1910. 
EARLY APPLES IN EASTERN NEW YORK. 
Arc any apple groves handling orchards of early varie¬ 
ties successfully in New York State? 
For the past 15 years I have advocated the planting 
of Summer and Fall varieties of apples, and have 
found that the market price obtained for these apples 
was fully as high as was obtained for the ordinary 
Winter sorts. In Western New York I was surprised 
to see carload after carload of these apples packed in 
peach baskets or so-called bushel baskets holding 
seven-eighths of a bushel, and when shipped to market 
in that way the price per basket ranged from 90 cents 
to as high as $1.75 in some instances. The apple 
growers of Niagara County say that the price obtained 
for the Bradley crop of Duchess of Oldenburg is about 
the usual price that well-packed Winter varieties like 
Ealdwin and Greening will sell for later in the sea¬ 
son. If the market quotations for the past 10 years 
are studied it will be seen that well-packed Summer 
\arieties are bringing high prices. No apple grown 
will bear much more abundantly or earlier than 
Duchess of Oldenburg, Alexander, Wolf River or Bis¬ 
marck. Fancy prices are always obtained for Chen¬ 
ango Strawberry, Fall Pippin, Fameuse, Gravenstein, 
McIntosh, Primate, Excelsior Crab, etc. A small pro¬ 
portion of early apples has been included in the or¬ 
chards planted during the last 20 y?ars, and there is 
now a scarcity of this kind of fruit on the eastern 
markets, and there is a good export demand for those 
varieties which can be safely exported. This demand 
has been increased because of the cold storage facilities 
now furnished by the trans-Atlantic steamers. 
I have in mind One orchard of 500 Duchess of Olden¬ 
burg trees in New York State that at seven years old 
averaged one-half bairel to the tree, and at 12 years 
old picked one barrel to 
the tree, and increased 
rapidly in yield after that 
date. For the past eight 
years these apples have 
not sold for less than $3 
per barrel for the first 
and second grades; 
grower to furnish bar¬ 
rels, packing apples and 
deliver at railroad sta¬ 
tion. In one or two years 
the price has gone as 
high as $4 per barrel. I 
also have figures upon a 
McIntosh orchard in the 
Hudson Valley consist¬ 
ing of 80 trees which at 
11 years old yielded 150 
barrels at $5 per barrel; 
at 12 years old, 130 
barrels at $4 per barrel; 
13 years old, 160 barrels 
at $5.25 per barrel; 14 
years old, 400 barrels at 
$5.50 per barrel, a total 
of $4,310 from the or¬ 
chard during the past four years. This is the gross 
price received on the New York City market. Charges 
for barrels, picking, packing and freight to New York 
City should be deducted. But I think results compare 
in a favorable manner with those in the much-adver¬ 
tised apple growing sections of the Far West. I am of 
the opinion that Summer apples could be most econo¬ 
mically handled in some kind of a basket package, as 
many of the smaller grocers are unable to sell barrel 
lots before there is considerable loss from decay. 
B. D. VAN BUREN. 
LEAD AND OIL FOR APPLE TREES. 
As a contribution to the mass of experience that 
must ultimately decide as to the real value of the prac¬ 
tice of painting the trunks of fruit trees to prevent the 
attacks of rabbits and borers, I may say that during 
the past five years I have painted the trunks of several 
tnousand apple trees, varying in age from two to seven 
years, painting some once and some twice, and so far, 
have observed no evidence of injury. The painting 
has been done at all seasons of the year, and has us¬ 
ually extended from a couple of inches below ground 
to about a foot above, though in some few instances it 
has been extended a short distance along the main 
branches. I was led to adopt the practice through 
Professor Alwood’s writings, and have found his state¬ 
ments to be correct. Great care has been exercised to 
use only the purest white lead and linseed oil obtain¬ 
able, and it is not improbable that the bad results re¬ 
ported by some experiments have been due to the use 
of impure paint. 
