ree 
THE KURAb NEW-YORKER 
are many thousands of dead and failing cherry trees 
from the lack of proper roots. 
We have only begun properly to study into the 
matter of fruit stocks. There are endless millions of 
them used and for the most part they are grown 
indiscriminately from seeds of any variety or strain 
that may be the most easily obtained. There is a 
marked difference fn the vigor of seedlings from 
apples of the different varieties, and only the best 
should be used. We will, I believe, in time be grow¬ 
ing apple seedlings from the varieties that have been 
tested and found to be of the better class. And we 
may learn what varieties of scions are preferable on 
certain seedlings. The same may be true of peaches 
and other fruits. The rose growers are very par¬ 
ticular as to the stocks they use for budding. And so 
are the Citrus nurserymen in their selection of stocks 
for growing oranges, pomeloes, lemons, etc., for va¬ 
rious soils and localities. Congeniality and adapta¬ 
bility should be our aim in the propagation and plant¬ 
ing of the trees we need. h. e. van deman. 
THAT LIGHTNING ROD AGENT AGAIN. 
I would like to shed a little more light on that 
lightning rod man mentioned on page 718. He is the 
same man that came along here a year ago last Fall 
with the same story. He was allowed by the company 
to put up four sets of rods in our county as an ad¬ 
vertisement, and would rod our barn for $20. I fool¬ 
ishly signed a contract to that effect. After looking 
carefully over the contract I was convinced that it 
was a fraud, and showed it to a lawyer. He advised 
me not to let them put the rods up. Soon after Mr. 
Smith came along with the rods, and I at first refused 
to let him put them up, but after making many changes 
and cutting out about half the cost, I had them put up, 
and the job that was to be done for $20 cost me $90, 
and glad I was to get out of it at that. It must be the 
same pair, as the names are the same, and Mr. Christ¬ 
man’s description of Mr. Bower agrees with the looks 
of the man that came here. I would like to add that 
he appeared to be about as lazy a man as one would 
often find, which Air. Smith said he was, and I be¬ 
lieve he could tell more yarns in a given space of time 
than any man I ever met, and I have known some 
great artists in that line, too. I feel as Air. Christman 
does, that I am greatly to blame for not exposing the 
fraud long ago, and I hope if there are others who 
have been robbed by this person they will make it 
known and put others on their guard. I think Mr. 
Christman’s advice to F. C. D. to have his shotgun 
ready is good advice for others. H. B. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. 
SCHOOL TEACHING OR FARMING ON 
SHARES. 
In which is there the most money at end of year of 
the following occupations? Teaching school for $1,000 
per year, having to pay for, out of that, house rent, gar¬ 
den truck, in fact, every thing, or working on shares one 
of the best farms in Yates County, 117 acres, with 12 to 
14 acres of fruit, cherries, pears, quinces, apples? Farm 
capable of supporting 31 sheep, four cows, four horses, 
six or eight hogs, 200 hens. The candidate in question is 
an early riser and not afraid of work. He has been read¬ 
ing farm journals, books, U. S. agricultural pamphlets, 
etc., for a year, and believes he has a fairly good starting 
“working knowledge” of the scientific and economic prin¬ 
ciples of farming. If a hired man were engaged by the 
year, would it be practicable, and could the farm be suc¬ 
cessfully managed to teach district school from middle 
of September to first of May at $12 to $15 per week? 
W. L. H. 
We pass! It would be impossible to answer such a 
question without knowing all about the man. From 
the question we should judge that this man is a good 
school teacher and knows how to teach. It seems that 
he does not understand farm work but has read and 
studied about it. If this is a fair statement we advise 
our friend to stick to his school. He is sure of an in¬ 
come from his teaching, and he knows how to do it. 
Farming on shares for a relative is a hard job at best, 
and will require a full knowledge of farming to gef 
anywhere near success. A farm can be run so as to 
be away from it for other purposes, but we have yet 
to find one run in that way which paid any profit on 
shares. 
SEEDING GRASS IN CORN. 
I have five acres that is now in corn. I have been ad¬ 
vised to sow grass seed on this lot at the last cultivation 
of the corn. Will you advise me in this matter? My way 
has been heretofore to sow oats the following Spring and 
in the Fall to put on plenty of manure and seed down to 
rye. I am the owner of a reaper and thi’ashing machine 
for both oats and rye. j. c. M. 
Long Hill, Conn. 
