614 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 19, 
sible. Farmers say: “Why, how can we get out in the 
deep snow?” If there is a place in this country that 
has deeper snow and more days of it than where 1 live, 
Lewis County, N. Y., that place has not yet kept live 
stock, and yet at no time last Winter in our stable and 
farm, where we drive into the dairy stable, and take the 
hog manure out with carrier, has there been a forkful 
of manure around the buildings. That I may not be 
misunderstood, let me say that I rent a small barn that 
was built with cement manure pit under the cows. The 
manure goes into this pit, and goes out weekly, but I 
don’t like the plan, and as soon as possible shall build 
to avoid it. I have been unable to get the point of 
view correctly of those who are sure manure wastes in 
the field spread 12 to 20 loads to the acre. Experience 
is the best teacher. I have never known failure of con¬ 
version to follow the practice when it was fairly done. 
I have known men to haul iu the mid-Winter months 
from stock fed upon coarse, bulky feed, and compare it 
with manure from grain fed cows in the Spring, and 
of course results would be against the Winter manure. 
The value was not over 50 per cent at the start. 
If anyone will apply manure upon snow or even 
ice on a side hill so steep that the team cannot draw the 
load directly up the bill, he will find if upon a sod, that 
he w'ill need a magnifying glass the following season 
to see effect in plant growth below the manure line. 
This simple experiment has probably converted more 
men to the daily application method than any other 
means. On the other hand, there is every known objec¬ 
tion to the around-the-barn practice. There is, first, the 
extra handling and the loss of all the liquid matter that 
can be pressed out by the weight of the pile, which is 
greater by far than the effect of rain and snow. I know 
men have often found less difference in the daily appli¬ 
cation than they had expected when they honestly 
thought it should be so handled. When such cases are 
analyzed you will find that the manure was dropped in 
open gutters, and probably 25 per cent was lost before 
the owmer touched it. That kind of manure surely 
would not lose by standing as much as that from a 
cement gutter. I would not so strenuously debate the 
question with a man who has a cement bottom for his 
manure, and does not let it heat, so far as the waste 
before application is concerned, but he is the man who 
usually applies in the Spring just before planting, all 
right enough if abundance of rain follows. Coverings 
are usually built over the manure. It is under the piles 
that we want the roof. If he could prevent fermentation 
through the Summer (which is impossible) and top- 
dress a sod in the Fall the scheme would not be bad. 
He would lose the use for a year, but the time of appli¬ 
cation would be the very best. Rut why all this labor, 
trouble and loss? The great factor is that farmers do 
not consider manure as one of the farm assets; if they 
did they would look more closely to its conservation. 
I can understand where one has a few animals and a 
large quantity of straw to work over that it would be 
impracticable to haul daily, and probably where the 
absorbent is so much in excess of the voidings there 
would be small loss. Build tight gutters (concrete), 
haul daily and spread where you want it, preferably upon 
young clover plants, and be happy. h. e. cook. 
EXPERIENCE WITH A “CRACKERJACK.” 
I wish F. M. H., page 555, had advertised for a 
crackerjack a little sooner, for we have just had one 
that we could not keep, and possibly we might have 
passed him along to F. M. H. He (the crackerjack) 
came to our door late last Saturday night, and said he 
wanted a place to work. He was a decent appearing, 
elderly man; said he owned a farm of (54 acres in Wy¬ 
oming County, but that the recent loss of his wife had 
compelled him to lease his farm and make his own home 
with a married daughter, who lived in a village. When 
Joe asked him what he could do, he replied: “Oh! I’m 
a regular crackerjack; I can do ’most anything; I can’t 
pitch hay, ’cause I am so nervous, and I can’t hoe, or 
mow with a scythe, ’cause I have a pleurisy in my side, 
and I ain’t much of a hand with carpenter’s tools, but I 
can do most anything.” Joe looked somewhat amused, 
but finally hired the man, and I hustled around and got 
him some supper, with visions of a nice new straw¬ 
berry bed, a better-kept lawn, freshly-painted screen 
doors and porch floors, etc., flitting through my mind. 
