1218 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 7, 
certain per cent, to the cost price for profit. The 
middleman, to whom farm produce sales are generally 
made, fixes what he shall receive regardless of the 
cost to him; and the salesman of whatever he buys 
says what he shall pay. Here’s hoping for the glad¬ 
some day when well-organized cooperation shall re¬ 
lieve him of his dictators. In the meantime his alter¬ 
native is to produce as cheaply as possible; and to 
this end the handling of his work economically and 
expeditiously is an important factor. The tractor 
will be of material help to him where conditions are 
adapted to its use. It is not “at home” on all farms. 
The land must be what is ordinarily termed level or 
gently undulating. If the land is “rolling” the undula¬ 
tions must not be abrupt. The soil should not be 
infested with stone, neither need it be entirely free 
from them, but the presence of stone has more par¬ 
ticular application to plows pulled by engine power 
than to the use of the tractor itself. The owner of 
what may be called a traction farm can under normal 
conditions in stubble land plow from 12 to 14 acres 
a day with six engine plows. The gasoline consumed 
will be about 25 gallons. Taking the minimum figure 
for acres turned and 25 gallons used, we have this 
charge: 
Gasoline at 15.2 cents per gallon.$3.80 
Engine oil, gear oil and grease..-..85 
Owner’s time . 3.00 
Plow tender . TOO 
$8.65 
This is at the rate of 72 cents an acre, on the basis 
of the figure given for the owner's time, which I think 
will be considered a reasonable charge. If four plows 
were used and a drag or disk attached, the gasoline 
consumed would be about the same and the acreage 
of course proportionately reduced. I shall not pre¬ 
sume here to compare this work with the cost oi 
doing it with horses. Every farmer can. figure that 
for himself. In my own experience I have never 
hired plowing done for less than $2 an acre, and also 
boarded the teams and men. 
A HARD SEASON.—The foregoing has been writ¬ 
ten with normal weather conditions in mind. I do not 
pretend to say that in Fond du Lac County, Wiscon¬ 
sin, the operation of a tractor has been one round of 
joy in 1912; neither has it been in operations with 
horses. There is, of course, this differenceHorses 
can wallow through where a tractor will whirl its 
drivers and require fence posts to crawl out on. I am 
free to confess that, in common with my neighbors, 
my plowing is not all done, I have not sown a bushel 
of Winter grain, and the bank spoken of still has 
plenty of deposits. But this would not have been the 
case had Nature been fairly reasonable. Ever since 
early Spring rains have descended and Hoods have 
come as if preparing to float another ark. The season 
now waning into “chill November’s surly blast” has 
disorganized the farmers’ plans of operation ever since 
it opened. So it is that I have not had the use of 
my tractor that would have been afforded if the patient 
tillers of this section had not been floating in a sea of 
mud, instead of glory, since April wept. 
VARIED USE OF TRACTOR.—But, withal, I 
doubt if any purchaser of a tractor that is reliable 
under fair tests would care to dispose of it because 
he cannot always use it when he can use horses. 
Ever ready for the belt, if not for the draw-bar, it 
is the nearest to an all-around farm power plant yet 
produced. It can be used on the highway for road 
work or hauling when the fields are too soft for it. 
There is a great saving of time in hauling several 
wagon loads at one trip. Each wagon should be 
equipped with a stub tongue and a “U” on the rear 
axle. My experience in hauling for carload ship¬ 
ments of hay and sugar beets has convinced me of 
the time-saving qualities of traction power. I have 
tried it out in the grain field, where binders attached 
to it run as steadily as the throbbing of the engine; 
no reaching out with a long stick to punch the “third 
horse,” which invariably learns to favor its tugs. Last 
Fall I plowed, disked and harrowed in one operation 
for Winter wheat and rye, leaving the ground ready 
for the drill. As to power for pulley-driven machin¬ 
ery, my tractor takes the farm thrasher, “sets” it 
where wanted, turns about and lines up for the belt; 
or, if there be a scarcity of help, it will haul a string 
of wagons loaded with bundles to the machine, and 
then furnish the power to thrash the grain. It will 
run the silage cutter, the husker, the feed mill—any¬ 
thing with a pulley on it. And this double-opposed 
engine will operate the machinery as steadily as if 
steam-driven, and requires no engineer to watch it, 
nor a team hauling water to allay its thirst. It simply 
asks that it be supplied with gasoline, proper lubri¬ 
cants, the occasional replenishment of water lost by 
evaporation, and be given the inspection and care due 
to any piece of machinery of its class. 
