2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
TAN. 3 
FARMING IN SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA. 
During the enormous development of the iron and other 
industries which has been going on for some years, the 
character of the farming in Southwestern Virginia has 
been gradually undergoing a change to meet the new con¬ 
ditions. Hitherto this section has been almost exclusively 
devoted to grazing, for which it is peculiarly adapted by 
Nature. There being no nearby markets and the railway 
charges prohibiting shipment to more distant ones, little 
attention had, till within a comparatively recent period, 
been given to such crops as occupy the market garden. 
Now the springing up of new towns and the rapid increase 
of population of older ones along the line of the Norfolk 
and Western Railroad have given us a home market for 
nearly all kinds of farm produce, and the area devoted to 
vegetables and other products is yearly increasing to sup¬ 
ply the increasing demand. The crops grown are as yet 
such as belong more to the farm than to the market garden 
proper, being those which require the least care, cultiva¬ 
tion and labor. The market for snap beans,lettuce, salads, 
and all closely planted vegetables is still too limited to 
make their growing on a large scale profitable. Early 
cabbage, potatoes and sweet corn are extensively planted, 
and if retailed by the producer bring cash. It is almost 
impossible to sell anything in bulk for cash, because the 
company and other stores wish to make double profits, and 
will not buy when money must be paid out. In this way 
they sell their goods to the farmer at a profit for his pro¬ 
duce and then sell the produce to the consumer at an 
advance. This answers very well when the farmer actually 
needs the goods, and they are sold to him at a reasonable 
priceand of good quality. But unfortunately this is not 
always the case His necessities are taken advantage of 
and shoddy goods are imposed upon him at the prices of 
prime articles. If he wants money, he is under the neces¬ 
sity of driving about from house to house and selling his 
products in a small way. 
Early potatoes have been, perhaps, the most profitable 
crop this season. They are large enough to begin harvest¬ 
ing about the last of June or the first of July, when they 
sell readily for from 40 to 50 cents per peck. As they 
approach maturity, the price goes down till they are closed 
out at 50 cents a bushel. The average price obtained is 
not far from 75 cents a bushel, which gives a gross sum of 
from $75 to $100 per acre. This season, on account of an 
early drought which occasioned a very short crop, potatoes 
have not been at any time much below 75 cents a bushel, 
and can now be sold in bulk for cash at that figure. They 
are retailed at $1. The market for early cabbages is 
limited, but as the earliest bring five cents a pound, they 
are very profitable if not too largely planted. Besides, 
cabbages from Norfolk and Tennessee are brought here by 
the dealers earlier than those grown in the vicinity. The 
home grown, however, being fresher and in better condi¬ 
tion are more salable. Sweet corn for roasting ears sells 
readily through the season at from 10 to 15 cents per dozen 
ears, which will give $75 to $80 per acre. As this is a crop 
which can be put to other uses if not sold, it can be pretty 
largely planted. The ears are better than field corn for 
fattening swine and the dried fodder is excellent for cattle, 
especially milch cows. 
My own money crops for years have been potatoes and 
melons, to both of which my soil is well adapted. The po¬ 
tatoes—I have heretofore grown only late varieties—have 
been shipped a distance of 100 miles, and have usually 
netted me 40 to 50 cents a bushel. As I seldom obtain less 
than 250 bushels per acre, they pay me better than other 
A STEER TEAM. 
A subscriber in Manitoba sends us the following note: 
“ My team consists of three steers, which in this country 
are worked in harness. My collars are made of poplar, 
with a stout hame strap at the bottom, and a piece of wood 
across the top, hinged, in front of the hame, on three- 
eighth-inch carriage bolts; I use good leather lines and 
bits in their mouths. This summer they worked on the 
mower and rake and cut 16 acres with a heavy binder on 
rough ground. I believe this team is better for any 
farmer than horses which are not strictly first-class. 
Some may say that cattle were not intended for bits, but 
An Ox Collar. Fig. 3. 
if they look inside of the mouth of a steer, they will learn 
better. Mine can eat, drink and ruminate quite well. Of 
course I feed grain when working hard, but when idle 
they are cheaply kept.” 
