244 
iPHE RURA1> NI5W-YORK-KR 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[ Every query must be accompanied by the 
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BUYING LIME. 
Every day brings questions about 
lime and the best form to buy. It is 
now generally agreed that lime in some 
form is needed on most soil that has 
been under cultivation for 50 years or 
more. Where we know the land is sour 
or where we think so because there is 
moss on the surface, a heavy growth of 
sorrel, where clover does not catch well, 
where table beets fail or where the soil 
packs and bakes hard we may safely 
use lime. The lime rock as it is dug or 
blasted from the soil is known as lime¬ 
stone. When some one offers us “ground 
limestone” we may known that he has 
this lime rock crushed or ground to a 
powder without being burned. When 
this lime rock is thoroughly burned in 
a kiln we have “lump,” “caustic” or 
stone lime. The burning draws off the 
carbonic acid and leaves more or less 
fine line. When this lime is left ex¬ 
posed to the air, or when water is 
poured over it the lime “slakes” or 
takes up a certain amount of water and 
is then known as “slaked” or burned 
lime. Shell lime is oyster or other 
shells ground fine or burned—the same 
as the case of the limestone. Marl is 
a form of lime found in deposits which 
contain the fossil remains of shells, etc. 
Now a farmer will find all sorts of lime 
offered him. There will be two general 
classes the raw lime ground but not 
burned, and the burned lime either in 
caustic lumps or “slaked” in various 
ways. The raw unburned limes are bet¬ 
ter for the lighter soils or where the 
land is not very sour. For sour land, 
or where a strong, quick action is re¬ 
quired, we prefer the slaked lime. In 
figuring this effect we should consider 
one pound of the slaked lime about 
equal to two pounds of the ground lime¬ 
stone. In buying you want to figure 
so as to obtain the most actual lime 
for one dollar. One dealer offers you 
ground limestone at a certain price. 
Make him guarantee the actual per cent, 
of lime his stone contains. It may be 
50 per cent, of lime, or 1,000 pounds 
in the ton. What does it cost per ton 
delivered at your station—including 
freight? Now get similar figures on 
slaked lime. They may guarantee 70 
per cent, of lime in this. You can find 
the price per pound of lime in each 
case, and to get immediate effect you 
must use two pounds of ground lime¬ 
stone to one of slaked lime. We doubt 
the wisdom of investing in the high- 
priced “hydrated” limes for ordinary 
farming. Shell lime will usually con¬ 
tain a little less lime than limestone 
when burned—depending on the amount 
of sand in the shells. We should not 
buy lime without figuring it out in this 
way to obtain the cost of a pound in 
various kinds. Do not let anyone tell 
you that they have a form of lime su¬ 
perior to any other! 
Killing Field Mice. 
I see on page 175 that R. C. H., New 
Windsor, Mo., tells his troubles with field 
mice. I have had them eat off whole frames 
of pansies and violets for me, also lettuce 
and cauliflower. I finally found a way to 
get rid of them by simply taking a small 
carrot end splitting it about half way and 
putting powdered arsenic in between. 1 
would then stick the carrots in the holes 
they had made in ground. In a short time 
I would find them all dried up in the 
frames. f. w. w. 
New York. 
I have quite a number of cold frames and 
am bothered with field mice as well as R. 
C. II. I have used the following bait for 
a number of years with good success: Take 
good kernels of hard corn and with a small 
sharp penknife cut out the soft part of the 
kernel, and lay them on an old tin pie- 
plate as close as you can with the opening 
up. Buy a bottle (about one-eighth ounce) 
of crystal strychnine, pulverize this in an 
old teacup, ifBd enough flour to make half 
a cupful, add enough water to make a 
soft dough. Now take a match, dig in the 
dough and let a drop of it fall in the 
opening of each kernel of corn. When 
the plateful is finished put in oven and 
hake brown. Stir it to prevent the dough 
from getting mouldy, as mice will not 
touch it then. A bottle of strychnine is 
enough for two or three platefuls of ker¬ 
nels. Now to see whether the mice get 
hold of it I lay every three or four sashes 
three kernels of it and can walk along and 
see through the glass whether it disap¬ 
peared or not. Be careful with all recep¬ 
tacles, as the mixture is deadly poison. 
