Tie  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
739 
A  Point  for  the  One-year-old  Tree 
ATYPICAL  view  in  ail  Eastern  nursery  just 
after  the  foreman  had  brought  an  order  from 
the  office  for  several  first-class  one-year  trees,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  277.  The  diggers  went  through  the 
block  of  the  desired  variety,  spotted  the  best  trees, 
and  dug  them  out  to  fill  the  order.  The  other  trees 
ert.v  by  misrepresentation.  Some  of  the  many  mis¬ 
representations  made  could  have  been  foreseen  or 
checked  up  on  by  me  had  I  been  experienced,  but,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,  there  were  others  that  could  not, 
the  chief  one  being  the  following  : 
I  have  the  written  statement  of  the  seller  that  the 
average  production  of  wheat,  oats,  corn,  buckwheat  and 
hay  were  so  many  bushels  per  acre,  or  tons  in  the  case 
of  hay.  Neighbors  declare  that  the  figures  given  arc 
far  in  excess  of  possibilities,  or  rather  probabilities,  for 
facts  and  receipts  therefrom.  lie  further  declared  that 
he  had  bought  this  property,  paid  for  it  and  for  an  ad¬ 
joining  200  acres  from  profits  of  operation,  whereas  his 
own  wife  declares  that  it  was  her  inheritance  money 
that  paid  for  the  second  farm.  a.  r.  p. 
New  York. 
NE  bringing  an  action  for  deceit  or  fraud  must 
show  the  making  of  false  representations  by  the 
defendant  ;  that  the  representations  were  calculated 
were  left  untouched,  to  be  sold  another  year  as  two- 
year-olds.  In  other  words,  the  person  who  had 
ordered  the  one-year  trees  was  getting  trees  like 
those  shown  in  Fig.  277.  the  cream  of  a  block  of  sev¬ 
eral  thousand  one-year-old  trees.  There  is  no  ques¬ 
tion  that  the  seedling  stocks  upon  which  fruit  trees 
are  propagated  are  variable.  A  glance  over  a  block 
of  nursery  stock  before  the  seedling  tops  have  been 
cut  off  will  show  a  wide  range  of  variability  from 
tall  to  short  and  from  stocky  to  slender,  not  to  say 
anything  of  resistance  to  Winter  injury  or  disease. 
It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  trees  that 
get  off  to  a  better  start  than  their  neighbors  are 
blessed  by  being  budded  upon  an  inherently  better 
seedling  stock,  at  least  as  far  as  vigor  is  concerned. 
It  is  common  knowledge  that  trees  that  do  not 
make  good  one-year-olds  are  grown  another  year  to 
be  sold  as  two-year-olds,  and  those  that  do  not  make 
good  two-year-olds  are  often  grown  a  third  season 
and  offered  as  three-year-olds.  But  this  does  not 
mean  that  two-year-old  trees  are  inferior  to  one- 
year-old  trees.  It  merely  suggests  that  some  trees 
are  inherently  better  than  others,  due  to  the  stocks 
upon  which  they  are  budded,  and  that  these  are 
often  picked  to  fill  orders  for  one-year-olds,  while 
the  trees  that  have  not  done  so  well  are  left  for 
another  season  or  two.  If  these  fine  one-year-olds 
were  not  dug.  they  would  be  just  as  valuable  two- 
year-olds  as  one-year-olds. 
Some  very  interesting  work  in  this  connection  has 
Selecting  the  Best  Trees.  Fig.  211. 
this  locality,  and  that  while  such  yields  have  been 
reached  in  good  years,  the  average  production  is  very 
many  per  cent  lower,  enough  lower  to  make  the  differ¬ 
ence.  between  profit  and  loss.  Other  statements  made 
unwittingly  by  the  seller  on  later  occasions  show  that 
b.e  himself  knew  the  figures  not  to  be  true ;  e.  g.,  the 
figures  for  average  production  of  buckwheat  were  given 
as  40  bushels  per  acre,  whereas  the  seller  boasted  to 
and  intended  to  deceive  the  plaintiff  and  were  made 
to  him ;  that  the  representations  were  false  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  defendant;  that  the  plaintiff  acted 
in  reliance  thereon  in  good  faith  and  was  deceived 
and  damaged  thereby. 
The  courts  have  held  that  false  representations  as 
to  the  value  of  land  in  connection  with  false  repre¬ 
sentations  as  to  the  net  revenue  derived  from  the 
land  are  sufficient  to  support  an  action  for  fraud, 
and  to  entitle  the  plaintiff  to  recover. 
The  measure  of  damages  in  an  action  for  fraud  is 
the  difference  between  the  value  of  the  property  and 
the  price  paid.  n.  t. 
