i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
767 
weeks that these horses have been standing practically 
idle. A had road, yon see, is an expensive thing. 
“It is expensive not alone to the farmers of your county > 
but to the farmers of the entire country. The average 
rainfall in the United States is something over 40 inches 
per year. The dirt road absorbs these 40 odd inches of 
water, freezes and thaws, dries, pulverizes, changes from 
paste to powder and back again from powder to paste, and 
for weeks at a time is practically impassable. Farm 
traffic is tied up. You have produce to sell, purchases to 
make, grain to grind, timber to haul, bills to collect and 
obligations to meet, but all these must wait because your 
only avenue of travel is taking its annual soak. A dozen 
times a day you look out of your barn door 
with the hope of seeing some struggling 
vagrant of whom you can inquire, ‘ How 
is the road ? ’” 
Now we ask you “man to man,” is this 
picture a true one or not ? If it is, do you 
think such business pays ? 
The last picture that we have to present 
this week is shown at Fig. 274. This tells 
the story of a rut, which is abo t the worst 
thing you can have on a road. These ruts 
were caused entirely by narrow - tired 
wheels. On this point Mr Potter says : 
“Next to water, nothing is so destructive 
of a good road surface as a heavy vehicle 
running on narrow wheels. It has been 
proven over and over again that wheels 
with 4 yi inch tires cause only one-balf the 
wear on a road that results from the use of 
wheels with 2% inch tires. It used to be 
the rule in England to make the tire one 
inch wide for every 1,000 pounds of load or 
vehicle; that is, if the vehicle and load 
weighed two tons, four inch tires would be 
used ; but it was not found profitable to 
increase the width much beyond 4% inches, 
except in cases where wagons were used 
without springs, when they were sometimes 
made as wide as six inches. 
“ You ought to treat this matttr of 
wheel tires as you do other things in 
which you are interested, and give it 
the same sensible consideration that you apply to the 
things about your home. When you built your house you 
commenced by putting do vn a 16 inch stone foundation, 
and on that you built the framework of the superstruc¬ 
ture. You made the foundation broad to prevent the 
settling of a load which was intended to remain unmoved 
as long as it should last, and yet you should know that the 
weight per inch upon that foundation is less than one- 
quarter the weight per inch upon your narrow wheel tire 3 
wheD you go to market with a heavy load, to say nothing 
of the fact that your wagon carries a moving load, and is 
therefore much more likely to disturb the foundation than 
though it remained quiet. Your wheel tire is designed to 
toucu the ground at one point only, and when it is pressed 
into the earth so as to increase this point 
of contact, the power required to move a 
wagon and its load increases very rapidly. 
You should use wide-tired wheels, and 
should encourage your neighbors to use 
them also. 
“Another thing in connection with the 
use of dirt roads is this: the ruts in every 
dirt road are multiplied and made deeper 
and more troublesome simply because the 
hind wheels of the ordinary farm wagon 
‘track’ the front ones; that is, when the 
wagon goes straight ahead a small rut is 
made by the front wheels, and the hind 
wheels coming along in the same track 
enlarge and deepen the rut. Now you may 
easily see that if the hind wheels were 
placed a couple of inches farther apart than 
the front wheels, they would tend to rub 
out or wear off the edges of the ruts made 
by the front wheels, and the result would 
be that the roads would sooner become 
smooth and passable. You never saw 
wagon ruts at a turn in the road, did you ? 
The reason of this is that when a wagon is 
turning the hind wheels do not follow in 
the tracks made by the front wheels.” 
Next week we will try to give some advice about road 
maki g. _ 
A MICHIGAN CELERY FARM. 
A CROP WORTH $750 PER ACRE. 
Gold in an old swamp; a celery fertilizer wanted; must 
they try a rotation? They “follow where the White 
Plume leads;" blanching with a roof; shovel plow for 
ridging; no work, for boys; no use for commission 
men; irrigation by horse power; figures that talk. 
