1368 
JShe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 1, 191T 
March 1, they begin to bear, and they 
ought to continue fruiting until August. 
As the vines grow older, they extend 
across the rows overhead and shade the 
lower parts of the plants, so that most 
of the fruit is at the top. To check this 
tendency, we pinch off the tips and pick 
off some of the big leaves, causing new 
growth to start low down, and this new 
growth gives us some of the later part of 
the crop. That is about all wo do to 
the plants, after setting and training 
them. We ought to steam our soil, but 
instead we have renewed the top soil 
every two or three years. 
“A prime cucumber hill, with condi¬ 
tions right, will produce a bushel of fruit, 
but they do not average anywhere near 
that much. A house 300 by .30 feet 
ought to yield GOO or 700 bushels. They 
bring from $5 to $10 per bushel, but the 
price varies a great deal from time to 
time and from season to season.” c. B. r. 
Forcing Rhubarb 
Rhubarb or pieplant is one of the eas¬ 
iest vegetables to grow out of season, 
and every gardener who has a cellar of 
any sort, or a cool basement, can get a 
great deal of satisfaction by growing 
rhubarb in it during the late Fall and 
Winter, for the supply of his own table 
or for sale. Half a dozen clumps or 
root-stalks will provide a plentiful sup¬ 
ply for the family for four or five weeks, 
and when the roots are exhausted, they 
can be thrown out and replaced with 
others. It requires three weeks for rhu¬ 
barb roots in a cellar to make leaf-stalks 
large enough for market or home use. 
Coldframes and deep hotbeds can be used 
for forcing rhubarb in Winter also, in 
sections where it is not very cold. 
Strong one-year-old rhubarb plants or 
older may be used for forcing. Generally 
it pays to use clumps that are six or seven 
years old, and therefore too old to produce 
profitable crops in the garden, for the 
roots are practically worthless after forc¬ 
ing to the limit. The plants for forcing 
shoiuldi be spaded 
out before the 
ground freezes 
hard in the Fall, 
and the roots left 
to lie on the 
ground in the ball 
of earth in which 
they were dug out. 
Several hard 
freezes insures 
breaking the rest 
period of the roots, 
so that they will 
start into vigor¬ 
ous growth quick¬ 
ly. Excessive dry¬ 
ing out of the roots 
should be avoided, 
and those uot need¬ 
ed for forcing at 
once can be stored 
in a shed w-heli'e 
they will remain 
more or less frozen 
and in good condition if covered with 
straw. These can be forced later in the 
Winter. The clumps of roots are set up¬ 
right on the floor of the cellar' or other 
forcing place, and as close together as 
possible, filling in the space between and 
around the roots with sand, earth or 
ashes. Since the forced rhubarb makes 
its growth entirely from food stored in 
the fleshy roots, it is not necessary to 
bed the roots in rich soil. The bed 
should be thoroughly soaked down, how¬ 
ever, as the shoots of forced rhubarb are 
largely water. The right temperature 
for foi'cing rhubarb is around 45° F. at 
the start, and as high as 60° after growth 
starts. The danger is in running it too 
warm, causing the shoots to be small and 
spindling. All or most of the light 
should be excluded from the cellar where 
rhubarb is being forced. This retards 
color-formation and leaf-stalks, making 
them a beautiful pink. Darkness con¬ 
fines the growth entirely to the thick 
stalks instead of forming leaves, and also 
greatly reduces the acidity of the stalks, 
so that much less sugar is needed to 
neutralize the acidity in cooking. This 
is important, for the price of sugar is 
the limiting factor in the use of rhubarb, 
at least among people of moderate means. 
The handsome appearance and tender, 
crisp texture of the stalks of forced 
rhubarb makes it a very fancy product. 
and there is always a good demand dur¬ 
ing the AMinter for any surplus product 
at profitable prices. Many marketmen 
and gardeners make a good business of 
forcing large quantities of rhubarb. 
Missouri. j. T. bosa, jb. 
Country Wide Weakness of Produce 
The fruit and vegetable markets of the 
country have been passing through a re¬ 
actionary period such as may be expected 
occasionally, even in ordinary times, and 
likely to be all_ the sharper in periods of 
high prices. Different causes are assigned 
to explain the behavior of various pro¬ 
ducts ; sucli causes as large supplies, 
sugar scarcity, freezing, or other damage, 
and special war-time restrictions, like the 
<‘mbargo on tinplate for canneries. Oar 
shortage is frequently mentioned as a 
cause_ of sluggish movement from country 
shipping points. But the lower values of 
the past three weeks have included so 
many products that it seems likely the 
decline should be looked at as one of 
those reactions usually following a period 
of advancing prices. 
