37o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 6, 
EXPERIENCE WITH A SILO. 
Our experience of the past three Winters with a 
round silo of a* first-class make has been very satisfac¬ 
tory, indeed, and we feel that we could not get along 
and have any measure of success without it. The first 
Winter we were on the farm, wintering about 30 head 
of stock, it cost us about $400 for hay, beside what the 
farm produced. The following Summer we put up a 
round silo, 20 x 24 feet. We were only able to fill it 
about one-lrlf full the first year, and cut about the same 
amount of hay as we did the year previous. We win¬ 
tered about the same amount of stock that we did the 
first season, and bought about $100 worth of hay. Oar 
stock looked better in the Spring, and gave us more 
milk on the silage than they did on the hay, with less 
grain. We have sold both milk and cream, and have 
yet to hear the first complaint from our customers. We 
feed about 15 pounds at a time morning and evening, 
with r small feeding of hay at noon, mixing about two 
quarts of bran and one of flax meal with the silage. 
Last Winter we put a few loads of Japanese millet into 
the silo as an experiment, and were so well pleased with 
the result that we shall try a much larger amount this 
year. Figuring hay at $15 per ton, we think good 
silage is worth about $7.50 per ton, green cut % into the 
silo. We think a man can carry at least double the 
amount of stock witn a silo that he can without one, 
using the same amount of ground to produce the silage 
as he would for hay or ordinary dry fodder. We 
should build another silo on the same plan as the 
one we now have; viz., a good rock foundation laid in 
cement with a concrete bottom, round superstructure of 
six-inch staves, matched and beveled edges, with gn 
octagon shingled roof, choosing the latter on account 
of the cost, about one-half the amount of a conical roof 
which the manufacturers sell. We have had no experi¬ 
ence with concrete except for floors and foundations, so 
we are unable to judge, but thi..k it would be more 
expensive. We have seen several silos that have been 
built by carpenters, both round and square, and think 
those sold by reliable firms much superior, as a firm 
that gives its entire time and experience* to manufac¬ 
turing an article can turn out much superior work to 
a man who onlv devotes part of his time with limited 
experience to the same end. F. R. h. 
Nashua, N. H. _ 
THE TROUBLE WITH INCUBATORS. . 
On page 323 I noticed a discussion of some of the 
difficulties with incubators, and several reasons ire 
given for failures. 1 began with incubator experiments 
40 years ago, of course learning more every year, and 
I have given considerable attention to the subject of 
incubator hatching. I am willing to acknowledge that I 
have much more to learn, hut 1 find that failures occur 
more because of the differences in the eggs than from 
other causes. If one egg hatches, why not all? If the 
operator gets 50 per cent, leaving one-half to be thrown 
away( or an other percentage) is it not apparent that 
the fault is not with the incubator , for if the condi¬ 
tions are favorable for hatching a dozen chicks they 
are also favorable for all, but as operators get their eggs 
from all sources, and as there is seldom uniformity 
among the eggs, the incubator is supposed to be at 
fault. The same with the hen—she hatches only those 
eggs that are “hatchable.” Operators get eggs from 
yards having fat liens, impotent males, half-starved fowls, 
sick fowls, immature pullets, unsheltered hens, etc. If 
they will look over an incubator drawer when it is full 
of eggs they can easily see how greatly eggs vary in 
sizes, shapes and colors. p. h. Jacobs. 
New Jersey. _ 
COPPER PLATED APPLES FROM OREGON. 
Our groceryman bought in market a bushel box of 
Winesap apples from Oregon, for which he paid $3.50. 
Perhaps he can manage to get 20 quarts out of the 
box when he retails them at 20 cents a quart—about 
seven to a quart. They are beautiful to look at and 
were evidently carefully selected and closely packed. 
