1896 
849 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
color, sometimes blushed on the sunny side, and of 
tolerable quality. In the extreme North, it is an 
early winter variety, but in the main apple-growing 
sections, it ripens in the fall. In Vermilion County, 
Ill., I would think it out of place. The bad habit of 
Longfield, in being very subject to blight, is a serious 
objection to it, and J. W. is not alone in finding this 
fault. It is not likely that the Ohio nurseryman had 
any wrong intent when he propagated and sold the 
Longfield, because he was, doubtless, led to believe 
it a valuable variety for the section covered by his 
trade ; but, like many others, he has learned his mis¬ 
take, and dropped it. It would be well for J. W. to 
top-graft his Longfield trees to York Imperial or 
some other standard winter variety. Or, he may dig 
up and replant with something better. It is well to 
try to save the growth by regrafting. 
The Gano apple is much like Ben Davis in season, 
quality and productiveness, but it is a little smaller 
and more highly colored. It is a close rival to the 
Ben Davis, and is being extensively planted by such 
progressive market apple growers as Wellhouse of 
Kansas, and Evans, Goodman & Co. of the Olden 
Fruit Farm in Missouri. H. e. van deman. 
The Growth of Apple Trees. 
J..R., Derby, Winnipeg. —A nurseryman offers me apple trees that 
he says were taken up last spring and replanted, and cut back to 
the ground. They have made a growth of three to four feet this 
season. It seems to me that the second digging up of these trees 
(of course all the new roots will be cut off by the tree digger), 
will put them back so that they will never make strong and long- 
lived trees. What is your opinion ? 
Ans. —We do not believe that apple trees, or any 
other trees, transplanted last spring, will make a 
growth of three or four feet the first season after 
transplanting. We should like to know the age of 
the tree when transplanted. 
Three '• Balanced Rations"; Short of Roughage. 
H. D. W. t Srnithboro, N. Y. —Will you kindly give us a ration for 
our dairy of winter cows ? The largest possible flow of milk is 
desired, but we want to keep the cows in excellent condition and 
bear in mind the value of the manure. Our roughage is mixed 
hay and corn fodder. The ears have not been removed, but the 
hail damaged our corn so badly that there are very few ears. 
We are short of roughage and wish to feed as much grain as 
possible. Please give us two rations, one of hay and grain, and 
one of corn fodder and grain. Our present prices for grain are 
as follows: Bran, $10.75; middlings, $2.25; Buffalo gluten, $11.50; 
oil meal, $18.75; corn meal, $13.75; cotton-seed meal, $20; buck¬ 
wheat middlings, $11.50. I wish to feed only twice a day and want 
to mix the grain and fodder together. The cows have a warm 
stable and good care. How would it do to mix fine salt In when 
the grain ration is being mixed ready for use, and how much? 
Our bin holds about three tons, and we usually do our mixing on 
rainy days. We use our horse manure to bed cows, and thus 
mix it in with the cow manure, and draw out nearly every day. 
What would you think about mixing the hen manure in, scatter¬ 
ing it in the trench behind the cows ? We use plaster freely. 
ANSWERED BY L. A. CLINTON. 
If you have corn fodder well cured and good mixed 
bay, you will secure better results to feed some of 
each than to use either one exclusively in feeding. 
Cows will do better on a variety of foods than upon 
one alone. If you have a fodder cutter, cut the corn 
up in pieces from one to two inches in length, and 
mix your grain with it. If the corn fodder be mois¬ 
tened slightly at time of mixing, it will render it 
more palatable. Do not mix salt in with the grain 
to feed at each ration, but about twice each week 
give your animals all the salt they care for. The plan 
of mixing the horse and cow manure is a most excel¬ 
lent one, and gives good results. The mixing of the 
hen manure in the trench behind the cows would not 
be a good plan. Better take it directly to the field 
and spread where it is needed. The use of plaster 
around stables is a good practice. Two rations are 
suggested, either of which may be used when the 
larger part of the coarse food is corn fodder. One 
ration is given to be used with mixed hay : 
RATION NO. 1—CORN FODDER. 
