958 
■Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
HOPE  FARM  NOTES 
Part  II. 
The  Journey. — The  trip  was  care¬ 
fully  planned,  and  it  required  great  judg¬ 
ment  and  ability  to  carry  if  through. 
A  program  was  printed  some  days  before 
tlie  start,  with  a  time  schedule  blocked 
out  for  each  stop.  It  was  hard  to  make 
an  interested  crowd,  out  for  a  holiday, 
realize  the  full  value  of  time,  hut  Mr. 
Crofoot  managed  to  keep  them  going.  At 
the  back  of  his  ear  was  a  big  sign 
marked  " Pacemaker ”  and  when  time  was 
up  Crofoot  collected  his  passengers  and 
started  off,  and  of  course  the  crowd  filed 
in  behind  the  pacemaker.  When  we  left 
Olean  the  ground  was  wet  and  there  was 
some  promise  of  rain.  By  the  end  of  the 
trip  the  roads  were  dry  and  the  dust  was 
flying,  so  that  some  of  the  passengers  in 
the  last  cars  were  coated  thick  with  cow 
country  road  dust.  The  object  of  this 
journey  was  to  compare  notes  on  cattle 
and  cow  care  by  going  right  to  the  farms 
where  high-class  stock  is  kept.  First 
came  the  fine  Holstein  herd  of  Senator 
A.  T.  Fancher.  The  cattle  were  looked 
over  and  the  Senator  gave  a  short  talk. 
Then  the  cars  rushed  on  to  the  <  Hd  Bee 
Farm,  where  we  all  got  out  to  look  over 
a  herd  "f  young  stock.  They  were  beau¬ 
ties,  and  the  object  of  this  visit  was  to 
show  the  importance  of  first-class  care. 
Pure  blood  is  the  basis  of  improvement, 
but  if  the  young  stock  is  not  given  the 
best  of  care  it  cannot  do  justice  to  its 
pedigree.  Then  there  came  a  rush  over 
the  hills  and  along  the  valleys  until  the 
great  crowd  went  streaming  into  the  yard 
of  the  Dow  Farms  at  Randolph. 
Dinner  Hour. — Coffee  was  furnished 
by  Dow  Farms  and  hundreds  of  lunch 
boxes  appeared  as  if  by  magic.  I  should 
not  like  to  say  how  many  chickens  must 
have  lost  their  heads  in  order  to  provide 
for  this  holiday.  One  thing  is  sure,  these 
farmers  up  in  the  cow  country  have  plen¬ 
ty  to  cat  and  enough  to  pass  around.  I 
got  hold  of  a  few  sandwiches  of  “salt- 
rising”  bread  that  were  worth  a  full  din¬ 
ner  at  the  Hotel  Astor.  There  must  have 
been  fully  000  people  gathered  under  the 
trees  before  the  farmhouse  when  F.  N. 
Godfrey  introduced  the  first  speaker — 
for  of  course  an  audience  of  American 
farmers  must  have  dinner  washed  down 
with  a  gentle  flood  of  oratory.  There 
were  talks  by  Miss  Martha  Van  Rensse¬ 
laer  <if  ('ornell.  ( 'oinmissioner  (\  S.  Wil¬ 
son  and  the  Hope  Farm  man.  We  were 
all  cut  off  short  by  the  stern  finger  of 
the  clock,  for  there  were  many  miles  of 
travel  before  us  and  several  fine  young 
Holstein  bulls  were  bellowing  for  rec¬ 
ognition  against  the  efforts  of  the  orators. 
Tnjs  Improved  Sire. — One  great  ob¬ 
ject  of  this  stop  was  to  “emphasize  the 
importance  of  a  good  herd  sire.”  The 
bull  at  the  head  of  this  herd  is  Dockland 
Oolantha  Sir  Iflba.  lie  is  said  to  he  the 
largest  Holstein  hull  in  New  York,  and 
is  as  fine  in  quality  as  he  is  large  in  size. 
During  the  lunch  and  the  speaking  this 
fine  gentleman  in  black  and  white  was 
walked  up  and  down  where  the  crowd 
could  see  him.  He  marched  along  quiet¬ 
ly  with  a  dignity  becoming  one  who  1ms 
more  A.  R.  O.  daughters  than  any  living 
bull  of  his  age.  lli--  daughters,  too.  are 
not  mere  producers  of  “whitened  water,” 
hut  they  are  noted  for  butter  fat  produc¬ 
tion.  The  descendants  of  such  hulls  will 
help  make  this  cow  country  into  that 
promised  land,  growing  Alfalfa  and  flow¬ 
ing  cream.  After  the  speaking  there  was 
a  “quick  auction  sale”  of  five  young  bulls 
of  fine  breeding.  Then  the  pacemaker 
picked  up  its  paces  once  more,  and  the 
long  procession  whirled  on  to  the  next 
stop. 
