622 
the plant, supposing the center to be nightshade for 
this case, pushes its way through the covering of 
tomato cells the appearance will be that of a to¬ 
mato plant with a shoot of nightshade springing 
from it 
VARIEGATIONS AND MOTTLINGS.—It is ex¬ 
actly this sort of thing that is responsible for the 
white-edged geranium. In this case we may have a 
normal green geranium plant bearing a shoot of en¬ 
tirely white leaves. Now if a bud from the normal 
shoot pushes its way through the white-leaved shoot 
at the point of union, we will have an otheiuvise 
norcnal green shoot covered with several layers of 
colorless cells just like a hand in a transparent 
glove. The edges of such leaves, since they are 
much flattened, are composed of nothing but color¬ 
less cells and therefore appear white; while the 
center portions of the leaves, since they are com¬ 
posed of normal green cells overlaid with white 
cells through which the green cells show as though 
normal, therefore appear green. A great many other 
variegations and mottlings can be definitely proven 
to have the same structure, and there are all pos¬ 
sible combinations of the different tissues. 
THE SWEET ANI) SOUR COMBINATION. — 
Now if we should suppose, in the case of this apple, 
several layers of cells of some sour variety surround¬ 
ing a sweet variety, the explanation is obvious. If 
a bud from the center of the tree, branch, or twig, 
breaks through the outer layer of cells, the apples 
on that twig will be sweet, otherwise sour. Or if 
cells from the two sources run along a shoot parallel 
with each other, one-half of the apples borne on it 
might be sour and the other half sweet, or any 
portion of them might be sour or sweet. All of this 
is nothing more than guesswork and may or may 
not be correct, but in this case, at least, one man’s 
guess is as good as another. If there are any 
other explanations among our readers it should be 
interesting to hear them. h. b. tukey. 
Wheat Bran for Fertilizer 
I am using all our chicken manure and wood ashes 
on the garden soil. Other manure is not to be had, 
and fertilizer is hard to get. However. I can get wheat 
bran, and if my understanding is right, that material 
is fairly rich in phosphorus. I was wondering whether 
a top-dressing of that might not supply in a measure, 
what the chicken manure and wood ashes lack, and 
make an all-around better balanced fertilizer. I have 
an ample supply of leaves that I intend spading under. 
While I have not mentioned any quantities, thus mak¬ 
ing it difficulty for you in making any definite sugges¬ 
tions, I believe I can sfifely say that the soil has not 
received any too much of the chicken manure and 
ashes that I have applied, rather the reverse. M. E. s. 
New Jersey. 
HE best thing for you to use in such a situation 
would be fine ground bone or acid phosphate. 
Either one would supply the phosphorus which you 
need to balance the chicken manure. Or, very likely, 
you can get some brand of fertilizer containing a 
very large proportion of phosphoric acid. That 
would answer if spread on the ground and raked 
in after the chicken manure is plowed or spaded un¬ 
der. With regard to wheat bran, it is true that it 
contains quite a little phosphorus. The ordinary 
sample of bran will contain about 50 lbs. of nitrogen, 
(10 lbs. of phosphoric acid and between 30 and 35 
lbs. of potash to the ton. When you use so much 
chicken manure you will hardly need any more 
nitrogen than that which the manure supplies, so 
that the nitrogen would hardly be necessary, and 
there is not enough phosphoric acid in the bran to 
make it a profitable fertilizer in your case. The 
bran will decay readily, and its plant food is quite 
available, but at the price usually charged for bran, 
it is not an economical manure, although it has been 
used in considerable quantities for that purpose. On 
d small piece of ground, like a garden, it might serve 
the purpose, but a quantity of acid phosphate or 
fine ground bone would be more economical and on 
the whole better. The leaves you refer to are prob¬ 
ably sour, and it would be well to use some lime in 
addition to the wood ashes. 
What to Use for Cultivating 
I have been doing all my plowing and fitting and 
other heavy work with tractor, and found it very satis¬ 
factory. I have a team of horses weighing about 2,900 
or 3.000 lbs., and all they have done for two years was 
cultivate. Since I am not going to work my farm any 
more, my three boys will do most of it. Two are twins, 
13 years old, and they have an older brother almost IS. 
The farm is mostly in fruit trees, but I expect we will 
raise some tomatoes and melons with other garden stuff. 
