870 
would clenii th^ hot worms from the stomach of a 
horse, and there are many who follow the i)lan of 
feediiiir these heads in February or ]\Iarch. There 
is an active demand for rye in the grain market. 
.Many t>f the Ihiropean ])eoi)le use great quantities 
of rye bread, so that the ])roduction of rye is as 
valuable as that of wheat in the matter of feeding 
our .\llies and providing bread for the world. We 
believe that many of the lighter soils on the upper 
.\tlantic .slo])e Avill do far better in rye than when 
s('ed(Kl to wheat. The yield will probably not he 
as heavy in some cast", hut on the Avhole the nature 
of the rye is such that it will give better returns on 
the lighter and rougher soils, q'he picture .shows a 
jthotograph taken in a rye field located in Southern 
N(‘w .Jersey, where the soil is light and open, too 
light, in fact, to produce paying crops of wheat with¬ 
out extensive fertilizing, yet Avith only a moderate 
amount of fertilizer the rye Avill make an astonish¬ 
ing growth. .\s is the ca.se with Avheat. idio.sphorus 
seems to be the dominating element in growing rye, 
and i)hosj»horic acid in some form should be pro¬ 
vided on most of our Eastern soils if Ave ex])ect a 
fair groAvth. There is one draAvback AA'hich must be 
considei'ed. liye will Avork into the Avheat on some 
faj-ins and make trouble through mixed .seed.s. For 
that reason there is an objection to groAving both 
grains on the .same farm. 
More About the Farmers Institutes 
I WAS interested in the commonsense vioAvs of H. 
II I.yon on page .^07 regarding the future of the 
fa l iners’ institute. Mr. I>yon is from my oAvn coun¬ 
ty, Chenango. Avhich county is first dairying and 
second agidculture. For many years past the insti¬ 
tute has gone up and doAvn our valleys in the Winter 
—sometimes Avell attended, more often poorly. .Since 
the coming of a Farm IJureau in practically every 
XeAv York State county, I believe the institute has 
suffered in attendance. In the first place, these are 
lield in the hardest of Winter Aveather. Avhen country 
roads are all but imjiassable. It is time that the 
farmer and dairyman is less busy at this season 
than at any other time, hut unless the elements are 
favorable for going to town, he Avould rather remain 
at home than jierhaps he obliged to break his oaa’ii 
road or face ihe terrific cold of last Winter. The 
Farm IJureau manager, on the other hand, is ac- 
<-essible on call at all times of year Avhen needed. He 
has made it plain to us that he is glad to lie con¬ 
sulted on any farm problem, and Avhen .such a prob¬ 
lem arises it is the general practice, at least in 
Chenango, to give the I'^arm IJureau office number to 
central, and if he cannot answer our question over 
the ’phone, he junqis into his car and comes in person 
to aid and advise. The Faian Eureau manager has 
the "dope” of the institute s)K>akers at his finger 
end.s. They all learned in fhe same school. It is 
easier to call up his office and find out a Bordeaux 
formula or a balanced ration than to Avade sevei'al 
miles in .January to an institute meeting, only to 
find on arriving that the. siieaker has failed to ar- 
riA’e, or had been overcome by sore thi'oat and the 
like, as actually happened in this vicinity during last 
Winter. 
Several years ago this question of the institutes 
came up, and J had the honor of going to their de¬ 
fense in the columns of The It. X.-Y. Since then 
many things have come to pass, and also many 
things have and Avill pass, if they are not absolutely 
necessary and efficient. J now doubt if the institute 
is as efficient as it could become, or, rather, .should 
become in order to survive. Mr. Lyon remarks on 
the lack of publicity Avhich should precede and ac- 
<-empany them. I can only say that most public 
meetings AA’ould have met Avith entirely vacant chairs 
if “))ress-agented” and advertised as the institute has 
been. It is. rather, the more remarkable that they 
have been attended at all Avhen so poorly and luke- 
Avarmly advertised. This deserves more than “care¬ 
ful consideration” on the part of those Avho manage 
these things. I believe that the institute on the 
Avhole is popular Avith the progressive farmers of 
most communitie.s. I think that the meetings Avould 
bear a more personal touch on the speakers’ part— 
let them make a special effort to find out just Avhat 
the farmers of each toAvn are "up against,” and then 
contrive to give talks on the matter Avhich Avill ac¬ 
tually aid their hearer.s, rather than to give the set 
speeches Avhether they especially apply or not. The 
main fault I have to find with the institute is that 
after you have heard one or two you have heard all. 
This is inevitable in a Avay, of course, but it also 
becomes a bore in time. 