Richfield, N. J. o. h. 
Keeping Vegetables and Meat. 
I read on page 185 method of storing 
salsify and parsnips. I will tell you my 
method, that I find very satisfactory. I 
dig them as late in the Fall as I can and 
avoid having them freeze in the ground. 
I then pack them in boxes of convenient 
size, filling all around with soil from gar¬ 
den. The boxes are placed in a shed where 
the contents will freeze. It is well to cover 
them with something so they will not thaw 
until wanted. When wanted for use I take 
a box to the house cellar where the con¬ 
tents will thaw. I pack them in small lots 
so as to thaw out a few at a time and so 
have them in better condition to use. By 
this method we have them all through the 
Winter as firm and sweet as though dug in 
the Spring. 
I will now tell you how we keep meat 
fresh through the Winter. As far back as 
I can remember my father would have the 
“home” pig killed at a time in the Fall 
when he was sure that he could freeze the 
parts that he wished to keep fresh. He 
would then wrap each piece, cut to a con¬ 
venient size, carefully in paper and bury 
deep in a bin of oats. For convenience a 
long string may be attached to each piece 
with a tag at the other end, to be left 
at the surface of the oats like a buoy on 
water. I never knew him to lose any meat 
kept in this way if used througn the Winter 
months. He also kept chickens killed in the 
late Fall through the Winter in this way. 
I have also used a box made up something 
like a fireless cooker, and by keeping it 
open when the weather was cold and closed 
when the weather was warm have had no 
trouble in keeping meat fresh into March 
and sometimes later. h. w. prince. 
Maine. 
Cover Crop for Pear Orchard. 
My pear orchard is three years set, and 
did nicely the first year, but has not grown 
the last two years. I had potatoes grow¬ 
ing in the orchard for three years, and did 
not fertilize it much. Would a crop of 
clover of some kind help it, and what time 
would I turn it under? Could I also shake 
clover on this same ground in March? The 
ground is very rough, potatoes were dug 
with a fork by hand and it was not 
dragged. Trees are all alive, but seem to 
be stunted. A. v. M. 
Le Roy, N. Y. 
These trees are like a stunted calf— 
have not had enough to eat. Very likely 
the potatoes took more out the soil than 
the fertilizer returned. Clover would cer¬ 
tainly help and you could seed it in 
March, but it is not very likely that clover 
would start and grow on such soil. You 
must use manure or fertilizer freely if you 
expect these trees to grow'. You can plant 
corn or potatoes once more using fertilizer 
heavily. 
Southwest New York Notes. 
Stinging cold weather prevailed over the 
entire western part of New' York and North¬ 
western Pennsylvania, February 13, with 
the thermometer having repeatedly gone to 
zero and a few' degrees below during the 
past 10 days. A light snowfall also covers 
the section so that much log hauling has 
been done. The ice harvest is fine and 
heavy. Eggs show decided upward tend¬ 
ency, also butter, and both commodities are 
scarce. Creamery butter sold on the James¬ 
town stree': market for 28 to 30 cents this 
w'eek, dairy at 34 to 38. Eggs retail at 
28 and 29. Reports from 17 Granges in 
this county give butter price range from 
30 to 37 cents, eggs from 22 to 26 cents. 
Country grocers generally are paying 22 
cents in trade. 
A wide range of hay prices is also re¬ 
ported, $8 to $15 per ton. In the fruit 
belt hay is much higher than elsewhere. 
Apples are not moving at all. and the top 
price for fancy barelled stock is but $2. 
