RURALISMS 
A Two-story Bird’s Nest 
The accompanying illustration, repro¬ 
duced from the Missouri Botanical Gar¬ 
den Bulletin, shows a two-family home 
occupied by the cowbird and yellow war¬ 
bler. The cowbii’d, like the European 
cuckoo, builds no nest of her own, but 
deposits her eggs in the nest of some 
other bird, usually smaller than herself, 
the warblers being favorite victims. It is 
not unusual to find three of her eggs in 
the nest of a small warbler, and Chap¬ 
man, in “Birds of Eastei’n North Amer¬ 
ica,” says that the “ill-gotten ofif.spring 
are born with the cowbird character fully 
developed. They eat by far the greater 
share of the food and through gluttony or 
mere size alone, starve or crowd -out the 
rightful occupants of the nest. They ac¬ 
cept the attention of their foster parents 
long after they could care for themselves, 
and when nothing more is to be gained, 
desert them and join the growing flocks 
of their kind in the grain fields. 
The Bulletin further quotes from 
Chapman’s “Warblers of North America” 
that “only the yellow warbler appears to 
avoid incubating the intruded eggs by 
building a second, and, should occasion 
require, a third story to its home. Such a 
nest is on exhibition in the Field Museum 
in Chicago, and a similar one was found 
by the writers in the Missouri Botanical 
Gai’den during the month of iSIa.v, 1917. 
This particular nest was an unusual one 
for this species to build, in that a quan¬ 
tity of newspaper was used in its con¬ 
struction. The nest was also not as com¬ 
pact as is usually built by the warblers, 
being very loosely constructed, and as we 
watched it from time to time we were fear¬ 
ful that the nest would fall apart before 
the young were old enough to leave it. 
When first noted it was of normal size 
and contained one cowbird egg which in 
a few days, was covered by a small piece 
of paper. The second foreign egg was 
laid at a slightly higher Jevel. Then the 
warbler began to work in earnest, rapidly 
building a thick false bottom to her nest 
and raising the walls. Subsequently she 
laid four eggs and brought off a brood of 
three warblers, one of the eggs evidently 
being infertile. The accompanying pic¬ 
ture shows the size and construction of 
the nest, which had been opened suf¬ 
ficiently to show both of the unhatched 
cowbird eggs.” 
Spranply Horseradish and Salsify 
T planted some horseradish roots last 
Spring, and when I dug them in the Fall, 
instead of having one good-sized center 
root there were a lot of little side roots. 
The same was the case with oyster 
plants. I can understand why the oys¬ 
ter plants turned out spindling, because 
they were planted in hard soil, but horse¬ 
radish was on rich, mellow ground. J. L. 
Kingsville, N. Y. 
I am unable to give any certain reason 
why your horseradish developed only 
small side roots; therefore the next best 
thing to be done is to tell you how this 
crop is usually grown by the experienced 
cultivator. In the early days it was the 
practice to plant the crowns of the roots, 
which required two years to produce 
marketable roots; the first year after- 
planting, producing only a sprawling lot 
of rootlets that wei-e unsalable in the 
market. Nowadays, only sets or pieces of 
the small lateral roots are used for plant¬ 
ing. The sets are cut in pieces four to 
six inches long, the top end is cut square, 
and the bottom end diagonally. Cutting 
the roots in this manner make it an easy 
matter to distingirish the top from the 
lower end of the set, which insures their 
being all planted top end up. The large 
market gardeners usually plant the hoi-se- 
radish crop along with eai-ly cabbage or 
cauliflower, and cultivate it as a second 
crop. The cabbage or cauliflower plants 
are set out at the regular distance apart 
between the rows, and when the setting 
of these plants is completed, the rows of 
horseradish sets are planted in between 
'them, and at about the same distance 
apart in the row as the cabbage or cauli¬ 
flower. The planting is done by means 
of sharp-pointed round stick or small 
iron bar about the size of a broom handle. 
With this tool a round hole is made in 
the ground deep enough to cover to top 
of the set about three inches deep. After 
the set has been di’opped into the hole top 
end up, the soil is drawn into the hole 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
2871 
with the foot and firmly settled as in 
setting any other kind of plant. By 
planting the horseradish set deep, its top 
growth is retarded, usually until cultiva¬ 
tion of the first crop has been completed. 
After the crop of cabbage or cauliflower 
has been cut and marketed, the i-oot 
stocks are removed and the young horse¬ 
radish plants are given one or two good 
cultivations, which is usually all that is 
required to make the crop, as the tops 
will soon cover the ground and smother 
out most of .the weeds. By this method 
of planting and cultivation there is never 
any doubt in the mind of the experienced 
gardener as to what the outcome ought 
to -and usually will «be. 
Oyster .plant requires no great skill 
to grow .it successfully. Like all roob 
crops, it succeeds best in a deep, rich. 
sand.v loam. It should be sown in rows 
14 to 16 inches apart, 'and when they are 
well up they should be thinned to stand 
about four inches apart in the row. If 
the soil is good, broken deeply, well pul¬ 
verized, and the plants well cultivated, 
there should be no reason why this crop 
should fail to be entirely satisfactory. 
K. 
Best Market Cabbage 
Have you any experience in raising 
Copenhagen Market cabbage as a Winter 
cabbage? This is such a grand variety 
for early and makes such large solid 
head's that I would plant it for late crop 
if I knew it would keep well. a. m. g. 
