<883 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
353 
£avm Copies. 
HOW A DELAWARE FARMER 
HANDLES MANURE. 
Location and soil of the farm; stables and 
pig-pens retentive of manure; the latter 
all hauled out in spring; manures for 
com and for wheat and oats ; mode of ap¬ 
plication; frequent cultivation; rotation 
of crops; horse manure , commercial fer¬ 
tilizers; “ how to make farming pay." 
The making of manure, and the best mode 
of using it to get the greatest results with the 
least amount of labor, are themes that 
should interest all practical farmers. The 
question is often asked of me by my neighbors: 
“ What do you do for the land to get such good 
crops* *” While my methods’willnot suit every 
one, it maybe well to tell others how I do it, so 
that it I am wrong they can correct me, and 
by talking the matter over, some good ideas 
may be developed, that will be of practical ad¬ 
vantage to some one. 
My farm is situated in the lower end of 
Delaware, five miles from the town of Sea- 
ford. The land is composed of a mellow loam, 
with a clay bottom, and is as level as a floor. 
My cattle stables and pig-pens are dug out 
down to the clay and made basin-shaped so 
that they will hold water. The rains and liq¬ 
uids from the stock keep the pens wet, and 
we keep them dry by hauling in leaves, saw¬ 
dust, corn-stalks and rubbish from the farm. 
We keep up a constant fight right on this 
line. Sometimes the weather gets the best of 
us for a time, and then we conquer by haul¬ 
ing in more leaves and sawdust, until the pens 
are in good order again. The excess of water 
from rain will evaporate, leaving the concen¬ 
trated juices in the manure. All this manure 
is allowed to accumulate until spring, when 
we have some hundreds of loads tolhaul out. 
Now, it is conceded that fresh “ pound” man¬ 
ure is best for corn, while composted manure 
is better for wheat and oats. 
To get the beneflt of the fresh manure for 
the com, and to save the labor of composting 
for the other grains, and to get the best re¬ 
sults, I first turn over a clover sod for corn, 
and before harrowing it, haul the manure 
from the pens and spread it, broadcast, on the 
plowed ground, then harrow in the manure 
by going over it once with the Acme. Then I 
mark out the rows, plant the com and when 
it is two inches high, put in the cultivators, 
and keep working it until the corn is too large. 
1 usually go through it from six to eight times 
before it is laid by. Then, by cultivating the 
corn, the manure gets thoroughly mixed in 
the soil, and by fall it is well rotted. When 
manure is spread on the land before plowing, 
it is held in lumps and bunches, and does not 
get distributed through the soil enough for 
the plant roots to get the full beneflt of it. 
I n the first week in October, a portion of the 
corn ground is cleared, and put in wheat, and 
the remainder Is sown with oats in the spring, 
and both wheat and oats are sown with clover 
in the spring. No other manures are used, 
and the consequence is that all during the 
summer the corn and wheat stalks are greon 
from the ground up, instead of being burned, 
as they would be in a dry season if manured 
with superphosphates. 
I think that by working the manure into 
the ground while cultivating the corn, it will 
be in much better condition for the coming 
wheat and oat crops than it would be by the 
usual way of plowing under the manure, and 
it saves the laboi of composting for the other 
grains. The year following the wheat and 
oat harvest, we mow off a heavy crop of 
clover, and the following spring turn over 
this sod for corn, and so keep up this rotation. 
“ What do I do with the horse stable 
manure?” I throw it into a heap, and turn it 
over once a week to prevent it from burning, 
and at different times during the year, spread 
it around fruit trees, or mauure potatoes with 
it, and in the winter, when the ground is 
frozen, I spread a light covering of it on the 
wheat, aud use it in the vegetable garden. 
“What is the size of the farm!” One 
hundred and forty five acres in all: 45 acres 
are in timber, and all the rest is kept in 
thorough cultivation, except the clover fields. 
Four years ago this was a poor, worn-out 
farm; now it is like a garden spot. 
“ Do I ever use artificial fertilizers ? ” Yes, 
but only in a small way. For root crops, 
such as turnips,in the fall when there is apt to 
be plenty of rain, it is just the thing; but if 
you want to enrich the land use plenty of 
“ pound ” mauure and clover sod. Instead of 
sitting around the store stove during the win¬ 
ter mouths and preaching that “ farmin’ 
don’t pay,” keep your teams busy hauling any 
kind of absorbents for the cattle aud pig pens. 