I believe in the farm tractor; and I predict that 
in 10 years it will be a part of the equipment of the 
majority of farms of 200 acres and upwards, which 
are adapted to its use. The boys of the farm will 
find diversity in its manifold uses, and companionship 
in the life of its mechanism. In the accompanying 
cuts Fig. 505 shows my tractor pullicg four 14-inch 
plows and a three-horse disk, thus doing the work 
of 11 horses. I have also used it with a half section 
of a drag back of the disk, which would require one 
horse. An Acme harrow has sometimes been used 
in place of the drag, which would require two horses. 
In “lagging up” ground I have worked two disks, one 
just back of and slightly lapping the other, two Acme 
harrows united for four*horse hitch, and a two-horse 
drag, attached in the order named. The hay-hauling 
scene, Fig. 506, is on the highway between farm and 
railway siding. At the time this picture was taken 
the tractor would easily have pulled two more wagon 
loads. H. A. BUSH. 
Fond du Lac Co., Wis. 
GRAFTING IN THE FALL. 
Last Spring Charles Black of New Jersey told of graft¬ 
ing apple trees in Winter. When he reported the grafts 
were promising. What was the outcome? I have much 
grafting to do, and if part of it could be done in Winter 
it would be a help. c. v. 
Missouri. 
I said I set 16 grafts early in December and more 
on Christmas Day. In those set first there was not a 
single failure, but of the lot set on Christmas a few 
failed owing to not being able to make the wax work 
well. These grafts were set in a good-sized apple 
tree, and the remainder of the tree was grafted in 
April at the usual time, and no one can tell the De¬ 
cember set from those set in April. All have done 
well and made a good growth. I feel satisfied from 
my experiment that grafts can be set (if properly 
done) any time after the tree becomes perfectly 
dormant,- or from November until Spring. There is 
no particular advantage in setting grafts in the Fall 
or Winter, only to those who do not have the oppor¬ 
tunity to do it in the Spring. Anyone who makes 
claims that the Fall grafting is advantageous and 
makes extra charges for it is humbugging the public. 
The principle is that the same amount of circulation 
of sap in Winter that keeps life in the branches of 
a tree will keep the properly set graft alive also. 
Many contend that there is no circulation of sap in a 
dormant tree, but there is a certain amount or the 
tree would shrivel up the same as a detached branch. 
New Jersey. Charles- black. 
CULTURE OF HORSERADISH. 
1. What is the best soil for raising horseradish and 
what methods are employed? Where can you sell ginseng? 
Maryland. G. G. 
Horseradish requires a deep, rich loam, such as is 
found in the best market gardens, for the develop¬ 
ment of good marketable roots. It will not succeed 
on poor or thin soil; a piece of ground naturally 
moist and other soil conditions being favorable makes 
an ideal location for a horseradish garden. ' If the 
soil is not naturally rich it must be made so by heavy 
applications of manure, not less than 40 loads to the 
acre, turned under deeply. The deeper the ground is 
plowed, the better; the roots being the part used, 
nothing should be left undone that will encourage 
highest development. In most of the large market 
gardens in the vicinity of the large Eastern cities 
horseradish is usually grown as a secondary crop, 
being planted among cabbage, cauliflower or beets, 
which it succeeds, and is planted in the following 
manner: When the ground is marked out for early 
cauliflower or cabbage a one-foot marker is used. 
Every alternate row is first planted with the cauli¬ 
flower or cabbage, which stand when planted two 
feet apart between the rows and 18 to 20 inches apart 
in the row. After the planting of these crops is 
finished, the horseradish is planted between the rows 
and at about 16 inches apart in the row, which is 
usually done about the latter part of April. The 
planting of the horseradish is done by making a 
hole, eight to 10 inches deep, with a light iron bar 
or long planting stick. Into each hole a set is dropped 
so that its top will be about three inches underground. 
The soil should be pressed in alongside the set so as 
to fill up the hole. 
The principal reason for planting the set so deep 
is to delay its coming up until the crop of cabbage 
or cauliflower is cleared off. As the horseradish 
makes its main growth in the Fall, it will suffer no 
injury if kept from growing until the latter part of 
June or forepart of July. If any of the sets should 
start into early growth, the tops can be chopped off 
with the hoe without injury. The roots or sets are 
cut into pieces four to five inches long, and should 
be made from roots one-fourth to one-half inch in 
diameter, the top end being cut off at right angles 
and the lower end diagonal so as readily to distinguish 
the top from the lower end of the root at time of 
planting. The sets when prepared are tied in bundles 
of fifty to 75 and are stored away in boxes of sand, 
being careful to get sufficient sand between the bunches 
to prevent them from heating. They can either be 
kept in the boxes in a cool cellar or buried in the 
ground; the open ground is preferable. 
