1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
599 
the soil not pack. The soil is the same from 15 to 50 
feet; earth from the bottom of 40-foot wells will fol¬ 
lowing season produce corn or clover. The culture ad¬ 
vocates in orchards and those against the sod idea be¬ 
lieve here in all-Summer tillage, and they live on this 
kind cf soil. They talk cultivate all the time. The soil 
needs stirring to give trees enough and a regular sup¬ 
ply of moisture for healthy and proper wood growth 
and maturing of fruit. 
As eastern people know, other factors come in; our 
seasonal rains are exceedingly variable, even it is said 
to be affecting our politics. Along will come a series 
of years very dry, we getting only I t to IS inches rain¬ 
fall ; the western half of this State will have to plow 
deeper, and we have to scratch pretty hard to save 
any kind of a crop, but in all such seasons the quality of 
feeds, grains and fruits, from the intense sunshine, heat 
and aridity is proportionally greater and feeds go much 
further. Southeast Iowa people have to plow up their 
apple orchards and cultivate to get moisture like us. 
This gives a chance for southwestern Iowa people to 
tell the others, “1 told- you so,” and all plow orchards. 
After a while along comes a wet season, followed by 
a series of them; the great West is deluged, storm- 
swept, and with over 40 inches rainfall. All wonder 
what is possible next. These conditions cause the 
southwest Iowa people at once to seed down the bills 
with clover and prevent soil washing and excessive 
wood growth that comes from too much moisture in 
our rich drift and loess soils. The southeastern Iowa 
people arc swamped, get water-logged, and cannot get 
on their ground to cultivate it; then hurriedly seed 
down and keep the ground covered with clover rather 
than have weed crops in orchard. Take it between 
these two extremes, it is problematic what to do or ad¬ 
vise; in fact, the most rational western treatment is 
to put the young apple orchard in corn five to seven 
years, arid as a happy medium keep a good covering of 
clover in the orchard after that time until excessively 
heavy cropping is on, and then cultivate; if heavy crop¬ 
ping is followed by off years then get clover on the 
ground such seasons. This question in the West is al¬ 
together one of climate, soil and season. 
Shelby Co., Iowa. w. m. bomberger. 
EXPERIENCE IN HYBRIDIZING CORN . 
On page 553 M. P. W. asks about hybridizing corn. 
Fifteen or more years ago there were corn-canning fac¬ 
tories here, and I grew corn for canning. The mar¬ 
ket at that time began to call for a variety with smaller 
kernels than the Potter’s Excelsior, which was then be¬ 
ing used. To produce something which would please 
the canners I crossed the Ne Plus Ultra (sometimes 
called Banana corn) with Crosby’s Early. 1 made the 
cross both ways, planting a few hills of each side by 
side, and removing all tassels from the variety I wished 
to make the mother plant. The plantings were isolated 
from all others enough so there would be little chance 
of mixture from other sources. 1 found that it did make 
very much difference in the produce which variety was 
used for the mother plant. When the Ne Plus Ultra 
was the mother plant I got a plant of earlier maturity, 
and with grains somewhat larger, and the car enlarged. 
The rows of grains were quite irregular, much like its 
mother. Where the mother plant was Crosby’s Early the 
grains were much larger, the plant later in maturity, 
and stalk of larger growth. It did not give promise of 
being what was wanted, and 1 did not try to fix the 
type, growing it only one year. The cross with Ne 
Plus Ultra for mother plant was quite satisfactory, and 
I have grown it for domestic use ever since. The can¬ 
ning factories were closed soon after I made the above 
experiment, so the variety was never grown extensively 
for canning, only for two or three years in a small way, 
but it was quite satisfactory for the purpose. The type 
has never got very decidedly fixed as to pattern of ear. 
There is a strong tendency to revert to the mother type. 
The rows are usually quite irregular, and the grain 
deep, yet sometimes the rows are straight. I have 
found both styles of ears growing on the same stalk. 
Massachusetts. m. morse. 
Experience in Iowa. 
In a general way, and in almost all actual detailed 
results, hybridizing destroys useful types and sets all 
truly scientific breeding adrift. Corn is so variable that 
it is hard to keep it improved by natural methods in its 
most favored locality, here in southwestern Iowa. The 
introduction of seed of similar type is a very difficult 
thing, if one wishes to preserve and improve a type of 
corn. Three to five years is at times necessary thor¬ 
oughly to acclimate a variety if moved but three or four- 
counties north or south in southwestern Iowa, less than 
75 miles. The large influx of settlers from Towa and 
north half of Illinois to the Dakotas made a need of 
more than usual seed for corn planting in South Da¬ 
kota. Seed houses did a thriving business, but set¬ 
tlers only moving 150 miles, taking seed with them, 
and getting southern Iowa seed raised fodder, 
while older Dakota settlers using home seed raised 
their usual crop, and it was a great loss to new settlers. 
In 1882 very little seed ripened to make good seed in 
western Iowa, and large importations were made of 
seed corn from the still more elevated arid section of 
NEW HYBRID GOOSEBERRY, REDUCED IN SIZE. FiG. 
255. See Rurallsms, Page G02. 
Kansas where drier conditions prevailed. It took many 
years in Iowa to get over the introduction of such seed. 
