5FI3E: RURAb N E W-YORKER 
March 2, 
302 
GRAFTING WAX AND GRAFTING TOOLS. 
I have found that the formula for 
grafting wax given J. S. M. on page 
62 is rather too stiff for best results. 
A better wax is made in these pro¬ 
portions. One pound each of beeswax, 
resin, and tallow. Melt the tallow first, 
chip the beeswax fine and add as soon 
as the tallow is well softened. Add 
the resin in* fine lumps last, and cook 
slowly until the resin is entirely dis¬ 
solved. Then pour into a pail of cold 
water and work as described on page 
62 . This wax will not run in Summer 
or crack off in Winter. In fact, it 
will stay just as. you put it until ab¬ 
sorbed by the growth of tree unless 
removed by mischievous boys. This 
wax is slightly more expensive than the 
other formula mentioned, owing to the 
higher proportion of beeswax, the most 
expensive ingredient but the improved 
lasting qualities justify the expenditure. 
The cost of ingredients will be about 
as follows : Beeswax, 32 cents; tallow, 
10 cents; resin, five cents. This will 
not make quite three pounds of wax, 
owing to shrinkage in cooking and 
working. 
If there is any amount of grafting 
to be done in the cold early Spring days 
it pays to be well equipped, yet a 
very convenient outfit heed not be at 
all expensive. My own grafting hook, 
which I like better than any bought 
grafting hook I ever saw, was made 
by a local blacksmith from an old 
drawshave at a cost of 15 cents. To 
make, cut one handle off the draw- 
shave, and bend the other to a straight 
line with the blade. Then bend the 
blade back so as to leave four or four 
and one-half inches of blade next to 
the handle. Draw the blade down 
squafe for one and one-half inches, 
then bend back one and one-half inches 
and leave with a chisel edge one- 
fourth or three-eighths inch wide. 
This edge should be at right angles with 
and in the opposite direction from the 
edge of the other blade. This makes a 
light, convenient tool that answers the 
purpose perfectly. It need not be high¬ 
ly tempered, as it is not necessary for 
it to hold a keen edge. To use, saw 
the stock off smooth with a sharp hand 
or pruning saw. Then take the grafting 
hook in the left hand and with a light 
mallet split the stock down three or 
four inches. Then insert the chisel 
edge of the hook in the split to hold 
it open while the scions are inserted. 
Cut the scions wedge shape, tapering, 
with the outside edges the thickest. In¬ 
sert them carefully, being sure the in¬ 
ner bark of the outside edge of the 
scion meets the inner bark of the stock. 
Hold them in place while the hook is 
carefully removed, then cover the end 
cf the stock, around the base of the 
scions and down the sides of the stock 
ai far as the split extends with wax. 
This completes the operation. 
To return to the rest of the out¬ 
fit. If much grafting is to be done it 
will be found necessary to have some 
means of heating or softening the wax 
in the orchard. A small trunk or chest, 
such as can be manufactured by any 
handy man, long enough to contain the 
pruning saws and high enough to per¬ 
mit a small oil stove, such as is some¬ 
times used for warming baby’s milk, 
with a small basin on it, to set upright, 
will be found necessary. By this means 
it is easy to keep the wax in a semi- 
melted condition while working in an 
orchard not convenient to the kitchen 
stove. This of course applies to graft¬ 
ing apple trees, which is usually done 
very early in the Spring while the 
weather is still very cold. The com¬ 
plete contents of this chest will be 
about as follows, and includes every nec¬ 
essary tool for grafting apple trees: One 
small oil stove; one pint basin, one 
sharp hand or pruning saw; one graft¬ 
ing hook; one small mallet; one sharp 
knife to cut scions with; lump of wax. 
A small dish of lard should also be 
included to grease the fingers with 
while applying the wax. 
One thing that puzzled me as a be¬ 
ginner was why all directions said to 
remove the tip bud from scions. By 
way of experiment I left a few long; 
scions without removing the tip bud. 
They made a very satisfactory growth, 
but it was in length only. The di¬ 
ameter of the scion where it met the 
stock was not visibly increased. Such 
a scion is much more liable to winter- 
kill than one that makes a strong 
growth at place of meeting with the 
stock. Now I leave my scions not over 
three or four inches long, and with two 
or at the most not over three buds. 