We are aware that such specimen apples, and, in fact, 
the entire crops of the Oregon orchards are frequently 
sprayed up to picking time, and that they are so coated 
with the spraying material that it is thought necessary 
to wipe every apple before picking. Upon close exam¬ 
ination the Winesaps in our groceryman’s box plainly 
showed the dried spraying material at stem and blos- 
some ends. Knowing what I do I womd not care to 
eat them without paring them first, and I am led to 
ask how much poison, if any, has through the long- 
continued drenching become incorporated in the sub¬ 
stance of the fruit? It is claimed that such handsome 
fruit cannot be grown outside of the Pacific States, but 
for surpassing flavor and aroma, give me New York 
State apples every time. J. yates peek. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—It is said that such apples are kept “cop- 
• 
per-plated”—sprayed constantly so as to keep off scab. 
At picking there is often a film of sulphate of copper 
left on the fruit. This is usually wiped off before pack¬ 
ing, yet it would be difficult to remove it all. We do 
not believe the copper will be found inside the apple, 
and with ordinary precautions there should be no par¬ 
ticular danger from eating the fruit. The point is that 
fruit from New York and New England is fully equal 
to that from the Pacific coast, and it should be graded 
and put on the market under a guarantee. 
VALUE OF A HAY LOADER. 
The picture at Fig. 156 shows one way in which 
applied horse power may save hand labor. One of our 
readers in Illinois tells the story as follows: 
In this part of Illinois it is very difficult to get com¬ 
petent help to harvest the crops, and I consider the 
hay loader one of the greatest labor-saving machines we 
turn her loose in a field or large lot, where there is no 
deep water nor any holes, to be sure that no accident 
could happen. 1 would give ground feed and be gov¬ 
erned by the condition of the droppings, and feed bran 
or oil meal to regulate that for the last two or three 
months. Pay special attention to that, and after foal¬ 
ing, if working her, do it with good judgment and 
not get her very warm. Leave the colt in a good box 
stall, and not let it run with the mare while she is at 
work; only leave them together at noon and all night. 
If I did not need the mare for worl I would turn out 
in pasture with some grain feed once or twice a day, 
quantity according to condition of pasture. Charge 
for this I would make according to the owner’s finan¬ 
cial rating, and the fancy he would take in the mare 
and foal, and the amount of work I would do with the 
mare, if any. j. g. k. 
Chicora, Pa. 
BROODER WITH GASOLINE BT'RNER. Fig. 154. 
have on the farm. One man and a boy, or girl, who 
can drive a team can load more hay than three men can 
in the old way; it takes the hay up cleaner than any 
rake I ever saw. In 1903 I had seven loads of heavy 
clover down, and a severe rainstorm came up in the 
night. The next morning I started in, and went over 
the field with a hay tedder three times, and the hay was 
ready to draw in. If it had been raked or bunched it 
would have been spoiled. The loader saves all the 
heavy lifting, all the raking after, and does not break 
so many leaves off clover. I have never used but one 
team on it, and it is a very durable machine, not getting 
,out of repair easily, but of course it ought to be under 
shelter when not in use. I have decided that my loader 
is equal, if not superior, to any loader of this style on 
FRUIT BUDS ON HOrE FARM PEACHES. 
See Hope Farm Notes, Page 377. 
Fig. 155. 
the market. It will pay for itself within two seasons on 
the average farm. j. E. b. 
Illinois. 
CARE OF MARE AND FOAL. 
In caring for a two-year-old colt, I would feed one 
quart cornmeal. one quart bran, with plenty of good hay, 
twice a day, and a roomy box stall, bedding enough to 
keep it clean and no more. Too much bedding and ma¬ 
nure left in the stall will make the floor uneven. I would 
never tie, but let it' run at will in stall, and turn out 
three or four hours a day if the weather permits. For 
such care and feed I would think $25 for the Winter 
would be about right, and for the Summer in good 
pasture without grain feed—pasture only—for $7 to $10. 
At all times see tha the feet are in good shape, and 
do not grow out too long. A brood mare I would keep 
at light or common farm work till almost foaling time, 
or till the milk would show signs of her foaling; then 
STRENGTH OF THE BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 
Why do they make the Bordeaux Mixture so much weaker 
than years ago? When I first commenced spraying grapes, 
15 years ago, they recommended a formula, six pounds cop¬ 
per and four pounds lime to 25 gallons water, and now rec¬ 
ommend about half that strength. I have always used tlie 
0-4-25 with good results, but if the weaker solution is 
just as good should prefer using it. 
