4o8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 30 
trade in raw materials—wool, hides, pear stocks, etc. 
—and a high tariff on the finished product—woolens, 
shoes, trees, etc.—would he a direct benefit to people 
engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, shoes, 
trees, etc. 
This has nothing whatever to do with the question 
whether the nation, or you or I as individuals, would 
fare better under free trade or under a high protective 
or prohibitive tariff. Surely we might have expected 
that so intelligent a body as the American Nursery¬ 
men’s Association, would be able to discuss the ques¬ 
tion on its merits. As it was, the discussion soon 
waxed warm, and there was quite a display of parti¬ 
san politics and partisan feelings. The subject had 
to be dropped like a hot cake. The discussions even 
led to rather warm allusions to the “ late unpleasant¬ 
ness.” Now, if matters stand thus with the “ cream 
of agriculturists,” what can be expected from the 
ordinary soil tiller who is supposed to be still more 
under the control of partisan sentiment and prejudice? 
We may be ashamed to confess it, but it’s true. A 
dispassionate, business-like consideration of the tariff 
problem is out of the question in these days. It will 
have to be decided by partisan votes alone. It can not 
be diflScult either to place the responsibility for this 
deplorable state of affairs. Our political “ bringing 
up ” is at fault. The partisan press, with its insinua¬ 
tions and misrepresentations of the motives of the 
other side, repeated day after day for more than a 
score of years, has poisoned our whole political life, 
until everybody distrusts everybody. A return to 
common-sense views is the first thing needful. Who 
but a fool could earnestly believe that one half of the 
people of this great nation were bound to ruin, know¬ 
ingly and willingly, the whole, either by excessive 
taxation, or by foreign competition ? While there 
will be individuals who seek their own profit regard¬ 
less of the effects on others, we should never forget 
that the great body of all parties are earnest in their 
convictions, and are seekers after national welfare, 
one by free trade or a moderate tariff, another by 
high or prohibitive duties. The true patriots are not 
all in one party. Self-interest alone makes us patriots. 
The question is one of honest differences of opinion, 
not of loyalty and patriotism or the reverse. There is 
one hot-blooded element which resents every sugges¬ 
tion of lowering the rate in any schedule as an attack 
on American institutions. Let all understand that the 
question will finally be settled by votes, not by guns. 
T. GBKINEH. 
CALIFORNIA THROUGH EASTERN SPECTACLES. 
THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY. 
1 wonder if I can make my readers see some of the 
things which so much interest those who come to this 
country, which is always a continual surprise. The 
larger part of the country is not good for agricultural 
purposes, only nice to rave over, furnish a small supply 
of lumber, wood, stone, and gold and silver when a 
dollar and a half is spent to secure a dollar’s worth of 
it. Nature has concentrated her wealth in a few fer¬ 
tile valleys, but even here the harvests are not pro¬ 
duced without intelligent, painstaking skill and care. 
To raise and care for these great plantations of fruit, 
require far more training and intelligence here than 
it would in the East, because of the almost general 
scarcity of water. Then because of the different ele¬ 
vations of the valleys, nearness or remoteness from 
the ocean and ranges of mountains, air, drainage and 
the like, no two valleys are alike. Each valley is a prob¬ 
lem in itself which must be solved in accordance with 
the local conditions ; then, very often the soil changes 
in a few rods from a most back-breaking, adobe clay 
to light, gravelly land suitable for prune orchards. 
Irrigation is not practiced in this locality except now 
and then by the trucker. The fruit farms are culti¬ 
vated in the best manner several times early in the 
season, but from this on, little or no cultivation will 
be given ; the soft earth, the result of this thorough 
and continued cultivation, forms a mulch which con¬ 
serves the moisture of the subsoil, and, there being 
no rain until October, the ground remains in this 
beautiful and perfect condition during the entire sum¬ 
mer. The trees send their roots downward to reach 
the stored water, and hence the plowing can be done 
at considerable depth without disturbing their roots. 
The conservation of moisture is the great lesson which 
I shall carry back with me. Two plowings, four to 
six harrowings, and several rollings, barely suffice to 
put the heaviest and richest land in condition. Mile 
after mile of orchards is seen with their heads cut 
back severely, which serves to keep the trees from 
overbearing and to make them all alike in form and 
appearance. The growth begins early in the spring 
and proceeds in a most leisurely manner, as the trees 
have nine months in which to grow and mature their 
fruit. The sun is always shining and the climate cool, 
the temperature falling sometimes at night to 40 de¬ 
grees, and the leaves present a dark green, luxuriant 
appearance. The cool climate prevents fungoid 
growths and depredations of leaf-eating insects. The 
fruit, now half grown, consists largely of plums, apri¬ 
cots, peaches and prunes, which are now the rage, and 
a few apples; the latter are largely cultivated on the 
more elevated mountain districts near the sea. 
