830 
■Uhe RURAL NEW-VORKER 
middle of a cultivated field, or a large rook which 
interferes with plowing. Dynamite is often the best 
remedy in such cases. 
THE I..\NE.—Lanes should he square with the 
fence line.s, rather than cut across fields diagon¬ 
ally. If made two or more rods wide, and fenced, 
tliey Avill often furnish .some pasture where stock 
is kept. 
MAPPING THE FARM.—Before the fields are 
covered with snow, it would be a good plan to make 
an accurate map of the farm, and figure out the 
difference between the total area and the area that 
is tilled. In mo.st cases, there will be a sui^prising 
amount of idle land that could just as well be 
under cultivation. During the Winter a scheme 
could be worked out for combining irregular fields 
into different ones, getting rid of useless fence rows 
and ditches and making improvements in general. 
The work can be done at odd times and can be a 
gi'adual process; it will thus cost less, beside being 
felt less. It is well to remember that if an acre 
of ground is made to produce a dollar moi’e a year, 
its value is increased twenty dollars (interest at 
5%) ; and whether the result Is gained by grubbing 
out a hedgerow and putting the idle land to work, 
or by combining two fields so that is costs less to 
work them, that it is nevertheless the same. 
Trenton, N. J. B. L. s. 
A Practical Farm Apple Cellar 
O N page 317 reference was made to a cold cel¬ 
lar used for apple storage by W. F. Ely of 
New .Jersey. There have been several inquiries as 
to how this was constructed and Mr. Ely gives the 
following facts about it. 
“We had a barn 32 feet wide and 90 feet long 
running north and south. We wanted a place to 
store our apples and also to keep asparagus over 
night and from Saturday to Monday, as we were 
rai.sing asparagus quite heavily at that time. We 
had this barn building extended on the south 18 
feet for a cellar to be about eight feet high. A 
wall of stone was laid up against the end of the 
old barn, east and Avest; on the east a wall two 
feet wide faced inside. Earth and loose stones 
were filled in outside so Ave could drive in on the 
floor above the cellar. On the Avest was a stone 
Avail two feet Avide faced on both sides, and eight 
feet high. About four feet from the soutliAvest 
corner a frame was set in the Avail, clo.se to the 
top, to hold tAvo AvindoAvs. These AvindoAvs were 
about 12 inches dOAvn, 24 inches long, hung doAvn, 
about six inches apart, to open up close to the 
ceiling. On the south a wall Avas made, laying in 
as large stones as we could, and on the outside we 
made a sloping bank. Above this the Avail Avas built 
up tAvo feet Avide, four feet high, faced on both sides. 
About eight feet from the east corner a window, as 
on the Avest, Avas put in. In the middle Avere steps 
to go into the cellar Avith one five-foot Avide door, 
.slanting from the building out. After opening it 
up against the baim one Avent doAvn five stone steps 
and came to a tight door closing on a line with the 
stone Avail, which opened into the cellar on a large 
flat stone one foot from bottom. The bottom of this 
cellar Avas a foot of small stones and gravel, cement¬ 
ed and sloping slightly. At one end a circle was 
made six feet in diameter, and in the center was 
placed an iron pipe leading into tAvo barrels of 
stones placed one above the other. The opening of 
this pipe Avas even Avith the surface of the floor ,so 
that Avater Avould drain from it freely into the bar¬ 
rels of stones. When A\’e wanted to keep asparagus 
over night or Sunday, this drain pipe was plugged 
and a feAv pails of water thrown into the depres¬ 
sion. Asparagus bunches set over night on end in 
this water Avould keep well. 
“Overhead Avere oak cross-beams running from • 
east to west. The cellar was ceiled on the loAver 
side of these beams and a floor of tAvo-inch plank 
Avas laid on the top, the space betAveen the floor and 
ceiling being filled with dry sawdust which made 
good insulation for the top of the cellar. The win- 
doAVS referred to were covered Avith fine wire net¬ 
ting, outside all the time, so that no flies or other 
in.sects would enter. 
