55o 
July 14, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
from injuring the trees. All that they need is the 
same space and attention that a stalk of cotton or hill 
of corn needs, and this they shall have. A trusty man 
will be put on a horse and charged with the duty of 
seeing that the tiees are given a fair chance to grow. 
This they will do in this soil of unknown depth and 
richness, if not injured. They are set 50 feet apart, 
but in 25 years must be thinned to 100 feet. 
We could not have accomplished the planting of this 
big orchard in so short a time without good weather 
and the tools we used. The soil here is very sticky, and 
rains are usually very frequent and copious at the time 
of year we did the work, which makes work very diffi¬ 
cult and uncertain. The planting wires were almost 
indispensable, and worked like a charm. They saved 
time, worry and prevented crooked rows. They were 
laid across cotton fields, ditches and all without hin¬ 
drance. The long lines of stakes are a sight to see, 
stretching about a mile each way, and as straight as 
those on a checkerboard. The post-hole augers also 
were a great help, for they were easily worked, and took 
the earth out perfectly and in a much shorter time than 
it could have been done with spades. 
The varieties planted are few, and only such as have 
been tested long enough to prove them to be reliable 
bearers as well as excellent in the size and quality of 
their nuts. There are 5,000 trees of Stuart, 2,750 Van 
Deman, 1,750 Moneymaker, 450 Pabst, and the other 
50 of varieties for testing. There may be other varie¬ 
ties as good or better, but if so I do not know them, 
although there are some that are very good, and, doubt¬ 
less, time will develop others as good as or better than 
those we now think the best. In the later plantings they 
may be used, for the 10,000 now set are only a part of 
what we expect to plant within the next few years. 
I am planting a lot of fig trees between the pecan 
trees, for early returns, with the purpose of canning 
the fruit. Vegetables will also be grown instead of all 
cotton, for this crop that has long been called “king” 
is one that often seriously injures its subjects. Our 
intention is ultimately to change entirely from cotton 
to pecans. h. e. van deman. 
BUILDING A CONCRETE WALL. 
I feel that the best stone or concrete wall can be built 
of concrete with a 1-3-6 mixture, two walls six inches 
wide with an air space eight inches wide. These walls 
should be re-enforced and joined together at intervals 
of 30 inches. The twisted wire should run perpendicu¬ 
larly and horizontally at these points. Forms when 
built should have these connecting spaces through which 
twisted wire passes and locked around through the 
side walls. This re-enforcement will save cracking, and 
an air chamber will be formed. In other words, we 
shall have two thin side walls six inches wide with an 
eight-inch air space, or a total width of 20 inches, and 
joined with these six inches square concrete links makes 
it just as strong for the purpose required as a solid 
wall, which, as all know, is not to be desired in stable 
construction. It may cost more than a solid wall, but 
not enough to be noticed. The labor will be increased, 
building forms and putting in re-enforcement, but a 
saving of about 25 per cent will be made in material. 
Be sure, of course, that the mixture is complete, and 
that it is solidly tamped in the forms. If desired, as 
soon as the forms are taken off a thin plaster of one 
to two can be put on with a trowel, giving a nice 
smooth finish. __ h. e. cook. 
A GOOD CELLAR . 
Those who contemplate building, or those who have 
poor cellars, will do well to consider carefully the es¬ 
sentials of a good cellar. A good cellar must be 
cool in Summer, and proof against freezing in Winter. 
Therefore, depth is an important point—a deep cellar 
meeting loth these requirements. As we go deeper 
beneath the surface there is a tendency towards equaliza¬ 
tion of temperature. In the northern portions of the 
United States frost seldom penetrates more than four 
or five feet; while in Summer the subsoil at three feet 
deep remains at about 60 degrees temperature during 
midsummer heat. A cellar bottom should be six feet 
below the general surface of the soil. 
A cellar under a house is not only a necessity in most 
cases, but is, in the colder portions of the country, a 
great help in keeping the house warm in cold weather. 
A house with a cellar beneath will require less coal 
for maintaining living temperature than a house without 
one. Is a cellar with a cement floor warmer in Summer 
than one with the natural earth ? Some say so. As far 
as cleanliness and rat-proof conditions are concerned, 
cement makes the ideal floor for a cellar. Since the 
warmth of a cellar in Winter and its coolness in Sum¬ 
mer are largely dependent upon the temperature of 
the soil beneath the cellar, it follows that the floor 
should consist of a material that is a good conductor. 
Rock, and with this we may class cement, is a better 
conductor than sand or clay, and hence makes a better 
float- The bottom of a cellar should be dry, and dry 
sand or clay is a poor conductor, and should be covered 
with cement; thus the soil beneath will remain moist, 
while the cement surface will be dry, thus fulfilling 
both temperature and sanitary requirements. Owing to 
unevenness of the ground surface, it sometimes happens 
that a considerable portion of the cellar wall must be 
exposed on the outside. Here the wall should 
be built double, or be protected by an earth embank¬ 
ment. I knew of a cellar of this kind which would 
freeze every Winter. A retaining wall of rough stone 
was laid up four or five feet from the cellar wall and 
the intervening space filled with earth. So much of a 
help did this prove to be that the same cellar did not 
‘ THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.” Fig. 223. 
freeze in the coldest Winter known for years. The 
house sills should be laid in mortar to make the cellar 
as tight as possible. 