,-Digestible nutrients.-, 
Protein. 
Carbohydrates. 
Fat. 
15 lbs. corn fodder. 
. .45 
6.00 
.139 
10 lbs mixed hay. 
. .355 
4.30 
.098 
5 lbs. wheat bran. 
. .586 
2.233 
.129 
2 lbs. oil meal. 
.661 
.090 
2 lbs. cotton-seed meal. 
. .715 
.445 
.233 
Totals. 
. 2.686 
13.639 
.689 
Nutritive ratio, 5:7. 
RATION NO. 2- 
-CORN FODDER. 
,-Digesti ble nutrients. - 
-\ 
Protein. 
Carbohydrates. 
Fat. 
15 lbs. corn fodder. 
. .45 
6.00 
.139 
5 lbs. mixed hay. 
. .177 
2.15 
.049 
4 lbs. gluten meal. 
. .932 
2.036 
.154 
4 lbs. corn meal. 
. .290 
2.536 
.131 
2 pounds cotton-seed meal. 
. .715 
.445 
.233 
Totals. 
. 2.564 
13.167 
.706 
Nutritive ratio, 5:8. 
MIXED HAY KATION. 
/-Digestible nutrients.- 
-\ 
Protein. 
Carbohydrates. 
Fat. 
15 lbs. mixed hay. 
. .531 
6.45 
.147 
10 lbs corn fodder. 
. .30 
4.00 
.092 
4 lbs. wheat bran. 
. .448 
1.786 
.103 
2 lbs. oil meal. 
. .580 
.661 
.090 
3 lbs. buckwheat middlings. 
. .708 
.879 
.156 
1 pound cotton-seed meal. 
. .357 
.222 
.116 
Totals. 
. 2.924 
13.998 
.704 
Nutritive ratio, 5:3. 
If it is desired to mix the grain in large quantities, 
combine it in the proportion given above, and then 
for a daily ration feed the proceeds of the mixture, in 
two feeds of five pounds each. 
Using Clay on Light Soils. 
U. T., British Columbia .—Will you kindly let me know if “Primer 
Science”, as published some time ago in your paper, can be had 
in book or pamphlet form ? If not, are you likely to republish 
these articles ? What do you think of land having the following 
analysis: Silica, 26.75; alumina, 56.60; phosphates, 6.61. This 
analysis came out in court over a damage suit, a railroad company 
claiming damages against land owners for irrigating their land, 
causing it to slide. The chemist said that this material would 
absorb 53.6 of water. Would it pay to put this clay on black loam 
soil, having to pay $5 per ton freight ? The black soil in question 
dries out greatly during growing season. 
Ans. —The “Primer Science” articles have not been 
published in book form. We expect to cover the 
same ground in a new series of articles in 1897. We 
cannot tell much about the value of this soil by such 
an analysis. We assume that you want to use the 
clay on the black soil so as to make the latter hold 
water better, as well as to fertilize it. Only clays 
that possess properties which cause the lumps to 
break up readily would be useful for mixing with the 
black soil. This clay might absorb a large amount 
of water in its present place and yet be of little ser- 
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PLAN FOR BASEMENT BARN. Flo. 283. 
vice when spread thinly over another field. In Eng¬ 
land, very high-priced light soils are sometimes cov¬ 
ered with clay, but in such cases the clay is dug from 
the subsoil or taken from nearby fields. Even in 
England we doubt whether farmers would pay $5 per 
ton freight, besides the cost of digging, hauling and 
spreading. For these reasons we do not believe it 
will pay you to try to use this clay. 
Estimating Weight of Ensilage. 
W. A. B., Farmer, N. Y. —How am I to estimate the contents of 
my silo ? Since filling, it has settled about five feet. Am I to 
estimate according to the height when filled, or after it has 
settled ? 
