742 
ployed are Faiu-.v, or A1; ITi^di (irade. or seconds: 
Canners. which are sold for family eannins at a re¬ 
duced figure under the otlier two. Tlie i)ackage in 
which the berries are marketed has a great influence 
ni»on the sale of the fruit. Hy using the octagon 
<|nart boxes, one Western New York- grower was able 
to liave his fruit all sold before noon, whereas liis 
neighbors who stuck to the old s(iuare box had their 
fruit remaining on the retailer's tables for supper 
lime. The boxes used are the American standard 
(juart box. which holds a full (|uart; the octagon 
box; and the square scale-board type of quait and 
)»int boxes. 
TIKI) RASPBERRY METHODS. —In raspberry 
growing, carrying and keeping <)ualities of tbe fi-uit 
produced and offered for shipTiient determine the 
territory and mai-ket that can be profitably reached. 
I’nder ordinar.v methods of handling and refriger¬ 
ation 2.000 miles has been the limit of successful 
shipment for red raspberries. Each jiicker .should 
be ))rovided with a two-cup cainder attached to the 
waist and when the cups are full they are transferred 
to six-cui< field carriers provided with handles. These 
basket cari-iers when filled are cai-ried to the receiv¬ 
ing sheds, whei-e the berries are sorted and crated. 
T'sually each i)icker is assigned to a particular row 
or I'ows and is held responsible for the harvesting of 
a certain iKution of that territory. A foreman or 
the gi-ower sui)ervi.ses the picking, instructing each 
picker as to the kind of berries to be i)icked and how 
to iiick them. At the receiving shed the grower or 
leceiver does more or less sorting by cup^?. placing 
the cui)s containing what are considered shipping 
berries into shii)ping crates and cups with berries 
too ripe for shi])ping into cannery ci-ates. The shij)- 
ping quality is determined by the appearance of the 
fruit in the box as regards its degree of i-ipeness and 
fii-mness. the fruit never being emptied out for sort¬ 
ing or grading. The final determination of the ship¬ 
ping fruit i.s, however, made by the association in- 
spector.s, and it is not unusual for berries ])ut in 
shipiung ci-ates by the grower to be reje<-led and 
sent to the cannery when in.spected at the association 
)eceiving station. 
('ARE IN HANDLING.—Berries are .seldom 
lnuile<l moie than .six miles, receiving stations having 
betm provided nearby the majority of farms. The 
wagons used for hauling are of various sizes and 
types, depending on the quantity of berries and the 
distance to be transported. But all wagons are sup- 
Itlied with sensitive springs which insure the fruit 
not bef'oming injured. It is important that the red 
ras](berry be delivered as soon as i>ossible after pick¬ 
ing. and that it .stand not in the hot sun. Shady 
l)laces must be provided. Deliveries in this section 
are oftentimes made three or four times a day from 
nearby growers, and usually once or twice by distant 
ones. But evei-y grower aims to bi-ing all the berries 
tucked during the day to the receiving .station in 
time to be loa<led into the cars for .shipment on the 
evening of the day picked, llach grower is known 
by a certain number, which must lie stamped on all 
shi)>i)ing crates bi-<(ught in, and all berries are 
credited to his number, shipping berries by jiumber 
of crates and canning berries by weight. 
KAKJ.K W. CAGE. 
Killing Out Quack Grass 
Is there any way to eradicate or de.stro.v quack grass? 
If so, what is the tiuickest method? Will'salt prevent it 
scattering, or help kill it? n. t. j. 
Franklin (’o., N. Y. 
VERY year we have about oOU letters from i)eople 
who want to know how to kill out (juack grass, 
and whenever we .si)eak of it farmers come telling 
how they have been able to do the w<(rk. This grass 
is locally known as witch, couch, dog or crab, and, by 
any name, it is a nuisance. It is not only propagated 
from .seeds, but it works under ground, sending up a 
growth from the joints of its roots, so that it must 
be destroyed root and branch in order to get rid of it. 
'File most popular plan is to plow the quack grass sod 
in the Fall, and leave it exposed through the Winter. 
'Phen in the Spring the field is cross-plowed, and then 
thoroughly worked through the Summer, or until 
some late-idanted crop is put in. Probably the best 
tools for this work are the disk harrow, followed by 
the spring-tooth. The di.sk chops off the plants and 
tosses them to the surface. The .s])ring-tooth rips 
Ihem out and leaves them on top, where they can be 
raked up and burned. Many a farmer has thought 
that he had cleaned out the grass entirely in this 
way. onl.v to find it coming back on him as strong 
as ever in a few years. The trouble was that he 
neglected to destroy a fringe of the grass along the 
stone walls or fences, and the pest worked in from 
these places so as to finally control the field once 
moi-(‘. 
