Jht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
973 
All  Sorts 
Twice  Told  Tales 
Ashes  with  Manure. — There  are 
certain  questions  which  our  readers  are 
never  tired  of  asking.  No  matter  how 
many  times  we  print  the  answer,  new 
questions  come  practically  every  day.  It 
is  almost  necessary  to  keep  the  answers 
standing  in  a  permanent  column.  One  of 
these  is  the  old  question  about  using  wood 
ashes  and  lime  with  chicken  manure.  It 
is  never  a  good  plan  to  make  this  combi¬ 
nation,  for  the  lime  in  the  wood  ashes 
will  be  quite  sure  to  make  a  chemical 
combination  which  will  drive  off  some  of 
the  ammonia  in  the  manure.  Never  mix 
the  two  unless  they  are  to  be  put  im¬ 
mediately  in  the  ground  and  well  covered 
with  soii.  In  that  event  it  will  not.  make 
much  difference  if  the  ammonia  is  set 
free,  for  it  will  be  absorbed  by  the  soil. 
The  Boundary  Tree. — Another  ques¬ 
tion  which  comes  with  startling  frequency 
is  the  one  about  the  ownership  of  trees 
which  grow  near  the  boundary  line.  When 
such  trees  get  to  be  of  fair  size,  the  limbs 
extend  over  the  boundary  above  the  neigh¬ 
bor’s  ground,  and  most  people  seem  to 
think  that  the  fruit  on  that  side  of  the 
tree  belongs  to  the  neighbor.  Many  family 
feuds  and  a  good  many  family  fights  have 
been  started  by  the  trouble  over  such 
trees.  Under  the  law.  the  tree  belongs 
entirely  to  the  party  from  whose  land  it 
grows.*  The  tree  and  all  that  it  produces 
goes  with  the  land  and  the  neighbor  has 
no  right  to  the  fruit  on  that  tree  which 
grows  over  his  property.  We  have  always 
regarded  it  as  a  very  foolish  thing  for 
neighbors  to  quarrel  over  such  a  matter. 
It  is  far  better  to  divide  the  fruit  and 
give  the  neighbor  his  share  rather  than 
to  fight  about  it. 
The  Woman’s  Share. — Another  ques¬ 
tion  which  comes  repeatedly  refers  to  the 
family  property.  It  frequently  happens 
that  a  man  and  his  wife  will  both  work 
hard  to,  secure  a  home.  Through  hard 
economy  and  constant  work,  they  finally 
buy  a  piece  of  land  and  proceed  to  make 
it  valuable.  The  woman  naturally  feels 
that  since  her  work  has  gone  into  the 
property,  at  least  half  of  it  ought  to 
belong  to  her.  In  some  cases  trouble 
arises  'between  the  two  and  the  woman, 
feeling  herself  in  need  of  money  or  a  little 
apprehensive  for  the  future,  concludes 
that  half  the  real  estate  belongs  to  her, 
and  that  she  has  a  right  to  sell  it  or 
handle  it  for  her  own  use.  Such  women 
are  often  shocked  and  disappointed  when 
they  find  that  legally  such  real  estate  goes 
with  the  title.  That  is,  the  ownership  is 
vested  in  the  party  whose  name  is  on  the 
deed  and  on  the  records.  In  most  cases 
this  will  be  the  husband’s  name,  and  the 
property  'belongs  to  him,  so  that  the  wife 
cannot  touch  it  under  ordinary  circum¬ 
stances.  Of  course,  the  remedy  for  such 
a  trouble  is  to  have  the  property  held  in 
a  joint  deed,  but  many  women  do  not  see 
the  necessity  for  that,  and  do  not  under¬ 
stand  the  difference  between  a  moral  right 
and  a  legal  right. 
