4io 
June  25 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
The  Summer  Boarder. 
WHO  HE  18  AND  ALL  ABOUT  MIM. 
The  business  of  keeping-  “summer  boarders”  has 
grown  wonderfully  for  the  past  decade  among  the 
farmers  of  the  country.  We  have  always  had  our  sum¬ 
mer  resorts — our  Saratoga,  Cape  May,  Thousand 
Islands,  White  Mountains,  Lake  George  and  kindred 
places— but  to  sojourn  at  them  was  too  expensive  for 
persons  of  moderate  incomes.  The  great  masses  of 
the  people  who  dwell  in  cities  were  shut  up  for  the 
summer  because  they  could  not  afford  to  pay  the 
prices  demanded  at  these  noted  resorts.  The  farmer 
then  stepped  into  the  breach,  lie  found  that  he  had 
something  to  sell  which  thousands  wanted  to  buy,  viz, 
entertainment  in  a  country  home  at  a  price  so  moderate 
that  thousands  could  avail  themselves  of  it,  and  yet 
sufficient  to  pay  a  good  profit  to  the  farmer. 
To-day  the  number  of  boarders  who  thus  recreate  in 
farm  houses  and  small  country  towns  far  exceeds  the 
number  patronizing  the  more  famous  and  more  expen¬ 
sive  resorts.  The  thousands  who  are  engaged  in  a  small 
mercantile  way,  the  great  army  of  doctors  and  lawyers 
whose  professional  fame  has  not  yet  given  them  large 
incomes,  the  newspaper  workers — most  of  such  are 
patrons  of  the  farmers.  The  wives  and  children  are 
sent  out  for  the  season,  generally  from  the  middle  of 
June  to  well  along  in  August.  The  head  of  the  family 
spends  a  brief  vacation  with  them,  but  business  calls 
him  back,  and  he  is  obliged,  for  the  bulk  of  the  time, 
to  content  himself  with  a  run  into  the  country  on  Sat¬ 
urday,  returning  on  Monday  to  Ids  work. 
The  prices  paid  cover  quite  a  wide  range,  depending, 
of  course,  on  the  accommodations.  The  Rural  has 
heard  of  families  being  boarded  in  a  farm  house  at  the 
very  low  rate  of  $4  per  week  for  each  member.  This, 
however,  is  very  unusual.  Prices  generally  range 
among  farmers  from  $5  to  .$8  per  week.  At  these  mod- 
dest  figures  there 
would  be  small  profit 
to  a  denizen  of  the 
towrn.  Rut  it  pays  the 
farmer  better.  He  con¬ 
verts  his  butter,  milk, 
eggs,  poultry,  fruits 
and  vegetables  into 
cash,  without  the  in¬ 
tervention  of  two  or 
three  middlemen.  In 
other  words,  he  real¬ 
izes  the  highest  retail 
prices  for  all  the  pro¬ 
ducts  of  his  farm  con- 
s  u  m  e  d  by  boarders, 
even  at  the  modest  fig¬ 
ures  named,  and  in  this 
fact  lies  the  explana¬ 
tion  of  his  profits  at 
such  seemingly  low 
rates.  It  is  estimated 
by  careful  judges  that  summer  boarders  pay  more 
money  to  the  farmers  of  Sullivan  Countj',  N.  Y.,  than 
would  be  realized  by  the  sale  of  the  entire  agricultural 
products  of  the  county  in  the  open  markets,  and  what 
is  true  of  this  county  is  doubtless  true  of  many  others. 
By  common  consent,  Decoration  Day,  May  30,  seems 
to  be  the  time  when  thousands  run  into  the  country 
for  the  purpose  of  looking  up  a  place  where  their 
families  can  be  comfortably  domiciled  for  the  summer. 
The  trains  leaving  the  city  on  the  eve  of  that  day  are 
generally  crowded  to  the  greatest  degree.  The  rail- 
ways  contribute  to  this  liegira  by  offering  special 
rates  and  stimulate  the  business  by  “  summer  home  ” 
pamphlets  for  distribution,  in  which  the  attractions 
of  the  points  along  their  lines  are  glowingly  set  forth. 
Soon  afterwards  the  families  begin  to  go  out  and 
before  July  1  the  number  is  at  its  greatest  height. 
A  few  points  are  essential  to  success  in  this  business. 
