584 
July 28, 
CLARK AND HIS CRASS CROP. 
For years we have talked about the 
big grass crops grown by Geo. M. Clark, 
of Connecticut. Mr. Clark has Timothy 
and Red-top long seeded. Of late years 
he has tried Alfalfa. He sends this 
Report of the season: 
Tlie season has been cold and backward; 
for that reason the total weight is somewhat 
less than It would otherwise have been, es¬ 
pecially in Alfalfa, for that is a hot dry 
Weather plant. Again, last Winter was a 
hard one In this section for all kinds of grain 
find grass; some fields met midwinter growth 
find were badly injured, but mine came 
through the Winter all right; in fact, they 
always do. 1 do not think that in 20 years 
1 hfive lost a rod in winter-killing. Many 
Said that Alfalfa Would he killed out, but It 
came through the Winter all right, 
Mr. Clark thinks the lasting quality 
of his grass fields is due to the perfect 
fitting of the ground and heavy seeding, 
and also to his plan of cutting the sec¬ 
ond growth, close and hauling the trash 
away. This keeps the mice from nest¬ 
ing and eating the roots. As to the 
yield, he says: 
My 11 acres of Timothy and Red-top pro¬ 
duced the first crop this year 61 loads, total 
weight 52 y 2 tons, four acres of which was 
seeded September 10, 1005, and cut June 
25, 1906, eight months and 15 days from the 
time the seed left the bag. 40,900 pounds 
of dry hay, over five tons to the acre; 314 
acres of Alfalfa cut June 10, one ton 
to the acre, second cutting will be 
made about July 12, 32 days from the time 
of the first cutting. I think there will be at 
least 1*4 ton to the acre second cutting; 
present outlook is that it will produce a full 
increasing crop every 30 to 35 days. It will 
produce four crops this season, and possibly 
five. I am doing the best I can to produce 
a large growth. I would not advise my 
farmer brethren however to rush into Alfalfa, 
but I think that some of the present' waste 
lands in this eastern country can be utilized 
in its production. 
Many farmers will find it bard to be¬ 
lieve that five tons of hay can be cut 
from one acre in less than one year after 
seeding! Of course this hay was weighed 
as it came in from the field. In connec¬ 
tion with what Mr. Clark says about Al¬ 
falfa it will be interesting to read the 
following note from Prof. L. A. Clinton, 
of the Connecticut Experiment Station: 
We are out of the Alfalfa section here in 
New England, and in spite of all the efforts 
I have made to grow Alfalfa I have not yet 
been successful in this State. I believe that 
our annual rainfall is too great for the best 
success with Alfalfa. It seems to thrive to 
perfection in regions where the rainfall does 
not exceed from 30 to 35 inches, and in re¬ 
gions where the rainfall is much below this. 
Our Connecticut rainfall is nearly 50 inches, 
and it is my opinion that this furnishes too 
much water for Alfalfa and in effect smoth¬ 
ers It out. 
Judging from our own experience. Al¬ 
falfa does best in the East on the lighter, 
open soils. It requires an abundance of 
plant food, and some farmers put it on 
their best soil, which is usually strong, 
heavy land with a stiff subsoil. We would 
put it on the lighter land and fertilize 
heavily. ________ 
The “Premium Red " Apple. 
J. E. M.,East Chatham, N. Y. —Last Fall 
a tree man came into town and sold a lot 
of trees, and among his apple trees was one 
called Premium Red. Will you describe this 
apple? Is it a Fall or Winter apple? 
Ans. —There is no apple in any of the 
lists given in the books on pomology by 
the name “Premium Red.” It might be 
that the tree agent, or the nursery he rep¬ 
resented adopted it for some old variety 
of which they had a stock of trees to 
sell, and took this means of doing so, un¬ 
der a new name. However, it is possible 
that they might have some new variety, 
but I think it doubtful. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Cow Pea Vines Before Grass Seeding. 
F. M. C., Plainfield, A r . J. —I have a field 
which I wish to get seeded down. I wish to 
get it fertilized as cheaply as possible, and 
as I am away from home a great deal, and 
have not much help, I put in cow peas, in¬ 
tending to plow them under this Fall, apply 
phosphoric acid and potash, and lime and 
seed down. I have heard much talk against 
plowing under a lot of green material, but if 
I give a coating of lime will it not be all 
right? I would like your opinion. 
