1QO 
and has come when the farmers look to the associa¬ 
tion for a solution of their troubles, same as the 
chickens go to the old hen when night comes. As 
an illustration, several farmers who have been 
thrown out of the big plants because of barns that 
would not come up to the standard of the New York 
Board of Health, have been provided for by taking 
their milk to our plant. They have to contribute 
two cents per 100 pounds of milk for all milk de¬ 
livered to our Castor plant and when this amounts 
to $5 they are given a share of stock. This has 
forced several farmers to join the association. One 
farmer did too much talking to suit the managers of 
the Mutual and Selkirk plants, and they told him they 
would not take his milk any more. He had to find 
another place for it and incidentally lost no time 
in joining the association. In any organization like 
this there must be some men who are willing to 
do a lot of work without any pay. No director is 
allowed to receive pay for his services. There are 
several directors and individual stockholders in this as¬ 
sociation who have worked long hours and unceas¬ 
ingly without ever receiving or expecting to receive 
anything substantial for their work, except the con¬ 
sciousness that they were engaged in a good cause. 
The treasurer has run and raced over the town to get 
the $5 from individuals who ought to have felt it a 
privilege and a pride to belong to and help contribute 
toward such a worthy organization without having 
to be drummed up for it. 
Many farmers have expressed the thought that the 
association was worth whatever they had paid into 
it, merely in giving them an idea as to how the 
business of corporations is run, to say nothing of 
the other benefits. Those who attend the meetings 
are enthusiastic, as are the directors, and sanguine 
of the permanent success of the association. If 
there is a man “knocking” it is somebody who never 
attends the meetings and does not know what is 
being done. 
Now, what have we accomplished? First, we 
have shown that the 'farmers can be held together 
through common business interest. We have shown 
the big companies that we can do business and they 
must pay us what milk is worth or we will make it 
up ourselves. For some time, we have been receiv¬ 
ing on an average 10 cents per 100 pounds of milk 
more from the big companies than they are paying 
in other places close to us. This means that our 
association has caused over $5,000 to be distributed 
among the farmers in this locality during the past 
two years, more than otherwise would have been, had 
our society not been in existence. This is enough 
to make one sit up and take notice. In our Castor 
plant the milk has averaged to pay 15 cents per 
100 pounds more, made into cream, butter and cheese, 
than when taken to the plants of the Mutual and 
Selkirk companies. Add 10 cents per 100 for whey 
and it makes a difference of 25 cents per 100 in 
favor of our plant. At present (December) the 
maker in the Castor plant agrees to guarantee $2.25 
per 100 pounds of milk to any party who will draw 
his milk there. Add 10 cents for whey and it figures 
$ 2.35 per 100 pounds. The Mutual Milk & Cream 
Co. are paying $1.95 for all milk delivered here in 
Pulaski during December. This makes a difference of 
40 cents per 100 pounds in favor of patronizing our 
own factories. It would seem that the Mutual and 
other companies would have to pay as much for our 
milk next Summer as our own plants pay if they 
are to get a share of it. The farmers around Pulaski 
have signed their names to papers reading that they 
will either patronize the Holmes factory (our plant) 
or they will take stock in the association to the amount 
of two cents per 100 pounds for all the milk produced 
on their respective farms during the year 1910. The 
directors insisted on this pledge before they felt safe 
in going ahead and equipping the plant. It looks to 
the writer this way, that either one or more of the 
three plants around here would remain idle or else 
there would be “something doing” in prices in the 
milk business about Pulaski next season. 
L. J. FARMER. 
COOPERATION WITH CORN AND BERRIES. 
S. W. Zinn, of Bourbon Co., W. Va., sends us the 
picture shown on the first page. As a rule we would 
not advise corn in berries—low-growing crops do 
better with us. Mr. Zinn explains why he planted 
the corn below. The boy standing on the ground 
is six feet tall, while the boy on his shoulders is four 
feet. This gives an idea of the way that corn stood 
up. Mr. Zinn says: 
“This piece of ground was on the west hillside, 
and very poor land when it was set out in raspberries. 