On  Our  Way- — The  next  stop  was 
planned  for  an  inspection  of  an  up-to- 
date  dairy  barn.  Then  a  run  through  the 
dust  to  inspect  the  Ayrshire  herd  of  F. 
II.  Cookinghnm.  This  gave  a  chance  to 
compare  the  brown  and  white  cattle  with 
the  1  lolstcins  and  to  look  over  a  practi¬ 
cal  dairy  farm  which  has  been  devel¬ 
oped  to  a  high  point  with  a  small  m'ig- 
inal  investment.  Some  of  the  individual 
cows  in  this  herd  were  wonders,  and  tiny 
all  showed  evidence  of  a  master  hand  in 
selection  and  feeding.  It  has  to  he  a 
mighty  good  cow  lip  in  that  country  to 
prove  herself  efficient  and  keep  herself 
in  demand  without  carrying  a  black  and 
white  hide.  After  several  thousand  more 
explosions  of  gasoline  we  stopped  again 
at  “Phelandale,”  the.  home  of  James 
Phelan,  for  a  final  look  at  some  high- 
class  IIolsLeins.  Here  there  were  short 
talks  on  cattle  and  presentation  of  Hol¬ 
stein  bulls  won  by  members  of  the  cow- 
testing  association  whose  cows  made  the 
best  records  for  the  past  year.  Mr. 
Phelan  is  president  of  Southwestern  New 
York  Holstein  Breeders’  Association, 
and  he  gave  a  good  demonstration  of  the 
VQ-  ying  capacity  of  individual  cows.  At 
this  stop  cold  milk  and  doughnuts  were 
cn  tap.  The  doughnuts  were  “like  mother 
used  to  make,”  while  the  milk  was  what 
the  Holsteins  are  making  now.  This 
farm  was  remarkable  for  experiments 
with  vetch  and  other*  new  crops.  One 
field  of  rye  and  vetch  was  excellent  and 
shows  what  can  he  done  with  this  soil. 
The  crop  at  Phelandale  is  grown  for 
seed  mostly,  but  if  a  few  such  crops 
could  be  plowed  into  the  soil  with  lime 
Alfalfa  would  surely  he  made  to  follow. 
And  this  great  mass  of  green  stuff  could 
he  seeded  in  the  corn  and  thus  cost  little 
or  nothing. 
Livei.y  Times. — It  was  milking  time 
or  after  when  the  last  word  was  spoken 
by  M.  C.  Burritt,  the  State  Farm  Bu¬ 
reau  tender.  For  half  an  hour  before 
car  after  car  had  been  slipped  away,  for 
there  was  a  long  journey  ahead  and  a 
dark  cloud  was  climbing  up  the  sky.  We 
had  a  run  of  55  miles  buck  to  Olean.  and 
this  will  give  some  idea  of  the  distance 
covered  during  the  day.  We  were  off 
with  a  snort  and  a  jump.  The  rain  came 
down  upon  us  and  night  closed  in.  but 
on  we  went  flying  over  the  roads  and 
reaching  town  on  time.  It  was  an  im¬ 
pressive  reminder  of  what  the  car  has 
done  for  farmers.  Ten  years  ago  such  a 
journey  would  have  been  limited  to  20 
miles.  I  remember  some  years  ago  how 
a  company  of  Massachusetts  farmers  un¬ 
dertook  such  an  excursion.  It.  was  a  hot 
day  and  after  about  10  miles  the  horses 
gave  out.  and  all  hands  had  to  walk  back 
to  a  trolley  line.  Here  we  had  swung 
about  125  miles,  making  in  a  day  what 
would  have  been  a  week’s  journey  under 
old  conditions.  These  cars  were  Owned 
by  farmers.  Mr.  Crofoot  simply  called 
upon  Bureau  men  to  come  and  bring  four 
neighbors  and  the  thing  was  done.  I  be¬ 
lieve  this  is  only  a  small  illustration  of 
the  way  motor  cars  and  trucks  are  to 
help  tin*  farmer  in  his  business.  lie  will 
not  only  be  carried  about  rapidly,  but  his 
crops  and  products  will  he  hauled  to 
market  and  his  level  fields  will  be 
plowed  and  tilled  by  gas  or  alcohol  power. 