Cut  Her  Wings. — Still  another  ques¬ 
tion  which  seems  to  have  wings  is  the 
old  one  about  preventing  grown  chickens 
from  flying  out  of  an  enclosure.  The 
wandering  hen  ranks  with  the  boundary 
tree  as  a  destroyer  of  neighborly  rela¬ 
tions.  and  there  are  many  conscientious 
people  who  think  they  have  solved  the 
trouble  when  they  shut  the  hen  behind  a  ■ 
wire  fence.  An  active  Leghorn  hen,  how¬ 
ever,  is  like  the  old  citizen  who  declared 
that  “No  pent-up  Utica  confines  my  pow¬ 
ers”,  for  when  she  wants  to  get  out  of 
the  enclosure,  the  Leghorn  becomes  a 
quadruped,  and  turns  her  wings  into  feet. 
We  have  known  them  to  climb  an  eight- 
foot  fence,  and  jump  down  on  the  other 
side,  and  they  will  do  this  so  long  as  their 
wings  are  free.  The  scientific  men.  there¬ 
fore,  have  worked  out  the  theory  of  stop- 
ping  the  wings  from  working.  By  cut¬ 
ting  some  little  muscles  of  these  wings, 
they  compel  the  Leghorn  to  stay  at  home, 
and  day  by  day  people  who  want  to  en’o.\ 
the  respect  of  their  neighbors  come  asking 
how  this  can  be  done.  We  reprint  on  this 
page  the  little  picture  showing  how  the 
wings  are  to  be  cut.  and  those  of  our 
readers  who  want  to  keep  their  liens  at 
home  had  better  make  a  good  study  of 
this  operation. 
Cherry  Season  Is  Over  in  California 
California  has  been  shipping  cherries 
for  nearly  three  months  and  the  move¬ 
ment  is  now,  June  23d,  just  about  over. 
The  season  opened  the  last  of  March  with 
express  shipments  from  the  Yaca  Valley 
and  other  early  cherry  shipping  sections, 
was  followed  by  carlot  movements  from 
the  leading  cherry  districts  of  the  State, 
and  is  now  terminating  with  the  last  cars 
to  move  from  the  Bay  region  south  of 
San  Francisco. 
The  writer  has  spent  the  past  ten  days 
in  Santa  Clara  County,  which  is  the  lead¬ 
ing  cherry  growing  county  of  the  State. 
The  industry  of  the  county  largely  centers 
about  San  Jose,  where  the  Summers  are 
cool,  due  to  proximity  to  the  ocean,  and 
cherries  ripen  late.  The  leading  varieties 
grown  in  this  district  are  Black  Tar¬ 
tarian,  Royal  Ann,  Bing  and  Black  Re¬ 
publican,  named  in  the  order  of  ripening. 
The  season  for  all  except  the  last  named 
is  now’  over. 
In  the  famous  Willows  cherry  district 
just  south  of  San  Jose  one  sees  orchards 
of  big  trees  said  to  be  50  to  00  years  old 
still  vigorous  and  bearing  excellent  fruit. 
These  big  trees  are  hard  to  pick  and  the 
best  money  is  made  from  younger  _  or¬ 
chards.  A  few’  days  ago  I  saw’  Bings 
harvested  in  this  district  many  of  which 
would  measure  an  inch  and  an  eighth  in 
diameter  and  nine  to  the  row  would  face 
the  standard  cherry  box.  which  is  10 
inches  in  width.  Quite  a  number  of  cherry 
growers  in  this  section  of  the  State  are 
Italians.  They  appear  to  be  thrifty,  suc¬ 
cessful  growers,  and  many  of  them  speak 
English  perfectly. 
Great  care  is  exercised  in  grading  and 
packing  cherries  for  the  Eastern  markets. 
