Vhe RURAL NtW-YORKER 
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Motor Trucks Help Save Potato Crop 
Rapid Transport in Eastern Shore Virginia 
HEX tli€' Irisli potato harvest season was at 
its height in the Eastern Shore counties of 
\'irf;inia, helji was scarce; in fact, it did not seem to 
exist. The hard-pushed farmei's could not even spare 
time to visit the barrel factories to get their supply 
of empty barrels. So at least one enterprising bar¬ 
rel manufacturer. Mr. lattleston of Accomac Co., 
Va.. decided upon a adan to save the farmers niucii 
valuable time by delivering barrels in the held by 
auto truck. A large rack was placed on the body of 
the truck, which easily carried one hundred emi»ty 
])otato barrels of the 105-quart U. S. Government 
.standard size. This is about enough barrels for one 
acre of extra good iwtatoes. lUit the truck made 
good time on the road.s, rushing from farm to farm 
through the great potato district, Avithin a radius of 
five or six miles. By this means the farmer had the 
itariels delivered in the field where they Avere to be 
used, cheaper than lie could haul them hlm.self. and 
also allowing him to giA'e his Avhole attention to 
harvesting. 
Motor trucks AAcre u.sed (piite extensively by a 
number of large growers on the peninsula for haul¬ 
ing barrels of jiotatoes from the farm to the I'ailroad. 
8o great Avas the saving of time and hor.sepoAA’er 
that the innovation Avill take a big jump next .sea¬ 
son. One big grower near Ta.sley kept four big 
trucks on the road for many Avecdcs this Summer, 
hauling his .splendid potato crop three miles from 
farm to railroad siding. 
.\ featur(‘ of the potato harvest on the peninsula 
is the ali.sence of tin* frenzied rush to get tlu' crop 
on the market early, esjiecially just 
before your neighlM»r. Under the 
guidance of the organization of the 
Eastern Shore of Virginia Produce 
Exchange, the harvest .sea.son is ex¬ 
tended over several Aveeks. and the 
farmers dig the crop only .so fast 
as the transi»ortation facilities can 
handle it. and as the markets de¬ 
mand a normal siijiply. This avoids 
ruinous market gluts and throat¬ 
cutting competition .•iinong the 
growers. .r. r. n. 
Winter Seeding of Alfalfa 
I AIM vi'ry much inqires.sed with 
.1. M. Sliirle.v’s method of sowing 
.Alfalfa on page that is to 
l>reiiare the ground in late Uall and 
sow the si‘(‘d late eiiougb so as not 
to germinate until Sining. 1 know 
by actual experience that this is 
tin* only .safe method for sowing 
Sw«‘et clover, either just before the 
final freeze-u]), rolled in. or at any 
tilin' before March 1st .sown on top 
of the ground, letting the freezing 
and thawing of early Spring do the rest. "I’his gives 
it a big start before dry weather starts in, and al¬ 
most positively insures a good stand. This applies 
to Fall-sown grain as Avell as .sown Avithoiit a coA-er 
cro]). Evor.v farim'r knoAvs that this has Ikk'H con¬ 
sidered for man.A' years the most .succe.ssfiil AA’a.v 
for getting a good “catch” Avith Red, Alammoth 
and Alsike cloA'er. And AA’hy should not Alfalfa do 
as Avell this Avay? 
M’he trouble Avith Sjiring soAving is that the exce.s- 
sivi' rains prevent the formation of a suitable .seed 
b(‘(l until the latter part of Alay and sometimes 
until after June 1 ; and prevent the young plants 
from getting groAvth enough to Avithstand the dry 
weather and in many (‘ases liki' last Sjiring, our 
farmers had no catch, and IniAe ploAved up their nOAV 
seedings. 1 am glad that Mr. .shirh'y has taken the 
initiatiAC on Winter seeding of Alfalfa, and I think 
it Avill have a tendency to sUirt a ucav era in the 
culture of this A'aluable legume. Of cour.se this 
Winter .seeding plan AAOuld not do on “drift” sand 
as referrcHl to b.v Trucker Jr. on page 121X), but on 
nine-tenths of the surface of the TTnited State.s it 
is in my ojiinioii ju.st the thing. a. b. 
Fertilizing Value of Cornstalks 
1 huA'e a field of corn of about '-'•/•j acres from Avhicli 
I have just taken the crop, 240 to 2.50 bushels ear corn. 
[ Avunt to get the most good I can from the stalks. One 
man has offered another ^10. another ,$12 for the en¬ 
tire lot. There is a larp; crop of .stalks. It seenus to me 
there is money value in these stalks if they could be 
put back into the ground, but I have no horned cattle 
to eat them. I huA'C only three horses, and these dti 
not take to eating t'orustalks at all Avell. It has occurred 
to me that if I can get a silage cutter man to bring 
his machine onto the field, and Avith the heli) of my force 
deliver the stalks to the machine in a handy plac'c, cut 
the stalks iqt into short piece.s, say one-half to one inch, 
afterAvard put them into my spreader, spread over the 
field for the enrichment for the next crop and ploAA' 
under this Fall if possible, it would be better than to 
sell them for $10 or $12. Faind Avas in turf la.st year. 