Ans. —We would estimate the height of the ensilage 
after it has fully settled, and allow 40 pounds to the 
cubic foot. 
A Plan for a Basement Barn. 
E. W. Jr., Pearline, Mich. —I am getting ready to build a base¬ 
ment under mv barn; it is to be 70x30 feet—the barn is now 30x40, 
and has a floor or driveway across it that is 13 feet wide (of 
course 30 feet long), and will put on the extra 30 feet in the spring, 
after the wall is laid. I expect to put a driveway also through 
this, the same as in the old part. I wish to know how best to 
divide up the basement-so as to hold five or six horses, a few 
sheep (eight or ten), and the rest to be used by cattle for fattening 
purposes; my aim is to have fat cattle every spring to turn off 
and to use the manure on my fruit. As I wish to haul most of the 
manure out as fast as made on fruit, etc., the basement ought to 
be made so that I can drive in with my wagon and drive out 
loaded. How would you stand the cattle—head to head or headed 
towards the walls on each side, and leave passage in middle for 
wagon ? I want also to put in a silo large enough to feed all the 
cattle I can get in the barn. Where would it be best to place it ? 
Where could I put a box stall ? 
Ans. —The common mistake made by many farmers 
in building basements is in making them too low, 
and in putting them entirely beneath the ground. 
Have your basement wall high enough so that you 
can secure good light and ventilation. If your old 
barn is low, raise it before building your basement. 
Make your addition to the barn 35 instead of 30 feet, 
making the size of your basement 30x75 feet. This 
will enable the construction of two circular silos 11 
feet each in diameter. These two circular tub silos 
can be put up cheaper than a rectangular silo, the 
ensilage will keep better in them and enough will be 
saved in their construction to build the additional 
COW STALLS WITH WOODEN PARTITION. Fio. 284. 
five feet to the barn. These silos may be made so 
that one shall open into the other, and in this way 
facilitate the getting of the ensilage to the hall in 
front of cows. (For details in the construction of the 
tub silo see The R. N.-Y. of September 5, page 593). 
The plan, see Fig. 283, provides for 15 cows. These 
face toward the wall, leaving a driveway the entire 
length of the basement. Stalls are provided for six 
horses, a box stall 11x12 feet, and two sheep pens 
10x11 feet each. The horse and sheep part of the 
basement should be shut off entirely from the cows’ 
apartment. Make the partition, a a, solid, and run to 
the ceiling. It is never a good plan to keep horses in 
the same room with cattle. 
Cement floors may be laid in the halls and drive¬ 
way, but stock should stand on a plank floor. The 
addition of tar will not benefit the cement. The 
cross section showing construction of cows’ stable, 
Fig. 284, is a simple and efficient method, and can be 
put in by any carpenter. l. a. Clinton. 
Tin in New Orleans Molasses. 
J. W. J., Allen, Mel. —I have seen it in print that 95 per cent of 
all the molasses on the market contains either the oxide or sul¬ 
phate of zinc in injurious quantities. Said to be used to clarify 
the molasses. 
Ans. —It is a very common custom in this country 
to bleach centrifugal molasses made in Louisiana by 
means of chloride of tin. I do not know that zinc 
salts are used in very large quantities for this pur¬ 
pose. I imagine that your correspondent has read an 
article in which zinc has been substituted for tin. 
The sugar in the centrifugal is also very generally 
washed with a solution of chloride of tin, and the tin 
thus enters the molasses directly. I think it is quite 
true that nearly all Louisiana molasses contains tin, 
but in very small quantities. I do not think it is 
true, however, that the molasses of commerce gener¬ 
ally, or even to a large extent contains zinc. 
Chemist U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. H. w. wiley. 
“ Stone ’’ and “ Air-slaked " Lime. 
