162 
February 1, 1019 
cleaned up, and after the job is complete feel it was 
money well spent. We are positive it is greater 
economy to pay double or treble those high wages if 
necessary in order to get that field cultivated and 
hoed before it gets grassy. This applies to all crops, 
spraying for all pests, and many other things, and 
all of us are more or less negligent along this line. It 
is perhaps a good thing to have a year like the past 
one now and then to keep us on time with our work. 
Eggplants . 
Early tomatoes. 
Sweet potatoes .... 
Lima beans. 
Peppers . 
White potatoes. 
Squash (white bush) 
Cantaloupes. 
PearS . 
Wax beans. 
Apples . 
Onions . 
Cucumbers . 
Peas . 
Cabbage . 
Sweet corn. 
Turnips . 
Spinach . 
Pumpkins . 
Yields given in % 
, -baskets— 
bu. 
1911 
1918. 
4,6(52 
4.000 
2.090 
084 
905 
(500 
865 
834 
174 
288 
143 
130 
123 
56 
55 
50 
25 
4.8(50 
(5.500 
2.125 
1.045 
1.366 
500 
398 
1 
100 
75(5 
50 
090 
1 
112 
52 
170 
15.507 18,260 
Peaches, in 16-qt. bskts. 
Watermelons . 
Strawberries, qts. 
Asparagus, bnchs . 
Radishes, bnchs. 
Pumpkins (bulk) . 
Ilouey, lbs... 
Calves, lbs. 
Corn, bu. (about). 
Rye., bu. 
Good hay, tons. 
Rough hay, tons. 
Straw, tons. 
Poultry, lbs. (estimated). 
Eggs, doz. (estimated). 
Strawberry plants (about). 
Many additional plants were 
1917 
973 
763 
14.350 
10.656 
2.300 
1.600 
614 
200 
77 
15 
(50 
o 
1.721 
1.321 
1.600.000 
1918 
713 
1.848 
10.14S 
13.680 
1.969 
223 
1.400 
1.342 
200 
50 
12 
(50 
2 
2.166 
1.388 
750,000 
! 
handled by us both 
years, but were grown by others for us under con- 
tvact, and not counted in the above. 
AN EXPERIMENT WITH CAPONS.—One experi¬ 
ment may be of interest. In late June I caponiz'ed 
about 25 young cockerels. The time spent was about 
2 y 2 hours. A like number from the same brood were 
not caponized. Both lots were allowed to run to¬ 
gether and had the same feed and care. We did 
not wish to keep the capons until Spring (the regu¬ 
lar capon season), so sold them in late October as 
roasting chickens, and sold the cockerels at the same 
t.me. also as roasters. The cockerels sold at 47c 
per pound and averaged $2.20 each. The capons 
sold at 48c per pound and averaged $3.30 each. One 
bird was lost by the operation of caponizing. The 
others grew nicely, took on flesh quickly, and I figure 
I was well repaid for the time spent in making the 
operation. A set of caponizing tools secured from 
an advertisement in one of the farm papers cost me 
something over $3, and the method of operating was 
gathered from the instructions that came with the 
set. 
BEE-KEEPING.—Another thing of interest was 
the bees. We have about 35 colonies, and aside from 
the fact that they pay their way as pollenizers for 
fruit and vegetables, we get a nice little surplus of 
honey each year besides. Last year we got 1,400 lbs. 
and sold it all wholesale at 25c a pound. Aside 
from extracting, which took nearly two days in late 
Fall, I suppose a total of less than two days made 
up of odd minutes now and then, was spent with 
the bees, throughout the season. Our system of 
management is not ideal for securing the best honey 
5 ’ields, but it is certainly a time-saver. Some time I 
may have time to write about it, but the point I 
want to make now is that bees are our triends in 
that they help to increase our fruit and vegetable 
yields, and in addition they gather a good store of 
health-giving sweets, high in food values, that would 
go to waste were it not for these willing little work¬ 
ers. Someone has said that “Bees are cheap hired 
men, as they work for nothing and board them¬ 
selves.” We find this true, and surely would not be 
without them. Every locality should have its bee 
yard. It is not best, perhaps, to start a new yard 
if there are a number of colonies within two or 2)4 
miles of you, but if there are none in the neighbor¬ 
hood then it surely will pay to get a few and try 
them out. 