I had it in berries four years; there was nearly 
one-fifth of an acre in the piece. This ground had 
some bone meal on it, 100 pounds, one time while 
in berries, and the briers were mulched with leaves 
two or three times. I raised about 400 gallons of 
r r rv*Ji^A.L^ is;i4 vV-vci 
berries the year before it was in corn, but that Fall 
we had an October freeze, which nearly killed all 
of the canes, so the next Spring I plowed up every 
other row and planted in corn about May 20 , cutting 
all of the dead canes out. That Summer the old 
briers made a thick growth of long'spindling canes 
which you can see in the picture. That did con¬ 
siderable damage to the corn. A friend in Oklahoma 
sent me the corn, and it came very late. This corn 
was topped and bladed to see if this would not cause 
it to ripen after we had .some frosts to nip the 
blades, but very little of it matured fit for seed. There 
were 960 stalks of this corn, and there were 1480 
ears on them, so you see it would have.made a very 
large yield if it had it matured. There were 35 
bushels of ear corn on the piece. It was planted 
six feet one way by three the other. This corn never 
would manure here very well. The reason I give 
for the great growth this corn made was the humus 
that was added to this soil, for the corn had no 
manure nor fertilizer either when planted. I be¬ 
lieve if this had been planted early there would have 
been 50 bushels of ear corn on this piece.” 
NOTES FROM AN ILLINOIS FARM. 
Possibly mv observations and experiments on my 
farm during the past year may be of interest to some 
of your readers. I Fall-plowed stubble land soon 
after the crops were harvested, and with some Spring 
plowing for a comparison, find the Fall a very ma¬ 
terial benefit on the crops of wheat, barley, oats and 
corn. Spreading fine manure on the surface and disk¬ 
ing in has proven much more beneficial to all crops 
than in plowing under. We use a drill for all small 
grain. 
In treating seed oats with formalin, they were en¬ 
tirely free from all smut, yielding 65 bushels, quality 
good. Barley requires good rich black soil and a well- 
prepared seed bed on Fall plowing. As soon as the 
crop was off the ground we disked the ground, sowed 
millet, when about knee high plowed this under for 
corn crop next year. Winter rye was top-dressed 
during the Winter with manure, dragged over in 
Spring, cut and used for cow feed when 18 inches and 
over; last cutting seven feet high, and very thick; 
plowed the ground soon as rye was removed, and 
planted to sweet corn. Result, a heavy second crop 
for fodder, with some of the corn matured, cut and 
shocked before frost, and find such stalks very proli¬ 
fic in milk yield. Oats and peas mixed, drilled in for 
cow feed, were cut and used daily" as required; as 
soon as crop was off, sowed to millet, which mat¬ 
ured a good second crop. In a careful test with 
corn on Fall plowing it has proven far better than 
that of Spring plowing. We shall in future plow all 
possible in the Fall for all crops, including the gar¬ 
den. We worked our corn until five feet high, dis¬ 
carded all our shovel corn plows, use drag and knife 
surface corn cultivators, both ways; yield 76 bushels, 
quality good. 
We ar.e getting our crops in earlier than formerly, 
and it proves beneficial so far. Potatoes were planted 
early and late on Spring and Fall plowing; no appar¬ 
ent difference in the crop. We disposed of all scab 
by sulphur treatment to the seed before planting. In 
using prepared commercial fertilizing for different 
crops, we could see no benefit to potatoes, oats 
and barley; wheat somewhat improved, and corn 
benefited by more growth of stalk and yield of 
grain; still the quality was no better. My ground, 
though is in general good condition. Last Winter we 
put four yards per acre of crushed limestone on 
some 20 acres. The soil seems benefited, works 
more free and is mellow, and we think even now 
the crops look somewhat better for its use. Alfalfa 
succeeds better with us on high clay soil. In top¬ 
dressing we used crushed limestone freely, and in 
the use of fertilizers we find chicken manure far 
superior. In our general hay crop we cut in after¬ 
noons, rake up about noon next day, draw in at once 
all possible; have discontinued horse hayforks, using 
slings. 
My silo and the machinery stand unused. While I 
have no objection to silage, somehow we prefer our 
old way, and the stock seems to agree with us. We 
cut our corn when about ripe, shock, husk when 
dry, put corn in crib, stalks in barn, with gasoline 
engine and feed cutter about every 10 days cut to one- 
half inch sufficient for use; mix bran, salt, ground 
corn and oats, make all damp with water. Stock con¬ 
sumes all excepting large end of stalks, that put in 
the stable gutters absorbs most of the liquid manure 
and goes to the field in good shape for surface cultiva¬ 
tion. 
I had some quack, that spread considerably in cul¬ 
tivation. After many trials to dispose of it. we 
Spring-plowed for corn as late as possible four inches 
deep, set plow over to follow each furrow six inches 
deep, covering the quack with this subsoil. Very 
little ever again saw the surface, and with cultivating 
i-.^ 19, 
the corn well, we practically disposed of it. In our 
rotation of crops, we plow practically five to six inches 
deep, but in each fourth year we aim to plow eight 
or nine inches deep, using this deep plowing for corn 
crop. This farm has been under cultivation since 
1845, but I can see no very material depreciation in 
the soil production as yet, on its proper care and cul¬ 
tivation. 
