1906. 
4o7 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
digging in a largo number of places they returned and said 
if that was the only place that I would plant a pear orchard 
they did not care to sell me trees, as they did not consider 
it pear soil, and that pear trees set in that ground would 
not be a credit or benefit to either the seller or the pur¬ 
chaser." After this neighbor related the above to me I 
concluded that if all they cared to do was to sell trees they 
would not be so particular about the kind of soil. This 
incident was just what caused me to be taken in. 
As it turned out most of the trees died. The com¬ 
pany sent some more trees, and they died. Now the 
company has abandoned the orchard, but they have 
not by any means abandoned the $100. There is noth¬ 
ing in the contract to make them do so. All there is 
left worth looking at is a peach orchard which has 
made a good growth—but the trees are not true to 
name, being all mixed up. We print this, not because 
we can hope to get this nursery company to refund, 
but to warn fruit growers. We wrote this company, 
told them what was reported, and asked them to give 
their side of the matter. They have paid no attention 
to the letter—being satisfied with both sides of their 
$100! We warn our readers not to go into any such 
business with any company. Refuse to sign any such 
contract. Do not plant expensive new varieties that 
are not endorsed by your experiment station. Buy 
standard varieties of responsible men and plant the 
trees yourself. _ 
ROOT-PRUNING EVERGREEN TREES. 
I noticed that one of your correspondents recently 
inquired whether evergreens would grow if closely 
root-pruned. In February I had two Chinese arbor- 
vita: dug that were five years old, with well-rounded 
heads about five feet high. Having no further use for 
them I had them dragged out into the street to be 
hauled away, where they laid until late in the after¬ 
noon. A friend passing by inquired whether they 
would grow if planted. I told him it was doubtful, but 
I would prune them if he would set them as an experi¬ 
ment. He agreed, so I sawed the tops off to about 18 
inches and the lateral as well as deep roots to about 
four inches, leaving the few fibrous roots that remained. 
I told him to set them at least 10 inches deep, fill in 
with fine soil, ram well, water and mulch with a coat 
of rotten cow manure, a pile of which I knew he had. 
He did as directed, and now, April 21, both trees are a 
dense mass of green shoots about two inches high. No 
tree takes more kindly to root-pruning than the orange, 
only the lateral roots should be cut back to about one 
inch and the vertical root or roots, if the tree is sev¬ 
eral years old, to three or four inches and the top to 
about a foot after planting. Such a tree will re-estab¬ 
lish itself at once on several strong top roots, and if 
well fertilized make an astonishing growth in a few 
years. I also note in a recent issue that in answer to 
your inquiry of nurserymen “whether planters were 
using smaller trees,” H. S. Wiley & Son say that close 
root-pruning “should never be employed on the aver¬ 
age soils of western New York.” Why not, when 
trees so treated succeed so well in eastern New York? 
If a root-graft with six or eight inches scion and two 
or three inches of clean root will make a fine apple 
tree for those nurserymen in one year, why will not 
the same tree do equally well after the union is com¬ 
plete, if reduced to the same form and transplanted? 
Texas. _ H, M . stringfei.low. 
NO DANGER IN WATER GLASS EGGS. 
Your correspondent, R. O. Graham, on page 308, 
raises a question as to the healthfulness of eggs pre¬ 
served in water glass, (soluble sodium silicate) and 
furnishes an excellent example of conscientious a priori 
reasoning to support his conclusion that eggs so pre¬ 
served contain more or less “water glass.” Further, 
that he would not like to make a regular diet of such 
eggs until he knew whether he was consuming water 
glass and how much. He recites the following facts 
gleaned from his reading: That the fluid surrounding 
the eggs acquires a strong odor, especially in Summer. 
That the egg content is more “watery.” Hence his con¬ 
clusion—“These facts show that both water glass and 
egg is changed. These changes must result from an 
interchange between the egg content and the water glass 
due to osmosis. Part of the egg content has passed out 
into the preserving fluid, and part of the water glass has 
passed into the egg.” Now allow me to give my a 
priori reasoning, supplemented with practice. When I 
had read in The R. N.-Y. from time to time of the ex¬ 
cellent success in egg preserving attained by the use of 
soluble silicate of soda, I became much interested. I 
reasoned that osmosis did not take place through an 
eggshell and its lining membrane between two such 
colloid (uncrystallizable) substances as egg albumen 
and commercial sodium silicate, and therein lay the 
secret of the peculiar property of water glass in egg 
preservation. I purchased 75 dozen eggs, in April a 
year ago, from a neighbor who keeps several hundred 
hens. I considered I would be tolerably sure of getting 
fresh stock. I used five receptacles for eggs and water 
glass, one wooden tub, two stoneware crocks and two 
galvanized iron pails, in order to vary the conditions. 
