412 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 18 , 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[Every query must be accompanied by 
the name and address of the writer to in¬ 
sure attention. Before asking a question, 
please see whether it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few 
questions at one time. Put questions on a 
separate piece of paper. 1 
A MULCHING CROP WITH STRAW¬ 
BERRIES. 
A reader in Virginia asks if he can sow 
Soy beans or cow peas among the strawber¬ 
ries after picking so as to have the vines for 
mulching purposes. 
Your reader would just as well let his 
strawberry bed grow up in weeds and 
grass as to try to grow cow peas or Soy 
beans among the plants. Strawberries 
naturally require a great deal of moisture, 
and if Soy beans or cow peas were plant¬ 
ed among them, they being much faster 
growing plants, would, during dry 
weather, take nearly all the moisture from 
the soil, and leave the strawberries to dry 
up and die, or at least they would be more 
or less stunted. I should advise your 
reader to grow his Soy beans or peas on a 
different piece of land early in the season, 
where they could have the entire Summer 
to grow, cut them in the ,Fall and then 
mulch the strawberries, and I have no 
doubt he would find this highly satisfac¬ 
tory. It is my opinion that Soy beans 
handled in this way would make a very 
fine mulch, but he could no more grow 
them successfully among the strawberries 
than he could grow strawberries and grass 
together. w. F. allen. 
Maryland. 
Any plan of growing mulch for straw¬ 
berries between the rows of the plants 
themselves has, up to the present time, 
been a failure; at least has been so report¬ 
ed by those who in this vicinity have tried 
it. Some time ago a plan for mulching 
strawberries with millet sown late 
enough in the Fall so that the first frost 
would kill the still-growing millet, and 
that it would fall down and make a cheap 
and excellent mulch, was attempted by a 
large Maryland strawberry grower. Only 
a few weeks ago 1 met this man, and in 
the course of conversation this very sub¬ 
ject came up, and his report was decidedly 
unfavorable. My own opinion is that 
with the usual distance of setting the 
strawberry rows the mulch cannot be 
raised without injuring the crop, but if 
one wishes to give up half the land to 
grow the mulch then the plan might be 
feasible, but the cost of pulling and plac¬ 
ing together with the non-production of 
one-half of the land would make a very 
expensive mulch. s. h. derby. 
Maryland. 
During the first week in August of 1902 
I drilled cow peas between the rows of 
four acres of strawberries (rows four feet 
apart) for the purpose of obtaining a 
mulch by mowing and dragging the vines 
on the matted rows. The ground was 
rich and mellow, and peas made a good 
growth, but strawberries were badly 
stunted. This experiment was tried on a 
six-acre lot of Stevens’ Champion, Joe 
and Bubach, the whole piece being plant¬ 
ed in April of the same year, cultivated 
four times and hoed twice before drilling 
peas. Now 28 rows of these had no peas 
in them and were cultivated three times 
more, making a matted row of very vig¬ 
orous plants, which came through the 
Winter in good condition and bore- a big 
crop of fair-sized berries, while the four 
acres mulched in the above manner barely 
paid for seed, drilling, harrowing and 
mowing. If the reader from Winchester, 
Va., is growing berries for profit I would 
advise him to abandon the above idea and 
use good barnyard manure and plenty 
Of it. JOHN CASAZZA. 
New Jersey. 
A Rake for Stones. 
A. B. B., Bethel, Conn .—I have recently 
bought a large farm, and In going over the 
fields, find a number of them with a liberal 
covering of small stones ranging in size 
from an egg to six inches in diameter. Do 
you know of a machine that would rake 
them into windrows? I should think that a 
machine something on the principle of a 
side-delivery rake would handle them, al¬ 
though of course it would have to be built 
heavy. If it were possible to get such a 
machine it would save a large amount of 
hand labor. 
Ans. —We have heard of the use of hay 
rakes, weeders, oyster rakes or tongs and 
other devices. One man took a steel rail 
from a railroad, hitched a team at eacli 
end and dragged it over the field. Some 
crude rakes are made like a weeder by 
horing holes in a plank and driving stout 
pegs through to catch and roll the stones 
together. Who has a suitable machine? 
A Talk About Rhubarb. 
J. E. H., Annapolis, Md .—I have land 
quite sandy, with a clay subsoil, and a wood 
on the north side. I wish to raise rhubarb 
for early truck. I propose making trencher 
18 inches deep, 24 inches wide, with sides 
planked. I have leaves from the wood for 
use as a Winter covering. I shall not use 
artificial heat. Can I use leaf mold as the 
plant food? Will you give me some advice 
on the subject as to best kind for this 
section, and method of growing for early 
crop? Will good roots planted as above this 
Spring produce for market next Spring? 
Ans. —If choice can be had, always se¬ 
lect a warm, well-drained soil for rhu¬ 
barb. Plow the ground deeply, and mark 
out the furrows four feet apart, and set 
the young roots three feet from each 
other in the rows. A forkful of well- 
composted manure should be 'used for 
each hill. Set the plants deep in the 
soil, placing the manure around them, 
and cover to a depth of about two inches, 
so the eyes or buds will be just below the 
surface; firm the soil around them well 
by using the feet. Cultivate when re¬ 
quired. No stalks should be pulled the 
season of planting; it will exhaust the 
crowns before they are well established. 
