826 
“NO PLACE LIKE HOME.”' 
The two pictures, Fig. 347 and 348, show how trans¬ 
planted people try to put their roots into hard and 
barren soil. One picture was taken in Baldwin Co., 
Ala. In a strange land people will often cheerfully 
put up with hardships which they could hardly endure 
in the old home. The world is new once more, and 
life is before them, and they feel that they must justify 
their faith in moving to the new country. So they 
“get along” as best they can, and are often happier, 
under conditions which would have seemed impossible 
elsewhere. The same is true of the sod house in the 
western desert, shown at Fig. 348. On the Atlantic 
Coast, surrounded by old friends, these people could 
not have lived in this way. Yet in the new life they 
are happy and hopeful. These pictures will also show 
what many of our Eastern people of moderate means 
must expect to encounter when they move to a new 
country. If they could face the old situation with 
equal hope and economy they would be better off. 
OUR FRIEND, THE BROOK. 
Most people will agree that nature’s choicest piece 
of work, combining beauty and utility, is the brook. 
There the cattle and sheep, and wild beasts and birds 
drink; and when at its best—the outflow of moun¬ 
tain springs— 
“Trickling, dancing through the vale, 
Cool and sparkling, Adam’s ale,” 
weary thirsty man is glad to stop for refreshment. 
When harnessed it supplies power to grind our grain, 
run spindles and looms, and turn the wheels of mul¬ 
titudes of small country shops. 
To the child the brook is a constant joy, from the 
mud-pie age to the wading-knee-deep period, and then 
on through the various stages of angling until that 
prince of game fish, the trout, is reached. The chil¬ 
dren in the picture are in the dace and shiner period. 
No trout other than an unlawful fingerling would 
bite in so plain view of the fisher. 
Brook trout thrive only in cool spring water. The 
larger fish usually work down the stream, but in the 
ideal hill-country brook, with overhanging banks and 
here and there rock shelters and deep holes, trout 
from six to eight inches long may often be caught 
where the stream is but a foot wide and the water 
barely visible through the overhanging grass. Where 
the water is right, as an old fisherman said, the trout 
“need only just enough room to turn around.” When 
very hungry, or in streams but slightly fished, trout 
are only moderately nervous—like White Leghorns— 
and may be picked here and there from a ripple or 
deeper hole. And then there will be days when they 
are “wild as Indians” and it is only with the greatest 
skill and caution that any catch can be made, the 
fisher often “snaking along” flat on the ground to keep 
invisible and get within throwing distance of a pool 
or ripple. To the sordid brook robber, whose only 
aim is to skin the stream, a day’s fishing without a 
large catch is a failure, but those who have in some 
measure caught the spirit and philosophy of “The 
Compleat Angler” know that catching fish is but a 
small part of the delight of a day’s fishing; that the 
music of the brook, the flashing of the water and the 
beautiful harmony noted in nature's work are by far 
the biggest part of the catch. 
STORAGE OF SWEET POTATOES. 
I have read with great interest all that has been said 
in The R. N.-Y. on the subject of sweet potatoes and rapid 
plant setting. We expect to build a curing house for 
sweet potatoes soon, and would like to get the best ideas 
I can while at it. Where can I get a plan for an up-to- 
date house to hold from 1.200 to 1.500 bushels? Could 
some of these experts be induced to tell us how it is done? 
I see their finished product is filler than ours, but our 
soil is fine for sweets, have raised 106 bushels on one- 
quarter acre measured We can build all underground or 
half under, or on the surface. What I want is to have 
a good one when it is done. I have natural gas for heat¬ 
ing. Soil of our hills is sandy shale and would have to 
be drained around the wall if a cellar is made. T would 
prefer a surface house if it can be made. e. m. w. 
Kansas. 
In this section of South Jersey quantities of sweet 
potatoes are stored annually. At Swedesboro dealers 
have large storehouses, built above ground, each hold¬ 
ing thousands of barrels. Space in these is often 
rented to farmers desiring storage room. At Pedrick- 
town a novel method is practiced. There dealers have 
several large ice-houses which are filled with potatoes 
in the Fall. The potatoes are sold in early Winter in 
ample time so that the houses can be filled with ice; 
thus utilizing what would otherwise be idle time with 
the houses. 
Among the growers many styles of storage houses 
are used, and various methods are practiced in storing. 
