r89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
323 
tilizer is used, and our soil is constantly increasing in fer¬ 
tility. Our ensilage corn yields from 30 to 36 tons per acre; 
field corn, 80 to 96 bushels; cats, 60 to 70 bushels; clover 
seed, three to six bushels, and Timothy hay as high as 
four tons per acre. 
All the work on the farm during the past four years has 
been done by myself and son, aided by four horses and im¬ 
proved machinery and conveniences for handling crops 
and feeding stock. The young man is 17 years old and at¬ 
tends school from October to April. Our work has also 
included the building of the silos, setting up the ma¬ 
chinery and all the changes made in the stables, etc., hence 
there has been no expense for carpenters or masons. 
Estimate Farming at a Fair Valuation. 
To sum up the advantages of our farm life in this our 
chosen location: We have a good climate, a rich soil, pure 
water, easy access to good 
markets, schools and 
churches; we are surrounded 
by kind neighbors and enjoy 
good health every day in the 
year. We have books, papers, 
music, flowers and fruit in 
abundance, and the com¬ 
panionship of our intelligent 
and interesting friends, the 
dumb creatures which con¬ 
tribute so much to our pros¬ 
perity and happiness and 
“can do almost everything 
but talk.” 
Why not stay on the farm ; 
and if farming doesn’t pay 
why dot sn’t it ? Farmers as 
a class have a poor, mean way of estimating the profits of 
their business. They rarely compare the privileges and 
comforts which they enjoy, without expense, with the con¬ 
ditions of any other class of business men, who would call 
them luxuries and, if they did indulge in them, would do 
so at a cost that would appall the average farmer. Health 
and happiness cannot be estimated by dollars and cents; 
they are above price and not quoted in any market, and 
when we learn more equally to divide our labor between 
head, hand and heart, the nearer we will be to what our 
Maker intended we should be. P. H. MONROE. 
sity obliged him to work, and a good mother encouraged 
him to be economical and save his earnings. When nine 
years old he actually had money at interest. Little by 
little he slowly forged ahead and also secured all the edu¬ 
cation he could. In due time he got married to a true 
woman, who was as anxious as he to better their condition 
gradually, as they could. Now then, when this fine farm 
of 62 acrts, with its valuable house, was put on the market, 
this young couple had money enough save 1 and ready 
waiting for a good chance, nearly all made by the husband’s 
individual efforts, to pay cash down for it. They are the 
owners with whom I took dinner. They paid over $5,000 
for the place. They are very happy in their new home, and 
no one need fear that they will ever make the mistake the 
former owner did. They will make money and enjoy life. 
I walked over the farm with the husband and found he 
A CAUCUS OF COMING BUTTER MAKER8. Fig. 1 12 
knew too much about the possibilities of an acre to ever 
want any more land. 
It seemed to me that this little story of push and energy 
and determined economy, and their reward, would be a 
good one for the young readers of The Rural. I tell you 
a young man of 30, with a nice wife and baby, and a choice 
farm and farm-house all paid for, is to ba envied. I 
watched, boys, but did not see him use any tobacco. When 
he took me to the train the time was short, and I was a 
little anxious; but he said, with a quiet determination: “1 
will get you there,” and he did. He has evidently been in 
the habit of “ getting there ” all his life. 
THE STORY OF A MORTGAGED FARM. 
T. B. TERRY. 
One can hardly stop anywhere without finding lessons 
to be learned. Not long ago a farmer asked me to go 
home with him to dinner from a farmers’ Institute. He 
was a young man of 30, and had a fine farm of 62 acres. 
The home was very pleasant and modern and probably 
cost $2,500. It was natural to question him a little. This 
is the story of that 
farm. 
Years ago it be¬ 
longed to a man 
who by hard work 
had got it all paid 
for, new house and 
all, except $200. Cer¬ 
tainly he was to be 
congratulated a s 
well fixed. Nearly 
one-half of the farm 
is good plow land, 
and the rest excel¬ 
lent for pasture for 
sbeep or cows, and, ^ 
furthermore, much 
of it is first class 
fruit land. Again, 
it is within three 
miles of a manu¬ 
facturing city, and 
near three ott ers. 
Surely here was 
chance enough for 
one man to make 
his mark. 
But I am sorry to 
have to report that 
a fatal mistake was 
made. About 100 
acres of land next 
to his came into the 
market, a n d t h e 1 
farmer bought it, 
agreeing to give 
$7,200 for it, and, of 
course, mortgaging 
the first farm t o 
secure the payment for the second. Oh 1 what a blunder 
Instead of doing some good farming on what he owned, 
and making some money, and enjoying life, he increased 
the size of his farm beyond his capacity to manage it pro¬ 
fitably, and brought the deepest of grief on his last days. 
More, his wife signed the mortgages. You can guess the 
result. He had more than he could swing. Property 
depreciated somewhat in value, and at last both farms 
were sold and barely paid the debts. But a trifle was left 
for the poor widow, for widow she was, her husband 
having died just before the property was sold. There was 
no possible excuse for this move. It was all wrong. The 
man bad land enough, and was well fixed. One may need 
to go in debt and run risk for one farm, or for capital to 
do business on ; but the day has passed in this locality for 
doing “spiead-out” farming, adding acre to acre. 
But now another story. Thirty years ago a baby boy 
was born. His father died in two years, and the little fel¬ 
low had to fight his own way pretty early in life. Neces¬ 
NOTES ON HEDGES AND FRUITS. 
Hedges. 