A picture of the collar is shown at Fig. 3. This is a 
front view, A A representing mortised holes for the traces, 
keyed in front. Fig. 4 shows the head and shoulders of an 
ox with the collar, traces and lines in place. Breeching and 
“belly bands” are never used. The trace should draw 
from a point about halfway between the points of the 
shoulder. We do not know what breeds of steers make 
Harness for Oxen. Fig. 4. 
the best “ horses ” ; but suppose the lighter, active animals 
like Jerseys or Devons are best. The only steers near the 
Rural Grounds are Jersey grades. They are quick, active 
and sure-footed ; but of course they are not so strong as 
the heavier breeds. 
and of seed in the rows, 12 to 16 inches. The piece was 
hand-hoed twice, and received nearly level cultivation six 
times. The vines were kept free from bugs by the use of 
Paris green and water. Result: the tops were the finest I 
ever saw, but, alas 1 they were struck with blight and died 
early in August. The crop was dug by hand and meas¬ 
ured 171 bushels of large and 19 bushels of small tubers, 
and four bushels more were rotten ; total, 194 bushels on 
three quarters of an acre. The yield would have been fully 
100 bushels more had blight not killed the tops ; but for 
uniformity of size, shape and smoothness they are hard to 
beat. 
The seed, cut two eyes to a piece, consisted of salable 
White Star Potatoes, carefully saved from a small piece 
which had not blighted last year. Just across the road 
two acres were planted with small potatoes which had 
blighted last year. The vines from the seed which had not 
blighted a year ago were struck this year early in August. 
The crop from the seed which had blighted last year grew 
vigorously until frost came and killed the vines. 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. H. s. WRIGHT. 
TYPICAL SUFFOLK MARE. 
The few breeders of Suffolk horses in this country have 
lately formed an association and seem determined to push 
the merits of their breed. We hope they will do so for 
there are many qualities about the Suffolk horse that fit 
it admirably for work on American farms. We have often 
described the Suffolk. It is a “ horse bull dog ” with the 
courage, strength and endurance of the dog with none of 
its viciousness. The animal shown at Fig. 6, is a typical 
mare—a prize winner at English shows. Our engraving 
is reproduced from the London Live Stock Journal. 
PENNSYLVANIA FARMING DOES PAY. 
My experience during last season has taught me that 
farming does pay if properly and economically managed, 
and on these two points hinge all the profit and loss. 
Proper management includes more than is generally sup¬ 
posed ; for it includes a wide scope of intelligence and fore¬ 
sight both in selection and sale. When I say that farming 
does pay, I do not mean that raising cereals exclusively is 
very remunerative; but mixed farming I have proved a 
success, and having found out the right plan I shall in 
future greatly increase the account on the credit side of 
my ledger. I study the local necessities for a number of 
products and do my utmost to supply them, and these al¬ 
ways command good prices, for I always try to furnish the 
best. Economical management includes not only money 
affairs, but also many small things generally overlooked 
and deemed of no consequence by the majority. 
Since The R. N.-Y. has been booming the trench system 
so much, I concluded last spring to make an experiment, 
and prepared five acres for the purpose. I followed The 
Rural’s system with a few exceptions. I scored the field 
probably 10 inches deep and before I dropped the seed I 
filled the furrows about half full of good, rotten stable 
manure. I covered this with about two inches of soil, on 
which I dropped the seed. In addition, I used about 500 
pounds of “phosphate” per acre and gave fair to good 
cultivation. I raised about 1,350 bushels of good, solid 
potatoes and had it not been for rot I think the yield 
would have been at least 1,600 bushels. This simple little 
experiment has taught me that farming does pay 
_ W. M. BENNINGER. 
At Fig. 5,' we show another picture of our old friends 
the “ triplet steers.” These Vermont gentlemen were well 
described in The R. N.-Y. of April 12, 1890. They have 
been exhibited at the New England fairs harnessed to a 
“ chariot,” as shown in the picture. 
crops. I shall hereafter pay more attention to early 
varieties, since I can now sell them at home. 
