622 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Sept.  24 
Can’t  a  Young-  White  Man  Equal  an 
Old  Negro  P 
A.  W.  S.,  Amebicus,  Ga. — This  being 
Labor  Day  and  a  legal  holiday,  I  use  it 
to  reply  to  the  question  whether  a  young 
man  can  rent  a  small  farm  in  this  section 
and  hope  to  pay  for  it  in  a  short  time  by 
growing  potatoes  and  small  fruits.  By 
“potatoes”  I  understand  “Irish  potatoes” 
and  by  small  fruits,  strawberries,  rasp¬ 
berries  and  blackberries.  1  answer  No. 
“  A  short  time  ”  is  rather  indefinite,  and 
so  is  “a  young  man.”  But  the  right  kind 
of  young  man  can  have  no  difficulty  in 
renting  a  small  or  large  farm,  and  if  he 
has  industry  and  works  with  judgment 
he  will  be  able  to  pay  for  it  with  many 
other  crops,  in  four  or  five  years.  1  have 
found  from  practical  experience  that 
here,  owing  to  May  and  parts  of  June 
being  ordinarily  dry,  neither  Irish  pota¬ 
toes  nor  berries  could  be  selected  to  give 
paying  crops;  though  if  there  is  an  ample 
fall  of  water  in  spring  and  early  summer 
both  will  prove  very  remunerative,  as 
the  former  would  bring  not  less  than  .$1 
per  bushel,  while  strawberries  would 
never  be  less  than  10  cents,  and  would 
generally  average  20  cents  per  quart;  but 
the  crop  is  too  uncertain  to  be  relied  on 
to  pay  for  a  home.  The  right  man  by 
raising  sweet  potatoes,  roasting  ears, 
melons  and  vegetables  earlier  than  his 
neighbors  would  get  prices  which  would 
astonish  him.  Then  in  a  few  years  he 
could  have  peaches  and  such  peaches!  the 
possibilif  ies  of  which  are  only  begin¬ 
ning  to  be  recognized. 
By  all  means  if  coming  from  the  North 
he  should  hire  out  the  first  year  or  two — 
the  latter  being  preferable — to  some  one, 
who  is  in  the  line  he  prefers,  so  that  he 
may  learn  the  difference  between  our 
seasons  of  planting  and  growing  and 
those  to  which  he  has  been  accustomed. 
He  will,  if  worthy,  find  land  plentiful 
and  cheap,  and  ready  to  respond  with 
ample  crops  to  proper  cultivation  and 
fertilization.  I  know  of  no  other  section 
where,  after  a  man  has  proved  himself  re¬ 
liable,  he  can  get  such  great  accommoda¬ 
tion  on  such  a  little  real  capital.  While 
the  rate  of  interest  charged  seems  high, 
yet  the  prices  received  are  proportion¬ 
ally  so,  and  he  can  readily  meet  it.  1 
honestly  think  the  capabilities  of  south¬ 
western  Georgia  under  proper  intelligent 
cultivation,  superior  to  those  of  any  other 
section.  After  our  vegetable,  melon  and 
oat  crops  have  been  gathered  we  can 
with  little  expense  secure  a  better  crop 
of  better  hay  from  the  same  land  than 
can  be  obtained  from  land  seeded  to 
grass  at  the  North.  Stock  can  be  kept 
for  half  the  cost  at  the  North,  and  ex¬ 
cept  on  account  of  rain  not  a  day  need 
be  lost  for  work;  for  whilst  our  summers 
ai’e  longer,  yours  are  hotter. 
