1905. 
T1IE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
927 
NOTES ON KEEPING APPLES. 
Will you give Homo directions or opinions relative to the 
keeping or preserving of apples in a fresh and sound con¬ 
dition. My case is this: I have in my cellar, which i3 
nlsmt 17 x i!) feet (seven feet deep) a southwest corner 
portioned off, 7 x 0, which with a movable outside window 
I use for a cold cellar, my furnace being located In the 
other part. I can easily regulate (lie temperature of the 
cold cellar by means of the window. Here i store my fruits 
and vegetables. My apples (Baldwins) were there placed, 
plump, fresh and fair when put in, but they soon began to 
wilt and wither and shrink In size. Mow shall I preserve 
their beautiful fresh and plump appearance? it. 
New Jersey. 
1 he inquirer should assort apples when picked, and 
put in tight barrels in as cold a place as circumstances 
will, allow until cold weather. They are entirely safe 
outside until temperature drops below 25. After put¬ 
ting in cellar a temperature below 30 is advisable for 
storage. Apples keep much the best in a tight package 
in low temperature. We find a house above ground 
with apples in barrels the best place to keep them 
through the Winter, outside of cold storage. 
New Jersey. i. j. blackwell. 
Keeping apples in any cellar which has a furnace con¬ 
nected with it is a difficult proposition. The partitions 
shutting off the fruit cellar must be thoroughly well 
made, and the connection as nearly airtight as possible. 
I suspect that the best the inquirer can do is to 'iavc 
the packages in which his fruit is kept as neat ly an tight 
as possible, leaving each barrel headed until the fruit 
is wanted. This 1 find tin best way to keep fruit in all 
ordinary cellars. Whether anything can be done to in¬ 
crease the moisture contained in the air by sprinkling 
the floors, I do not know, ha ing never tried it. I do 
know that apples like the Genet, which will shrivel badly 
in an ordinary cellar, will come out fresh and plump 
kept in a tight barrel from which the air is excluded. 
Rhode Island. fred w. card. 
'1 hat is my situation, and I have a successful “cool 
room”; better I think than I could have if the cellar 
was all in one room and no fire in it, because with a 
window on trie northwest I can keep it nearer the freez¬ 
ing point than I would want it if it were under the 
living rooms. The partition needs to be a substantial 
one; mine is brick and stone; board partition of one 
thickness is not enough. Mine is also under the pantry 
only, which of course is not heated. To keep apples 
from wilting they should not only be kept cool, but 
should be kept in an airtight package, or in moist air. 
I accomplish it by keeping them in barrels with oil 
paper in place of the top head. Most varieties will keep 
reasonably fresh in this way. Perhaps your corre¬ 
spondent’s apples arc coated with the sooty blotch or 
fungus on the skin, which prevails where there is poor 
air drainage and over moist soils. This seems to con¬ 
sume the oil in the skin, and they will wilt on the 
slightest provocation. To be rid of this fungus and 
consequently of the wilt occasioned by it, I have found 
two late sprayings with Bordeaux, August 19 and Sep¬ 
tember 9, to be effectual. norman s. flatt. 
Connecticut. 
WASHES FOR FRUIT TREES. 
I have carefully watched all comments upon the ques¬ 
tion of painting or applying some materials to fruit 
trees, especially peach trees, to keep off rabbits, mice 
and borers. Having over 25,000 peach trees now com¬ 
ing into bearing in southern Alabama, and a couple 
of orchards here in the Michigan fruit belt, the ques¬ 
tion of expense is a great item, especially in the Ala¬ 
bama orchard. I have no doubt but what there is some 
wash, if we knew what it is, that could be applied to the 
base of the trees after removing the dirt a little, which 
would effectually resist all of these pests. I have been 
unable to find a remedy that could be backed up by men 
of authority who have had sufficient experience. Ashes 
have been referred to, particularly for borers, and where 
plenty could be obtained and kept in place around the 
trees might be effectual, also air slaked lime. White¬ 
washes of different formulas have been recommended; 
one containing copper sulphate, some glue, I have tried, 
and as long as it lasted it was quite efficient. It did not 
last long enough. Solutions containing whale-oil soap, 
along with other materials, have been mentioned, 1 be¬ 
lieve, in connection with resin or tallow. Whitewash 
seems to harden and Hake off too soon. Certain materials 
might be added to soften and make more lasting a white¬ 
wash solution. White lead and oil has been discussed at 
length, but reports of both success and failure arc in 
evidence. Some of the highest authorities, especially on 
peach trees, caution us against the use of oils. We 
know tlTat some oils when sprayed upon the trees are 
dangerous, except in very small quantities. There are 
patent tree paints advertised, and some of the State 
authorities to whom we have written have advised us 
that they are worth but very little, and very similar 
formulas can lie mixed at home for about one-fourth 
the cost. Mr. Stringfellow of Texas told the writer 
that he had found success in a so-called water paint. 
