 
are trained on the “ Fuller horizontal plan ” grows Dela¬ 
wares that weigh one pound to the bunch because he trims 
them properly. Yes, I am sure that with certain.varieties 
as many pounds can be grown per acre if the clusters are 
judiciously thinned, as if the vines were left to grow all 
they set; while with other varieties which are not so pro¬ 
ductive, this plan would be a failure, as some kinds require 
long pruning to make them productive and produce good 
bunches. 
The most valuable market grape I think ever produced 
in America is Moore’s Early. It is first to ripen, very 
hardy, healthy, far superior to its parent in flavor and a 
fine shipper. It is all the market could require. The 
North has never given it half the praise it deserves. I was 
the first man here to try it thoroughly, and I would not 
give one acre of it for five of anything else. Some writers 
say it is not productive enough, and this may be very true ; 
but it produces enough on a money basis. Which is the 
less expensive—to sell, 100 pounds of Moore’s Early at 12 
cents per pound, or 410 pounds of something else at three 
cents, as I did this year. Of the other older kinds Dela¬ 
ware, Early Victor, and some Elviras are the favorites, and 
are taking the place of the old vineyards of Ives, Concords, 
and Catawbas. With regard to the newest grapes I have 
been both surprised and disappointed. Eaton and Empire 
ha\ e not done half so well as I expected, neither having any 
perfect bunches, but the few berries on the Eaton were enor¬ 
mous, and both made very fine, healthy growth. 
Moore’s Diamond has come to stay. It is all that was 
ever claimed for it. With me it ripened on August 4, and 
is hanging on the vines to-day—September 12—in perfect 
condition, with large, white, beautiful clusters, a favorite 
with every one who has tasted it. Then Ricketts’s varie¬ 
ties are hard to beat. Almost all of them do well for me, 
but I would call special attention to his Naomi and Lady 
Waslfington. They have the finest bunches I ever saw 
east of the Rockies. I am certain more people could grow 
them than do, if they would give them a little extra at¬ 
tention, which they well deserve. Niagara did finely, as 
did also Noah, Dracut, Wyoming and Woodruff, although 
the last is not what I expected, being nothing like as large 
or as early as claimed. Of the very latest, Geneva, Green 
Mountain, Esther, Miller, Nectar, Witt and Winchell 
have made a very healthy growth, showing no trace of 
mildew ; but they are not yet old enough for me to tell 
how they will bear ; but I doubt very much whether Green 
Mountain can ripen any earlier than Moore’s Early, 
Diamond and others because of the short interval between 
flowering and ripening here. G R. WOOD. 
Yes, as many pounds can be obtained by careful thinning 
with good judgment when the fruit is just well set, as 
though all were allowed to remain on the vine, unless 
black-rot or some other disease works havoc in July or 
August. Judicious pruning is generally advisable. The 
finest fruit as a rule—but there are exceptions—brings the 
highest price in the general market. SAML. ROGERS. 
Highland, N. Y. 
SILAGE AND ITS FUTURE. 
A Comprehensive Study of the Matter. 
PROF. E. F. LADD. 
II. 
( Concluded .) 
Let me here say that the corn fodder in New York State 
is pretty largely left in the field until it is wanted for feed¬ 
ing—at least this is true for fully 80 per cent, of it—and in 
January by one passing across the State quantities of 
maize stover will be seen in the field in almost every neigh¬ 
borhood. There seem to be two reasons for this condition 
of affairs—lack of barn-room and non-appreciation of the 
feeding value of maize stover. In the Lake regions the 
humid atmosphere makes it very difficult to preserve corn 
fodder or stover without its becoming so moldy as to de¬ 
stroy its value for feeding. In some other States the con¬ 
ditions being different, the problem may be quite modified 
so that what is applicable for one region may not be so for 
another. 
In order to test fully the question at issue, a series of 
experiments was outlined and in part carried out during 
my connection with the Geneva Station, and I will give 
briefly the results, as they will be of interest to those 
farmers for whom the experiments were undertaken. 
Two silos each of about 11 tons capacity were available 
for our work. One was filled with B. & W. Corn cut 
from the period of silking to the watery stage of the 
kernel. The other was filled with King Philip Corn cut 
when the kernels were glazed, or nearly as mature as when 
cut for a field crop. The corn, cut to about one-inch pieces 
iu each case, was carefully weighed into the silo and the 
whole was treated in every respect as would be the case in 
general practice. At the close of the experiment the con¬ 
tents of the silo were carefully weighed out and digestion 
experiments were made with the silage. 
Of the King Philip Corn one lot was put up in stooks 
and allowed to remain standing in the field for 38 days, as 
I desired to find what loss would be sustained by this 
method of curing. Another lot from the same corn was 
stored in the loft of the barn, but the autumn was so 
rainy that the corn molded very badly. I will not here go 
into details as they will undoubtedly, or should, appear 
in their proper place; besides, they are of no special in¬ 
terest to farmers who have to deal with the practical side 
of all questions. The loss of dry matter in 88 days for the 
field-cured corn ; in 61 for the barn-cured corn and in 63 
in the silo was 
Loss ill Dry Matter 
Per Cent. 
