1410 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 
DISPOSING OF THE APPLE CROP. 
EWSPAPER ADVERTISING.—I was inter¬ 
ested in the Hope Farm Notes about disposing 
of the apple crop, as we, too, have had some 
advertising experience. We had a heavy crop last 
year, being on high ground where the May freeze 
did not reach us. It being our first year, with about 
3,400 bushels of apples, and not much provision for 
holding the crop, I put a small classified advertise¬ 
ment in one of our Ohio papers, offering apples at 
$1 per bushel and $5 for a barrel of select fruit, 
with the result that we had orders for some 1,300 
bushels from two insertions of a plain five-line ad¬ 
vertisement, and some sales again this year from the 
same parties. 
HOLDING THE CROP.—Our crop this year is not 
nearly so large, though the crop is more abundant out¬ 
side of our own and a few other orchards. At pres¬ 
ent our mai'kets are full of apples selling at 50 to 
75 cents per bushel. Having good storage facilities 
this year we have made no effort to sell many of our 
apples, except such as would not keep. We let them 
hang on the trees as long as possible, having finished 
picking November 7, and most of our stock will keep 
well in ordinary cellar storage, until February or 
later. Even now we are getting a dollar per bushel 
for some of our best apples, because discriminating 
consumers have learned that our apples are not in 
the same class as most of those offered here at lower 
prices, more or less wormy, and poorly graded. We 
now have about 1,100 bushels of picked apples in 
bins in well-aired, cold cellars. When the weather 
gets bad for work outside we plan to sort and grade 
these, and they will all be sold in our local market 
in bushel crates, mostly direct to consumers, at good 
prices, long before the season that they might be 
kept is over. 
NEGLECTED ORCHARDS.—There are few here 
who pretend to take any particular care of their 
orchards, and for the most part they are going to 
ruin faster than the younger trees are growing up. 
While there has been a considerable crop of apples 
here, those saved for market purposes are not a bur¬ 
densome quantity, and only a small part of which 
our market uses. A good many carloads of bulk 
apples are being shipped in here now. The older 
trees here are mostly of the “sky-scraper" kind— 
hard to pick. Those that drop are badly bruised 
and used for cider, or go to waste. Being poorly 
sprayed or not at all, most of them drop, unless 
picked early. In contrast, we have low-headed trees, 
and the fruit hangs on well. We have comparatively 
few cider apples. We usually sell a barrel of fresh 
cider on our market wagon about once a week when 
making the rounds among customers, having the bar¬ 
rel on the back of the wagon with a faucet to draw 
from, for those who call for a gallon or two for 
drinking fresh, for mince pies, making spreadings, 
and vinegar, and this keeps the cider apples so well 
cleaned up that there is no waste. c. weckesser. 
Wayne Co., O. 
THE “WATER WITCH” ANALYZED. 
NOTE “City Ignoramus,” on page 204, is in a 
dilemma when confronted with the “water 
witch,” but think he was too easily “stumped.” 
Usually a little critical analysis will turn a mystery 
into a commonplace. 
In all operations of “water witching” I have wit¬ 
nessed the operator holds the crotelied stick in 
clenched hands with palms turned toward the body 
and elbows close together. It is an awkward, un¬ 
natural position but necessary for successful “witch¬ 
ing.” A crotch of witch hazel, peach, apple or other 
wood as suits the individual taste is used. It should 
be small enough to bend slightly under the fingers. 
When operated successfully the free end of the 
crotch commences to vibrate upon approaching the 
underground stream, then slowly and irresistably re¬ 
volves in the grasp until pointing downward, indi¬ 
cating the desired water. Some operators estimate 
the depth by the bobbing of the twig. At first sight 
the operations is puzzling, but let us investigate a 
little. 
Hold up your closed fist palm nward. In closing 
the fingers tightly you will observe that the inner 
end of the first (at the little finger) moves down¬ 
ward, while the outer end remains stationary. Now 
you can see what happens when the “witcher” works, 
as his fingers’ close pressure is applied about the 
middle of the forks from that downward movement 
of the little finger. If the crotch is held in a vertical 
position it does not move, but the spring in the forks 
causes the upright to vibrate, and as soon as it is out 
of the vertical a lever is in action, and the crotch 
will rotate around a line between the two fixed ends. 
The harder one squeezes to keep the twig from turn¬ 
ing in the hands, just so much more pressure is ap¬ 
plied tending to turn the end downward. If held 
tightly the bark will be stripped clean from the twig. 
If some outside force was really acting on the 
twig, holding the latter loosely in the hands would 
only allow more freedom of movement, but as the 
twig refuses to work under those conditions a “City 
Ignoramus" might be pardoned for having a few 
doubts on the matter. The “water witehers" I have 
seen were all honest in their belief that the instru¬ 
ment worked without effort on their part. They are 
men naturally gifted in ability to locate water, and 
the belief that water exists in some locality is invol¬ 
untarily conveyed to the muscles of the hands, caus¬ 
ing the twig to operate. 
I think I recall an editorial in The R. N.-Y. where¬ 
in the editor expressed himself as unable to decide 
on the merits of the water witch. That being the 
case I hope the editor as well as “City Ignoramus" 
will cut a crotch and try the experiment, proving to 
his own satisfaction that the water witch is in the 
same class with the Salem witches of long ago. 
Connecticut. Lawrence Johnson. 
A WAGON JACK. 
HE ordinary farm wagon, to give the best ser¬ 
vice, must be kept well lubricated; it makes 
for easy running and increased wear. Proper 
lubrication is one of the best horse feeds. Lubrica¬ 
tion is too often neglected because of no easy way to 
apply the grease. It is not at all unusual to see a 
wagon being “greased" by placing a rail under the 
axle, and after lifting it up with this lever, blocking 
it with a piece of board. This is laborious, and con¬ 
sequently the wagon is left to run until it squeaks. 