C. D. L., North Raynham, Mass. —Prof. Roberts recommends, on 
page 751, for application to “sour” laud, 20 to 40 bushels of stone 
lime, and “ be sure tbat it is not air-slaked,” while Prof. Phelps 
would apply only 500 or 600 pounds of air-slaked lime. Can 
it be that the time of application, the air-slaked lime to be applied 
in the fall and the stone lime in the spring, accounts for the 
difference? What is the relative value of stone or unslaked lime 
and air-slaked lime for fertilizing purposes ? 
Ans. —The application of from 20 to 40 bushels of 
caustic or stone lime would not only correct acidity, 
but be beneficial in many other ways, while 500 to 
600 pounds of air-slaked lime would most likely cor¬ 
rect sourness, but would have little effect in improv¬ 
ing the physical condition of the soil, or in prevent¬ 
ing it from becoming sour in the near future. If 500 
to 600 pounds of air-slaked or mild lime suffices to 
correct acidity, a less amount of caustic lime would 
accomplish the same purposes. Carbonate of lime 
(CaCs) when subjected for a considerable time to a 
high temperature, loses carbonic acid and becomes 
lime or stone lime (CaO) and is sold in central New 
York at 75 pounds, air-slaked lime at 50 pounds per 
bushel. The latter is frequently sold at one-half the 
regular rates, and is expensive at the reduced price. 
A ton of lime stone, when burned, weighs between 
1,100 and 1,200 pounds. If left exposed to the air for 
some time, it takes up moisture and carbonic acid 
from the atmosphere, and the fresh-burned lime in¬ 
creases in weight. A ton of air-slaked or mild lime 
contains about three-fourths as much lime as does 
a ton of fresh lime. i. p. Roberts. 
What Can Be Done with Wire Worms ? 
A. O., Weedville, Pa. —I have a piece of land, part of it sandy 
and part clay upland, which is infested with a small, brownish 
worm, called here Wire worm. When planting to potatoes, this 
worm bores them full of small holes, almost destroying them. As 
I wish to plant the piece to potatoes next season, how can I get 
rid of them ? 1 had it in corn this year, manured last spring. 
Ans. —Wherever Wire worms occur so numerously 
as seriously to injure crops, they are among the most 
difficult of all our insect foes to control. They live 
in the soil several years as Wire worms, finally chang¬ 
ing to what almost every school boy knows as “ snap¬ 
ping bugs ” or “click beetles.” Extensive experiments 
for three years here at the Cornell Insectary, revealed 
the fact that none of the old, oft-repeated, supposed 
remedies, as salt, summer fallow, buckwheat, coating 
of the seed in different preparations, etc., was effec¬ 
tive. And no method that we could devise reached 
the insect in the Wire-worm stage. We know of no 
application that can be made on or in soil that will 
kill the worms without at the same time destroying 
all vegetation and rendering the land unfit for use 
for some time afterward. Thus A. G. cannot hope to 
rid his soil of the pest before planting another crop. 
Our observations on the life histories of Wire worms 
revealed one quite vulnerable point. We found that 
the change to a snapping beetle took place in July 
and August, in little earthen cells a few inches be¬ 
neath the surface ; but the beetles did not emerge 
from these cells until the following spring. The pupai 
and newly-formed beetles were very tender, and soon 
died if their little cells were crushed in any way. 
These facts led us to recommend that farmers plow 
and thoroughly pulverize the infested soil in the fall 
thus breaking up these cells and destroying the tender 
pupm and beetles. Farmers who practice a short 
rotation of crops, keeping the soil well stirred in the 
fall, claim that they are not troubled with these pests. 
I thus believe that A. G.’s only hope in ridding his 
soil of Wire worms, lies in a system of short rotation 
of crops practiced for a series of years ; he cannot 
hope to rid the soil of the worms in one season’s work. 
Keep the soil stirred, as they do not enjoy being dis¬ 
turbed constantly. m. y. slingerland. 
