3090 
men who thoroughly sprayed his potatoes for the pre¬ 
vention of blight, etc., was not experiencing any diffi¬ 
culty in disposing of his crop, that it was free from “rot,” 
etc. While my son and self were discussing this state 
of affairs I suggested that he call up Mr. Thomas 
Close by ’phone, the grower referred to above, and 
learn from him the facts in the case. He replied that 
he had just finished drawing to market over 1100 
bushels of potatoes with a shrinkage of only about one 
bushel in the entire lot! Also that he had sprayed 
for the prevention of blight more or less at times dur¬ 
ing the entire season, and in every instance where he 
had sprayed the most frequently there he found the 
large,! yields as well. He also thought that perhaps 
his early planting, as compared with many others, may 
have been a factor in causing*his crop to be immune 
from this trouble that is causing so much anxiety to 
many. We at once decided that the above was a sub¬ 
ject that furnished “food for thought,” and presented 
an object lesson that should not be lost sight of during 
another season’s operations. i. d. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
PRODUCER’S SHARE OF GRAPES. 
In compliance with your request regarding the per 
cent of the consumer’s dollar received by the producer, 
1 would say that we are engaged, principally, in this 
section, in grape culture. Since we commenced pack¬ 
ing this Fall I have placed notes in baskets of grapes 
requesting purchaser to let me know price paid per 
basket. I am sending you card and letter which are fair 
average samples of many answers which I have re¬ 
ceived. I am also sending stub which was attached to 
check received in payment for shipment of grapes sent 
October 27, 1910, to the leading produce dealer here, 
who handles many carloads of grapes in baskets each 
year. For the shipment here referred to we received 
cents per basket, and I would say they have 
ranged in price this Fall from seven to 11^ cents, and 
from six to nine cents last Fall, here at the landing. 
I have explained as nearly as possible and sent proof 
of the per cent of the consumer’s dollar received by 
those engaged in grape culture in this section, f. c. 
Pulteney, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—The stub shows that 275 baskets of grapes 
sold at 10J4 cents, or $28.87. “Boat charges” were 70 
cents, so the grower received $28.17 or 10J4 cents per 
basket. One of the letters is from Ann Arbor, Mich., 
written by a woman who paid 20 cents for a basket 
In this case the producer received 51 cents of the 
consumer’s dollar. The other letter came from Jack- 
son, Mich. Here the basket brought 25 cents, and the 
remark that “the grapes were the best I have had this 
year.” In this case about 41 cents of the consumer’s 
dollar went to the producer, and he stood all the ex¬ 
pense of growing, picking and packages. This “in¬ 
terior vote” is a great thing. 
STRAIGHTENING ILL-SHAPED TREE. 
In a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. a correspondent 
inquired how best to overcome a divided or crotched 
head on an English walnut tree. The query was well 
answered by Mr. Van Deman, but I venture to add a 
suggestion also, as I have been so well pleased with 
my plan of treating forked trees just such as described. 
The outline drawings, Fig. 464, will almost explain 
themselves. No. 1 shows the objectionable form 
of tree. Instead of cutting off one division closely and 
depending alone on nature to straighten out the un¬ 
sightly angle left (which would be done in time), the 
least desirable branch is cut off at a distance of six 
or eight inches above the crotch. The stub left is 
utilized as a post or anchor by drawing it and the re¬ 
maining branch together to the extent that the chosen 
branch assumes a perpendicular position. A strong, 
soft twine or strip of strong cloth 'is used to tie the 
two parts at the proper distance from each other to 
maintain the upright position of the branch that is to 
form the continuance of the trunk. This work may be 
done in late Winter or early Spring—any time before 
growth begins. The stub left should not be allowed to 
produce any further growth of new shoots. It will 
remain as it is until its mission of support is accom¬ 
plished, when it should be removed as designed in 
No. 3. All the strength of the tree being thrown 
into the upright branch remaining will cause this 
branch to make a very rapid growth, and the laterals 
springing out from its buds may be trained into a 
symmetrical head at any desired height from the 
ground. After the first season’s grov/th there will be 
no need of leaving the anchor on the tree, for it will 
remain rigidly in the position in which it was at first 
tied. The writer has treated not only walnut trees, 
but various other shade trees in this manner, and uni¬ 
formly with best results. f. h. ballou. 
Ohio Experiment Station. 
You can separate a fool from his money, but rarely. If 
ever, from his folly. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
CULTIVATING THE ALFALFA. 
The Why and the Wherefore. 
