1905. 
879 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
FRUIT CROWING IN ALABAMA. 
I wish to plant five acres to apples, land lying on a hill¬ 
side, and also to set out plum trees in poultry yards 20x125 
feet, yards running down hill. Pullets are to have run of 
the live-acre orchard. What system of culture would be 
best in each case to prevent washing of soil, to keep land 
clean so as not to endanger health of fowls, and to insure 
a thrifty growth of trees? Would sod culture, mentioned 
by C. U. on page 742, be adaptable to a young orchard? 
If so, 1 would like to know details in regard to this method. 
Birmingham, Ala. reader. 
Our orchard is located on a hillside, and in places 
the slope is rather steep. We run the rows across the 
side and cultivate that way, not up and down. To 
keep the soil from washing we drill peas in rows 30 
inches apart between the rows of trees and work two 
or three times, then sow Fall grain, or let the Fall grass 
cover the ground, dhe poultry feed on the ripe peas 
and growing grain most of the Winter and Spring. 
In poultry yards the fowls keep all growth down, and 
we find that trees make a thrifty growth with very 
little cultivation. The apples make the most unsatis¬ 
factory growth of any trees we have. We tried sod cul¬ 
ture with some plum and pear trees, and made a com¬ 
plete failure of it; 30 per cent of the trees have died, 
and the remainder are little larger than they were when 
set out four years ago. These trees have given us no 
fruit, while those on cultivated ground have made a 
good growth and given us considerable fruit. 
Huntsville, Ala. R - E - c. 
The only way that side-hill lands planted in orchards 
can be prevented from washing of the soil is to lay off 
that land with horizontal 
ditches, so as to carry off 
the water. These ditches 
can be placed from 20 to 40 
feet apart, according to the 
lay of the land. Rows of 
trees should be planted so 
as to follow the lines of the 
ditches, and the land kept 
under clean system of cul¬ 
tivation. We do not ap¬ 
prove of sod culture of or¬ 
chards in this country. T he 
best method is to plant cow 
peas between the trees, cut 
off the tops in the Fall for 
forage, but leave the roots 
in the ground. The reason 
we do not advocate sod cul¬ 
ture in apple orchards South 
is because of the lack of the 
proper grasses that will 
stand our Summers. Such 
perennials as Bermuda and 
Guinea grass are very ob¬ 
jectionable. Therefore clean 
culture is the best. 
P. J. BERCKMANS & CO. 
In order to prevent the 
orchard from washing I 
would advise that the rows 
of trees be planted as nearly 
as possible on a level, cir¬ 
cling around the hill instead 
of being planted in straight 
rows, by laying off every 
other row with a terracing 
level and cultivating always with the tree rows, not 
plowing up and down the hill. Each tree row can be 
made to act as a terrace, and by keeping the tree row 
slightly higher than the soil between rows washing can 
be prevented. Young orchards do best with clean, shal¬ 
low cultivation, and no grain should be planted in 
them, nor should the land be sown to grass or sodded 
until the trees reach bearing age. If desired to grow 
crops in the orchard, any low-growing crop that requires 
clean cultivation, such as cotton, peas or potatoes, can 
be planted without material injury to the orchard, pro¬ 
vided said 'crop is well fertilized and kept cleanly culti¬ 
vated. On account of the fact that cotton must be kept 
free from grass and weeds and the soil stirred fre¬ 
quently, it is an ideal crop to plant in young southern 
orchards. J- D - C. 
Hillsides in Alabama are not suitable for apples. 
