8j6 
July 28, 1917. 
-ehe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
think that many of us must come to feed¬ 
ing larger quantities of Aifalfa and 
clover in the place of grain and meat. 
(Ian these .small silos bo used to help 
with bulky feed? Who can tell? It is a 
big and important question and we want 
the whole story. 
Fly Traps 
We calle<l for a convention of fly hunt¬ 
ers—asking them to tell how they make 
fly trai)s that will catch flics. From the 
Wisconsin Exi)eriinent Station we have 
(he following—the picture explains it. 
A good fly trai) may be made from two 
nail keg hooi)s and two pieces of wire 
si'reening. Small hooks hold the two 
«-ones together. The opening at the top 
of the inside cone is about the size of a 
lead pencil. Four nails are partly driven 
into the bottom to serve as legs to raise 
the trap from the floor. A saucer of some 
sweet substance as sugar or syrup, is the 
bait. 
Then we are told of putting a keg or 
barrel upside down on small blocks. 
This leaves a crack or narrow passage 
Homemade Fly Trap 
under the barrel for the flies to enter. 
At the top is a hole covered with wire 
gauze. The flies enter below, see the 
light and fly up—being unable to get 
back. 
Storing Uncured Hay 
Have you ever heard of putting clover 
hay in the barn without curing? I mean 
(he hav dow'ii in the morning after the 
d(‘w is off, putting it in the barn the 
same day. K. P. T. 
P.rownfield, Jle. 
I have occasionally heard of the prac¬ 
tice of putting hay in the barn wnthout 
curing, but have never .seen it done suc¬ 
cessfully. In several instances I have had 
serious trouble from putting hay in the 
barn without sufficient curing, and could 
not recommend the practice of cutting 
and putting in the bai-n the same day. 
It is, how( ver, true that hay on which 
there is no moisture other than that in 
the hay its.df, will sweat out in the barn 
and cure well, without being dried so 
much as if th’ general practice. It is an 
excellent plan to avoid mowing when the 
dew is on the grass, and another excel¬ 
lent pra( tiee to stop handling the hay as 
soon as the dew begins to fall at night, 
which is earlier than most people realize. 
I have been very successful in curing hay 
v/ell, by mo^’ing in the afternoon while 
the sun is .still shining hot, then run the 
tedder over it as early as possible the 
next morning, and again, if it is thought 
necessary, about noon, then raking jind 
drawing to the barn. Hut I thiide the 
general jiractice of taking two days for 
the curing of hay will continue in this 
climate, where there is so much Inimidity 
in the air. and so frequent fogs. 
K. WAI.KKK .MCKEKN. 
A Fight With Weeds 
I have a field of jiotatoes which have 
got ahead of me in weeds. I have culti¬ 
vated several times, so field is clean be¬ 
tween rows, but between plants there are 
weeds. At present I am imlling out by 
hand. Will it affect my crop much if I 
«-an’t get them all out in time? Plants 
look line. How long can I cultivate po¬ 
tatoes? What is meant by last cultiva¬ 
tion of corn? (I have six acres in.) 
Does it mean cultivate till one cannot 
get through? A. 
New York. 
We lose from 10 to 15 per cent, of the 
potato croj) when the weeds grow to ma¬ 
turity in the rows. If you cannot pull 
all the weeds take a sickle or corn cut¬ 
ter and out the weeds off close to the 
grouT'd. This can be done rapidly. It, 
will not kill the weeds but it will make 
them less destructive. We cultivate until 
the bloom is on the vines, and tbe tubers 
are iis large as nuts or hen’s eggs. Then 
it is well to hill up the rows a little. We 
should cultivate corn as long as we can 
get thi'ough without injuring the stalks. 
Raw, Ground Limestone 
Do you believe raw rock lirrestone 
finely ground is a good soil builder, or do 
you believe it works like floats, good for 
some and nothing for the majority? My 
expeiiment station recommends it, and 
wlmt I have been ■^ble to read verifies 
this idea, but I have a successful uncle 
who does not believe in same, also others 
round abofit. Of course, I understand 
that it would take a double quantity to 
do the Siime work. Ji. L. F. 
