THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
73 
1891 
Business. 
CELERY GROWING AT TECUM3EH, MICH. 
On page 549 of The R. N.-Y. for last year, we spoke of 
the great advances made in celery growing at Tecumseh, 
Mich. The celery from that place now ranks with that 
grown at Kalamazoo, and is destined, it is believed, to 
surpass it in popular favor. Mr. H. L. Stewart was the 
pioneer celery grower of Tecumseh. We are indebted to 
him for the following history of his very successful enter¬ 
prise : 
“ I began the business in the spring of 1883. Wanting to 
engage in some outdoor work, I cast about for an opening, 
and soon discovered that there was a demand for celery in 
my village, while none was grown here and the market 
was only poorly supplied from the Kalamazoo celery 
fields, 100 miles to the west. I also learned that other vil¬ 
lages around were dependent upon the same place for a 
supply. Here was an opening. 
“I bought 50 acres of peat land, most of which was 
covered with a dense growth of willows, wild grass, 
nettles, elders, etc. Peat lands are light and easily worked 
and hold moisture well. It was three years before I had 
thoroughly cleared all of the 50 acres and grubbed out all 
roots and plants. The first year I planted one acre, which 
gave me a net return of $400. During the first three years 
my crops were sold in the village close by. The fourth 
year I commenced to ship to New York, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Indiana, etc., by express Until I began the 
business no celery had been grown in this part of the State, 
as I was the pioneer in it, but since my fourth crop others 
have ventured, so that now there are 300 acres under 
celery within 30 miles of this point. Last year—1890--I set 
out 1,300,000 plants on 34 acres. 
“The demand for celery is still increasing, and the markets 
are but poorly supplied with a good article. I now send 
my product to one-third of the States in the Union, just 
picking the choicest markets. I send some by express, but 
the greater part goes to the large cities by refrigerator 
cars in lots of eight to ten tons at a time. The boxes in 
which the celery is shipped are made upon the spot as 
they are wanted, of pine or basswood lumber, and hold 
from 8 to 16 dozen bunches of 12 heads to the bunch, each 
bunch weighing from 7 to 10 pounds. Celery grown here 
brings a high price in all the fancy markets. It goes to 
the North, South, East and West, and has graced the table 
at the White House. 
“The tools used in its cultivation are the wheel with pegs 
in the rim, to punch holes in the ground as it is drawn 
along; in these the plants are set; scrapers, faced with 
hoop iron, draw back the earth from the rows after the 
plants are set, and also cut out the weeds when they ap¬ 
pear. The common hand hoe is also extensively used in 
dressing the crop. The Planet Jr. cultivator Is just the 
thing to use to keep the weeds subdued and the soil mellow 
between the rows, while a very broad shovel plow throws 
the earth against the rows to prevent the celery from 
freezing as cold weather approaches, and also to blanch it 
In readiness for the storehouse. A plow with a long, 
curved knife attached to the landside about three inches 
under ground, cuts the roots at gathering time. On an 
average, one man can attend to two acres, doing all the 
work.” 
CASH BUSINESS OF A VERMONT FARM. 
The R. N.-Y. proposes to give its readers a chance to 
compare the cash business done on farms in different parts 
of the country. Such comparisons will be valuable in 
many ways. A discussion of the cash or money crop of 
the farm cannot help proving useful to thoughtful men, 
while the prices of products in various parts of the country 
will serve to show just what the “ middleman’s share ” is. 
The first financial statement follows. 'The R. N.-Y. in¬ 
vites its readers every where to send it similar statements 
from their farms. 
The farm described below is in Windham County, Ver¬ 
mont—the worst “ abandoned farm ” section in New Eng¬ 
land. There are 200 acres—50 under the plow; 100 in pas¬ 
ture, and 50 in woodland. It was first settled in 1788 by the 
grandfather of the present owner, and has always been 
owned by some member of the Morse family. Regarding 
the labor problem, Mr. Morse writes ; 
“ Two of us, my son and myself, do the outdoor work, 
with an extra hand for about eight months at $18 per 
month. Wife does the inside work with help two days in 
each week. 
The Crops that Bring Cash. 
“Ten years ago we got a Moseley & Stoddard creamery 
and a barrel churn—the best we could find then—and 
made butter for customers, who took it the year round, 
and it brought in more cash than any other product of the 
farm. In 1887 we sold 2,165 pounds for $606.20, 
from eight cows ; but it kept getting lower in price 
till last June, when I dropped the price to 25 
cents to all customers who would take it the year 
round, charging as much in summer as winter. We 
have milked only six cows the past season, and up to 
December 12 we had sold for cash 1,353 pounds for $338.25. 
