200 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
March 23 
wide and one-fourth inch thick, with the lower edge 
sharp. As bolted on back of the shovel, this scraper 
is inclined so that the front forms a cutting edge, so 
that it will slice off weeds and lift the upper soil. 
This makes a very effective tool Some such attach¬ 
ment on cultivators will be found useful in cutting 
off weeds and preventing deep cultivation. 
MORE ABOUT THA T WISCONSIN "PARADISE." 
FACTS AND FIGURES TO SHOW THAT FARMING PAYS. 
The Opinion of a Critical Neighbor. 
Ever since we printed that article on page 101, about 
the successful farmer in Wisconsin whose wife earned 
enough with poultry, fruits and vegetables to hire 
her housework done, and heat her house with steam, 
we have had many letters from incredulous readers. 
Some of them say plainly that they don’t believe the 
story. Others more politely intimate that they would 
rather see the facts and figures before believing what 
seems to them impossible from their own experience. 
Here is a sample letter : 
The Wisconsin “ Paradise,” so graphically set forth in Tub R. 
N.-Y. of February 16, calls to mind the buckwheat-batter wells and 
soap mines of Butler County, Pa., where the natives lived on buck¬ 
wheat cakes and pork from the time it was fit to use until it was 
all gone, and were always boiling soap; but no ice cream flowed 
there. Wbat I am most anxious to know is, how those accommo¬ 
dating neighbors obtained their cash to buy the wife’s eggs, fruit, 
and vegetables. 1 wish to educate my neighbors so that they will 
make a better market for similar produce of which I wish to dis¬ 
pose. They are too poor to buy to that extent now, although 
this is a thickly-settled community. e. t. i. 
West Chester, Pa. 
As we always try to secure reliable facts and figures 
for The It. N.-Y., we have tried to secure proof of the 
correctness of the former statement. Here it is ; 
Showing up the Farm Books. 
While the profits for 1894 do not quite come up to 
the owners’ expectations, they are so near that the dif¬ 
ference is of no material consequence in the aggregate. 
Here is the amount of land devoted to each crop, and 
the yield per acre for the year 1894. 
Acres. Bush. Acres. Tons. 
Potatoes. 
. 20 
193 
Hay. 5 
2 
Rye. 
. 25 
21 
Hog pasture. 10 
. 10 
60 
Cow pasture. 23 
Oats. 
. 25 
67 
Ground about house 5 
The failure of 10 acres of the clover seeding of 1893, 
made a break in the rotation ; this accounts for the 
small amount of meadow and larger amount of land 
in oats. This is the financial summary for 1894 : 
last year’s income and outgo. 
Receipts. 
Milk.; • • 
2 cows. 
6 calves. 
21 bushels seed corn. 
11 old hogs. 
300 bushels rye. 
1,021 bushels oats. 
3,360 bushels potatoes. 
65 fat shotes. 
35 tons rye straw. 
$251.11 
32.00 
10.00 
26.25 
189.20 
114.00 
295.09 
1,948.80 
848.25 
112.75 
Total.$3,827.45 
Expenses. 
One man for year. $250.00 
One man for eight months. 160.00 
Day help. 36.80 
House expenses, including groceries, coal, etc. 463.27 
300 bushels wheat. 180.00 
350 bushels corn. 178.50 
3 cows. 110.00 
2 tons wheat bran. 23.00 
Oil meal. 17.00 
Taxes and insurance. 111.42 
Ashes. 19-00 
Repaii’s. 67.97 
Thrashing grain. 37.70 
Personal and incidental expenses. 239.07 
Total.$1,893.7? 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE FARM. 
Stock, grain, etc., on hand January l, 1894. 
5 horses. $475.00 
6 cows. 210.00 
2 calves. 2.00 
15 brood sows. 180.00 
400 bushels oats. 120.00 
250 bushels corn. 80.00 
300 bushels potatoes. 210.00 
20 tons clover hay. 80.00 
5 tons oat straw. 15.00 
15 tons rye straw. 72.50 
27 bushels seed corn. 33.75 
Total value 
$1,478.25 
Stock , grain, seed, etc., on hand January 1 , 1895. 
5 horses. $400.00 
7 cows. 245.00 
4 calves. 5.00 
10 brood sows. 120.00 
475 bushels oats. 123.50 
400 bushels corn. 176.00 
480 bushels potatoes. 336.00 
8 tons clover hay. 48.00 
3 tons oat straw. 12.00 
Corn fodder, estimated . 20.00 
36 bushels seed corn. 45.00 
100 pounds pumpkin seed. 10.00 
Total value.$1,540.50 
Receipts 1894. 3,827.45 
Total.$5,367.95 
Stock, etc., on hand January 1,1894 — $1,478.25 
Expenses, 1894. 1,893.73 
Total.$3,371.98 3,371.98 
Profit for 1894.$1,995.97 
As will be noticed, there is no mention of clover 
seed or binding twine in either the expense account 
or the statement of stock on hand at the beginning of 
the year. One of Mr. Wilkins’s neighbors had a quan¬ 
tity of seed on hand of his own raising, and wished to 
exchange clover seed for help in haying. As Mr. W. 
had only a small amount of seed, he turned in with 
his hay loader, and also cut the neighbor’s grain. 