I have read some about disking Alfalfa fields, but do 
not understand the why and wherefore in regard to doing 
so. I have 10 acres of Alfalfa which is good, and I have 
cut it two years; first year cut two crops and this year 
three. I have thought of giving the field a good dragging 
with a sharp spike-tooth drag next Spring, as early as the 
ground gets settled, thinking it would destroy some weeds 
and other grasses, and do the Alfalfa good by stirring and 
loosening the ground. I wish you would publish informa¬ 
tion on the subject of disking Alfalfa fields, if so doing 
would be a benefit to them where the Alfalfa is a good 
thick stand. If there is anything to be learned on the 
subject I would very much like to be informed, as I 
intend to seed 10 acres more in the Spring. What I have 
read on the subject seems to be about disking fields where 
the stand is poor to thicken up the Alfalfa, and I do not 
understand how disking would do this unless cutting up 
the roots would cause them to grow new plants. This I 
doubt, as I would think the only growth would come from 
the crowns of the plant. a. e. g. 
Shelby, Mich. 
There are several reasons advanced for this. First, 
to destroy weeds and grasses. Second, to loosen the 
soil and increase production. Third, to prepare a thin 
stand for reseeding. Fourth, to split the crowns and 
increase the number of sprouts or stems from a single 
tap root. Most of this work has been done with disk, 
Cutaway and spike disk or Alfalfa harrow, the former 
two doing the greater part of the work. The impres¬ 
sion prevails that a stand of Alfalfa should hold good 
for many years. To the grower who expects this 
comes a disappointment when he finds weeds and 
grasses coming in and crowding out the Alfalfa. The 
effort to prevent this has called in use the harrows 
found on the farm, and as most farmers own disk 
and*Cutaway harrows they have done most of the cul¬ 
tivation so far. A drag harrow is of little use to 
loosen soil that has not been plowed for a year or 
more. 
It has been found that the disk patterns must be set 
nearly straight, or they will injure the Alfalfa; then 
they must be weighted to make them move the soil. 
STRAIGHTENING A FORKED TREE. Fig. 464. 
If set at much of an angle in hard soil their sliding 
cut takes off the crown and ruins the plants. With¬ 
out this sliding cut the soil cannot be turned to any 
great extent; consequently the grass is killed to some 
extent and cultivation to a greater extent. To com¬ 
plete the work a drag harrow must be used. A tap- 
rooted weed is not'seriously injured by the work of 
a disk harrow. If it is found the next Spring after 
a field is seeded that the stand is too thin it can be 
improved by disking the ground for a new seed bed 
and resowing. This is not a success to any desirable 
degree after the first year. 
It is the writer’s belief that the idea of splitting the 
crowns to increase the number of sprouts or stems 
from a single tap root is of no great value, and doubt¬ 
less more of a myth than otherwise, the increased 
production resulting from cultivation. My observation 
leads me to believe that if the weeds and grasses 
are kept out the Alfalfa will branch out the crowns 
without the aid of a split, as I have sometimes found 
branches a few inches long extending from the main 
crown, these branches terminating with crowns. It 
is claimed by the Kansas Experiment Station that 
the spike-disked Alfalfa harrow «is an excellent imple¬ 
ment, and no doubt this is true in dry soils such as 
prevail in that State. Here, where the soil is some¬ 
times damp, the claim is made that the spikes soon 
fill with soil and weeds, and become a wheel, as is 
sometimes the case with disk harrows where the soil 
-is damp and there are no cleaners between the disks. 
In all limestone regions Blue grass is more or less 
prevalent. In its natural habitat White clover feeds 
it with nitrogen. This being the condition under 
which it exists it is ready to make use of the nitrogen 
put in the soil by Alfalfa, and soon appropriates 
every open unoccupied spot in an Alfalfa field. The 
continued use of the mower has no terrors for it, nor 
does the mower entirely prevent its going to seed. 
Under these conditions in a few years’ time the Al¬ 
falfa is ruined for a hay crop. Crab grass is even a 
more persistent grower than the Blue grass. Foxtail, 
when it has a hold, is harder to destroy than either of 
these two. To eradicate these weeds completely by 
using any of the disk harrows or a drag harrow is a 
hard undertaking after the grasses have made a start. 
November 26, 
Secretary Coburn wrote some time since that men 
who had used these machines had clean Alfalfa, while 
farmers who did not had weedy fields. Any farmer 
familiar with the work of any of these implements 
knows the amount of work required to clean a field is 
in proportion with the amount of grasses to be de¬ 
stroyed. On this farm the disk and Cutaway harrow 
have been in use many years, and have always been 
regarded as soil stirrers rather than weed killers. Years 
ago when spring-tooth harrows were introduced a 
dealer remarked to the wi'iter that this style of har¬ 
row would be a disappointment to the farmers. This 
remark prejudiced me against that style of a harrow. 
