1967 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
169 
stations of the United States and Canada have made 
many tests, and these are embodied in the report of 
experiment stations of this country for the year 1903. 
See this report, pages 541, 542, and 543. This report 
says: “One Baldwin fruit set out of 150 blossoms 
covered, one Esopus (Spitzenburg) out of 86 blossoms 
covered, and one Fameuse out of 223 blossoms cov¬ 
ered. The self-pollinated fruit, however, was not so 
large or so vigorous as that from cross-fertilized blos¬ 
soms.” Again the report says: “Fletcher found the 
varieties Bellflower, Primate, Spitzenburg, Willow 
Twig, and Winesap to tend toward self-sterility. The 
FIRST CROPS ON A JERSEY FARM. Fig. 79. 
varieties Stark, Longfield, and Talman Sweet were 
self-fertile, but much larger fruit of Stark and Long- 
field was obtained when they were cross-fertilized.” 
The conclusion reached after all the facts were gleaned 
from our experiment stations and from Canada is as 
follows and this I fully endorse: “The data secured 
at the above stations show that a very large number 
of varieties of apnles are self-sterile. Further experi¬ 
ments with other varieties are likely to increase the list 
of self-sterile sorts. The practical conclusion that can 
be drawn from this work is that large blocks of apples 
of a single variety should never be planted. Two or 
more varieties should be mixed in alternating rows.” I 
always plant my apple trees two rows of one variety 
and two rows of another. The advantage in this 
method is seen when we come to pick our apples. 
The common idea that the wind is the principal agent 
on cross-pollination seems not to be borne out by the 
tests. The report above quoted contains this state¬ 
ment: “Microscopic slides carefully prepared with 
adhesive material and placed at different distances 
from the trees in full bloom in such a' manner as to 
catch any pollen that might be carried by the wind 
indicate that the wind does aid in pollination, though 
not to any great extent in the case of apples.” Insects 
are the chief agents in cross-fertilizing apples and honey 
bees are most useful of all insects. I keep bees in 
my orchards and would do so if I never obtained a 
pound of honey. My honey, however, more than pays 
for taking care of the bees. F. WALDEN. 
Seattle, Wash. _ 
WHY I TAKE THE R. N.-Y. 
Having been for 26 years a subscriber to various tech¬ 
nical and trade journals 1 well know not only their ad¬ 
vantages, hut absolute necessity to a man who would 
keep up with the progress of the times, so when six 
years igo I decided to abandon my profession and take 
up an abandoned farm, 1 realized that I was “up 
against” a proposition that necessitated putting myself 
in touch with some one who'knew more about agricul¬ 
ture than I did. So consulting a friend who himself 
was an intelligent farmer, he gave me a list of six 
papers which he said would be of material benefit to 
me (The R. N.-Y. was not among them). I sub¬ 
scribed for all of them, intending to cull out those of no 
practical value to me. They were all interesting read¬ 
ing, but I soon saw that much of the matter was what 
is known as copv or syndicate articles, varying only 
in a change of wording, but usually alike in all papers, 
and in some of them the matter was treated so ex¬ 
haustively as not only to exhaust the subject but the 
reader as well. I concluded life was too short and too 
strenuous on a farm to peruse them (at the expense 
of cultivation of crops or loss of sleep, both important 
on the farm), so I discontinued three of them as super¬ 
fluous. About this time I saw in one of them an article 
credited to The R. N.-Y. and being favorably im¬ 
pressed with the title of the paper 1 inquired of an old 
friend about it. He gave me one of your three months’ 
trial envelopes. So considering it worth the trial I sub¬ 
scribed for it, and have since and will as long as you 
pursue your present policy of benefiting your readers 
at the loss of profitable advertising. This year I am 
taking only The R. N.-Y. for the reason that I have 
not needed any information that I did not find either 
in your columns, or which I appreciate much more, 
by a prompt reply by mail to all inquiries sent to you, 
and always in such a concise, thorough and business¬ 
like manner as to carry the conviction that the writer 
knew from experience what he was writing about, and 
that he felt a personal interest in your affairs. Then 
again your fearless and manly attitude toward persons 
whom you think, or know, are an imposition or fraud, 
cannot fail to commend itself to all fair-minded readers. 
Your Hope Farm Notes and Publisher’s Desk are worth 
many times its subscription price. 
What the Farm Did. 
My experiences on this farm the past six years would 
fill a volume. I have been "up against it good and 
hard,” but by pluck and perseverance have overcome 
obstacles. In proof of this will say when I took this 
farm the first year’s hay crop wculd not feed one horse, 
cow and two yearling heifers. I now have 19 head of cat¬ 
tle and two horses, and roughage enough raised on the 
farm to feed them all well. The first year’s corn crop 
was five bushels corn, 40 bushels “nubbins” from three 
acres. Last year I had 370 bushels corn and six bush¬ 
els nubbins on four acres. On one field 2J^ acres that 
THE VINE-CLAD BACK DOOR. Fig. 80. 
six years ago would not pasture two yearling heifers, 
I took off last year a crop of oats with Canada peas 
and Sand vetch 3^4 feet high and then cut in October a 
crop of clover 10 to 12 inches high for green feeding. 
The first year total sales amounted' to $272, with ex¬ 
penses for the year (exclusive of family expenses) of 
$960. This year my sales from all sources amounted to 
$3,180, expenses $1,160, and I have only just begun to 
farm. You will notice by enclosed billhead that my 
sir _ _ 
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