718 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October 28 
Prices and Profits for Sweet Corn. 
J. Talcott, Rome, N. Y.—In The R. 
N.-Y. for October 7, page 667, is a letter 
over the signature, G. S. P., Winslow, 
Me., giving some notes on the growing 
of sweet corn for canning purposes, the 
price obtained by Mr. Drummond, his 
methods of culture, receipts per acre, etc. 
“ Another farmer in the same town said 
his crop was poor. Ilis returns had not 
come in, but the last time he grew it he 
had received $44 per acre. One year, 
when he grew the ‘ medium,’ he took $90 
worth from an acre.” From the tenor of 
the letter referred to, I suppose the corn 
was sold to the canning company at Vas- 
salboro. The income per acre is what 
perplexes me, as well as other growers of 
sweet corn for canning purposes in this 
vicinity. The best crop that the writer 
ever beard of in this county was a trifle 
over $50, on a field of about three acres, 
as I now remember the statement made 
at a farmers’ institute a year ago. In 
conversation with two good farmers who 
had grown sweet corn for a series of 
years under favorable circumstances, 
they told me that $25 per acre for the 
ears of corn sold was a good average for 
a series of five to ten years, and the fod¬ 
der reserved for feeding dairy cows or 
other farm stock made it a profitable 
crop to grow for cash and feediog pur¬ 
poses, for those farmers whose farms are 
situated near the factory. In regard to 
the prices received by farmers in this 
vicinity, I will state that 65 cents per 100 
pounds is the common price paid. In a 
few instances I have heard that 70 to 75 
cents per 100 pounds in the ear after it 
has been husked, has been paid. The 
corn is all picked and drawn to the fac¬ 
tory in the husk ; it is there weighed, 
25 pounds of average ears are taken from 
the load and husked. The butts, if long, 
are broken off, also the tips of the ear if 
not filled out. The husks are then 
weighed, and the average of the load is 
given, which will give the amount of 
corn to be paid for. Thus if the load 
weighs 2,000 pounds, and the 25 pounds 
gives 20 pounds of corn, there will be 
1,600 pounds to be paid for at 65 cents 
per 100 pounds. 
Mr. Drummond says, “ My corn brings 
me two cents per pound.” Now what I 
want to know is, “ How does Mr. Drum¬ 
mond get two cents per pound for his 
corn from the Vassalboro canners, when 
we get only 65 cents per 100 pounds in 
this State for ours ? Could we farmers 
get two cents per pound for our corn we 
could do better than Mr. Drummond, by 
the acre on income. Another statement 
by Mr. Drummond, “I have eight acres, 
and get about $350 from it. I have just 
had my returns. It has averaged me 
about this for several years.” Why did 
Mr. Drummond say about, if he had just 
received his returns, or why did he say, 
“ It has aveiaged me about this for sev¬ 
eral years ”? Could not he have told the 
exact amount as well ? 
Another thing I would like to know is 
how many stalks of corn Mr. Drummond 
allows to grow in a hill of his small corn 
and the variety he plants. The number 
of stalks in a hill is one of the most im¬ 
portant points in securing a large crop. 
I also want to know what “Another 
farmer,” sold his corn for the year he 
took $90 worth from an acre, also the 
variety of “medium” corn be planted 
that year. 
Tne writer has had only two crops of 
sweet corn grown on his farm for can¬ 
ning purposes ; 2% acres were grown in 
1892, 1% acre of Hickox Improved, three- 
quarters of an acre of Shaker’s Early. 
It was sold for $101.51, at 65 cents per 
100 pounds of husked ears, besides all 
the green corn used in the family, and 
dried for winter use, and seed saved for 
this year’s planting. The corn was 
planted in check rows 334 feet apart 
each way, intending to have four stalks 
in each hill. There were four large apple 
trees growing in the piece where the 
corn did not ear and that reduced the 
yield somewhat ;Tt was thought at the 
time, as near as one could judge, that 
the trees damaged the corn crop to the 
extent of $5. This year eight acres has 
been grown, but it was cut short by 
drought, by wind storms, ani by cut 
worms, so that the proceeds for the corn 
sold will not exceed one-half that of last 
year. The stalks will help to retrieve 
the loss on the ears of corn, and “will 
hold the balance of power ” here as they 
do in Maine. 
