476 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 15 
succession, Limas climbing those poles among the 
cucumbers, almost every kind of vegetable that can 
be grown in this locality, in quantities sufficient to 
supply a family three times the size of ours. Here at 
the end of the kitchen I had a large bed of mustard 
which I grew for my early chicks.” 
“ Did they eat it ?” 
“ Eat it! Well I should say so ! They ate all that 
grew on these two large beds. After the mustard was 
gone I pulled grass and chickweed for them.” 
Hens Can’t Waste Time on Chicks. 
“ How many hens do you keep ? ” 
“ I had 22 last fall and winter, and all through the 
winter when eggs were so high I sold three dozens a 
week, beside what we used in the Louse. I have only 
11 hens now.” 
“ What did you feed in winter ? ” 
“ Wheat and scraps from the table.” 
“ IIow do you manage to raise so many chickens ? ” 
“ I set the hens in boxes and see that they are well 
fed and not molested until the eggs hatch. As scon 
as the chicks are dry I remove them and shut the hen 
up a few days, until she forgets them, when she is let 
out, and in a short time begins to lay again.” 
“ Don’t you allow her to raise the chicks ? ” 
“ No, sir ! I can’t afford to have a hen wasting her 
time raising chickens. I can raise them much better 
myself than any hen can.” 
“You use a brooder, I suppose ? ” 
“ No, I have no brooder. I keep tl em in a box or 
basket in the house a few days, until they learn to eat 
and look out for themselves ; then they are placed in 
this little pen under this shed. Here they remain 
until large enough to fly out, when they are removed 
to that large pen fenced with lath.” 
The little pen mentioned was about 4x8 feet square, 
and was made of four boards 12 inches wide, set on 
edge and tacked at the corners. In this pen was a 
box, something like a boot and shoe box. lying on its 
side, which served as a “brooder.” When I looked 
in there were between 50 and 00 little fellows, rang¬ 
ing from a few days to four weeks old, all cuddled 
together and looking as cozy as one could imagine. 
“ I should think they would get chilled to death 
in this open shed this cold weather.” 
“ Oh, there is no danger of that. It is always dry 
here, and during all that miserably cold, rainy 
weather we had this spring I had chickens in here 
and never lost one. They cuddle together and keep 
each other warm, and as they never get damp they 
are never chilled. Dampness kills 50 chicks where 
cold kills one. In cold weather 1 keep that box covered 
with a piece of old carpet or something similar, raising 
just a little corner of it during the day so the chicks 
can run in and out, and they seem to be as comfortable 
as one could wish. I can raise 100 chickens in these 
two little pens with less trouble than I could raise 10 
with the assistance of a hen. When chicks have no 
mother hen to take care of them they quickly learn to 
take care of themselves, and very often they seem to 
exercise 50 per cent more sense and discretion than 
any hen I ever saw. When a storm comes on I know 
they are here, and that they are safe from harm. If 
they were out with a hen I would be unable to even 
guess where they were, but I could safely bet that 
some of them would never come home ! ” 
“ Do you lose any chickens by rats ? ” 
“No, but cats killed a few this spring. After we 
killed a few of the cats, however, all trouble from that 
source ceased.” 
A stranger meeting Mrs. Thompson on the street or 
at church would never even dream that she ever dab¬ 
bled in the soil. She has a quiet, easy, self-possessed, 
dignified appearance which instantly impresses one 
with the fact that she is a well educated, refined lady, 
and one who possesses a degree of steadiness and 
capability sufficient to enable her to carry to a success¬ 
ful issue anything she undertakes. I commend her 
method of raising chickens to May Maple’s cousin 
Elsie (page 418), and to all other wide-awake members 
of the Rural family. fred. grunhy. 
Christian County, Ill. 
BAGGING WILL NOT PREVENT ROT. 
0. J. B., Petersburg, 111. —1. Is bagging a sure preven¬ 
tive of rot in grapes ? 2. What size bags should be 
used, and how are they best fastened on ’? 3. IIow 
large should the grapes be before they are put on ? I 
had about 20 varieties of grapes last year, and they all 
rotted except the Delaware and Early Victor, which 
were free from it. 
Ans.— 1. No, bagging does not prevent rot, but 
bagged grapes rot less than those exposed. 2. Use 
smaller bags for small bunches like the Delaware ; 
larger ones for bunches like the Concord, Eaton, etc., 
measuring (3x9 inches. We use pins to fasten them, cut¬ 
ting a slit in the middle of each side to admit the leaf 
stalk. 3. J ust as soon as they are well set. 
