1912. 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
603 
VINEYARD CULTIVATION FOR THIS 
MONTH. 
All vineyards that have not been 
plowed should be at once. Plowing is 
far more satisfaction than simply disk¬ 
ing. A few vineyards are disked in 
place of the Spring plowing, but such 
can never be worked with the best re¬ 
sults. If for no other reason plowing 
is preferable from the fact that it puts 
the soil in better condition for a good 
seed bed when cover-cropping is prac¬ 
ticed. When a cover-crop is to be 
turned under, the single horse plow 
does the best work. When no cover 
crop is used the three-gang will serve 
the purpose, following with the single 
horse next the hills. The cover-crop 
can be turned under more thoroughly 
by plowing away from the hills. A too 
common practice is the plowing a fur¬ 
row or two up to the hills and leaving 
for some time, and then taking it away 
with the grape hoe. This was prac¬ 
ticed in the belief that it would con¬ 
trol the grape root-worm, and it does 
to some extent, but it can never take 
the place of spraying, as many if not the 
major part of the root-worm grubs are 
below or out of the reach of the hoe. 
A positive injury results from leaving 
a furrow up to the hills for very long 
during the active growing period, as 
rootlets are thrown out into the furrow 
and may be active in furnishing partial 
maintenance for the vine (especially 
young ones), when they are destroyed 
by the removal of the furrow. The 
shallow rooting common in numerous 
vineyards can be traced to the abuse of 
plowing up to and leaving too long. 
Just as soon after the plowing as pos¬ 
sible the vineyard should be worked 
down and dust mulch formed. Too fre¬ 
quently are vineyards plowed and then 
left for weeks in that condition, while 
the moisture that has accumulated 
through the Spring rains is lost through 
open furrows instead of through the 
vine. The effects of drought on vine¬ 
yards handled in this manner are much 
more severe than in the ones in which 
the water is held by working the soil 
down early and well. As the leaf, wood 
and berry of the grape is largely water 
it does not require much figuring to 
estimate its value. Good cultivation is 
the single, most important factor in 
the production of grapes, and we can¬ 
not begin it better than by timely and 
thoroughly plowing in the Spring and 
the early establishment of the mulch. 
F. E. GLADWIN. 
CORN AND CROWS. 
A local seedsman lias built up quite an 
extensive trade in seed corn for silage pur¬ 
poses, largely from the fact that his cus¬ 
tomers have come to rely upon this par¬ 
ticular strain of Learning corn on account 
of its uniformly strong germinating power, 
and the years of careful breeding back of 
the variety, that insures them against dis¬ 
appointment from seed which has been al¬ 
lowed to deteriorate by careless selection or 
care of the corn for seed purposes. There 
seems to be about the same difference in 
the vitality of corn as there is in eggs for 
hatching, and in each case, the better the 
parentage and vitality, the better the 
ehance for' success. There are other varie¬ 
ties which will, perhaps, produce more ears 
per acre or a stalk with a greater leaf 
growth, but in a cold, backward season 
they have proven less dependable and we 
are apt to hear more or less complaint of 
a poor stand. Dairymen seem to realize 
more and more the importance of a uniform 
stand of corn and given good seed properly 
planted, the principal enemies they have to 
contend with are the wireworms and crows. 
When they used to plant with the hoe it 
was customary to treat the seed with tar 
and dry it with land plaster to prevent the 
crows from pulling the young corn. Later, 
when the hand planter came into use, and 
before we learned how to tar corn so that 
it could be used in one of these useful little 
machines, common crow twine was used to 
protect the crop until it was large enough 
to take care of itself. Ordinary fence rails 
were used for posts on the higher portions 
of the field, in the case of rolling ground, 
and a ball per acre of wrapping twine was 
strung from these posts high enough from 
the ground to allow a horse to pass under 
it when cultivating the corn. While the 
crows never troubled the crop when twine 
was put up, as soon as the field was 
planted, it required considerable attention 
to keep the twine from sagging and drag¬ 
ging on the ground and, unless it was re¬ 
moved before the corn was cut, it would get 
tangled in the machinery of the corn binder 
and cause more or less trouble. And, too, 
it was not protection from doves which 
sometimes do as much damage as crows. 
Several years ago the writer discovered 
the method described below, for treating 
corn with tar so that it can be used in 
either the hand or check-row planter and 
when directions are carefully followed, con¬ 
siders it the best way to protect the crop. 