I  hope  to  see  the  time  when  the  waste 
fruit  and  potatoes  in  one  section  of  New 
York  will  be  made  into  industrial  alco¬ 
hol  tu  work  farm  machinery  in  another 
section.  All  such  demonstrations  as  this 
big  excursion  help  bring  that  time  about. 
They  make  people  think  and  thought 
works  out  relief  for  necessities. 
The  Hi  man  Machinery. — It  means 
much  in  these  days  when  U00  people  can 
get  together  as  they  did  at  Dow  Farms — • 
off  in  the  country — away  from  any  large 
town  and  in  a  backward  season  when 
every  hour  of  sunshine  means  money-  In 
that  group  of  earnest  people  might  be 
found  all  the  elements  needed  to  revolu¬ 
tionize  that  cow  country  if  they  can  only 
be  brought  together  and  made  to  work 
in  harness.  There  is  the  whole  Story — 
co-operative  work  and  thought.  That 
country  is  no  longer  :t  place  for  indi¬ 
vidual  or  independent,  work  alone.  Men 
must  learn  to  work  in  harness.  The  foun¬ 
dation  needs  in  production  are  improved 
cattle  and  the  use  of  lime  and  phos¬ 
phorus.  A  moment's  thought  will  show 
anyone  that  no  single  individual  can 
work  these  things  out  alone.  Improve¬ 
ment  of  stock  is  a  community  business, 
and  the  use  of  lime  means  combination  in 
buying  and  shipping.  This  meeting  would 
not.  have  been  possible  five  years  ago. 
The  people  could  not  have  been  brought 
together  and  they  would  not  have  seen 
any  gain  from  such  a  display.  Five 
years  from  now  there  will  be  1 1  tree  times 
as  many  cars  and  people  because  year  by 
year  the  necessity  of  getting  together  will 
grow  stronger.  The  mere  fact  that  peo¬ 
ple  come  and  stand  together  in  this  way 
will  help,  even  though  no  apparent  thing 
is  worked  out.  As  a  criticism  I  might 
say  that  too  little  time  was  spent  in  ex-- 
plaining  and  making  clear  about  the  rat¬ 
tle,  the  crops  and  the  methods  shown. 
The  people  looked  tilings  over,  but  there 
should  have  been  some  one  to  point  out 
and  make  clear  the  heart  of  the  subject. 
There  was  more  of  this  at  Mr.  Phelan’s 
place,  and  it  was  a  good  feature.  While 
tin1  chief  aim  of  this  excursion  was  to 
point  out  improved  methods  of  produc¬ 
tion  let  no  one  think  the  marketing  ques¬ 
tion  is  forgotten.  It  came  out  in  every 
conversation — all  dairymen  arc  talking 
about  it.  This  country  is  over  (he  divide 
where  the  waters  run  to  Lake  Erie  or  the 
Ohio  River,  so  that  the  New  York  mar¬ 
ket  does  not  affect  them  so  directly,  but 
they  have  their  own  big  market  problems 
and  are  trying  to  work  them  out.  The 
questions  of  better  blood,  lime,  humus 
and  phosphorus  are  bringing  farmers  to¬ 
gether  and  they  will  stay  together  for  the 
market  question.  Without  any  doubt 
this  Farm  Bureau  work  has  large  possi¬ 
bilities-  It  is  going  to  be  just  what  the 
farmers  want  it  to  he.  These  farmers 
must:  not  stand  .-till  and  think  the  -State 
<>r  Federal  government  is  going  to  do  all 
the  work  for  them.  If  that  were  done 
the  politicians  would  demand  such  pay 
for  doing  it  that  there  would  be  nothing 
left.  All  the  State  ought  to  do  is  to  fur- 
July  S,  191(5. 
nish  the  machine  or  organization.  Then 
lot  the  farmers  take  hold  of  it  and  \v-  rk 
it  hard.  Last  week  I  stated  that  the 
Farm  Bureau  handled  some  7,000  tuns 
of  lime.  The  Bureau  does  not  really  en¬ 
gage  in  commercial  enterprises — it  devel¬ 
oped  the  demand  and  the  farmers  did  the 
business.  _ II.  w.  C. 