Some growers store in dry cellars under their dwell¬ 
ings; others have a cellar under their crib-house or 
THE RCJRA.L, NEW-YORKER 
wagon-shed. But by far the greater number are fol¬ 
lowing the present tendency to get away from under¬ 
ground storage, and have fitted up outbuildings, old 
ice-houses, odd rooms about the out-buildings and, 
in some instances, vacant rooms in the dwelling as 
storerooms for potatoes. The chief considerations 
are to have a place that is dry; that will permit of 
good ventilation and one that is double walled or 
lathed and plastered inside, so as to prevent loss by 
freezing from a sudden drop in the outside tempera¬ 
ture. There should also be a good heating system. 
In the small houses stoves are used, but the larger 
houses are usually heated by hot water. I think your 
correspondent E. M. W. will find it perfectly feasible 
to build his house entirely above ground, provided he 
laths and plasters it and has it well sheathed and 
weather-boarded. A building with an inside room 
measuring 16 feet by 18 feet by 10 feet should give 
ample room for storing the amount he desires to 
put in it and leave room for an alley dowm the centre. 
Many growers here store their potatoes in hampers; 
this takes more space than when put in bins, but it 
permits of a better circulation of air. Where bins 
are used the usual practice is to have them only large 
enough to hold 100 to 200 bushels each; with an open 
space below and above, as well as along the sides, 
for circulation of air. In the Fall when potatoes are 
put in the houses, all ventilators are kept open, and a 
temperature of 75 to 90 degrees is maintained until the 
potatoes have gone through the sweat; after that the 
ventilators are closed and the temperature is allowed 
to drop to 50 to 60 degrees. Most growers start a fire 
a day or so before potatoes are stored, so as to have 
the house perfectly dry. trucker, jr. 
SHALL WE FERTILIZE ORCHARDS? 
I see that according to experiments by the New York 
State Experiment Station, apple orchards have not yielded 
any better from the use of fertilizers and manure than 
without. Thisis contrary to our teachings in the past, 
as we have had it constantly drummed into us to use fer¬ 
tilizers and manure in our orchards. What is your 
opinion in the matter? a. 
Ontario. 
The Geneva Experiment Station made a study of 
orchard conditions in New York State and decided 
that on good land, suitable for an apple orchard, com¬ 
mercial fertilizers are not needed. Such stable manure 
as is made on the farm should be used, and clover 
and other crops plowed under—but the theory is that 
on strong apple land, with good culture, chemicals are 
not needed. The proposition was that orchards should 
not be planted on lighter soils where the chemicals are 
required. Naturally this has stirred up controversy. 
Some of our most profitable orchards are near good 
markets and on thin land. We called for the experi¬ 
ences of practical fruit growers and have received 
varying reports and opinions. The first to be re¬ 
ported is the following fair summing up: 
The Geneva theory that “It is doubtful if land too 
poor to grow apples without fertilization can be profit¬ 
ably converted into permanent good apple land, at least, 
by the use of the mineral manures” is I believe, in the 
majority of cases correct. I feel certain, however, 
that there are exceptions and these exceptions occur 
more frequently in some sections than in others. 
These exceptions are often brought about by particu¬ 
larly favorable market advantages. Sometimes they 
are the result of certain combinations of man, time 
and place that cannot be readjusted practically; and 
by the way, this cause has a very great influence on the 
lives and works of men in all the walks of life. But 
these exceptions can no doubt often be changed to the 
class that needs no fertilization, by the addition of 
humus and good cultural practice. In fact, as I under¬ 
stand Prof. Hedrick, it is the thorough good culture, 
combined with the large area from which the tree 
draws sustenance and the long period devoted to the 
development of the tree that render fertilization un¬ 
necessary ; even on the same soil that responds profit¬ 
ably to fertilizers applied to short-lived crops of re¬ 
stricted root growth. 
It seems to me that the Geneva policy is to encour¬ 
age growers to adopt the best cultural methods before 
attempting to fertilize; and if they feel that fertilizers 
are needed, to find out what elements give results 
and not merely use fertilizers in a careless hit or miss 
way. As I understand it. the point made by Prof. 