Good  beds,  well  ventilated  rooms,  perfect  cleanliness 
and  a  generous  table.  The  bill-of-fare  need  not  be  so 
varied — it  is  wasted  energy  to  attempt  to  rival  the 
more  pretentious  hotels  in  this  matter.  There  can  be 
ample  variety  with  but  a  limited  number  of  dishes,  by 
changing  them  at  every  meal.  Abundance  of  milk, 
fresh  vegetables,  well  cooked,  with  the  fruit,  eggs  and 
poultry  at  every  farmer’s  command  are  the  staples  of  a 
diet  which  will  always  please. 
The  thoughtful  farmer  will  see  that  lounging  accom¬ 
modations  are  at  hand.  Hammocks,  sw'ung  in  the 
shade,  arm  chairs  on  cool  piazzas,  swings  for  the  young 
folks,  and  if  a  stream  or  lake  is  available,  arrangements 
for  bathing  add  greatly  to  the  attractions  of  a  summer 
home. 
The  average  city  boarder,  who  is  spending  his  first 
summer  in  the  country,  is  a  source  of  much  amusement 
to  the  farmer’s  family.  His  ignorance  of  everything 
rural  is  laughable  in  the  extreme — quite  as  much  so  as 
would  be  that  of  a  farmer  who  should  be  making  his 
first  visit  to  the  metropolis.  Rut  he  picks  up  a  little 
knowledge,  bit  by  bit.  He  finds  out  that  buttermilk 
is  the  product  of  the  churn  and  not  of  a  special  breed 
of  cows,  and  the  younger  memlxers  of  the  family  very 
quickly  find  out  when  the  harvest  apples  are  ripe. 
They  achieve  numerous  colics  in  experimenting  in  this 
direction,  but  they  alw'ays  persevere.  The  young 
ladies  find  out  w-here  the  most  delightful  walks  are  to 
be  had  and,  strange  to  say,  the  young  men  are  equally 
alert  in  securing  this  information.  In  short,  it  is  a 
delightful  period  for  the  city  folks — a  succession  of 
halcyon  days.  Let  us  hope  that  the  farmer  will  get  a 
substantial  benefit  from  the  business  and  yet  make  his 
home  so  attractive  that  all  will  want  to  come  again. 
Spraying  Potatoes  with  Bordeaux 
Mixture. 
How  Much  Copper? — In  a  late  issue  of  The  Rural 
the  Vermont  Station  is  quoted  as  saying  that  from  12 
to  24  pounds  of  blue  vitriol  should  be  used  in  spraying 
an  acre  of  potatoes  to  prevent  blight.  If  this  means 
that  from  12  to  24  pounds  should  be  used  for  a  single 
application  (and  this  is  the  inference  from  the  context) 
I  am  at  a  loss  to  see  how  so  much  can  be  made  to  stay 
on  the  vines,  unless  the  solution  is  much  stronger  than 
that  recommended  by  Prof.  Green  and  others.  [The 
station  sprayed  three  or  more  times  and  estimated  the 
amount  required  for  all. — Eds.]  I  have  begun  spray¬ 
ing  my  potatoes,  using  four  pounds  of  sulphate  of 
copper,  four  pounds  of  lime  and  six  ounces  of  Paris- 
green  in  nearly  50  gallons  of  water. 
The  vines  in  the  field  already  sprayed  fill  two-thirds 
of  the  row,  barely  permitting  a  horse  to  pass  through 
nicely  when  using  my  Planet  Jr.  cultivator.  On  such 
vines  I  have  found  that  25  gallons  of  water  seemed  to 
give  sufficient  spray  for  an  acre.  The  sprayer  is  a 
Knapsack  with  a  Vermorel  nozzle,  and  it  sends  a 
fine  spray  and  loses  no  time  in  doing  so.  Ry  keeping 
a  good  pressure  and  giving  the  nozzle  a  little  sidewise 
movement  at  each  step,  one  could  spray  as  fast  as  he 
‘Which  Way  Are  You  Round,  Neighbor?”  Fig.  185. 
cared  to  walk.  One  man  spi’ayed  four  acres  in  a  day, 
and  lost  fully  20  per  cent  of  the  time  in  stirring  the 
mixture  in  the  barrel  and  in  filling  the  sprayer. 
