742 
T1IE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 6, 
tinuous use of commercial fertilizers, and cut very 
sharply from the start, cannot be expected to last many 
years, but during its period of productiveness the grass 
will be as large and fine as that grown by other 
methods. From the fact of the close planting the yield 
will be correspondingly larger the fourth and fifth year, 
after which there will be a diminution of large prime 
.‘•'hoots, and we look for a gradual deterioration, each 
succeeding year. It should therefore be the aim of 
the grower to have the new plantation in the height of 
productiveness to succeed it. Thus it is claimed that 
three beds planted at intervals cultivated in this way. 
lasting a period of 15 years, will produce more prime 
asparagus than will the same number of acres all 
planted at the same time and cultivated for a like 
period without renewing. The points of advantage 
claimed are these: Young and vigorous plants in the 
height of productiveness every four or five years; 
selected and improved seed, from which the plants are 
grown, with chances in favor of all improvement by 
selecting seed from the most suitable crowns. Nature 
has so provided that whenever we find a plant that 
takes root with difficulty from slip or cutting we usually 
find that it seeds freely and gives us a ready means of 
increase. While the asparagus appears to be a plant 
of this nature and we find the seed germinates quite 
freely, it will be reasonable to believe that the closer 
we can bring the product of the crown to the im¬ 
proved seed the better and more profitable the returns. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. t. m. white. 
BUSINESS OF CROWING SUGAR BEETS. 
The Lyons Sugar Company made contracts last Spring 
for 1,000 acres of beets to be grown, and had to decline 
some offers, I was told, as it was thought the company 
had all they could use. It is true the company furnishes 
’ e help necessary for weeding and thinning the beets, 
is quite an advantage, as the laborers like to work 
large gangs. It does not make much difference what 
kind of soil is planted. In fact, any land that will pro¬ 
duce good corn or potatoes will grow good beets. A 
good clover sod plowed in the Fall is satisfactory. Many 
plant on low mucky land, and if it has good drainage it 
is very satisfactory, but some seasons have been too wet, 
and the crop has been a failure. It is good practice to 
plant a sod with corn and follow with beets, to be seeded 
with grass, after with oats or some crop. The seed is 
sown with an ordinary grain drill, with what is called 
an agitator, a rod in the box with a pin over each seed 
cup to prevent the seed compacting and not being dis¬ 
charged evenly. Another difficulty has been getting the 
seed in too deep, and not getting a good stand. This 
is now remedied by using the sugar beet hoe, which I 
am informed can be had from grain drill manufacturers; 
a compressor, a wheel on each side of drill hoe. It is 
useless .to transplant the beets, as a tap root broken off 
makes the plant grow on top of the ground, and that 
part has to be cut off in trimming for the factor}’-. If 
there is a poor stand from any cause the land must be 
reseeded. An ordinary crop on good land will yield 
from 12 to 15 tons per acre, and the Lyons Company 
pay $5 per net ton f. o .b. on either canal or railroad. The 
hand labor can be done for $12 to 15 per acre, including 
weeding, thinning and harvesting. w. H. o. 
Clyde, N. Y. _ 
APPLE ORCHARD THAT “LOCKS HORNS” 
Growing an apple orchard with trees 20 or 24 feet 
apart is not practical. If I had an orchard at 24 feet, 
and the limbs began to crowd, I should cut every alter¬ 
nate tree out, which would leave 38 trees to the acre, 
which would be close enough for all strong growers. I 
am practicing what I preach, as we set a standard or¬ 
chard of Bartlett, and the severe Winter of 1866 killed 
out many, or fire blight may have been the cause, and 
we filled in with apple trees, which is a great mistake, 
as pear and apple do not agree well together. 'Where- 
ever we left two trees at 20 feet apart at a short dis¬ 
tance they look and are practically one tree. Fruit 
trees must have room so that the sun and air get to all 
parts of the tree, or there will be no fruit. This is 
plainly to be seen where an apple tree grows up in the 
forest. It just bears, if it bears at all, on the top. Tt 
never pays to crowd when you want fruit. If trees are 
sprayed they will have to be thinned so as to get 
through them. i. j. Blackwell. 
New Jersey. 
By all means not only propose to cut out the trees 
as suggested, but do it. The distance mentioned is too 
close, for any but dwarf trees. I have usually strongly 
advised most people not to set fillers, because it re¬ 
quires a lot of grit and grace to cut out a lot of healthy 
trees that are bearing fruit. Too often they are left 
so long that the permanent trees are injured beyond 
remedy. Only a few miles from me is, or was, a splen¬ 
did Baldwin orchard, set 20 x 30 feet. From 12 years to 
20 it bore abundantly, and brought the owner a large 
income. I advised him to take out every other tree 
when the orchard was 16 years old; but he refused 
even to consider the proposition. T@-day the whole 
orchard is dying and will never be of any value, and it 
has not borne a crop worthy of the name in the past 
five years. The mistake to-day is evident, but it is 
too late. 