As one looks over the country, the sight is what one 
might imagine the (larden of Eden to have been before 
Adam got too lazy to tend it. I am told that but little 
money is obtained from these orchards at the present 
time, because of the high valuation of the land, the 
labor and expense of raising the orchard and of pick¬ 
ing and marketing the fruit, and the distance from 
the markets. Not infrequently an entire car-load of 
fruit is lost before it reaches its destination. Eastern 
people frequently are not satisfied with the quality of 
the fruit sent from this coast; this is in part because 
it must be picked before it is at its best, in order to 
stand up during its long journey. But, “Tell it not 
in Gath” nor publish this fact “in the streets of 
Askelon,” for the Californian is, above all things, 
loyal to his country, and always speaks of the East as 
an effete, back-number. 
The vineyards, of which there are many, are culti¬ 
vated the same as the orchards, and look in early sprang 
like great rows of scraggy stumps in new ground. 
From these great stumps about two feet high, the 
shoots start upon which the fruit is borne ; the shoots 
frequently starting from the old wood and not from 
last year’s growth as is common. Usually no stakes 
or other supports are used. Grapes have been less 
profitable than other fruits for the last few years, at 
least this is true of wine grapes, so that in many 
places, every sixth vine in every third row has been 
taken out and prunes set in their places; in a few 
years this will transform the vineyard into a prune 
orchard. It should be remembered that as yet I have 
visited but this one valley, which is some 20 miles 
long and 100 wide, and the surrounding country, so 
that what I have said does not apply to other portions 
of the State. The bay to the north, which runs inland 
80 miles, tempers the climate, furnishes a considerable 
moisture to the atmosphere, and yields oysters which 
are so small that it takes 24 of them to make a dozen. 
But if the oysters are small, the trees and the flowers 
make up for them. 
The perpetual bloom of roses and other flowers, 
both wild and cultivated of the rarest and most beau¬ 
tiful colors, makes one feel that all other lands are 
plebeian, simply workaday, utilitarian places in which 
to exist, while this is the land of youth and perpetual 
renewal sought for by Ponce de Leon. As it seldom 
freezes, many kinds of tropical and semi-tropical 
plants flourish and as the climate may be said to be 
both cold and hot at the same time, bloom is stimu¬ 
lated to the highest degree. The dry summers develop 
and ripen the fruit buds, while the wet winters and 
bright sunshine of summer bring out flower and fruit 
to marvelous perfection, so that a failure of bloom and 
fruit is never known. I have said that this country is 
a land of surprises, and so it is ; I cannot yet under¬ 
stand how all this bloom, fruitfulness and growth of 
such a wide and varied flora, can be produced in a 
country where no rain falls for at least six months, 
where you have to sleep under double woolen blankets 
the year ’round, wear an overcoat in the shade in July, 
sit around the evening fire in August, and preserve 
the complexion by an umbrella at midday. 
TpROF.] I. P. ROBERTS. 
What Say? 
A Round Silo Door —I expect to build a round silo 
this fall, 15 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep. I shall 
use 2x4 studding, lined with two thicknesses of one- 
half-inch White oak, with tar paper between and 
sided with common house siding. Can The R. N.-Y., 
or some of its readers who have had experience, tell 
me how I can make my feeding doors and have them 
perfectly air-tight, without weakening the silo ? 
Hillsboro, Ill. j, •yy, o. 
Who Owns the Manure ?—A worked B’s farm on 
shares; B received his share in November. A fed a 
portion of his hay and grain after the division, and 
sold the manure to C. C drew it from the stables 
during the winter, paying A by the load. Another 
man rented the farm for cash the next year, and sold 
the manure in like manner. Now B wishes to collect 
pay for the manure sold. Can he do so ? Of whom 
must he demand it, the buyer or seller ? w. B. 
Troupsburg, N. Y. 
it* N.-Y.—We’ll ask our legal lights to shine on this. 
Salt the Woodchucks. —A writer in a local paper 
says that all animals that eat grass are fond of salt, 
and these include woodchucks. To exterminate them 
mix salt, two parts, and Paris-green, one part; place 
it in the hole, or out of the reach of cattle. If this is 
so, it ought to be an easy matter to thin them out. 
Will The R. N.-Y. readers, who are pestered with 
them try it and report? M. h. c. g. 
TREATMENT OF HIRED MEN. 