We pack it in 10 pound boxes and 20 or 30-pound tubs to 
suit our customers, delivered at the nearest station here. 
Our account for the year stands thus : 
Butter.. 
A surplus of maple sugar. 
Foui steers .. 
Sold for cash. 
. 27.00 
. 88,50 
Four rows in milk. 
One two-year old colt. 
. 119.00 
. 44.75 
Apples for sweet cider Jelly. 
. 246 00 
Total sold. 
Crops raised the past season to be fed on the place: 70 
tons of hay, 400 baskets of corn and fodder and 20 cart 
loads of pumpkins raised on four acres ; 75 bushels of oats 
on two acres; 17 bushels of winter rye on one acre; 268 
bushels of potatoes on one acre, to sell. I am now feeding 
40 head of neat cattle of all ages, six horses and 10 hogs, 
three of which are ready to butcher.” 
A New York Farm Statement.— The following state¬ 
ment, made by a young farmer in Tompkins County, N.Y., 
can be substantiated by facts : 
“ Some months ago The R. N.-Y. intimated that it 
would like to hear from young farmers who had made a 
success of farming. My success has not been phenomenal, 
but it has been steady, every year showing a balance on 
the right side of the ledger. My operations have run for 
eight years. During the first four—from 1882 to 1885—1 
farmed 85 acres on shares; then, in 1885, I bought and 
worked 40 acres of improved land for one year, and I have 
worked 65 acres (all my own) of improved land since. (Ow¬ 
ing to poor health, however, I have let out on shares a good 
part of my * plow ’ land since I bought it). In this way 
during the eight years I have cleared in net cash, outside 
of taxes, cost of implements, labor and all other farm ex¬ 
penses, the following amounts each year: 1882, $244; 1883, 
$343; 1884, $285; 1885, $413; 1886, $321; 1887, $274; 1888, 
$318 ; 1889, $304 ; or a total of $2,682—an average of $335 a 
year. The gross receipts, net cash, have run up to $1,120, 
$1,056, $1,023, etc. I buy many small things in New York 
city and elsewhere at wholesale prices. Hay, oats and 
sheep (for wool and mutton) have brought in most money; 
bat I have pursued very diversified farming. I have paid 
for my farm over $3,000, and have a ‘ nest egg ’ left.” 
Tobacco in Florida. —Florida farmers seem to fear that 
one-crop culture (oranges) will be carried too far. They 
desire other staple crops specially adapted to their soil and 
climate. Some of the more enthusiastic look towards to¬ 
bacco as the crop and the McKinley Bill as the agent to 
bring a better diversification of industries. The Florida 
Agriculturist says that in the 12 months ending November 
1, 1890, 156,689,000 cigars were made in Florida. A large 
proportion of the tobacco needed to make these cigars wa3 
imported. It can all be grown in Florida and a good por¬ 
tion of such tobacco as that sent from Cuba to other parts 
of the country can be grown there, too. In brief, these 
men propose to use the McKinley Bill as a means of trans¬ 
ferring the Cuban tobacco interests to Florida soil. Even 
before the war, tobacco was a profitable crop in Florida. It 
can be grown there; but suppose “reciprocity” with 
Spain again opens our ports to Cuban tobacco; what 
then ? 
“ Reducing ” Bones. —So many of our readers are ask¬ 
ing how they can utilize bones for manure that we feel 
called upon to repeat briefly what has been said before on 
this subject. No cheap machine can be bought that will 
prove economical on an ordinary farm. The fertilizer 
makers, with the strongest machinery that money can 
buy, find this bone crushing problem a very serious one. 
Treating the bones with sulphuric acid is expensive and 
dangerous for amateurs. The farmer should either bury 
the bones in the ground at some little distance from his 
vines or trees, or reduce them by burning, soaking with 
wood ashes or potash, or burying them in the manure pile. 
In burning, a bonfire is made of alternate layers of wood 
and bones with kindling at the bottom. The resulting 
ashes are mixed, the larger pieces being smashed up with 
spade or shovel. Bones to be treated with potash or man¬ 
ure should be first broken up with a sledge. In a stout 
box or barrel the pieces are mixed with alternate layers of 
wood ashes, and the whole mass is kept wet. In the man¬ 
ure treatment the pieces of bones are simply thrown on the 
horse manure and kept well covered. Both processes are 
slow and unsatisfactory. 
