1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
5oi 
THREE FARM QUESTIONS. 
How Much Irrigation Water? 
K. T., Southfield , Mich. —How much water shall I use, and how 
often for onions, cabbage and celery ? 
Ans. —If K. T. had stated the nature of his soil, 
and, especially, of his subsoil, his question would 
have been much more easily answered. I have gar¬ 
dened on sandy soil with an open subsoil, where com¬ 
plete saturation of the soil was not possible, and 
water every day only made things grow the better. 
Had it been a clayey loam with impervious subsoil, 
half the water would have been suicide. Onions need 
much less water than either cabbage or celery. As to 
how much water to apply, it should be sufficient thor¬ 
oughly to moisten the soil without filling it to complete 
saturation. Experience will teach about the quantity 
required. In general, it takes much more water to 
moisten the ground properly by irrigation than by 
rainfall, and the smaller the stream used, the greater 
total amount of water required. In a rainless climate, 
I have been accustomed to water onions weekly. In 
Michigan, that would be too frequent during most 
years. In truth, one or two irrigations would, prob¬ 
ably, be all that would be of benefit. It is essential 
that the soil be stirred soon after the water is applied, 
that there be no crust formed, and that the soil mulch 
be made to retain the moisture. Cabbage delights in 
moisture, and will thrive when it has more than the 
onions care for. With care that there is never stag¬ 
nant water in the soil, there is hardly a limit to the 
amount that may be applied to cabbage with great 
benefit. Only remember, the soil must never appear 
wet, only moist. Celery, too, must have abundant 
moisture, and frequent irrigation is very good for it 
if the land be not too easily water-soaked. Really, 
irrigation is difficult on land that is not well under¬ 
drained, either by tiles or nature. Avoid always the 
complete saturation of soil which will as surely drown 
the plant as it would an animal. Two thoughts will 
aid you to solve your problem. Let the earth be 
moist enough that the plants may find their food in 
solution. Let it be dry enough that the air may 
penetrate it. Air is life to soils as to upper regions. 
Ohio. j. e. wing. 
Is It Safe to Feed Smutted Oats ? 
J. L. M. t Wintersville, Ind. —The oats in this vicinity are very 
badly smutted. I do not know whether there is any difference in 
the kind and quality of smut, so I inclose a half dozen heads that 
you may see just what it is. I would like to know whether it is 
safe to feed such oats in the sheaf or as a chop feed to horses. 
Some claim that it is very injurious, others that it is not, and I 
have had no experience. 
Ans. —Smut (Uredo segetum) is common on many 
plants throughout the United States. So far as care¬ 
fully conducted experiments can determine, it is 
found that no deleterious effects are produced when 
it is fed in moderate quantities. If animals, especially 
cattle, consume large quantities of it, and have not 
free access to water, it is likely to cause impaction of 
the manifolds. It would be better to feed it as a chop 
food moistened, than to feed it in the sheaf as the 
dust would be objectionable. But why not get clear 
of the smut? A little pains and expense incurred in 
treating the seed will prevent its appearance, except 
in rare cases. The seed may either be treated with 
copper sulphate (blue vitriol) or by the Jensen 
method. The former consists in treating the seed 
with a water solution of copper sulphate, the propor¬ 
tion being one pound of sulphate per gallon of water. 
The immersion of the seed should continue for about 
five minutes. It would not be necessary to unsack 
the grain, but immerse it in a barrel filled with the 
solution. After treatment, the sacks can be laid on 
slats to drain, and the seed then spread thinly on a 
floor, shoveled over until partially dry, and then 
dusted heavily with land plaster or pulverized slaked 
lime. Stir thoroughly, and if possible, expose to the 
sun until the moisture has disappeared sufficiently to 
sow either by hand or in the drill. The Jensen 
method consists in treating the seed to a bath of hot 
water at between 130 and 140 degrees F. When so 
simple and effective a treatment as the latter has been 
found to work satisfactorily, there should be no ex¬ 
cuse for raising smutty oats in the future. It is 
estimated that one-fifth of the oats of Idaho (1,320,000 
bushels) is destroyed by smut. i. p. Roberts. 