Ans. —You would have done much bet¬ 
ter if you had used the acid phosphate 
THE RURAL''NEW-YORKER. 
V 
and potash when sowing the cow peas. r 
In this way you would have had a great¬ 
er growth of cow peas, and thus more 
nitrogen. When a mass of green ma¬ 
terial is plowed into the soil in very hot 
weather you are likely to sour the 
ground, but this may be overcome by 
sowing lime on the furrow's at once after 
plowing and harrowing well in. We 
have known cases where tlie vines were 
first cut with a mower and allowed to 
dry before plowing under. 
Cutting Elm to Prevent Sprouting. 
J. R. T., Gage, N. Y .—Do you knwrsv of 
any lime of the year to cut elm trees tw keep 
them from sprouting up again? 
Ans. —No, but the time to hurt the 
sprouts most is in August when the tree 
has made its growth and has not had 
time to recover. If cut at this time the 
sprouts will be feeble and most easily 
killed. 
Disease of Peas. 
C. IT., East. Patchogue, L. I .—I send 
specimens of Gradus peas affected with some 
disease. Can you tell me what the trouble 
is and how to remedy it another season ? 
Ans. —This is probably the most com¬ 
mon and injurious fungus trouble of the 
pea. As a usual thing, however, it is 
not very injurious. Certain seasons and 
in certain market-garden districts it 
sometimes becomes more serious. I doubt 
if it will usually pay to try to prevent 
this trouble by spraying with Bordeaux 
Mixture. I would suggest that C. W. 
burn the rubbish from the diseased crop, 
or at least sees that none of it is used as 
a manure and that he plant his peas next 
year on a different part of his land not 
recently used for peas. If he selects hfs 
own seed he should discard any pods that 
show any signs of the disease. 
G. P. CLINTON. 
Grapes in Oregon. 
IF. IF. IF., Persist, Ore .—We live in the 
foothills of southern Oregon, elevation 2.750 
feet. We have .succeeded with all kinds of 
fruit tried but grapes. We have the white 
grape known as Sweetwater, which always 
cracks badly before it is fully ripe. Can any- ; 
thing be done to prevent it cracking? J 
Ans. —The Sweetwater grape is a vari- ’ 
ety of the Vinifera species that is more 
subject to cracking than the generality 
of the varieties of that class, and for 
this and some other reasons it is planted 
only in a small way. It is not at all 
suitable to the territory east of the Rocky 
Mountains. The region where W. W. 
W. lives is one that is more humid than 
many parts of the Pacific Coast, which 
induces cracking of the skin, but I have 
seen quantities of grapes in southern 
Oregon of the Vinifera class that suc¬ 
ceeded very well, especially in the foot¬ 
hills about Ashland and Grant’s Pass. 
Flame Tokay is one of the best of them, 
and it might be well for the inquirer to 
graft the Sweetwater vines to this or 
other better kinds. h. e. van deman. . 
Culture of Grapes. 
A. 8., Paducah, Ky .—What is the best way 
to cultivate grapes, to grow big bunches and 
best yield? 
Ans. —Grapes can be grown in almost 
any soil, provided it is not a wet one; al¬ 
though the grape will take abundance of 
water when in a growing state, it must 
pass off quickly. It is also imperative that 
the position where the vine is to be plant¬ 
ed be such as will enable it to get sun¬ 
light for a greater part of the day. The 
ground or border where the vines are to 
be planted should be thoroughly broken 
up, not a mere hole dug only sufficient to 
hold the roots, and planted as some set 
a post. The holes should be large, and 
filled with rich top soil or old well-rotted 
manure. The vine should be cut back to 
only two or three eyes or buds. On start¬ 
ing to grow, all of these buds should 
be rubbed off except one, selecting the 
strongest; train this shoot perpendicularly 
to a stake the first year of its growth. The 
next Fall cut it back to nine or 10 inches 
from the ground. When the vine starts 
the next Spring rub off all the eyes or 
buds except two, which during the season 
will form two canes. These, if they are 
well grown, are to be pruned in the Fall 
to three or four feet long, and the follow¬ 
ing Spring are trained horizontally on a 
wire, one to the right, the other the left. 
