134 4 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
t Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of ^the -writer to insure 
attention. Before asking a question, please sea 
■whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
Apples For Grape Fruit. 
I notice you have had considerable to 
say of late upon the subject of apples, 
and in your last issue apples vs. grape¬ 
fruit. My family and I ar» veij fond 
of apples, but we cannot „et good ones 
here; have been trying j.or several sea¬ 
sons to inspire some farmer in the apple 
country to send us a barrel of good 
apples, not Ben Davis, good apples all 
through the barrel, for which we will 
ship him later, when the fruit is ripe, a 
box of grapefruit or a box of oranges, or 
half of each. We sell a good share of 
our fruit on private orders and get $3 
per box here, f.o.b. for it. We deal only 
in first-class fruit, and should expect to 
have only that kind of fruit sent us. 
Thus far we have been unable to get a 
“x’ise.” The “merry farmer” is likely 
suspicious of anything South of the Ma¬ 
son and Dixon line. If you happen to 
hear of some one who might risk a 
plunge of this kind I wish you would 
break the news to him, and let me know 
how much I owe you for your trouble. 
But nothing but good fruit, all of it, that's 
the kind we ship. J. w. B. 
Palma Sola, Fla. 
R. N.-Y.—The chief reason for start¬ 
ing our Department of Subscribers’ Ex¬ 
change was to help out just such cases 
as this. In the nature of things we can¬ 
not hope to have personal acquaintance 
with all who would like such an exchange. 
Yet in the 250,000 or more who read Tiie 
R. N.-Y. there must be many who want 
grapefruit. The place to find them is in 
this Subscribers’ Exchange. We make 
this same suggestion to dozens of other 
readers who want customers for other 
farm produce. 
Indian Buckwkeat. 
Quite likely the man who asked about 
Indian buckwheat, page 1201, was think¬ 
ing of what we call India wheat. They 
are similar in some respects and very dif¬ 
ferent in others. The grain of India 
wheat is rough instead of being smooth 
like beechnuts; the flower is of the same 
color as the leaves, which are light green. 
When ripe it shatters off very easily and 
must be handled very carefully. When 
about one-third of the kernels have 
turned brown it should be mowed on a 
damp day, or when the dew is on, and 
each swath made into small rolls. Take 
a rake and reach out far enough to get 
a roll not over IS inches in diameter 
when finished, roll towards you lightly 
without bearing down on it. Roll it un¬ 
til it will stay in shape, then leave it 
and continue. After drying a few days 
turn it over carefully. In a week of good 
weather it will be dry enough to thrash, 
but should be turned after the dew is 
off, the day it is to be thrashed, to dry 
the under side. It should be thrashed as 
fast as drawn in, as moisture in stalks 
will spread and dampen the whole. When 
I was a boy we used to dump a load on 
the barn floor and drive the oxen about 
over it. It is one of the best feeds I 
know of for laying hens, and will fatten 
pigs fully equal to cornmeal. When 
grist mills were fashionable in the coun¬ 
try we could get the grain ground and 
bolted, and the flour made good cakes 
for fritters. My old horse likes the straw, 
and if cut green it makes good feed for 
cows giving milk. o. H. L. 
New Hampshire. 
Seeds of a Bush Strawberry. 
We have a reader in the Hudson Val¬ 
ley, who is a railroad agent, and con¬ 
siderably interested in plant growing. 
Last Summer he 'received a call from a 
party in an automobile, who were travel¬ 
ing from the West. He talked with them 
about fruit growing in the Hudson Val¬ 
ley, and they displayed considerable in¬ 
terest. Not long after he received a 
letter from one of this party, who stated 
that shortly after leaving him they had 
observed a curious strawberry field near 
the road. This they said was a straw¬ 
berry patch consisting of strawberry 
bushes which grew in hills, and not in 
vines as was usual with them. Being in¬ 
terested in novelties they wished to 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 20, 
know the name of the owner of this re¬ 
markable patch, and better yet, they 
would like to obtain seeds of this new var¬ 
iety so that they might plant them and 
secure a crop. Of course, our friend did 
his best to satisfy these people, but prob- 
bably this is a fair sample of what we 
may call automobile horticulture. Where 
one travels rapidly through the country, 
things seen by the roadside are often ex¬ 
aggerated one way or another. The idea 
of planting seeds of a bush strawberry is 
an excellent one for a “back-to-the-land- 
er,” and the practical man on the farm 
knows how to take such a request. If 
our friend the railroad agent had only 
been a guff manufacturer, what a chance 
he would have had to dry out an ounce 
of the seeds of the Columbian raspberry, 
and ask his new-found friends to pay him 
$5 for the lot. 
A Weil in Quicksand. 
I saw in a recent issue an inquiry 
about getting a well in quicksand. A few 
years ago I got one in this way: After 
repeated failures to get one by driving 
a pipe we dug down to the quicksand a 
hole about six feet in diameter, then we 
put in a crockery barrel without a head, 
and worked that down in the quicksand by 
laying a board across, forcing the barrel 
down and shoveling out the sand inside. 
