G62 
The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
April 19, 1924 
THE NEW 
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Read This 
WHITE PINE SEEDLINGS FOR SALE— 
1 have between 30,000 and 40,000 that will average 
20 inches above the ground. These are the most 
valuable trees to set out for a forest and will grow 
in any kind of soil. They .are very nice for orna¬ 
mental purposes and make one of the best wind¬ 
breaks that can be set out and at the same time 
growing into valuable timber. They will make a 
very valuable wind-break for fruit or buildings, for 
they will grow from 10 to 20 ft. high in 8 years. I 
will deliver these trees for $5.00 a hundred or $20.00 
a thousand. Address— 
FRED. VAN GORDER 
Res. 41 Bennett Street, Hornell, N. Y. 
TIMOTHY SEED 
Few dealers can equal Metcalf’s Recleaned Timothy, 
99.70# pure. S4.70 per bushel of 45 lbs. Metcalf's Tim¬ 
othy and Alsike Mixed, at $5.25 per bu. of 45 lbs. Cot¬ 
ton bags free and freight paid in 5 bu. lots 
B. F. METCALF & SON. Inc. 
202-204 W. Genesee St. - Syracuse, N. Y. 
PEACH TREES 
Elberta, 3 to 4 ft. trees. 25c each 
J. H. Hale, 3 to 4 ft. trees.30c each 
Strictly first-class, fresh dug and guaranteed true 
to name. Our own growing. 
THOMAS MARKS & CO. 
Nurserymen and Fruit Growers 
Wilson, Niagara County, New York 
IVANTFn 2.000 Rhubarb roots, strawberry or 
t» nil I ED pink stem variety. Please quote price. 
RASPBERRY PLANTS 
AT REDUCED PRICES 
We are over stocked. You get the benefit. St. Regis 
Everbearing, 25 — 81.25 ; 100 — 2.75 ; 300 — $ 6 . 00 . 
Delivered Free. 1,000 ® $ 12 . 00 . F. O. B. here. 
Austin Dewberry Plants »t same price. Strawberry, 
Asparagus, Other Plants that please. Catalogue Free. 
V. R. ALLEN SEAFORD, DEL. 
CORTLAND 
Early McIntosh, Medina, Westchester, 
Delicious 1940. Certified Columbian 
and Latham Raspberries. A full line 
of Nursery Stock. Price List FREE. 
SAMUEL FRASER NURSERY, Inc., GENESEO, N. Y. 
Having a Quality varieties of POTATOES 
Al.L GOOD STOCK 00 O., 
98 PER CENT FREE FROM DISEASE Price, 04 DU. 
World's Fair, Gold Coin, Beauty, Hebron. Rural New- 
Yorker. Maggie Murphy. Rochester. Rose. State of Maine, 
Green Mts., Big Rose andNo 9. MS. D. AUSTIN, Eagle Bndge.N.T. 
r. o„ „ n.LI' . Iris assorted. Golden Glow, Lemon 
rOf 5318—uaniias Lilies. Each kind $1 a dozen 
Mrs. Nan R. Davis R. G9 Parkers Landing. Pa. 
DAHLIAS 
10 different varieties, #1. 
Anna Corwin H. No. 3 Newburgh. N.Y. 
°nu Raono Bl:,ck Eyebrow, $4 per bu. 
oily Dadds JYSO'I, BRUMFIELD & TYSON Edgewo.d, Maryland 
G ladiolus Bulbs. Large, white, 55c dozen mixed, 50c 
prepaid. > * CARPENTER Columbia Station, Ohio 
For Sale-Seed Beans E , . , F. 1 Hu t mp°h c rev ira, n. y. 
ALL RUBBER APRONS^* 
and clothes. No doth to get dirty. 79c. postpaid. 
Agents wanted. MAYVIN CO. Apron Dept., Medina, N. Y. 
Nature Notes 
Breeding Goldfish 
Breeding goldfish is quite a hobby with 
me. I have in the neighborhood of 20 
fish about 4 in. in length, and wish to 
breed them for novelty, not profit. As 
yet I have not the facilities to do so. I 
would like advice as to selection, size, 
bow to distinguish sex. Can they be bred 
in an aquarium without running water, 
and what care is needed for fry? 
Little Falls, N. .T. p. F. c. 
The subject of breeding goldfish is too 
large to be taken up here in detail. There 
are many books on the subject, but one of 
the best seems to be “Goldfish Varieties 
and Tropical Aquarium Fishes.” by Win. 
T. limes. There are very many varieties 
of goldfish, which vary in their need for 
special care, from the common varieties 
which will breed in almost any place 
where the water is reasonably pure, to 
some of the very delicate varieties, which 
require almost constant care during their 
whole lives, and which will not survive 
the journey necessary to bring them to 
this country from Japan. 
At the breeding season it is fairly easy 
to tell the sex of goldfish of breeding age. 
necessary to spray with a variety of sub¬ 
stances for a large number of pests, and 
a delay of a few hours may entail the loss 
of almost an entire crop. 