The  box  is  faced  in  regular  rows  with 
fruit  of  uniform  size  and  the  first  layer 
is  backed  up  by  a  second,  which  is  also 
carefully  and  systematically  placed  in 
row’s.  Then  the  box  is  filled  loosely, 
pressed  down,  and  smoothed  off  by  turn¬ 
ing  all  stems  down  out  of  sight.  After 
being  nailed  up  each  box  is  opened  on 
the  face  side  and  carefully  inspected.  If 
an  imperfect  cherry  has  found  its  way 
into  the  face  it  is  removed  and  a  sound 
fruit  put  in  its  place.  This  means  the 
opening  and  inspecting  of  about  2,000 
boxes  for  each  car  shipped.  Cherries  not 
suitable  for  shipping  are  spread  on 
w’ooden  trays  and  dried  in  the  sun.  I 
think  the  biggest  lesson  wre  Eastern  grow- 
ers  can  learn  from  Western  methods  is 
greater  care  in  grading  and  packing  our 
fruit.  The  Western  grower  has  had  this 
lesson  forced  upon  him  because  poor  fruit 
will  not  pay  for  the  long  haul  and  leave 
a  profit. 
Royal  Ann  is  the  great  California  can¬ 
ning  cherry  and  during  the  ripening  of 
this  variety  the  San  Jose  canneries  are 
centers  of  great  activity.  The  Richmond- 
Chase  Company  of  San  Jose  employs 
about  1,000  workers  during  the  height  of 
the  season  and  handles  daily  from  25  to 
75  tons  of  cherries.  The  cherries  are 
stemmed,  graded,  washed,  sized  and  then 
packed  in  tin  cans  and  hermetically  sealed 
by  machinery  without  the  old-time  use  of 
solder  and  acid.  Women  workers  who 
constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  working 
force,  are  all;  neatly  clad  in  blue  dresses 
and  blue  and  white  caps.  Everything  is 
clean,  neat  and  sanitary,  and  one  who  has 
witnessed  the  handling  of  the  fruit  from 
stemming  and  grading  to  processing  can¬ 
not  question  the  quality  of  the  product. 
Canners  paid  the  growers  nine  cents  a 
pound  for  Royal  Anns  this  season. 
S.  H.  F. 
Cistern  with  Filter 
Will  you  give  me  a  little  information 
on  building  a  cistern  ?  My  idea  wras  to 
build  one  10x10  ft.,  8  ft.  deep.  Do  you 
think  that  would  be  ample  for  ordinary 
consumption?  Would  you  prefer  brick 
to  concrete  as  a  partition  wall?  Would 
a  plank  box,  bored  with  real  small  holes, 
filled  with  charcoal  and  gravel,  be  a  good 
filtering  system?  Cistern  building  seems 
to  be  a  lost  art  in  this  section  of  the 
country.  d.  n.  b. 
Cisterns  for  rainwater  are  usually  built 
underground  and  in  a  place  convenient 
to  the  down  spout  of  the  roof  supplying 
them  with  water.  They  may  be  of  con¬ 
crete,  stone  or  brick,  the  former  material 
being  probably  most  used.  If  of  stone  or 
brick,  only  a  competent  mason  can  build 
one ;  if  of  concrete,  one  might  undertake 
the  job  himself  if  familiar  with  the  use 
of  that  building  material.  The  cement 
manufacturerers  publish  manuals  with 
plans  and  specifications  for  such  work, 
and  these  may  be  obtained  from  any 
dealer  in  cement. 
The  size  of  cistern  required  depends 
upon  size  of  the  family,  the  purposes  for 
which  cistern  water  is  to  be  used,  the 
amount  of  roof  surface  available  for  the 
supply,  and  the  average  seasonal  rainfall 
of  the  locality.  The  dimensions  that  you 
give  would  make  a  rather  large  cistern 
for  the  ordinary  family  where  other  water 
is  used  for  cooking,  drinking,  etc.  As 
there  are  7*4  gallons  to  the  cubic  foot, 
your  proposed  cistern  would  hold  120 
50-gallon  barrels.  If  the  cistern  is  to 
supply  all  the  water  for  domestic  use, 
however,  it  can  hardly  be  too  large. 