On the other hand, three of the most profitable or¬ 
chards I know of in this State have had the trees cut 
out diagonally as suggested above. They are those of 
Albert Wood of Orleans Co.; Foster Udell, of Monroe 
Co., and T. B. Wilson, of Ontario Co. I know of a 
number of other who have had the courage to lay the 
ax to the root of the tree, hew them down and cast 
them into the fire, and they have not only saved the 
trees that remained, but materially increased their 
profits by so doing. Those mentioned, however, are 
so prominent as successful orchardists, that I have 
thought it not improper to mention their names. It 
may also be of interest for the questioner to know that 
there is a demand for the body wood of apple trees. 
The Disston saw people use this wood, and if it can be 
furnished to them or others in like business at not too 
great an expense, the money received for the wood will 
not only pay the expense of removing the trees, but 
yield some profit beside. edward van alstyne. 
LABOR CONDITIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 
Ever since the big earthquake, April 18, the working¬ 
men of this part of the country have been very much 
unsettled. A great amount of unskilled labor had to be 
done in San Francisco as well as in most -of the sur¬ 
rounding cities, to clear up the debris so that buildings 
which were injured might be repaired, or torn down to 
enable the owners to rebuild. This condition of things 
made it possible for anyone who wished to find work at 
good wages, and in San Francisco any able-bodied man 
who was not working was commanded to do so or leave 
the city.. In fact, immediately following the quake and 
the fire men were often called upon to choose between 
work or a shot from the gun of the guard who found 
him idle. However, this may be old news to you, but I 
THE SEEDLESS APPLE INSIDE AND OPT. Fig. 315. 
mention it as from this beginning the demand for labor¬ 
ers has increased, and wages have kept pace with the 
demand until many farm laborers have left their places 
to go to San Francisco. At this season of the year I 
usually keep on my Willow Glen place from four to 
six men, besides the boys and girls who pick up the 
prunes. One by one they have left me, until I have but 
one steady man left, so I have taken a hand myself, and 
with the help of my boys have managed to get along so 
far. Japs and Chinese are hard to find now, as they 
are mostly working farther out in the country, where 
they have contracts for picking up prunes. H. G. K. 
Edenvale, Cal. _ 
TALKS ABOUT BAGGING GRAPES. 
fan you give me some information as to sacking grapes 
from growers who practice it? When put on? Is it neces¬ 
sary to spray at all before sacking? How many sacks can 
a man put on in a day? What percentage have to be 
replaced? Items as to general cost and benefits. 
READER. 
After an experience of a quarter century with the 
grape, and to answer these questions briefly, I will have 
to put “the cart before the horse,’’ or answer the last 
question first. If our friend expects, or his object in 
sacking is to prevent rotting, I will give him my experi¬ 
ence back in the nineties. Wishing to make an exhibit 
of 200 varieties and have them perfect, I made 1,500 
cheesecloth sacks. These I dipped in full-strength Bor¬ 
deaux. When dry they looked like a much over-blued 
wash. These I placed over my best bunches, when 
grapes were size of buckshot. Several of the finest 
clusters were dipped in the same solution before the 
sack was fastened on. When ready to gather 90 per cent 
were rotten, and I had to go through the vineyard and 
gather from untreated ones. Now, why did those con¬ 
stantly protected with copper, rot worse than those not 
sacked? Briefly, sacking will not prevent rotting, as I 
have found under many and varied conditions. I do not 
believe it will pay to sack unless one has a special trade 
for fancy varieties and then only the thin skin kinds, 
as Woodruff, Brighton, Lutie, etc. Understand, sacking 
only prevents the birds and bees from ruining them, 
gives the fruit a little more bloom and fancy look. The 
sack should be placed on as soon as grapes are size of 
small shot, and if a good quality of paper sack is used 
not more than five per cent will have to be replaced. 
The third question I cannot answer. I find some hands 
would put on twice as many or more than others and 
do it better, scarcely any coming off. G. R. W. 
Lyndon, Ky. 
We find that sacking grapes is a good thing and worth 
while in the production of fine bunches for table use. It 
is especially desirable when growing specimens for ex¬ 
hibition ; in fact, it is almost indispensable in such cases. 
Undex some circumstances it is even profitable for mar¬ 
ket. The sacks are put on about the first of August. 