Here  is  the  history  of  an  old  negro 
man  whom  we  have  aided,  and  surely  a 
young,  intelligent  working  white  man 
can  do  as  well  and  better,  particularly 
as  Tom  has  paid  his  way  with  cotton,  the 
least  profitable  crop  here.  In  186(5  Tom 
Cameron  and  wife,  colored,  were  given 
by  their  master  100  pounds  of  meat  and 
10  bushels  of  corn,  and  he  and  his  wife 
worked  for  §12. 50  per  month  and  fed 
themselves.  In  1867  he  and  his  wife  with 
his  father  and  mother-in-law  worked 
land  for  half  the  crop,  growing-  60  acres 
in  cotton  and  “  corn  sufficient.”  They 
cleared  §400  outside  of  corn  “  to  run 
them.”  In  1868  he  bought  100  acres  of 
laud  paying  §400  cash.  In  1873  he  and 
wife  had  paid  for  the  100  acres  and  had 
bought  50  head  of  stock.  From  that 
time  he  simply  made  a  good  living,  rais¬ 
ing  eight  children  and  sending  them  to 
school,  until  1889.  In  October  that  year 
he  bought  173  acres  of  land,  we  lending 
him  §1,883.40  to  pay  for  it,  taking  a  mort¬ 
gage  on  the  new  land  bought  and  also  on 
the  100  acres  and  two  mules.  We  also  ad¬ 
vanced  what  little  he  needed  for  supplies. 
By  December  1890  he  had  paid  for  sup¬ 
plies  and  §733.05  on  the  land,  in  February 
1891  we  paid  §159. 10  for  another  mule  for 
him.  In  December  1891  he  paid  for  his 
supplies  as  well  as  for  the  mule  and  §282. 
10  on  the  land,  and  would  have  paid  for 
the  whole  of  the  latter  if  it  had  not 
rained  so  as  to  prevent  his  picking  his 
cotton  out  in  good  condition.  He  now 
has  five  mules  paid  for,  273  acres  of  land 
on  which  he  owes  §868.25,  with  this  year’s 
crops  to  pay  for  it,  and  if  the  price  of 
cotton  were  eight  cents  he  could  pay  up 
his  entire  indebtedness.  He  cannot  read 
or  write,  but  is  honest,  industrious  and 
trustworthy,  and  has  while  educating  his 
children  compelled  them  to  work  too. 
Any  young  white  man  should  do  still 
better  and  can.  Let  him  prove  himself 
worthy  and  industrious  and  he  will 
easily  be  sought  for.  The  young 
Englishman  who  has  been  with  me  four 
years  for  wages,  goes  as  a  partner  in  a 
nursery  which  is  just  being  established. 
His  knowledge  counts  against  the  land. 
Advice  to  a  Fruit  Grower. 
A.  M.  S.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. — In  an¬ 
swer  to  the  query  of  A.  S.  A.,  Hillside, 
Ill.,  in  a  late  Bubal,  I  say  fraternally; 
Don’t ! !  Nine  times  out  of  ten,  one  will 
be  doomed  to  mental,  physical  and  finan¬ 
cial  disappointment  if  he  does.  A  novice 
should  buy  a  small  quantity  of  all  the 
more  promising  varieties  of  strawberries, 
currants,  gooseberries,  raspberries  and 
blackberries,  and  crop  his  prospective 
fruit  farm  of  20  acres  in  some  hoed  crop 
that  will  give  a  profit,  not  neglecting  to 
fertilize  it  well.  Then  from  his  own  ex¬ 
perience  with  the  sample  kinds  he  can 
learn  the  sorts  best  adapted  to  his  par¬ 
ticular  soil  and  climate,  so  that  he  will 
be  able  to  set  out  his  20  acres  with  a 
reasonable  certainty  of  success  !  To  one 
who  has  had  no  practical  experience  in 
small  fruit  growing,  I  would  say  not  to 
start  in  too  largely,  but  to  increase  the 
area  as  he  gains  experience,  and  (which 
is  no  small  matter  financially)  from 
plants  of  his  own  growing,  which  will 
generally  do  better  than  those  purchased 
from  a  different  soil. 
Salt  Down  the  Thistles. 
