1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
which remain on the birds both day and night, instead 
of hiding in crevices about the perches, etc., during 
the daytime. When the feathers are plucked from the 
bird they crawl up the sleeves of the picker and try to 
hide in the first seam or fold of the clothing they can 
find. Under the fold of a man’s collar is a favorite 
spot with them. We have lately been using Persian 
insect powder for this nuisance with most gratifying 
results. It takes but a few minutes’ time to apply it 
to the birds the evening before they are to be killed, 
and all pronounce it time and money well spent. Each 
bird is handled separately, and a few pinches of the 
powder rubbed upon the skin after parting the feathers 
on different parts of the body. One pinch under each 
wing, one or. the neck, one on the back, and one on 
each thigh is sufficient and is soon applied. The only 
time when it did not give complete immunity from the 
annoyance to the pickers was when the feathers were 
wet from a hard shower. 
After seeing some of Jesse’s White Leghorns, bred 
for fancy exhibition purposes, and said to be worth 
from $10 to $100 each, I naturally came home and 
watched my own flock for specimens that would score 
high in the show room. To the amateur all White 
Leghorns look pretty much alike, and it seems a simple 
matter to breed perfect specimens. It is wonderful, 
however, how many must be raised in order to get even 
one perfect specimen that will score 100 points. Some 
will have poorly colored legs; others will have ear lobes 
that are not up to the mark. Still others will have 
a feather between the toes. In others the difficulty is 
to get a well-shaped comb, not too big and not too 
small. Some of the otherwise finest specimens will 
have a side sprig on the comb. When all these points 
are found in one bird, with the tail carried at just the 
proper angle, you must still have the pure white 
throughout, which is so desirable. The hackle and 
saddle feathers of the cock are very apt to have a 
brassy tinge. Some claim, I believe, that this can be 
avoided by proper attention to the diet. From among 
several hundred well developed cockerels I finally got 
my eye on one in which I could detect no flaw, and 
was watching him with a good deal of concern as his 
graceful sickle feathers began to appear. The top of 
a big cherry tree was his favorite perch, and a few 
bloody feathers and a well scraped joint of neck bone 
under the tree one morning marked the closing chapter 
of that career. His graceful head had made a shining 
mark for the aforesaid owl. There is another one 
in the flock that was a close second in all respects 
which has survived the owl.' The only flaw is a faint 
suspicion of a side sprig on his comb. A good sharp 
knife in skillful hands I presume would fit him to pass 
inspection with the most critical judge. One of the 
common occurrences at poultry shows is said to be 
the regular search by the owners on the opening morn¬ 
ing for any feathers or other defects that might dis¬ 
qualify their birds. The exhibitor that has the keenest 
eye and the sharpest razor often wins the day. 
_ _ O. W. MAPES. 
THE ENSEE APPLE. 
We have sampled specimens of this new apple at dif¬ 
ferent seasons, and have a few scions growing in our 
own orchards. We believe it to be an acquisition and 
worthy of trial. U. T. Cox, of Rockwood, Ohio, gives 
the following notes about Ensee, and a picture of a fair¬ 
sized specimen is shown at Fig. 339. 
“The original tree came up near where we used to 
make some cider, probably about 1880 or a year or two 
later. It was on the farm of my father, the late Nelson 
Cox, who died two years ago last Fall. When I was a 
good-sized boy I remember pruning it when it was 
about two years old, and as years passed by it was 
pruned more, as it was near the house, and was a nice- 
looking tree. When it was six or eight years old it had 
some large red apples which were all wormy, and 
dropped off in August and September. They were not 
sprayed then, and the fruit continued to drop pre¬ 
maturely till 1895, when they were sprayed, and hung 
on the tree till we were done picking Rome Beauty, 
which were our apples for the money. As they looked 
pretty well we gathered them, considering them only 
seedlings and not worth much, as we had plenty of good 
apples. As all the barrels were full of good apples the 
“seedlings” were just put in a box and an old salt barrel 
and left open all Winter in the cellar. When the Win¬ 
ter was pretty well gone some of us tasted them, and 
liked the apple, and then others tried them and all con¬ 
sidered them good. In 1899 there were about five or six 
barrels, and they were nicer than ever before. I don’t 
think the tree has ever missed having some apples every 
year since 1895, and they have been as good size as 
Rome Beauty if not larger, and as good color as that 
variety. The tree has borne as full as anyone ever 
wants a tree to bear; they have hung on late when well 
sprayed, and perfect specimens have kept about as well! 
as the Rome Beauty, both in cold storage and in cellar. 