Iledrick is that any land that is at all suitable for the 
growth of the apple has enough locked-up plant food 
that can be made available as fast as the tree can use 
it, by proper culture to make the addition of fertility 
wholly unnecessary. The miller does not think of 
adding water to his mill-pond when it is already pour¬ 
ing over the dam. Let us for a few moments think 
of the soil as a never failing stream, the handling of 
the soil as the dam and the orchard as the mill that is 
August 3, 
to be made productive by our control and management 
of the water. If there is a leak in the dam the miller 
who carried water from his well to the pond instead 
of mending the dam would justly be considered crazy. 
Yet how many farmers are doing just this thing in 
applying fertilizers to make up for leaks in soil man¬ 
agement. If with the dam in good condition the miller 
needs more power to increase the capacity of his 
mill, he will if possible build his dam higher, not 
look for more water to fall uselessly over his present 
dam. We can increase the productivity of our or¬ 
chards by building up our dam of soil management by 
the addition of humus, thereby making our stream of 
fertility more available. If, with our dam built as high 
as possible and in perfect condition, we find that we 
cannot operate our mill profitably, then we have built 
by an unreliable stream, and it is just here that I 
believe the Geneva theory, “It is doubtful if land too 
poor to grow apples without fertilizers can be profit¬ 
ably converted into permanent good apple land, at 
least, by the use of the mineral manures” was made to 
apply. The mill may be so advantageously located in 
respect to markets or other conditions that it will pay 
to install other power and yet prove highly profitable. 
There are also orchards so located that extra power 
in the form of mineral fertilizers can be added very 
profitably. The experiment stations cannot give spe¬ 
cific advice for the management of every farm, orchard 
or garden; but they can glean many truths on the 
general principles that underly agricultural practices. 
It is up to the farmer and fruit grower to use plain 
common sense in applying the results of research and 
experiments to his own special conditions. 
GEO. R. SCHAUBER. 
THE TRAVELING FARM EXPERTS. 
The latest scheme which we find advocated in most of 
the papers is to hire farm experts to travel among the 
farmers and give expert advice. Large sums of money are 
to he provided for this work and the “authorities” all seem 
to favor the plans. But what do the farmers say? On 
the theory of obtaining the “consent of the governed" 
should not the farmers have a hand in this? • j. l. p. 
1 here has already been enough said about agricul¬ 
tural experts to set some farmers talking about them. 
Not that there is very much known about their work 
practically, but the probability of their value to the 
common farmer is something that farmers are discuss¬ 
ing a little. I think that many farmers are regarding 
the matter of farm experts rather favorably, perhaps 
too much so. It has come to the point where farmers 
are thinking that a man from the college knows all 
about the practical affairs of the farm. Rather I 
should say that many farmers so express themselves. 
In discussing the question, though, many say that they 
do not see how one man can know all about the best 
practice for all crops and conditions, and for all kinds 
of farming, from fruit-growing to dairying, and how 
best to carry on all these lines in all localities. As 
the matter is discussed further the importance of hav¬ 
ing for the farm expert a man who has had practical 
experience in the particular line about which he wishes 
to give instruction looms up in the mind of the prac¬ 
tical man to considerable proportions. It is suggested 
that these experts will be able to get advice from the 
colleges on such points as are troublesome to the ex¬ 
pert. This is what some farmers are talking, but as 
they go on they seem to see difficulties even in this. 
Even now they say that they can get advice from the 
farm papers and from the colleges by writing for it. 
Will the advice as it comes from the expert be any 
better than that which they get from the practical 
farmers who are called upon by our better farm 
papers to answer questions about the particular mat¬ 
ters with which they are most familiar? This is the 
question that frequently comes up after the topic has 
reached an advanced stage of discussion. There are 
those who contend that the whole thing is a scheme 
to make more jobs for those who do not care for real 
labor. To this we get the statement that such things 
must be, and that if the public can get something out 
of the affair as it goes on there will be some gain. 
Of course there will be the usual talk of all kinds, 
but I am of the opinion that at the present time our 
common farmers are rather in favor of the experi¬ 
ment. _ h. H. L. 
We understand there will be an organized boom to 
sell Black Winter ernmer—the grain which was 
described on page 705. They will try te make you 
think it is even more wonderful than “Alaska wheat.” 
This grain may pay in the Far West, but will not 
compare with oats, wheat or barley in our humid east¬ 
ern climate. Do not let emmer fool you! 
Do you know of a dairyman who would voluntarily ac¬ 
cept an animal to be used for dairy purposes, knowing the 
same to be tuberculous? 