At this time our spraying is mostly out of the way; in 
fact we seldom spray after sacking. I do not know 
how many sacks a man could put on in a day. Natur¬ 
ally it would depend on the man. I think I could put 
on from 2,000 to 3,000, but I never worked at it all day, 
and I might not hold out until night. We find that very 
few sacks have to be replaced if they are properly fas¬ 
tened. In fact, we never go over the vines a second 
time. In case a sack -comes off we simply allow that 
bunch to go. The cost is a trifling matter when the 
work is done on a small scale for the benefit of one’s 
own table, or when it is a part of the job of getting 
fruit ready for exhibition. The cost of doing the work 
on a large scale is simply the price of the paper sacks 
added to the labor. The paper sacks will cost 50 to 60 
cents a thousand and if we estimate that it costs 75 cents 
a thousand to put them on we arrive at the conclusion 
that $1.40 to $1.50 a thousand bunches would be the 
expense of bagging grapes. F. A. waugh. 
Massachusetts Agricultural College. 
I commenced in a small way to enclose each bunch of 
grapes in paper in the year 1873 by making a funnel of 
each piece of paper, twisting the small end tight an! 
pinning the wide top over the cane and each bunch of 
grapes. This keeps the wind from blowing the bunch 
of grapes off. At that time I used newspapers or any 
brown paper that was stout and strong, because at that 
time paper bags were unknown. About 1875 or 1876 I 
had some small two-pound cheap muslin bags made. 
They did not hold the hot air as well as paper, also too 
costly. Then we got up the paper bag that I enclose 
to you for sample; it is best made out of wood pulp, and 
shrinks, also tightens up, with rain. This bag if pinned 
over the cane by folding top and putting in one pin will 
act as hothouse, giving the grapes much better flavor 
and perfect bloom. When, some years ago, I first exhib¬ 
ited them at our State and other fairs they ruled me 
out in the farmer’s class, saying I must exhibit in hot¬ 
house class. The white, such as Niagara, Duchess, etc., 
look and taste the same as the hothouse grapes. If 
properly bagged it will hold the sun’s heat all night, thus 
ripening them much earlier than those not bagged. I am 
busy at this time marketing my Niagara, Duchess and 
Concord; have picked 100 baskets to-day, September 6 , 
for to-morrow’s Friday market.. I always get my Con¬ 
cords and Niagaras in the market first, and get best 
prices, before those not bagged are ripe. I have never 
seen anyone who bags his grapes, except William Gold¬ 
smith, who lives about V/> mile from this place, lie 
puts on a thin lJ<-pound bag. I am nearly one week or 
10 days ahead of him. The bags are put on soon as 
bloom drops, here from June 10 to 15, according to 
weather conditions. I always try to get all the help I 
can and finish bagging about June 25. After that time 
the grapes are apt to get stung by the little gray grape- 
beetle. I consider that the bagging.of grapes prevents 
them from being wormy. It also gives perfect protec¬ 
tion, and always prevents mildew and rot. 1 have not 
for many years sprayed the grapevines before or after 
bagging; it would be useless. With some varieties, like 
the Brighton, the leaves will sometimes mildew; as 1 bag 
this variety first the grapes are always very fine. I had 
some very fine Brighton grapes in the Newark market 
to-day that I sold wholesale at 20 to 25 cents per four- 
pound basket. Concords brought to-day, September 7, 
from 18 to 20 cents per four-pound basket; Niagara 
from 25 to 30 cents per four-pound basket. I have a 
load sold at the above prices for to-morrow’s, Satur¬ 
day’s market, also taking orders for next week at same 
price. 
We put on about 80,000 bags per year; this takes about 
eight or 10 days, according to help and weather condi¬ 
tions. I employ girls, as I find they are more careful 
than men and boys. I have never paid more than $1 
per thousand bags. Expert girls or good boys will put 
on about an average of 1,200 bags per day of 10 hours. 
1 enclose one old bag taken off to-day, also new one that 
you can see how they last and are put on, showing how 
the bottom of each bag must be cut in order to let out 
any rain water that will sometimes get in if the bag is 
not properly folded over and pinned. I buy pins by the 
box, one dozen papers in each package, costing 15 cents 
per dozen papers, V/i cent per paper, 180 pins. I paid 
this year for the bags 34 cents per 1,000. I think I have 
fully"explained our method; if anything more is wanted 
let me know. As to our crops here I can only say we 
always have full crops, have never failed for . past 35 
years.. Extra crop this season, first strawberries, then 
pears and peaches, never better; grapes and apples full 
crop on this place. To give you a better idea I will 
state that three years ago I sold the old Seth Boyden 
house and seven acres of the fruit farm to the Jacoby 
brothers, two young men who worked for me, for about 
$ 0 , 000 ; since that time the boys have paid all off except 
$ 2 , 000 . I have kept for myself the new house and 
enough land that I work all myself. This keeps me out 
of mischief, and just enough to do to keep me from 
traveling too much, henry jerolaman. 
New Jersey. 
