1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
27 i 
Naturalist on the River Amazons, enumerates 12 
fruits found wild in the forest in one locality on the 
upper Amazon, and says that there are “a great num¬ 
ber of others.” He says, “I was quite surprised at the 
variety of wild kinds, and the delicious flavor of some 
of them ; being the peculiar productions of this highly 
favored and little known interior country.” Bates 
concludes his book with his estimate of this region, 
in these words : “ I hold to the opinion that it is under 
the equator alone that the perfect race of the future 
will attain to complete fruition of man’s beautiful 
heritage, the earth.” A. j. cok. 
Caracas, Venezuela. 
AN APPLE ORCHARD EXPERIENCE. 
In the summer of 1886, I bought one dozen apple 
trees of a tree agent. These trees were heeled in in 
the fall according to his directions, and planted in 
the spring with all possible care. Half of them never 
started to grow, and the rest feebly struggled on till, 
at the end of two years, not one of them was left. I 
paid $5 for those trees. 
In the spring of 1888, 1 sent to a nurseryman in New 
York State for six dozen apple trees. The trees cost 
$5, and the freight on them, the box and the trees 
weighing 160 pounds, was 94 cents. So the six dozen 
trees cost me not more than $6. The trees had been 
on the road and at the station nine days before I got 
them. They were planted May 3 and 4. The varieties 
were mostly of my own selection. Every one of these 
trees grew. In a year or two, one of them blew down 
from the effects of the borer, and I have since lost two 
more, I think, from the same cause. The rest of the 
trees are looking very fine, and have begun to bear 
some. 
On May 4, 1891, I planted another shipment of trees 
from the same firm, with equally good results. I paid 
a little more for these trees ; they cost about $1.25 per 
dozen. Not being able to get, in the East, some of the 
hardy and newer varieties more especially adapted to 
Wisconsin, I have since bought my trees of a Wis¬ 
consin firm, with good satisfaction. 
My last purchase was planted on April 18, 1894. 
From the effects of the drought the following autumn, 
I lost three or four of these trees out of the 33 planted. 
These trees cost me, express charges included, $1.52 
a dozen. Were I to order my apple trees through a 
tree agent, they would cost me fully twice what they 
do now, and I would not expect to get as vigorous 
and thrifty trees. 
Another thing about the management of my orchard 
gives me excellent satisfaction. It is the planting of 
the trees in rows, and not in squares. The rows are 
a little more than 2% rods apart, and the trees one 
rod apart in the row. This affords an easy opportunity 
of working the ground with a team, and of driving 
with a wagon in the orchard. With the close planting 
in squares so common, the working of the orchard is 
soon abandoned on account of its crowded condition. 
A sod is allowed to form, and remains as long as the 
trees live. So well am I pleased with thus planting 
in rows, that I would not change it for any other sys¬ 
tem or reason of which I know at present. 
I have had to protect the stems of my apple trees 
with lath on account of rabbits. This is a sure and 
safe way ; sure for the rabbits, and safe for the trees. 
I have often read that we should not put tar paper 
around the trunks of apple trees, but I have never 
seen any reason given. I had always thought that it 
was the tar of the paper that might injure the tree. 
But at a farmers’ institute last winter, I succeeded in 
obtaining what I think is the true reason. The black 
color of the paper absorbs the rays of the sun. Insert 
a thermometer between the paper and tree on the 
south side, and then similarly on the north side, and 
note the difference in temperature. It is this ex¬ 
cessive difference in temperature existing when the 
sun shines, that is injurious to the tree. 
Wisconsin. lewis ostenson. 
MILK, CREAM, BUTTER! WHICH? 
A MASSACHUSETTS MAN SAYS MILK ! 
A recently received problem runs like this : Sell 
1,000 gallons of milk at your door, at market rates. 
Cream 1,000 gallons (Cooley or separator) and sell as 
cream to the factory. Make 1,000 gallons into butter 
and give us the result. The answer follows, and may 
bring out more information. The 1,000 gallons of 
milk problem, resolves itself thus as viewed from my 
standpoint: 1,000 gallons at my door are worth $120 
to-day ; 1,000 gallons sold to creamery or butter fac¬ 
tory, $115 to $123 ; 1,000 gallons made into butter, $112 
to $118. The reasons why milk selling is most profit¬ 
able here are that milk sold at the door costs less in 
the first place. Why ? Cotton seed, bran, cabbage, 
anything will answer to feed. Holstein or other big 
milk breeds may be used, as quantity is first, and 
quality second, because milk peddlers are not par. 
ticular, and quantity is-what brings the cash. 
