farmers" and upstarts coming to teach us "who have faT;rried man aQ4 J>oy,." how to run our business, 

 and who looked on us as f,n insult to them, hive ail come ur \vr\t,Aeii th Msl-in'g ui for! tKe J-e,.) aid the farms 

 have been, and now look upon them .as their best friend.' iSTeed iihyone ask' iio-i\,' "HAVe the Experi- 

 mental Stations paid?" Indeed yes, a thousand fold, in this way at least, if not in money, and they have 

 paid a h.andsome percent .of real money on the investment each year in spite of the great handicap of _so 

 much experimental work, a big ofTice sala y h- Ip and the "Agronomist." 



The orchard, this its third year, "did itself proud." One apple, a Yellow Transparent, gpve'us 

 14 perfect specimens. This is remarkable for a three-year-old tree. The Japanese plums did very 

 well, especially the Wickson, which is considered a shy bearer. The Burbanks were not so full of fruit 

 except an occasional tree, and the Satsumas developed a new and unheard of blight which the Senior 

 Partner dubbed "spectacle spot." Sulphide of potasium soon put an end to it, but the fruit was marred. 



The peaches, Ye Gods! what peaches. First to come were Greensboro, grent, handsome beauties, 

 with the flavor one dreams of but seldom realizes; next came Carmen, also delicious; then Champion, 

 Belle of Georgia, Crosby, Everbepring, Hill's Chili, Hemphill, and Klondyke. Carmen and Champion 

 were superb from every point. Belle of Georgia very good and tremendously prolific. Crosby, Hill's 

 Chili, Klondyke, and Hemphill good, and as they ripen very late they are to be highly prized. We 

 gathered peaches from the middle of July to the middle of October. 



The grapes — ju-st a few set along the front walk as a trial — were so superb we have decided to set 

 out an acre of them. Some of them, with the. peaches, won prizes at the fair and thyt speaks much, for 

 they competed with old established vines. 



The varieties included Niagara, Delaware, Catawba, Brighton, Worden, Agawam, Salem, Wilder 

 and Campbell's Early. 



This fall the "Elbow" or little two-room portable which constituted a portion of our house, went 

 to the County fairs. As usual it was crowded with visitors, not skeptics, as we found the first year, 

 but friends of ours, coming in the spirit of neighborliness to tell us of their successes and confer with'us 

 about their failures 



The South African "Calabash" or pipe gourd (the gourds as they grow hung upon the wall, and 

 a curved stem end of one f tted with a mouth-piece, forming the now "classy" and expensive pipe of the 

 wealthy); butter from the alfalfa-fed cows, French musk melons, Japanese musk melons. Bermuda 

 onions, Bermuda potatoes, Japanese pumpkin "Chirmeu," Catawba sweet corn, Swiss chard, lemon 

 cucumbers, finochio, martynia, okra, and Sakurajima radish, together with the superb fruit from the 

 three-year old trees and grapevines held the center of the stage. 



Both farms entered in competition at the Suffolk County Fair, and we were delighted when they 

 were forced to take second and third prizes and step aside altogether in some cases. The farmers are 

 at work, they are producing better goods all the time, and I think we may justly feel that the Experi- 

 mental Stations have stimulated their ambition. No. 1 won 30 prizes, and No. 2, beca,use of George's 

 disobedience to orders won only 14 prizes. The exhibit of vegetables in competition was said to be the 

 finest ever shown, while the judges were driven almost to distraction trying to decide which cauliflower 

 was the most perfect of a host of perfect ones. 



Success was repeated at the Queens-Nassau County Fair, only for some peculiar reason fruits 

 and vegetables alone are barred from competition if not raised in either of these counties. The little 

 cottage in its pretty setting of oak trees was thronged each day. 



At the American Institute, New York City, 8 prizes were won. Here the competition is against 

 estates and men whose entire income is derived from just such exhibits and who raise as many varieties 

 as possible for exhibition only. 



At Huntington, where we were so unfortunate among our neighbors the first year as to be barred 

 from competition after we had entered in all classes, we won first prize on collection of 6 vegetables. 

 This was all we entered and I was surprised at the Senior Partner for sending anything at all, for one of 

 his favorite sayings is "no sheep can bite me twice and live." 



As the clearing went so slowly h'.,st winter, it was necessary to get outside help to do it for us. There 

 is an Islander who has, for a long time, claimed that he could clear land much cheaper and much 

 better with a stump puller than by dynamite. We determined to have it proven to us and therefore 

 signed a contract with him to do the land at about two-thirds what it cost by dynamite, and the contract 

 included the following item made at his .suggestion, which was, that 10 acres should be cleared, the 

 stumps burned, the land plowed, harrowed, and seeded down to rye (we t) furnish seed) in 30 days. It 

 is now TiO days, and the stumps are partially out of about 2 acres, there is no plowing or harrowing done 

 yet, in fact the remaining roots are so numerous it is almost impossible to plow. 



Dynamiters go in next week and we hope to have at least 20 acres ready for use next spring. 



The 30-foot fire line is now being cultivated with di.'JC harrow to prevent autumn forest fires from 

 reaching the Experimental Station plot. This will be seeded down to rye for a crop next spring 



The two cows have lived all summer mainly on one-half acre of alfalfa. A little sugar corn in 

 the fire line, and some of the tops of the cow peas and soy beans, have completed the green food for them. 

 Now we start on a model dairy barn, just a small one to begin with, but so arranged that the herd can be 

 increased with but little expense for a JJition li building. The building will be of hollow tile, with stucco 

 surface, all modern fittings; a silo 9 feet in diameter with separate feed and wash-rooms. A milk 

 and butter house will be erected near by. This will also be concrete construction and the floor four 

 feet below the surface of the ground. Ventilators in both buildings will, of course, be installed. The 

 stanchions will be of wood, painted with two coats and a third coal of enamel which will, we feel, make 

 them germ proof. The floor, dropping gutter, and feed trough will all be of concrete; iron pipe stall 

 fittings, overhead litter and feed curriers. Windows hinged at the bottom and swinging in will give 

 good ventilation. 



The farms have lived their simple life: they have worked up from the simplest outfit including 

 houses, farm implements and small corps of help. They have prospered and "made good" and just as 



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