956 
July 31, 191.". 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
r He Farmers’ Club 
■■ 
Apples in Hudson Valley. 
’ I am desirous of knowing which two 
varieties of apples would be best for 
Ulster County (on the Hudson River 
bank) considering the following qualities: 
1. Early bearer. 2. Quality and appear¬ 
ance. 3. I text for rocky soils and steep 
hills, where it 5s,,not advisable to . culti¬ 
vate excepting around each tree while 
young. J. t. 
Rutherford, N. J. 
Growers usually plant in Spring, but 
there is no great objection to Fall plant¬ 
ing if it is well done and the trees are 
mulched. I have eight acres planted on 
land such as described, Baldwins and 
Greenings for standards, McIntosh, Jona¬ 
than and Wealthy fillers. J. A. H. 
Preparing for Alfalfa. 
I have about three-fourths acre which 
I wish to get seeded to Alfalfa. It was 
seeded three years ago, but did not get a 
thick catch. It grew up about eight or 10 
inches high and was cut by the man who 
owned the farm. He being discouraged 
sowed it to buckwheat and oats, seeding 
down with clover and Timothy, it being in 
clover this year. As the Timothy did not 
catch well, I want to get it seeded by 
next Summer. How shall I proceed? I 
note along the edge of the piece the Al¬ 
falfa looks good; it is about 18 inches 
high and in blossom. Would it be better 
to inoculate the seed ; if so, how should 
this be done? When is the best time to 
harvest Alfalfa and when should it be 
pastured if pasture is desired? E. E. c. 
Pennsylvania. 
Without personal acquaintance with 
the land upon which it is desired to es¬ 
tablish Alfalfa, I should hesitate to give 
definite directions for seeding. Methods 
must vary with the conditions present, 
and it is best to learn the general prin¬ 
ciples governing the production of this 
crop and then to adopt such methods in 
each case as will best meet these require¬ 
ments. It is now too late to prepare an 
old meadow for seeding to Alfalfa this 
year, but none too early to begin prepar¬ 
ation for next year’s attempt. The first 
requirement of Alfalfa is a well drained 
soil; if water stands on or near the sur¬ 
face of any part of this plot during the 
growing season, do not attempt Alfalfa 
there until it has been well drained. The 
next requirement is a sweet soil and you 
may safely take it for granted that your 
meadow needs lime. Without an abund¬ 
ance of readily available lime in the soil, 
you are frittering away your time in at¬ 
tempting to establish Alfalfa. A ton of 
slaked burned lime, or twice that amount 
of ground limestone, on your three-quar¬ 
ter-acre plot will probably supply this 
need; more will be better, however. Fertil¬ 
ity is a third requirement, and I am con¬ 
vinced that it is of far greater importance 
than is usually thought; in fact, I am in¬ 
clined from my own observation to place 
it even ahead of lime. A heavy dressing 
of barnyard manure on that plot will go a 
long way toward assuring success with 
your seeding; if you cannot get the ma¬ 
nure, use commercial fertilizer, and. still 
better, use both. A fourth requirement 
may be inoculation. In many places, in¬ 
cluding my own locality, it is not needed. 
It is inexpensive, however, and should not 
be neglected in untried territory. If you 
can get 200 pounds of soil from an old 
Alfalfa field, cr from about the roots of 
Sweet clover, harrow it in just previous 
to seeding; if you cannot get the soil, use 
one of the reliable commercial cultures, 
following the directions given with it. A 
fifth and essential requirement, is that 
the soil shall be free from weeds before 
the Alfalfa is sown. Where a clean hoed 
crop does not precede the seeding. Sum¬ 
mer fallowing is needed, and this, I pre¬ 
sume, will be your best method with that 
clover sod. If that three-quarter acre was 
on my own farm I should proceed as fol¬ 
lows : Plow the clover sod immediately, 
turning under as heavy a dressing of ma¬ 
nure as I could spare, and a little more. 
