1908. 
THS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
766 
EXPERIENCE IN “HOGGING” CORN. 
My experience “hogging off” corn 
has been very successful financially and 
otherwise. I have my pigs come early 
in March, from old sows. I feed shorts, 
corn, low grade flour, whey and skim- 
milk, as much as I can get. The first 
pasture for the sows and little pigs 
is Timothy during April. About May 
1 the Mammoth clover is ready, and 
this will furnish them good green pas¬ 
ture all Summer. I put in Canada field 
peas, five to seven acres for 50 to 65 
pigs. Peas are rich in protein; it gives 
them a change of feed, and they do 
the work of gathering the crop during 
the farmer’s busy season, harvest and 
stacking. Sow two bushels peas, y 2 peck 
oats to the acre. When the peas are 
gone, generally the corn is ready to 
turn the hogs into. Plant an early 
variety of dent corn. Having the pigs 
come in March they will weigh about 
120 pounds when the corn is ready for 
them. Feed the pigs generously five or 
six days before turning into the corn; 
get them used to the change in feed. 
This year I have 57 pigs I turned into 
12 acres of dent corn September 1. 
This is the seventh year I have fed 
hogs this way, and I would not think 
of trying to raise a carload or little 
less in any other way. You cannot 
feed pigs in a closed yard, and have 
them do as well as they do working 
for their own feed. They get the 
necessary exercise, which keeps them 
growing; they do not fatten up as pigs 
will fed in a yard. They are strong 
and active on their feet. I never had a 
pig go down as some do when they 
market them. I always keep fresh 
water, salt and ashes before them. I 
never have had a pig lousy or sick 
with cholera. I have no particular 
choice of breed; I would just as soon 
have any one of the breeds of lard 
hogs. It is the feed, not so much the 
breed, if you have a good type of feed¬ 
ers. I have no scales. I do not know 
just what the corn brings me per acre, 
but I know it is a profitable way of 
feeding, and people who tried it say 
that they never saw pigs grow so fast, 
and do so well. Our pigs averaged 194 
pounds apiece, last year, to the whole 
drove, at a few days less than seven 
months. I have 18 acres fenced for 
hogs, 12 acres in one piece, six in the 
other. By rotating the crops, clover, 
corn and then peas, I save changing the 
fences, and never have to move the line 
fences. Every other year or so I put 
up a temporary cross fence, only two 
hours’ work. A. b. knapp. 
Minnesota. 
MOVING THOSE LARGE APPLE TREES. 
I think the best time to move large trees 
is late in the Fall, after freezing weather 
sets in. Several years ago I moved two 
trees that had been set out seven or eight 
years. I carefully dug a trench around the 
trees about iy 2 foot from the trunk, saw¬ 
ing off the large roots with a saw. As 
severe freezing weather did not come on as 
soon as I expected some straw was put 
around the trees to keep the roots from 
drying out. Some straw was also put on 
the ground where I wished to set the trees, 
so there would be no frost in the ground 
to interfere. Then when there came sharp 
freezing weather I removed the straw from 
around the trees and when the ball of earth 
was frozen solid I pried them loose, trimmed 
the ends of the roots smooth, removed some 
of the top and set them in their new loca¬ 
tion. But I would not want to move many 
trees that size, for it is a great deal of 
work. If these trees are set each side of a 
private road my way would he to cut down 
one row and then move the road a little 
farther away from the other row. I like 
apples, and value them as highly as anyone, 
hut do not think much of apple growing as 
a business, especially in this section of the 
country. In New York and other localities 
that are adapted to apple growing the busi¬ 
ness is no doubt all right. I have over 400 
trees that have been set out from 12 to 16 
years, and I have only got one fair crop of 
apples, which was two years ago. I got 
from 10 to 25 cents a bushel for what I 
sold. Last year I got about five bushels of 
apples from the orchard, and this year there 
are fewer still. Ev&a *** Davis and 
Gano will not bear. At the time I set out 
these trees a 'leading nursery recommended 
very highly the Shackelford and Mammoth 
Black Twig, and I set a good many of these 
kinds. The former is a good deal like the 
Ben Davis, and I do not see that it is 
much better, while of the latter it is said 
by many to he a shy bearer when other 
varieties are full. I like the apple, and it 
makes a very handsome tree, but what is it 
good for if it will not bear? It would be 
hard to find an orchard that had finer look¬ 
ing trees than mine. I do not have the 
nerve to do it, but am satisfied that the 
wisest thing I could do would be to cut at 
least half the orchard down and put the 
ground to more profitable use. You now 
understand why I would not spend very 
much time in moving those trees. Missouri 
is a pretty good place to grow apples, but 
I hear of discouraged orchardists there. 