The quality is far superior to most of the commercial 
varieties, and most people consider it equal to Jonathan 
and Grimes for eating. 1 like it better than either. It 
never gets dry late in the season like Rome Beauty, and 
many other good varieties, and is crisp and juicy as long 
as the fruit k.sts. I still had some of them the middle 
of April, and some in cold storage to stay till June to 
test them. There were nearly 10 barrels on the original 
THE ENSEE APPLE. Fig. 339. 
tree last year, and they were by far the best we ever 
had of them. Most of them were picked October 21, 
and some were too green then. They are about the 
shape of Pryor’s Red, and taste a little like it, but are 
better in every respect, and are not rusty like that 
variety, but clear, with a good part of the skin red, some 
of them perfectly red all over. The meat is rather yel¬ 
low, but not coarse like most of the large apples.” 
ADVICE TO A YOUNG DAIRYMAN. 
I have 11 cows, two Short-horn, two Jersey, four Hol¬ 
stein, one Polled Angus, and two—I don’t know what they 
are. Two of these are registered Ilolsteins. I have plenty 
of hay, part pure Timothy and the remainder pure clover; 
no mixed hay. When 1 feed it will be either Timothy or 
clover; will have corn fodder to last until first of March. 
I cut the stalks and feed In mangers at noon, hay morning 
and evening. Grain feed will consist of corn and oats in 
plenty, together with coarse bran and cotton-seed meal; the 
two latter I purchase. I wish to know in what proportion 
to mix my corn and oats with bran and cotton-seed meal to 
form a ration first, with Timothy hay and corn fodder, and 
second, with clover hay and corn fodder. I shall have some 
roots (mangels and rutabagas) hut they will not last long. 
I have no silo, and hence no silage. Will it pay me to erect 
a silo for a dozen cows, say a 100-tou silo? What would he 
the approximate cost? J. a. t. 
Scenery Hill, Pa. 
Timothy hay and corn stover are both deficient in 
791 
protein. Corn and oats arc not very high, and to make 
a fairly well-balanced ration with these home-grown 
feeds without purchasing too much outside feed is rather 
difficult. The following is a fairly well-balanced ra¬ 
tion, though more grain is used than we like to feed on 
the average, though large milkers will consume this 
amount and turn out a profit: 
Protein 
Carbo- 
Fat 
drates - 
8 lbs. corn stover . 
2.59 
.05 
15 lbs. Timothy hay . 
.42 
6.51 
.20 
4 lbs. corn and oats . .. 
2.45 
.14 
3 lbs. cotton-seed meal . 
. 1.20 
.62 
.28 
2 lbs. wheat bran . 
.25 
.81 
.06 
Total. 
12.98 
.73 
By using clover hay instead of Timothy you can 
make 
a perfect theoretical ration with less purchased 
grain, 
and it certainly ought to be a milk maker 
Frotein 
Carbo- 
Fat 
drates 
8 lbs. corn stover . 
.14 
2.59 
.05 
15 lbs. clover hay . 
. 1.02 
5.37 
.27 
(i lbs. corn and oats . .. 
.44 
3.67 
2 cotton seed meal . 
.SO 
.41 
• .19 
1 lb. wheat bran . 
.13 
.41 
.03 
Total. 
12.45 
♦76 
By "corn fodder” I assume you mean what is 
called 
corn fodder by nearly every farmer; that 
is, the 
stalks 
left after the corn is 
husked. This is 
called 
corn 
“stover” by our scientific 
friends to distinguish it 
from 
corn fodder which is the 
stalk raised for 
fodder 
alone 
and no attention paid to grain; is usually planted 
thicker and contains 50 per cent more digestible protein. 