Field-cured. 11.25 
Barn-cured. 19.98 
In silo.15.21 
It should be noted that the field-cured corn was exposed 
to the weather but little more than a month, and had it 
remained exposed to the elements, as is often the case, 
until mid-winter, the results might have been very differ¬ 
ent, while it is not likely that much further change would 
have taken place in the silo. 
The loss of dry matter in the silo filled with B. &. W. 
Corn was 13.56 per cent, in 35 days. 
The results of the digestion trials with King Philip Corn 
as silage and field-cured was as follows : 
PER CENT. DIGESTED. 
Field-Cured Maize. 
Silage. 
Dry matter. 
. 62.96 
69.73 
Albuminoids. 
. 37.72 
58.66 
Crude fiber. 
. 71.57 
68 95 
Nitrogen free extract., 
. 63.46 
71.93 
Fat. 
. 75.02 
86.46 
These results differ from those found by other American 
investigators, and I think this is due to the fact that we 
are working with radically different products as silage— 
one silage being from immature and the other from mature 
corn. The results I have given seem to accord with the 
practical experience of the more progressive of our New 
York farmers who have been most successful in feeding 
silage. My results further accord with the experience of 
Dr. Yoelcker in some recent trials with products of similar 
nature. The silage with which I experimented contained 
0.28 per cent, of acid, while silage made from immature 
corn not infrequently contains 1.50 to 2.50 per cent. Be¬ 
sides, in the immature corn the nitrogen-free extract is not 
so highly organized a product and presumably is of less 
feeding value than that of more mature corn. 
I had hoped the present season to repeat the experiments 
and carry further the investigations; but being no longer 
connected with experimental work, perhaps I can do no 
better than to give these results, as they may aid some of 
those who are interested in the silage question. Taking 
the figures as found in our experiment, then one ton of the 
original corn would give in pounds of digestible matter as 
follows: 
Drv matter. 
Field-Cured Maize. 
. 270.2 
Silage. 
295,8 
Albuminoids. 
. 119 
21.0 
Crude fiber. 
76.3 
Nitrogen-free extract. 
170.8 
Fat. 
. 13.8 
15.3 
It will be readily seen that with the products we worked 
with, the silage offered a marked saving over the field- 
cured corn. As to the relative nutritive value and physio¬ 
logical effect of equal weights of digestible matter from 
the two sources, I will pass the matter over, as I do not 
feel myself competent to discuss so comprehensive a ques¬ 
tion, and my own investigations are too limited to warrant 
my drawing any conclusions other than as a working 
hypothesis. 
Would I recommend New York farmers to build silos ? 
To those farmers who have learned to caro well for the 
comfort of their animals, and who furnish them with 
warm quarters I would say : “ Build a silo.” To the others 
I must say: “ When in the line of progress you have 
developed up to the proper stage, a silo will be essential; 
until then to use one will be time and money thrown away. 
Better let it alone, until you have mastered what goes be¬ 
fore it.” 
Most assuredly silage will affect the milk, and I am not 
acquainted with a single animal food that does not, to 
some extent, modify or change the quality of the milk. 
Corn meal affects the quality and flavor of milk differ¬ 
ently from linseed-meal; carrots differently from onions ; 
green grass from dry hay, and silage from stover. Would 
you expect to secure a fine quality of milk when your cows 
received no other food thau straw, weeds and garlic ? 
Poor silage will make poor milk; but good silage, judic¬ 
iously fed with other proper foods, will, or should, give 
milk of superior quality. Within certain limits the char¬ 
acter of the products of every animal will be dependent 
upon and be modified by the character of the food fed to 
that animal. There are a few points that we may briefly 
summarize under the heading 
Do Not. 
Do not build a silo until you are sure you know its true 
place and purpose. 
Do not build a silo until you know how to feed and care 
properly for your animals under the new system of agri¬ 
culture. 
Do not neglect to build a silo when you have learned its 
true purpose in farm economy. 
Do not build a silo the walls of which are not perfectly 
tight. 
Do not sow corn broadcast for any purpose, either as a 
forage crop or for silage. 
Do not plant a corn that will not mature a good crop of 
ears in an ordinary season. 
Do not cut your corn for the silo until the kernel has be¬ 
gun to glaze. 
SEPT. 2 7 
Do not neglect to have corn well packed in the silo, 
especially in the corners. 
Do not think that silage is a proper food to be fed ex¬ 
clusively in place of all other foods. 
Do not expect the best results if you feed no dry, coarse 
food with silage. 
Do not expect good silage from green, immature corn, 
that is largely water. 
Do not think yon can feed silage successfully when your 
animals are kept in cold quarters. 