As to the efficacy of the painting, I regret, as an 
experimenter, although as an orchardist I rejoice, that 
I cannot speak decisively for or against the practice, 
as we wage unrelenting warfare against the rabbits 
during the open season, endeavoring to exterminate 
them, which of course we never succeed in doing, but 
TH fcC RURA.L, NEW-YORKER 
do manage to keep them down pretty well, and we ex-' 
amine every tree carefully two or three times a season 
for borers, so that the total damage caused by these 
enemies is comparativly trifling; therefore the state¬ 
ment that I have not found any painted tree injured 
by either borers or rabbits is not proof that under dif¬ 
ferent circumstances damage might not result. Against 
the rabbit, it would appear to offer a good protection, 
as the paint sticks well to the bark and is probably 
unpalatable, but for the borers, I doubt if it is to be 
trusted, unless the paint is renewed each year, for as 
the tree grows the bark expands, and as the paint does 
not, it cracks, and offers ample opportunity for the 
beetle to deposit its eggs on unprotected bark. 
Rhode Island. h. w. heaton. 
A CANADIAN DRAINAGE LOAN. 
Last year we succeeded in getting the municipality 
of the township of Clinton, in the county of Lincoln, 
Ontario, to pass a by-law borrowing from the Provin¬ 
cial Government the sum of $20,000 if needed for the 
purpose*of assisting in tile drainage, as provided by the 
act, said money to be loaned from time to time to the 
residents of the municipality, for the purpose of assist¬ 
ing in underdraining. Eight or 10 residents of the 
municipality availed themselves of this loan last year, 
which practically is cs follows, taking my own case 
as an example: Last year I placed 11,648 tile, costing 
me in teaming, digging, laying and covering, $629.79. 
I had placed the year previous, work and tile amount¬ 
ing to $125, or a total cost of over $750. I made appli¬ 
cation to the municipality for a loan of $500, or 75 
per cent, of actual cost, which is all that is advanced, 
but I think this about pays for the tile and digging, 
the other 25 per cent, being used in hauling, filling in 
trench, laying tile, etc., so practically paying the actual 
money outlay. I had a traction ditcher that dug 373 
rods at an average depth of over 30 inches in three 
days. I commenced my mains with eight-inch tile, 
using sixes, fours and threes. I would not recommend 
putting in anyming smaller than three-inch tile. I 
have been granted a loan of $500 (less $2.15 for inspec¬ 
tors’ fees), payable in 20 years, at $7.36 per year for 
every $100 borrowed, or a total of $36.SO per year, 
payable with my taxes. 
As the usual heavy expense is to lay the foundation 
for systematic drainage in placing mains sufficient to 
complete the whole system, and not placing a short 
drain here and there in a haphazard way, I would 
strongly advise the using of this debenture system by 
all persons intending to do systematic drainage.. Hav¬ 
ing decided that drainage was the proper thing to do, 
I applied to the Provincial Government through the 
Agricultural College, Department of Physics, to send 
a man to survey my whole farm for drainage, and to 
give me a map or plan of the most convenient and 
most economical plan for drainage, and size of tile 
required. This map or plan cost me less than $4, the 
Department charging us expenses and railway fare at 
one cent per mile for field man, and the map is com¬ 
pleted in the college, another excellent thing to have, 
as by this plan I can go at any future time and by a 
little measurement find all drains and junctions made. 
The Tile Drainage Act, now chapter 22 of the 
Ontario Statutes, 9 Edward VII, 1908-1909, as revised 
in that year, has been on our statute books for over 30 
years; I found it in the revised statutes for 1877. As 
revised portions of it read as follows: 
Sec. 2. The council of a town, village, or township 
may pass by-laws (Form 11 for borrowing for the purpose 
hereinafter mentioned, in sums of not less than $2,000 
and not exceeding .$20,000, such amounts as they deem 
expedient and for issuing therefor debentures of the 
1003 
municipality (Form 2) in sums of $100 each, payable 
within 20 years front the first day of August in the year 
in which the money was borrowed from the municipality 
as hereinafter provided, and bearing interest at the rate 
of 4 per cent per annum, and it shall not be necessary 
to obtain the assent of the electors to any such by-law. 