Sow a bushel of buckwheat after harrow¬ 
ing. Next Fall, while the buckwheat was 
in bloom. I should turn it under. The 
heavy growth of buckwheat, which I 
should expect, would smother weeds and 
furnish humus for the soil. Beginning 
next Spring I should harrow the plot 
every two weeks! or oftener, to kill all 
weeds as fast as they started. About the 
first of August, havng harrowed in the 
lime and the inoculating soil, if used, I 
should sow 12 pounds of Northern-grown 
Alfalfa seed, that I knew was free from 
dodder, and harrow this in lightly ; at the 
same time. I should apply, broadcast, two 
hundred pounds of high-grade commercial 
fertilizer. Granting the perfect seed bed 
which, by that time, should be attained, I 
should expect an even stand of Alfalfa 
plants, free from competing weeds, and 
ready for two to three annual cuttings 
for from six to ten years thereafter; and 
I should never pasture it. This may seem 
an expensive way to get Alfalfa and a 
long while to wait. It is both, but, if you 
are in a hurry for Alfalfa, buy it; you’ll 
get it in no other way. M. B. D. 
Mulching Everbearing Strawberries. 
I. How can I take care of everbearing 
strawberries during Summer months to 
keep the berries from getting dirty. The 
ground is a clay soil and dirt sticks badly 
to berries—does not come off as easily as 
a sandy soil would. 
I know of but one way to keep the 
fruit on everbearing strawberries clean 
and that is to mulch them just as you 
would for the Spring crop. We have a 
sandy soil and in order to have the ber¬ 
ries make proper growth we find it is nec¬ 
essary to keep the cultivator going 
throughout the season. This makes 
mulching impractical. Some of our ber¬ 
ries are necessarily sandy; especially 
after a rain. On a clay soil I would try 
cultivation until midsummer, then mulch 
the plants and let them bear fruit. Salt 
hay makes a very good mulching mate¬ 
rial. TRUCKER, JR. 
Land Measurement Question. 
What is the value of a degree (land 
measure) in feet? In writing a degree 
with other numbers in land measure it is 
like the following: 308° 45ch. 201. How 
would you measure an acre of land, and 
does it make any difference which corner 
you take to begin measuring from? 
New York. D. J. F. 
In and measurements degrees are not 
expressed in figures or numbers. In run¬ 
ning a line the start is made at the cor¬ 
ner monument or marker. The compass 
30 R 
on the instrument points north always. 
Then the line is run in whatever direc¬ 
tion desired, and the distance is ex¬ 
pressed in chains and links. If this line 
does not run due north and south it will 
be so many degrees either east or west of 
north. There are 160 square rods in an 
acre of land. This acre may be 100 rods 
long and one rod wide or 80 long and 30 
wide or in any shape that will figure out 
100 square rods. In measuring a piece of 
land having two straight sides, but com¬ 
ing nearly or quite to a point at one end 
and the center on the long side, measure 
across at that point and multiply by the 
full length, as shown in drawing. 
n. E. c. 
Changes in Railroad Time. 
Will you tell us how many changes in 
time are made in travelling from the At¬ 
lantic to the Pacific and at what places? 
J. B. 
It is rather hard for us to say exactly 
where changes are necessary, nasmueh as 
they vary on the different routes. Should 
you travel via the New York Central, 
Chicago and North Western, Union Pa¬ 
cific and Southern Pacific Railroads, 
changes in time are made as follows: 
From Eastern to Central, at Buffalo, N. 
Y.; from Central to Mountain, at North 
Platte, Neb.; from Mountain to Pacific, 
at Ogden, Utah. L. f. vosburgii, 
General Passenger Agent. N. Y. Central 
Railroad. 
There are three changes, from Eastern 
Time to Central Time, from Central Time 
to Mountain Time, and from Mountain 
Time to Pacific Time. The exact points 
where these changes are made differ with 
the various routes. Using the Boston 
and Maine, New- York, New Haven and 
Hartford, Pennsylvania Railroad, Chi¬ 
cago and North Western, Union Pacific 
and Southern Pacific changes in time are 
made at Pittsburgh, Pa., North Platte, 
Neb., and Ogden. Utah. GEO. w. boyd, 
Passenger Traffic Manager, Pennsylvania 
Railroad. 
Cementing Hole in Tree ; Destroying Ants. 
