642 
June 3, 
the first day that he goes to the farm; and I think 
that a few farmers are ready to give such a student 
the most difficult row to hoe. 
I have said that the farmers of the country cannot 
escape their responsibility in the education of the 
rising generation of persons who are to be farmers. 
I mean exactly what I say. The colleges of agriculture 
alone cannot handle the situation. Every good farm 
is not only an object-lesson, but it ought to contribute 
something toward the advanced training of at least 
one young man in agricultural lines. We must have 
enough farmers with public spirit to provide the farm¬ 
training that the educated man must have; and the 
farmer must feel that he is under responsibility to 
cooperate with the colleges and schools to help the 
student. I do not mean that he shall be a philanthro¬ 
pist in the ordinary sense, but he must recognize the 
fact that even though a student may not be skilled in 
every particular and may not earn much wages, he is 
bound to help such student, if he takes him, to the 
best of his ability. This will do much for the farmer 
as well as for the student. 
In parts of the Old World fanners take students 
as apprentices, the student paying the farmer what it 
is worth for the privilege and for his counsel and di¬ 
rection. I wish that such a practice were developed 
in this country for those persons who are wholly un¬ 
familiar with farming operations, and who want to 
do the actual work. But I also wish that farmers 
were more ready to take one or two students, when 
they are able to do so, and to give them counsel and 
advice and to help them to learn the business, and 
then pay the student what he earns. A good many of 
the students will earn a man’s wages at once; but it is 
not right to expect that a student should be compelled 
to work only as an ordinary farm hand with no help 
or sympathy or instruction from the farmer himself. 
I would not have any farmer take a student until he 
feels that he is able to do so; but I want to make an 
appeal to the farmers of New York State to help the 
College of Agriculture to train its men. 
Dean, N. Y., Agricultural College. L. H. bailey. 
(To he continued.) 
NEW BERRY CULTURE. 
Tying Up the Canes. 
Part II. 
Being tied the berries are much more easily picked. 
We hire girls almost exclusively, and they are always 
anxious to get at the blackberries, which is quite dif¬ 
ferent from some reports we get. We cultivate right 
through the picking season, and aim to stir up the sur¬ 
face after each picking. When the berries begin to 
ripen we have about six feet of new cane on the red§ 
and seven or eight feet on the blackberries. With 
this new growth to support, as well as the bearing 
canes, and the fruit to mature and ripen, all in the 
hottest, driest time of the year, the plant needs every 
bit of moisture we can save. The pickers tramp the 
ground so thoroughly that, especially when we pick 
after a shower, it leaves the surface in the best pos¬ 
sible condition to dry out rapidly. Neglect of culti¬ 
vation at this time places an excessive strain on the 
plant and shortens its life as well as the current 
year’s fruit crop. M.any think they get all their red 
raspberries to ripen when if they would observe closely 
they would find that they are getting little more than 
half the crop. When they begin to suffer from lack 
of moisture the later blossoms do not set fruit at 
all, and thousands of berries that are well started die 
and dry up, while the plant will mature and ripen 
those that are nearly full grown in pretty good con¬ 
dition. The blackberries act quite differently. They 
will ripen most of the crop, but toward the last they 
become very small, hard and seedy. Thorough culti¬ 
vation will correct these conditions. After the second 
year the best buds on the blackberries are on the upper 
part of the cane, and they are bent down and tied 
with short strings, which is slower than the other 
method. We are experimenting this year to see if it is 
possible to get a full crop by cutting them off the 
same as the reds, but it does not seem right to throw 
away the best buds we have. If cut back while grow¬ 
ing they will branch out so vigorously as to interfere 
seriously both with the cultivation and the picking. 
We get a stronger plant by letting the new shoots go 
straight up above the bearing canes, and they are out 
of the way. They get the full benefit of the sun and 
the fruiting canes seem to do just as well if slightly 
shaded. We try to have the crop distributed as evenly 
as possible from within a foot of the ground to as 
high as a 12 or 14-year-old boy or girl can reach. It 
is surprising to see how those closely trimmed rows 
will widen out when the fruit spurs grow. By the 
time they are in full bloom there is just room enough 
to work a single horse nicely, and little more than 
enough for convenience in picking. 
We know of experienced berry growers who are 
THE RURAL IM EL W -YORK EH 
plowing up their patches when four years old. They 
get one good crop and two small ones for four years’ 
work. When the third crop is picked the plants are 
so exhausted as to be considered worthless, when they 
should still be improving. This new system has not 
been tested long enough here to speak definitely, but 
we expect eight or 10 crops at least, possibly more. 
There are patches in western Washington that have 
been cropping from 15 to 17 years, and are still vig¬ 
orous. When it is decided to let the old patch go, the 
cultivation should be kept up to the last, keeping down 
all new growth the last season, that all the strength 
of the plant may be used to produce fruit. A crop of 
A TOOL FOR COVERING POTATOES. Fig. 224. 
this kind is a sight to make a berry picker smile. 
Then when the crop is off remove the old canes and 
plow at once; keep harrowed for about six weeks, 
then seed to rye to be plowed under next Spring and 
there will be very little fighting sprouts to do. 
Mercer Co., Pa. b. v. Egbert. 
(To he continued.) 
VETCH WILL STAY PUT. 