We do not wish to keep this big team just to cultivate 
with, and the boys might get into trouble with horses. 
We have a Welsh pony that is gentle and pretty good 
size, and I have been wondering if it would be advisable 
to get a mate to him to do the work. The boys wanted 
a tractor cultivator. I do all my hauling with a truck, 
and my farm lies so that I can use it in the fields. 
I wish I knew what to do for cultivating this Sum- 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
mer. Why wouldn’t an ox be good for this purpose? 
It should not cost as much as a horse, and when not 
in use could be turned out in any pasture having barbed- 
wire fence. In the Winter an ox would not be injured 
so much from lack of exercise and when its usefulness 
was past, could be fattened for the butcher. Could 
such an animal be purchased to give satisfaction when 
used singly for cultivation? I suppose it would have 
to be driven with lines. What advice do you give and 
would anyone have such a beast for sale? I suppose the 
best way to arrange the reins would be to a ring in 
the nose. F s 
Pennsylvania. 
TT ERE is another of the problems which readjust- 
A A ment of farm work is pushing upon the 
farmer. The use of the tractor is crowding horses 
out of plowing and leaving them not much besides 
teaming and cultivating. In a case like the above 
the big horses are not really needed if some sub¬ 
stitute can be found for cultivating among growing 
crops like corn or potatoes. Some of our readers 
have succeeded with one of the small tractors when 
the soil is smooth and fairly level, but others feel 
that it is about as uneconomic to keep a tractor just 
for cultivating as it is to keep a team of horses 
where a large tractor works well. What should this 
man do ! If he can get a good mate for that pony 
and .train them to pull light cultivators he would 
be well provided. As for the ox, that is not at all 
a ridiculous proposition. We have heard several 
reports from people who have used oxen for the 
purpose, and with good results. A quick-stepping 
Devon ox, well trained to the job, would accomplish 
a remarkable amount in a day, and we have no 
doubt that this will call out reports from those who 
have used oxen for the purpose. 
A Handy Device for Harnessing 
IIIS device which may be used in harnessing 
the horses is patterned after a trolley cable. 
A %-in. rod, threaded on both ends and inserted 
between the joists just above the horse with two 
114 -in. awning pulleys bolted together for trolley 
cars completes the hardware. A rope of sufficient 
length is inserted in the lower pulley with two 
hooks tied into it, so that when one hook is up to 
the pulley the other will hook in the hame ring or 
strap. To lift the harness, hook one hook to the 
hame, pull the other hook down by means of the 
rope and hook into the other side of the hame and it 
is suspended. The other pair of hooks are used 
to carry the back-pad and breaching lifted in a 
similar manner, one hook carrying the back-pad and 
the other the breeching. The harness now hanging 
suspended on the cable is pushed back out of the 
way, and is ready to be pulled up ahead and lowered 
on the horse’s back. If the collar has a coupling 
which opens at the bottom both collar and hames 
can be lifted at the same time! The harness does 
not get tangled up, and it saves heavy lifting, es¬ 
pecially so when a fly net -is on. j. f. fokrest. 
Wisconsin. 
Buying “School Land” in Vermont 
I am thinking of purchasing a farm in Vermont of 
300 acres, more or less; 100 acres of this is known as 
school land which I understand is rented, not owned 
by the person selling. This is supposed to go with the 
property as long as $10 a year is paid for the same. 
There are no deeds for the 100 acres of school land. 
It is mentioned once in warranty deed of the farm. 
This 100 acres contains about the best land on the 
place. Would it be good policy to purchase said farm 
with the intention of improving this 100 acres, and as 
much more of the other land as could be; improvements 
such as buildings, but mostly to be set out to an apple 
orchard? t. w. 
New York. 
S to school lands in this State, it is difficult to 
give information without knowing the particu¬ 
lar location of the land and all the circumstances. 
I would therefore advise T. W. to go to some good 
reputable lawyer and have his title proved before 
he makes the purchase of the farm. 
It was customary in tlie early days for lots of 
April 12, 1924 
land to be set aside for support of schools and sup¬ 
port of the gospel. It is provided that this land shall 
bear an annual rental for the purposes named. I 
have a considerable acreage of this land myself. 