Tt has been said that “litnoid’’ has some relation to 
the above. Possibly limoid with the addition of some 
other materials would make a good paint for this pur¬ 
pose. Up to this time I have found no remedy that 
I feel would be safe to apply on an extensive orchard. 
It would seem that some of our States which have 
prominent horticultural departments would find a rem¬ 
edy, the application of which would be effectual against 
these enemies combined. ikving jaquay. 
Berrien Co., Mich. 
R. N.-Y.—We understand that “limoid” was used in 
making these “cold-water paints.” It appears to make 
a better whitewash than the ordinary lime. 
THE YOUNG COW; HER FEED AND CARE . 
The present calf is the future cow, and her value 
then depends upon our care and management now. Tile 
object of raising the calf is to get the future cow, and 
of course the better the cow the more there is in it for 
us, and most of us are in the business for what there 
is “in it.” Suppose we start with the calf that had a 
good sire and dam and wish to turn out the best pos¬ 
sible cow at maturity. Our first object should be to 
keep that calf growing constantly until it drops its first 
calf. We also want to raise it as economically as pos¬ 
sible. 'The months of November, December and January 
are the best ones to have the calf of the future cow 
dropped. There is usually more time to care for it 
BOOT GROWTH IN CROWBAR IIOI.KS. Km. 11M». 
See Hope Kami Notes, Page 931. 
then. You avoid flies, sour milk and the other hot 
weather troubles. When Summer pasture comes it is 
old enough to turn off and practically take care of itself 
through the Summer. Our plan is to let the calf suck 
its dam two or three days, until it gets straightened 
around and the cow is all right. We had her in a box 
stall, and remove the cow to her accustomed place first, 
so that she thinks the calf slill in the box stall. We 
teach the calf to drink, using some patience, and 
usually it will drink the second or third time after try¬ 
ing. We give it three to four quarts of new milk twice 
daily, depending on the size of the calf. When 10 days 
to two weeks old we begin to replace the new milk 
with skim-milk of the same temperature, and in a few 
days it is getting all skim-milk. We have a box in 
the pen at the proper height, and in this we put bran 
or wheat mixed feed, and let the calf have a handful 
to start in, gradually increasing the amount. We put 
hay in the manger, and they begin on this very early, 
as we have seen week-old calves frequently chewing this 
hay. We like bran and mixed feed better than any of 
the feeds we have ever tried, as it helps keep the calf 
thrifty and growing without putting on fat. We want 
to avoid having the calves get fat. We want growth of 
bone and muscle, and the bran or mixed feed is a 
splendid source of these with skim-milk. It is possible 
to raise calves without skim-milk, but it means more 
labor and care. 