As the neighbor had a large quantity of twine, he 
furnished Mr. W. with what he needed, and the ex¬ 
change was so nearly even that it was called square 
and was not placed on the books. 
What the Neighbors Have to Say. 
This is what a neighbor has to say about Mr W. and 
his management. “ Yes, I know him well; he has 
been the means of putting more life into our com¬ 
munity than it ever had before. My first acquaintance 
with him dates back to the first spring after he moved 
here. I was acting as clerk at an auction for one of 
my neighbors. Of course the whole neighborhood 
knew that Mr. W. had gone heavily in debt for his 
farm, wore good clothes, and had hired two men to 
help him farm a little land that one man ought to 
handle. With us, his failure was not a question but 
a certainty. He bid off hay, cows and hogs at the 
sale, amounting to a trifle over .$200. The owner came 
to me immediately after the sale w*as over, and told 
me to tell the new neighbor that he could not take his 
note unless he could make it bankable. When his 
turn came to settle, Mr. W r . asked for his bill with the 
discount for cash. When rendered he made out a 
check for the amount. My opinion of him took a 
decided change for the better. All sorts of predictions 
were made as to how long he would be able to hold 
out. Two years were put as the very outside, and 
nearly every one thought one year would settle his 
“ hash.” The second fall after coming, he put up an 
icehouse and a greenhouse ; this was too much for us 
plain farmers. It was the talk of the neighborhood, 
but they kept on in the even tenor of their way. In 
June of the second summer, all the farmers with their 
families in the school district, were invited to spend 
the afternoon, and take tea with Mr. and Mrs. W. Did 
we go ? Yes, every last one of us, 53 in all. And what 
a time we had ! and such a supper ! Never had I 
tasted such strawberries, or eaten such ice cream ; not 
the kind you get in the city that has cow hair in it to 
convince you it is genuine cream. That day broke 
the ice. Among the womenfolks, Mrs. W. is authority 
for everything, from making a potato salad, to select¬ 
ing a calico dress. And we men folks watch Mi*. W.’s 
operations with a keen interest instead of a chance to 
ridicule.” 
The Wife’s Share in the Business. 
This is what Mrs. W. says ; “ When we decided to 
come on this farm, no idea of failure was entertained 
for a moment. The open question was not, Shall 
we be successful ? but, What shall be the degree 
of success ? I had had some experience with poultry 
when a girl at home, so I naturally decided to raise 
poultry as a means of getting money. A friend made 
me a present of a copy of Henderson’s Gardening for 
Profit; to this I owe my success with vegetables and 
small fruits. I bought 100 hens to start with, set out 
one-fourth acre of strawberries, and one-eighth acre 
each of raspberries and blackberries. The raspberries 
and blackberries are still in bearing ; strawberries I 
set each year. I raised 400 chickens the first season. 
I sold the hens the last of June, shipping them to 
Chicago, getting 11 cents per pound. The original 
cost was six cents per pound. It was by mere accident 
that I found that hens brought a good price in June 
and early July. I have made a practice of disposing 
of them at this time ever since, not always at such a 
price, but I prefer to sell as it saves work, feed and 
risk of loss during moulting. My specialties in 
vegetables are melons, although I raise a good variety 
of all vegetables. But melons pay me the best, taking 
everything into consideration ; not much time is re¬ 
quired to gather them when wanted, they are of easy 
culture, and sell the best of anything with me. People 
drive out from the village in summer evenings, for 
vegetables and fruits. The neighbors buy large 
quantities of melons, and many passers-by read the 
sign at the roadside, stop and buy something. I have 
never carried anything to the village to sell, excepting 
eggs and poultry. 
“ My forcing* house is 10x20 feet, with two cold 
frames outside. It is divided into two parts by a glass 
partition ; one part is used for flowers and for starting 
tomatoes, etc., the other for starting cabbage plants, 
growing asparagus, lettuce, rhubarb and onions. This 
part of the house is kept colder than the other by giv¬ 
ing more ventilation. The rhubarb is grown under the 
edges of the benches ; the roots are taken up in the 
fall and kept in a cool place in the cellar until Decem¬ 
ber, when they are set out. The asparagus is treated 
in the same manner, with the exception that the roots 
are placed upon the benches : 
SALES FOR 1894. 
Eggs, 1,000 dozen. $120.00 
Spring chickens, 100 . 20.47 
Old hens, 111. 41.13 
Poultry in fall. 54.78 
Plants. 2. #3 
Early bunched vegetables. 11.24 
Tomatoes and cabbage. 17.21 
Melons. 34.17 
Strawberries, 863 boxes. 89.03 
Raspberries, 100 boxes. 12.00 
Blackberries, 189 boxes. 18.90 
Total. $421.76 
Total expense including feed for poultry, pick¬ 
ing berries, boxes, man labor, seed etc. 93.13 
Profit for 1894. $328.63” 
Illinois. DWIGHT HERRICK. 