I should strongly advise building a silo. Its advantages 
over the old way of caring for and feeding the corn 
crop are many. I would prefer, were I to feed only 
12 cows, to build two silos, one for Winter use and an¬ 
other smaller one for Summer or early Fall. A 100-ton 
silo is larger than you need, although it is wise some¬ 
times to plan for a possible increase in business. A cir¬ 
cular silo 25 feet high and 14 feet in diameter has a 
capacity of about 75 tons, and one nine feet in diameter 
of same height will hold about 30 tons. These would 
do you for Summer and Winter, and ought to be built 
for $1 per ton capacity. I should not buy a ready¬ 
made patent silo, as there seems to be too much profit 
between the producer of the materials that go into it 
and the man who gets the silo. As to your cows, it 
matters not what breed you select half so much as to 
get the type that produces milk economically. These are 
found in nearly all breeds, but much more so in some 
than others. h. g. Manchester. 
BUILDING AN ICEHOUSE. 
I am building an Icehouse, boarding on outside one thick¬ 
ness and on inside with two thicknesses of hoard with paper 
between Is it best to have the space between posts as 
near airtight as I can make it, or should it have opening 
at top or at bottom for ventilation? How should I make 
the floor? It is red clay. Is it sufficient to put sawdust on 
after sloping it to drain the water off, or what is the 
best bottom to put ice on? h. b. h. 
Lebanon, Fa. 
The air space between the outer and inner walls, to 
be an effective non-conductor, should be as nearly a 
dead space as is possible to get. In other words, the 
walls should be built as tightly as practicable, with no 
openings for ventilation. It is usual, however, to have 
openings at the apex of each gable and for ventilation 
above the mass of ice. These holes should be cut 
through both walls, and should be from one to two feet 
square, according to size of house. It will work all 
right to cover the bottom with about one foot of saw¬ 
dust and lay ice on that. Perhaps it would be better to 
lay it on sods or timber, and thus make a dead-air space 
beneath the ice. If this is done, however, great care 
should be taken to keep the building tight about the 
foundation, carrying off the water by a trapped drain 
pipe to prevent the admission of air. In any case, it is 
one of the most important things about keeping ice, to 
see that it docs not come in contact with the ground. 
GRANT DAVIS. 
GREENHOUSE WITH HOTBED SASH. 
Should I bo successful with a small greenhouse, 21x24. 
roofed with 3x<! hotbed sash, south gahle. well glazed, in 
trying to grow tomatoes and cucumbers? Will the 3x6 
sash shade it too much? What cement or preparation may 
I use successfully to stick paper together so I may use it 
for protection from frost over cold frames, etc.? Last 
Spring we moved here from Ft. Wayne. Ind., in March, too 
late to do much with early truck except melons, and we 
hit on an easy way to handle a cold frame. We use every 
alternate sash of prepared cloth or paper, using a common 
3x6 4-piece sash for the cloth or paper and on sunny days 
just remove the cloth or sash, leaving the glass on. This 
saves some work and danger of breakage of glass. It worked 
well ; shall try it on a large scale this Winter. What do you 
think of this idea? 
Jackson, Tenn. a. s. k. 
The use of 3 x 6-foot sash to form the roof of a 
greenhouse 21x24 feet would require two lengths of 
sash on each slope of the roof, and the comparatively 
wide bottom rail on these sashes would make an objec¬ 
tionable amount of shade in the house in question; be¬ 
side which there would be the width of the two side 
rails of the sash to make still more shade in the house. It 
is, therefore, doubtful if tomatoes and cucumbers could 
be grown very successfully in such a structure, for both 
these vegetables enjoy all the sunshine they can get, and 
especially so when forced during the Winter. Paper 
for covering hotbeds mav be waterproofed to some ex¬ 
tent by painting with boiled linseed oil, such a coating 
making the paper somewhat more translucent. There 
are, however, several good papers prepared for such use, 
and probably offered.by some of the seedsmen or dealers 
in agricultural requisites, and some such paper would 
be likely to prove more satisfactory for your purpose 
than the homemade article. w. h. tapun. 