PERMANENT CROPS.—We were again forcibly 
reminded last year that it pays any trucker to have 
some permanent crop. We should not like to plant 
every foot of the farm anew each Spring. By having 
a fair acreage in asparagus, berries, peaches, etc., 
we were saved just so much effort and hustle at 
planting time, could concentrate on the land that 
really had to be planted, yet at marketing time se- 
‘l'he RURAL NEW-YORKER 
cured fully as good or better returns from these 
permanent crops as we received from the annual 
crops. A few permanent crops serve as a balance 
w heel for truck farming, and with them one is less 
affected by labor disturbances. trucker, jr. 
Gloucester Co., N. J. 
One Hundred Fruit Trees on Every Farm 
W HILE there are probably few men in the 
country more enthusiastic than I on the sub¬ 
ject of fruit-growing, either for business or pleasure, 
or few who believe in. or have recommended more 
generally a full supply for every farm home. 1 am 
not so sure 100 trees ought to he recommended for 
every farm. A few years ago a man asked my advice 
about putting out an orchard. He told me he hated 
trees, the trouble taking care of them, and working 
around them, but thought his farm might he more 
salable if it had an orchard on it. I at once ad¬ 
vised this man against setting out fruit trees, feeling 
any he might succeed in keeping alive would probably 
be so disreputable they would more likely detract 
from, rather than add to. the value of his farm. 
Then again while I have many times advised 
diversity in farming, so far as it is practicable, to 
my mind it is never or at least not often good prac¬ 
tice to dabble in a lot of small things. In other 
words, things produced upon any farm should be in 
sufficient quantity to enable one rather to specialize 
in it. or be reduced as near as possible to family 
requirements. One hundred trees, if one or two 
varieties, would make a fair commercial orchard to 
work in connection with other lines, and for that 
purpose might be advisable in many cases. How¬ 
ever. this same hundred trees, divided among many 
varieties and kinds, would mean increasing the work 
of care manyfold, and at the same time reducing 
the amount of any one kind to the point where few 
farmers could afford to market it. and this while it 
might mean a full family supply, would most surely 
mean a very expensive supply. And if you will allow 
me just a little more space for criticism, I might add 
there are many farms in the country where few 
fruits can be grown without rather expert care, and 
that where it grows more naturally it can often be 
bought more cheaply than grown on a small scale. 
Now as to division of the hundred trees in our 
locality. I will name the varieties, with a recommend¬ 
ation to set as many of each as the planter thinks 
necessary to furnish the family requirement in each 
case, the balance of the hundred to be of a commer¬ 
cial variety that best accommodates its requirements 
to the other lines of farming followed. 
Apples: Yellow Transparent, Oldenburg. McIntosh. 
Fall Pippins, Spy, Winesap. 
Pears: Clapp. Bartlett, Seckel. Bose, Winter Nelis. 
Peaches: Niagara. Elberta. 
Plums: Burbank, Italian Prune. 
Cherries: Early Richmond, Montmorency. Gov. 
Wood, Schmidt. Bigarreau. wm. hotalixg. 
Columbia Co.. N. Y. 
Catalpa For Timber Use 
I wish to plant some timber this Fall on my wood lot 
for posts, etc. Is Catalpa best for this purpose? If so. 
will it do equally well on damp ground and high, dry 
ground V In this connection, will you also advise me 
what trees are adaptable to high, dry ground and what 
trees are suitable for damp low ground? R. G. J. 
Allison Park, Pa. 
C ATALPA grows very satisfactorily in the Ohio 
Valley and southern river bottoms. In the 
North it is very apt to winter-kill, and only in 
especially protected locations has it done at all sat¬ 
isfactorily. Considering the tremendous boom with 
which seedlings of Catalpa were first put on the 
market, it has proved in many cases a dismal Ois- 
.appointmeht. Furthermore. Catalpa would hardly 
he satisfactory for underplanting in a woodlot. Ire- 
cause it demands a large amount of direct sunlight, 
and in the shade of other trees does not grow to ad¬ 
vantage. We must admit that where Catalpa can be 
grown, it is highly satisfactory for the production 
of fence posts, because under the proper climatic 
conditions it grows rapidly. Furthermore, the wood 
is very durable in contact with the soil. 
For planting on high, dry ground, I would suggest 
black locust, white ash, basswood, white pine or 
Scotch pine. All of these woods, except the black 
locust, if used for fence posts, will need to be treated 
with some wood preservative, such as creosote. They 
grow so rapidly that it is worth while, however, to 
plant them. For the most part, they all demand a 
considerable amount of direct sunlight, and will, 
therefore, need to he planted in openings in the 
woodlot. Before planting the black locust it will he 
well to ascertain to what extent locust prospers in 
the vicinity. A large number of locust plantations 
have been ruined by the locust borer. It can gen¬ 
erally be considered safe to plant locust on limestone 
lands, because under such conditions it will grow 
vigorously enough to overcome the attacks of the 
l orer. 
