1178 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 23, 
Sub-Irrigation for Onions. 
J. J. B., Demcy, Okla .—I would like to 
know the best way to sub-irrigate to raise 
and harvest onion seed. What amount of 
seed is sown to the acre? 
Ans.— According to our observation 
sub-irrigation has not proven much of 
a success. The usual way of arranging 
a sub-irrigation plan is to lay porous 
drain tiles in much the same way that 
they are laid for drainage, except that 
they should be placed closer together. 
The laterals or branch drains are usually 
of three-inch tile and are placed fouf 
to 10 feet apart, according as the ground 
is dense or porous. These are connected 
by mains, usually of four-inch tile. 
These mains are then arranged with 
openings above the ground into which 
a hose can be conducted. A main drain 
and its branches should not cover a 
very large space, never more than a 
quarter of an acre. According to the 
experience of market gardeners in New 
England the overhead method of irriga¬ 
tion, especially as in the Skinner sys¬ 
tem, has proven more economical and 
more effective. 
Onion seed is grown by keeping the 
best and strongest bulbs over Winter. 
These are then planted in ordinary gar¬ 
den rows early in the Spring and culti¬ 
vated as any other garden crop. They 
bear seed the second year. The seed is 
allowed to ripen as thoroughly as pos¬ 
sible in the field, but is picked as soon 
as it shows a tendency to shell. The 
tops are cut off and piled on a tight 
floor or some similar place. They are 
then thrashed out either by a flail or 
running through a machine with a 
coarse cylinder. They have to be care¬ 
fully cleaned and graded after this. It 
is usually recommended to sow from 
three to four pounds per acre, but the 
amount should vary considerably ac¬ 
cording to the grade of seed. Unless 
the seed is first class, it should be sowed 
at the rate of five to six pounds per 
acre. f. a. waugh. 
Experimenting With Alfalfa. 
F. A. L., Frankford, Del .—I prepared 3% 
acres of land last Spring for Alfalfa. I 
spread heavily with stable manure, 
plowed under, used live tons lime, kept cul¬ 
tivated. then July used one ton of muriate 
of potash, fine bone meal, acid rock, 3-10- 
15; about 15th of August I put in 3.000 
pounds inoculation, one bushel seed, with 
a quart of turnip seed. I think every 
seed germinated. I have had it clipped 
over once. A few stalks around the edge 
are now 10 and 12 inches high, the others 
are branching nicely, and five to six inches 
high again. Would you clip again or not? 
This piece of land is well drained on three 
sides. Do you think it will stay or not? 
I want to top-dress thinly this Fall with 
stable manure. 
Ans.— Premature cutting of Alfalfa 
always injures it. It should never be 
cut until the new growth starts at the 
crown, but in newly sown fields, if weeds 
prevail so as to be likely to choke out 
the Alfalfa, it must be cut and the ma¬ 
chine should be set high so as to leave 
as much of the Alfalfa foliage as pos¬ 
sible. Such a cutting will remove a 
larger proportion of the foliage of the 
weeds than of the Alfalfa, and thus in¬ 
jure the weeds more than the Alfalfa, 
and eventually the Alfalfa will be the 
winner. F. A. L. seems to have spared 
no labor or expense to get a good stand 
of Alfalfa, and has succeeded, though it 
would probably have been better if he 
had omitted the turnip seed. It should 
not be cut again this season, as the first 
hard frost will take off all the leaves and 
the stems will hold the snow, affording 
some protection against frequent freez¬ 
ing and thawing through the Winter, 
and thus lessen the danger of Winter 
killing. I have 11 acres, sown July 25, 
1912. It is now 15 to 18 inches high 
and practically free from weeds. I 
should consider it a little more foolish 
to plow it under now than to cut it, but 
not much. harry g. chapin. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. 
Onions, Lettuce and Cantaloupes. 
A. Cr. P., Pennsylvania .—What do you 
think is the reason tor our' farm (which is 
in Bucks County. Pa.) producing only small 
green lettuce and only small onions, sets 
and pickling size? The lettuce was grown 
from seed and the onions from both seeds 
and sots. So far we have not had any¬ 
thing larger than an ordinary good-sized 
pickling onion. Also, why, in your estima¬ 
tion, are canteloupes tasteless? 
