90 
RENTING AN OLD ORCHARD. 
What is a fair rent for an old orchard—say 25 to 40 
years old? We mean such an orchard as is often found 
In country neighborhoods. The renter to lease for a term 
of years and handle as he pleases. 
It would be very hard to give an answer without 
seeing the orchard and the general conditions of the 
country. In this section where there is a farm with 
an orchard on it let on shares, the owner of the 
orchard furnishes the spray material, one-half of 
barrels, the man who rents it finishes the other half 
if barrels, does the trimming and sprays the trees, 
but of course the orchard has been cared for about 
the same every year. In renting an orchard we 
might consider four things. First, how badly has 
the orchard been neglected? If it has not been 
trimmed in a long time, and there are lots of dead 
limbs, limbs crossing each other in every way, a 
person would have to consider the cost of pruning 
and cleaning up the bunch, also, of losing the crops 
for a few years until the trees were in shape to pro¬ 
duce a crop. Second, drainage. An orchard that has 
wet feet will never return the expense saying nothing 
about making a profit. Third, the soil on which the 
orchard is growing, also whether fruit in the same 
section is paying. If there are orchards near by on 
practically the same soil, same elevation, a person 
could figure on paying more for the use of an or¬ 
chard than if the surrounding orchards were not 
paying. Fourth, how much time has to be spent on 
the road reaching the orchard? How far is it to 
market? How long does it take to get from the 
orchard to water for spraying? These are all im¬ 
portant questions. There is not a more valuable time 
to a fruit grower than spray or market season. At 
this time minutes are gold. In summing the matter 
all up, if a young orchard (20 to 40 years old) had 
been neglected, I would want to lease it for not less 
than six to eight years (longer if possible). If it 
was an old orchard (over 40 years old) with high 
trees, lots of dead limbs, etc., I would look twice be¬ 
fore I jumped. 
In leasing an orchard that had been neglected, it 
seems as if the owner ought to stand fhe expense of 
trimming for the first two years, the renter over¬ 
seeing the work, each furnishing one-half of barrels, 
owner furnishing spray material, renter doing the 
labor of spraying and picking and marketing the 
fruit, each receiving one-half of the sales. After the 
first two years the renter ought to do all of the 
trimming. In renting right out for cash it is hard 
to say, but seems as if each tree ought to be worth 
from 40 cents to a dollar a tree per year, depending 
on the conditions mentioned above. I have seen 
trees that I would hate to give even 25 cents a tree 
for, and I have seen trees produce over $40 worth of 
fruit in a yeaf. I think a person could best figure 
the actual value or the value to him of an orchard 
by talking with six or eight fruit growers that are 
nearby located and dividing the answers up in his 
own mind. Herbert allis. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. 
“BREEDING UP” FRUIT VARIETIES. 
The following extract is made from a nurseryman’s 
circular in describing a new fruit variety: 
For fear you do not fully appreciate the value of our 
higli-bred trees we wash to. say, owing to this work of 
breeding up, every one of our trees will produce fruit of 
the very best color, flavor, size, shape and keeping quality, 
and the trees will be hardy, early and prolific bearers. 
They are bred up for this purpose just as a race horse 
is bred up for speed. There is just as much difference in 
value of our trees over those not bred up as there is dif¬ 
ference in value of pedigreed and scrub animals. 
The above statement is very highly exaggerated, to 
say the least. Indeed, it smacks of genuine fakery. 
No one can he certain that “every one” of their trees 
will bear fruit “of the very best color, flavor, size 
shape and keeping quality.” There are too many 
chances to run with any trees that are planted any¬ 
where to make sure of very much in the way of ex¬ 
act returns of fruit as to its particular character. 
A nurseryman may safely guarantee his trees to be 
true to name, if he has taken special care to propa¬ 
gate from true stock, and he may also say to the 
purchaser of his trees that they are from stock that 
is known to bear fruit that is superior to the average 
of the same varieties, if he has really got such strains 
and proved them to he constant. This can be secured 
by using the greatest care to hunt out, mark such 
trees, and take scions from them. It has been done 
to some extent for many years by a few nurserymen 
and is being done now more than formerly. But as 
to breeding the trees up “just as a race horse is 
bred,” I do not believe it. Race horses are bred up 
by crossing tested individuals of high merit, and by 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
this means new animals are bred or made having new 
points of merit. This can be done and is done by 
plant breeders. Notable in this line are Geo. W. 
Campbell, T. V. Munson and Jacob Moore, with 
grapes and berries, and many more that might be 
mentioned with various fruits. But the simple se¬ 
lection of choice strains of known varieties is very 
different from breeding new kinds. The title “pedi¬ 
greed” as applied to trees and plants has been rather 
extravagantly, if not deceitfully, used by some nur¬ 
serymen. Let it be understood that I do not mean to 
cast any reflections on legitimate purity of stock of 
strains of known superiority, but we must beware 
of extravagant claims about stock that is said to sur- 
PlilZE CHEESE MAKERS FROM MAINE. Fio. 27. 
pass everything that others may have. There is a 
move in the Far West to establish a “plant register” 
of choice varieties and good may come of it, but this 
should be in the hands of the Government or State 
officials and not lie controlled by nurserymen alone. 
There is danger of interested parties coming into too 
much prominence as boomers of their own holdings. 
Let us wish them well, but be cautious of extrava¬ 
gant claims. h. e. van deman. 
“UP-TO-DATE.” 
I was much struck with your comments on the 
up-to-date matter which your friend of the moun¬ 
tains finds in old editions of The R. N.-Y. 
On tlie contrary it is “up to date” because it is always 
useful. Some papers seem to be made to fit the passing 
hour and have no value after they get cold. They are like 
the froth on my milkpail. It looks like a big yield, but 
the quart measure or the scales take no notice of froth. 
