742 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
What Say? 
Subsoiling Information Wanted.—I would like to 
see subsoiling and subirrigation discussed in The R. 
N.-Y. How deep is it practicable to run a subsoil 
plow in river bottom land ? How far back from the 
water w ill subirrigation extend in bottom land ? 
Crete, Neb. A. v. m. 
Cold Weather Chestnuts.—I have a piece of land 
which I wish to set to nut trees, and have been look¬ 
ing for a long time to see something about how cold 
weather the Paragon chestnut will endure. If it has 
been printed in The R. N.-Y. , I failed to see it. Will 
they stand this climate (central Vermont), and how 
low a temperature will they stand ? w'. c. R. 
Bridgewater, Vt. 
Hillside Delivery. —I have a steep hilLside planted 
with peach trees that will come into bearing next 
season. I shall have my packing house at the foot of 
hill, and want some device for sending the fruit as 
gathered, to the packing house without lugging it 
down. Can not some one suggest some plan not too 
expensive ? I have a plan in my own mind, but no 
doubt some one can suggest something better. 
Industry, Pa. .i. R. e. 
R. N.-Y.—Why not give us your own plan and let 
that .serve as a basis for suggestions from our readers? 
At the same time, we are ready for other plans. 
A Short Rotation Suggested. —I would like the 
opinion of some R. N.-Y. correspondents on the fol¬ 
lowing short rotation of crops : Sod plowed four 
inches deep as soon as the grass is cut in July ; har¬ 
rowed to keep down all growth that season. In the 
following spring, plowed again eight inches deep, and 
planted to potatoes with one ton of some good potato 
fertilizer to the acre. Potatoes dug in July ; the 
ground harrowed and buckwheat sown, to be plowed 
under as soon as in full bloom. The next .season, 
strawberries are set with another ton of fertilizer to 
the acre, thoroughly cultivated that season and after 
fruiting the next season plowed under and buckwheat 
again .sown to be turned under. First potatoes, then 
strawberries, then potatoes again. How long can I 
follow this and not injure the land ? C. G. B. 
Centerbrook, Conn. 
What They Say! 
State Pay for Tuberculous Cows.—The R. N.-Y. 
asks if any one can give a good reason w'hy the State 
should pay for cattle slaughtered because affected with 
tuberculosis. 1 think that I can give two. Unless 
every animal is to be tuberculin-tested by a competent 
veterinary, I believe that it will greatly aid in ridding 
the country of affected animals. I have talked with 
those who have killed hundreds of beef animals, and 
w'hose opinion I am sure is valuable. All say that the 
man who owns and cares for an affected animal, will, 
as a rule, be the one wdio will first notice symptoms of 
the trouble ; and I have heard of cases where the in¬ 
spector has given a clean bill of health for animals 
which the owmer knew were affected. Many times 
when animals begin to manifest symptoms of tubercu¬ 
losis, the symptoms are not constant, and while the 
owner may notice indications of the disease to-day, 
the inspector may call to-morrow and fail to see any¬ 
thing wrong. If the State will not pay for the in¬ 
fected animal, very likely she will be traded or sold, 
and many other animals possibly have a chance to con¬ 
tract the disease before she becomes so bad that some 
one having authority condemns and kills her. Let a 
man know that the State will pay a fair price for all 
condemned animals, and as soon as he has a suspicion 
that his cow may be affected, he reports her at once 
to the proper authority. If his suspicions prove cor¬ 
rect, she is killed and further spread of the disease 
from that source prevented. I asked a man who kills 
hundreds of animals yearly what he thought would 
do most toward ridding the country of tuberculosis. 
He answered emphatically, “ Let the State pay for 
all affected animals.” 
Many small farmers are engaged in dairying who 
have not a dollar besides the farm and live stock, and 
possibly, are considerably in debt; yet they manage 
to support their families on the incomes of their 
farms. Let the cattle owned by these farmers be¬ 
come affected, and the proper authority condemn and 
kill them and the State not pay for them, what will 
be the result? There are hundreds of farmers who 
wmuld be just about ruined. With no means to pur¬ 
chase stock to replace that killed, and all income 
from the sale of milk or butter at an end, there are 
not a few cases who w'ould be reduced to a pauper’s 
level. The town w^ould have to render assistance to 
many wdio by a life of strict integrity and industry 
have earned the right to end their days in comfort 
without the bitterness which would be felt at receiv¬ 
ing town aid. The los3 to the State \vould be greater 
than that involved by paying for all infected animals. 