I have the best success where I can 
gather the scions the same day I set 
them, as stored scions are very apt to 
lose their vitality. Scions should be 
gathered from last year’s growth on the 
fruiting tips of the limbs, never from 
the suckers. An old weak tree will 
often grow but few tips fit to use for 
scions. c. c. c. 
New York. 
Seed Potatoes in Pits. 
My potatoes keep well and I And that 
burying them for the Winter improves their 
flavor, but for seed they are absolutely 
worthless for not one of them will ever 
sprout when planted in the Spring. Those 
kept in the cellar keep equally as well as 
those in the pits, and for seed about 85 
per cent grow and do fairly well, producing 
about 75 per cent of a full crop. What is 
the trouble? j. r. b. 
Washington. 
We are not familiar with conditions 
prevailing on the Pacific coast, but here 
in western New York there is absolutely 
no better way of keeping seed potatoes 
for our own planting than in pits. A 
number of the very best farmers put out 
the potatoes they require for their own 
planting in pits in the Fall, covering up 
with at least a foot of straw, then with 
a foot or so of dirt, and after the dirt 
freezes, a foot or so of coarse manure 
gradually removing the covering in the 
late Spring. Following this system, po¬ 
tatoes will keep with us until June 1 
without sprouting as firm and hard as 
when dug in the Fall. The value of this 
process is that planting in June as we 
do we get the first sprouts from firm 
tubers and instead of pitting injuring 
the sprouting power of the tubers, pit¬ 
ting stock gives us stronger sprouts 
than any other kind. The presumption 
is that J. R. B.’s potatoes were kept 
too hot, or on the other hand, they 
were not kept warm enough and were 
chilled. One or the other of the two 
solutions of the problem is the correct 
one. EDWARD F. DIBBLE. 
. % 
12 LBSVm 
4PURE ZINC'-* 
TO THE 
HUNDRED¬ 
WEIGHT 
Old Jack Frost is death on 
cheap nails. But — he has abso¬ 
lutely no effect on M. I. F. CO. Nails. He 
cannot make them rust. They are imper¬ 
vious to the attacks of rain, snow, sleet 
and salt sea air. That is because — 
They are cut from refined iron and 
heavily coated with pure zinc. They will 
last as long as the toughest wood, and by 
remaining clean, do not rot the wood in 
which they are driven. 
M. I. F. CO. Nails are sold by your 
dealer in convenient 25 and 50 lb. boxes. 
If he isn’t supplied write us for the name 
of the nearest one who is and our inter¬ 
esting book, “Nail Knowledge.” It will 
be sent free. 
Malleable Iron Fittings Co. 
Dept. L, Branford, Conn. 
MIF-CO¬ 
ZINC COATED NAILS 
Make Your Own Fertilizer 
At Small Cost with 
WILSON’S PHOSPHATE MILLS 
From 1 to 40 H. P. Also Bone 
Cutters, hand and power, 
for the poultrymen; grit and 
shell mills, farm feed mills, 
family grist mills, scrap 
cake mills. Send for our catalog. 
_Wilton Bros,,Sole Mfrs., Easton.Pa. 
Eastern Shore of Maryland 
from Pocomoke, town of 3,000 people; 74 acres 
arable, 26 timber. Ideal land for potatoes, berries, 
grain and grass. Best apple orchard in county. 
Buildings new, 8-room dwelling, slate roof, 3 largo 
porches, beautiful shaded lawn. Price $6,000; $2,000 
cash, remainder on mortgage. Other farms $25 to 
$75 per acre. For description in detail, address 
M. L. VEASEY, Box 11, Pocomoke City, Md. 
The Best and fS k ^ ea Green or 
Cheapest Roof ing . wi W Purple Slate 
35 Years’ Roof Service—Without Costing One 
Cent for Repairs—and Never a Leak 
The following letters—all written from the town of Wilmot, Ohio, prove the 
economy of using slate for roofs. 
Any Building, New or Old— 
is Strong Enough for Slate 
Thirty-four years ago this summer I roofed 
my house with American Sea Green Slate. It 
lias never leaked since and I never paid out 
anything for repairs. There Is nothing equal to 
such a roof for durability and service. 