Section 8, suit-section 1. A person assessed as owner 
and being the actual owner of the land in the municipality 
desiring to borrow money for the purpose of tile, stone or 
timber drainage may make application to the Council. 
Section 9. If the application is granted the Council 
may issue debentures for such sum within the amount 
authorized by this act and by the by-laws of the munici¬ 
pality as they may deem proper, but not exceeding the 
sum applied for, nor exceeding seventy-five per centum of 
the estimated cost of drainage. 
Section 12. The Council shall lend the money so bor¬ 
rowed only for the purpose of tile, stone or timber 
drainage, and for the term of 20 years in sums of $100 
to persons entitled to borrow. 
Section 13, subsection 3. Not more than $1,000 shall 
be lent to one person. 
Section 15. The Council borrowing money under this 
act shall employ a competent inspector, the cost of whose 
services and whose expenses shall be apportioned ratably 
against the works carried on under his inspection, and 
shall be paid by the Council out of the money borrowed. 
Section 17. The Council shall impose by by-laws (Form 
8 ), and shall levy and collect for the term of 20 years, 
over and above all other rates upon the land in respect to 
which the money is lent, a special annual rate of $7.36 
for each $100 lent. 
Section 18 provides that the owner of land may at 
any time obtain a discharge of the indebtedness by 
making certain payments to the treasurer of the 
municipality. eevi mover. 
LONG SERVICE OF FARM LABORERS IN 
ENGLAND. 
In remarkable contrast with the labor conditions in 
this country are those 
prevailing in the rural 
districts of England, par¬ 
ticularly as it refers to 
laborers on farms. In a 
great many instances, in 
fact, in almost the ma¬ 
jority of cases, the Eng¬ 
lish farm laborer is a 
fixture, as it were, on the 
farm where his father 
was working at the time 
of his birth. Directly lie 
is of an age to make him¬ 
self useful, he finds em¬ 
ployment at harvest and 
other busy seasons on the 
farm, and as he grows 
older he is promoted to 
positions where his serv¬ 
ices are most valuable, 
as horseman, cattleman 
and so on. When he has 
arrived at man's estate he 
has no trade or occupa¬ 
tion which he can follow 
in the busy city, and is 
perforce obliged to settle down at farm work. It is 
well that this is so, for his country, at least. The 
English farmer would cut but a poor figure in his 
competition with all the “protected” countries in the 
world, were he not well reinforced by the thorough¬ 
going work of the English farm laborer. The fol¬ 
lowing paragraph, cut from the Mark Lane Express, 
London, will give some idea of the extent to which 
length of service protracts in some of the counties in 
England: 
“Iu the Yeovil (Dorsetshire) Agricultural Society’s com¬ 
petition for the agricultural laborer of 45 years and over 
of good character who had lived longest with the same 
master or on the same farm within a radius of 15 miles 
of Yeovil, the first prize was won by Edward Falmer, who 
has been on Mr. A. Bicknell’s farm, at Long Sutton, for 
64 years, starting there when he was a boy eight years 
old. The second prize went to Thomas Axe (aged 65), 
with 59 years’ service with Mr. A. Young, of East Chin- 
nock, whilst Absalom Trask, who came next, has been 51 
years also with Mr. A. Young. There were eight other 
competitors, whose services range from 50 Vj years down 
to 38 years.” 
What shall be said of such servants, and how far 
is it desirable such conditions, even in a modified 
form, should exist with us? Perhaps some of your 
readers will give their opinion on the subject which, 
I admit, is a broad one. h. m. 
Vandalia, Ill. 
R. N.-Y.—In many parts of this country farmers do 
not offer a permanent job to laborers. That is one 
reason why labor is scarce in some localities. We 
have hardly reached the point yet where farm labor 
is a trade and where men grow up from boyhood never 
expecting any occupation except as farm laborers. 
Still we think there will be reported cases where mea 
have worked many years on American farms. 
Yon will understand that wo are not prejudiced for or 
against the use of white.lead and oil on fruit trees. We 
want the facts and the evidence seems to be very con¬ 
tradictory. 
HOME OF F. Q. WHITE—THE WHITE LEGHORN MAN. Fit:, 433. 