Take not to exceed one-half bushel of corn, 
from which all chaff and pieces of husk have 
been removed by turning from one basket 
to another in a good breeze, remove bits of 
cob, if any, so that you will have a good 
clean sample. Place in a box or basket 
with openings in bottom from which water 
will flow freely and pour over it two or 
three gallons of water nearly at scalding 
point, stirring constantly until all water 
is drained off. The corn will then be about 
as hot as you can bear your hand in. Stir 
into this just enough coal tar to give each 
kernel a thin brown coating and while still 
warm turn into a clean burlap sack and 
roll and manipulate much as the housewife 
kneads a batch of bread until the mass pre¬ 
sents a uniform appearance of dark brown, 
nearly black, evenly-coated kernels. Then 
spread in the sun to dry. When ready to 
use, if you have not a supply of ice, pro¬ 
cure a good-sized cake and place in a tub 
of water, into which set your corn con¬ 
tained in any can or tin receptacle. Allow 
an hour or so to let the corn become thor- 
ougly cold, stirring occasionally so that it 
will rattle in the planter the same as un¬ 
treated seed. As it is used, add more, so 
that there may be a constant supply of 
cold corn on hand. In using a hand plant¬ 
er, do not fill the hopper more than two- 
thirds full and occasionally give it a shake 
to keep it stirred up. Whenever we have 
used this in the horse planter it has worked 
equally well, the only precaution to use is 
to see that it does not pack at the edges 
of the hopper. Experiment in a small way 
at first. Treat only part of your seed to 
begin with and observe closely the follow¬ 
ing details. Seed should be free from all 
foreign substance either lighter or larger 
than a kernel of corn ; don’t fill the hopper 
too full, don’t leave corn in the hopper to 
get warm, stir corn in the hopper occa¬ 
sionally. It will not clog, but does not 
feed quite as freely as untreated corn. 
There are about 2300 kernels of Learning 
and 1700 of eight rowed flint in a quart. 
Calculating on this basis determine how 
many quarts you wish to plant per acre 
and observe if you are planting enough 
seed. T. H. STAPLIN. 
New York. 
PLANTING TREES WITH DYNAMITE. 
No question regarding the starting of aD 
orchard is more frequently asked than the 
one as to the use of dynamite in digging 
the holes. The manufacturers have done 
very thorough work in impressing dyn¬ 
amite upon the minds of orchardists, would- 
be planters and all others. It seems to 
be the universal opinion that dynamite is 
the panacea for poor growth and hard 
labor in connection with orchard planting. 
It may prove a great help, but before a 
definite answer can be made to this ques¬ 
tion reports from many tests must be col¬ 
lected, averages taken and definite advan¬ 
tages or disadvantages determined. For 
the benefit of those interested this report 
of results obtained from dynamite used 
in an orchard in northwestern Massachu¬ 
setts is given. It is believed by many that 
for very compact hard clay soils dynamite 
will prove beneficial, and some claim spe¬ 
cial advantages in dry seasons. Most or¬ 
chard soils in this State contain more or 
less gravel and are somewhat open, but 
this tract is one of the few where, with 
our present information, dynamite could be 
recommended. 
In this orchard between 500 and 600 
trees were planted, about one-fifth being 
planted in holes dug with dynamite. As 
representatives of the manufacturers did 
the work, it would be supposed that the 
size of the charge was correct and the 
work was well done. One would naturally 
expect that the growth of the trees planted 
with dynamite would be superior to the 
others planted in hard compact soil fol¬ 
lowed by such a dry season. The results, 
however, did not sustain our expectations. 
After going over the orchard rather care¬ 
fully with a number of men it was the 
opinion of all that the average growth of 
the trees planted in dug holes were greater 
than the average of the trees planted in 
dynamited holes. Later years may show a 
decided advantage for the dynamite, but 
there is no evidence of it at the end of 
the first year. I do not doubt that the 
use of dynamite is desirable in some sec¬ 
tions. I know of clay soils in the Middle 
West where something as powerful as dy¬ 
namite would he needed to loosen the soil, 
but for Massachusetts, and I -have been 
over the State pretty thoroughly, I can see 
no advantage from the use of dynamite. 
There are other results from the use of 
dynamite that should not be overlooked. 
In the orchard in question the crookedest 
rows are the ones where dynamite was 
used. If dynamite is to be used the or¬ 
chard should he carefully staked out and 
a planting board not less than 12 feet 
long used, and even then there is danger 
of having the stakes moved slightly by the 
explosion. While I do not care to hinder 
those who insist on using dynamite, it is 
my opinion that Massachusetts soils do 
not need it. and as for me, give me a 
round-pointed, long-handled shovel in well- 
prepared soil and my orchard will be a 
source of pride all my days. A. .T. N. 
Massachusetts. 
FRUIT PROSPECTS IN NORTH CAROLINA 
The past Winter was unusually severe 
in the South, and fruit trees were kept in 
a perfectly dormant condition until much 
later in Spring than is usual for this part 
of the country. They were not in bloom 
this season until nearly a month later than 
they were last year. This very much 
shortened the danger period of possible 
injury from cold. In a comparison of re¬ 
ports for the last 30 years the United 
States Weather Bureau has set April 20 
as an average date for the last killing 
frost in Spring for the general fruit region 
of North Carolina, but occasionally cold 
spells have occurred as late as May 10. 
This extreme date has now safely been 
passed at which the fruit can be injured by 
cold. There has not been a.single setback, 
but everything has been most favorable to 
a heavy set of fruit. Trees all over the 
State have bloomed profusely, and the 
“set” of all kinds of fruit has been ex¬ 
ceptionally heavy. There has been no un¬ 
toward weather since to cause much drop¬ 
ping, and the fruit has developed so rapidly 
that in spite of the late Spring it is now 
about as big as in the average season. 
