VOL. XLVIII NO, 2036. NEW YORK. FEBRUARY 2, 1889, 
PKICE FIVE CENTS. 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
[Entered According to Act of Congress, In the Year 18S9, by the Rural New-Yorker, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.] 
farm Cfxmoimj. 
TWO POTATO TOOLS. 
N growing a few acres of po¬ 
tatoes every year I find a 
great saving of labor and 
time in using a potato plow 
to dig the tubers and a screen 
to sort them. The original 
plan of my plow came from 
the R. N.-Y. some years ago. 
I had the iron beam of my 
single shovel-plow bent so as 
to lay the plow nearly flat; 
then I straightened the shovel 
-somewhat and had bars riveted to it. Chains 
-drag behind the bars. This implement does 
good work if the cultivation has been level; 
but if the ground is badly ridged, it does not 
bring all the potatoes to the top. The plow 
had been such a useful implement to me and 
,to some of my neighbors, that I thought I 
would slip down “home” to my father-in-law’s, 
-some six miles away, and do him a good turn 
,for many good ones he has done for me, by 
\throwing out his five acres of potatoes; but, 
to my great surprise and annoyance, 1 found 
the potatoes so deep that when I gauged the 
plow to run under them, so much earth 
poured over it that the tubers were not all 
brought into sight. I at first thought I had 
a “two-story” hill, like those described later 
in the Rural ; but I now think that the 
depth of the tubers was due to a clover sod 
and mellow cultivation with large shovels. 
An illustration of this plow is shown at Fig. 
20, page 68. 
This year I made a screen on account of 
having an unusual amount of small potatoes. 
I first made a chute with cross-bars, having 
openings between them, but potatoes too 
large to pass the openings would lodge and 
clog them. After cutting slots in a salt bar¬ 
rel and revolving it like a wheat screen, I had 
a sheet of wire cloth made out of No. 10 
wire, and with square meshes! an-inch-and- 
a-half in the clear. It was 48 inches long 
by 28 wide. I rolled it up the long 
way, making a cylinder which I introduced 
into the frame in place of the barrel, and 
revolved it with a crank. It did well. Po- 
, tatoes, dirt, etc., were shoveled into the hop¬ 
per and, falling into the screen, the dirt and 
small potatoes dropped through on to an 
. inclined plane made of wicker work, with 
half-inch meshes through which the dirt fell, 
\the little potatoes rolling down into a basket, 
while the large ones poured out at the other 
end of the screen into another basket. The 
screen works well with Rose potatoes ; but 
for Burbanks and long, slim tubers generally 
the meshes should be a little smaller. The 
screen is shown at Fig. 19. e. n. c. 
Mattsville, Ind. 
DEVICE FOR HAULING BRUSH. 
(See page 68.) 
Drawing brush from an orchard has 
always been a perplexing job with me. I 
have never read a description of any good 
way of doing it. Here you have my way. 
The drawing Fig. 21 shows the implement. In 
this 1,1,1, represent the frame, and 2,2, 2, the 
stakes. I do not fasten the stakes in the holes 
or pile the brush so high that the stakes can¬ 
not be pulled out when I want to unload. In 
doing this I drive the frame out from under 
the brush, replace the stakes, and am ready 
to load it again. Tho load being so low, a 
large one can be drawn without interfering 
with limbs of the trees. The expense for 
such an arrangement is too small to be men¬ 
tioned. B. B. T. 
Wakeman, O. 
fflvm {Topic*. 
A JERSEYMAN’S JOTTINGS. 
The Rural sends me the following letter. 
It is from a subscriber at Paducah, Ken¬ 
tucky. 
“ In the Rural of October 27. appeared 
an article about “City Farmers,” that has fur¬ 
nished me food for considerable reflection, 
and I have scanned each succeeding copy of 
the paper expecting to see the article criti¬ 
cised either by the editor or some of the many 
subscribers. The writer seems imbued with 
a sentiment so often met with in our local 
farmers" clubs and other.similur organizations, 
that I cannot refrain from pointing out what 
I consider some of its errors, and, I may say, 
evils. He criticises most unmercifully some 
of the “projects” and “schemes” proposed 
by those city farmers, and says that he ad¬ 
vises them to raise nothing but hay and rye, 
with, perhaps, a few potatoes. 
Now the thought I wish to present is this: 
Does either of them “know it all”—or, in 
other words, is not “Jerseyman” and the 
“city farmer” each in possession of facts 
and information that the other needs? 
