860 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 7, 
well boiled and while boiling hot, take No. 14 white 
darning cotton and drop the whole ball in the boiling 
wax. When the ball sinks to the bottom of the vessel, 
and if covered with wax, it has become thoroughly 
saturated, and by using a pointed stick inserted in the 
hole through the middle of the ball raise it out of 
the wax and let it drain until it ceases dripping, then 
place it on end to cool. Never put the cotton in cool 
wax, as then the wax will only penetrate the outside, 
and your cotton will be made stronger and will not 
rot in the ground before cutting into and injuring the 
growing graft and stock, while the boiling wax pene¬ 
trates through the whole ball and at the same time 
scorches the cotton so that the expanding growth of 
stock breaks it gradually away. The waxed cotton 
should be kept in a cool place until wanted for use. 
Any time during the Winter months, preferably 
January and February, the grafting can be done. 
Many different methods of joining graft and stock 
have been used, but the most simple, easy and sure, 
is the whip or tongue process, cutting a slanting splice 
about one inch long on the scion, and then steadily 
holding the knife, cut a tongue by drawing the knife 
slanting and downward through this splice. Then 
make the same kind of a splice on the stock, inserting 
the tongue of the graft into that of the stock. The 
graft itself should be three or four inches in length, 
leaving the top bud about one-eighth of an -inch from 
top cut. All the top or that part which has grown 
above ground should be cut off from the stock be¬ 
fore the splice is made for the graft; then the graft 
will be the whole top and the stock will make only 
the root system for the tree. Now cut off the end or 
point of this root, leaving it from six to eight inches 
long, and clean off side roots or fibrous hairs. Now 
take the waxed string, running the end of it through 
an inverted four-inch flower pot; place it on a board 
or in a small box, so as to keep it from contact with 
dirt or sand, and commence wrapping the cotton at 
point of union of graft and stock, and finishing at 
top of stock. Only enough wraps to hold graft in 
place is necessary; too much will tend to hold after 
graft starts growing and cut off or hurt the union 
under ground. Now pack in thin layers, preferably 
in damp sand or sawdust, in a cool cellar until time 
to plant in Spring. The method for grafting the pear 
is the same; many prefer the branched root stock for 
both apple and pear, but either the straight or 
branched root should be free of bunches of hairy roots 
near the crown, as they always remain in that condi¬ 
tion, and as the tree gets top enough it is very sure 
to go over during rainstorms. 
The quince is almost exclusively propagated by root¬ 
grafting on small pieces of apple roots, about 2^ 
inches of root with a quince graft not less than six 
to eight inches in length. The piece of apple root 
only acts as a helper to keep the sap or moisture in 
the quince graft while it forms roots of its own, after 
which time it has no further use for the apple root, 
and while the apple root may cling to the end of the 
graft for years it never takes any part in the future 
of the quince, Nature seemingly having her ingrates 
as well as humans. The plum and cherry are not so 
easily propagated by root-grafting, but the mulberry in 
the South is very easily grown on pieces of roots of 
seedling mulberries. 
As soon as the ground is in fit condition to be 
worked (the earlier the better) the grafts should be 
planted. Some use a dibble, others have a machine 
with a blade like the coulter of a plow, set in a log 
slanting backward so that it will make a narrow but 
deep cut in which to insert the roots. Others take a 
team and heavy plow, throwing a furrow both ways, 
and then plant the grafts in this furrow, filling it in 
with drags and firming the earth around the root and 
graft with the feet. Whatever the way of planting, 
it must be in the way of getting the root and graft in 
deep enough so that the top bud of the graft alone 
is above ground, and the union between graft and 
stock is completely under ground and the earth firmly 
pressed around it. 1 his is all important to have the 
graft and stock firmly planted, treading just as near 
tc graft as possible without hitting it or disturbing it, 
for the union or callusing process has already 
started when the grafting has been done a few weeks 
previous to planting out. 1 he great advantage of 
root-grafting is in the time saved. The work can be 
done during the Winter season, and when planted in 
the ground starts to make the tree, thus saving a 
year’s time over budding, and when the whole root 
is used for apple and pear you have just the same root 
system and at the same time do away with all of the 
top of a stock that might not be of equal vigor or 
habit of growth as the graft or bud worked upon it. 