After a thorough working with these tools, the field 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
may be idanted to late corn. The best wa.v is to plant 
in hills and give thorough cultivation both wa.vs with 
a horse cultivator, hoeing the field at least twice so 
as to chop out every si(ear of grass that shows above 
ground. Then at the la.st cultivation there should be 
a thick seeding of a crop like buckwheat or rape 
mixed with clover. This crop will make a thick mat 
in the corn, and smother out most of the quack grass, 
leaving the field with a cover crop to be plowed under 
next Sjndng. Or working with the disk and s])ring- 
tooth can be followed long into .Inly, and then a ver.v 
heavy .seeding of buckwheat or .Tapanese millet jait 
in. 'J'hese crops on good land make a thick, heavy 
growth. They are .surface feeders, and will get the 
start of the quack grass and smother most of it out. 
Alfalfa, thickl.v seeded, has been u.sed with success 
for this purpo.se. but in the Eastern States Alfalfa 
dies out after two or three years and the (piack grass 
comes back. 
Another jdan oftoji followed is that of turning a 
flock of slu'ep into a field afflict(‘d with this pest. 
I’he field must be over-stocked: that is. more sheep 
than could possibl.v find a living from the grass ai'e 
turned in, the balance being made ui( b.v feeding 
them grain. With this short )»asture the sheep will 
travel, the field and gnaw down every plant of the 
quack gras.s. It canmff develop beloM- ground if the 
top is kei)t continuously cut oi- gnawed away. 'Phor- 
ouglily eaten down by the sheep, with a heavy seed¬ 
ing of buckwheat or millet to follow, will just about 
clo.se out the quack gra.ss. 
There are a dozen other methods which will be 
suggest(‘d by our readers, but they are all based on 
the theory that this grass is produced both from seeds 
and 1 ‘oot.s.' Both mu.st be destro.v(‘d in order to get 
rid of it. and the roots will die out if the tops are not 
peianitted to grow. It would not be economical e.x- 
cept )( 0 .ssibly on small ])atches, to u.se .salt or other 
chemicals. In order to kill out the (piack grass it 
would be necessary to use .so much of the salt that 
the soil would be made unfit for most other crojis. 
Sub-Irrigation With Drain Tile 
Is it jd’actical to use the tih' that are put in to 
drain land for a sub-irrigation s.vstem by stopping up 
the outflow end and keeping the .system tilied with water 
during dry spells? How close would the tile have to 
be hud to be effective bu- both purpose.s? w. e. k. 
Kan.sas. 
A .system of under.ground tiles is sometimes used 
for the dual jnirp((ses of drainage and of sub¬ 
irrigation, e.specially (Ui muck soils <(r wherever tbe 
soil is underlaid with an imj)ervious layer (.)f ground, 
which makes tile drainage necessary. 'Phis condition 
would also make it possible to atiply water through 
the tiles to the .soil, without having the Avater fnun 
the tiles soak away thi-ough a loose sub.soil. 'Phe 
porous tile would have to be laid much closer to¬ 
gether for sub-irrigation than w((uld be necessary for 
drainage alone. The ex])ense of installing such a 
.system would be (juite high, nece.s.sitating the inten¬ 
sive use of the .soil, if it is to become a profitable 
investment. The method is not in genei'al favor, 
because this manner of irrigation has a tendency to 
leave the soil in a miserable C((nditi(Ui. One distinct 
advantage (.)f the .system is that Avater may be ap¬ 
plied to the soil Avithout Avettin.g foliage on \vhich 
disea.'je or decay Avould be more apt to develop if 
it was Avet. 'riierefore. sub-irri.galion is sometimes 
used in greenhouse benches for lettuce joNjduction 
and in the market garden and muck soils Avhere 
celery is to be groAvn. 
Muck deposits usually have a .stream running 
through them, and if the outlet is ipiite high it is a 
small malter, in dry times, to dam up the outlet and 
back up the sti'cam. This aa'ouUI force \Aater ui( into 
the tiles and the .soil Avould gi’adually absorb the 
AA’jiter. .lust as soon as the .s(,>il has bec(>nie satu¬ 
rated the surplus should be drained off. otherwise a 
stagnant condition would quickly ri'sult. At .Sanford, 
Florida, and at other jdaces Avhere the soil is lu-ac- 
tically level, sub-irrigation is jn-acticed by means of 
a s.vstem of open ditches used f<[r drainage. 
Expert English gardeners, Avorking at inch men's 
e.states, Avill sometimes bur.v a line of tile under 
double rows of celery and get splendid results, be¬ 
cause the Avater may be freijuently applied for this 
Avater-loving plant, but, as a laile, it is only under 
excei)tional soil and crop conditions that sub-irriga¬ 
tion is to be recommended, fl'liis metlnxl really got 
.started befoi’e the modern overhead s.vstem Avas 
devel((])ed. li. w. n. 
