101 - 4 . 
trees are picked, which is another method of pre¬ 
venting loss of fruits from the select trees. 
PERFORMANCE RECORD.—We pick the trees, 
in the performance record plots and the select trees, 
one at a time. As soon as all of the ripe fruits 
from a tree are picked, they are assorted or graded, 
each grade weighed and the number of fruits 
counted. This data is recorded as soon as secured 
to avoid any possible mistakes. We use small plat¬ 
form scales, weighing from one ounce to 250 pounds 
and costing about $20. A table is arranged near the 
select trees, upon which the scales are placed, the 
fruits graded and the records made. 
We use three grades for peaches; first, including 
all of the first class, large, regular fruits; second, 
including the small, irregular and “off” type fruits, 
but suitable for low-priced market, and third, the 
culls, diseased, worthless and undesirable fruits not 
marketable. We record our individual peach data 
in a note hook arranged something like this outline: 
Variety. Date... 
Orchard. Section 
Grade 1. 
Grade 2. 
Grade 3, 
Total. 
No. 
tree. 
No. 
fruits. 
Weight 
fruits. 
No. 
fruits. 
Weight 
fruits. 
No. 
fruits. 
Weight 
fruits. 
No. 
fruits. 
Woight 
fruits. 
The date of picking each pick is important data in 
that it gives definite data as to the season of ripen¬ 
ing, a very important matter especially with peach 
varieties in every locality. With apple tree perform¬ 
ance records the same system may be used for re¬ 
cording the data. Our grading is based on the idea 
that in the first grade we will get the yield of the 
first-class valuable fruit, which is the most impor- 
tant character of production. Other grades may be 
substituted, depending on local conditions. 
At the end of the season, all of the data should 
be brought together, the total individual tree yields 
for the entire season determined, so that intelligent 
comparison of yields may be made. At the end of 
several seasons’ tests, preferably an even number of 
seasons, conclusions may be drawn as to individual 
tree behavior. 
I believe that individual tree records are as im¬ 
portant as individual dairy cow records. If fruit 
growers will just try it once, I will leave the verdict 
of the desirability of such work in their hands. Just 
because it has not been done is no good reason now¬ 
adays why it may not prove to be profitable. Dairy¬ 
men carried on their business many years before 
the Babcock test was invented, but think what an 
important function this test is in the present dairy 
business. 
We have gone comfortably along for centuries 
with our present methods of fruit culture and propa¬ 
gation of varieties, believing that a Baldwin apple 
is always a Baldwin. The growers have known 
little or nothing of the source of the buds from 
which their trees were grown, or the relation of the 
characters of the buds to the performance of the 
trees grown from these buds. We have assumed 
that there is no variability in buds. Consequently 
there has been little or no selection of buds. We 
know now that there is great variability of buds. 
Any fruit grower can easily demonstrate this fact 
in his own orchard, provided he gains some real 
knowledge of types of fruit of the varieties he grows. 
However, all the arguments pro and con on this 
subject are of little or no value. The important 
thing is for the fruit grower to study this subject 
for himself. There is no mystery about it, no costly 
experiments necessary, only a little time with the 
individual trees each season. It is healthy, fascinat¬ 
ing and interesting. Get the children interested in it. 
We are making this Summer what I call an indi¬ 
vidual tree census in several orchards. I don't know 
why I didn’t think of it before. We simply list 
every tree in young fruiting orchards as to their 
truencss to variety planted! The data we are se¬ 
curing will open the eyes of fruit growers who have 
given this subject little serious thought. It is also 
an unanswerable and powerful additional reason for 
selecting buds from select fruiting trees for propa¬ 
gation. If you don’t believe it try it in your own 
young orchard. I say young orchard because some¬ 
times in older orchards the off trees have been cut 
out. While doing it, please look for new types or 
varieties of trees. We have found several already 
this season. Look in the young orchards. 
