April 
l'Jlo. 
512 
date dairyman who is trying to build up a profitable 
dairy herd does not go out and buy several calves 
because they are cheap. Why should not a fruit 
grower use as good business ability as the dairyman ? 
It will certainly pay him a larger profit on the 
money invested, especially where one buys cheap 
trees and gets varieties he did not order. As a 
business proposition I would buy a stunted and 
inferior calf to raise, rather than a stunted and 
poorly-shaped tree. The calf when grown could be 
sold for beef, if one were not able to sell to better 
advantage, but the tree would cause a loss every 
year, as long as that orchard bears fruit. 
Go into almost any bearing orchard and one can 
pick out trees worth quite a few dollars moi-e than 
other trees in the same orchard, simply because of 
a better-branched and well-balanced top. It needs 
no argument to show that such a tree will produce 
more fruit than an ill-formed or one-sided one. 
About 25 years ago I set an eight-acre Baldwin ap¬ 
ple orchard. I bought the best trees offered by a 
leading New England nursery, and even then did 
not set the poorest of the trees. It was set in two 
years, four acres each year. The last lot was in¬ 
ferior to the first, and never made as even an or¬ 
chard as those set at first. I am certain I could 
now set that orchard by selecting more perfectly 
branched trees, so as to add hundreds of dollars to 
its value. Even this last season a few trees were 
spoiled by breaking apart, although the apples had 
been thinned somewhat. 
My ideal of a tree is one with five or more limbs 
with a central branch that is kept trimmed back 
so it will not outgrow tbe other limbs. A central 
shoot or branch adds stability to the tree, and yet 
can be so handled as not to outgrow tbe rest of 
the tree. I would prefer trees grown from scions 
which came from trees known to produce first-class 
fruit of that variety. Were we to set certain va¬ 
rieties like Williams, which makes a poor tree in 
the nursery, or Gravenstein, where the body could 
not stand the cold without injury to the bark on 
body (generally near the ground) I would top-work 
such varieties into some hardy and thrifty variety. 
I have no faith in the top-working fad for any va¬ 
riety that will make a well-formed and hardy tree 
as grown in the nursery rows. 
Certain apples, like Wealthy, have a place by 
themselves, either as fillers, or in a close-planted 
orchard to that variety alone. I have top-worked 
this variety upon quite a number of varieties of ap¬ 
ples, and it has not proved a success upon rank-grow¬ 
ing stocks. To the man who would invest money 
in a commercial orchard and has little experience in 
the growing of apples I would say, the best in¬ 
vestment you can make for its cost is to hire one 
or more experts to look over your location before 
investing money in the business, and get advice in 
(lie preparation of the land before setting, and a 
list of varieties most suitable for your location and 
the class of fruit you desire to grow, viz., barrel 
or fancy box fruit. The nearer the expert lives to 
your location, and the more experience he has had 
in the business, the more valuable the advice he 
can give you, other things being equal. A first class 
commission man can give one much valuable ad¬ 
vice if he lives in the market you wish to ship to. 
Worcester Co., Mass. h. o. mead. 
SHALL IT BE SMALL FARM OR BONDS? 
fllere is a new one for a discussion: There are more 
of such men than you may think, and this is to be a 
l roblem in the future. We would like short, sharp 
opinions—from experience if possible.. Do not send 
ns long articles or essays on the subject—we cannot 
use them. Do not try to sell land to this party. He 
does not want to buy and his name will not be given 
without his consent. lie is, however, a real personage 
.uid his problem is true.] 
HAVE had a bee buzzing in my head for some 
time, that I have never noticed under discussion. 
I thought others might be interested in it. Sup¬ 
posing I am a young man, about 30 years of age, 
have a wife and two kiddies, aged one and five 
years. I have had a good position for the past 10 
years, paying $100 a month, working eight hours a 
day, which gives me ample time for outside work. 