Westminster, Md. 
We surely believe in ground limestone. 
Perhaps you have “floats” confused with 
burnt lime.stone. The “floats” is another 
name for finely ground phosphate rock 
and this would not be used for the same 
jiurpose as lime. Thus there would be 
no direct comifarison. The “floats” would 
be used as a fertilizer to supply phos¬ 
phorus, while the lime is not us(“d so 
much as plant food, but for the chemical 
effect ui)on the soil. Perhaps you mean 
burnt lime instead of “floats.” In that 
case the fine limestone will give re.sults, 
but you should use twice as much of it as 
of the burnt lime. 
Crops and Farm News 
Generally speaking the ai)ple crop will 
be very light. The long continued wet 
weather has caused a light set of fruit; 
this is especially true in orchards not 
sjirayed, and even in orchards where 
thorough Avork in si)raying has been done 
there is some apple scab infection. At 
present (July .‘1) we are giving our 
orchards the fifth application of spray, 
and have promise now of a full crop of 
Spy and a fair crop of other varieties. 
There is now with our own and neighbors 
adjoining a continuoiis block of apple 
trees, three miles long, all under the 
“sod mulch” method. Those who culti¬ 
vate have our symi)athy. 
GRANT G. IIITCIIINGS. 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
As to the apple crop in this vicinity 
at blossoming time my estimate was 125 
per cent., considering profuse bloom. 
Weather conditions were not favorable 
except at intervals. In consequence the 
setting of fruit was variable, some trees 
showing full crop, many trees a partial 
crop, and a larger i ercentage with no 
apple.s. Sever.al of our gemd orchards 
that have continuous careful attention 
are producing a full normal crop, and a 
great number of other orchards are giving 
only a partial yield. The quality is gen¬ 
erally good. Baldwin, Greening, King, 
Duchess, Wealthy and McIntosh are the 
principal varieties that are yielding well. 
Taking everything in consideration I now 
estimate the total api)le prospects at 70 
to 75 per cent, for the Red Hook district. 
Dutchess Co., N. X. w. s. t. 
Sour cherries are not over 25 per cent, 
of a normal crop; the foliage is goo<l, but 
they did not set. I’eaches, I think, v/ill 
be a full crop. About 10 days ago we 
thought they were not going to amount 
to much, but to-day I have talked with 
some growers and looked at my own, 
and I think we a -e safe to say the i)r(>s 
poet of a full crop. It is very hard to 
get a real good idea of apples. Fall ap¬ 
ples are a full crop. Baldwins did not 
blossom any to speak of, but where they 
blossomed they are rejjorted as setting 
well, and the same is true of Ben Davis. 
Greenings blossomed very full; in fact 
the trees were white, and they have set 
very irregularly. Some trees set full, 
which seems to be a very small propor¬ 
tion of them, and some trees have .set on 
the south and east .sides heavily, and the 
other sides nothing on them, indicating 
that the west and north winds blasted the 
blossoms. The next tree may not have 
anything on. The only way to get a fair 
estimate of the crop is to make a personal 
canvass from tn'c to tree, and one must 
go around each tree in order to know 
what is on it. They are at lea.'t two to 
three weeks later tlian usual, but I do 
not think there is over 25 per cemt. of a 
crop. The apples are not large enough 
yet to show up, and the foliage is very 
heavy, and in line condition up to the 
j)re.seut time. w. P. ROGERS. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 
Continued heavy rains, which have 
made it impossible for farmers to work 
any but the naturally dry lands, will ma¬ 
terially cut down the 1017 crop acreage 
in Tioga and adjoining counties of New 
York State. Plans were mad<‘ in the 
Spring for a greatly increased acreage in 
corn, potatoes, beans, buckwheat and 
minor crops, seed in many cases being 
procured from a distance and at bigh 
prices, but heavy rains, amounting many 
times to torrential downpours, have been 
continuous up to this time, July 10, with 
only an occa.sioual clear and drying day. 