ALFRED C. WEED. 
Our Choice for Farm Dog 
No one as yet has spoken a good word 
for the bull terrier as a farm watch dog, 
and we have found our Muggins all that 
we could desire for the past six years. 
He is purebred English bull terrier, both 
parents being of average weight (perhaps 
75 lbs.), but Muggins weighs well over 
100 lbs. Several dog owners write of 
chaining their dogs at night. We never 
chain our dog except to reassure timid 
visitors. He does not go beyond the 
boundaries of our 10-acre place, but can 
be found at any hour within sight of 
the house. He is not inclined to fight 
with other dogs, showing special consid¬ 
eration for very small dogs. But he does 
not permit dog-prowlers on the place, and 
if necessary uses his great weight to up¬ 
set the intruder, stands over him to read 
the law, and then escorts him off tlie 
place in a dignified manner. Hounds, 
An Ohio Boy a 
The females are plumper in appearance 
than the males, and the males are more 
energetic in their actions, following the 
females around, rubbing against them, 
etc. The eggs are laid among the leaves 
of water plants, to which they stick until 
hatching time. 
When the fish hatch they live for sev¬ 
eral days on the remains of the yolk of 
the egg. As soon as this is absorbed they 
must have other food. At first they must 
have the very smallest of water fleas and 
similar crustaceans. Later they can eat 
other things, and finally they change over 
to the diet of the larger fish. 
Goldfish will breed freely in tubs or 
large aquariums or in ponds of various 
sizes. The fancy ones must have special 
attention, and all must be sorted at fre¬ 
quent intervals to weed out the inferior 
ones, and to keep those of about the same 
size together. 
Goldfish breeding establishments vary 
all the way from an open pond full of fish 
or a tub in the backyard to the big com¬ 
mercial places with greenhouses, temper¬ 
ing ponds, food ponds, rearing pools 
sorting ponds, etc. The details of man¬ 
agement differ in each, but the general 
rule must be to give the young fish as 
nearly natural conditions and food as 
possible, and to use every means to pre¬ 
vent the diseases and unhealthy condi¬ 
tions that must be expected as a result of 
bringing large numbers of one kind of 
creature together. Every increase in the 
number of a particular creature in a lo¬ 
cality brings with it a great increase in 
the number of its enemies. In former days 
when the apples hi Wayne Co., N. Y., 
were simply a few trees in the dooryards, 
there was no need of spraying. There 
were always enough good apples to satis¬ 
fy the market. A few years later, when 
almost every farm had an acre or 
two of orchard and there were some big 
orchards of 10 or 15 acres, it was neces¬ 
sary to spray for canker-worm and some 
other insects. Still later, when it is pos¬ 
sible to drive 15 or 20 miles between 
rows of trees which extend out of sight 
in both directions from the road, it is 
d His Doy 
hull terriers, St. Bernards, and collies 
of the neighborhood show him the great¬ 
est deference. 
He has grown up with our seven-year- 
old boy and is kind and devoted to both 
the boy and his little sister, and a jolly 
but gentle playfellow. He makes friends 
with the children who come to visit, hut 
is quick to take his stand between the 
little master and mistress and any 
strange man or woman. He seems to 
take his cue from us, as to whether he 
shall make friends with strangers. Ladies 
make friends with him easily ; some few 
men who have been here often on busi¬ 
ness have never received a cordial wag, 
and if insistent are warned with a growl. 
We have never permitted anyone to tease 
him. I do not know what hidden trait 
such treatment might bring forth. But 
so far Muggins has never offered to take 
hold of anyone or sneak up to strangers. 
IIis attitude is one of fearless dignity. 
Toward all farm animals he is kind. He 
will patiently take a half dozen runaway 
slioats off the place, determined that they 
shall go but all the time wagging apolo¬ 
getically as though he thought it a great 
joke. He is an enemy to all stray cats, 
of which we have more than our share, 
being near a village and also a large 
city. But to our own cats he is very 
courteous and kind. Even Old Puss, who 
came to our barn a wild-eyed, ready-to- 
figlit and ready-to-die stray, was accepted 
as a rightful member of the family after 
we had quietly spoken to him a few times 
warning him not to molest her. Skunks 
are alike with other stray cats, and in 
the past Winter three have come to a 
sad end being literally shaken to pieces in 
Muggins’ powerful jaws. 
lie is not much of a hunter, although 
he will give chase to a wild rabbit and 
will stand by all night till someone comes 
to get the ’possum he has treed. Rats 
he abominates, hunts faithfully, and dis¬ 
patches in short order. 
fie is not a heavy eater. We think it 
possible that his size may in part be at¬ 
tributed to his access to the bones from 
a next door slaughter pen. Besides these 
he receives one piepan of table scraps at 
bedtime. If he seems hungry at other 
times he is given a hard piece of bread. 