TIIK SLUMP IX POTATOES 
Potatoes have suffered most, selling at 
$1.15 to $1.40 per 100 lbs. in the shipping 
sections of the AViest and Northwest, 
where the _big_sui)ply i.s this year. Alinne- 
sota is shipping twice as many potatoes 
as Maine, while last year Maine shipped 
twice the quota of Minnesota, and the 
la.st-named State is closely followe<l by 
Michigan and Ai^isconsin. Offerings have 
been all the larger becau.se of extensive 
freezing of the unprotected stock, both 
AA'est and East, thus adding to the pres¬ 
sure to sell promptly. AAVstern wholesale 
markets are hampered with partly frozen 
stock. At Alaine and New York shipping 
points there is more disposition to hold 
for price recovery, but values have been 
declining below $2 per 100 lbs. to 50 or 
75c above that figure in Eastern city mar¬ 
kets. 
APPLES DULL 
Apples are selling perhaps as well as 
could be expected with rather high prices 
and sugar shortage. The Northwestern 
box apples are more abundant relatively 
than Eastern barrel apple.s, as shown by 
railroad and cold storage reports. The 
State of AATashington alone has shipped 
about one-fifth total apples of all the 
States, while the Eastern States, except 
Virginia, are not shipping heavily. The 
Coloi'ado box holds a bushel and sells at 
about $1.40 for fancy, at shipping point, 
including box. Fancy Baldwins sold at 
Rochester. N. Y., at $5 last week, or 
rate of $1.G5 per bu., and cost of i>ackage 
would be about the same in each case. 
Grapes, quinces, etC;, have felt the short¬ 
age in 'Sugar, and so have KiefPer pears, 
but table pears are so scarce that prices 
have held up, and cranberries also were 
so nearly a failure that the light supplies 
move fairly well. 
OXIOXS BEIXG STORED 
Northern onions are now mostly in 
storage. Sentiment appears rather con¬ 
fident in the shipping sections, and the 
city markets are holding nearly steady, 
Said a dealer lately in the Connecticut 
Valley .section; “The onions run small 
this year, and yield is not large. Holders 
expect higlier prices. Alueh stock is bc- 
ing held back in AA^estern New York also. 
Ohio and the Aliddle AA^est are still ship¬ 
ping quite freely, 
THE CABBAGE SITUATION 
This has been disturbed by freezing of 
Avhat stock was left in the fields, in the 
leading shipping States. New York, AA''is- 
consin and Michigan, Result, the dump¬ 
ing on the city markets of a lot of stuff 
that had to be sold because it "will not 
keep long. Prices 'so far have held pretty 
well, averaging around $25 per ton in 
leading markets, or $1 to $1..50 on barrel 
basis. Celery is in fair demand, pre¬ 
ceding Thanksgiving, at a range of 75c 
to $1.50 per doz., in Eastern and Central 
cities, according to grade and variety, 
WESTERN GROWERS SELLING BEANS 
Field beans ai'e lower in the AAYst, 
where the crop is large, especially Cali¬ 
fornia and Colorado, Alichigan and New 
York growers are getting about $7 per 
bu., the new crop in both States not com¬ 
ing along very fast as smt. AAHiolesale 
prices in most cities range around $15 per 
100 lbs. G. B. F. 
THE MAILBAG 
“ Chinking ” a Log House 
On page 1278 is an inquiry relative to 
the best material for “chinking” a log 
house, the inquirer complaining that clay 
cracks and falls out. “Chinking” is the 
process of filling the interstices between 
the logs of a roughly-built log house, and, 
if the inquirer will wet the surface of the 
logs thoroughly, before applying it, pulp 
plaster will give perfect satisfaction ex¬ 
cept in the case of very narrow, cracks. 
Here some fibrous material, like tow, or 
oakum, or cotton waste, should be used, 
and driven tightly in. with a tamping 
iron. Portland cement, properly mixed, 
or common lime plaster, will answer very 
well, but will check more or less upon 
drying. 
The early settlers are said to have used 
common clay, but it was really a mixture 
of clay and R-esh cow manure, and was 
prepared as follow's: A quantity of clay 
was put in a mortar box and worked and 
ground with a hoe precisely as one would 
gi’ind lime mortar for plastering, adding 
a little water if necessary. When thor¬ 
oughly ground and mixed, half its bulk of 
fresh cow manure was added. The mixing 
was continued until the materials were 
reduced to an inoffensive, homogeneous 
mass, having the consistency of biscuit 
dough. It was then rolled out into rolls 
of a suitable size and length, the surface 
of the logs was moistened, and the rolls 
crowded into the interstices and firmly 
pressed against the logs. I once lived for 
IG months in a log house that had been 
chinked in this manner 12 years previous¬ 
ly, and there wms not a sign of a chink or 
crack in any part of the prepared clay. 
