200 
February 18, 
GAMBREL-ROOFED HENHOUSE. 
J think Mr. Mapes could improve his 
proposed 24 by 26-foot henhouse by put¬ 
ting on a gambrel roof as shown by 
diagram. He would get a larger cross 
section, and much more head room, with 
the same quantity of lumber. As to the 
window I should put in a hotbed sash be- - 
GAMBREL ROOF HENHOUSE. 
tween the second and third lower raft¬ 
ers, east side, hinged at the bottom to 
lower inside. The hens would get the 
benefit of the early morning sun. The 
dotted lines show Mr. Mapes’ design, 
16-foot rafters. The lengths of the 
rafters I show might be changed and the 
pitch of the top of the roof made 
sharper or flat. E. y. breck. 
Pennsylvania. 
A WEST VIRGINIA APPLE REGION. 
A Beautiful Spot on the Ohio. 
The traveler between East Liverpool and 
Steubenville, Ohio, either by rail or boat, 
can scarcely fail to notice the wonderful 
display of apple orchards which crown the 
gently sloping hills on the West \ irglnia 
side of the Ohio River, for mile after mile 
of the journey. Here amid the rich and 
varied landscape bordering one of the most 
beautiful rivers on the American con¬ 
tinent, is a section of country devoted to 
commercial orcharding on a large scale, and 
one that for some reason is almost un¬ 
known outside its own boundaries, except 
among the large market buyers and ship¬ 
pers of the principal cities. Why this is 
so It would be hard to say, unless it is as 
one of the large growers expressed it, that 
all are too busy with the care of the 
orchards and the shipping and marketing 
of crops to take time to publish the in¬ 
dustry. When we recall the fact that this 
spot saw the beginning of the horticulture 
of the Ohio Valley, it is natural that much 
interest should be felt concerning this 
cradle of apple growing, and its later his¬ 
tory and development. The first settlement 
in this valley was begun in the year 1785 
by a venturesome pioneer from Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, who came west in 
the Spring of that year, bringing, among 
his other worldly possessions, a supply of 
apple seedlings, seeds, and scions of such 
few varieties as were then known to culti¬ 
vation. At that early day this whole region 
was a solitude almost as unbroken as it 
was when the white man first set foot on 
the shores of the new world, nearly three 
centuries earlier, and it was a move re¬ 
quiring good nerve and determined char¬ 
acter to make a success of the venture. 
This quality of determination the first 
comers into this beautiful wilderness pos¬ 
sessed, together with rare good judgment 
in selecting a location suited to their pur¬ 
poses. This settlement was made nearly 
a quarter of a century before the advent 
of “Johnny Appleseed,” as Mr. Chapman 
was more commonly known, and before 
the beginning of his mysterious career 
through the wilds of the present State of 
Ohio, distributing apple seedlings among 
the scattered settlers of that early day, to 
provide for the orchards of the future. 
For several reasons it is now evident 
that the pioneer from Pennsylvania made 
a wise selection when he chose these beau¬ 
tifully rounded hills overlooking the val¬ 
ley for his home. The river is even here 
a stream of noble volume, although less 
than 40 miles below its source at Pitts¬ 
burg at the union of the Allegheny and 
Monongahela Rivers, and has an average 
width of nearly half a mile. Before the 
country was supplied with railroads, the 
riven was the only outlet for shipping all 
produce, but at the present time the river 
trade has fallen to almost nothing in the 
handling of apples, the rail lines being 
able to deliver shipments at any desired 
point without delay. The great secret of 
success, or rather the main factor that 
makes continuous heavy yields here year 
after year a regular thing, is the fact that 
every morning in Spring and Fall seasons 
a dense, almost impenetrable fog from 
the river invariably rises and envelopes 
the whole face of nature. This mist shuts 
out the light of the sun, and in times of 
bard frosts it causes the ice to melt so 
slowly from the limbs of the trees in the 
orchards that the frost is taken out with¬ 
out damage to the tender fruit buds. 