I notice the press and some public speakers blame 
the farmers for what they call high cost of living. Is" 
there any other business on earth excepting farming 
where the producers, manufacturers and dealers do 
not dictate prices for their output? Does the farmer 
have any voice in the value of his product? Not 
nuch; the grain buyer says: “I am paying so much 
to-day for your grain”; the packer says ‘‘So much 
for your stock in my yards”; the storekeeper says. 
“So much for eggs,” and railroads, “Our freight is 
so much on your produce”; the farmer can take it 
or draw back to his farm, and so it goes through the 
entire list of everything the farmer produces. For¬ 
tunately the times are inducing farmers to hold back 
when they consider prices are too low, and the busi¬ 
ness of farming is getting in a more independent con¬ 
dition. The facts for higher prices are that con¬ 
sumers have to bid against themselves for their daily 
wants that they must have three times a day in 
shape of food, and to prevent still higher “cost of 
living” they would better get somewhere and pro¬ 
duce something to eat. Illinois farmer. 
GO AHEAD AND GRAFT. 
I am very much interested in top-grafting trees; have 
grafted over 50 and had fine success so far. I would like 
to graft several hundred more, but it scares me when 1 
read on inclosed slip, cut from “The Nebraska Farmer” 
that “top-grafted trees are as a rule not very long-lived.” 
I cannot for the world see why this should be so. If this 
is really so in my case it would be better for me to stop 
top-grafting any more, and begin to mourn that I have 
caused the early death of so many trees, although they 
look so healthy now, and some have begun to bear nice 
fruit. I am willing to learn even if it spoils my hopes 
for the future. I have a large orchard of several thousand 
trees from five to over 20 years old, over 200 different 
varieties originated here, mostly good varieties, but it is 
a serious job should 1 try to keep them separate, hence 
the top-grafting referred to. j. a. r. 
Nebraska. 
The three popular ways of raising and propagating 
trees and plants are first by seed, which seems to be 
the natural process for a tree to reproduce itself, but 
seedlings of fruits cannot be depended upon to per¬ 
petuate the special variety from which the seed was 
taken. Our choicest and most valued varieties of 
the apple, pear, peach or plum, when planted, do not 
perpetuate the variety, but tend to go back to the 
original or wild forms. A hundred seeds taken from 
the Baldwin apple may give you a hundred seedlings, 
each seedling being different as. to color, size, time of 
ripening and growth of the tree, but not one showing 
any trace of the parent Baldwin, and all of them 
more than likely worthless fruit. If we want to be 
sure that we have Baldwin we must take the second 
or third way of propagating, either by cuttings or 
grafting, which includes budding. The apple, peach 
and pear not succeeding as cuttings, we must, if we 
want to be sure as to variety, either graft or bud 
the variety we want on some other stock. Many 
people consider this a mysterious and unnatural pro¬ 
cess. and therefore it must sooner or later prove 
a failure. Every apple tree growing in orchards 
was propagated cither by budding or grafting on 
another stock or root, and that process was just as 
unnatural as the grafting or budding in the top of a 
larger tree would be. The sawing off of a limb 
makes a wound, whether a graft is put into the limb 
or not, and the inserting of the graft helps to heal 
the wound faster than if no graft had been put in. 
The limb or stock to be grafted should not be 
more than 2 x / 2 inches through it, and then a graft 
should be inserted in each side, or two grafts in each 
limb. The point of the graft should set in a little, 
thus crossing the inside barks of graft and stock. 
As soon as the sap starts to flow it supplies sap 
and moisture to the graft, and the cells of the graft 
and stock unite when growth starts, and the graft 
becomes as much a part of that tree as any twig or 
limb that grew from it. The grafts will make a head 
or top for it, and the life of that tree is just as sure 
as if it never had been grafted. I know orchards that 
were grafted more than 50 years ago, vigorous and 
healthy, and still bearing fruit. Some trees the grafts 
have outgrown the stock, and yet they arc healthy; 
so with cherry and pear. I know chestnut trees 
where the foreign varieties have been grafted on the 
American stock, that the graft has outgrown the 
stock, and they have produced and still are producing 
big crops of nuts. J. S. R. is rejoicing over the results 
of what grafting he has done. This would be evi¬ 
dence enough for him to continue the w r ork. The 
success of grafting was known to the Romans, and is 
spoken of in the Bible, and as far back as we have 
any record of agriculture or horticulture. The sur¬ 
geons have applied its use by skin-grafting and 
other surgical operations. J. S. R. need have no fears 
about graftage shortening the life of his trees. Do 
the work properly, use varieties that succeed in his 
locality, and he will never regret the grafting of a 
desirable variety on to a worthless or undesirable tree- 
E. s. BLACK. 