W.  H.  C.,  Bykon,  Mich. — I  have  had 
considerable  experience  in  killing  Canada 
thistles  and  have  always  succeeded  with 
fine  salt.  Fine  is  preferable  to  coarse, 
because  it  dissolves  sooner  and  takes 
effect  more  quickly.  On  a  patch  of  30 
feet  square  a  bushel  is  little  enough  and 
two  bushels  are  not  too  much  for  the 
first  application.  One  should  keep  all 
stock  away  from  it  till  it  has  dissolved  or 
there  may  be  a  dead  animal  alongside 
the  dead  thistles.  One  must  look  out  for 
stragglers  outside  the  patch.  If  he 
doesn’t  at  first  succeed  he  must  double 
the  dose  and  try  again. 
Using-  Rollers  in  Colorado. 
F.  L.  Watrous,  Colorado  Agricul¬ 
tural  College. — Many  of  our  farmers 
use  rollers  for  many  and  widely  different 
purposes  in  this  State.  Many  of  the  regu¬ 
larly  manufactured  rollers  are  in  use, 
but  the  most  common  implement  to  serve 
its  purpose  is  the  clod  crusher  made  by 
spiking  to  three  2x6  runners,  four  feet 
long,  five  planks,  eight,  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long,  as  desired,  similar  to  a  corn 
marker,  only  the  front  plank  on  the 
lower  side  is  turned  up  with  the  runners 
so  as  to  ride  over  obstacles.  A  few  farm¬ 
ers  in  this  State  use  the  roller  on  the  soil 
to‘  ‘  retain  moisture,  ”  but  opinion  is  chang¬ 
ing  in  this  regard.  For  winter  wheat  in  dry 
climates,  I  would  recommend  the  use  of 
the  roller  as  the  last  act  in  the  preparation 
of  the  soil  before  seeding.  Then  I  would 
drill  in  the  wheat  east  and  west,  if 
possible,  leaving  the  drill  rows  to  catch 
and  hold  all  moisture.  If  the  weather 
is  very  dry,  harrowing  once  or  twice  is 
thought  to  be  beneficial  before  the  wheat 
gets  too  high.  I  think  the  harrow  a  much 
better  implement  than  the  roller  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  escape  of  moisture  from  the  soil. 
A  smooth,  packed  surface  affords  the 
best  condition  for  the  action  of  capillarity. 
In  growing  corn,  it  has  been  found  good 
management  to  keep  the  harrow  going 
till  the  crop  is  “  nearly  ruined,”  then 
harrow  once  more.  In  this  manner  corn 
can  be  well  grown  with  one  irrigation. 
Excessive  irrigation  packs  the  soil,  as 
does  rolling,  causing  evaporation  to  take 
place  rapidly,  and,  when  this  has  com¬ 
menced,  the  only  remedy  is  more  irri¬ 
gation,  which  in  turn  packs  the  soil  more 
closely,  producing  a  system  of  feast  and 
famine,  deadening  the  soil  and  stunting 
the  crop.  I  would  roll  for  a  seed  bed, 
stir  to  retain  the  moisture,  and,  when 
irrigating  I’d  aim  to  form  an  under¬ 
ground  reservoir  and  keep  the  moisture 
there  by  stirring  the  surface  soil  as  be¬ 
fore. 
Creeks  Do  Rise  Before  Storms. 
J.  O.  W. ,  Wolcott,  N.  Y. — Water  does 
rise  in  creeks  before  a  storm,  H.  Stewart  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  I  have 
lived  for  nearly  35  years  on  a  farm  through 
which,  during  most  of  the  year,  runs  a 
little  spring  brook,  and  have  many  times 
noticed  the  phenomenon  mentioned.  In 
going  and  coming  from  my  work,  I  have 
had  occasion  to  cross  this  little  brook 
many  times,  and,  during  a  dry  season, 
have  often  seen  it  dry  when  going  to 
work,  but,  on  returning,  after  a  few 
hours,  no  rain  having  meanwhile  fallen, 
I  have  seen  the  water  a  couple  of  inches 
deep.  This  rise  I  have  noticed  to  be  al¬ 
most  invariably  followed  by  rain. 