It  w'ill  thus  be  seen  that  I  have  used  only  two  pounds 
of  copper  on  an  acre.  This  may  not  be  enough,  but 
had  1  put  from  G  to  12  times  as  much,  as  recommended 
by  the  station  quoted,  some  of  the  solution  would  have 
had  to  run  off  the  plants  to  make  room  for  the  rest.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  my  application  is  a  little  scanty, 
but  it  looked  as  if  it  were  enough,  and  as  I  was  with¬ 
out  experience,  that  was  the  only  possible  guide.  One 
of  the  heaviest  showers  I  ever  witnessed  came  about 
«  p.  m.  of  the  same  day,  and  I  supposed  time  and 
money  were  wasted,  but  the  tops  looked  aboxxt  as 
“blue”  the  next  day  as  they  did  before  the  shower. 
Still,  it  must  have  washed  some  of  it  off. 
Dissolving  the  Copper, — The  sulphate  of  copper 
dissolves  in  very  hot  water  in  a  very  few  minutes. 
The  straining  of  the  lime  solution  was  done  most 
easily  and  quickly  when  I  used  as  little  water  as  pos¬ 
sible — consistency  about  that  of  cream — and  kept  the 
bottom  stirred  with  a  little  rag  mop.  Ry  straining 
011I37  a  quart  at  a  time  and  then  throwing  out  the  sed¬ 
iment,  all  went  right.  One  other  little  point:  My 
Knapsack  sprayer,  immediately  after  it  has  been  re¬ 
filled,  sends  out  a  much  stronger  solution  than  it  does 
after  spraying  30  or  40  hills.  The  mixture  seems  to 
settle  in  the  pump  while  filling,  and  before  beginning 
to  pump.  So  it  is  best  to  send  a  spray  back  into  the 
barrel  for  about  GO  seconds  before  beginning  on  the 
row.  As  the  solution  sticks  much  better  than  one  of 
Paris-green  alone,  four  ounces  of  the  poison  is  enough 
for  an  acre  infested  with  bugs,  according  to  Prof.  Green, 
who  is  an  authority  in  our  State  (Ohio).  The  extra  two 
ounces  I  used  were  allowed  for  the  flour  one  usually 
buys  with  this  poison. 
Cost  of  Copper.  —  Dealers  vary  much  in  their 
charges  for  the  sulphate  of  copper.  The  Ohio  Farmer 
states  that  it  is  sold  at  four  cents  per  pound  by  one 
Cleveland  dealer,  while  my  local  dealer  asks  10  cents  a 
pound.  We  compromised  on  six  cents,  which  is  prob¬ 
ably  a  fair  retail  price.  Consequently  the  solution, 
including  the  lime  and  green,  cost  me  about  15  cents 
per  acre,  and  the  work  of  applying  it,  25  cents  more, 
or  40  cents  in  all.  If  I  should  have  used  more  than 
25  gallons  per  acre,  will  The  Rural  or  other  authori¬ 
ties  on  this  matter  kindly  say  so  ? 
Attention  should  bo  called  to  the  fact  that  the  saving 
in  Paris-grten  when  used  with  the  adhesive  Rordeaux 
mixture  is  sufficient  to  make  quite  a  considerable  item. 
Two  ounces  of  the  poison  to  the  acre  are  not  over  25  per 
cent  of  the  amount  commonly  used  when  dusted  on 
with  lime  or  flour.  The  Rural  may  already  have 
printed  it,  but  I  append  the  formula  for  diluted  Ror¬ 
deaux  mixture,  as  recommended  by  Prof.  Green. 
Copper  sulphate,  four  pounds ;  dissolve  in  two  gal¬ 
lons  of  hot  water  ;  quicklime,  four  pounds  ;  slake  and 
make  a  thin  paste.  Cool  both  solutions  by  adding 
water ;  strain  the  lime  solution  and  mix  with  the 
copper  solution,  after  which  add  water  to  make  50 
gallons.  ALVA  AGEE. 
A  Second  Crop  of  Southern  Potatoes. 
A  POSSIBLE  BONANZA  TO  THE  SOUTH. 