A Big Michigan Industry. 
How best to grow celery is a problem which has puz¬ 
zled the brain of the average market gardener for many 
years. The old English way of planting it in trenches and 
“ handling it,” drawing the earth about the stalks and 
firming it, was too laborious and expensive for the 
American gardener, who is nothing if not progressive. 
Being in Michigan on other business, a representative of 
The Rural decided to take a run to Tecumseh, where 
celery growing is a prominent industry, and see what he 
could of interest to Rural readers. The following notes 
will be found interesting: 
The pioneer in the business at Tecumseh was Mr. H. L. 
Stewart. About 18S3 he bought a tract oLmuck land, 
about 100 acres in extent. It was then overgrown with 
brush and berry bushes with here and there a tree. It had 
originally been a lake, but had gradually filled up with 
decaying vegetation. Old residents remember when they 
fished from a boat for bullheads over a large part of it. 
Mr. Stewart paid $33 33 per acre and the conservative 
farmers of that section thought he was crazv to put so 
much money in an apparently worthless muck swamp. 
The sequel showed that he whs entirely sound in his 
judgment. To-day that tract of land is valued at almost 
any price from $250 to $400 per acre, and it is one of the 
most beautiful sights the Rural representative has ever 
seen. 
Mr. Stewart’s success was phenomenal and he made 
money rapidly. Last year he relinquished the business to 
A BIG LOAD OF EMPTY WAGON. Fig. 273. 
the Prairie Side Celery Company, the members of which 
are his son. L. B. Stewart, J. M. Bittman and P. W. A. 
Fitzsimmons. The first and last named are the active 
members of this flourishing concern. Mr. Stewart, Sr., 
is still in the celery business, having an interest in an 
adjoining tract upon which 20 acres of celery were culti¬ 
vated the present season. There are numerous smaller 
growers in this section, with from five to twenty acres 
apiece. As we neared the farm about three miles from 
Tecumseh, the odor of celery was borne on the wind pro¬ 
claiming a la»-ge crop. 
The Manure and Fertilizers. 
“How many acres of celery have you cultivated this 
season ? ” said the Rural correspondent. 
“Thirty five,” was the answer. 
“ What do you use as a fertilizer ? ” 
“ Stable manure, when we can get It. We are generally 
able to get a supply. We have used dried blood and some 
other commercial fertilizers, but not with satisfactory re¬ 
sults. Our manufacturers of commercial fertilizers may 
and probably will devise some special fertilizer for celery, 
which will fill the bill. It will be most desirable on ac¬ 
count of the ease with which it can be handled, and its 
freedom from weed and grass seeds.” 
“ When do you apply the manure ? ” 
“ In the winter, largely, when we haul it from the vil¬ 
lage and spread it broadcast over the soil. We use about 
eight or ten tons to the acre.” 
Crop Rotations: Solis; Varieties. 
“ Do you find any rotation in crops necessary t ” 
“ We have not, as yet. We have grown celery on this 
land for eight consecutive years, and it does just as well 
now as ever, both in quantity and quality. It may become 
necessary in the future to plant an occasional crop of 
some other sort.” 
A walk out into the fields showed the soil to be pur3 
muck—decayed vegetable growth. There seem to be no 
traces of mineral of any kind in it—no grit or loam. It is 
just muck and muck only. When dry, it will burn like 
peat. As stated before, this particular location was once 
a lake. Fifteen or 20 years ago, a “ county ditch ” was 
dug through it, and this made drainage possible, by means 
of lateral ditches emptying into the larger ditch. In sea¬ 
sons of ordinary rainfall, the water stands in the ditches 
about two or 2% feet below the surface. The muck varies 
in depth from three to more than 20 feet. A few years 
ago about 40 wells were dng on fhe tract for furnishing 
water for irrigating, and the depth of the muck was ascer¬ 
tained as above. In some places it is underlaid with shell 
marl, resembling somewhat the green sand marl of 
southern New Jersey. So far as casual experiments go, 
this marl has not proven to have any value as a fertilizer, 
though some think that it would be valuable if it were 
ground or pulverized.” 
