«k!ii 
THE KURAb NEW-YORKER 
May 27, 
planting corn too thick, more stalks, less corn. When 
the new growth is five or six feet high the canes be¬ 
gin to lap out across the row. These are tied back 
loosely, never drawing the string tight around a grow¬ 
ing cane. Until they come into full bearing they will 
branch out quite freely. These branches are cut back 
hard in the Spring. 
So far the treatment of the different varieties is 
much the same, but here in the East we must make 
a difference after the second year, for, under different 
soil and climatic conditions, the berries do not act the 
same as they did in the West. They had a theory out 
there that the size and vigor of the fruit bud depends 
upon the size and vigor of the leaf directly connected 
with that bud, or that the part of the new cane ex¬ 
posed to the sun and consequently developing large 
healthy leaves would produce a better foundation for 
next years crop than the lower part, which is so 
shaded by the fruiting canes as to prevent the best 
development of the leaves. We suspected an error 
here, and took the matter up with our State Botanist. 
He told us that the elaborated sap, after passing 
through the leaves, is thrown into the general circula¬ 
tion of the plant from which the buds take their 
nourishment, and that the leaf does not nourish the 
bud at its axil, although in some cases the buds are 
better developed near good strong leaves. This left 
us about where we began, and we went to the plants 
themselves, and find that under our conditions the 
blackberries do make their best buds above the fruit¬ 
ing canes, while the red raspberries are just the op¬ 
posite, making their big plump fruit buds on the lower 
part of the canes. And they are just as much shaded 
as are the blackberries, in fact, so much shaded that 
the leaves are pale or yellow and many fall off during 
the growing season. In the West the whole cane was 
allowed to fruit, and there were acres that averaged 
10 feet high, but here on our shallow soil we think it 
is not practical on account of our limited ability to 
hold moisture. Our reds this year are from seven to 
eight feet high and quite regular, six canes to the 
hill. They are spread out fan shape, and tied to the 
wire about six inches apart, which leaves no spaces 
between hills. Then they are all cut off 5% to six 
feet high. There are not many branches, but they 
are cut back. 
These canes will grow fruit spurs from one to 
three feet long, and we will have all the brush we 
can handle. The tying is done quite rapidly; we use 
a sort of shuttle, such as the fishermen use for mak¬ 
ing nets, in place of a clumsy ball of string; tie the 
first cane, then draw the string along the wire to the 
next one, pass shuttle over the wire, around the cane, 
back under the wire and between it and the string. 
This makes what we call a half hitch, and we are 
ready to go on to the next. With a little practice 
they can be tied as fast as a good lively boy can place 
them in position, going right along, rod after rod 
without breaking the string. It is well to double this 
half hitch around the wire, occasionally making a 
hard knot, so that, in case the string should be broken, 
only a few canes will be loosened. With all the canes 
in a straight narrow row there is a splendid chance 
for cultivation, and we improve it, using shallow and 
level cultivation. I think I would be tempted to use 
the shotgun if I saw a man in my berry batch with a 
turning plow. All that eight-foot space between rows 
is full of roots, and the best feeding ground is near 
the surface. I can see no reason for tearing up those 
roots more than enough to maintain a good dust 
mulch. Then deep working by breaking roots makes 
a lot more suckers to contend with. 
Mercer Co., Pa. b. v. Egbert. 
(To be continued.) 
HEAVY CLAY SOIL AND GRASS. 
I am trying to obtain a good lawn on clayey soil. Al¬ 
though it works easily, breaking up into fine particles, 
after the Spring rains a hard surface crust is formed 
which afterwards seams and cracks. The grass is sparse 
and shallow-rooted. s. r. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
We once observed a field which nature designed orig-’ 
inally for a brickyard made into a fine lawn. It was 
a stiff, hard clay which baked hard after a few days 
of hot sunshine. Grass started feebly and died early— 
burned out because it could not put its roots down. 
Analysis showed that this soil was rich in plant food, 
but without any humus and of a pasty texture. Three 
things were needed: a deeper range for the roots, an 
open soil and vegetable matter to hold moisture. 
After a rain and before the soil had a chance to bake 
it was plowed—three heavy horses on a big plow. 
