The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
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Hudson Valley Fruit Investigations 
H UDSON Valley fruit growers have an oppor¬ 
tunity knocking at their doors which they will 
grasp whenever the opportunity affords. We refer 
to the establishment in the Hudson Valley of inves¬ 
tigational work in fruits by the New York State 
Agricultural Experiment Station, of Geneva, N. Y. 
Already the work which the State institution 
promptly put under way is plainly in evidence and 
some interesting results are promised as time goes 
on. The horticultural work is dealing mostly with 
problems of soils, orchard management, cover crops, 
pruning, varietal adaptation, new fruits, and so on. 
SOIL PROBLEMS.—There are three main soil 
types in the Hudson River Valley. The typical ap¬ 
ple land is back from the river on hills and slopes 
mostly above the 200-foot level and is classified as 
“slate loam,” ‘stony silt loam,” and so on, all be¬ 
longing to the Dutchess series of soils. Near the 
river are to be found the Hudson series of soils, 
ranging from sand to heavy clays, depending upon 
how they were formed, while in the old stream 
beds back from the river are the Iloosic coarse 
isands. Work is under way on all three types of 
soils, on the Iloosic coarse sands at Kinderhook, on 
the Dutchess soils at Upper Red Hook, and on the 
Hudson soils at Germantown, so that there should 
be no cause of complaint because any one particular 
soil type is not being considered. They are all under 
investigation. 
FERTILIZER WORK.—-At Kinderhook -is an 
elaborate fertilizer test of 22 plats and over 300 
trees were set out this Spring with McIntosh as 
permanent trees, Cortland as semi-permanents, and 
Rome Beauty for fillers. The trees have made an 
excellent start and are coming along nicely under 
the system of clean cultivation that is 
being practiced. A mixed cover crop 
was sown the first week in July and is 
now well established. The particular 
site selected for this orchard is just off 
the Albany-New York turnpike and is 
passed by the Albany & Southern Elec¬ 
tric Railway, so that it is quickly ac¬ 
cessible to any who may desire to visit 
the spot. Visitors are welcome at any 
time. All plats are well marked show¬ 
ing the materials which each has re¬ 
ceived. 
BEARING ORCHARD ALSO IN¬ 
CLUDED.—Of course it takes a long 
time before the results from a new 
planting like the one at Kinderhook 
become available, and so through the 
co-operation of fruit growers co-opera¬ 
tive work has been begun with bearing 
trees. At Upper Red Hook in a Mc¬ 
Intosh orchard belonging to Mr. Gor¬ 
don Mead on a typical Dutchess stony 
loam, commercial fertilizers are being 
tried on 10 plats of 10 trees each. A 
directional sign on the New York-Al- 
bany turnpike points to the orchard 
just a quarter of a mile away which 
is plainly marked with the various 
treatments. At Viewmonte, just be¬ 
tween Germantown and Tivoli, is still 
another fertilizer test on apples, only 
this time the trees are mature and of 
the Newtown variety, owned by Mr. De¬ 
witt Moore. The soil is typical of 
some of the better apple land of the 
valley. A directional sign and plaiu 
marking of the plats makes further 
explanation unnecessary. 
PRUNING AND FERTILIZING 
CHERRIES AND GRAPES.—Those 
interested in cherries will find a ferti¬ 
lizer test for cherries on the west side 
of the Albany-New York turnpike just 
outside the city limits of Hudson on 
the Ten Broeck Farm. Besides the 10 
plats of 10 trees each which are re¬ 
tion ranging from “no limestone” to “eight tons per 
acre.” A record is being kept of the cost of growing 
each crop and how much humus and nitrogen it 
produces. Hubarn, sunflowers, vetch, Soy beans, and 
1 i other crops may all be seen growing side by side. 
TRIAL OF NEW FRUITS.—Many new and note¬ 
worthy varieties of apples, pears, plums, cherries, 
grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and so on, includ- 
One of the Directional Signs. Fig. 55S 
ing both those originated by the New York State 
Experiment Station itself and those received as 
promising from other sections of the country have 
been planted out at Kinderhook. In a few years the 
stock will be fruiting and one will be able to see 
Cortland, Early McIntosh, Lobo, Macoun, Milton, 
and Medina apples, Seneca and Chase cherries, 
Gorham and Cayuga pears, and Sheridan, Portland, 
Keuka, Ontario, Ripley, and Dunkirk grapes, besides 
several of the European grapes. The orchards are 
Co-operative Fertilizer Test at Viewmonte, N. Y. Fig. 559 
business together. It is something to be studied by 
farmers. Of one thing we may be certain, and that 
is to make as permanent a job as possible. My at¬ 
tention has just been called to this in a visit a few 
miles out to view a fallen bridge. The accompany¬ 
ing picture, Fig. 560, shows the bridge after a 
furious rain. It had stood for about 15 years. 