VENTILATION.—Small windows answer for this 
purpose for the greater portion of the year. In the cold¬ 
est weather very little, if any, ventilation is needed, the 
temperature being so low that no fermentation is taking 
place to any extent. In the heat of Summer windows 
should be opened only at night. At that season a ven- 
AN OHIO DAIRYMAID. 1*G. 224. 
tilating flue is useful passing from the cellar to the 
roof of the house. The inlet for the air may be through 
the drainage pipe, if there is one, the air, in passing 
through it, becoming cooled so that it does not warm 
the cellar. 
A DRY CELLAR.—Some cellars cannot be drained, 
and some do not need any artificial drainage. Where it 
is at all possible, however, it is best to run an outlet 
pipe of round tile to take off any water which may 
collect from any cause. As mentioned above, such a 
drain is also useful as a ventilator. Where ground is 
springy and there is trouble from wet cellar a thorough 
remedy may be had by proceeding as follows: Have the 
outlet one foot below the level of cellar floor, and ex¬ 
tend it a foot inside of cellar wall all around the cellar 
and up through the middle the whole length, giving all 
a slight up grade from the outlet. Fill above these tiles 
to the surface with coarse gravel or crushed stone. 
Then cement two inches deep right on the clay bottom 
of the cellar, and above each drain make a semi-cylin- 
drical groove about two inches deep with holes through 
to the gravel at intervals in case water oozes through 
the cellar walL When the location is wet and fall can¬ 
not be obtained for a drainage pipe, there are two ways 
to overcome the difficulty. An outlet pipe may be run 
in a cistern or well, the water in which is kept down 
by pumping. Or the cellar may be made a water-tight 
box to keep the water out. The floor will have to be 
made of heavy concrete at least one foot thick to resist 
the upward, pressure of the water in wet times when 
the ground is full. Of course the side walls have to 
be made perfectly water-tight, cemented inside and out 
in much the same way that a cistern is to keep the 
water in. _ _ grant davis. 
SPRUCE AS A TIMBER TREE. 
Can you tell me anything as to the time it takes to grow 
spruce timber to marketable size for lumber? llow many 
years tor pulp wood? What kind of land is best adapted 
to the growing of spruce, and is the use of this timber in¬ 
creasing? E - H - w - 
De Ray ter, N. Y. 
There is not much literature concerning the cropping 
of spruce timber in this country. Not many young 
plantations have been made. We understand it takes 
nearly 30 years for spruce to grow to marketable size 
in Europe, though quite a revenue is had after the first 
12 years from the poles and thinnings of every alter¬ 
nate year. Spruce and other evergreens for best effect 
are at first planted very thickly in order to start the 
tree to grow tall and straight. 1 he thinnings after 
the first few years come in very handy for many pur¬ 
poses, and have considerable value. 1 he use of spruce 
for many purposes is likely to increase, and well-made 
plantings will certainly have considerable value in the 
future. It would be well for you to write to the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., for bul¬ 
letins and information on the subject. 
THE OLD STRAWBERRY BED. 
Back Furrowing for New Rows. 
When the variety of strawberries is a reasonably good 
plant-maker, like Senator Dunlap, for instance, there 
is little trouble to be apprehended in carrying out this 
plan of leaving a space of, say, 10 or 12 inches in the 
center of the rows from which to form the new row, 
then turn a light back furrow right over the old row. 
If the rows were originally planted close together a 
small plow will be required. We generally plant four 
feet apart, which gives all the room needed. The best 
tool I have found is a riding cultivator with disks on 
in front set at the right angle to throw outward. Just 
behind the disks we place a plow on each gang. We 
use a Planet Jr. cultivator; there are two sets of plows 
furnished with this machine. A cultivator thus equipped 
is superior to a plow, because it insures a new row of 
uniform width, and the driver, if he takes the precau¬ 
tion to place a light stake where the center of the row 
is to come can always make straighter rows than with 
the plow, by just keeping one eye on the end of the pole 
and the other on the stake. This open furrow on each 
side of the new row is a capital place to run in a nice 
dose of bone and potash with a fertilizer distributor, 
doing two or three rows at a time, any required quan¬ 
tity. After the back furrow has cooked enough it is 
no great trouble to work it down with a one-horse 
cultivator. M - garrahan. 
Pennsylvania. 
I have never had very good success in clearing out an 
old strawberry bed, as after bearing one good crop the 
plants seem so much exhausted that they never recover. 
The only exception I ever had to this rule was a few 
years ago, when a hard hailstorm destroyed our crop 
just as ihev were beginning to ripen. The storm was 
so severe that leaves, green fruit and all were stripped 
clean, and we only got about 200 quarts from three 
acres. I started the cultivator at once, leaving a nar¬ 
row strip of plants 12 inches wide, which was carefully 
hoed and kept clean of weeds. The following season 
we harvested one of the best crops from the field I ever 
saw. I think the reason was because the plants were 
not exhausted, as they would have been if the hail¬ 
storm had not destroyed the first crop. I do not think 
it will pay anyone to clean out a field that has been 
grown in wide, matted rows; if they have been kept in 
hills it might pay to clear out for a second season. I 
have never been able to get as fine fruit from an old 
bed, and it does not pay to have poor fruit for sale if 
you’ are catering for the best trade. Back-furrowing 
is the best way to clear an old bed if on a level, but it 
will not -work if the field is on a side hill. 
Massachusetts. geo. g. walker. 