One progressive farmer in thi3 town 
said that he got only 16 tons for the fac¬ 
tory, where he should have had 30 tons ; 
that there was no profit in the 6ale of 
corn this year, as he had a dairy of 50 
cows and could feed the corn and stalks 
to the cows, so that it would pay nearly 
&s well as to draw the corn to the factory 
for canning purposes. The sweet corn 
crop is considerably short of an average 
crop in this section this year. Some 
pieces under favorable circumstances are 
very good, others very poor, poorer than 
usual from the effects of drought, more 
than from any other cause. Wind storms 
have also done considerable damage the 
past season in this vicinity. 
The Skunk Befriends the Berry Grower. 
S. W. W., Weston, Mass, — While 
working among my Marshall strawberry 
plants lately, I noticed where a skunk 
had stuck his nose into the ground close 
to the plants, and had also rooted up a 
few plants in search of the large white 
grub that eats the roots and kills the 
plants. A few years ago 1 had a straw¬ 
berry bed on a piece of ground that 
was full of grubs, and after the parent 
plants were quite large, the worms ate 
them badly; but in visiting the bed in 
the morning, I could see where the 
skunks had followed the rows, and had 
taken out the worms under one-half of 
the plants in the places where the worms 
were plenty. Where these worms are 
at work, if one will take the trouble to 
go through the beds in the heat of the 
day, he can easily find them. Where 
there is a grub eating the roots of a 
plant, the new leaves in the center will 
be wilted and lopped down first. By 
digging under one side of the plant care¬ 
fully, the grub may be found, and the 
plant saved. With a little practice one 
can take two rows at a time, and go over 
an acre quite quickly, and by so doing 
save a bed that otherwise would be 
ruined ; for if the grubs are not taken 
out at once, they will sometimes go from 
one plant to another, until each one has 
destroyed five or six plants, and, if the 
worms are plentiful, they will destroy 
the whole bed. The year that these 
grubs troubled my plants so badly, I 
was advised to salt the ground ; I put on 
so much salt that it killed all the plants, 
but the worms still lived. 
Hired Men in Clover. 
H. G. K,, San Jose, Cal. —The hired 
man problem has been solved by us 
about as follows: Believing that mar¬ 
ried men are better help year in and 
year out, we made our plans accordingly 
12 years ago, and have found no reason 
to change them. Our business is fruit 
growing, and our steady help consists of 
three men, who are located on the ranch 
and work by the year. Each man has a 
small house for himself and family, rent 
and water free, fruit for family use and 
a chance to raise chickens. The horses 
are situated on different parts of the 
ranch, so that each one is practically a 
country and orchard home. The wages 
paid are $35 per month, rain or shine ; 
that is, we find work for them all the 
time. If they lose any time on their 
own account, it is deducted at the end 
of the month. Besides our steady help, 
we employ from one to fifty extra helpers 
in fruit season. These latter are easily 
obtained, as we are only 2 >4 miles from 
San Jcse (population 20,000), and the 
electric cars run within a quarter of a 
mile of the ranch, so that pickers and 
packers may return home each night. 
Extra helpers who do not work by the 
box, are paid $1 50 per day. We also 
employ a few Chinamen at $1.20 per day. 
Do Bats Bring Bedbugs ? 
M. V. S., Ithaca, N. Y. —In the issue 
of September 2, page 588,1 expressed the 
idea that it was quite doubtful whether 
bats do bring bedbugs into houses, not¬ 
withstanding such is the common opinion. 
