The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
579 
Courtesy  of  Goat  World 
Sowing  Sweet  Clover  on  Wheat 
Can  you  tell  me  from  experience  how  my  plans  would 
be  likely  to  work  out  on  a  certain  field?  Last  Autumn 
I  sowed  wheat  after  corn,  which  is  the  usual  practice 
in  this  part  of  Maryland.  Now  I  propose  to  sow  Sweet 
clover  in  the  wheat  this  Spring  (with  a  disk  seeder), 
and  as  our  wheat  here  is  always  in  shock  before  July  1 
the  clover  would  have  a  month  to  grow,  when  I  would 
turn  it  under  and  seed  again  with  buckwheat  and  Crim¬ 
son  clover.  'Would  the  clover  make  enough  growth  an 
that  time  to  make  it  profitable,  and  would  it  pay  me  to 
sow  Hubam  instead  of  the  biennial  Sweet  clover t  Or 
again,  would  it  pay  me  to  cut  the  buckwheat  and  let 
the  clover  grow  till  later  and  then  sow  rye  and  vetch, 
as  I  want  to  have  the  field  for  early  Spring  pasture  and 
then  turn  under  for  corn?  A.  M.  w. 
Eastern  Shore,  Md. 
THE  plan  as  outlined  by  A.  M.  W.  is  workable, 
but  I  do  not  think  it  the  most  practical  way  of 
working  out  the  problem.  It  will  be  moie  01  less 
expensive,  and  I  doubt  if  the  results  would  justify 
expenses  involved.  With  the  exception  of  the  buck¬ 
wheat  in  the  plan  suggested,  the  crops 
would  be  used  as  green  manures,  and 
it  is  doubtful  if  there  would  be  suffi¬ 
cient  growth  of  wheat  and  clover  to 
justify  the  expense  of  seeding  in  order 
to  turn  under  for  rye  and  vetch  in  the 
Fall.  We  have  seeded  buckwheat  and 
Crimson  clover  together,  and  as  a  usual 
thing  get  good  results,  but  we  like  to 
get  this  seed  in  the  ground  by  the 
middle  of  July  at  the  latest.  This 
plan  allows  us  to  get  our  buckwheat 
off  the  ground  and  thrashed  by  the 
latter  part  of  September.  In  some  sea¬ 
sons  the  buckwheat  has  acted  as  a 
nurse  crop  for  the  clover  with  good 
results,  but  as  the  usual  thing  we  pre¬ 
fer  to  seed  some  other  grains  with  the 
Crimson  clover. 
Our  experience  with  Hubam  clover 
has  been  limited  to  the  past  two  years 
and  we  have  not  yet  tried  seeding 
in  the  Spring  on  wheat.  From  our  ex¬ 
perience  with  Hubam  it  would  seem 
that  this  would  be  the  crop  for  A.  M. 
W.  to  seed  on  wheat  rather  than  the 
biennial  Sweet  clover,  as  it  makes 
much  more  rapid  growth,  and  would 
thus  provide  more  green  material  to 
turn  under. 
Wie  should  follow  the  plan  here  out¬ 
lined.  Sow  15  to  20  lbs.  scarified,  inoc¬ 
ulated  Sweet  clover  on  the  wheat  the 
last  of  March  or  first  of  April.  Hubam 
may  be  used  in  place  of  the  Sweet 
clover  if  desired,  and  it  should  give 
more  growth  than  the  Sweet  clover  by 
August.  The  latter  part  of  August 
this  clover  should  be  turned  under  and 
the  land  seeded  to  either  of  these  three 
combinations:  (1)  Crimson  clover, 
wheat  and  vetch;  (2)  Crimson  clover, 
vetch  or  (3)  rye  and  vetch,  it  is  un¬ 
derstood,  of  course,  that  we  mean  the 
Hairy  vetch,  and  not  Spring  or  Sum¬ 
mer  vetch. 
The  combination  of  clover,  wheat 
and  vetch  has  been  our  choice  for  the 
last  few  years,  and  it  has  provided  us 
with  a  fine  early  pasture  for  hogs  and 
cattle.  We  also  seed  this  mixture  in 
the  cornfield  at  the  time  we  lay  the 
corn  by,  or  at  the  last  working.  We 
have  also  used  the  other  two  combina¬ 
tions,  but  prefer  the  clover,  wheat  and 
vetch  mixture  above  any  of  the  others. 