Now comes the material part. Just throw 
in two or three loads of gravel, keep the 
point of driven pipe (using pitcher pump) 
just below the gravel, and as you pump 
out the quicksand the gravel will take 
its place, and about two loads of gravel 
will make screen or reservoir for all the 
water needed. I got a well that supplied 
the whole neigliborhool when it was 
deemed about impossible to curb back the 
quicksand to dig an ordinary well. Fig. 
533 shows the plan. This pipe point 
must draw the sand just below the gra¬ 
vel all the while, and in that way you 
can get the gravel to settle down below 
water level, and in fact get as much re¬ 
servoir as you desire. The barrel need 
not be used, but after all it confines the 
gravel to start with, and aids in getting 
out some sand to begin with shovel. You 
will see the pumping makes a funnel- 
shaped vacuum that the gravel follows in. 
New York. H. c. iiarpending. 
Quicksand in Well. 
In The R. N.-Y. of Nov. 15. on page 
1227, “E. H. B.” of Island Creek, Mass., 
makes an inquiry about quicksand in 
his well, and I would like to give him 
some information, as I had the same ex¬ 
perience with a driven well. I drove 12 
feet and struck quicksand, but had to 
drive 35 feet. E. H. B. would better 
drive below the quicksand, with his 1 Vi- 
inch pipe, then take a *4-inch pipe and 
have it cut into eight or 10-foot lengths 
and slip one into the 1’4-inch pipe, or 
enough to reach down about an inch from 
the sand; put a reducing connection on 
pitcher pump and connect onto small 
pipe and pump water out of 1’4-inch 
pipe; then pour in more and pump out 
again, etc., and as sand lowers connect 
on another piece of ’4-inch pipe. If the 
well is outdoors E. II. B. need not cut 
his ’4-inch pipe in short lengths, but 
put up a platform to stand on. Do not 
let ’4-inch pipe rest on the quicksand, 
for if you do when you pump it will 
suck up into ’4-inch pipe and plug that 
too. You could have a well drilled and 
the sand cased out. A well driller will 
know all about that. It will cost about 
$1 to $1.25 per foot to drill, the driller 
to furnish six-inch casing at that price. 
Do not let quicksand stay in the well 
pipe too long, or it will pack so you 
cannot pump it very well. M. E. D. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
Hastening Decay of Straw. 
I have come into possession of an old 
stack of spoiled rye straw, partly rotted. 
Is there anything I could put with the 
straw in the form of chemicals to hasten 
decay, and to make it more equal to barn¬ 
yard manure, I intend to move the straw 
in a short time to another place. 
Grifiin Corners, N. Y. H. a. j. 
Probably a quantity of slaked lime 
put with the damp straw will hasten de¬ 
cay. We should put it in the manure 
pile, under the stock or in the barnyard 
where the cattle can tramp it, or use it 
as a compost about as we have advised 
for muck—mixing manure in with it and 
keeping it moist. To make it “more equal 
to manure” you should add acid phosphate 
and muriate of potash to the rotted straw. 
On reasonably level land we should haul 
the straw right to the sod ground and 
spread like manure. Leave it exposed to 
the weather over Winter and in the 
Spring plow under. 
Niagara County. —From our little 
town of Barker, 447 cars of fruit were 
shipped last Fall. Owing to the open 
Fall, farmers are working every day. 
Many are doing Fall plowing, hoeing 
around trees, ditching and doing all kinds 
of odds and ends. Owing to early frosts 
the corn fodder which has been drawn in 
is spoiling. Cabbage is selling at $15 to 
$18 per ton. Practically no potatoes 
shipped. Fruit growers are planning to 
set a large acreage of fruit in the Spring, 
in the face of the fact that apples are not 
keeping well. The N. Y. C. & H. R. R., 
handling the fruit so well the past season 
will be a great factor towards increasnig 
the acreage. M. H. L. 
Barker, N. Y. 
Teacher : “The inventor of pins did 
more for the world than the inventor of 
pyramids. Why is that Johnny?” John¬ 
ny Thikhed: “Because, ma’am, you—er 
—er can’t bend a pyramid and put it on 
the seat of a chair.”—Melbourne Austral¬ 
asian. 
Motorist (who has run over a patri¬ 
archal fowl) : “But the price is very 
high. The bird’s in his second child¬ 
hood!” Irish Peasant: “It’s the thrue 
word yer honor’s spekin’; thim young 
chickens is terrible dear at this saison.” 
—Punch. 
Professor (in wood, to children gath¬ 
ering mushrooms) : “Aren’t you afraid 
you’ll poison yourselves some time eating 
them?” Fritz: “Nah!” Professor: 
“Then you probably know the poisonous 
from the edible ones?” Fritz: “Nah! 
We’re gathering these to sell.”—Flie- 
gende Blatter. 
