1240 
THK KUKAL NEW-YORKER 
October 16, 1915. 
Farm and Garden Topics 
Handling Alfalfa Hay. 
You call for experience in making 
high-class hay of Alfalfa. In my exper¬ 
ience there is no set rule or way to make 
it, as weather conditions have all to do 
with it. We grow about 20 acres of it 
in five different pieces, two pieces in or¬ 
chards, one piece being over 15 years old, 
and is giving three good cuttings a year. 
We hardly ever handle two pieces just 
alike; one has to use his own best judg¬ 
ment. Sometimes you can cut and ted 
one day, rake, set up and draw in the 
next day, and again with heavy dews 
followed by cloudy days it may take four 
or five days, and with some of the weath¬ 
er we have had this season it may take 
two weeks and when through with it 
have nothing but stalks left. We try to 
get it in before the leaves shell off, if it 
is a little damp, and with such we use 
lots of salt when we mow it away. I can 
only say one has to u&e his own best 
judgment as it hardly ever seems to be 
twice alike. I would advise Mr. Mc- 
Campbell to use lots of salt when he 
draws it in two-thirds cured. We have 
done this when it looked like rain, and 
the hay not quite cured, using about a 
peck of salt to the load. This seems to 
stop the heating. M. A. TURPIN. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
Suggestions for Cold-frame Crops. 
Such crops as the ordinary double 
curled parsley, Italian parsley, Hamburg 
parsley, carrots and dandelions should 
have been started some weeks ago. How¬ 
ever, as late as this attention should be 
confined to such crops as lettuce, radishes 
and perhaps spinach. In those beds 
where you wish to harvest a solid crop of 
radishes, the rows should be six inches 
apart. This crop could be succeeded by 
another crop of radishes before severe 
weather comes. If,-however, you wish to 
follow the radish crop with lettuce the 
rows should be nine inches apart. The 
radishes will be half grown by the time 
the lettuce plants are ready to be set. 
Place these seven inches apart between 
the rows, so that after the radishes are 
harvested each lettuce plant will have at 
least 63 square inches of space. The 
best radishes for forcing are the olive 
shape deep scarlet varieties, especially 
those strains which have but little foliage. 
The soil in cold frames should be very 
rich. It should be actually stuffed full 
of well-decomposed stable manure. It is 
also well to mix some ground bone and 
unleached wood ashes through the soil. 
While the lettuce is growing it may be 
well to rake a little nitrate of soda into 
the soil between the plants. This would 
produce a luxuriant growth. 
Cold frames need constant attention. 
Never let the heat run up on sunny days, 
and cover the sash with mats at night. 
Do not water the lettuce any oftener than 
necessary, but when the soil is dry it 
should be thoroughly soaked so that the 
operation will not have to be repeated 
too often. Frequent applications of 
water or lack of ventilation induces 
damping off and lettuce rot. 
The Big Boston frame lettuce has long 
been the standard variety for Fall forc¬ 
ing. You might try the May King va¬ 
riety and Ilittinger's Belmont, the latter 
especially is giving gi/eat satisfaction 
throughout the country. The Grand Rap¬ 
ids is the best of the non-heading va¬ 
rieties. It will take 10 or 11 weeks for 
lettuce to mature from the time the seed 
is planted. 
The thick-leaf spinach may be planted 
at once in rows about eight inches apart. 
It should have just as good soil as the 
lettuce. Put the sash on as soon as the 
seed is planted, and keep them on until 
the crop is ready to be harvested. Ven¬ 
tilate thoroughly. If the crop is partly 
grown in the open, then covered with 
glass when the cold weather comes, it has 
a tendency to draw the spinach up to 
seed rather than making heavy foliage. 
The market for this crop, however, has 
been seriously hurt of late years by the 
shipments of Norfolk spinach. The crops 
cannot grow in the cold frames during 
the severe months of January and Feb¬ 
ruary. Later, however, they may be 
used to advantage in the growing of all 
kinds of plants for very early Spring 
planting. Market gardeners have several 
frames of dandelions growing at this 
time which do not get the glass placed on 
them until February, then the plants 
spring up into a fresh heavy growth and 
usually bring good prices on the market. 