Facts About Rhubarb Culture. 
A. A. E., Dexter , Me.— What is the best size of hill for rhubarb ? 
What kind of fertilizer should be used ? How far apart should 
the hills aud rows be ? What variety is best ? What kind of cul¬ 
ture is best on dry, and on moist soils ? How should it be 
treated for winter protection, and how started in spring ? When 
is the best time to set—fall or spring ? 
Ans. —Rhubarb is a plant of simple and easy cul¬ 
ture, and will grow well in any character of soil, pro¬ 
vided the drainage is sufficient to keep water from 
standing on or near the surface at any time of year. 
The land should be very deeply and thoroughly 
plowed, and furrows struck out, at least, four feet 
apart. At intervals of three or four feet in these 
furrows, several shovelfuls of old rotted manure 
should be thrown, and well mixed with the soil with 
fork or spade. The plants, which may either be 
divisions of old crowns, or seedlings, should be care¬ 
fully planted while the soil is yet fresh and moist, 
and well “ firmed ” with the foot. The plants should 
be frequently cultivated up to the middle of August, 
after which, as rhubarb ceases growth at this time, 
the soil need only be disturbed enough to destroy 
weeds. Just before freezing weather, a light furrow 
of earth should be thrown over the crowns to pre¬ 
vent heaving by severe frosts. Early the next March, 
or, at least, as soon as growth begins, it is good prac¬ 
tice to cover the rows with a coating, three or four 
inches thick, of fresh, warm horse manure, which may 
be lightly forked or plowed in, when the leaves have 
fairly started. No stalks should be cut the first spring 
after planting,, but a full crop may be taken the suc¬ 
ceeding season, and thereafter as long as the vigor of 
the plants is kept up by thorough cultivation and the 
liberal application of good stable manure or a first- 
class commercial fertilizer, rich in nitrogen. The 
flower stalk should always be destroyed at once, as 
seed formation greatly weakens the plants. 
Rhubarb plants may be safely set both in fall and 
spring, but if fall-set, the crowns should be well cov¬ 
ered with earth to prevent heaving and exposure of 
the roots during winter, for rhubarb, though a very 
hardy plant, will not endure rapid alterations of 
freezing and thawing when exposed to the air, and is, 
therefore, not well adapted for very moist soils in a 
cold climate. What is wanted in rhubarb culture, is 
an early, rapid and vigorous leaf growth, with the 
accompanying large and juicy leaf stalks. Practice 
has shown that nothing is better than the early 
application of fermenting horse manure for this pur¬ 
pose. The stimulating effect of the organic nitrogen, 
in this form, is very marked and satisfactory. When 
an extra early crop is desired, an old and efficient 
plan is to set a headless barrel firmly over each plant 
just before growth naturally starts, and heap hot 
horse manure about the outside to the rim, putting a 
foot or so of the drier portions inside, over the plant. 
Growth, under these sheltered conditions, is very 
rapid, and the leaves soon emerge from the top of the 
barrels. The stalks, when grown in this manner, are 
very tender and of excellent quality ; but the method 
is, of course, limited in its application. Old rhubarb 
roots can be easily forced at any time in winter, if 
kept in a place where the temperature will not often 
fall below 60 degrees, such as under a greenhouse 
bench, or a warm corner of the cellar, near a heater, 
but the process destroys the plant, so that only plants 
from discarded plantations are generally used. The 
plants for this purpose are dug in the fall, put close 
together in a box, and fine soil sifted in over the roots, 
which is further settled by jarring the box sharply. 