“When the apples Avere gone in June, the win- 
doAvs and doors were opened and the cellar thor¬ 
oughly aired. No special cleaning Avas necessary, 
as rotten fruit was at once removed when discov¬ 
ered. A few days befoi*e we expected to put in ap¬ 
ples in Fall, the windows and doors Avere closed 
tightly and for two days two kerosene stoves Avere 
kept bAirning day and night until the temperaUire 
Avas raised to about 80 degrees. This dried out the 
cellar and stirred up any living creatures that might 
be in it. Th6n two small fires of pine sticks, were 
made on the floor, and when these Avere reduced to 
coals a cupful of sulphur Avas thrown upon each and 
the room tightly closed. A day or two afteiward 
this was repeated. The purpose of this fumigation 
was to kill all insect life. 
“Our apples wei’e all stored in crates, of which we 
had several hundred. After the apples were sorted 
for market we filled these crates and they were 
placed in the storeroom six or seven crates high if 
neee.ssary. They were in roAVS tAvo or more feet 
from the cellar wall, so that we could go back of 
them if neces.sary. The apples went in after they 
Avere through the sweat, and we ran the ther¬ 
mometer doAvn to 28 deg. as soon as possible. It 
was aired only Avhen clear and cool, and handled in 
this way the cellar temperature changed but little 
for days at a time. Many of our apples Avere sold 
in the Fall, but this cellar enabled us to save the 
long-keeping varieties in good condition, so that 
customers could be supplied till June with fruit in 
fine condition.” 
Preparing Sod Land for Planting 
Will you print an article on the use of sod land for 
immediate use for prepai*edness crops? Plowing or 
spading the sod' under seems to make it troublesome. 
Would you recommend the use of the disk harrow 
tefore plotting, especially if the same would be repeat¬ 
ed after the broken sod had time to dry, so the earth 
would separate easily? Is much of the mass of roots 
likely to be killed by exposure with this method, and 
will the land become .suitable for roots, potatoes, etc.? 
New York. av. s. b. 
T Avill depend someAvhat upon the crop you wish 
to plant after breaking up the sod. Generally 
speaking, there are tAvo methods of handling such a 
field. One is to Avork the sod until it is thoroughly 
torn a])art, so as to kill the grass out completely. 
The otlier is to turn the sod completely over, and 
Why not Put the Other Foot on the Ground. Fig. 333 
then disturb it as little as possible, AA'orking the 
surface a feAV inches deep and planting some crop.in 
this shallOAV preparation. In carrying out the first 
plan, probably the best Avay is to use a disk or 
cutaAA’ay harrow before ploAving. The harrow 
should be w'ell Aveighted doAvn and three good 
horses used. Such working AAdll rip and tear the 
sod into pieces. To do a thorough job it would be 
better to cross-work such soil, first going north and 
south for example, and then turn and Avork east and 
Avest, putting the disk doAvn so that the land Avill 
be Avorked four or five inches deep. Then after this 
double Avorking the land may be ploAved so as to 
turn the chopped and broken sod thoroughly under. 
FolloAving this a spring-tooth harroAV may be xised, 
Avith the teeth arranged to cut tAvo or three inches 
deep. This Avill rip out most of the grass roots, 
and these can be raked up and taken off in order 
to do a thorough job. What is knoAvn as the Clark 
system of seeding grass is ba.sed on this plan of in¬ 
tense culture. George M. Clark, Avho practiced this 
method, Avould take an old meadOAV full of old grass 
and Aveedi, and Avork it repeatedly Avith a cutaAvay 
harroAv. His plan was to avoid turning under any 
jjart of the sod, but to Avork the pieces again and 
again to the surface so that they Avould be killed 
out through exposure. He Avorked the soil so thoi’- 
oughly that the old meadoAV could be ploAved in 
early July, Avorked repeatedly until the middle of 
September, and then have a clean and thorough 
seed bed ready for another seeding to grass. This 
requires heaA'y expense for labor, and there are 
many modifications of it. Most farmers Avould 
probably limit such culture to chopping thoroughly 
Avith the disk or cutaway, then ploAAdng and thor¬ 
June .30, 191T. 
oughly fitting the soil with a Acme or smoothing 
harroAv. 
The other plan is frequently followed Avith suc¬ 
cess, but it requires skillful plowing and vei’y good 
judgment. If the grass has made much groAvth, in 
order to folloAV this plan properly the moAver should 
be run over the field so as to clip the grass off. 