It disappears. The R. N.-Y. is always up to date because 
I can take any issue for the past 10 years, at random, and 
find in it something that will meet the need of the pres¬ 
ent hour. 
His views are eminently correct. There appears to 
be a rage for new thoughts and new ideas, which I 
have found to be very yash. Much of the new teach¬ 
ings of to-day are founded on the solid basis of for¬ 
mer thought and investigation. However, they finally 
find their level and either drop out of existence or 
remain as only supplementary to the thoughts that 
have moved the world in the past. Your friend could 
have carried his illustration a little further and said 
that the public, as well as the measure and the scales, 
takes no lasting notice of froth. I was once told by 
a member of the Maine Legislature that if there 
was anything more useless than a last year’s al¬ 
manac it was an old copy of the Report of the 
Maine Board of Agriculture. This set me to studying 
these old reports, and somewhat to my surprise I 
found them rich in the lore that helps modern farm¬ 
ing. Two of these reports, published in 1862 and 
1863, are now acknowledged to be as valuable as any re¬ 
cently published, and in fact have been made the basis 
January 27, 
for many recent so-called investigations. Another 
one printed in the early seventies, has an exhaustive 
article on Indian corn, by Prof. J. W. Sanborn, that 
cannot be equalled by any writer of to-day, notwith¬ 
standing the many advantages he may have, includ¬ 
ing the literature of the past. 
I have often wondered at the ignorance of some of 
the younger speakers and writers of the work that has 
been done by those who have gone before. One said, 
at a large public Grange meeting in my presence, last 
season, that Maine farmers were utterly at the mercy 
of the seed dealer, as they had no law to protect them 
from seed adulterations. A little study of the statute 
laws of the State would nave shown him that in the 
early nineties the Legislature, acting at the request of 
the people as it was voiced by the secretary of the 
Board of Agriculture and the director of the experi¬ 
ment station, passed such a law; and further study 
would have shown him that the law had been rigidly 
and carefully enforced by the said director. A little 
more than a year later the same speaker congratulated 
a Pomona Grange on being a pioneer in a movement 
to introduce the teaching of agriculture into the rural 
schools of the State. A little study into what he 
might have called “ancient history” would have shown 
him that the Maine State Grange, more than 15 years 
ago, took definite steps in the same direction; that a 
committee was formed, one of which was an honor¬ 
able member of the faculty of the College of Agricul¬ 
ture; that this committee deliberated a year and 
brought in a report which was accepted by the 
Granges; that a text book on agriculture was pre¬ 
pared by one well fitted for the task, printed and cir¬ 
culated to some extent among the rural schools. The 
movement at that time was not a success, because 
neither the rural people nor the school authorities 
were ready for it. The same movement to-day will, 
I think, meet with favor. 
I would not advance the idea that there is no prog¬ 
ress. There certainly are great advances in ideas and 
methods, but these all come from a closer observance 
of the teachings and efforts of the past, as they have 
been placed along lines of stability, and they do not 
come from present efforts, many of which savor of 
froth rather than “nourishing milk.” May The R. 
N.-Y. long continue to nourish the people with real 
truths of to-day, as they are gleaned from the wis¬ 
dom of experience and observation. 
B. WALKER MC KEAN. 
R. N.-Y.—As an illustration of the value of these 
old-time studies—take the old Connecticut report on 
muck and its value by Dr. S. W. Johnson. There is 
nothing of recent writing equal to it. 
POISONING CUTWORMS ON LARGE SCALE. 
Last Spring we set aside a plot of 2)4x80 rods at 
the side of the cornfield for mangels; it was a clover 
sod, sandy soil, and was fertilized by a dressing of 
cow manure. The ground was plowed to the depth 
of about seven inches, well pulverized by a spring- 
tooth harrow, and the mangels planted in drills early 
in April. The seed came up well, and the rows could 
be seen across the field, but in a few days they seemed 
to fade away, and by the end of the week were en¬ 
tirely gone, and an examination showed that cut¬ 
worms were the trouble, for the ground seemed to be 
literally infested with them. 
As mangels are an important crop with us, at least 
enough to use for green food for the young chickens 
in Spring, as well as some for layers in Winter, we 
decided to take the cutworm matter in hand in 
earnest. We mixed bran with cheap molasses, to the 
consistency of a stiff mash, put in Paris green, so the 
mash was quite green in color, took some shingles, 
and over one-half of the piece we placed three rows 
of shingles, a rod apart, putting about a tablespoonful 
of mash under each shingle, putting a little earth on 
the shingle to keep it lying flat and to prevent the 
wind from carrying it away. Next day we examined 
some of the shingles and found quite a sprinkling of 
dead cutworms under the shingles. We were encour¬ 
aged, so we gathered a wheelbarrow load of mullein 
plants, as the cutworms seem to have an affinity for 
them, took the ^mulleins to the plot and put a spoon¬ 
ful of poison about 10 feet apart each way, and placed 
a mullein plant on top of the bran mash. Examining 
the shingles and mullein plants with poison under 
them in a few days, the result was beyond all our ex¬ 
pectations, as we found dead cutworms in abundance 
wherever the poison was placed, counting as high as 
70 worms under one mullein plant, which they seemed 
to prefer to the shingles. We replanted the mangels, 
And had an excellent stand and good crop. No more 
trouble from cutworms on that ground, while some of 
the corn nearby we planted and replanted as high as 
five times. As it took only about eight hours for do¬ 
ing all this extra work, it paid about the best of any 
work done in connection with it, and if troubled with 
cutworms shall try it on a larger scale another year. 
Michigan. D. H. o. 
