1895 
8i3 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
AN OVERCOAT OF LEAVES 
MAKES TIIE STRAWBERRY COMFORTABEE. 
Last summer we told about T. C. Kevitt’s famous 
potted Parker Earle strawberries. Mr. lvevitt is the 
man wlio never buys any stable manure. He uses 
fertilizers for fertility, leaves and salt hay for mulch, 
and Crimson clover for organic matter. The result of 
this is that there are very few weeds to be killed, but 
lots of plants to be tilled. 
“How are the berries?” I asked Mr. Kevitt the 
other day. 
“ All covered and gone into winter quarters,” he re¬ 
plied. 
“ Isn’t it a little early to cover them ?” 
“Some think so—those who believe that the soil 
should be frozen solid first. I have a different theory 
and have acted accordingly this fall. The plants were 
not so large as I would have liked, but I’ll get berries 
from them next year. My belief is that the roots of 
the strawberry will, if permitted, keep growing all 
through the warmer parts of winter. I would mulch 
so as to keep the frost out of the ground as long as 
possible. 1 have often observed the soil in the woods 
under its coating of leaves. Dig down into it and see 
how the frost keeps out, and how many of the roots 
are alive and fresh almost all winter. Why not give 
the strawberry roots a chance for winter growth ?” 
“ You use leaves, then ?” 
“Yes, to cover four acres. I have quite a bit of 
woodland adjoining the berry field. Three men worked 
for an entire week raking and wheeling the leaves 
out on to the strawberries. We spread them about 
three inches deep, and anchored them down with salt 
hay. The rains beat and packed them down,.and now 
the berries are safe till spring, and will do consider¬ 
able growing in the meantime. Most growers wait 
until the ground is hard enough to drive on with a 
wagon, and spread manure over the berries. My plan 
suits me better. I have the leaves close at hand. They 
are cheaper than manure, bring no weed seeds into 
the soil, and, as I believe, make a better covering.” 
“ How is the Crimson clover doing ? ” 
“ Fine. I sowed it August 29, after strawberries, 
and it is now a perfect mat over the ground. It will 
be plowed under next spring for another strawberry 
crop,'or for early potatoes, to be followed by potted 
strawberry plants.” 
“ Ever tried growing strawberries under glass ?” 
“ We are testing it this winter in a greenhouse to 
determine the best condition of heat, sun and mois¬ 
ture. When we know more about it, we may go into 
it to some extent. The best thing I have learned this 
year in fruit culture, is that a big Jlat, one-box deep, 
is a much better shipping package than the old-fash¬ 
ioned crate. The latter is a ‘ back number ’ with me.” 
H. w. c. 
THE COST OF A BUSHEL OF POTATOES. 
Thirteen Cents in New York. —The statement is 
made that potatoes raised by Mr. Chapman cost only 
nine cents per bushel. If no other items of cost but 
those mentioned enter into the account, potatoes 
can be raised for less than nine cents per bushel. The 
cost per acre of the crop raised on my farm this year, 
was as follows : 
Plowing and harrowing. $2.00 
Twelve bushels of seed. 6.00 
Cutting seed. 75 
Use of planter. 50 
Man and team planting. 40 
Breeds’weeder twice. 20 
Cultivating five times. 1.25 
Hand hoeing. 2.00 
Paris-green and applying. 75 
Digging and storing. 7.00 
Total cost per acre.$20.85 
One load was carefully measured and also the land 
on which they grew, and the yield was 260 bushels 
per acre. No fertilizers were used. The hand hoeing 
was done to kill Quack grass. The variety was Rural 
New-Yorker No. 2, and they were very nice as to size 
and of excellent quality. The Carman No. 1 potato, also 
raised without fertilizers, yielded at the rate of 350 
bushels per acre. If no extra charge for seed is made, 
the Carman was raised at a cost, according to Mr. 
Chapman’s method of accounting, of six cents per 
bushel. I do not think, however, that these figures 
represent the real cost of potatoes. Land that will 
raise 200 or 300 bushels of potatoes to the acre, is 
valuable, and the plant food required for such a crop, 
whether furnished by direct application, or in previous 
years with other crops, has a money value that is a 
legitimate charge in the cost account. Three dollars 
per acre ffo not cover this cost. I think that $3 per 
acre interest on the value of land should be charged, 
and, at least, $9 per acre for plant food removed from 
the soil. Add these items to the cost as stated above, 
and the result will be $32.85 per acre, the cost of the 
R. N.-Y. No. 2 potatoes nearly 13 cents per bushel, 
and of Carman less than 10 cents. 
I do not know that the Carman will yield better 
than the R. N.-Y. No. 2. In my trial, the Carman 
was planted by hand, and every hill was perfeet. 