Last July one year ago I was induced by the testi¬ 
mony of a neighbor to use a spring-tooth harrow 
in preparing a field from which a crop of peas had 
been taken for Alfalfa. This trial convinced me that 
it was one of the most valuable implements a farmer 
could own. Then I noted that two State experiment 
stations were using it to cultivate Alfalfa. This 
pleased me, for I was not satisfied with the work of 
the disk for this purpose. But I thought the teeth as 
they leave the shop not suited for the work, being too 
broad. A harrow was purchased, the teeth made nar¬ 
rower with the points rounded. Besides being used 
on this farm it has done work on three other farms. 
All who have used it were entirely gratified with the 
work done, as it exceeded expectations many fold. 
To-day, October 25, the fourth cutting from a 5]/ 2 acre 
field was put in the barn. The yield was 27 tons. This 
field has been harrowed four times and is as clean as 
the most fastidious could wish. On another field that 
was so seriously overrun with crab grass that I feared 
it could not be cleaned I do not expect to find one- 
tenth as much crab grass next Spring as there was this 
last. In fact, I regard the problem of keeping Alfalfa 
clean solved, and expect increased productiveness to 
pay for the cultivation. 
For next year’s work I have this plan in view: I 
have an excellent two-section spring-tooth harrow, 17 
teeth, that cuts six feet with plain point teeth. This 
harrow 1 wish to make 12 feet wide by placing two 
sections between the sections I now have, and use re¬ 
versible pointed teeth about 1J4 inch wide, and long 
enough for the blacksmith to sharpen once or twice 
before they are thrown away. These narrow points 
will take hold in hard soil better than wider ones, will 
not be so apt to track, and will not open so wide a 
furrow, and will slip around an Alfalfa root easier 
than a broad tooth. This work with the spring-tooth 
I shall follow with a light steel harrow, the teeth 
slanting back. This harrow cuts 13 feet. The team 
that draws the spring-tooth will follow with this har¬ 
row. The object in using the draw harrow is to level 
off and smooth over the work of the spring-tooth so 
the mower will do smooth work. This will leave an 
earth mulch which is better than to roll the ground, 
as rolling hastens evaporation. After the Alfalfa is 
one year old the spring-tooth will do this work with¬ 
out noticeable injury to the Alfalfa, and if the cultiva¬ 
tion is started at that time the Alfalfa can be kept 
clean as long as the stand yields a profitable crop, if 
the cultivation is kept up early in the Spring before 
the Alfalfa has made much of a start, or after a crop 
is cut. This work should be done as often as the 
appearance of weeds and grasses demands it. The 
work on this farm shows that Blue grass is the easiest 
to destroy, crab grass next and foxtail the hardest. 
Two good general-purpose horses will draw a six-foot 
cut spring-tooth harrow in an Alfalfa field much 
easier than they will in a field recently plowed. They 
will also draw a 13-foot steel-drag harrow following the 
spring-tooth with comparative ease. It will be best 
for us Alfalfa growers in the Central States to work 
Alfalfa into a corn rotation, cutting a field four to six 
years, then to corn and other crops before going back 
to Alfalfa. By this practice it is possible to reach 
maximum crops all around. If we cut a field of 
Alfalfa as long as it yields a crop that can be found 
with a steel rake we cut it too long, and possibly be¬ 
come disgusted, when if it is put under the plow while 
it still yields crops that are a pleasure to handle, the 
crops following will be profitable ones, and we shall 
be very anxious and diligent always to have a good 
field of Alfalfa, for the possibilities of the crop are 
manifold and difficult of a true estimate. 
Ross Co., O. JOHN M. JAMISON. 
A DOMESTIC TURKEY.—The white gobbler 
shown at Fig. 466 ought to be spared the table and 
retired on a pension. He has done his duty. The 
brood of little Guineas was hatched by this gobbler, 
who first drove the rightful mother away from the nest 
and then proceeded to keep the eggs warm. We have 
had several cases reported where gobblers have taken 
their turn at the nest and helped hatch the eggs while 
their wives took needed exercise. It might be well to 
have some such bird on every farm, to show the man 
of the house that he would not lose dignity by hand¬ 
ling the dish towel or washing machine. There are 
many cases in nature where the “head of the house” 
comes forward willingly or otherwise to do his share 
of the housework. There is one water insect or spider 
which certainly divides responsibility: The eggs are 
laid on the back of the male insect and glued to him 
until they hatch. He then goes about like an animated 
baby carriage, but as no one has reported his feelings 
we do not know how he compares with some of the 
gentry who have to be driven at the point of a tongue 
to keep the woodbox filled with dry wood. 