The rent, I think, is about 15c per aere, which is the 
only tax wffiich can be legally levied against the 
land. It is paid into the town treasury with our 
regular tax bill. You will see therefore that this is 
the most valuable kind of land to own. 
In acquiring this kind of land I have always se¬ 
cured a warranty deed from the seller who has con¬ 
veyed the property to me and warranted the title 
free from all encumbrances except the rental re¬ 
ferred to. Whatever the conditions may be in the 
region where T. W. is purchasing a farm I do not 
know, but here such land is sold readily and the 
rental is not considered to be any handicap, e. b. 
Old Sod to New Meadow 
. ^ hat would be the best and cheapest way to get mow- 
mg ground back to hay that has not been broken up in 
the last 10 or 15 years? What rotation of crops? What 
kind of lime, ground limestone, burnt ground limestone 
or hydrated? The ground is heavy loam, and I would 
have to use fertilizers. c j s 
Glen Cove, N. Y. 
N a ease of this sort the best is not always the 
cheapest. The cheapest way would be to plow 
the old sod this Spring, harrow it a few times, put 
on lime and seed at once to grass, or put in a light 
seeding of oats with the grass seed. You would get 
a new stand of grass in that way, but in a year or 
so it would be full of weeds and foul stuff, so that 
you would have to seed it over. On the other hand, 
the most expensive way would be to plow in the 
Spring and seed to oats. Plow these oats under in 
early July, and work the soil again and again with 
a disk or spring-tooth harrow so as to kill out all 
weeds and grass. This will mean six or eight 
thorough harrowings. Work in a ton of lime to the 
acre, seed heavily to grass alone, and use GOO lbs. 
or more to the acre of fertilizer. That will give a 
thick, fine seeding. There will be a light grass crop 
the next year, but a heavy crop following for five 
years or more. As a compromise between these two 
plans you can plow in the Spring and put on one 
ton to the acre of ground limestone. Then plant the 
earliest variety of corn you can get, in hills 3 ft. 
apart. Give thorough culture both ways and at 
least one hand hoeing so as to kill out the weeds 
thoroughly. Cut this corn late in August and carry 
the stalks off the field. Then plow and harrow well, 
and seed to grass—a combination of Timothy, Red- 
top and Red and Alsike clover with 400 lbs. or more 
of good fertilizer. In place of the com you can seed 
buckwheat and plow the crop under, but the corn 
will be better, as one object is to give thorough cul¬ 
ture so as to kill out the weeds and grass. 
Organizing A Pet Stock Farm 
For the past five years I have been breeding canaries, 
gold and tropical fish and small pet stock, in a small 
way, here at home, and have been very successful. I 
have been very careful in learning feeding, breeding and 
mating for the best results. Now I am writing to ask 
your opinion of the possibilities of a commercial pet 
stock farm. Do you think a place of this kind would 
make a livelihood for a small family? 
It would be necessary, at first, for me to lease the 
ground, but as this land would not need to be anything 
more than wild land or pasture, the rental should not 
be a very big item. It would need to be near a small 
stream or have springs which could be utilized for out- 
of-door pools during the Summer. I have not looked at 
any particular location, and would be pleased to hear 
from any readers who may have had some experiences 
along these lines. I have two friends who are large 
importers and wholesalers of pet stock, and several re¬ 
tailers who will take pet stock in large numbers, so 
would be almost sure of a ready market for all I could 
produce of birds, fish, small pets and dogs. j. t. b. 
E should not care to give any deciding opinion 
about the outcome of such an enterprise. We 
know nothing about it. We have no doubt, however, 
that some of our people have had experience in this 
line. They can help. On general principles, the 
reader who wants to know about breeding goldfish 
or canary birds is just as much entitled to consider¬ 
ation as he who seeks information regarding cows 
or elephants, and we want to help this man. It ap¬ 
pears that the human animal has other needed re¬ 
quirements besides food, shelter and clothing. He 
needs entertainment, and it is a good thing to en¬ 
courage him to take part of that in showing affection 
for animals—pet stock. Sometimes, when we see a 
strong, healthy woman lavishing upon a useless dog 
the affection which belongs to some motherless child, 
there may be some question about it, but as a phil¬ 
osopher. taking life as our companions make it, it 
seems as if pet stock will play a large part in the 
affairs of most people. Why not then a pet stock 
farm? Why not indeed? 