FROM THE WORLD’S FAIR. 
Ready at last; plenty of places to board ; fakir methods 
of the managers ; horticultural and fruit displays. 
[EDITORIAL, CORRESPONDENCE.] 
The great fair at Chicago is probably as near com¬ 
pletion as it ever will be—near enough to suit the 
most fastidious tastes or the most exacting sightseers. 
In a concern of such great extent, there will neces¬ 
sarily be continuous additions and subtractions and 
changes, which at times give it an unfinished air, but 
it is practically completed to-day. Of its immensity 
in every department there is no room for question, 
and it is as complete in detail as it is great in extent. 
Intending visitors who may desire to make their 
stay as inexpensive as possible, may rely upon secur 
ing comfortable rooms, without board, at SI per day 
for short periods, or if they desire to remain for a 
month or more, they can be had for $20 a month. 
Very comfortably furnished rooms at the latter figure 
are to be had in almost every part of the city, vffiich 
are easily reached by surface or elevated railways. 
Restaurants abound everywhere, and one may T've in 
them as cheaply as he pleases, or, on the other hand, 
he may make his living expensive enough for the 
deepest pocketbook. Chicago, in its zeal for business, 
has furnished ample accommodations for all who may 
come, and the general impress’on is that it has largely 
overdone the room business. There are thousands 
and thousands of unoccupied rooms in hotels and 
private houses to-day, many of which are likely to 
remain unoccupied during the remainder of the sea¬ 
son. Restaurants on the Fair Grounds have some¬ 
what toned down in their prices, and the charge of 
extravagance can no longer be held against them. 
Ore may get a mid-day meal upon the grounds now at 
very reasonable rates, or he may bring his luncheon 
with him still cheaper. 
In the Horticultural Department, among the new 
fru ! ts to be seen are this year’s grapes from Texas, 
with strawberries, currants, cherries and gooseberries 
from a dozen different States. Apples are growing 
somewhat scarce, New York being still in the lead 
with about 75 varieties in her display. 
The dairymen have had a particularly unfortunate 
condition of affairs prevailing in their department. 
There was to have been a large competitive display of 
butter and cheese in June, but the fair authorities 
utterly failed in providing the necessary refrigerator 
plant, and although the exhibits poured in in large 
numbers from different dairy sections, no facilities for 
keeping them in condition were furnished and in de¬ 
spair, the various managers of these exhibits were 
obliged to hustle off into the market and dispose of 
them for what they could get rather than have them 
spoil on their hands. The fair officials are now strain¬ 
ing every nerve to be in readiness for the next exhibit 
and it is hoped they may be successful, but the failure 
to provide the necessary refrigeration in the first 
place will doubtless have its influence on later ex¬ 
hibits. 
The Columbian Exposition is a gigantic paradox ; 
infinitely large in conception, magnificent in its op¬ 
portunities for display and with a list of exhibits far 
surpassing that of any previous exposition. It should 
have heen the grandest and most beneficent affair of 
its kind ever on earth. On the other hand, we have a 
management which seems bent on prostituting every 
force at its command toward simple money-getting, 
and murmurs long, loud, deep and continuous, are 
heard from exhibitors on all sides. They have been 
treated as if they were enemies of the exposition in¬ 
stead of being its main support. They have had all 
sorts of obnoxious regulations applied to them and 
money has been extorted from them by every possible 
means. A few days since notice was served on ex¬ 
hibitors that the number of guards in the various 
buildings was about to be reduced and that exhibi¬ 
tors must employ watchmen to protect them, as the 
exposition authorities decline to be responsible for 
the safety of exhibits. They were further notified 
that watchmen would be furnished by the authori¬ 
ties at $2.50 per day. Inquiry of the guards shows that 
they receive $2 per day. This fitly illustrates the policy 
of the management. Not only do they want exhibi¬ 
tors to pay for police protection, but they want to 
make a profit on it, besides! This is only one of a 
score of similar fakir methods which have been ap¬ 
plied to the exhibitors, who by all the rules of cour¬ 
tesy and of fair management should receive every 
favor possible for the authorities to bestow. 
Intending visitors should try to arrange for a six 
days’ visit at least, and even then they can give but a 
very cursory examination of this most wonderful ex¬ 
position. It would be wise for them before going to 
make up their minds as to which departments they 
are the most anxious to study, and to give these the 
bulk of their time. In a week’s visit one must not 
expect to attend the lectures, conferences and meetings 
of the various associations, but he must attend strictly 
to sightseeing, and in that time he can see the whole 
passably well. If one has more time at command, it 
would be desirable to arrange for utilizing it. 
