lhe RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
739 
Crops and Farm News 
Countrywide Produce Situation 
SOME NEW THINGS IN THE TRUCKING RE¬ 
GION ; CHANGES IN NEW YORK, NEW 
JERSEY AND MAINE ; POTATO BOOM IN 
NORTHWEST ; APPLE EXPORTS. 
A few of the early developments in the 
various centers of fruit and vegetable 
production are worth noting as sugges¬ 
tions or warnings for producers in gen¬ 
eral. There are a few prominent features 
such as heavy planting of truck crops in 
r lorida and California, the lateness of 
the season in the East and the earliness 
on the Pacific Coast, some shifting from 
potatoes and other vegetables in New 
York and New Jersey; a tendency to co¬ 
operative marketing in Maine where 
nearly half the potato crop was handled 
that way; an increase in planting of 
celery and carrots in Western New York 
and an increase in marketing by motor 
trucks in nearly all sections. 
MORE CARROTS AND CELERY 
Perhaps^ the most varied situation is 
that in W estern New York. The num¬ 
erous market crops grown in that section 
offer points of comparison. It is plain 
that the boom in prices of carrots this 
‘Spring will lead to more planting, per¬ 
haps to a dangerous extent, since the 
market is always limited. Celery also 
paid well, and there may be 10 per cent 
more planted this year. The onion situ¬ 
ation is very uncertain since about one- 
half the growers sold early and made 
money, while the others stored the onions 
and lost in weight and price of the crop. 
Probably the decreased acreage result¬ 
ing from discouragement will be offset by 
the enthusiastic planting of those who 
did well the past season. Fruit promises 
well in that important section. It is 
commonly agreed that the apple crop did 
not pay last season except perhaps on 
early sales, and there is some danger 
that the coming crop will be neglected 
as regards spraying and cultivation. 
SWEET CORN IN JERSEY 
The New Jersey section is almost 
equally varied and important. The most 
interesting feature is the tendency to 
shift from the Giant, Green Mountain 
and other late varieties to the early Cob¬ 
bler. Potatoes were a poor crop in New 
Jersey last year on account of drouth. 
Some growers will change partly to to¬ 
matoes but there is not likely to be any 
great loss of potato acreage. Probably 
more sweet corn, cucumbers and miscel¬ 
laneous vegetables will be grown. Sweet 
corn will be a favorite in Northern New 
Jersey because the Japanese beetle quar¬ 
antine would seem to shut out the usual 
supply from Southern New Jersey. 
WHITE POTATOES FAVORED 
Michigan is an important fruit and 
vegetable section. Last season there 
was a wide variation in the yield in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the State and correspond¬ 
ing variation in the sentiment of pro¬ 
ducers. On the whole, there is not likely 
to be much change this season. The most 
notable tendency is a shifting from the 
russety potatoes to the round white va¬ 
rieties, especially Rural New-Yorker and 
Carman No. 3. Both in this section and 
in Western New York it is said many of 
the dealers refuse to pay as much for the 
darker varieties as for the white ones. 
Onions were a short crop in Michigan 
but they are grown on certain areas of 
muck soil adapted to onions better than 
to anything else and growers are likely 
to stick to onions through thick and 
thin. Apple growers do not seem espec¬ 
ially dissatisfied although prices gener¬ 
ally averageed not much more than a 
dollar per 100 lbs., orchard run. There 
is a tendency to insist on sales for cash 
on delivery, thus avoiding a common 
cause of trouble and worry to growers. 
The Michigan grape crop yielded two to 
six tons per acre last season, and sold 
mostlv from $45 to $50 per ton. Growers 
who fertilized heavily had larger yields 
and made very good profits. There is a 
tendency to plan more liberal fertilizing 
this season. In Minnesota and Wiscon¬ 
sin there was some discussion over the 
light yield and low prices for potatoes 
and probably there will be some decrease 
in acreage of this crop and also of cab¬ 
bage and onions. 
In the northern Pacific Coast region, 
especially Oregon and Washington, there 
is a boom in potatoes owing to the luck 
of Northwestern growers in raising a 
good crop last year when there was a 
shortage of potatoes in most parts of 
the far west. These growers actually 
received more for their potatoes recently 
than growers in Maine and Western New 
York. Probably the usual thing will 
result and potatoes will be overplanted 
in the northwest this season. 
EUROPE’S IDEAS ON APPLES 
Apple market reports from Europe 
show how tastes differ. In January and 
February the Dutch were paying top 
prices for Ben Davis and more than 
twice as much for the Baldwin. The 
Danes also paid top prices, up to $7 for 
Bens and Ganos. But the Germans have 
imported American apples before and 
they chose the Jonathan and Spitzen- 
berg and discounted the green kinds and 
the coarse varieties. German demand is 
much like that of most American mar¬ 
kets. British markets have shown some 
lack of discrimination according to 
American market standards. They have 
often quoted the Ben Davis, Stark. Bald¬ 
win. and Spy at about the same level. 