In the issue of September 23, page 638, 
T. B. P., of Goldsboro, N. C., says that he 
has seen several bedbugs on quite a num¬ 
ber of bats. This is a very important 
question and deserves our further con¬ 
sideration. Scientists say that there are 
several species of insects belonging to 
the genus Acanthia, to which the true 
bedbug, lectularia, belongs. One species 
of the genus, pipistrell®, is known to in¬ 
fest bats in Europe ; this is not a bedbug, 
however. The bug found in the nests of 
swallows in this country was long 
thought to be the bedbug, but recently 
it has been shown that it is iden’ical 
with the species, Acanthia hirundinis, 
which has long been known to infest 
swallows’ nests in Europe. Quite re¬ 
cently two naturalists have recorded the 
finding of a bug, closely resembling the 
bedbug and belonging to the same genus, 
on bats. As the specimens were not 
saved, it could not be ascertained whether 
the bugs were the true bedbug or not. 
Thus naturalists are as yet unwilling to 
say that the bugs found on bats are true 
bedbugs. The readers of The R N.-Y. 
can be of great assistance in settling this 
question. Perhaps some may know of a 
nesting place of bats where the bugs will 
be found, if anywhere. I very much de¬ 
sire that any one interested in this sub 
ject will examine all the bats obtainable 
for the supposed bedbugs. If any are 
found, place them in bottles, in alcohol 
if possible, and send them to me. I will 
have the specimens examined by a spe¬ 
cialist and report the results to The R. 
N.-Y. Send only those bugs that you 
have seen on the bodies or in the nests of 
bats. M. V. SLINGEKLAND. 
Heading’ Off the Grabs. 
S. Miller, Bluffton, Mo. —I see that 
others are discussing the white grub in 
strawberries. Last spring I set out a bed 
of 34 varieties, mostly new ones, on 
ground that had been in nursery trees, 
hence no grubs. Only six of each variety 
were planted, and the utmost care was 
given the plants which were left to mul¬ 
tiply sufficiently to extend the rows 
across a patch some 50 feet broad on the 
south side which had been in sod for 
years. This was plowed in the spring 
and planted in melons. The melon patch 
was not kept clean as it should have 
(Continued on next page.) 
In writing to advertisers, please always mention 
The Rural New-Yokkeb. 
Shooting Pains 
All over my body and 
swelling of my limbs have 
caused me great suffering. 
In the spring I was com¬ 
pletely worn out and ate 
hardly enough to keep me 
alive. I have been taking 
Hood’s Sarsaparilla, and 
the swelling has sub- 
sided, the shooting pains 
are gone, I have good ap¬ 
petite, am better every 
way.” Mrs. A. G. Oman, 
84 Newman St., So. Boston. Hood’s Cures 
HOOD’8 Pills cure Sick Headache. 250, 
Farmers YOUR Produce 
To F. I. SAGE & SON, 183 Reade St., N. Y., 
Receivers of all kinds of Country Produce, In¬ 
cluding Game, Live and Dressed Poultry and Dressed 
Calves. Specialties —Berries, Grapes, Apples, Pears, 
Honey, Onions aud Potatoes. Correspondence and 
Consignments solicited. Stenolls furnished. Ref¬ 
erence: Dun’s or Bradstreet’s Commercial Reports, 
to be found at any bank. 
Looking Better 
feeling better— 
better in every¬ 
way. There’s 
more consolation 
in that than well 
people stop to 
ponder. To get 
back flesh and 
spirits is every¬ 
thing. 
Scott’s Emulsion 
of pure Cod Liver Oil with Hypo- 
phosphites is prescribed by lead¬ 
ing physicians everywhere for ail¬ 
ments that are causing rapid loss 
of flesh and vital strength. 
Scott’s Emulsion will do more than 
to stop a lingering Cough it fortifies 
the system AGAINST coughs and colds. 
Prepared by Scott A Bowne. N. Y. All dnic!?i«ts. 
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COLUMBIA 
STEEL WIND 
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State rights for tale. 
THE DECATUR SHAFT SUPPORT C0.~ 
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PAINTroofs 
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W ater will run from It pure and clean. It covers double 
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By using our (stove pipe) radiator. 
It has 108 cross tubes where 3300 sq. 
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Rochester, N. Y. 