There will be urgent need this year for 
thinning of peaches and apples all over 
the State. On May 1 my assistant did 
some experimental thinning on Greensboro 
peaches. Ten days later he worked on 
Carman and Elberta, and said that at that 
time the Greensboro still looked so thick 
that he could scarcely see where he had 
thinned. With the thorough and careful 
spraying which is now being given by most 
of our growers the fruit of North Carolina 
will be high in quality as well as abundant 
in quantity this season. Many new or¬ 
chards of improved varieties have been set 
in North Carolina and arc coming into 
bearing. Much more attention is now 
being given than formerly to pruning, 
spraying and general orchard management. 
At fruit shipping points along railroad 
lines lime-sulphur barrels arc now more 
common than kerosene barrels. This has 
tended to put orchards in good healthy 
fruiting condition and has made them rc- 
sisteut to insects and fungous diseases. Our 
growers are now forming cooperative or¬ 
ganizations and fruit exchanges and are 
preparing to handle their fruit in standard 
packages in carload shipments to the best 
wholesale markets. w. x. iiutt, 
N. C. State Horticulturist. 
HOW SPRING HITS A MICHIGANDER. 
Usually we burn from 10 co 12 tons of 
coal during a Winter at Kee-ma-ha (our 
country home). Last Winter we changed 
16 tons of hard coal into screened ashes 
which are used in paths and roadways on 
the little farm of four acres, a mile from 
the western limits of Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Old Winter hit us Michigan folks pretty 
hard this year, and it will no doubt be a 
season “to refer to” in years to come. 
From 50 young fruit trees planted a year 
ago, I find six apple, three quince and two 
cherry winter-killed, also three handsome 
little apple trees five years from the 
planting, a Delicious, a McIntosh and a 
King, with possibly half a dozen leaves on 
each showing green, the rest looking pretty 
black and dead. A “fruit friend” whom I 
met this morning on the street, tells me 
to cut into the bark on the body of the 
trees and if alive, trim off the tops to 
nearly a stub and let them grow new 
heads. That will be one of my jobs when 
I get home this evening. 
.JVnd my roses are a sorry-looking lot. 
A..Dorothy Perkins on the west porch and 
a_Crimson Rambler on the barn which last 
year were fully 15 feet high, frozen down 
to six inches from the ground, but how they 
are growing fi-om the trimmed stubs! These 
are the disappointments which come to 
the suburbanite. It is not all sunshine, 
but in my strawberry bed, in its third 
season, with berries planted in hills two 
feet each way are coming fine through their 
mulching of straw, and my gooseberries, cur¬ 
rants and granes are clean and healthy. 
Our Emperor and Poet Narcissus have given 
us a splendid show of white and yellow 
for three weeks past and our bed of 
Pfeonios ; I have some 20 vai’ieties. but you 
can’t kill them, and the bees are humming 
nt the hives. The blue birds are in their 
houses I built on the fence posts), the little 
wrens are late, T have not seen them yet, 
but they will be here all right, and a 
meadow lark is sitting on five little eggs in 
a nest under a tuft of gi’ass not 15 feet 
from the front walk, and it was either last 
Monday or Tuesday (May 6 or 7) when I 
lifted the wooden latch to our front gate 
the first joyous rollicking notes of the’ 
bobolink came to me from back of the lot. 
Somehow the song of the bobolink always 
brings to my mind the rollicking jolly scene 
from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” I don’t 
know which of the three l-oysterers our 
bobolink would be. Sir Toby Belch. Sir 
Andrew Agueeheek, or the Clown, but his 
song is surely the jolly bubbling song of 
good fellowship and goes a long way toward 
making us forget Jack Frost and his Win¬ 
ter’s work. j. b. b. 
Michigan. 
Peach trees of all vaideties throughout 
the northern end of Niagara County, N. Y., 
have an ample supply of fruit buds for a 
practically full crop. In fact, in some 
orchards the trees are overloaded with bxids 
and will have to be thinned out. Condi¬ 
tions ai - e splendid if the weather does not 
cut up any freezing pranks before, the fruit 
is set. Indications also point to a big crop 
of apples, pears and other fruit in Niagara. 
E. L. 
Shooting Sparrows. —J. Y. T., on page 
587, wants to know how to keep sparrows 
from his cherries. If he will get a shot¬ 
gun and shoot some of them he will not be 
troubled any more. I leaxmed that in the 
West, where sparrows are 10 times worse 
than they are here. My neighbors never 
got a cherry, while they never bothered 
mine. Sparrows are very wise birds, and 
can tell each other and will remember three 
or four months. Crows are the same and 
so are wild geese. They will remember for 
sixe years. I know, that certain places are 
dangerous, and tell each other. I will give 
anyone a dollar that cau induce a crow to 
touch an egg or pull any corn on my place. 
Delaware, O. w. a. m. 
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