With the R. N.-Y. No. 2, a planter was used, and many 
hills were missing. Corrosive sublimate was used for 
one bushel of scabby seed, with good results. Leg¬ 
gett’s Paris-green gun was used in place of the tank 
and cart of former years. The application was made 
two rows at a time, as fast as a man could walk. The 
gun is satisfactory. C. s. RICE. 
Ten Cents in Iowa. —First, what is the use of the 
land worth ? Mr. Chapman should make an allow¬ 
ance, either for rent, or else for interest on money 
invested, and the taxes, which would be about the 
same. How he could leave this out, I cannot under¬ 
stand. Whether the other items are right for his 
locality, he will have to judge ; but they will not 
apply to Iowa’s potato region. In the same issue, 
page 749, 1 stated that we could raise potatoes for 10 
cents a bushel, but we figure it out this way : 
Rent for one acre.$3.50 
Plowing.75 
Harrowing three times.30 
Cultivating three times.90 
Hoeing. 1-50 
Seed, eight bushels at 40 cents. 3.20 
Corrosive sublimate treatment, 5c. per bushel.40 
Planting.75 
Raking and burning tops. 15 
Digging, picking up and storing. 6.00 
Total.$17.45 
Poor farmers can raise an acre of potatoes for less 
money ; but this is a fair average of what it will cost 
a good farmer. Then the yield, one year with an¬ 
other, will average at least 175 bushels, making the 
cost 10 cents a bushel. I believe in fall plowing, or, 
at least, early-spring plowing, and then the weeds 
should be kept off; till planting time by the harrow. 
Planting for 75 cents an acre may seem low, but a 
planter did a good deal of work in this neighborhood 
last spring, that cut the seed, opened the furrow, 
dropped the potatoes, covered and marked out the 
next row, at one operation. The owner charged 50 
cents an acre for the use of the machine, and fur¬ 
nished his son to operate it. All the farmer had to do 
was to furnish team and driver. With a Dowden 
digger and a good crew of piekers, and the pit or heap 
where they are stored, convenient, $6 are a good allow¬ 
ance for digging. _ e. b. watson. 
STRAWBERRIES FOR THE WINTER MARKET. 
Will The R. N.-Y. tell us how to force strawberries for the 
winter market—best variety and temperature ? E. b. k. 
South Haven, Mich. 
Such information is not always cheerfully given by 
those who make a living at forcing strawberries. Our 
friend, Matthew Crawford, has obtained the follow¬ 
ing facts from one of the most competent growers in 
the country. They are reliable : 
This branch of horticulture has not been carried on 
extensively in this country. It would seem, however, 
that as strawberries grown under glass, have brought 
from $5 to $7 a quart in New York during the holiday 
season, it would pay well. Very few will engage in 
what requires great skill and care. 
The time to commence is in June, when strong, 
healthy runners can be obtained. These should be 
layered in two-inch pots in the usual way, and not 
be allowed to get dry until well-rooted. They are 
then to be shifted into three-inch pots, using soil 
only moderately rich in nitrogen but containing an 
abundance of phosphoric acid and potash, always 
making the soil firm in the pots, and leaving half an 
inch to hold water. It is best to use new soil in which 
strawberries have never grown. The pots are then 
to be put in a frame or bed, fully exposed to the light 
and frequently watered until they are well filled with 
roots. They are then to be shifted into four-inch 
pots, using some gravel in the bottom for drainage. 
They are to be shifted twice more, and after the 
six-inch pots are well filled with roots, water is 
to be withheld gradually, and the plants allowed to 
ripen. They are then to be kept dormant until 
needed for forcing. This is accomplished by keeping 
them cool—not frozen too hard—dark, and not too 
moist. 
About 60 days before the ripe fruit is desired, the 
plants are to be brought in and the temperature very 
gradually increased to 50 or 60 degrees. They must 
stand close to the glass, and have plenty of water 
with a temperature like favorable April weather in 
this latitude, gradually increasing as the growth 
advances. 
When the blossoms appear, some means must be 
used to pollenize them. Sometimes bees are kept in 
the house ; sometimes the blossoms are agitated with 
a fan, or slightly brushed with a camel’s hair pencil. 
As soon as a sufficient number of fruits are set, all 
other blossoms are cut off. From this time on, the 
soil in the pots is to be abundantly watered with 
weak, liquid manure, and the temperature gradually 
increased as the berries approach maturity. 