Peaches or Japan plums would be more profitable on 
such a site. If planted to apples, however, it will be 
advisable to lay off the rows so as horizontally to belt 
the hill slope, taking care to run each row either on a 
level or with a slight fall, the grade being continuous 
from beginning to end of row. This will permit culti¬ 
vation and to a certain extent check erosion. Early 
Flarvest is best commercial Summer apple for this sec¬ 
tion, and Yates and Terry best Winter apples. Abund¬ 
ance, the best “all purpose” Japan plum, will be found 
suitable for poultry yards. Planted 20 feet apart in 
the center of each pen they should have a year’s start 
before the poultry is turned in, as otherwise their roots 
might be damaged by the scratching. When one year 
old they will not be injured by the fowls, while the 
latter will keep the yards clean of grass and weeds and 
obviate the necessity for cultivation. If the hillside is 
very steep it may be found necessary to construct a 
“breakwater” by extending six-inch boards at intervals 
across the pens. Soil will gradually fill up behind these 
and a series of steps or terraces will thus result in a 
season or two. Small auger holes should be bored in 
the planks to allow the water to seep through, while 
arresting the soil. This will prevent puddles on the 
upper side of the plank in rainy weather. Sod culture 
has not proved successful in the South with young 
orchards. The grass robs the trees of their moisture 
supply at the time they most need it for growth. In 
old apple or pear orchards, where the roots have pene¬ 
trated to a depth sufficient to render them independent 
of the surface water supply abstracted by the sod, it is 
permissible to sow the area, preferably with a mixture 
of Blue grass and White clover but the plot should be 
proportionately fertilized. HUGH N. starnes. 
Georgia Exp. Station. 
CULTIVATION FOR A YOUNG ORCHARD. 
About renewing a Massachusetts orchard on page 824 
Prof. Maynard says a liberal amount of stable manure 
must be applied and plowed under, or else a crop of 
rye, one of oats and peas, and one of peas and barley, or 
three successive crops should in turn be raised and 
plowed under, saying this treatment is inexpensive. 
Now this may be so for most of the people, but there 
are others to whom this expense would be prohibitive; 
for instance, a man who must make every day and 
acre count to make their ends meet, and at the same 
time try to grow an orchard. I think that either of the 
above methods of fertilizing is not only unnecessary, 
but absolutely harmful in the early life of an orchard, 
notwithstanding the fact that most people think other¬ 
wise Yet if I had some of them here I could give 
them strong proof of what I say. I have watched this 
very thing for some time, and the more I see of it the 
more I am convinced that there is but one fertilizer that 
should be used on a tree the year it is set, and that 
is elbow grease applied with a hoe. When I took pos¬ 
session of this place in the Spring of 1903 there was 
one lot in corn stubble. (I saw the man draw the corn 
off the Winter before on a wheelbarrow, and he did 
not have to go many times at that for five acres). The 
soil is light and was considered very poor. In the 
Spring of 1903 I plowed this and set it to standard 
apples 40 feet each way, filled it with apples one way 
and peaches the other, making the piece 20 feet each 
way. This has been planted to corn every year since, 
the crop getting better each year; this year being pro¬ 
nounced by all who saw it as good as any in this sec¬ 
tion. In the Fall of 1904 each tree had a light dressing 
of stable manure. Aside from this there has been no 
fertilizer used on either corn or trees, just good cul¬ 
tivation, yet when looked over this Fall by Prof. U. P. 
Hedrick and Edward Van Alstyne they pronounced 
these trees, both apple and peach, as fine as they had 
seen anywhere, the professor saying if anything he 
thought the peaches had too much color. They ripened 
finely, however, and are entirely bare at this time, and 
have as fine a set of fruit buds as I ever saw. 
The crop of corn has more than paid the cost of 
carrying this orchard to date. This is what I would 
call a poor man’s way. As to varieties, Prof. Maynard 
gives the Astrachan as a Fall apple. With us it is an 
early Summer, and being much subject to a disease of 
the trunk, is not very long lived. If setting at all, I 
would use as a filler. I would also think the Fall Pip¬ 
pin, being a good hardy grower, good bearer and having 
for some years brought top price in Boston market, 
should be a good one. w. H. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
SOME NEEDS OF DAIRYMEN. 
