Tne  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
619 
Trees  Planting  in  the  South 
A  few  weeks  ago  you  printed  an  article  on  reforesting 
waste  land  in  New  York.  I  would  like  the  same  infor¬ 
mation  regarding  reforesting  cheap  land  in  the  South, 
say  South  Carolina,  Georgia  or  Florida.  Is  there  an 
available  supply  of  young  long-leaf  pine  or  other  suit¬ 
able  trees  for  that  southern  country?  Have  any  of  these 
Southern  State  done  anything  about  relief  on  taxation 
of  reforested  land?  I  have  thought  of  spending  a  part 
of  each  Winter  in  the  South  and  reforesting  some  cheap 
land  as  an  investment.  I  know  about  this  as  applied 
to  the  North,  but  would  like  information  about  the 
South.  J.  L.  d. 
Maine. 
IIE  idea  of  setting  out  trees  of  tliissnature  and 
only  spending  part  of  the  time  in  the  section 
where  the  trees  are  is  not  new  to  us,  as  we  have 
many  acres  in  this  section  that  are  handled  in  just 
this  manner.  One  stand  that  I  have  in  mind  is  now 
nine  years  old,  as  it  was  planted  in  1914.  In  this 
short  space  of  time  a  large  portion  of  the  trees  have 
attained  a  diameter  of  from  six  inches  upward.  The 
man  who  owns  this  place  resides  in  New  York,  and 
has  a  caretaker  on  the  place,  who  receives  only  a 
small  sum  per  year  in  addition  to  house  rent  and 
land  for  a  garden.  In  a  similar  case  a  neighbor 
looks  after  the  stand  of  timber  and  receives,  I  be¬ 
lieve,  $10  a  year  for  this  service. 
Systematic  thinnings  are  performed  when  needed, 
and  the  material  thus  thinned  out  is  sold  for  cord- 
wood,  bean  poles  and  other  uses.  A  recent  thinning 
in  a  15-year-old  stand  netted  $1.05  per  cord  for  wood, 
with  a  total  of  $11.55  net  per  acre. 
It  is  an  accepted  fact  among  our  people  that  if 
land  can  be  secured  for  from  $10  to  $15  per  acre  it 
There  was  quite  some  complaint  last  January  at 
the  Rochester  meeting  because  the  State  inspectors 
had  caused  the  arrest  of  several  apple  growers  there 
for  violating  the  apple  grading  law.  If  these  sam¬ 
ples  are  any  indication  of  a  general  practice,  a  visit 
by  the  K.  K.  Iv.  to  the  offenders  might  be  of  some 
benefit.  Any  person  who  would  deliberately  pack 
and  offer  for  sale  apples  like  those  in  the  picture 
should  be  given  the  limit  of  the  law. 
So  long  as  these  flagrant  violations  of  law  are 
committed  the  reputation  of  New  York  State  apples 
will  be  unenviable,  and  there  will  surely  be  no  repeat 
orders  from  the  man  who  bought  apples  from  that 
shipment.  There  should  be  a  change  in  the  present 
apple  grading  law  that  would  make  it  a  misdemeanor 
to  pack  anything  lower  than  Grade  B  apples  in  a 
closed  package,  and  that  law  should  be  enforced. 
It  is  this  kind  of  lawless  grading  that  has  com¬ 
pelled  the  trade  to  buy  only  Western  apples,  to  a 
very  large  extent,  and  no  one  can  find  fault  because 
they  do.  t.  e.  cross, 
Ex-President  N.  Y.  State  Horticultural  Society. 
Long  Experience  with  Oats  and  Peas 
OULD  like  to  ask  the  writer  of  the  article 
“Oats  and  Peas  for  Hay,”  page  469,  a  few 
questions.  Why  cut  this  crop  for  hay  instead  of  al¬ 
lowing  it  to  mature  and  feed  as  grain  and  straw? 
Has  he  ever  spread  the  peas  and  then  turned  under 
by  plow,  after  that  sowing  oats,  broadcast  or  drill¬ 
ing?  Also,  why  would  it  not  be  better  to  seed  to 
have  not  missed  a  crop  each  year  for  more  than  25 
years,  but  cannot  see  them  as  your  article  does.  I 
have  sold  my  peas  as  seed,  separating  them  from 
the  oats  by  an  attachment  I  made  to  my  fanning 
mill.  Each  rotation  sees  completely  new  seed  in  both 
oats  and  peas,  buying  those  raised  north  of  us.  After 
reading  an  article  in  a  farm  paper  advocating  plow¬ 
ing  peas  under  4  in.  I  tried  the  scheme  out  with 
great  pains,  but  the  results  were  not  equal  to  8-in. 
plowing,  good  fitting  and  sowing  with  the  oats. 