Ans.— Not knowing anything about 
the character of A. G. P.’s soil, nor the 
kind and quantity of fertilizers used, I 
am unable to give direct answers to his 
questions. I will, therefore, give gen¬ 
eral instructions how to grow onions 
and lettuce successfully. The soil best 
adapted to either of these crops is a 
deep, rich, friable warm mold full of 
organic vegetable matter. Sandy loams 
such as are found in river bottoms and 
drained ponds are ideal for these two 
crops. On heavy clay land the onion 
bulbs are likely to remain small and be 
much stronger of taste. If the soil is 
not naturally very rich it should re¬ 
ceive 25 to 30 tons of well-rotted stable 
manure. If manure is fine it would be 
best to apply it after plowing and mix 
it with the soil with a good one-horse 
cultivator, after which the soil should 
be harrowed and raked, pulverizing it as 
finely as possible, the finer the better. 
I frequently use hen manure as a sup¬ 
plement to the rotted barnyard manure, 
applying it at the rate of one ton to the 
acre at the same time barnyard manure 
is applied, but always as a top-dressing, 
working it well into the soil with culti¬ 
vator or hand rake. Manuring in this 
manner is equally good for onions and 
lettuce. Both these crops need clean 
and frequent cultivation or they will 
only partially succeed on the best of 
land. No plant requires a more careful 
preparation of the land than the onion; 
it delights in a deep, well-drained, finely 
pulverized soil, and when a location is 
found that is suitable for onions it 
should always remain appropriated to 
the growing of that crop, notwithstand¬ 
ing the theory and general practice of 
crop rotation. 
The most common cause of canta¬ 
loupes being insipid is in allowing them 
to become over-ripe before picking. 
When they begin ripening the rows 
should be gone over early every morn¬ 
ing, as they should not be allowed to 
become yellow on the vines. The qual¬ 
ity deteriorates quite rapidly when per¬ 
mitted to ripen in the full sunshine. 
They should therefore be picked while 
still green. The right stage for picking 
is when the stem begins to crack away 
from the melon, or when the tiny drops 
of red juice appear around the base of 
the stem. When picked they should be 
put in a cool place until wanted for use. 
Heavy and frequent rains during the 
ripening period will frequently cause 
cantaloupes to be tasteless; this is espe¬ 
cially noticeable when they are grown 
on heavy and naturally cold soil. Blight, 
a prevalent disease attacking cantaloupes, 
causes the flavor of the fruit to deterio¬ 
rate to a marked degree. k. 
SHORT COURSES IN ACRICULTURE. 
Farmers’ sons and others who some day 
contemplate working the soil for profit 
should make every effort to attend the 
short courses in agriculture at the New 
Jersey Agricultural College, New Bruns¬ 
wick. N. J., this Winter. The term begins 
November 18 and terminates February 28. 
The opportunity for a full course in agri¬ 
culture at an agricultural college is a 
privilege that falls to a few, owing to the 
necessary time and expense of such a 
course, but there are few who cannot take 
advantage of the short Winter course. 
There are three courses offered in agri¬ 
culture and one in home economics. They 
are very complete and consist of a gen¬ 
eral agricultural course, a course in fruit 
growing and market gardening, and one in 
poultry husbandry. The course in home 
economics will include such special sub¬ 
jects as home management, chemistry of 
foods, sewing, cooking, laundrying, hy¬ 
giene, sanitation and emergencies. Mrs. 
Edith C. Salisbury, a practical instructor 
with much experience in agricultural col¬ 
lege work, has been secured for this new 
course. She hails from Iowa, and has had 
much experience also in Manitoba. She 
will also do considerable farmers’ institute 
work. 
The expense of any of the above courses 
need not exceed ?100, the majority of this 
being for board and lodging. Last year 
86 students were graduated from these 
short courses, 14 of them being young 
women. Farmers’ sons and daughters can¬ 
not take too great an interest in the in¬ 
tensive development of their farms. 
D. T. H. 
COMING FARMERS’ MEETINGS. 
American Land and Industrial Exposi¬ 
tion, 71st Regiment Armory, N. Y., Novem¬ 
ber 15-Decembor 2. 
Pacific Northwest Land Products Show, 
Portland. Ore., November 18-23. 
New Haven Poultry Association, annual 
show. New Haven. Conn., November 20-23. 
New England Corn Show, Horticultural 
Hall, Boston, Mass., November 20-24. 
Twin City Poultry and Pigeon Associa¬ 
tion. annual pigeon and poultry show, 
Spring City. Pa., November 27-30. 
International Live Stock, Chicago, No¬ 
vember 30-December 7. 
Sixteenth annual meeting of the TJ. S. 
Live Stock Sanitary Association, Hotel 
Sherman, Chicago, December 3-4. 
Trenton Poultry and Pigeon Association, 
annual show, Trenton, N. J.. Docnmber 2-9. 
Annual Apple Show, Ohio State Univer¬ 
sity Horticultural Society, Columbus, O., 
December 5-6. 
Ncav Jersey State Horticultural Society, 
New Brunswick, N. .T., December 9, 10. 11. 