Sunday he occupied the easiest chair in the house and 
absorbed my new library book. Sunday afternoon he 
seemed muchly surprised that Joe would not allow him 
to take our good gray Bonnie and the shiny buggy to 
drive over to Newark, a distance of some 12 or 14 miles. 
Monday morning Joe set him to picking sour cherries, 
and I could see from the kitchen that he did not like 
his job, though he managed to be all day picking the 
fruit from two small trees. At the supper table he re¬ 
marked that he “should have to give up standing on a 
ladder, the bottoms of his feet were so tender,” and 
Tuesday morning he took his departure, and we are 
right where we were a week ago as far as help goes. 
With seven acres of strong Alfalfa our haying is like 
the poor, it “is always with us;” there are 20 trees of 
apricots that need picking to-morrow and next day; the 
first early peaches are ripening and the packing house 
needs cleaning and getting ready for the Fall fruit cam¬ 
paign ; the henhouses need new roofs, spraying and 
whitewashing, and though I wage a daily war with the 
weeds, they are gaining on me, so I think we shall hire 
the next man that comes along looking for work, if he is 
not a crackerjack, and try our luck again. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. clara Richardson roper. 
THE HAY MACHINERY QUESTION. 
Does the Horse Fork Pay? 
J he R. N.-Y. is almost if not always right. The 
idea of looking up the machinery question is a most ex- 
' 
FLOWER OF MARIPOSA TULIP. Fig. 259. 
See Ituralisms, Page 618. 
cellent one. It seems as though more machinery on the 
farm will have to be used to take the place of hired 
help, which one cannot find. But there arc so many 
machines that one cannot buy them all, and he needs 
to be well informed in order to make a suitable selec¬ 
tion. The hay loader is being discussed, but the reports 
indicate that if a hay loader is used, a side-delivery 
rake and a horse fork for unloading must also be at 
hand. Now, about the horse fork, I know many will 
say that the horse fork is so common that no discus- 
PROLIFIC CURRANTS. Fig. 260. See Page 616. 
sion need be had. Well, the horse fork isn’t so com¬ 
mon after all. Its use requires an extra horse, or the 
trouble of changing from the wagon. It requires an 
extra hand to handle the horse. How about mowing 
away? We used to have a horse fork of an old-fash¬ 
ioned sort that would carry 100 to 200 pounds at a 
time. In the old gable barn this fork seemed a neces¬ 
sity to pitch over the big beam. Now almost all the 
pitching off is down into the bay from the upper floor 
in an “overshot” barn. By the ordinary loading, not 
much time can be saved by unloading with a horse. 
When it comes to mowing away in a bay 18 x 40 feet, 
the man on the mow can keep it level and in good 
shape. If one is to unload hay at the rate of four 
forkfuls to the load, how is the poor fellow on the 
mow going to manage? With the old fork that we used, 
the man- could stand under the hay. and as it dropped 
he could easily throw it in different directions and keep 
his mow in shape. But if 500 pounds of hay are shot 
down at him from a 30-foot elevation, I guess he would 
better stand from under. The advocates of the hay fork 
say let it drop right ip the middle of your 40-foot bay, 
and as that fills let it roll off each way, keeping the 
middle the highest. How will that affect the barn? 
Will not the pressure be considerable on the sides? 
How will the hay come out in the Winter? Will it not 
hang together and make as much trouble getting it out 
as the method has saved putting it in? I should like 
to see the answers of those who know. h. h. lyon. 
Chenango Co., N. Y. 
PLAIN TALES FOR PRACTICAL PEOPLE. 
A Few Lawn Questions. 
Can you tell me why my lawn is coming up all over with 
coarse grass, and will it continue another year? Part of 
the lawn was dug over and sowed with fine grass, which was 
doing well, but this part Is as bad as any. If a garden Is 
kept well weeded and the weeds thrown in the pen for pigs 
to work over, will the manure be ready the next season? 