My  best  success  is  8-in.  plowing,  good  fitting,  deep 
drilling  of  peas,  crossing  same  with  shallow  drilling 
of  oats,  using  a  good  complete  fertilizer,  250  lbs.  or 
more  to  the  acre.  f.  c.  biggs. 
Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y. 
R.  N.-Y. — In  the  case  mentioned  a  hay  crop  was 
wanted,  not  grain.  We  have  plowed  the  peas  under 
and  got  a  fair  stand  in  that  way.  Our  own  experi¬ 
ence  has  been  that  unless  the  season  is  quite  wet, 
the  grass  seeding  in  oats  and  peas  is  smothered  out. 
The  oats  and  peas,  when  they  are  good,  make  a  very 
rank  growth. 
From  General  Farming  to  Grape  Growing 
I  am  a  man  55  years  old ;  have  always  lived  on  a 
farm  and  followed  dairying,  and  ship  my  milk  to  Cleve¬ 
land.  I  find  we  are  not  getting  income  enough  from  it 
to  carry  us  along.  I  am  looking  for  a  side  line,  and 
have  been  thinking  of  putting  in  an  acre  or  two  of 
grapes.  I  would  like  your  opinion  on  this  matter.  How 
much  would  it  interfere  with  my  general  farm  work? 
Calls  Packed  in  a  Barrel  of  Wes  Urn  New  York  Apples.  Fift.  232. 
is  a  paying  proposition  to  reforest  such  land  in  long- 
leafed  pine.  If  the  soil  is  of  too  light  nature  we  ex¬ 
pect  to  buy  it  somewhat  cheaper,  as  the  trees  will 
not  make  as  rapid  growth  as  on  a  heavier  type  soil. 
It  is  becoming  a  common  practice  with  our  wood¬ 
land  owners  and  lumbermen  to  leave  seed  trees 
Standing  on  each  field  that  they  cut.  We  try  to 
leave  four  seed  trees  per  acre,  spaced  so  that  they 
will  reseed  that  amount  of  land.  On  proper  soil  -the 
long-leafed  pine  is  expected  to  be  ready  for  market 
in  35  years,  but  of  course  the  trees  can  be  utilized 
before  this  time  for  staves  and  for  other  purposes. 
A  conservative  estimate  places  the  income  from  a 
stand  of  long-leafed  pine  at  practically  4 y2  per  cent 
interest,  compounded,  although  a  recent  statement 
by  one  of  our  lumbermen  puts  a  value  of  from  10  to 
12  per  cent  interest  on  the  investment.  I  am  not 
familiar  personally  with  conditions  in  Florida,  but 
I  have  understood  from  first-hand  information  that 
reforesting  cheap  land  is  being  practiced  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  I  only  know  from  my  own  ob¬ 
servation  and  experience  of  conditions  in  this  part 
of  Delaware.  Maryland  and  Virginia. 
GEORGE  R.  COBB. 
County  Agent,  Wicomico  Co.,  Md. 
Culls  in  the  Apple  Barrel 
INCLOSE  photographs  (see  Fig.  232)  of  some 
apples  that  were  grown  in  somebody’s  orchard  in 
Western  New  York  last  year.  These  apples  were 
packed  in  a  barrel,  loaded  in  a  car  with  other  bar¬ 
rels,  and  finally  found  their  destination  in  a  grocery 
store  in  a  Connecticut  village.  The  apples  in  both 
ends  of  the  barrel  were  very  good  indeed,  but  about 
one-third  of  the  entire  contents  of  the  barrel,  all  in 
the  middle,  of  course,  were  similar  to  those  in  the 
picture,  and  the  picture  gives  no  adequate  idea  of 
these  apples.  They  were  so  covered  with  scab  that 
very  little  of  the  skin  was  visible,  almost  the  entire 
surface  being  covered  with  scab,  and  the  picture  is 
an  exact  reproduction  of  the  apples. 
grass  with  this  crop  when  planted,  instead  of  trying 
Japanese  millet  or  Soy  beans  after  the  oats  and 
peas? 
There  is  almost  no  variety  of  soil  found  in  this 
latitude  on  which  I  have  not  grown  oats  and  peas, 
harvesting  in  both  stages,  seeding  after  them  and 
trying  the  millet  and  Soy  bean  scheme  in  some  way, 
and  my  experience  is  greatly  at  variance  with  the 
ideas  advanced. 