The  criticism  I  would  make  in  the 
plan  as  outlined  by  A.  M.  W.  is  that 
first  of  all  it  is  too  expensive  for  the 
results  obtained.  As  clover  seed  is  an 
expensive  proposition  it  would  seem 
best  to  get  the  maximum  amount  of 
good  out  of  the  crop  when  sown,  which 
would  not  be  the  case,  we  feel,  in  the 
plan  as  outlined.  I  doubt  very  much 
if  Crimson  clover  seeded  in  August 
would  make  enough  growth  to  turn 
under  and  seed  to  rye  and  vetch,  and 
if  it  did  make  a  good  stand  I  should 
hesitate  about  turning  it  under. 
Maryland.  a.  m.  cobb. 
Harness  a  Spring.”  Had  the  writer  sent  me  a  pres¬ 
ent  of  $200  I  could  not  have  used  it  to  any  more 
advantage  than  I  did  the  idea  which  he  gave.  I 
had  a  spring  that  was  boxed  at  the  head,  and  it  was 
a  very  “weak  sister,”  running  a  stream  about  as 
large  as  a  12-gauge  wire.  Weather  variations  seemed 
to  have  little  effect  on  it,  as  the  volume  was  about 
the  same,  be  the  weather  wet  or  dry.  I  kept,  at 
that  time,  about  five  to  seven  cows,  and  during  the 
dryest  spells  I  would  have  to  draw  water  to  put  in 
the  tank.  One  day  I  was  cleaning  out  the  box,  and 
I  noticed  that  below  it  the  ground  was  wet,  which 
made  me  think  that  a  part  of  the  water  was  seeping 
away,  so  I  resolved  to  try  our  friend’s  idea.  I  got 
some  3-inch  tile,  tore  out  the  box  and  filled  the  hole 
up  to  the  pipe,  then  placed  one  of  the  tiles  over  the 
end  of  the  pipe  about  4  inches,  packing  clay  around 
it  to  guide  the  water  into  the  pipe.  I  added  two 
Purebred  Toggenberg  Doe.  Fig.  219 
more  tiles  and  placed  a  fiat  stone  at  the  end,  cover¬ 
ing  the  tile  with  gravel,  then  put  in  dirt  and  sods 
to  a  level  with  the  surrounding  surface.  I  was 
somewhat  disappointed,  however,  as  the  stream  had 
not  increased  in  size  perceptibly.  However,  on  going 
to  the  place  the  following  day  I  found  the  cows  had 
not  drank  all  the  water,  as  they  had  been  doing,  but 
there  was  a  good  supply  in  the  tank,  which  increased 
gradually  until  the  third  day,  when  I  found  the 
tank,  which  holds  about  10  barrels,  was  running 
over.  I  afterwards  increased  my  dairy  to  11  head, 
and  still  had  water  to  spare. 
Now  that  I  had  plenty  of  water  I  put  myself  to 
work  to  devise  a  plan  to  keep  it  from  freezing.  The 
pipe  was  covered  in  the  ground  a  foot  or  more  down 
to  the  tank,  then  an  elbow  and  short  piece  of  pipe 
used  to  convey  it  to  the  top  of  the  tank,  then  another 
elbow  and  short  piece  to  carry  it  over  the  edge  into 
the  tank.  The  water  had  to  remain  in 
this  pipe  until  it  was  forced  over  by 
the  very  slight  pressure  from  the 
spring.  After  I  had  solved  the  riddle 
I  went  to  work  and  dug  the  pipe  out 
of  the  ground  from  the  tank  about  two 
rods,  taking  off  the  elbows  and  short 
pieces  at  the  end,  running  the  water 
straight  to  the  top  of  the  tank,  block¬ 
ing  up  the  pipe  so  as  not  to  allow  it  to 
sag.  I  cut  two  poles  about  4  inches 
through  and  10  feet  in  length,  and 
placed  one  on  each  side  the  pipe  where 
it  came  out  of  the  ground,  nailed  a 
piece  of  board  about  16  inches  long 
across  the  ends  to  keep  them  from 
spreading.  From  these  poles  to  the 
tank  I  built  a  form  from  boards,  driv¬ 
ing  four  stakes  and  putting  the  boards 
inside.  I  then  drew  a  small  load  of 
horse  manure  and  packed  all  around 
the  pipe,  packing  it  well  and  over  the 
pipe  about  0  inches.  Previous  to  this 
I  had  drawn  over  the  end  of  the  pipe 
a  piece  of  rubber  hose,  contracting  the 
end  by  means  of  tacks  to  the  size  of 
the  stream  to  prevent  cold  air  coming 
into  the  end  of  the  pipe.  I  cut  a  notch 
in  the  edge  of  the  tank,  which  is 
square,  so  that  it  could  be  covered.  1 
then  made  a  cover  for  the  tank  with  a 
door  on  one  side,  and  have  kept  it 
banked  with  snow.  Wie  have  had  some 
very  cold  weather  here  this  Winter; 
one  day  was  20.  another  18,  below  zero 
and  the  tank  has  never  frozen  over 
more  than  the  thickness  of  a  sheet  of 
paper,  and  the  little  22  caliber  stream 
runs  as  it  does  in  July,  supplying  13 
head  and  lots  to  spare. 