In several localities of New England we have seen 
good meadows which were seeded in the corn. The 
grass was thick, the fields even, and the corn stubble 
had been crushed down so as not to interfere with the 
mower. In these cases the grass seed was evenly 
scattered on the ground among the standing corn hills 
at the last cultivation—usually the latter part of 
August. Then a cultivator was run both ways with 
a plank dragging behind it. This worked the grass 
seed under and smoothed down the surface. Then a 
careful man followed with a hand rake and raked 
lightly around the corn hills, in this way getting an 
even seeding of grass. With a good dressing of fer¬ 
tilizer and a wet Fall this often gives in New England 
a fair stand of grass. In a drought or dry Fall it 
would not pay. While such seeding is possible, it is not 
the best way, and we would not advise it for general 
use. 
If we had that cornfield in New Jersey and wanted 
rye and grass we should either sow rye alone in the 
corn and cultivate it in or wait till the corn is cut. 
Then, with the corn in large shocks, the field can be 
worked with a disk or spring-tooth and rye seeded 
before October. Right now our farm is well covered 
with rye seeded in this way. This rye may be har¬ 
vested for grain and straw, and the stubble worked up 
on the “Clark” system after harvest, and seeded alone 
to grass. You could seed grass and clover on the rye 
in the Spring, but you will have a better meadow if 
you wait and try the “Clark” plan or a modification of 
it. Every year there are many questions about this 
method of grass culture, and next week we shall give 
another statement about it. 
MORE ABOUT GALLED TREES. 
I certainly would not plant apple trees showing 
crown gall when it has attacked the principal roots 
and main stem of the tree, and shows as spongy en¬ 
largements of such parts. I believe that a large num¬ 
ber of the trees so affected will not prove satisfactory. 
Trees showing an occasional root knot upon the small 
or minor rootlets I believe will prove satisfactory, 
and no apparent injury will be seen in later years. 
I planted a tree this Spring affected with the fleshy 
crown gall type upon the main stock and principal 
roots. This tree would not have been planted except 
that it was a single tree of a rare variety which I 
especially desired to grow. It was sent to me for trial, 
free of charge; was affected with one of the worst 
cases of crown gall I have ever seen; was planted 
as carefully as the rest of similar trees, and is the 
only one of this lot now dead. I would not take such 
trees as a gift and plant them. Nurserymen in buy¬ 
ing trees throw out all such trees when grading, also 
those showing the smaller root knot to any extent, 
but I sometimes think they are not so careful in grad¬ 
ing stock from their own plantings. If such trees 
were received from a nurseryman, I would heel them 
in, pay him for the good ones and write that I was 
holding the diseased trees subject to his order. Trees 
showing occasional knots upon the minor roots I 
would not hesitate to plant, after removing that part 
of rootlet to which knots were attached. If, however, 
there was apparently a general infection, almost all 
trees showing the knots, I would hold them subject 
to shipper’s order and refuse payment. When a man 
buys trees he expects to get healthy ones, reasonably 
free from disease or seriously injurious insect pests. 
b. d. v. B. 
A DRAINAGE TAX. 
I own 10 acres of land near a county ditch, also two 
acres, the same being my home place, a little closer to the 
ditch on the opposite side. Last Spring I was served 
with a notice that the ditch was to be tiled. Knowing 
that the water from home place went into ditch and also 
knowing that water from the 10 acres did not get into the 
ditch, and being busy. I neglected attending any of the 
meetings. To-day, when I went to pay my taxes, there 
was $93 assessed against me for the 10 Acres. I went 
to the prosecuting attorney and stated my case to him, 
and he says as I did not attend any of the meetings I 
have waived my rights. What should I do? I am satisfied 
that nobody can show the slightest bit of evidence that 
the water runs in the direction of ditch, and have plenty 
of evidence that water never did or does now flow that 
way, but goes just in the opposite direction. The law 
appears to be against me, but do you think that that is 
justice? H. o. w. 
Ohio. 
If you should have a choice colt in the barn on 
your back lot and should forget to water him for a 
week he would die even though your intentions were 
the best. The drain was decided to be a necessity, 
a taxing district was determined upon, the people in¬ 
terested were notified, a day was set for hearing com¬ 
plaints, the tax roll was spread, again people were 
notified who were interested. If no one appears the 
tax becomes a lien upon the land. If these pro¬ 
ceedings were carried out in proper legal form there 
is no escape for you. Sometimes an error is made 
by the officers, and the tax can be set aside, in which 
case the whole matter would have to be gone over 
July 22? 
again, at which time you could appear. It would cost 
you some money to hire a lawyer to examine the pro¬ 
ceedings. If he found the proceedings legal you 
would still have to pay the tax; if the proceedings 
were irregular he could set them aside. It is not now 
a question of justice or injustice; you have been 
negligent and lost your colt. 