Heavy work teams are bringing from $350 
to $400 a pair at auction sales; new’ milk¬ 
ers, or early springers grade cows, $60 to 
$75 apiece; yearling heifers, $30 to $35. 
Spring pigs are scarcer. Farmers are buy¬ 
ing ground limestone this Spring at round 
$2 in carload lots, buying in the Youngs¬ 
town, Ohio, section. Burned lime can be 
bought in carloads at about $4.50 to $5, 
buying also of the producers. 
Principal H. M. Bowen of Sinclairville 
(Chautauqua County) high school has se¬ 
cured a lease of a 73-acre State farm lying 
within a half mile of the school to use for 
practical demonstration and field laboratory 
work by the students in his course in agri¬ 
culture. The State owns the farm, having 
taken it on foreclosure action on a State 
loan. The lease is at the nominal figure of 
$15 per acre. This is understood to be the 
first school in the State to get possession of 
one of these State farms, but it would seem 
as if a similar opportunity lies at the 
door of every high school doing the full 
course W'ork in agriculture. L. 
Raising that Calf. 
I will suppose the calf is to be raised 
for dairy use, and while I humbly disclaim 
being authority on calf raising, my usual 
plan would be: Take the calf from the 
cow as soon as the milk is fit to use, and 
if it is one of the Channel breeds put in 
one-fourth to one-fifth skim-milk at the 
start, or a little warm water. Don’t try 
to give a full feed the first time or tw r o, 
as a healthy calf W'ill not be injured by a 
day or tw'O of short ration and will learn 
to drink quickly if kept a little hungry. 
When it drinks pretty well give five pints 
of milk that has three per cent to 3% per 
cent fat twice daily. That is the beginning. 
Now' w’atch the calf’s droppings; too much 
feed or two cold or two hot will quickly 
show. Be sure the milk is really warm 
(100 degrees) when fed, w'liich means that 
in cold weather you will always need to 
warm it. You can soon begin to w’ork in 
more skim, and at one month it should 
thrive on one quart new' and twm quarts 
skim, by six w r eeks all skim. Keep some 
good hay within reach and some bran, corn- 
meal and middlings before it. As the calf 
gets older you can increase the skim and 
give as much milk, grain, hav, silage and 
Alfalfa as it will eat greedily tw’iee a 
day, and watch the calf! ii. r. gree.vk 
Ohio. 
TREES 
—150 ACRES. Genesee 
Valley grown. “ Not the 
cheapest, but the best.” 
No San Jose Scale. 
Established I860. 
Geo. A. Sweet N ursery Co., 
catalogue FREE. 20 Maple Street, Dansville, N. Y. 
P 
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and other FRUIT TREES 
Small Fruit Plants, Shrubs, Ornamental Trees 
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Send for Catalogue. Address 
T. 13. WEST 
MAPLE BEND NURSERY, Lock Box 138, PERRY. OHIO 
BARGAINS IN NURSERY STOCK 
We Pay the Freioht and Guarantee Satisfaction. Vari¬ 
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For other bargains, write at once for 
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J. BAG BY & SONS COMPANY 
Dopt. I> NEW HAVEN, MO 
Roses, Plants, Seeds, 
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1 Shrubs, etc., 
by mail, post¬ 
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of fair dealing. 
H u n d r e ds of 
carloads of 
Fruit and 
Ornamental 
Tree s. 1,200 
acres, 60 in hardy roses—none better grown. 47 
groenhouses of Palms, Ferns, Begonias, Gera¬ 
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the queen of bedding plants. Barge assortment 
of hardy Perennial Plants, which last for years. 
168-Page Catnlog FREE. Send for it Today. 
The Storrs & Harrison Co., Box56Painesville, Ohio 
l878Grown Right .Handled Right 1913 
Cherries 4c Plums 5c Apples 8c 
Write at once for our FREE bulletin, a gold 
mine of information about buying, 
planting and growing trees. 