Then, too, the direction of the prevailing 
winds, the course of the river itself and 
the peculiar contour of the surrounding 
hills, all help to produce a combination 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
of favoring conditions that is ideal and 
such as is rarely found elsewhere in so 
great a degree as here. 
The crop is harvested in the usual man¬ 
ner, and immediately packed in barrels 
and headed up and placed in the storage 
houses. Here the fruit is held until the 
prices come to a satisfactory figure. When 
this stage of the market arrives, the bar¬ 
rels are opened and the fruit poured upon 
sorting tables and graded, usually into 
three grades, or graded to suit each buyer, 
as the case may require. All specks are 
sorted out for cider or sold to the firms 
who make jellies, etc. The system of 
packing and finishing the tops of the bar¬ 
rels is rather intricate, involving lining 
the heads with lace paper, the top layer 
being faced with even, well-colored speci¬ 
mens, the No. 1 grade selected to run 2% 
inches in size throughout the barrel, and 
the No. 2 grade, also carefully hand 
picked, runs about one-fourth inch less, 
but both grades must be free from evi¬ 
dence of Codling moth, wormholes, or other 
similar defects. I was particularly inter¬ 
ested in the subject of grading and pack¬ 
ing, and was much pleased to notice that 
the ‘utmost care is taken to have the bar¬ 
rels always packed with stock that will 
bear inspection, and be found to be a fair 
average from top to bottom of package, 
and be found to be as nearly as possible 
equally as good size as those used in facing. 
Although cold-storage has not yet been 
established among these growers, it is the 
prospect that this important provision will 
be added in a year or two. With this 
needed equipment installed, the growers 
will be more independent than now, in re¬ 
gard to holding the crop for more favor¬ 
able markets. The present storage ca¬ 
pacity of this immediate section is in the 
neighborhood of 100,000 barrels, and with 
the addition of cold-storage, this amount 
will be considerably increased. 
I learned that the varieties most in 
favor in this section are few. Willow 
seems to be first on the list, with most 
growers. Then come Rome Beauty, Bent¬ 
ley’s Sweet, some Jonathan, and many 
planters still bold on to Ben Davis. They 
say that it pays as well as almost any 
other sort, taking one year with another. 
Maiden Blush and Rambo are in favor fol¬ 
iate Summer and Fall trade, and are found 
to pay well, meeting a good family de¬ 
mand, at fair prices. Grimes Golden, al¬ 
though this is near the place of its origin, 
is not grown to any considerable extent, 
except on the higher hills back from the 
river. On the limestone uplands it is a 
fair crop. The usual distance for plant¬ 
ing apple trees in orchard is 40 feet each 
way, and for four or five years the ground 
is cropped with melons or potatoes. After 
that time the trees are large enough to 
make further cultivation unnecessary. 
Then cow peas are sown about the 1st of 
June. In September rye is broadcast in 
the standing peas. From September until 
frost the peas are fed green to stock. When 
killed by frost, what vines are left are 
allowed to decay on the ground. It is 
not the practice to plow them under, as it 
is supposed to produce too much fermenta¬ 
tion in the soil. 
It may be of interest to state that the 
culture of cow peas was first undertaken 
in this valley about 15 years ago, as the 
result of a canr-' -a of education carried 
on in the editorial columns of The It. 
N.-Y. In this way the value of the plant 
as a soil builder and producer of nitrogen 
in the soil was brought to notice in this 
section. One grower told me that he 
started in at that time with 15 bushels of 
seed and had kept on increasing his acre¬ 
age, until he now uses 150 bushels of seed 
annually. 
