1886 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
ARE POTATOES INJURED BY SOAKING ? 
To what extent will potatoes be injured (a) for seed, (b) for 
eating, by being submerged in water, as in case of a flooded 
cellar ? How long submersion will they stand without serious 
injury ? How should they be treated ? 
The only experience I have had bearing on the 
above, is that in soaking seed potatoes in a solution 
of sulphate of copper (one part to 500 of water), last 
spring, two or three tubers were found in the solution 
some two weeks after continuous submersion, and 
they sprouted as readily as others. If the tubers re¬ 
main hard and solid, I would expect that they had 
not lost their qualities for eating, but I cannot say 
from personal knowledge. dr. jabez fisiier. 
I have had very little experience with potatoes sub¬ 
merged in water, but from what I have seen, I con¬ 
clude that much depends upon the condition of the 
potatoes and the temperature. If the tubers were 
at all affected by rot, they would be very likely to be 
badly injured, if not ruined, especially if the cellar 
or pit be warm. On the other hand, if the potatoes 
were perfectly sound, they would not be injured by 
soaking for a week, either in quality or vitality. If 
t hey were very cool, so that there would be no danger 
of sprouting, the vitality would not be materially 
injured for a longer time, but the quality would be 
impaired. In case of submersion, I would wish to 
have the potatoes removed as soon as possible from 
the water, and spread out so that they would dry. 
c. R. WHITE. 
From our experience, we conclude that potatoes are 
not injured either for seed or for eating purposes, by 
being submerged in water, if they haven’t been im¬ 
mersed more than from 12 to 48 hours. Two years 
ago this spring, we had one cellar in which the drain 
was stopped up, and the water flooded it two feet in 
depth. We had in it at the time, several hundred 
bushels of potatoes in sacks. The sacks were wet 
fully two feet up from the bottom. We drew them 
out as soon as we could, which occupied the best part 
of a day, and spread them out on the floor to dry. It 
so happened that we ate some of them ourselves, and 
part of them we planted. The eating qualities were 
not injured, and they grew equally as well as those 
that were not soaked. We would say that it will not 
hurt potatoes to be in water for a week, if they are 
thoroughly dried afterwards. 
EDWARD F. DIBBLE SEED COMPANY. 
SOME NOTES FROM IOWA. 
I filled one mow or bin in the barn, 12x16 feet and 
8 feet deep, with cut fodder corn, that is, fodder, ears 
and all were cut into two-inch lengths and elevated 
into this mow. Seventy good shocks, each 12 hills 
square, filled it heaping full, so that it was, when set¬ 
tled, at least 10 feet deep, and there has not been the 
least sign of heating, sweating or molding about it. 
This fodder corn settles together, on account of the 
weight of the corn, much more solidly than the pure 
fodder, and, consequently, is more likely to heat. My 
success this time has proved again that it can be cut 
and balked up successfully. 
The Deacon was looking at my corn in the crib, and, 
noticing some red ears, said, “ I’d get rid of those red 
ears in the seed if I were you. They are not much 
good, as there seems to be no substance in them. Hogs 
will hardly eat them. Of course, they can be starved 
down to them, but they don’t like them and will 
always leave them till the last, and will root and 
wallow them around, and, may be, will not eat them 
then.” Well, that was a new idea, so I resolved to 
see what the pigs said about it, and watched when 
red ears were thrown out to them, but could not see 
that they made any difference on account of the 
color. Then I took four red ears and gave them to a 
pig shut up by himself. He ate them as readily as 
he ever ate any corn. Though, of course, corn varies 
a great deal, I am loth to believe that there is any 
difference in feeding value owing to color. 
Timothy Small is a shiftless fellow, and if it were 
not for his pension, it seems that he would have either 
to take to pilfering, or else go on to the county. As 
it is, he manages to live and keep one cow, but he 
thinks that he can not afford to hire pasturage for 
her, so he turns her into the road. Now it is against 
the law for stock to run at large here, but on account 
of the good nature of his neighbors, and also because 
they fear to arouse his displeasure, not knowing what 
he might do under cover of the darkness, his cow is 
allowed to roam. One of his frugal German neigh¬ 
bors, wanting to use the grass growing in the yard in 
front of his house, and not having a fence to divide it 
from the road, tethered a calf out there. That worked 
all right, and seemed much better than putting up a 
fence, until Timothy’s cow chanced along, and im¬ 
mediately made friends with the calf. The calf, of 
course, was willing, and not knowing or not caring 
that it was forbidden fruit, sucked the cow, and that 
made Timothy mad. He came over and told the Ger¬ 
man that he thought it was the most unneighborly 
trick he ever heard of. As Josh Billings says. “There’s 
lots of human nature in folks,” and this illustrates 
that it is human nature, after a short indulgence, to 
claim our privileges as our rights. e. b. watson. 