Organize to Protect Rural Schools 
I N view of the fact that the Department of Educa¬ 
tion will still try to pa.ss some laws that are 
not satisfactor.A' to the rural people of the State, it 
Avould bo a Avise plan to be ready to meet them face 
to face Avith a foi’ce .sufficient to put doAvn any law 
June 1, 1918 
that AA’ould be detrimental to us according to our 
interiu-etation of the laAv. And in order fo make 
our rural schools more efficient than they have been 
in tbe past under the Department of Education. AA’e 
must koej) in clo.‘(er touch Avith the rural schools and 
show more interest than perhaps some have in the 
past. B.v .CO doing Ave caji raise the standard <Af our 
schools much higher than it has been in past years. 
1 he ])ossibilitie.c of the old law Iuia'c ucA'cr been 
cai-ried out. Therefore Ave .set forth a plan to haA-e 
(•A’ciy rural school district in the State organize; 
tho.ee already organizinl to reorganize under . the 
name of the Rural .School District C'iA'ic (Organiza¬ 
tion. the organization to cooperate AAith a county 
oj'ganization and tbe counties to codpei'ate AA'ith a 
.State organization. 
.\s every i-ural school district Avill be assembled 
in .Tune for the annual school meeting, there could 
be no better time to carry out this plan than after 
the school meeting has adjourned, to organize and 
adopt the constitnti((n. elect the oflicers. and elect 
delegates to meet at the county seat and form a 
county organization, and by the end of the year AA’e 
could be in line for a .state oi’ganization. 
In our district aa'o have organized and adopted the 
following constitution : 
Gonstitntidi) and B.v-LaAvs 
i[f th<> 
Rural School Tfistrict ('ivic Organization. 
Article I. 
Name. 
'Phis organization is piiiady non-partisan and shall be 
kiio\> 11 as thf* Rural Sf'hool F^istrirt Civic Flrganizatioii. 
-Article IT. 
()bject. 
'Phe object of thi.s organization is to guard the rights 
of the rural school patrons and taxpayers; to di.scour- 
age unjust legi.slatIon and adA’oeate the enactment of 
beneficial Iiaa’s affecting the rights of the people of the 
uisti’ict, aiul to pia.uuoto the host iut^^rosts of Cf]uf*ation. 
-Article IIL 
.Aftiliation. 
'Phis organization shall be affiliated with the Gounty 
(^'ivic Organization. 
Article IV. 
Members. 
.All persons int(*rcst(*(l in the rural .school s.vstem as 
patron.s or taxpayers or entitl'd to A'ote under the 
sclnxjl law ma.v bt'coine mcinb(‘rs. 
.Article A'. 
< tfficei’s. 
The (dficers of this organization shall <;-onsist of tu-esi- 
dent. vice-president, secretaiy and treasurer, to be 
elected annually b.v ballot at a regular meeting the la«t 
Tiu'sday in March. 
Article A'l. 
Presiding Oflieer. 
The president, and in his absence the vice-president 
shall preside at all meetings. 
Article VII. 
Secretary. 
The secretary shall keep true record of all meetings 
and have the custody of the constitution and by-laws, 
and all official ](apers of the organization ; c<(nduct its' 
correspondence and execute all such matters as he shall 
be officially instructed to do. He shall collect all fees 
and pay the same over to the treasurer and take his 
receipt therefor. 
Article A'l 11. 
'Preasurer. 
'Phe treasurer shall have the cu-stody of all funds bt'- 
louging to the organization, and shall (lay therefrom 
upon the (u-der b.v a vote of the organization. He shall 
make a rep(jrt at the annual meeting. 
-Article IX. 
.Aleetings. 
'Phe regular^ meetings shall be held on the last 'Pues- 
da.v in Det^emfier, unless it occurs (jn a holiday, in Avhich 
case it will be held on the day folloAving"; the last 
'rues(la.v in March, the last 'Puesday in .Tune, and the 
last Tuesday in September. Six'cial meetings of the 
(u-gauizatiou may be called by the president of the 
Gounty Givic Drgauization. or b.v tbe president of Di.s- 
trict (Jrganization. 
-Article X. 
I >ues. 
All members shall pay ten cents dues, payable on 
enrollment, and thereafter at the annual meeting each 
year. 
Article XI. 
Delegates. 
'The organization shall elect at a regular or special 
meeting two delegates, who are members of the County 
Givic Organization, to attend as delegates the special 
or legular meetings of the County Civic Organization. 
Article XII. 
'The organization shall have power to amend the con- 
.stituti<(n and by-hiAvs by a majority vote taken at a 
regular meeting. 
Last AA’iiiter Ave organized the Ontario Gount.v Givic 
Organization under the above constitution, and Ave 
feel AA'O had much Aveight in getting the Township 
.'School Law repealed. Now if all the rural districts 
Avill fall in line and all patrons do their dut.v Ave 
need not again go through the experience Ave have 
had in the past year. 
After the count.A’ organization has been formed, 
1 (lease send the names of the officers to The Ruk-vl 
New-Yokker to be lu'inted, as it Avill be A'ery con- 
A'enient to knoAV the officers of the different counties. 
MRS. II. u. CONVERSE, 
.SecTetary Ontario County Givic Organization. 
('lifton Spring.s, N. Y. 
