803 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 11, 
WHAT SHARE OF THE EARTH ? 
I have been very much interested in the discussion 
of how much of the consumer's dollar goes to the 
producer, and I wish to add a little of my experience 
to the fund of information in that line. I inclose a 
hi 1 of sale for a carload of watermelons shipped to 
Boston two years ago. The car sold for $150.23, 
freight and commission $113.31, leaving a net balance 
of $36.92, or a little over 25 per cent of the gross sale, 
and when the retailer’s profit is added it would cer¬ 
tainly not leave me more than 20 per cent of the con¬ 
sumer's dollar. 
I have another of a later date. On June 29, this 
year, I received a letter from C. E. Lydnor & Co., 
Richmond, Va., stating that they were not receiv¬ 
ing potatoes to fill their out-of-town orders; that pota¬ 
toes were selling for $2.25 to $2.50 and market brisk. 
The next day, June 30, I sent them 14 barrels of po¬ 
tatoes, and a week later received the postal given be¬ 
low and two days later the bill of sale showing the 
net proceeds to be $7.27. Does this go to show that 
there is considerable truth in the statement made in 
"Everybody’s Magazine” a couple of weeks ago about 
the commission business? Can anybody figure out 
how much of the consumer's dollar I got in this case? 
Toano, Va. reader. 
The Commission Man’s Statement. 
190 watermelons @ 15c.$28.50 
212 “ @ 13c. 27.56 
734 “ @ 12c. 88.08 
87 specks.@ 7c. 6.09 
1223 $150.23 
Freight and cartage.$101.29 
Comniisson .. 12.02 
$113.31 113.31 
$ 36.92 
This means about three cents for each melon net to 
the grower. We do not believe the average retail 
price to consumer was less than 20 cents. 
In the other the card received read: 
Market has been overstocked in potatoes for 10 days 
and it seems an impossibility to move them, but as soon 
as yours are disposed of will remit at once. 
11 bbls. potatoes @ $1.$11.00 
3 ‘ “ @ 30c.90 
Freight .. 
Cartage .. 
Commission 
$11.90 
$2.94 
.50 
1.19 
$4.63 4.63 
$7.27 
Before these potatoes got to the final consumer 
"they brought at least $3 a barrel. At the time our 
folks were paying 30 cents for half a peck. At $3 
the potatoes brought $42, and our friend got about 
18 rents out of the dollar. 
A LIST OF SMALL FRUITS. 
Tell me the best earliest bush fruits, to put out the 
coming Autumn, which will bear fruit next year, and are 
they affected by different climates? Raspberry canes, 
potted strawberry plants (good size and productive), 
gooseberry bushes, not inclined to mildew, blackberry and 
dewberry canes, all well known and of established repu¬ 
tation. One catalogue I have seen praises very highly 
the Mammoth Rajah Tudo raspberry canes, and I would 
like to ascertain if they are all that is there said in 
their favor. Is there “duty” exacted on them if sent 
out of the United States? If so, is it a heavy duty? 
Are plants so sent fumigated, which would be hurtful. 
J should think? M. d. 
East Orange, X. J. 
Soil and climatic conditions are great factors in 
the growth and productiveness of nearly all varieties 
of either orchard or small fruits. The celebrated 
Brinckle’s Orange raspberry succeeded only in a 
few favorable localities, and it is the same with 
strawberries, gooseberries and grapes. The black¬ 
berry succeeds over a wider range of territory than 
either the raspberry or strawberry, as far as soil is 
concerned. The main drawback to the blackberry is 
the temperature, many of the choicest and largest 
fruiting varieties being too tender in the cane to 
stand extreme cold. The one red raspberry that 
has succeeded almost everywhere and in almost all 
kinds of soil, and given the best satisfaction to the 
amateur and the market grower, is the Cuthbert. 