1. Will you give the best way to cement 
a large cavity in a 30-year-old Baldwin 
apple tree? 2. How- kill black ants on it 
before cementing? L. G. Y. 
Windsor, Conn. 
1. First cut out all decayed parts thor¬ 
oughly ; tools for this purpose may be any 
kind by which this important part of the 
work can best be accomplished. I have 
found that for cleaning out large cavities 
the 314 -inch gauge is indispensable. 
When the cavity has been entirely cleared 
of decayed material, fill with cement made 
in the proportion of two parts of fine 
sharp sand to one part of good Portland 
cement. If the cavity is so situated as 
to admit of pouring the cement into it, 
the cement should be made thin enough 
to run and poured from a pail into it, as 
every crack and crevice will then be filled, 
which is not always the case, when the 
cement is applied with the trow-el. For 
finishing, the cement must be thick 
enough to apply with the trowel, and 
enough cement applied to come flush with 
the surface of the surrounding wood. 
2. To drive the ants away use tobacco 
dust, blown into the crevices of the bark 
with a dry powder gun. K - 
New York State News. 
Farm Bureau Excursions.— Several 
of the farm bureau managers of the State 
have been conducting excursions among 
the farms in their respective counties 
with verv satisfactory results. Members 
of the farm bureau associations and 
others interested made up the tourists. 
The object of these excursions is to ob¬ 
serve the field work being done by the 
bureaus and to visit farms where some 
particular success has been made with 
crops or herds. In Montgomery county 
40 autos conveyed 150 farmers on the 
trip of 27 miles. In Cattailraugus county 
63 autos carried 350 people over a dis¬ 
tance of 120 miles, making 10 stops. In 
Cortland county 36 cars carried nearly 
200 farmers, although at different times 
during the day there were over 40 autos 
in line. Superintendent Burritt informs 
us that there are now 30 farm bureaus 
in the State with a total membership of 
8,670. 
Indian Census.— The Secretary of 
State has made public the census of In¬ 
dian population and it is found that 
there are 609 fewer Indians on the State 
reservations than there were 10 years 
ago. The total number of Indians now 
living on the eight reservations is 4,451 
and of this number 762 confess being 
pagans and 748 speak little or no Eng¬ 
lish. There are 87,676 acres in the reser¬ 
vations, of which the Indians are culti¬ 
vating 30,556. The St. Regis, Onandaga 
and Tuscaroras are the largest tillers of 
the soil. The Oneida reservation has been 
abolished. 
Regulations as to Cattle at Fairs. 
—The Department of Agriculture has an¬ 
nounced that stock to be exhibited at 
fairs must be examined before being al¬ 
lowed to come in contact with other ani¬ 
mals. It is suggested that the fair as¬ 
sociation employ a veterinarian for a 
day, to make the examination, who 
should issue to the fair officials a certifi¬ 
cate of examination of stock as required 
by the Department. Stalls and pens must 
be disinfected and all surroundings kept 
sanitary. The Department has also is¬ 
sued a circular to officials of county and 
town agricutural societies calling atten¬ 
tion to gambling on fair grounds. Any 
element of gambling, whatever, places the 
game or device in the class which will 
deprive the fair of State aid. If an as¬ 
sociation is in doubt as to whether or not 
a certain game is a gamble the Depart¬ 
ment will give an opinion upon it if 
desired. 
Breeders’ Cups for State Fair.— 
Money prizes to the value of $340 have 
been offered by the American Hereford 
Cattle Breeders’ Association. The New 
York State Jersey Cattle Club offers a 
sil/er cup valued at $100. and the Ayr¬ 
shire Breeders’ Association has a simi¬ 
lar offer. The American short Horn 
breeders also hang up a cup for the best 
bull calf born after September 1, 1914. 
There are special prizes and cups in the 
sheep and poultry classes. J. w. d. 
CRIMSON CLOVER 
The great soil improver and valuable for early 
green food, grazing and hay crop. Special 
circular free, also sample and price of seed 
sent on request. 
Alfalfa 
High-grade American grown seed. Write for 
sample and price of seed also a copy of our 
Alfalfa Leaflet, free. If in need of Farm Seeds 
of any kind, please write to us for prices. 
