1896 
i37 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
roosts one foot from the floor. I fill the other floor 
space six or more inches with clean sand, put 
in three or four half windows to slide on the sill, in 
front commencing 1 at the west end, so as not to get 
glass too near the roosts. The door takes one-half of 
the west end. I cover all above the sills with 
Neponset red rope paper. Three boards 12 inches 
wide and four feet long make four covered nests, 
placed 12 inches from the floor on the west end of the 
back side ; any old leather makes hinges for them. 
Here is the cost: 
300 feet of boards at $8 per M.$2.40 
102 feet of spruce 2x3 at $15 per M. 1.53 
270 feet of Neponset paper at one cent per foot_ 2.70 
Four half-sash windows (second hand). 0.75 
Nails. 0.12 
Total.$7.50 
I can get a good discount on paper if I should build 
40 houses. I charged nothing for labor, as I had 
nothing else to do, and I dislike idleness. I had it 
all complete in six hours’ time. I have had a house 
covered with this paper seven years, and it is all 
right. It may be painted if desired. If I have good 
luck hatching chicks this spring, I shall build 20 or 
more low-downs. This morning (January 15) the 
temperature was three degrees above zero ; this even¬ 
ing I got 26 eggs, yesterday 21 eggs from 29 pullets 
that have been shut in one of these houses for over 
two weeks. It may be economy and good business to 
build a $40 house for $12.50 worth of hens, but it does 
not look that way to me. Many poultrymen state the 
profit on eggs per hen to be $1 per year, others $ 2 , 
over the cost of feed ; so biddy has to work quite a 
while to square up for food and rent. c. n. Brewster. 
Irrigation of Fruits in Ohio. 
H. E. A., Choctaw City, 0. T— I have nine acres of land located 
2*4 miles from a good market in Ohio on the river bottom. I am 
thinking of putting in an irrigation plant, pumping the water 
from the river, and putting all in strawberries. Which would be 
the better way to apply the water—through tiles or in ditches ? 
If I tile it, what size tile, how far apart, and how deep should the 
tiles be put in the ground ? The soil is dark, has a clay subsoil, 
and is first-class, but the dry weather for two years past has hurt 
the crop one-half. I wish to know whether it will pay to irrigate 
so far east. I have lived in the West for 12 years, where they irri¬ 
gate field crops, arid it pays. When I was living in Ohio, there 
were many years in which the dry weather would lessen the berry 
crop one-half, and my father often said that if we could just get 
the water on them, what money we could make and have fine ber¬ 
ries all the season through. What will an acre of strawberries 
produce with good care? Could a man with a small family make 
a good living on nine acres well tended ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. W. J. GREEN. 
On many river bottoms in Ohio, it would be a very 
risky business to plant strawberries, on account of 
frost; but near Lake Erie, and along some of the 
large streams, the danger is less. In any case, it seems 
to me to be putting too many eggs in one basket to go 
into the strawberry business alone, as II. E. A. ap¬ 
pears to contemplate. The yield depends upon the 
varieties selected, as well as the soil and care given ; 
3,000 to 4,000 quarts per acre may be taken as fair 
yields, though these figures are greatly exceeded in 
some cases. I doubt whether the average crop in this 
State equals 3,000 quarts per acre. A man with a 
small family can make a living from nine acres, but 
he should have not more than one-third or one-half in 
strawberries at one time, and alternate the crop with 
vegetables or other small fruits, using manure and 
clover to keep the land in good condition. 
The main question at issue, however, is, Will it pay 
to irrigate strawberries in this State ? There are 
seasons when it would not pay, and sometimes might 
be detrimental; but on most soils, it would pay about 
three years out of five. One ought to consider well 
before going into it, however, what is involved. I 
attempted one dry season to irrigate a strawberry 
bed where the rows were 10 rods long, with a fall of 
abcut three feet from the upper to the lower end. The 
water was taken from the city water works through 
a three-quarter-inch pipe. It was turned on at the 
upper end, and allowed to run all one day and night. 
The water never reached the lower end of the rows, 
although the soil at the upper end was like mortar. 
This shows, simply, that the water supply must be 
abundant enough to admit of such distribution as to 
water the beds quickly. This means a large pumping 
capacity, or a reservoir, or both. One thousand 
barrels of water per acre are about the same as one 
inch of rainfall, and this is about the least quantity 
that is likely to be needed at one time. Applications 
that are to be made during the picking season, must be 
made quickly, and just after a picking, so as to allow 
the ground to dry somewhat before the next picking. 