The eggs were used in the family regularly and lasted 
until early in March the present year. They were kept 
in the cellar, and at no time did the preserving liquid 
have a foul odor. The eggs could be used for all pur¬ 
poses in culinary preparations, and we often boiled them, 
first pricking the large end with a pin to make sure of 
the shell not cracking. To me they were always undis- 
tinguishable in taste from fresh eggs. More than three 
weeks since I placed six dozen eggs in water glass in 
a pail. This morning I made a careful test of the fluid 
for albumen, and not a trace could be found. 1 he eggs 
are holding it all yet. 
A word as to the white of an egg becoming “watery.” 
It becomes more limpid in a water glass egg, but I do 
not think from dilution. I know that egg albumen, after 
THE FAITHFUL OX ON THE MOWER. Fig. 104. 
being taken from the shell and beaten, becomes “thin¬ 
ner” for 24 to 48 hours, as I observed 40 years ago when 
making albumen paper for photographic use. I can con¬ 
ceive of the white of an egg losing in a measure its 
ropy, coherent or viscous character while yet in the 
shell without becoming diluted. As to silica and soda 
in the egg, I shall have no qualms if analysis should 
show a trace of water glass in preserved eggs. All the 
cereals, vegetables, fruits and meats contain silica and 
soda. The ashes of straw, stalks and the various pro- 
venders that we feed to cattle contain more than 50 per 
cent silica on the average, and more or less soda. I 
think no one need hesitate, so far as poison is con¬ 
cerned, to consume, say 2,000 eggs a year if they are of 
the quality I have tried. s. R. divine. 
Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
A CHAPTER ON BEAN GROWING. 
I have thought that in this section white soup beans 
could be raised with great profit, on account of high price 
paid for them. I would like to raise 10 or 20 acres of them, 
and would like to know the kind you recommend. Is the 
white pea bean the same as the “navy” bean? How many 
bushels per acre on good land and drilled in in rows three 
feet apart, ought I reasonably to expect? By what method 
can I gather the crop to the best advantage? Is there any 
machine that will cut the beans without damage to the pods? 
In my boyhood days the farmers pulled the beans by hand, 
but I presume now there are better methods devised. Could 
a mowing machine be used successfullv. and a wheel horse 
rake to gather them? Do you know of any good bean plant- 
RAKING HAY WITH THE OX. Fig. 165. 
ing machine with fertilizer attachment that will drill two 
rows at a time about 10 inches apart? Do you think that a 
rich sod field well plowed and cut up with disk harrow and 
fertilized would produce a fair crop of beans? G. 11 . o. 
Allegheny. Pa. 
Whether or not G. H. O. can make commercial bean 
growing a success in the vicinity of Pittsburg perhaps 
remains to be ascertained by trial. The difficulty that 
seems to lie in the way may be the prevalence of the 
Bean weevil. Many localities that grow garden beans 
successfully are barred from growing the commercial 
dried bean because the development of the weevil 
renders them worthless, while it does not interfere with 
the growing of the snap and shell beans for Summer 
consumption. The term “navy bean” is a commercial 
expression applied to almost any sort of small white 
bean, while “pea bean” has reference to certain varieties 
grown in New York State and elsewhere. The marrow 
pea bean seems to have a wider range of adaption than 
most sorts, and it is probably one of the safest for the 
inquirer to experiment with, although the White Mar¬ 
row, White or Red Kidney, or Yellow-eye, might do 
equally well. In the bean growing sections of New 
York State beans are ordinarily planted 28 inches apart, 
this being as great a width as seems necessary for the 
ordinary development of the vines. Of course larger 
yields wouid be secured at this distance than could 
be had if planted three feet apart. The planting is 
usually done with the ordinary grain drill, stopping the 
tubes that are not required. The grain drills are usually 
supplied with fertilizer distributors, so that the applica¬ 
tion of fertilizer is not a difficult or expensive problem. 
1 he writer docs not know of any satisfactory machine 
constructed for the purpose of drilling a double row 
but, of course, this could readily be accomplished by 
using two tubes of the grain drill. 
Beans are usually gathered with the bean harvester, 
which is a two-wheel implement having two long, 
narrow blades set obliquely across the machine in such 
a way that each sweeps across a row so as to cut off 
close to the surface of the ground or pull the bean plants, 
leaving the two rows lying in one row together. After 
drying for a time in this condition the beans are 
gathered into bunches by means of a horse rake. These 
bunches are occasionally turned and doubled in such a 
way that roads are left through the field for the passage 
of wagons, and when sufficiently cured the beans are 
drawn to the barns for storage, thrashing being done 
immediately or deferred until a leisure time during 
Winter, as desired. j. l. stone. 