Anyone who has not had experience in 
the handling of cold frames should start 
in on a very limited scale, as experience 
and practical knowledge are most essen¬ 
tial for success. However, it is a very 
profitable business when well handled. 
R. w. D. 
Shavings for Mulch. 
Will shavings and coarse sawdust 
make a good covering for my strawberry 
bed this Winter? The bed was started 
new last Fall, but there are many young 
plants of this year’s setting and they 
need a mulching of some kind. We have 
no straw here, sawdust is used for bed¬ 
ding in the stables. c. H. w. 
Townshend, Vt. 
The shavings and the coarse sawdust 
will not prove satisfactory as a mulch 
for strawberries. This material packs 
down too close around the plant and 
keeps the air away from it. The straw¬ 
berry must have air during the Winter 
or it will be smothered. That is why 
coarse material like straw, rough hay or 
cornstalks make the best sort of mulch 
material. The sawdust and the shavings 
after a few rains or when filled with 
snow pack down solidly on the ground 
and will make trouble for the plant. Sta¬ 
ble manure which does not contain much 
straw is nearly as bad. We have seen 
a number of cases where great patches of 
berries were destroyed by this kind of 
mulch. 
Winter Storage of Vegetables. 
The Massachusetts Agricultural Col¬ 
lege gives the following advice about 
keeping garden vegetables over Winter: 
“(1) The vegetables themselves should 
be of good quality, free from disease or 
bruises; (2) they must not be put in too 
early or piled so that any heating will 
take place; (3) they must not be sub¬ 
jected to an atmosphere which is so dry 
that it will cause wilting and thereby 
spoil their quality. It is possible for the 
home gardener to keep root crops, pota¬ 
toes, cabbage and squash for some months 
in most house cellars with the exercise of 
some precautions, even where a cool cel¬ 
lar is not provided. Vegetables should 
be stored as far away from the heater 
as possible, excepting in cellars where 
freezing occurs. If there is a cement 
lloor it is best to pack the root crops in 
boxes or barrels and cover the top with 
clean sand or sifted soil in which there 
is not much organic matter. A covering 
of about two inches is sufficient. In case 
either the commercial grower or the home 
gardener lacks a storage place, there is 
an alternative which is available to al¬ 
most everyone who has a garden. This 
is the ‘vegetable pit.’ The essentials 
are: (1) a well-drained piece of land 
conveniently located; (2) some material 
to cover the ‘pit’ after cold weather 
comes. The crops which can be success¬ 
fully handled in this way are beets, car¬ 
rots, parsnips, turnips, Winter radishes, 
salsify, horseradish and cabbages. The 
outdoor vegetable pit is made in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: On the spot selected, 
measure off a space three or four feet 
wide and as long as desired. Plan to 
have the pit extend north and south. The 
soil should be removed 8-12 inches deep 
the width of the pit and one-half of the 
earth thrown out on either side. The 
bottom of the pit should be made level 
and the sides cut straight down. The 
root crops are then piled on the ground 
the full width of the excavation and 
brought to a lidge about 2 1 / i feet deep at 
the center. Rarely will the home garden¬ 
er need a pit more than six to eight feet 
long and it is wisdom for him to mix 
roots stored so that all sorts can be ob¬ 
tained at one end. The commercial 
grower will do well to use one pit for 
each kind of vegetable stored. The roots 
should not be piled before the weather is 
cool. They should be dry and covered 
with about two inches of soil to prevent 
frost injury or wilting. As the weather 
grows colder and preferably after the 
first soil covering has frozen nearly to 
the vegetables, m we covering should be 
applied to a thickness of two to four 
inches. It is well to obtain this soil 
alongside of the pit in such a way that 
good drainage will be assured. After 
more cold weather additional covering of 
straw, meadow hay, leaves or similar 
good protective material is added.” 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
We have over 2500 acres In nurseries 
here — millions of Apples, Peaches, 
Pears, Cherries, Ornamentals, etc. Come 
to Berlin and pick out your stock. We 
pay your hotel expenses while here and 
you’ll find your trip paid you. We sell 
only the trees we grow—you’re protec¬ 
ted. Learn more about them. Send for 
our Free Fall Catalog. Reserve orders 
early, we ship when you want. Write now. 
