1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
891 
SINKING A WELL IN SAND. 
Who will Inform us of the very best, most practical (md 
least expensive plan of sinking a well through sand, mostly 
quite tine (with possibly quicksand bars) to a depth of 
from 30 to 35 feet? The old way of making it safe for 
excavating is to curb with plank and boards, but when 
water is reached in one of the quicksand'bars further digging 
must stop, a circle of plank hastily arranged for the s*tone 
to rest on, and the thing walled up, leaving the wooden 
curb in, which must affect, the taste of the water and in 
time most if not all decay. Second plan is to employ a 
“well driller,” who In this locality asks $3 per foot, and 
goes down as far as his conscience will allow ; very rapidly 
however in this class of soil. And doubtless another plan 
would he to use large tile, without hell ands hut “huh and 
spigot” ends, which leaves the outside smooth, hence should 
follow down with their own weight as excavated from the 
inside, adding extra sections of two feet ns needed. Who 
has put down wells of this kind, how deep, and how small 
a tile can an average-sized man work in? Of course these 
large tile are expensive. Can a man do the work inside a 
34-inch, or nothing smaller than a 30-inch diameter? 
Orange Co., N. Y. s - J • B - 
The cheapest and most readily-constructed well for 
such conditions is secured by using the drive-well 
point, which is attached to sections of suction pipe and 
driven directly through the sand until sufficient water 
is reached. If no bowlders are encountered, and if 
water can be obtained in a stratum of comparatively 
coarse sand or gravel a drive-well point three feet long 
will usually supply a sufficient amount of water for 
ordinary domestic use. Such wells, however, are not 
successful where the water must be obtained from a 
quicksand or even from a comparatively fine 
sand that has little coarse material in it. If 
it is known that water may be obtained in 
sufficient quantity at a depth of 30 to 35 feet 
it is probable that the next cheapest method 
is that of employing a well-driller even at $3 
per foot, provided that this price includes, ns 
it should, the six-inch casing. The use of 
either form of tile, which your correspondent 
suggests, would necessitate digging an open 
well until water is reached, or else going to 
some considerable expense in the way of pro¬ 
viding arrangements for using jack-screws 
or hydraulic pressure to force the casing into 
the ground as the sand is removed. The fric¬ 
tion of the sand on the sides of the tile would 
be too great to allow even those having a 
diameter of two feet to settle of their own 
weight. By means of hydraulic pressure it is 
common to sink wells in California many feet 
when the curbings are 12 and even 16 or IS 
inches in diameter, but in these cases the 
casings are made in two-foot lengths out of 
No. 12, or heavier, sheet-iron, riveted to¬ 
gether and used double, one size being made 
such that it will readily slip inside the other, 
and the pieces are put together so that they 
telescope, the ends of one piece - coming at 
the center of the other. A steel shoe is pro¬ 
vided, similar to that used in ordinary well 
drilling, which is secured to the end of the 
first section of pipe, commonly made six to 
10 feet long. The material is removed with 
a form of sand bucket, such as is used in 
ordinary well drilling, but to force the casing 
into the ground pressure is used rather than 
blows from a weight. In sinking such wells, 
which is always done through sand and gravel, 
although there may be intervening beds of 
clay, a record is kept of the materials gone 
through at successive depths. In this way it 
is known where the water-bearing layers are 
which will supply the largest amounts of 
water, and with the aid of a special tool the 
sides of these cases are sliced at levels where it is 
known that coarse materials exist, from which it is 
known water may be obtained, but this method is only 
applicable where the materials are coarse, so that there 
is little of fine material to come through the slits so 
made in the casing. If your correspondent wants an 
open well without the wood curbing left permanently in 
it could be secured by digging and curbing down to 
the water level and, if quicksand is there reached, a 
casing of sheet iron could be sunk sufficiently deep in 
this to provide water when it was cleaned out, and 
then 28 or 30-inch tile could be used for casing, re¬ 
moving the curbing from the bottom up as the tile are 
put in place, and filled in behind. F. h. king. 
THE POTTED STRAWBERRY. 
Part II. 
All About Its Growth. 
FERTILIZERS.—The habits of the strawberry plant 
should be a careful study where large quantities of 
fertilizer are to be used, and it is very important to 
know the natural requirements of this cool-blooded 
plant. Strawberry plants make their growth in one 
season; develop crowns or blossom buds in Autumn, take 
a period of rest in Winter, and produce their fruit the 
following May and June. It would therefore seem that 
the quantity and size of berries would somewhat depend 
on the condition of plant and size of the blossom buds 
that were formed during the previous year’s growth. 
Likewise, the healthy development of the buds and the 
vigor with which they bloom in the Spring will depend 
on the cultivation and the quantity of fertilizer that 
has been used on them, and like other small fruits and 
plants, will reach perfection in proportion as their wants 
are supplied. I have long been of the opinion that a 
great deal of fertilizer is used to little advantage on 
strawberry beds, especially in the Spring before fruit¬ 
ing, although it is quite true that nitrate of soda and 
other stimulating fertilizers will produce a dark vigor¬ 
ous growth of foliage, but it cannot increase the number 
of buds, neither can it assist in the development of the 
large crowns that are supporting them. All this had 
been accomplished by the use of fertilizers and the 
method of treatment the year before. Therefore, if 
rank and heavy foliage opposes productiveness, as is 
quite frequently the case in small fruits, applying ferti¬ 
lizers just before fruiting avails but little. Whenever 
a heavy coat of stable manure is to be used for the 
new strawberry bed, if it is to be planted either in 
Spring or Fall, the manure should be plowed under 
early in the Spring, when the soil is moist and cold, 
and when commercial fertilizers are to be used in addi¬ 
tion to the manure it should be applied as a side-dress¬ 
ing after the plants arc set out. The hand fertilizer 
distributor is a most excellent device for this purpose. 
