285 
4888 
fall in the trench behind the first shovel. 
Then the second shovel, bent to run at one 
side, will cover the seed and leave the ground 
smooth. The little blocks of wood in front of 
the strap of each shovel are used to lower the 
shovels or raise them as desired. They are 
shown on a larger scale at Fig. 105, No. 7. 
Now we see how the seed is covered. How 
/ 
Fig. 103. 
is it dropped? A frame made of plank 
and 2x4-inch scantliug, like that shown at 
Fig. 100, with a better picture at Fig. 107, 
fits at the top of the hind wheels. The driver 
sits on the potato box with bis feet resting on 
the board in front. The stove-pipe comes 
up through the space back of the box. and 
the dropper sits behind it. The inside of 
the potato nox is shown at Fig. 100, though 
the stove-pipe rises higher than the cut 
would indicate. Now the driver starts up, 
and the dropper lets a quantity of potato sets 
Fig. 104. 
roll down the inclined boards about the stove¬ 
pipe. He drops them one by one into the 
stove-pipe; they fall behind the first shovel 
and are covered by the second. Fig. 105, 
No. 8, is a pole and chain us“d to raise or low¬ 
er the plow beam. No. 6 is a clevis. 
A PLANT PROTECTOR. 
Mr. W. B. Whitney, of Leominster, Mass., 
sends us the little device shown at Fig. 1C3. The 
pieces of wood (A, B, C, D,) are to protect 
from the cut-worm ull sorts of plants when 
transplanted, such as cabbages, tomatoes, etc. 
The points ot each half are readily pushed 
Fig. 105. 
into the soil, and a little box is thus placed 
about the stem. Any wood, having pithy 
steins (such as elder) could be readily made to 
serve the same purpose. We have for many 
years used wrapping paper about the stems of 
tomatoes, extending it up to the first leaves, the 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
bottom being held in place by the soil. This 
answers the purpose very well. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Delaware. 
Dover, Kent County, April 15.—We have 
had a fine spring so far, although a part of 
March was too wet for farmers. Plowing 
on high land is about all done; but in sections 
where the land is low and wet, very little has 
been done. Oats are all sown and mostly up 
and quite green. Wheat is growing finely, 
but the heavy rains of the latter part of Feb¬ 
ruary and the earlier part of March damaged 
it on low lands. Peach trees are iu full bloom. 
Grass is growing finely; a few are beginning 
to pasture a little. It is the general custom 
here to horse-fake all grass land intended for 
mowing and the stuff collected i3 hauled into 
weather farm work is well advanced and our 
farmers are only waiting corn planting 
time; for the small grains have all been sown 
and nearly all are growing finely. Stock can 
get a good living on the grass There is plenty 
of water for stock. Business continues very 
dull. It is almost impossible to part with any 
farm product except at ruinous prices. Pota¬ 
toes are selling at 10 cents per bushel, and 
thousands of bushels are yet in the farmers’ 
hands. Other farm products are about as 
dull. A great many potatoes have been 
planted; for planting them was the only way 
in which farmers could get rid of them, for 
there are not nearly cattle enough in the coun¬ 
try to eat all on hand. Our farmers have in¬ 
vested largely in small fruits, most of which 
have been delivered and planted in go">d shape. 
Should there be no disaster to this interest, 
I predict that in a few years raspberries, 
blackberries and grapes will be as much a 
drug on our marxet as potatoes are now 
Very few of our farmers have much faith in 
apple-tree planting, though some continue to 
plant, and more have been planted this spring 
Fig. 
the barnyards after the spring hauling of 
manure. This, with surplus straw, corn¬ 
stalks and any other things cleaned up from 
the stack yards, etc., etc., forms the 
foundation of the next year’s manure supply. 
Feed is scarce and high. Corn remains low. 
Gardens are all made and early stuff is above 
the ground and growing, but it is rather too 
cool to be good growing weather. Corn 
planting will begin this week if it continues 
dry; but the greater part of the crop will not 
be planted before the last week of the month 
and the first of May. Hired hands get from 
§9 to §15 per month with board and lodging; 
boys from §5 to §8. Times have been dull 
since Christmas; but as spring advances they 
show improvement. If the weather continues 
good, the first of May will find spring work 
well along and the hardest over. A great 
many peach trees that bad that dreaded dis¬ 
ease the yellows, have been rooted out this 
spring. A tree once affected is never any good 
afterwards. A law has been passed to make 
it compulsory to remove all trees show¬ 
ing signs of the disease. If no remedy is 
found, it will not be many years before the 
106. 
% 
than for some years past, though planting is 
regarded as an experiment. The trade in gar¬ 
den seeds has not been so good as last season— 
for a great many have had all the experience 
they need with garden truck for soma years. 
The early spring was too dry to risk sowing 
grass seed, so very little grass or clover was 
sown. Despite the dull times, our city con¬ 
tinues to grow steadily and the street car and 
telephone lines are lengthening out daily. 
We have had war here between the horse- 
car%nd electric motors and the verdict ^seems 
to be that the horse-car must eventually go. 
F. s. w. 
Humboldt County, April 20.—The Rural 
improves with age. We are having a fine 
spring after a very fine winter. Farm pros¬ 
pects are all very good. Cattle and horses 
are plentiful, in good condition and of good 
quality, but prices are low. This is a good 
place to move to for a permanent home. 
o. E. F. 
Kanins. 
Parsons, Labette County, April 17.— We 
are just in the middle of seed-time; oats are 
growing finely, and wheat is all that can be 
niirri #i t HWJtllil IIT IIlMi 
(J - - -<y-> 
Fig. 108. 
peach crop will be a thing of the past with us. 