I would like to get mixed rye and vetch seed from 
some of your readers. I have tried vetch, and it does 
well on my poor land, where it is hard and uncertain 
to get a stand of Crimson clover. My cattle are very 
fond of vetch, and it is fine as a milk producer. It seems 
to me that it would be a bad thing to get started on a 
grain farm. I prepared an acre for Alfalfa five years ago 
by first sowing to vetch the Fall before. I cut the vetch 
for hay, but some of it had made seed before I cut 
it. As soon as it was cut I plowed for Alfalfa, of 
which I had a good stand. Every year there was 
HOW DIFFERENT VARIETIES GROW. Fig. 225. 
vetch in the Alfalfa. The Alfalfa stood three years. I 
plowed it last year and planted potatoes. As soon as 
the potatoes were out I put on more lime, disked and 
harrowed many times until in September, and sowed 
again to Alfalfa. In spite of the fearful drought 
that killed all my Crimson clover, about 40 acres, the 
Alfalfa held on, and is a magnificent stand this Spring. 
But the vetch is there too, from that one accidental 
seeding five years ago. Three years ago I sowed rye 
and vetch on eight acres after corn. I sowed clover 
in the rye the next Spring. The vetch is there this 
Spring. I do not care, however, as I am running a 
dairy, but it would be bad with grain farming. 
Virginia. A. F. K. 
A GOOD PLYMOUTH ROCK. 
The picture at Fig. 227 shows a fine White Plymouth 
Rock owned by Mrs. Greene, wife of our contributor, 
C. S. Greene. This bird is pretty nearly right. Mrs. 
Greene has several pens of Rocks that would be hard 
to beat. The income from one of these pens would 
make the average cow’s record look as if some one 
with strong arm and good aim had been throwing 
rocks at it. That would not be the fault of the cow, 
but because the hens are located where their eggs will 
bring good prices. Purebred poultry offers a good 
chance for many careful women. 
SOME REMARKABLE DAIRY COWS. 
You have been requesting statements of income and 
expense accounts for dairy and other farms. Below is 
one sent to the Syracuse Post-Standard which I would 
like you and your readers to critize. Does it not rank 
with those stories from the Michigan potato diggers? 
If this account is correct then our farmers must be a 
long way behind the times, for I find very few, in 
fact, I have run across only one in this district, who 
claims more than $100 net income per cow, per year, 
where milk is sold at wholesale rates. 
Fulton, N. Y. 
P. G. 
By permission of F. D. Kershaw I am permitted to send 
you the product of milk produced and income received 
from his dairy of 20 high-grade Ilolsteins, five of which 
are two-year-olds and the balance from five to 12 years, 
for the year ending December 31, 1010. The statement 
is a remarkable one, and demonstrates what an income 
a well-bred dairy, properly fed and cared for, will bring 
to the owner. The feed from the closing in about No¬ 
vember 1 to the coming of grass the following Spring 
consisted of silage and Alfalfa, with from six to 10 
pounds to each cow daily of about equal'parts of ground 
oats, barley and distillery grains. Mr. Kershaw deliv¬ 
ered his milk, except the necessary amount for family 
use and 3,680 quarts separated and fed calves, for which 
he received an average price for the year of about 3 1-6 
cents per quart. 
Statement in Detail. 
Delivered 
at station. 
92,000 qts. 
1,095 qts. family use. 
730 qts. hired man . 
3,680 qts. separated for calves. 
Checks 
for same. 
82,909.11 
34.60 
29.06 
141.90 
97,565 qts. milk produced ... 
Twenty calves sold 
83,114.67 
75.30 
Gross proceeds .$3,189.97 
Average per cow. 159.49 
Yield of milk per cow, 10,360 pounds. 
MARSHALL R. DYER. 
R.N.-Y.—We have asked Mr. Dyer and through 
him Mr. Kershaw for further details regarding these 
cows, but thus far have not received the figures. 
ROCK DUST AS FERTILIZER. 
If you have read the book “Bread From Stone,” I 
would like your opinion in regard to the use of stonedust 
and how one could obtain it. We have stone crushers 
nearby and can secure any qui ntity of fine screenings. 
Would this take the place of potash and bone for garden 
truck and peach trees two or three years old and small 
trees just planted? M - K - D - 
North Baltimore, O. 
The book seemed to us a nice theory, but not of 
practical importance. We would not advise you to 
depend on stone dust for fei tilizers. Crushed lime¬ 
stone is no doubt a valuable dressing for most soils, 
but it does not follow that because limestone will give 
results, dust from other and harder rocks will take the 
place of fertilizers. Nothing will take the place of 
potash and bone unless it contains potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid in available form. The potash and the 
bone will feed the plant from the start, while the rock 
dust is nearly all insoluble. There are several kinds 
of granite which contain five per cent or more of 
potash, hut they must be made available before plants 
can use this potash. Prof. L. A. Cushman has devised 
a method for doing this, and has given the patent to 
the people. Under his plan the granite is ground fine 
and then while wet subjected to a strong electric cur¬ 
rent. This makes all or part of the potash available, 
especially when acid is used with the rock dust. The 
Government ought to push this experiment hard. One 
argument for stone dust is the claim that old country 
roads when broken up and planted give supeiior 
crops. So they do. We have seen an old field plowed 
and planted after many years of idleness. You could 
readily tell where an old country road had run by a 
strip of superior corn or potatoes. The “stone dust ’ 
people claim that this was because the soil in the old 
road was crushed fine. That is not the only reason. 
Considerable manure was dropped by passing teams, 
and the action of the wheels was much like harrow¬ 
ing or cultivating. We all know what culture will do 
for a soil. It is also true that coal ashes will often 
make a soil respond with an increased crop—yet the 
coal ashes contain practically no plant food. 1 hey 
help the soil by improving its mechanical condition 
just as sand may help a clay, or muck.from a swamp 
help a sandy soil. The stone dust may act in like 
manner, but it cannot take the place of potash and 
bone in a peach orchard. 