Many farmers’ sons and daughters might be deprived 
of the means of securing a much desired education, 
whose value cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. 
Ashburnham, Mass. E. i). G. 
NEW ENGLAND DAIRY FARMS FOR CITY MEN. 
I was lK)rn on a small farm in New England, and lived there 
until I was 17 years old. I am now at work in Boston, but the pay 
is small and business uncertain. Having a wife and three boys 
dependent upon me, I cannot lay by anything for a rainy day. I 
have about $.500, and can buy a small farm for that amount, in the 
central part of New Hampshire. Farms in the back towns of New 
Hampshire are very cheap now. I have always wanted a farm of 
my own, and would like to have a small dairy. What I wish to 
know is, could I make a start with that small amount of money ? 
M. B. c. 
A would-be farmer would like to know the price per acre for 
grazing land in Vermont. Is it a good milk-raising country ? 
Could a man make a good living from 10 or 15 cows ? How many 
acres would he require ? What would be the cost per head for 
keeping them. I am 40 years of age, and have lived in the city all 
my life. I have a family of six children, one boy of 14 and one of 
12. I have been told that I would not need any other help. o. i.. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Ten COW.S will support a family of eight. I know a 
family of eight who receive most of their income from 
seven cows, and one man does nearly all the work. 
They live far more comfortably than thousands of 
city people, even of the well-to-do class of working¬ 
men. As to the price of land in Vermont, if one buy, 
he should buy a farm, and the prices vary from a few 
hundred to several thousand dollars. The most of the 
land in the State is good grazing land, but really that 
is a secondary consideration. The most important 
crop to grow on a dairy farm, is corn ; while a good 
pasture is a valuable possession, good corn land is 
even more valuable, A city man would wish to be 
within two or three miles of the post-office ; with such 
a family, he should be near a good school, and in a 
SHEET FOR GATHERING LEAVES. Fig. 196. 
good neighborhood. He should get a place with good 
buildings, and one where the land was not very stony 
and hard to till. He would not wish to climb a long, 
steep hill every time he went away from home, 
though the higher land is more healthful as a rule, 
and escapes early frosts. An elevation of 300 or 
400 feet or less, will sometimes exempt a farm from 
frost for a month after it has come in the valleys. 
Such a farm would probably cost in most parts of the 
State on an average S3,000. In some towns, they can 
be bought for much less, and by going back far 
enough, and taking poorer buildings, farms that will 
carry 10 cows, young stock and team can be bought 
for $1,000 and SI,200 and probably less. Then cows, 
team and farming tools will cost SlOO or SJOO more. 
But on no account, would I advise a city man to run 
in debt for fai*m or tools. He %vill have enough to do 
to support his family, 5vithout paying interest, to say 
nothing of the principal. 
There are many things to think of in answering such 
questions. A man who knows nothing of farming, 
and above all, of dairying, must be a good learner. I 
expect there is much more to making a living off a dairy 
farm than this inquirer dreams of. It is no light task 
to milk 10 or 12 cows twice a day. Then they will eat 
a big lot of feed. In every step that one takes in 
dairying, he finds the need of knowledge and skill. 
Dairying is a calling that requires great skill to pro¬ 
duce satisfactory results. You could make 125 to 150 
pounds of axle grease from a cow, that would sell at 8 
or 10 cents per pound, without much skill, but when 
you make 250 to 300 pounds of butter that sells for 20 
cents or moi*e, you must know how to do it. There¬ 
fore I would advise these and all similar inquirers to 
begin at the bottom and work up.' First take your 
wife and make a visit to some good dairy region where 
there is a creamery, for a novice should not think of 
making butter at home. Look up a small place and 
rent it for a year or two. If possible, get into a neigh¬ 
borhood of progressive farmers. Then hire out by the 
day or month, and let the boys do the same, and the 
girls, too, if you have any old enough. If they have 
been crowded in a city school, a year or a season out 
of school, will pot hurt them. But be sure that your 
children, if they go away from home to work, are in 
good company. As a rule, country people are moral, 
and many are real Christians. But there are excep¬ 
tions, and fathers and mothers cannot be too careful 
of their boys and girls. Beware of drinking, swear¬ 
ing, foul-mouthed men and boys, and especially of the 
irresponsible hired man. 