Prices for Canning Stock.— Here is a typical ques¬ 
tion : “ What price is usually paid at canning and evapor¬ 
ating factories for the raw material—vegetables, berries, 
and other fruits ?” B. B. 
Sangamon County, Ill. 
The prices vary in different sections and in different sea¬ 
sons, according to the yield of the various crops, the com¬ 
petition among canneries, evaporators, etc. Readers of 
The R. N.-Y. who have sent produce to these factories are 
requested to send us the prices that have been paid to them 
and the methods of measuring or weighing. We have 
sold sweet corn at 25 cents per bushel. Ears enough to 
make a bushel were husked and weighed; the whole 
weight of the load was taken and the number of bushels 
thus determined. Tomatoes sell all the way from $8 to $16 
per ton; strawberries, four cents per quart, and so on. 
Let us hear from different sections and thus compare 
notes. 
Irish Dairy Questions.— There are several dairy schools 
in Ireland where young men and women are expected to 
complete a regular course and pass an examination before 
they can “ graduate.” Wegive below the questions asked 
by the teachers at the final examination at the Glasnevin 
School. Some of our readers may like to try their hand 
at answering them to see how their knowledge of dairy 
operations compares with that of Irish dairymaids. 
“1. Give as fully as possible full directions for preparing 
cream for churning. 2. Describe the process of making 
cream cheese. 3. What is the principle upon which the 
thermometer acts ? Give the proper temperature for cream 
(1) in summer and (2) in winter churnings. 4. What is 
the cause of cream rising in milk? What is the quickest 
system of taking cream from milk next to the separator 
machine? 5. Why should cream be soured before churn¬ 
ing? 6. Describe the points of excellence in a properly 
constructed dairy. 7. Give the different results of receipts 
from milk selling at 8d per gallon; butter making at Is 
per pound; skim-milk sold at Id per gallon; cheese making 
at 9d per pound for cheese; whey value >£d; or calf value 
50s. Take a year’s milk from a cow yielding 600 gallons.” 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
A New Cultivator.—A newly patented device is 
shown at Figure 30. On page 729 of last year’s volume a 
friend had a picture of a weeding attachment to his 
Bicycle cultivator. This was only a row of stout iron 
rods to rake over the ground after the fashion of Breed’s 
weeder. The ordinary cultivator teeth are too large to 
A Proposed New Cultivator. Fig. 30. 
kill the smaller weeds. Breed’s weeder taught farmers a 
lesson—they wondered why they had not thought of 
imitating the work of human fingers before. We have 
looked for a weeder attachment on cultivators before now. 
The design shown at Figure 30 is wrong, because the 
rods are too heavy and stiff. They will simply plow 
through the soil, when they should be limber enough to 
“ give” and slide over obstacles. 
Wire-stretching Machines.— At Figures 31 and 32 
are shown two devices recently patented. Figure 31 is a 
horse power machine, mounted on a.sled so that it can be 
For Stretching Barbed Wire. Fig. 31. 
hauled across the field. The spool of barbed wire fitted 
with a crank, forms a windlass for tightening or stretch¬ 
ing, and two levers hold the wire until it is nailed to the 
posts. The other machine, Figure 32, is pulled by two 
Wire Stretcher and.IReeler. Fig. 32. 
men. It is mounted on an iron frame, the front legs being 
bent back so that when they are pushed down into the 
ground they form a brace to permit stretching. The un¬ 
reeling and stretching mechanism is too simple to need 
explanation. 
One cent will mail this paper to your friend 
in any part of the United States, Canada or 
Mexico, after you have read it and written 
your name on the corner. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Bradley Fertilizer Co., Boston, Mass.— This firm 
have just issusd a treatise which, though addressed to 
“ The Florida Orange and Vegetable Grower,” will be 
found to interest all vegetable growers wherever they live. 
This company manufacture fertilizers adapted to all kinds 
of crops, and they also sell agricultural chemicals as they 
are called—kainit, sulphate and muriate of potash, nitrate 
of soda, sulphate of ammonia, etc. All their goods are 
guaranteed to be as represented, and The R. N.-Y. assures 
its readers that in any transactions with the firm, they 
will be honorably and liberally dealt with. The company 
compound their fertilizers, with the knowledge gained by 
30 years of study and experiment and accordingly make the 
following claims: Their fertilizers have the greatest agri¬ 
cultural value. They are thoroughly mixed and finely di¬ 
vided. They are derived from the best plant food material. 
They are always uniform in quality and condition. The 
pamphlet is pleasingly illustrated and is well worthy of 
examination. 
