734 
MR fcO RURAI- NEW-YORKER 
July 8, 
taxes, etc., $.011; labor, $.565, or a total of $1.10 per 
barrel. If the estimated cost of the manure, six 
cents, be added, the total will be $1.16. This cost, of 
course, varies with the size of the crop. When our 
yield was 102 barrels per acre the cost per barrel 
was only $.83. When it was 35 barrels per acre the 
cost per barrel rose to $1.73. In 1910 we grew a crop 
of 55 barrels per acre for $1.20 per barrel. 
To put it in another way, we could grow and de¬ 
liver on board the cars at our station a barrel of 
apples for from $1 to $1.25 with an average crop 
under average conditions. In doing this we would 
expect to make five per cent on the capital invested 
and to receive fair wages for our labor. In addition 
to this we should have all the culls and the windfall 
apples to sell at a clear profit, for the cost of pro¬ 
ducing and handling these has been included in the 
costs given above, as it could not well be separated. 
These have amounted to an average of 29 cents per 
barrel in the last nine years. To reduce the matter 
to a still lower basis, we think that our experience 
has shown that we can expect to grow and sell a 
barrel of apples for 90 cents, and pay all expenses 
connected with its production. 
We would not agree to do this, however, for sev¬ 
eral reasons. In this account no reckoning has been 
made of the cost of bringing this orchard to bearing 
and to its present state of productivity, so that $150 
per acre is probably less than the actual cost of the 
orchard. We do not know how much this cost is, 
although we are now keeping records on some 
younger orchards in an effort to get some light on 
the subject. Moreover, there are too many risks in 
a long-time investment of this nature, which have not 
been taken into account, such as a decline in the 
price because of over-production, heavy winds and hail 
storms, which may destroy not only the crop but the 
trees also, aad the depredations of old or new insect 
pests or fungus diseases which are difficult to con¬ 
trol. All these risks demand a much larger rate of 
interest than five per cent, to make it pay for a per¬ 
son to make such an investment for a period which 
cannot well be less than 50 years. M. c. burritt. 
QUESTIONS ABOUT HAIRY VETCH. 
1. I have about two acres in vetch (Winter) that I 
sowed for soiling. It is in bloom now, and if I cut it will 
it make a second growth? 2. If I cut it now will it come 
up again next Spring? 3. If I let it go to seed and do not 
cut it will it die or come again next year? h. k. 
Lowell, W. Va. 
1. We have tried cutting Hairy vetch crops while 
in bloom for hay, expecting to get a second or seed 
crop. Our experience has been that we failed to get 
a successful second crop. The plants that did survive 
and make a second growth matured fine seed, but 
there was not enough of it to pay for work of har¬ 
vesting. It is reported on fairly good authority that 
in some sections of Europe this practice is followed* 
with good results. If it could be done here it would 
largely solve the problem of seed production. I 
would advise experimenting with this method, using 
a small patch for the trial. 
2. Some of the vetch plants live over and grow the 
second season, and perhaps for more than two sea¬ 
sons. I have followed several plants through two 
seasons, finding large tubercles on the roots the second 
season, clusters that were as large as walnuts. It is 
not practicable, however, to depend on this method, 
I believe, and would recommend annual seedings for 
practical purposes. It might be interesting to follow 
up some few plants of this character and use them for 
experimental breeding purposes. Where the plants 
are allowed to seed, a fair crop is usually found in 
the vetch fields the second season, the result of self- 
seeding. If the crop is not allowed to seed, some of 
the vetch seeds of the first sowing frequently do not 
sprout the first season, owing perhaps to the hardness 
of seed coats, and grow the second season. 
3. As stated above, vetch under favorable condi¬ 
tions will self-seed the vetch fields fairly well, but 
this practise can hardly be recommended for commer¬ 
cial purposes. These opinions are simply based on 
personal experience, naturally limited, and the writer 
wishes that his observations were wider and more 
valuable. However, the writer would like to urge ex¬ 
perimental work by growers, especially with methods 
of saving seed of the Hairy vetch crop, and the send¬ 
ing of results of these experiments to agricultural 
papers so that the public may be informed of progress 
along this line. The best and most practical methods 
of seed growing, harvesting and thrashing remain to 
be developed as a result of experience amongst vetch 
growers. _ A. d. SHAMEL. 