I regret to say that the passion for hedges has 
dwindled to nearly nothing in America. One may travel 
all day without finding 10 rods of truly fine hedges. For¬ 
tunately our folks have pretty nearly given up planting 
them ; and, better yet, are rooting out the monstrous things 
f/i 
A GROUP OF ILLINOIS JERSEYS AT “ LILLYCACHE.” Fig. 1 13. 
once assumed to be hedges. Yet a beautiful hedge is a 
joy forever and a part of a fine landscape. I use hedges 
freely, not for road borders or fences, but for bordersof drives 
for windbreaks, for screens and to produce a good effect 
in landscape gardening. They are very effective in divid¬ 
ing our grounds, and so doubling the charm of a lovely 
spot, owing to the surprise with which on account of 
their presence we come upon it unexpf ctedly. If a fountain 
is playing in a rockery in a swale, hidden until you come 
upon it suddenly, after leaving flower lawns and shrub¬ 
beries, you get an effect lost where the whole grounds are 
open together. But for windbreaks hedges are most 
important. For material, after a good deal of experiment¬ 
ing I should confine myself almost wholly to the ever¬ 
greens—Arbor-vitse, Norway spruces and hemlocks. The 
last is the most beautiful, but for solid high screens I pre¬ 
fer in the long run the Arbor-vitae. The hemlock is most 
suitable for low hedges and for places where beauty is the 
main effect desired. It retains its green better than the 
others in winter, and in that season a bright green in con 
trastwith the general dreariness of nature, has au enliven¬ 
ing effect. 
The manner of trimming contains the main secret of 
success. Fancy treatment of evergreens is invariably dis¬ 
appointing as well as unnatural. The sides should not be 
upright nor should the top be ever flat. The shape of the 
hedge plant should follow the natural growth of a siDgle 
tree. That is, a hedge six feet high should be at least four 
feet thick at the bottom and slope easily toward the top, 
where it should not be made sharp but rounded over. No 
straight lines should be allowed. Whoever follows these 
suggestions will not have a hedge full of bunches and 
sticks. In setting a hedge invariably puddle the plants, 
and immediately mulch well with sawdust, leaves or litter, 
using no manure. The mulch should never be removed, 
but should be added to oc¬ 
casionally. If the trees to be 
planted have begun to drop 
their leaves or needles throw 
them away; they will surely 
die. An evergreen’s roots 
must never see the sun or be¬ 
come dry. Cut back two- 
thirds of the growth when 
setting, or rather when dig¬ 
ging. Use the shears exten¬ 
sively; don’t hesitate if you 
wish finally to get handsome 
hedges. Trim afterwards an¬ 
nually in April or May. Do 
not trim in winter or in late 
autumn, as the rew growth 
serves as winter clothing. If 
trimming is done too early in the spring, a late freeze 
sometimes bites the ends of the twigs and the hedge looks 
brown or burned. One trimming a year is enough. Do not 
shear too closely. 
Deciduous hedges give more trouble and less protection. 
The best is Black-thorn or Buckthorn. It should be 
trimmed twice a year. Set the plants two feet apart. 
That is close enough for evergreens, although for a couple 
of years the hedge will not look so well as if set closer. 
Nothing eats the Buckthorn and no enemies attack it. 
Mice gnaw the Gledltschia (Honey-locust); the woolly 
aphis breaks the Hawthorn, and the Osage Orange is a 
ferocious affair suitable only as a cattle hedge. Willows 
are a farce. 
The prettiest ornamental hedges are purple beeches, 
bush honeysuckles, lilacs and altbaass. I recommend the 
bush honeysuckle as a very admirable plant, growing 
rapidly, covered with bloom and afterward with berries. 
Robins prefer the berries to raspberries. 
Fruits. 
Quinces. —After a good deal of experimenting with 
quinces, I at 1 a s t 
got old-fashioned 
crops. The bushes 
must be grown as 
stocky as possible 
and kept free of 
suckers. When cold 
weather comes tie 
the limbs together 
with coarse twine 
and then wind or 
r. bind on straw or 
> hay. As the bush 03 
grow large it will 
be impossible to 
. bind the branches 
all together; then, 
" instead, tie them in 
bunches. The object 
is to slightly protect 
thebuds. The limbs 
and wood are hardy. 
' Mulch well at the 
same time with 
coarse manure or 
leaves. Last year 
my trees were load¬ 
ed with superb 
golden fruit; and 
there was no scab. 
The best sort as yet 
with us is the old 
Orange; but I ex¬ 
pect something 
grand in the way of 
improvement soon. 
The quince has in it 
the germs of a won¬ 
derful dessert fruit. 
It is well also to build a tight board fence on the north and 
west sides of the quince garden. Cultivate the trees care¬ 
fully, and grow them on high, well-drained land. If pos¬ 
sible have a south-east exposure. 
Wilding Fru.ts.— Not enough care is taken to test the 
value of wildings. Many choice fruits are thus lost. The 
majority of people do not know what to do with a fine new 
fruit when they get it. They should send samples to The 
Rural New Yorker and to competent nurserymen. The 
Seckel is a sample of what we have obtained from wild 
seedlings. Having occasion to drive by the banks of one 
of our disused canals, I saw, three years ago, about 20 or 
30 fine young pear trees growing with everything else. I 
stopped my horse, and for a quarter of a mile did some 
good trimming with my pruning knife, which I 
always carry. Last summer the man who lives adjacent, 
but does not own the land on which stood the trees, cut 
everything down. The trees were as handsome as I ever 
gavyand 10 feet high, just ready to bear. I never cut a 