The system of fertilizing in this valley 
in most general use is about as follows: 
First year, potash, 200 pounds per acre; 
second year, raw bone, 600 pounds per 
acre; third year, lime, one to 1% ton per 
acre. The spraying operations begin in 
Fall with an application of a 10 per cent, 
solution crude oil and lime-sulphur for 
Oyster-shell louse after fruit is gathered 
and leaves fallen. In Spring, arsenate of 
lead is used as the bloom is dropping, then 
again 10 days later, and a final spraying 
is given of the same preparation about the 
10th of June. In concluding this brief 
and imperfect sketch of a section of coun¬ 
try that interests me greatly, I may add 
that land is held so high in price as to be 
practically out of consideration. There is, 
in fact, very little land for sale at any 
price, and I was told of one owner of 
orchard and farm land who had refused 
an offer of ?500 per acre for a tract of 
nearly 500 acres. This, however, was an 
extreme price, offered by a large manufac¬ 
turing corporation for the location for plant 
and townsite. x. c. d. 
Spraying and Pasture Grass. 
Will you let me know what I can use to 
spray my apple orchard with for the San 
Jose scale, which will not poison the grass 
for pasture or for hay? c. G. s. 
Wolcott, N. Y. 
Soluble oil or lime-sulphur used while the 
trees are dormant will kill the scale, and, of 
course, at that time there is no grass to 
poison. 
Two Crops off High-priced Land. 
If land cost $400 per acre and is within 
a third of a mile of a city of 200,000 peo¬ 
ple, advise us as to two of the most profit¬ 
able crops to grow on this land that can 
be put into the market on or before the 
25th of December. This is fertile corn 
land, and would probably produce 40 bush¬ 
els an acre without more nourishment an 
average season. Potatoes and oats have 
been named. How will potatoes and can- 
teloupes work on such land? c. s. 
Columbus, Ohio. 
If a man is to raise but two crops they 
should be almost as much a part of him as 
his two bands—that is, he should be ex¬ 
actly suited to them and know all their re¬ 
quirements. Potatoes would be good for 
one asparagus, cabbage, melons or straw¬ 
berries. We should take potatoes and either 
strawberries or asparagus. 
Drilling Wheat Both Ways. 
I have had some experience in that line 
of double seeding. Through mistake in set¬ 
ting the drill I put more than 2Mi bushels 
to acre, and got but 18 bushels at thrash¬ 
ing time, too much straw, small graius. Do 
we not see at the corners of fields, so much 
of that small straw business? 1 sowed 
six acres in same kind of ground, 1 V± bushel 
to acre as we do commonly here in Indiana, 
and got 25 bushels to acre, just about right 
for our lands in this latitude. 1 am in¬ 
formed that if farmers sow more than one- 
half to three-fourths in the southwest, they 
get nothing much as in Oklahoma and Kan¬ 
sas and the southwest generally. They fail, 
if they use our amount of seed to acre. I 
think * I am borne out in this by all the 
different State experiment stations; every¬ 
where there is a recoru kept on this sub¬ 
ject obtainable by anyone for the asking. 
Send for one or more. 1 have known some 
of the verv best farmers to harrow their 
wheat in the Spring to thin it out, and it 
gave the newly sown clover an excellent 
stand by cutting the crust of the packed 
ground it gave the small grain an excel¬ 
lent stand, and this was done the first of 
June. The wheat was so thick that it was 
turning brown at the ground. 
j. E. H. 
When you write advertisers mention. The 
K. N.-Y. aud you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee pag^- ’J) 
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sary Women can op¬ 
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Comes complete, test¬ 
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Twice as good at half 
the price. 
Free Trial 
No obligation till satis¬ 
fied 10-year gusranlee. 
"Bwrine Facts" free; 
write for it NO W 
FT.T.TS ENGINE 
“KANT-KLOG” 
SPRAYERS 
Something New 
Spraying 
Guide Free 
Gets twice the results- 
wlth same labor and fluid. V 
Flat or round, fin e or coarse sprays 
from same nozzle. Ten 6tyles. For 
trees, potatoes, gardens, whitewashing, 
etc. Agents Wanted, Booklet Free. 
Rochester Spray Pump Co. B o“ Ksfv. 