TLtf' ploAV is then adjusted so as to turn the fur¬ 
rows upside doAvn. This means that they should 
not be left on edge, but turned under flat and close 
together, so that the grass surface will be turned 
completely over and lie at the bottom of the fur¬ 
row. When this has been done, the plan is to fit 
the land lightly, so as not to disturb these furroAvs 
or turn up the sod. This is generally done Avith a 
tool like the Acme, heavily weighted down. This 
Avill pack the soil down hard, and Avork the surface 
about three inches deep. In planting, care is taken 
not to make deep furrows, but to put the seed dOAvn 
into the sod and leave it there Avithout turning this 
sod up. In planting potatoes this can be done with 
a spade on a small scale, or by using one of the 
hand potato planters, Avith Avhich the seed is driven 
down three or four inches and left underground. In 
corn planting shalloAV marks are made without dis¬ 
turbing the sod, and the corn planted by hand. 
When this is done, and only shalloAV cultivation 
given, excellent yields are u.sually obtained. There 
is not much trouble from grass if thorough culture 
is given. The sod decays under ground, and puts the 
land in excellent condition. Usually it pays well 
to use lime in connection with an old sod. This 
should be put on after plowing, and thoroughly 
worked doAvn all through the soil. 
Cultivation in Wet Weather 
It has rained here .about five days of every week. 
All of my crops are well above ground, and would, you 
consider it beneficial to cultivate the crops during AA’et 
Aveather to allow air to get into the soil? I know 
that cultivating after a rain Avill conserve moisture, 
but Avould horse cultivation betAveen Avet spells open 
the soil enough to prevent excessive moisture? Most 
of my land is light and Avell drained. Would cultiva¬ 
tion stimulate groAvth? ii, h. b. 
Hudson, Mass. 
ERY fine judgment is required to decide about 
such cultivating. There is no definite rule 
about it. In such Aveather the cultivator simply 
transplants Aveeds—ripping them out of one place 
and dumping them in another Avhere they start and 
groAV—all the better for the transplanting. Some 
Aveeds are coveretl and thus killed, but as a rule 
such Avorking does not clean the ground. Yet, on 
light, open, and Avell-drained land Ave keep the cul¬ 
tivators gofng through rainy Aveather. This keeps 
the upper soil stirred up, lets in the air, dries out 
the upper layers a little faster and prevents crust¬ 
ing or “caking” Avhen a hard dry Avind suddenly 
folloAvs continued Avet AA'eather. On heavy, un¬ 
drained land, such cultivation Avill often do more 
harm than good. The soil is packed or “puddled” 
too much, and a change from Avet to a drying Avind 
Avill bake the soil as hard as brick. In such Avet 
soils Ave have often found that the use of a one- 
horse ploAV betAveen the roAv.s, folloAved later by a 
Aveeder or a light hai-roAV to level doAvn, is good 
practice. Good judgment is often required in regu¬ 
lating the depth of the cultivator. In ordinary 
weather light cultivating is best, but in some very 
Avet seasons deep Avorking is better. In this ca.se 
the object is to not prune the crop, especially Avith 
corn. In some Avet seasons corn Avill make such a 
heavy root groAvth that the crop is too late in ma¬ 
turing. Deep cultivation, in such cases, acts some¬ 
Avhat like root-pruning on overgrown trees to hurry 
up the crop. 
Bean Growing in New Jersey 
EW FIELDS OF PRODUCmON.—The food 
value of beans is remarkably high, making 
them particularly desirable as food for soldiers. 
The foreign demand for American beans has mul¬ 
tiplied many times since the “Great War” began, 
while at the same time our production has not ma¬ 
terially increased because those extensive beau pro¬ 
ducing sections of Ncav York and Michigan are get¬ 
ting a reduced yield. This means that in the future 
beans Avill be grown in sections Avhere this great 
crop is still quite unknoAvn. 
RESULTS IN NEW JERSEY.—A grower in 
Hunterdon Co., N. J., writes: “I am just a beginner 
at farming. Last season I planted eight acres of 
pea beans and sold the crop for $812.80 net returns. 
This year I shall plant 25 acres, because I believe 
they can be groAvn profitably at $4 per bushel, and 
this year I received $6.40 net and if I had held them 
they Avould have brought a much larger price.” 
BU'SH LIMAS.—The illustration. Fig. 334, is that 
of a beau field of 80 acres in Monmouth Co., N. J. 