In planting trees on low. damp ground it should 
be understood that for satisfactory tree growth the 
ground will need to be fairly well drained. Forest 
planting has never proved highly satisfactory in 
true swamp lands. For such a site as you have 
described I would suggest white cedar, because it 
makes i highly desirable fence post wood which 
does not need to he treated with a wood preservative. 
Other frees whose wood is not so durable, but which 
grow more rapidly under these conditions are black 
ash, red maple, elm. Carolina poplar, and in espe¬ 
cially well-drained, hut moist situations, Norway 
spruce. 
Some of these trees can he secured in the form of 
transplants through your State Forest Commission, 
('thers will need to be grown from seed on your farm, 
or if seeds are very plentiful, they may he sown 
directly on the land. If you wish to get an imme¬ 
diate showing, practically any of these trees can lie 
purchased in small sizes from some reliable nursery¬ 
man. o. h. c. 
War Insurance and Bank Security 
S EVERAL soldiers has asked us if their war insur¬ 
ance policies can be used as security for borrowing 
money with which to buy a farm. An ordinary life 
insurance policy can sometimes be used for such 
purpose, but seldom can more than 50 per cent of 
the premiums already paid in be borrowed. The 
war insurance policy is a different proposition, and 
in order to be sure about it we wrote the Treasury 
Department at Washington. Here is the answer: 
With reference to the loan value of war risk insurance, 
will advise that this insurance, in its present form, is 
term insurance, renewable monthly, and has no cash sur¬ 
render value. The premium payments barely cover the 
cost of the protection in each case. 
Inclosed you will find a marked copy of Bulletin No. 4, 
which will, no doubt, furnish you with information of 
interest to you. 
The marked copy gives certain questions and ans¬ 
wers about this insurance plan : 
38. Q. How are the expenses of handling the iusur- 
mce paid? 
A. By the Government. 
89. Q. Will the cost to me ho increased by the losses 
iue to war? 
A. No. Any losses in excess of premiums received will 
ie borne by the Government. 
40. Q. What form of insurance can I change to after 
he war? 
A. Usual forms, including ordinary liie, 20-payment 
ife. and endowment. 
41. Q. Has this insurance during the war a cash value 
Jr loan value? 
A. No. 
42. Q. Will permanent forms of insurance after the 
.var have cash and loan values? 
A. Yes. . 
48. Q. Can people to whom I owe money collect such 
lebts out of my insurance? 
A. No. This insurance cannot be attached, assigned 
H’ otherwise taken by creditors. 
Thus it seems that such an insurance policy would 
Cost of a Quart of Milk 
J UST at this time, when the cost of milk produc¬ 
tion holds such a prominent place in the public 
eye. a few items from our Dairy Record Association 
should be of particular interest: 
In the month of December 376 cows were on our 
records. Of these 83 were dry and 293 milking. 
The -’98 cows milking produced 202.141.(5 pounds of 
milk and 73.368 pounds of butterfat, at a cost for 
feed of $5,022.68. This means a feed cost of $2.48 
per 100 pounds of milk. The average cost of feeding 
dry cows exceeds $10 per month. The cost of feed¬ 
ing 83 dry cows would therefore be at least $830. 
and uo hulls at the same figure would increase this 
to $850. or a cost of 42 cents per 100 pounds of milk. 
The feed “ost of producing 100 pounds of milk at a 
most moderate construction of our figures would 
then he $2.48 plus 42 cents, or $2.90 per 100 pounds. 
Assuming that one man can do all of the work 
of caring for a herd of 15 cows, including delivering 
milk at depot, mixing feed, cleaning cows and sta¬ 
bles. milking, etc., it would require 25 men to care 
for these 376 cows. Seventy-five dollars per month 
is a fair figure at which to place wages of one man 
($1.50 per day) boarding himself. The wages of 25 
men at $75 would he $1,875. We now have a labor 
cost, of 98 cents per 100 pounds of milk produced, 
and a total of $2.90 plus 93. or $3.88 per 100 pounds, 
which is 28 cents above the price offered by the 
den lot’s. 
But. is it fair to stop here? Would we do so iu 
figuring cost of manufacturing any other product? 