Following in the furrow came a subsoil plow, which 
you might call a hog’s nose made of steel and fastened 
to a long bar so it will work deep into the soil. It 
follows the turning plow in the furrow, ripping the 
subsoil but not turning it up. Those two plows tore 
up the soil to the depth of nearly 18 inches. The 
owner put 3,000 pounds per acre of burned lime on 
an acre and harrowed it in. It was at first almost 
impossible to break up the hard lumps, but after a 
rain the action of the lime made those big lumps 
crumble, and the soil did not bake as before. You 
could spoil a batch of bricks by dumping lime into 
the clay before baking! On the field mentioned a 
heavy seeding of Japanese millet was started. When 
in full growth this was plowed under and the soil 
firmly packed. Then grass was seeded in the Fall 
with a small amount of soluble fertilizer. This grass 
came in and made a good lawn. The subsoiling made 
a deeper range for the grass roots, the lime changed 
the character of the clay and the millet added or¬ 
ganic matter. 
With changes to suit condition, that is the way to 
start grass on a hard clay. If the lawn is small spade 
it as deeply as possible. Lime heavily with burned 
lime and rake or harrow in. If not convenient to use 
some growing crop put on a coat of fine manure and 
spade or hoe it under. Then level and sow the seed. 
It will do better if seeded in late Summer or early 
Fall. Use a “lawn mixture” or a combination of Blue 
grass, Red-top and White clover. 
HANDLING YARD MANURE EASILY. 
Seeing so much printed about manure spreaders, I 
want to tell how to do the work with a disk harrow 
and a pair of dump boards or dump carts. I make 
my stable lot long and narrow, on a level place, lot all 
stock every night and feed all over the lot, moving 
the feed racks from place to place as the litter gets 
too high. Every once in a while I go over the lot 
with a disk, after a rain, and cut all fine; do this all 
Summer, and by Winter or Spring you will have a 
fine lot of plant food. Now comes the money saving 
part. With one man and two wagons I can put more 
on the field than any manure spreader with only one 
“SOAP WEED” ON THE DESERT. Fig. 214. 
man to help load and do it in a satisfactory way. 
The dump boards, 2x6, sides two feet high on each 
wagon, make it easy for one man to unload by taking 
off one side and dump whole load or part as you like. 
Let helper load other wagon while gone, and an hour 
before night take him along with last load, and work¬ 
ing right and left along your row of piles it is soon 
scattered and your day’s work will please you. The 
disk fines it and a potato scoop-fork loads a wagon 
in no time, and once over the field with a harrow 
beats any spreader, all things considered. 
Texas. e. p. stones. 
A TOWN HERD OF BLACKS. 
The accompanying picture, Fig. 216, shows a small 
but interesting herd of Angus cattle bred and raised 
on a small lot in a big city. Three years ago the cow 
was brought from a South Dakota ranch and stabled 
in a small barn about 16 feet square, and located at 
the rear of a coal and feed selling office at the corner 
of Wentworth Avenue and 63d Street, Chicago. The 
cow was then less than two years old and weighed 
1350 pounds. She had been bred in South Dakota, 
and the following Spring she brought forth a heifer 
calf. Still later she was again bred, and this time 
produced a fine bull calf, and she is now due to calve 
in June or July, after which the whole family will be 
shipped back to the 900-acre farm near Groton, South 
Dakota. All of these animals are of pure Angus 
stock. The cow is registered as Groton Isabella, her 
sire was Ebony Lester and her dam Princess Adeline 
II. The heifer is registered as Groton Fay, but if 
possible this name will be changed to Chicago Girl. 
She was sired by Ebony Lester III. The bull was 
sired by Imported Ebrito, and the cow is now with 
calf from the same sire. The bull will be registered 
as Chicago Boy. The animals are owned and were 
fed by Francis T. McKee. The calves were allowed 
to suckle their dam until they were nearly a year old, 
and great care was taken in giving them grain and 
roughage with plenty of water. All the exercise they 
got was in the small lot adjoining the stable, save 
that Isabella and her calf were turned out on pasture 
a short period of two years. The heifer last Winter 
was shown at the International, where she attracted 
a deal of attention from Angus breeders. Mr. McKee 
has a large herd of this breed on his South Dakota 
farm. j. L. graff. 
Illinois. 
CHANGING ALFALFA FOR CORN. 