Rented  Crop  on  Leachy  Land 
Would  you  give  me  some  advice  as  to  what  to  do  with 
five  acres  of  land  that  will  not  hold  the  fertilizer,  only 
for  one  crop?  Two  crops  of  oats  have  been  taken  off 
with  about  one-half  ton  of  fertilizer  to  the  acre.  I  am 
to  have  this  land  this  Summer,  and  I  thought  that 
about  one-half  ton  of  manure  or  fertilizer  to  the  acre, 
sowed  to  cow  peas  and  oats,  might  give  me  the  best  re¬ 
turns  for  money  invested,  cutting  crops  for  fodder.  In 
case  I  renew  my  lease  of  the  land  after  the  fodder  was 
cut  I  would  sow  to  buckwheat  and  plow  under  for 
green  manure  for  another  Summer.  The  land  is  fair 
soil,  but  will  not  hold  out  in  hay  more  than  three 
years.  i.  c.  c. 
Maine. 
USUALLY  when  a  soil  “will  not  hold  fertilizer” 
we  mean  that  it  is  so  open  and  porous  that  the 
plant  food  leaches  away  down  through  it.  Such 
soils  dry  out  quickly,  and  in  time  of  drought  will  not 
shown  that  superior  one-year-old  trees 
tend  to  catch  up  with  average  two- 
year-old  trees,  and  that  average  one- 
year  trees  do  likewise,  only  more  slowly. 
On  the  other  hand,  superior  one-year- 
old  trees  surpass  mediocre  two-year 
trees.  This  again  indicates  the  truth 
of  the  statement  that  there  is  some¬ 
thing  about  the  vigorous  one-year  tree 
that  makes  it  worth  possessing. 
H.  B.  T. 
from 
b'  v  laJjwj  spout- 
Construction  of  Cistern  with 
Filter 
I  am  about  to  build  a  cistern  of  the 
filtering  type  for  family  use,  to  supply 
three  families,  possibly  15  persons.  The 
cistern  is  to  supply  all  the  water  used  in 
household.  Can  you  give  me  some  idea 
as  to  size  and  the  plan  of  constructing 
the  filtering  compartment?  The  house 
from  which  the  water  will  be  obtained  is 
34x24  ft.,  and  a  porch  roof  10x36  ft.,  slate 
roof.  G.  F.  s. 
La  Fayette,  N.  J. 
THERE  are  several  types  of  cistern  filters  in  use. 
A  simple  filter  is  made  by  laying  up  a  double 
wall  of  brick,  forming  a  compartment  in  the  cistern 
enclosing  the  suction  pipe  of  the  pump.  The  space 
between  the  double  wall  of  bricks  is  filled  with  clean 
sand  and  charcoal,  and  the  water  is  filtered  more  or 
less  perfectly  as  it  soaks  through  to  the  compart¬ 
ment  in  which  the  suction  pipe  of  the  pump  is  located. 
This  type  has  the  advantage  of  simplicity  and  pro¬ 
tection  from  freezing,  but  has  the  disadvantage  of 
storing  the  bulk  of  the  water  in  an  unfiltered  con¬ 
dition.  filtering  it  only  as  it  is  used. 
Another  type,  shown  by  Ramsower  in  his  “Equip¬ 
ment  for  the  Farm  and  Farmstead.”  filters  the  water 
as  it  is  discharged  from  the  down  spout,  filtered 
water  only  going  into  the  cistern.  This  type  has  the 
disadvantages  of  being  more  difficult  to  construct 
and  to  protect  from  freezing.  A  cross  section  of  a 
filter  of  this  type  is  shown  in  the  drawing.  Filter 
shown  may  be  built  as  compartment  in  one  end  of 
rectangular  cistern  if  desired.  Wall  thickness  of 
about  5  in.  is  advised,  using  a  1 :2  :4  mix.  with  steel 
reinforcement. 
Your  question  leads  me  to  think  that  you  are  con¬ 
templating  a  cistern  as  a  means  of  storing  water  for 
drinking.  If  this  is  the  case,  I  would  suggest  that 
you  study  carefully  every  other  possibility  of  obtain¬ 
ing  water  before  deciding  on  this  way,  as  it  is  in 
many  ways  unsatisfactory,  and  requires  considerable 
attention  if  it  is  to  furnish  water  suitable  for  drink¬ 
ing  purposes.  r.  h.  s. 
Ground 
mm 
M 
Plan  for  Cistern  with  Filter. 
1^-10'-^ 
Fig.  218. 
Misrepresentation  in  Buying  a  Farm 
What  is  the  chance  of  recovery  for  fraud  where  a 
farm  is  sold  through  misrepresentation  of  value  or  pro¬ 
ceeds?  It  is  the  old  story  of  a  farmer  selling  his  prop- 
me  that  a  certain  field  of  buckwheat  then  growing  was 
the  best  he  had  ever  raised,  and  that  it  would  go  40 
bushels  per  acre.  Since  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the 
yields  to  run  as  low  as  25  and  30,  this  would  require 
certain  years  of  50  and  60  bushels  per  acre  to  even  it 
up,  and  no  such  yields  have  ever  been  made  by  him. 