Nearly every housewife has her stock of 
chickens started; but the little fellows seem to 
be rather unhappy during this cool weather. 
If any of the readers of the R. N.-Y. who 
have barren grape vines, will cut off a branch 
of each after the sap starts and let it bleed 
freely, it will become fruitful—at least that is 
my experience with two enormous vines on 
an arbor. Wheat, §1 05; oats, 35; corn, 
35; butter, 25 cents; eggs, 10 cents; potatoes 
40 cents; fresh fish, plenty, shad at 15 and 20 
cents; herring 10 cents par dozen; other fish 
cheaper; poultry at nine and 11 cents. 
a. G. s. 
Iowa. 
Des Moines, Polk County, April 15.— Our 
winter throughout was one of the mildest ever 
known iu Iowa. We had but few storms, 
very little snow and no rain, but plenty of 
dusty, dry weather March weather was as 
flue as we usually have here in May. In the 
second week in April our long drought was 
broken by flue showers which were warm and 
brought up the small grains and brought out 
the grass. In consequence of our favorable 
desired, though a cloud of chinch-bugs was 
reported going to the northward yesterday. 
Corn is not yet up, but about half of it is 
planted. The ground is reported in fine con¬ 
dition. The season is neither early nor late, 
though a heavy rain this morning may yet 
make the time of coru-planting late, but this 
is not considered less desirable than an early 
season. Early corn-planting here may be set 
down for April 10, and late for May 1. 
The Oklahomites are pouring along in this 
latitude. It is patent to all now that there is 
going to be the greatest industrial mob the 
country has ever witnessed when the gates 
are opened. We anticipate nothing greater 
or worse than some confusion and disappoint¬ 
ment. Fortunately, the military are highly 
respected by the people, and are deserving of 
this estimation It almost seems as if the 
time is upon us when, as Macaulay said,the 
strength of the Union would be tested; that 
is, when the public lands should all become 
settled. Our people, however, can adapt 
themselves to new conditions in a degree that, 
at least once, astonished the world, and that 
was when the army of the Union retired from 
the fields of war to those of peace. It was 
just astonishing for the Old World to see 
every man falling back into his former call¬ 
ing just as easily and naturally as if he had 
been on a country jaunt. The Oklahoma 
country, I am told by one of the men who 
were surveyors of the territory, does not dif¬ 
fer much from Kansas. There are some good 
lands, but the greater portion is ordinary,and 
some poor. Our farmers are not in a pros¬ 
perous condition. Our crops last season were 
Fig. 107. 
good, but low prices prevailed for corn, frui 
and cattle. This was doubtless due to the 
vast quantity of cheap labor that is now pro¬ 
ducing cereals in South America and India, 
and flooding the European markets. 
J. B. 
JVew York. 
Jamestown, Chautauqua County, April 15 
—The mildness of the past winter and the 
early spring with its mild, pleasant weather, 
have brought the wheat through to this time 
in a very encouraging condition. Through¬ 
out Western Pennsylvania and New York I 
have not seen one piece that the husbandman 
could not look upon with pride. March was 
very mild and much plowing with some sow¬ 
ing of spring grain was done. The gardeners 
in and around Erie, Pa., had some of their 
earlier seeds in the ground before the 10th of 
that month. The amount of onion sets of 
fine quality, that are produced in the vicinity, 
in Erie, Fairview and Girard, Pa,, is astonish¬ 
ing. This year the price ranges low, §2.25 a 
bushel of 34 pounds. Fine table onions are 
plentiful at 40 cents a bushel. Potatoes in 
Erie are abundant at 35 to 40 cents. It is dif¬ 
ficult to find a good apple in the Erie market; 
while in Jamestown, N. Y., fine fruit goes 
begging for customers at remunerative prices. 
Potatoes here are of slow sale at 25 cents, and 
some dealers offer only 15 cents. Farmers 
will find more profit in feeding them to cattle 
and horses. Butter has started in at 25 cents; 
but a decline is looked for. It will be very 
strange if first quality dairy brings more than 
17 or IS cents and it may drop to 15 cents. 
The Erie market produces no prime butter; 
much that is offered can hardly be considered 
grease of good quality, and the slovenly con¬ 
dition in which it comes on the market is 
inconsistent with good dairying. The cheese 
is of a much better quality, but much of 
it is so highly colored as to be uninviting in 
appearance. There is a cheese on sale, the 
address of the maker of which I failed to ob¬ 
tain because the man having it on sale did 
not know it. It is called Illinois Schweitzer or 
Swiss cheese. The quality of this cheese 
makes it very popular with those who are 
fond of a sharp cheese without any of that un¬ 
pleasant odor of Schweitzer cheese. This mar¬ 
ket is far in advance of that of Erie in the 
quality of the butter and cheese. The average 
farmer is growing slack in relation to his but¬ 
ter making. He does not work it enough to 
remove all buttermilk, therefore it is more 
susceptible of change. The season has been 
uncommonly favorable to the advance of 
spring work, most of the plowing being done 
and much sowing also. The warm rains have 
given the grass a fair start and if the weather 
continues as favorable as might be expected 
cattle will go to grass from one to two weeks 
sooner than last year. Hay is plentiful at §12 
per ton, and feed of all kinds is reasonably 
low. Farm help is not in excess of the de¬ 
mand at from §15 to §20 a month, with board 
and washing. Upon the whole, the outlook 
Fig. 109. 
is fair for a prosperous and bountiful year. 
The silo question is calling forth much atten¬ 
tion. A few who put in silos as a venture 
last year will increase the capacity of them, 
while many will build for the first time this 
year. A little care and a good deal of good 