New  York.  l.  d.  paksell. 
Courtesy  of  Goat,  World 
This  is  Reg  inns  Agaueppe.  Fig.  220 
A  typical  purebred  Nubian  milk  doe.  Her  teats  are  larger  than  those  of  the  average 
cow.  A  high  point  of  the  Nubian  breed  is  their  great  leanness.  Like  a  heavy  pro¬ 
ducing  cow,  all  the  milk  does  of  the  three  improved  breeds  carry  no  surplus  fat. 
An  Anti-freezing  Tank 
WISH  to  write  a  word  in  favor  of 
the  person  who  having  discovered  a 
tew  idea  brings  it  along  and  places  it 
ipon  the  altar  that  others  may  enjoy 
he  benefit.  Some  three  or  four  years 
igo  you  printed  an  article  on  “How  to 
Courtesy  of  Goat  World 
Pruning  9-Year  Old  Peach 
Trees 
I  have  a  peach  orchard  of  about  200 
trees,  consisting  of  such  varieties  as 
Greensboro,  Carman,  Champion,  Elberta 
and  two  later  varieties.  They  have  re¬ 
ceived  ordinary  care  in  the  way  of  culti¬ 
vating  and  fertilizing,  and  grown  to  a 
good  size,  but  have  had  very  little  prun¬ 
ing,  except  to  remove  diseased  or  dead 
wood.  Many  of  the  trees  have  grown  in 
the  vase  shape,  but  some  have  small, 
crooked  limbs  growing  out  from  the 
trunk  between  the  ground  and  the  main 
fork  of  the  tree.  I  wish  to  remove  these 
small  lower  branches,  as  they  are  in  the 
way  of  cultivation,  and  very  liable  to  be 
bruised  or  broken  ;  but  was  told  by  a  friend 
to  “do  very  little  cutting  around  a  peach 
tree.”  I  have  tied  these  limbs  up  to  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  with  binder  twine  other 
years.  Trees  are  nine  years  old.  What 
do  the  experts  say  ?  w.  V.  H. 
Long  Island. 
‘ INE-YEAR-OLD  peach  trees  which 
have  received  very  little  prun¬ 
ing  are  probably  high-headed  and 
going  higher.  The  “friend”  who  stated 
“do  very  little  cutting  around  a  peach 
tree”  evidently  does  not  appreciate  the 
fact  that  the  strong,  stocky,  low-headed 
peach  tree  is  obtained  only  by  rather 
severe  yearly  pruning.  The  peach  tree 
can  “stand”  more  cutting  than  any  of 
our  other  fruit  trees. 
My  suggestion  to  the  owner,  assum¬ 
ing  he  wishes  to  keep  his  peach  trees 
from  “going  into  the  air,”  is  to  cut  the 
tops  back  rather  severely,  being  care¬ 
ful  to  cut  to  outside  branches,  thus 
making  the  centers  more  open,  with 
the  result  that  new  fruiting  will  de¬ 
velop  lower  down,  rather  than  at  the 
N 
Pure  Pirisx  Fnnueu  Burl;.  Fig.  221 