Many other varieties have come and gone in the 
thirty odd years that the Cuthbert has been with 
us, and it is still the standard red. Golden Queen 
is the best yellow variety. It is sport from the 
Cuthbert and is like it in every respect except in 
color. The Welsh, which has been fruited for many 
years in Burlington Co.. N. J., is one of the very 
best early red raspberries. The Kansas and Cum¬ 
berland are both good reliable black raspberries, and 
the Columbian and Shaffer are good purple varieties. 
If novelties or over-praised varieties appeal to one’s 
fancy, better try a plant or two, before using too 
much ground and money for something that only 
has the sellers praise to commend . it. 
The Ward and Eldorado are two of the best 
blackberries, and if an early berry is wanted, then 
Kenoyer is one of the very best. Lucretia is the 
best dewberry. When a good-sized gooseberry is 
wanted, the Downing is the only reliable and stand¬ 
ard variety. If a red gooseberry is preferred, al¬ 
though the berry is small, Houghton is the best 
red gooseberry for the average grower. All of the 
above-named varieties succeed generally throughout 
the Middle States, and on almost any kind of soil, 
provided they have ordinary care, culture and fer¬ 
tilizing. If soil is light and poor, then apply plenty 
of composted stable manure in the Fall or Winter, 
and work it in with fork or plow in the Spring. 
If pot-grown strawberry plants are planted dur- 
SHORT-HORN BULL ORANGE SUTTON 263522. Fig. 456. 
See Page 817. 
ing August or early September they will give a fair 
crop of fruit next Summer. As soon as ground 
freezes, cover with coarse stable manure, straw or 
salt hay. When Spring comes, open this covering 
so the plants get the sun and light, but leave the 
coarse mulch to retain moisture and keep the berries 
off the ground. The Success is one of the best 
second early berries and succeeds everywhere. It 
is too soft for long shipments, but otherwise is the 
ideal berry. Glen Mary is a great producer of fine 
large dark red berries. Senator Dunlap is a smaller 
berry, but does so well generally that it can be well 
recommended. William Belt is a fine berry of the 
very best quality, and for a late berry the Gandy 
still holds first place. Among the new varieties that 
have attracted my attention this last year has been 
the Waldorf and the Chesapeake. Both of these 
varieties are large, bright red, good quality and firm. 
It is best to buy a few plants of new varieties and 
try them, as this is the only way to find the varieties 
that succeed on any different soil or condition. The 
cost is small and one often finds just what is wanted 
in this way. 
The United States Government puts • no tax on 
plants exported, but imposes a tax on most nursery 
stock that is imported from other countries. This 
THE FEATHERED MOTHER. Fig. 457. 
tax varies on different kinds of trees and plants, but 
ranges about 25 per cent ad valorem. All fruit trees 
sent from the United States to Canada have to be 
fumigated properly. The fumigation does not injure 
the tree, but does rid it of all injurious insects. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. e. s. black. 
ANOTHER VIEW OF FARMERS’ INSTITUTE. 
My ideas of a way to make the institutes better 
are quite different from those of Frank E. Rupert, 
page 734. I believe that there is no one so well able 
to tell others how to do things, as those who can do 
them for themselves. There should be none better 
qualified in this respect than the man who spends 
part of his time unmolested in bis own fields, or or¬ 
chard, or with bis dairy, a good, practical farmer, 
for only the man who earns his bread by the sweat of 
his brow knows of the minor problems the average 
farmer has to contend with, or can tell him how to 
utilize the things at hand. There is no use to teach 
the man with plenty of money; he can get along 
any old place. I think my theory pretty well proven 
by the fact that wherever a general discussion takes 
place at an institute, also where the question box 
(which to my mind is the most important part of any 
institute) is used, many of the important answers are 
given by practical farmers in the audience. And now 
a word for Samuel Decker. A part of his note is 
absolutely wrong as regards this section, and many 
others which I have visited in this State, while part 
of it is really insulting to the best farmers I know. 
This also applies to the sections just mentioned. I 
can assure Mr. Decker that most of the farmers in 
this section who are interested in our institute, our 
Grange, our county fairs, our fruit growers’ meetings, 
the farm papers, and many other lines of agricultural 
education, are farmers from choice and not from 
necessity. We also have the kind of farmers Mr. 