Then again you are not dependent upon the stock 
being in the right condition to operate upon, as in 
budding, for you use the dormant stock, while the 
stock must be ifi a growing condition to bud it. The 
apple often, and the pear stock in particular, is very 
apt to leaf-blight just at the time of budding, or soon 
after, which weakens it for the following year’s 
growth. 
In Fig. 397, first page, the root shown at the left 
is an apple stock, not cleaned. Next comes apple on 
piece root, then apple on branched root, and on the 
right apple on straight root. Fig. 400, page 853, 
shows the method of making cuts. The yarn wrap¬ 
pings have been removed from the unions. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. e. s. black. 
QUESTIONS ABOUT BEES. 
What kind of trees, shrubs and vines are suitable to 
plant in a bee yard? What is meant by a Red clover 
queen? j. k. 
Barrington, Ill. 
Shade is needed by bees during the heat of the day, 
but they also need the morning sun on the hives. Any 
trees or bushes which you desire to grow that will do 
well in sod, will be all right. I should object to 
grapevines if I had much swarming, as they are a 
nasty place to get a swarm out of. I like large high- 
branching trees around the yard for shade, and also 
to raise the line of bee flight above the heads of 
people and animals. I have dwarf pears, quinces, 
currants and apples in my yard, so arranged that all 
hives have shade through the heat of the day. Some 
large apiarists prefer no trees, and use shade boards 
or burlap, or other cheap cloth on light frames to 
shade the hives when it is needed. 
Several years ago a firm of queen breeders found 
one hive of bees storing large quantities of honey 
during a time when all the others were doing nothing. 
Investigation showed that they were working Red 
clover. As this was a pure Italian colony, I believe an 
imported queen, it was an easy matter to start a new 
strain of bees from this colony. I think everyone 
concerned allows that no queen ever raised from this 
stock was quite equal to the original, but they have 
been, and still are, one of the most popular strains in 
this country. If my memory serves me rightly the 
tongue reach of the ordinary bee is about thirteen- 
A HOMEMADE BOILING TANK. Fig. 398. 
one-hundredths of an inch, while some of these Red 
clover bees have a tongue reach of more than twenty- 
one-hundredths of an inch, making it possible for 
them to get some of the nectar from the Red clover 
blossoms. The seasons seem to have much to do 
with this, however, for some years the blossoms are 
not as deep as they arc other years. In this case the 
bees get a rich harvest from the second crop of Red 
clover, and very fine honey, too. J. a. crane. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
BUILDING A SMALL ICEHOUSE. 
Can you give us a plan for an icehouse to contain about 
30.000 pounds of ice? Also can you give us an iflea of 
about what such a house would cost? G. m. k. 
A house to contain only 30,000 pounds of ice is 
almost too small to be practical. That is, if the house 
only held that amount when full, there would be a 
much greater proportion of waste than with a larger 
quantity. Some years ago the writer built a house 
13 feet square and 10 feet high to the top of posts. 
This house will hold 20 ordinary wagon loads full of 
cakes, or between 25 and 30 tons, and I believe it is 
as small as it is wise to build. While it answers 
fairly well, it does not keep ice nearly so well as 
another house I have on another farm, holding about 
10 tons more, and built on the same plan. Were I 
to build again I should make it 13 -feet high; this 
would mean an economical use of timber. Ordinary 
13-foot joists can be used for studding and 6x8 for 
posts, with 13-foot boards for lining and sides. 
The cost will depend largely on how the house is 
built, and the kind of material used, as well the price 
paid for labor. I can suggest two general plans: 
First my own, which as indicated, works well. If the 
soil is well drained so there is never danger of water 
settling, excavate a cellar six or eight feet; put a 
drain in the bottom to carry off waste water; stone 
up with a rough wall laid without mortar. Set 
3x4 studding two feet distance around the sides. 
Cover the studding with unplaned hemlock or pine 
boards. Place 4x6 sills on top of the wall; on these 
jet 3x4 studs two feet distance, studs four or six 
feet long, according to the depth of the cellar. On 
these lay plates the same size as the sills, side in and 
out, lining both sides with heavy building paper, 
fastened between the studding with strips of lath. 