They are then placed in the cellar or greenhouse, and 
moderate moisture given from time to time. Rhubarb 
may be had in small quantities from December to 
April by this treatment, and the flavor is much super¬ 
ior to that grown in the open air. Here in Monmouth 
County, N. J., the varieties usually grown for market 
are Linnaeus, for early, and Myatt’s Victoria for later 
crops. St. Martins has been tried here to a limited 
extent, and has proved an excellent and productive 
variety. It would be safe to plant it on a large scale. 
_W. VAN FLEET. 
A HUNT FOR A MILEAGE BOOK. 
WHY NOT ENFORCE THE LAW ? 
Apx-opos of the article on page 469, in relation to 
reduced rates on railroads for farmers, I will record a 
little personal experience in regard to this matter. 
After making several unsuccessful applications to the 
ticket agent at this station (D. L. & W. R. R.) for a 
mileage book under the law of 1896, I wrote the Board 
of Railroad Commissioners, made a formal complaint 
against the company, and asked that they, in their 
official capacity, take the necessary action to compel 
the railroad company to place mileage books on sale 
in accordance with the law. I received a very courte¬ 
ous reply, the gist of which was that they had re¬ 
ceived many complaints previous to mine, and that 
they had done all they could towards getting the 
railroad companies to comply with the law ; but sug¬ 
gested that I write the Attorney-General in regard to 
the matter. From their reply, one would suppose 
that the powers of the railroad commissioners were 
no greater than those of an equal number of private 
citizens, though their salaries (of $8,000 each and 
traveling expenses) were greatly in excess. 
Having started out to know why I could not pur¬ 
chase a mileage book in accordance with the law, I 
was not in the least discouraged by the peculiar 
letter which I received, so wrote the Attorney-General, 
knowing that he was a good interpreter of the Con¬ 
stitution, and gave him a statement of the facts as 
well as embodying my letter to the commissioners 
and the reply received from them. In his reply, he 
said that, if the Railroad Commissioners will make an 
order requiring the sale of mileage books, our duty 
is to enforce, by legal process, the order of that com¬ 
mission. That he thought that I had the remedy ot 
mandamus, and a right under the law to institute a 
suit for the penalty therein prescribed. I thereupon 
wrote to the Railroad Commissioners embodying the 
Attorney-General’s reply, and suggested that the 
responsibility for the non-enforcement of this law 
would rest upon them until they made the order as 
suggested by the Attoimey-G eneral. I am just in 
receipt of their response, which says that they accept 
my letter, or will treat it as a complaint, and will 
make the order, and in case of non-compliance, the 
matter will be certified to the Attorney-General. I 
have faith to believe that we have, in the latter 
officer, a man with sufficient courage to enforce 
obedience to the law against even so strong a corpora¬ 
tion as the D. L. & VV. R. R. Co. If others are 
interested in this matter of mileage books, it would 
be a good time to drive a peg to help along the cause 
of cheaper railroad rates. A. r. Eastman. 
Oneida County, N. Y. 
Arbor Day has now been observed for 25 years by 
pupils and teachers in our public schools. This cele¬ 
bration has had a good effect by cultivating habits of 
observation, and a love of the beautiful in the minds 
of children. This effect is evidenced in the improved 
appearance of school grounds, and the shade trees 
along many country roads. It is now proposed to 
establish a “ Bird Day” which shall be devoted to a 
study of the habits of our common birds with a view 
to developing a public sentiment favoring their 
development and increase. Women and boys are two 
of the most destructive enemies of the birds. The 
former desire feathers and heads for hat ornaments, 
while the boys have not yet unlearned the old spirit 
of barbarism which provokes them to kill. A cir¬ 
cular from the Department of Agriculture sets forth 
the advantages to be expected from “ Bird Day,” and 
our readers should send for it. The R. N.-Y. favors 
this movement. The birds form a lively part of 
Nature’s plan for keeping down the ravages of injuri¬ 
ous insects. American public sentiment is created in 
the public schools, and there is National need of 
sentiment against killing our feathered friends. 