“FRIEND” SPRAYERS 
MAKE GOOD 
(Send for new catalog just off the press) 
About four years ago I purchased one of your 
power sprayers which has been giving excellent 
service ever since, spraying as much as 20,000 
gallons annually. U. W. HARSHMAN 
August 1, 1913. Waynesboro, Penn. 
"FRIEND” MFG. COMPANY, Gasport, N. Y„ U. S. A. 
Pulverized raw phosphate—1J per cent Phosphorus Guar¬ 
anteed analysis with every car. AGENTS WANTED— 
TERRITORY ASSIGNED. Puts strength in your aoil 
and money in your pocket, Attractive price your R. R. 
Station. Write The Haserot Canneries Co., Cleveland, O. 
STRAWBERRIES 
Write for this beautifully illus¬ 
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for fruit growers, farmers and 
gardeners. Lists and describes 
Allen’s hardy, prolific, correctly 
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Write today for free copy 
W. F. ALLEN 
72 Market St., Salisbury, Md. 
HUNDREDS OF CARLOADS OF 
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CANNAS, the queen of bedding plants. Acres of 
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choice collections cheap, in Seeds, Plnnts, Roses, 
etc. For Fruit and Ornamental Trees ask for Catalog 
No. 1, 112 pages; for Seeds, Everblooming Roses, Gan¬ 
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general. Catalog No. 2, 192 pages. Both Free. (73) 
Direct deal will insure you Ihe best at least cost. Try it. 60yrs, 
The Storrs & Harrison Co., Box 297 Painesville.0. 
$ $ $ In $ $ $ 
Fruit 
Trees 
REPRESENTATIVES 
We have a good proposition for responsible, ener¬ 
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HtriT GROWERS—You can buy from us at right 
prices for quality trees. Northern-grown and full 
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THE BARNES BROS.NURSERY CO.,Box 8,Valesville. Conn, 
You fake no chances when 
buying Eberle’s seeds, bulb 3 
or plants. They are absolutely 
fresh and reliable. Cannot fail 
to thrive under fair conditions. 
r Our large and varied stock con¬ 
tains every variety worth growing. 
Eberle’s 1914 Seed Annual— Free 
This well-illustrated book tells you all 
about our choice seeds, bulbs and 
plants. Brimful of helpful information 
about planting and cultivating. 
Get your free copy—today. 
FREDERICK W. EBERLE, 
118 South Pearl St., Albany, N.Y. 
S WF.F.T CLOVER SF.F.Il— The true white blooming variety. 
(Melilotus Alba.) Write for free samplo of new crop, 
seed and latest prices. IIEMtV FIELD, Shenandoah, (owe 
) 7 or Two New Yearly Subscrip¬ 
tions, or Twenty Ten-Week 
Trial Subscriptions 
YOUIKttN’S house¬ 
hold GUIDE 
AND DICTIONARY OF EVERY-DAY 
WANTS 
By Prolessor A. E. Y0UMAN.M.D. 
540 Large Octavo Pages—Cloth 
Size, D 4 by 6 inches 
Contains Twenty Thousand Recipes in Every 
Department of Human Effort, and will save 
$100 a Year to All Who Own It 
N O trade, profession, or occupation but what 
is represented therein. The Housewife, 
Carpenter, Builder, Blacksmith, Farmer. 
Stock Raiser, the Sick will find aids , and 
suggestions therein invaluable. It is impos¬ 
sible to enumerate every particular branch of 
every employment that Youman’s book does not 
advance new and valuable information thereon. 
It has what many other books of a similar 
character has not, a most thorough and com¬ 
plete index comprising twenty large pages, 
three columns on a page, so that anything in 
the book can be found in a moment. 
The reader will understand that it is utterly 
impossible to insert in this notice even the 
merest mention of the vast amount of infor¬ 
mation contained in the large, double-column 
540 pages of Youman’s Household Guide. The 
book itself must be seen to be fully appreciated. 
These articles are not given with n subscrip¬ 
tion to the R. N.-Y., but are given to the agent 
as a reward, in place of cash, for extending the 
subscription list of the U. N.-Y. 
The Rural New-Yorker, 333 W. 30th St., N. Y. 
KINGS 
FRUIT TPPC Rill I FTIN tells yon the whole story of the 
rnuil I nut DULLl I III nursery business in Western Now 
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growing trees. Please lot us show you. Write for free copy now. 
KING BROS. NURSERIES, Dansville, N. Y. Est. 1878 
APPLE Trees. 2-yr.. A to 7 ft. <S) S120.Q0 per l.OOO. 
BEAN MIDGET ONE-MAN SPRAYER 
Why depend on trifling help to spray your orchard or 
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ists and truck growers/ Investigate tho Midget before 
buying. Thirty-years of experience back of this Sprayer. 
Write for new 1914 Catalog—FREE 
THE BEAN SPRAY PUMP COMPANY 
30 First Ave. 
BEREA, OHIO 
Wsstorn Factory 
San Jose, Cal. 
■Ml 