AA'ctting the logs, however, is an impor¬ 
tant part of the work, as, otherwise, the 
dry wood will abstract much of the mois¬ 
ture and the clay or plaster will not ad¬ 
here to the logs. C. O. ORMSBEE. 
If F. .T. M., page 1278, has a bundle of 
fine soft hay or oat straw, spin it into a 
nice firm thread and ball it. AVith a 
good hardwood wedge and a mallet he Avill 
be able to do as good a job as there is any 
need of. Do not lay the thread straight 
along the seam. Tuck it, and tuck it most 
■Avhere the seam is largest. Begin on top 
.seams first, or you may lift the logs 
apart. “Alake” seams well and then 
“pay” Avith any mortar or plaster Imndy, 
if desired. The best job of chinking I 
ever saAv was done with peat moss. It is 
not likely the inquirer would Avish to use 
oakum or cotton. ANGUS MATIIESON. 
Connecticut. 
I note request for chinking material to 
use in a log cabin. Take slaked lime and 
fresh cow manure, mix thick and use. 
Nova Scotia. joiin buchanan. 
A Barn Hoe 
In cleaning out the box stalls I found 
a garden hoe took too much time, as it 
AA'as not big enough, so I took the blade 
of a broken shovel, broke it the right 
length, bent the shank down at a right 
angle with the blade, inserted the handle 
of a broken iron rake, put in tAVo large 
screws, and I now haAm a barn hoe that 
pulls a good-sized load and lets me get 
out of the cold barn about five minutes 
sooner, and that counts with me Avhen the 
mercury in the thermometer is playing tag 
with zero. I also made a dibble of the 
broken shovel handle, Avith Avhich I make 
holes in the ground close to the floAvers 
and fill the holes Avith Avater every even¬ 
ing after sundown Avheu we have a long 
dry spell In this Avay the flowers get all 
the water and the little weeds get none. 
A teakettle or teapot is the best to fill the 
holes. M. L, P, 
Massachusetts. 
Dog Law Notes.—LT pou just seeing 
four fine .$20 sheep of a neighbor killed 
and others cheAved up by dogs, I am 
suggesting the dog law be so amended as 
fully to compensate farmers for damages 
(in thise case $10 only is alloAved for a 
$20 sheep), and a strict enforcement of 
the curfeAV clause under penalty of death 
to dogs loose after dark. Furthei*, insist 
upon 'hunting up the guilty dogs imme¬ 
diately after each raid by examining the 
teeth of all suspects in the neighbox-hood 
for Avool, and, Avheu found, let him “bite 
the dust.” H. 
Shucking AValnuts.— A novel meth¬ 
od of shucking Avalnuts is practiced by an 
energetic woman in our neighbox-hood, 
who found the old Avays too slow and tedi- 
ov.s. She gathers the nuts and spx-eads 
tliem in a large circle on the ground. 
Next she hitches her pet horse on the 
stone-boat, gets on her back and rides 
round the circle several times, dragging 
the stone-boat roxind and round over the 
nuts. 'She then throAvs the shucked nuts 
in a pile, pushes the rest back into the 
circle and goes over them again, continu¬ 
ing till all are shucked. Iix this xnanner 
she shucked five bushels in tAvo hours just 
the other day. “Some schexne,” she says. 
Michigan, mrs. m. Kennedy, 
Prices of Old Metals 
You recently gave quotations on old 
metals, and I Avas pleased to see it, as I 
had quite a jag of suca and Avas about 
to dispose of it to a junk collector at 
much less than market value. Reading 
the market quotations I got posted and 
refused to sell at his price. He went 
iiAvay and in a fexv days sent a confeder¬ 
ate to buy at a much better price and 
being Avilling he should make a profit, 
I let him have it. It amounted, to $12 
above the other man’s price. I noAV feel 
that I OAve you 12 yeai-’s subsex-iption 
to The R. N.-Y. u. o. p. 
Massachusetts._ 
“For the Laud’s Sake, use BoAvker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those Av-ho till it.”— Adv. 
The Hardie Orchard 
Gun saves your time and 
muscle—no long, heavy 
rods to hold. 
Turns a big job into a little 
one. One man with a Hardie 
Gun will do more work and 
do it better than two men 
with the old-fashioned rods. 
Hardie Orchard Gun $12 
Low price made possible by 
big production—send for the 
Hardie Catalog today. Hardie 
Sprayers and spraying de- 
\nces standard for 18 years. 
THE HARDIE MFG. CO. 
Hudson, Mich. 
Also Portland, Ore. 