As a farm watch dog and companion 
for children we would heartily recom¬ 
mend the English bull terrier, provided 
it is a castrated male. If properly treat¬ 
ed he is dignified, gentle, and obedient. 
His size and big voice soon win respect 
from outsiders. He will not need to be 
tied to keep him at home night or day. 
He is more desirable for children than 
Other dogs. MRS. E. E. F. 
Ohio. 
Birds trom a Kitchen Window 
Part I 
From my own experience I know it is 
possible to live in the country all the 
days of one’s life without having a speak¬ 
ing acquaintance with more than three or 
four birds, but never realized until the 
past few years how much pleasure may 
be had from observing a few of the com¬ 
mon birds in one’s immediate vicinity. 
My reason for wishing to know some¬ 
thing of birds are two small daughters, 
one of whom, if she continues her love of 
nature lore, may prove to be another 
Anna Botsford Comstock, and the other 
"bo much prefers to read about birds 
and animals rather than observe them 
and therefore must be encouraged to be¬ 
come interested in that phase of coun¬ 
try life. 
Our home is in the beautiful Finger 
Lakes region of New York State, truly a 
delightful bird sanctuary. But alas! the 
grounds around the house are not es¬ 
pecially adapted to bird life. The kitchen 
window and side porch look out upon a 
few maples and small fruit trees, the 
creek in the next field is barely more 
than a ditch in Summer, the lawn is 
broken with drives, over which are pass¬ 
ing all day long the countless vehicles 
connected with a busy farm. The beau¬ 
tiful rose garden and the trees and 
shrubs planted especially t 0 attract birds 
still exist only in our dreams and imagi¬ 
nation, but in spite of all these handi¬ 
caps there were seen from this window 
and porch 47 different kinds of birds last 
season. Some of them were migrating, 
like the wild geese and white-crowned 
sparrow; some were year-round residents 
like the chickadee, the downy wood¬ 
pecker and nuthatch, which haunt our 
feeding station in Winter, retiring to (he 
woods only during the nesting season. 
Some, like the snipe and green bittern 
we have seen only once, and some like 
our old standbys, the robin and blue¬ 
bird, are a cause for great rejoicing when 
t e.\ i eturn !o us in the Spring and 
cheer us during the long, hot days of 
Summer. 
. wo h*ave done to encourage the 
birds building near our home is to love 
them and give them crumbs, cracked nuts 
and suet in Winter and in Spring put 
a few homemade bird-houses. Blue- 
up 
™?%L' ke ,he hom ?' s we have provided 
T). Fee? yGar 10pe to liave wrens. 
Ihe little wren house is most attractive 
and was made m about 15 minutes. It 
' s .,, P'^ c ^ of bark wired together, 
ith roof and floor of grey-green roofing. 
Ihe tiny entrance looks entirely too small 
tor anything larger than a humming-bird 
but was carefully made just seven- 
eigijthx ot an inch in diameter according 
to measurements given in a goovernment 
bulletin At least we have the satisfac¬ 
tion ot knowing we will not .have to keep 
up a continual fight to prevent the Eng- 
tish sparrow from entering, as we do un¬ 
til the bluebirds, are established in their 
box. tor as I write a female sparrow has 
discovered that the entrance is just the 
size of her own head. 
Last season there were within less 
than 300 ft. from our door the nest of 
three robins, two chipping sparrows, one 
humming-bird, one oriole, one bluebird, 
one red-eyed vireo, one yellow warbler, 
and probably many others, for we did not 
discover the red-eyed vireo’s nest until 
the nestlings were almost ready to fly, 
and would not have found it. then only 
by accident. One morning very early we 
heard a bird cry. When we reached the 
spot a cat jumped down from the tree. 
There was an exquisite uest partly de¬ 
molished and one little vireo left, it was 
so frightened we knew it would fall from 
the nest or branch if we placed it there, 
so put it in a large box and the box in 
the crotch of a nearby cherry tree. This 
tree was encircled with tin to keep the 
cats from climbing it. so every thing 
seemed secure. After careful investiga¬ 
tion the terrified mother brought foot! and 
flew down to the bottom of the box to 
feed the baby. During the <lay many 
other birds were attracted to the tree by 
the strange sounds, some of them perch¬ 
ing on the edge of the box and looking 
curiously within. That evening just at 
dusk we saw the same cat creeping 
stealthly away from the cherry tree. We 
ran to look and found the darling little 
vireo had disappeared. Of course the 
cat was guilty, but we never could un¬ 
derstand how it had reached that box. 
We believe the same birds return to us 
year after year, for many seem like old 
friends. Occasionally they fail us, how¬ 
ever. For several years the chickadees 
have been very tame, eating from the lit¬ 
tle girl's hands and hopping all around 
the porch in search of food, but this last 
Winter they have not ventured in sight 
of the house, probably because the weath¬ 
er has been so mild they have found 
plenty of food elsewhere. 
A FARM WOMAN. 