An  Accident  Crop. — I  have  been  for  many  years  ex¬ 
perimenting  with  the  late  crops  of  Irish  potatoes, 
grown  from  seed  of  the  early  crops.  My  first  crop  of 
late  fall  potatoes  from  seed  of  the  early  crop  was 
grown  in  Kent  County,  Maryland,  in  1870.  The 
uncommonly  early  spring  that  year  enabled  me  to 
plant  my  early  potatoes  the  first  of  March.  They 
matured  early  and  were  dug,  and  sold  at  good  prices. 
Owing  to  press  of  other  work,  nothing  was  done  with 
the  land  at  once, ’and  later  on  I  began  to  prepare  it  for 
celery.  I  found  that  a  great  many  small  potatoes,  left 
in  the  ground  at  digging  time,  w  ere  sprouting.  These 
I  gathered  and  planted  at  once  and  dug  a  fine  crop  in 
November.  Growers  then  depended  entirely  on  Nor¬ 
thern  potatoes  for  seed 
for  the  early  crop. 
The  market  growers 
of  the  South  now  use 
no  other  seeds  than  the 
second  crop  when  they 
can  be  had.  The  gen¬ 
eral  complaint  has 
been,  and  still  is  with 
some,  that  it  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  get  a  uniform 
stand  of  the  late  crop. 
Light  Covering  for 
Second  Crop.  —  Most 
people  assume  that  po¬ 
tatoes  planted  at  the 
dry  and  hot  season  of 
midsummer  must  be 
deeply  covered.  This 
is  a  great  mistake, 
and  one  of  the  causes 
of  a  bad  stand.  Go 
over  land  here,  after  an  early  crop  of  potatoes, 
when  the  ground  has  been  allowed  to  lie  idle,  and 
in  late  summer  you  will  find  a  large  volunteer 
growth.  Look  closely,  and  you  will  find  that  all  these 
volunteer  plants  are  coming  from  potatoes  just  barely 
under  the  surface,  while  others,  deeply  buried,  have 
not  started  an  eye.  The  discovery  of  the  fact  led  me 
to  believe  that  shallow  covering  would  be  best.  It 
was  also  found  that  potatoes  kept  out  of  the  ground 
after  the  early  digging  were  slow  in  sprouting.  A  sug¬ 
gestion  made  by  a  truck  farmer  at  one  of  our  insti¬ 
tutes  in  eastern  North  Carolina,  caused  me  to  put  the 
potatoes  in  the  soil  again  until  digging  time.  As  soon 
as  the  early  crop  is  dug,  those  intended  for  late  plant¬ 
ing  are  spread  out  in  a  single  layer  in  a  convenient 
place,  and  covered  with  an  inch  or  more  of  sandy  soil. 
Here  they  remain  until  planting  time,  which  is  the 
middle  of  August.  Then  those  which  are  going  to 
grow  w'ill  have  begun  to  sprout.  These  sprouted  pota¬ 
toes  are  the  only  ones  we  plant. 
Level  Culture  Needed. — While  hilling  up  is  the 
proper  course  for  the  early  crop  of  potatoes  in  this 
latitude,  the  late  ones  should  be  cultivated  perfectly 
flat  so  as  to  conserve  moisture.  But  they  need  very 
shallow  covering,  and  if  planted  too  shallow,  will  form 
too  close  to  the  surface  and  become  sunburned  or  be 
exposed  to  the  sudden  coming  of  hard  frost  in  their 
later  growth.  To  avoid  this,  and  yet  cover  shallow, 
we  plant  in  a  deep  furrow,  cover  very  lightly,  and 
then  gradually  wrork  the  soil  to  them  as  they  advance 
in  growth,  thus  getting  the  advantage  of  shallow- 
cover  and  flat  culture.  Most  growers  use  for  planting 
the  late  crop  the  cullings  left  after  shipping  the  crop 
north,  but  some  make  a  practice  of  selecting  good- 
sized  seed  annually.  Many  growers  consider  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  plant  enough  Northern  potatoes  every  year  to 
furnish  seed  for  the  second  crop,  while  those  who  select 
seed  claim  that  this  is  not  necessary. 
Is  Northern  Seed  Needed? — With  a  yiew  to  get 
the  experience  of  growers  about  this  crop,  I  addressed 
a  circular  of  inquiries  to  a  large  number  of  truckers 
I’m  disgusted  with  “  general  purpose  ”  cows.  See  that  flowing  pail.  No  more  scrubs  for  me 