GOOD PROGRESS WITH OX POWER. 
Four years ago Irwin Harter, a young man just mar¬ 
ried, bought a farm of 250 acres, ran in debt for nearly 
the whole amount, bought a pair of young oxen, and 
one cow, and some young stock. Figs. 164 and 165 
will help to show how he did his work the first two 
years, also cultivated corn, potatoes and harvested all 
crops with oxen. He now has a dairy of 10 cows that 
have given the best average test of butter fat at the 
creamery the past two years. He has new farm imple¬ 
ments. wagons, horses of the best; put 200 bunches 
shingles on buildings, brought water to dwelling in pipe 
800 feet, painted large house, put new wood mill on 
yard, runs it with horse, also painted large wagon- 
house, and has taken wood to creamery V/ 2 mile away 
and wood to other people in town that has amounted to 
over $1,200, including some oak logs sold on skid-way 
at his home. In all he has 20 head of stock exclusive 
of team. He is a reader of The R. N.-Y. 
Greene Co., N. Y. m. d. Howard. 
A MICHIGAN MAN LOOKS EAST. 
I have been much interested in the articles about New 
England farms, especially, the one in the issue of Aug. 12, 
1905, entitled “New Life to a Run-down Farm.” I was 
born and raised on a farm, and have always lived on one. 
My, farm consists of 60 acres that would sell for about $60 
per acre. I am engaged in mixed farming and keep cows, 
chickens, pigs, etc. I have thought of selling my farm 
here and buying one there, my object being to get near 
better markets. I do not wish to sell my farm here un¬ 
less I can better myself. Of course I would visit a farm 
before buying. We can raise enough here, but markets 
are poor. Hay and most of the oats are shipped to the 
eastern markets. This year No. 1 Timothy hay sells for 
$6.50, No. 2 about $4. Prices average about as follows: 
Timothy hay, No. 1, $8 per ton ; oats, 28 cents per bushel; 
wheat, 75 cents per bushel; eggs, 16 cents per dozen; 
fow'ls (alive), six cents per pound; chickens (alive), eight 
cents per pound; berries, 10 cents per quart; potatoes, 30 
cents per bushel; apples. 20 to 50 cents per bushel (when 
you can sell them) ; milk, about 60 cents per 100 pounds 
at creamery. F. M. 
Michigan. 
We print this letter as further evidence of the restless 
spirit among American farmers. One man wants to go 
from New’ York to Nebraska, another from New Hampshire 
to Dakota, another from northern Michigan to Florida, 
while others, like this man, think of moving from the 
Middle West back to New England. He says he can raise 
enough, but since a good proportion of what lie raises goes 
East anywav—whv not go East himself and get wdiat he 
now pavs the railroads? It isn’t all sunshine in these 
eastern markets. True, prices are much higher than those 
quoted, but there is fierce competition, the cost of produc¬ 
tion is higher, and there is less of the true spirit of farm¬ 
ing. Where this man lives farming may be the chief indus¬ 
try of the section. In the East, near a large town or city, 
manufacturing will be the great industry, with farming 
of much less importance. Sometimes a farmer does not 
realize what this means until he locates in a new section. 
If this man could sell his farm for $3,600 he could without 
doubt buy a larger farm in New’ England for $3,000, well 
located and with a fair proportion of level land. Such 
land could be made to produce four tons of hay per acre, 
at an average price of $16 per ton. or 250 bushels of pota¬ 
toes at an average of 50 cents. It will also grow large 
crops of corn, but most farmers will do well to let wheat 
and oats alone. The rougher parts of the farm can be 
planted in apple and peach. The latter is a gamble crop 
In New England, but the apple is safe and sure, and one 
year with another brings a fair price. This man ought 
not to buy an abandoned farm, but one of naturally good 
soil that has been kept reasonably clean. Such farms are 
often for sale to close an estate, or because elderly people 
are left without children and cannot do the farm work. 
At the same time, a farmer coming from the 'vest will 
find himself in strange surroundings. The fields are smaller 
and the soil is different. He cannot carry on his old 
rotation. He will have to study out the fertilizer question, 
grow new crops and learn new methods. If he is not 
teachable he mav find that his old farm was better than 
his new markets. The New England farmer does not 
find himself in a land flowing with milk and honey unless 
he imitates the patience of the cow and the industry of 
the honey-bee. 