MACHINE-CUT POTATO SEED. 
HOW MANY EYE8 WIDE THE CUTTER MISS ? 
Machines for cutting seed potatoes have now been 
sold for several years, and those who use them have 
had a fair chance to estimate their real value. In 
order to learn whether these slicers are more reliable 
than a knife in the hands of an ordinary workman, 
we have asked the following questions of part’es who 
have given the machines a careful trial. As most of 
our readers know, this cutter is a simple set of knives, 
which press down on the potato and slice it into 
square pieces. 
1. How rapidly can you cut potatoes with the machine? 
2. On what shaped and sized potatoes does it do best work ? 
3. What percentage of missing hills do you find from seed 
planted with the machine-cut potatoes ? 
4. Would an average hired man cut as perfect seed with it as he 
would w 7 ith a knife &. 
5. Please state in a few words why such a machine is desirable 
or valuable, and how much seed one should have to cut in order 
to make it profitable ? 
Beats “ Even an Intelligent Man ” With a Knife. 
We cut about 100 barrels of seed with a potato 
cutter, and are very much pleased with the manner in 
which it did its work. One real merit of the machine, 
is the rapidity with which the potatoes can be cut; 
another is the uniformity of size of the pieces, which 
means a considerable if they are to be planted with a 
planter. 1. It is an easy matter for an ordinary man 
to cut three barrels of potatoes an hour. 2. So far as 
our experience goes, we can not see that it works any 
better on one size than on another. If there is any 
difference, the medium-sized potatoes can be cut more 
rapidly than the small or very large ones, from the 
fact that a medium-sized potato can be picked up and 
placed in position more rapidly. 3. One per cent. 4. 
We think that even an intelligent man can not cut 
with a knife as perfect seed as can be cut with the 
potato cutter. 5. The desirable points of the potato 
cutter are, the rapidity with which the seed can be 
cut, the uniform size of the seed, and at the same time 
the removing of the seed end of the potato. In many 
localities it is important to get the seed into the 
ground as soon as possible, and it would require quite 
a number of hands to keep the planter running unless 
the seed were cut a number of days ahead. With a 
cutter, an ordinary man can, with two or three hours’ 
start, keep the planter going without any trouble, 
and one can feel satisfied that the seed is cut much 
more perfectly than it would have been cut by an or¬ 
dinary hired man with a knife. I would not think 
that the machine would be especially useful on a 
small farm, but any one planting 25 barrels of seed 
and upwards should certainly not be without a potato 
cutter. geo. w. bedell, 
Virginia. Manager for E. E. Barney. 
The Machine Is a Time Saver. 
1. Of medium-sized tubers, four bushels per hour, 
and do the work well. 2. I have never used the ma¬ 
chine except on long potatoes, but don't think the 
shape would make much difference. No difference in 
size, unless they be very large. 3. I have planted ma¬ 
chine and hand-cut seed, side by side, and could see 
no difference in the percentage of missing hills. When 
the machine is used with all the knives in, there will 
be occasionally a piece (perhaps one in a hundred) with¬ 
out an eye. This will be from the stem end, and is 
because the tuber is just the right size to make a small 
piece on that end. To overcome this trouble, I take 
out one or two knives on the ll seed end” side of the ma¬ 
chine, then with a little care in placing the tuber, 1 can 
cut it in four, six or eight pieces, always taking pains 
to have the stem end pieces full sized. If this be done, 
every piece will have eyes. The knives can be placed 
farther apart for varieties with few eyes. 4. I think 
more perfect. 5. I value the machine principally on 
account of the time saved. I can do in one day what 
would take me four by hand, and the work suits me 
better. If I have to set the hired man at it, I feel 
more sure of a good job. I plant from 10 to 20 acres a 
year, and the time saved with the machine, may make 
the difference between a fair crop and almost a fail¬ 
ure. I would hardly care to do without one, if plant¬ 
ing but five acres a year. Much more rapid work than 
I have intimated, can be done, if one is not particular, 
but I don't think it pays to go haphazard at anything. 
Michigan. a. l. Norton. 
Seed Pieces of More Uniform Shape. 
1. I think that I can cut about four or five times as 
rapidly as with a knife by hand. 2. It does good work 
on either long or round potatoes, and cuts all of a uni¬ 
form shape. 3. I cannot tell just the percentage of 
missing hills. I cut both with the machine and by 
hand in 1894. I do not think that any more hills w*ere 
missing where the potatoes were cut with the machine 
than by hand. 4. I think that a hired man, on the 
average, would do better work with the machine than 
by hand. If he cut with the machine, the potatoes 
would be of uniform shape, whereas, if he cut by 
hand, they w’ould be of all shapes and sizes. 5. The 