Here is a problem in selling a farm crop which gives 
a good chance for figuring: 
In the management of this farm I have never been able 
to grow as much corn to the acre a.s I thought I should. 
To make lamb feeding even up I buy more or less corn 
delivered mainly in the crib this year at 40 cents per 
bushel. I have been selling the surplus Alfalfa hay to 
make room for the crop. After deducting 15 per cent for 
shrinking my Alfalfa last year averaged a fraction over 
three tons per acre. This puts over 90 bushels of com 
per acre into my crib, the selling price of the hay being 
$12.50 per ton. I think the hay will yield much better 
this year, as the use of the spring-tooth harrow practically 
cleaned out all the grass, i. e., Crab grass, Blue grass 
and oxtail. john m. jamison. 
Ross Co., Ohio. 
This brings up several questions which every farmer 
should consider. Many agricultural teachers say that 
neither clover nor Alfalfa should ever be sold from 
the farm. You remember what J. H. Hale says Mr. 
J. S. Woodward told him (page 500) : “Never let a 
load of clover hay leave your farm or go by it!” 
Yet Mi - . Jamison is a good farmer, and he thinks 
it pays to sell some Alfalfa and buy corn. Let us 
see what the exchange means in food value and plant 
food. We assume the 96 bushels means ear corn. At 
the usual method of figuring this means 76.8 bushels 
of shelled corn of 56 pounds each. Here is the com¬ 
parison in food value: 
Protein. Carbs. Fat. 
3 tons Alfalfa hay. 660 2376 720 
76.8 bushels corn. 340 2868 1849 
Here we have a loss in protein but a good gain in 
the fattening elements, which are needed to fatten the 
lambs. The showing for plant food is as follows: 
Nitrogen. Plios. Acid. Potash. 
3 tons Alfalfa hay. 132 31 100 
76.8 bushels corn. 78 30 17 
Here is a loss on the exchange of 54 pounds of 
nitrogen and 83 pounds of potash. In the form of 
chemical fertilizers this would cost nearly $15. Yet 
in lamb feeding the corn or a similar feed is neces¬ 
sary. The lambs could not be fattened without it. 
HANDLING THE STAW PILE. 
The picture at Fig. 215 shows our method of 
putting away the straw pile so often an eyesore on the 
farm. This is not a general practice here, and in 
fact we are the only ones I know of that practice 
cutting up their straw. Some burn it in the field, 
others sell from the field or bale it, others leave it in 
the field to rot or for stock to tear down, and others 
fill their spare barn room with it for bedding. The 
outfit consists of a No. 12 Blizzard silage cutter and 
a six-horse traction engine. This requires an engineer, 
feeder, and two or three men to keep the straw to it. 
The barn is 50 feet long, and at haying time is filled 
as full of hay as a hayfork will fill it. This settles 
some and then with the end of the pipe extending 
into the barn for about five feet we fill her full to the 
rafters from end to end, and it takes a pile of straw 
that looks as big as the barn to do it. 
Perhaps some will say, “What are you going to do 
with it?” as we said to ourselves the first year we 
tried putting in part of it this way. The cows find 
a manger full of clover or Alfalfa, when turned in 
in the evening. This is gone by the time chores are 
done, so we pile the manger full of cut straw. We 
thought they would pull it out under their feet by 
morning but to our surprise the mangers were empty 
and no extra bedding was to be seen. They eat it up 
slick and clean and are still at it. Cut straw as 
roughage has saved us tons of high-priced hay, and I 
believe our cows have done better on it than on all 
hay. We feed clover, Alfalfa, and vetch hay, silage, 
kale, and roots, with oat chop and bran for mill feed, 
but whatever this ration they get their daily feed of 
cut straw. This has helped us solve the question of 
high cost of living for the cows, and at the same 
time has reduced labor. It goes in in a hurry this way, 
requires no mowing away, and what goes out as bed¬ 
ding puts the manure in the best possible shape to 
handle and become plant food again. Let those who 
are looking for a cheap roughage try a little this way 
(not too much or your conscience might hurt you) 
and see how they eat it up like it was good. The en¬ 
gine besides cutting the straw furnishes power for 
cutting the silage, chops the grain, cuts wood, and any¬ 
thing else it is called upon to do. 
Oreson. chas. h. hays. 