Jaist W’^inter our speakers seemed to be imbued 
but Avith one idea—to get on to the next place. They 
didn’t seem to be really interested in helping the 
15he RURAL NEW-YORKER 
farimu's; tlu'.v want(*d to get tlu' day's work OA'er 
Avith. That is not the spirit to compier con.servatism 
and prejudice, nor to make neAv friends, but then 
our halls Avere not very comfortable last January, 
and no one could envy the .speakers their cold and 
dreary ride over the hills into the next toAvn : I’he 
Ncaa' York institutes have done great Avork in the 
jiast for the farmer Avho Avould avail himself of their 
help. Every thinking person is eager to admit this, 
and to the institute give vast appreciation and its 
just due. I reiterate that since other farmers’ or¬ 
ganizations have come to the fore, and scientific 
dairying and agriculture have become the rule rather 
than exception, possibly the institute has had its day. 
I may be very Avrong here, and if so I am proved, it 
Avill be a pleasure to admit my mistake. But this is 
certain—the institute is not yearly becoming more 
aliAje. more nece.s,sary at all. I belieA'e that this is 
mainly its oAvn fault; if it is to continue to exist and 
be supported, it must be a real factor in the centers 
Avhere it goes, and not an annual repetition. I hope 
the matter AA’ill be discussed by those aa’Iio under¬ 
stand the pros and cons better than 1. 
Chenango Co., X. Y. tielex s. k. avili.cox. 
“ Making Honey From a Freight Car ” 
S EYEBAT. readers haA*e a.sked us for the truth 
about stories of migratory bee-keeping. The 
pajiers have stated, for example, that in California 
certain beekeepers load a number of colonies on a 
freight car and travel through the country from one 
good bee pasture to another. I^eople get the idea 
that this business of making honey from a freight 
car is practical and easy. Then there are often 
stories of people Avho ])ut a number of hiA’es on a raft 
or boat and travel up and doAA'ii I'ivers looking for 
bloom Avhere the bees may feed. As is usual, the 
neAvspaper av liters often take a small item of news 
Advance, friend! and give the countersign! 
regarding a matter that they knoAv nothing about 
and turn their imagination loose upon it. The re¬ 
sult is a Avonderful story Avhich city folks believe. 
These yarns have sent many an uiqirepared man or 
Avoman “back to the laud” Avhere they expected to 
make a fortune. It looked easy after reading these 
great stories, but Avhen such people get back to the 
earth their high hopes are usually compelled to bite 
the dust. In the “A B C of Bee Keeping” a number 
of cases are given Avhere this Avandering about Avifh 
bees has been tided. In the great majority of cases 
the scheme has proved a failure, and the folloAving 
note from Ernest R. Root is a fair statement of the 
facts: 
Are beekoepm-s making a practice of “making honey 
out of a freight car?” Literally, the statement is not 
true, but in the implied sense it is true. There are 
(•(U'tain beekeepers in California and in the West Avho 
load their bees, from 300 to 350 colonies, into a freight 
ear in a locality Avhere there is no honey, and ship the 
car into a locality Avhere there is honey. The bees are 
unloaded and set in a location, or in tAvo or three loca¬ 
tions Avithin 10 miles of unloading point. A crop of 
honey has been secured by these beekeepers in the 
West in this AAoiy. Sometimes the proposition does not 
pay, and only those most experienced do make it pay. 
The quoted sentence would imply that the bees are load¬ 
ed into a freight car, car stopped at intervals to catch 
honey floAAS at different points, bees flying from the 
car. This is not practicable. 
The season has been a failure in Texas, and .some 
beekeepers in that State are moving Avhole carloads of 
bees up into the Alfalfa regions of Colorado, Montana 
and the great West, up into Arizona. Sometimes the 
beekeepers in Southern California move into the north¬ 
ern part of the State after the Southern Alfalfa and 
mountain sage is over. There are some floAvers that 
yield a month later in the northern part of the State. 
Sometimes a second or third cutting of Alfalfa enables 
the beekeepers from the Southern States to catch a 
honey flow later on farther north. 
Apple Conditions in Nova Scotia 
IIAYI'l just had a look around the orchard.?. 
Very fcAV of the groAvers exjiect more than half 
the crop they had last yeai'. I.ast year the spraying 
AA’^as Avell done and cultiA'ation and care Avas good. 
SomehoAv this year a pessimistic outlook was Avide- 
spread. and very little spraying Avas done. I kept 
to my usual sjiraying routine, Init must confess, at 
.July ini.s 
times, as day after day of perfect dry Aveathcr 
passed. I felt iierhaps it might be better to do a less 
thorough job. The good Aveather stayed for a Aveek 
or so after the bloom and then rains came. I expect 
an outbreak of black spot. 