As to creaming : Spaces count here, so we feed 
richer, costlier feed stuffs, to perhaps, Jersey or 
Guernsey cows. In this case, we feed more costly, 
perhaps, than in the first instance ; but here we use 
cotton seed. I do not wish to be too severe, yet I 
must say that carelessness is at a premium, and care¬ 
less men exist. Where we find barnyard fowls roost¬ 
ing on empty milk vessels, and ice-cold water to wash 
them in, then we must conclude that cheaper products 
are the results following cheap, careless handling of 
the dairy product. While, in the first instance, we 
get $120, we get in this case, at most, $123, which has 
cost, at least, with as little as possible of care in 
handling, several dollars more than in the first case. 
As to the buttermaking by a private dairy : We 
have a name to establish or to maintain, and a 
fancy trade to supply if we are to get $118. We 
must be, first of all, neat, methodical, with the best 
of feed stuffs, for we must have rich milk—quality, 
not quantity, first. There is more expense for feed, 
utensils, such as churn, molds, workers, etc. Thex*e 
must be a regular market day, rain or shine. So while 
the different methods vary so little in cash received, 
A CALF BIT. Fid. 86. 
the cost is immensely greater as we progress towards 
the more complete article, butter, which will fill the 
bill and the pocket with dollars eventually. There¬ 
fore, we are to conclude that the farmer who sells his 
milk at his door, is doing best with milk at three 
cents, cream at 39 cents, and butter at 25 cents, if the 
only consideration is his dairy interest. 
Perhaps another factor in the problem might be 
considered, however, and that is that a good run of 
customers for a private dairy, will always buy more 
or less eggs, potatoes, fruits, nuts and a thousand 
and one other tliiDgs at a good retail price from the 
butter man. This advantage ought to be considered 
of value on any farm. But do not forget that it takes 
time, which is money, to go to market, and that ex¬ 
pense must be met. Five cents a pound on butter 
would require a good-sized dairy, if it is to pay living 
wages to the average farmer, to market his own prod¬ 
ucts of the dairy alone. Q. 
Hampshire County, Mass. 
WHAT THEY SAY? 
A Calf Bit. —Drill %-inch holes at the marked 
places, Fig. 86, in a piece of one-fourth-inch gas 
pipe about four inches long. Make eyes in each end of 
a piece of one-fourth-inch iron, into which put rings. 
Put this on a common head halter, and put on the 
sucking cow the same as a bridle ; she can’t suck, as 
the air comes in at the ends and through the holes. 
Watch and see whether she drinks, as it will bother 
her a little at first. I have known them to be kept on 
six months without being taken off. J. A. m. g. 
St. Marlin, O. 
Shipping Poultry fob Bbeeding. —It was a great 
piece of injustice in the rules of the transportation 
companies, which compelled the breeder of fine poul¬ 
try to pay double the rates charged for the transporta¬ 
tion of most other merchandise. That we are at last 
relieved of this burden, is the subject of great rejoic¬ 
ing among those who are most interested, the buyer 
and the seller of good poultry. The claim made by 
the companies that the reason for the double rate was 
that the coops used for shipping poultry were so 
light and insecure that they were often troublesome, 
was reasoning from the effect back to the cause. The 
coops were made as light as possible to make the cost 
of transportation less. 
The present demands of the companies are so rea¬ 
sonable, that poultrymen will gladly conform to them, 
making their coops strong, and even heavy, where it 
is necessary, in order to avail themselves of the single 
rate. The express companies require that the box 
or crate be strong and well built, and that the slats 
be so near together that a bird cannot slip out be¬ 
tween them. These boxes may be lined with cloth or 
paper, at the option of the sender, but they must have 
slats on the outside. 
A neat box for two or three small fowls, or one 
large one, may be made as shown at Fig. 87. Secure 
half-inch planed boards— I use old packing boxes. If 
the boards are narrow, fasten two or more together 
with cleats, making the side pieces from 12 to 15 
inches wide, and from 20 inches to two feet high. The 
bottom board should be of three-quarter-inch stuff, 
as wide as the side pieces, and long enough to accom¬ 
modate the fowls—one of two feet is large enough for 
a pair of Leghorns. Bevel the ends of the bottom 
board a little, and nail the side pieces secure to it. 