Unless one can command about 1,000 barrels of water 
per acre per day at any time when it may be needed, 
it is my opinion that it is as well not to attempt irri¬ 
gation. Of course a smaller supply can often be used 
to good advantage ; but the cost of application will 
be relatively greater. The water cannot be turned 
on and left to run, but must be looked after so that it 
will be properly distributed, and this will require the 
time of one or more men, and it is economy to keep 
them busy, for they cannot do much else but to reg¬ 
ulate the water while it is running. 
As to the method of application, much depends upon 
circumstances ; but it will generally be found that 
surface irrigation is more practicable than sub-irri¬ 
gation. If the field is level, or nearly so, then the 
latter plan may be practiced. In order to make this 
plan work, the fall should be so slight that when the 
outlet is dammed up, water will stand in the tiles all 
over the field, and the supply should be sufficient to 
fill them all at once, or within a very short time. In 
case the tiles open into an open ditch, the latter may 
be dammed and filled with water, and kept so until 
the ground is well soaked. In order to work satis¬ 
factorily, the rows of tile ought not to be more than 
six or eight feet apart, as near the surface as possible. 
It is easy to make this system work on small plots, 
but the difficulties increase in proportion as the area 
is enlarged, and it is only in exceptional cases that it 
is practicable. Where the water supply is sufficient, 
surface irrigation under almost all circumstances is 
practicable. 
The best method of applying water to strawberries 
that I have tried or heard of, is the one described by 
Prof. Goff in the Wisconsin Experiment Station re¬ 
port for 1894. The water is conveyed across the 
strawberry beds in troughs made of boards nailed 
together at right angles. Three-quarter inch holes 
are bored in the troughs at intervals of 3>£ feet. The 
flow of water is regulated by means of pieces of tin 
which slip into grooves over the holes, and in this 
manner the distribution can be made uniform to all 
parts of the field. The troughs are supported, at the 
proper height and slope to give a uniform flow, upon 
stakes into which pins are inserted. Any one can 
easily work out the details of the plan according to 
his circumstances and surrounding conditions. An 
attendant is necessary in order to keep the water 
running where it should and to see that the distribu- 
THE TOOLS FOR JARRING THE CURCULIO. Fig. 50. 
tion is uniform. The troughs are to be removed to 
other parts of the field as occasion requires, as it is 
not best to attempt to run the water along the sur¬ 
face so far that the soil at the starting point becomes 
too wet. Hose or pipes might be used, but having 
tried various methods of distributing water, my pref¬ 
erence is decidedly in favor of troughs. 
How to Give the Curculio a Jar. 
F. \V. B., Ithaca, Mich .—Will Mr. Willard, give a detailed account 
of just how he traps the curculios by jarring? 
Ans. —The jarring process is very simple. Provide 
a tool as shown at Fig 50, which is an ordinary hoe 
handle, at the end of which is a light, hard-wood 
block, the upper part of which is made concave, so as 
to permit being filled with cotton or deers’ hair and 
then tightly covered with leather of some kind. It 
must be rendered soft so as to do no injury to the 
bark of the tree when used as a pounder to jar it. 
No. 2 represents a frame, that may be made of 2% x \%- 
inch pine, notched and nailed together at C, with a 
distance from A to B of about nine feet, and from B 
to D about 4feet. A crossbar of the same width and 
thickness, is notched and tightly nailed at the points 
B and D. Upon the frame thus made stretch and 
tack a piece of factory cloth, three yards long and 1 % 
yard wide. Provide yourself with two of these 
frames ; have a boy carry one and with the other in 
your own hands, and the pounder, you are ready for 
business. Drop the frames under the tree with the 
sheet side up, so that the tree may be about opposite 
the point C of the sheets. You then have the ground 
beneath the tree covered for about nine feet in each 
direction. 
A sudden blow on a few of the larger limbs, if the 
tree is large, or one blow on the body, if the tree is 
small, will cause the curculios to drop upon the sheets, 
from which they may be picked at once and destroyed, 
A few hours’ experience will enable any eye to detect 
them at once. Two or three minutes will suffice at 
any tree, hence a large number of trees can be run 
over in a day. The work should begin as soon as the 
fruit is formed, and be followed for two or three 
weeks, at first daily, or until it is evident that the 
number of insects is being greatly reduced, so that 
only a few are found, when it may be safe to do it 
only alternate days. The insects usually begin their 
work on the outside of an orchard, especially if there 
be a nearby belt of timber ; hence we begin to hunt 
them first on the outskirts. s. d. willard. 
Vegetables for Overflowed Land. 
G. E. P., Maryland, N. Y .— I have a six-acre field composed of 
loam, which is overflowed every spring. It is very mellow, free 
from stones and weeds, and never bakes. Last year It grew en¬ 
silage corn. 1. Is this soil suitable for growing cabbage, cauli¬ 
flower, celery, and onions ? 2. Is it probable that one unskilled 
in their culture could meet with success on such a large scale 
when the product would have to be thrown upon the open market? 