“I see this celery Is White Plume, ’ 
said the Rural man. “ Do you grow 
other varieties ? ” 
“Only by way of experiment. We find 
the White Plume answers all purposes 
best.” 
Boards for the Early Crop. 
“ When do you plant your celery ?” 
“ Our first seeds are planted in a hot-bed 
about February 20, and the next about 
April 1.” 
“ When do you set the plants out in the 
open ground ?” 
“We set our first in the open ground 
about May 1, and our last about July 20, 
setting lots at intervals between these 
dates.” 
“ How deep do you plow ?” 
“ About four inches. The ground is so 
soft and mellow that deep plowing is 
wholly unnecessary.” 
“At what distances do you set the celery 
apart ?” 
“ The drills or rows are three feet apart 
and the plants about 5>£ or 6 inches apart 
in the rows. As a rule, the plants are 
taken directly from the hot-bed, not trans¬ 
planted from beds to boxes and then to the 
fields.” 
“ What methods of cultivation do you 
employ ?” 
“Two. Early celery, that is celery for early marketing, 
is set on top of the ground. The cultivator is put through 
it once or twice and the rake and hoe finish the task of 
keeping the weeds down. No hilling Is done; level culture 
only is used. When the plants are 14 or 15 Inches high, 
they are boarded for blanching. A board a foot in width, 
is shoved up close to the row on each side, then raised up 
on the edge; the tops are drawn within two inches of 
each other and held in place by wire hooks at each end of 
the board. This work is very quickly done and no other is 
needed for blanching this kind of celery. The boards shut 
out the light and the work goes rapidly on. The crop Is 
blanched sufficiently for market in from 12 to 21 days. The 
hotter the weather, the faster it will blanch.” 
“When do you make your first shipment 
to market ?” 
“About the first of August. Some try 
to get it in market early in July, but the 
practice is not general.” 
Shovel Plow for the Late Crop. 
“ Wbat methods do you pursue with your 
main crop, or later celery ?” 
“The ground is furrowed about four 
inches deep and the plants are set. It Isn’t 
handled at all. The earthing up is done 
with a shovel plow. Come out and see how 
It is done. This particular work is now 
going on and you may find it interesting.” 
We started out in a part of the planta¬ 
tion where a horse and shovel plow were 
earthing up the celery. The great mel¬ 
lowness of the ground made the work easy 
and it was very effectually done. On each 
side of the plow, an extension or wing had 
been added, which threw the soil close to 
the plants on either side. On looking at 
the rows after the plow had gone through, 
one could hardly believe the work had been 
done without the intervention of hand labor. 
But such was the case, and the last serious obstacle to the 
successful and economical cultivation of this delightful 
vegetable seemed to have beeu removed. The shovel plow 
work is generally repeated later—twice being sufficient. 
The first work is done about September 20, and the last 
later in the season. A good workman will set out about 
5,000 plants per day. In this work no tools save those pro¬ 
vided by nature are used. With a pan full of plants, the 
operator walks on his knees, astride the row and sets the 
plants with his hands. 
Marketing and Handling; a Loose Roof. 
“Where do you market your celery ? ” said the Rural 
representative. 
“ At various points from New York city in the east to 
Kansas City in the west. The early celery is all shipped by 
express and refrigerator cars.” 
“ How many do you employ in your business.” 
“ The number varies from 10 to 33 hands. We employ no 
boys—all the labor in the fields is done by men. Women 
are employed in the trimming and packing department 
only.” 
“ I notice many indications of celery stalks and leaves on 
the ground in the rows where the celery has been dug. 
What are these ? ” 
“ All celery which is shipped without being previously 
stored, is dug with a spade. It is trimmed in the fields, all 
the outside stalks and those not properly blanched being 
A SUCCESSFUL RUT FACTORY. Fig, 274. 