One-year  Trees  of  Fine  Type.  Fig.  219. 
There  are  many  other  misleading  statements  regard¬ 
ing  the  productivity  of  the  property,  but  this  will  do  as 
as  example  to  determine  whether  past  experience  has 
shown  any  possibility  of  recovery  of  damages  on  such 
an  item,  presuming,  of  course,  that  I  can  show  evidence 
of  such  mis-statement  on  his  part,  and  also  that  they 
are  not  true  within  reasonable  bounds.  I  certainly  pur¬ 
chased  the  property  on  the  strength  of  his  production 
produce  a  good  crop.  Where  you  can 
have  control  of  such  land  for  a  term 
of  years  you  can  improve  the  soil.  We 
have  seen  this  done  by  working  sifted 
coal  ashes  into  the  land.  The  fine  coal 
ashes  work  in  and  fill  up  the  soil.  This 
is  a  mechanical  effect.  Lime  will  also 
help,  through  a  chemical  action  which 
binds  the  soil  together,  somewhat  like 
the  formation  of  mortar.  Organic 
matter,  like  manure  or  green  crops 
plowed  into  the  land,  will  also  help. 
The  object  of  all  these  things  is  to  hold 
water  in  the  soil  and  thus  prevent 
rapid  leaching.  Such  soils  should 
never  be  left  bare.  There  should  al¬ 
ways  be  some  living  crop.  As  fast  as 
one  is  taken  off  another  should  be  put 
in,  and  all  possible  growth  plowed  un¬ 
der.  Where  such  land  is  rented  from 
year  to  year  it  cannot  be  easily  im¬ 
proved,  for  such  improvement  means  a  form  of  rota¬ 
tion  to  be  planned  several  years  in  advance.  Your 
plan  of  seeding  oats  and  peas  for  bay  or  fodder  is 
good,  but  do  not  use  cow  peas.  Use  the  Canada 
field  peas  with  the  oats.  It  will  not  pay  to  use  half 
a  ton  of  mixed  fertilizer  on  one  acre  of  oats  and 
peas  with  no  control  of  the  land  beyond  that  one 
crop.  More  than  half  the  plant  food  value  would  be 
lost  in  that  way.  We  should  use  about  150  lbs.  of 
nitrate  of  soda  per  acre  for  that  one  crop  on  rented 
land.  If  you  can  get  control  of  the  land  for  another 
year,  your  plan  of  seeding  buckwheat  after  the  oats 
and  peas  is  good,  but  we  should  seed  Alsike  clover 
with  the  buckwheat.  We  think  this  land  needs  a 
good  dressing  of  lime. 
Working  into  Sheep 
I  have  a  farm  of  100  acres,  70  acres  tillable,  remain¬ 
der  pasture,  which  includes  seven  acres  woods.  Tillable 
land  will  grow  Alfalfa  or  almost  anything  grown  in  this 
section,  Genesee  Co.,  N.  Y.  I  have  been  growing  a  lit¬ 
tle  of  the  usual  crops;  wheat,  barley,  oats,  beans,  corn, 
potatoes  and  considerable  hay,  60  to  80  tons.  I  keep 
three  cows,  four  or  five  brood  sows,  and  am  feeding  12 
steers  at  present.  I  like  sheep  ;  have  had  some  experi¬ 
ence  with  them,  and  would  like  to  make  them  the  main 
part  of  my  live  stock  operations.  The  question  is,  can 
I  afford  to  pasture  sufficient  of  this  land  to  keep  sheep 
enough  to  make  it  worth  while,  say  75  ewes  or  more? 
What  system  of  handling  would  you  advise?  If  early 
lambs,  what  breed  of  ewes?  Can  lambs  be  marketed  alive 
in  a  bunch?  Would  not  a  modified  system  of  early 
Iambs,  say  February  lambs,  find  a  profitable  market  in 
Spring,  say  June,  or  before  they  had  to  be  turned  out? 
Bill  the  early  lamb  breeds  breed  as  uniformly  well  in 
September  as  in  May?  Are  grades  as  sure  to  breed 
early  as  purebreds?  Is  the  New  York  wool  growers’  or¬ 
ganization  as  strong  and  aggressive  as  the  Ohio  men, 
or,  if  not.  why  not?  j.  j.  D 
New  York. 
OUR  land  is  appraised  for  taxation  at  about  $100 
an  acre,  and  the  sheep  and  wool  prospects  told 
us  we  could  afford  to  devote  the  whole  place  to  sheep, 
even  under  the  apple  and  peach  trees,  and  it  has 