If you want some early pansies next Spring, sow fresh 
seed in well-prepared beds in the open ground in August. 
Damp burlap, spread over the bed until the little plants 
show, aids germination, and shade during the hottest part 
of the day is helpful. 
AN EARLY START FOR CORN. 
The photograph shown in Fig. 269 was taken yesterday, 
June 18, 1911. It is some corn that came up in a hog 
lot where hogs were fed last Winter. Why cannot we plant 
corn earlier in the fields or Fall plant a small patch for 
early feed? d. E. P. 
Adrian, Mich. 
The photograph is shown at Fig. 269. While or¬ 
dinary corn is about knee high, this lot .stands above 
the shoulders. We have seen corn started in hot¬ 
beds or cold frames which made remarkable growth. 
On our farm to-day sweet corn is growing near the 
frame where the onion seedlings were started. This 
corn was in the manure and is twice as large as the 
seed planted in the garden. We often plant sweet 
corn very early—putting a small quantity of horsd 
manure in the hill, covering with a little soil and 
putting the seed on this. Thus we have a small hot¬ 
bed in each hill. The seed starts early, and if not 
cut down by frost the stalks make rapid growth. In 
cold, wet soil the seed often rots. Corn is more 
likely to decay than other grains, as the germ has 
less protection. In the case pictured the hog lot gave 
something of the effect of a hotbed or cold frame. 
This started the seed early, and it lived through 
early frosts. Fall planting would not pay—the seed 
SELF-SEEDED MICHIGAN CORN. Fig. 269. 
would be killed. If any of our readers have a way 
of getting very early corn we would like to know 
about it. _ 
ROOT GALL ON NURSERY TREES. 
What is your practice when you receive nursery trees 
showing crown or root gall? Would you plant them? Our 
own practice is to reject all such trees, but some of the 
nurserymen insist that the galls are .usually harmless. If 
you have had experience tell us what you have found. 
If there were any great amount of galls on trees re¬ 
ceived I would notify sender and refuse to pay for 
them. I will not plant trees with crown or root galls. 
I planted one apple tree 14 years ago with root gall, 
to see what it would do. It is alive yet, but is about 
one-sixth the size of others planted at the same time. 
New York. . j. A. hepworth. 
I do not think that one who buys and pays for 
good trees should accept gall-infested stock. Trees 
affected with root or crown gall quite commonly die 
after planting, although they may start off well and 
thrive for a year or two. By not being able to be at 
home when the order of trees was received and 
planted, quite a number of gall-infected trees were 
set on the writer’s ground the past Spring. The trees 
were to be especially selected by the nurseryman him¬ 
self, and nothing but clear healthy stock included; 
but the arrangement by some means miscarried and 
diseased trees found their way jnto the shipment. 
The nurserymen upon whose premises the gall has 
become established (and there are places where it can¬ 
not be found) deserve a good deal of real sympathy, 
for this disease causes a loss of thousands of trees 
each year. Even when trees are carefully selected 
for freedom from gall they are quite likely to de¬ 
velop serious cases of the disease after transplanting. 
The buyer, however, is quite justified in insisting upon 
having only ‘clean stock included in his order. 
Ohio. F. H. BALLOU. 
I do not want trees with crown gall, and were I 
to receive a lot of trees so affected I should return 
them forthwith, and if the nurseryman thought so 
highly of them, he might set them himself. I never 
knew one to do so knowingly. Or let some one have 
them who was young and could afford to set trees 
and after a few years dig them out because they 
were worthless, and then start over again. I have 
seen too many trees dug out and thrown away from 
this disease to want to plant any of it myself. On the 
other hand, when I have found an occasional tree so 
affected I have simply discarded it, believing the seller 
had not intended to send them, or if there was just a 
slight gall, cut it out and plant the tree, but to plant 
the galls on the trees no matter how small, is an un¬ 
safe thing to do, even when trees are scarce. 