Pure Canada Unleached Hardwood Ashes 
“THE JOYNT BRAND” 
“THE BEST BY TEST” 
Now is the time to order your fertilizer for this 
season. There is none Better lor all crops than 
pure wood ashes. My ashes are all collected from 
house to house where wood is use.s for fuel. 
Write for Prices Delivered at your station. 
Address: .JOHN JOYNT 
Lucknow, Out. Canada 
Reference : llradatreeta Agency or Molsons Bank, Buck new 
The Different Seeds that a 
Grain Drill Should Sow. 
Diversified farming has been and is 
urged upon the attention of our farm¬ 
ers. There are good and sufficient 
reasons why this is an excellent plan 
and we believe that our readers are 
pretty well posted on the subject. Per¬ 
haps some farmers think that all a grain 
drill should be expected to sow is wheat, 
oats, rye, barley and various grass seeds. 
The fact of the matter is that a grain 
drill should be able to successfully sow 
any kind of seed that man is likely to 
plant with a grain drill, from the small 
grasses to large bush Lima beans, with¬ 
out injury to the seed, and in such 
quantities as are known to be proper. 
The Empire Grain Drill—which is made 
in a large number of styles and sizes, 
both plain grain and combined grain 
and fertilizer—will successfully sow any 
and every kind of seed, and there are 
none too large or small. With it a man 
can plant all his small grains and grasses 
and in addition, he can sow peas, beans, 
beets, corn, flax, etc. The Empire Grain 
Drill is manufactured by The American 
Seeding-Machine Co., Incorporated* 
Richmond, Ind. Send for a copy <>)' their 
Empire catalogue. Read it carefully and 
then go to your implement dealer and in¬ 
sist on seeing the Empire. This drill is 
sold under such a liberal guarantee that 
no person runs the slightest risk in pur¬ 
chasing. 
• i ■ NO-MONEY.IN-ADVANCE —HO 
BANK DEPOSIT — PAY AFTER IT 
HAS PAID FOR ITSELF 
LE.T US SEND YOU ANY OF THE.SE. SPRAYERS—to try for 10 days, 
then if you buy, you can pay us cash or we’ll wait till you sell your crop, then 
* — 
Man-Power Potato i 
Sprays “anything” — po 
flme. Also first-class tree 
vents blight, bugs, scab am 
In half. High pressure frt 
Spray arms adjust to any wi 
in price, light, strong and dui 
FIVE FUEL YEARS. Nee 
trial.” You can get one free j 
Write today. 
and Orchard Sprayer. 
tatoes or truck. 4 rows at a 
sprayer. Vapor spray pre- 
1 rot from cutting your crop 
>m big wheel. Pushes easy. 
dth or height of row. Cheap 
rable. GCARANTEEDFOU 
dn't-send-a-centto get it “on 
if you are ilrstin your locality. 
Horse-Power Potato and Orchard Sprayer. 
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Write today. 
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Fits any barrel or tank. High pressure, 
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wheels as shown. Five year guarantee. 
It don’t cost you “a cent” to try it in your 
orchard. Get one free. See behno. 
Write toduy. 
You can get a Hurst Sprayer absolutely free 
If you are the first in your locality this season 
to send for one of our sprayers for trial. 
You need do no canvassing or soliciting. It 
will only take 15 minutes of your time. We do the work. 
When you get a sprayer from us you get the benefit of our 
24 years experience in manufacturing sprayers. Hnrst 
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H. L. HURST MFC. CO., 284 Worth St., Canton, Ohio 
H. L. HURST MFO. CO., 2S4 North St., Canton, O. 
Send me your Catalog, Spraying Guide and “special 
offer” on the sprayer marked with an X below. 
.Man-Power Potato and Orchard Sprayer. 
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.Fitz-AU Barrel Sprayer. 
.4- Wheel Orchard Sprayer. 
NAME. 
ADDRESS.. —... 
COUPON- 
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Sand todai 