Don’t drain them off, to keep them dry; fill 
them up; keep at it all the time. Let the 
store alone, except when you go to purchase 
something, and employ every spare hour in 
manufacturing manure, and you will not only 
improve the farm, but the money that you 
will save by doing with less “ phosphates,” 
can be better spent by the wife when she 
wants to make purchases at the store. 
SAMUEL BROWN. 
fUfltrkct Botes. 
“Are the low prices of fruit the result of 
over-production, or under-consumption?” 
asked the writer of a commission merchant of 
many years’ experience. “Both; while the 
supply of some certain lines of fruit is great¬ 
er than the market demands, the lower class¬ 
es do not consume the fruit they ought to do. 
I have seen a man pay five or 10 cents for 
beer or tobacco, and when asked by his chil¬ 
dren to buy them some apples, say: *Oh! I 
can’t afford it.’ It is pure selfishness. The 
parents would rather spend their money for 
that which is positively injurious to them¬ 
selves, than to spend it for healthful fruit for 
their families.” There isn’t a day in the yeai 
in this city but some kind of fruit can be 
bought so cheap that it seems as though the 
poorest might indulge. 
Provisions of all kinds are ‘plentiful, and 
comparatively cheap. Meats are somewhat 
higher than during the winter, but fish'are in 
good supply and at reasonable prices. With 
heavy arrivals of early vegetables from Ber¬ 
muda, Florida, the Carolinas and Norfolk, 
supplemented by hot-house products, and 
some from near-by gardens, to say nothing of 
last year’s leavings', the house-keeper is right 
in clover. Asparagus is of very good quality, 
and is now retailing at from 10 to 15 cents per 
bunch. It comes from Long Island, New 
Jersey and Norfolk, mainly. Lettuce^ is in 
great profusion from near-by farmers. Four 
to six bunches of radishes can be bought for a 
nickel. Cucumbers cost five cents each, 
while a-half peck of green peas can be had for 
a quarter. Good tomatoes are shown, while 
some had the appearance of being picked 
green, and were likely to remain so. Cab¬ 
bages are good, likewise summer squash, 
beets, string beans, and onions. 
Good apples are not in large supply, and 
are readily sold at good figures. Oranges are 
growing scarcer and higher in price. Straw¬ 
berries are not so plentiful, but as they will 
be due from South Jersey in a few days, the 
price will soon drop. Other tropical fruits 
are’plenty and cheap. Pineapples bring from 
10 to 35 cents each, while hot-house peaches 
can be had at 50 cents each and upwards. 
California cherries bring 75 cents per pound 
There.is a heavy stock of butter, and prices are 
likely to go still lower. 
Woman s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE.WAY. 
H OW do you intend to do your'house¬ 
cleaning—in an orderly, somewhat leis¬ 
urely manner, or all at|once ? We have been 
noticing one of our neighbors and her method. 
She began w ith a bed-room one morning, root¬ 
ed out everything from a big clothes-closet, 
kalsomined and scrubbed the closet, and hus¬ 
tled the things right back; then took up the 
bed-room carpet, and started on that room. 
She scrubbed everything, kalsomined walls 
and ceiling, had the carpet down before tea- 
time, and slept in that room the same night. 
Now, she was, no doubt, a smart aud expedi¬ 
tious housewife, but we don’t believe that 
room was either dried or aired properly, and 
if we hear of sore throats or unexplained 
colds in that family we shall lay them all to 
that house-cleaning mania. As soon as this 
bed-room was done, the housekeeper started 
on the parlor; that was done with equal ex¬ 
pedition, and the day following the dining¬ 
room was attacked; in fact, the work was 
kept straight on, without any intermission 
whatever. Of course, the family was un¬ 
comfortable ; there was no sociability or pleas¬ 
ant, restful, home life; but that woman did 
all her house-cleaning before any of her 
neighbors. 
* * * 
Cleaning one room at a time with] a little 
needed rest between times, has been preached 
often enough in the Rural. It is a time¬ 
worn topic, and yet it cannot be too often in¬ 
sisted upon. The sooner women learn that it 
doesn’t pay to kill oneself, the better. Nor 
is the most perfect housekeeper—or rather 
home-keeper—she who always .has all her 
work “ done up.” While no real aud perfect 
domestic life can exist without cleanliness aud 
order, these virtues are not the only things nec¬ 
essary. The real home spirit is far more 
valuable, and the cultivation of home affection 
at least as necessary as spring cleaning. ^ 
Did you read what “May Maple” said about 
young housekeepers in the Rural of May 4? 
