1000 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
303 
THE DEMAND FOR GOOD APPLES. 
We have read what Mechanic, 
Waltham, Mass., page 135, says in re¬ 
lation to good apples, and is not he a fair 
sample of a class who are clamoring for 
good apples? Mechanic says common 
and wormy apples are not worth hav¬ 
ing; he wants good apples, and is will¬ 
ing to pay the munificent sum of $3.50 
per barrel for two barrels, but people 
were not running over each other to 
furnish them, evidently, as he went 
without. In the small territory around 
Boston, as far out as Waltham, there 
are perhaps a million and a half of 
people, so apples cannot be furnished 
by the local farmers on land worth 
$200 to $500 per acre and must be 
shipped in from a large section of coun¬ 
try. Allowing 50 cents for freight, 
cartage both ends of route to cold 
storage, etc.; 35 cents for barrel; 35 
cents picking and packing fancy barrel 
apples; 30 cents commission, sold at 
Boston; 50 cents dealer in Waltham; 
cartage from Boston, profit and deliv¬ 
ering apples to Mechanic; 50 cents one 
barrel in cold storage, for had Mechanic 
bought two barrels in Fall lie would 
not have had two barrels to eat, and 
the grower would receive for the two 
barrels $2.50, or $1.25 per barrel for 
his strictly-best fruit, provided he had 
some good enough to suit Mechanic. 
But the chances arc that Mechanic 
would have wished to have bought his 
apples in broken packages, and the mer¬ 
chant’s profits must have been higher. 
I can offer Mechanic something most 
as good. I would like to hire a good 
carpenter at, say. 20 cents per hour, and 
could give him a good lot of work. 
How does Mechanic like that side of 
the picture? If not, let him grow some 
good apples for other poor Mechanics, 
and make himself a public benefactor. 
Massachusetts. h. o. mead. 
HANDLING AN “UNOCCUPIED FARM.” 
If a man bought one of those unoccupied 
farms in New York State what could he 
do with it? 
Ans. —When making inquiry as to the 
best method of handling the unoccu¬ 
pied lands in this section, should one 
make a purchase, the answer usually is 
that it depends upon the land, its condi¬ 
tion, location, extent, buildings, etc. A 
certain farm of about 90 acres, perhaps 
70 of cleared land, was taken as an 
illustration. The house is old, but was 
very well built, and has been well kept 
up. It is a very comfortable house, 
and with a little fixing up might be 
quite attractive in appearance. The 
barns are not so good, and the main 
barn will need considerable repairing 
in the near future. There are four 
barns scattered about, but only two of 
them are suitable for stock, but would 
do for hens. The two smaller ones 
would do very well for henhouses, even 
without much fixing, but would be 
somewhat better if a few changes were 
to be made. These would accommodate 
200 hens, and if one wished to engage 
extensively in poultry, the others could 
be pressed into service. Five hundred 
hens might be kept if it were desired, 
and I do not see why $400 or $500 
might not be cleared up in a year if 
the purchaser understood poultry-keep¬ 
ing well. A farmer who lives but a 
short distance from the farm in question 
says he should engage in the poultry 
business if he were to buy that farm 
and move there. The man who lives on 
bring up the productivity of the farm, 
and it would be possible to turn the 
farm more to the dairy or grain grow¬ 
ing industry later if that were desired. 
The use of chemicals and clover might 
be worked out for improving the farm. 
It seems as though this plan would 
work out well in this instance. A capi¬ 
tal of $500 in cash might do, but more 
would be better. I would estimate this 
farm at $1,000. h. h. lyon. 
Seeding to Clover. 
II. B., Ilunicrsland , N. Y. — If I plow a 
piece of light sod in the Spring, and give 
it thorough cultivation and a good appli¬ 
cation of fertilizer, can I sow Itcd clover 
and harvest a crop the same Summer? 
The land is thinnish, and has always hocn 
seeded to Timothy, I have seen a little 
clover growing here and there over the 
piece where it had been in the Timothy sod. 
I would like to get some clover another 
Summer if possible. 
Ans. —No, you cannot get a crop of 
clover the same year you sow the seed. 