2. Ginseng is usually sold through fur dealers or 
commission merchants. A number of firms handling 
raw furs make a specialty of ginseng. 
THE LUTHER BURBANK SOCIETY. 
I have something for you to investigate. A friend 
of mine writes to me about the Luther Burbank So¬ 
ciety, asking if I would advise his joining it. The 
letter inviting him states that he will be “one of .its 
first 100 life members.” Now, as he is an intelligent 
but unobtrusive member of society, the query evi¬ 
dently in his mind, as it is in mine, is why he should 
be selected to be one of the first hundred life members 
while there are thousands far more distinguished, if 
not more worthy. For example, why should he be 
selected while such distinguished men as Roosevelt, 
Wilson, Taft, Secretary Wilson, Dr. Wiley, John 
Sullivan and “Smoky Joe,” the famous baseball 
pitcher of the Red Sox, are passed over? 
Perhaps these men are already enrolled, have paid 
their $1 “application fee” and have agreed to pay $10 
per month for 15 months, until $150 is paid, for full 
membership; whereupon they will be entitled to 12 
volumes of Luther Burbank’s works, “bound strictly 
for the life members of the Luther Burbank Society,” 
which, according to the by-laws of the society, may 
be extended to 500, but according to the secretary of 
the society, “its present intention is to limit member¬ 
ship very rigidly, in order that a truly representative 
body of men from many varied lines of industry may 
be enlisted in the cause.” 
I note in the membership “acceptance” that there 
are already 43 distinguished men and women enrolled, 
and as my friend comes, by number, early in the 
second half of the first hundred, he naturally feels 
very much flattered (and who would not?), inasmuch 
as it entitles the exclusive century member to some 
additional valuable perquisites in the shape of original 
proof sheets “bound in loose leaf covers,” colored 
photographs, a card of admission to Luther Bur¬ 
bank's experiment farms, a similar admission to half 
a dozen friends of the representative subscribers, and 
finally “each life member is requested to submit his 
own suggestions, but is not bound to do so.” 
Now, although my friend is not a distinguished 
horticulturist, he, no doubt, might be able to make 
valuable suggestions with reference to crossing cu¬ 
cumbers with cauliflower for pickling purposes and 
corn with beans for ready-grown succotash. All 
this, of course, appeals to one, especially as he is to 
be one of the first hundred, and only 500 enrolled 
all told. He wants to know if, in my opinion, the 
honor, and incidentally the books, and especially the 
perquisites, are worth the price, namely $151. I con¬ 
fess I do not know, so I appeal to you. I enclose 
documents, which kindly examine and return with 
your opinion on the same. a. r. 
R. N.-Y.—Well, sir, we, personally, will hold on 
to the $151 and let some one else share these honors. 
The letter to which our friend refers is a printed 
circular, accompanied by a little book. We have 
already received 30 or more of these letters. Our 
judgment is that thousands of them have been sent 
out, and each man who receives one feels that he has 
been selected as one of 58 great and noble characters 
to shine as “life members” and incidentally put up 
$151. Among the persons given as members already 
elected are Helen Gould, Jane Addams, Champ Clark, 
etc. It would be a man of some character who would 
not feel flattered at the invitation to walk through 
life arm in arm with such people. If “A. R.” wants 
our opinion of this game we give it cheerfully| It 
looks to us like the slickest scheme for milking money 
out through a man’s bump of vanity that ever went 
down the road flirting for suckers. 
No sale for Danish cabbage even at $2 per ton. City 
people still paying, I suppose, 10 cents a head, or about 
$80 per ton. e. 
Geneva, N. Y. 
We take this question for a little examination of the 
35-cent dollar. At the time the question was received 
Danish cabbage wholesaled at $6 to $8 here. At retail 
this cabbage brings from two to four cents per pound. 
This difference depends upon quality and where the 
cabbage is bought. You pay more for “style” even in 
cabbage at some stores. Loose and small heads mav 
sell at one cent. Probably 2 1 / cents a pound would 
be a fair average, and this means $50 per ton ! Our 
friend may figure the size of the producer’s dollar for 
himself. 