Go  to  the  Ant— Thou  Slugg-ard. 
W.  G.,  Blair  County,  Pa. — While  we 
learn  much  from  our  agricultural  col¬ 
lege  and  experiment  station  professors 
who  are  continually  calling  to  us  to 
“look  here”  at  this  point  or  to  “look 
there  ”  at  that,  and  often  with  more  or 
less  gain  of  useful  knowledge,  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  we  should  get  nearer  to 
the  kernel  of  success  by  making  a  suffi¬ 
cient  study  of  the  means  by  which  the 
despised  Chinese,  in  California  and  else¬ 
where,  excel  so  much  in  the  certainty 
and  quality  of  the  crops  they  grow  for 
marketing.  China,  although  so  old  a 
country  and  so  vastly  populous,  and 
without  our  ordinary  means  of  collect¬ 
ing  manure,  because  but  few  animals 
are  kept  there,  yet  has  to  go  abroad 
neither  for  manures  nor  for  food.  We,  on 
the  contrary,  on  new  soil,  soon  render 
what  we  clear  completely  unproductive, 
excepting  in  favored  districts.  While 
we  do  this,  and  leave  the  soil  we  have 
( Continued  on  next  page.) 
If  you  name  Tiie  R.  N.-Y.  to  our  advertisers  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  of  prompt  replies  and  right 
treatment. 
Clifford  Blackman. 
Eyesight 
SAVED. 
“  My  boy  had  Scarlet 
Fever  when  4  years  old, 
leaving  him  very  weak 
and  with  blood  pois¬ 
oned  with  ennker. 
His  eyes  became  in- 
Uamed,  his  sufferings 
were  intense,  and  for  7 
weeks  he  could  not  even 
open  his  eyes.  I  began 
giving  him  HOOD’S 
N  A  ItNAl*  A  KIM.  A. 
which  soon  cured  him.  I  know  it  tmved  kin 
Night,  if  not  his  very  life.”  Arrie  F.  Black¬ 
man,  2888  Washington  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
HOOD'8  PlLLS  are  the  best  after-dinner  Pills, 
assist  digestion,  cure  headache  and  biliousness. 
orPRO 
Farm-Poultry 
Fa  practical  poultry  magazine; 
.best  poultry  paper  published; 
sent  on  trial,  six  mo’s,  25c.,  or  one 
year  40c.,  if  you  mention  this  paper. 
1. 8.  Johnson  &  Co.,  2 2  Custom  House  St, 
Highly  concentrated.  Dose  small.  In  quantity  costs 
less  than  one-tenth  cent  a  day  per  hen.  Prevents  and 
cures  all  diseases.  If  you  can't  get  it,  we  send  by  mail 
post-paid.  One  pack.  25c.  Five  $1.  2  1-4  lb.  can  $1.20, 
6  cans  $5.  Express  paid.  Testimonials  free.  Send  stamps  or 
cash.  Farmers’  Poultry  Guido  (price  25c.)  free  with  $1.00 
orders  or  more.  1.  S.  JOUKSON  &  CO.,  Boston,  Mass. 
AND 
GEM 
S  T  E  EL 
roWER 
When  furnished  with  Ornphlto  Rearing*, I 
the  OEM  WIND  ENGINE  requires  no/ 
oiling,  no  climbing  of  towers,  no  hinged  or 
frail-jointed  towers,  and  practically  no  atten¬ 
tion,  yet  is  guaranteed  more  durable  than! 
other  Mills  that  are  oiled.  Truly  a  GKM, 
and  worth  its  weight  in  gold.  The  i 
GEM  STEEL  TOWER  is  made  trian-1 
gular  in  shape,  the  corners  and  girts  being/ 
of  angle  steel ;  the  brace*  are  steel  rods,  each  / 
of  which  can  be  firmly  drawn  up,  inde-i 
pendent  of  the  other.  It  combines  beauty,] 
strength,  durability  and  simplicity  to  the] 
greatest  degree,  and  is  much  more  ca«il 
erected  than  a  tower  made  of  wood. 