English buyers used to prefer the New¬ 
town Pippin to any other imported va¬ 
riety, but now they often pay as much 
or more for the best red kinds, although 
the Greening has often topped the mar¬ 
ket the past Winter. They usually quote 
small apples higher than very large ones, 
because families want an apple for each 
member when they buy. a pound. Europe 
will take four or five million barrels of 
American and Canadian apples this sea¬ 
son, two-thirds of them American. Yet 
the average Englander still consumes 
only about two apples a week, including 
supplies from all sources. Americans 
come close to eating the proverbial daily 
apple that keeps the doctor away. 
GENERAL OUTLOOK GOOD 
In selling produce, much will depend 
on condition of business. Industries, 
most of them are not quite so active as 
they were, but the outlook is still fair 
in that respect for the few months that 
can be sized up in advance. 
Fruit growers are already talking of 
good crop prospects based on the num¬ 
ber and condition of fruit buds. It should 
be a bearing year in the eastern apple 
section. Southern peach prospects con¬ 
tinue good. 
Labor scarcity is much talked about in 
the South, where they have always had 
plenty of farm help in the past. High 
city wages have called away as many as 
30 per cent of the negroes in some 
States. This means that southern farm 
wages will rise nearer the equal level 
than before. g. b. f. 
Crop Notes 
We have had a mild Winter here in 
the Finger Lake district with little snow. 
A few days ago a blanket of snow de¬ 
scended on us and to look out you would 
have said it was January instead of 
April. This soon melted and was fol¬ 
lowed by an all-day rain. The ground 
needed it all, for many wells were dry. 
The bulbs are all starting also the grass. 
“The mister” as my Pennsylvania friends 
say, has been getting grape cuttings for 
a vienyard, 5.000. Some will die per¬ 
haps, but we hope to make a start for 
grape culture. We have very little fruit 
on our farm, and this is a fruit section. 
It will be some years before we realize 
much I suppose, but we will have the joy 
of seeing the 325 Seckel pear trees grow 
and half as many apples, besides berries. 
We are putting them near the house 
where every attention can be given them 
Old fruit men tell us to guard against 
mice. We had one young tree girdled 
this year by them. One experienced man 
tells us to tie pieces of commercial roofing 
around with wire each Fall and keep the 
pieces from year to year. We shall put 
Yellow-eye beans in with the trees this 
year to insure plenty of cultivation. The 
improved road put in last Summer past 
our house has been a great comfort this 
Winter. Autos have gone all Winter and 
soon the tourist season will open up. 
With Watkins Glen only nine miles 
away, we have a constant stream of cars 
during the Summer. Many turn this to 
good account for themselves with road¬ 
side sales and tourist inns. We have 
been using wood in our furnace most of 
the Winter, much of it old beams and 
boards from the big barn we tore down 
and rebuilt. With coal at $15 and $16 
a ton it is a big saving, and helps dis¬ 
pose of this useless old timber in a satis¬ 
factory manner. Our hens have done 
wonderfully well for us all Winter. Of 
course they have the best of care and are 
happy. They are White Leghorns. This 
is the first year we have had our pullets 
by themselves and it certainly pays, we 
find. We did not put lights on them but 
on the old hens mornings. We with sev¬ 
eral other poultry raisers about here are 
in an egg pool, and ship our eggs to New 
York. We take our eggs to the pool 
station twice or three times a week. They 
must be cleaned and packed in crates 
first. Before they are shipped they are 
repacked and sorted. Prices have only 
been fair. mbs. h. b. 
Yates Co., N. Y. 
Ration Without Silage 
ill you give me good ration for feed¬ 
ing milk cows? I feed at present a mix¬ 
ture of 100 lbs. bran, 100 lbs. cornmeal, 
100 lbs. crushed oats, 50 lbs. oilmeal, 25 
lbs. cottonseed meal, 4 lbs. salt I feel 
2 lbs. of this feed to every 2 lbs. of milk. 
The cows do not give the milk they 
should. I feed 10 lbs. mixed clover hay 
to each cow. w. j. c. 
Long Island. 
The ration that you are feeding is 
evidently deficient in protein and we be¬ 
lieve that you get much better results if 
you would correct this condition. A ra¬ 
tion consisting of 250 lbs. cornmeal, 150 
lbs. bran, 150 lbs. crushed oats, 150 lbs. 
linseed meal, 200 lbs. cottonseed meal, 100 
lbs. gluten feed would no doubt enable 
you to obtain more milk at less cost. 
Your are feeding a pound of this grain 
ration for every pound of milk produced. 
This is unnecessary with the ration sub¬ 
mitted above. One pound of feed for 
each 3y 2 lbs. of milk produced per cow 
per day ought to prove ample, provided 
it is supplemented with a good roughage 
and some succulence such as mangels or 
beet pulp. f. c. m. 
An Ox for Cultivating 
I notice an inquiry about using a 
single ox for cultivating, and the writer 
seemed to think he must have a ring in 
the animal’s nose to fasten reins to. 
While I have never had oxen myself, a 
friend and neighbor of mine had a single 
ox a few years ago which his boys train¬ 
ed to drive just as you would a horse. 
He had a common head halter with a 
ring on each side to snap the reins into, 
and used this ox to plow, cultivate, rake 
hay and even used him in a buggy or 
pung, driving with the reina fastened to 
each side of the halter, and wearing a 
harness the same as a horse. I do not 
think he ever knew anything about a 
yoke or a goad. lewis o. b. iiolway 
Maine. 
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