Among the many letters called out by the recent 
article on “ The Hired Man’s Side,” is the following 
extract from the letter of a New York State (Fulton 
County) farmer : 
I have been in search of a good, honest, reliable 
man for some years, but up to date have been unable 
to find one. The top wages paid here are $20 a month 
with board for eight months, from April 1 to Decem¬ 
ber 1, and $10 per month for the other four months, 
making $200 per year. Very few of the farmers here 
hire during the winter, and many of the men cut cord- 
wood during that time. As soon as a good man works 
a year or so, he starts to work a farm on shares. Some 
here pay $20 per month to married men, and furnish 
tenant house, firewood and garden, usually from one- 
quarter to one-half acre, and the man boards himself, 
which is much less than $20 per month and board. 
House rent is from $25 to $30 per year. We keep three 
cows and 14 horses, farm 80 acres of cleared land, and 
usually keep two hired men during the summer. 
Regarding W. W.’s statement that he will not be 
paid his wages till the end of eight months, and then 
that he can have money whenever he wants it, 
there seems to be a slight discrepancy. He doubtless 
means that he should have each month’s wages at the 
end of each month. There are two sides to this. The 
farmer, if a man quit him, has absolutely no redress if 
the man has all his wages taken up, as few hired 
men have enough so that anything can be collected 
for breach of contract, while they can sue their em¬ 
ployer and put him to a lot of trouble if nothing more. 
My plan is to pay a stated sum each month, the re¬ 
mainder to lie till the expiration of the term of 
contract. It is the only plan by which the employer 
can protect himself. If I knew a man ^as perfectly 
reliable, I would not object to paying all he earned 
each month, but such men are very scarce. We arise 
during the summer at 5 A. m., breakfast at 6 to 6.15, 
have dinner at 12 and supper at 6 p. m. We do the 
chores after supper, but have very few to do at night, 
and are all done easily before 7 p. m. In haying and 
harvest, we sometimes work later for a few nights. 
The man I want must be kind and patient to animals. 
I hired a man on February 15 for one year for $200, 
firewood and board, and he worked till this morning, 
when I found him thrashing a three-year-old heifer 
with a milk stool. I told him to let her alone and I 
would milk her. That made him angry, and he said 
that he would quit. There was absolutely no cause 
for his quitting. I made a written contract with him 
to pay him $12 each month and the remainder at the 
end of the year. I sold him a good cow this spring, 
and the balance back on each month was to go to¬ 
wards paying for her. I let him take a team a half day 
to plow and fit his garden without charge. We buy 
all our groceries, etc., at wholesale rates in large quan¬ 
tities and have given him the benefit of it. But such 
men don’t appreciate any kindness done for them. 
A WATERMELON TOWN. 
A COLORADO VINE REGION. 
Perhaps no town in Colorado of 500 inhabitants is so 
well known as Rocky Ford. Its reputation has grown 
out of the superior quality of watermelons raised in 
its vicinity, and from the generosity and hospitality of 
its people. The watermelon vine grows, thrives and 
exults in the warm, sandy loam and sunny weather of 
the Arkansas Valley. All varieties do well, but the 
only genuine Rocky Ford melon, is that one originated 
by Senator G. W. Swink, the “ Father of Rocky Ford,” 
and is a cross between the old Long Icing and Moun¬ 
tain Sweet. Seed is planted about May 1, and it is 
considered best to use new ground when possible. The 
primitive way was to throw two back furrows to¬ 
gether, planting melons in the soil thus thrown up, 
and using the furrows on each side for ditches. These 
back furrows were about eight feet apart, leaving the 
original sod growing between. The next year, the 
center was back furrowed and planted. This seems a 
very shiftless method, but it has been known to pro¬ 
duce wonderfully fine melons. Usually the ground is 
plowed, pulverized, then furrowed eight feet each way 
and the seeds planted about half way up the sides of 
the furrows. It is better for the starting of the crop, 
if rains afford moisture enough to germinate the seeds, 
but in case of severe drought water is sometimes run 
in the rows before planting and, perhaps, is more fre¬ 
quently done after planting, though it is not the best 
practice to irrigate after planting until the vines are 
well up. Planting in sod ground, has advantages in 
the matter of irrigation, as the soil is full of grass 
roots and exceedingly porous, thus taking up water 
readily from the bottom of the farrow ; the moisture 
finds its way to the plant from below by capillarity. 
Three irrigations usually suffice if the soil be well 
cultivated, but many irrigate four to six times mak¬ 
ing the water take the place so far as possible of 
cultivation. The best melons are produced with two 