Central Illinois. O. J. b. 
COW PEAS AND VETCH. 
Manurial Crops in Illinois. —We have 
for many years put in cow peas after a 
crop of wheat, and had excellent success, 
in fact have had as good crops of cow peas 
after wheat as when planted alone at an 
earlier season, making only one crop in place 
of wheat, and then cow peas. This year, 
after we Stopped cutting asparagus, we cul¬ 
tivated the bed and sowed cow peas, and I 
am satisfied that it is a good thing, but it 
will not show up well this year on account 
of dry weather; we have had no rain worth 
mention since they were planted. Crimson 
clover is not a success in this section. We 
keep our young orchards sown to cow peas, 
and like it very much. w. J. 
Godfrey, Ill. 
Is Vetch a Weed? 
In The R. N.-Y., page 680, I was inter¬ 
ested in the reply of W. F. Massey to a 
question asked by .T. J. J., Willards, Md., 
concerning vetch. I believe the “tares" of 
the Bible wore entirely different from our 
vetch or tares. A clergyman who visited 
the Bible lands brought home some of the 
tares of that place. They resemble wheat, 
but do not look at all like vetch. [Doubt¬ 
less Lolium temulentum, or darnel.—Eds.] 
As to the latter becoming a weed I have no 
doubt that it would under some conditions. 
A neighbor tells me that he cannot get it 
out of his grass land, as plowing only re¬ 
news it. As to the soil suited to vetch it 
will do well even on dry gravel in a shady 
orchard. IIow it might be in Maryland I 
do not know, but here in Massachusetts 
Spring vetch makes a much quicker growth 
than Winter vetch, and in this climate dies 
down every Fall, so that it must be renewed 
yearly from seed, but seed of the former 
variety is not expensive. Neither variety 
requires any inoculation in order to make a 
vigorous growth even on the poorest soil. 
The roots will usually be found to be full 
of nodules the first season it is grown, even 
though there was never any vetch on the 
land before. Vetch will thrive in very dry 
or shady places where clover is entirely 
worthless. Early Spring is the time to sow 
Spring vetch, and early Fall, Winter vetch. 
It should be cut before the stalks get too 
woody and full of pods containing hard 
seeds. Of course the stuff is hard to cure 
for hay, but time will make hay of it if the 
weather is fair. In orchards it is not neces¬ 
sary to use any other plant to support 
the vetch, as it will flop over when fully 
grown and make a splendid mulch for the 
trees. a. t. tenney. 
CROWS AND CORN. 
I read with much interest your ex¬ 
periences with the crows and I can heartily 
sympathize with you in the loss of your 
corn. It would be impossible for us to 
raise any corn away from the home farm 
if we did not tar it; that is, put about 
one gill of coal tar on a bushel of seed 
corn, and stir it thoroughly until every seed 
has come in contact with the tar; this 
makes the corn black and highly flavored 
with tar. If the seed is to be used in a 
planter you will have to mix it with a 
little cheap flour or whiting to dry it. 
Lime, air-slaked, will answer the same pur¬ 
pose. Crows do not eat corn in this locality 
that has been scattered on the ground but 
always wait until the first blades appear 
and then pull the stalk to get at the 
tender kernel on the end. With the tarred 
corn they will pull perhaps a dozen hills, 
but soon find it is all alike and will then 
leave off. I have an acre of corn (field) 
near the woods where more than 25 crows 
can be seen at any time, yet not more than 
five hills were disturbed, for every kernel 
of corn had its dose of tar. Tar does 
not hurt the seed; in fact I think it bene¬ 
fits it, as wireworms will not touch seed 
treated in this way. Another way to pro¬ 
tect your cornfield entirely from crows 
(and I am inclined to think you could 
also protect your peaches in the same way) 
is to shoot a crow and hang him up on a 
pole near the center of the field and higher 
than any other object in the field. I have 
used a black hen jvith good success, but a 
crow is sure. I have kept crows away 
from ripe corn in the same way. I would 
like to have you try it for your peaches, 
but of course there is the difficulty of first 
“catching your crow.” You ought to de¬ 
velop a race of good marksmen at Hope 
Farm and let them practice on the crows. 