A  shunt  may  easily  be  arranged  to 
carry  the  first  water  from  a  roof  after  a 
dry  spell  and  prevent  its  entrance  to  the 
cistern  until  the  roof  has  been  washed 
off.  This  will  keep  much  dirt  from  en¬ 
tering  the  cistern,  but,  if  the  water  is  to 
be  used  for  cooking  and  drinking,  it 
should  be  filtered.  For  filtering  purposes, 
a  wall  of  porous  brick  is  sometimes  built 
across  the  cistern,  dividing  it  into  two 
chambers.  Water  enters  on  one  side  of 
this  wall-  in  the  larger  chamber  and  is 
pumped  from  a  smaller  compartment  on 
the  other  side,  into  which  it  has  seeped 
through  the  brick  wall.  A  better  filter, 
because  x-enewable,  may  be  built  outside 
the  cistern  and  either  above  or  below 
ground.  This  may  consist  of  a  square 
chamber,  about  4  ft.  square  and  4  ft.  deep, 
connected  with  the  cistern  by  a  screened 
tile  pipe.  About  2  ft.  of  crushed  charcoal 
overlaid  by  1  ft.  of  sand  and  gravel  m 
this  chamber  constitutes  the  filtering  ma¬ 
terial,  through  which  the  water  must 
pass  before  entering  the  cistern.  Any 
filter  will  become  clogged  after  having 
been  in  use  for  a  time,  however,  and  will 
need  renewal.  M.  b.  d. 
Defective  Cistern 
I  have  a  cement  cistern  built  entirely 
outside  and  shaded  by  the  house  on  the 
west  and  south.  It  has  a  wall  built 
across,  plastered  to  within  18  in.  of  the 
bottom,  and  a  charcoal  filter  at  the  bot¬ 
tom.  In  the  Summer  time  when  there 
is  very  hot  weather  and  no  rain  for  a 
time,  the  water  has  a  sour  taste  and 
smells  to  a  certain  extent.  What  will 
prevent  this?  Would  a  chain  pump  put 
in  outside  and  used  prevent  it?  The 
water  is  now  taken  into  the  house  through 
a  lead  pipe  and  a  pump  inside,  a.  m.  b. 
Cistern  water  will  acquire  more  or  less 
odor  from  the  growth  of  low  forms  of 
plant  life  (algae)  unless  frequently  aerat¬ 
ed  and  replenished  by  the  addition  of 
fresh  supplies  of  water.  Filters,  too, 
become  clogged  with  like  growths  and 
need  occasional  renewal.  A  chain  pump 
with  buckets  to  carry  air  below  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  water  might  help  some,  and 
aerating  the  water  by  splashing  it  into 
the  air  would  probably  make  some  dif¬ 
ference.  You  have  probably  seen  huge 
reservoirs  for  holding  a  public  supply  of 
water  into  which  the  incoming  water 
was  sprayed  by  throwing  it  high  into  the 
air  from  a  jet  at  the  center  of  the  reser¬ 
voir.  A  small  cistern  for  domestic  use 
must  be  cleaned  sufficiently  often  to  keep 
it  free  from  the  dirt  which  rapidly  accu¬ 
mulates,  and  a  by-pass  to  turn  the  water 
from  the  roof  elsewhere  for  a  short  time 
after  a  dry  spell  will  help  materially  in 
this.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  your  char¬ 
coal  filter  needs  renewal,  and  this,  with 
proper  attention  to  cleanliness  of  the  cis¬ 
tern  walls  and  bottom,  will  do  as  much 
toward  making  the  water  usable  as  any¬ 
thing  that  I  can  suggest.  m.  b.  d. 
Contamination  from  Well 
Many  years  ago  A  sunk  a  well  some 
40  ft.  deep  and  got  a  fine  vein  of  water. 