Wappingers Falls. jr. h. woods. 
It has been demonstrated by innumerable experiments 
at the various experiment stations that it is not nec¬ 
essary to use the Bordeaux Mixture as strong as it 
was recommended when it first came into use. The 
weaker mixtures prove just as effectual, are cheaper, 
and spray more easilv. being less liable to clog the noz¬ 
zles. 1 wo of the more common formulas now used 
are: Six pounds copper sulphate. 4 pounds lime, 50 
gallons water. An easier formula to remember is : 
Five pounds copper sulphate, five pounds lime, 50 gal¬ 
lons water. 1 his is the usual strength used upon most 
plants, except peach and plum trees. Oftentimes this 
strength will burn the foliage of these tender trees, 
causing or making holes in the leaves and resembling 
the work of the Shot-hole fungus disease. For this 
reason the mixture is used only about half strength 
on these trees, except when one has to light the Peach 
leaf-curl, which should be done just before the buds 
swell in the Spring, and then the full strength of Bor¬ 
deaux is advisable. M. v. slingerland. 
HEN MANURE COMPARED WITH OTHERS. 
How much pure hen manure should be put on one acre 
of land that is lacking manure? The land is good loam. 
The hen manure I ha\e is from the droppings board. I 
suppose that Is the same as the Peruvian guano. 
Rockville, Mass. o. a. d. 
Hen manure is not uniform, as some of it contains 
sand and feathers. The following table shows a fair 
comparison : 
rounds in One Ton. 
Phosphoric 
• Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. 
Stable manure . 10 6 13 
Hen manure . 30 30 1(5 
The nitrogen in the hen manure is in a more available 
form, so that we consider it worth about four times 
as much as fairly well-rotted stable manure. We should 
want to use five tons of hen manure per acre, making 
it as fine as possible. We have frequently explained 
why we should add muriate of potash and acid phos¬ 
phate to the hen manure if possible. Hen manure is a 
very different thing from Peruvian guano. The latter 
is the manure of sea fowl, containing the dead bodies 
of many of the birds. It is found in dry, rainless coun¬ 
tries. where little or none of the ammonia is le t. These 
sea birds feed largely upon fish, which are rich in nitro¬ 
gen and phi -.phoric acid. Their food being richer than 
that of domestic fowls, of course their manure is richer 
—especially since there is less loss through fermenta¬ 
tion. _ 
CROPS FOR A YOUNG ORCHARD. 
Referring to an article by M. W. H., on page 297. I 
would ask if the crop best suited to planting in a young 
orchard should be determined by the nature of the crop 
alone? Should the nature of the' soil be considered? 
Are we not too much inclined to consider such ques¬ 
tions from one rather than from a number of view¬ 
points? I have a few hundred peach trees that are from 
eight to ten feet tall at the age of two years, and have 
sown oats in this orchard. On a different soil I have 
a few hundred trees of the same age that are not of 
such unusual size. These are to be cultivated until 
June, and then planted to cow pea. in drills and the cul¬ 
tivation continued. I have assumed that the first or¬ 
chard has too much and the second not enough nitro¬ 
gen, and am varying the crops to suit conditions. Wash¬ 
ington and Benton Counties, Ark., have more growing 
apple trees than any other counties in any State in the 
United States, and it is a common practice to plant corn 
in these orchards. In many cases the corn is injurious 
to the trees. Oats, millet, sorghum, corn and such 
Summer growing grain and grass crops take from the 
soil a large quantity of plant food in a short space of 
time, and just when the orchards or young trees are in 
most vigorous growth. If the growth is too vigorous 
corn, and even sorghum, may benefit the trees by giving 
them a more sturdy and less succulent or soft growth. 
If the growth is what is desired these plants will do 
some harm; and, if the growth is feeble these gram¬ 
inaceous plants may not only seriously injure but destroy 
the orchard. c. L. newman. 
Arkansas. 