In  the  first  place,  about  66  2/3  per  cent  of  our  land 
through  here  will  not  give  a  good  catch  of  peas  or 
Soy  beans  unless  inoculated.  Gravel  and  sandy  soil 
will  not  produce  a  very  good  crop  unless  it  is  a  very 
wet  May,  and  I  never  had  a  igood  millet  crop  after 
any  matured  crop  of  any  legume. 
My  experience  has  been  that  Italian  rye  grass, 
Crimson  clover  and  millet,  seeded  in  early  April, 
will  produce  much  more  tonnage  of  heavy  feeding 
hay,  and  leave  a  better  catch  of  grasses  than  any 
other  combination  I  have  ever  used.  In  1919  I  rent¬ 
ed  a  piece  of  very  poor  land,  that  had  had  two  fail¬ 
ures  of  beans  and  one  of  cabbage, in  the  three  pre¬ 
ceding  years.  Of  course  it  was  badly  used,  rough, 
with  many  weeds,  etc.  We  were  able  to  plow  in 
early  April,  fitted  very  well  and  sowed  all  seed  both 
ways  of  the  field,  dragging  in  with  a  spike-tooth 
harrow,  crossing  this  and  rolling,  having  drilled  in 
250  lbs.  complete  fertilizer.  On  July  4  our  crop  of 
hay  was  housed,  and  we  turned  the  cattle  in  for  pas¬ 
ture.  We  have  top-dressed  with  manure  each  year, 
drawing  off  all  coarse  material  each  Spring  before 
turning  in  (about  May  1),  and  I  do  not  'believe  that 
there  is  any  closer  mat  of  seeding  producing  more 
pasture  per  acre  in  this  county.  We  used  permanent 
pasture  grasses  in  our  mixture.  We  are  renters 
only  of  this  piece,  hut  the  owner  takes  as  much 
pleasure  as  we  do  in  the  appearance  of  this  field 
and  its  production. 
This  is  not  my  first  success  with  this  quick  hay 
crop.  Some  years  since  I  raised,  from  same  seeding, 
record  crops  of  two  cuttings,  and  left  as  good  per¬ 
manent  pasture.  I  raise  oats  and  peas  each  year; 
I  have  to  hire  all  work  that  I  cannot  do  myself,  keeping 
one  man  by  the  year.  We  have  a  clay  soil  here,  but 
raise  good  average  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  oats  and  hay. 
How  soon  will  they  begin  to  bear,  and  how  soon  would 
we  get  an  average  crop?  What  age  plants  would  you 
advise  to  set?  Would  there  be  a  ready  sale  for  crop? 
Would  Timothy  sod  and  the  old  pasture  ground,  plowed 
in  March,  be  satisfactory  to  use?  f  w  r 
Medina,  O.  ' 
MANY  general  farmers  have  successfully  takeu 
on  the  growing  of  grapes  profitably  in  the  past. 
Usually,  however,  they  have  been  able  to  obtain  the 
necessary  information  from  nearby  growers.  Unless 
one  is  situated  near  such  it  is  rather  difficult  to  gain 
the  necessary  facts  concerning  the  growing  of  this 
fruit.  Not  many  miles  at  most  from  the  vicinity  of 
Medina  grape  growing  is  rather  common.  Consul¬ 
tation  with  growers  in  the  section  to  the  northeast  of 
Elyria  should  give  one  some  understanding  of  the 
problems  likely  to  be  met  with. 
It  does  not  seem  advisable  for  one  to  start  with 
but  two  acres  unless  there  be  other  vineyards  in  the 
locality  that  will  make  possible  the  shipping  of  car- 
lots,  or  unless  nearby  markets  will  readliy  absorb 
the  product  from  two  acres.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  acreage  of  grapes  is  fast  increasing,  and 
competition  is  going  to  be  much  keener  in  the  future. 
About  the  only  conflicts  of  work  that  are  likely  to 
occur  between  dairy  farming  and  grape  growing  are 
during  the  harvesting  of  oats  and  hay.  Spraying 
and  needed  cultivation  usually  are  imperative  at 
these  times. 
Most  varieties  of  grapes  when  well  planted  and 
cared  for  produce  a  very  satisfactory  yield  the  third 
year  planted.  The  fourth  year  usually  sees  a  full 
■crop. 
Commercial  growers  prefer  a  No.  1,  one-year  root, 
although  two-year  plants  are  used  to  some  extent. 
The  latter  sell  for  the  higher  price. 
The  Timothy  and  old  pasture  sod  plowed  in  March 
ought  to  make  a  very  satisfactory  location  for  a  vine¬ 
yard.  It,  however,  would  be  better  the  following 
Spring,  utilizing  the  land  the  present  season  for 
some  cultivated  crop.  f.  e.  g. 