New York State Dairymen’s Association, 
Syracuse. N. Y.. December 10-13. 
Western New York Horticultural So¬ 
ciety, Rochester, N. Y„ Decemh-- 11-13. 
Northern Nut Growers’ Association, Lan¬ 
caster, Pa.. December 18-19. 
Adams County Fruit Growers’ annual 
meeting. Bendersville, Pa., December 18-19. 
Fourth Ohio State Apple Show, Zanes¬ 
ville, O.. January 20 24. 1913. 
Cleveland, O., Fanciers’ Show, January 
20-25. 
American Breeders’ Association, Colum¬ 
bia. S. C., January 25-27. 1913. 
Massachusetts Agricultural College, Am¬ 
herst, Mass., school of apple packing. Jan¬ 
uary 23-29, 1913. 
THE OLD MIDDLEMAN STORY. 
Racine is one of the largest manufac¬ 
turing cities in the country ; it has a popu¬ 
lation of nearly 50,000 and is located mid¬ 
way between Chicago and Milwaukee, on 
the west shore of Lake Michigan. Trans¬ 
portation is ideal on both water and laud. 
We have here two railroads, two electric 
or interurban systems, as well as two large 
boat lines daily at our service, but no 
public market. The chances are we never 
will have one so long as our city officials 
are composed largely of the merchants 
who have practically no other aim or ob¬ 
ject than to guard the business interests 
of their association. Several years ago, 
when I first moved here from the East, 
I priced a Tot of potatoes for Winter use 
at one of our corner grocery stores, per 
lot of 15 bushels, 70 cents. Not being 
satisfied with quality and price, I moved 
on to another merchant down the same 
street, who quoted me for the same quan¬ 
tity and quality, 80 cents; so I expressed 
surprise, saying, “Why, I can do much 
better,’’ and gave the name and location. 
Upon my return I found that m.v demand 
for 15 bushels of potatoes had such a 
wonderful effect on raising the price per 
bushel from 70 cents to 80 cents within 15 
minutes time. It was very plain, how¬ 
ever, that the dealers had made good use 
of their telephones while I was on my 
way back to save the price of a half-day’s 
pay of $1.50. This is only one of the 
many cases of this kind common with us. 
It is very common among the larger con¬ 
sumers of produce, such as hotels, etc., to 
buy their Racine County berries from Chi¬ 
cago middlemen ; one can often see several 
hundred crates of produce shipped from 
our harbor returning as if it needed some 
of Chicago's smoky O. K. attached before 
fit for table use. geo. a. huber. 
Wisconsin. 
Hot Water System on One Levee. —Is 
it possible to heat my house with a hot 
water heater by having the heater on the 
same level as the first floor? The local 
plumber tells me it cannot be done so as to 
get good results, but cannot explain why. 
New York. n. b. k. 
BLOOD 
QUALITY 
is a health barometer be¬ 
cause we live by it and on 
it; with poor blood we are 
languid, tired, susceptible to 
colds—lack natural energy 
and ambition, but this con¬ 
dition can be promptly cor¬ 
rected with Scott’s Emulsion 
—abounding in blood-making 
properties, rich in tissue-build¬ 
ing material and so medicinally 
effective that it compels 
vigor, vitality and gives blood- 
quality. 
Scott’s Emulsion gives physical 
and mental force for child or adult. 
Scott & Bowne, Bloomfield, N. J. 12-115 
No Promise A Guarantee 
Your FURS returned without charge 
to you should we fail to give you sat¬ 
isfaction. Width today and you will 
receive Honest and Correct Quotations. 
METROPOLITAN RAW FUR CO. 
161-163 West 25th St., New York 
RAW FURS WANTED 
I PAY THE HIGHEST CASH PRICES for all 
kinds of raw furs, and GUARANTEE YOU 
THE VERY BEST RETURNS you 
can get for your furs It "ill 
pay you to got my price lists, 
and ways of doing business 
before you sell. Write to- 
without fail to 
T“ 0. L. SLENKER 
Box 23 Q East Liberty, 0. 
Raw Furs Wanted! 
Put your own price on, and if we cannot 
pay same will return at our expense. 
Write lor price list , it costs you nothing , 
WARENOFF & KLEIN 
154 W. 24th Street New York 
Mink,Musk- 
raw furs at 
prices, and 
tments and 
o everyone, 
free. 
I>ept. 29 
SKUNKM 
M. J. Jewett A Sons, Itedwood, N. Y„ 
Webuy Skunk, 
rat and all other 
highest market 
give liberal assor 
“A square deal” t 
Price-list 
RAW FURS 
G. I. POX, 279 
Seventh Ave., 
N. Y. A square 
deal, liberal an- 
sortment, top 
prices. Write 
for price list. 