This will form the basis from which to 
start the upright shoots. Vines thus treated 
may be allowed to produce a few bunches 
the third year, and by the fifth or sixth 
year may be fruited to the height of sev¬ 
eral feet of cane if so desired. This is per¬ 
haps the simplest method of training the 
vines, although the system of training has 
but little to do with the crop, and there¬ 
fore the canes are usually trained to suit 
the fancy of the grower. The distance 
apart at which grapes should be planted, 
except Delaware and a few of the weaker- 
growing kinds, is about eight feet. Prun¬ 
ing may be done at any time from Novem¬ 
ber to March, and the old rule is a very 
safe guide in pruning the grape as well as 
with other fruits, long pruning for quan¬ 
tity and close pruning for quality. Some 
years ago, when I had the time to give 
them care and attention, I had a fine col¬ 
lection of hardy grapes, but of late they 
have been neglected and the rank-growing 
and vigorous vines have taken entire pos¬ 
session of fences, trees and some outbuild¬ 
ings; on large, stately trees the great vines 
have spread over them like a canopy. 
Quantities of grapes are gathered from 
these vines every year; the bunches, how¬ 
ever, are not so large, the quality perhaps 
not so good, but the beauty of the spread¬ 
ing vines and the quantity of grapes hang¬ 
ing here and there is appreciated more 
than the fruit would be from well-pruned 
vines, and in Autumn, when I see these 
vines with their hanging clusters around 
the buildings and in tree tops it recalls 
the scenes of our boyhood days, and pleas¬ 
antly reminds us of the words of the poet 
Bryant: “Around my cornice linger the 
black ripe grapes ungathered.” 
Grapes growing at random, as above de¬ 
scribed, may show neglect on the part of 
the owner, but it also shows how orna¬ 
mental as well as useful these grapevines 
are when once planted. t. m. white. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. 
Lime or Limekiln Ashes. 
P. IF., Springfield, Vt .—I have to pay 
$1.10 per barrel of 300 pounds for lime in 
bulk at the kiln, and I can buy their ashes 
for 10 cents per measured bushel. The 
wood used is mostly second growth of all 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
WEEDSPORT SILOS 
The three styles we build are mod¬ 
els of up-to-date silo construction. 
The cut shows the "Weedsport 
Improved Silo,” with removable 
sliding, interchangeable doors, and 
Octagon Shingle Roof. 
A Silo will pay its cost in one year 
from saving in fodder and increase 
of milk. Write for Catalogue, stat¬ 
ing size wanted. 
THE ABRAM WALRATH CO.,, 
Box 83, 
WEEDSPORT, N. Y. 
A 
gSSSSSkfHanure 
l®r Spreader 
and Pulverizer 
tinnier 
Maaes fine and spreads evenly. Every¬ 
thing controlled from seat; start beater 
or feed, or both, change to thick or thin 
spreading, without stopping. The 
Only Low Down Spreader. 
Just right for use in cow barns and for 
driving under low sheds—easy to load. 
Right width to straddle corn rows. No 
waste or scattering in yard or on road, no 
freezing manure on box. Solid bottom, 
scraped clean every load. Automatic drag 
return. Double wheel drive, safety end-gate, 
strength to stand the rough driving and the 
operating of machine. 
Send tor Free Cataloo Iff It describes the 
modern spreader that has proven Itself right. 
The Newirk Machine Co., Newark, O. 
THE LEVIN PRUNER. 
The best pruner. Cats Vineli dry branch. Quick, 
clean, easy cut. We will send it postpaid for club of 
two new yearly subscriptions at $1 each, or for elub 
of 7 ten weeks trials at 10 cents each. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, NEW YORK. 
RATEKIN WINTER SEED WHEAT! 
Ratekin’s Imported “Malakoff,” yields 62 bu."per 
acre: ** Turkish Red,” 58 bu.; ” Iowa Wonder,” 59 bu. 
All extremely hardy. Samples and circulars free. 
KATEKIN’S SEED HOUSE, Shenandoah, la. 
