2l4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 10. 
KEEPING APPLES ON THE FARM 
This season I have been so well pleased 
with the result of an experiment in keeping 
apples that I decided to give the readers of 
Tub K. N.-Y, the benefit of my experience. 
My apples were picked, packed in barrels, the 
barrels headed and placed under an open shed 
early in October. December 10 barrels, most 
of them Baldwins, were put in the north end 
of the wagon-shed In two tiers of eight barrels 
each; one end of the barrels about 18 inches 
from the end of the shed, and a space of 
about 18 inches between 'the other end of 
the barrels and some boards placed to form 
a bin. Three two-horse wagon loads of leaves 
were then packed around and on top of the 
barrels. We are now selling and using these 
apples, and I never saw any keep better. The 
leaves were a little frosty, but quite dry, and 
the weather quite cold. 13 degrees above zero, 
when the apples were packed in the leaves. 
Connecticut. J. r. FORBES, 
We have an apple house that holds about 
400 barrel-boxes that gives very good results 
in saving apples until along toward Spring, 
and with very small loss from rot. Our 
house was built with provision for placing ice 
overhead for purpose of cooling in early Fall, 
but since the first year we have used no 
ice. The building is well insulated to keep 
out cold and heat, but 1 believe the secret 
of saving apples is more In the apples than 
in the house; tb"t is, if fruit is well sprayed 
during Summer and the fruit is carefully 
picked and handled, and kept over night in as 
cool a place as possible, and placed in apple 
house early in the morning before the fruit has 
warmed up, it will save with much less rot 
than same fruit carelessly handled and put 
in the house at mid-day when fruit Is hot. 
We always get the apple house at as low a 
temperature as possible before placing any 
fruit therein by opening the door and ven¬ 
tilator at night and closing in morning, and 
continue this until weather is so cold as to 
cause danger of freezing inside the house. 
With good well sprayed fruit handled as 
above there should be but small loss except 
where large quantities of fruit are stored, 
when artificial refrigeration is a necessity, 
and even then all other precautions are nec¬ 
essary to prevent large losses. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. t. e. cross. 
> 
Answering It., page 927, and J. II., page 
79, I give my way of saving apples for 
home use. No iron-clad rule for picking, as 
orchards may have north, south, east or west 
exposures: high or low ground, the season 
wet or dry, hot or cold; all these will affect 
the ripening. The only rule for time of 
picking is practical common sense. When 
picking put them in piles about one fool deep 
(not more) and hay about three Inches thick 
on barn floor, or any convenient open place 
where they can be shaded and have free cir- 
culatlon of air. After the sweating process—• 
say two or three weeks, then cover well with 
burlaps, old bagging or any material that will 
pi'otoct them from the light. Leave them 
until there is danger of frost; then sort 
carefully, and put in cellar in paper-lined 
barrels. The paper acts as an absorbent of 
any sweat or moisture that might cause rot, 
and also forms an airtight package. To 
line the barrel, put newspaper on the bottom, 
open a newspaper, then you will have a 
paper near three feet long and two or three 
sheets thick: put one end to the bottom, 
fold the other end back over the top of the 
barrel, which will hold the paper in place 
when putting in the fruit. By giving good 
laps this will take three papers to cover the 
barrel, when filled with fruit turn the paper 
from the top of the barrel over the fruit and 
cover all with another paper well pressed 
around the edge. When getting fruit for 
use, recover with the paper. By this method 
we have apples until we get early Spring 
fruit. E. A. D. 
West Orange, N. J. 
Several weeks ago The R. N.-Y. asked 
farmers to tell how to keep apples during 
Winter. As ours are always good, even such 
early ones as Bellflower, I thought it a queer 
question. Last week, being in a small town 
grocery store, seeing shriveled, dried-up speci¬ 
mens of apples that farmers had brought 
there in trade, I could see why the question 
was asked in The R. N.-Y. We just simply 
bury ours; some soil may leave a flavor: our 
sandy soil never does. They are fine in 
flavor, and juicy as off the tree. The care 
of Winter apples starts with picking if not 
before; we always caution the picker to 
handle like eggs, and never, never, leave out 
in niles to sweat, heat, dry out and every¬ 
thing else that is bad for them. We have 
ours brought in right from trees to cool, dark 
store room, same as I ripen our pears. Cover 
with quilts or carpet, and as we go to market 
twice a week, where we sell at retail by one- 
quarter and one-half pecks for immediate 
use, we sort out according as they ripen 
and show defects, keeping only sound ones to 
bury, which was eight bushels this year, in 
two separate holes, four bushels in each one. 