Iowa. 
All Sorts. 
Bitter Taste to Milk.— If R. E. L., Factoryville, 
Pa., page 99, will feed less fodder and use clover hay 
in its place, his milk may lose its bitter taste. I was 
feeding the same as he is, and the milk and cream 
were so bitter that we could not use them. We 
changed to clover hay, and they lost nearly all the 
bitter taste. I know that the professors will laugh at 
this, but it is so. Perhaps the drought caused the 
fodder to give that bitter taste. j. h. s. 
Brooklandville, Md. 
Building Cement Floors. —I put in a cement floor 
two years ago, and it is just as cheap as a wood floor ; 
it costs about 2% cents per square foot for a floor 2% 
to 3 inches thick. A farmer can put it in just as well 
as a mason. At first put in the stones about six 
inches deep or more ; place them as even and as level 
on top as possible ; then they are ready for the cement. 
No sand is needed to fill up the stones. The floor will 
dry from the bottom up. I commenced to use my 
floor in less than a month after I finished it; it is just 
as good as it was the day I finished, and I draw all 
kinds of loads on it. But where I drive through, the 
cement and gravel are about four inches thick. One 
can put in all at a time, or by spells, just as he likes ; 
the thicker the mortar, the sooner it will dry, but the 
harder it will work. h. s. l 
Pennsylvania. 
Planting Five-Year-Old Apple Trees. —Some 
years ago, I set 400 trees of the same variety, about 
equally divided between one, two and three-year- 
olds ; three years after setting, no perceptible differ¬ 
ence could be detected between those of different 
ages as to size, all showing that they might have been 
of the same age at the time of setting ; and there 
was not 15 minutes’ difference in their time of fruit¬ 
ing. The one-year-old trees bore as much fruit as 
any of the others. Since this experiment, my decided 
preference has been for the vigorous, one-year-old 
tree. Nurserymen will furnish them at less cost, and 
with care, they can be lifted with scarcely any loss 
of roots. If not injured by exposure, and if carefully 
set with a favorable season to follow, the first year’s 
growth will be but little less than if they remained 
in the nursery row. Again the ground being in good 
condition, 15 or 20 one-year-old trees can be set in 
the same time required properly to set one five-year- 
old. No staking is necessary. The head can be 
formed at any desired height with but little use of the 
knife ; I regard it an error that many entertain that 
the older the tree the sooner the fruit after setting. 
Kentucky. a. d. webb. 
A Substitute for Ensilage. —The use of ensilage 
is undoubtedly the true theory for that class of dairy¬ 
men keeping 10 or more cows ; but what would you 
advise for chose keeping from one to eight ? I have 
had a dairy for nearly 50 years, formerly keeping 
from 12 to 20 cows, but of late years from five to 
eight. In the early history of silos, I had so nearly 
concluded to build one, as to estimate the cost, and 
found that it involved an amount not warranted by 
my number of cows ; I, therefore, began to look for a 
substitute at less cost, and have solved the problem 
to my own satisfaction. Give the same care in cutting, 
curing and storing corn and straw, that you do to 
grass. In storing, pack the stalks in alternate layers 
with straw. Build a box with at least three compart¬ 
ments with close covers, each compartment to hold 
three cubic feet for each cow ; use for the front of 
box short boards, to be removed when taking out 
the contents—cut stalks, straw and coarse fodder, 
and fill one compartment each day, thoroughly pack¬ 
ing and using a pail of water for each three cubic 
feet. On the evening the last compartment is filled, 
feed one-half the contents of the first, and the rest 
the next morning, with such grain ration as desired. 
The contents of each compartment standing three 
days, furnish two warm and succulent rations free 
from the sour and disagreeable smell of ensilage. 
Massachusetts. s. a. b. 
Value of Kaffir Corn. —I notice your brief para¬ 
graph concerning Kaffir corn. I would not advise its 
cultivation in regions in which Indian corn can be 
relied on, but I have a very high estimate of its value 
for the “semi-arid” regions of the West, and for 
much of the intermediate oountry—with somewhat 
deficient or badly-distributed rainfall. It is estimated 
that over 200,000 acres of Kaffir corn and other non¬ 
sweet sorghums were grown in Kansas last year, and 
Secretary Coburn thinks it not improbable that the 
143 
acreage may be doubled in 1896. In Oklahoma, Kaffir 
corn is largely grown. Extravagant claims have 
been made as to its ability to withstand drought, etc., 
but it is a valuable plant here. We have been feed¬ 
ing cattle of different ages on an exclusive grain ra¬ 
tion for a number of weeks, and they have done well. 
The fodder is fairly palatable. Yesterday we had 
cakes for breakfast made of about two-thirds Kaffir 
flour, and one-third wheat flour, which wei*e well 
liked by all at the table. I have eaten cakes made 
of Kaffir flour alone which were passably palatable. 