Everyone must recognize the justice of her 
remarks. But it seems that a great many 
girls never learn anything about housework, 
simply because all theirjtime is taken up in less 
useful things. The average school-girl of 14 
has a dozen or more studies, one-third of them 
useless as they are usually taught. In ad¬ 
dition to this, she is apt to have music, which 
takes up the time she should more properly 
spend in healthful exercise. Such prosaic 
studies as cooking, sweeping, dish-washing, 
and the like are entirely overlooked in the 
haste for accomplishments, and it is not 
strange that these girls find a good many dif¬ 
ficulties in the way when they begin to keep 
house. The first few months of house-keep¬ 
ing are somewhat difficult, even to one who 
understands "it, and the difficulties must be 
greater still when it is a novice who battles 
with them. Certainly house-keeping is one of 
the accomplishments which should not be 
omitted, no matter whether a girl can play 
Chopin mazurkas or not. A little time given 
to this study, before and after school hours, 
will smooth the after-life wonderfully. 
* * * 
As soon as a girl can hold}a needle she 
should learn to mend, and as soon as she 
can mend a little she should learn to keep 
her own clothes in order. Never mind if the 
stockings are a little bit cobbled—the knowl¬ 
edge that her personal darning and patching 
depend on herself'will make a girl very much 
more careful. Mending is so very important 
that it cannot be neglected, and the nest way 
to teach it is to give each girl the care of her 
own belongings. When mother is always 
ready to replace buttons and"sew; up "rips, 
much less care is taken than where each girl 
is herself responsible for such work. 
OUTINGS IN NEW ENGLAND. 
VI. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
T HE records of the Plymouth Colony have 
been so well kept that in going up 
Leyden street, it is not difficult toj locate the 
rude homes of the Mayflower’s passengers; 
and there are pictures still to be seen of some 
of their houses. Churches have been built on 
some of the more noted sites, a Congrega¬ 
tional church occupying the spot on which 
the Pilgrims built their first meeting-house. 
In following Leyden up to the entrance to 
Burial Hill, aud thence to its brow, one 
comes to the site of the Old Fort, where 
Miles Standish had his arsenal for fighting 
the Indians. From that point, 160 feet above 
the harbor, he could command a full view of 
the street and of the immediate surroundings. 
A tablet now marks the spot. The redoubt¬ 
able Miles had his own habitation at the base 
of a hill to*the north'of Plymouth, where also 
lived; John Alden. The hill still goes by the 
name of the Captain’s Hill, and a tall stone 
tower has been erected on it in his memory. 
Of course, we read and re-read Longfellow’s 
noble poem of the Standish courtship, amid 
the scenes he so beautifully pictured, and in 
fancy saw Priscilla riding from Plymouth on 
the white bull to the home of John Alden. 
One day while sauntering about the town we 
saw a tin-peddler’s wagon which bore the 
notable name of Standish. Anaximander in¬ 
cidentally asked a resident merchant if this 
Standish was a descendant of Miles, aud 
what was his business? 
Yes, he’s a direct descendant,” was the 
proud reply, “and he sells tinware and buys 
remnants of cloth" Naturally, we had a 
quiet laugh over the “renmauts,” but admir¬ 
ed the spirit of the man, who could not bring 
himself to say that a Standish D. D. (“direct 
descendant”) bought rags and peddled tin¬ 
ware like an ordinary mortal. That the D. 
D’s. throughout New England aud elsewhere 
hold their descent as a patent of nobility, is 
as it should be. Of no ancestry could one well 
be prouder than of the 41 signers to the “com¬ 
pact" drawn up in.the cabin of the Mayflower. 
Burial Hill is packed with graves, and no 
new interments are permitted in this ground 
unless one has an unfilled lot in which friends 
are buried. It is a great resort of the people, 
who go to sit in it as if it were a park. The 
view from it is most fascinating, overlooking 
the harbor with its islands and light-houses, 
and on very clear days the faint line of Cape 
Cod may be discerned. Here were buried 
most of those who survived the first winter, 
and all the early stones and epitaphs are of 
very curious interest. The oldest stone is to 
the memory of Mr. Edward Gray who was a 
wealthy merchant of the colony. The date 
on this stone is 1681. All the old stones are 
of slate, often tapering to the top, with death’s 
heads in various styles, as this was before the 
era of the weeping willow decoration. 
^Titles in the epitaphs are scrupulously ob¬ 
served, such as Mr., Mrs., Esq., Honorable, 
Captain, etc. William Bradford, who was 
the first Governor of the Colony, from 1621 to 
1633, lies here, and his grave is marked with a 
low granite shaft. On another shaft to the 
memory of his son, is this inscription: “Here 
lies the body of ye Honorable Major William 
Bradford who expired Feb. ye 20th, 1703-4, 
aged 79 years. 