—URIAH MEESE. 
Twenty years ago the building occupied by 
the Farmers’ Bank was covered with American 
Sea Green Slate. It lias given very satisfactory 
service, lias never leaked, and has never needed 
any repairing. I can heartily recommend 
American Sea Green Slate for roofing. 
—JOHN LONGENECKEli, Cashier. 
This is to certify that the undersigned had 
personal knowledge of placing an American 
Sea Green Slate roof upon a building of his 
grandfather, Gabriel Putnam, in the year 1877, 
and also one upon the dwelling of ids father in 
ttie same year. Said roofs are to-day intact, 
just as they were laid, never having cost one 
cent for repairs.—W. O. PUTNAM. 
In the year 1876 I placed upon my house an 
American Sea Green Slate Roof and the roof is 
just the same as when I put it on, has never 
leaked a drop, and has never cost one cent for 
repairs.—A. HURRA W. 
If You Want 
Pure Cistern Water 
you must see to it that your roof is 
of Slate—which is impervious to 
climatic changes—does not absorb 
the poisonous gases of the atmos¬ 
phere, cannot retain dust, dirt or 
any substance that makes water 
collected off the roof unfit for 
household or personal use. This 
cannot be said of any other 
roof you can name. 
Roofing Slate is Solid Rock— 
It Can’t Wear Out, Warp, Rust or Decay 
Sea Green or Purple Roofing Slate is Nature’s own product—not man made. 
It is solid rock —quarried in great blocks 200 feet below the earth’s surface—split and 
trimmed into convenient form for applying and is then— without further process of 
manufacturing, ready for your roof. 
On account of being solid rock, it absolutely can not bum, warp, wear, rust, decay, 
and of course, does not require painting, recoating or repairing like all artificial roofings. 
Protect Yourself 
Against Fire 
The cheapest insurance is 
a roof of slate—a roof that 
is absolute proof against 
sparks from adjacent fires. 
With such a roof upon your 
house, barn or outbuildings 
you are secure from 
this danger—you pay m 
lower insurance. 
A few owners have the mistaken idea that build¬ 
ings must be especially strong to hold a slate roof. 
This is a mistake. Any building strong enough to hold 
a water soaked,.snow and ice covered shingle roof—is 
sufficiently strong to carry slate; as the snow and ice 
slips off slate like water from a duck’s back. 
There is absolutely no reason why your present 
buildings can not be re-roofed with slate, nor will any 
new ones require special strength to carry the load. 
Slate Roofs are Cheap 
The first cost of a Sea Green or Purple Slate roof is 
only a trifle more than these short lived roofings, but one slate 
roof will outlast 10 galvanized roofs, 10 shingle roofs, 50 paper 
or “oids” roofs, besides never requiring paint, repairs, recoat¬ 
ing or expense. Sea Green or Purple Slate Roofs are the 
cheapest roofs that money will buy because they’re the best. 
Let Us Give You the Approximate Cost 
of Stating Your Roofs i 
First Cost is the Only Cost 
Bear in mind that the rock out of which Sea Green or Purple Roofing 
Slate is made is already 10,000 years old. What will 25—50 or 100 
years* service on your roof amount to for this wonderful material? 
Asking for this information 
won’t obligate you to buy. 
Send for Free Booklet “ROOFS." Simply Sign and Mail the Coupon 
This 16-page booklet not only tells you how you can have a roof of slate—that cannot crack, warp, blister or leak; that is 
spark proof, water tight; that cannot decay, rust, retain snow or impurities that contaminate cistern water, that is unaffected by 
climatic changes and is as enduring as solid rock: but it tells you everything about other kinds of roofs that you ought to know. 
Simply tell us the name of your nearest roofer, sign and mail the coupon 
below and your copy will come to you b£ return mail absolutely Free. 
American Sea Green State Co*, Roo wZ a bur er no Clark St., Granville, N* 
Y. 
■•*■■■ Sign and Mall This Coupon To-Day" 
American Sea Green Slate Co., 
1 10 Clark St., Granville, N. Y. 
Please send the Booklet “Roofs" to this address: 
Name ... 
Address . 
Town ... State .. 
Approximate size .. 
My nearest roofers name and address is as follows : 