You would have better results to take 
a piece of land that has been in some 
hoed crop for one season. Our best 
results in this section have been with 
a good sod turned under with a good 
application of stable manure hauled each 
day, as it is made during the Winter, 
and plowed as early as possible in the 
Spring to give the sod all the time pos¬ 
sible to rot and disseminate before the 
ground is fitted and planted to corn, 
Keep the sod well stirred and free from 
weeds during the growing season of the 
corn, and in the following Spring plow 
just deep enough to turn up the un¬ 
decomposed manure, if any. After a 
thorough disking and harrowing, sow 
?J/ 2 bushels of oats or barley, one peck 
Timothy seed and eight pounds Red 
clover, or four pounds Alsike to the 
acre. The oats or barley make a good 
cover crop for the young clover plants, 
and the following year, if conditions are 
right and the first season has been con¬ 
ducive to a good catch of clover, you 
should get a fine cutting of clover, but 
little or no Timothy, while the second 
year’s cut will be about all Timothy, 
with little or no clover. If the soil 
is not acid I should much prefer the 
Alsike to Red clover, as it makes a 
much finer quality of hay, and stock 
will eat every last spear of it, while 
with Red or large clover there is more 
or less waste in feeding. I do not sow 
the two clovers together, as they do 
not mature at the same time and one 
is obliged to harvest one at the loss of 
the other. Alsike should be cut as soon 
as the blossoms are out, and put into 
cocks while it is yet quite green, and 
left two or three days to cure, and 
to my mind there is no hay for stock 
quite equal to it. F. D. SQUIERS. 
Jefferson County, N. Y. 
Instrument for Testing Vinegar. 
II. IF., Amsterdam, X. Y. —Is there a 
hydrometer or other instrument that an 
ordinary farmer can test vinegar with for 
market, to see if it will come up to the 
requirements of the law? I have a quantity 
of vinegar made from pure apple cider, 
hut do not like to offer it for sale until 
I know whether it will come up to test 
required by law. If I sell vinegar to a 
grocer which if tested by official appointed 
for that purpose was found not to come up 
to test required, who would have to pay the 
fine ? 
Ans. —The law in New York State is 
designed especially to protect honest man¬ 
ufacturers by prohibiting.the manufac¬ 
ture or sale of adulterated vinegar 
This law provides that cider vinegar 
made by a farmer in this State, exclus¬ 
ively from apples grown on his land, 
or their equivalent in cider taken in 
exchange therefor, shall not be deemed 
adulterated if it contains two per centum 
of solids and sufficient alcohol to de¬ 
velop the required amount (4 T /j per 
cent) of acetic acid. The law also 
provides that every manufacturer or 
producer of cider vinegar shall plainly 
brand on the head of each cask, bar¬ 
rel, . keg or other package containing 
such vinegar, his name and place of 
business, and the words “cider vinegar.” 
In case this vinegar is found upon in¬ 
spection, to be adulterated or below the 
standard the law holds both the man¬ 
ufacturer and the seller equally respon¬ 
sible, provided it can be proved that it 
is sold exactly as it is received from the 
manufacturer. A hydrometer would be 
of no use whatever in testing vinegar. 
It should be of such a strength that one 
fluid ounce would require, for satura¬ 
tion, not less than 35 grains of potas¬ 
sium bicarbonate. This test is easily 
applied by anyone, as it is very sim¬ 
ple. C. S. GREENE. 
Mr. Popp: “By gosh! For once in 
my life I know where my cuff links 
are. Mrs. P.: “Where are they now?” 
Mr. P.: “The baby’s • swallowed ’em.’ 
—Cleveland Leader. 
| 
Tell How — 
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Hired Help Costs Big Money ft 
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• Catalogue and discounts. Address. 
ZIMMERMANN STEEL CO., - Lone Tree, Iowa. 
ECONOMY IN BUILDING 
TRADE MARK 
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such a farm could also have a good 
garden, could grow some potatoes., 
grain, etc., and could keep a small num¬ 
ber of cows, if so inclined. About 
$200 worth of hay now grows on the 
farm and the pasture is worth some¬ 
thing. The whole business could he at¬ 
tended to by one industrious, able-bodied 
man who knows his business, and if 
assisted by some members of his fam¬ 
ily, it could be done easily. The hens 
would assist materially in helping to 
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