Killing  Witch  Grass 
Regarding  advice  on  page  742,  our  ex¬ 
perience  has  been  that  the  host  crop  to 
kill  out  witch  (or  quack)  grass  is  corn, 
properly  tended.  The  corn  should  ho 
planted  in  check  rows  and  cultivation 
begun  as  soon  as  the  rows  can  he  semi, 
not  later  than  when  a  majority  of  the 
plants  are  an  inch  tall.  The  cultivatin’ 
should  go  through  th  -  rows  at  least 
once  a  week,  until  the  corn  completely 
shades  the  ground.  Cultivation  should 
be  twice  in  a  row  to  allow  the  man  to 
get  close  to  the  hills  on  each  side.  If 
thorough  work  is  done  with  the  cultivator 
and  the  hoe  only  one  booing  will  he 
needed.  The  increased  yield  will  more 
than  pay  for  the  extra  work  and  the 
grass  can  be  practically  destroyed. 
Thoroiiph  Summer-fallowing  will  kill  out 
the  grass  but  it  will  be  necessary  to  cu'- 
tivute  the  field  with  some  tool  which  will 
either  throw  the  roots  all  out  on  the 
surface  to  dry  or  which  will  bury  and 
.smother  them.  A  combination  of  the 
two  is  not  good.  In  Summer-fallowing 
it  will  he  necessary  to  cultivate  at  least 
once  a  week  whether  any  grass  shows 
up  Ol*  not.  ALFRED  C.  WEED. 
Wayne  Co..  N.  Y. 
Fowls  With  Depraved  Appetite 
My  chickens  eat  their  droppings.  They 
have  plenty  of  feed  and  all  kinds  of  grit 
before  them  all  the  time;  healthy  and 
good  layers.  Cau  you  tell  me  what 
would  stop  this?  II.  o.  L. 
Pennsylvania. 
Close  confinement  and  lack  of  some 
essential  elements  in  the  food  are  be¬ 
lieved  to  be  responsible  for  such  in¬ 
stances  of  depraved  appetite  as  are  shown 
by  your  fowls  in  eating  their  droppings. 
If  possible,  give  the  flock  a  grass  range 
and  feed  them  a  variety  of  foods,  in¬ 
cluding  sueh  animal  food  as  beef  scrap, 
meat  meal  or  skim-milk.  Keep  ch  archill 
before  them  also,  and  supply  them  with 
crushed  oyster  shells  that  they  may  have 
a  plentiful  supply  of  lime.  If  necessary 
to  confine  the  flock  to  a’  bare  yard,  see 
that  they  have  an  ample  supply  of  green 
stuff.  M.  B.  D. 
M ake  Your Whe at  Pay 
i 
A  Wheat  Field  in  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y.  which  produced  over  40  bushels  of  sound  Wheat  per  acre. 
Do  You  Raise  40  Bushels  of  Wheat  Per  Acre? 
If  you  were  planning  to  secure  the  benefit  cf  the  present  high  wheat  prices  and 
produce  *40  bushels  per  acre  cn  your  own  farm — 
What  kind  cf  so:I  would  you  select  and  how  would  you  prepare  it? 
What  variety  cf  seed  would  you  sow?  How  much  seed  per  acre? 
How  would  you  prevent  the  smut  and  avoid  the  ravages  of  the  Hessian  fly? 
How  much  fertilizer  would  ycu  use  per  acre?  Would  you  use  Lime  with  it? 
To  aid  our  farmer  friends  in  securing  the  greatest  profit  from  their  wheat  crops  we  have  published  a 
practical  booklet  entitled  "  Winter  Wheat."  Ail  of  the  questions  mentioned  above  and  many  others  are 
answered  in  this  booklet.  It  will  well  repay  your  careful  reading.  If  you  will  tell  us  the  number  of 
acres  of  wheat  that  you  intend  to  sow  this  season  we  will  send  you  a  copy  free  of  charge. 
The  Coe-Mortimer  Company 
Subsidiary  of  the  American  Agricultural  Chemical  Co. 
51  Chambers  Street  -  New  York  City 
WAR  PRICES  FOR  WHEAT  OFFER  UNUSUAL  OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  AMERICAN  FARMERS 
INSURE  THE  SUCCESS  OF  YOUR  CROP  BY  USING 
E.  Frank  Coe’s  Special  Grain  Fertilizers 
"1916 
TriE  BUSINESS  FARMERS’  STANDARD  FOR  NEARLY  SIXTY  YEARS 
) 