Decker speaks of as smiling when these things are 
mentioned. However, they are not as prominent 
here (evidently) as at Slate Hill. This is not in any¬ 
way meant as a slur on those who have worked out. 
Many of us have done that and are doing it yet. But 
few of them I know, are like what Mr. Decker de¬ 
scribes, and surely I never heard one say the insti¬ 
tutes held at Kinderhook were a farce. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. wm. hotaling. 
In regard to farmers’ institutes I think Samuel 
Decker, on page 734. hits the nail on the head ex¬ 
actly. The institute makes a nice place to spend an 
afternoon or an evening for a little entertainment, 
especially if there is music and singing. We had 
an orchestra from one Grange and a choir from an¬ 
other at our institute last Winter, which made it 
quite worth while; aside from that it didn’t amount 
to much. At our next Grange meeting after the 
institute I asked the question: “Are institutes worth 
what they cost?” I could not get an answer. Then 
I asked if anyone thought he was benefited by the 
institute? No answer. And I couldn’t get anyone 
to say in private that he thought he was benefited. 
Ontario Co., N. Y, Y. g. b. pickeking. 
BIG POTATO VINES, SMALL TUBERS. 
1 made my potatoes come out of the ground in eight 
days and I had potatoes on the vines in seven weeks the 
size of pullet eggs, but they did not get any bigger and 
they grew all into vines. I am digging them now; the 
vines are all dead. They were planted the first part of 
May in early sandy land, no humus. The fertilizer I use 
is sulphate of potash, superphosphate and nitrate of soda. 
I made it to give me 8-10-6 per cent. I took 20 pounds 
potash, 30 pounds nitrate of soda and 50 pounds ©f 
superphosphate to make 100 pounds. I put 100 pounds 
of this fertilizer to the bushel of potatoes, and this is 
the result, nothing but vines. I want to know what 
part of the fertilizer makes the tuber and what part 
vines. That is what puzzles me. I do not understand 
why the vines grow so large. Everybody thought 1 would 
have 100 bushels. When I told a man that my potatoes 
were small he did not believe me until I went and dug one 
from the hill and showed it to him. G. a. d. 
Rockville. Mass. 
You are not the first farmer to find that the size 
of the vine does not measure the crop. There is 
some mistake about your figures. This is what you 
used. 
Nitrogen. P. Acid. Potash. 
20 pounds muriate of potash.. 10 
30 pounds nitrate of soda. 5 
50 pounds acid phosphate. 7 
Total . 5 7 10 
Thus you had a fertilizer analyzing five per cent 
nitrogen, seven of phosphoric acid and 10 of potash. 
The best potato fertilizers sold in New England con¬ 
tain less than four per cent, of nitrogen, about eight 
of phosphoric acid and six of potash. They also 
contain nitrogen in several different forms so as to 
furnish nitrates, “ammonia” and organic nitrogen. 
Your mixture had only one form, the nitrates, the 
most soluble of all and quickly available. Nitrogen 
is the fertilizing element which promotes rapid growth. 
You used more of this soluble nitrogen than the 
plants needed. They made a rapid growth of top 
which, for a time, gave the appearance of health. 
This tender growth was probably struck down by 
blight when the tubers were partly grown. We judge 
this is so as you do not speak of spraying the vines. 
You will probably have better results by using in 
place of your present mixture, 15 pounds nitrate, 15 
dried blood. 15 sulphate of potash and 55 acid phos¬ 
phate. You must remember that no combination of 
fertilizers will produce a good crop unless you can 
protect the vines from blight. 
Some of our people who have read Mr. T. E. Martin’s 
articles may think he spends too much time preparing 
the land. All such will probably be interested in the 
following note from him: “Thrashed July 30, 1909. 18 
acres, from the shock, 15 hands, five teams; 780 bushels, 
an average of 43 bushels per acre. Sixteen acres re¬ 
quired 82y 2 pounds twine 7standard) ; two acres were in 
orchard and was cradled.” 