Lay the box on its side, and nail a slat to each side, at 
the top, drawing in the side boards so that the top 
shall shall be, at least, two inches narrower than the 
bottom. Turn it over, and fasten a similar piece to 
the other side. Cut two pieces of clean sacking or 
muslin a little larger than the crate, fold in the edges, 
and cover the sides of the crate, fastening with large 
carpet tacks. Draw the cloth tight, so that it will be 
smooth. Nail a slat at the bottom, not only at the 
ends, but along the bottom board, and put a slat at 
intervals of about 2% inches along the sides. The 
slats across the top should be near enough together 
so that a fowl cannot get its head through, as crates 
and boxes are likely to be piled indiscriminately, and 
if a head were raised in id'e curiosity just as a box 
was being placed on the crate, it would surely be bad 
for the head. 
When fowls are to be sent long distances, food in a 
cloth bag, and a drinking cup which can be readily 
adjusted, should be provided, with a card asking em¬ 
ployees to attend to the needs of the travelers. 
s. A. little. 
A Diffekenck in Cows.—At the Minnesota Experi¬ 
ment Station, a careful record is kept of just what the 
cows are doing. All are fed as much as they will eat 
clean each day, and each is charged with the cost of 
all feed. Each milking is weighed, and a sample of 
it is tested by the Babcock test. The following is a 
sample week’s work by a few of the cows : 
Pounds of Cost per 
Name. Breeding. butter. lb of butter. 
Ida-.Grade Short-horn. 6.19 .087 
Fairy.Grade Short-horu. 7.43 .073 
Topsy.Grade Holstein. 13.79 . 067 
Houston.. .Cross-bred Guernsey-Jersey.. 8.03 . 033 
Fortune.. .Jersey. 13.409 . 037 
From the above, it will be readily seen that the cow 
which gives the greatest yield of butter, is not neces¬ 
sarily the most profitable cow. j. m. drew. 
Raw Potatoes fob Feed. —I have but a small piece 
of land, and make a specialty of raising potatoes. I 
have fed the unsalable ones for several years, to a 
cow giving milk, and also fattened for market dry 
cows and young cattle. My experience has been that 
my one cow has given as much milk of good quality 
when fed one-half bushel of potatoes per day, as 
when fed liberally on ground feed (oats and corn). 1 
do not make butter, so cannot give any experience on 
that point. I have, at different times, made my old 
cows and young cattle as fat and as salable on no 
other feed than raw potatoes and hay as they were 
when given ground grain. At one time, our butcher 
said that the old cow was too fat for his use. I am now 
feeding my cow potatoes, and she fills my 14-quart 
pail with good milk twice a day, so I shall continue to 
feed them. w. w. p. 
Wolcott, N. Y. 
A Crimson Clover Crank —I sowed my whole corn 
field, at the last cultivation, with Crimson clover and 
some turnip seed, and you ought to see the clover ! I 
have a good stand at this writing ; it is worth at least 
$50 to the field, and, besides, it saved my corn crop, 
which gave a large yield. Had I not sowed the clover, 
the white grubs would have destroyed the corn ; but 
they liked the clover better, and worked at that and 
left the corn for me to gather. So your advice gave 
me a big stand of clover, and a large crop of corn, 
enough to pay for The R. N.-Y. during my lifetime 
and that of my successor. g. c. 
Monroe County, Pa. 
Crosby and Elberta Peaches. — For years, we 
have read of the Crosby peach as frostproof, hardy, 
and just the peach that was wanted if one wished to 
be successful in growing peaches. I have tried both 
the Crosby and Elberta, and am greatly disappointed 
with the Crosby. With me, it is not hardy. The 
lower branches have a tendency to die, and the past 
winter has killed the branches badly, while the El- 
bertas are all right. I certainly, with my experience, 
would not wish to set any more Crosbys, but would 
recommend the Elberta in the highest terms for a 
hardy peach in the North. benjamin m. smith. 
Massachusetts. 
A Champion for Kkiffkb Pear. —I was glad to see 
in The R. N.-Y. of February 29, your very graceful, 
if somewhat tardy, apology to Mr. Keiffer Pear En¬ 
silage. And if you had been as wise as your better 
half, and not tried to eat them offhand green, perhaps 
you would have made a full apology. A Keiffer is 
very poor eating green ; they should be kept until 
they are fully ripe—ripe enough to rub the skin off 
with the finger. Don’t be afraid they will rot at the 
core like the Le Conte and many others, I will tell 