1'his was followed by closer attention to seed selection, 
and the first real seed corn breeding was commenced 
and continued in the work of Nims Bros., Mills County, 
Towa. This developed into several strains, but their 
famous Legal Tender variety, taking first at the Chicago 
World’s Fair, showed the possibility of developing a 
variety on home and local conditions; the variety was 
the result of 25 years seed selection. In its locality, on 
the ground and in the soil it is adapted to, and by the 
listing methods possible on southwestern Iowa soil, it is 
a marvel. A type now developed that comes from Illi¬ 
nois is attracting quite a good deal of attention, and will 
be adopted in several counties a distance north in these 
two States; it is called Reid’s Yellow Dent. Through 
Prof. Holden’s notice of it and its fitting near the ideal 
score great interest is felt in this variety; no two agree 
yet on its value when grown in field lots, as the seed 
is being used in varying places, and the variety has to be 
used several seasons to be especially judged in merit as 
to its adaptation to each place tested. On my grounds 
this sort under trial suckers severely, but the stalk is an 
ideal one, being equipped with nearly a half more foli¬ 
age than other sorts. The ear is nearer a perfect one 
than most varieties, quality high, but corn is just a little 
too near the flint types to make good feeding corn to 
scoop to live stock in the feed troughs by the thou¬ 
sands of bushels, as is the custom in this cattle feeding 
section, and it would have to be run into cob and corn 
meal for best results. With these facts in mind your 
correspondent could not get ideal results or improve¬ 
ment so quickly as he would from some type devel¬ 
oped by a farmer in his home county, and he will find 
some fine types of corn in Clinton County, la. 
Iowa. W. M. BOMBERGER. 
FARMER'S TELEPHONE AND TURNPIKE. 
Our pike (the Harrisonburg and Rawley Springs 
urnpike) was built principally by farmers. There were 
196 shares of the capital stock subscribed for at $25. 
This stock was paid mostly in work. The road was 
graded up and toll gates established. The proceeds 
were then applied on road by macadamizing worst places 
every year, and this was kept up at all times until now 
every foot of it is macadamized. The officers are presi¬ 
dent, secretary and treasurer, and board of directors, 
five in number. President’s salary is $50 per year; 
secretary and treasurer, $75 per year; board of direc¬ 
tors, $1 per day for time actually employed. The presi¬ 
dent is elected each year by stockholders, as is also the 
board of directors. The treasurer is elected by the 
board. The work is done by hour labor, the president 
overseeing same, or having it overseen at $1.50 per 
day. At first there was a maximum rate of toll charged 
which is fixed by law, but as the road began to take less 
work the toll has been reduced, until now it is about 
one-half in some cases, such as pleasure vehicles, and 
has been greatly reduced on all kinds of travel. I am 
not able to tell you when this company was organized, 
but it was here when I came into this world, and 1 have 
been here 33 years. For many years there was no sale 
for stock, and it was only bought by farmers for main¬ 
tenance of good road, and did not until recent years pay 
any dividend. It began paying dividends (possibly 20 
years ago) at three per cent, and has been increasing 
until in last 10 years it has been paying from 12 to 20 
per cent, and the stock is being bought now as invest¬ 
ments at from $25 to $50 per share, and eagerly sought. 
A company began to monopolize this stock, and it looked 
as if it was going into speculators’ hands, but a few 
of our farmers got together and bought them out, 
and it now remains the farmers’ road, until an auto¬ 
mobile comes along; then it all belongs to the driver. 
We had the Bell Telephone Co. 10 years ago. They 
asked permission to erect a line along our turnpike, and 
it was granted, provided they gave the president, sec¬ 
retary and treasurer each a ’phone. This they refused; 
13 men on this pike agreed to build a line to Harrison¬ 
burg for their own convenience. This was the start. 
Other lines began to be thought of, and a switchboard 
was now found to be necessary, so a franchise was se¬ 
cured and switchboard was erected, it being the prop¬ 
erty of an individual. There were then perhaps three 
local companies of 20 men each. Then they organized 
themselves into a company having a president, vice-pres¬ 
ident. secretary and treasurer, all elected yearly by 
stockholders. They also have a board of directors, there 
being a man chosen out of each local company to serve 
as a member of board. The cost to the first 13 men in 
our local company was $3.50 each, and all who wish 
to come in thereafter must pay this amount, which goes 
to put up other lines, etc. This cost of getting in varies 
in the different local companies. All subscribers own 
their own ’phones and keep them in repair. Each local 
company then pays $5 to switchboard for each drop 
taken up by their lines, and then each member of the 
entire company pays $3 per year to switchboard to be 
served by operators. In the beginning it was the in¬ 
tention to have all members charge a fee of 10 cents for 
all messages delivered by non-’phone-holders, one-half 
of this to go to company for incidental expenses, but 
some members were so neighborly they would not 
charge, so this was dropped, and now if there are any 
expenses to be met there is a levy made on each mem¬ 
ber. Each local company has laws governing it, as 
suits best, but the by-laws and constitution of general 
company must of course apply to all alike. We now 
have in the Rockingham Mutual Telephone Co., as 
good service, I suppose, as is to be found anywhere, but 
we are outgrowing ourselves. There are, I think, 1,600 
members, and some of them are getting wrong, and we 
are now, as I think, merging into the Bell Company. 
Rockingham Co., Virginia, r, s, shqwai.tkb. 
