Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1907 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

APPLE BLOTCH. In Extrema Cases a Crock May Almost Encircle the Fruit. Apple blotch first appears on thesur faye of the apple as a small irregular browm spot, which slowly increases In size until after several weeks it reaches one-fourth to one-half inch in diame ter. A Several blotches may occur on the same fruit, and In'the Ozarks during the past season it was not uncommon to find twenty to fifty blotches on a single apple, covering practically the entire surface. The tissues of the in

[The fruit shows effects of apple blotch.] vaded area being dwarfed by the action of the fungus, "further growth of the apple results in a cracking of the fruit similar to that produced by the apple scab fungus. The cracks range front one-fourth to one inch in length and frequently extend almost to the center of the apple. In extreme cases a crack may almost encircle the apple, practically dividing it in half, and one crack may intersect another, forming a cross. Fruits only slightly affected with the disease maygo through the season without developing cracks. These are more commonly developed shortly before the fruit matures, though a few may occur earlier in the season. The skin being thus broken, the fruit becomes an easy prey to other fungi and soon goes down in decay. As a rule, the affected fruit drops prematurely, and the unsprayed Ren Davis trees left as checks in the .demonstration blocks at Bentonvllle, Ark., sped 50 per cent of their crop some days before picking time. Infection does not begin to take place until the fruit is nearly half grown. The blotch was first observed on the check trees June 26, and only a few affected fruits could be found on that date. On July 16 a large i»ercentage of the Ben Davis apples was affected, and by the middle of August it was clearlyseen that the crop waS pfhctically lost. It developed first on fruit on the lower branches and within the shaded portions of the tree, but finally spread to almost the entire crop.—W. M. Scott. Best Cows Are Cheapest. The high priced cow is not so expensive as she seems in view of what she produces. The average cow produces milk or butter to the value of $52.50, and she costs ssl a year, reckoning that the manure she produces offsets the care given her. This shows that the cow does not do a great deal toward raising the mortgage on the farm. Assuming that it costs no more to keep a good cow than a poor one, the figures will show- that the good cow- is relatively cheaper. The average cow will produce 5,000 pounds of milk a year, while a choice cow will produce as high as 10,000, meaning a profit of $225 against the almost even balance sheet of the average cow, while Pleterje 11., a Holstein, has a record of 30,000 pounds of milk a year, which would make a profit of $1,050 Professor Cooley in American Cultivator. Great Thing For Fruit Growers. It would be a great thing for fruit growing if.the market would distinguish sharply - between apples for different purposes. Apples that are not recommendable for dessert may still be very useful for many other purposes. It is not so much a question of not growing apples of different grades of quality as of finding the proper- uses for these grades. I think it is a mistake at the present time to recommend that certain apples be not grown merely because, they are not of high eating quality.—L. 11. Bailey in Rural New’ Yorker. Drinking Dish Protector. A drinking dish protector in the pouftry yard is the next best thing to a drinking fountain for keeping water

clean. The dish should be of crockery so as to be lasting. The protector illustrated herewith is described by Orange Jitdd Farmer as being

made of tw<> onefoot squares of board. One is sawed across diagonally and the other nailed to the two triangular pieces thus formed. The Shorthorns. Perhaps the best claim to the qualifications of the two purpose breed is possessed by the Shorthorn. As is well known, there are two distinct types, one which is fair in milk production, but excellent in beef, and another tolerably good in beef, but valued most fqr heavy milking qualities. In thia country the beef type is more common, while in English dairy sections the Shorthorn dairy strains are very prominent—American Cultivator.

MAIDEN BLUSH APPLE.

DISH PROTECTOR