118 
vation. In addition to good sod conditions, each tree 
should have received a liberal mulch—a mulch suffi¬ 
ciently heavy as to restrict the growth of the grass 
beneath the extremities of the branches of the trees, 
and to have conserved the soil moisture and fertility 
which went t© the development of that grass crop. 
Even a heavy mulching could not possibly give the 
results the first season that it would give after its 
decomposition for a series of years had been in pro¬ 
gress, its maintenance by repeated annual applica¬ 
tions of material kept up as recommended in this sys¬ 
tem of culture, and when the feeding rootlets had be¬ 
gun to get hold of this generous source of food supply. 
I have observed just the effects, even in young or¬ 
chards, which were brought about in the Auchter or¬ 
chard by a sudden change from cultivation to seed¬ 
ing and growing a grass crop. Much rather would I 
think of continuing the production of cultivated farm 
crops in the orchard than seeding to grass and sim¬ 
ply mowing the area. The latter would indeed be a 
slow process of orchard improvement—one in which 
I should expect the trees to become sallow, dis¬ 
heartened and, on soil where an extended period of 
hand-to-mouth feeding had been in progress, in a con¬ 
dition to which death would be preferable to a con¬ 
tinuance of the struggle. 
I trust that the New York Station will decide to 
take up a hillside orchard already in a well-estab¬ 
lished sod, plow one-half for cultivation, buying, if 
need be, enough material thoroughly to mulch the 
trees in the sod section even if the necessary expense 
be greater at the outset than the cost of plowing, 
fertilizing, cultivation and growing of the cover crop 
in the culture plot. Charge the excess cost to the sod) 
portion, to be paid back in the future. Encourage, if 
need be, by a light application of nitrate of soda, a 
good growth of grass from the well-established sod. 
Mow the grass, rake, divide and add to the mulch al¬ 
ready about each tree, or let it lie where it falls, as 
preferred; but let.there be no failure to maintain that 
mulch beneath the circumference of each tree—a 
band from four to six feet in width. Withhold re¬ 
ports of results until both methods have been well 
established and tested, taking into consideration the 
minutest details which develop as the outcome of the 
widely different systems of treatment. This is the 
nature of the experiment demanded by those who 
recommend and have justifiable faith in the sod-mulch 
culture of orchards, and nothing short of this fair 
comparison of ways and means will be recognized as 
worthy of serious consideration. 
I shall not consent to stop where I may be accused 
of “dodging the issue” in that Auchter orchard. As 
I stated in The R. N.-Y. of December 28, there was 
not in that experiment a single mulched tree compared 
with a cultivated tree except where Nature, through 
the agency of those stone walls, took a hand. Even 
a heavy mulch of straw given the other trees in the 
sod portion, could not have developed immediately the 
thrift and fruitfulness observed in the stone wall 
trees; but such a mulch would have made a vast 
difference in results even in the short time elapsing 
since the orchard was taken under the station’s care; 
and such a mulch would necessarily have been, at the 
outset, a part of the programme in a fair test of 
mulching versus cultivation. 
From a strictly experimental point of view, where 
different methods under comparison must individually 
be given full and equal opportunity, and this from the 
outset, I have little interest in the work in the Auchter 
orchard. Those trees in the newly sown grass plot re¬ 
ceived a blow at the very beginning, from which, I 
doubt not, they will fail to fully recover for several 
seasons to come. At least the reported yellowish, 
sickly color of the foliage, in so marked a degree, and 
the tiny, weakly growth, would indicate a very severe 
check. I sincerely trust, however, that the damage 
will be repaired at the earliest opportunity, so far as 
may be done, by thorough mulching and a stimulating 
plant food. This kindness is certainly due the trees 
outside of experimental considerations. Observations 
as to yields of mulched trees will soon be given. 
Ohio Experiment Station. f. h. ballou. 
HANDLING A BALKY HORSE. 
It would give me as much pleasure as anything I 
can think of to be able to hand you a “sure cure” 
for balkers, but I hardly think I have anything new 
to say on this subject. When we come to the genuine 
inbred balker we all have to admit that we are get¬ 
ting pretty close to the high stump. My experience is 
that the balking vice more than any other requires 
different handling for each individual case. I have 
never seen one that could not be started by some 
means, but when you speak of “cure” I’ll go back and 
sit down. By cure I mean such correction of the fault 
that anybody can drive the animal. This cannot be 
done in all cases because, as a famous horse trainer 
has well put it, “you can’t cure all the balky drivers.” 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
For a sulker that will throw himself and refuse to 
get up, “hog-tying,” Fig. 55, is as good a remedy to 
apply as we are likely to find. Tie all four feet to¬ 
gether and then go and weed the onions or sit down 
in the shade and read the news for an hour. Two 
hours may be necessary in some cases. You can very 
near tell when he has given up. His eyes will beg 
when you come near him. It its better, however, not 
to go near him for three-quarters of an hour. He 
must have time to gather in the fine points of your 
argument. He is usually very particular to keep on 
his feet after one or two applications of this remedy, 
and the chances are he will not balk at all with you, 
but the next man that gets him? Who knows? 
The “guy rope,” Fig. 56, works satisfactorily in some 
cases. Tie small rope around the animal’s neck and 
take half hitch on lower jaw. Let a good husky man 
pull steady on this rope. He will start with a lunge, 
and in many cases, especially young horses, will give 
up the standing habit. When other ideas fail rapid 
whipping across the nose with a light whip ~*ill start 
him. I have seen balkers go to work like honest men 
after being given a whirl by the head and tail trick, 
Fig. 57. Tie knot in horse’s tail and loop halter rope 
over this as short as possible. Let him spin until he 
gets dizzy, unloop halter and turn him the other way. 