Last Chance 
at the 
Old Price 
A bifiT advance in the price 
of the New Edison is 
to take place on Jan. 1. e 
But to all who write now 
wc will still allow present 
priceand lowtermsof only 
1 no Down After 
^llZFree Trial 
Yes, yon may keep 
this new E d i n o n — 
Thomas A. Edison's 
OTeat phonograph with the ^ 
diamond stylus—and your choice . 
of records, too, for only $1. Pay the ^ 
balance at rate of only a few cents a day. Try the New Edison 
In your own home before you decide to buy. Send no money 
down* Entertain your friends with your favorite records. 
For Our New Edison Book. Send your 
•V ^ lit? A came and address for our own book and 
pictures of the New Edison phonographs. No obligations. 
P. K. BABSON, Edison t^honogravh Distributorji 
The 
New 
Edison 
Apples! Apples! 
FOR SALE-Farm 76 Acres 
at Flanders, Morris Co., N. J. 
mile from Central R.R. depot; schools, churches, 
etc. 700 trees: 325 twenty years old; 375 trees 3 and 
4 years old. AT'arieties: Delicious, Stayman, Winter 
Banana, Grimes Golden, Wealthy, 20 Oz. Baldwin 
and Ben I).avis. More than 200 bbls. of this year's 
crop stored now on tlie premises in hollow tile-stor¬ 
age building—frost-proof for ordinary winter 
weatlier. Price, 81)1,000. Address 
Ohas. Applegate, - Dover, N. J. 
X Small Calilornia Farm “SlS 
crops yoxi know about—alfalfa, wheat, barley, etc.— 
also oranges, grapes, olives and figs. Ideal fox- 
dairying. pigs, and chickens. No cold weather: rich 
soil; low prices; easy terms; good roads; schools 
and churches. Enjoy life liere. Newcomers wel¬ 
come. AVrite forour San Joaquin Valley also Dairy¬ 
ing and Poultry Raising Illustrated Folders, free. 
C. L. SEAGRAVES. IndustriaFCommissioner A. T. & S. F. RY.« 
1963 RAILWAY EXCHANGE, CHICAGO 
The Farm Brokers’ Association, Inc. 
farms and otlier country real estate everywhere in New 
York State. Personally inspected projterties. Careful 
descriptions. Riglit prices. CKN'rU.'VL OFFICE AT 
ONEIDA, N. y., other olllces throughout the State. 
Have For Sale Seven (7) Farms nS; ,r,™ 
The Gasoline 
Engine on 
The Farm 
XenoW. Putnam 
Operation 
and 
Uses 
This is 
the 
of a 
every far 
nier will 
predate 
every farm 
homo ouglit 1 
have. Includes 
selecting t it o 
most suitable 
engine for farm work, its most convenient and ef¬ 
ficient installation, with chapters on troubles, their 
remedies, and how to avoid them. The care and 
management of tho farm tractor in plowing, har¬ 
rowing, harvesting and road grading aro fully cov¬ 
ered: also plain directions aro given for handling tho 
tractor on tho road. 
530 Pages. Nearly 
180 Engravings 
This book will bo sent to any address prepaid for 
sending us Two New Yearly Subscriptions or Four 
Yearly Renewal Subscriptions or One Now Yearly 
Subscription and Two Renewal Subscriptions, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 333 W. 30th St., N. Y. 
Kerosene 
12S 
Gasoline 1 
25!_ 
Callon 
p%r 
Gallon 
WHICH ENGINE—TWO FUEL OR ONE ? 
Are you tied to an engrine made to use grasoline only 7 Are you tied to an engine made to use kerosene 
only? Which engine do you prefer to have—the two fuel Heavi-Duti, which operates equally well on gas¬ 
oline or kerosene, or the single fuel engine that operates on just one ? 
A lot of engines can use gasoline; some can use gasoline or kcrosenet but there is only one, tho two 
fuel, that uses either fuel equally well. Tho two fuel also graduates the air according to the weather. 
It is an ideal cold weather engine. You operate on the cheapest fuel now made, kerosene. You can run 
on gasoline if you prefer. 
You also have the high tension hot spark oscillating magneto that delivers to the fuel a red hot spark at 
the right moment and all day long. The engine makes its own spark with a magneto that has no batteries, 
no coils, no brushes, no rotating parts, and it gives the same spark 
turning slow by hand to start as wiien run at full speed. 
HEAVI-DUTI TWO FUEL ENGINE 
You cannot afford to buy any engine until you learn all about the two fuel. It is an old saying 
true years ago and today, “That the Early Bird Catches the Worm.*' Quick action means saving 
money. Catalog and full information free, but ACT QUICKLY. 
R. CONSOLIDATED GASOLINE ENGINE CO., 202 Fulton Street, New York City 