The most important application, however, which would 
be the last, is a Winter protection, for the plants, and 
nothing better for this purpose has yet been found 
than horse manure. This will supply every requirement 
during the season of rest. 
WINTER PROTECTION.—One of the most impor¬ 
tant things necessary for a good crop of strawberries 
is the protection of the plants during the Winter, and 
more especially during the early Spring. It prevents the 
plants from heaving during the frequent changes they 
would have been subjected to were they not so pro¬ 
tected. In changeable Winter weather, such as we 
have in this section, the ground when frozen will ex¬ 
pand to a considerable extent, and the expansion is 
generally upward and this frozen surface carries up 
with it whatever is in its grasp. Young plants of all 
kinds will be found in its frozen embrace. When it 
thaws the soil settles in its place, but the plants do not. 
This work of nature is repeated several times during 
the Winter, and at each succeeding return they arc 
lifted a little higher out of the ground, making their 
roots an easy prey to the cold and piercing winds of 
March. Thus it can be easily understood how impor¬ 
tant is this Winter protection. Many materials are 
used for this purpose; I have tried about all of them, 
but positively the best covering is horse manure, and 
for best results this should -come from city stables. It 
is then usually free from wild seeds of all kinds. It 
should be drawn out near the bed and placed in a large 
heap, where fermentation will soon take place. The 
violent heat will destroy germination of whatever seed 
there may be in it. After it has been forked over 
loosely it is then ready for use. Before the covering is 
applied and before the ground freezes, a drain furrow 
should be made between the rows by using the shovel 
plow on the center bar of the cultivator. This furrow 
is important ; it will carry away the water that would 
otherwise stand on the plants in some parts of the bed. 
When the ground is frozen hard enough to bear horse 
and load it is then time to cover the plants. The 
manure should be shaken, evenly over all the plants 
two or three inches in depth, leaving of course the open 
furrow between the matted rows. The following Spring, 
and not loo early, the rows must be raked over care¬ 
fully; where the manure has been lying too thick on 
the plant it should be raked aside in the furrows. In 
fact I have found it to be of advantage to the plants 
to loosen up all the covering, raking off about one-third 
of it, thus making the furrow even with the surface. 
This prevents weeds and grass from growing, and 
makes a dry and convenient path for the pickers. It is 
also an excellent mulch, and the largest and finest 
berries in the rows arc usually found close by the side 
of it. No other labor will be required on the bed 
except to pull out the few remaining perennial weeds 
and grass that have wintered over. 
POINTS OF ADVANTAGE.—There are 
many advantages in planting the strawberry 
bed early in August. Sometimes the Spring 
work is so pressing that planting the straw¬ 
berry is neglected until late in April or May; 
the dry condition of the soil at this season is 
injurious to the roots, and many plants will 
fail to grow, whereas if planted in August 
with potted plants the soil can be worked to 
an ideal condition by first growing a crop of 
vegetables, and the plants may be set at a sea¬ 
son of leisure. Plants set at this time are 
usually free from the attacks of white grub 
and other enemies. While there are but few 
runners to cut there are no blossom buds to be 
nipped off, which is a very important point in 
favor of the Fall planting. These buds are a 
great tax on the energy of Spring-set plants if 
not removed to allow the plants to make root 
growth instead of exhausting their vitality in 
trying to produce fruit. Plants set in August are 
in much better condition to store up the required 
substance in the stem or crown, thus enabling 
it to produce a strong and vigorous growth the 
following Spring, and the young runners sent 
out from such plants will make their appear¬ 
ance three weeks in advance of Spring-set 
plants. They will have a longer time to ma¬ 
ture their foliage, and if not allowed to grow 
too thick each individual plant will develop 
many crowns and will be equal in size to the 
original potted plant, and will produce a great 
crop of fruit the following Spring. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. T. m. white. 
BEN DAVIS APPLES FROM TEXAS. 
I send you two specimens of Ben Davis 
apples as they grow in West Texas. Draw 
on your stock of Christian fortitude and sam¬ 
ple them, and if you survive let us know how 
they affected you. Myself and wife have for 
nearly 10 years been very much interested in 
Hope Farm and its people, and last Fall, when we 
bought a place of our own, we called it Hope Farm, 
thereby exciting the curiosity of our neighbors, who do 
not know the original Hope Farm. The land that grew 
these apples is a deep sand, ranging from 12 inches to 
20 feet deep. Trees begin bearing at three years old, 
and this year seven-year trees bore 10 bushels, nine- 
year trees 20 bushels, and a few 12-year trees, the oldest 
in this section, bore nearly 30 bushels. The subsoil 
is clay, and very deep; drought does not seem to affect 
this land at all. Our average annual rainfall is 24 
inches. I shall set 10,000 apple trees this Fall, but there 
will be very few, if any, Ben Davis and no Spencer 
Seedless. w. f. d. batjer. 
Taylor Co., Texas. 
R. N.-Y.—On the whole, these handsome apples added 
to our stock of “Christian fortitude" instead of drain¬ 
ing it. One of the apples weighed 12 ounces and meas¬ 
ured WA inches in circumference—the largest way. 
The color is below that of Ben Davis from the Central 
West, but to our taste the flavor is higher. Apples 
much like these are selling in this market at retail for 
five cents each. As to the way these apples affected us 
—they made us thoughtful. Texas has formerly pro¬ 
vided an excellent market for northern fruit. Will 
her own orchards supply the local demand? 
SNOW LOVERS AT WORK. Fig. 403. 
1 