If Kaffir corn seed sells at seven ovnts a pound in 
New York, there must be “ a reasonable margin of 
profit,” as thousands of bushels have been sold in Kan¬ 
sas and this territory at 15 to 20 cents per bushel, or 
three or four pounds for a cent. I believe that seeds¬ 
men should be well paid, but I see no reason for the 
high prices often charged by some of them for easily- 
obtained seeds. g. e. morrow. 
Oklahoma Experiment Station. 
It is reported that English railroads are prepared to 
meet the demands of farmers for cheaper freight 
rates. The Great Eastern Railroad, for example, offers 
to carry small packages by passenger train, and to de¬ 
liver them—all for a very low rate. For a 20-pound 
package, the rate is eight cents, and so on up to 60 
pounds for which 25 cents ai’e charged. This company 
has also started a box or crate factory, and will sell 
these empty packages at very low rates. In this way, 
it is hoped that farmers will be able to pick up a 
more direct trade with consumers in town or city, 
as the railroad company will deliver the goods. This 
remarkably low rate for carrying goods 80 or 100 
miles, ought to prove a great advantage to farmers. 
If we could have such rates in this country, the mid¬ 
dleman would be obliged to play second-fiddle—that 
is, after the farmer learned how to pack and sort to 
suit the producer. 
© 
Mr. Wm. Griffith, who is quoted as a high author¬ 
ity, states that the transportation trade in anthra¬ 
cite coal really began in 1820, in which year 365 
tons were carried to market—mostly by canal. In 
75 years, this trade has so increased that 46,000,000 
tons were hauled last year. The managers of canal 
and railroad companies saw how valuable this trade 
promised to be, and took early steps to control it. 
They now practically control the entire output— 
either owning and working the mines, or having a 
monopoly on the transportation. Last year, they were 
anxious to make a great showing in the amount of 
coal hauled, and ended by mining too much, so that 
prices to the consumer were dropped. Now, they 
realize their mistake, and will combine to regulate 
both output and price. It is one of the greatest 
shames of this century that any body of men should 
have the power to create a monopoly in the people’s 
fuel. This country seems to be getting on a coal 
standard. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Ip you are in need of an ornamental and durable picket fence, 
write to the Hartman Mfg. Co., Ellwood City, Pa., for circulars 
and prices. The posts are steel. There’s nothing about it to rot. 
It will soon be time to build fence. Adams wire fence can not 
sag, it is claimed. It is also claimed to be the best farm fence 
made. Send for free catalogue and learn about it, to W. J. Adams 
Joliet, Ill. 
At this time, it is well to remember that several fruit growers 
who sent money to the Disbrow Mfg. Co., Rochester, N. Y., for 
berry baskets in years past, were not able to get baskets or 
money back. 
An all-steel, “Handy” farm truck, with wheels four inches wide, 
and guaranteed to carry two tons, sounds well. It’s a good-look¬ 
ing wagon, too. No loose tires there! Better write to the Betten¬ 
dorf Axle Company, Davenport, la., about it. 
When getting an engine or other implement, you should get a 
good one. SI. RumelyCo., Laporte, Iud., make them and thrash¬ 
ers, horse powers, seed mills, etc. They say theirs “are equal to 
all.” Their free illustrated catalogue tells about them. 
C. N. Bowers, Dakota, Ill., sends his illustrated poultry annual 
descriptive of a large number of different breeds which he has 
for sale, for 10 cents, and the money back to any one not suited. 
It contains many hints on the care and feeding of poultry. 
Last year, it will be remembered, we discontinued the advertise¬ 
ment of tile L. B. Silver Company, of Cleveland, O., giving our 
reasous for doing so. We are now inserting it because the man¬ 
ager has guaranteed to make us referee in any difference that 
may arise between him and our subscribers. 
On another page, a correspondent tells of a man who sawed off 
his old peach trees level with the ground as the quickest way to 
get rid of them; but he still had the roots to bother him. Had he 
used a Hawkeye grub and stump machine, he would have saved 
all that trouble. Write to Milne Mfg. Co., 250 8th Street, Mon¬ 
mouth, Ill., for catalogue telling all about it. 
On page 135, you will find a conservative and practical article 
on the value of dried brewers’ grains as a food for stock. These 
grains are often used as substitutes for oats, and under certain 
conditions, are very useful for this purpose. They must not be 
confounded with the sour and sloppy mass that some farmers feed. 
These grains are thoroughly dried before they turn sour, and may 
be stored and handled as easily as oats. The next question is— 
where may they be bought? F. E. Otto, 15-25 Whitehall Street, 
New York, has these grains—dried under a new process. Our 
advice to you is to write him for prices and further information. 