Pennsylvania. 
The Copenhagen Market variety of cab¬ 
bage ‘belongs to the famous hard-heading 
group of varieties which produce a very 
solid head of good size, and with excel- 
Two-Story Bird’s Nest 
lent keeping qualities. The reason why 
Copenhagen Market is thought of only as 
an excellent early sort, is because it 
grows much quicker than Danish Ball- 
head, the standard late sort. Copenhagen 
Market does well in the Fall and it is 
an excellent keeper, but it must be borne 
in mind that this variety grows much 
quicker than the varieties commonly used 
in the Fall. Cabbage heads that are over 
•matured in the Fall do not keep so well 
as those Avhich do not quite reach their 
highest degree of development. Danish 
Ballhead should be set out about ,Tune.2() 
for its best development. If the late cab¬ 
bage is to be planted -where early peas 
have grown, or where an old strawberry 
bed is to be plowed down, or where the 
ground is so dry that we have to wait a 
few weeks for rain, it may be a decided 
advantage to have a good supply of Co¬ 
penhagen plants to use because these 
should be able to develop their crop even 
if they were not set until July 15. 
R. w. D. 
Fighting the Crow 
La.st Summer we planted four acres of 
corn in a field about two miles away from 
our home ; another man planted six acres 
and another 20 acres on adjoining fields^ 
and the crows pulled all the corn from the 
30 acres. We replanted once, but the 
crows got that, too. On our home farm 
the crows did lots of damage to the fruit, 
and. stole a good many little chicks. 
Scarecrows and shooting didn’t help any. 
I should like to plant corn again this 
coming Summer if I can outwit the crows. 
Perhaps some of your readers will be 
kind enough to supply a remedy. 
Michigan. "farjier. 
R. N.-Y.—This year we must fight all 
the enemies harder than ever before. The 
crow is a friend of the Kaiser. IIow do 
you fight him? 
Saves Repairs and Painting 
The concrete house is warm, dry, clean and easy to keep clean. 
It protects fowls from drafts and dampness and eliminates the 
necessity of repairs and painting. Concrete is rat-proof, 
weather-proof and fire-proof. Build an everlasting poultry 
house with good sand, gravel or crushed stone and 
ALPHA'S’CEMENT 
Hundreds of thousands of barrels of 
ALPHA Cement are used in U. S. 
Government forts, walls, and other 
important work. ALPHA was used 
in the Galveston Sea Wall,which has 
borne the brunt of two hurricanes. 
Cement is the sinew of concrete 
construction. Get the best sinew by 
using ALPHA Cement. 
We guarantee every bag of ALPHA 
Cement invariably to meet the 
standard specifications for strength 
Expert chemists test ALPHA hourly 
during the making to make sure that 
every ounce is pure, live, active and 
of full strength. When you once use 
ALPHA Cement you will always 
insist upon it in the future. 
We will give you plans for the above poultry house and tell you how to build 
it. Call today and get also a copy of “ALPHA Cement—How to Use It.” 
96 pages, illustrated. We also have the practical ALPHA Service Sheets on 
the following subjects. Check the one that interests you. 
—Walkway 
—Driveway 
—Small Bridge 
—Culvert 
—Foundation 
—Bam 
—Water Trough 
—Gutter and Curb 
—Silo 
—Poultry House 
—Com Crib 
—Storage Cellar 
—Small Dam 
—Greenhouse 
—Hotbed 
—Hog House 
—Steps 
—Porch Floor 
—Cellar Floor 
—Stable Floor 
—Cold-W eather 
—Feeding Floor 
—Smoke House 
—Milk House 
—Ice House 
—Spring House 
—Manure Pit 
—Septic Tank 
—Dipping Vat 
—Tanks 
—Tennis Court 
Concrete "Work 
—Concrete Hoof 
—Piers for Small Boats 
—Garden Furniture 
—Fence Posts 
-Gate Posts 
—■Walls 
—Si Us 
—Lintels 
—Garages 
-Concrete Roads 
Alpha Cement Dealers of New York State 
If you don’t know a nearby Alpha Dealer, address Alpha Portland Cement Co., Easton, Pa. 
mentioning The Rural New-Yorker and the building or improvement that interests you. 
CONCRETE FOR PERMANENCE 
NffWYOOK.U.^.A. 
Sr.LOUIS.U5A TORONTO.CAN. 
HMW IH Umillt UMHUlimitii 
11111 f i 1111 
SLOAN'S 
N S B ^ 
LINIMENT 
EXPOSURES 
Such as This- 
with their resultant aches, pains, 
rheumatic twinges, stiff muscles — are 
neutralized by a prompt application of 
Sloan’s Liniment. 
The country is depend¬ 
ent on the farm folks. 
Every day’s delay is dan¬ 
gerous.' Sloan’s Lini¬ 
ment keeps you fit as a 
fiddle for the daily duties 
of farming. 
Applied without rubbing, 
it penetrates to the ache, 
pain, soreness, bringing 
quick relief. 
Good for live stock, 
too. Keeps them in 
good shape and in¬ 
creases their value. Cor¬ 
rects lameness, soreness 
and bruises. Kills Pain. 
The large size bottle 
means strict economy 
—six times as much as 
the small size. Get 
yours today. 
li 
KILLS 
PAIN 