As a con.sequence, land prepare(l for 
planting, has been soaked again and 
again and planting made impossible; 
even plowing for buckwheat, the South¬ 
ern New York farmer’s catch c op, has 
been impossible on many acres that might 
have been devoted to that grain. The 
season of 1910 was similar, heavy rains 
continuing to June 21, but good weather 
after that date made it possible to get 
fair crops. There is, so far, no prospect 
of any cessation in the downpour this 
year, however, and the outlook is more 
than gloomy. Where naturally dry land 
I>ermitted planting, potatoes are looking 
well, the foliage being heavy, of good 
color, and with no damage from bugs or 
blight, (’orn, jls might be expected, is 
backward, small and yellow. Oats show 
the effect of too much water and too little 
sun, as do be.ans also. Grass is good and 
it is fortunately unnecessary, as it is im¬ 
possible, to begin haying at the season 
when it is ordinarily well under way. 
Desi)ite the strenuous efforts of her far¬ 
mers, Southern (’entral New York will 
not hold her own in crop production this 
year, much less give the needed increase 
that the war demands. M. B. 1 ). 
Tioga Co., N. Y. 
Apples not over 25 per cent, of crop 
in Maine. Grass heavy. laibor out of 
sight. Men asking .$4 per day; .$8 for 
team. A new pest has struck peas, beans, 
corn and even cabbages; a small worm 
eating out the green of the leaves. Some 
whole fields de.stroyed. Send along your 
officials and Chamber of Commerce to 
help. G. M. B. 
Kennebec Co., Me. 
I have two farms occupied by tenants. 
Potato seed costs us from .$2..5(> to .$4 per 
bu.; oats for s<‘ed, .$1 i)er i)u.; seed corn, 
from Jf2.50 to per bu.; dairy cows cost 
from .^(!5 to .$100; butter. 4.5c to .50c per 
lb.; cheese, .50c to .‘1.5c. Fruit quite high ; 
gardening crops ar(> very high. Pork, 
dressed, ‘20c per lb.; veal, dressed, 18c to 
17c. We hav«‘ to pay 80c a pound for 
beef.steak ; roasts in .same proportion. We 
sell our milk on the test and get pay for 
butterfat and draw <mt separator milk to 
feed our calves and hogs that we may 
have some pork to live oji next Winter. 
Beans have been retailing at our stores 
from 20c to 22c i)er lb.; potatoes and 
beans were a dead failure here last year, 
but the ci’ops are looking fine now. If 
we can only .sustain life till this Fall we 
the p<<q>le in Northern New York will 
have enough to live on till another sea¬ 
son. c. F. .j. 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y". 
In my judgment the apple crop will 
fall far .short of last season, probabl.v one- 
half or more. Fungus is rapidly develop¬ 
ing, even in well-cared-for orchards, with 
weather conditions continuing in its fa 
vor. The peach .situation looks much 
brigl'.ter, with possibly a somewhat larger 
crop than that of last season, though some 
report (piite a heavy drop of late, so that 
in some cases thinning will not be neces¬ 
sary. n. .s. G. 
Orleans Co., N. Y'. 
Milk at condeusary, .5ViC for 4 i)er 
cent.; butter. 8()c; eggs, local market, 
80c; strawberries, 12c per quart; ar.par- 
agus. 12c per pound. p. b. ji. 
Tompkins C'o., N. Y. 
Butter, 40c to 4‘2c per lb.; eggs. 82c to 
.80c; veal calves, 11c to l‘2c per lb.; beef 
cattle about 7c to Sc, or po.ssibly 9c p(‘r 
lb. live weight. They are mostly sold at 
! o much p(‘r head and not weighed. Cow.s, 
.'50 to .$80 }»er head, deiiending \ipon the 
condition they are in. Hay, $12 to $15 
per ton. Old potatoes have been selling 
at about .$8 per btu, but there are few or 
none for sale now. Milk is not sold here, 
but is nearly all made into butt('r at the 
local creamery or in the dairies or the 
farms. f. ii. s. 