LET US TAN 
YOUR HIDE. 
Cattle or Horse hide, Calf, Dog, Deer, 
or any kind of skin with hair or fur on. 
We tan and finish them right ; make 
them into coats (for men and women), 
robes, rugs or gloves when ordered. 
Your fur goods will cost you less than 
to buy them, and be worth more. Our 
lllustratod catalog gives a lot of in¬ 
formation which every stock raiser 
should have, but we never send out this 
valuable book except upon request. 
It tells how to take off and care for 
hides: how and when we pay the freight 
both ways ; about our safe dyeing pro¬ 
cess which is a tremendous advantage 
to the customer, especially on horse 
hides and calf skins ; about the fur 
goods and game trophies we sell, taxi¬ 
dermy, etc. If you want a copy send us 
your correct address. 
The Crosby Frisian Fur Company, 
571 Lyell Ave.. Rochester. N. Y. 
WE TAN 
Every kind of Skins, Horse and Cattle hides for 
Rugs, Robes and Coats. We make Ladies’ and Gents’ 
Fur Coats, Scarfs, Muffs, Gloves,etc., from skins sent 
■us to be tanned. We guarantee everything we make. 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue. 
TAXIDERMY IN ALL ITS BRANCHES 
THE PELOQUIN FUR TANNING CO., 
386 East Main St., Rochester, N. Y. 
Established 1894 
For our 27th season we again solicit your ship¬ 
ments of Raw Furs. Experience has taught 
thousands of shippers that we pay the highest 
honest market values—always. We will keep 
you posted upon actual conditions upon re¬ 
request. ^ References 
Dunn’s, Brad- Business Firm 
street’s, any in Detroit or 
Express Co., the names of 
Sany Bank, shippers from 
|Trust Co. or your section. 
Branches in Toronto, 
Leipzig, Berlin, Paris 
fM. $loman& Co. 
11 33 Congress St., West 
DETROIT, MICH. 
FUR SHIPPERS 
WE WILL PAY YOU YOUR 
OWN PRICE FOR YOUR FURS 
Make us a trial shipment stating how much you 
want for same and we will pay you as much, or 
more, than you expect, or we will return your furs, 
express prepaid. 
Send in your name and address, at once, and we 
will send tags; also u The Schoenen Fur Reporter” 
our own publication, containing market reports 
and LATEST QUOTATIONS. We keep you 
posted all winter. Write today. 
H. A. SCHOENEN 
277 Seventh Avenue, - New York, N. V. 
RAW FURS WANTED 
Write in Now for our Market 
Quotations. We will send 
ypu our Trappers’ Guide Free. 
AMERICAN RAW FUR CO. 
130 West 25th Street, New York City 
SKUNKS and ALL 
OTHER FURS 
We want them. If you have 
never written tons for a price 
list, do so at once and be kept 
posted throughout the season. 
We want Furs from the Ea-t- 
eru States ami Canada only. 
CHARLES A. KAUNE 
284 Bridge Montgomery, N. Y. 
¥Tll l* C Highest Cash 
r 8 PRICES PAID 
FOR SKUNK, MINK, MUSKRAT, ETC. 
We Guarantee Full Satisfaction or return 
furs free of charge. Send for Price List and Market 
Reports. 
J. HENRY STICHT & CO. 
46 W. 29th Street, New York. 
Positively the best firm to sell raio furs. We pay all 
express char yes and charge no commission. 
RAW FURS WANTED 
Highest Market Prices Liberal Assortment, 
Prompt Returns 
Write immediately for price list 
Louis A. Rubenstein Fur Co. 
Dept. B, 52 West 28th Street, New York 
T T? 33 3XT T I O 3KT 
Manufacturer’s Samples; Gentlemen’s black broadcloth 
Fur Lined Overcoats; lined throughout with Australian 
Mink; large Persian Lamb Collars. Sizes 3f» to 48. $80 
each. These coats have never been worn. Similar par 
ments not used as samples, retail at $75. Several Ladies’ 
Fin’s; beautiful Scarf, larpre stylish Muff, $15 set. Als*» 
few large size Fur Robes, plush lined, $1*. each. All gimtan lecil 
new. Sent by express with p-ivilege of examination 
paying for them. Remit only express charges. Write or call. 
K. ROBERTS, Room 24, 180 West 119th St., New' York. 
A. SUSKIND & CO., RAW FURS 
Formerly SUSKIND & LEVY, 159 W. 24th St., New York 
WHITE FOR OUE PRICE EIS T-IT PAYS TO HAVE ONE 