Massachusetts. w. w. 
I was sorry to read in Hope Farm Notes 
of the crows tearing up your Canada flint 
corn. I can imagine how you felt when 
you saw all your labor and planning turn 
out resultless through no fault of your 
own. I am the more sorry for your loss 
as I saved most of our corn from the 
crows by scattering corn over the drills as 
suggested in copies of The R. N.-Y. I 
hadn’t much faith, and the folks laughed 
at me, for the corn cost me .$1 per bushel, 
hut the trick did the business, for not 
another grain was dug up after sowing the 
corn, but another gentleman came along, in 
fact about a dozen aitogether, or a hun¬ 
dred, in shape of our friends the moles. I 
walked over the cornfields one night and 
saw the corn sprouting nicely, and I felt 
glad, for I had put a heap of work into 
that seeding. The next night I went again. 
Down went my hopes and visions of 16-foot 
corn. The fields were chessboards; the 
moles had come for a visit, and Jupiter 
Huvius followed on their heels and gave 
them a bath, washing out their runs. 1 
reseeded 50 per cent of the corn, and when 
up, back came the moles again, also old 
Huvius, despite all that I began to have 
faith again, when Huvius though he would 
take a stroll in an adjoining county for 
a month or so. He came back for the 
Fourth, but while he got a welcome he 
strayed off the next night, and hasn't come 
back since, sending a postcard once a week 
to let us know he was having a high old 
time during his absence. r. s. 
Marysville, Tenn. 
Chemicals for Weeds. —A solution of 
sulphuric acid of the strength of one pint to 
one gallon of water, will kill any weed or 
shrub in the early part of the season, but 
a stronger solution will be necessary later 
in the season. Great care should be ex¬ 
ercised in adding the acid to the water, as 
it will boil and bubble for some time, and 
if it strikes clothing or flesh a hole will 
be the result. One thorough spraying will 
do the job, and you will notice it in a very 
few hours. j. p. m. 
Canaan, N. Y. 
Anybody can Kodak. 
Folding Pocket 
Kodak, Special. 
There has never before been so much 
quality put into so small a camera—in lens 
and shutter and mechanical precision it is 
right. Makes the popular 2)4 x 4 % pic¬ 
tures, the camera itself measuring but 2 x 
3% x 8 inches. Fitted with Rapid Recti¬ 
linear lenses having a speed of f. 8 . and the 
reliable F. P. K. Automatic Shutter. It 
fills every requirement of those who 
demand a perfect combination of con¬ 
venience and efficiency. Price $ 15 . 00 . 
EASTMAN KODAK CO. 
387 State Street, 
Catalog free at 
dealers or by mail. ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
CHAMPION BSVp'SKS 
Has features 
no other 
press has. 
Let us tell 
youwhat they 
are. Write us 
for special 
terms an d 
prices. 
FAMOUS HFG, C0„ 55 Chicago Ato.. EAST CHICAGO, INO, 
All Farm Buildings 
should be roofed with REX—the all-round 
roof. It keeps the house warm in winter and 
cool in summer; it protects poultry from damp and 
extremes of temperatures ; it guards stock and pro¬ 
duce from wet; it defends buildings against the com¬ 
munication of fire by falling sparks and firebrands. 
fpS FLINTKOTE 
nbA ROOFING 
is made of long-fibre wool felt treated by 
our special process. It contains no tar or 
paper Heat will not soften it, nor cold 
crack it. It is laid as easily as a carpet. 
Everything but the hammer is in the roll. 
SEND FOR FREE SAMPLES 
We will send upon request samples to test, and our val¬ 
uable roofing booklet. “Look for the boy” on every roll. 
See trade mark in upper comer. 
J. A. & W. BIRD & GO., 70 India SI., Boston, Mass. 
Agents everywhere. 
\ 