A year or two spent in getting acquainted with farm 
work and with opportunities for purchasing, will be 
worth a great deal to any city family who wish to 
take up farming. Read The R. N.-Y. and Hoard’s 
Dairyman. 
There is a lesson here for farmers’ children. Is it 
not true that the knowledge and skill acquired by 
one brought up on a farm, are of great value ? Yet how 
few realize that education for farm and dairy work, 
is worth far more than many more expensive kinds of 
education Let a young man or woman grow up from 
a child on a well-managed farm, read good farm papers 
and agricultural books, then take a short course in an 
agricultural college, and he or she will be better fitted 
to earn a good living than thousands who go out from 
city schools and homes. J. w. newton. 
HOW TO PICK UP LEAVES 
I gather several tons of leaves for bedding, annually, 
and am using a device which, while very simple, I 
consider better than any fork. It consists of a sheet 
of burlap or heavy sheeting, about seven feet square, 
nailed on two opposite edges to heavy laths, as 
shown at Fig 196. To use it, the cloth is laid upon a 
heap of leaves, the middle of each lath is grasped and 
the laths are then brought together under the heap, 
thus inclosing more than a sugar barrel solid full, at 
each haul. They are carried to the wagon (upon 
which a very roomy box has been constructed) and 
dropped in by simply separating the laths. My box 
is about 3x5x11 feet, and will probably hold more than 
half a ton, when properly tramped down. One per¬ 
son should load while another tramps the leaves and 
drives the team. w. p. 
Port Chester, N. Y. 
WHAT ARE THE HOUSE PLANTS UP TO? 
Most house plants that succeed are natives of the 
cooler and more elevated portions of the tropics, and 
not a few of them are found fairly domiciled in the 
subtropical edges of the temperate zones. They are 
naturally infiuenced by the changes of seasons, and 
at this time should be getting established in their 
new quarters and be making a strong root growth, 
which is a sure foundation for the grateful bloom 
that is expected later on. It is, therefore, poor policy 
to attempt to hurry them along now by high tempera¬ 
ture or excessive fertilization. Give them all the sun¬ 
light and fresh air the season allows, and water with 
regularity and discretion ; remembering that evapora¬ 
tion is less rapid than it will be when strong fires are 
needed. Care should be taken, as the new growth 
starts forth, to train, by judicious pinching, the plants 
into shapely and well-balanced specimens. 
Keep a sharp lookout for aphides—the plant louse 
or green fiy of the fiorists. They often multiply with 
astonishing rapidity on plants transferred from the 
open ground to the house. A little care and observa¬ 
tion will enable one to find and destroy, on a few 
house plants, the progenitors of the interminable 
army to follow. Aphides are easily destroyed by 
syringing with an infusion of tobacco stems, strong 
enough to compare with coffee in color ; or, better 
still, by a fumigation with tobacco smoke, which can 
be conveniently accomplished in a small way, by 
placing the plants on a shelf contrived in a barrel or 
large box, and burning a few dampened tobacco 
leaves or stems in an old iron vessel below. Do not 
allow the tobacco to blaze, as the smoke is thus con¬ 
sumed, and the overheated gases are injurious to 
many tender-leaved plants. This treatment may have 
to be repeated several times; and when the plants 
are once thoroughly rid of the pests, keep them down 
by daily inspection. With the exception of aphides 
the various ills to which plants are subject, are not 
likely to cause much trouble so early in the season. 
Some Desirable Bulbs. —The Roman hyacinths 
and Bermuda lilies (L. Harrisii), which were potted in 
September, and stored in the dark pit or cellar, should 
now be rooted and ready to bring to the light, if they 
are wanted for'early blooming. It is best to keep the 
main stock of winter fiowering bulbs in the dark as 
long as possible ; nothing is gained by bringing them 
forward before the root system is well developed, as 
the result is almost invariably imperfect blooms, tar¬ 
dily produced. While most of the forcing bulbs have 
passed their prime by November, some varieties, such 
as the hyacinth and narcissus, may still be potted 
with good results, but the tulips, crocuses and freesias 
should be let alone, as the probable result will be a 
crop of leaves without the blooms. 
Triteleia Uniflora is a specially desirable, continuous- 