Can you tell me the amount of nitrogen, jiotash and 
jihosphoric acid contained' jier ton of cornstalks raised 
on good Avarm dry land? I have quite a quantity of 
wood ashes and horse manure to ii.se on this land. 
Would it be Avise to crop it to corn again next year, 
or some other crop, sa.v rye, oats or seed doAvn to 
Timothy hayV I. u. AV. 
Connecticut. 
HE fairest Avay to settle this matter is to figure 
hoAv much jilaiit food these stalks contain. A ton 
of ordinary fodder, Avithout the ears. Avill give 2ti 
lbs. of nitrogen, si.x of phosphoric acid, and some¬ 
thing over 2.5 of i>otash. This Avill run about Iaa ice 
the amount of jilant food usually found in a ton 
of stable manure. A'oii can ligure Avliat this qiiantit.v 
of idant food Avould cost you'in the form of chemical.s. 
AVe do not knoAV Iioav much of this fodder there is. 
but usually such a crop Avill run about one ton and 
a half of dry fodder to the acre. 'Phis Avill glA’c 
you something over three tons, or more than the 
actual plant food contained in six tons of stable 
manure. This jdant food is AA’orth considerably 
more than $12. in tlu'.si' days of high prices. The 
cost of cho]tping u]) the stalks Avill be something, 
but on the Avhok' it Avill jiay belter to use the stalks 
as manure, than to si'll them at $12. Our oavu plan 
Avoiild Ix' to feed them to the horses. It is true 
that horses do not care for the fodder Avheu the.v 
can luiA-e high-class hay. Our oavu horses are idle 
through a fair ])art of the Winter, and they get little 
Ix'sides dry stalks for roughage. AVe slioiild ger as 
much of the feeding value as possible, ami then mix 
the Stalks in Avith the manure, in the Spring hro.id- 
ca>l I he wholt' thing and qilow under, imiiig the 
wood ashes in the hills <d; corn. Ity si*eding rye 
and clover as a cover crop at tin* last cultiAatioii 
of the corn, and plowing this under each Sjiring 
Avith a coating of manure, and some ashes, you cati 
kee)i up the groAVth of com indclinitely, or until 
the <'orn AAorm or corn .smut Ix'come so laid that it 
is necessar.v to change to a ucav location. 
Birds Are Injuring Apples 
I X jiicking my I’.aldAvin apples tills year 1 have 
found on .some tive.s, and not on otiiers, many 
a'pples aiqiarentl.v injured l>y hird.s. In idaces 
A\ iH'ri' the perclu's Avere good* ilu' injured apides 
Avere as many as 2(> in a liiindred ; iu other parts 
of the same tree otlier counts were .seven, eiglit 
and ten in a liniuired. The iiijiirc'd apides are 
commerciall.v ruined. Xo birds Avere caught at AAork, 
but some of the apples AAero fre.shly injured. I have 
never noticed this injury before and I AA’ondcred 
if it AA'as caused by starlings, Avhieh haA'e boon aluaul- 
aiit. or if some native bird Avas doveloi»ing this 
fault. I Avrote to tlie .'<tate experiment station and 
I append tlie answer. Xo douhf, .some of ymir 
readers can glAO us fnrtlier information about liird 
injury to apples. av. v. DUMivn. 
Gonnecticut. 
You arc (piitc rigid in bclleA’ing that ibis injury is 
(liic to Itirds. It has long been kiiOAvn that certain birds 
will injure aiiples on the tree by peeking holes in them. 
AA'e saAV much of this in'iir.v at tlie orchard of S. A. 
•Sinirh & Son in Glintonville, Avhen tlie fruit Avas being 
liarvesthd. AA'e had .some spraying experiments there 
and it Avas nece.ssury to score tlie fruit from eai'li tree 
iu the orchard in order to get data on the results of 
our experiments. This Ava.s attributed to croAVs. In 
my early days in XeAV llainpsliire I IniAm seen many 
iqiples injured in tins wav and it was the general 
Opinion of the farmers that crow.s did it. It is quite 
possible that other hird.s may also cau.se .similar injury. 
I haA’e ncA-er caught starlings or blue jays in the act, 
yet I belioA’e tliey might, on some occa.siou.s, injure 
fruit in tliis inannei’. 1 am not able to suggest any 
lireveidive other tlian to shoot or otlierwise discourage 
the kind of birds that cause it. It Avoiild be interesting 
to have some observations on this matter. For instance, 
if yon oiiserve any liliie jays or other birds injuring 
.•qiples, it Avoiild be Avell to place it on record. 
It. X.-A'.—AA’e haA'e liad a little trouhle with this, 
and fi'cl sure that croAvs are resjioiisihle for it. 
AA’e Avoiild like to Imve reports from fruit groAvers 
Avho luiA’o seen birds at tliis AA’ork. 