In Winter, after the ground is frozen, 
cover the crowns with horse manure. 
Early the following Spring fork the ma¬ 
nure in the soil around the plants, and 
cultivate freely. After a few warm days 
the stalk will be large enough to pull for 
market. Rhubarb is usually planted in 
the Spring, but for very early use the 
roots should be taken up in Autumn and 
planted closely together in cold frames. 
Cover the crowns with a heavy layer of 
dry forest leaves. Early in March the 
leaves are removed and sash placed over 
them. This will bring the crop on two 
weeks earlier. Rhubarb will stand al¬ 
most any amount of neglect and yield 
fair returns, but for best results it is 
practical to take up the clumps and 
divide them every four years. The stalks 
will be much larger and of better quality 
from the newly planted roots than from 
the old crowns. The same roots or 
clumps can be used for an indefinite 
time if treated as here described. I have 
on my own grounds a young bed set one 
year ago from divided crowns that I 
have been using for 26 years, resetting 
them every three or four years, and they 
are in as good condition to-day as they 
were a quarter century ago. Myatt’s 
Linnaeus is the best for early, while the 
Victoria is the more attractive for late 
use. t. M. WHITE. 
Monmouth Co., N. Y. 
The Mulch System. — J am very much 
Interested in your mulching theory, and in¬ 
tend putting it in practice at my farm in 
New Hampshire. I have several pastures 
that it would be almost impossible to keep 
cultivated except at great expense. I keep 
practically no stock, and will use the bulk 
of my hay for mulching purposes. With the 
high cost of labor at haying time it is prac¬ 
tically impossible to gather it and sell at a 
profit, and I have decided that it will be 
much to m.Y benefit to use it for mulching. 
E. J. H. 
Grape Note. —The Brown’s Seedling grape 
at hand and planted in good shape. I hope 
it will grow and be a credit to the old' R. 
N.-Y. If it proves to be one-half as good 
as the Eclipse (Riehl’s No. 10) it will be 
an improvement over nearly all of our extra 
early grapes. In my judgment, as grown 
here, the Eclipse is the equal of the Green 
Mountain in quality, and the earliest grape 
in the list of 160 varieties that have been 
fruited here. While it is about the size of 
Concord in bunch and berry, it ripens all 
over at once, and is ripe as soon as colored. 
Villa Ridge, Ill. q, e. 
You Need a NEW Roof 
Your present one is leaking and worn beyond repair. Why not put on a roof this 
time that will outlast your building and never cost another cent during the rest of your 
life? What’s the use of spending anymore of your hard earned money for short-lived 
shingles, tin. metal or composition roofs that require constant painting and repairs? Why 
not buy a sanitary, fire-proof, handsome, " never-wear-out” SLATE ROOF—one that will 
end your roofing troubles forever and Increase the attractiveness an d selling value of your 
property ? A 
Sea Green or Purple Slate Roof 
Costs Little More than Short-Lived Roofing 
and the actual value added to your property more than makes up the difference. This is 
an absolute fact. BUILDINGS ROOFED WITH SLATE HAVE A HIGHER MARKET 
VALUE. Sea Green and Purple Roofing slate is nature’s own product, solid rock, quarried 
from the depths of the earth and split into convenient form for laying. It is the only 
roofing material known that is not affected by heat or cold, drought or moisture. It. 
cannot wear out, warp, rust or decay. If your building on which it is placed lasts a 
hundred years, the Sea Green or Purple Slate Roof will still be in good condition. It is the 
only roof that will insure pure cistern water and protection from fire and lightning—the 
only one that will give your buildings the improved appearance and added value that 
makes them better than your neighbor’s who does not use Slate. ANY building, old or 
new can be roofed with slate. 
Our FREE is yours for the asking. It tells all about the different roofings 
and will save you money. Don’t wait. Write for it now. Give 
Book, “ ROOFS •* name of your local roofer. 
THE AMERICAN SEA GREEN SLATE CO., 
Box lo. GRANVILLE, N. Y. 
HAY RACKS! HAY RACKS!! 
Having a quantity of hay racks on hand, we are 
offering them at an extremely low price in order to 
dispose of them at once. They are very strong and 
well built but not too heavy, and are guaranteed to 
do good service. Our price will surprise you. Address, 
THE STAR, SEEDER CO., Shortsville, N. Y. 
The best strains 
grown true to 
name and fu’ i of 
vitality are de¬ 
scribed in 
DREER’S GARDEN BOOK 
Magnificent color plates, and 224 su¬ 
perbly illustrated pages, describing 
everything for farm or garden—seeds, 
plants, insecticides, fertilizers and im¬ 
plements. 
Mailed to anyone mentioning 
this publication. 