This will keep out the heat and not decay the tim¬ 
bers as will sawdust. If refuse charcoal can be ob¬ 
tained from a furnace it will make a splendid non¬ 
conductor between the sidings, and not decay the 
wood. Put on a peaked or pitch roof. Nail slats or 
poles within the rafters, fill these the depth of the 
rafters with straw—straight rye preferred; then put 
on any sort of roof that suits. The straw will 
absorb moisture and keep out the heat. Leave an 
open space on either side near the roof for ventila¬ 
tion. ' This is very important, and .better than a pipe 
or box in the roof. Rough, unplaned boards may be 
used for siding, and are just as good but not so 
pretty. I would advise “ship-lap” stuff. A house 
so constructed would be cheaper if the stones are on 
the place and an expensive mason does not lay them. 
It has the advantage of the earth as a non-conductor, 
and is much easier and cheaper to fill. The ice being 
taken out in small pieces, elevating the last for crev¬ 
ices is not a serious object. Such a house may be 
built for $100 if one has the stone and uses much 
material and labor from the place, or it may cost 
more than twice as much. One can build entirely 
above ground, following the same plan as suggested 
for the part above the wall, only heavier timbers—at 
least 6x8—must be used for sills, posts and plates. 
One house will keep ice as well as the other. The 
latter will cost more under ordinary conditions; it is 
largely a matter of place to locate house, material and 
labor available, as well as individual taste. Fill in 
between the siding and the wall with sawdust or 
-charcoal. edward van alstyne. 
NEED OF PRACTICAL FARM BOOKS. 
Through a certain valley in an eastern State runs 
a railroad. The managers have become interested in 
trying to advance the farming interests in this valley. 
They realize that if the output from the farms can 
be increased there will be more money to spend, more 
freight and passengers to haul and a general improve¬ 
ment in values. The most natural thing for such men 
to do would be to help educate those farmers in agri¬ 
culture. In other lines of business this would natu¬ 
rally be done through books. These managers are 
willing and anxious to distribute useful books, and 
this is their proposition to us: 
We have called to our assistance several of the lead¬ 
ing up-to-date farmers, and we have held several con¬ 
ferences on the subject, hut so far we have failed to locate 
Just the right hook. The main trouble seems to he that 
this locality has more than Its share of the average old- 
fashioned farmer, who despises any effort on the part of 
anyone that would tend to lead them to whnt they aro 
pleased to term “book farming." Whnt is required is a 
book that deals in the most simple manner with methods 
of treating and preparing the land and the general care 
of crops. The book should be small enough so they would 
rend It. should be written in simple language nnd should 
be so compiled as to reach and Interest the most simple 
farmer. 
After some thought we are obliged to say that we 
do not know of just the books needed in this case. 
There are hundreds of farm hooks and thousands of 
farm bulletins, but they will not fill the bill. These 
“leading, up-to-date farmers” know that the great hulk 
of our agricultural literature does not appeal to these 
old fashioned farmers. It shoots over llieir heads and 
does not inspire them with confidence or sympathy. 
It lias been our conviction for some years that our 
agricultural colleges and experiment stations are, from 
the very nature of their organization, catering to com¬ 
paratively small classes of farmers This is not said 
in the way of criticism, for we do not ih'nk it is the 
business of these institutions to do elementary work. 
They should, however, be training people for the task 
of teaching the primer of agriculture. Prof. Bail y 
of Cornell admits the scarcity of books that would 
just fill the bill. ITe thinks “The Fertility of the 
Land.” by Prof. I. P. Roberts, comes nearest to it. 
Can any of our readers suggest books or pamphlets 
that will fit these farmers? 
A LONG ISLAND FARMERS’ CLUB.—I notice occasiona- 
ally something in your paper about what some farmers’ 
club is doing, so I thought you and your readers might be 
interested to know what we are doing here in a small way. 
We organized our club last March with about 10 or 11 
members under the name of the East Hampton Farmers’ 
Agricultural Association, our primary object being to buy 
together, in large quantity, whatever commodities we could 
buy to advantage in that way, for our own use alone. We 
now have a membership of something over 40, and six or 
eight applications to be acted on at our next meeting. 
The principal thing that we have bought so far is grain, 
having bought eight carloads, amounting to $5,917.94, and 
the ninth car, ordered to-day. which we will have dis¬ 
tributed probably before this is in print will amount to 
between $700 and $800, which, together with a car of 
fertilizer, $473.70, and grass seed to the amount of $136.71, 
makes a total of something over $7,000, of which we 
figure we have saved about 10 per cent, to our members. 
We get our flour by the barrel in the same car with the 
grain. Of course this will not seem very much to members 
of older and larger clubs, but I think it does pretty well 
for a beginning, and I for one would like to hear from 
some other through your columns. C. o. G. 