Practical Work and College Poultry 
On page 1184 G. S. Greene say.s tliat four difl’erent 
colleges, namely Cornell, Storrs, Rhode Island and XeAv 
Rriinswick reiiiiire tliat a .student .should have at least 
a year of practical Avork on a poultry jdant. I do not 
flatly disagree Avith IVlr. Greene on the.se reiiuireinents, 
and from personal experience bidieve that a person 
AA'oiild be more benefiti'd liy the course if he or she hail 
had a year of iiractical experience (>n an iqi-to-date 
plant before coining to college, but I saw students in 
the special coiir.se in poultry husbandry at Gornell 
last AVinter Avho had not bad any experience on a 
poultry plant, and Avoiild sa.\’ that if K. E. Avants to 
attend Gornell Univer.sity and taki' the AA'inter I'oiii'se 
in ]>oultry Inishandry, from the students I have .seen 
tliere practical experience is not necessary in order to 
take tlie course. T. r. 
GERTAIX nmoniit of practical cxiiericncc is 
required for Jidinissioii to the AA'inter poultv.v 
cour.se at Gornell. The amount, howcA’cr. is six 
months' cxpi'idence on an approA’cd farm instead of 
one year.. Eor sOA’C'ral years liefore tliis requirement 
Avas made, avi' found tliat a very large number of jter- 
soiis registi'red for tlie AA'inter poultry coiir.se avIio 
Avere absolutely Avitliout experience, and <•on.scqllent- 
ly were Avilliont proper i»ersi>eetiA'e as to tlu' n'qiiire- 
nieiits for poultry farming. As a 
result they Avere liandieapped l>e- 
eause of this lack of exiierience in 
carrying on the AVork Avirli students 
Avho liad had years of exiierience 
and Av<‘, as teacdier.s, foiiml it eiiual- 
1y diliienlt to adapt oiir iiistruetion 
to met't the needs of the tAvo classes 
of stmlents Avho necessarily Avoiild 
be required to take part in tlio sanu' 
classes. AVe found, fiirtbor, that 
most of tlu'.se iiersons avIio eaiue to 
ns laiking experienee. 'liad siidi 
rainboAV visions of Inqiossilde pro¬ 
fits and such mistaken notions re¬ 
garding till' amount and kind of 
work Unit is neoessar,v to succeed 
iu the handling of .i ]ioultry enter- 
pi'is('. that the.v Acr.A quickly, iqion 
our adviiH'. found it agreeabb' for 
;ill concerned, to j-oiiirti to their 
former oi'ciipations before <•omplet- 
iiig the course. .Mlowing this class 
of .stinU'iits to eiitor the iiqirsc was 
unfair .to them, a disadvaiitagi' to 
till' class. cxiieiislA’c to the State 
and freqiH'idly resulted in preA'eiit- 
ing capalde and Avorthy stinh'iits 
fmni taking the course ln'caiise of our lieiiig unable 
to receive all who applied on account of lack of 
facilitii's. 
Since in.sistiiig iqioii six months of iircvious ex¬ 
perience Ave liave found that many rejeett'd appli¬ 
cants go (into the fai’ins, .secure the exjierienee, and 
then come to take the course a year or tAA’o later, 
much lieiK'fiti'd l>y tlieir exiierience. being more 
capalde and reci'ptive Ix'cau.se they haAc a proiier 
perspective of Avhat the.v are here for. Orhei’s avc 
knoAV, after meeting the realities of a*iioiilrry farm, 
liave found tliat tlie.v Avere Ix'tter adapted to .some 
otlier kind of AVork and tlii'reby haA c di.seoAcred, lie- 
fore going to tlie large ('Xpi'inse ofoneliimdred dollars 
or more to take the'poultry course, that they sliould 
folloAV some other xicciipation. 
Apparenily tlie person avIio a.ssumeil tliat we .ul 
mitted students to the AA'iiifi'r poultry course Avithoiit 
previous experience Avas misled by the fact that 
students ari' adinitK'd to thi' AA'inter cour.se in 
general agricnltiiii' Aviilioiil having liad previous 
experienee. Alany of tliese students elect consider¬ 
able Avork iu poultry iiiisbandry. TIic.a' are not. 
liOAveA'cr. members of the AA’inter poultry conrsi'. AA'e 
liave Ix'en so Avell plea.sed Avltli 'tlie results of requir¬ 
ing .six months of jirevioiis experience that we an* 
likely to require iu tlie near future, one year's 
expi'fieiK-e. , .tamk.s k. an k. 
Conicll I’niversity. 
Wooden Pipes for Carrying Water 
Gan you advise me regarding the use of Avood pi()e 
for conveying water umlergrouiur/ I Avish to jiipt* 
Avater from a well fiOO feet to hoii.se, barn and henhous»', 
and the Avork of digging a ditch that distance three 
feet deep in mir soil well once Avill lie quite enough 
for me. My fatlier jiiped water to a trough in one of 
the Motor Truck Hauls the Produce to Market Rapidly. Fig- 594 