(There are only two of us in family.) We 
took one lot of four bushels out at Christmas; 
the other lot is buried yet. After taking up 
wash and sort again. There was less than 
one-half peck total loss out of the four 
bushels we are nearing the end of now, con¬ 
sisting of Pound, Cheese, Baldwin, Spy and 
Bellflower. The other four bushels have no 
Baldwins or Bellflower. Always handle care¬ 
fully, sort; use faulty ones first. Put in 
something tight and cover close. I put mine 
in old lard can, keep in cellar two months 
or longer after taken out of ground; always 
juicy, fresh and fine. MRS. d. l. hartman. 
Pennsylvania. 
Many years ago, m.v father owned a house 
and lot in a village in southern New York. 
The front of the house was on a level with 
street, and the back six feet: lower, and 
resting on posts and walls double planked. 
The entrance to cellar on the back and to the 
north only required two steps, so what we 
called our work-room was nearly all above 
ground, and only the double plank or one- 
quarter inches of wood wall on north and 
east. In this room we kept our apples, which 
were stored in boxes procured from the 
store, and holding perhaps from four to 10 
bushels. In coldest weather we were obliged 
to use robes, old quilts and carpets to keep 
from freezing. Rhode Island Greenings were 
kept perfectly without rot or shriveling until 
long in .Tune. Apples were carefully gathered 
and as carefully stored in the boxes as 
gathered. Farmhouse cellars are too warm, 
and it seems to me with materials now at 
command, a cold storage house, mostly above 
ground, could be cheaply made that would 
length >n the apple season. f. c. j. 
St. Lawrence Co.. N. Y. 
How San Jose Scale Travels. 
L. L., Croton-on-Tin(Ison, N. Y. —IIow does 
the San Jos6 scale get on a tree, creep along 
the ground or fly through the air? 
Ans. —The female scale, which does the 
mischief to a tree, has no wings, and thus 
cannot fly from tree to tree. It travels 
but a short distance before settling upon 
a twig or limb, where it remains. It will 
not crawl from tree to tree except at the 
tops where the branches touch. The most 
common methods of spread are by the 
wind or on the feet of birds or insects 
which pass from tree to tree. 
Solid Wall For Henhouse. 
W H. ()., Fulton , N. Y. —Will the follow¬ 
ing make a satisfactory wall for a henhouse 
100 x 15 feet, one story high, with a gable 
roof? Our ground is clay loam, which heaves 
considerably. We expect to dig a trench two 
feet wide and three feet deep, which will be 
down to the hardpan, or possibly into it from 
six inches to a foot. This trench will be to 
within one foot of the surface, filled with field 
stone ranging from three to six inches in 
diameter; on these a plank form 30 inches 
high. 18 inches wide at the bottom and six 
at the top, with the batter on the outside. 
This form will be filled with mortar com¬ 
posed of Portland cement one part, sand four 
parts; into this will be worked as many of 
the field stone as can be without their touch¬ 
ing each other. This wall will be drained by 
a three inch tile drain. The question with 
us is: Will this make a wall as good as 
one where the concrete went the full depth 
of the wall? If it will it will save us one- 
half its cost, as the stone can be had for the 
drawing. 
Ans.— Yes, if drainage is provided in 
the bottom of the trench, and of course 
below frost, it will be unnecessary to 
grout below the surface. I would not 
consider it necessary to dig a trench two 
feet wide for this light building; 18 inches 
would certainly be enough, and save bat¬ 
tering to any extent. This wall can be 
battered down to the width of the plank 
sill, which would not necessarily be over 
10 inches wide. Of course these sugges¬ 
tions are not necessary, only they will 
save a little in construction. 
_H. E. COOK. 
Dauber : “Look here old fellow ; I’m 
painting a picture and want to study the 
expression of surprise—utter, entire, un¬ 
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it ?” Friend: “Oh, I know; go and pay 
some of the people you are owing money 
to.”—Tit-Bits. 
OW PEAS draw nitrogen from the 
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C ‘- in 
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O o 