Do not look for good results in feeding silage if you 
allow your animals to stand and shiver in open yards 
several hours each day. 
Do not forget that silage is a highly carbonaceous food. 
Do not forget to feed some nitrogenous grain food with 
silage for the best results,—wheat bran, cotton or lin¬ 
seed meal, etc. 
Do not think your animals need corn-meal when you are 
feeding modern silage. 
Do not forget to think what the true purpose of the 
silo is. 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VIEWS. 
“ A Brilliant Idea.” —Mr. Terry’s article, in a recent 
Farmers’ Discussion, on why he “buys his butter.” 
omitted to tell the medicinal value of the cream used with 
his berries. Few people eating berries as freely as does his 
family, would escape illness, except for the free use of 
cream or some other laxative. But Mr. T.’s .division 
of work and profits with his family attracts my attention 
most. That seems as novel and as desirable as his other 
methods of farming to us accustomed to such very differ¬ 
ent ways. Is he a fair sample of Ohio farmers in this re¬ 
spect? If so, the condition of farmers tbere must be very dif¬ 
ferent from their condition in some of the other States—the 
Empire State, for instance ; for though her average farmer 
is commendable in some respects, he is miles and miles 
away from Mr. T.’s standard of excellence in his domestic 
relations. Is it for lack of knowledge (ignorance is the 
prime cause of most injustice) that our average New York 
farmers fail to see that the “women folks” are partners 
in the business of farming, entitled to consideration in the 
way of extra help, labor-saving machinery, outings and a 
share of the profits as much as the “men folks?” Surely that 
injustice can be remedied. Just petition our legislators 
—they are so interested' in the farmers !—to make an ap¬ 
propriation to send for Mr.Terry and others like him to come 
and expound the matter to New YorK farmers. That’s 
all. They would be so glad to learn. Now, give me 
credit for a brilliant idea, and for generosity in sharing 
a scarce article, too. Are you laughing ? Why, don’t the 
politicians tell us at our agricultural horse ra—fairs I 
mean—at farmers’ picnics, that the farmers, like Atlas, 
carry the world on their shoulders ? Surely anything so 
affecting the future of the coming farmer as the proper 
distribution of “ labor and capital” on each farm, is im¬ 
portant enough for special instruction and legislation. 
JUDY JONES. 
“VACANT Land. ”^In the organ of the Single Tax, or 
Henry George doctrines, I find the following: 
“ Reader, do you own a bit of vacant land ? If so, you 
are preventing somebody from making a living. You are a 
man starver. You are a conspirator against the happiness 
of mankind. You should set your land free. Just put a 
sign on It thus: ‘ This land is free for anybody to use.’ If 
you have not the moral courage to do that, sell it for what 
you can get for it and never buy another piece of vacant land. 
Vacant laud should not be property. No man should possess 
more land than he needs to actually use.” 
How about some of these “abandoned farms” up In 
Vermont and New Hampshire as well as in every other 
State in the Union? There we have “ vacant land” which 
cannot be sold or even given away. Why don’t these folks 
buy up great tracts of this land and settle it after their own 
plan- H. C. W. 
Morris County. N. J. 
I HAVE been unusually hurried this summer and still 
have not done half the work that has come in my way. It 
does seem to me that there is little excuse for the oft-made 
complaint that work cannot bo found. There seems to be 
plenty for those who are in earnest to find it and who will 
be content with a good place when once secured. 
PHIL M. SPRINGER. 
“A Little Melon;” Bordeaux Mixture.— I send by 
express a little musk-melon for The Rural and his bride, 
I hope it will arrive all right. It is a little too ripe to 
send a long distance. Potatoes are all rotting; I have 
tried the Bordeaux Mixture, but how can we keep off the 
rain, so that it will not be washed off ? r. brodie. 
Montreal, Canada. 
R. N.-Y.—This “little” melon weighed 22 pounds and 
10 ounces and measured 36 and 38 inches iu circumference. 
British Columbia Notes —The Rural potatoes have 
done well here and seem to suit our climate. I have some 
beauties this year,which are not quite ripe yet. This climate 
is like that of Cal., in that we have occasion only for early 
kinds. Late kinds, however, can be planted early, as be¬ 
tween May and October rain is very uncertain and not to 
be depended on. I wish I could get some fall oats because 
we can hold our own with any country for heavy oats (56 
pounds [? Eds.] to the struck bushel). In 13 years I have 
never known a failure in the fruit crop here ; that is iu ap¬ 
ples, pears, plums and cherries, or any of them. I lived in 
Franklin County, Kansas, eight years, and know Illinois 
and Cal. well, and so can compare them with this country. 
Being an Englishman, one might think me prejudiced in 
favor of a British colony, but Washington is just like this 
country. ALFRED SMITIIER. 
New Westminster, B. C. 
Express Charges —On page 566 The R. N.-Y. speaks of 
extortionate express charges. A correspondent wants to 