Melons, both water and musk, sell quickly, although 
our railroad towns get them from the South in large 
quantities. The Southern melons are nearly gone before 
ours come in, and do not sell as well, because they are 
neither fresh nor of as good quality. Melon growing, 
however, has, for some years past, on account of wet 
seasons, been an extremely uncertain business, complete 
failures being not at all uncommon. If it were not for 
this—bringing invariably cash, and that 
right at home—I would prefer them even 
to potatoes as a paying crop. The returns 
per acre are from $60 to $150. 
In regard to live stock, cattle have been ‘ J 
dull and unprofitable for several years to¬ 
gether, and do not promise anything better, 
so far as now appears, in the near future. 
Our graziers have, therefore, been turning 
their attention more and more to sheep. \ 
Early lambs put into market in June and | 
July bring in good returns for the money | j . V- 
invested. Ewes are kept exclusively for 
the lambs, which are all sold. The con- f 
sequence is that ewes are hard to get, fe 
especially good ones. Lambs are sold to ■*-- - 
the shippers at from 5 to 5X cents, accord *^**£*2*^^^ 
ing to earliness, and generally a year before¬ 
hand, so uniform has been the price. Some 
farmers buy ewes to rent out, giving all the 
wool and one-half the increase for the keep. This pays 
them 75 per cent on the money invested. It is not a good 
thing for the renter, who would do much better if he 
owned his own sheep. H. L. WVSOR. 
Pulaski County, Va. 
IMPROVED POTATOES AND IRISH POLITICS. 
I have been able the past season, to give The Rural 
New-Yorker No 2 Potato a trial on Irish soil. I received 
three ppunds of the variety, which arrived in splendid con¬ 
dition. I presented two tubers to a friend, but the remain¬ 
der produced an enormous crop for me. We cut what we 
had into 92 sets, one eye to each (we usually cut to two) 
with the idea of taking all we could out for seeds. These 
were planted in a drill one foot apart, on April 7. The 
ground was previously dressed with yard manure, with a 
mixture of hen droppings, and about two 
pounds of an artificial manure with a good 
proportion of potash. In a word, they had 
food from the start, and all along, and al¬ 
though they blighted early and were at¬ 
tacked with Peronospora infestans, badly, 
which this season played such havoc with 
the crop in the south and west of the 
island, we harvested the startling weieht 
rj • • of 109 pounds of sound tubers, besides 
1 probably eight or ten per cent of diseased 
; ones some of which were rotted. 
- ■ T* 1 ® present shout of famine from blight 
ifp' - . 4 £ is by some regarded as a means of replen- 
. "I i ishing the coffers of the League with 
^ _ ; American dollars. There will undoubtedly 
BfflSKSSS&SR be varying degrees of want in some of the 
wet and over-populated districts of the 
south and west; but nothing like the dis¬ 
aster is anticipated, which was so painfully 
present in 1886 and 1879. Political parties here should 
stop for the time being the discussion of social scandals, 
and local government in Ireland, and try to convince 
the Irish farmers of a few important truths: 1. that their 
soil is potato-sick; 2. that a change of seed is a change of 
soil; 3. that early planting is most important to successful 
culture of the potato, and again that what your great au¬ 
thority, Mr. Terry, says is quite true, that a poor man can¬ 
not afford to raise two tons of Champions, and ten tons of 
weeds on any acre of land. r. w. shannon. 
County Down, Ireland. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER TRENCH SYSTEM. 
The experiment was made on three-fourths of an acre of 
measured laud, a sandy loam, on which stood a large 
chestnut tree, while a row of maple shade trees extended 
Isn’t a great deal too much fuss made about the aband¬ 
oned farms of New England ? The people of that region 
have justly won the reputation of being the shrewdest in 
the country. If they have abandoned their worn-out 
farms it is because they can do better on other land else¬ 
where, or in some other business. Nature is improving 
the condition of the land, while those who left it are top of the hills. The trenches were left open and filled as The wonderful yields obtained from small quantities of 
improving their own condition. Why then worry ? w. cultivation progressed. Distance apart of rows, three feet, the R. N.-Y. No. 2 Potato, demonstrate its possibilities. 