This bridge is a 70-ft. span. When erected it was 
placed over a space that had been a part of a mill 
dam in the early days of the country. The mill 
was noted in my younger days, but I do not re¬ 
member being sent to this particular mill but once, 
and that with a grist of buckwheat. There had been 
a sawmill and a flour and feed mill adjoining. It 
did an extensive business for a long time. Mean¬ 
while several feet of sand, gravel and soil filled in. 
After the mills went down the dam was neglected, 
although it afforded ice for some time after that. 
More recently the dam was torn away in a freshet 
and the channel gradually worked its way down 
towards rock, or to the rock. 
When the bridge was built piles were driven down 
to the rock and end piers built upon them. It was 
thought to be a really good job, and had conditions 
remained as they were then all would have been well 
no doubt. The channel washed in the center to the 
rock, but the abutments remained firm. This Sum¬ 
mer one of those record storms fell in the valley. 
They come only at long intervals, perhaps 20 to 40 
years in some valleys, but most of the creek valleys 
have them sometime. This was one of the heaviest 
that we have known. I looked over the vegetation 
along the bank after the storm was over and the 
water well down to the usual flow after a rain. It 
looked to me that this creek that usually may be a 
foot deep and 5 ft. wide after a usual shower must 
have been 15 ft. deep and towards a 
hundred feet wide above this bridge. 
Others made even a higher estimate of 
the depth of the water. 
This storm may have been heaviest 
in an adjoining town, but it was heavy 
all along the valley and adjoining terri¬ 
tory for several square miles. The 
gravel soon washed out, the* piers were 
undermined and fallen, and one end of 
the bridge went down. Much other 
damage was done. It will cost $4,000 
and more to put the bridge in position 
again and provide it proper support 
and protection because of much exca¬ 
vation and concrete work required. No 
one is at fault for the destruction of 
property or the downfall of the bridge. 
In all cases where bridge work is un¬ 
dertaken or construction work made it 
is well to remember that some one 
probably remembers when a big flood 
swept along the creek and caused loss. 
We may as well calculate that some¬ 
thing of the sort will occur again, pos¬ 
sibly soon, possibly after many years, 
and we would better build with some¬ 
thing of that thought in mind. 
h. h. n. 
ceiving fertilizer applications, there are 20 trees 
which have been, thinned back severely to outside 
lateral branches in an effort to renew the lower 
efruiting area of the trees and bring the crop closer 
to the ground. At Germantown, in the Lawrance 
Brothers’ Vineyards is a test of fertilizers for 
grapes. And, incidentally, if there be any who de¬ 
sire to see different cover crops under vineyard 
conditions they can there see some 12 or 15 growing 
side by side. 
TEST OF EIGHTEEN COVER CROPS.—A test 
of IS different cover crops is being conducted at 
Kinderhook under six rates of limestone applica- 
A Fallen Bridge. Fig. 560 
to serve the fruit grower and visitors are welcome 
to look over the work whenever possible, obsebvek. 
A Fallen Bridge and its Warning 
H IGHWAY costs are mounting up. The improved 
roads are the result of automobile traffic. We 
are not opposing improved roads, but we of the com¬ 
mon people must keep an eye out to control taxes 
for all purposes, even to include the highway costs. 
It looks as though too much money goes into an im¬ 
proved road but we cannot say just what should be 
paid for it. Much goes to pay for roads that bene¬ 
fit only tourists, and much for those for tourists and 
Modern Rural School Building 
W HITTIER would never have 
called it a “ragged beggar” if 
he had written of the new schoolliouse 
at Northfield, N. Y. It is quite unlike 
the general run of one-room school 
buildings in our part of the State— 
even though many others are trim and 
neat both inside and out. When I 
first saw it I thought it almost win¬ 
dowless in front and on the side from 
which I was approaching. Before go¬ 
ing up the steps to the little porch I 
investigated the other side, and found 
it like the first. The glass in the door 
seemed doubly necessary then. 
When the door was opened I found myself in a 
narrow hallway leading directly to the back of the 
building. It seemed strange to see no wraps decorat¬ 
ing (V) the entrance to the school-room. I found 
the reason for this later; the front corners of the 
building seemed to be given up to toilets and cloak¬ 
rooms for the boys and the girls, with entrance 
only from the school-room. And this explained in 
part the fewness of windows on the side toward the 
road. 
The entrance hall led to the school-room, com¬ 
prising half or two-thirds of the house, with a row 
of larger-tlian-ordinary windows set closely together 