Some  time  later  B  sunk  a  well  about  3*4 
chains  away,  28  ft.  deep,  and  he,  too,  got 
a  tine  vein  of  water.  Shortly  after  A’s 
well  went  dry  and  he  accused  B  of  drain¬ 
ing  his  well,  but  still  there  was  water 
to  be  got  in  A’s  well.  There  is  a  big  fall 
in  the  surface  from  A’s  well  to  B’s  well, 
so  much  so  that  it  takes  a  team  to  pull 
some  to  climb  inside  the  fence  of  B  with 
a  load  of  manure.  Just  recently  A 
moved  his  closet  from  the  west  side  of  the 
house  and  placed  it  over  his  well,  and  B. 
realizing  the  possible  danger,  yet  thinks 
A  is  acting  on  his  own  ground,  and  fan¬ 
cies  legally  he  cannot  prevent  A,  but  has 
talked  with  A  of  the  possibility  of  ruining 
the  only  drinking  water  for  B’s  home.  A 
admits  having  consulted  a  local  man  who 
says  the  vein  is  stopped  up  by  this  time, 
through  the  accumulation  of  sediment, 
and  it  will  not  interfere  with  B’s  well. 
Even  if  the  vein  is  stopped  up  or  sealed, 
would  not  the  seepage  make  down  the 
hill  to  B’s  well?  Suppose  A  would  fill 
up  his  well  some  8  or  10  ft.  with  dirt 
and  brickbats,  would  that  help  any?  Do 
you  think  the  medical  authorities  have 
anything  to  say  in  a  question  like  this? 
Newburgh,  Ind.  j.  w. 
No  one  can  say  definitely  what  the  dan¬ 
ger  of  pollution  of  B’s  well  is,  for  the 
exact  relation  of  the  water  supplies  of 
the  two  wells  is  unknown.  If  the  soil  is 
sand  and  gravel,  there  seems  to  me  little 
danger  of  pollution  of  a  well  more  than 
200  ft.  from  a  possible  source ;  if  the  soil 
is  clay  and  loam,  there  is  probably  as  lit¬ 
tle  danger ;  if  the  underlying  strata  are 
of  rock,  however,  and  particularly  of 
limestone  rock,  there  may  be  direct  com¬ 
munication  between  the  two  wells  by 
means  of  channels  in  this  rock,  limestone 
being  particularly  apt  to  contain  passage- 
wavs  for  underground  waters,  sometimes 
miles  in  length.  Few  wells  tap  actual 
underground  streams.  The  great  major¬ 
ity  of  them  are  simply  chambers  or  pock¬ 
ets  in  a  water-bearing  stratum  of  soil, 
which  pockets  fill  with  water,  as  the  soil 
itself  would  be  filled  with  water  if  the 
pockets  had  not  been  made.  The  level  of 
this  water  rises  and  falls  with  the  amount 
of  rainfall,  the  water  coming  from  the 
rain  that  falls  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground  and  sinks  in  until  it  reaches  an 
impervious  layer  of  clay  or  other  mate¬ 
rial,  Lateral  motion  of  the  water  is  thus 
limited,  though  there  is  seepage  in  all  di¬ 
rections  to  an  indefinite  and  unknown  ex¬ 
tent.  I  should  like  to  make  this  experi¬ 
ment  in  this  case :  Pour  a  few  buckets  of 
a  rather  strong  solution  of  permanganate 
of  potash  into  A’s  well  and  watch  the 
water  in  B’s  well.  If  the  water  in  the 
latter  well  soon  became  discolored,  it 
would  indicate  direct  communication  that 
would  make  this  water  unsafe  to  use 
after  A’s  well  had  been  turned  into  a 
cesspool.  M.  B.  D. 
They  had  lost  their  way  in  their  new 
and  expensive  car.  “There’s  a  sign,  dear. 
Are  we  on  the  right  road?”  With  his 
flashlight  he  read,  “To  the  Poorhouse.” 
“Yes.”  he  answered.  “We’re  on  the  right 
road  and  didn’t  know  it.” — Baptist  Ob¬ 
server. 
fi 
Disking  an  Orchard 
A  Farmhouse  in  Neiv  York  State 
