110 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
March, 
ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES 
Tile for Draining. —“ What is the most approved 
form of making tiles for drains, so as to combine cheap¬ 
ness and durability?” R. J. C. Wayne co., N. Y. 
For ordinary ditches, or when the quantity of water 
to be drawn off is never large, small tubular tile, from 
one to two inches in diameter is best. If the ends are 
so made that one will fit within the other, they will keep 
their places well; but if no provision of this kind has 
been made, the ends may be placed in close contact, with 
a small flat stone underneath, to prevent one end from 
settling lower than the other after the earth is filled in. 
Main drains, or those carrying much water at the wet 
season, have been formerly made by a semi-cylindrical 
tile placed on a shoe or flat plate of tile; but a later im¬ 
provement consists in forming a round tube by placing 
two semi-cylindrical tiles together, matching together at 
their edges, the upper halves being so laid as to break 
joints with the lower, and which prevents their settling 
away from each other. A tube thus made, five or six 
inches in diameter, will carry off a large quantity of wa¬ 
ter. Some have been made in England as large as nine 
inches. 
Cranberries on Upland. —“ Can you inform me if 
cranberries have ever been cultivated on upland, so as to 
yield good crops?” F. W. 
We have heard or read of instances where this fruit 
has been so grown; but they are so few, that we have 
been led to suppose that the statements of success have 
been greatly exaggerated, or else that it has been on up¬ 
land possessing some very rare qualities. At all events, 
although many years have elapsed since this mode of 
culture was first announced, we cannot hear of the first 
distinct well authenticated experiment, giving weight and 
measurement, for a succession of years. Why should 
we be without such experiments, with the present high 
prices of cranberries, unless there is some insuperable 
difficulty? 
The Prairie Farmer says that the swamp only is the 
home of the cranberry—that it will not even flourish on 
low or wet lands which are filled with water in spring, 
and dry up in summer—that the lands must be either 
springy or be such as are continually fed from springs 
elsewhere. The reader will find a few remarks on this 
subject on p. 35, current volume, of this journal. 
Flax Culture. —W. H., Philadelphia. You will find 
the information you want on the culture of flax, in our 
vol. for 1850, pp. 129 and 308. For a notice of the new 
mode of preparing flax for use, see Cultivator for 1851, 
pp. 89 and 341. 
Ayrshire Cattle. —A. D. H., Addison, Yt. The 
animals you inquire for, yearling Ayrshire bulls, can be 
procured of E. P. Prentice, Esq., of this city, who has 
one of the best herds of this breed of cattle, in the coun¬ 
try. 
Gilmore’s Apiary. —H. T., Vernon, Ct. The infor¬ 
mation you desire in relation to this apiary, may be pro¬ 
cured, we presume, by addressing Messrs. Edwards &. 
Platt, Brooklyn, N. Y., who are now the owners of a 
large apiarj" put into operation by Mr. Gilmore, previous 
to his death, a year or two since. So far as we know, 
the plan, both of keeping and feeding the bees, has been 
approved by all who have adopted it. 
Double-working Pear Trees. —N. Hart, Lysander, 
N. Y. Double-working is adopted for such varieties of 
the pear as will not grow by ordinary working on the 
quince. It consists merely in first budding on a quince 
stock, some variety which takes and grows freely, and 
then budding into this pear top, the sort which cannot 
be grown by immediate contact with this stock. It usual¬ 
ly happens, however, that such “ refractory” sorts, even 
when double-worked, are not of long duration as bear¬ 
ing trees. 
Distance for Standard Pears. —J. A. Donaldson, 
Ravenna, 0. From fifteen to twenty feet is a good dis¬ 
tance for most varieties, as the Virgalieu or Doyenne and 
others. Where there is plenty of ground, twenty feet 
would perhaps be best. 
Gooseberries. —N. R. The English varieties, although 
sometimes cultivated with great success, are always more 
or less liable to injury by mildew. The best sort for all 
kinds of treatment and all localities, is Houghton’s Seed¬ 
ling. a veyy hardy, free growing, and profusely produc¬ 
tive sort, and a native of this country. The berries are 
medium in size, fine, tender and thin-skinned, and they 
never mildew. 
Treatment of Seedling Apfle Trees.—J. A. Do¬ 
naldson. If they stand in rows so as to remain for a few 
years, the trees for which they are to furnish the base, 
will come forward more rapidly by budding them next 
summer. But if removal is necessary, grafting in the 
root will be best for all those which may be large enough, 
that is as large or larger than the inserted grafts. 
Sap Boiling. —The pans which I use in my sugar 
boiling apparatus, (see Cultivator vol. for 1847, p. 24,) 
are made of a single sheet of Russia iron, and are four 
feet long, 21 inches wide, and about five inches deep. 
They are supported around the top by a three-eights inch 
wire. I find the advantage of the cauldrons to be, that 
it takes no more fuel to boil the sap in the cauldrons than 
it would to heat the pans sufficiently, the fire passing from 
the pans under the cauldrons and then completely around 
them to the chimney. I made use of an old gun barrel 
for tubes from the cauldrons to the pans. I had holes 
drilled in the cauldrons about five inches from the top, 
and headed the tubes in. I make use of stop-cocks in 
the tubes from reservoir to cauldrons, and from caul¬ 
drons to pans, to gauge the size of the stream, so as to 
keep a stream constantly running. Any one putting up 
such an apparatus, will find it to their advantage to make 
use of perfectly dry -wood, and of some soft kind, and 
also to have some shelter, or building over the works. 
Lyman Hall. Shelburne, Vt. } Jan. 22, 1852. 
Rat Proof Granary. — A granary matched and bat¬ 
tened on the joints, and tin nailed round the door, win¬ 
dow, and door and window frames, will usually secure the 
desired end. A bin lined with tin or zinc, will prevent 
any entrance at the sides. 
Laws for Agriculture. —It has been remarked, that 
farmers never make laws for their own interests, but al¬ 
ways for other people’s—and then take care of them 
selves as well as they can. 