I suppose the point is that anything which will take 
the animal’s attention from his pet idea constitutes a 
remedy for the time being. I worked one balker on 
a mower two or three days by tying his tail to the 
singletree tight enough to take part of the strain. 
After that he would pull by the tugs without having 
his tail tied. They certainly tax our inventive facul¬ 
ties, these balkers. 
It is easier to say what not to do with a balker. 
Don’t hammer him. As soon as you lose your temper 
and go to clubbing him you might as well turn him 
out. They are sometimes started by clubbing, but 
they alwa 3 'S balk harder next time; at any rate the 
majority of them do. I think balkers are always the 
result of bungling on the trainer’s part. There are 
“natural balkers,” I’ll admit, but the tendency can be 
corrected by careful handling in breaking. Such a 
February 15, 
colt must be gradually worked up to the pulling point. 
He must learn to stretch a tug on a light rig before 
he is put on a load of any kind. We have to study 
the question from his standpoint as it were, sym¬ 
pathize with him, and encourage him instead of trying 
•to force him too fast. You can get better results in 
less time by putting a collar and tugs and lines on 
him; for instance, put a rope in the tugs and pull 
back on it while you drive him around the yard, than 
you can by hitching him with a strong horse artd 
dragging and slugging him along the road. When 
they are discouraged and sulky, it is a hard matter 
to make them see any bright side to life in the har- 
ness - A HORSE WRANGLER. 
A SUCCESSFUL TELEPHONE SYSTEM. 
A. B. Copeland on page 42, asks about co-operative 
telephone companies and the cost, of service. First let 
me give a sketch of what«has been done here. About 
five years ago a few of us, mostly farmers, got to¬ 
gether in a small village in this county and after many 
stormy debates succeeded in organizing a home tele¬ 
phone company. We incorporated under the laws of 
the State, and then proceeded to sell stock. This, at 
first, was slow work* but people after a while began to 
acquire faith in the enterprise, and for the last two 
years our sales have averaged about $800 to $1,000 
per month. At first people would say: “Of what use 
are your telephones? Your lines don’t go anywhere. 
We can’t talk to New York or Chicago or San Fran¬ 
cisco.” They soon learned, however, that it was of 
more value to them to be able to communicate with 
their neighbors and with the neighboring towns and 
villages than it was to reach San Francisco or New 
York. Almost from the beginning the demand for 
telephones has been far in excess of our ability to sup¬ 
ply them. Of course we could have borrowed money, 
but deemed it a safer policy to keep out of debt. All 
stock sold has been sold at par, and no dividends are 
allowed on stock unsold. The company now has nearly 
600 telephones installed, mostly rural, about 600 miles 
of line, four exchanges, franchises in one city and two 
large towns, reaches two cities, two towns, seven vil¬ 
lages, connects with two other independent systems 
and through them with hundreds of others extending 
all over the United States. It may not be generally 
known that there are nearly twice as many independent 
telephones in the United States as there are Bell tele¬ 
phones. Our company is practically out of debt, and 
its capital stock is soon to be increased to $50,000. The 
dividend to stockholders the first year was five per 
cent per quarter, then three per cent per quarter or 12 
per cent a year until recently. It is now paying two 
per cent per quarter and all taxes besides setting 
aside a fund for depreciation. Why the decrease? It 
is because of increased service. The history of every 
telephone company shows that the larger the system 
is the greater the relative cost and consequently the 
smaller the profits, unless toll is charged. Our sub¬ 
scribers pay $1 per month, with no toll charges, for a 
service superior to that given by the Bell people in this 
locality. Why is this company a success when three 
other companies organized within a few miles from 
here went to the dogs? Well, in the first place we 
kept out of the clutches of the monopoly; the others 
didn’t. Secondly, we moved slowly and kept out of 
debt. Thirdly, we were fortunate in being able to se¬ 
lect from among our own number, as officers, capable 
men, who were competent and willing to run the busi¬ 
ness in the interest of the stockholders and subscrib¬ 
ers; and last, but not least, we do not sell stock to 
strangers and speculators, but chiefly to the users of 
the telephones, and have limited the number of shares 
that will be sold to any individual. If you are think¬ 
ing of organizing a telephone company merely to turn 
the system over to the enemy, take my advice and 
don’t. If you expect to run it in the interests of the 
people you must expect to have a fight on your hands. 
To answer more directly the questions asked, the qual¬ 
ity of service depends upon the business ability of the 
officers. In well-established systems the service is 
usually first class. Of course, nearly all companies 
give both rental and toll service. Toll rates depend 
upon the distance and the amount of competition. 
Rentals range from $1 per month in country districts 
to $5 and up in cities and towns where there is no 
competition. Home companies usually give unlimited 
service—no toll charges—for $1 to $1.25 per month for 
residence ’phones. Good service cannot be given for 
less unless the system is small. To build a good line, 
two wires, No. 12 B. B. galvanized iron wire, cedar 
poles four-inch, 20 feet, first-class bridging telephones, 
cost from $40 to $60 per mile, including labor, where 
’phones average a half mile apart. Don’t buy any sec¬ 
ond-hand or worked-over instruments, but send to the 
manufacturers of independent goods for catalogues 
and prices and get the best. e. s. m. 
Valparaiso, Ind. 