The one great enemy of the calf is scours, and this 
is almost always caused by one or more of three things, 
overfeeding, feeding milk cither too hot or too cold, or 
dirty stables. Unless you feed milk warm from the 
separator it will pay you to use a dairy thermometer, 
and always have the milk at blood temperature. Not 
one man in ten can guess correctly at this. We clean 
the calf stable daily, and again at night add more fresh 
bedding. Don’t neglect to keep the calf pen clean, and 
don’t keep them in a cold, damp place, as they will not 
thrive. Put a pail of cold water daily where they can 
get at it, as they will do better to have water by them 
after they are a month old. Throw in a turf or a 
shovel of fresh soil in the pen every few days. They 
love to lick it, and eat more or less of the dirt, and 
seem to crave something of this sort. By Summer they 
are ready to turn out to pasture, but should be looked 
after frequently, and salted so that they will not get 
wild. Look out for the feed getting short in the Fall, 
and allowing them to sleep out when it gets cold, as 
they will grow thin very fast on scant Fall feed and 
cold nights or storms. The Winter they are yearlings 
they should be kept in warm, clean quarters, and have 
plenty to eat of good nourishing food. Many people 
make a mistake here, as they give them bog hay or 
anything not good enough for other stock, and. the 
heifers keep alive, but do not grow. 
A quart or two of bran or mixed feed daily with 
plenty of good hay or silage once a day will keep them 
growing, and growth is what we want. They should 
be bred when 14 to 16 months old, and this brings 
them in when about two years old, and when you are 
ready and have time to give them good care. The sec¬ 
ond Summer is spent at pasture, so that our two-year- 
old heifer has not been a great care or expense. Give 
them bran daily before calving, but sec that the udder 
is not caked. 
Don’t feed the heifer too much grain as soon as she 
comes mi, and don’t condemn her the first season. If 
she was properly raised and has dairy form give her at 
least two chances. Don’t have her bred too quickly 
for second calf and she will grow and improve much 
during the period between first and second calf. When 
you begin to milk her don’t “break her in.” If you 
have done your part a little patience at the start and 
she will soon milk like an old cow. Don’t frighten or 
punish her, but let her know you are her friend. It is 
a pleasure to see the calves grow, thrive and turn into 
good dairy animals. Not all will, but do your part and 
they will about as surely as most things arc sure in 
this world. H. c. Manchester. 
BELIEVES IN FUMIGATION. 
I can fully endorse Prof. Phillips’ experience of 
fumigation of nursery stock, page 878. I have prac¬ 
ticed it for several years, and have yet to see any evil 
results from it when properly done. Of course I would 
not deny that injury might result from an overdose, or 
when trees were too immature, but under reasonable 
conditions my long experience satisfies me that it is 
both safe and reliable. I have a large violet house, 
18 x 260, which has been fumigated many times without 
any apparent injury. Still, I am aware we could kill all 
the plants in the house just as easily as a physician 
could kill a patient with an overdose. I am aware 
many contend that trees are injured by it whenever 
there is something wrong. I have grown and handled 
trees for tin* past 45 years, long before hydrocyanic 
gas was thought of, and have seen many failures, but 
they now are all set against fumigation. If our legis¬ 
latures would do away with all of our inspection laws, 
many of which are unwise and foolish, and enforce 
fumigation under the direction of our entomologist, 
everyone concerned would be benefited ; it is not only a 
safeguard against San Jose scale, but many other insect 
enemies now overlooked; among them the Black aphis 
on the peach and the Woolly aphis on the apple. The 
man who wants his trees without fumigation ought to 
be compelled to make and apply lime, salt and sulphur 
until he was willing to take a dose of gas to end his 
misery. chas. black. 
New Jersey. _ 
EGGS IN ALCOHOL BARREL, if alcohol barrels are new 
ami clean no sizing or other preparations should Ite needed 
to lit them for preserving eggs in water glass solution. 
This solution Is rather thick and does not readily penetrate 
wood. All Hurl Is needed Is that the barrels lie fresh, clean 
and free from any taint that a water solution will dis¬ 
solve. Coating with paraffin certainly would not injure the 
barrels nor the eggs, and would tend to render the barrels 
watertight, hut In our opinion It does not seem to he needed. 
It would he entirely practical to hold the eggs from 6 to 10 
months or even longer If they were perfectly fresh when put 
In, and the solution <>f water glass was of standard com¬ 
mercial strength, diluted with nine times Its bulk of water. 
At the same time we could not advise offering these eggs 
as new laid after coming out of the solution. They are 
equal to fresh eggs for most purposes, hut are not quite 
up to the "new laid" standard. 