The matter of ventilation and the precautions to 
take in guarding against insects and fungous diseases, 
are well known to all who manage glass houses. Of 
course, runners must always be kept off. The amount 
of fruit to be taken from each plant must be decided 
by the grower. A very successful man who has often 
had over 3,000 plants coming on at a time, was never 
satisfied with less than a quart from each one. I 
would depend chiefly on varieties that have perfect 
blossoms, not too large plants, and fine fruit. Noble, 
Ivanhoe, Parker Earle and Beverly should be satis¬ 
factory. _ 
A dry and parching season, with a constant supply 
of water for irrigation, is a more profitable one than 
close and “ muggy” weather with abundant rainfall, 
but little sunshine. Plants need the sun as well as 
water, and one of the great advantages of farming in 
a section like Colorado is that growing plants may be 
“bathed in everlasting sunshine,” and still have their 
roots surrounded by a solution of plant food. With 
an irrigating system a dry, hot season is the best the 
farmer can have. 
Q 
If you have not been attending the local farmers’ 
institute in the past, let us suggest two or three 
reasons why you should do so. The institute is a 
good place to go for new inspiration to better work. 
Workers need inspiration now and then, and while 
The R. N.-Y. is doing its best to stir you up to better 
effort, no matter how well you have done in the past, 
there is something in personal contact with others 
who are studying and endeavoring to do their best. 
We do not say that the lecturer is any better farmer 
than you are, because we do not know about that; 
but the chances are that he has practical hold of some 
ideas you need, and it is business to find out. Here 
is another reason for going : The fellow who knows 
so much that he will not take a farm paper, is op¬ 
posed to the institutes. You do not belong to his 
crowd, and you do not want to seem too careless about 
any movement that is calculated to make farmers 
think. There is the social side, also. The institute 
is the place to meet the thinking men from other 
parts of the country, and to greet old friends. Do not 
let life become a grind. Take your wife w ith you by 
all means, throw aside every mean, little care, and 
spend two days brightening up the social and intel¬ 
lectual side of life. Into such a crowd there is no 
better passport than your copy of The R. N.-Y. stick¬ 
ing out of your pocket. 
o 
The best of the cattle, of the sheep, and of the 
swine were gathered in Madison Square Garden last 
week, from many States, to compete in the first an¬ 
nual show of the Live Stock Society of America. The 
cream of the herds was there. The best of the Guern¬ 
seys, Jerseys, Ayrsliires, and Holstein-Friesians, 
Dutch Belted and Normandys. The beef breeds were 
represented by the Shorthorns, Aberdeen-Angus and 
llerefords—and massive animals they were, too. Then 
there were sheep of the leading breeds, that make 
one think that the sheep business is not yet dead. 
Shropshires, Oxford Downs, South Downs, Hampshire 
Downs, Cotswolds, Dorsets, but no Merinos. In swine, 
the black breeds were represented by the Berkshires. 
The white breeds comprised Small Yorkshires. Che- 
shires and Essex. Then there were some Duroc- 
Jerseys for contrast. There were fine specimens of 
poultry of the leading breeds, and plenty of orna¬ 
mental fowls. Of fruits, the display was almost 
entirely confined to a large display of pears by 
Ellwanger & Barry. The finest show of flowers and 
plants seen in New York in a long time, had an entire 
hall to itself. The prizes were liberal, the judges ex¬ 
perts, and the arrangements perfect. It was a verita¬ 
ble agricultural fair with the exhibits of the highest 
grade, but without any of the claptrap shows all too 
common in the agricultural fairs of to-day. One mis¬ 
take of the management was in putting the price of 
admission at $ 1 , and this, no doubt, had something to 
do with the rather small attendance. We shall tell 
all about it next week. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Don’t your pigs mature early, or fatten easily ? Perhaps C. 
Fred Boshart, Lowville, N. Y., could say something to help you. 
A milk route in the city is considered a pretty good paying 
business. DeGroot Bros., of Brooklyn, N. Y., are offering their 
milk business for sale. 
Have you baling to do ? The Collins Plow Co., 1111 Hampshire 
Street, Quincy, Ill., want to talk with you. Most of their talk is 
bound up in a 64-page catalogue. 
That is a very good suggestion of G. & C. Merriam Co., of 
Springfield, Mass. We hardly know of a more useful Christmas 
present than Webster’s dictionary. 
The Buckeye is another of those feed mills that are two 
machines in one—the power and grinder is one machine. All you 
have to do is to hitch on the team, and go ahead. It is made by 
Staver & Abbott, 383 Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. 
Many fail with poultry, not because they don’t care for them, 
but for want of the right kind of care. Mahlon Sager, Orangeville. 
Pa., gives information on care free to customers who buy his 
poultry. It ought to help make his customers successful. 
There is really no excuse for any one to neglect cutting coarse 
fodder for stock when cutters are so cheap. The Ann Arbor Agri 
cultural Works, Ann Arbor, Mich., make them as low as $2.80 
They, however, make higher priced and, no doubt, cheaper one 
in the end. 