Like They 
Put On Top 
—Handsome, firm apples with that 
freshness of color and smooth skin that 
fairly make you buy them. That’s 
the kind we sell for a $ 1,000 a car and 
the kind you can grow on trees you 
buy from us. Our 
Faultless Fruit 
Is the result of budding from bearing 
trees known for their splendid yields. 
That’s why our trees are found in practically 
every fruit section east of the Mississippi and 
they’re hardy, too—the severest of Northern 
winters leave them unharmed. They have enor¬ 
mous root systems and clean, well ripened wood. 
Let us help you select the right varieties for your 
soil,climate and markets—our twenty-five years’ 
experience is yours for the asking. 
500,000 Fresh Dug Trees Guaranteed 
No Cold Storage, your order dug and shipped name day. Thousands of Apple, Peach, Plum, Cherry, Pear, small fruits, ornamentals 
at Grower's Wholesale Price. Boxing, packing Iree. No order too small. Personal attention given each one. Stock best we have 
grown in our 25 years’ experience. Order from grower and save disappointment at fruiting time. Catalog free to everybody. 
THOM AS K. 81IKKKIN, N nracry man, Main Street, Duimvllle, X. V. 
Till. KIND THAT PRODUCES KESITI/TS. 
Wonderful 9 in 1 
Fence .Tool 
Moat useful time and money saving tool on farm. Combines nine 
tools in one. Will make, drive and pull staples; cut,straighten, 
splice, tie and stretch wire: open boxes, repair Implements, 
etc., quick Kit and BKTTKit than au y 01 her tool. Saves w ire, 
staples and hours of time and trouble. Makes old fences 
good as new. For new fences, saves many times its cost in 
posts alone and makes btronokr fence. Lasts lifetime. Sent 
prepaid with full .instructions on fence repairing for $1.50. 
Information free. Absolute 
satisfaction guaranteed or 
money refunded— pobitivk- 
ly. Order today. 
UTICA HARDWARE SALES CO. 
BEECH ST., UTICA, N. Y. 
AGENTS 
er. Make $5 to $15 a day. 
No" competition. Write at 
once f**r “Agents Plan.'* 
HOT BED SASH 
Qf\ CYPRESS, well made, 
with cross bar, nllnd 
tenons, white leaded 
in joints. GLASS, $1*50 per Box. 
C.N. Robinson & Bro., Opt. H,Balto.,Md. 
Colli 
( 
shows the short roaa to big¬ 
ger fruit profits. 
Suggestions based on our half cen¬ 
tury success grow ing fruit for mar¬ 
ket. Eliminates doubtful experi¬ 
ments. Moderate prices on proved 
varieties. 
Write today for your copy — FREE 
N cw berry anti smalt fruit catalog 
on press—edition limited. 
ARTHUR J. COLLINS 
Box 31, Moorestown, N. J. 
Kel lys TREES 
The Kind That "Make Good." True to Name—Free 1 
from Disease. Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum,Cher¬ 
ry and Quince Trees, also small Fruits and 
Ornamentals, shipped direct to your orch¬ 
ard at Growers' Prices. 35 years’ experience 
in growing trees enable# us to ship you guaranteed stock i 
a low figure. Write for free wholesale catalog today and read | 
our binding guarantee. Now is the time to plant Apple Trees. 
Kellv Bros. Wholesale Nurseries, 34 Main St. Dansviile, N,T. 
^^^^^^UjieveT^egret^lantin^Kelli/Trciiii. 
maloney's TREES 
For fall planting. Thousands of Fruit, Nut and 
Ornamental Trees, Vines, Bushes and Shrubs, 
grown in our own nurseries and fully 
guaranteed. Maloney Quality plus Maloney 
Personal Service is your best tree insurant e. 
Write for free wholesale catalogue. We 
are the largest growers in New York ami sell 
A-l stock at the right price. Write today. 
MALONEY BROS. & WELLS CO., Dansrilk, N. Y. 
Box 22. Dansville’s Pioneer Wholesale Nurseries 
iMillions of trefes plants 
....j t-t _ __mgrower. Guaranteed] 
quality Apple & peach trees. Asnaragus, gooseber¬ 
ries berry plants, privet hedging. New catalog ready 
THE WEStMINSTER NURSERY, Box 129, Westminster, Md. 
Hardy Northern Budded Pecan 
And English Walnut Trees 
Bear young. Thin Shell, Large Size, Splendid 
Quality. Special Nut Catalog on request. 