Thirty years’ active service milking cows and manu¬ 
facturing butter and cheese convinces me that a suc¬ 
cessful dairyman must become impressed with the true 
dairy spirit. Until a man becomes a student he is a 
failure in any vocation, no matter how much informa¬ 
tion is lying around him. Of course the great mass of 
material published for our benefit must be relative to the 
details of our work. But I am sure that most of it is 
wasted unless that subtle agency is at work which has 
filled the dairy soul to overflowing. I do not mean by 
this that a man’s whole energy should be absorbed in 
breeding, feeding and caring for his herd. The modern 
dairy farmer must be a man of affairs, broader and big¬ 
ger than his farm. If the farm makes a slave of its 
owner, no matter if the cows reach an abnormal produc¬ 
tion, in my opinion that man is not a success. What we 
most need on our dairy farms is not primarily new build¬ 
ings and blooded stock, but a new blooded owner. When 
this conversion takes place all other things will soon be 
added thereto, and without hardship; a balancing of parts 
not only as it affects the 
broader man, but also the 
various duties that concern 
his agricultural welfare. 
Some of us are able to 
breed a good herd, some to 
feed them for their highest 
production, others keep the 
farm neat and tidy, and still 
another produces maximum 
crops. The last mentioned 
gets his satisfaction out 
of the growing crop, not 
stopping to think that he is 
selling his hard work in the 
poorest and cheapest mar¬ 
ket in the world. This 
same man would no doubt 
make a six-mile trip and 
spend a day to secure an 
extra one-fourth cent per 
pound on a pig. I know a 
man who bred a fine herd, 
or rather they would have 
been had they been properly 
nourished. As it was they 
were inferior from the 
utilitarian point of view; a 
neighboring herd of scrubs 
given skilled care were far 
more productive and profit¬ 
able. The present genera¬ 
tion has inherited much tra¬ 
dition that hangs as a mill¬ 
stone about the dairy busi¬ 
ness. Animal husbandry was 
originally founded upon nat¬ 
ural conditions, and we therefore forget that modern 
dairy science is an artificial creation. Evidence is at hand 
upon every side; the rise and fall of milk flow as meas¬ 
ured by weather and climatic conditions; poor dry pas¬ 
tures and no substitute. Our present civilization pro¬ 
vides against any possibility of famine; the savage dies 
periodically from starvation. Our dairy civilization is 
comparable when we fail to exercise that complete mas¬ 
tery over soils, fertilizers, plant and animal life, a con¬ 
ception of which is possible through a study and under¬ 
standing of the best modern practices. I believe firmly, 
after a study of the various farm specialties found upon 
our American farms that one can safely say concerning 
the dairy, it offers greater opportunity for home build¬ 
ing, pleasure, active mental and physical muscle com¬ 
bined, and is farther removed from the speculative and 
therefore possessing the greatest stability than any other 
branch of agriculture. In other words, the broad gauged 
up-to-date dairyman or dairywoman living in its fullest 
conception and fruition may be and should be compar¬ 
able to the best in our American life as measured by our 
accepted standard of ethics. h. e. cook. 
A VERMONT CANNING FACTORY.—At Waterbury. I saw 
some very nice farms, with well-kept buildings and fertile 
fields, free from stone. The pastures are of the best, and 
well stocked with Jersey cows of better quality than I have 
seen almost anywhere else. I was much interested in a 
canning factory located here at Waterbury. The farmers 
about here grow sweet corn, usually a variety giving a good 
growth of stalk and leaf. The ears are sold to the cannery 
and the refuse, cobs, husks, etc., drawn back, as the skim- 
milk from a creamery, and put in the silo with the stalks. 
The average yield is from six to seven tons of ears per acre, 
and the price is $10 per ton. which with the feeding value of 
the stalks and refuse returned from factory ought to make 
a very good proposition. I notice a majority of the farmers 
are planning for a larger acreage next year. e. l, 
BED OF BABY RAMBLER ROSE (MME. NORBERT LEVAVASSEUR). Fig. 399. 
See Ruralisms, Page 882. 