KING BROS. NURSERIES 
8 Oak St,, Dansville, N. Y. 
“It's Cheapest to Buy the Best'" 
'Cm 
Roots Fresh from the Soli 
Guaranteed true to name, and to reach 
you in perfect condition. Not a dissatis¬ 
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agents' prices. Freight paid on orders of 
$7.00 and over. WRITE for catalogue. 
Wm. P. Ruptm a Son. Box 20.SEIIECA.N. Y. 
Save Half Your Tree Money! 
Buy trees direct from Green at less than half 
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You get wholesale prices no matter 
how little you buy. 
This Book FREE 
Send for this interesting book, “How 
I Marie the Old Farm Pay, ** giving actual 
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valuable practical advice on caring tor 
trees, vines, plants, etc. Ask for a copy, 
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Tells about the 500,000 fine fruit 
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and describes best varieties. 
Write at once for both books. 
GREEN'S NURSERY COMPANY 
22 WaU St., Rochester, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention Djir 
B. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
EAGH & APPLE 
TREES 2c & up 
Pcnr. Cherry; Strawberry, etc.—Catnlog Free 
TENN. NURSERY CO., Box 141, Cleveland, Tenn. 
Fruit Trees 
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They deal direct with their customers, 
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grown. Write them for Price List. 
si 
HO 
iiS 
TT OFTEN han- 
A pens that you 
tv.int something extra 
choice in Flower 
Seeds or a special va¬ 
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thoroughly posted professional or amateur, 
the answer nine times out of ten will be: 
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The Diamond Jubilee edition of Dreer's 
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Mailed free to anyone mentioning 
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Dreer’s Orchid-Flowered Sweet Peas, witli 
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HenryA.Dreeri ,4CHEST ™ tsi 
.PHILADELPHIA 
KellysT&EES 
DIRECT TO YOUR ORCHARU 
' ¥ 'HAT’S the best way to buy trees. 
■A Our prices are lowest possible, ' 
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KELLY BROS. NURSERIES, 8.1 Main St., Dansville, N. Y. 
You'll Never Regret Planting Kelly Trees 
Wonderful Fall-Bearing 
Strawberries 
Fruit in fall of first year and in 
spring and fall of second year. 
Big money-maker! 
500 plants set in May yielded from 
Aug. 23 to Nov. It nearly 400 quarts 
which sold for 25c per qt. The past 
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L. J. FARMER, Box 320, Pulaski, N.Y. 
46 
BLACK’S QUALITY” 
FRUIT TREES 
NONE BETTER 
None Give Better Returns when They Fruit 
Send for our list that we can ship by 
Parcel Post 
which delivers to your door. 
PEACH and APPLE TREES 
a specialty. CATALOGUE FREE 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO. 
HICHTSTOWN, N. J. 
1847 
FRUIT TREES 
1913 
In the end Wiley’s 15©tt©r Irees cost loss. Our Free catalog shows why successful Froit Growers 
plant our trees, and who many of them are. Our family of Rural New-Yorker patrons know wo are 
found on this page annually. Hi© lSest are none too good for you who have not yet tried our trees 
§ II Q F CT I W choice of varieties for various localities, after care, etc., in 
booklet form issued separate from catalog, sent free on request 
watch mul'XTe:bear GET 0UR catalog "°w H. S. Wiley & Son, 27 Beach St., Cayuga, N. Y. 
ALLEN'S BERRY BOOK 
contains valuable information on berry and 
small fruit growing. Tells how to grow berries 
at home for profit. Gives full cultural direc¬ 
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on request. Write for your copy Today. 
BlacKberries and Raspberries 
bought from Allen are heal thy, hardy, prolific and 
true to name. Shipments carefully made of fresh, 
vigorous stock. Full line of standard varieties 
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largest grower. In business 28 years. Allen’s 
:hr r — ’ ' •' — - - 
berries thrive. 
W. F. ALLEN 
- ,****_/* v XI UCU 3 
Send for the Berry Book Today. 
Box 72 Salisbury, Md. 