New York. e. van alstyne. 
This brings up a matter that I have had prominently 
before me this Spring, both through experience of our 
own and that of some of our friends. By all means, 
I would reject every tree that shows any signs of 
root gall. I note that some nurserymen insist that the 
galls are harmless, and I believe they have a recog¬ 
nized educational scheme going on, for I strike state¬ 
ments made by different nurserymen on this subject 
which bear the ear-marks of a pre-arranged plan. 
This matter has gone so far as to reach some of our 
scientific men and to make them question whether 
practical danger from root gall is really very great. 
We have had enough experience along this line to 
make us feel strongly in the matter, having lost some 
trees and having many trees here and there through 
our orchard that are still alive but of small value, on 
account of this disease. The nurseryman from whom 
we usually buy has been very careful in this respect, 
and would not, we believe, knowingly, send out a tree 
with root gall. However, I received 50 trees this 
Spring from one of the largest and most widely ad¬ 
vertised nursery firms in the country, every one of 
which had a well-developed case of crown gall, which 
had been carefully trimmed away with a sharp knife 
and covered with a heavy puddle of clay. 
Adams Co., Pa. c. j. tyson. 
My experience with root gall and crown gall has 
been quite limited. About 18 or 20 years ago I bought 
a lot of apple trees that had a number affected with 
one or the other of these troubles. I cut the galls off 
the roots of a few and planted them, and I have not 
noticed any bad effects since. I planted two that 
had crown gall, and although I have given them extra 
care, they hav.e never done any good. Sprouts have 
came up from the crown continually, and the trees 
have had a stunted appearance and have never borne a 
profitable crop. Because of the poor growth of these 
two trees I have never planted a tree affected with 
crown gall since, but the fact is I cannot recall having 
found any among the trees which I have bought dur¬ 
ing the past 10 years. I have been very careful to 
stipulate the kind of tree I want, and have been very 
well treated by our Pennsylvania nurserymen. 
Pennsylvania. gabriel hiester. 
I have grown nursery stock for about 50 years* and 
have known of this gall nearly all this time. Some 
years ago I selected a lot of these trees and planted 
them in rows, as grown in the nursery, in order to 
watch closely the effect of this root affection on the 
growth of the trees in a series of years. The trees 
so planted were mainly apple and crab, and were 
planted in a young cherry orchard. At the same time 
about 10 years ago I planted 500 of these trees in an 
orchard by the side of an orchard not affected, plant¬ 
ing the affected trees by themselves, but adjoining the 
other trees, and in the same kind of soil. From 
time to time I had trees dug from the first planting 
to show men who visited my place from the experi¬ 
ment stations and others interested in this subject, to 
note the effect of the gall on the roots and also to 
note the growth of the trees. I could note no effect 
detrimental in the growth of these trees, and after 
several years dug them out, as they had become quite 
large and were in the way. 
Prof. Stuart saw some of these trees and offered 
to make the same experiment if I would send him 
6ome trees. I selected 25 of the worst trees I could 
find, and sent them to the Geneva Experiment Sta¬ 
tion. Some years after Prof. Stuart wrote he could 
see no ill effect from the crown gall, and that the 
trees showed the growth that might be expected. The 
500 orchard trees mentioned above are in fine condi¬ 
tion, fully equal to those planted as a check that were 
free from gall. I cannot see that the cherry or¬ 
chard has been in any way damaged by planting 
these trees among them. One observation we made 
that interested me, during times when the gall was 
especially bad, was that the largest and finest trees 
were even more liable to have gall than the smaller 
and poorer ones. In later years we have had few 
trees with this gall, and we have preferred throwing 
them out, rather than have any controversy over them. 
New York. c. w. stuart. 
I always destroy all trees received from the nursery 
having crown or root gall. I believe that is the only 
safe thing to do; cannot afford to take chances. 
New York. s. w. wadhams. 
I have had no experience with trees having crown 
gall. Not having any faith in them we always throw 
them out. B. J. case. 
New York. 