Fresh vegetables of this season’s growth have been 
shown only by the State of New York. Most of these 
have been from the State Experiment Station at 
Geneva, which has to-day on its shelves a very mag¬ 
nificent showing of lettuce and green peas. Doubtless 
other States will enter into the contest at a later date. 
It is a most expensive feature to maintain owing to 
the difficulty of keeping the exhibits fresh. In the 
course of two or three days at most they become 
spoiled, and then new ones must take their places. 
For the past 10 days, strawberries have been ve- y 
much in evidence. The best and finest exhibits have 
been made by New Jersey. The earlier shipments 
were received in bad order, owing to the unpardon¬ 
able delays insetting them. From 3 to 4 % days were 
consumed in getting berries from New York and New 
Jersey. Of course, most of them were unfit for show¬ 
ing. Later the expresses have done better, and we 
now get them in from 36 to 40 hours and in good con¬ 
dition. Mr. L. J. Farmer, of Pulaski, N. Y., recently 
showed 62 varieties of strawberries in one shipment. 
His exhibit attracted a vast amount of attention from 
horticulturists and others. Mr. Myer, of Columbia 
County, Mr. T. J. Dwyer, of Orange, and Mr. W. F. 
Taber, of Poughkeepsie, as well as the State Station 
at Geneva, have also shown fine fruit. From the sta¬ 
tion this morning we had five varieties of strawber¬ 
ries, about 20 of green gooseberries, some currants, 
etc. E. G. F. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
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not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
JERSEYMEN ON SCARLET CLOVER. 
THE QUESTIONS. 
If you have ever grown Scarlet clover, will you be kind enough to 
tell us something about it from your own experience ? 
1. When do you And the best time to sow it ? 2. Is It best to seed it 
alone or with other grass and grain ? 3. Is It practical to sow it In the 
corn at the last cultivation ? 4. llo you use It chiefly for green ma¬ 
nuring or for hay ? What sort of bay does It make ? 5. In your opinion 
how far north will It thrive, and what changes will It make In a rota¬ 
tion when used In place of the common lied V 
Chiefly for Green Manuring. 
1. July 15 to September 1. 2. Alone. 3. Yes; but 
the seed should be brushed in. I sow it in the orchard 
with Breed’s Universal weeder. 4. I use it exclusively 
for green manuring. 5. I can’t say how far north it 
will thrive. It does well here, in Middlesex County, 
N. J., and I shall sow 35 acres this summer, mostly in 
orchards. I should not use Scarlet clover in place of 
the common Red for anything but green manuring. I 
sow no grain, but seed to Timothy and Red clover after 
potatoes any time from July to September, but prefer 
not to do so later than August 15, always covering the 
seed, and I have had good success every time. I have 
heavy hay this season where I seeded last August. 
J. M. WHITE. 
Do Not Sow With Grain. 
I have sown Scarlet or Crimson clover for the past 
two seasons, last year on 75 acres or more of sandy 
soil. I sowed it partly in corn at the last farming, 
about 10 pounds per acre. It produced by June 1 this 
year a good crop of excellent clover hay in ample time 
to allow me to plow the ground again for a crop of 
corn this season. I sowed it mostly in pear orchards, 
leaving a strip three or four feet wide in the tree rows 
to allow of the early cultivation of the trees in that 
space. I put it in mostly with a view of saving the 
seed. The growth of clover was good ; but a few days 
of extremely hot, dry weather when it was in bloom 
reduced the crop of seed very materially. In saving 
the seed most of the growth was left on the land and 
plowtd in for the benefit of the trees. I prefer to sow 
in August, but it may be sown two weeks earlier or 
later with good results. I think it would thrive further 
north than New Jersey, as the past cold winter did not 
appear to injurefit in this latitude—Burlington County, 
N. ,1. I consider it very valuable for green manuring, 
as well as for early pasture, the silo or hay, but do 
not think it advisable to sow it with any grain, or 
with a view of rotation in the place of other sorts of 
clever or grass. j. s. collins. 
Would Try It in Central New York. 
I try to sow Scarlet clover seed at the first conven¬ 
ient opportunity between July 1 and September 1. I 
consider it best not to seed it with some other grass or 
with grain. I am told that many farmers sow it in 
their corn at the last cultivation. My own practice is 
to wait until the corn is in tassel, sow the seed and 
harrow in with a small smoothing harrow. I use it 