Cherry Trees and General Line of other 
Nursery Stock. 
VINCENNES NURSERIES 
Box 299 VINCENNES, IND. 
NTut Trees 
My hardy PENNSYLVANIA GROWN trees will 
succeed with you 
You can't afford to neglect the planting of NUT 
TREES longer; neither can you afford to 
plant anything but the best BUDDED or 
GRAFTED trees. Write for catalog 
J. F. Jones The N BoL r R5 S z7 CI, " sl Lancaster, Pa. 
FRASER’S APPLE TREES 
Thousands of them growing in the Genesee 
Valley, and producing big crops. Thousands 
more In my nursery, ready for fall shipping. 
Fifty varieties for general orchard and home 
planting—big, clean, healthy trees, just the kind 
you want for the new orchard or to replace old 
sorts. Get my Tree Hook, which gives full details. 
SAMUEL FRASER, 126 Main St., Geneseo, N. Y. 
OAA AAA SHEERIN’S FRESH DUG 
UV WJVv V Trees at wholesale prices. Best 
stock we ever had—Boxed Free. Guaranteed True lo Name. 
Catalog free to everybody. SHEERIN’S WHOLESALE 
NURSERIES 48 Seward Street, Dansviile. N. \. 
peppv P| MUTC Strawberry, Raspberry Black- 
0 L.lt n I rLHIilO berry. Asparagus Plants. 
Fruit trees for fall planting. 
All leading varieties. Catalogue 
free. Agents wanted. Harry L. Squires. Remsenburo, N.Y. 
FRUIT TREES 
Cabbage and Celery Plants 
fine stocky plants, of all the Leading Varieties, $1 
per 1,000; $8.50 per 10,000. J. C. tschmidt, Bristol. Pa. 
For Sale The Hemingway Farms 
offer their surplus German cattle beets —$0 per ton, 
F. O. B. Less than car loads at $7 per ion; pur¬ 
chaser to furnish sacks. Poultryinen are our heavy 
buyers. T. E. BAKLOW, Supl,, Auburn, N. V. 
SPRING PRICES NOW 
250 Choice strawberry plants for $1.25. Each plant 
will yield a full crop next spring. Over 100 varieties 
to select from my catalogue. Send for it to-day. 23 
years as a specialist. T. 0. Kevitt, Athenia, S’. J. 
rauthorrv Plonlo pot grown, and layer plants in- 
Oll dnucl I j ridniS eluding all the best up-to-date, 
varieties, 75 cents per 100. $3.50 per 1.000, Everbear¬ 
ing. $1.50 per 100. $10.00 per 1.000. 
K. IV. Townseud, Uox 205, Salisbury, Md. 
STRA WBERRY PLANTS-"™*™* 
55 varieties, including the FALL 11EAluiSG 
Asparagus Knots, etc. Catalogue free. 
•J. Keif lord Jiali,liuute 2, Kliodesdale, Md. 
MEN WANTED 
in every county to sell 
Fruit Trees. Berry Plants 
Nursery Stock, Seeds, all 
or p.vt. time. Clean, profitable business all the year. 
liAltltY L, SQUIRES, Kemseuburg, N, Y. 
LIME 
Improve the land, in¬ 
crease the yield with 
SHELL LIME. Cheapest 
in cost, easiest to apply, 
won’t burn the skin, and 
produces best and long¬ 
est results, 
100 lbs. 50c. 500 lbs. *2.00 lOOO lbs #8.50 
exit 1.0AII LOTS OF 18 IONS IN BI LK AT #2.0(1 I I It TON 
C. N. Robinson & Bro., Shell Dept., Baltimore, Md. 
LEVIN PRUNER 
T HE best Primer. Cuts %-inch 
dry branch. Quick, clean, 
easy cut. We will send it post¬ 
paid for one new yearly subscrip¬ 
tion at $1, or for club of 10 ten- 
week trials at 10 cents each. 
These articles are not given with a sub¬ 
scription to The Rural New-Yorker, but 
are given to the agent as a reward. In 
place of cash, for extending the subscrip¬ 
tion list of The Rural New-Yorker, 
THE RURAL NEW YORKER, 
333 WEST 30th ST., NEW YORK. 