J.ast Winter aauis hard on apple trees, and on grass 
on loAA’ ground. The cold and siioaa' were very steady 
and AA’e thought apple trees should come through in 
excellent condition. The variety most affected was 
King of Tompkins County. On Ioav land many of 
the loAver shaded branches AA*ere killed, or the buds 
on the spurs AA’eakened. Weather conditions have 
agreed Avith apple trees since groAvth started, and 
the foliage is the best all over the country that Ave 
have had for years. Those King trees have made 
neAA’ buds and look heart.v today. 
In reading the reports of different parts of the 
country I often Avish a rough and ready approxi¬ 
mation of quantities of the varieties and conditions 
for the year. T make a rough estimate for X^ov.a 
Scotia of the principal kinds; 
Average' crop 
Estimated for 1018, 
A'ai'ioty. 
of 700.000 bbls. 
say ,300.000 barrels. 
Bravenstoin . 
200.000 
110.000 
King of Tompkins. 
00.000 
25.000 
Spy . 
30.000 
30.000 
Blenheim . 
5.000 
Ribston . 
5.000 
BahlAAnn . 
.90.000 
55.000 
Stark . 
15.000 
Wagener . 
1.5.(X)0 
10.000 
Ben Bavis. 
170.000 
.‘10.000 
Xoniiariel . 
1.5.000 
5.000 
Mi.scellaneous . 
10.000 
10,000 
700.000 
:100.000 
Of interest to groAA-ers of the Fnited States is the 
adoiition by Canada of the standard V. S. A. barrel 
and box. This means an effort to make it easier for 
our apples to enter your markets. I Avould like to 
touch on tAvo other point.s. You may note I think 
Ben Uavis is much off. 'Phis is due to a very poor 
bloom and a very ]ioor .set of fruit. The other is. f 
think, AA'e are told to nse too nnich poi.son in our 
spraying. I mse three pounds to JOO gallons of Avater 
of arsenate of lead jiaste. john buciianax. 
XoA’a Scotia. 
A “Sheep Tight” Fence in New York 
In all the pre.seut talk on sheep I fail to see any¬ 
thing in regard to fencing against them. I am a fanner 
and I have a small flock of sheep. The pasture I Avish 
to keep them in joins three neighbors. They say they 
will not fix their,part of the fence. Are they obliged to 
j)Ut up a fence to stop them? Am I liable for damage 
done if the .sheep get out of their fence? c. s. 
Chenango Co.. X. Y. 
A S a general iiroposition, the fence laAvs of the 
State of XeAV York are about as folloAvs: Each 
jiarty adjacent to a line fence must build and main¬ 
tain a just and equitable portion of the fence, and 
nnle.ss the electors of the toAA'ii have pi'cscribed Avhat 
shall be deemed a sufficient fence to turn stock there 
is no special kind of fence prescribed by the hiAvs of 
this State, except it cannot be of bai'b Avire unless 
Avith the Avritten con.sent of the adjoining OAvner. 
Any fence that Avill ordinarily turn horses and cattle 
is generally .sufficient. The purpose of fences in the 
vieAA^ of the old basic common htAA^ is to keep the 
oAvner’s stock in and not the stock of others out. 
“Fences Avere designed to keep one’.s cattle at home, 
and not to guard against the intrusion of those of 
other people.” So, in an action brought by plaintiff 
to recover damages for trespass of sheep on his land 
the court laid doAvn the laAv that “it is the duty of 
the OAvner of animals to restrain them from entering 
upon the premises of others, and in case of failure 
so to do, he is liable to respond in damages for the 
injury done, unless he can sIioav that the entrance 
was effected through the fault of the person claim¬ 
ing to be damaged; as, for instance, Avhere the en¬ 
trance Avas through a defective fence Avhich it Avas 
the duty of such person to maintain and keep in 
repair.” 
So your neighbors are not retpiired to erect and 
maintain as their part of the line fence one .suffi¬ 
cient to turn sheep or hogs, but only one of .such a 
kind as is generally acceptable as a line fence in 
your nei.ghborhood. If you Avish to pasture sheei) 
or hogs or any other animal requiring a better 
fence to keep them in. you must make the fence 
tight enough to hold them or suffer the consequences, 
and you Avould be held for damages if your .sheep 
Avent through that part of the fence maintained by 
them if it Avas up to the standard of line fences gen¬ 
erally in your locality. If your neighbors or any of 
them also keep sheep or hogs, then they should keep 
their share of the fence sheep or hog-tight. A barl>- 
Avire fence of four strands and a bar of Avood on top 
may be built as a line fence Avithout the consent of 
the adjoining oAvner, but the builder Avill be liable 
for any damages occasioned thereby. m..d. 