Tioga Co., I‘a. 
Rain every day for the last 10 or 12 
days, rains washing awa.v bridge.s and 
tearing o>it ditches in the corn fields. No 
hay made yet. Clover rotting cm (he 
ground. Most of the buckwheat to be 
sown yet; buckwheat seed selling from 
$8 to .$5 i>er hundred. Wheat, .$2.20; 
oats, 2.5c; corn, $].()(>; cows, from .$50 to 
.$1(M1. E. R. 
\'<'nango Co., I’a. 
Apples, 1.5 i)er cent., peaches, 100 per 
cent.; ijears, 75 per ctmt.; chei'ries, 40 
p('r cent. 11. A. B. 
.leffersou (’o., N. Y". 
Ihisturcs are good and cows are milk¬ 
ing well. A number of farmers in Clin¬ 
ton County have purchased milking ma¬ 
chines to help out the labor problem. 
Plenty of rain with prospects of a good 
hay crop, which will not be harvested 
until about the middle of July. Other 
crops are coming on quite well consid¬ 
ering the lateness of the season. ^ May 
milk brought farmers from $1.50 to 
$1.55 pm* cwt. at the creameries. Butter 
40c pm- lb.; eggs 82c per doz. Skim- 
milk calve.s, alive, 9c per lb.; veals 12 
to 18c; i)ork, dressed, 20c per lb. Po¬ 
tatoes have dropped to $1 per bushel. 
Clinton Co., N. YL ii. T. J. 
Beef cattle from .$50 to $65; pork, per 
lb., 19 to 20c. Eggs 81c; chickens, lb., 
20c; butter .8Sc; cheese 22i/(;C. Hay, 
loose, $12 to $14. Old potatoes .$8 i)er 
bu. Following are the prices which wj 
have to pay : Mixed feed, bran and mid¬ 
dlings, $60 per ton; cornmeal $75 per 
ton; oats 85c per bu.; flour $16 bbl.; 
whole corn .$8..50 per cwt. J. u. ii. 
Oneida Co., N. Y'. 
New milch cows, black and white, 
.$100; Jerseys fog about $75; beef cattle, 
if in good rig, about .$.50; fat calves 1.3c 
per lb.; young pigs $6 and .$7 apiece. 
Eggs .34e; butter 48e; strawberries 20c 
a qt.; new potatoes 90c a peck. 
Cortland Co., N. Y. ' ii. w. 
Retail price of milk is 14c a qt.; milk 
shippers get 21c per gal. and pay the 
freight on same to Pittsburgh. Butter 
45c retail; eggs 40e; old potatoes done, 
new ones shipped 7c per lb. Strawber¬ 
ries 1.5c per qt.; green onion.s 10c a 
bunch. Pigs $12 to $16 a pair 8 to 10 
weeks old. Corn $2 per .shelled bu.; oats 
90c; wheat hard to g'-t but $3 when 
you can get it. R. b. E. 
Beaver Co., Pa. 
On my place and in the immediate 
neighborhood there v/ill be a full crop 
of peaches except Carmans and Early 
Crawfords. These will be light, but 
there will be a full crop of Elbertas. 
There are no apples except a few of the 
Duchess and Twenty Ounce. There are 
very few Greenings, and there will be a 
few Baldwins scattered on the trees, but 
not to be considered any apples at all. 
Ylonroe Co., N. Y. t. e. b. 
Cows at public sale a few weeks ago, 
from .$61.,50 to ,$106. Corn about .$1.(8) 
per bu. We get for eggs .33 cents. Milk 
te.sting 4 per cent I think .$2.35 per 100 
lbs. This plant ships milk to Baltimore. 
Wheat is selling for .$2.20 per bu. 
Hor.ses and mules are cheap. We are 
ti-ying to get in the wheat, but as it 
i-ains nearly evei-y day I am afraid 
we will not be able to save enough for 
seed. Garden crops are no sale, as we 
are too far from a town. Strawberries 
sold for 10c per box. r. h. o. 