There is no question but that a man brought 
up in a city knows more about the wants, 
tastes ami fancies of city people than does 
the ordinary farmer. He also knows more 
"about the “commercial world;” knows 
better how to buy and sell, also the most 
popular and attractive methods of preparing 
products for market, etc., etc.; while, for want 
of experience (or rather lack of information 
obtainable from reliable agricultural papers 
and books), he is tar behind his neighbor 
farmer in the production of crops. Let these 
two classes of farmers establish a farmers’ 
institute, or, better still, a private circle, club 
or wheel (as they may be pleased to call it), 
composed of not more than 12 male members; 
let them have tbeir meetings monthly or 
semi-monthly at the different homes of the 
members, taking them in rotation and spend¬ 
ing the day. The forenoon can be devoted to 
going over the farm, the visitors seeing how 
the proprietor plants and cultivates his crops, 
utilizes stony or swampy lands, constructs his 
fences, prunes and cultivates his orchard and 
vineyard, houses and feeds his stock, etc.' 
while the pioprietor can avail himself of the 
advice and counsel of his fellow farmers upon 
various points upon which he may be un 
decided. After returning to the house and 
enjoying a substantial farm dinner, they can go 
into session and (if it be their first meeting) 
permanently organize and designate such 
topics for discussion and investigation at the 
next meeting as will be to the mutual iuterest 
of all. 
Here the city farmer, from having more 
time and opportunities for keeping posted, can 
contribute his share of information by post¬ 
ing the Jersey farmer on statistics relating to 
the extent and condition of crops, prices, etc., 
and give advice about packing and shipping. 
The Jerseyman can point out the errors the 
city farmer is committing, and offer such ad¬ 
vice as may be necessary. What else can and 
should be done at these meetings I will not 
now venture to suggest, lest I make this arti¬ 
cle too long; but if each member that is for" 
tunate enough to have a wife, will take her 
with him to these meetings, she will enjoy 
them, live longer and be happier, take more 
interest in farming and the world generally 
and be as much benefited by seeing how her 
hostess conducts her household affairs, as he 
will be by his convention. 
But I have strayed somewhat from the ori¬ 
ginal thought: Are not some, at least, ot the 
“schemes” proposed by the city farmers 
practical, and would they not be profitable if 
taken hold of and carried out in a practical 
manner? And would not the Jersey farmers 
profit by diversifying their farming more 
than “Jerseyman” recommends, and not try 
to “ carry all their eggs to market in one bas¬ 
ket?” What we farmers need as badly as 
anything else is an interchange of ideas with 
men experienced in matters of which we are 
ignorant, and if there were more sociability 
and sympathy existing between the two par¬ 
ties in question, I cannot help thinking it 
would be to the mutual interest of both.” 
REPLY. R. B L. 
It appears that I was not quite plain enough 
in my article. The main idea that I tried to 
bring out [was that in order to make any 
money at farming a man has got to make a 
business of it. In this State he has got to do 
part of the work himself, stay by the crops 
constantly and make a study of his business. 
While our friend the city farmer, keeps up 
his work in the city, he can’t farm except at a 
loss. This is no reflection upon the business 
ability of the city farmer. It only proves 
that farming is a mighty intricate business 
that will surely suffer if you try to make it 
a side issue. If a man can’t give his whole 
heart and mind to farming he has no business 
to growl if he loses money at it. 1 always urge 
city farmers to raise the crops that require 
the least labor and care. Take rye and hay. 
If these crops are well manured and start¬ 
ed they grow without the bother of weeding 5 
cultivating and hoeing; one can sell the stand¬ 
ing crops if he wants to, and it is a good deal 
better for the city farmer to do just this busi¬ 
ness than it is for him to put out a lot of 
truck, like sweet corn and melons or fruit, that 
must be handled just right in order to pay. 
This I claim is true while we have such help 
as we ordinarily get in this State. A club 
such as our friend describes would be a first- 
rate thing if it could be organized. The 
trouble is that no club could live long con¬ 
taining two such opposite elements as our 
city farmers and those of us who have to dig 
our living out of the ground. We might 
form a club of our own and they might form 
one of their own set, but I doubt if we would 
pull very far together. Why ? In order to 
make such a club successful, there must be 
some fundamental truth that every member 
can come back to for a fresh start when his 
feelings are aroused by a sharp discussion 
over farm methods. Now, in such a club as 
our friend talks about there could be no basis 
for a solid organization. One-half the mem¬ 
bers would feel that agriculture meant to 
them the most serious kind of business, while 
to the other half it would mean a recreation 
or a scheme for spending some money. Let 
me argue some farm method with a fellow 
farmer, and while I might not believe bis 
opinion was very sound I would be apt to re¬ 
spect it because I could feel that he earned his 
bread and butter by backing it up with actual 
work. Can I feel so when a “city farmer’' 
advances such schemes as I detailed in my 
article? jerseyman. 
Dtiinj us ban tine 
BUTTER FOR THE TABLE. 
A " POTATO SEPARATOR.” Fig. 19. 
The way in which butter is served at very 