HENRY A. DREER, Philadelphia 
95 HAH A RIII R<\ by express, or 15 by mail, pre- 
Zd UHnUH DULDO paid, for $ 1 . 00 . 300 choice 
varieties in this collection. Many fine new Cactus 
and Decorative, all different but unnamed. 
V. STONEROAD, Yeagertowu, Pa. 
Fill! fiROP 1908 FROM OUR MID-SUMMER 
TULL l»nur STRAWBERRY PLANTS. Send 
for List. Kevitt’s Plant Farm, Athenia, N. J. 
CTRAWBERRY PLANTS—None better grown. Buy 
direct from a specialist. Catalogue free. 
GEO. It. SOHAUBER, Box R, Ballston Lake, N.Y. 
S WEET POTATO PLANTS FOR SALE. 
Jersey Yellow aud Big Stem, $1.25 per M. Plants 
ready May 20._ John Casazza, Vineland. N, J, 
JOR SALE—Crimson Clover Seed, *84.50 bushel. 
Red Clover Seed, *87.50 and $>8.00 bushel 
Onion sets, *2.00 and *82.50 bushel, Cow Peas 
882.50 to ®3.75 bushel. Joseph E. Holland, Milford, Pel. 
SATISFACTORY DIVIDENDS mean the highest 
° rate that money will earn when SAFELY 
invested. Small savings usually earn 4# or 
less. Under exceptionally favorable con¬ 
ditions, due to large operations for many 
years in the best loaning market, we offer 
PERFECT SECURITY and pay LARGER DIVIDENDS 
than the average savings institution. 
5% a Year 
reckoned from day of re¬ 
ceipt to day of withdrawal. 
References from every 
State in the Union. 
New York Banking De¬ 
partment supervision. 
Assets $1,750,000. 
INDUSTRIAL SAVINGS AND LOAN CO., 
5 Times Bldg., Broadway and 42d Street, N. Y. City. 
ATTENTION! 
Gardeners and Truck Farmers. 
The Early Tomatoes bring big money. 35,000 
Earliana, June Pink, Noltes Earliest, Eariibell, 
750 per 100 ; $ 0.00 per 1 , 000 ; hothouse grown; frame 
hardened: fine, stocky, transplanted plants, 8-10 in. 
Cash. Satisfaction guaranteed. 
PECKHAM BROS., R. F. D. 3, Norwich, Conn. 
P EACH TREES 
PLUM TREES 
Trees and Plants. Catalogue free. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., 
H1GHTSTOWN, N. J. 
—Best seed for eale. Write 
forsamples, prices, and FREE 
directions “23” on growing. 
ALFALFA 
J. E, Wing & Bros., Box 23, 
APPLE TREES 
IMOTIIINGr BUT iLFPLES 
ROGERS ON THE HILL, Dansville, N. Y. 
THE RIGHT SEED POTATOES 
The Stock is right. The Prices are Right. I will Use you Right. Write me 
for free descriptive catalogue, containing every standard variety grown. 32nd 
a nniversary. _ S. J. CONNELLY, Fishers, Ontario Co,, N. Y. 
BOWL 
GEARS ALL 
ENCLOSED 
w 
Runs in Oil 
A cream separator has parts that run at high! 
speed. To work smoothly and easily they have 
to be fitted together very exactly and yet un¬ 
less thoroughly oiled they will grind and 
wear away. Hence the need of proper 
and ample oiling. In the U. S. Separator, 
oiling is done automatically and perfectly. 
The cut gives you an idea of the extremely 
simple arrangement. 
Notice that part of the frame has been 
broken away, showing the driving gears, 
and the bowl which turns fastest. The sight 
feed oil cup automatically supplies the 
bearing that steadies the bowl; then that 
^-NECK 
BEARING) 
oil runs down into the gear chamber, where you see 
the little hollow. Once the machine is well oiled, 
this hollow gathers the surplus and keeps full. 
Now when you turn the gears in the improved 
POOL | 
OF 
Ol L 
U C c R E 
•O# SEPAR 
A Ml 
RATOR 
*the teeth of the lowest gear run through this pool of oil 
and throw it up in a spray just as a buggy wheel throws 
water when you drive through a puddle. In this sim¬ 
ple, economical way, the teeth of the gears above, 
the spiral teeth on the spindle of the bowl, and the 
simple, one-ball bearing at the bottom end of the spin¬ 
dle on which the bowl spins, —are ALL kept wet with oil 
when running and that’s why (combined with proper con¬ 
struction and the best materials) there is so little friction to a U. S., and 
why it is the longest-wearing and lightest-running separator made. 
Here we can only give you an idea of the superior oiling device, and can’t 
even mention the many other advantages of tne U. S. But we ’ll send you 
free a copy of our big, new separator catalogue that tells all about the U. S. 
Just say, “ Send catalogue number D 159,” and write us now while you 
think of it. Use a postal if it’s handiest, or send a letter, addressing 
Vermont Farm Machine Co. 
Prompt Deliveries from 
Eighteen Distributing Warehouses. 
443a 
Bellows Falls, Vt. 