I have a garden of nearly an acre, which fills my 
cellar every Fail with everything I need, or want, 
besides netting me $30 to $50 annually for truck 
sold to neighbors who cannot or will not work their 
gardens. I enjoy the good things of life, but am 
not unduly extravagant, unless it be extravagance 
to buy all the new-fangled work-savers for women 
that prove their worth. I have never had any am¬ 
bition to die rich (or live rich), but I would like 
to be assured of a comfortable home and living in 
my old age. 
Now then, supposing by the time I am 35. if I 
keep my health. I have accumulated $10,000 besides 
owning my home. Would 1 be better oft to buy 
rr-n Ponds with that amount, netting me around 
THE KP'KAL NEW-VUKllHA 
5 per cent, continuing at my work for another 10 
years, and then retiring to live on the income of 
that $10,000, together with what I would save in 
the next 10 years and the accumulated interest 
(which would give me a comfortable living) or 
would I be better off to quit my work, invest say 
$5,000 or $0,000 in a small farm, 25 to 50 acres, put 
the rest out at interest, have a home of ny own, be 
my own boss, raise enough to feed and clothe me, 
and maybe with good management have a little ex¬ 
tra to sell? The place that I would have in mind 
would be on a good road, not far from a town of 
from 5.000 to 10.000 population. Understand the 
supposition is that 1 like to garden, and am moder¬ 
ately successful in coaxing Mother Earth to give 
up her bounties, that I am first and last a home 
body, and that my family would like the change. 
C. F. 
SHADING IN STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
I have a small strawberry plot consisting of plants 
1 am growing for exhibition purposes, fan I help 
things by covering with cheesecloth, and if so. when ? 
Ample plant food was provided last year and the plot 
is to be overhead irrigated if necessary. n. J,. n. 
Tennessee, 
TIE shading of strawberries is seldom prac¬ 
ticed by growers either for home use or for 
commercial purposes. Occasionally notable 
results are reported by such a method. An experi¬ 
ment along this line was carried on a few years 
ago by the Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., in 
three localities for two seasons, with rather un¬ 
favorable results. The material used for the cover 
was thin cheesecloth known as “Bombay’ and also 
a cheesecloth which was one commercial grade heav¬ 
ier than the “Bombay.” Tbe strips of cheesecloth 
were sewn into one piece of tbe desired size. Stakes 
and wires were used supporting the canvas about 
20 inches above the ground. The estimated cost of 
covering an acre was about $350. Tbe material 
could be used several seasons. Tbe larger tbe ean- 
\ns, tbe more inconvenient to handle and the more 
easily torn by high winds. Several varieties of 
strawberries were included in the experiment, check 
jdat.s being under observation for the purposes of 
(omparison. 
The principal changes of environment were in 
temperature and moisture content of the air and of, 
soil, velocity of wind and intensity of light. The 
air was an average temperature of 2.S0 degrees 
warmer under the cloth and. as a natural result, 
the soil was also slightly warmer than outside the 
canvas. There was slightly more moisture in the 
shaded than unshaded plat. The air underneath 
the cover appeared more humid than that outside. 
As would he expected there was but slight wind 
movement under the (over as compared with its 
velocity outside, and the intensity of light was 
decreased by the cloth. The cover diminished the 
rate of evaporation of moisture. 
The cover was placed in position April 30. At 
harvest time the foliage and fruit-stems were about 
two inches taller under the cover than outside. At 
blooming time seven per cent, of the blossoms shad¬ 
ed were injured by frost as compared with 85 per 
cent, injured outside. Some varieties showed no 
disease in either plat; other kinds were more 
severely attacked by leaf spot and mildew under¬ 
neath the cover than without. Bees and other in¬ 
sects were as active or more so underneath the 
cover as without, insuring complete pollination of 
the blossoms. Results were conflicting as to yield 
with one or two varieties, probably due to frost in¬ 
jury, but tbe yield was usually smaller from the 
shaded plants, in one experiment averaging 40 per 
cent, loss for all varieties tested As a rule the 
cover had no material influence ii: hastening or re¬ 
tarding the ripening season. 
With the thicker cloth there was no difference in 
size between the shaded and unshaded berries; with 
,he thinner cloth, shading uniformly increased the 
size of the berry though in different proportions 
with different varieties. With one or two excep¬ 
tions there was little if any difference in the color, 
texture or quality of the fruit. 