A. D. SIIAMEL. 
The IT. S. Department of Agriculture gives the fol¬ 
lowing percentages of the wheat crop harvested through¬ 
out the world in the months named : January, five per 
cent; February, one; March, three; April, seven; May, 
four; June, 15; July, 34; August, 20; September, two; 
October and November combined, less than one; Decem¬ 
ber, three. In the United States 10 per cent of the crop 
is harvested in June, 40 in July, and 35 in August. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
BUILDING A SEPTIC TANK. 
We live on hilltop, and having a good water supply 
wish to put in proper plumbing, but are troubled what 
to do with sewage, not wishing to use cesspool that, 
may in time leak and lead to springs at the foot of 
hill. Lately we have heard of septic tanks and as yet 
have found no definite instructions as to construction 
nor the theory of consumption, but am told that some 
microbe seems to act on the solids and consume them. 
How is this done? J. H. n. 
Steubenville, O. 
A septic tank consists of a watertight, enclosed, 
underground reservoir, usually built of concrete, and 
of sufficient size to hold at least two days’ supply of 
sewage from the house which it serves. In addition 
to the tank, means must be provided for purifying 
its liquid contents after they are discharged and 
this is done in one of two ways; either by passing 
the effluent over a filter bed of sand and gravel, or 
PLAN FOR A SEPTIC TANK. Fig. 3SS. 
by discharging it through drain tiles laid just be¬ 
neath the surface of the ground. These tiles are 
simply butted at the joints, without sealing, and 
thus leave interstices through which the liquid from 
the tank can seep into the surrounding earth. The 
latter method of disposing of the effluent is prefer¬ 
able where it can be used. 
The principle upon which a septic tank works is 
based upon the action of certain bacteria which are 
always present in sewage, and which, if given suit¬ 
able conditions, will rot and liquefy the organic 
solid matter in it. These conditions are that sew¬ 
age shall remain with little disturbance in a warm 
dark place for at least 3G to 4S hours without access 
of outside air. After the solids of the sewage have 
become liquefied, the clear but poisonous fluid re¬ 
sulting must be purified by exposure to the action 
of other bacteria which work only in the presence 
DRILL FOR SOWING WHEAT IN STANDING 
CORN. Fig. 389. 
of air. This is done either in a filter bed or in the 
surface layers of the ground. 
In details of construction different types of septic 
tanks vary as widely as the ingenuity of their de¬ 
signers, but the basic principles upon which they 
depend for their successful operation are simple. 
These may be said to be: First, the necessity for a 
closed air and watertight receptacle into which the 
sewage of a house can be discharged and in which 
il can remain with as little disturbance as possible 
until the bacteria present have liquefied the solids 
in it. Second, the exposure of the liquid contents 
of the septic tank to the purifying action of bac¬ 
teria which work in the presence of air, during 
which exposure it is purified and rendered harm¬ 
less. Third, the final disposal of this now harmless 
liquid sewage in any convenient manner. 
Septic tanks in actual use have varied all the way 
from a large burrel sunk into the ground and per¬ 
mitting its contents to overflow into the surround¬ 
ing porous earth, to complicated systems with two 
or more tanks and numerous valves and switches 
for the final disposal of their contents. The char¬ 
acter of the soil and the nature of the general sur¬ 
roundings will govern in large degree any particular 
installation. The accompanying cut is given to 
illustrate a comparatively simple method of build¬ 
ing a septic tank which should work satisfactorily 
under ordinary conditions. 
For a family of from six to eight persons such a 
tank should be at least six feet long, two feet nine 
inches wide, and 4y 2 feet deep; giving a capacity of 
1 ^, 
25 gallons per person. It should, if possible, be lo¬ 
cated 10 or more feet from the house, and the top 
should be at least a foot beneath the surface of the 
ground. It is best built of concrete and is not be¬ 
yond the ability of anyone ordinarily skilled in 
concrete work. As a certain amount of insoluble 
sludge will accumulate in the course of years, a 
manhole with reinforced concrete cover should be 
provided in the receiving chamber. The inlet to 
the tank is through a four-inch vitrified sewer pipe 
from the house, and is carried well below the water 
level in the tank. This level is determined by the 
position of the tank outlet. A thick surface scum 
forms upon the contents of the tank and this should 
not be broken up by the inrush of the house drain¬ 
age. As further protection against this, a baffle 
board is sometimes placed opposite the inlet in the 
tank. Near the further end of the tank a wall with 
a narrow slot-like opening at about the level of the 
inlet forms a discharge chamber from which the 
contents of the tank are taken by a three-inch drain 
tile which either empties upon a filter bed or is 
connected with the sub-surface disposal system. The 
outlet should be about one foot below the top of the 
tank, and to prevent the entrance of floating solid 
matter, it, too, should be carried well below the 
water level in the tank. 