COD C AI E—Crimson Clover Seed, $5.50 perbu. 
lUn OHLC Five-eightlis Peach Baskets,$35 per 
1000. JOSEPH E. HOLLAND, Milford, Del. 
kinds. Which is the cheaper way to get 
lime? 
Ans. —Ashes from a lime kiln will 
vary considerably. They contain sand and 
prrn nvr something special FOR 
uLLU hit. HOG FEEDING. Stamp for 
w * 1 1 sample and prices. Orders booked 
now for fall pigs and sows bred to imported stock. 
PENNA. BERKSHIRE CO., Fannettsburg, Pa. 
the ashes from the wood used in burn¬ 
ing the lime. These wood ashes contain 
potash, and the amount varies all the 
way from eight to over 80 pounds to the 
ton. The ashes also contain more water 
than the lime. An average sample ought 
to contain about 800 pounds of lime and 
40 pounds of potash, while the ton of 
lime contains about 1,S50 pounds of ac¬ 
tual lime. Estimating the weight of a 
bushel of the lime kiln ashes at 60 
pounds, a ton will cost you $3.34, for 
which you obtain 40 pounds of potash 
and 800 pounds of lime. The potash is 
worth about $2, which makes the lime 
cheaper in the ashes. In buying the 
ashes, however, you take much for grant¬ 
A LFALFA SEED—Kansas grown, best known 
Prices and samples on application. 
KANSAS SEED HOUSE, Lawrence, Kans. 
Wheat, 60 bushels per acre. 
Catalogue and samples free. 
JOHN A. SALZER SEED CO.,LaCrosse,Wis 
A MILLION CELERY PLANTS. 
Hardy, field grown W. Plume, G. S. Blanching, 
E. Triumph and W. Queen. 25 cents per 100, $1.25 
per 1000: 10 M. and over $1.00 per M. Cash with 
order. F. o. b. packed in baskets with moss. 
F. M. PATTINGTON, Scipioville N. Y. 
ROGERS TREES ARE 
DIFFERENT 
FROM OTHERS. 
ROGERS ON THE HILL 
Dansville, N. Y. 
APPLE BREEDERS. 
ed unless you have a sample analyzed. 
You should use about three times as 
much of the ashes as of the lime. 
Mamma: “Why, Jimmy, you are get¬ 
ting awfully tanned going to school. You 
should keep out of the sun.” Jimmy: 
“’Taint the sun—it’s the teacher.”— 
Cleveland Plain Dealer. 
For the land’s sake use Bowker’s Fer¬ 
tilizers. They enrich the earth.— Adv. 
CTADK TREES ARE FAMOUS 
^ I IIJV* wherever planted; are planted 
fljll ^everywhere trees are grown. Free 
Catalog of superb fruits—Black Ben. 
King David, Delicious, etc.-StarkBro’s, Louisiana, Mo. 
ELERY PLANTS. 
All good sorts only 
$1 to $1.25 per 1000. 
0 NE « ? A R T STRAWBERRIES each 
plant guaranteed or money returned. Send for my 
mid-summer catalog. T: C. KEVITT, Athenia, N. J. 
Dwyer’s Pot Grown Strawberry Plants 
Strong, healthy plants from selected stock of choicest fruiting varieties sure to give 
satisfaction and PRODUCE A FULL CROP IN 1907. 
We also have a full line of Fruits and Ornamental Trees, Plants, Vines, etc., for 
Fall Planting. We do Landscape Gardening in all its branches. Catalogue Free. 
T. J. DWYER & CO., P. O. Box (, Cornwall, New York. 
TREES 
BCD IAH ennr.UT DAIf) Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach ana Carolina 
rtll rnciun I rMID Poplars, healthy, true to name and fumigated. 
Allkindsof trees and plants at low wholesale prices. Rememberwe beat all other reliable 
Nurseries in quality and price. Catalogue free, Reliance Nursery, Box 10, Geneva, N.Y. 
CRIMSON GLOVER 
The great soil improver. Valuable 
also for early green food, grazing 
and hay crop. Special circular 
free, also sample and price of seed 
on request. HENRY A. DREER, 714 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Penn, 