Y^ork Co., I’a. 
Good grade cows. $75 to $12.5. Milk 
retads here at 8c per qt., wholesale at 
.$2.1,5 40-qt. can. Good butter 4.5c per 
11). Eggs from .36c to 40c per doz. Straw¬ 
berries have retailed at 12(4 to 1,5<*; 
cabbage, .$8 per ton at factory. Pork, 
$18 per 100; pigs, six weeks old, .$.‘L 
Veal calve.s, i2c, live weight; not mucli 
fruit, but strawberries and apples, which 
are a short crop here, raised in this 
southern part of Oswego Co. f. b. a. 
0.swego Co., N. Y'^. 
Corn, $1.60; oats, 80c; rye, $1..'>(); 
wheat, .$2.30; butter, 40c; eggs, .32c; 
potatoes, .$2..50 bu.; cows, .$60 to $100; 
(liickens, old, 21c lb.; young, ‘28c; bran, 
.$2 per cwt.; milk, 82c per cwt.; catth', 
fat, 10 to 11c per lb.; hogs, 19c dre.ssed. 
Wheat outlook good; corn and potato 
acreage large; fair hay crop; iilenty (sf 
rain and good growing weather; truck 
and garden doing well. w. E. iv. 
Berks Co.. Pa. 
Blue-grass Farm Notes 
3'he farmers of the Blue Grass have 
just finished harvesting wheat, bar¬ 
ley and I'ye. which gives promise of bet¬ 
ter yields than thought early in the sea¬ 
son. Fields that promised eight or !() 
bushels will yield 15 to 20 bushels. Oats 
c.l.so jiromises a good crop. If we can 
have a good rain in the next week vre 
will have a record potato crop. Hem:) 
i'ud tobacco, Kent.tH)l<y’.s great money 
croi)s, are very promising. Garden pro¬ 
duce i)lentiful and selling at low ijrice::. 
The lamb crop is now on and lambs a c 
weighing out close to 1(M> pound.s, selling 
from .$1.3..50 to $16 j)er hundred. Mile!) 
cows .sciirce and high, ,$10(> to ,$125 for 
grade cows, stock ewes, .$10 to $12 head. 
Fayette Co., Ky. o. i). k. 
Crops in Monroe County, N. Y. 
Wheat, a p)od average err)]) with every 
ju’ospect of it being i)lunip and of No. 1 
(piality. In all my life I have never 
seen ii ye.ar when conditions were so fa¬ 
vorable as this. In April it did not 
seem that we could get back the seed on 
many fields whicli now will produce an 
average yield. Oats nd barley, very 
good, above the average; straw, long and 
many fields already lodging. Itye, same 
as wheat. Coim, vei-y .sorry outlook. 
Many fields have not been cultivate 1 
fince i)lauting. ('orn 8 to 1(> imdies high 
and weeds 12 to 24 inches. Don’t sre 
how to do anything with many fields ex¬ 
cept to hand hoe and that is almost im¬ 
possible with the labor market bare. 
Beans, large aciu'age; many fields poor 
stand; otlnu'S looking fine. Cabbage, 
lai’ge acreage and conditions ideal for 
growing whei-e (hey have been able to set 
plants. Potatoi's, coming up well but 
weedy. Acreage fully up to average, pos¬ 
sibly a little mon>, although we think 
not as the price of seed and short.age of 
labor and wet Spring has made a differ¬ 
ence. iMeadows, great variation; some 
very heavy and others poor. We noti<* ‘ 
more Alsike clover than ev<‘r and mu<h 
less red. More and more Alfalfa ladug 
put in. Pastures, never better; the cool 
wet Spring and Summer have kej)t them 
humping. 3'he s(*asou is two to three 
weeks late. It rains eveiy day and some 
of the rains ai'e veiitable cloudbursts. 
Every thing is at a standstill. Surely the 
farmer is having his troubles again this 
year. i- 