Where drain tile are used for the disposal of the 
effluent they should be laid in ditches about 10 
inches deep, unless they must be plowed over, when 
they may be laid 16 to 18 inches deep. Below this 
level they do not work well. There may be a single 
run of tile or several parallel runs. These runs 
should not exceed 100 feet in length and might bet¬ 
ter be not more than 50. The ditches should be 
carefully and uniformly graded with a fall of one- 
sixteenlli of an inch to the foot. If given too great 
a fall, the water will all rush to the extreme end 
and saturate the soil there while that near the 
tank will not receive any of the seepage. The ar¬ 
rangement of these tiles will depend upon the land 
and the amount at one’s disposal. They should be 
butted tightly near the tank and left more open as 
they get further away, to equalize seepage from 
them. The number of lineal feet of tile needed will 
depend upon th character of the soil. According 
to Prof. Riley of the Department of Farm Mechanics 
at Cornell University, 10 feet of three-inch tile per 
person will probably suffice in very open soil. In 
medium heavy loam, 30 feet should be used. In 
heavy clay loam. 50 feet. In very heavy soils the 
ditches may be filled with gravel after the tiles are 
laid. The more open the soil, and the nearer the 
surface that the tile can be laid, the better they 
will work. 
If circumstances prevent the use of drain tile, a 
filter bed of sand and gravel may be provided for 
the effluent from the tank to discharge upon. Such 
a filter bed should be underdrained to carry the 
purified effluent from it into any convenient stream 
or other place of disposal. It should be about three 
feet deep and have a surface area of one square 
yard for every 50 gallons of sewage discharged upon 
it daily. As the surface will need occasional renew¬ 
ing, it is well to have beds built in duplicate so that 
one can be always in use. The work of this filter 
bed is not so much mechanical filtration as it is to 
provide a home for the bacteria which purify the 
liquid sewage passing through it. Owing to the heat 
generated by chemical action in the tank, such sew¬ 
age disposal systems do not freeze, even in coldest 
weather, but in the extreme northern States it would 
be well to provide a roof over filter beds used in the 
Winter. m. b. d. 
PLANTING SWEET CHERRIES. 
I am planning to set some sweet cherries the coming 
Spring, and also some damson plum trees. The cherries 
should be set from 25 to 30 feet apart; 10x20 feet would 
be far enough for damson plums, but when set that 
close they are harder to work and keep clean. Would 
it be all right to plant the cherries 40 feet apart and 
a plum tree between, and alternate the rows so that 
the cherries would not be opposite each other? What 
are the best two crab-apples for Benzie Co., Mich.? 
Elberta, Mich. V. A. 
If the inquirer will visit the Paul Rose cherry or¬ 
chard, which is near his place, or if he has already 
.lone so, he will be impressed with the crowding of 
the trees that are set 20 feet apart even now in their 
early stages of bearing, and where they are 40 feet 
apart there will soon be little room between them. 
As this is true it seems that the 40 feet spaces 
should not be filled except temporarily. The damson 
plum trees might !>e set in the center of the squares 
of sweet cherries that are 40 feet apart, which will 
make them not far from 30 feet apart while they 
are left standing, but in about 20 years at the latest 
they will need to be taken out. In the meantime the 
plum trees should have done good service and not 
crowded the cherry trees, but there should be no 
trifling about cutting them out when the cherry 
trees need all the room. h. e. v. d. 