He lived long but still was doing good. 
And In his country’s service lost much blood. 
After a life well spent he’s now at rest. 
His very name and memory Is blest. 
Mary Cushman was the last survivor of the 
Mayflower people, and she lived to be aooutOO, 
dying in 1699. Some of the old slate head-stones 
are'protected by coats of zinc, leaving only the 
inscriptions exposed. Mrs. Tabitha Plaskitt’s 
grave is always visited by youngsters who 
have read in their school histories of her 
school teaching, spinning as she taught and 
when the children were naughty she slipped 
skeins of yarn under their arms and hung 
them up on pegs. A row of suspended urchins 
must have been a novel sight. Tabitha wrote 
her own'epitaph which runs thus: 
“ Adieu, vain world, I’ve seen enough of thee; 
And I am careless what thou say’st of me; 
Thy smiles I wish not, 
Nor thy frowns'I'fear, 
I am now at rest, my head lies quiet here.” 
Many an hour we sat on this hill over-look¬ 
ing the town and the harbor, and traced 
the course of the Mayflower from the line of 
Cap Cod, the halt over Sunday at Clarke’s 
Island, always with a feeling of pity that 
circumstances had landed it on what at that 
time must have been a very inhospitable 
shore in the depth of winter. Snow never 
lies long at Plymouth, but with the cold the 
place had its compensations in the abundant 
fish and springs of excellent water, from 
which people still “drink. At one of the 
sp rings, by the side of a street, is this legend: 
“Come, freely drink and quench your thirst. 
Here djjank the Pilgrim fathers first,” and 
it is doubtful if any visitor reads the invita¬ 
tion without accepting it,and the water is ex¬ 
ceedingly good. The woods back of Plymouth 
are charming,and there is no end to the small 
lakes in the forests. I have heard it said that 
there are in Plymouth county 365 lakes. The 
laddie who was learning to swim, found them 
very pleasant for his purpose. The bathing 
was fine on the ocean side of the harbor bar, 
and as a'little steamer made frequent trips 
across the harbor, it was always convenient 
to reach the sandy beach for a bath. The 
boating in the harbor at high tide was de¬ 
lightful, but when we went outside we took 
the precaution to take a skipper. One morn¬ 
ing we sailed to Clarke’s Island, and visited 
Pulpit Rock, an immense granite boulder un¬ 
der the sunny side of which the Pilgrims held 
their first religious service in New England, 
and the rock bears the inscription: “December 
20, 1620. On the Sabbath day we rested.” 
There are a few houses on the island, one of 
which is the summer residence of Professor 
Godwin, of Harvard. 
There were always a great many boats out 
on fishing and lobstering expeditions, and the 
hotel table was’ well served with fresh fish, 
while chowders were a daily dish. There 
were beautiful walks in every direction land¬ 
ward, one of which led to Forefathers’ Monu¬ 
ment, which is the highest and finest granite 
monument in the world. The hight of the 
base is‘45 feet; of the statue, 36 feet—a figure 
of Faith. All the accompanying! statuesjhad 
not thembeeu placed around the center "one, 
but so far as the work had progressed “it was 
of the finest character, and very beautiful. 
The inscription is this: “National Monument 
to the Forefathers, erected by a grateful peo¬ 
ple iAremembrance of their labors, sacrifices 
and sufferings for the cause of civil and 
religious liberty,” and the names of 
all those who came in the Mayflower are 
engraved on it. There are to be four scenes 
in the lives of the Pilgrims represented—the 
Departure from Delft-Haven; the signing of 
the social compact; the landing at Plymouth, 
and the first treaty with the Indians. There 
are nine acres about the monument and they 
are to be laid out in the finest style. Differ¬ 
ent States and private individuals have so 
far contributed the money for different parts 
of this superb memorial. 
Pilgrim Hall is naturally a place of great 
interest, as with the relics there one can, in a 
degree, rehabilitate the colonists. It was 
built in 1824, since which time the building 
has been made fire-proof. The walls are hung 
with paintings, including a number of por¬ 
traits, while the relics in glass cases are 
surprising in number. Here is Miles Stand- 
ish’s famous Damascus sword, the Arabic in¬ 
scriptions on it having been a standing puz¬ 
zle, until they were deciphered, some eight 
years ago, by Prof. James Rosedale, of Jerusa¬ 
lem. John Alden’s Bible is here, and a piece 