Worcester, Mass. j. K . B 
Crab and other annual grasses are very common on 
new lawns, as the seed is spread everywhere in drifting 
snow and comes up during hot, rainy weather wherever 
there is a vacancy in rich soil. Close and frequent 
cutting ano heavy rolling on the lawn is the surest cure 
for these coarse grasses and other weeds that may 
come up at this season. Crab grass throws out many 
flowering heads near the soil, and is quite certain to 
form seed even if closely cut, but if a lawn is fre¬ 
quently trimmed and rolled it will do little harm in suc¬ 
ceeding years. Weeds pulled at this season and thrown 
to the hogs should be thoroughly well fitted for making 
compost next season. 
Disease of Rose Leaves. 
I enclose diseased leaves of my Jacqueminot rose, which 
1 suppose is suffering from mildew ; at any rate, the leaves 
are dropping and growth of plant about stopped, and a 
sickly appearance prevails. Can you give a remedy? My 
Philadelphia Rambler, which you sent a little more than a 
year ago, gave some bloom, and now has four canes about 
three feet tall. j A ,. 
Moreland, N. Y. 
The rose leaves sent for inspection were not affected 
by mildew, but by Black spot, a much more troublesome 
rose disease. It generally appears when the plants are 
checked in growth from either dry weather or exces¬ 
sive moisture. There is no cure after the trouble has 
once appeared. The best treatment is to pick off the 
affected leaves and clean away those that have dropped 
to the ground; cultivate well and as soon as growth 
starts again fertilize with some form of liquid manure. 
Black spot does not often kill rose plants, but checks 
their growth and spoils the bloom for a season. The 
plants may outgrow it in time, and be as healthy as 
ever. The best preventive is thoroughly to spray the 
plants during very dry or wet weather, before the dis¬ 
ease appears, with Bordeaux Mixture of the strength 
of four pounds each of copper sulphate and lime to 
50 gallons of water. 
Poison Ivy; Blueberries; Old Grapevines. 
1. IIow can I get rid of poison ivy vines? They overrun 
my fences, stone walls and blueberry patch. 2. My farm is 
natural blueberry land I have a large patch, but much of 
it has grown up. In the young growth of maples, birch, 
etc., I find a great number of old blueberry bushes which do 
not bear now. If this growth is cut down will these bushes 
bear again, or new ones grow? IIow can I keep the patch 
in good condition. 3. There are a number of neglected 
grapevines on my farm. The leaves are numerous, but 
do not look healthy. Can I restore these vines, or will it 
be cheaper to buy new ones. c. 11 . r. 
Townsend Harbor, Mass. 
1. The only way to get rid of poison ivy is thor¬ 
oughly to dig it out and dispose of it root and branch 
by burning or drying in the sun. Many persons are 
not affected by poison ivy, and have no hesitation in 
handling the plant. If susceptible to the poison it is 
necessary to wear heavy gloves in handling it. 2. Blue¬ 
berry or huckleberry lands that cease to produce can 
be restored by burning over in early Spring or late Fall 
so as to kill the old bushes. A good growth will spring 
up that will bear profusely the following season. It is 
good practice to burn over blueberry lands every third 
year, taking care the old bushes are quite thoroughly 
killed off. Another treatment necessary is to cut down 
or clear out interfering brush of other kinds. 3. It 
seldom pays to attempt at restoring old, neglected 
grapevines, as the roots come too near the surface to 
allow very thorough plowing or cultivation. If attempt¬ 
ed. the branches would have to be thoroughly pruned 
or cut back closely, and the weeds grubbed or hoed out. 
It would probably be more economical to root out the 
old vines and start new ones in clean soil. If the 
restoration of the old vines is preferred it would be well 
to apply ground bone at the rate of half a pound to the 
square yard and wood ashes one or two pounds to the 
yard, well worked in after the ground has been cleared 
of weeds and grass. 