3. What varieties would The R. N.-Y. suggest for market? 4. 
Where can I obtain the requisite information for growing these 
vegetables ? 
Ans. — 1 . Yes, it should be excellent provided it is 
fertile enough, or is made so by the application of the 
proper fertilizers. 2 . Possible, but extremely improb¬ 
able, especially in these days of low prices and close 
competition. 3. Cabbages: early, Early Jersey Wake¬ 
field, Express ; medium, Early Summer, All Seasons, 
Fottler, Early Deep Head; late, Flat Dutch, Stone 
Mason, Large Late Drumhead. Cauliflower: Snow¬ 
ball. Celery : White Plume, Golden Self-Blanching, 
Giant Pascal. Onions: Red Wethersfield, Yellow 
Danvers, Southport White Globe. 4. Study The R. 
N.-Y. ; send for and study the catalogues of reliable 
seedsmen whom we advertise ; get Gregory’s books 
on cabbages and onions—each 30 cents ; or Cabbage 
and Cauliflower by Burpee, 30 cents, or the New Onion 
Culture by Greiner, 50 cents, or Onions, How to Grow, 
Burpee, 30 cents, or Henderson’s Gardening for Profit, 
which contains information on growing all vege¬ 
tables, in cloth, $2. Any of these will be sent post¬ 
paid from this office. 
Costly Straw for Bedding. 
D., Bellaire, 0 .— What is the manurial value of a ton of wheat 
straw? Of oat straw? Will you give the analysis of each? 
Would it be advisable to buy straw at $8 per ton to be used as an 
absorbent in cow stables where a large per cent of the liquid 
manure is wasted ? The stable keeps cows fairly clean without 
straw. What would be the approximate per cent of gain on such 
an Investment, on a farm where manure is badly needed, and 
used for growing truck, fodder, beets, etc. ? 
Ans. —The following table shows the composition 
of average samples of oat straw, wheat straw and 
average barnyard manure : 
Pounds to the Ton. 
Nitrogen. Phosphoric acid. Potash. 
Wheat straw. 12 2J4 10 
Oat straw. 12*4 4 25 
Manure. 10 5 J-> 
The manurial value of the straw is not much over 
$3.50 at present prices for chemicals. We would not 
pay $8 per ton for straw to be used as an absorbent. 
The horse manure can be used for this purpose as far 
as it will go. Can you not obtain leaves, muck or 
even dry, rich earth for absorbents ? Any of these 
materials will save more or less of the liquid manure 
and be less costly than the straw at $ 8 . It is impos¬ 
sible to tell what the gain of such an investment 
would be. If we could obtain good muck for an ab¬ 
sorbent, we would take the $8 and buy ground bone 
and muriate of potash, and grow some green crop to 
turn into the land, and a crop of straw for next 
winter’s bedding. 
To Make Good Kentucky Soil Better. 
./. W. II., Payne's Depot, Ky. —I have a piece of land that grew 
corn last year, and, though good soil, I wish to make it better 
for berries next year. 1. How would it do to sow peas early, and, 
after they mature, gather them and sow again to peas, and plow 
the second crop under green in the fall ? 2. When is the best time 
to graft or bud plums ? I have some plum sprouts that I wish to 
graft or bud into Japan plums. 3. When is the best time to 
graft the grape ? 
Ans. —1. You suggest good treatment. I would 
chop the corn stubs off short, so that they will work 
into the ground and rot out of the way ; then subsoil 
to a depth of 15 to 20 inches, raise and harvest a crop 
of peas, broadcast sorghum, and plow under when two 
feet high. Later in the fall, cut down with the disc, 
and plant as soon after the middle of March as you 
can get pleasant weather. 2 . Graft plum sprouts in 
the open ground during a pleasant day in February 
or March, and protect with litter or boards. Bud 
in July or August, when you find the sprouts will 
work. 3. Graft the grape in February or before the 
vines commence to bleed. Protect from weather 
changes with boards, litter and earth. Open gradu¬ 
ally and mulch during summer. In a special prepara¬ 
tion of Blue-grass land, I would emphasize a thorough 
subsoiling. Under the light, rich surface soil, stirred 
by the plow, there is a crust amounting almost to a 
hard pan (though one dare not call it that) formed by 
carrying heavy stock, which tends to run off the 
winter rains and spring and summer showers instead 
of storing them in the clay to be returned to the sur¬ 
face when the growing or ripening crop is in dire 
Deec *. j. A- mck.ee, 