PICKING OUT A FARM. 
A friend of mine, and old man and good farmer, 
once said to me: “Never buy a poor iarm, however 
cheap it may be. If you do you will always regret it 
Better pay a large price for a good farm than take a 
poor one as a gift.” That may seem a little ultra 
but when carefully considered it is not so far wronr/. 
“What would I look for if I went to buy a farm!'” 
First I should consider its proximity to market. A 
farm, other things being equal, close by a good mar¬ 
ket, is worth vastly more than if no more than eight 
or 10 miles away, and the better and more productive 
the farm the greater per cent would be the difference 
in price. Then of course I should consider the char¬ 
acter of the neighbors. Life is too short to waste it 
in an uncongenial neighborhood. Of course I would 
have an eye to the buildings but would far rather 
have a good farm with poor buildings than a poor 
one, however good they might be. I should care¬ 
fully look at the kind of grass growing along the 
roads. If I saw only June grass and sorrel with no 
Timothy or clover I would not stop to look at the 
soil. I would not kick if I found Sweet clover as 
high as my head. 
“Would I look at the growth of trees, shrubs and 
grass?” Most assuredly. If I found the woods oak, 
Black walnut, hard maple, with now and then a bass¬ 
wood and the grass Timothy and clover, I would not 
care if there was occasionally a Canada thistle as 
high as my head. I would let my team drive in and 
look carefully at the land. But if the woods were 
mostly White beech, poplar and White birch, with 
June grass, poverty grass and sorrel, and the weeds 
not high enough to hide a meadow lark when he 
dropped down, I should say “Good Lord, deliver me,” 
and drive on. I once bought a farm from a man whose 
boys said, “Dad had stuck me, for the natural pro¬ 
ductions of the farm were ragweed and Canada 
thistle,” and when we came to harvest a field of wheat 
which was on the farm I thought the boys had told 
the truth, for we had to protect the legs of the horse 
next the standing grain in order to cut a full swath. 
I soon got rid of the weeds and thistles, and what 
made them so rank was the strength of the soil, and 
that farm to-day is good for 40 bushels of wheat per 
acre and is one of the best farms in the State. 
“How would I proceed to find out about the soil?” 
I would take a post auger, not a digger, and bore 
down two or three feet in different places and care¬ 
fully see the different layers. If I found the sub¬ 
soil white sand within a few inches of the surface I 
would let the other fellow have that farm and look 
further. If it was a hard brick-bat clay that would 
hold water like a jug, unless I wanted to start a brick¬ 
yard I would not want it. What I would prefer 
would be a good strong sandy loam with enough 
clay in it not to leach and not sandy enough to blow 
away. A gravelly soil is good if not too strong, but 
I would prefer a sandy soil to a heavy one; while not 
so strong as the heavier one, it would be so much 
easier to work that it would balance the greater 
fertility. I should look well to the shape of the 
trees in the apple orchard. A short, scrubby, flat- 
topped tree surely indicates a shallow soil with a 
hardpan not far below the surface, while a tall tree 
with large top can only be grown on a deep, strong 
soil. I would want the farm drainable, either naturally 
or by underdrains. I know of farms that naturally 
have a rather hard subsoil, that by underdraining 
have been made very desirable, but of course under¬ 
draining is quite expensive, but there are but few 
farms but what would be greatlv benefited by judici¬ 
ous tiling. I once bought a light sandy farm of which 
a close friend said: “It was so light a mortgage 
would not hold it.” I kept it eight years and sold 
it for twice what I paid for it, and the net sales from 
it for the time I owned it was $14,000 over all ex¬ 
penses. The secret was no crop was ever put on it 
without fertilization. Aly rule was a light dressing 
every crop, and it paid. So after all very much de¬ 
pends upon the way a farm is treated. There are 
more poor farmers than poor farms. 
j. s. WOODWARD. 
Moke than 20 years ago it was claimed that windmills 
would settle the question of electrical power. In Holland 
long experiments have been made, only to find that wind 
power, while the cheapest for such work as pumping, has 
no practical value for generating electricity. 