Geneva, N. Y., Exp. Station. o. m. tayloe. 
TREAD POWER AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING 
I HAVE read with much interest the accounts of 
farmers installing their own electric light sys¬ 
tems where they have water powers, but on the 
great plains of the Northwest "e have no such 
power. I have also watched closely the development 
of wind power for generating current, but have not 
seen anything which appeals to me so far. But we 
have a power here that is totally neglected. Every 
wheat farmer here has from eight horses upward do¬ 
ing absolutely nothing for at least five months in the 
year, and that at the very time too when not only 
electric light but all the other farm work, such as 
crushing grain. * cutting straw, pulping roots, etc., 
is in season. What is the matter with tread powers 
now, that T never see any-advertised in The R. N.-Y. ? 
I can readily understand that they cannot possi 
lfiy compete with gasoline where horses had to he 
maintained simply to furnish power, and the idea of 
keeping a team on a tread power from morning to 
night does not appeal to me, but here conditions arc 
entirely reversed. We have to maintain the horses 
anyway, so the power woull cost us absolutely noth¬ 
ing. Most of us could keep a two-horse tread going 
from morning to night without keeping any team on 
it more than one to two hours daily, and the horse 
would be greatly benefited by the exercise through 
the long Winter, and he in much better shape for the 
rush they have to go through in getting in our crops 
in the shortest possible time. 
Will some of your mechanical experts tell us just 
what is the efficiency of the tread power; that is 
what power may we expect delivered per pound of 
horseflesh employed if any experiments have ever 
been undertaken in this line? If any tread power 
manufacturer has still been able to survive in this 
age of gasoline please let them have the floor. 
Manitoba. james Fleming. 
It. N.-Y.—This proposition is entirely new to us 
though very likely it has been worked out by the ex 
perts. Instead of sending it to Individuals for an 
swer we call for a general discussion. We know 
that tread powers are still somewhat in use. We 
have a sweep power that gives fair satisfaction, hut 
most of these horse powers have ueen displaced by 
gasoline. Here is a case, however, where, if any¬ 
where, they ought to pay. Is there anything to it? 
THE USE OF LIQUID M ANURE. 
For the past two years I have been using liquid ma¬ 
nure on bearing apple trees, at rate <>f 20 to 40 gallons 
<>n very old and large trees, and 10 to 20 gallons on 
trees just bearing, and some that have borne two or 
three crops. The orchard had not been sprayed or 
pruned for many years, until I took charge in 1912, and 
from almost nothing, at that date, I had nearly 00 bar¬ 
rels in 1914. This manure is taken from* a pool under 
barn, and is not full strength, as water seeps in during 
extremely wet weather. I have to distribute this liquid 
whenever it accumulates, but try to get it on land when 
it will soak in readily. My fruit is very satisfactory 
to me now. except color. Will potash improve color, or 
hall I depend upon pruning thin for color? w. c. 
IIE liquid manure contains soluble nitrogen, 
some potash and very little phosphoric acid. 
Its action upon plant growth is much like that 
of nitrate of soda. In orchards there is a quick, 
strong growth of foliage and wood and usually 
I nge, light-colored and rather soft fruit. These re 
suits are usually found whenever large quantities ol 
nitrogen without potash and phosphoric acid are 
used. It will he found where large quantities ol 
stable manure are used alone, where large flocks of 
bens run in tbe orchard, or where clover or peas are 
plowed under year after year without tbe addition 
of phosphate and potash. In the case of these old 
trees the liquid manure evidently furnished available 
nitrogen, which started the trees into new life. Me 
think they will give fair crops for a few years un¬ 
der this treatment, hut that the fruit will grow light- 
colored and soft. While pruning will help the color 
somewhat the use of wood ashes or of phosphate 
and potash will be better. A mixture of three parts 
acid phosphate to one part muriate of potash wi 
make a good reinforcement for the liquid manure. 
About seven pounds of this mixture scattered around 
each tree will give better fruit and more of it. 