We  aUo  manufacture  the  Celebrated  J 
HALLADAY  Standard  Pump¬ 
ing  and  Geared  Wind  Mills,  the] 
Standard  VANELESS  and  U.  S.  f 
SOLID  WHEEL  Wind  Mills.. 
Pumps,  Tanks,  HORSE  HAY] 
TOOLS,  and  the  most  com-f 
plete  line  of  WIND  MILL/ 
SPECIALTIES. 
Bend  for  catalogue.  Address 
U.  S.  WIND  ENGINE  & 
PUMP  CO., 
BATAVIA,  ILL.,  U.S.A,' 
branch  offices:  I  depots: 
Omaha,  Neb.;  Kansas  City,  Mo.  |  Boston,  Mass.;  Ft.  Worth,  Tex. 
COLUMBIA 
CTCFL  Wind 
O  I  CkL  nvEiii 
New  In  Principle.  Beautiful  In  Appearance. 
POWERFUL  IN  OPERATION. 
Contains  COVERED 
INTERNAL  GEAR. 
UNEQUALED 
Pumping  Wind  Mills. 
We  solicit  the  closest  in¬ 
vestigation.  Also 
COLUMBIA 
Steel  Derricks, 
IronTurlilnr  Wind 
Knginm,  BBCHEYE 
Force  »V  I, iff  Pumps* 
Tank  A  Spray  Pomps. 
It I'CHEYK  A  GLOBE 
Lami  Mowers,  Iron 
[  Fencing;,  Cresting;,  Ac. 
Write  for  circulars. 
MAST,  FOOS  &  CD..  SPRINGFIELD.  0. 
IDEAL  In  Name 
and  In  Fact. 
WIND  MILL 
and  Three  Post 
STEEL  TOWER. 
The  LATEST  and  BEST. 
Qjnnp  8-3-13  ft.  Geared. 
OHCd  10  und  13  ft.  Ungeared. 
TOWERS,  80,  40,  50  Jfc  60-ft. 
Mills  with  or  without  graphite 
bearings. 
STOVER  MFC.  CO.. 
5J3  liivor  St.,  FREEPORT,  III. 
A  Small 
T0RESIIIS8  MACIIISE 
Of  great  capacity  for 
Light  Power. 
EVERY 
FARMER 
HIS  0\ 
THRESHIH 
We  make  a 
•f  Uor»e  Powers. 
with  less  help  and  p 
than  ever  before, 
for  frtt  Illua.  Catal< 
BELLE  01TI  MFC.  CO.,  Eacine, 
THE 
ENSILAGE 
FODDER  CUTTERS 
-  AND- 
CARRIERS 
Arc  the  Best. 
Large  and  Complete  line 
of  Machine*  adapted  to. 
all  oses.  1892  Catalogue  [ 
embrace*  Treatise  on  1 
silage  and  Plans  for  Silo.  _  _ 
riiK#SLLVEU  MFG.  VO.,  SALl 
lYIACH’Y--'  /(lnds'  Water,  Gas,  Oil, 
W  Cl  I  III  H  0  n  |  Mining,  Ditching,  Pumping, 
■  ■  [[I  Wind  and  Steam:  Heating  Boilers,  &c  Ml, 
■  ■  “  ■■  y°u  i0.  send  25c.  for  Encyclopedia ,  o) 
{y0°EnA™'"gs-  Jhe  American  Well  Works,  Aurora, III, 
also,  Chicago,  Ill.;  Dallas,  Tex.;  Sydney,  N.  S.  W, 