HENRY A. DREER 
- PHILADELPHIA, PA. - 
Guaranteed Genuine 
/■ \ • Everlasting AIT IT 
Grimm Altana 
Produces plants with large branching roots which 
resist winter conditions. Leafier and of better 
feeding value than other varieties. 
Booklet, “How I Discovered The Grimm Alfalfa.” 
and sample free. I recommend July or August planting 
lor this hardy Alfalfa. 
A. B. Lyman, Grimm Alfalfa Introducer 
Alfalfadale Farm, R. F. D. 3, Excelsior, Minn. 
SEED WHEAT 
VARIETIES THAT YIELD MORE AND RE¬ 
QUIRE LESS SEED. GROWN IN THE FAMOUS 
LANCASTER COUNTY VALLEYS. SMOOTH 
AND BEARDED SORTS. CLEAN-SOUND- 
GRADED. OUR “WHEAT HOOK ” FINEST 
YOU EVER SAW—WITH SAMPLES —FREE. 
A. H. HOFFMAN, Landisville, Lane. Co-, Pa. 
Cabbage and Celery Plants 
fine stocky plants, of all tho Leading Varieties, $1 
perl,000; $8.50 per 10,000. J. C. Schmidt, Bristol, Pa. 
E f) Quarts of Strawberries Next Spring 
wU from 100 plants. All my plants are now well 
rooted. 100 strong-rooted young plants for $1.50. 25 
YEARS’ SPECIALIST. SEND FOR MID-SUMMER Catalogue. 
T. €. KEVITT, - - Athenia, N. J. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
RUNNER and POT-GROWN for August and Fall plant¬ 
ing. Will bear fruit next summer. Raspberry, 
Blackberry Plants, Fruit Trees. Catalogue free. 
HARRY L. SylflRES, Itemsenhurg, N. Y. 
S TRA WBERR Y PLANTS 
including the FALL BEARERS, to select from, 
Laver plants ready Aug. 20th. Send for Catalog. 
J. KEIFFORD HALL, R.0.2, Rliodesdale, Did, 
■■ ■ ■■■• *.. ~ '« 
Cl*/ IP IP T' SEED, of high quality, specially 
O tv L L 1 treated for Bill, quick germination. 
/-> * /-v\ r XT' TV Prices ami information on request. 
CLrVJ V ILK E. BARTON, Box 29. Falmouth, Ky. 
SEED WHEAT—“Stoner’s Miracle” 
Stools so wonderfully, only one-half to two-thirds 
the seed is required to sow. Write for descriptive 
circular and Price to J. N. McPHERSON, Scottsville, N. Y. 
ADDI C D AD DPI O—Best standard. Hand made. 
HrrLC DHnnLLd Any number. Prompt ship¬ 
ment. ROBT. GILLIES, Medina, New York 
Rneeion PiLLiio SEED RYE Rank grower. Enormous 
nUoolall Minus y folder. $1.30 per bn., subject to advance. 
Supply limited. Orderearly. Cloverilala Farm, Charlotte, N. Y. 
MODERN GASOLINE AUTOMOBILE 
Its construction, operation, maintenance 
and repairs. By Victor W. Page. 6x9. 
Cl. 693 pp. Over 400 ills. 
It gives up-to-date 
Information on the 
constructiqn, care 
and operation of the 
gasoline automobile, 
Including break¬ 
downs. and troubles 
of every description, 
with their proper 
remedy. The book 
Is clearly and con¬ 
cisely written, and 
tells just what to 
do and how to do it 
under all circum¬ 
stances. Every illus¬ 
tration in the book 
lias been specially 
drawn by the au¬ 
thor. and shows de¬ 
tails of every part of the machine. 
This book will be seut to any address prepaid for 
THREE NEW YEARLY SUBSCRIPTIONS to 
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Our New Handy Binder 
Sides are heavy Book Board, Imita¬ 
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Yorker”— on outside. 
Will hold 52 issues, or more. 
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price, 50c. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th St. New York City 
CABBAGE WORMS Destroyed by Dust- 
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So used for 35 years. SOLD BY ALL SEED DEALERS. 
For pamphlets worth having write B. HAMMOND, Beacon, New York 