I have recently seen a jack that can be made in a 
short time in any farmer’s workshop. The sketch, 
Fig. G17, shows its construction so plainly that lit¬ 
tle need be said in regard to it. The one shown was 
made for light wagons, and for heavier ones would 
need to be made of heavier material. 
It consists essentially of three parts: a piece (A) 
which carries a support for the axle, (B) which acts 
as a fulcrum when raising the axle, and the handle 
(Cl. In use the handle is raised as high as possible 
and the jack pushed under the wagon until the block 
on (A) is directly under the axle. The handle is 
then pushed down and the bolt running through the 
top of (B) acting as a fulcrum (A) is both 
pushed forward and raised. The holes in the handle 
being out of line, the handle locks when in its lowest 
position. In the drawing (A) is three feet long and 
3 y% inches wide. The block to support the axle is 
fastened on by rivets or screws with its top 7*4 
inches from the top of the piece. A slot is made in 
the to]) to accommodate the handle by boring an inch 
hole through the center of the piece six inches from 
the top end. and making two parallel saw cuts down 
to it. A quarter-inch hole is bored through at a 
point one inch down from the top, through which a 
bolt is passed to serve as a hinge for the handle. 
The axle support can be covered with leather, or a 
piece of old rubber belting to protect the paint on 
buggies. (B) is made the same width as (A) and in 
the same way. Its length is two feet four inches. 
The slot cut in the top is three inches deep. A quar¬ 
ter-inch hole is bored through this at. a point one inch 
from the top to take the bolt that serves as a fulcrum 
for the handle. 
The handle is made from a piece of board two feet 
two inches in length and four inches wide. This is 
dressed to 1*4 inch wide at each end, and the curved 
portion shaped as shown. The length of the curved 
part is nine inches and it is four inches wide at its 
widest part. The main thing is to get the holes lo¬ 
cated properly. The first is bored at a point one 
inch, both from the top and end of the handle. To 
get the location of the second measure along the top 
of the handle six inches from the center of the first. 
Square a line across and bore the hole three inches 
down from the top edge, and in this line. Put. the 
jack together with a couple of bolts, 334 x 14 inches. 
The material used was one inch in thickness. Oak or 
ash is good for the purpose, but any strong wood will 
answer. A little study will show how to modify this 
to fit almost any condition. r. h. smith. 
Canton, N. Y., Agricultural College. 
Overhead Irrigation and Frost Prevention. 
ROF. MASSEY’S reply to “L. B. C.,” on page 
1341, brings up an interesting point I should like 
to see discussed, namely, overhead irrigation to 
prevent frost damage to strawberries. I am raising 
strawberries here on a small scale, and find it very 
profitable, as late frosts have discouraged many from 
trying to raise berries, and hence there are few local 
berries in market. This year’s crop averaged me 17 
cents per basket delivered to the stores. The two 
troubles here are droughts and late frosts, and if 
overhead irrigation will settle both, that remedy is 
Johnny-on-the-Spot for me. I have already laid 
plans for an irrigating system of the furrow type of 
distribution for next year, but shall change directly 
to the overhead if I can be assured of the two 
troubles I had feared from such a system: First, 
lessening the crop by washing away pollen when irri¬ 
gating to prevent frost damage; second, injury to 
plants and fruit by scalding from overhead irriga¬ 
tion. At present I protect from frost damage by cov¬ 
ering with meadow hay, old burlap, etc., and, of 
course, this is slow work and only applicable to 
small areas, in fact, is the limiting factor of our pro¬ 
duction. I should like very much to get the experi¬ 
ence of Prof. Massey and others who have used over¬ 
head irrigation on strawberries to protect from frost 
damage. iiarold d. piielps. 
Massachusetts. 
R. N.-Y.—Let us have experience in this matter. 
It is well known that sprinkling or spraying with 
water will often carry tender plants through a light 
frost. 
Cheap Method of Soil Inoculation. 
W E find a number of farmers who realize that a 
new legume like vetch or Soy beans requires 
inoculation before it can fully thrive. They 
object to the cost of the commercial bacteria or of 
soil from old fields, and therefore lose much benefit 
from the crop. The Farm Management Monthly, of 
the Department of Agriculture, gives the following 
account of the way this is managed by some Ala¬ 
bama farmers: 
When a new legume is introduced into a locality it 
often happens that one is uncertain about the land’s 
being inoculated. Many prefer to use soil, from 000 to 
800 pounds per acre, from a field in which the legume 
has been grown successfully. Such fields are rarely 
within easy driving distance, so that the matter of haul¬ 
ing becomes an item. If, for instance, 000 pounds per 
acre were to be used on a 20 -acre field this would mean 
six tons of soil to be hauled. 
To obviate this expense and trouble a progressive Ala¬ 
bama farmer has adopted the following plan: The year 
before he sows the whole field he inoculates a strip 
through the middle and sows this strip to the legume. 
The remainder of the field might be sown to wheat, oats, 
or other cover crop. If a good stand results he is sure 
inoculation is present in the soil covered by the strip. 
The following season he loads his distributor from the 
inoculated strip in the center of the field, and then drives 
to the edge of the field and back, where he refills the 
machine and drives to the opposite side, continuing the 
operation until the whole field is covered. In locating 
the strip to be inoculated the capacity of the distributor 
should be taken into consideration and the position of 
the strip so determined that the machine can be driven 
to the boundary and back to the source of supply with¬ 
out reloading. 
“The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” “Whom the Lord 
loveth he chasteneth.” “Spare the rod and spoil the 
child.” 
There are not many young people who want to 
run away from a profitable business. You must make 
farming pleasant and profitable if you expect the boys 
to stay with it. 