“ Bird Day,” by all means ! Pass the idea along ! 
BUSINESS BITS. 
If you are turning a separator, doing your churning, running 
a feed cutter or a wood saw by hand, you need to see one of those 
Baby tread powers made by the St. Albans Foundry Co., St. 
Albans, Vt. They are made in different sizes so that you can use 
a dog, a sheep, a goat, the bull or a horse. We believe that no 
man would do this work by hand, if he once saw the calf doing it 
with one of these little powers. 
It seems to us that the combination lock-pin clevis must take 
the place of all the ordinary devices used in team work for the 
future, where changes are frequently made. It will be especially 
popular on the farm when frequent changes from one implement 
to another are necessary. The changes can be made with this 
device in a second without a wrench or any other tool. Send to 
Cormany Mfg. Co., 225 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., for circular. 
The illustration will show its advantages at once. 
It .must be apparent to everyone that the tender rootlets of 
plants cannot extract food readily from hard clods of earth, yet 
the thorough pulverization of the soil is no less necessary to 
the conservation of moisture than for the feeding of plants. 
Water evaporates readily from a hard, compact soil. Break the 
surface into small particles, making a cushion that prevents the 
escape of moisture, and save it for the plant. Numerous and 
efficient tools are now made for this work. The Imperial pulver¬ 
izer, made by the Peterson Mfg. Co., Kent, O., is an especially 
valuable tool for this work. A postal card containing your address 
will bring you illustrated description, and tell you all about it. 
Owing to the short hay crop this season, a large acreage of corn 
has been planted. No one questions the wisdom of this, or the 
value of corn fodder for “ roughage ” ; yet the promptness and 
care of harvesting it will have much to do with its value for a 
winter feed. It must be harvested at just the right time, and 
before heavy frosts. If the large acreages of this year had to be 
all cut by hand, much of it would necessarily suffer from frost 
before it could be handled. Several manufacturers of farm im¬ 
plements, however, have made cheap harvesters for doing the 
work by horse power. These are simply made in the form of a 
sled, with large, sharp blades of steel on each side extending be¬ 
yond the sled. The sled is driven between the rows of corn, with 
a man to drive and regulate the cutter, while another gathers the 
stalks as they are cut and dropped into his arm. In this way, two 
men and a horse cau cut several acres in a day. The Foos Alfg. 
Co., Springfield, O., make a harvester of this description, aud will 
be glad to send further particulars. 
A “ balanced bation” might be made up from rye straw and 
cotton-seed meal, but any man who has ever fed a cow knows 
that it would not be economy to feed such a dry and constipating 
mixture. There are two great values of ensilage—it contains that 
quality known as “succulence,” which aids digestion, aud keeps 
the system in perfect condition. The corn crop gives a greater 
bulk and weight per acre than any other. In this dry season, an 
acre of land that would not yield a ton of hay, may be made to 
produce 15 tons of ensilage corn with a feeding value, at least 
four times that of the hay. One of the principal items in the cost 
of ensilage is the expense of getting it from the field into the silo 
For this, a good cutter is essential. You need a cutter lar^e 
enough to take care of the corn as fast as you can get it to the 
silo, and one so constructed that it will be comparatively free 
from breakages, as a single breakdown may arrest all the other 
work and put it back for days. The Smalley cutters till this need 
most satisfactorily. The Eastern headquarters for these superior 
cuttersis the Empire Agricultural Works, Cobleskill, N. Y., under 
the ownership aud management for considerably over a third of 
a century of that old and reliable manufacturer, Miuard Harder 
whose reputation for fair aud honorable dealing is vouched lor 
by the many who have tested his manner of business. He is also 
the manufacturer of a large and excellent line of other farm 
machinery, including horse powers, thrashers, feed mills, saw 
macnines, etc. You can have his illustrated and descriptive cata¬ 
logue for the asking. 
